Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

If Izuku could be happy about anything in this situation it would be the fact that he is a fast learner. That and the plus side of having no friends being that he has endless free time to devote to practicing whatever he chooses.

As he walked into the small apartment he shared with his mother he took out his bulky hearing aids and sighed at the instant relief from the high-pitched squeal that was being broadcast into his ears. Kachan had once again set off an explosion to his shoulder. So now he had to clean up burns to himself and his gakuran. As well as try and see about fixing the cheap pieces of shit he has to use to have any semblance of hearing.

The fact that he was legally deaf was also Kachan's fault. But he didn't have time to get pissed about that right now. He threw his scorched back pack into his room on the way to the bathroom and the extensive first aid kit his mother kept under the sink.

Within twenty minutes his shoulder was cleaned and under a large patch of gauze. And he iwas heading back to his room trying to figure out how to patch his jacket. He was getting really good at blending the patches in by this point. After hiding the bullying from his mom for years he has had a lot of practice. Even after the incident last year that left him deaf in the first place, Inko had no idea that it wasn't some sort of playground accident.

It's probably a good thing that his mom works so much though, if she ever caught him before he had time to patch himself up she might have more questions than he had answers.

With a glance at his phone he sighed once again and tossed his tattered gakuran onto his bed to deal with later. His hearing aids went on his desk with the three other pairs that were beyond hope. He quickly got dressed in some black joggers and a ripped up tye dye shirt he had rescued from his mom's to be tossed pile. It was loose and breathable and as long he wore one of his long sleeved undershirts no one could see the patchwork of scars scattered across his skin.

He trudged back across the apartment to pull on his beat up sneakers. If he wanted to go on his regular jog before his self defense class he needed to leave. Mirokuma sensei did not like tardiness. And since Izuku was 80% sure he was only allowed into the class due to pity in the first place he really didn't want to piss him off and give him a reason to toss him out.

He still wasn't sure how a hard ass like his sensei ended up with a sweet girl like Kuma-chan for his daughter. She was one of the reasons Izuku had begged to be let into their classes. She knew sign language and even though he was quirkless she didn't seem to mind taking the extra time to help him learn as well. It had been seven months since he started learning at their dojo, going every day after school, and he was already almost fluent. Which would be more helpful if any of his teachers or classmates, or even his mom, cared to learn as well.

Whatever. It was a skill he needed to learn. Just like self defense. Not that using that particular skill at school was a good idea either. He didn't even want to know what kind of bull shit his teachers would put him through if he actually fought back and one of their precious favorites got a boo boo. Quirkist bastards.

With yet another sigh he locked up and started down the stairs. It was a twenty minute jog down his usual route to the dojo where his defense classes were held. But he decided at the last second to take a lesser used route. It was quicker so he was less likely to be late. Maybe get some extra time to practice JSL with Kuma-chan.

He didn't care for this little short cut very much, it went down by the canal and he always ended up with that weird musty water scent on his clothes afterwards, but he decided that with the shitty day he has already had, a little smell wouldn't be that bad, and anyways he was just going to end up all sweaty and stinky after a good work out anyways. 

As he paced himself along the edge of the water he tried not to think about burns and hearing aids. He tried not to think about disabilities and quirkism. He tried not to think about Kachan and his poisonous words. 

Why don't you pray for a Quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof?!

Damn it.

He passed into the shade under a roadway, thoroughly distracted and pissed off at the echoes in his traitorous thoughts. He didn't want to think about it. He struggled to pay attention to his surroundings. Sinking more into his head with every pounding step. He sensed a presence behind him and his heart lept into his throat even as he tried to spin around. He was instantly engulfed in something that was both a liquid and gelatinous. And then he felt vibrations. The cadence of talking.

Whatever had him was talking. It was a person.

No. 

A villain.

The sludge was in his mouth and nose now. He did his best to thrash, to get free, but how do you fight something that didn't have a solid form?

His vision was darkening around the edges. He knew he didn't have much time left. He yanked his arm upwards as much as he could and his hand came into contact with something that wasn't sludge. He instinctively grabbed hold and pulled as hard as he could with his poor footing.

There was a slight sensation of suction and then Izuku was able to take a breath. His green eyes rolled wildly as he continued to struggle. Managing to toss the object he had grabbed.

An eyeball. That was an eyeball. Gross.

It smacked harshly against the concrete and he felt more vibrations, a cry of pain? Cursing? Whatever the villain was saying he was definitely distracted and Izuku was immensely thankful for the chance to drag air into his aching lungs even as he continued to fight to free the rest of himself.

Suddenly a great gust of wind swept past them and he was sent staggering and falling to his knees as he was freed from his disgusting captor. He took the opportunity granted to attempt to hack up the sludgey remnants he could feel in his throat and lungs. It took several minutes before he felt like his airways were clear enough that he could focus on looking around. 

Oh. All Might. 

Wait. All Might!

He sprung to his feet, ignoring how unsteady he was and watched as his favorite hero scooped the last of his attacker off of the pavement and into a bottle of some sort. Izuku hoped the villain wasn't as smart as an octopus and wouldn't figure his way out of that. "A-all Might!" Izuku tried, praying his voice didn't sound weird. He should have just suffered through wearing his damaged hearing aids.

The brightly shining hero straightened up and sent the greenette his signature smile. Izuku tried his best to read his lips. It was yet another skill he had been picking up to deal with his little issue and honestly he was getting pretty good at it. That's most likely because he got to practice this skill at school as well. Every time one of the other kids damaged his hearing aids it was the only way to try and figure out what the teachers were saying, and how to respond when they inevitably choose to pick him for something to try and trip him up. The teachers love making the weak, quirkless, deaf kid look dumb on top of it all.

But all that practice meant he was pretty sure he got most of what All Might said. Something along the lines of 'Thank goodness I made it in time. I'm glad you were able to hold out long enough for me to catch him. Something something citizen.' Oh he's leaving.

"Wait! Izuku stretches out his hand and grabs the back of All Might's white t-shirt. "Please, can I become a hero too? I'm deaf. And quirkless. But I really want to save people! Is it possible?" 

He felt the rumble of All Might's voice but the only thing he caught as the hero turned back to face him, dislodging his hand as he went, was the word no. Mouthed so clearly he could almost hear it in his head. And with that the hero jumped. Out of Izuku's life. Taking his hopes and dreams with him.

The small teen slumps to his knees. He couldn't help but let a few tears escape. His hero had just crushed the only dream that had kept him going all of these years. Now what?

After a few minutes he stood and started walking, Not really paying attention as to where. He's so deep in his head he doesn't realize he had continued on his path to the dojo until he was opening the door and suddenly faced with a very concerned Kuma-chan. She placed her hands on his shoulders and yelled something back towards her dad who already had his phone out and was making a call.

A few minutes passed where he was once again not really paying attention and the next thing he knows Kuma-chan is in front of him signing questions slowly, obviously trying to get him to reply. He managed a quick explanation of a villain attack. Then apologized for being late. This seemed to set Mirokuma sensei off. His bear-like ears twitching and his brown eyes blazing and he growls out something to his daughter who translates like always. 

"Midori-kun. You don't have to apologize for being late after an attack like this!" She furiously signs. " Father wants to know why you didn't go to a hospital instead. You're obviously not ok. He called for an ambulance but since you're not in immediate danger they might take a minute." 

Izuku shook his head. " I'm fine. I don't need a doctor. Don't bother anyone with this please. The villain was captured. No one needs to worry." For some reason the older girl's frown only deepened at his words. And he caught a flash of fangs as she worried her bottom lip.

" Midori-kun at least let the paramedics look you over when they get here? Please? Father probably won't let you say no. As much of a hard ass as he is, he does care about his students. Ok? For our peace of mind?" Izuku saw the honest stress in the set of her shoulders and immediately felt bad. He should have gone home. Why the hell did he come here and bother them? After this little episode he wouldn't be surprised if he lost two more of the very small number of people who tolerated his existence. That's what he deserves for being an idiot. 

With a sigh he noded. Giving in to the check up. While they waited for the paramedics to show up kuma-chan goes to restart the rest of the class that had apparently been watching the whole episode. Lovely. The older kids had already started comforting the fidgety younger ones who kept casting nervous glances at the obviously worse for wear Izuku. That wouldn't do. He shouldn't be distracting the little ones from their class. 

As she started them doing simple drills in an effort to distract them, the greenette did his best to manage a small smile when one of them catches eyes with him. He isn't sure it helps much. He startled when a bowl of water and a towel are held out in front of him. Mirokuma sensei raised a pointed eyebrow and gestured from the bowl, to Izuku, then made a hand motion like he was wiping off his face. The small teen smiled gratefully. This smile a little more real than the ones he had been giving the other kids. And took the towel, wet it and started to try and scrub some of the drying slime off of his exposed skin. 

It was really stubborn, almost like it was using the water to just make more of itself. After a second he just switched to trying to scrape off the worst of it with a dry part of the towel.

It was about fifteen minutes before the ambulance pulled up outside and Izuku was escorted to the paramedics by his sensei.

He watched their lips and caught most of what they were asking. After making sure he had no obvious wounds (he didn't bother telling them about the burns or scratches from his bullies), they asked him about his lungs. When he answers that yes he did end up coughing up nasty stuff they frowned. After moments of discussion between themselves they explained to him that one of them had a quirk that had to do with minor air control and that they wanted to make sure his lungs were cleared. He agreed, eager to see such a cool quirk at work.

He was less enthused after twenty straight minutes of hacking up disgusting slime.

By the time the medics deemed him safe enough to leave, with strict instructions to go to hospital if he started feeling sick or out of breath, the class had ended and most of the other kids had gone home. 

Izuku decided to do the same. He wondered if he would be able to get the sludge out of his hair with a long enough shower. He gave a brief thank you to his sensei and assured Kuma-chan that he was fine enough to get home alone. 

The walk took forever and no time at all. His head was so messed up. This had been the worst day of his life and he wanted nothing more than to go to bed and end it. But first he spends an hour scrubbing in the shower trying to get the disgusting residues of his attacker off of his skin. His clothes go through three cycles in the wash.

Finally he plopped face down in his bed and knew no more.

Chapter Text

Izuku jerked awake in the dark. It took him a moment to register his phone on the floor buzzing and slowly inching its way under the bed flashlight on the back flashing briskly. Groggily he grabbed at it, missing the first time because he couldn't quite see straight through his yawn. He swiped the screen and helds the device up above his face, green eyes squinted at the bright light. He was vaguely aware that his greeting might not be the most intelligible, but he couldn't find it in his sleep-addled brain to care too much.

That was until the screen lit up with his mothers face, hysterical tears streaming and obviously wailing even if he couldn't hear it. He grimaced, deciding that at… 4: 27 AM… he was too tired to try and read her lips. "Holdun mahm." He mumbles as he reached out towards his abandoned hearing aids, slipping the less damaged one in so he could at least make out most of what she was saying.

"What's goin' on? You had a double right? Did somethin' happen? Do I need to come up there?" It took a moment for Inko to stop blubbering enough to explain. Apparently Kaachan had run into a slime villain after school and ended up in the hospital with pulmonary oedema. Since Inko knew they took similar paths home she was worried Izuku might also be hurt. She had been trying to message and call him but he hadn't replied.

The teenager winced and glanced at his notifications. 103 missed texts and 40 missed calls. He sighed. "Sorry mom. I'm fine. I just went to bed early…" It took him thirty minutes of repeating the same consolations to calm her down enough to return to work.

Poor defenseless Izuku. How could her weak little baby be within a mile of a villain and not get hurt? Well… ok. Fine. This time he did but he made it out alive. And in better shape than Kachan it would seem.

Wait. Didn't All Might capture that villain? How did he get a hold of Kachan? How did a low level scrub like that escape the number one hero?

He groaned as dramatically as he could when he realized he wasn't getting back to sleep any time soon. He sluggishly plugged in his dying phone , it wouldn't do for it to die and send his mom into another spiral if she called him again. With a grumble he moved to his desk, flipping the light on and booting up his laptop ignoring the wheezing sounds it made as the screen flickered on. He tossed the still squeaking hearing device back onto the small pile he had accumulated and delved into Smoogle.

Might as well learn how to fix these cheap, fragile, stupid things so his mom wouldn't have to shell out even more cash they couldn't afford to lose.

It took several hours and many HeroTube videos on the mechanics of speakers and the like before he ended up with a pair of frankensteined hearing aids. Born from the ashes of the destroyed pairs. It took another hour to code a basic program to tune them properly. Thank God he was already decent at coding or else the rest of his Saturday would have been spent on something that probably wouldn't last through his next week at school.

Now that he knew how they worked though he could look into just getting a bunch of spare parts super cheap from somewhere. It would be alot easier than having to go to the clinic to order new ones and then waiting 2 weeks for them to arrive. With a sigh he shoved back from his desk and spun his chair around. Only to be met with a barrage of red, and yellow, and blue, as his mind came out of his little learning spree.

He never realized how obnoxious All Might's color scheme was before. He hates it. And it's everywhere. He wrinkled his nose and heaved himself up on half numb legs. Hurrying out towards the kitchen. He probably should have eaten hours ago. But it's better late than never. Right?

As he reheated some random leftovers he hoped are still good he let his mind drift over the many events of the day before. Izuku tried to stay as objective as possible, well aware that he tended to lean towards being overly emotional.

1. The usual bullying he dealt with every day at school. They did seem to go fairly hard at it though. Not missing a single opportunity to trip him in the halls or slam him into the lockers.

2. The teacher picked on him about his dream of joining the UA hero course. Setting off another round of verbal abuse from his peers.

3. After school Kachan cornered him to teach him a lesson. Giving him more burns to deal with and saying…. Anyways.

4. He ran into a villain and almost died.

5. All Might saved him, then turned around and crushed his only hope. The dream he had harbored since before he could even properly walk.

He realized that the microwave had finished its turn. He probably should have put his aids back in. Oh well.

As he slid the ridiculously hot bowl, with its lukewarm contents, onto the table he tried to figure out where to go from here. He can't be a hero. Everyone else he had ever met has made that abundantly clear. So… what? He knew the numbers. Quirkless job opportunities were ridiculously low. No one wanted to hire someone that an insurance company wouldn't cover.

He should still at least go to high-school. It would give him a few more years to try and find something to do afterwards. That is, if he could find a reasonable high-school that would accept him. He knew UA accepted the quirkless, they had implemented guidelines on the issue just two years before. Probably as a publicity stunt.

But since he wasn't going into heroics he should look into other options as well. See what he had available. What could possibly lead to a future. Looked like that would have to be his plan for the rest of the weekend. Research. And a skeleton for a five year plan of some sort.

Whoopee.

____

No other high-school in his area accepted people like him. The closest school besides UA was a three hour train ride away. And it was a school for the disabled. He's not fucking disabled! Ok. Well. He IS. But not in a way that he needed to go through a special program. He just needed help with his hearing issue. He was pretty sure he's smart enough to go through a regular high-school course. Seriously. He started checking out first year level work books from the library last summer because he had finished his second read through of the third year middle school class books and he was bored.

Surely. Surely he could do fine in just a regular public high-school?

He thumped his head down on his desk. So either he tried for UA, a place notorious for their harder than average entrance exam, or he gives up and goes where society deems he should.

Or there was always his classmates' suggestion.

No.

The whole world was against him. Ok. Fine. He will get into UA. Whatever it takes. And he will MAKE a future for himself. Maybe not as a hero. But maybe as a designer? He was decent at drawing. And he already made loads of comments in his notebook about how heroes might improve their gear. Maybe he could forge a career for himself out of that?

If all else failed he could learn more coding and could help in labs and stuff looking for glitches. But to get that kind of job you need a formal education. So be it. He would take every single entrance exam except the one for the hero course. He was bound to at least land in UA's general education program that way.

He's just got to spend every free moment he can find on studying. He was already ahead of his class, not that his grades show that. Stupid bigoted teachers. It can't possibly be that hard to cram what he needs for three different tests in ten months. Yeah. He can do this. He just needed to know what he needed to know.

He spent another hour scouring the UA website for any hints on what would be on his tests. There wasn't much info, as expected. But he at least had a basic plan.

For Gen Ed.
Complete all of the workbooks he had started borrowing last summer and start on year two ones if he has time.

For Business.
Give himself a crash course on marketing theory. He already knew how heroes sell their images, take that and apply it to numbers.

For Support.
Make something impressive. Maybe he could do more to his hearing aids than just repair them? Could he make them explosion proof? That would save him a lot of headaches. It also looks like he will have to turn in blueprints on what he makes. That shouldn't be too hard. Those are just super detailed drawings right? Maybe throw a couple of hero suit redesigns in for good measure.

With his outline done he nodded and sat back, once again confronted by a barrage of primary colors. As he gazed around he came to a decision. He didn't need to cling to All Might's shadow any more. He was going to be his own person.

The rest of the day was spent packing away and listing for sale every single bit of Mighty Merch in his room.

Chapter Text

Izuku gripped tight to the straps of his bright yellow bag as he booked it out of the school. He didn't have time for any more bruises and insults, he had dealt with the ones from lunch by taking a quick bathroom break in the last period. He had compared pricing and shipping times late Sunday afternoon and found that there was a large mechanics shop a few neighborhoods over from the dojo. He decided he would save the money he would otherwise spend on shipping by stopping there to get the parts so he could tinker with his hearing aids.

To have time for that he would have to skip out on stopping by his apartment. His change of work out clothes were in his nearly empty bag so he could load up on what parts he could afford, change, and rush to his class. He had contemplated skipping the lesson, but after Friday's debacle he didn't think his sensei and his kohai would appreciate that. So his jog would just have to be a bit more brisk than usual.

He was glad, in a sick sort of way, that Kachan was still recovering in the hospital, it meant the bullies were a bit more lenient today as they gossiped about what they had seen on the news. So running didn't hurt too bad even if his still kind of sore lungs protested a bit.

The run luckily wasn't too long and he followed the map on his phone right up to the front of the rather large shop. It looked more like a warehouse really, a warehouse with glass doors and a sign on the front that said Hatsume Parts and Repairs.

He took a minute to catch his breath and wipe the sweat off of his face before he went in. Immediately he was assaulted with the scent of oil and rubber. He ran his hand through his hair nervously as he looked around. It looked like a small part of the front of the building was sectioned off with large glass partitions. The area Izuku was in was some sort of lobby. There was a desk with a computer, a couple of lightly grease stained chairs, and some slightly dusty fake plants.

Beyond the partitions he could see what looked like a work space, and past that were rows and rows of shelving packed full of boxes. Some of them spilling out wires and bits of metal.

As he wandered further in he noticed a button on the desk with a little hand written note that said 'press for help'. With a shrug the teenager did just that. And nearly jumped out of his skin when what sounded like a fog horn went off somewhere deeper in the building. He then winced at the slight feedback from his hearing aids. He really needed to try and make better ones.

Before he could really think about the obnoxious sound too much there was a woman sweeping out from between the shelving further in the building. Red dreadlocks were pulled back into a ponytail and as she got closer she locked silver eyes with green. She waved a dirty hand as she got closer, a smile lighting up her face.

"Hello!" Her voice was cheerful as she opened the glass door that blended in so seamlessly with the rest of the partition he hadn't even noticed it. "Welcome to my shop! It's rare we get someone so young in here! Is there something I can help you with?! School project?! A repair job?!" Izuku smiled nervously as he realized this stranger was speaking to him in all exclamation points. "Uh-uhm no m-ma'am! I just n-need some parts?"

Her face seemed to light up even more if that was possible. And her pony tail bounced a bit and she shifted behind the desk. "Is that so?! Awesome! Do you know what you need?! If I don't have it on hand I should be able to order it in for you!" Izuku quickly dug his list out of his backpack. "I uhm I need two of each of these please!"

He flinched slightly as she snatched the paper out of his hands, throwing herself into the chair behind the computer she set to work quickly searching what he assumed was an inventory. "Wow! These are a lot of tiny and delicate pieces! What are you working on?! A mini noise bomb?!"

Izuku blanched behind his freckles and waved his hands in denial. "No! No nothing like that! I uhm…" With a sigh he pushed his hair away from the bulky casing hanging behind his ear. " I just want to make some improvements, is all…"

The teenager will forever refuse to acknowledge the sound he made next as a screech as a grown woman launched herself half over a desk at him. "Wow! That's an ancient design! Who even sells those any more?!" She then cackled. "What a fun project! You have GOT to show me what you come up with ok?!" The confused greenette nodded hesitantly.

"Oh! I'm Hatsume Mia by the way! It's nice to meet you…" She stuck out her grease stained hand, still hanging half over the desk. He hesitantly took it. "Midoriya Izuku." She nodded decidedly and finally plopped back into the much abused chair. "Well Midoriya-kun! Unfortunately I don't seem to have a few of these parts in stock! I can order them for you though! My deliveries come in on Wednesdays so I can have them set for you by then! If you like, I can get you the parts I do have right now?! Or I can gather them up and put them with the others when they come in?!"

Izuku was starting to feel a little overwhelmed dealing with this whirlwind of a woman so he just nodded. "That should be fine, Hatsume-san. How much do I owe you?"

White teeth flashed in her dirty face as she smiled once again "Well let's see! This is quite a few parts! But you are having to wait! And I love seeing young people trying to build…. How about I give you a new customer discount?! Let's say when you come by on Wednesday you'll owe me…. 5500 yen?!"

Izuku is sure he stopped breathing for a minute. "B-but that's HALF of w-what they're w-worth?!" She grinned. "Maybe! But it's my shop! I name my prices! Just show me your work when you finish and we will be all good! Anyways! See you Wednesday Midoriya-kun!" With that she shoved the list into the pocket of her coveralls and danced away, back into the bowels of the building.

Green eyes watched after her, dumbstruck, until his phone vibrated with the alarm he had set and he had to dash out the door to get to his class.

____

He made it with just enough time to run to the restroom and change. When he bowed onto the floor he was met by his sensei and kohai's matching… glares?

Concerned looks?

He wasn't sure. All he knew was that Kuma-chan had never looked more like her father than she did in that moment while they stood side by side. Bear shaped ears attentive, brown eyes laser focused on a small teenager, and a tiny sliver of a fang poking out from behind a slight frown. "Uh-uhm. Good afternoon Sensei, Kuma-chan."

Sensei's frown deepened a bit and Izuku started mentally backpedaling trying to figure out what he did wrong. But his kohai speaks before he could try and apologize. "Midori-kun. Are you sure it isn't too soon for you to be back in class? It's only been a weekend…." The freckled boy tried to keep the sinking feeling in his gut away from his face. They don't want him here. He's a weak burden. Like always.

"I uhm- I'm really feeling ok. I swear!" The Mirokumas shared a loaded look before the younger shrugged and the older grunted and turned back to Izuku. "OK fine. You can participate. But if you start feeling off you let us know and sit out immediately. You just went through a villain attack. It's ok to not feel well after something like that. Got it?!" Izuku nodded quickly and bows. "Yes sensei! Thank you sensei!"

Kuma-chan sighed quietly as her dad walked away. "OK Midori-kun. Hearing aids out. Let's get some good practice in today since you're staying." He did his best to smile at her as he did what he was told. Ignoring the looks he was getting from the other kids in the class as he walked over to his usual spot near the back wall.

_____

Izuku swore that was the longest class he had ever had to go through at the dojo. The whole time he could see the others, who usually ignored the weird deaf kid, whispering amongst themselves and glancing at him. He couldn't hear them, obviously. But he could tell their inattention was annoying Mirokuma sensei by the number of extra reps they were all made to do. He did his best to keep his focus on Kuma-chan. She was constantly signing in between sets, letting him know what they were going to do next, and slipping in a sneaky comment or joke about their classmates when she was sure no one was looking.

As he wandered home, going the long way around, he checked his phone. His mom might be home by the time he got there. She shouldn't have had a double today. That means if he gets there quick enough he could do all of the prep and they could cook dinner together. With that happy little thought he puts a bit more pep in his step and gets home a bit faster. He made it with time to spare.

He hurried through his shower and doctoring his various old bruises and cuts. Then rushed to pull out the ingredients for a vegetable curry he knows his mom loves. He started washing the veg. He knows that's his mom's least favorite part so he does it whenever he can. He was almost done with washing everything when he saw the flash of his phone from the counter where he had left it.

He snagged it to see a new message from Inko. Sorry baby. They asked me to stay a few hours late. I probably won't be back until midnight. Don't forget to eat something!

The familiar ring of disappointment sounds in his chest. Oh well. Might as well finish what he started, he would leave a plate for her to heat up when she got home. He was sure she will appreciate it.

The curry isn't quite as good as when his mom made it. She has a way with spices. But it was alright. Izuku dawdled through his solitary dinner, distracting himself with Tweeter. Catching up on hero news and wincing at a rather… angled picture of the back of Mt. Lady. He was sure the person who took that shot got paid well by the news source. It didn't take him long to finish eating and to clean up the kitchen. Leaving a note on the counter to tell his mom she had food in the fridge.

He went to his room, feeling kind of tired, but knowing he needed to write another copy of the assignment that's due for English class the next day. Between his schoolmates and his teachers he knew better than to only have one copy.

He set to work, half his mind planning what of the high-school workbooks he would crack open once he was done. The math one was interesting if he remembered correctly.

Who needed sleep when his future depended on him studying everything he could after all?

Chapter Text

The freckled teen had to get up early the next morning. Someone on Mebay named goodSir420 had bought up a good portion of his nicer and harder to find Mighty Merch. Luckily he had managed to find enough packaging materials from around the house to get everything packed properly for shipping. He just needed to stop by the post office on his way to school to send it off with a one fingered salute.

And he now had a surplus of money to buy what he needed for the creations he had been brainstorming in his new journal. He labeled it Inventions for the future no. 1. He figured that way it would match a bit when lined up with his analysis books on his shelf.

He had started brainstorming ideas for things that would be helpful for heros in the field. At first he was unsure what to write down that hadn't already been rehashed a hundred times before. But then he remembered all of the notes for gear upgrades he had already jotted down in his analysis work. From there it was just a matter of figuring out how to bring his vague ideas on helpful things into a solid plan of components and design.

He needed to remember to grab some engineering books when he went to the library this weekend.

He settled the stack of packages in his arms after he locked the door to the apartment. The trip down stairs was a bit difficult with such a heavy load setting him off balance but he managed to make it with only one near misstep.

He was lucky the post office was only a few blocks away, he probably would have had to make two trips if it was much further. As he struggled to open the door a nice man stepped in to help, lightly scolding him for trying to carry so much at once. 

Yeah that probably wasn't his best idea.

But he made it to the counter without dropping a single thing so he will take the trip as a win. The postal worker was surprisingly quick in her work, weighing and labeling the large stack at her spot along the counter with sure movements and direct questions. Obviously wanting to get him out the door as soon as possible so she could get back to the large cup of coffee he could see steaming by the computer behind her.

Hm. Coffee. Now there was an idea.

Ten minutes and she had him rang up and done with his errand. He bowed his head slightly as he wished her a good day. He had extra time.

Yup. Coffee.

If he remembered correctly there was a small coffee shop only a little ways out of his way to school. Now was as good a time as any to treat himself. He headed that way, in a good mood thinking about what kind of pastries they might have.

He was lucky. The little Cafe wasn't too busy yet this early in the morning. Though that would probably change within the next thirty minutes or so as kids started making their way to class and adults to work. Izuku wandered over to the frankly massive pastry case beside the front counter. There were the usual basics like wagashi and simple cakes. There also looked to be a lot of foreign sweets, things like breads and donuts. So many choices, so little time. Maybe he should come here more often so he could try them all.

He would have to add in more running into his schedule to make up for the calorie intake though.

The middle aged man in front of him moved away to wait for his order and the young woman behind the counter turned to Izuku. "Good morning! What can I get for you?!" She cheerfully asked, sea green curls bouncing around her dark face. "Oh! I uh… I-" he floundered looking back at the case and trying to decide what he wanted. He was about to randomly point in a panic before a low voice sounded from behind him. "The bear claws are good."

He looked back over his shoulder in surprise, green eyes met purple and his brain went from whirling to a sudden stop. 

Tall, square jaw, fluffy purple hair, very distracting.

He tried to fight his blush away from his face while simultaneously kicking his brain as hard as he could in hopes that it would turn back on."B-bear claws?" 

Great. Staring and stuttering. Perfect first impression.

The teen behind him nodded and pointed out a pastry in the case. "It's filled with almond paste. Not too sweet but not savory. They call it that because of the shape it makes when it bakes." He curled his long pale fingers into a 'claw' shape, knuckles curled and spread apart and held it up beside the glass. 

Wow he has nice hands. Another kick to his brain was needed.

The pastry did kind of look similar. And besides, the name made him think of Kuma-chan. So of course it would be good! He nodded decisively and tore his eyes away from gravity defying purple to turn back towards the barista. "May I have a bear claw and a small mocha latte please?" The woman giggled and typed it in on the computer. She then glanced between Izuku and the other teen and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. 

His face flushed red, freckles standing out against the bright color. Well he did have some extra cash. He gathered his courage and gestured the other boy forwards. "W-what would you like?" He was met by a sleepy blank stare. "What?"

"I-it was really n-nice for you to help me." He tried to explain, reaching up to fiddle with one of his curls, unconsciously pulling it down to try and hide his hearing aids more. "L-let me get yours today ok?" Now the purple haired boy looked confused but he shrugged. "OK? I guess another bear claw and a large black coffee then?" 

Izuku nodded and turned back to the bubbly barista who was already typing in the order, grinning ear to ear. After he paid, the two of them stepped aside to wait for their order. The shorter teen fidgeting nervously with his curls, glancing up at the other's rather tired looking face. "I uhm. I'm Izuku Midoriya…" He trailed off, unsure if the other even cared to know his name. He was just a random person he happened to interact with at a caffe. 

Intense purple shifted his way lazily. "Shinso Hitoshi." The taller boy grunted as he ran his hand through his own hair. "Thanks, I guess, for treating…" he trailed off as he seemed to lock onto the small bit of plastic stuck directly into Izuku's ears. "Oh." He mumbled, and the greenette felt his heart sink, trying to ready himself for an insult. But then Shinso lifted his hands and started to sign. " Are you more comfortable signing?" He spoke and signed at the same time.

Izuki stared at the taller teen for a moment in complete shock. " You sign?" Shinso nodded and replied, " It's easier than speaking sometimes." 

Freckled hands practically shook with excitement as he tried not to gush too much. " I've never met someone my age who can sign!" He gave a little bounce. Shinso tilted his head curiously. " Yeah only like two other kids in my school can understand me enough to translate. Luckily a couple of my teachers learned enough that I can communicate when I need to."  

Izuku beamed. " That's so cool! No one at my school signs. It gets kind of hard when I don't have my hearing aids." Sinso frowned a bit, wondering why the smaller boy would be without something he obviously relied on heavily. But before he could ask their order was being called out and the greenette skipped forwards to grab their breakfasts and drinks.

As he was handing off the second bear claw and black coffee Izuku felt a small pang of sadness. This had been the most positive interaction he has had outside of self defense class in ages. He really wanted to keep talking to Shinso. But he didn't want to annoy him, so he resigned himself to walking slowly and eating his pastry well before he could get too close to the school. But then Shinso gestured to one of the empty tables. An eyebrow raised. 

Izuku beamed. He couldn't be making too much of a mess of things if the other was offering to sit with him! He hurried towards a seat and made sure he didn't spill his coffee as he sat it down at the table. They settled in, phones on the table in front of them so they could keep an eye on the time.

Freckled hands only shook a little as they pulled off a bit of pastry to pop into his mouth. Green eyes sparkled at the taste.

It was delicious! Perfect to go with his coffee!

He hastily signed another thank you to his table mate for helping him choose his breakfast. That seemed to break the ice and they spent the next twenty minutes chatting about little things like what their favorite snacks were. 

Izuku learned his new acquaintance liked things that straddled the gap of savory and sweet. That he went to a middle school a good deal father away from here, but that started classes a little later. And that he had a slight obsession with cats.

After a short time though it had to come to an end. Shinso had to leave to catch his train. He signed a quick goodbye and stood to leave. Stretching an arm out over his head, giving a blushing greenette a peek at pale skin and back dimples, with a yawn and then turning to scoop up his bag. 

As he made to leave, Midoriya shot up from his own seat. "U-uhm wait! Could I? Uhm. Do you w-want to exchange numbers?!" Shinso turns back to him, a purple eyebrow raised and in a panic he continued. "I just- I uh. We could send each other cat memes?"

"Are you trying to get my number by bribing me with cats?" 

"I think so?"

"Fair enough. Give me your phone."

As Izuku raced towards his school five minutes later, it was with the phone number of a cute boy added to his small contacts list.

___

He should have known his good day would be over the moment he stepped foot in the school. The smell of smoke drifting through the air was the only warning he got before a fist made contact with his face, sending him to the cold tiled floor of the hallway. Kachan was back. And he had something to prove.

"Shitty Deku. Why are you here?! Ruining our school with how useless you are! And you have the nerve to be smiling first thing in the fucking morning!" The next few minutes were a blur of him trying to discreetly cover vulnerable spots from kicks, cuts, and burns as his classmates spent the slot before the bell making up for lost time. 

From the few glances he was able to get Kachan looked horrible. Bags under his eyes and face pale and sweaty. Like he was still sick. He probably was still sick and was just too stubborn to stay in bed any more.

That didn't bode well for Izuku.

A sick Bakugo Katsuki is a violent Bakugo Katsuki.

With a sigh he peeled himself off the floor and just barely managed to make it to his seat before the teacher walked in. 

The rest of the day goes about the same. Bakugo coughing up nastiness then taking out his frustration on Midoriya. Breaks and lunch were hell. Forget eating the sandwich he had packed. It had ended up trampled on the playground by the feet of the posse that had hunted the quirkless boy down.

By the time the final bell rung the greenette knew he would finally have to ask his mom to replace his uniform. He started planning his excuses for why he needed one so soon. He didn't even try to run with the bell. He was too sore and tired to even hope to outpace the other kids.

The teacher traipsed away, blatantly ignoring the eager and ugly looks being sent towards the small child he was supposed to protect. About half of the class left as well, mostly the ones afraid of being the next target, but that left half waiting on the cue from their head honcho.

Kachan stood and turned towards his favorite target.

Guess it's time for his practice.

The beating was ugly. They hadn't even tried to stay away from his face this time either. Great. 

Luckily Inko has a week full of doubles scheduled. 

After the last of Bakugo's lackeys sauntered out the door, gushing about a new arcade that opened up, Izuku slowly sat up and felt his nose. Running his fingers gently along the bridge he decided it probably wasn't broken. Which was good because setting broken noses hurt like a butt cheek on a stick in his experience. It was bleeding pretty good though. With a sigh he pinched at it with the sleeve of his gakuran. 

Getting to his feet was a bitch. At least one of his ribs was cracked. Everything else was bruised or burned. And he had a long cut up his bicep and another across his lower back. He gathered up his stuff as quickly as his aches and pains would let him and started to hobble home. He needed the bigger first aid kit they had in the bathroom.

He decided to take the long way, he wasn't bleeding too, too quickly. It would be easier to take the quieter streets than to go the busier way and have some good Samaritan call the cops for him. It wouldn't do any good. As soon as he handed them his ID and they saw his quirk registry they would find some excuse to not have to deal with him. A waste of time.

As he stumbled along he texted Kuma-chan. Hey, I won't be in today. Got punched in the face and my nose won't stop bleeding. Close enough to the truth that when he showed up tomorrow they wpuldn't question the black eyes. She replied as he was glaring down the flight of stairs leading up to his apartment.

Are you ok?! Did you hit them back?!

Izuku smiled a bit, regretting it as his face stung, and lied. You know it. >:) With that he struggled his way up the accursed stairs, cursing his nose and his ribs.

It took about an hour to patch himself up. The cut across his back was a bitch to clean and bandage. Luckily with all of the practice he he'd had the rest of the injuries were easy to deal with. 

He was in too much pain to really be hungry so he just snagged a granola bar on the way to his room. As settled carefully into bed as he munched, a small stack of high-school textbooks sat beside his pillows. After a moment of thought he sent his mom a text to let her know he was going to bed early and layed down to read.

Reading wouldn't aggravate anything. And this still counted as studying so he wouldn't be too off of his schedule.

Izuku was ready for a long night.

Chapter Text

The sunrise painted across his face the next morning outshone the one in the actual sky. The bruises were ugly and black across his nose and under his eyes. And faded to bright irritated reds and pinks. He knew the next couple of days would see them be even more colorful as they healed.

Fun.

At least he could still open his eyes enough to see.

He dressed in front of his mirror so he could check the swelling on his ribs and the bandages on his arm and back. With a groan he realized the cut on his back had bled through. And he would have to change it before he could go to school. It was just as painful the second time around. Twisting to reach sent painful twinges across his side from his ribs. And the dirty bandage stuck and peeled off some of the scabs, making the cut bleed sluggishly again.

After that wonderful experience he threw on what was left of his uniform. Sparing a second to request a new one from his mom through text. The walk to school was blessedly quiet. No kids he saw seemed to notice the limping green haired peer in their midst.  

He managed to make it to the classroom and into his desk with little fanfare. From there it was just a matter of ignoring the etched insults on the wooden surface in front of him. Kachan was absent again. His mom probably tied him down to the bed so he could rest. Izuku wouldn't put it past his auntie.

His classmates were back to the more offhand torment. Tripping and snide insults in the halls. They didn't manage to find him during lunch so he at least got to eat his sandwich in peace.

After the last bell he was out the door as soon as possible. Wobbling along as quickly as he could without hurting himself too much. He had texted Kuma-chan that he would be a few minutes late to class due to an appointment. That didn't mean he wanted to miss anything Mirokuma sensei wanted to teach them today. It was bad enough that he missed yesterday.

He wished he could run to the mechanics shop but he knew running now would only make things worse for him when he finally did make it to class.

The door to the shop came into view and he sighed in relief checking his phone for the time. He had 15 minutes before he needed to leave. Hopefully Hatsume-san had things ready to go like she said.

He pushed open the door, the lobby was once again empty so he limped over to the desk to hit the button. At least this time he was prepared for the fog horn. Again he watched as the red haired woman skipped out from behind shelving units. As they locked eyes though her beaming smile froze, as did the rest of her. Izuku frowned and cocked his head to the side in question. Did he do something wrong?

The door to the front of the shop opened behind him and he had to suppress a violent reaction as he was suddenly accosted by an unknown assailant. "Hi! Are you the kid with the cool fossils in your ears?!" An excited voice squealed by his head as its owner nearly climbed on his back to see over his shoulder. He couldn't quite stop the full bodied flinch at her touch and loud voice so close to him. He quickly spun around and backed up until he hit the desk. "I-I-I u-uhm?!"

Too close, she was too close. She was still focused on his ears, not noticing the panicked body language, and spouting off words a mile a minute. Izuku wondered if this was what it's like on the other side of his mutter storms.

He flinched as the glass door to the storage area slammed open and Hatsume-san stormed into the lobby. "Hatsume Mei. Two steps back. We've talked about getting too excited with people who don't like being touched!" Green eyes flicked between the two of them nervously as the girl, around his age, pink hair, golden eyes with strange irises, her quirk?, backed off sheepishly, tugging on one of her dreadlocks. 

"Sorry Momma." She said with a smile at Hatsume-san.

"Don't apologize to me kiddo. Apologize to Midoriya-kun here. It was his bubble you invaded without warning."

The next thing he knew they were both turned to him again, and he forced himself to let go of where he was gripping the edge of the desk he was almost sitting on and offer them a shaky smile. "U-uhm hi?" Golden eyes widened as Mei actually looked at him for the first time. "OK. Who the fuck do I need to fight?"

"W-what?!" The greenette stuttered as the shop owner chastised her daughter over her language. "Your face. Whoever did that to your face needs to pay. I've got some babies I can sick on them. We inventors have to stick together, you know!"

Izuku waved his hands in front of himself in some sort of denial. "N-no! It's not like that! I go to self defense classes and it was a sparring accident!"

The mother daughter duo exchanged a loaded look. Wow he can really see the relation now. "An accident." Hatsume-san reiterated. The freckled boy nodded his head frantically. "Y-yes! No need for… babies?" He insisted, just noticing the other teen's strange choice of wording.

"That's what she calls her inventions." The shop owner explained. After a moment more of studying his face she sighed and obviously decided to drop the topic of his injuries. "Let me go get your order. Mei. Reign it in kiddo." 

As she walked back into the warehouse the teens eyed each other for a second. Mei was obviously trying not to jump him again, vibrating a bit where she stood. After a moment she swung her backpack over her shoulder and started digging through it. "I was so excited when mom told me what you were working on! I went through all of her hero gear catalogs and research papers and things! I copied and printed off a bunch of schematics and blueprints and papers for babies having to do with sounds and the like! There were so many interesting things! Now I have a whole bunch of ideas for sound babies I wanna make too! Maybe a sound bomb?!" She finally pulled out a folder overflowing with papers and thrust it out at him. "Here! Now gimme your phone!"

Izukus head was spinning as he waded through her words. He hesitantly took the folder. "My phone?" 

"Yup! Gimme gimme." She made grabby hands towards him and he pulled his phone out, praying he wasn't about to lose another one. She snatched it from him and he decided he didn't wanna watch the small item's fate so he flipped open the folder. Green eyes went wide as he quickly started flipping through detailed schematics of items whose designs weren't public knowledge. Was this legal for him to have? Would he give this chance up if it wasn't? The strange pink haired girl seemed to sense his thoughts and spoke up. "It's not illegal as long as you don't show anyone else and don't steal straight from their designs." With that she held up a peace sign and took a selfie with his phone, tapping buttons furiously for another second before handing the small device back. Her own phone dinged in her pocket. 

"Fair warning, my best baby brainstorming time is 2-4 in the morning, so silence your phone if you want to sleep. Though I hope you'll be my soundboard when you can!" 

Before he could reply Hatsume-san was back and handing him a box full of parts. He hurriedly dug the cash out of his pocket. As he hands it over his phone's alarm goes off and he nearly jumps out of his skin. "O-oh! I have to go! I have class! You can keep the change!" He clasps the box of parts to his chest and hurries away as fast as he can without limping. Getting away before the strange women can do anything else weird.

He managed to make it to class in the nick of time. The Mirokumas only giving him a little flack for his bruised face. He had to be careful about how he moved with his ribs and the cut across his back but the freckled teen thinks he managed to hide his pain well enough. What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them after all. Though when he gots home he saw that blood had started seeping through his bandages again. Good thing he wore a black shirt this time.

After a shower and another struggle filled doctoring session he settled down to dig through the parts he ordered. "Holy shit." He muttered to himself as freckled hands pulled out way more tiny pieces that he had asked for. His phone flashed on his desk signaling a text and he snags it without thinking so he wouldn't worry his mom by replying late. Except it wasn't his mom. 

The screen showed a text under a number saved as Meiteor. There was a pic showing a pink haired girl throwing a peace sign. What the fuck. He got a text from a girl?!

So what are your plans for upgrades?! 

Have you looked over the schematics yet?!

Have you thought about making them explosive as a last resort type thing?!

After a moment to get over his shock he glanced at the box on his desk and typed up his reply.

I just got home so I haven't looked through the papers yet. But I think Hatsume-san got my order a bit mixed up. I'll bring the extra parts by tomorrow after school .

It only took her a second before his phone was lighting up with another string of messages.

Oh! Don't worry about it!

I put those parts in there!

I thought they would be useful!

Mom knows and is cool with it!

I'm allowed access to anything in the shop that's under 10,000 yen! 

Did you see the tiny processor board?! 

Such a cute little baby!

I bet it'll fit in your hearing aid nicely and it should be programmable enough for whatever upgrades you wanted!

If I knew what your plans were I probably would have been able to find more pieces! 

I've never really done anything with sound before!

I'm gunna make so many cool babies with all of the ideas I got looking through mom's stuff!

Wow she types fast.

Izuku spent the next hour trying to get a text in edgewise, but it was like Hatsume knew he would try and insist on returning things or paying if she let him talk. She was very good at distractions.

Eventually the greenette gave in to her energetic planning and texted her a picture of a piece on a blueprint he didn't understand the purpose for. That launched a tirade about useless fluff in mechanics and the next few hours were a whirl of her explaining bits and pieces he didn't understand and him soaking in as much knowledge as possible.

Mei was really nice.

It was about 2 in the morning when he was going to beg off to bed that a text from a different number came in. He opened it and got yet another surprise.

It was a cat meme. From Shinso.

There goes any thoughts of sleep.

He blushed furiously as he searched for the perfect cat gift to send back.

Was this what it was like to have friends?

Chapter Text

Two weeks passed quickly, Inko only came home while Izuku was at school and was back to work before he got home. He appreciated how much work she put in to keep them both fed and with a roof over their heads. But he missed getting to eat dinners with her.

The bruises showing on his face had gone from deep purples and blues to bright yellows and sickly browns. His ribs still twinged if he wasn't careful when moving but even that was dulled from what it was. And lucky for him Kachan seemed satisfied with the still visible marks and didn't feel the need to go off on him too much when he once again came back to school. Though his good mood might be more from feeling better after another week and a half of rest.

Izuku is retroactively glad Mirokuma sensei called the paramedics and made them treat his lungs on the night of the sludge villain incident. One of his late night internet dives had landed him on a medical site looking up pulmonary oedema.

Yeah no thanks. No wonder Bakugo had been extra bitchy when he had come to school still sick.

Mei-chan had soon distracted him from that line of research though. With her help he had managed to not only fix his hearing aids when they got broken by a stray explosion last Friday, but he had also drawn up plans for new and improved hearing aids of his own design. A far cry from just the upgrade he wanted to make at first. He was planning on going to the shop this Saturday to talk to her and her mom about what extra parts he might need and if they could source completely new casings for his new tech. 

Shinso had also become a constant in his nighttime routine. He never seemed to sleep so Izuku was constantly texting memes back and forth with him while also scribbling in his notebook or researching or studying. Whatever his strict 10 month schedule required from him that night. 

He had also managed to meet up with the purple haired teen two more times at the little Cafe. Apparently the insomniac couldn't say no when you offered to pay for his coffee, though he did seem a bit uncomfortable with not paying for himself. But Izuku still had plenty of money saved back from selling off his Mighty Merch and he just had a feeling that Shinso didn't have a lot of spare cash.

Besides, he had to show the other boy how much he appreciated having him as a friend somehow.

Even though he knew the friendship would end as soon as quirks are brought up.

Weird that neither of his friends have asked yet.

Just a matter of time.

He was going to enjoy this while it lasted. He could probably ride this high until the end of high-school if he only thought about the last two weeks when he is at his lowest. Plus Mei-chan has taught him so much and he wanted to learn as much as he could from her before she left.

To distract himself from thoughts of the future he zeroed in on the blueprint he was drawing up. He had finally figured out the code he would need to write for his design so now he could see how the parts could all come together. Maybe he would skip sleep completely tonight to get a head start on that code.

If he did that he would need coffee in the morning. 

He sent off a text to invite Shinso and dove back into drawing his careful lines in the notebook open before him.

Flashing light alerted him of a reply and he scooped up his phone to see Mei excitedly talking about how she had been meaning to stop at that coffee shop for a while.

Oops. Wrong person. Well…. Maybe his friends could meet each other? He wasn't sure how they would get along together but… He really wanted to see Shinso tomorrow, and he didn't wanna let Mei down now that she was so excited.

He sent off another text, this time making sure it was to the right number, seeing if Shinso would be willing to meet someone new.

And bribing him with coffee of course.

Guess we will see how this goes.

____

He dashed out of the front door, scrubbing at his face with the wet wipes he had started carrying around in his backpack. He had gotten lost in tinkering with the other project he had started as practice and ran out of time for a shower. If he wanted to meet up with his friends he would just have to wipe the grease off as best as he could and hope he doesn't break out.

He ignored the ache as he scrubbed across his still sore nose. It wasn't anywhere near as painful as it had been a week ago. Manageable.

He slowed down a bit to catch his breath as he got to the street the shop was on. He might be a good endurance sprinter after running away from bullies so often, but he didn't wanna show up all sweaty and out of breath to a meeting with Shinso.

He was already lame enough as it was thank you very much.

He glanced through a window and saw that Mei was there already, drooling over the pastry display.

Honestly, mood.

The bell on the door jingled merrily as he walked in and made his way to his friend. "Good morning Mei-chan!" 

"Zu-kun!" She spun around and bounced towards him with her endless energy, either not noticing or ignoring the blush the nickname earned her.

"This place has so many goodies! Look, look! What do you think I should get?!"

Izuku started to reply only to be interrupted by a familiar deep voice. "Oh yes 'Zu-kun' what do you suggest?" He didn't squeak. He didn't. As he spun around to come face to face with a certain purple eyed menace, a menace who was smirking at him. Izuku was certain his heart skipped a beat. Not fair.

"Sh-sh-shinso-kun! I didn't see you there!"

Another smirk. Damn him. 

"I saved us a table in the corner. I came early to work on a project that's due later today." 

The greenette did his best to kill the blush he knew was probably covering his face and highlighting the last of his bruising. "I-I see. Uhm well, Shinso-kun, this i-is Hatsume Mei. Mei-chan, this is Sh-shinso Hitoshi. I uhm-" It's then that he notices the way his friends are looking at each other.

And the fact that their school uniforms are very similar. "O-oh. Do you two g-go to the same s-school? I-i guess I n-never asked w-where you went Mei-chan?"

Mei speaks up, head tilted to the side obviously studying the new teen. "You're in 3-C right?" Hitoshi nodded, looking extremely uncomfortable all of a sudden. "Yeah. You're 3-A's mad genius."

The pink haired girl grinned. "Yup. And you're the quiet kid." Shinso flinched and Izuku decided to step in to try and stop whatever uncomfy thing was going on here. "Hahaha. W-wow. Small wo-world huh?! Let's g-go order our c-coffee o-ok?"

He ushered them both up to the counter and rambled on to Hatsume about how good the pastries are and how his favorite so far was the bear claws. While he directed her attention towards said display he signed for Shinso to go ahead and order what he wanted. 

To his confusion Shinso shook his head and signed that he didn't want anything. 

But wasn't free coffee the only reason he came? Izuku felt a wave of uneasiness wash over him. Did Shinso not want to be his friend anymore? Was it because he was deaf and a loser? He knew Mei-chan was a bit much but she was fun and friendly so it couldn't be her. What did he do wrong?

Shakily he raised his hands and asked. At least if he knew what he did to upset him he could try and fix it. And no one had ever had any trouble telling him when he fucked things up before. Maybe he could save this if he acted quickly enough.

Guarded purple eyes soon looked a little lost as he caught onto his question. And the taller teen quickly signed back. " What do you mean? You didn't do anything?"

Izuku couldn't look at him as he answered, cursing his stupid shaking hands as he did so. " You always come for the coffee. Did I say something to upset you? To make you change your mind?" 

He watched as long fingers replied quickly. He painted his nails black he noted idly as he watched to hear his transgression. "It's not like that! I swear! I just… I… remember when I told you I learned sign because I have trouble talking sometimes? Well… I just couldn't bring myself to talk to the barista and I didn't want to force you to order for me and… you always pay so I feel bad so..." 

The purple haired boy trailed off, shrugging self consciously, tugging at the sleeves of his uniform and not meeting the shorter teen's gaze.

"Oh." Izuku said. Smart Midoriya. Oh. So smart. "I don't mind ordering for you Shinso! I find it hard to order at places like this too sometimes! Especially if I don't have my hearing aids! And I already told you! I have a bit of money saved up from selling some of my old toys and things! I don't mind! Now what do you want?"

Shinso still looked a bit uneasy but he finally replied to just get his regular before he headed back to the table he had saved. The greenette bounced forwards and ordered a black coffee, two bear claws, and a mocha latte before turning to Mei who seemed to finally be coming to a decision on what she wanted. A rainbow muffin and a vanilla latte with 3 shots of espresso was quickly added to his order.

Mei chattered away at him as they waited for the order. He smiled and hummed along but his mind was on his other friend. He had seemed fine when they had first come in. What had triggered his muteness? Did he make him uncomfortable by bringing Mei? He didn't mean to. Shinso seemed like a loner but he never seemed to mind spending time with Izuku's rambles THAT much. Surely Mei's enthusiastic tech talk wasn't too much different? Did they have a history he did know about?

His internal spiraling was interrupted by Mei dragging him forwards to get their drinks. He must not have heard his name. They traipsed over to the corner Shinso was camped out in and Izuku pasted on his most reassuring smile as he sat the black coffee down in front of him. Then saying, outloud for Hatsume's benefit, "I don't mind translating for you Shinso-kun! I have my ears in so I'm good for signing and speech! Whatever you're comfortable with!"

Before he can slide into the booth he was tackled from behind. "Zu-kun! I didn't know he spoke sign too! Since you both do, will you help me practice?! I started learning a couple of weeks ago and I think I know enough to start having conversations!"

Izuku yelped and almost over-balanced from the weight of his friend. "M-mei-chan! You're going to make me fall!" He managed to right himself and slipped out of her grip. "I don't mind helping you learn though! But… Why did you take up sign language?"

They settled into the booth, Izuku on the padded bench across from Shinso while Mei snagged a chair from another table and sat on it backwards with her arms crossed on the table. "Well I love learning languages! Hatsume Industries is going to be multinational after all, so I need to know as many as possible! That, and what kind of friend would I be if I didn't learn to sign for my deaf bestie?!"

Green eyes were wide in a bruised and freckled face as he stared her down before saying a bit breathlessly, "You're l-learning for… me?"

Golden eyes settled on him, head tilted slightly to the side as she asked. "Yeah? Why wouldn't I?" 

Here come the waterworks. Freckled hands fruitlessly wipe at green eyes. "N-no one's ever bothered b-before. S-shinso-kun is the o-only person my a-age I-I've ever been a-able to sign w-with."

An unreadable look passed across her face, but before he could try to decipher it Shinso was signing and he let himself be distracted. " I've already told you that it's dumb your school hasn't at least brought in someone to translate your lessons for you. And kind of awful you mom hasn't learned." Izuku frowned, a bit uncomfortable with that last sentence. "She's too busy." He defended weakly.

Shinso just shrugged, not taking back what he said but not acquiescing to her time management either. Mei jumped in. "I caught most of that I think! Your mom doesn't sign Zu-kun?" He sighed and shook his head. "I only lost my hearing a little over a year ago… She hasn't had time to learn since then." The girl tilted her head again. "But there are video tutorials on Metube that are only a few minutes long? She could try those during her lunch breaks or something?" 

Freckled hands waived in the air at the suggestion. "Oh no! I couldn't ask her to use what little break time she gets for something like that! It's fine! Besides, when I talk to her I get to practice lip reading which is something I really need to work on anyways!" Great, now both of his friends were frowning at him. 

After a moment they looked at eachother and seemed to have some sort of two second conversation with just a look before they both nodded. Suddenly they both seemed a lot more relaxed around each other. What was that about?

Izuku decided it was time to change the subject and pulled out the blueprint he had started sketching out about an hour ago to show Mei. It was a high tech weapon similar to a meteor hammer. He had ideas on how to make it more versatile for heroics. But he needed to ask Mirokuma sensei to run him through the basics of usage before he could know what was actually feasible. As expected Hatsume immediately went into nerd mode and even Shinso was looking over the paper in interest, signing a few questions. 

The rest of their breakfast meetup went by in a flurry of signing hands and enthusiastic Mei-isms. Izuku was sad when it was time to go to school. The other two broke off to head the other way down the road and he waved as Mei continued to fill the silent teen's space with her ideas and excitement. 

Green eyes stared after them wistfully, wishing he had a friend to walk to school with. With a sigh he shook his head, settling on being glad the two of them seemed to be getting on well now. 

It was time to head back to hell. Joy.

Chapter Text

The rest of the week flew by in a flurry of studying, memes, harsh words, and explosions. Having friends, and dodging their questions about any bruises and burns that peeked out from his clothes, was quickly becoming part of his routine. And he wondered how he did without friends for so long.

Saturday morning dawned bright and warm. Summer making itself known. Izuku couldn't wait for summer vacation. So much free time. No more having to sit through classes he'd already mastered. No more lunch period hide and seek. And more time to spend on his studies.

Soon. 

He packed his bag full of his notebooks and the parts he was planning on using that day. He dressed in what are becoming his tinkering clothes. An old pair of cargo shorts and a long sleeved black t-shirt. The shorts are already covered in small grease stains and a burn mark from when he had accidently dropped a soldering iron last week. Oh! He should pack that as well to return it to Mei.

He slid a zip lock bag of palmieri he had made the night before into the front pocket of his backpack in an attempt to not crush them. He had quickly found that Mei loved to have things to munch within arms reach when she was brainstorming. And what better brain food than buttery sweet heaven?

He tapped his feet into his shoes and started off to the shop at an easy trot. Why not get some exercise in while he was at it? 

It was only 15 minutes before he was pushing the door open and heading to the button on the desk. He would have just gone straight back like the Hatsumes' kept insisting, but the work and warehouse area was a veritable maze. It was just easier to use the fog horn and let his friend come to him than to try and find where she was in the twisting corridors of shelving and projects.

To his surprise though, before Mei could appear from her hiding place, the front door opened once again. He turned in surprise, most of the shop's customers ordered online and made use of the offered delivery services; he had yet to see another customer come in. 

Oh. That wasn't a customer.

"Shinso?" He asked in confusion. The exhausted looking teen waved with a yawn and Izuku had to ask. "What are you doing here?"

"Mhh. The maniac stole my phone number yesterday during lunch. She wouldn't stop harassing me last night until I agreed to come hang out with you two." The freckled haired teen tilted his head, considering the reply and trying not to be jealous about them hanging out at school. 

"I'm sorry in advance then." He said, laying it on heavy with the fake remorse. And spinning to face the large glass door as Mei burst through with her usual exuberance. "Are you ready to make babies?!"

Izuku laughed to himself as he and his purple compatriot were dragged bodily into the bowels of the massive building. 

The next couple of hours were almost dream-like to the greenette. He was having a lot of fun. Mei had only made one thing explode, she seemed to try and tone down the combustible projects around him. He wondered if he had flinched too noticeably once or if she was doing it subconsciously. As the two tinker trolls set up a 3d printer to cast new casings for his project their friend came back from his hunt for the coffee machine. It seems he was victorious as he was carrying three chipped coffee cups filled to the brim.

"Sustenance!" A pink blur snatched one of the cups and was back at the computer before the other two teens could blink.  

Oh. Yeah. He brought snacks.

Quickly he dug his pack out from where it had been left under a work table and procured the treasure. "Mei-chan. Let's take a quick break! Now that it's running we can't do much for that project anyways. And I wanna eat." He shook the bag of pastries and her head whipped to face him at the sound. "Sustenance!" 

They ended up shoving a project to the side of a workstation and pulling up stools. The Palmieri paired well with the coffee just like he hoped, Shinso seemed particularly enamored with the flakey treats.

He had been quiet for most of the day, just watching them yammer and work with a sarcastic joke thrown their way every once in a while. But now that they were sitting down and relaxing, Hitoshi seemed more comfortable and started asking simple questions about what they were making. A good thirty minutes went to them explaining Mei's kinetic energy converter and Izuku's hearing aid upgrades.

As Mei went and got them all a refill for their coffee cups, purple eyes were studying Izuku. Finally, when the teen was almost back to the group his friend asked. "Why would your hearing aids need to be loud noise proof?"

Green hair floofed in slight panic. Deflect.

"Oh! I uh- I lost m-my h-h-hearing in a-an e-ex-explosion. I-i u-uhm I don't w-want it t-t-to get w-worse!"

His two friends shared that look again. Did they suspect something? He was sure he was doing well in keeping the bullying away from them.

Mei looked at him and he fidgeted uncomfortably as he saw her eyes zoom in a bit. "What kind of explosion? Obviously not the fun kind."

He looked away, unable to meet her eyes anymore. "A q-quirk ac-accident." He muttered.

Right. Accident. On the records at least.

He didn't look up to see his friends' silent argument. But he was grateful when Mei changed the subject. Bringing up how both of them wanted to go to UA to Hitoshi. Apparently the other teen was aiming for the hero course there. 

On hearing this Shinso got a bubble full of excitable pinkette. "You wanna be a hero?! Awesome! You're gonna need babies! Can I make them?! Can Zu-kun help?! What's your quirk?! I bet I can make the perfect baby for it!"

She finally paused for breath and Izuku frowned at how the other boy tensed up at the mention of his quirk.

He knew that look.

"Mei-chan…" he started hesitantly. But before he could formulate a polite way to steer clear of what was obviously painful territory, Shinso seemed to come to a decision. "I have a villain's quirk." The admission was said quietly but with resigned acceptance and Izuku frowned.

"Th-there's no such thing?" He didn't mean for that to come out as a question.

"Brainwashing. Response based. I steal people's autonomy."

Shit. Were his eyes sparkling?

"That. Is. So. Cool! Do you know how rare quirks like that are?! Holy shit! That's perfect for a hero! Hostage situations, muggings, depending on if it works through technology you could stop kidnappings, or mass panics!" He was bouncing on his stool, furiously writing in the journal he had snatched up. One friend stared at him in disbelief. The other in amusement and interest.

"But," Hitoshi said faintly. "It's… bad…"

Izuku shook his head and glanced up, his writing not stopping. "There's no such thing as a bad quirk. Only bad people. And you aren't a bad people." He looked back down, muttering incoherently for a few minutes before whispering distractedly, "Besides, at least you HAVE a quirk."

He only realized his friends caught that last statement by their stillness. He froze as it sank in. Shit. Stupid. Now they know.

After a minute he forced himself to look at them. Cursing how timid he felt. He didn't want to lose them. They were the best thing to happen to him in ages. But now he had to bite the bullet as the Americans say.

They looked shocked. Understandable. After a moment Mei muttered. "Only 1 out of every 20,000 kids in our generation are born quirkless in Japan." He nods. That's a fact. 20% of the world was quirkless. But most of them were old timers and kids born to countries where the genes were slower to mutate. 

In Japan he was a freak.

He waited for the hatred. Closing his eyes and feeling resigned. He couldn't watch it happen. But he couldn't stop it. He braced himself.

What he didn't expect was a vibrating Mei to tackle him and start spouting off about how cool it was that he was such a rarity. About how she could make him any kind of baby and wouldn't have to tailor it to his quirk. His eyes popped open in shock and he stared wordlessly at her as she babbled. She was in her own little world of ideas.

Eventually he looked at Shinso. The other boy looked almost physically pained and Izuku flinched away on instinct. 

He's disgusted. Fuck. Please don't hit me.

But instead long, pale fingers wrapped around his wrist from across the counter. "Izuku. Have you been hurt?" Hitoshi's voice was serious and direct. He sounded worried. Mei's tangent screeched to a haul. His free hand lifted towards his ear before he caught himself.

Both of the other's faces darkened instantly and he flinched again. 

Yes. Let them know how pathetic you are.

"Hey, Toshi. You know where to hide a body?"

"No but I can figure it out." 

Izuku stared at them blankly as they started to plan a murder. "What?"

"We need to know who our target is Midoriya." Hitoshi said as an aside as Mei continued to list babies they could use to help their plan.

"I- no?"

The stares that earned him made freckled hands fidget uncomfortably with the hem of his tattered work shirt. "No?" Hitoshi deadpanned. 

Green eyes flickered around, looking for an out. A squirmy feeling was rolling around in Izuku's chest. This was a new reaction. He didn't know what to do here. "You can't murder society?"

Mei surged up from her stool. 'Fuckin watch us!" She slammed her hands down on the worktop and this time the smallest teen couldn't help but jump backwards in instinctual fear, knocking his own stool over in the process. The resulting crash sent him scrambling away until he fetched up against a shelving unit.

The other two froze. Taking in the pale face and slight trembling he was obviously trying to disguise by grabbing onto the edge of a shelf.

After a moment Hatsume slowly sat back down and placed her hands in a more demure position on the counter. "I'm sorry Zu-kun. I didn't mean to startle you. I just… I've never liked quirkism. And hearing that not only Hito-chan, but YOU have been hurt because of it…" Shinso barely acknowledged the use of the new nickname.

"Modoriya… Izuku… look, at one point, when I was transferred into a new school as a kid, I… I pretended to be quirkless. I thought it would be better than having a villain's quirk… I was wrong… so wrong… I only lasted a week before I broke and used my quirk to get out of a bad situation. Please understand, I might not know everything you've been through. But I've had a taste. No one deserves that. Least of all YOU."

Green swirled with confusion as he glanced between his friends. Friends, they didn't hate him? "Why not me?" His voice was weak and his scattered emotions shone through harshly. "I'm a genetic freak. An unevolved. A Null. I shouldn't be alive like this."

Izuku was sure he heard Hitoshi's jaw creaking from how tightly it was clenched. Mei apparently decided to take over. Her normal manic mannerisms are nowhere to be found. She was watching the two of them with a serious stoicism. "Whoever told you that was WRONG Zu-kun. Neither of you have deserved to be called a villain, or a freak. You are both good, kind people. I've never had friends like you two before. You're both patient, and you let me ramble, and you deal with my spazzing. I WILL do anything I can to make sure you are both safe, and happy, and thriving." Her hands were the ones that were shaking as she slowly stood and walked towards Izuku.

"Please. Starting today, right now, don't listen to society. If YOU, the sweetest, smartest, kindest, person I've ever met, are 'wrong' to them, then I refuse to conform to their idea of 'right'. I'd choose you over them everytime." She stopped a foot away and held her arms open in invitation.

The greenettes brain scrambled to process her words, the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him. After a moment he broke, sobbing he cautiously closed the short distance for a hug. After a moment Mei gestured with her head to Hitoshi, daring him with a glare to try to get out of the group hug.

When the older Hatsume found them a few hours later they were asleep on the grungy floor leaning against the shelves, Izuku held loosely between the two of them. Tear tracks on all of their faces.

She frowned and decided to make a pot of tea before she woke them. Emotional talks were best recovered from with hydration and love after all

Chapter Text

The next few months passed Izuku by in a blur of ecstasy and agony. Things at school were worse than ever. With high-school entrance exams coming up quickly the kids were anxious and frustrated. And a small green child apparently made a great punching bag. But when he was free from the grasp of institutionalized torture he had his friends. 

His weeks took on a new pattern quickly. Monday-Friday he drug himself from his bed (usually dislodging a book he had been studying when he fell asleep), got ready for school (patching the worst of the holes in his uniform while he scarfed a granola bar and brushed his teeth, multitasking was magic), went to school (got beat up before class, during breaks, and after class), ran home to patch himself up and change (Luckily his mom had started leaving more money so he could do the shopping since she was too busy. It meant he could skimp a bit on food and buy more first aid stuff and she would never notice.), run to his self defense classes (he was getting better at dodging hits to the face so he didn't have to give so many excuses for his bruises and burns as the weeks went on thank god), then jog to Hatsume-san's shop.

From there his evening varied a bit. He and Mei would delve into one project or another, chattering away, Izuku usually with a textbook and notebook open near him so he could at least attempt to multitask. Hitoshi would join at some point, he said he couldn't get away without making sure all of his siblings were in bed for the night. Hatsume-san would order takeout in bulk at about 7ish and they would just shove it into the fridge in the corner of the rest area to munch on throughout the evening. 

The woman herself was usually to be found in the office, designing things on a computer, organizing orders for parts or gear, or napping. But was often on the other side of the work area tinkering and secretly laughing at the kid's antics. The older Hatsume quickly updated a small section of the shop to add in a couch and some bean bags when she caught Shinso napping under a work table on the dirty floor. She also fixed up the old shower in the bathroom, and put in some cubbies with some basic changes of clothes that she hoped were about the kids' sizes. She seemed to jump at any chance she could find to make the kids more comfortable. It made Izuku a bit uneasy but he pushed the feelings away and focused on the fact that he was learning needed skills much faster thanks to the redhead.

When there was a pause in his project, whether he had to wait for a machine to process something or his brain needed to rethink something, the emerald eyed imp had taken to pulling Hitoshi into the testing room (it was bomb proof. When Mei showed it to him the first time they had spent the rest of the day trying to destroy it.) to spar. It was the only open space in the whole building (that wasn't designated a chaos free nap zone) and there was no way he was letting the taller teen try to be a hero when he couldn't even block a punch.

And when Shinso hit a growth spurt it helped him learn the new dimensions to his limbs quicker. And no, Izuku wasn't jealous of the 8 inch height difference between them. Thank you very much. (He wasn't jealous of Mei being 2 inches taller either. You can't prove it.)

On Saturdays he and Shinso spent the morning doing a thorough work out while they grilled each other on problem subjects for school. Quizzing each other in-between sit ups and squats. Then at about noon they retreated back to the Hatsumes'. Snagging a bento from a combini on the way. Hatsume-san then tutored Izuku on coding while Mei and Shinso either joined in or did their own things.

Sundays were the biggest change up to his week. After he had timidly asked Kuma-chan if she could give him some pointers on using weapons she had dragged an explanation of his plans for the support course out of him. She had promptly bullied him into taking a private lesson slot with her dad, saying she would keep a tally of money owed and he could pay them back when he was a famous inventor. So now, every Sunday, bright and early, he spends an hour going over the basics of whatever weaponry his terrifying sensei pulls out of his personal supplies. And then an hour with knives since his sensei said it was the easiest weapon to get ahold of in Japan and therefore the one he should know the best. (He loved the challenge of the throwing knives) And then another hour working on any weapon he wanted more of an in depth look at.

He then ran to the library to replace any of the textbooks he had managed to slog through that week with fresh info fodder. He would then stop to buy groceries and first aid supplies with whatever money his mom had left him.

During this period time seemed paradoxically fleeting and endless. Truthfully Izuku wouldn't have minded if it never ended. For the first time in his life he felt wanted, and it was just as wonderful as it was terrifying.

But at the same time the entrance exam hovered just over the horizon like a spector, a harbinger, whether it brought them euphoria or misery was yet to be seen. Though if his friends made it he would be happy. No matter what happened to him. They deserved to go to their dream school more than anyone else applying no holds barred. He would support them and make sure they reached their dreams.

___

It was a normal Monday morning. Izuku was walking to school, going over the design for his electrified kyoketsu-shoge in his head again. He had switched from the original meteor hammer design after Mirokuma sensei had tried him on all of the similar weapons he had when he brought up his design. The kyoketsu-shoge was much more versatile for both close and midrange fighting. With its hooked dagger at one end and weight at the other. Of course his version would be heavily upgraded.

He was about halfway through making it at the shop. The dagger part had been interesting, Hatsume-san had called in an old friend to teach Mei and him how to forge blades over the summer break. It had been a hot, sweaty, fulfilling few weeks. At the end of it he'd had a couple of usable knives that he had made himself. And the old man, who only gave his name as Ushinatta, had given him the perfect blade for his project.

It was beautiful, all dark green dyed steel with deadly silver edges. He cried a lot when it was handed to him. He was even more grateful now that he knew how much work went into making such a thing.

But now he was having a problem with the cord. He couldn't seem to find the right ratio of carbon filaments to cotton cording. At this rate he would have to look for something else that was sturdy, flexible, but also conductive… 

A heated hand grabbed his shoulder and slammed him into the brick wall just inside the gates to the school. "Deku…" a voice growled right beside his ear. Izuku felt his heart drop. He hadn't heard the blonde this angry since he came to school sick. "K-kachan." He managed to get out with only a slight whimper as his shoulder started smoldering.

"I hear you're still trying for UA you useless fuck."

Izuku tried to look over his shoulder to meet the blazing red eyes he felt locked into him, but his tormentor used his free hand to smack his face into the wall. Dangerous fingers tangled in green curls as a cut in his eyebrow started to bleed into his eye. Izuku took the hint and stayed still.

"J-just s-s-support-t a-and g-ge-gen ed."

"That's not the point DEKU. A quirkless nobody like you has no right to even LOOK at UA. Much less try to be a STUDENT there!" At this point the smaller teen realized they had drawn a crowd as the others started adding in their two cents.

He knew there was no point in trying to get out of what was going to happen. He was too outnumbered.

The beating went on for ages, he was pretty sure they missed the first two periods. Or well, some of them at least, he thinks they were switching out who was keeping him pinned and dazed, maybe some kind of twisted rotation using lies and restroom breaks? 

Whatever they were doing he was grateful when they decided they were done with him. Whoever was holding him up dumped him in a dark place (the supply closet?) And he heard them laughing as a bell rang. His thoughts were scattered. It was taking him far too long to think of what to do.

Everything hurt.

He wondered why Kachan chose today of all days? Their moms did try and have a catch up phone call every weekend when they could… did mom even know he still wanted to try for UA?

Whatever. Stop trying to distract from the pain.

What hurts and how?

He started trying to catalog his injuries. His scrambled thoughts and floaty focus probably meant a concussion. Burned shoulder, chest, and stomach, probably second degree from the way his clothes seemed to be catching on them. Cracked ribs, again. Long, jagged cuts pretty much everywhere. Most don't seem too deep but some of them will probably need stitches. Excessive bruising. And the cherry on top. A cut that went right across the bridge of his nose. That one had been fun. The kid with claws straddling his chest as he slowly dragged the sharpened nail through his skin.

There was too much. He couldn't fix this. Not by himself. He struggled into a sitting position, leaning against a wall for support as he tried to come up with a solution to his current problem. But he came up blank. His thoughts were swimming away and he couldn't seem to capture them long enough to think of something concrete.

He wanted his friends. His various bumps and bruises never seemed to hurt as bad when they were around.

Before he could really even try to think it through he had fumbled his, now cracked, phone out of his pocket and hit call on Hitoshi's contact. It only rang twice before a worried sounding insomniac was answering. "Midoriya?"

"Hey Tosh." He knew he was slurring but there wasn't really any way to stop that at this point.

"What's wrong?" Izuku heard raised voices in the background of the call, Hitoshi seemed to be ignoring them though so they probably weren't important. "Notin' much. Jus' a booboo." He tried to reassure his friend. He didn't like that worried tone. No one should be worried about quirkless, worthless, Deku after all.

There was a scraping sound and a crash. "You're not worthless Izuku. Where are you?" Oops. Didn't mean to say that part out loud. Why would his friend need to know he was in the supply closet? 

"The supply closet? Ok. I'm getting Mei right now. I need you to stay on the phone ok?" Aww. That's sweet that he wanted to talk more. There was more yelling, and he was sure he heard Mei's voice mixed into the chaos. Did she blow something up again? 

His weak chuckle turned into a whine as he jarred his ribs. He couldn't quite follow what Mei and Hitoshi were saying, they were talking too fast for his buoy brain. After what might have been an hour but was probably only a few minutes he realized the other boy was trying to get his attention, almost sounding frantic. "Izu. Izu. Hey, I need you to answer. Izu, can you hear me?"

He hummed an affirmative. Head drooping forward a bit. His gaze caught on the hand draped in his lap. That's a lot of blood. And Hitoshi was panicking for sure now. He needed to watch his mouth.

"Izu, listen. Mei and I managed to catch the train. We will be back on that side of town soon. Hatsume-san is closer. She's going to come get you ok? Bring you to the hospital."

"No. No hosp'tl. Quirlss. No' good."

"Zuku, from what I can tell you need help."

"No!" He whimpered again. And took a second to try and catch his breath. "I can't. Pleas' Toshi. I can't. Can't." 

There were more quick words from the other end he couldn't quite catch and he felt himself drifting a bit. "OK. Ok, Zu. No hospital. Hatsume-san says she has a favor with a healer she can call in. So sit tight. She's almost to your school. Can you tell us exactly where you are?" 

He tried to remember where the closet closest to where he had been caught was. But he couldn't seem to place it. Was it down the hall to the left or right? "M'srry. I don. I cnt. Tosh… m'head hrts…"

"Hey zuku, hey. It's ok." His friend's voice was so soothing. It was then he realized he had started crying. "I need you to breathe Izu ok? Crying is just gunna make your head hurt worse. Shhh… it's going to be ok. Hatsume is pulling up to your school now. Hey, hey shhhh. Zu she's going to be there in just a moment." There were more sounds of shouting. This time it seemed to be from his side of the phone.

"Toshi… why's yellin'?"

There was a dark chuckle that even in his dazed state managed to send a tingle down Izuku's spine. "The staff think they can stop a Hatsume on a rampage."

He puzzled over that cryptic comment for a moment before the door to the closet suddenly opened. The light blinded him for a moment, but after a few blinks he managed to make out the outlines of a buff red head and a shorter older figure. "Oh. H'tsum' on… rmpage. Go' it."

"She find you Izu?" 

"Mhmm…"

"Good. That's good. Can you put me on speaker?" Numb fingers fumbled with his phone as the shorter figure seemed to snap out of whatever shock she had been in and stepped into the closet towards him. He managed to hit the right button, smudging blood across the screen, then promptly dropped the phone onto the floor cracking it a bit more.

"Hatsume-san? Can you hear me?" 

Izuku blinked and the older Hatsume was suddenly beside him, his phone in her hand and the other… granny lady… was tapping his cheek. "Here now, deary, I need you to stay awake. Looks like you may have a nasty concussion…." He was aware she was still talking but was distracted by Hastume ranting at his phone. "Just had to follow the fucking blood trail! How no one noticed this happening is beyond me!"

There was a light shining in his eyes and he hissed at the sudden spike of pain as he flinched away. "Sorry dear. But you definitely have a concussion. What else hurts?"

It took him maybe a beat too long to answer. "...Ribs…" There was a clicked tongue and then something tugging at the top of his gakuran. A sudden spike of fear shot through him and he started to struggle against small but strong hands. 

After a moment, and a lot of renewed pain, calloused palms wrapped gently around his face. He let out a pained groan as his eyes were guided up to meet warm silver. "Izuku. Please. We need to see to know if we can move you. The faster you let us look the faster we can go home…"

But his scars. He can't let anyone see. 

"It's ok Izu." Oh. Hitoshi was still on the phone. "It's ok. You need to let them help you." He could trust Hitoshi. The beautiful boy with an even more beautiful soul and the faint white traces of his own scars across his nose. The fight went out of the green haired boy and he was guided gently to sit back against the wall again. His jacket and shirt opened and pushed out of the way. 

He lost track of the story for a bit from there. It was like he was watching an old black and white film through a scratched and warped lense. He was aware of Hitoshi's voice in the background. A pleasant track to follow along to. Soothing and gentle. The only thing he was able to latch on to, coaxing him to stay awake. 

They were in the closet. Then a wobbly hallway. Then he was having to fight the gentle lull of a car. Eventually he found himself on an unfamiliar, but ridiculously comfortable couch.

The bang of a door almost sent him into a panic attack, thinking Kachan had come back to finish the job. But then his eyes found a sea of purple and starlight and he was back in the present.

"Toshi." He managed to lift his hand a bit, accidently knocking into the older lady's shoulder. Where did she come from? Doesn't matter. Because long fingers were wrapping around his battered ones and his insomniac was kneeling next to him on the couch and probably getting in the way. Who cares. He already felt worlds better just from how warm his hand was while engulfed by his friends'. 

He was aware of the Hatsumes plotting by the foot of the couch and the lady doing her best to work around Hitoshi, but his focus was on the purple haired teen. He couldn't quite concentrate on what he was saying, but his smooth voice was balm enough to keep him hanging on.

After what felt like ages he felt the press of something against his forehead. He felt like he was falling. The last thing he saw was mercury surrounded by violets. If only that was what he fell asleep to every night.

Chapter Text

If losing consciousness was like falling, waking up was like sinking. Like the realm of deep sleep he was trapped in was a mirror land he had tripped into, and he had to wait for someone to flip the glass over so he could slip back through the silver mire he was stuck in.

The first sensation he felt as he entered the in-between space of awake and not was warmth. It was never warm when he went to bed during the fall and winter. He kept the heater turned to the lowest setting he could stand in an effort to save his mom some money. So the fact that his toes weren't icicles was deeply confusing.

Then he noticed the smell. Instead of the smell of emptiness, of dust and faint must that never quite left no matter how much he cleaned, there was cinnamon and strawberries, and underlying tang of motor oil and metal. It should probably smell gross but it wasn't.

He listened lazily to the soft almost wave like sound that was originating from somewhere near his shoulder. Just enjoying how rithmic and even it was. Calm. After a while he realized his face was a bit itchy. He started to lift his hand to scratch, but it felt weighed down. 

Bleary green eyes cracked open. He was a man of science. And his curiosity was piqued at his weirdly heavy hand. It took a moment for his eyes to focus. Honestly. He felt so drained, like that time he pulled 3 all nighters in a row to finish his hearing aids.

Eventually green eyes drifted downwards from an unfamiliar ceiling and landed on long pale fingers that were wrapped gently around his own calloused digits. He followed the fingers to the hand, then arm, then up and up until he got to the mass of purple fluff propped up on the edge of an ugly red couch. An ugly red couch he was apparently laying on.

Beyond the floofy indigo haze he could make out another form sprawled on a pile of pillows on the floor. His fingers twitched as he was distracted by a small snore. Obviously originating from the violet cloud. His gaze drifted back from where it had wandered around the blurry room. (Living room. Tv in the center. Coffee table pushed to the side. A couple of mismatched armchairs. Shelves stuffed full of books and manuals.) His other hand lifting to scratch at the thing taped to his face.

His bleary brain finally placed the distracting fuzz. "Shinso?" He slurred through a yawn. Then flinched as his friend's head immediately snapped up. "Izuku! You're awake!" Green eyes blinked in confusion. "Yeah?"

The smaller boy's heart dropped when he noticed the tears in his friend's eyes. "Shin-"

"Thank the gods. Izuku. You scared all nine circles of hell right out of us." Suddenly his blurry memories came back in a flood of disjointed sensations. He felt sick. Overwhelmed. They knew. He spent his whole life hiding how bad things were at school but now his friends, his wonderful friends, knew how useless he was. 

Stupid, weak Deku. All those years of self defense classes and you still can't protect yourself. 

He felt finger brushing his cheek and he looked back at Shinso. Who was wiping his tears away. Why was he crying. Lame.

"Hey. Calm down ok? We are going to figure this out. But you need to stop crying, you have a concussion. Crying is only going to make things hurt worse."

"S-Sorry."

"It's ok. You're ok. Shhh. Hey Mei, do you mind going and getting your mom?" Izuku hadn't even noticed that his other friend had woken up. But she was out of the room before he could really focus on her so he zeroed his scattered attention back in on Shinso. His gaze locked on violet eyes and he let himself be soothed. Hating himself for being so weak.

It was only a few minutes before Mei was back with Mia and a stranger. She looked familiar but he couldn't quite place her. An older lady with her hair in a simple bun, wearing a lab coat. His thoughts drifted a bit as he pondered her existence.

When he next focused back in, Shinso had moved to sit on the arm of the couch above his head and the lady was checking Izuku's vitals. That's when his attention was grabbed by the garrish horse design on the back of the couch. 

What the hell? Why?

A gentle tap on the shoulder had him snapping his eyes back to the older woman. "Dear, how are you feeling? I wasn't able to heal you too much because of your lack of energy, but now that you've been asleep for a while I should be able to ease the worst of your injuries. Can you tell me what is bothering you the most?"

"Are you a doctor?" He asked. Thoroughly confused by her. 

"I'm a field medic deary. I'm here to help."

Izuku tilted his head a bit in thought as the final piece his scattered brain needed was slotted into place. "Recovery girl?"

The old lady smiled down at him and patted his shoulder. "That's right! Now, can you tell me where it hurts? I need to know if you should be taken to a facility." She gently tried to steer his thoughts in the right direction.

The boy wasn't having it though. He made a distracted noncommittal noise. "Th-there's no need ma'am tak-king me anywhere would be a w-waste of time at best. Hospitals don't like q-quirkless. You've already do-done more for me than they w-would have." His eyes drifted back to the distracting horses running across the back of the couch. He misses the horrified looks passed between his friends and the tired resignation that splashed across Recovery girl's face.

"Is that why you didn't want to go to the hospital?" Mia asked, trying to keep her voice steady despite her roiling emotions. "Mmh. No… the c-closest hospital to th-the school is the one mom w-works at. Her su-supervisor has made it known th-that if I come in and b-bother th-them too m-much she'll lose her jo-job. It's the only one she's been a-able to get that p-pays well enough so I haven't even gone to see her th-there in… I dunno… 4 y-years?"

He traces his fingers across the withers of a prancing bay. "W-why horses?" Mei snorts, it sounds a bit more like a sniffle but Izuku doesn't really notice. It's Hatsume-san that replies though. "My old college roommate was from America. She bought the couch when she got her first apartment here because it reminded her of home. When she moved back a few years ago I took it because it's the most comfortable couch I've ever drunkenly slept on." 

That got a smile out of the greenette. What a nice memory of a friend. 

His focus is once more brought back with a pat to the shoulder from the youthful heroine. "Midoriya-kun. Do your ribs hurt?" She asks, changing tactics to try and keep him on track. "Mhmm. N-not as bad as my head. But y-yeah…"

"There we go." The older lady says to herself as she pulls out a pen light to check his pupils. He winced at the bright light and the heroine sighs. "Alright I think you should be fine with another round of healing and a few weeks of taking it easy. First though, you should call your mom and let her know what's going on."

The boy frowned. "C-can it w-wait until her shift is over? Sh-she always freaks out when sh-she knows I got hurt…" Hatsume-san kneeled down and ran her fingers gently through his tangled hair, trying to tease out the knots without pulling on anything tender. He practically melted at the gentle touch. "Izuku, kiddo, your mom needs to know. We basically kidnapped you from your school. Obagi asked a colleague of hers to go pull the tapes from the hallways so we have proof you needed help. But your mother needs to be notified so she can press charges if she chooses. We would have already called her but I guess I taught you too much coding because I couldn't break you phone's password…"

The green teen hummed, reaching for the phone that was being held out to him. "It's f-fingerprint locked. If you don't have my fingerprint it requires a 50 digit c-code to get in. Makes it take awhile for any ha-hacking software." The woman grinned at him proudly. "Simple but effective. How do you remember the numbers?" He pressed talk on his mom's contact, video calls where better for him but he didn't know what he looked like right then so he wasn't going to risk it. "It's the first 50 numbers of pi."

Recovery girl looked incredulous at that, but Mia and her daughter cackled and he heard Shinso let out a soft snort of amusement. Inko answered the phone. "Hello Izuku? Shouldn't you be at school?"

"Hi m-momma. Yeah ab-about that… I uhm. I h-had a bit of an incident w-with some cl-classmates. I got a bit b-banged up…" 

"Izuku!" He flinched at the sound of her stress. "H-hey, it's o-ok! I called a fr-friend and her mom came and go-got me! She had s-someone patch me up so I'm al-all good! Please don't w-worry mom!" 

"What friend Izuku?" 

"Mei-chan. I kn-know I've mentioned her over din-dinner and s-stuff." Not that there have been many dinners together over the last few months. "I see…" she sounds disbelieving, as if she hadn't thought he was telling the truth about making a friend. "May I talk to the mother please?"

"Uhm, sure? Hatsume-san?" He hands off the phone to Mia who smiles at him and stands, carrying the device out of the room. He was sad to lose the hand in his hair. He hadn't realized how comforting it had been until it was gone. Shinso seemed to sense this though. He started up where the woman had left off. Izuku felt himself untense immediately, only slightly embarrassed when his friend chuckled at him.

While they waited on whatever the phone call entailed, Recovery girl went back to doing her check up, lifting his shirt to check bandages and bruising, asking simple questions and getting rambled and disjointed answers.

They had just finished up when Mei's mom returned, tossing red dreads over her shoulder and frowning slightly. "She asked if you would be ok staying here for a day or two Izuku. Apparently she's being pushed to take extra shifts this week and there's no one else to cover for her?" He smiles at her gently, ignoring the sinking feeling in his chest. He had hoped his mom could at least get the night off. He hadn't seen her in two weeks. It would have been nice.

"Th-rlthat's fine. The hos-hospital is a-always so understaffed. All of the v-villain attacks and what-not. But I can ju-just go home and s-sleep it off, I wouldn't want to be in your w-way Hatsume-san!" That drew another frown and he did his best not to flinch at the disapproval in her stance. "You. Are. Staying. Right. There. Mister. You are in no shape to be left alone at the moment. So for the next two days you're not allowed off that couch. You hear me?!" 

He nodded quickly then tried not to puke as his head spun from the movement. Recovery girl sighed. "OK dear. I'm going to use my quirk on you again. I'll leave a care plan written out for when you wake up. I suspect sometime tomorrow my coworker will come by with the video and will ask you to call your mom again to see what she wants done."

Izuku hummed again, knowing nothing would happen even if they did go to court but too distracted tracing the pattern on the couch again to say so. There was a light touch on his shoulder and he looked up to where Shinso was watching him, seeing the other boy upside down from this angle. "I'm glad you're going to be ok Izuku." 

He couldn't help the sweet smile that crossed his face at those words, green eyes crinkled slightly. He felt the healer grab his hand, and something be pressed to it. The last thing he saw as he fell back into the sweet embrace of sleep was once again that perfect field of violets and quicksilver.

Chapter Text

The next time he wakes up it's easier. Like stepping through a door instead of trudging through mud. His eyes open to find Mei-chan sitting on the couch with him, his feet propped in her lap while she tapes away at a tablet.

"What time is it?" He mumbles, mostly coherently, causing his friend to jump a bit. He saw her lips move in response, but he didn't hear her voice. Freckled hands went to his ears searching for his hearing aids. 

She noticed the movement and slapped her forehead lightly before signing for him to wait. She reached over the arm of the couch and grabbed something before holding her hand out to him. Ah. There they were.

He slid the comfortable molded gel into his ears and pressed the power button. Once she was sure he could hear him, Mei spoke up again. "Sorry Zu-kun! I forgot Recovery Girl had us take them out when you went to sleep. She said it could hurt to have them in for too long… Anyways, it's 7pm. Shinso-kun had to run home to do something really quick, but he said he would be back soon…"

He sat himself up slowly, wincing as tender burns and ribs pulled a bit. His friend gently braced his shoulder as he swayed a bit. "Easy now! Mom is out getting dinner and should be back any minute! Can I get you anything? Water?" He nodded. "Please?"

She shifted his feet to the ground so he was fully sitting up and hopped to her feet. "Be right back!" She dashed into the hallway he had noted before and he looked around again, more coherently this time. 

He could definitely sense the Hatsumes in this space. Most of the books on the shelves were definitely mechanics manuals, with a few comic books mixed in. The TV, that was playing the news with the sound off, was obviously made by one of the two women. It had a pieced together look, but he was willing to bet it was ridiculously high tech and could probably kill a person if needed. The rug had a grease stain that looked like it had been scrubbed at then given up on. Everything was clean, if a bit dusty. Like they kept up with the space when they were here, but spent most of their time elsewhere.

He could attest that they spent most of their time at the shop. So did he.

Soon his friend was sliding back into the room on her socked feet, plopping a cup of water into his hand, then herself back onto the couch. "There ya go! Mom texted too! She's on her way back! And apparently there will be someone here to take a statement from you in the morning so the adults can decide what's going to happen to your school!" That made him frown. "You know th-rhere won't be too much they can do right?"

She tilted her head in question, a habit she had picked up from her smaller green friend. "A qu-quirkless was the one who got hurt, most likely it w-will be swept under the rug…" as the pure anger in her eyes he trailed off, feeling uncomfortable at the intensity.

"Zu-kun. We will do everything in our power to make sure whoever hurt you gets what they deserve." He knew she was serious. But he couldn't keep the small, sardonic smile off of his face. Still he nodded in acceptance of her words. "I know you w-will, Mei-chan."

You just don't have the power needed to push it that far. No one does.

___

The morning came bright and early, with sunshine drifting in through the curtains directly onto his face. He groaned as he opened his eyes and felt like his brain was being stabbed with a dull pencil. Concussions were officially the worst. Even if this one was mostly healed by this point.

He heard a small clank from further in the house and forced himself to his feet to investigate. He only stumbled twice in the hallway which he counted as a win seeing as how his entire body was sore, and he felt like his limbs were made of lead weights held together with rubber bands.

He eventually makes it to the entrance to the kitchen, where Hatsume-san was currently whisking together some sort of batter. "G'morning." He says, as he bit back a yawn and decided to make his way into a chair at the small table to his left before his knees gave out completely.

"Good morning!" His hostess said cheerfully, though at a lower volume than normal. Whether that was due to the early hour, or if her mom senses sussed out his headache he had no clue. But he was grateful. "How do you like your pancakes?" He shrugged, "E-edible is preferable." She chucked and he laid his head down on the table, face tilted so he could watch her as she cooked. 

They spent the next little chunk of time like that. Just quietly basking in the morning together. It was nice, Izuku was unsure when the last time he had felt so quietly content was.

Eventually a sleepy Mei slipped in and gave her mom a quick kiss on the cheek. Then headed directly to the coffee maker to start it up. The greenette perked up a bit at that. But Hatsume-san definitely had mom senses because she didn't even need to look his way to know he was going to ask for some. "Sorry Izuku-kun. Obagi said no caffeine for at least 3 days. You need real rest, not artificial energy." 

He did his best not to wilt, but he knew he looked pitiful when Mei giave him a sympathetic look over her shoulder as the machine she was babying started to percolate.

As pancakes and a crap ton of fixings were set in front of him Hatsume-san spoke up to remind him that after breakfast someone was coming by to talk to him. He just nodded as he poured boysenberry syrup all over his food. They had talked about plans for the day last night over dinner. 

Shinso had to go home eventually because he wasn't allowed to spend nights over at other people's houses. So he and Mei would meet up at school like usual. Izuku would meet with whoever had been stuck with his case. And then spend the rest of his day with Mia at the shop, though he wasn't allowed to work on any projects. 

She threatened to chain him to the couch in the rest area if he tried. He wasn't going to test her on that. He wasn't looking forward to being bored all day though. 

"Would it be ok if I tried to read a school book?" He asked tentatively. The woman thought about it for a moment before nodding. "You can try. But the first sign that your head hurts any worse and you have to stop." He smiled in relief that the whole day wouldn't be a waste.

Mei headed off to school less than ten minutes before there was a knock on the door. Mia answered and led a man with long golden hair pulled back in a braid into the living room. "Izuku-kun this is Yamada-san." 

The teen forced himself up from where he was being consumed by the couch. His bow was slightly wobbly, but at least he didn't fall over. "It's n-nice to meet you Y-yamada-san. I'm s-s-sorry for the trouble." 

"It's no trouble kiddo! I heard what happened from Recovery girl and offered to help out! I just have a few questions to ask if that's ok?" Izuku nodded quickly and then winced as his head spun a bit.

"Why don't you two sit and I'll make some tea?" Mia spoke up, guiding the teen back onto the couch. The blonde agreed readily and sat in one of the armchairs across from him.

After the tea was served and they were all settled Yamada-san pulled a small black cylinder from the pocket of the denim jacket he was wearing. "This is a voice recorder. It automatically transmits a copy of our conversation to the police and other relevant parties. When you're ready for the questions I'll turn it on and hopefully it'll stop you from having to participate in a courtroom if your mom takes the school to court. Is that ok with you?" Izuku nodded, sipping at his tea. It was a Jasmine blend. Calming. Trust Hatsume-san to pick up on how anxious he was.

"OK kiddo. Are you ready now or do you wanna wait a bit?" He hesitated a second before coming to a decision, green eyes almost dulled with resignation. He knew this had to be done even if it would come to nothing in the end. "W-we might as w-well get it over with." He said quietly. 

The blonde man nodded with a reassuring smile. "Okay then! If you need to take a break, or stop for the day and come back to it later we can. Just say the word! There is no pressure to do it quickly, we just need to get your statement to fill out the full picture of the situation." He paused like he was giving Izuku a moment to change his mind. When the teen said nothing he nodded. "Okey dokey! I'm turning on the recorder now!"

He pressed a few buttons then looks lled back to the boy in front of him. "OK. Yamada Hizashi. Hero code number 176489. Here with Midoriya Izuku on Tuesday the 6th of August 2XXX. Conducting an interview on the topic of the attack on his person that occurred at Aldera middle school in Musutafu on the 5th of August. The responding hero Recovery Girl has put in details of the scene she found in the open case 20385 under the jurisdiction of Musutafu central police. This interview along with the other pertinent pieces of evidence will be filed with that case." 

Izuku was both intrigued and terrified by the lengthy introduction. He knew his hands were shaking with nerves and tried to take a deep breath as Yamada finished up the technical jargon. "OK Midoriya. Are you ready for the first question?" 

He was giving the freckled teen a reassuring smile, though his voice was kept professional. Izuku notices the weird concentric circles surrounding the man's pupils. He wondered why his bright green eyes looked familiar. The distraction helped him calm down a bit as the back of his brain started to analyze. He nodded.

"When did the altercation start?"

"As s-soon as I stepped th-through the gate." He ignored how shakey his voice sounded.

"Was there anything leading up to it? Did anyone say or do anything to trigger it?"

He shook his head before remembering he should respond verbally. "N-no sir. I was grabbed as I stepped-d onto the school gr-grounds."

"Grabbed by who?"

Izuku hesitates. But he knows he would never ruin Kachan's chances at being a hero. "I-I'm not sure… th-they pres-ssed my face i-into the w-w-wall s-so I d-didn't see." God he hates his stutter. How pathetic.

"Alright. Do you know why they would target you?"

The boy can't stop the short humorless chuckle. "Q-quirkless p-people are e-easy targ-gets."

He flinched at the frown that drew from the man. "This was a targeted hate crime?" The young boy shrugged. "If you w-want to call i-it that."

"Does this happen often?" 

Izuku shakes his head. "N-not like t-that."

"What is normal then?"

"O-oh. Uhm." Deflect. "You k-know. S-some pushing. Teasing…"

Yamada sat back for a moment, studying him. He seemed unconvinced when he finally moved on to the next question. "Did you fight back at all?"

"...N-no sir. I- uhm. T-they caught m-me off g-guard. A-and then th-there were s-s-so many of them. A-and I hit m-my head at s-some point so I w-was disoriented…" And if I threw a single punch the teachers would have been all over me for assault.

"OK. That's ok. I know situations like that are hard to react to."

"Mhmm…"

The questions went on for a while. And then Yamada-san had him call his mom and put her on speaker so they could update her on procedures and the like. As things wound down the blonde man held up a finger. "One more question kiddo. Do you know of any reasons the cameras in the front of the school and along the corridor you were found in might not be working? Any incidents or accidents you heard of?"

The young boy frowned. "N-no sir… I d-didn't know th-they were br-broken? Was there ph-physical d-damage?"

"That's the weird thing. When I went to get the footage yesterday there was no sign of them being purposely broken. Or even tampered with. And yet, the footage was gone. I have some very good gear, coded by some very smart people, it would have sniffed out deleted files. But there was no sign of anything. It was very strange."

Oh. Izuku knew what had happened. Takahashi sensei from the computer lab had some sort of technology based quirk. He must be covering the school's asses. Instead of saying that, knowing it would just be him vs. the world if he threw out an accusation, he just shrugged. "I-it alm-most s-sounds like a q-quirk d-doesn't it? W-weird."

Yamada-san studied him for another moment before nodding. "That is super weird isn't it kiddo? Ok. That's all for today folks!" He turned off the recorder and Izuku hung up with his mom. Telling her he would talk to her more on her break later. And receiving a reminder that she had called his dojo the night before to excuse him for a few weeks.

As Hatsume-san, who had been quiet through the whole interview, chatted with the guest, the teen boy let his mind wander. His head was hurting again so he needed a distraction. He settled on the niggling feeling of recognition he felt for the blonde sitting across for him. It took a few more minutes, but when the object of his study threw an arm out in a wide gesture he figured it out.

"Present Mic."

That brought a pause then a blinding smile was aimed at the greenette. "Wow little listener! You're pretty smart aren't you? Almost no one recognizes me out of my persona!" Izuku shrugged. "It t-took me a while…"

"Still! Very impressive! Keep up those observational skills! They're sure to help you in the future!"  After a few more minutes of idle niceties the hero took his leave. 

Mia turned to the exhausted teen who was being eaten by her couch. "OK Izuku-kun. I set some clothes out in the bathroom for you, the second door on the right down the hall, go get changed and we can head to the shop."

With a grunt he pulls himself to his feet. He  wouldn't admit to using the wall as a support the entire way to his destination, but he definitely needed the help. Everything hurt and keeping himself walking was enough effort by itself. Let alone trying to move in a straight line. 

He found the bathroom, and the fresh clothes as promised. Recovery girl had apparently had to cut away his uniform yesterday, so Mia had helped her shove him into some old pajamas while he was asleep. There were splotches on the grey shirt where plasma and blood had seeped through the bandages overnight. He hoped none of it got onto the couch, though he knew that was unlikely if he was still actively bleeding when they got him here.

He peeled himself out of the clothes, inspecting the bandages neatly curled around nearly every inch of him. That was a lot. He sighed. He would get a better feel for the injuries underneath when Recovery girl came back before dinner to change the dressings.

He didn't have the energy to care too much at the moment. He snagged a washcloth and wet it down, using it to try and get any visible blood off of his exposed skin and hair. It took him longer than he liked to get the new clothes on. He'd had to take a break halfway into the pants to breathe through a dizzy spell. Eventually he was done and sitting in the genkan while Hatsume-san wordlessly helped him with his shoes. At least those made it out of the mess yesterday relatively unscathed. Raptor brand shoes were expensive.

Izuku held onto his consciousness through the five minute car ride. And made it to the couch in the shop. But after that he was out cold. Mia smiled at him and took a picture, sending it to her daughter to reassure her that her friend was ok. She then pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over the poor kid before snagging his hearing aids and setting them on the coffee table where he would see them. She then ambled to the lobby to start up the shop for the day.

___

Hizashi settled into a seat on the half empty train, heading back to UA to make it to the rest of his classes. Pulling out his phone he opened it to the teachers group chat.

UA CHILD WRANGLERS

LoudSpeaker

Hey RG. I think you were right about that situation with the green kid. Nezu should have the audio from the interview in the system already if you wanna listen to it.

Savepoint

I was really hoping I was wrong. But that kid had way too many scars.

InsomniSnack 

Is this about the school who somehow erased their surveillance footage well enough to hide it from Nezu?

LoudSpeaker

Yeah. I'm pretty sure the kid knows how they managed that as well. But he seems wary of authority figures. That also gives off bad vibes about his school life…

Grogfog

What's this about a kid?

LoudSpeaker

Oh Nem! You'd love him. He's so squishy! And has the cutest freckles! But his school is sketchy as fuck.

Grogfog 

Ah. So it's time to bring in some anarchy.

KingRaticcus 

Indeed. I'm diving into the school now. Midoriya-kun gave us a hint about the cameras if you pay attention to his wording. 

LoudSpeaker

Of course you've already listened to the whole thing.

KingRaticcus 

Of course. I was listening as it was uploading. It's not often our nurse asks for special favors. I was intrigued after yesterday's debacle. But after listening to Midoriya… I guess one could say I'm… invested.

Grogfog 

Lol RIP that school.

InsomniSnack 

Let me know if I'm needed. I'll be in the lounge.

LoudSpeaker 

Oops! Time for Shou's midmorning nap!

SavePoint 

I will be stopping by to check on Midoriya this afternoon. I will let you all know if I find out anything else useful.

KingRatticus 

Of course Recovery Girl. I will have a few questions for you to try and ask him if you get the chance. I will stop by during lunch to discuss some things.

SavePoint

I will make tea.

KingRatticus 

Wonderful

Chapter Text

The fingers gently running through his curls felt heavenly. Shinso was a god amongst men. He snuggled into his friends' laps. He wasn't sure when they got there, but he sure as hell didn't want them to move. His head was pillowed in Shinso's lap and once again his feet were being propped up by Hastume. He didn't remember ever being this comfortable. There was a nagging feeling in the back of his head that he was forgetting something he was supposed to do, but he batted the annoyance away as he pressed his head more firmly into the pets.

His friends chuckled a little bit at the action and Mei slid one of his hearing aids into his exposed ear. "Hey there green bean. You back with us?" Hmmm. I bet the reason his voice is so nice to listen to has to do with his quirk… "Mido? Hey. It's almost time for dinner. You wanna eat?"

"Five more minutes…" Izuku whines with his face pressed against the taller teen's stomach. Shinso made a weird sound while Mei squealed about something being cute.

They stayed like that for a while. Izuku floating in his own personal bubble of warmth. Hitoshi and Mei chatting above him as he slowly worked his way back into the land of the living. Eventually Hatsume-san appears, arms full of takeout and the green boy had to admit defeat. Sitting up groggily and smiling when he sees the logo of his favorite American barbecue place.

"How are you feeling Izuku-kun?" The redhead asked as she ruffled his already mussed curls. "'M ok… did I really sleep all day?" She grinned and handed over a to-go box. "Sure did kiddo. Obagi's quirk really does suck the energy right out of a person huh?"

He nodded, trying not to feel bad about completely wasting two days in a row. "Speaking of Recovery girl, she got hung up at work for a bit but should be here soon. Something about stupid second years and a training incident…"

It was then that he realized he had never called his mom on her break. He set his food aside and scrambled for his phone, sat on the coffee table, plugged in at some point by someone. How sweet. He hit the video call button quickly.

Inko's face lit up the screen, the new break courtyard the hospital built a few months back in the background. "Oh! Izuku! I was wondering when you were going to bother checking in! We've been so busy here I didn't have the chance to call myself! How are you feeling sweetie? Have you checked for a fever? We wouldn't want you getting sick now on top of anything! Have you eaten? You know you need to eat to keep your strength up!"

After a moment of her rambling he managed to cut in. "Mom. I'm ok. We are about to eat dinner. I'm sorry for not calling earlier, I managed to sleep all afternoon…" 

She frowned. "Are you sure that's not too much? You wouldn't want to wreck your sleep schedule… you do need to go back to school eventually…" He felt his friends tense up beside him and he sighed, he really didn't want to have this conversation where others could hear. "I'll be fine Mom, the healing quirk they used on me just made me really tired. I'll get back to my normal sleep patterns soon." Yeah. Normal. Like that time I slept a total of 8 hours in an entire week.

She was frowning at him. Her usual worry was clear across her brow. But before she could chide him again Hatsume-san was leaning over the back of the couch so she could be seen over his shoulder. "Hi Midoriya-san! It's nice to, pseudo-formally, meet you. I was wondering if Izuku-kun could give me your number so I can keep you updated on things while he is with me? I also had a few things I wanted to run by you…"

Izuku watched as his mother plastered a smile onto her face and cringed. He knew she was unhappy with him taking advantage of the Hatsumes' hospitality like this. He would probably hear about that later. "Of course Hatsume-san! It would probably make things a lot easier. Izuku tends to be forgetful about things so I would appreciate being kept in the loop!"

Mia placed a hand on a tense shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. "Oh. I'm sure Izuku-kun isn't as bad as most other teenagers! Anyways! Dinner is getting cold! I'll make sure to text you my number tonight and we can talk more later! You have a good shift ok?" With that she reached over and hit the end call button. 

The freckled boy sighed and picked up his dinner. Determined to ignore the embarrassing things the others had heard about him from his own mother. Before he could try and take a bite of his brisket Hatsume-san was in front of him and patting his curls. "I'll talk to her kiddo. You won't be going back to that school."

He tilted his head in confusion. "Why not?" The woman looked at him, confusion clear in her stance. "Because you were hurt there. And the teachers are trying to cover it up right?" That caught him off guard, he couldn't stop the short, bitter, laugh that escaped him. "OK. Sure." He said to placate her before he started in on his food.

He missed the looks shared between the other three. After a moment or two Shinso sighed and grabbed his own food from the mess on the table. The ribs looked amazing, maybe they could trade bites so he could see if he should get those next time. Oh. Nope. Next time he was just going to ask for an extra large serving of the mac-and-loaded potatoes. Holy shit. Who knew mixing carbs and starch would be so good?!

___

Later that night he was helping Shinso with his math homework, explaining the conversion of fractions while also letting Mei bounce her issues with her latest babies off of him in an effort to figure out how to keep it from making that mysterious ticking noise. 

Mia was off somewhere pulling inventory for a large order. And Izuku was doing his best to last until they got back to the house before passing out. Recovery girl had changed his bandages and used her quirk on him again. She said that as long as he didn't irritate the wounds his healing would be far enough along by tomorrow that he should be able to do light work and move around a bit. Though the headache and general soreness would probably last another week or so. He had a niggling feeling in the back of his head about some of the questions she had asked though, he wasn't sure they had been necessary.

After a few quiet minutes of muttering numbers to himself the purple eyed teen tossed his pencil aside and ran a hand through his hair with a tired sigh. "Hey Mido?" 

"Mhmm?" The other boy hummed from where he was checking the math work, upside down. "Would your mom really send you back to that school?"

A freckled hand snagged the pencil and erased a small mistake, lightly drawing an easily erased arrow to point out what should have been calculated first, still upside down. As he then circled another misstep he replied distractedly, "Mhmm, if she had to. A lot of schools don't take quirkless students. And of the ones that do, a lot are picky about attendance and other records…"

"Surely your records aren't that bad Zu-kun." Mei piped up from where she was stabbing a screwdriver through a piece of sheet metal. "You're super smart and sweet."

He hummed noncommittally. "And a useless space holder. An easy target. Someone easily blamed, with no power to correct false accusations." He met Shinso's gaze finally. "On paper I'm a delinquent. A troublemaker. And I get sick a lot. Missed a lot of school as a kid."

His friend's looked completely appalled. And he felt a small flutter of… something… deep in his chest. He had accepted years ago that nothing would help his school record. But it was nice that they cared enough to get mad about it for him. He sighed and tilted his head back a bit, closing his eyes. "There's only a few more months, entrance exams are in a month and a half. And then, if I don't make it into UA, I can drop out, find a job or something. If I do make it, well… two more months until graduation. So 3 and a half months total. If I'm careful I'll survive." Probably.

His friend's weren't satisfied with that. He was well aware. But there really wasn't much either of them could do. So they let him steer the conversation onto lighter subjects. Like the fact that he really does have a shit immune system. 

He is quirkless. Which means he is working with an earlier version of the human genome. That being said, he does have green hair. So he has at least the base mutations from the generation right before the dawn of quirks. So he is only one step behind.

He grins at Mei's morbid fascination as he explains that he doesn't have an appendix, but he does have the pinky toe joint and the ability to hiccup. He regales them with tales of weird illnesses from his childhood that had horrified his mother. Things most kids these days are completely immune to. 

He takes only a little pleasure in the grossed out looks Hitoshi gives him when he goes into detail.

Eventually Mia finishes up and closes down the shop for the night. Shinso heads home for the night, with a promise to send memes when he gets there to let them know he is safe. And the other three pile in the car to head back to the Hatsume home. If Mia ends up carrying Izuku in, no one was going to point it out.

___

The next day was not as easy going. Mia had called Inko as soon as she was supposed to be off shift. A groggy and mildly grumpy woman had answered the phone and Izuku had to resist flinching. She was never in a good mood after a double. He usually waited until the afternoon to call if he could.

Hatsume-san had barreled on, despite the slightly rude tone. And outlined the plan she had apparently been up all night coming up with. Ah, so her usual exuberance was caffeine fueled today. Noted. He watched in fascination as the redhead had managed to, almost bully, his mother into the plan. He had never seen anyone talk to Inko that way before. It was wild.

It distracted him enough that he almost missed the body of the plan. When he did figure out what was going on though he went boneless with the thought that he wouldn't have to return to his middle school. Hatsume-san had found a test he could take to graduate early. 

If it had been just that though his mother would have never agreed. She would have been too worried about him wandering around all day getting into trouble. But then Mia, like the goddess she was, had offered him a job. In her shop. And talked circles around any protest Inko put up. Pointing out that graduating early and having job experience would look great on his high-school entrance papers. 

Mei had giggled maniacally when she was told what he would be doing after she came down for breakfast. She promised to let Shinso know when she met up with him on the way to school. Something about the purple insomniac needing reassurance that Izuku would survive.

The rest of his day was spent signing up for the test, which he would have to take in a week at his middle school, hopefully the last time he would need to set foot there. And then diving into the internet taking practice tests one after the other.

They were suspiciously easy and only drove his anxiety up the wall. He never passed tests like this with such good scores. Maybe they were making them easy to help kids relax a bit before taking the real thing? Wouldn't that be counterproductive?

This was seriously stressing him out. But there was nothing to do but move on to the next test.

Chapter Text

He stood in casual dress, overalls and a ragged green t-shirt over one of his long sleeved undershirts, outside of the school gates. It was odd, coming to school without his gakuran, but it was well and truly beyond repair and currently residing in a dumpster. And hopefully after today he wouldn't need to buy a new one. 

Hatsume-san clapped him on the shoulder and nudged him forwards. She was his escort for the day, having picked him up from the apartment to drive him and everything. He really was grateful to the woman. She had been a solid bastion of support though the waves of his anxiety for the whole last week. And now she was even offering that support for the actual test, even though it meant she would be late opening her shop, again.

They walked to the office. The redheaded woman throwing a feral grin at the receptionist when he flinched at their entrance. "Hi. There should be someone here from the board of education to oversee an emergency graduation test for Midoriya Izuku. What room should we head to?"

They're led to a little used classroom where a single desk is set up for him. He hands off his backpack and smiles at the last hair ruffle he is given before he steps into the room alone. The freckled teen isn't sure how Hatsume managed to wrangle a graduation test at this point in the year. But he will forever be in her debt.

The test goes quickly. The questions are very similar to the ones on the practice tests. And even triple checking his answers the whole thing only takes him 4 hours. He had waved his break, eager to get everything over with. 

He ignored the incredulous look the proctor gave him as he handed in the final pamphlet of questions, it was basic algebra. He had saved all of the math and science courses for last so he had something to look forward to when he was slogging through Japanese literature and music theory. Was poetry important to society? Yes. Was he good at reading into the twisted hidden meanings? Not really.

Hatsume-san wasn't in the hall as he exited the classroom. But the book on quantum physics she was reading was placed in a chair that had appeared from somewhere, his bright yellow bag, decorated with scorch marks, was shoved underneath. With a quiet hum he pulled his phone out of his bag and turned it back on. Hoping the woman would have left him a text to tell him where she went. As it powered on he heard the chime of the school bell. It almost didn't register, but then he saw the time display on his screen. Lunch time. Shit.

He snatched up his bag, and Mia's book, and started walking briskly towards the exit. Typing at his phone to let his escort know he was finished and to meet him outside of the gate. 

He almost made it too.

He was just one turn away from the last corridor. So close. But an aggressive blonde had to ruin his escape. Stepping out in front of Izuku was a familiar snarl marring his face. "Deku." Oh. That was his angry growl. Fuck. "Where the hell have you been shithead?! You think you can just take a week off of school for a couple of bruises? Useless fuck. I knew you were weak. But that's just pathetic!"

Aaaand there was a crowd growing. He really did have the worst luck.

"K-kachan…" He stuttered out, holding up his hands placatingly. "I- uhm- I h-had s-s-some th-thing-gs t-to ta-take ca-r-re of i-is al-ll…"

"A worthless Null like you? The only thing you should be 'taking care of' is your own end! But you're still here so I call bullshit!" A loud explosion went off near the greenette's face. He was so grateful for the noise dampener he built into his hearing aids. 

Apparently his small flinch in response to the heat wasn't enough of a reaction for the feral blond though. With a growl he snatched up his ex-friend's wrist with his still smoldering hand. Izuku couldn't help the yelp of pain as he was practically branded. "Why the fuck are you not wearing a uniform anyways you stupid fucker? Did you forget that they're required after your little vacation?!"

The freckled boy opened his mouth to try to reply through his stutters before frowning. Today was his last day on campus. The teachers really couldn't do much to him anymore could they? He let a grin grow on his face to match the one marring Bakugo's. He twisted his wrist in the burning grip, ignoring the way his skin pulled and sizzled, and gripped his assaulter's in return. Then he pivoted smartly on the ball of his foot and swung the off-balance blonde over his shoulder in one of Kuma-chan's favorite judo flips. With that he shoved his way through the rest of the crowd and dashed for the exit. 

The maniacal screeching behind him was still positively terrifying.

He managed to make it outside the gate without further incident. Kachan probably didn't expect him to leave the school grounds this early in the day. He did his best to tug his singed sleeve down over the fresh burn as he waited. After a few minutes Hatsume-san wandered out as well. "Hey kiddo! Why did you come all the way out here? You could have just waited for me right?" He shrugged. "Guess I-I'm just e-eager to go?" He handed her her book, keeping his blistering wrist hidden discreetly on his other side.

They chat about the order Mia had gotten in last night. Someone wanted 36 cleaning robots in the shape of cats. The little old lady was so excited when she saw them being marketed in a catalog. She wanted them to be able to clean up after her real cats. Izuku just shook his head and stated that this was the future Shinso had to look forward to when he got old.

Mia pointed to the coffee shop they were passing by and he nodded with a grin. He wondered if she knew this was where he had met Shinso. They ordered coffees and sandwiches and Izuku headed to grab a table as the woman pointed at some things in the pastry case.

He settled in a corner booth and snagged his notebook out of his bag. Settling in to sketch out a new design for boots, using his left hand for the sketch since he knew from experience getting graphite smudges on fresh burns made them a bitch to clean. Maybe he could find a way to make a Jintsugi kinetic energy motor small enough to fit into the soles? No, he would have to take Jintsugi's main idea and research and completely remodel it to get it to work at a size that small.  Oh, wait, hadn't Mei-chan been working on a kinetic energy converter? Maybe if he… Through his furious scribbling and sketching he didn't notice Hatsume-san and the girl from behind the counter approaching the table.

Apparently Mia had bought enough treats to sate an army and needed help carrying them. He looked up as plates and cups and bags were set on the table. His eyes meeting familiar mist blue set in a dark face. "Oh! I knew it was you!" The barista said excitedly. "Neither of your friends are here today though?" She twirled a sea green curl around a finger, head tilted a bit with her question.

"Oh! Uhm! H-hello ag-again! Ah. N-no Shinso and Mei-chan are a-at sc-school…"

The young woman smirked at him. "Oh. Good. I've always wanted to ask you how things were going with… Shinso-kun was it? But you've always got the other two with you…"

His face turned bright red behind his freckles as he remembered their first interaction, when she had nudged him to pay for the purple boy's breakfast. "I- uhm- I- we- he- friends! We are good friends!"

The barista looks over to make eye contact with Mia and after a moment she beams. "I see. I'm glad to hear that. I'm Shiokaze Suzushi by the way. And I think you two are super cute together! Well gotta go back to work!" With that she spun around and flounced back to the counter. Ignoring the distressed boy she left behind.

Mia laughed loudly and plopped into the booth. "Oh I LIKE her! Anyways Izuku-kun. Let's eat so we can get to the shop. I grabbed some things for snacks for when the other kids get back too! What better way to celebrate your freedom than Marranitos?"

He looked at her in question at the unfamiliar word and she pulled a pastry from a bag. It was shaped like a pig, and almost looked like a cookie but thicker, it should be fluffy but when she tossed it onto his plate with his sandwich it made a loud thunk. "You can taste one now but make sure you eat your sandwich too! You need some meat on those bones kid!" 

He should probably wait until after his real food but he was curious so he pulled a bite off of the confection. Oh. Oh. It was dense, a thick texture that was packed with spices. Ginger and cinnamon. But it wasn't very sweet. Not flavored with sugar then, maybe molasses? Mia laughed at the look of bliss on his face. "My friend from college, remember the one with the couch, used to make these every weekend. Her grandmother was from Mexico and pan dulce was something of a religion for them. When I saw them here I couldn't resist! If you like those, maybe I'll dust off her old concha recipe for breakfast one of these days."

He nodded frantically if whatever those were were anything like this then he definitely needed to try them!

They quickly wrap up their lunches and head off to the shop, Izuku sneaking off to the bathroom to utilize the travel first aid kit he kept hidden in his bag. If the burn was wrapped then hopefully Mia and the others would just overlook it as the last of his injuries from the week before. The rest of the afternoon would be overtaken by the bane of any business. Paperwork. Izuku had to actually be added on as an employee after all.

___

When his test results came in a week later he cried and ran the whole way to the shop in his pajamas. He not only passed, but with the extra points from the non mandatory questions he had answered he had gotten more that 100% on every packet. Mia just laughed and ruffled his hair, telling him to grab some clothes from the back and his laptop so they could continue his lessons from where they had left off the day before.

When he called his mom later that day on her break, the woman had cried, so happy that he had actually graduated against all expectations. And that he had a chance at a future after all, even if it wasn't at his dream job. That one stung a bit but was honestly expected. He knew what the statistics for the quirkless were after all. And a middle school diploma was farther than a lot of them got.

Chapter Text

Three months passed by quickly. Izuku continued to work his ass off. Waking early to get to the shop before it opened. Mia had insisted on him doing yoga with her for 30 minutes every morning. Apparently it helped with her insurance costs if all employees did some sort of mandated warm up and stretching routine. That, and the woman just liked yoga.

He would then help her set things up for the day and open the store. From there his mornings were designated to his lessons. Coding (hacking), software design, 3d computer modeling, and the use of most of the tools and machinery you could expect to find in a design studio. In the afternoon he actually helped around the shop. Learning inventory and how to pull orders. 

And if it was a slow day Mia taught him the basics of how to sew. At first he was skeptical about the old machine she had squirreled away in the back. But then she pointed out one of the redesigns he had done for a hero he had seen on the news once. Sketched out on the back of a napkin because he had been too tired to get up and grab his notebook. He hadn't even really put any effort into it, it was just something to occupy his hands as he munched distractedly on his dinner. The costume the hero currently had was just so aweful. And he was bored. But apparently it was a good start for a real design. Because Hatsume-san was determined to make it into a real thing.

And slowly, stitch by stitch, it bloomed into existence. It was only a prototype, made of cheap cotton and spandex, with amateur hands. But he was still unreasonably proud of it. It looked cool, a black skin tight under suit with padded spots where armour would go if it was made into a real suit. Strapped holsters for weapons across the chest and arms. A dark red and black cropped jacket with a hood. And matching cargo shorts held up by a utility belt. The hero in question would never see the design. But Izuku thought it would look pretty damn cool on anyone. 

Oh look, a new obsession. He was now consistently working suit upgrade and rework suggestions into any hero notes he took. Right along side his suggestions for support gear.

He still had self defense lessons every afternoon. He would jog his way over from the shop and spend the next two hours getting his ass beat. Apparently Mirokuma sensei was very unhappy with the fact that he hadn't utilized the skills he had been taught, and was determined to make sure it wouldn't happen again.

So he received bruises for getting bruises. That tracked with how his life always seemed to go.

Afterwards he would run back to the shop and take a shower before hanging out with his friends. He was always a bit sad when the day came to an end and he had to go back home to the empty apartment. At this point his mom was practically living at the hospital.

He spent most of his nights split between cramming for his worst subjects, often getting sucked down a random research rabbithole. Preparing his portfolio for the support course and business exams, god business was both fascinating and terrifying. And sending cursed memes back and forth to his friends. Whoever thought putting 3 insomniac teens into a group was a good idea made a miscalculation and should never try to pry into their late night, half hysterical, conversations.

He was really starting to feel like he might actually have a future ahead of him. And at this right he might just be able to grab ahold of it.

___

Three teens stepped off of the train. All with very specific color schemes. The pink and purple ones were wearing the same school uniform, their green friend was in casual dress. Overalls and a crop top over a long-sleeved undershirt. They chattered back and forth with each other. The pink and green ones gesturing wildly and the purple one dragging behind in their energetic wake. If a bystander was to look closely though they would see the nerves bubbling under the casual conversation. The teens were walking to the entrance exams for their dream school after all.

When they got to the gate. Izuku looked up at the behemoth of a building in awe. "W-why is it so big?"

Shinso snorted. "That's what she said." He ignored the greenette's indignant squawk at the comment and dragged his friend out of the way of other incoming test takers. They stood to the side for a moment as Izuku pulled out his phone and dug up the maps he had snagged (hacked) from the UA servers the night before. 

The quickly oriented themselves and walked towards the auditorium for the written part of the exam, pressing through the milling crowds of confused middle schoolers. Eventually a girl, brunette, cute face with a perpetual flush, noticed that they seemed certain of themselves and ran up to them. "Hey! Do you guys know where to go?!"

Shinso and Mei rolled their eyes as they realized what was about to happen. Izuku, sweet, kind, always helpful sunshine child, stuttered out a confirmation just as the loud question registered with the other kids who were surrounding them. 

Hatsume stepped up quickly, sensing the swarm about to descend on them she jumped up onto the taller purple teens back to gain a bit of height. "Listen up! Zu-kun will lead us all to the test! But only if you guys are nice and quiet! If you get in the way of us taking the test I swear to the gods the repercussions will be unpleasant! Now let us through!" The crowd parted instantly and Shinso smirked and gestured for a blushing Izuku to lead the way.

They started walking with the mass of teens falling in behind them. The brunette scrambled to the front and gave a small bow as she walked beside the three. "I'm so sorry about that! I wasn't thinking! I was just so worried I would be late to the test and I panicked and then you guys were there and you looked so sure…" 

"It-it's ok. But uhm. There w-would have b-been a sc-school represent-t-tative sh-showing up s-soon… it says s-so on th-the school w-website…"

"Oh… now I feel even more dumb… I completely forgot about that." Shinso snickered as Mei stepped in yet again to save her small green friend from a long winded, stuttered speech. "Haha yeah! The bodies reactions to stress sure are weird huh? Oh well now a whole bunch of us will just end up being early! I bet the proctor will be super confused!"

And so it was,  five minutes later a bewildered Ectoplasm was calling in on the coms wondering why the kids had been escorted into the auditorium so early. Only to receive a confused reply from Midnight and Present Mic claiming to not have even left the teachers' lounge yet. An intrigued Nezu pulled up the footage for the last twenty minutes and cackled when he spotted the leaders of the unexpected plan changers. Interesting.

___

The written test took three hours. And then they were let out for a lunch break. Izuku led his friends to a small courtyard he spotted on the map and they dug their bentos out of their backpacks. "S-so did the al-algebra section s-seem suspicious to either of you?" 

"Suspicious how Zu-kun?" Mei asked as she snagged a bit of omelette out of Hitoshi's lunch. He pouted and retaliated by stealing a meatball. Izuku rolled his eyes at their antics. As if he didn't make them all the exact same meals for lunch.

"Well.." he quickly plopped a bit of his own omelette into Shinso's box and a meatball into Hatsume's before they could really start bickering. "I th-thought there would be more questions about derivatives and s-such…" his friends looked at him oddly before Mei spoke up again. "Izu… you do know derivatives are a calculus thing right?" 

"I uhm…"

"Just how far ahead did you study Mido?" Hitoshi asked incredulously. "Not th-that far? I uhm?" They were interrupted by a cheerful voice calling out to them. "Oh! Hey! Thanks for earlier! Do you mind if I join you guys?!" They looked up to find the brunette from earlier standing at the edge of their little circle. 

Mei beamed and patted a spot on the grass beside her. "Sure Blushy-chan! You're just in time to help us with the enigma that is Zu-kun's need to out do the rest of us!" The greenette whined and covered his face with his hands while the newcomer sat and started in on her own lunch. "Mei-chan! I-it isn't like th-that! I-i-i just, I r-read so m-many m-math books over th-the last few m-months it all st-started t-t-to blend t-together…"

This brought on another round of incredulous stares. The newcomer piped up tentatively. "How many did you read?" The freckled teen curled up and mumbled his answer to his knees in embarrassment. The Mei poked him until he looked back up. "We didn't catch that Zu. Care to repeat?" He groaned and tossed his head back to stare at the tree branches, bracing for teasing. "I don't a-acutally know… the l-library r-ran out a wh-while back… I-I've been b-borrowing Hatsume-san's old b-books…"

Silence. After a moment he folds back in on himself before peeing back up at the other teens. Hatsume met his gaze blankly then looked to the other two. Shinso looked to be stuck somewhere between horror and awe. The other girl looked completely nonplussed. The pinkette broke, cackling madly. "Only you Zu-kun. Only you. Let me guess, you did the same with the sciences too?" He pouted and that was answer enough. 

Shinso ran a hand down his face with a groan. "Monster. He's a complete monster. I mean I knew this, but still…"

"Shinso-kuuuun!" The smaller boy whined as the brunette turned to Mei. "How? That's alot of books right? Does he read super fast?" 

"Hahaha! Zu-kun is a master at multitasking! Also, he doesn't sleep!"

"N-neither of you do eit-either!"

"Insomnia makes for a lot of free time! Also, he is just a smart cookie!"

"I'm n-not that smart Mei-chan, pl-please…"

Hitoshi took his chance to jump on the embarrassing Izuku train. "Honestly, you should see him wire a robot vacuum, explain algebraic formulations in a was that's understandable, and read up on hero news all at the same time. Like I said. Monster."

At this their green friend gave up. Blushing furiously and pouting he started ignoring them while he shoveled his lunch into his mouth.

The two traitors laughed at his reaction. The rest of their lunch break was spent teasing him viciously, seeing how red they could get him to go. As a bell rang to let them know that the hero practical was about to start they packed up their bentos, three empty boxes getting shoved into a ragged yellow backpack. His mom would be angry if he lost them after all.

Mei slapped Hitoshi on the back. "Are you ready Hito-chan?!" He groaned. "No. Not really."

Izuku grabbed onto his hand with both of his, stopping him from walking and looking him directly in the eyes, face flushed but expression determined. "You've got this Hitoshi. No one deserves to be a hero more than you do. You've been working hard and you're going to ace this test!" A voice piped up from behind them. Interrupting their little moment.

"Oh. Is he the only one of you who is trying for the hero course?" 

"Oh! Yeah Blushy-chan! Zu and I are going for support! Our test starts later!"

"Ah… my name is Uraraka Ochaco by the way…" 

"So? Are you trying for hero too Blushy?" Mei and the other girl kept talking as they made their way back to the auditorium so they could wish the hero hopefuls one last good luck as they split up.

As Ochaco dragged Shinso into the oversized room violet eyes found green one more time. One more reassuring smile was exchanged before the door slammed shut and Mei was dragging the greenette away to go explore the campus for the next hour before the heroics exam ended and it would be their turn.

Chapter Text

For the next hour the two science nerds distracted themselves with the thrill of exploration. They found several interesting little niches and hideaways. Mei promised to show Shinso while he was in the business exam.

They had to run to make it back to the auditorium in time to meet up with the purple menace before they switched spots with him. They only had time for the hero hopeful to give them an exhausted grin, wishing them luck, before the support kids were called into the auditorium. From there they were split into groups of ten, about twenty groups total, and led out into the school. Izuku may have cried a bit when he realized Mei was in his group.

They ended up in an empty classroom. There were no desks, just a large area up front and three chairs for the proctors. They were made to line up in the back of the room and told to be quiet or else they would have to wait for their turn in the hallway. 

And so, the presentations began. They were given free reign over the space at the front and the smart board hanging on the wall. But they only had 5 minutes to set up and 15 to present what they had brought. The other presentations were interesting. A kid brought a whole slew of rolled up blueprints, all of the gadgets he had drawn up were based around the idea he had for a gravity destabilizer. Another pulled six different fully made costumes from her bag. How she managed to fit so much cloth and so many accessories into that tiny satchel was the work of black magic he was sure.

Mei was practically vibrating beside him the whole time. Fidgeting with the ring on her left hand in an attempt to not start asking questions he was sure. He himself kept his hand firmly planted between his teeth as he mentally prepared the notes he would scrawl into his journals later.

Mei was called up in the middle of the group. Honestly Izuku thought her display was the most fun. She plugged her phone up to the smart board and opened up the file that held her blue prints and scattered them across the wall sized screen with an artistic flourish. Then pulled her kinetic energy converter prototype from her bag. He prayed it wouldn't explode again. She hopped in place as she excitedly told them about how her idea came into fruition. How she had to hurtle roadblocks in the construction of her prototype. And how much joy it brought her when she got it to work. Before spending the last 5 minutes of her slot breaking down the science behind the thing and letting the adults pass it around for a closer look.

From the looks on their faces she had a good chance at getting into the support department 

Izuku, of course, had the bad luck of being last. He knew by this point the judges were probably bored and ready to go home for the day. He prepared himself to do whatever he could to grab their attention. As the kid before him put away the last of the hybrid tools into his bag, the green haired teen typed a few rapid commands into his phone. As his name was called he took a deep breath and hit send.

The result was instantaneous. The shutters on the windows slammed shut and the lights in the room went out. Startled screams rang out as the smart board lit up brightly, scrolling rapidly through folders of notes and flashing diagrams and plans across the screen. Before landing with two blueprints pulled up front and center. He stepped lightly up to the front of the work and let his bag thump to the floor. "Good afternoon." He said with a small grin. "I hope I didn't scare you, but the darkness will make sense here in a minute."

He tried not to feel ridiculous as he delved into his speech, "To give you a little bit of backstory I only started on the path of design and creation a little under a year ago. You see, in my second year of middle school I was deafened by a misused quirk. With my profound hearing loss I was unable to function properly without the use of hearing aids. But, there was an issue there as well. You see the aids my mother was able to afford just weren't cutting it. One loud sound and they fell apart, just like my hearing. So I did some research, spent a couple of late nights, and came out the other end with these," he gestured over his left shoulder at the schematics for his hearing aids. "And a new love for the art of support items." He swiped across his phone screen and the left side of the board started slowly scrolling through his other carefully drawn ideas for future projects. He gave the proctors a second to absorb some of them as he delved into his bag for the next 'prop'. 

He slid on his gloves and tried, and failed, to hide the feral grin the weapon brought to his face. He gained the attention back from the board by pushing the button hidden on the handle of his kyoketsu-shoge. It lit up with green light and the weight at the end crackled with energy. "This," he said, his voice fond like a mother speaking about her child. "Has been my pet project for the last 8 months. To make sure it was a properly usable weapon I took private lessons from a very good teacher, and spent hours of blood sweat and tears getting the cording just right." He spun the sparkling weight in a lazy circle, giggling slightly at the wonderful hum it made as it spun.

"Hey Mei-chan? Wanna be a pal?" The girl was by his side at and instant and digging the targets from the front pouch on his bag. This had been his plan after all, if they ended up in the same room for presentations. She got what she needed then backed well out of the way, to where she was even with the adults. They looked at her in curiosity but she just gestured back to the shorter teen in front of them.

When he was sure he had their eyes again he started swinging the weapon in earnest, a well practiced set of forms he had settled on with Mirokuma sensei. Pretty enough to get attention, but still practical in their uses. After his quick warm up he caught Mei's eye and she nodded before launching the clay target at his face as hard as she could. 

He didn't let it connect. The weighted end of his weapon smashed it out of the air with a shower of sparks. The rest of his slot was spent with him showing the full usefulness of the baby he had worked so hard on. Anyone who watched, even those who watched the recordings later for grading purposes, agreed it was a beautiful display of both balanced machinery and impressive athleticism.

When Mei ran out of things to chuck at his head he let the cord snap up to wrap neatly around his hand and hit the button to disarm the electrical current. With that he pulled his phone from his pocket and with a few taps the room was returned to normal, the shutters raised, the lights on, and the board powered down. He bowed to the three adults who would have a hand in deciding his future. "Thank you for your time. If you would point me in the direction of the supply closet I will clean up the mess…" He gestured to the broken pieces of unfired clay scattered across the floor. 

His request, to his surprise, was waved away by the redheaded man on the left. "The cleaning bots will take care of it." He said brusquely. "Don't worry about that. I would like to see one of your hearing aids up close though if you don't mind? I have a deaf friend in the hero industry who might really appreciate a pair for himself but I want to see where you are at with quality." 

Izuku felt himself flush at the insinuation that his invention might be good enough for someone other than himself to use. But he saw no reason to refuse the request. He popped the tiny contraption from his left ear and handed it over. The other two judges leaned in to try and see the small device as well as the red haired man asked questions about materials used. "This is a 3d printed casing right?" 

"Yes sir."

"And the cushion?"

"A siliconised gel that is safe for skin contact. It's patented by Hatsume's mom and she's the one who showed me how to cast the mould to fit it perfectly to my ear."

"Ah. I thought she might be Mia's kid."

That took him a moment to process but he guessed the support industry was pretty tight knit. "Oh. Do you know Hatsume-san?"

"We went to school together. It's too bad she never wanted to specialize in hero gear. She would have been brilliant. As it is, her inventions have paved the way for many of us by giving us the parts we need to move forward. What processor do you use for the instant volume control?"

He was questioned for a few more minutes before his hearing aid was handed back and he was allowed to leave. He had to frantically dash to make it back in time for the beginning of the business exam.

This presentation was a lot less dramatic. It was mostly just him dragging a pro hero's actions through the mud and showing how a rebrand, a new look he had spent hours designing, and some etiquette classes could help his numbers skyrocket.

After it was over and he walked out into the hall he was met by his two friends. They all ended up in a messy group 'god I'm glad the worst part is over' hug. Drawing some weird looks from the last of the business kids as they also left.

Izuku was so exhausted after the excitement and stress of the day he hardly registered plopping into Shinso's lap on the train ride home when they saw there were only two seats left. He would probably be embarrassed at that act later. But tired brain didn't care.

They got back to Mei's house just as dinner was being delivered. Shinso had managed to set things up so his siblings would be taken care of for a few more hours before he needed to go home to get them to bed so they all actually got the eat on time for once.

It was a large spread from the local Taiwanese place. The meal quickly devolved into the teens regaleing each other and Hatsume-san with tales from their tests while they fought over the best bits of the three cup chicken and the last of the sun cakes.

When Izuku heard that the hero practical was untrained kids fighting robots he almost lost his cool at the unfairness. But Shinso seemed to have accepted his fate. His purple eyes were dulled with his disappointment as he informed them of his measly 23 points. The others comforted him as best as they could, even as they started to try and hype him up for the back up plan of the sports festival.

Izuku promised to help him figure out more efficient ways to take on robots just incase the sports festival used them as a challenge as well.

Mei decided a distraction was in order and amused them with the story of the support exam. Honestly Izuku had done his best not to really look at the judges reactions to his little stunts. So he was unsure how exaggerated it was when the pinkette said they almost pissed their pants when his kyoketsu-shoge started sparking.

The comment got a small laugh out of Hitoshi though so he didn't contend it.

And then it was Izuku's turn. He gave a basic run-down on how he felt he did in the business presentation. But admitted that the whole thing was kind of boring. He could see himself in that course as a backup but he would chose pretty much any option over having to run currency conversions all day.

After dinner they spread out in the living room and turned the TV to play hero news quietly in the background as they chatted. By the time he had to go home Shinso had to untangle himself from the mass of limbs that was his two best friends and uneat himself from the couch. He ducked into the kitchen to let Mia know he was going and that the other two were out cold. 

Mia walked over from where she was kneading something on the counter and gave him a goofy, hands free hug, telling him to text her when he got home. He nodded and walked out with a small smile, trying to dust the flour smudges off of his hoodie. Wishing he could have stayed on that couch in the comfort of the house that was quickly becoming more of a home than the place he had lived for the past three years.

Chapter Text

The next week was rough for everyone involved. Izuku had to be talked back from at least one anxiety spiral a day. Hitoshi spoke even less than usual, often just sitting to the side and tracing the thin scar that ran along his nose and cheeks. And Mei over compensated by being even more hysterically energetic than normal. Mia did her best to support them all. Keeping any snacks she knew they liked well stocked in the break area, and coffee and hot water for tea ready at all times.

When the envelopes bearing the UA seal showed up at their doors everyone felt a sense of relief that the limbo space they were suspended in was finally over. The green and purple boys were over at the shop in no time flat, Izuku skipping his martial arts lesson for the day and Hitoshi sending an excuse to his guardians over text.

By the time they got there Hatsume-san was already buzzing around their little break area, clearing off the coffee table of leftover napkins and soy sauce packets from last night's dinner and placing down cups so she could pour tea. Emotional talks were best recovered from with hydration and love after all. And no matter how things went she knew this little gathering was going to be emotional.

It took the woman almost an hour of coaxing to get them to decide on their course of action. None of them wanted to be the first to open their letter, so after letting them bicker it out a bit she decided for them that they would all open theirs on a three count. But then Mei and Izuku spent another thirty minutes stalling before she could bring their scattered and frazzled genius back on task.

Before they could drift off again she quickly counted them down, all three teens scrambling to get their envelopes open on time with her call of 3. As they tapped the sheaves of papers containing their verdicts out of the confines of their embossed prisons, Shinso let out a sound of confusion as a black disk dropped onto the short table between them. Before they could try and figure out the unexpected extra addition it lit up with a hologram. Freckled hands immediately snatched up Mei's grabby fingers so she wouldn't try and take the device apart.

When he saw the face floating before them he had to grit his teeth, luckily the others were focused on the man in an ugly yellow suit who was screaming at them through the hologram and didn't notice his look of distaste. "Hello! I, All Might, Japan's number one hero, AM HERE to deliver your results! Why is the number one hero giving out the exam results you ask?! Because I AM HERE to teach the next generations of heros! That's right! Starting this year I am on staff at my own Alma Mater, UA! Now! Let's get to business shall we?!" 

The giant of a man pulled a script card out of his pocket, the piece of paper looking ridiculously tiny in his hands. "Let's see..." The mic picked up the mumble clearly and the greenette had to try not to roll his eyes. "Ah! Shinso Hitoshi! For your written exam you made a very solid 87%! Good job using that brain! Now for the good stuff! The practical exam results!" He stepped to the side revealing a screen with three slots on the shown graphic. Shinso's name blinked to life in the first slot.

"Alright! Young Shinso! In the mad dash of teens and robots you managed to take down 11 robots! For a total of 23 points!" The second slot was taken up by a brightly colored 23. "Now, unfortunately 23 points would not be enough to make it into the course!" They all watched as the purple haired teen slumped in his disappointment before their attention was brought back to the floating embodiment of peace with a large gesture and an exclamation. "But! What kind of hero school would we be if we ignored the heroic actions of our examinees?! Therefore you were all also graded on a second set of points as well! Rescue points!" The image of All Might's smiling face disappeared, replaced by short clips of Shinso pulling other kids out of the way of falling debris and scattered lasers. Of him stepping in when a kid was cornered and bashing the casing of a robot in with a piece of rubble so the other boy could escape. And, finally, of him running towards a towering beast of a bot while everyone ran away. It showed him use his quirk on a girl who was pinned by a slab on concrete so she could ignore her limit and use her quirk. It then cut to him running with the same girl Draped across his back. And then after the test it showed him holding her hair back as she puked.

"For your show of heroic actions grit you were rewarded… 53 rescue points! That brings your score up to… 76 points! The last slot filled itself in and then suddenly became a part of a bigger chart. A rankings chart. And Shinso was in second place! Izuku resolutely ignored the name in the top slot.

"Congratulations young man! I welcome you! This is your hero academia!" With one more grand gesture the recording cut and they were thrown back into the rest area of the shop. 

Shinso immediately burst into tears. Uncharacteristic of him, but this was an unusual situation. Besides, the freckled boy sitting beside him was positively bawling. Throwing himself on him in a hug and blubbering something about pride.

Eventually Mei breaks in with a tackle hug of her own, sending all of them sprawling back into the couch in an ungraceful heap. Mia eventually ends up just handing the other two their letters so they can all stay huddled together. 

Izuku reads Mei's over her shoulder with her. She got in, of course she did. With a 95% on the written exam, several positive comments from the teachers who had sat in on her presentation, and a lot of interest in the portfolio she had handed in.

The green haired teen felt a weight lift off of his chest. His friend's futures were secured. If he was being honest he didn't care nearly as much whether or not he himself made it, as long as they were happy he would be happy.

With his anxiety suddenly gone it was easy to unfold the thick stack of papers and begin to read. Unlike with Hitoshi and his hologram, or Mei with her typed and official looking letter, the first base of Izuku's packet was handwritten. The script was tiny but precise, neat to a fault. " Midoriya Izuku ," it read. " You most certainly are an odd case. I have been following your progress since Recovery Girl brought you to my attention earlier this year. But even I was surprised when you managed full marks in the written exam. That is not something that happens often. The last person to pull off such a feat was a student 4 years ago. You however, are the only one I've seen do such a thing without any kind of intelligence quirk. To continue on, your presentation was impressive, if a bit rough around the edges. But your portfolio is what has grabbed you the most attention amongst the staff. Power Loader, the current head of the support course, and I have thought long and hard about what to offer you by way of an education. We have come to the conclusion that more testing needs to be done. But without a doubt you are free to join either the support or business courses in whatever manner you please. That being said we do ask that you return to campus as soon as possible so we can work out a suitable schedule for whatever options you choose. Please respond ASAP via my email at theRatOverlord.UA.ORG. 

I look forwards to meeting with you Midoriya-kun and welcome you wholeheartedly into my school. 

Signed, Nezu

He reread the slightly rambly letter a further three times before he passed it off to his increasingly concerned friends. He shuffled through the rest of the papers. His official scores for the exams and similar comments on his presentations and portfolio to what Mei got. The rest were basic permission forms and information about uniforms and the like.

Eventually a hand came down on his shoulder with a gentle grip. Hatsume-san smiled at him gently as she held up the letter. "I'll email him to see if I can get more information ok? But cheer up Izuku! The main thing is that you passed! You made it in! All of you did, and I couldn't be more proud!" With a ruffle of his green curls and a grin to the others she flounced off to harass a rat. And maybe a certain old classmate of hers as well.

They all sat silently together for a few minutes, letting it all sink in, before the freckled boy breaks the moment by bursting into tears once again. His friends immediately cling to him. All of them dissolve into a tightly woven knot of happiness and celebration.

They were all going to go to their dream school. Together. None of them could be any happier.

___

After they had calmed down a bit and munched on some celebration snacks, Izuku pulled out his phone to call his mom. Excited to tell her the great news. He had the fleeting thought of stepping away to make the call in private, but Shinso's head was in his lap and Mei was contently playing with his free hand, bending his knuckles one at a time in a specific pattern. So he stayed where he was as he pulled up her contact and hit video call.

Her face flashed into the screen. A frown on her lips, garden visible through the window behind her. "Hey mom!" He greeted her cheerfully.

"Izuku. You know you shouldn't call when I'm working."

"O-oh. Ah well, I just, I had some good n-news and I-i thought…" He cut off as she rolled her eyes and he hurried to get to the point of the call so as to take up as little of her time as possible.

"I got ac-accepted into UA!" He watched with bated breath for his mother's reaction. At first her face went weirdly blank, like she was trying to process. Which, fair, Izuku was also still trying to process. But then the most miniscule of frowns settled around her mouth. "But, Izuku, I thought you liked working for Hatsume-san? Aren't you happy there? Why go to school when you've already found a job to help with the bills?"

His heart… sank… she knew, she knew UA had always been his dream. Sure originally it had been the hero course but, didn't she see that this was a once in a lifetime chance for someone like him? He started trying to articulate his thoughts, growing frustrated when his stutter got in his way. But with a glance somewhere behind her phone she cut him off. "Sorry Izuku. I really have to go, duty calls. We will talk more about this later. I should be home for dinner tomorrow. We will talk about it then, ok?" The screen goes dark as she ends the call.

For a moment he just sits there, reeling once again. But then Shinso is shooting up from where he had been laying. "That's bullshit! What the fuck?! What the actual fuck?!" The taller teen started pacing back and forth cursing up a storm. After a moment he registered that the constant storm of movement that is Mei has fallen completely still, his hand still clasped tightly in hers. She took a breath, and then in a rush of movement she stood, letting his hand go. "I need to talk to mom." She says quietly before stalking off.

Izuku feels his breath hitch in his chest. The anxiety sinking its claws in fiercely. He's done it now. He pissed everyone off. He made the wrong choice. He shouldn't have reached for more. He should have been happy with the gifts he had been given. 

He was spiraling. He was aware of that fact. But he was unable to stop the velocity at this point. The world around him grows fuzzy. His face and fingers buzzing with energy he doesn't have the means or willpower to release.

He curled in on himself a bit, wrapping his arms to protect his suddenly queasy stomach. A hand suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision and he flinched away violently. Fetching up against a hard surface he realized he was boxed in. He quickly pulled his legs up and tucked his head with his hands around his neck.

Eyes down. Don't look. Apologize. Try anything to get them to go easy on you. Appear pitiful. Don't fight back. It's less fun to hit a limp target. Guard anything important for as long as possible. Their fists and feet will eventually beat their way through to you weak spots but do your best to minimize damage.

He knew he was stuttering out meaningless babbles of apologies and platitudes. His breath hitching and voice shaking. His ears roared as his lungs burned in protest at the lack of usable oxygen. The ache was depressingly familiar.

He was unaware how long he sat there, waiting for the first hit. He knew there were people around him. He heard them speaking, even if he couldn't bring himself to listen to their poisonous words. He'd heard enough vitriol aimed at him to last a lifetime thank you very much.

When a hand touched his knee he didn't even try to suppress the full bodied flinch. Wait. Why didn't that hurt? His breath hitched again when, in his surprise, he was able to make out a single word. "Izu?" He whined in response, in desperate need. To be called something other than Deku. To be something other than a worthless waste of space.

As soon as the sound left his throat it was like a switch had been flipped. His panic was no longer in control. Instead he was floaty and free, unable to think at all. He felt it like a background sensation as his body slowly, oh so slowly, was ordered back into a relaxed state. His breathing paced to the tapping of a gentle finger. His curled tight position released into something loose and more comfortable. Then there was a quiet countdown. And he was gently given back the controls. 

He blinked in slight disorientation. But then confused forest green eyes met slightly panicked violet and the situation snapped back into focus. "Toshi…" he breathed. The pale boy flinched back a bit. "Izu. I'm so sorry. I just, we couldn't get through to you. And I. Gods I'm so sorry for using my quirk without asking. I-"

"I-it's ok." Freckles stand out on his still pale face as he gives the other teen a wobbly smile. "I. Thanks. I uhm, I can go for h-hours like that s-so…" he looks away uncomfortably, hand coming up to fiddle with the frayed edge of a sleeve. "It. Uhm. I-it was ac-actually nice? B-better th-than wh-what I was f-feeling bef-before at least…" 

The relieved smile on Hitoshi's face was bittersweet. If Izuku hadn't of been so tired at that moment he would have ran off to find whoever made the boy so scared of reactions to his quirk and beat them over the head. There was a gentle clearing of a throat behind the couch and he looked up to find the two Hatsume women. Mei hidden slightly behind her mom. As she gnawed her lip in worry. 

"Izuku-kun." Mia started, voice quiet and calm. "Do you need anything? Water? Tea?" He shook his head. Mild shame running through him at the thought of being babied after his little meltdown. But it seemed the woman wasn't going to not help. She came around the couch and kneeled down to be eye level with the still shaky boy. "Izuku. I want you to listen to me ok?" She waited for his hesitant nod before she continued. "I will talk to your mom. We will figure out what to do ok? I promise. You won't have to give up UA. I've watched how hard you worked to get where you are. I'm not going to let those efforts go to waste. So just take a deep breath kid. It'll all be ok."

He choked on a sob. How long had he been taking care of things by himself? How long had the adults left him to his own devices? And here this woman was. Insisting on helping him over and over again. He hadn't felt support like this since he was a little kid, maybe even as far back as before his diagnosis. It was nice. 

He threw his arms around her neck and let himself cry. Letting the pain of knowing his dreams really didn't matter to his mother slowly melt away through his tear ducts. His friends joined them on the floor, gentle hands running over his back and through his curls. Gods he loved them.

Chapter Text

He once more walked onto the grounds of UA, flashing a guest pass at a camera as they made their way through the gates. Hatsume-san was once again with him as an escort and representative stepping in for his mom. Inko was disappointingly stuck doing a mandatory seminar on IV tubing and couldn't make it to the school or take any calls.

Izuku once more had the map of the school pulled up on his phone as he led the way to the principal's office all the way up on the fourth floor. He jumped as the door swung open before he could knock and peered curiously through the empty doorframe. "Come in!" A cheery voice said from inside the room. He glanced at Hatsume-san and shrugged, stepping through into the simple but elegant office space beyond.

He spotted the small, rodent-like hero off to the side of the room near a mini kitchenette. A comfortable looking set of chairs around a low table was set up for tea and they were gestured to take a seat. "The water is almost ready. Please make yourself comfortable!" 

They settled in, taking two chairs on one side of the table. Izuku eyed a large stack of paperwork sitting on the edge of the space in front of him, off to the side for now. His curiosity writhed, wanting to know what was written and how it would affect him.

An ornate kyusu was set on a pot holder as the principal readied the tea. As it was poured the aromatic steam drifted around them and Izuku relaxed a bit. Jasmine again. It smelled wonderful.

"Hatsume-san. I would like to start off this little meeting by letting you know how thrilled I am that your daughter will be joining our school this coming year. She is a bright young mind and I can't wait to see her take the support field by storm." The redheaded woman smiled brightly, always happy when someone acknowledged Mei's brilliance. "Thank you Nezu-san! Mei has been buzzing with excitement since she got the letter. She can't wait to get her hands on the support studios."

He laughed quietly. "Oh I'm sure! I'm intrigued to see what of the inventions she proposed with her portfolio will end up coming into existence first."

"Oh that's easy!" She brushed off with a grin and a wave of her hand. "More than likely it will be upgrade to her kinetic energy converter. I unfortunately do not have access to one of the parts she needs for it. It's too far out of my price range. But she's already requested those parts be procured for her and knowing Higari they're already sitting at her bench waiting for her." The mammal nodded with an interested hum. "An interesting contraption for sure. But why rush that one in particular when there are several others that would surely be more fun to build?"

"U-uhm. That's be-because of m-me.." Izuku cut in. "I-i was su-super inspired b-by the converter wh-when she sh-showed it t-to me. I h-have p-plans drawn u-up for s-several thi-ings u-using her con-converter as a b-base…" he ducked his head a bit, tugging on one of the curls framing his face. "Ah I see! A collaboration between friends! How exciting! I can't wait to see what you two have come up with!"

The hero then clapped his paws together. "Ah. That brings us to the first thing I wanted to talk to you about today Midoriya-kun! One of your inventions has already been requested for use by one of our staff members! Your hearing aids really caught Power Loader's eye during your presentation. He studied the blueprints after you left and was even more impressed by the proposed upgrades. He showed them to a fellow teacher who is hard of hearing, and said teacher immediately asked for a pair to be made for him since the design solves a lot of issues he has with his current hearing aids. To do that though we need to patent the design under your name and have you sign off on their use by Present Mic."

Izuku stared at him blankly. Mind completely halted at this turn of events. "W-what?" The mammal chuckled and pulled a packet of papers from the pile, setting it in front of the teen. "You, Midoriya-kun, have your first hero request! Congratulations! If you will fill this out I can get the ball rolling this afternoon on the patent and Maijima-san can start making Mic his new support items!" 

Freckled hands came up infront of him in a blocking gesture, trying to catch up on the situation. He was aware of Hatsume-san sitting off to the side looking amused. Traitor. "P-principal Nezu sir, I don't- the new up-upgrades h-h-havent even b-been tested! I-i couldn't- I don't th-think- a pro sh-shouldnt-"

He was interrupted by a raised paw.

"Midoriya-kun. When a request like this comes in, the professionals we have on staff take over. I assure you they have already ran through tests with prototypes, had everything approved for safety, and started drafting up the aestetic changes to fit Present Mic's preferences."

Izuku had to take another moment to process that. "Can- can I see the prototypes?" The rodent nodded amicably. "Of course!" He pulled a tablet from nowhere and sent off a quick message. "There! Someone should be bringing them up soon! While we wait, why don't we move on! The test scores you managed were very impressive Midoriya-kun. And while I have been in contact with Hatsume-san here, she has informed me that you study ahead in your free time. If this is true then it opens up an opportunity for us! You see, with children such as yourself with brighter than average minds we sometimes like to… advance… their curriculum a bit. That is to say, we test them out of as many core subjects as we can in order to open their time up to more personalized lesson plans. If you are willing, we would like to do this for you as well."

"Y-you want me to… I-i don't- I'm Really not t-that far a-ahead..."

"So you say. Look, how about this, you come back in a couple of days, you take a few tests, and we see where we stand? Pass or fail there's really no harm in trying!" Izuku goes to refute the weird faith the principal has in him once again, but a work roughened hand landing on his shoulder brings him up short. "Sounds like a plan Nezu-san! Just email me the time and date and I'll make sure he shows up!" With that the teen was effectively removed from the discussion. The adults talking semantics. Apparently for every test he passes he will be free one day every other week for a class he can choose from a list Nezu hands the mechanic. As she reads through the options the familiar maniacal grin lights up her face. "Oh! Izuku-kun would do well in a lot of these!"

Izuku watches bemusedly as they discuss things and plans back and forth, speaking quickly and excitedly. With an internal shrug he gives up on trying to convince them against this plan. It all hinges on his testing out of year one subjects early after all. There was no way he was going to be far enough ahead for that to happen anyways.

The door once more swung open silently and a vaguely familiar redheaded man entered the office with a small bow. "Nezu. I brought those prototypes." 

"Ah Power Loader-san!"

"Higari! Long time no see!"

Wait. That was the man from the entrance exam. Power Loader? He had spoken about his inventions with the foremost support hero in Japan?! Hatsume-san went to high-school with Power Loader?! 

A small case was set on the table in front of him while he internally died of fanboy. "Here you go Midoriya-kun. I understand wanting to look them over before you sign off on them. It'll be your name on the paperwork after all!" He glanced up shyly to meet grey blue eyes before opening the case. 

His full attention was instantly drawn to the unassuming bits of plastic and metal. With practiced fingers he pulled the casing apart to check that his schematics had been followed as he envisioned. After several long minutes of running a sharp eye over the tiny processor and miniscule wires he pieced it back together. 

He snagged his own hearing aid out of his right ear and pulled off the custom cushion, slipping it into place on the new tech before flipping the on switch and sliding it into place. Well he could hear. So far so good. 

The greenette pulled out his phone, quickly using it to tap into the radio frequency the new hearing aid was broadcasting. He then hooked into a nearby police wavelength. When it worked seamlessly he nodded and then moved on to the next test. Switching on the Bluetooth on his phone he found the listing for the small device and connected them, pressing play on the video he had been watching on the train earlier. The audio came through crystal clear and he grinned. 

He looked back up at the adults around him and faltered a little bit at their intense looks. "U-uhm…"

"Do they work kid?" Hatsume-san asks excitedly, her dreadlocks bouncing. "A-ah. Yeah. But uhm… is there anyw-way I could ta-take these with me f-for a l-long test run? I-i want t-to be s-sure th-there's no bugs be-before P-p-present M-mic t-takes a ch-chance on th-th-these…"

After a few minutes of debate the request is granted. Though Power Loader seemed a bit exasperated, saying something along the lines of, "Even if they're not perfect Mic can always just waltz into the studio for a tune up like everyone else." 

The support hero left and soon after so did they, a whole slew of paperwork in hand and promises to continue planning over email.

They made their way back to the shop. The whole way there filled with Mia's excited chatter. The green teen himself stayed uncharacteristically quiet, mind filled with the events of the meeting as he fiddled with his phone, testing the Bluetooth of the device in his ear over and over again.  He never expected to have this first ever project pretty much completed so soon. He knew, objectively, that the kids in the support course couldn't feasibly build every single thing for every single request themselves. But he never expected to have his hearing aids made by professionals for a professional before he was even fully enrolled into the school.

It felt kind of surreal.

When they got back the rest of the day was spent with him working on pulling a large order of tiny parts from their spots in the maze. It was enough of a distraction that he didn't really let himself think too much on their morning excursion. But when Mei got back from school and was filled in on the situation she insisted that Izuku sit down with her and look through the lists of classes he could potentially choose from. 

He ended up making a list of his own. 

He organized every option presented into a spreadsheet of pros and cons, and from there he chose what classes he would ask for first, if he managed to pass any of the tests that is.

By the time Hitoshi got there Izuku had worked himself from excitement to anxiety and back so many times he all but collapsed into his favorite purple pillow when the taller teen sat beside him. Shinso looked a bit confused, but ran fingers through his curls soothingly anyways as Mei cut in to explain what was going on.

The rest of his evening was spent being both soothed and teased by his two favorite people. As the reality of what was going on truly set in.

Chapter Text

The two months before the start of the year pass quickly, filled with tests and long talks between adults. His schedule was eventually settled. He tested out of a lot of first year classes weirdly enough. But most of the teachers also taught the second and third year variants and agreed to set him up with packets of things he needed to work on, whatever grade level it was. He did not, however, manage to test out of classic literature, art history, or ethics. So he would be taking those classes at the same pace as the others.

He was allowed to replace some of the time slots of the classes he was good at with some electives. He chose the coding course, a third year elective normally. But since he had experience it was decided he would fit in well at his senpais' level. And hero analytics. Normally a business course class. He wondered how different it would be from his own hobby of analyzing heros and if he would be forced to focus on numbers and money solely or if he could continue on his trend of writing down anything and everything he could think of. 

The thing that most excited him though was the private lessons with Nezu every Sunday. He hadn't said what he would be teaching him, but it was a private lesson with THE Nezu. It didn't matter what he learned. He knew it would be useful.

One thing he was sad about though was giving up his afternoons at the dojo. To appease his mother Hatsume agreed to keep him on as a part timer.  So as soon as he gets back to the shop after school he would be on the clock until close. At least It was a job he liked, and this way he could still help with bills like he had been. He did manage to keep his private lessons on Sunday mornings though. He wouldn't want to get completely rusty after all of the work he put in after all. 

To substitute Kuma-chan teaching him sign he would now be practicing while in English class. Since he was fluent in the language, thanks to his childhood obsession with All Might and the old videos from his time in America, he would converse with the teacher in sign and fill in any gaps in his knowledge. He did add a longer jog and some yoga into his morning routine to make up for the reduced exercise. He would just have to give up a few extra hours of sleep in the name of staying fit.

So now here he stood. At the gates on his first day as one of only 2 hybrid students. The other was a third year who specialized in promotional art. Mei hung off of both him and Shinso. She was vibrating again. Maybe they should get that looked at?

They made idle chatter as they walked. Izuku sent Shinso a pdf of the map so he wouldn't get lost on the way to his own classroom. He didn't bother sending the pinkette a copy, she wouldn't even look at it. Content to either follow him and whoever ended up as their classmates, or get lost on her own. However the winds of fate pushed her. She apparently came up with the best ideas for babies when she was lost after all.

They separate at the entrance, the cubbies for the uwabaki set aside for 1-A on the other side of the room from 1-H.

Izuku ends up having to drag Mei away from a kid with drills for fingers so they could make it to their classroom in time for homeroom. He totally didn't start planning a new entry in his notebook for drill kid as they walked.

They made it with plenty of time to spare. The green boy's first day jitters making sure of that. The seating chart on the blackboard is a disappointment. Telling the two teens that they have to sit at opposite sides of the room. They grumble quietly as they separate to go settle into their spots.

Mei pulls out something to tinker with and Izuku snaggs his current design notebook. He was working on a redesign of pro hero Midnight's costume this morning over breakfast. Might as well finish it while he had a moment. As they absorbed themselves in their tasks other students trickled into the classroom in ones and twos.

"Zippers huh?" Saying the freckled teen jumped out of his skin would have been a slight understatement. He fell out of his chair with a yelp as he flinched away from the voice that came from just over his shoulder. "Oh shit! Sorry! Sorry! Didn't mean to scare ya little guy!"

"L-l-little guy?!" He stared up at the hulking figure who had so startled him. The other boy was ridiculously tall and broad shouldered. Muscles bulging under his uniform. Black hair the was longer on top showed off a design shaved into the side. And dark eyes sat in a wide, strong jawed face. Ok little guy. He gets it. He does. But come on. He's technically of average height for fucks sake. Everyone else is just tall! 

Before he could stammer out anything else the behemoth before him was accosted by a feral Hatsume. Hands on her hips glaring up at the towering teen she hissed, "Hey! I don't know who you think you are! But I don't take kindly to people scaring my friends!"

Well shit. He needed to stop her before the babies made an appearance. "M-mei-chan! It's ok! I-i was ju-just too focused a-ag-again! H-he didn't m-mean to!" She stood there glaring at the newcomer for another second before making an 'I'm watching you' gesture before turning to give Izuku a hand up. The greenette promptly bows. "I'm s-sorry. I-i wasn't p-paying attention t-to my su-surroundings!"

The tall teen scratched at the back of his neck with a sheepish grin. "You're fine! I shouldn't have gotten in your space! I just saw what you were working on and I…"

"Oh! Ri-right! Yeah z-zippers! I fig-figured up the amount-t of money sp-spent on upkeep for h-her costume and it's honestly r-ridiculous. Th-this is a cheaper a-and honestly more vi-viable option. And th-the black c-cat suit keeps to h-her th-theme…"

"I like it! But she would probably insist on keeping the handcuffs! I've seen a clip of her actually using them in a brawl once!" 

Green eyes sparkled as the freckled boy immediately dived into his notebook to add to his entry on the heroine. The other teen watched on with slight bemusement. "I'm Kuroyama Tsuyoi by the way…"

"Midoriya Izuku! Wh-what about th-this?!" He spun his notebook around for the other to see. He had added bracelets that were kind of like short vambraces and then put actual, functional handcuffs hanging from her belt on the opposite hip from her wip. "A-armor i-is always a g-good thing ri-right? I also th-think this design co-could wo-work with th-the new k-k-kevlar hybrid the Tsukoichi co-company patented la-last month so sh-she would be b-better pr-protected…"

A hand reaches over from behind the small green boy and snatched his notebook. He froze, suddenly thrown back into the hallways of Aldera where if he lost hold of his notes they were as good as gone. "Hmmm." Oh. That voice is familiar. He turned slowly to find Power Loader in full costume standing and looking over his sketch. "Interesting. I've been asking her to let me redesign her costume for years… scan this before you go home and send it to my email. I'll see if maybe this design will change her stance. Now, everyone to your seats! Homeroom started three minutes ago." 

There was a scramble to obey. But Izuku couldn't bring himself to move. His eyes danced between the notebook held in a hand that was not his, and the covered face of his new teacher. Power Loader tilted his head to the side, obviously confused, until he saw what the green boy was focused on. Gently he closed the book and handed it back to its owner. 

Izuku took it quickly, trying to hide the shake in his hands. Then plopped down in his seat.

The teacher clapped his hands, calling all attention to himself even as he put the odd interaction out of his mind for the moment. He would ponder on it later. "Right! My name is Maijima Higari. Also known as the Excavation Hero: Power Loader. You can call me whatever as long as it's respectful. I have your sylibi here." He started passing out papers. "In it is your schedule. They're set up in a biweekly rotation. We switch weeks back and forth with our sister support class. Make sure you glance over that time table by tomorrow. Midoriya. I have your schedule here…" The shirtless man pulled a few papers out of the bottom of the stack and handed them over. "You'll be in the same classroom as the rest of 1-H for the most part. The exceptions being the two electives. I marked on the map where the other two classrooms are. Don't get lost." 

With that he turned and addressed the rest of the class again. He ignored the 18 curious stares that were fixed on the cringing teen he had singled out. "Alright class. It's time to head to the opening ceremony. From there we have a few third years who have been drafted into giving you all a tour. After that I expect to see you all here for dismissal." 

As twenty kids are ushered out of the classroom and toward an auditorium they grouped up and chattered excitedly amongst themselves. Mei rejoined her smaller friend. And to their surprise Kuroyama gravitated to them as well. Lagging a bit behind the larger group. "Hey! I really am sorry about before…"

"I-it's ok. Really! I st-startle easily i-is all… I uhm. I don't th-think she introduced h-herself earlier… this i-is Hatsume Mei. Mei-chan, i-if you d-didn't catch it earlier h-his name is K-k-kuroyama Tsuyoi!" The pink inventor stared the newcomer down once more, before she apparently decided to give him a chance and smiled blindingly at him. 

She held her hand out to shake. "As long as you and Izu are cool we are cool! What kind of babies do you make?! You're so buff! Do you work with heavy machinery?!" 

Kuroyama scratched at the back of his neck again. A nervous tick then? "Ahah… no… I uhm. I specialize in fashion and design…" The two shorter teens blinked for a second. That didn't match his appearance at all. But then Izuku shrugged his shock off. Who was he to judge? 

"Was that why you were interested in my sketch earlier?" The tall boy nodded, black hair flopping into his face a bit. "I've always thought her outfit was a bit of a fashion travesty. I get her theme. If that's what she likes then it's whatever. But heels?! In the field?! And gemstone things?!" Izuku snorted, nodding in agreement as the other teen continued to rant.

They made their way to the hall where the ceremony was to be held and found seats with the rest of their class just in time for the lights to go down. The ceremony was fairly average. The teachers got up one by one to introduce themselves and the subjects they taught. Some of them gave short speeches on where to find them if anyone needed their help with something. Things like that. Then the principal clambered onto Present Mic's shoulder so he could take his turn.

His speech was also kind of basic, a bit long winded, but not boring. Not to Izuku at least. Especially not the last bit. "Now I know we've been here for awhile and you lot are all excited to explore the grounds, but I have one last thing to say. Here at UA we have seen many students come through our doors. Year in, year out, we never know what you wonderful younglings are going to do. But there is one thing we can always expect. We expect, that by the end of your three years with us you will all be wonderful young men and women, well equipped to take on the field of your choice. But to get to the expected level of excellence there is one thing that every single one of you needs to showcase. And that is what is called basic human decency. So here is the yearly warning. At this school we are accepting of a wide range of peoples from a wide range of backgrounds. UA has a no tolerance policy for bullying and harassment. If any such incident is reported I deal with it personally. And I will warn you, I am not lenient in matters of discrimination or harassment." He let the message sink in for a moment before he clapped his small paws together to dispel the heavy atmosphere. "Right! With that out of the way there is one more matter we must cover! Everyone please welcome the newest member of staff!"

A loud laugh echoed in the large room and Izuku felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. Oh please no. Out from behind a curtain steps a mountain of blue and gold. "I AM HERE! TO TEACH THE NEXT GENERATION!" 

What the fuck did he do to the universe to deserve this? He doesn't remember spitting in the fates' cheerios. Did he step on karma's toes?! Why did they hate him so much? He sank dejectedly down in his chair, hoping against hope he could avoid the dream destroyer for the next three years.

Chapter Text

The rest spot at the shop was abuzz with excited Mei-isms that afternoon as she chattered about all of the facilities and tools she couldn't wait to utilize. Eventually she settled a bit and Izuku was able to ask Shinso where 1-A had been during the opening ceremony. He was met with a tired groan as his friend slumped dramatically into the bean bag he was occupying. "Our teacher is a sadist! He had us run a quirk apprehension test instead. He even threatened to expel whoever did the worst! He didn't in the end… he said it was a 'logical ruse' but… I don't know, I feel like if the person in last place didn't try hard enough he would have gone through with the threat…"

Izuku tilted his head a bit to the right. He looked up at the other boy from where he was sitting on the floor. "A test? How'd you do?" That got him another groan. Shinso covered his eyed with his palms, long fingers tangled in the mess of his hair. He mumbled something unintelligible. A grin pops onto the green imp's face. He smelled an opportunity for teasing. "Oh? What was that? Hitoshi? What happened? Huh?" 

With a whine his friend gave in, knowing he wasn't going to get away with not telling. "I tripped and fell on my ass! Ok?! I embarrassed myself in front of the whole class! Happy?" He whirled to face Izuku as Mei howled with lighthearted laughter. The other boy met his eye squarely. A somber look on his face, he nodded as if confirming a heavy truth. "See. I told you those long legs would get in the way."

This only makes Mei laugh harder. After a moment of the purple eyed teen sputtering in denial Izuku finally broke, joining in with his own giggles.

When Mia walked over to see what they were up to she found her two more energetic kids crawling all over a pouting Shinso, apologizing through their laughter.

___

The second day of school started off much the same as the first. The three teens met up at the train station, caught up on the few hours they had been separated while on the train, then walked to school together. Izuku made sure to give the hero student a hug before they separated, to make up for the relentless teasing from the night before.

As the freckled teen settled into his seat he nodded shyly to the girl who was sat at the desk beside his. She had interesting hair, copper colored at the roots fading to a pale green. When she nodded back there was a metallic sound. Was her hair actually made of copper? How cool! Could she cut it and use it like wire? How fast did it grow? Was there a special diet adjustment needed to help her quirk?

Oops. The girl was giving him a weird look. Stupid muttering habit strikes again. He opened his mouth to apologize but their teacher entered the room before he could get a word out. "Good morning class. Welcome to your first full day. Midoriya. I'll mark you down on roll so you should go ahead and head to analytics. Do you still have your map?"

"Yes sir!" The green boy scrambled out of his seat, pulling the paper in question out of his bag as he did so. "Oh. And before you go, here." Power Loader held out another paper. "Normally on the first day we would let you mess around in the support labs for the afternoon. But Nedzu wants you to join the Hero kids for some of their classes. Something about a project he wants you to run. The details are here." He waved the paper a bit before he handed it over. "Now get going. Morijima hates it when students are late." 

"Yes sir!" The boy bowed quickly before he made for the door, purposefully ignoring the curious gazes of the rest of his class sans Mei. He glanced over the note from Nezu as he made his way through the halls and up stairs. It told him to meet class 1-A at field Gamma as soon as lunch was over. He was to do the same for class 1-B tomorrow as well. The mammal wanted a quick summary of all 40 quirks and any costume suggestions or quirk training ideas he could come up with by the time they met on Sunday. 

By the time he made it to the class 2-K classroom he was a ball of excitement. That sounded like fun!

As he got close to his destination the door opened, he recognized the teacher as the physics professor as well as the homeroom teacher for 2-K. He bowed. "Good m-morning sir!"

"Ah. Midoriya right? Go on in. You desk is the only empty one in the back. Morijima should be here any minute." The boy nodded into another short bow before he made his way into the classroom. Instantly all eyes were on him. Oh wow. Upperclassmen are intimidating. He gave them a nervous smile before looking for his desk. 

The green haired first year only made it one step before one of the others stood up, blocking his path. "Hey there, short stuff. Are you lost?"

"Oh. Uhm. N-no. I-i-"

"Come on. Spit it out. Where are you supposed to be? We can give you directions if you need."

Freckled hands hover in the air, words caught the knot of his tongue. The stutter only worsened by the reminder of its existence. "H-h-here. I-I'm s-su-supposed to b-be…"

"The bell has rung. Why are we not seated?" A step voice called from the doorway. Izuku did his best to not jump out of his skin at the displeasure in the tone. "Sir!" The second year spoke up as they both turned towards the newly arrived professor. "He got lost and came into the wrong classroom! I was just trying to help him figure out where to go."

The older man who stood at the front of the room pinched the bridge of his nose with a sight. "Moroboshi. Did you even give the kid a chance to explain himself?" The older teen snorted and this time Izuku couldn't suppress his flinch. "I tried but… well…" The greenette shrunk into himself in embarrassment, feeling his cheeks catch fire. Great, he's made a fool of himself on the first day.

"Class. This is Midoiya. He is a hybrid student taking hero analytics as an elective. He is meant to be here. And if I see or hear any of you brats harassing him you'll have detention with me during the next lunch period. Got it?" Everyone nodded, most of the second years looking a bit pale about the threat. "Good. Now both of you to your seats."

As he sat down the youngest student in the room made himself as small as possible, desperate to not draw any more attention to himself as the class began. Today it was just a simple overview of what to expect of the class for the year. Apparently this class was mostly about how to analyze a hero's persona and move sets to be able to better capitalize on them for profit. But before Izuku could start to feel disappointed Morijima sensei mentioned that nezu had drafted up different homework for him that followed the lesson plan. So while he was unhappy about being put in the spotlight again, he was also excited to see what Nezu thought he should learn from this class. 

As soon as they were dismissed Izuku was out of the classroom. He had to make it all the way back to 1-H's classroom for algebra 1 (calculus) and English (JSL). By running whenever he was sure no one else was around he managed to make it to the door at the same time as Ectoplasm. He once again bowed to the teacher with a stuttered greeting. The hero just waved for him to enter the classroom first.

He made his way to his seat and settled in. This class was one he was excited for. Ectoplasm went over the first lesson of the year up at the smart board. But he had a clone hand Izuku a sheet of limit equations. The clone then stood against the wall nearby just in case he had questions. Honestly his quirk was incredibly useful in a classroom setting. Like having a surplus of teachers ready to help at the drop of a hat.

When English class came the difference between the teachers' personalities was enough to give them all whiplash. Present Mic's class was surprisingly fun. He spoke solely in English, to get the class use to the way the words were pronounced and to help their vocabulary. But, for Izuku he used JSL. So if he didn't know the word in sign he would have to translate it from English. It was a great way to practice the foreign language he rarely used while also learning a slew of new signs. He set himself to the challenge with gusto. 

The hero also spent some time signing a few quick questions, catching up with the teen after their short meeting a few months ago. Izuku was touched that the busy hero remembered him.

Finally it was time for lunch. Mei all but dragged him from his chair. Determined to get 'Sustenance' to fuel her first rampage through the support labs. They made their way through the lunch line quickly, the green-eyed boy trying not to salivate over the katsudon balanced on his tray.

They found Shinso in a quiet corner. He has saved them seats, but in the crowded lunchroom there were no truly free tables. As they sat down Izuku nodded to the other three teens. A tall girl with a poised air, a boy whose coloring was split evenly down the middle, and a kid who kind of looked like a rock. 

"Hito-chaaaan!" A wild pink haired menace sing songed as she dug into her lunch. "You'll never guess who gets to come watch you embarrass yourself during your heroics class todaaay!" Izuku snickered as the other boy's face lit up brightly at the reminder. "Mei!" He hissed, eyes flicking to their table mates. Oh. 

"H-hitoshi-kun are these s-some of your c-classmates?" The exasperated insomniac rand a hand down his face to try and banish his blush before he sighed and nodded. "Yeah ok Izu. I can feel you dying of curiosity from here. Izuku, Mei, these are my classmates. Yaoyarozu Momo," the girl. "Todoroki Shoto" oh? Todoroki, so Endeavor's kid? "And Koda Koji. Koda-san uses sign." He stops the two gremlins from freaking out about the new sign friend by continuing the introductions. "These two crazies are Hatsume Mei and Midoriya Izuku. Be careful they might bite."

Izuku looked at his friend with an offended gasp, but before he could really object Shinso gave him his lazy smirk. The one that always made his brain short-circuit. Cheater. "What? Are you going to tell me that you wouldn't bite someone if it would help in an experiment?" OK. Low blow.

Mei cackled. "In the name of science I will do anything!" 

"Mei-chan, please don't do anything illegal. At least not in our first week. I don't think your mom wants to have to bail you out again so soon." Their usual conversation antics were interrupted by a polite cough. The three of them turned to their table mates with an uncanny amount of sync. "Ah," Yaoyarozu started. "So you two are from the support course?"

Izuku smiled gently at her nervousness and nodded. "Y-yes! Well, I-I'm technically a h-hybrid st-student. But I-i o-officially belong t-to 1-H with Mei-chan." 

"I… see? And you will be joining us for practical heroics this afternoon?" Oh yeah. That's what had started this conversation wasn't it? "Y-yes! I-I'm s-supposed to ob-observe your q-quirks for an assignment."

The rest of lunch passes by in a blur of conversation. Yaoyorozu is brilliant. Able to keep up with a surprising amount of the gremlins' science jargon. Todoroki and Shinso just sit back and watch for the most part, unless the purple boy feels the need to redirect them back on topic. And Koda occasionally adds in some surprisingly witty commentary that often has them all giggling once one of the others who sign translates for the ones who don't. 

When the warning bell rings they get up to dump their trays, and Mei waves as she runs from the room. Izuku and Shinso cross themselves and mutter a prayer for the support lab.

As the remaining five on their group make their way towards the 1-A classroom there's a definite buzz of anticipation running through them. Even if most of them don't show it in overly visible ways. Izuku can't help the small bounce in his step as he chats and jokes around with Shinso. He was actually really looking forward to the next couple of hours.

Chapter Text

They separated at the door. The hero kids walked in to find their seats. Izuku stood against the wall in the hallway, unsure if the heroics teacher wanted to introduce him or not. And with the incident with the second years still fresh in his mind he really didn't want to risk another incident, even if logically he knew Shinso would step up to explain the situation for him if needed.

As the final bell rang the greenette was pushed off of his feet as a gust of wind blew through the hall. He managed to turn his almost sprawl into a semi graceful roll, though he knew there would be a bit of a bruise on the point of his shoulder where he had hit the ground wrong. Mirokuma would beat his ass if he saw that roll, best not tell him. 

By the time he made his way to his feet from the crouch he had landed in the door to 1-A was being slammed open and a blur of red and yellow was entering the room. Oh. You've got to be kidding. "I AM HERE! COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!" 

Is there a way to get out of this after all? It wasn't fun anymore. He peeked around the door frame, desperately hoping against hope he had imagined that voice. Nope there was the number 1 hero in his full glory. Damn. 

He glanced around at the other kids, they were all completely enraptured by the hero as he gave a spiel about what the class was going to do today. Even Shinso seemed completely focused on the man. That made the movement at the front of the room all the more noticeable when a familiar spiky head of ash blond whipped around to glare at the door. Like he sensed Izuku's presence. Nervous green locked with furious red. 

The smaller teen quickly ducked back around the door frame. But the damage had already been done. All Might said a few more things and then ran out of the room as quickly as he came. This time the greenette managed to brace himself against the rush of air. He heard clattering in the classroom, the hero students distracted by something. 

Then he felt a burning hand grasping onto his collar. Once again. Like always. He froze. 

"Deku. What the hell are you doing here?!" God. How could he have forgotten that Kachan made it into the hero course? "Hah?! You ignoring me you useless fuck?!"

"N-no K-Kachan! I-i-i I'm j-just, I uhm." 

"Gods, I almost forgot how annoying that stutter is. What, are you so unevolved you can't even speak right?!" He gives the smaller boy a short shake. "What. Are. You. Doing. Here." The words are enunciated and drawn out, like he was speaking to someone with a different mother tongue. Or an idiot.

The greenette felt his face flush in humiliation. "I-I'm w-watching y-y-your cl-class t-today…" Before the confrontation could go any further they were interrupted. A redheaded boy bounced through the doorway and draped an arm around Bakugo's shoulders. "Bakubro! There you are! I grabbed your costume for you!"

The newcomer didn't flinch as he was roughly shaken off. "Oh? Who's this?!" Izuku's shirt was finally let go, and with a light shove to the smaller teen's chest the explosive blonde turned away. "Don't worry about it. Deku doesn't matter." He snatched a case from the redhead and stalked off. 

They watched him go for a second before the broad shouldered teen turned back to Izuku. "Sorry about him. I'm sure he didn't mean that… Anyways! I'm Kirishima Eijiro! It's nice to meet you!" He then ran off before the freckled boy could recover enough to reply.

That seemed to open the floodgates. Students poured out of the classroom, all carrying shiny silver cases, each with a different number emblazoned on the front. He nodded to the three kids he had eaten lunch with as they walked past. Giving each of them a shaky smile.

Shinso finally made his way into the hall. When he did he stopped in his tracks. He looked his friend up and down, eyes landing on his still rumpled shirt. "What happened?" Izuku's weak smile dropped a bit. "I just got knocked over by All Might. I don't think he noticed I was here. Don't worry about it." He started walking. Following the direction the other teens had gone, doing his best to tidy up his appearance without a mirror.

They ended up outside of the changing rooms for ground Gamma. Izuku decided to bite the bullet and go on ahead instead of risking being alone with Bakugo again so he parted with Shinso. He headed out into the training ground.

When All Might noticed him he almost flinched. "Ah! Are you the support student?! I just reviewed Nezu's message about you joining us! Why don't you go ahead to the observation room and prepare whatever you need while I go over things with the Heros?!" Izuku nodded, keeping his face tilted towards the ground. He didn't think he could handle making eye contact right then.

He scampered away towards the door labeled observation and made his way into the dark room. There was a desk with a single rolling chair and a whole slew of monitors hanging on the wall. He grabbed an empty notebook out of his bag, and his Wild Wild Pussycats themed pencil case. Before shoving the battered bag under the desk.

He settled into the chair having an instinctual feeling that he probably shouldn't let All Might near the tech. The system booted up quickly and he ran a few quick tests to get a feel for how everything was connected. Once he was settled he flipped on the camera for the entrance where class 1-A had just gathered. He typed in the commands to bring up the audio as well and All Might's booming voice filled the small room. Ugh. Was there a way to just block one person's voice with his hearing aids?

The game was simple. But the support student couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't too soon to be putting kids against each other in head to head fights. Shouldn't they have a class on safety first? He sighed and started filling out pages to get a head start on his own project.

He labeled the tops of each double page spread with any names he had, and the ones he was able to glean from listening in on the teens drawing lots. He has a basic entry set up for about half of them before they all make their way to the observation room, sans the four who are going first. 

As the door opened, letting bright sunlight stream in, he stood, setting his notebook down for the moment. He heard a couple of kids ask questions at the sight of him but kept quiet. He really didn't want to make this situation any worse for himself. When All Might fumbled his introduction, saying something vague about a support course thing and obviously not remembering the name he had read earlier in the text from the principal, Shinso stepped forwards. 

With a roll of purple eyes he slung an arm over the smaller teens shoulders. "His name is Midoriya Izuku. Support course. And smarter than any one of you could ever hope to be. He's here because Nezu told him to pick you and your quirks appart." Izuku flushed bright red and looked up at his friend in mortification. 

"H-hitoshiiii!" He whined before burying his face in his hands. "I'm not! I-i don't-!" The dark chuckle he earned vibrated through him from where his bruised shoulder was pressed against the taller boy's side. "Oh? Is that not why you're here?" 

Thankfully he was saved from being completely destroyed by his friend's amusement by the wonderful goddess known as Yaoyarozu. "Midoriya-kun, just from talking to you during lunch I could tell you are skilled in matters of science and quirks. I'm sure any insight you could give us would be helpful." 

He peeked out from between his fingers, originally to give the girl a grateful look. But his expression quickly turned to one of horrified confusion, face flushing even more at the sight of the amount of open skin on display. "WHAT are you WEARING?!" The hero students all take a step back as the tiny force of nature that was an offended green themed support student walked up to the girl to get a closer look at her costume. "Oh my Gods. There is NO armor at ALL. What the FUCK." He spun to face the rest of them. Really taking in their costumes for the first time before he slumped and ran a despairing hand down his face. "This is going to end up being my problem isn't it?"

That comment earned him a laugh and a slap on the back from Shinso. Who was kitted out in a tweaked version of the outfit Izuku had made when Hatsume-san taught him how to sew. An armored bodysuit under a purple and black hooded jacket (cat ears added to the hood at Hitoshi's insistence) and cargo pants. The pants tucked into the top of combat boots and held up with a utility belt. He was basically a walking mound of pockets. And his friends had made sure that every pocket was filled with its own useful item.

His costume was made by a professional of course. With optimal materials and experienced expertise. No loose stitches or crooked hems to be found like Izuku's project. Though he had gone back and fixed those things as he noticed them. 

Before the teen could sink completely into his despair he was interrupted by the blonde loudmouth who was posing as the teacher for this class. "Right. Well. If you have issues with the costumes your upperclassmen have designed I'm sure you can bring it up with Power Loader after class young… Midoriya was it? But right now we should get started with the exorcize."

"Right." He muttered under his breath as he plopped back into his chair and with a few keystrokes brought up the feed from inside the building that had been chosen for their use today. A few more taps and they had audio. Izuku then hacked his way into the comms units to make sure none of the opponents could hear each other, while keeping the teams ear pieces connected. When he was done the people in the command center could hear everything. But the teens in the simulated situation could only hear their teammate and whoever held down the button to speak into the mic in front of Izuku.

"C-comms are up. Cameras are s-set to track. One monitor for e-each student." He picked up his notebook. Turning to Shinso who was leaning against the side of his chair. "I n-need names for th-the entries. I know Bakugo and Uraraka…"

"Mhm.. his quirk is something to do with explosions. Her quirk is a five point activation, something to do with gravity I think?"

He hummed in interest but didn't let himself start to speculate. He did note down Shinso's observation about Uraraka though, the boy had spent enough time around him and Mei to pick up on what was important enough to bring up.

"Bird head? His qu-quirk?"

"Not as far as I can tell. Tokoyami Fumikage. His quirk seems to be some kind of shadow manipulation." 

"Fascinating. A se-secondary mutation then. Tall blue g-guy?"

"Iida Tenya. His quirk is easy. Engines in his calves. He's a speedster."

"Iida? A-as in Iidaten? A le-legacy then. That might ch-change the types of training h-he should focus on… I'll l-look into it." With their rapid exchange over the green imp turned to a startled All Might. "I-I'm ready w-when you are." His friend gave him a pat on the shoulder before stepping back to lean against the wall nearby so he wouldn't be blocking the screens for anyone.

All Might cleared his throat. "Ah. Right then!" The. Man leaned over to jab his finger to the button on the microphone. Izuku scootched his chair over a bit so the man was less in his space, picking up his pencil as the match started. Missing the weird look Shinso gave him at his obvious reluctance to be near the pro.

The man called for the start of the match and Izuku braced himself for the explosions. Bakugo didn't disappoint. The blonde took off with a bang that echoed a bit over the speakers, making his way through the halls of the building, leaving his partner to grumble in irritation as he stayed to guard the objective.

Meanwhile the hero team outside also split up. Izuku watched with rapt attention as the girl, Uraraka, made herself weightless and quickly bounced to the top of the building, entering from the rooftop hatch. Her partner let himself in the front door making no move to conceal himself. A distraction then? Risky. But it might work if he had a way to restrict Bakugo's movements. 

He didn't. Tokoyami's quirk was weak to light and it didn't take Bakugo long to figure that out. Soon the raven headed teen was sat alone in a hallway with his wrists tied, waiting dejectedly for the end of the round. From there it was all over. Uraraka didn't stand a chance against two opponents with better maneuverability in a room with nothing to use her quirk on. All Might called it when she was well and truly pinned. 

As the four teens made their way to meet up with the rest of the class Izuki scrawled the rest of his notes down in a messy short hand. Unable to spend the time to make things neat. He ignored the other teens commiserating and congratulating those who returned, not tuning back into the world around himself until All Might called for attention. "ALRIGHT YOUNG HEROS! Who do you think was the MVP of this round?!" 

After a quiet moment Yaoyarozu raised her hand. "I would think is was Iida. He played his part dutifully despite it not being the optimal position for his quirk." Izuku nodded and added in his two cents, he was here to make observations after all. "Y-yeah. But n-not only that, h-he did his be-best to roll w-with a b-bad situation. Wh-when his partner r-refused to st-strategize with him he came up w-with a workable pl-plan based on K-Kachan's impulsive a-actions…" 

"HAAAH?! WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU SHITTY DEKU?!" Oh right. He just said that where Bakugo could hear him, didn't he? The explosive boy pushed his way to the front of the room, getting in the freckled teen's face with a growl, blocking his exit from the chair. "Who the fuck do you think you are? A stupid wannabe like you thinking you can tell us actual heros in training what to do?!"

Before Izuku could stammer out a reply Bakugo was being pulled back by some of the other boys in the class. Kirishima and… Kaminari? "Yo bro! Not manly! I know the adrenalin's a rush but don't go takin' it out on Midoriya!"

"Yeah man! That's so not heroic! The poor guy is just tryin' to do his job!"

They pulled him back over to where he didn't have a direct line of sight to the seated boy through the bodies of the small crowd. The pro hero, who had done nothing during the exchange, typical, tried his best to regain control of the class and get them back on track. Shinso stepped back over to check on his friend as he did, signing " Kachan?"  

Izuku winced, knowing he wouldn't get out of that explanation. He sighed. " I'll explain later, back at Mei's ok? I can't, I don't wanna have any… issues… at school." The purple insomniac hummed but gave in to the request, understanding the need for putting it off for when they weren't being watched. Besides, Mei would kill him if he triggered the smaller boy on purpose. That being said he didn't go back to his place against the wall. If he blocked people from seeing, fuck it, that no longer mattered when he needed to have Izuku's back.

Chapter Text

The next four matches go by in a blur of overpowered quirks and rushed scribbles. Ashido and Sero vs. Shoji and Todoroki was short and brutal. As soon as the signal to start went off Todoroki froze the entire building. Ashido started melting her way through the ice to let her and her partner get to the bomb, but Shoji was able to pinpoint where they were by the sounds they made. Telling Todoroki where to strike again, once they were incased Sero had to give up, Ashido gave up a minute later when she realized there was no way to melt a path all the way to the bomb with the 7 minutes she had left.

Mineta and Koda vs. Kaminari and Yaoyarozu also a short match. Mineta was too distracted by Yaoyarozu's visible decolletage. And Kota was too shy to try and snap him out of his stupor. It ended when the girl shot a net gun to capture the rock shaped boy, and Kaminari stepped up behind an oblivious grape to give him a sharp shock.

Shinso and Hakagure vs. Ojiro and Sato was a pure stealth vs. Muscle fight. Izuku watched with pride as his friend coached his partner through a well executed plan. Using the comms to great effect they scouted out the positions of the objective and their opposition. And then Shinso set himself up as a distraction, holding his own against the two more muscular boys by thinking on his feet and dodging as many blows as possible. Izuku had to point out that Hakague had secured the bomb so that All Might would call the match. The pro had been too distracted to keep track of the invisible girl on the infrared screen the support student had brought up.

Aoyama and Asui vs. Kirishima and Jiro was an interesting fight. Aoyama took the part of the distraction. And what a distraction he was, running into the room in a shower of sparkles. Their plan might have worked too, but Jiro's sensitive hearing picked up on Asui's climbing up the outside of the building. From there Kirishima just had to block the windows so she couldn't sneak in. When Jiro turned to face Aoyama the boy ran out of steam, falling victim to a quirk drawback he surrendered.

The class ended quickly after that. A few more minutes of discussion, a loud laugh, and then they were dismissed, All Might running off before anyone else could blink. As they all made their way out of Ground Gamma the small freckled support student did his best to keep the bulk of the group in between himself and his ex best friend. 

He almost jumped out of his skin when an arm slung itself over his shoulders. "Hey there! UA really is something huh? All of these people running around with both beauty AND brains? So not fair!" Green eyes whirled to meet sunshine yellow. When Kaminari was sure he had the greenette's attention he gave him a flirty wink.

Izuku was pretty sure his brain imploded. What just happened? What should he do? Oh God, how red was his face. Before he could even try and formulate a reply there was a growl from his other side. Oh right. Shinso was with him. The two taller boys shared some sort of look, the meaning lost on him.

"Buzz of lightning bug."

"Oh? What? Don't know how to share?"

"I know how to share. That doesn't mean I have to share with YOU."

"Oh ouch. Come on now, green bean here looked like he was into it."

Another growl. Another long second. And then Kaminari tsked before gently retracting his arm. "Maybe next time then." With that he skipped forwards to rejoin the others. 

Izuku looked up at Shinso blankly. "What the hell just happened?" Incredulous purple stared him down for a second before Hitoshi tilted his head back with a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're really going to be the death of me aren't you?" Another sigh. "Don't worry about it. You need to run so you can make it back to 1-H for dismissal right? Go on. I'll see you at the shop." 

They break off from each other, Izuku deciding to question him again later. They really did need to get back to class and Shinso still needed to change. As he hurried across the massive school grounds Izuku found himself thinking about flashing yellow and purple eyes and challenging smirks.

___

Izuku is pulling pieces for an order while he talks at Mei over the sound of her drill. Working his way through his thoughts about 1-A's quirks before he really settled down to write real profiles for the hero kids. She hums and haws at all the right moments, but he knew she only really tuned in when he mentioned support gear they might need, sometimes even writing little notes to herself on the notepad she keeps by her workstation. A habit she had picked up from his own need to write every idea down.

He's just finished blabbering about his hypothesis on Todoroki having a fire element to his quirk when Shinso appeared from between the shelving units. "Hito-chaaaan!" Mei squealed excitedly. "I finished that support item Izu drew up! Power loader sent it off to be tested. It should be put into your case by the end of the week!" That got her an incredulous look from their friend. "Mei. It's been one day. How did you finish that so quickly?"

She giggled. "Izu-kun did the hard part, figuring out how to get it to work. I would never have figured out how to get the mechanism so small. Putting it together was so much fun! I had to use my quirk a lot though! I'm glad Power Loader agreed to give us extra credit for joint projects like this! Now I can make all the babies Zu-kun designs but is too busy to build!" She giggled and went back to her bench. 

Izuku peeked out from behind a large box full of parts he was carrying to the loading bay. "If you fi-finished the voice modulator d-does that mean you've made the boots already as w-well?"

"Almost! I have to wait for the last piece to finish printing! They should be done tomorrow though!" He nodded and heaved the box a little higher, not noticing the flush that spread over a certain violet eyed boy's face as his arms flexed with the movement, pulling the material of his undershirt tighter. He walked away, not seeing Shinso eyeing up his shoulders as he went. 

Mei snickered at him. He flipped her the bird. She stuck her tongue out. 

They continued their childish game until the greenette made his way back over, flopping onto a stool with a tired sigh. "Geez I'm tired. Who knew UA would be so… intense?" 

"What, weren't expecting the number one hero school in the country to push you a little Mr. Genius?"

He groaned. "Hitoshi please. I'm really not a genius." God damn that shit eating grin. "Sure thing, Nezu's personal student." He thumped his head down on an empty spot of Mei's workbench, ignoring the grease getting into his hair.

Shinso made a face, commenting on how his curls would be easier to take care of if he didn't do shit like that to them. A freckled finger flipped him off, Izuku mumbling something about how he was one to talk about hair, but too tired to really get into the familiar argument.

Mia took that moment to make her entrance from the direction of the office. "Hey Izuku-kun! Did you get Momiji's order set?" The boy straightened up with a quiet grunt. "Yes ma'am. Do we have an-another order?" She waved her hand. "Nah. That was the last one and he isn't picking it up until tomorrow. Go ahead and clock out for the night. You should rest up for tomorrow, you're observing the other hero class right? Need that brain awake and functioning!"

A hand on his arm stopped him from getting up, long fingers wrapped gently enough he could easily pull away. He looked up at Shinso, head tilted to the side in question. "Izu, speaking of the hero kids… what was that with that Bakugo jerk earlier." Oh fuck. Right. That happened. 

Green eyes looked down and away, finding a weird stain on the concrete floor. "I-it was n-nothing!" He heard the Hatsumes' questions and flinched when Hitoshi's answer sounded irritated. The hand was immediately pulled away from his arm. And his friend was crouching down in front of him a few feet away, giving him space. "Hey Izu. Hey… it's ok. I just, I need to know if you're ok. He got really close to you with those explosions of his…"

"Explosions?!" Mei echoes something odd in her tone. Izuku sees the moment it clicks for Shinso. His face went from consoling to unbridled rage in an instant. He very obviously tried to reign himself back in though when the small teen in front of him flinched again.

Hatsume-san stepped in, gently guiding Shinso to his feet. "What's this about explosions?" Mei was the one that answered voice shaking. When Izuku glanced over, face still tilted to the floor he got as far as her white knuckled fists before he looked away again. "Izuku lost his hearing in an explosion caused by a quirk…" Shinso finished the thought for her, confirming her assumptions. "Bakugo can create explosions from his hands, and was extremely aggressive towards him today."

There was a full minute of silence while everyone processed. Then Hatsume-san whirled to head back to the office. "I'm going to message Nezu about this." The green boy jumped up and grabbed her wrist in a panic. "N-no! You can't!"

"And why not? Izuku-kun. When I went to pick you up from that school you were covered in burns. He took your hearing from you?! Why should we not notify the principal about the budding villain amongst his hero kids?!"

"Because there's still a chance to save him!"

The other three fall silent again, but now that Izuku is up he's pacing. Shaking hands running through his tangled hair and tugging harshly. "K-kachan-... he-he's.. I. Ugh! K-Kachan's been gr-groomed to be a h-hero his who-whole l-life! H-he has a ridic-ridiculously one track m-mind. I-if you t-take his go-goal away what d-do you th-think he will do?! I-i-i don't kn-know ab-about you guys, but I d-don't wa-want a vi-villain with th-that kind of f-firepower, smarts, and q-quirk co-control run-running around!"

Everyone freezes yet again at his outburst, not used to seeing the happy go lucky, freckled bit of sunshine, looking so monumentally exhausted. The frustration was writ into every line of his body, this argument one he had obviously had with himself again and again. 

With a sigh the redheaded woman stepped forwards once more. She wrapped the trembling boy up in a hug, gently pulling his fingers free of where they were ensnared in green. "Oh baby." She hummed with a small sniffle. "Honey, no. This boy has done you wrong. You don't have to defend him. You don't owe him anything. If that's the path he takes it wouldn't be your fault. Tell you what, I am going to tell Nezu, if only because he's still looking into the case on Aldera. But, I will tell him of your concerns. Surely a school for heros, taught by heros, has some sort of way to make sure it's students stay on the right track? If not, I'm sure Nezu will figure it out. This isn't your problem. It never should have been." 

They end up in a puddle of tears on the floor for more than an hour as Izuku works his way through his emotions and the others support him. Eventually, after he stopped crying, Mia stands, ordering them all to go take showers while she orders dinner and writes up an email to the principal. Mei started to protest but it was pointed out that the shop floor was filthy and if they were going to cuddle on the couch they needed to try and scrape off at least some of the dirt and old oil.

As Mei disappeared into the bathroom, ladies first, Shinso got his friend's attention. "Hey uhm, Izuku, I, this might be insensitive. You don't have to answer if you don't want to. But uh, when the… incident happened at your school we, uh, we saw that you have some scars. Mei and I agreed not to bring them up unless you did. And I swear we didn't see much before Mia kicked us out of the room. But I was wondering if… if he…"

His first instinct was to deny, to wave off the question. He knew the other boy would drop it if he did. Of course he would, this was Hitoshi. He could trust Hitoshi to watch his boundaries. He could trust Hitoshi with anything.

Huh, well there was a thought...

After a moment he huffed and nodded to himself, unlatching the straps of his overalls. He missed the panicked flush that consumed his friend as he took off his shirt. 

The embarrassment died away quickly as Hitoshi got a good look at the amount of damage to his friend's skin. There were scars all over him, criss crossing over each other. He could see long gashes, and pinpricks where stitches had held them together. And small circular burns dotted across his bicep like stars. But the worst ones were the handprints. Some of them blurry imprints amidst a circular burst pattern. Some of them are perfectly outlined like a brand. He had to force himself to hold his lunch at that thought. 

The ones that really caught his eye were the masses on his right shoulder and on the left side of his chest, above his heart. Those looked the worst, layered. Like the damage had been reapplied every time it healed. Izuku frowned. "Hitoshi? Yo-you ok? You're cr-crying…"

He broke from his stupor at those words. Before stepping forwards quickly to hug his friend, he could have a gay panic about hugging his shirtless crush later. Right now he had a promise to make. "Never again." He hissed through clenched teeth. "He won't ever hurt you again. If he tries, I'll kill him." The green boy relaxed into his arms with a sniffle, but he had cried all of his tears earlier. So they stood there, leaning on each other. As the promise sunk deep into their bones.

Chapter Text

The next day started off much the same, Izuku reviewing his altered schedule on the train ride before he met up with his friends. He had coding first thing and he was super excited about it. Hatsume-san had done a lot to build off of his self taught foundation. But having a teacher who specialized in the subject meant he would probably learn even more tips and tricks. 

He was hoping to write a program for tracking quirk subtypes amongst criminals and villains. He hoped it could be used for pinpointing at-risk kids, making it easier to step in while they were still young and set them on a better path. That was the theory anyway.

As he stepped onto the platform he sensed something coming at him from his right and braced himself to catch a caffeinated Mei. "Good morning Zu-kun!" He looked over her shoulder and saw their other friend standing out of the way of other commuters. Shinso rubbed tiredly at his eyes as he waved his hello. Cute. 

"W-what are you two d-doing here so early?" He questioned. Last night, after dinner, Hatsume-san had received a reply from Nezu, asking Izuku to come in early for a meeting. The teen hadn't slept at all, stressed about how the meeting would go. Especially since Bakugo would most definitely be the main topic. He'd never had a good experience talking about the walking explosion with teachers.

"Aw. Shame on you Zuku if you thought we wouldn't get up early to support you!" Mei fake pouted at him as Hitoshi grabbed them both gently by the arm to guide them out of the way of passengers who were still trying to get off of the train. "Y-you really di-didn't have to. It's just a m-meeting, besides Hatsume-san will be on vi-video call the whole time…"

"Did you eat?" Shinso asked over his shoulder. Izuku looked confused at the change of topic, meeting purple eyes and tilting his head in question. "It's a yes or no question Greenie."

He had to think about it for a second, cheeks dusting pink in slight embarrassment. "I ah… no?"

The other boy gave him a knowing smirk, letting go of Mei's wrist to dig around in his messenger bag. After a moment he pulled out a small paper bag with the logo of their favorite coffee shop emblazoned across it. Green eyes lit up eagerly as he accepted the bag and opened it to find a large green muffin. "Matcha and lemon. Something green for good luck."

"But isn't MIDORIya green enough?" Mei chimed in, playfully elbowing said boy in the ribs. "Ah but see, he's MY good luck charm. Therefore when he needs luck he has to get it from elsewhere."

That last comment once again made the greenette flush. "W-what?!" Violet eyes met his as their owner tossed a small smirk over his shoulder. "Well yeah. Come on Zuku. Ever since I met you my luck has been really good! I've made friends. Found a place to call home. Got into my dream school." He led them out onto the street. "Hell I haven't even been muzzled lately!" 

He jerked to a sudden stop, turning around in confusion at his unmoving friends who were staring at him in horror. "Muzzle?" Mei whispered imploringly. "Uh yeah? It's a common punishment for kids with voice quirks? Surely you saw it one or twice in middle school? The teachers were pretty free with it, especially the first two years…"

"I-no? I never saw a muzzle on anyone?!" Shinso hummed thoughtfully tugging on their wrists to get them moving again. "Well… they did take it off for lunch and stuff. And since we were in different classes I guess you just never caught sight of it. Besides, that one wasn't even that bad! It was padded and everything!" 

He had managed to drag them through the school gate by this point. Mei was still protesting, but Izuku seemed to be deep in thought as they made it into the school and shucked off their shoes quickly putting on their assigned uwabaki. They made their way into the main building as a group, heading towards the principal's office on the 4th floor. 

After a few minutes of Mei grumbling about quirkist teachers Izuku stopped them again. Turning to stare directly into Shinso's face. With a serious look in his eyes he raised a trembling hand to trace the faint white scar where it fell against Hitoshi's cheekbone. "Who uses the non padded muzzle Shinso?" His voice was quiet, but clear. No stutter to be heard. 

Confused violet stared at him blankly for a second. "Does it matter?" The greenette flinched back like he'd been hit before yanking up his sleeve with a snarl. "Do these matter?! What the hell Hitoshi?! Does it matter?! For months you all have been telling me that people hurting me is wrong. And now you're telling me that people have been hurting YOU and you're acting like it's not a big deal?! Which is it huh? Should I get help when I'm hurt or should I shrug it off?!" He stood there panting after his little tirade, the other two stared at him in surprise. 

Before they could reply though, a voice spoke up from further down the hall. "What's going on here? It's too early to be this loud." Hitoshi's face paled as they turned. "Aizawa sensei…" The bedraggled looking hero stood a few feet away, obviously having just stepped out of the door leading to the… teacher's lounge. Good job paying attention to your surroundings.

Shinso seemed nervous, flustered, as he tried to pull a reasonable answer of what they were doing from thin air. But Izuku was studying the teacher, before the answer he sought very visibly clicked into place behind his eyes. "O-oh my god! You-you're Eraserhead! HITOSHI. You d-didn't tell me your ho-homeroom teacher is THE Eraserhead!" He shot his friend a pouty look.

The hero focused on the smaller green child. All three of the teens saw the exact moment when the man zeroed in on Izuku's exposed scars. With a sigh he ran a hand through his messy black hair. "OK. Alright. Problem children…" He cut off as a voice came over the intercom unit in the teacher 's lounge. "It's ok Aizawa. They were on their way to see me as it was. But, it seems I have some things to talk to Shinso-kun about as well. Would you mind joining us for our meeting since you are his guardian while on school grounds?" 

The underground hero nodded to a blank spot on the wall. Shit. Hidden cameras then. Which means the rat probably heard everything they had said since they got close to the school. 

He gestured for the kids to follow and led the way briskly. Izuku tugged his sleeve back down as he scurried after the other three as his shorter legs made it a bit harder to keep up. When they made it to the end of the hall the door once again swung open before they reached it. The black haired man strode through confidently. He took a position leaned against the wall near the principal's desk. Three chairs had been set up in front of the large oaken piece of furniture and the teens sat when the mammal waved them to.

"Good morning you three. Hatsume-chan, will you call Hatsume-san as I pour us all a nice cup of tea?" The pink one acquiesced, pulling up her mother's contact and setting the phone in the holder conveniently located on the desk. Which immediately connected her device to the screen on the wall opposite Aizawa. Mia popped up on the screen with a cheerful greeting before frowning and looking around at the extra people in the office. "OK. What's happening?"

"Good morning Hatsume-san." Nezu greeted once again as he sipped his fresh tea. "It seems you have a talent for sniffing out abused teenagers. I'd love to have you on staff. Honestly. It's so hard to find people who are good at peeking behind the trauma." The woman put two and two together quickly. Her eyes snapped to Shinso. "Who hurt him? And how? And where can I find the fuckers?!" 

"Now now. Calm down Hatsume-san. I took the liberty of pulling up Shinso-kun's file when I overheard the argument in the hall. If I were to hazard a guess, the ones who use the muzzle that cuts his face are the people at the group home." Beady black eyes lock onto the teen as if he didn't reveal a whole host of his secrets at once.

"Group home?"

"So all of the siblings you mentioned taking care of…"

The other two kids were cut off by a growled "Muzzle?" That dragged the attention to the seething Eraserhead. "Ah yes, Aizawa-san. It seems we have another school to target as well as a group home to investigate. I will probably need your and Yamada-san's help to cover all of the bases. Knowing your dislike for quirk discrimination and his for muzzles I think you both would be the best for the job."

The man nodded, hiding his frown in the scarf around his neck as he obviously took a deep breath to calm himself. "Now. Shinso-kun. When was the last time you were muzzled?" 

The purple boy looked like we wasn't going to answer at first, but then he got caught in the viridian gaze that was watching him like a hawk, and the words of his friend's argument came back to the forefront of his mind. For months you all have been telling me that people hurting me is wrong. And now you're telling me that people have been hurting YOU and you're acting like it's not a big deal?!

With a sigh that seemed to deflate his whole body he gave in, if only to set an example for his self sacrificing friend. "About two months ago. At school. The group home hasn't muzzled me in about six months. Mostly because I refuse to talk while I'm there." Izuku's mind flashed to signing hands and irritated pink scar tissue and felt like he was going to puke.

"OK. Thank you for telling us that information Shinso. Now I need to go through another few questions. They're pretty standard, just answer as truthfully as you can and I promise we will take care of the rest. Now, do you have decent clothes at home?"

"If I'm lucky the home will get a donation of clothes. But as I'm the oldest and I just had a growth spurt hand me downs are a no go… I usually just wear my school uniform until I get to the Hatsumes' in the evening and can change into the spares they keep for us. I make sure to bring back the ones I wear home as often as possible but… I won't deny some of the t-shirts have ended up with the younger kids… sorry." He looked at the screen where Hatsume-san looked torn between crying and screaming.

"Alright. Do they feed you?"

He hummed a bit. "Kind of? They give me a shopping budget every week. I usually plan out meals and go shopping on Wednesdays after school. I'm also in charge of supervising the kids in the kitchen. There are several 10-13 year olds and I usually run them through rotations on who helps cook and who helps clean. But I uh. Feeding 20 kids is expensive… so I try to eat elsewhere as much as possible to help the food stretch further for the others. Getting free meals at school helps a lot. And ah, Hatsume-san also let's me eat at the shop with them which has been a life saver."

"Have they ever hit you?"

"Not in a while. I think it's because of that growth spurt. I'm now as tall as the group leaders, I think they find it more intimidating and don't want to risk me fighting back. And then I made it through the exam into the hero course…"

"But they have before?"

"On occasion. Nowhere near as much as some fosters I've had though. And I make sure to step in if I see anyone being aggressive towards the littles. Even if it's the kids fighting with each other."

"One last thing. Has anyone approached you, or to your knowledge one of the others, in a sexual way?"

Shinso's face darkened. "Not at this home."

"You've faced it before elsewhere though?"

"It should be in my file with the other reports of unlawful quirk use."

The principal nodded. "Ok. Shinso, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me this information. I promise you and the kids you've been protecting will be taken care of. When we are done here I'm going to ask you to go with Aizawa-san to file the recording of this meeting with the police. We will have you and the others in a safe place by the time school is out."

He then turned towards the other boy sat in front of him. "Midoriya-kun. Unfortunately this meeting will have to be a bit more brusque than it would have been. But on the matter of Bakugo's transgressions against your person, I have taken it upon myself to remove him from the hero course." 

He raised a paw to slow the greenette's protests at the announcement. "I have taken into account your own concerns about this course of action. So it's only temporary. And the boy will be made aware that he has the possibility of earning his spot back. He will have to attend mandatory anger management classes. As well as several other courses about bullying and trauma impacts. If he passes all of these to the teachers' satisfaction he will have an interview with me and I will see if he has what it takes to be a part of my hero course. As it stands right now, he does not. But out of respect for you I am giving him one more chance."

With a sigh the teen sat back, accepting the stipulations, even if they weren't exactly what he wanted. He noticed then that the underground hero was once again studying him. "So that means you're the kid that Chiyo has been on a rampage for." 

Green curls bounced as the teen turned his head a bit. "Chiyo?"

"Recovery Girl."

"Oh! Uh, yeah I-i guess? I mean, it was s-super nice of her t-to use her quirk on me! It's such a useful he-healing quirk it m-must be in high demand-d! To take ti-time out of her s-schedule to help a quir-quirkless kid she di-didn't even know just sh-shows how g-good of a hero sh-she is!"

The hero studied him for another moment. "Ah. Ok. I get it now." He looked to Nezu. "And Bakugo was the one that hurt him when Chiyo stepped in?" The principal nodded. "One of several, it seems the school is full of budding villains." 

"Right. If he makes it back into the hero course I want executive authority to expel him for any reason at any time. I would ask that he not be returned to my class but… I don't think Vlad could handle him."

"Permission given. Now, classes are about to start, I will ask Ectoplasm to cover your homeroom and make up a roster for your other classes. I also called up the Bakugos last night and they should be here soon so I will take care of informing them of their son's new circumstances. Midoriya-kun, Hatsume-chan, why don't you two head on to your classroom. Hatsume-san, thank you for joining us this morning, be sure I will email you the full list of Bakugo-kun's punishments and requirements for you to go over as Midoriya-kun's current stand in guardian. Shinso-kun, let Aizawa get you all settled ok?"

With that dismissal they filed out of the office. Izuku signed to Shinso to text and keep them updated. But he ushered Mei away quickly, not wanting to be anywhere near auntie Mitsuki when she heard about her son's… situation.

___

They stop outside the door to class 1-H. Mei had been uncharacteristically silent for a while. Pretty much since they sat down in Nezu's office. Her smaller green friend looked up at her in concern. "Mei-chan?" He asked quietly, hearing the other kids already in the classroom and not wanting to drag any of them into their conversation.

He was shocked when, at the sound of his voice the perpetually cheerful inventor broke into tears. "I'm so sorry Izuku! I don't know how to do this. What am I doing wrong? How did I not notice that both of my best friends were in so much pain?!"

"Oh. Mei. No." He ran his hands up and down her arm comfortingly. "It- it's not your f-fault. W-we both hid it fr-from you. W-we love y-you too much to w-worry you with o-our problems…"

"What kind of friend am I that you think I don't want to know about your problems?! That I don't want to help?!" The greenette frowned, unable to answer that question in a way that really made sense. So instead he sighed. "I think. I-i think Hitoshi and I a-are just… so used t-to fi-fixing everything ourselves. W-we just didn't th-think to a-ask you for help. I c-can't speak for h-him, but… m-my mom is g-gone alot, you know that, a-and I've n-never had another adult wh-who cared e-enough to h-help before I met y-your mom. It's- the sit-situation is still so n-new, and d-different, I'm still not s-sure wh-what to do most of the time… And I think Hitoshi i-is similar…" 

She's still bawling so he pulls her into a hug, doing his best to reassure her that it's not her fault their lives are fucked. He saw Maijima sensei step around the corner and slump a bit when he noticed the situation. The teacher walked up to them, stopping far enough away to not get into their bubble, but close enough that Izuku can hear him over his friend's melt down.

"Nezu-san has informed all of the teachers of the situation. Why don't you two go around the corner to the empty meeting room and take a breather? Don't worry about homeroom, and I'll let Rin-san know you will both be late. You were going to be told not to worry about heading to the third year classroom today anyways Midoriya. Just, whenever you two are ready to return, work on your project for Nezu ok?" The greenette nodded and as the teacher slipped into the classroom, he turned his friend to walk down the hall to the meeting room as ordered.

They end up cuddled up on the floor in the corner as he does his best to soothe the pink haired girl through her tears. Gently holding her and plaiting her dreads together into little wonky braids. Eventually she calmed. Though they stayed curled up together for a little longer.

Eventually he pulled away, wiping at her face with the edge of his sleeve in an effort to erase the tear stains. Eventually he gave up with a huff and hoisted them both to their feet. "Come on. You should wash your face." He led her to the bathroom and while she went inside to do as he asked he pulled out his water bottle from where it was wedged into his backpack, ripping that fraying seam a little bit more.

He handed her the bottle as she came back out and they headed back towards the classroom as she drank. 

They entered into the middle of first period and settled in, the teacher giving them a nod but otherwise not saying anything. Izuku was finding it hard to think about his analysis, so he spent the rest of the period redesigning the problematic costumes in class 1-A. The meditive act of drawing soothed the raging thoughts in his head as he tried to process the events of the last two days.

___

The rest of the day was rough. Aside from the occasional text to the group chat from Shinso letting them know he was still alive, they really didn't know what was going on with him. The two who had been left behind were therefore stuck in a perpetual state of stress and worry. 

As such neither of them were very hungry for lunch so they instead made their way down to the support labs to tinker. While Mei tore through the project she pulled out with a single minded determination, Izuku struggled to work on anything he had planned. In the end he mostly just held pieces still for Mei to solder together. There was some sort of alarm half way through the period, they weren't too concerned since their senpais in the lab next door had been working with explosives the entire time they had been down there. They figured that last blast had just been a bit too much.

And then it was time for him to go watch class 1-B. At this he finally perked up a bit, the siren song of new quirks strong. Luckily All Might seemed to be more prepared for the class now that he'd had a practice run at it.. and things went a lot more smoothly with the teacher and most of the class ignoring him unless he was giving his analysis of the matches.

The green boy had a quick chat with his tall classmate as they waited for the end of day dismissal. Talking about their mutual interest in costume design.

Before he knew it they were on the train, headed towards the shop. And he was babbling about the quirks he saw and how they could be used for heroics if they were trained correctly.

He did taper off of his rambles as they made it to the shop though, entering in through the backdoor near the cargo bay. Hatsume-san was waiting for them, tea steamed on the coffee table as she scooped them both into a hug. "Hey there kiddos. How was the rest of your day?" 

"It was ok mom." Mei answered, before getting to the meat of the issue that had hung over their heads since that morning. "What's going to happen with Hitoshi?" The woman sighed and gestured for them all to get comfy on the couch.

"OK. So I don't have all of the details as I am not his guardian. But from what I gathered from Nezu-san's emails the situation at that group home wasn't the best. You'll have to wait and see if Hitoshi-kun wants to tell you any details. Do NOT push him if he doesn't want to share, understand? Anyways, for now, while everything is still under investigation, he is being placed with a hero who has an emergency foster license. Since he is their star witness they want to make sure he is safe."

Izuku tugged on his fingers, a habit he had tried to break but it just kept coming back when he was stressed. "W-will he be able to come hang out still?" The redheaded woman sighed, snagging one of his hands into her own. "I'm not sure. That will be up to his new guardian. You can try to call him and ask, but don't be upset if he isn't able to talk. Situations like this can be really hectic."

The two nodded. Mei instantly whipped out her phone for a video call. It took a couple of rings but eventually their friend answered. They could see he was sitting on a bed in what looked like a sparsely furnished guest room. "Hey guys." Gods above he looked tired. His normal eye bags looked more like voids on his face then the normal light bruising. 

"H-hitoshi! Are y-you ok?" Izuku was practically sitting in Mei's lap in an effort to both be visible on camera and to get a better look at the purple boy on the screen. "Yeah… yeah I think I'll be ok… they uh.. they put me with Mr. Aizawa for now…"

"Th-they put you w-with Eraserhead?!" He studied Shinso's face carefully. "I-is that ok?" The other teen shrugged one shoulder lazily. "It's better than another group home? Plus they made the point that it will be easy for me to just hitch a ride with them to school so I can sleep in the car…" the other two giggled at that. Trust their friend to be swayed by the promise of extra sleep.

"Hey uh… Is Hatsume-san there?" 

The woman nudged the kids gently until Shinso could see a bit of her on frame. "Sure am kid! What do you need?" The tired boy scratched at the back of his neck awkwardly. "Uhm, do you mind sending a couple of sets of clothes? They aren't happy I have so little and want to take me shopping as soon as possible. But… I don't want to miss any more school, it's the first week and I just made it to the hero class… I think if I had some lounge clothes for the week they would at least wait until sunday…"

The woman nodded decisively, standing and making her way over to the little storage area where she kept clothes for the kids to change into after showering off. "I'll have Mei bring you a bag in the morning!"

"Thanks. I'll bring them back once I get my own stuff…" 

"No need kid! If I had known you needed clothes I would have taken you shopping myself ages ago!" She couldn't see the screen so she missed the embarrassed blush that spread across his pale face. "It's not really that bad…" he muttered to himself, only to cut off at the disagreeing looks on the two faces still visible on screen.

Any arguments they could have put up were interrupted by a loud voice on the insomniac's side of the screen. "Shinso-kun! Dinner will be ready in thirty minutes! Did you want to shower before or after?" Purple eyes widened as he realized what was coming. Izuku looked at the screen in confusion. "Was that Present Mic? Why? I thought you were with Eraserhead?" 

The voice came over the speaker again. "Shinso-ku- oh. Oops? Wh-who are you talking to there kiddo?" The tired purple teen just sighed and turned his phone around so the hero could see. There stood Yamada, dressed similarly to when he came to interview Midoriya. "Ah… no hope of them letting this go?"

The camera jostled a bit, presumably as Shinso shrugged. "They won't butt in if you ask them not to… but Izuku is… curious by nature so he will figure it out eventually. His brain never let's a puzzle go." The hero hummed. "OK. Say goodnight to your friends. I'll let Shou know and he will probably say you can fill them in tomorrow."

The camera flipped around again and they're met with an exhausted looking grin. "You heard the man. I gotta go. Have fun with that puzzle tonight Zu." 

The greenette whined a bit as the call ended. But both of the support students felt a lot better after confirming that their friend was safe.

Chapter Text

Through late night/ early morning texts they all ended up deciding to meet at the gates. Shinso was leaned up against the wall outside as they approached, it was still early enough that there were very few other students out and about. Mei handed the exhausted boy a coffee snagged from their favorite Cafe as they all headed inside. 

"Eraserhead wants to talk with you before class…" Hitoshi grumbled as they switched out their shoes. Izuku gave him a questioning glance, but to his minor irritation the purple menace just shot him his signature smirk. Oh. He knew exactly what he was doing, drawing his curiosity out like this. That asshole.

They made it to the 1-A classroom quickly. Izuku poked the taller boy's side nearly constantly to make a nuisance of himself, though he didn't break and out right ask a question.

Both Eraserhead and Present Mic were waiting for them when the three teens entered the room. The underground hero got right down to business. "Alright problem children. I'm going to tell you this one time. This discussion does not leave this room. What you are about to learn is a secret that has been guarded for safety reasons and is not to be shared with anyone." Suddenly his eyes flashed yellow and his hair rose from where it hung loose over his shoulders. 

Izuku couldn't stifle his snicker in time, causing the man to glare harder. "S-sorry Er-eraserhead-san! I-it's just, th-that would be a-a lot more ef-effective if we weren't… us?" He gestured to himself and Mei. "Quirkless. Ph-physical mutation."

The teacher's eyes stopped glowing and his hair settled. "You know how my quirk works?" The boy nodded, green curls bouncing. "Y-yes sir! I- uhm. I like an-analysing quirks. I found a cl-clip of you fighting on a f-forum a f-few years ago… it got ta-taken down quickly but… I have so m-many questions! Wh-what is your capture weapon m-made of?! Is your hair floa-t-ting because of a secondary quirk function? W-why the red l-lenses in your goggles?! What ha-happens when you use your q-quirk on yourself?!" 

The man stared at him blankly for a second before turning to the other teacher. "Zashi. Too much energy. Too early. Tag." That made the other man straight up laugh as they shared a look. "Oh." Izuku said when he caught onto the nickname and the look. "You two are a couple."

The two men turned to the green haired teen in surprise. Hitoshi snickered at their shock. "I told you he would figure it out at some point." Mic shook his head with a weird look on his face, Aizawa just sighed and said. "We're married. Don't tell anyone."

"Yes sir!" The green eyed bit of sunshine said easily. The man nodded before moving on to the next topic he wanted to cover. "Nezu wants you with the hero course again today and tomorrow. We're taking a field trip after lunch. So meet up with us in front of the school at the bell. Also, you will probably be running back and forth a lot to watch different exercises, so wear something with that in mind."

The teen nodded in acceptance, even if he was a bit sad that he wouldn't be able to go to the support studio for yet another two days. Ah well, Mei can hold down the fort there on her own, he preferred the designing phase to the building phase anyhow. Aizawa nodded back and pulled a lump of yellow cloth from beneath his desk, turning away from the rest of them as he climbed into the sleeping bag and promptly went to sleep. Mei looked at him incredulously, tilting forwards a bit like she wanted to go and poke the man.

Shinso grabbed her by the shoulder with a snort and a shake of his head, before leading the pink inventor over towards his desk. Izuku tried to follow him but was stopped by the other teacher. "Hold on little listener! I wanted to talk to you real quick! You were the one to design these hearing aids right?" He gestured towards his ears.

Izuku blushed instantly. He hadn't thought the man would bring up his little invention. "I-i. Uh. Yes?" The man laughed brightly. "Ha! Why the question listener? You should be proud of these! They're great! I've been dealing with the ones my support company designed for years! They turned themselves off every time I used my quirk. Do you know how irritating it is to have to constantly try and hit a tiny button while you're in the middle of a fight? And the Bluetooth feature is, god, brilliant! I love being able to listen to music at any time like this! Fantastic!"

By this point the teen he was praising had turned into a flustered mess, face hidden behind his arms and steam almost pouring out of his ears.

His friends were openly laughing at his reaction, knowing that his inner fanboy was probably freaking out even as he tried to process being praised by such a well loved hero.

After a few more minutes of gushing Mic stood grinning at the embarrassed teen. As the boy stuttered out half denials and garbled sentences a more serious look came over the man's face. Slowly he crouched down to where he was below the boy's level, and visible to the downturned green eyes. "Hey, kiddo. I'm also very proud of you. I know it's hard losing your hearing. And I know you've dealt with a lot of negativity. But look at you, pushing past all of that. Making such amazing things!"

The boy's arms lowered so he could search the hero's face, for lies or humor or malice, finding none he felt his eyes start to mist. And Hitoshi was there. He knew after an announcement like that his friend would need emotional support. So as the small green teen started to sniffle he was wrapped up in familiar lanky arms.

"Aww listener. It's ok. You're ok." The man stood up again and held his arms out, asking if the boy would be ok with a hug from him as well. After a short nod both boys were wrapped up in the scent of leather and citrus. The pro only held his hug for a few minutes though, not wanting to overstep. When he stepped back he kept a hand on Izuku's shoulder, smiling at him and giving it a squeeze.

"Take a breath kiddo. Do you want to go wash your face? The other kids will probably start showing up soon…" Izuku nodded. He stepped out of Shinso's hold with a small smile to the taller boy, he gestured for him to go back to Mei and slipped out into the hall.

Mic knelt down next to his husband and murmured a few things before standing. He turned to the two kids left in the room, "If any of you need anything come find me in the teacher's lounge alright? I've gotta go to prep for class. Let Midoriya-kun know I'm always available if he needs help." With another smile and a wave he left, a bounce to his step as if he was listening to music.

Mei turned to Hitoshi. "I think your new dad wants to adopt Zu-kun too." Hitoshi coughed as his sip of coffee went down wrong. "I-dad?! Mei!" He flinched and looked over to the yellow blob on the floor in the corner. When he spoke again his voice was a lot quieter. "They're a temporary foster placement. They are not going to want to adopt me." The girl tilted her head in confusion. "Why not?"

Hitoshi gestured wildly to himself as he tried to find the right words to answer that question. "I- look- me. I'm just. I'm me. No one has ever wanted me?"

That made her frown and cross her arms, she was obviously geared up for an argument. But before she said anything, something in the corner seemed to catch her eye. After a moment and a blink she took a deep breath and relaxed her stance. "I disagree Hito-chan. My mom would adopt you in a heartbeat if she thought she could. Just because all of the adults in your life so far have been idiots that doesn't mean you won't find one who actually has a brain and sees how awesome you are! Just… keep an open mind ok? Just like Izu-kun is trying to keep an open mind about the teachers here. Don't close them all out yet?" 

Her tall friend shrugged, neither an agreement nor an argument. Though he did look a little thoughtful so maybe he would take her words to heart. Izuku took that moment to walk back in, followed closely by Yaoyarozu who was asking him if he had any ideas for fixing her costume.

The greenette spouted off the first few thoughts that rattled around in his brain as he led the tall hero student over to the other two. As he got close the three friends shared a look, checking up on eachother and promising consolatory cuddles as soon as possible. Mei was drawn into the conversation quickly when the green teen mentioned a tablet designed to replace the book Momo currently had at her disposal to help her remember molecular structures. The two inventors then devolved into technical jargon as they debated the program they should code for it, Izuku quickly over taking his friend as his mind started planning the skeleton code.

After a few moments he snapped out of his mutter storm with a sheepish look at the obviously shocked Yaoyorozu. He missed the looks of pride his friends wore as their genius of a cinnamon roll once again shocked a newcomer. 

A few more early risers trickled into the room Iida and Todoroki first, followed by Shoji and Koda. The latter of which signed a shy good morning. Iida quickly made his way over to greet the support students, loudly thanking them in advance for all the help they would be giving him and his classmates. Mei immediately jumped the new meat, asking him if he had any requests for babies and steam rolling his embarrassed questions about her phrasing.

Eventually the two support students made their leave, about half of the class had shown up by that point and the room was getting a bit too hectic for them. Well, a different kind of hectic than what they would prefer. So they headed for 1-H and their class full of kids who would chat with them about whatever projects they were working on.

When they entered they were greeted brightly by the towering Kuroyama Tsuyoi. "Midoriya-kun! Did you bring it?! I want to see!" The small teen laughed at his classmate's excitement and pulled his bag around to dig out the outfit he had made when Mia had taught him to sew. 

Undersuit, cropped jacket, and cargo shorts. All tied together with a utility belt. The maroon, red, and black clashed terribly against the bright yellow of his tired backpack. 

The hulking boy practically squealed as he was handed the bundle, unfolding it and holding up each piece one at a time to scrutinize. Pointing out how useful having so many pockets was, while simultaneously praising the other boy for managing to make them fairly aesthetically pleasing at the same time. Izuku was for the second time that day a blushing stuttering mess as someone showed deep appreciation for something he had made.

That of course was when Mei decided to speak up. "Hey Zu-kun! Aizawa told you to wear something that would be easy to run in, right? Well I bet that would be a lot better than your overalls or uniform! And it looks cooler than our gym uniforms! Why don't you wear it! As a bonus you would be showing the Hero course what they could have if they ask nicely! Two birds!"

The greenette considered that thought for a moment, then conceded with a shrug. "W-why not? I f-fitted it f-for myself s-so I could f-figure ou-out how to cu-custom size th-things. Wo-would be a waste if I never wore it…"

The girl and the taller boy giggled in excitement, already planning what they should shove into the pockets, because why run around with so many and not have them filled with useful things. They decided to dedicate their lunch period to this surprise mini project, roping their homeroom teacher into their hijinx when he entered the room. Bullying him into agreeing to let Izuku field test some of their inventions. Arguing that situations for field tests were rare and that they should take this chance while they could.

Izuku just smiled and shook his head at their badgering, though he readily agreed to bring their babies along. Who can resist getting to play with cool toys?

Eventually, with the help of the bell, Maijima sensei managed to get them all settled into their desks. After morning announcements he turned them loose for free study for the last little bit. Before walking over to ask to inspect the outfit that Kuroyama was still clutching. 

"Hmmm. Decent for a first attempt. The stitching isn't perfect, but the cut and fitting isn't bad. If either of you want, there's a sewing room down the hall from the support lab, you can order specialty fabrics, or there's a bulk selection of basic heroics grade fabrics in the popular colors. It's a good place to practice skills like this. And any prototypes you turn in can count as extra credit." Kuroyama was beaming with excitement by the time the teacher was done. "Really?! I love to sew! Get ready to be swamped with the newest and best designs for hero costumes sensei!"

The man shook his head with a rueful smile. "Honestly. I expect nothing less from this course. Just remember to work on your assigned projects too. Don't fall behind or I'll have the system bar you from that room." The bulky teen nodded with a salute. "Yes sir!"

As they were talking the greenette at the desk in front of the other boy got an idea, a way to help the hero kids he had been watching while also not adding yet more work to his own plate. When the teacher walked away he turned to his classmate. "Hey Kuroyama-kun? What would you say to a team project?"

Chapter Text

First period was ethics. Aizawa walked in with a tired greeting. Nodding to Midoriya and Hatsume before launching into their first lesson on morality of the year. The tired man left quickly when his replacement showed up, obviously heading for a nap.

Snipe stepped out of his way right quick, knowing better than to block the underground hero. The cowboy hero then quickly started his biology lesson, handing Izuku a packet of chemistry theories and formulas to look over and memorize, promising that he would have experiments to run down in the support labs next week. Fun things to test the theories and help with his comprehension of the subject matter. The teen grinned at the idea of getting to play with chemicals.

Art history with Midnight was… an experience. The woman's persona was a bit much, but she obviously had a deep love for the subject she taught. Her and Kuroyama had an intense discussion over the influence of classical comic designs over early hero costumes and promotional art. Everyone else just sat back and watched, completely unable to match their energy.

Eventually they were interrupted by the bell and Midnight had to release them for lunch. Kuroyama thanked the teacher sincerely for her insights before excusing himself to help Mei drag the greenette to the lab to prepare him for his little trip.

And boy did they not skimp out on him. By the time they were done he was in his outfit and each pocket on the belt had some form of useful tool in it. The larger pockets on his pants were full of the comms units he was supposed to give to the hero kids, and a tablet to hook them up to. On his feet he had the boots Mei had finished, official name yet to be decided. He almost cried when he realized that she had made them using extra wide boots as a base, so they were less uncomfortable on his weird feet than they could have been.

Kuroyama handed him a set of marble sized bombs he had started developing. The yellow ones exploded into a sticky gooey mess that made it hard to move if your feet got stuck in it. The red ones were literally condensed, red, biodegradable glitter. He held those with care.

And for himself he looped the cable for his kyoketsu-shoge around his waist, the knife end stuck in the sheath he had slid onto the belt, and the weight end kept from unraveling by a quick release carabiner clip. He checked the charge indicator light on the hilt to make sure it was charged. 

All suited up, and looking more like a badass than a nerd he made his way out to the front of the school. The bus was there but no one was around so he leaned against the vehicle, opening up the notebook he was carrying to refresh on the notes he had taken during the battle trials while he waited.

He didn't realize he had slipped into the zone until there was a gentle tapping on the metal side of the bus near him. He glanced over to see Shinso who was obviously getting his attention with the rhythmic pattern. "There he is." The purple insomniac said with a teasing smirk. "We've been trying to get your attention for like a couple of minutes. Might wanna watch out when you're out in the open like this Izuku."

The greenette felt himself blush brightly when he realized the rest of 1-A was filtering out through the doors and down the steps. "Oops." His friend snorted in amusement, but before he could tease any more they were interrupted by an energetic blonde. "Midoriya! Joining us again? That's great! This trip just got a whole lot more fun!"

"O-oh! K-kaminari-kun! Hi!"

The electric boy grinned at his response. "Well damn. Is it just me, or do those freckles get cuter every time I see them?" Izuku made a strange noise before he tried to figure out how to reply, luckily Shinso stepped in to save him once again. "Oh come on Kaminari-kun. If you make his brain explode then no one can have him. Chill."

Ok. So saving him was not the motive. Traitor.

The smaller teen gave up on the conversation completely. Instead he tried to hide his face in his notebook so no one could see that his cheeks matched the accents on his jacket.

He really was saved by the next teen to step up to their little group, though once the boy spoke he wished he hadn't. "Hey! Mido-bro!" Kirishima said, trotting up to them. "Yo! Did you hear? Bakugo got put on probation. You knew him from before right? What do you think he did?"

The green haired teen felt his heart sink into his stomach. It made sense that the class had been told something when their classmate had been yanked from the course so early into the year. But he wished no one had thought to ask HIM about it. "O-oh. I- uh. He-" 

This time when Hitoshi stepped in he actually saved his friend. "Oh blasty? Are you really asking what he did with that temper? I think we can all give an educated guess. He doesn't exactly know the meaning of… restraint."

Kirishima looked between Shinso and Midoriya quickly before visibly making the decision to drop the topic. "Yeah, you're right. I had hoped he would chill out once the start of school nerves calmed down, but if he picked a fight or something there's really no helping it. Anyways, nice digs Mido-bro! Red is the manliest color!"

"Th-thanks Kirishima-kun! Th-this was the pr-prodotype we b-based Hitoshi-kun's costume on." Kaminari snapped in an 'aha' type of gesture. "I thought they looked similar! So you designed his suit Midoriya? You both look so cool! Like hot soldier ninjas!"

Hitoshi raised an eyebrow at that, though Izuku could see the light dusting of pink across his cheekbones and the tip of his ears. "Soldier ninjas?" The blonde boy nodded, golden eyes glittering with mischief. "Yup! You both have the undersuits that are all clingy and armored like ninjas. But then the cargo pants and the jackets? Totally military shapes. But then the colors and the hoods give you mysterious bad boy vibes. It's legit a whole look."

"Alright demon spawn. On the bus. Let's go." A tired voice drawled from the front of the vehicle, distracting the boys from their conversation as they turned to the Eraserhead standing by the door. Immediately Iida was ushering the group in an effort to organize the mass of teens and get them onto the bus in an orderly manner. Izuku had to laugh when his chosen plan turned out to be useless due to the open layout inside.

It took a few minutes, but eventually everyone was seated and the trip was under way. Izuku once again flipped open his notebook, taking the extra time for what it was and noting down issues he saw with costumes and gear. He was about half way done with the girl on his right, Tsuyu Asui, quirk: Frog, spoke up. "Midoriya-kun, forgive me if this seems rude, but I always speak my mind Kero. Why is a support student dressed in a hero costume and armed?"

The green boy in question paused in his frantic writing. "A-ah. Well- uh- I didn't know I-I would be j-joining you gu-guys today until I got t-to school this mor-morning. A-and Aizawa sensei t-told me to wear s-something to run in a-and my fr-friends insisted I w-wear this instead o-of the gym uniforms because o-of the pockets."

"And the knife kero?" 

"I-it a kyoketsu-shoge ac-actually. And Pow-power Loader let m-me bring some su-support items th-that are ready for f-field testing." The girl frowned. "Is such a simple and old fashioned weapon really classified as a support item?"

Izuku wished he didn't blush easily as he ducked his head in embarrassment. Did it count as a support item? Shinso took his momentary pause as a chance to speak over his head at the frog-like girl. "Hey, that thing is 7 months of hard work and sweat shoved into a well made bit of weaponry and tech. It's what won Izuku his spot in the support course. You should ask him to give you a demonstration some time. That thing is a work of art and he knows how to use it." For the most part the taller boy's tone was amicable, but for that last sentence his melodic voice dropped into something a bit darker. Not quite a threat. Maybe a warning?

The frog girl didn't seem phased by his slightly rude interruption. She just nodded with a hum, her curiosity obviously satisfied for the moment. She then returned to talking to Tokoyami. Izuku gave his taller purple friend a small grateful smile before he went back to his notebook. He had a lot of things he needed to do before Sunday after all, and he didn't want to waste time if he didn't have to. 

They arrived at their destination a few minutes later. A large, domed structure Izuku recognized from the maps he had lifted off the UA servers as the USJ. Ah. He knew why Aizawa said he would be running now. As they all filtered off of the bus the teen pulled out the comms and tablet from his pocket to start setting them all up for whatever exercise they had planned for the day. He had to take a moment to geek out when Thirteen showed up, but he was luckily not the only one. Uraraka was even more vocal than him in her admiration for the space themed hero.

But at a nudge from Shinso he got back on task, listening to the hero's speech as he handed out ear pieces and connected them all to his tablet and to the frequency of the teacher's professional comms units. When he was done he walked up to Aizawa to explain the setup and see if it was all right, or if he needed to tweak it for whatever the man had planned.

He was in the middle of his explanation when he caught sight of a weird purple and black flicker from behind the man. "Uh, sensei?" He said with a concerned tone. The man immediately spun around to catch sight of what he was looking at. He then swore colorfully. "Everyone. Group together and get back to the bus." 

Izuku took a small step to the side so he could get a better look at what was going on while the rest of the teens asked questions. That was when the green haired boy noticed the hands reaching through the purple mass. Oh. A portal. 

Eraserhead slipped his goggles on as people poured into the central place in a rush. "Those are real villains. Get out of here. Thirteen protect the kids!" He then jumped before Izuku had a chance to react! He felt a cold tingle of fear go down his spine at the thought of the underground hero in a fight alone against so many but before he could dash in after him he was grabbed by Iida.

The tall speedster was yelling at him to get into the center of the group so the hero kids could protect him. Basically dragging the smaller boy along as he ushered the rest of them towards the door. They didn't make it very far before being blocked by the same misty blob as before. The mist quickly reformed itself into an entity wearing a suit, glowing yellow slits where its eyes should be.

"Hello children. Apologies for inviting ourselves into your school like this. But we had intel that All Might would be here today, though it seems maybe there was a change of plan? Ah well. My duties stay the same."

As the villain finished his little speech Izuku saw Kirishima move as if he was going to attack, at the same time he saw Thirteen raise her hand. The greenette reacted before he could think, tackling the other boy just in time. The hero let her quirk loose as they fell to the floor. 

The teen felt his relief at seeing a hero step in turn to despair as he heard a horrendous ripping sound and a scream. He rolled off of the hero student and turned just in time to see Thirteen slump to the floor, the back of her suit in tatters.

He stumbled to his feet as the other teens screamed. He whirled to face Iida locking eyes with the stunned speedster. "Iida. You need to go. The door is almost closed and you're the only one who can go get help."

"But I can't abandon you all?"

"You want us all dead?! No? Then go!" He gave the blue haired boy a shove. Luckily it was enough to get him moving, dodging a trendle of shadow as he passed the villain, but making it through the door just before it slammed shut. Izuku felt a moment of relief before the fear took back over at the sudden sensation of falling. His vision was obscured by darkness for a moment, before he was suddenly able to see once more. Portal. Shit.

Chapter Text

He was still falling, rocky ground was racing up to meet him quickly. He did his best to angle himself so the landing would hurt as little as possible. He hit the ground on the back of his shoulder, rolling several yards with the momentum before he managed to bring himself to a skidding stop. After taking a moment to assess the throbbing pain from the area of impact, deciding that it would be an ugly bruise but that his shoulder wasn't dislocated, he looked around himself.

He spotted Kaminari and a couple of the girls nearby, the other boy groaning and rubbing his lower back dramatically. Yaoyorozu was helping the other girl (Jiro?) to her feet when the support student noticed them. Villains, and a lot of them. They were surrounded. 

Clever fingers undid the carabiner clip holding his kyoketsu-shoge in place around his waist. He unwound the cord as he ran to the others. "We have company!" He pointed out as he drew close enough. Which of course alerted the other teens to their little dilemma.

He made it to them and quickly looked them over, no one seemed hurt save a few bumps and bruises. His mind was racing through what little he knew of their quirks, frantically trying to come up with a plan. Yaoyarozu stepped forward before he could. "Midoriya-kun. Get in the middle. As hero students it's our duty to protect civilians." But the green eyed boy shook his head. "No. If you three try to fight while protecting me we will all die here. I have martial arts experience. I'll pull my weight."

The villains chose that moment to pounce. The teens spun so they were all back to back and Izuku pulled the knife from its sheath, fully freeing his weapon. He repelled the first two villains on his side by swinging the weighted end of his kyoketsu-shoge in short swipes, turning the electrical current on right before impact and turning it off when they went down in an effort to conserve charge. 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Yaoyarozu fight off a skinny man with claws with a bo staff she had pulled out of her arm. And Kaminari zap a couple of twins by catching their punches. That gave him an idea. He looked around, seeing an outcropping of rock nearby. He tried to get the others' attention before nodding his head towards the rocks and saying, "Get that to our backs."

When he got confirmation he and Yaoyarozu teamed up, fighting their way towards their destination as the other two covered their backs. Izuku was grateful for all of the practices with Mirokuma as he lashed out with his knife at the same time he swung the other end of the cord at a villain who was trying to blindside him.

It took some effort but they made it, Izuku switched spots with Kaminari, his weapon better for mid range, paired with Jiro's sound attacks they managed to gain themselves a bit of breathing room. Time for the next step. Speaking low enough that the villains wouldn't catch onto what he was saying he glance over his shoulder at the tall, dark haired girl. "Yaoyarozu-san. Can you make an insulated sheet? Or a thin sheet of rubber? We need something to block electricity." She nodded. "It'll take a minute. But I can make one."

"Do it. We will buy you time. Kaminari, how much control do you have over your output?" The blonde jumped at being addressed but answered quickly, "I'm pretty good with control. I practiced a lot because I didn't want to kill anyone." Izuku nodded, curls bouncing. "Good then this might work. I'm going to hand you the end of this cord in a moment. When I tell you to, I want you to pour as much juice into it as you can without overloading yourself. Don't worry about me touching it. My gloves are insulated." The other boy nodded, a serious look on his face as he placed his trust in the support student.

"Finished!" The girl behind him announced. "Right. Jiro, you and Yaoyarozu cover yourselves. Kaminari get ready." He handed the other boy the knife end of his weapon, digging the metal spikes of the boots he was wearing deeper into the ground in an effort to make sure he was well grounded. He swung the round weight at the end of his specially made cord around in ever growing circles around himself. Both for intimidation and also to gain momentum for a throw. 

When Jiro announced the two of them were covered he took a deep breath before throwing the weight straight into the center of the cluster of villains before him shouting, "Now Kaminari-kun!" The electric teen poured power through his hands and as the weight reached the very end of its leash it lit up in a massive show of light, electricity overflowing and shocking everything in a 20 meter radius. 

Izuku cringed as he felt his hair stand on end, even as he mourned the delicate mechanisms in his creation as they fried underneath the onslaught of power. He released the weapon as the cord in his hands heated up enough to start burning him through his gloves. After a moment the light faded and the weight dropped to the ground with a small thud. The greenette did his best to blink the stars out of his eyes as he looked over all of the downed villains. Once he was sure they weren't going to be getting up any time soon he turned to check on his fellow students.

They were all looking back at him. "Are you three ok?" When they nodded he took a deep breath and started to plan their next step. It took a second, and then he was cursing to himself as he dug the small tablet out of his pocket. Luckily even though it was cracked it was still functional. He tapped away bringing all of the student comms online. "Everyone. This is Midoriya. Status report."

Slowly, group by group he got an idea of their positions, swiping the labeled comms on his screen, dividng them up into who was with who to help him get an idea of what was going on. 

About half of the class had managed to dodge the portal mist and was busy trying to keep Thirteen stable. Todoroki was somewhere on the other side of the mountain zone, he had seen the light from their last attack and was heading to meet up with them. Tsuyu, Hitoshi, and Mineta had just escaped the shipwreck zone and were making their way to the stairs, planning on skirting the edge of the central plaza. Tokoyami and Shoji were busy fighting in the storm zone, but said they had things well at hand. Ojiro, Sato, and Kirishima had just made it to the exit of the conflagration zone.

He nodded, piecing together the situation with every report that came in. "Uraraka-san. What is the situation down in the plaza?"

"It doesn't look too bad. Aizawa sensei is still kicking some serious butt. And no one has been able to land a hit on him so far." OK. Ok. That's good. And Iida should be back soon with help. "Alright. Everyone head to the stairs as soon as possible. The pros should be here at any moment and it'll be easier for them if more of us are ready to evacuate. For now, radio silence unless there's trouble." He received a round of confirmations and tuned back into the world around him.

The other three were busy restraining the last of the villains they had downed, using zip ties that had most likely been made by Yaoyarozu. Gods her quirk was so cool. Seeing that they had things well at hand he picked up his discarded weapon, looking over the damage. The indicator lights on the knife hilt were completely burned out. The cable was also singed, though it was still usable for the moment. Even though his practice swings weren't as smooth as normal, the cord making light crunching sounds as it was moved. Even the weight had turned color from the heat. He just hoped the tang was alright so he could salvage the blade. It had been a gift from Ushinatta-sama after all.

Todoroki walked around the rock outcropping. Izuku just so happened to be facing the right way to see as the ice user paused for a moment, taking in the amount of prone villains with ever so slightly widened eyes. "Todoroki-san!" The greenette called to get his attention, also alerting the other of his arrival. He glanced over his shoulder to see Kaminari bind the last of their victims. "I think we're good to go here. Are you well enough for a run?"

Todoroki nodded. "I am not hurt." 

"OK good." Green eyes looked over the others in his group one more time to make sure they were ready, satisfied they were good to move he turned towards the exit he could see off to the side. "Lets get going."

They ran as a tight group Todoroki and Izuku leading the way while the others watched the sides and rear. Luckily they managed to make it to the exit without any more villains appearing and they dashed through, taking a quick moment to pause and figure out what direction to head.

They were directly across the plaza from the door. After a moment of thought Izuku led them to the left, that way they would pass by the shipwreck zone. He hoped they could join up with that group if they moved quickly.

They jogged along the fence separating the mountain zone from the plaza, keeping to the shadows of the decorative trees planted in precise curves, separating the spaces between the different simulations. Luckily most of the large group of villains was clustered in the center, focused on the pro who was holding his own against them.

Izuku kept an eye on that fight as he ran, watching as Eraserhead took down villians left and right using tactics and agility. God he wanted a closer look at how they made that scarf.

They made it to the edge of the pool that formed the base of the shipwreck zone and spotted their fellow students in the shallows, half hidden behind a large rock feature. As they made their way closer the green haired teen caught a weird movement that was different from the rest of the fight taking place in the center. He turned to watch, the others slipping past him as he stopped. 

A villain covered in weird hand decorations was stepping calmly forwards, he seemed to be counting, his mumbling pitched high enough to carry easily over the sounds of his fellows as they fell. It took the support a second to understand what he was doing. When he did he pulled Eraserhead's comms up on the tablet and connected it to his own as quickly as possible. "Eraser! To your 6. Light blue hair and weird hands. He's figured out your tell. Blink early so his strike is off!"

The pro didn't hesitate, blinking and dodging a strike from the quirk he had been erasing, before taking that villain out with a harsh kick to the solar plexus. He spun, just managing to get his quirk locked onto the newest danger in time as the villain, obviously a leader of some kind, grabbed his elbow. The teacher yanked himself free, tossing one of the minions into the hand-covered villain's path as he was pursued. He blinked early again before blanching as the minions skin started flaking away under the other's touch.

Izuku was muttering into the comms, analyzing the quirk at lightning speed, the words so quick they were slightly slurred together but still intelligible enough to get the point across. "Five point activation. Dehydration? No. Disintegration. Can probably control the rate and speed of the spread once activated. Extremely dangerous."

Eventually the villain got irritated with the hero constantly dodging his swipes and with a frustrated growl he yelled, "That's it! Nomu, attack Eraserhead!" There was a blur of movement and the next thing anyone knew the pro was on the ground, the large villian who had hung back so far standing above him with one of Aizawa's arms in its grip.

Izuku's breath hitched when their teacher groaned, blood staining the ground where his head had hit the floor. The… thing standing unmoving above him was horrific now that the teen had focused on it. Tall, with dark skin stretched thin over bulbous muscles. A beak lined with teeth accenting bulging eyes and an exposed brain. The blank look in its eyes made him uneasy, like he was looking at an old doll.

The pro was down. But the lead villain, now that he had gotten started, was in a full blown tirade. "This is all so pointless. All Might was meant to be here! But he isn't! How am I supposed to kill the boss when he isn't even here?!" Long, deadly fingers scratched harshly at the dry skin of his neck. "What should we do? Retreat?! Save some NPCs to fight another day? Ugh this is so stupid! Fine! But first," Izuku flinched as red eyes, half hidden behind a dismembered hand, flicked to the rock the hero students were hiding behind. The support student moved before he could think, heels clicking to turn on the motors in the soles. And then the deranged man was running towards his target.

"I'll kill a few kids before I go! See All Might try to recover when kids die on his watch!" The next second Izuku would remember as if it was in slow motion, even though he knew that at the time everything was actually moving incredibly fast. 

The villain lunged for Tsuyu, she had slipped a bit further out of the protection the rock had given the group, pale fingers splayed in a deadly strike headed straight for her face. And Izuku was running, desperation and support item making him quicker than he could have ever dreamed of. The weighted end of his kyoketsu-shoge arched up, swung with as much force as he could muster while running.

Fingertips were only a hair's breadth from making contact with flesh when the weapon made contact. Slamming into a lanky forearm with the sickening crunch of shattering bones. The villain let out a shriek of agony as Hitoshi, slightly belatedly, yanked his classmate out of range. Red eyes quickly latched onto the projectile and followed its lead back to the panting teen who had thrown it. "You fucker! What the hell?! Where did you even come from?!"

Instead of answering Izuku yanked his weapon back, reeling it in with three quick tugs. Once it was fully back under his control he started spinning it once again. Swearing he would bake Mirokuma a cake if he survived the day. He watched the villains eyes dart between him and the other teens, obviously trying to decide on a target. So Izuku stepped forwards. Two quick bouncing steps, and then a spin to add momentum. Laying the cord across the back of his neck and shoulder to better control the movement.

The villain lunged back, just barely dodging the weight that had been aimed for his head. It dented the concrete where it landed, when it bounced back up the support student followed the movement with a precise rotation of his wrist, once again regaining his control.

The villain was full on cursing him out by then. Distracted by his rage at being attacked. Izuku quickly signed behind his back for Hitoshi to get the others to the stairs. He didn't dare chance a look to see if his friend saw, or even obeyed the order. All he could do was pray the others would get out of there as fast as they could. He watched his opponent carefully as he continued to spit cuss words and cradle his broken arm, before he suddenly froze. 

The change from agitation to stillness was unnerving. Izuku was so distracted by this he almost missed the order that fell from dry, scarred lips. "Nomu. Catch the kid." He couldn't even flinch before he was being lifted into the air. A large hand was wrapped around his face, fingers digging in painfully as his weight dragged him down.

He kicked uselessly on instinct, his legs not long enough to really reach anything. After a split second he realized his knife was still in his hand. He spun it in his grip so he was holding it in reverse before plunging in down into the Nomu's arm. 

Yanking it out quickly he stuck again, trying to aim for the nerves to get the thing to release. But while the creature screeched in pain its grip stayed firm. He could just see where he was striking from between the fingers holding him aloft. When the stabs started healing over he realized with a hint of hysteria that that approach wouldn't work.

He went to switch his grip again, determined to hit the tendons in the thick wrist that he couldn't really see. But the cord caught on something and the slight tug was enough for him to drop his blade. "Shit." His hands went to the wrist instead, trying to find the leverage to pry himself free. Freckled fingers digging in harshly.

He heard the others screaming, his name mixed into the jumbled mess of their raised voices. And then Hitoshi's voice cut through the air. Clear and sharp. A demanding question aimed at the villian in charge. "What the fuck do you think gives you the right to touch him?!"

"The brat broke my fucki-" Izuku felt it in the force when his friends took control of the murderous psychopath. Everyone held their breath as the madman came to a complete halt. And then Hitoshi barked out an order, voice strained as if he was holding a great weight. "Order the numu to gently release him."

A moment later Izuku was being set carefully on his feet, the hand on his face releasing him. He staggered a bit as he refound his balance. But then Kaminari was there with supportive hands on his shoulders to keep him from falling. He looked up into terrified yellow eyes and gave the other boy a shaky smile. "I-I'm ok."

The freckled boy took a deep breath and then forced his brain away from his fear, setting back into figuring out their next step. He looks for Hitoshi, finding him nearby sweating and pale. "Toshi! Are you ok?" The purple haired teen shook his head with a wince. "Not really. I've never held onto a mind like this before. It's… gross… and he's fighting like crazy. I don't know how long I can hold him."

The greenette nodded sharply. Starting to form a plan. He turned back to the other students. All except Kaminari were still in the water at the edge of the pool, looking at him with various strange expressions. "OK. Alright. Kaminari, Jiro, Yaoyarozu. You three get to Aizawa. Try and perform first aid as best you can. Asui, go and find the quirk canceling cuffs in Aizawa's belt and bring them to Hitoshi. We need to get this jerk's quirk under control just in case he slips out of the hold. Todoroki, guard Hitoshi, don't let anyone touch him or the villain. The teens nodded then scattered to their tasks.

Midoriya waved Mineta over to join him near the Nomu. "I need you to do your best to stick this guy's feet to the ground. I don't know if your quirk will hold him but it's our best bet at the moment."

"Y-you want me to get close to that thing?! What if it attacks me?" The greenette shrugged. "I'm alive aren't I? You'll be fine. Now hurry it up!" He stared the short purple perv down until the other boy complied, stepping out of the water and pulling the first ball from his head. With a sigh he set about gathering his kyoketsu-shoge from where he had dropped it.

He watched as Tsuyu approached, handing the brainwasher the cuffs she had found. Hitoshi was practically shaking with the strain of fighting the villain in his own head. But he took the cuffs and made his way over to the disturbed man. Clicking the cuffs into place slowly so as to not jarr his control.

They all breathed a sigh of relief. But then there was a swirl of mist around them and Hitoshi was forced to jump back as the portal user placed himself in between the lead Villain and the teen. The waiver of concentration as the purple haired boy was startled was enough for the one under his control to break free.

Immediately he was ranting, screaming about killing them all. "Calm down Shigaraki Tomura." The man made of shadows soothed calmly. "It seems we have been outplayed here. We should retreat to play again another day." The lead villain, Shigaraki, scratched at his neck in harsh movements, making his cuffs rattle.

"Shit. Fine Kurogiri. But first. I will hurt All Might." He spun to face Izuku once more. "Nomu. Kill the green one!" 

He once again moved without thinking, throwing himself to the side. It still wasn't enough to dodge the blow completely. The left side of his torso felt like it was on fire as he was launched several meters away. He rolled, trying not to let himself be a stationary target for the monster he knew was still locked onto him. 

He managed to roll himself onto his feet in time to watch as the Nomu freed his second foot from the trap of Mineta's balls, skin tearing off in chunks only to regrow quickly. Shit. 

He dug around in his pockets for the bombs Kuroyama had given him, tossing a handful out in front of him in an effort to gain time. There were six pops in quick succession and suddenly the area the Nomu was running into was a mess of sticky floors and glitter was flying everywhere.

It didn't slow the beast by much. But it gave Izuku just enough time to get in two quick hops to build up energy in his boots. As the Nomu got close he launched himself up and over it. The hooked blade that had been made for him by a master swordsmith flashed in the light before it dug deep into the exposed brain.

His landing was not graceful, knees too weak to catch his weight. He slammed into the floor with a bounce and slid for a foot or two. His side was screaming at him and he tasted blood in the back of his throat. But they were still in danger. He struggled his way to his hands and knees.

Just in time to see the Nomu fall to the floor. Dead.

The sounds Shigaraki made in that moment were unholy. His vows for revenge chilling to the young teens. But before he could try to attack, quirk or no, the doors banged open and the sound of gunshots filled the air. 

And before the students had a chance to process the new development, the attack was over. The pro heros were there to save the day.

Shinso and Todoroki scrambled towards the downed teen. "Midoriya!" 

"Izuku!"

They crouched in front of the greenette, concern obvious. He managed to give them a tired smile, blood in his teeth, but genuinely touched by their show of care. But then his arms give out. Hitoshi caught him before he could face plant. "Shit. Zu. Fuck. Hold on, we need to get you on your back." The smaller teen let out an involuntary whine of pain when one of them touched his side. His vision went completely white, but he managed to catch a few panicked words. 

"Fuck… shit… ribs…"

Yeah that about summed up his feelings right at that second as well.

They managed to get him settled after another minute of cursing and pain. He looked bad, pale beneath his freckles and finger shaped bruising wreathed the top half of his face. His clothes are dusty and torn in spots. They weren't meant for action like they had seen that day, made as a mock up from cheap materials.

"Gods Zu. Fuck. I'm so sorry. I couldn't move to stop it. I shouldn't have lost control. Shit." Hitoshi clenched his fists as his hands shook, guilt flowing through him. Izuku heard the tears in the other boy's voice and forced himself to pry his eyes open.

"Tosh." He rasped with a cough, not noticing the other flinch as blood spattered his lips. "Don't you dare… it's… not your fault… the villains… did this on… their own." Gods it was getting harder to breathe.

The other boy didn't get a chance to reply before Todoroki was suddenly pulling him to his feet. The purple haired teen had totally missed the approach of paramedics. The medics forced them back, but Hitoshi stubbornly remained within vision and hearing range, blanching as they cut Izuku's shirt and under suit free to see the injury to his side. It was bad, already swelling and turning a vivid indigo. 

The boy felt the start of a spiral, he hadn't had a panic attack in a while, but he knew the signs. And as he stared at his wounded friend he knew one was coming. But then his vision was filled with a blur of red and white. Grey and blue. Todoroki.

"Shinso-kun. You need to breathe. Panicking right now will not help Midoriya." The chilly boy broadcasted the movement as he slowly grabbed Hitoshi's hand and placed it against his own chest. "Breathe with me." By the time the brainwasher had himself under control his friend was on a gurney and being wheeled away and a paramedic was breaking away from the group to come check on them.

"Are you two ok? If you are good to walk, the heros are asking all of the students to meet at the entrance. There's a first aid station set up for minor injuries. And the cops will want your statements." The boys nodded and headed off to join their class, Todoroki still holding onto the other's wrist in an effort to keep him grounded.

Hitoshi prayed to any diety that would listen that Izuku would make it through this with the rest of them.

Chapter Text

Izuku's first bit of awareness was of being annoyed by something scratchy against his skin. He then noticed that his fingers felt weird, kind of like they didn't actually belong to him. He decided he needed to open his eyes to make sure they hadn't replaced his hands with someone else's.

Luckily the room he was in was super dark, street lights glowing through the blinds on the window and the soft lights from machinery being just enough for him to see by. He raised his right hand up to his face. Yeah ok. Those were his freckles and scars. Though the bandage across the back of his wrist was new.

Where was he?

His eyes flickered around lazily. He didn't recognize anything. The machines were weird and were hooked up to him with wires. And the bed had railings with buttons. He frowned. An answer to where he might be danced around at the edge of his brain, but that couldn't be right because he was quirkless. 

They wouldn't take up a whole hospital room just for him.

Wow, his face felt numb. He poked it to make sure it was still there, noticing in a far off kind of way that the area around his eye ached dully with the pressure. A black eye? He could barely feel it. Wild.

After a few more prods he got bored and distracted himself by looking at the buttons on the railing of his bed. Wonder what the red one does? He pushed it without really thinking. A voice came over a speaker near his head almost instantly. Loud enough that even he could hear it. "Hello?"

"Uhmph? H-hi?"

"Oh my god, it is the kid. You're awake early. Hold on, the doctor will be with you in just a second."

There's a quiet couple of minutes where he just kind of let's himself float. Not super interested in anything. Before the doctor aws sliding the door open enough for her to slip into the room. He forced himself to focus so he could read her lips. "Good evening Midoriya-kun. I'm Dr. Kiyoshi. How are you feeling?"

The boy tilted his head back and forth. "I-I'm not really feeling m-much of anything ri-right now… am I really in a hos-hospital?" He hoped the words came out ok, he felt like they might have been a bit slurred around the edges. "Can I h-have my hearing aids back?" 

The doctor blinked at him for a minute before peeking her head back out the door and yelling something down the hall. Probably asking the nurses. After a moment a male nurse bustled in and dug through the small cabinet in the corner of the room. Izuku could just see a bit of black and red cloth peeking out before the nurse stepped back, holding up his hearing aids in triumph.

He stepped up to the teen in the bed with a silly grin on his face, kind brown eyes sparkled as he helped his patient slide the small devices into place. "There we go Midoriya-kun! You should be able to listen to Dr. Kiyoshi now! Oh! By the way, your mom said she would stop by to check on you on her break!"

"O-oh. Th-thank you Mr…"

"Ah. No Mr here! Call me Kyle kiddo! I grew up in America so it's weird always being called by my last name! If you need anything just hit that red button again and I'll be over in a jiffy!" With that the nurse gave the teen one last bubbly smile, and the doctor a nod before he practically skipped back out the door to attend to other duties.

Dr. Kiyoshi looked after him in amusement. "That boy has way too much energy for being on a 12 hour shift." With a huff she turned her attention once more to her patient. "OK Midoriya-kun. First things first, what all do you remember?"

The freckled teen closed his eyes, trying to think through the fuzz that seemed to take over his mind. After a moment bits and pieces of memory made their way forwards. "Th-there was an attack. I w-was supposed to ob-observe the hero c-course rescue tr-training. But then-n there were vil-vilains and they scattered us a-all over. And we m-managed to make it b-back to the plaza but the… oh g-god the Nomu. The others! Are th-they ok? Mr. Aizawa?!" 

The doctor held up hand, "Hold on. Deep breath. Everyone is alive and expected to make a full recovery. Don't panic Midoriya-kun." The boy stopped his efforts to sit up as the words sank in. "Did th-they catch the v-villains?" Kiyoshi sighed, running her hand through her short brown bob. "I'm not sure. The police will be here in the morning to debrief you, you should be able to get more details then." The boy nodded with a sigh.

"Now then. On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your pain?" Izuku paused, trying to get his fuzzy thoughts to focus on his body. There were dull aches in his shoulder and head and one of his knees twinged painfully when he tried to move it. But the thing that caught his attention was the sharp stabbing sensation he felt when he breathed. "Uh… a five?"

The doctor looked at him and raised an unimpressed eyebrow, prompting him to continue. "I-i uhm, I have a high p-pain tolerance and uh everything f-feels dull right now so I can ha-handle it…"

But instead of appeasing the woman like he thought his words would, her frown deepened instead. "We have you on the lowest dose of morphine. Now that you're awake I would be comfortable enough to raise the dose so the pain won't keep you from resting."

But the teen flapped a hand in dismissal, probably ruder than he would have been without the haze of painkillers. "I'll be f-fine. I've slept wi-with worse. This is the first t-time I've been in a hospital in y-years." Again he seemed to be only making the doctor more upset. "I will need to look into that. You have a lot of unrecorded scars Midoriya." The teen shrugged. But before they could continue the conversation the door opened again.

Inko stepped in and shut the door before seeming to realize that there was a doctor in the room and that her son was awake. "Oh! Izuku! My baby! Do you know how worried I was!?!" She quickly stepped over to the bed snagging a bandaged hand and bringing it to her chest. "When they told me that the school had been attacked I swear my heart stopped! And then to find out that they had put you in danger by letting you watch the hero classes! And then you went and stupidly put yourself in more danger by fighting a villain!"

Izuku sighed. "Mom. Please. I wasn't in any more danger than anyone else!" 

"Exactly! And look at you! I knew that school would be too much for you! And now you're in the hospital! And I'll probably have to take time off of work to be home with you while you recover!" She ignored the fact that her son was trying to tug his hand free, squeezing the battered appendage with all of her strength as she continued her scolding.

After a few more minutes when it didn't seem like the green haired woman was anywhere near stopping the doctor who was still standing on the other side of the room decided to interrupt. She cleared her throat. "Midoriya-san. Maybe we can finish whatever this is later and I can go ahead and give you the rundown of his injuries?" 

The other woman frowned in irritation and the doctor had to hold back an uneasy feeling. "Right. Ok. So Izuku here is actually pretty lucky. Most of his injuries are small. Bruises and shallow cuts and scrapes. They have all been cleaned and bandaged. He has a badly sprained knee and his shoulder was partially dislocated, those were dealt with and wrapped. The big issue was the six broken ribs on the left side of his torso, two of which had punctured a lung. We had to send him into surgery to reset the bones and drain and reinflate the lung. Luckily we had a bone specialist with a relevant quirk on shift today so while they are still cracked and very fragile everything is stable. Recovery girl will be in early in the morning to start a round of healing with her quirk. So the best thing for him to do right now would be to sleep and recover his stamina."

As she started to outline his recovery plan there was yet another interruption. Another knock on the door. It opened once more, this time the visitor was a surprise. Present Mic stood in the doorway a small, exhausted smile on his face. "Good evening. I came to check on the little listener!" A familiar head of purple fluff popped around the door frame, the matching violet gaze locked immediately onto the green boy in the hospital bed. "Izuku!" 

And then Hitoshi was scrambling over to him. "Oh my gods Zu. They said you had to have surgery. Are you ok?! Are you in any pain? Holy shit that fucker Shigaraki better watch his back. If I ever see him again I'll do worse than brainwash him!"

That got the greenette to giggle, looking up at his friend with a loopy smile. "Yeah ok Tosh. You can take him next time. I'll just sit back and relax as Mr. Hero saves the day." He giggled again as the other teen blushed a bright red and hid his face in his hands with a muttered curse. That made the voice hero standing in the door laugh and step forwards to pat his foster son on the shoulder.

As he comforted the child who was in his care he looked to the one who was in the hospital bed. "Hey kiddo. Hitoshi told me what you did." He stepped away from the purple teen to give himself the room to bow deeply in a show of respect. "I can't ever thank you enough. If not for you everyone is pretty sure Shouta would have died. If there's anything I can do to thank you please let me know."

Two sets of green eyes blinked at the hero in shock. The older of the two Midoriyas seemed to catch her bearings quicker, probably because she was not under the influence of drugs. "Oh please stand up. I'm sure he really didn't do all that much! We're just lucky he didn't get hurt worse!"

Mic raised himself from the bow with confused hesitancy. Looking between the mother and son. The woman met his gaze with some sort of challenge in her expression, the boy whose hand she still held captive wouldn't meet his gaze at all. The strange dynamic between the two set off a small alarm bell in the back of his head. But he shoved his worry aside to examine when everyone was less stressed out.

"Er. Right. Uhm. Anyways, Shinso-kun here was wondering if you might want some company tonight? I'm going to be up here waiting on Shota, and no one really wants any of the kids to be home alone after all of this. So I thought maybe he could hang out here for a while?"

Inko shrugged. "If he wants to, I'm sure Izuku won't mind. But you should run it by the nurses on shift first. Some nurses hate overnight visitors." She rolled her eyes, obviously at her own memories of unwanted visitors in rooms she was responsible for. She then turned back to her son. "Izuku. I have to go back, my break is pretty much up and I still need to grab a snack or something. I'll come check on you again when I get off shift." She then dropped his hand unceremoniously onto his lap, ignoring the wince as the movement jarred his bad shoulder, and briskly walked away.

Green eyes stared after her for a moment, a look of quiet longing flitting across his face before he forced a smile and turned to his other visitors. "Uh, uhm I'm s-sure Kyle-san will agree. He seems u-unreasonably nice. But I'm not su-sure how good of company I will be… I'm supposed to sleep as much as p-possible and uhm… morphine…"

His friend snickered. "Oooh Izuuukuuuu are you HIGH right now? Mr. Goody two shoes? Hitting the good stuff?" He laughed as the bedridden teen smacked at him with a hand and whined about teasing someone who's injured.

Yamada slipped out of the room and down to the nearby nurse's station, getting permission for Hitoshi to stay as long as he behaved and let Midoriya rest. The hero then returned to poke his head in the door to relay the rules before heading off to find his husband. Sending off a text to Nezu as he went, asking him to look into some things.

The teens settled, Hitoshi dragged a chair right up to the edge of the bed and leaned his elbow on the mattress, occasionally showing his friend a meme or video on his phone. Izuku for his part stared at the ceiling, going through the events of the attack and trying to fit all of the pieces together in his head. Easier said than done when your brain is mush.

Eventually he dozed off, the sound of Shinso humming along to something he was playing over his earbuds lulled Izuku to sleep. When he started snoring his friend looked up at him with a relieved smile and gently pulled his hearing aids free to set on the side table. Gently he took the freckled hand that was resting on the blanket near him and rubbed his thumb across the knuckles in a soothing motion while he continued to scroll on his phone.

The least he could do for the pure soul who had saved them all was try and keep the demons away while he slept.

Chapter Text

The next morning dawned bright and early. Finding Izuku getting yet another visitor. A detective from the police department. He had a super cool and useful lie detection quirk that he let the boy ask about after he had finished with his own questions.

As he fired off theories and questions at the poor man, who was desperately trying to decipher them and answer, Recovery Girl arrived. "Midoriya-kun. Detective. Good morning. Are your two done or should I come back after I check on Shouta?"

The detective stood up and slid his files back into his suitcase. "Ah no. I got what I came here for. Go right on ahead." He turned to look at the teen. "I'll look into trying some of those things with my quirk, if I run into you again I'll let you know how it goes. Feel better." With one last kind smile he left, nodding as he passed Shinso out in the hallway.

"Right dear, shirt off, I'm going to check on the incisions for the surgery and then change your bandages. After that I will use my quirk. Sound good?" Izuku nodded easily. And started to untie the jinbei style top he was wearing. He winced as the movement pulled on his ribs and made the fact that the pain killers were wearing off a lot more noticeable. The hero medic stepped forwards and reached over to help him, pausing to wait for a nod of permission before she actually made contact.

After a minute he was freed from his shirt and Recovery girl started in on the bandages, the smaller ones went first, the cuts and abrasions checked for infection before being re-covered with fresh gauze or plasters. She then got a closer look at the bruising on his shoulder before moving to the swath of fabric wrapped around his torso.

She studied the stitches with a hum. "I'd say these will probably come out after this session dear. So when you wake up be ready for them to be pulled ok? Other than that it looks like everything is in order." She made quick work of wrapping things back up and helping him back into his clothing. "Do you want me to call your friend back in before I use my quirk?" 

Izuku nodded with a grateful smile at her consideration. He knew her quirk was likely to knock him out quickly and he wanted to make sure Shinso was still doing OK first. Once his friend was in the room they had a quick sign conversation to confirm that each of them was doing well enough. And Recovery Girl had Izuku take his hearing aids out before she gave him his kiss. Just like she predicted the boy was out like a light almost instantly. She gave the other kid a soft, grandmotherly smile and a handful of gummies, explaining that he would probably be asleep until dinner time and to make sure he ate something when he woke up. 

With that done she turned to give Midoriya one last glance before she left to tend to her next patient.

___

Hitoshi woke him gently when dinner time rolled around. He helped his groggy friend raise the head of his bed and settled the rolling table over his lap. The bowl of miso soup and large serving of rice was simple but filling.

Just as he was finishing up a nurse came in to pull his stitches. Most of his surface level wounds were now healed enough to go without bandages. Though they were still tender and raw. Fresh pink scarring layered over tanned skin and older more faded scars.

The bruises had faded quite a bit, the back of his shoulder was now a dark green instead of a deep purple. And his black eye was mostly yellow. He gritted his teeth at the feeling of the stitches being tugged free. But the nurse was quick and efficient and it was over soon enough. 

When he was once again dressed Shinso joined him on the bed so they could watch cat videos on his phone, Izuku only bothered to put one hearing aid back in, his other ear was smooshed up against the taller boy's shoulder so there was really no point in wearing it and being uncomfortable. They were six or seven videos in when Yamada popped in to check on them again.

"Hey kiddos!" His hair was up in a bun like the time he came yo ask Izuku about Aldera and he looked exhausted. Wearing a baggy 'put your hands up radio' hoody and sweatpants. He walked over and sat in Shinso's vacated chair. "How are you feeling Midoriya-kun?"

"I-I'm ok Mic sensei. They th-think I should be r-released tomorrow m-morning…" The hero beamed at him. "That's great! I'm glad you're feeling better!" Shinso waved a hand to get both of their attention before fingerspelling Aizawa's name. The combination of stress and being in a hospital all day had triggered a spell of muteness. Luckily the two hard of hearing people in the room with him had no problem communicating. "Ah! Yeah! He's ok. He will probably be in casts for a week. And the other bandages won't come off for a bit after that. But he will make a full recovery!"

"Oh! Also! His sign name is…" he paused while he showed them. Aizawas name was the sign for sleepy looped up into the sign for cat. "And mine is…" This time the name was the sign for loud mixed with the sign for bright. Izuku thought they were cute, and accurate. The two boys gave the man their own sign names in return. Izuku's being just the simple sign for green ended with the first syllable of his name. And Hitoshi's being the one given to him by his friend. A mix of coffee and cat. The two things they had bonded over.

"Awww Shinso-kun! You and Sho match!" The purple boy gave a small smile at that comment, violet eyes peering up at the man shyly. They chatted for a few more minutes before their teacher left, saying he had to go make sure Aizawa actually ate his dinner.

They went back to their cat videos after that. Giggling softly together over the antics of small fluffy things. Eventually Izuku dozed off, Hitoshi wanted to lay his friend back down so he wouldn't end up even more sore from sleeping in a weird position. But the greenette was wrapped around his arm, and gentle tugs only made him cling harder. Eventually he huffed and laid the bed back without removing himself. Committing to a night of holding his phone up with one hand and praying he didn't drop it.

___

It wasn't until Hatsume-san came in the next morning, a tearful Mei in tow, that Izuku realized he had never spoken with his mom again. When he mentioned it the redheaded woman explained that his mom had been called on to cover another shift and then went home to crash right after. And that both of the boys would be coming to hers to spend the weekend since UA had closed until Monday in order to update security.

Hitoshi looked surprised at the last bit. Hatsume-san was quick to reassure him that she had been in contact with Yamada and that they would all be stopping by Aizawa's hospital room before they left as per the hero's request. She then left to track down a nurse to ask about his discharge.

Mei quickly joined the two boys on the bed where they were still cuddling. Throwing an arm around each of their necks and just holding them close for a few minutes. Eventually she gathered herself and sat back, settling cross-legged in front of them. "I'm so glad the two of you are ok… when that alarm went off… and the teachers were called away to deal with a threat… I was so scared. And then that night when we heard it was an attack on the USJ… and you two wouldn't answer your phones. Gods. I thought I had lost my two best friends." She was crying again.

Izuku reached forwards to snag one of her slightly grease stained hands in both of his own freckled ones, only one bandaid was left on them, covering a particular deep gash where he had caught himself on his own knife. "Mei-chan. I need to thank you. If it wasn't for you and Kuroyama-kun insisting I bring babies to test I would 100% have been dead. Your boots in particular saved me there at the last for sure."

"Our boots." She sniffled. He smiled gently at her while Hitoshi grabbed her other hand. "I'm sorry I didn't text back until yesterday. I didn't mean to worry you, but everything happened so fast and then… I think I was in shock for awhile afterwards. But I should have texted sooner, next time I will do my best to not leave you out of the loop." She nodded, accepting his apology, before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. They sat that way for a while, just holding hands and processing the trauma from the first week of school.

Eventually papers were signed, and fresh street clothes changed into. As Izuku slipped on the beat up red sneakers Mei had retrieved from the support studio, Mia confirmed Aizawa's room number through a text from their English teacher. Izuku packed his small pile of belongings into the plastic bag provided by the nurse.

They all traipsed through the door. Stopping by the directory at the end of their hall. Izuku frowned, something registered as odd as he glanced over the floor plans but unable to put his finger on what it was that bothered him. They moved on before he really thought too hard about it. Luckily Aizawa's room was nearby so they didn't have to walk far, just that short journey had excused the green haired teen, his stamina still very much depleted. Hatsume-san knocked on the door, respectfully waiting on a reply before sliding it open. "Good morning. I'm Hatsume Mia. It's nice to meet you both in person!"

She ushered the three kids into the room before sliding the door closed. She then guided Izuku to the spare chair next to the bed. Not really giving him a choice in whether or not he wanted to do the polite thing and offer it to her as his elder. As he sat he looked over the teacher who was propped up in bed. He didn't look too bad, there was a heavy cast on one arm, and several pieces of gauze taped across his face. But he seemed like he was back to his normal self, sitting up with a grumpy look etched into his features.

"Midoriya." He stated, looking the boy in question directly in the eye. "What you did, stepping in like that. It was idiotic and dangerous. You are not a trained hero, you could have gotten yourself killed. But. While it was stupid, it was also brave, and heroic." He bowed as well as he could from the bed. "I owe you my thanks. You helped me by feeding me the information of Shigaraki's quirk. And then when they took me out you stepped up to lead and protect my class. I saw… some of it. I wasn't fully present after the concussion, but I remember trying to stop him from reaching Asui and being pinned. And I remember seeing you in that monster's grasp. I failed you kid. But you did so well by every person who mattered in the building that day. So thank you. If you ever need anything please just ask."

When he didn't get a reply the pro raised his head a bit to look up from his bow. The teen he had addressed was crying, freckled hands covered his mouth to hold in his sobs. He looked overwhelmed. Aizawa softened. His normal gruff demeanor shifted a bit. "Ah come on kid. Don't cry. What did I say?"

The answer, when it finally made it's way through the sniffles and hiccups, wasn't what any of them expected. "I- no one's e-ever called me he-heroic before." Yamada stepped in when he saw his husband flounder for a reply. "Aww kiddo. Of course you're heroic. According to all of the other students who were there you really stepped up to the plate. Making plans and rushing in to help where needed."

Hitoshi stepped up to the crying teen and knelt down in front of his chair. "Izuku. Even before that you were my hero. I've never had a friend before, but then you showed up out of nowhere and just… worked your magic. You are so kind and so very, very stubborn. And now I have the Hatsumes and a safe place to stay. And I'm in my dream course at my dream school. And It's all because of you. So of course you're heroic."

It took a few minutes, and Mei stepping over to run her fingers through greasy curls, to get the green themed teen to calm down once again. Mia made a mental note to stop to get them something to eat and drink on the way home. 

While the kids sat quietly the three adults in the room had a quick conversation, the men making sure Hatsume-san was truly comfortable with taking 3 teens home for the weekend. And familiarizing themselves with the woman who would be in charge of their foster son. She might have known Shinso longer but as responsible parents they needed to know if she was safe. It seemed to check out though. Yamada did pull the woman out into the hall for a moment while Aizawa grilled Izuku on his recovery. The teens figured whatever he had to say had something to do with school and parent stuff, so they ignored it and laughed amongst themselves as the bedbound underground hero grumbled about Recovery Girl taking her time with his own injuries.

Soon enough the three teens plus one adult made their way out of the hospital. Hatsume stopped them at a small okonomiyaki stand to eat really quick before heading them towards where her car was parked a few streets over. The ride in the quiet car was enough to lull the physically and emotionally exhausted teens into slumber and by the time they made it across town to the Hatsumes' house they were all in a puddle of limbs and snores in the back seat. Mia made sure to snag a few photos before waking them up. And she may have sent one to Yamada, who replied with a stream of emojis.

She had a feeling she was going to get along with the man. Especially with the observations he had shared with her earlier.

Chapter Text

They spent the weekend in cuddle comfort on the monstrosity of the Hatsume's couch. For the most part Izuku stayed sprawled out across the others' laps while a documentary played on the TV. They turned the subtitles on when his hearing aids died and he realized his charger was in his bag in the support studio.

Hatsume-san was constantly in and out, taking calls, checking on her shop, and plying the puddle of teens with food and drinks. Occasionally they would all get distracted by a wild theory about whatever was on the TV, explained via sign. It was nice. When he wasn't laser focused on tv land he was sketching furiously in his notebook. Doing his best to redesign the costumes and support gear for class 1-A.

On Sunday he had a surprise visit from the Mirokumas. When Hatsume-san let them in he was shocked, and she quickly explained that his mother had asked her to text them to let them know why he wouldn't be at his lessons that day. And they had asked to come and check on him when they learned he had gotten caught up in the attack that was all over the news. Izuku got a light scolding for getting himself into trouble again. Before he was grilled for a play by play of his fights. He did his best to not tell them too much since he wasn't too sure how much he was allowed to say. But what he did tell them seemed to be enough for them to plan a whole new schedule for his weekly lessons to make up for what they thought he needed.

Before they left they both handed him 'get well' gifts. Mirokuma sensei gave him a beautiful hand made bo staff, which he promised to teach him how to use. And Kuma-chan's gift was a rainbow butterfly knife. When he opened the box and saw the bright colors she gave him a look and a wink. He really should learn to watch his mouth around her. Once they were gone Hatsume-san dumped a large dinner of udon on the table with all of the fixings on the side for them to add as they pleased.

By Monday morning all three of the kids were feeling better and the thought of going back to school wasn't so daunting.

Hatsume-san drove them to school that morning. She had a meeting with Nezu so it was convenient enough to just get the kids up early and to the school. Besides, Izuku's school stuff was still packed away in a locker at the back of the basement studio. So he needed time to run down and change into his uniform.

The woman left them as they entered the school, gearing up into inventor mode for her meeting. Her and Higari had to figure out a sensor to detect warp quirks. They had to keep the kids safe.

All three of the teens made their way down stairs, Mei whisking Hitoshi away to look at her current projects while Izuku went to change out of his sweats and hoodie. Once he was done he dug the charger with its wireless dock station out of his bag and set his hearing aids up to charge before classes. They had about an hour before they needed to make their way to the classroom and that was more than enough time for a full charge.

Izuku made his way over to his own, barely touched, work space. He figured that while he had a moment he should use the chance to work on coding the program for the upgrade to Yaoyarozu's costume. He booted up the computer that was off to the side of his countertop. Stretching out his wrists and rethinking the program one more time before he started.

Hitoshi kept an eye on the clock while his friends worked. He played around on his phone and sat on a stolen chair near Izuku's much cleaner area. When it was ten minutes until the two support students needed to head to their homeroom he got the greenette's attention before leaving for his much further away classroom. They briefly hugged once more before Shinso slipped through the door.

At the five minute mark Izuku saved the half done set of code and locked his computer. Slipped his hearing aids in and tossed his bag over a shoulder. Snagging one of Mei's less combustible babies-in-progress he waved it in front of her face, enticing her to follow him out the door, screwdriver in hand.

When they got to the room marked 1-H Izuku slid the door open and handed Mei the mass of metal and wires. She took it with a smile and scampered happily to her seat. He walked toward his but was stopped by the massive Kuroyama standing up from the desk behind. "Midori-kun! Are you ok? You were at the USJ right? Did you get caught up in the attack? Were you injured?!" Large hands hovered around the smaller frame of the boy being interrogated. Obviously wanting to check him for injuries but not wanting to touch him without permission. 

Then the black haired support student noticed the fading bruises around one of his round green eyes. 

"Oh God. You are hurt! Is there anything I can do?!" Izuku smiled bemusedly at the fashion expert. Not used to this much positive attention from someone who barely knew him. "I'm o-ok Kuroyama-kun. Re-recovery girl sped up the healing process. My r-ribs aren't even broken any more!" 

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. The tall teen paled and even some of the other students stood to voice their own concerns. Green eyes flickered around in nervous confusion. Why did they…? Oh. They didn't know he was quirkless. Duh. Well might as well rip that bandaid off quickly so they won't waste their time on him.

He rubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly, green curls tangled around his fingers. "W-well I mean. Injuries are to be expected-d when a q-quirkless support kid gets ta-tangled up in a fight with villains. At le-least I didn't die." 

The room fell silent instantly and he turned his gaze to the floor. No reason to risk them thinking he was challenging them or something. But then a loud bang sounded, followed by what sounded like a bunch of screws hitting the tile flooring. "Midoriya Izuku. I swear to God. Every single person who was there should be singing your praises for saving their asses! Don't you DARE sell yourself short! Even Mr. Aizawa said he was in your debt! Gods. That damn self-deprecating bullshit is not going to fly with me Mister." 

By the end of her rant Izuku had looked up to meet Mei's furious glare. Dumbfounded look painted across his face as liberally as his freckles. Before he could kick his brain to see if it was dead their homeroom teacher was sliding right into the emotional minefield. Once the man looked up from his papers he froze. "Oh gods. Who kissed who this time?"

That seemed to break the tension and most of the students sat, content to let the two argue this point on their own time. Though one girl actually answered the question, giving and exasperated Power Loader a rundown of the love triangle currently causing tension amongst the business students. He eventually had to stop her so he could get the announcements done.

He went over the vague outlines of the updates to security, and then announced that the sports festival will be going ahead with a few changes as well. There wasn't much excitement for that in this course, besides a few who were eager to field test gadgets. Izuku worried how the hero kids would deal with this announcement. 

He would just have to wait until lunch to find out.

___

Sitting through coding with his senpai wasn't quite so bad this time. They mostly just ignored him as the teacher gave a quick lecture of the importance of semicolon placement. And then they were all turned loose on the computers to work on their current projects. He managed to finish the bulk of the program for Yaoyarozu, all he needed was to download it to the small tablet Mei was building a ruggedized casing and arm mount for and they could have the girl give it a test run.

He hurried along to the cafeteria quickly, knowing his friends would be quick to go on the hunt for him if he was too slow. He made it through the double doors and into the line for food, eyes roaming around in search for the distinctive tell of purple and pink. There they were. In their normal corner.

Quickly he snagged a bowl of yakisoba and a cold bottle of tea before making his way over. As he got closer he noticed that their normally quiet table was a lot more busy. Even weirder, it seemed like the other tables surrounding it had been scooted closer. When he walked up around the little decorative plant thing he found the reason why. The entirety of class 1-A was there. As well and Mei and Kuroyama and a few other support kids from 1-H.

He stood there for a moment, watching the chaos, before Kirishima caught sight of him and jumped to his feet. "Midobro! Yo! How are you feeling man?" Now that attention was drawn to the small green imp in their midst all hell broke loose. A swarm of hero students speaking up at once to ask their own questions and add their own input to the wall of sound. A red clad foot stumbled back a step with the force of the attention.

After a moment a tall figure stood up and slammed a hand down on the table, causing dishes to jump and clatter. That got the attention of everyone nearby, not just those in their group. "Chill out guys. He doesn't need you harassing him! Let him eat and decide if he wants to answer any questions you ask." Kuroyama said firmly, glaring around at the other teens, as if he hadn't done the same thing earlier that morning. 

That thought brought a small smile to Izuku's face. Though he wondered if this was a sign the giant boy would start treating him like glass now that his quirk status was out. Cautiously he made his way to his normal seat between Mei and Shinso. Sitting down and gently shoulder checking Hitoshi when the insomniac gave him a concerned glance.

As he settled into his lunch the conversations around their group of tables returned to what they had been. The others seemed to decide to give him time to eat, but eventually Yaoyarozu spoke up from her spot across from the short freckled teen. "So Midoriya-kun, are you feeling ok? We were all worried after…" she winced a bit at the memory of him being rolled out on a gurney.

He gave her a reassuring smile, deciding that honestly was the best policy he answered. "I'm  alot b-better now after Recovery Girl he-helped heal my ribs and lung. Th-though I'm still a bit sore w-when I move around alot."

Kaminari took his turn to speak up, his face pale from where he was peering around Todoroki. "Wait. Your lung?!" Izuku shrugged with a little dismissive hand wave. "Yeah the N-nomu broke 6 ri-ribs when his punch grazed my s-side. And then w-when I missed my landing after… y-yeah… they punctured my lu-lung. But I got to the hosp-p-pital in time for the surgery so it's all g-good. Could have been w-worse. The Nomu could have hit me st-straight on." He paused slightly in the middle of his explanation, unable to straight out admit he had killed the monster who attacked them.

Now everyone around him was looking pale. He blinked around at them in confusion. With a loud sigh Shinso ran a hand over his pale face, looking more exhausted than ever. "Izuku. Please. We've  been over this. Not everyone is as blazè about horrendous injuries as you are. Have mercy on the poor mortals." Izuku just shrugged and went back to eating, not really sure how to reply to that.

"He's done stuff like this before?" That was Kaminari again, an edge of slight hysteria in his tone. Shinso looked over at his freckled friend, asking with a glance if this conversation was ok. Izuku shrugged and kept eating. Now that he had impulsively told the support students his quirk status he had no doubt that the whole school would know there was a Null in their midst by the end of the week. 

Hitoshi sighed and took his nonchalance as a sign to continue, pausing just one more second to give him another chance to change his mind. "Izu is quirkless. His last school was not… kind…" Most of the 1-A kids around them froze, the few support students at the tables watched them wearily for reactions. 

Honestly the first voice to speak out said exactly was Izuku had come to expect. "What the hell? Who let it into UA? There's no way it passed the entrance exam!" The small boy with weird purple lumps on his head had stood from his seat and was glaring at him in disgust. Izuku curled in on himself a bit, but kept eating. Refusing to make eye contact with anyone. He needed to finish his lunch before it was taken from him, or worse.

The angry words from the purple pervert. Seemed to open the floodgates. Arguments going off all around the group. He couldn't really make out much, but he did catch a few surprisingly supportive comments. 

That all screeched to a halt once more as Mei stood up and slammed her hands down on the table in an imitation of Kuroyama, only even more powerful. "Listen up assholes! Izuku not only passed the general exam with the highest score ever seen from someone without an intelligence quirk, but he also passed the support and business course exams as well! For those of you muscle heads who can't count, that's 3 exams aced. Out of 4. And he probably would have passed your precious hero exam too if he had tried! He deserves to be here more than any of us. So shut up. Sit down. This is not a debate!"

Wow. That's twice today the pink haired girl had put her foot down.

After a moment Yaoyarozu stood as well. From her place across from Izuku she met his eyes head on. "I agree with Hatsume-chan. I was there with you the entire time we were under attack. You proved yourself intelligent and resourceful. Your skill with martial arts was also very impressive." She bowed her head. "I apologize for the rudeness of my classmates. If anyone else says something rude to you in the future please bring it up with me and as class representative I will take care of it." She turned to glare at Mineta. "As for you. Be sure that Aizawa sensei will hear about your discriminatory comments by the end of the day." 

Everyone shuttered a bit at the displeasure in her voice, not expecting it from the normally sweet and poised young woman. After she sat back down and went back to eating, Izuku fought back his tears at the kindness he was given. When he was sure he could speak he looked up from his tray to meet the dark eyes infront of him. "T-thank you Yaoyarozu-chan." He gave her a shaky smile before going back to scarfing down the last of his meal.

When he finished he signed to the ones nearest to him that he was going to head to the studio early. Shinso stood when he did and pulled him into a hug before he could grab his tray. If he had been able to see his friend's face he would have been flustered over the teasing smirk the taller boy was throwing at a couple of boys behind him.

Izuku gave his perpetually tired friend a hug in return before pulling away with a sweet smile and grabbing his tray to toss. Mei joined him at this point, shoving the last bite of her rice into her mouth as she stood. 

Together they made their way back to the support labs. The greenette babbled in sign the entire way down. Excited for his first full afternoon in the labs. While he downloaded the program he had written to a tablet for testing he planned to scan all of his costume and equipment upgrade ideas into the system for review by Power Loader. From there if they passed scrutiny the teacher would pass them to Aizawa to show the kids they were meant for. He wondered why Power Loader hadn't done this for the original costume designs. Surely the pro wouldn't have approved of something like Hakagure running around naked. Or Uraraka wearing heels.

Maybe the third year students' projects were checked by someone else? More than likely.

As he ran a scanner across the pages of his notebook he sunk deep into thought. Reactions to his quirklessness seemed to be mixed at UA. Which was surprising. He had honestly expected to be shunned as soon as he was outed. So to have Kuroyama and Yaoyarozu speak up for him, and to even see others from 1-H show up to his lunch group in a more subtle show of… apathy if not support. It was so strange.

He smiled quietly to himself. Maybe going to school here would be better than he had thought.

Chapter Text

After dismissal Izuku checked his phone to see where Shinso was. The whole thing with his current fosters was so new he didn't really know what the routine was going to be. Luckilly his friend had texted, apparently Aizawa wanted to talk to them really quickly before they left for the shop.

He snagged Mei by the elbow, guiding her through the halls as she sketched a diagram on some spare graph paper. The halls were congested as students and teachers milled about, heading to their various destinations.

Someone bumped Mei's drawing hand and she hissed in irritation as it caused a jagged mark across her page. Izuku paused to make sure she was ok. But just as he started to turn to look and see what had happened someone practically ran him over. The point of their shoulder was right at the perfect height to slot itself into his already bruised eye socket. The force of the unexpected collision made him fall onto his butt as the sudden flare of pain from his face caused him to yelp. He didn't see who had knocked him over, though he did hear a masculine sorry as the other person apparently hurried off.

And now he was on the floor in a busy hallway. Immediately people started tripping over him. He scrambled to get up and made it to his hands and knees before someone stepped on his fingers. His cry was drowned out as yet again someone tripped, instead of catching themselves though the person fell on top of Izuku, sending the boy to the floor again, this time on his belly and pinned under a heavier body. He wheezed as the other person laid frozen for a second. But another yelp from the boy underneath them as his arm was stomped on sent the other student scrambling. 

Mei managed to kick it into gear by that point too, standing in the way of people as they walked and shoving people around the two boys on the ground, protecting them from traffic on one side at least. As his victim? secondary assaulter? hurried to their feet a knee accidently found its way into his ribs and his breath left in a silent scream as the still tender area exploded with pain. "Shit. Midoriya. Fuck. Hold on. You need to stand. There's a classroom right there. I'm going to help you ok?"

The words didn't really sink in as he was too focused on trying to work air back into his lungs. There were hands on his upper arms that tugged him to his feet, and then Mei was on one side. And a blur of yellow was on the other. It took maybe a minute for the three of them to make it to the empty classroom.

They sat down against the wall under the smart board to catch their breath. Mei sent off a quick text to Shinso. Izuku curled up around his ribs in an effort to ease the throbbing. "OK. Ow." The person on his right moved to kneel in front of him and green eyes looked up into bright gold. Kaminari. "Dude I'm so sorry! I didn't see you in time to stop! And then when I was getting up someone kneed me and oh fuck! Your ribs! Are they ok?!"

Izuku took a slow, deep breath. Sitting up a bit with a grimace and poking along his side, ignoring the small flares of pain. After a moment he sent a weak smile at the bubbly blonde. "I d-don't think anything is br-broken so that's good. Are you ok? You fell pretty hard. And you said you got kneed?" He could see the bright red beginnings of a bruise forming on the other boy's cheek and he frowned with worry.

But Kaminari just kind of stared at him with wide eyes. "Are you seriously worried about me right now? You just got trampled!" But the support student only shrugged as Mei answered a call on her phone. Izuku ignored her as she explained, presumably to Shinso, what had happened and where they were. As she hung up and let them know he and Aizawa were on their way the green haired teen shrugged out of his blazer. He started to roll up his sleeve to check the damage where his arm had been stepped on, pausing when he realized one of his fingers wouldn't move. He cursed quietly when he realized it was broken. He continued to struggle with his shirt sleeve, grumbling when he couldn't get the button undone.

Hesitantly Kaminari leaned forwards, making sure Izuku saw him before he took over undoing the button and gently rolling up the sleeve. He paled considerably when he saw the scarring that traced over the freckled skin of Midoriya's forearm and wrist. It was only slightly obscured by the rapid bruising in the shape of a shoe print. Gently the battered boy poked at his arm and rotated his wrist in a slow circle. "Well at l-least the arm isn't br-broken…"

Kaminari let out an incredulous huff at the easy way the other boy was checking himself over. The pink haired girl to the side looked over the exposed arm and started muttering darkly about finding everyone who had stepped on them and making them grovel for forgiveness. Izuku laughed and waved her off as he felt of his rapidly swelling eye. "It's r-really not that bad Mei-chan. It's my f-fault for getting knocked o-over." 

"It really isn't Zu-kun. That jerk plowed into you and then didn't even stop!" The greenette shrugged. But before he could try to talk her out of her rage the door slid open and Shinso came rushing in from the rapidly emptying hallway. "Are you guys ok?!" He was kneeled down by their little group in an instant. They all saw when purple eyes locked onto Izuku's bruises. The insomniac's expression darkened, he turned towards his classmate with the beginnings of a snarl on his lips. The expression fizzled out though when he caught sight of the blonde's own bruises and worried look.

An instant later Aizawa and Recovery Girl made it to their quiet little room. The school nurse swearing up a storm about how she had told the rat not to let all of the courses out at the same time. She then looked at the huddle of teens on the floor. "OK. Who hurts where?" 

Kaminari spoke up before Izuku could calmly give a report to the nurse. "Midoriya-kun. His ribs. I really didn't mean to! Please make sure he's ok!" They could all feel the exasperation when the nurse sighed. "Of course. Midoriya. Shirt off. Once we make sure you aren't bleeding out internally we can move to the infirmary."

Izuku rolled his eyes at the comment but started undoing his buttons as best he could, before pausing to give the electric boy in front of him an uncertain look. If he reacted badly to the scars on his arms what would he do if he saw the ones splashed across his torso. 

The other boy took the look to mean something else and blushed furiously, spinning around to sit with his back to Izuku. "S-sorry! I won't look I promise!"

Mei snickered quietly at the scene and green eyes turned to her with a glare. Shinso of course, took his chance to be a menace. "Ah. You shouldn't have promised. Izu is ripped under all of those baggy clothes. Nothing but lithe muscle. It's pretty hot." Izuku sputtered out embarrassed denials. Glaring at Hitoshi and missing the red that creeped up Kaminari's neck and ears.

Recovery Girl whacked Shinso on the back of the head with her cane and he yelped. "Boys. I need you to put away the hormones for a minute so I can check everyone over. Midoriya. Shirt."

Mei had to help him with the buttons, his broken finger made it hard to use his right hand. Once they got it open he lifted his undershirt up so the nurse could take a look at his side. After a moment she nodded. "Just some bruising, and it looks like the fresh scars are a bit irritated. Let's head to the infirmary so I can stabilize that finger. No one else has any injuries they're worried about moving with? No. Ok. Let's be off."

The four teens scrambled to their feet, Mei snagging Izuku's abandoned blazer and Kaminari taking his bag for him, ignoring the objections and the, "you don't have to do that"s. As they made their way down the winding halls Aizawa texted someone on his phone with a frown. "Nezu is checking the camera footage. But with that many people I'm not sure if he will be able to see much."

Green eyes peered at the teacher curiously. "Why bother? Accidents happen right? Unless you think…?" The man ran a hand through his hair with a tired sigh. "We aren't taking chances. We don't tolerate bullying or discrimination here so if he sees something questionable we need to look into it."

Izuku looked at him again, a bewildered expression on his face. "Really? That's… wow." Recovery Girl tsked in irritation from the front of their group. "Midoriya-kun this is not Aldera. If anyone here tries anything like what happened there I'll kick them out on their ass myself."

The greenette stopped walking, wide eyes blinking in disbelief that THE youthful heroine just cussed, and in defence of him! Kaminari looked over at the other two teens mouthing, "Aldera?". Shinso grimaced and Mei shook her head, whispering that it was Izuku's story to tell. 

The electricity user thought back to the scars painted across a freckled arm and decided not to pry. Not everyone was free with their stories for a reason after all.

When they got to the nurse's lair she waved the kids over to take seats on a couple of the beds while she puttered around grabbing some supplies. Aizawa looked to Hatsume with a sigh. "Call your mom and let her know I'll be driving you three to her shop after this. I'm sure Midoriya will be tired after RG uses her quirk so that'll be quicker and safer than you all taking the train." He looked over at Kaminari. "What about you? Will you need a ride?"

The boy waved him off. "Ah. No! I was actually going to go to the library downtown. I need to find some things for Ectoplasm's class." That piqued a certain green haired nerd's interest. "Ectoplasm's? F-for you guys that's al-algebra right? What do you n-need? I have all s-sorts of notes and st-study materials!" 

Mei and Hitoshi groaned. Before the perpetually sleepy boy leaned forwards a bit towards the confused Kaminari. "You might as well come with us. You've awakened the math demon. And once he sinks his claws into you well…" He sends the other boy a devilish smirk. Causing him to fluster. "Oh! I couldn't! I've already caused enough problems today! You guys don't want to deal with my dumb ass when I'm trying to study I'm sure!"

That was the wrong thing to say. Suddenly he had a bubble full of indignant green genius. "Kaminari Denki. You are not dumb. Someone with such precise control of such a volatile quirk has to be super smart. That's just how it works. That and you passed the general entrance exam which means you have to be smarter than the average teen! So don't you go calling yourself a dumb ass!" Green glared into sunshine yellow fiercely.

"Uh. Uhm…" Kaminari leaned away a bit in an effort to put a bit of space between himself and the boy who was practically in his lap. The movement snapped Izuku out of his little rage sphere and the greenette flushed when he realized how close he had gotten to the other boy. Denki was blessed by a close up look at cute freckles highlighted against red and he stared at them a bit dazedly.

With a cackle Mei took pity on… one of them? Both of them? And snagged Izuku by the shoulder to pull him back. "Down tiger." Izuku plopped back down into his spot on the bed and tried to hide his face with the fingers that weren't broken. Luckily he was saved from the teasing his friends were gearing up for by Recovery Girl dumping an armful of supplies onto a bedside table and getting to work.

It was a matter of ten minutes to get them all sorted and heading down to Aizawa's car in the underground car park. Yamada was already in the driver's seat of the SUV when they got there and the kids piled into the back. Kaminari decided not to question the English teacher's presence in favor of having a minor freak out in the very back seat while Izuku and Mei babbled about something science in the row in front of him. Shinso however, raised one knowing eyebrow and gave him that damn smirk one more time before looking out the window and ignoring everyone.

Denki wondered which of the two boys would kill him first.

Chapter Text

When they walked in with a new friend Mia was overjoyed, flouncing over to introduce herself as Izuku went to clock in. "Hi! You're new. My name is Hatsume Mia. Welcome to my shop!" The blonde boy responded to her enthusiasm with his own naturally bubbly personality. "Hatsume? Oh you must be Hatsume-chan's older sister!" He said with a joking wink.

The woman cackled. "Oh! We have a funny one! Just what their little group needs! Come on in…"

"Ah sorry. I'm Kaminari Denki. It's nice to meet you!" The woman smiled warmly. "Kaminari-kun. The only rules are don't touch anything if you don't know what it does and give Mei's babies a wide berth until they're out of the testing phase." He glanced over nervously at the other teens as they waved him over to the large work surface they were gathered around, taking note of all of the parts and gizmos scattered everywhere. "OK don't touch anything. Got it."

She laughed at the slight fear in his voice. "Don't worry kiddo. If you hang around long enough I'm sure those two support prodigies will bore some sort of science into your skull." Denki laughed, scratching at the back of his head. "I probably need that if I'm honest. Science isn't my strongest subject." Mia gently ushered him towards the others, immediately turning to Izuku when they reached them. "Hey kiddo. It's a slow day, we only have two orders. If you want to pull one I'll pull the other and then you can chill and listen for the front?" 

The small teen nodded amicably and snagged the print out of the order form she handed him. Turning towards the newcomer he smiled. "I'll be right back. Why don't you get out your books and stuff so we can get to work when I'm done?"

Kaminari pulled his pin studded messenger back up onto the table before him with a nod. With the signal of assent Izuku hurried off into the maze of shelves. "So uh… Midoriya works here?" 

Shinso hummed in affirmation. "Yeah. His mom's stipulation for going to high-school was him keeping his job here part time. Hatsume-san is really good about not working him too hard though. And insists on all of us keeping up with our studies."

The blonde tilted his head in confusion. "His mom didn't want him to go to high-school?" Shinso made a so-so gesture with one hand. "It's more she didn't want to lose the extra income I think? From what he says finances are kind of tight."

"Oh." Pale fingers pass a spark back and forth in thought. "Doesn't UA have scholarships and programs for that?" Mei groaned at the reminder. "Believe me Kami-kun. Mom tried everything to convince that woman to chill. But she doesn't want charity, and she's stubborn as hell."

Kaminari hummed as he dug out a few well chewed pencils from his bag. "That's kind of sad. Midoriya-kun deserves to go to school and have down time if he wants." The other two nodded in solemn agreement as the group faded into an easy silence. It took about 15 minutes for Izuku to finish up the order and make his way back over, rubbing some grease from his hands onto the coveralls he had changed into. "Alright you three. Are you ready to learn about exponents and variables?"

Shinso groaned, and Kaminari started to, before getting distracted by how skin tight the black undershirt the greenette was wearing was. The sleeves of the coveralls were tied at his waist and hid nothing of the lithe muscles that were being hugged by dark sports spandex. Mei just settled in to make her way through the homework as yet another boy truly started to simp for her friend.

___

The next few days were much of the same, go to school, have classes, work on hero course design corrections and ideas while building his own babies, then the four of them head to the shop for study time. Kaminari had to head home by dinner time, but every other day Shinso was allowed to stay. Aizawa and Yamada trusting Hatsume-san and understanding that his friendships were important. After dinner they would start to close up shop and hang out for a while longer before everyone would go their separate ways.

Going home to that perpetually empty apartment was probably the worst part of Izuku's day. He would do a quick run through the house to make sure everything was clean, before getting ready for bed and hiding himself away in his room. At least with his door closed he could at least pretend the rest of the apartment wasn't an desolate echo of the home that once was. 

Sometimes he would manage to catch his mom on break, and they would chat for a few distracted minutes. Izuku was becoming increasingly familiar with the little window that looked out at the break garden. For some reason every time he saw it it caused some weird niggling question to start to form in the back of his head. But he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. It was just a garden with a couple of benches where people could go out and smoke. Why was it bothering him?

He waved the feeling away every time to ponder another day. 

He would then eventually make it into bed, usually after staying up late texting his friends and drawing out blueprints. Or losing himself in an in depth bit of analysis.

If he was honest with himself though, even if he missed his mom and the closeness they shared when he was young, he would take his current life over his past any day. Back then he'd only had his mom, and even then she would have bad days where she would come home from work tired and hardly look at him before going to bed. Now he has friends, and a second home, a job, and is working towards a career in the most competitive school in the nation.

So while he is sad, it's a sadness that is fairly easy to cope with.

What isn't as easy to cope with is the stress of keeping up with his course work as well as making time for his own projects in the studio. Once the hero students from both class A and class B had been given his suit suggestions an influx of requests had come in. Power Loader had just groaned and started assigning kids from class H extra projects in order to make sure all of the requests were met as quickly as possible. As soon as one design was turned in it was handed to the professionals for testing and fine tuning and a new project was assigned.

Two weeks in and Izuku and Mei had single handedly redesigned three fourths of the equipment used by the first year hero course. And Kuroyama had fine tuned every single outfit design. And that was on top of the support students making their own items to show off during the sports festival that was quickly approaching.

Things had been getting better between the three of them and the rest of 1-H as well. Frequently others would come up to one of them to ask for help with coding, aesthetics, or troubleshooting. And in return they all watched out for the three prodigies to make sure they didn't get stuck or burned out. Jumping in to hold pieces for welding or pinning, or wiring, and having a chat to bring a bit of fresh air into their spaces.

It brought even more relief to Izuku when a classmate showed him such acceptance. It made it easier to relax while in the 1-H classroom or support labs. Knowing he wasn't about to get attacked he could focus in on whatever he was working on. His grades and ridiculous rate of creation showed the improvement.

But the best thing to come out of the weeks in-between the USJ and the sports festival are the blooming friendships between him and some of the other 1-A students. After that first lunch the groups of people cycling through his table were a lot smaller. But there were constants in the teens they'd had lunch with on the first day of school. Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, and Kota. Shoji, Jiro and Kaminari were also almost always there as well. The last few seats at the table changed day to day, with people stopping by to ask questions of the support students or to chat about homework with the others. It was nice to have such a diverse group of people to talk to when they wanted. Hitoshi in particular seemed to get along with Jiro, the two had a similar sense of humor, although the girl found it less funny when she was being teased for her crush.

Kaminari had also slotted himself seamlessly into the after school shop sessions. He swore up and down that Midoriya was the only one who explained the homework in a way he could understand. And when Mia had the boy try reading with different colored overlay strips the energetic boy practically cried because the words stopped shifting around on him. His moms had him tested for dyslexia the next week. When UA was alerted to the diagnosis they put a plan into place to help him in the classroom.

He also joined in on Hitoshi and Izuku's sparring sessions and Mia and Izuku's yoga. He had apparently been wanting to learn more hand to hand for ages and jumped at the chance to learn what the smaller green boy could teach him. Hitoshi suspected following along with the yoga was for ulterior motives. But he wasn't complaining as he enjoyed watching the two other boys go through the workout from his spot on the couch. Denki was surprisingly flexible, though he had nothing on Izuku who had been using yoga to help work his way through mental blocks for almost a year by that point.

Mei was always a menace when she caught him staring though. Like she could talk. He had seen the way she looked at the pink skinned girl from his class.

Chapter Text

The day of the sports festival dawned bright and chilly. The spring still holding onto the nights. It would heat up quickly as the sun burned off the last of the dew from the grass. But until then Izuku made sure to keep his hands in his pockets while he walked down the streets. Cold fingers were the worst when your hands were covered in scars.

He had to yank them free in order to catch an airborne Hatsume though. She, Kaminari, and Shinso had been waiting under the tree right on the inside of the gate and the flying tackle was quickly becoming her favorite way to greet Izuku when he was the last one there. He grunted as she slammed into him and then spun her around to dissipate the force, both so he wouldn't fall and because it always made her giggle. 

He set her down gently and let her tug him over to their little group. "G-good morning everyone!" Hitoshi waved with a yawn and the electric blonde gave him a nervous smile. "...did either of y-you get any sl-sleep at all?"

The purple insomniac gave him his signature smirk. "Really Izu? You're going to ask ME that?" The greenette planted his hands on his hips. "Shinso Hitoshi. I know damn well Aizawa offered you some of those low grade sleeping pills." The other boy shrugged and looked away. "Did you not take them?!" 

"No, I did…"

"And you didn't sleep?" Pale fingers rubbed tiredly at purple eyes, his aloof facade in shambles before the storm of green as always. "I was so nervous I ended up fighting them… so… yeah no sleep." Kaminari gave the taller teen a supportive pat on the shoulder. "I know how ya feel man. My moms had to yell at me to stop sparking like 4 times last night. This is such a big event for the Hero course. The thought of fucking it up and getting booted is terrifying."

The pale brainwasher went paler at that thought. "Dude!" Denki pulled his hand away to use it to scratch the back of his head with a strained laugh. "Sorry. I just can't stop thinking about it!"

Mei groaned dramatically. "The chances of that are extremely low! First of all, someone would have to do good enough to compete with you hero jocks. And THEN they would have to actually want to transfer!" 

"Don't most general education students want to transfer?!" Kamanari groaned, running a stressed hand through his hair again. Izuku held up a hand placatingly. "OK ok. Ch-chill. There have o-only been three tr-transfers in the last 10 years. With all of t-the training y-you two have done I doubt y-you will fail ba-badly enough to b-be the one they cut on th-the odd chance i-it happens again."

Shinso rolled his eyes again. "Says the support student who regularly kicks both of our asses." The freckled boy flushed and the other two felt themselves melting a bit at his adorableness, some of the tension draining from their shoulders. Mei gagged at their show of gay pining and started dragging Izuku away from them. "Come on! Let's get to our classrooms before we're marked as absent."

___

Izuku walked onto the turf as 1-H was called. The rest of his class a wild gaggle around him, not caring to try and walk in a neat line as those who were done with their support gear for the day dragged along those tightening last minute screws and taping sparking wires.

The group stumbled to a stop in a mass next to the orderly lines of hero and general students, making the divisions between them even more crystal clear. Izuku giggled to himself at some of the looks they were getting from the gen ed kids. When he finally turned to face the stage where Midnight was standing and preparing to give the opening speech his eyes almost bugged out of his head at her outfit.

That was his design. The one Maijima sensei had had him scan on the first day of classes. 

No one had told him she was going to use the design! He inevitably found himself looking over the design with a critical eye, noting the slight changes in the positioning of the zippers and the lovely scrollwork on the bracers protecting her forearms. After a moment she caught him looking and sent a smug wink at his floored expression.

As the last business class walked primly into position the greenette took a moment to center himself again, deciding to ask Maijima later why he hadn't been informed of his design being in use. He tuned in to what was going on around him once more as Midnight started up the opening speech. Welcoming the spectators and going over the basic rules for the day.

Eventually she wound down her part and a sneaky grin stole across her face. "And now for the student pledge! For our first year representative we have the support prodigy who scored the highest we've seen on the entrance exam in years! As well as the kiddo who designed the fabulous new outfit I'm debuting today!" His heart sank as his brain caught up with what was happening. "Midoriya Izuku, please step forward and inspire us all with that brilliant mind of yours!" Oh god.

Kuroyama had to nudge him forwards before he was able to remember how walking worked. He was sure he was pale. He was 110% sure he was shaking. But he still managed to make it onto the stage without tripping so one win in the bag. Now he just had to make up a speech on the spot.

As he was handed the microphone he took a deep breath and thought hard about the school year they had all had so far. About getting to watch the hero classes, about the USJ, about his lunches with his friends. He took a deep breath and did his best to try and formulate a way to put his feelings into words. Oh gods. Don't stutter. Please don't stutter. Channel your inner Present Mic. You've got this.

"Here at UA," he began, thankful when his voice only shook a little bit, "we are all invited to push ourselves to the brink every day. To better ourselves in every way in order to better both our futures, and the futures of everyone we will ever come into contact with. The amount of brilliance and determination I see while walking down these halls every day is breathtaking. It's also an inspiration. Because of my fellow students I find the fire needed to reach a little bit farther towards my goals. Here at UA we give each other the push we need to do better, be better. In all ways, physical, mental, and moral. I have never met so many kind hearted and stubborn people and I am privileged to be able to stand here today with them and enter into a competition that is that next step we need on our paths to those better futures. To all of my year mates all I can say is, stand with pride at all you have accomplished so far, and get ready to push father! Go Beyond!" 

The resounding 'Plus Ultra' he gets from the spectators and students would probably have busted his old hearing aids. His shaky hands all but throw the microphone back at Midnight as she claps him on the back. He made good on his escape, merging with the rest of 1-H and doing his best to smile back at the small shoulder pats and words of praise he received on his way back to his friends. He was sure he was pale as a sheet by this point.

Public speaking was the most terrifying thing he had ever done. He was so thankful he didn't stutter.

Mei rubbed his back consolingly as Midnight got the crowd back under control. Eventually they were able to move on to the announcement of the first event. With her normal flair for dramatics the woman declared that it will be an obstacle course. Oh. That boded well for any of his classmates if their designs are field ready.

He does one last inventory of his own gear, as the shoes were a joint project and the bombs were Kuroyama's creation he didn't have those with him for today. He did have his repaired and improved kyoketsu-shoge. And a multi functional gun he was dying to get a chance to test. He knew Mirokuma sensei would probably growl about the contraption, his dislike for guns was well known. But Izuku knew a lot of heros could potentially benefit from the ease of use and the special ammo it was built to shoot. 

Hopefully the support companies who would be watching today would agree if he was able to show off what he could do. 

Other than those two most of his other gear was more subtle, things he had thought of as he remade the outfit that had been trashed at the USJ. Fingerless gloves with brass knuckles built in, which with the press of a button would turn into the short but efficient claws of bagh nahk. He also had retractable cleats built into the bottoms of the guards that covered his shoes. The metal that wrapped up over his toes and heels would make for stronger, more solid kicks, and the cleats made sure he would have traction if the footing got dicey.

Admittedly he didn't make very many things for the festival, his focus being on perfecting the things he was bringing and on designing the things needed by the hero course. After all a sports festival, while important, was not more important than the lives of the kids he was meant to be supporting.

He took a deep breath, scoping out the entrance to the obstacle course. He realized instantly that it would be a problem. He frowned before snapping his fingers when he had an idea. Quickly he did a few stretches, trying to make sure he wouldn't pull anything in his legs with his upcoming stupid moves. He clicked his heels together and the spikes of the cleats popped out with a quiet thump against the turf.

When the buzzer sounded he took off running with the rest of the crush of students. But as he neared the milling mess at the opening to the tunnel he jumped. Digging his cleats into the wall for grip he shoved off and turned his body so one foot would catch the opposite wall. Back and forth he launched from wall to wall above the other students' heads.

He felt a blast of icy air and watched as a bunch of the teens below him were frozen in place. Todoroki. He did his best to keep his momentum, not wanting to fall on the others while he had metal spikes sticking out of his shoes.

As he made it to the end of the corridor he spotted his next little challenge, the ground all the way out of the exit and for another few yards was completely iced over. He looked around for the best place to land. He took a deep breath as he launched himself away from the wall one last time. If he didn't hit this landing just right there was a good chance of breaking his ankle.

The metal under his soles hit the ice with a clink, and he skidded forwards for a few feet before the spikes finally found purchase. And then he was running, digging his cleats into the frosted ground to keep himself upright.

He looked around to see who else had made it through. He saw a lot of class 1-A and several kids from 1-B. And then he noticed Hatsume cackling as she flew over all of them. He grinned at the display of her excitement and forced himself to run faster so he wouldn't fall behind.

He flinched back a bit as the next obstacles suddenly loomed. Present Mic introduced them as the robots from the entrance exam and Izuku blanched a bit. Shinso had fought robots THAT HUGE?! What kind of crack was this school on?

Two of the robots were suddenly encased in ice, standing a moment before falling with a crash. Scratch the first thought, what kind of crack was TODOROKI on? He kept running, noticing the swarm of smaller robots at the feet of the giants. He inclined his Kyoketsu-shoge and prepared to fight his way through. 

A bang from above and the familiar smell of nitroglycerin made him flinch, he saw Bakugo throw himself over the downed bots with the help of his explosions and frowned. He had honestly forgotten the other boy would be there today.

He forced himself to keep moving, he could panic about competing with Kachan later. He reached the first few robots and lashed out with the weighted end of his weapon, swinging it in a horizontal motion so it would wrap around a robot's 'neck'. When it had a good grip he yanked back harshly expecting greater resistance and almost overbalanced when the head popped off easily. Huh. So they weren't very hard to break. That would make this a lot easier.

Instead of reeling the cord back in he swung it to the right, robot head and all and smashed it into one of its friends who had the audacity to target him. Then he took off at a dead sprint through the opening he had created. Wrapping the cord around his palm to his elbow to shorten the length he was working with. The chunk of scrap came free as it jerked forwards and it launched itself into the glass eyes of another robot, shattering them and blinding the machine. He almost paused at the shock of the lucky shot but made himself keep running.

He dodged a couple of flailing limbs and a miss fired laser from Aoyama, then he was scrambling through the legs of one of the giant bots. With a sigh of relief he realized he was free of the mess of the fight.

He saw the next obstacle and internally groaned. There was no quick way to make it across that. If only he had been allowed to bring the boots. He sighed and got on with it. Returning his kyoketsu-shoge to its spot around his hips he got started. Hanging upside down and scootching his way across like a koala. He was glad for his upper body strength. He was sure if his arms weren't so built up from all of the training and lifting he had been doing recently then he would be pulling himself across a lot slower.

He grunted in frustration as he saw Iida slide his way across, and Uraraka hop nimbly from platform to platform. Lucky jerks with their lucky quirks. He wondered how far ahead Kachan was. He groaned as he pulled himself up onto the other cliff. He panted, wiping a hand across his freckled face to keep the sweat from stinging his eyes. With a deep breath he leveled himself to his feet and forced himself to keep moving, completely ignoring the tired burn in his arms and legs from the workout.

When he reached the next section of the course he didn't understand what he was looking at at first. His ears were ringing too much to have caught whatever introduction Mic had given. Then a pink cloud blasted up from where Uraraka stepped and it clicked. Mines. Oh. He could work with that.

Quickly he snagged some rocks from the ground and shoved them into his pockets. He wasn't sure how much pressure was needed to set off the device hiding under the dirt, but if Uraraka was setting them off then it couldn't be much.

He backed up, readying himself for a running start. With one more deep breath to calm the anxiety pending in his chest at the sound and sight of explosions he raced forwards. Just before he reached the edge of the minefield he jumped once again. Landing a few feet in on one foot just between two mines. He didn't waste the momentum. Hopping forwards to land in a handstand. He would have to thank his instructors in yoga and martial arts once more when this was all over. The quick tumbling lessons he had gone over with Mirokuma and the flexibility gained from daily sessions with Hatsume-san served him well as he made his way through the mines.

If Izuku had been able to break concentration for even a moment he would have noticed when he overtook several of the hero students and Mei. As it was, he wasn't paying attention to the people around him at all until he noticed that he had closed the distance on the two front runners. As he carried through a back handspring he caught sight of Bakugo and Todoroki fighting a little ways ahead. 

He realized they were well within range and an almost feral grin split his face. And he leapt forwards and to the right he dug the rocks out of his pocket. The next few leaps and flips brought him a bit more to the right of the other boys. It was time. When he was at the apex of his next jump he tossed the rocks as hard as he could right in front of where Bakugo was going to be.

He was right about the devices not taking much to set off. He didn't get to see what happened next as he had to focus on his own landing. But he heard the bang and the enraged screams loud and clear through his hearing aids.

He laughed maniacally when he was next given a chance to look and saw Bakugo cursing up a storm as he tried to catch back up with Todoroki. He was surprised to notice that the blast had pushed him far enough back that even Izuku had pulled ahead of him. Oh. If Deku got second place instead of him he would absolutely hate it. A vindictive voice that sounded suspiciously like Shinso crowed with glee and Izuku picked up the pace even more, forcing his tired limbs to keep moving.

He reached the edge of the field and took off at a sprint once again, seeing the red and white hair of Todoroki pass through the tunnel ahead of him. He glanced back in time to see Bakugo accidently set off another mine with his quirk and the greenette giggled at actually getting to see the other boy get blasted back a few meters. Then he was into the shade of the tunnel and he faced forwards once more. He heard Present Mic calling out his name when he made it through to the other side. He slowed as he made it far enough away from the mouth of the tunnel to not get trampled by others and stopped. Bracing his hands on his knees as he panted he gazed up at the huge scoreboard. There it was. His name. Right in second place.

Holy shit.

After a moment he glanced around and noticed Todoroki staring at him, an unreadable look on his face. Izuku smiled and nodded at the quietest of his lunch buddies. But before he could try and say anything around his rough breathing there was the sound of a blast and angry yelling. And then something was yanking him up by the back of his collar. 

The greenette choked at the pressure around his throat. Oh God. That was Kachan. He had dared to beat Kachan. He was swung around to meet the raging blonde, his collar still firmly in the other's grasp. "K-kachan!" He struggled to get the name out around the pressure on his larynx. "You stupid Deku! What the fuck was that?! You cheating fuck!"

Green eyes began to tear up as the panic started to set in. This was how he would die. On national television, taken out by his childhood friend. 

Then a pale hand was latching into Bakugo's wrist. The two boys looked to see who would interfere and came face to face with cold hetrochromatic eyes. "Bakugo. Let Midoriya go."

"Hah?! Who are you giving orders to you half and half bastard?!" When he didn't let go right away Todoroki's knuckles whitened as he increased pressure on the other's wrist. Eventually the strain on his tendons was too much and Bakugo's grip released. Izuku scrambled back and Todoroki stepped in between him and the walking explosion. They stared each other down for a full minute before the tension was broken by Shinso running up to the small group.

The purple eyed insomniac looked between the three of them, sussing out the issue instantly. He snagged Izuku and started dragging him away. Tossing a, "Thanks Todoroki." over his shoulder as he went. 

When they were far enough away that they couldn't see Bakugo through the growing crowd of teens who had finished the race the greenette all but collapsed into his friend. "Holy shit." He mumbled, shaking slightly as the adrenaline left him.

"Gods Zu." The taller boy muttered as he ruffled green curls. "That took some balls. When I saw you blast that asshole back I almost shit myself. I laughed way too hard. It's thanks to you that I got 16th place instead of 7th or so. It's hard to dodge around a minefield while laughing your ass off." Izuku whined and covered his face as he flushed. "He's going to kill me, Toshi. Oh gods. What was I thinking?!"

His friend snickered and dodged the elbow aimed for his ribs. "I'm sure you'll be fine Zu."

Chapter Text

The second round was decided. A cavalry battle. And Izuku had the second most amount of points. It was no ten million thank the gods. RIP Todoroki. But still, a target was on his back. And now he needed to find a team who would be willing to work with the quirkless kid.

He looked hesitantly over his shoulder at Shinso, the other boy was looking over the point distributions on the large screen above the stage. But after a second he seemed to notice Izuku's gaze. When they locked eyes the taller boy seemed confused by his friend's expression, before realization dawned and he let out an exasperated huff. 

"Of course we're going to be on the same team dummy. Let's go find Mei." The blinding grin he got in response made him give his own small smile in return. They threaded through to the back of the crowd, knowing she had retreated earlier to look over her equipment. 

"Mei-chan! Wanna team up?!" She enthusiastically agreed, tightening one last screw on her jetpack she stood so they could hunt down one last teammate. They didn't get very far before said teammated instead hunted them. "Hey guys!" The bubbly voice of Uraraka called out to them, grabbing their attention with an added wave. "Can I join your team?"

Izuku lit up. Instantly muttering about how useful her quirk was and the beginnings of plans. Shinso gave her his easy grin and gestured to his friend who was too deep in his head to notice. "This means yes." She giggled in response and bounced the rest of the way up to the group. "So. What's the plan?"

___

At the starting buzzer they were off. Running clockwise around the edge of the arena even as most of the other teams bee-lined towards team Todoroki. Izuku scanned the path ahead as he sat up on the shoulders of Uraraka and Shinso.

"To the right!" He called and they changed directions accordingly. He lashed out a hand and snagged the headband of a distracted class B student as they ran past. He quickly tied it around his neck as he kept a look out for their next target.

This was the main body of their plan. Stealth. While everyone was distracted they would snag as many points for themselves as they could. Of course there were contingency plans as well. Izuku wanted to leave nothing to chance. Shinso and Uraraka deserved to move on to the next round, and Hatsume wanted to use the sports festival as much as possible to be able to impress the support companies that were watching.

He would make sure they moved on.

He dodged a swipe from Asui's tongue and retaliated with a shot from the gun cradled in his right hand. The bullet exploded into a net with spider silk thin cords. They were slightly sticky and very easy to get tangled up in. He watched as Shoji went down as his leg got caught up with his arm. The greenette winced a bit as the other boy hit the ground with a harsh smack and the two smaller teens he was carrying launched across the turf with twin oomphs.

Oops. "Sorry!" He called out as they ran past and Uraraka snagged the headband from Asui.

The next few minutes passed by in a similar way, them sneaking around and snagging whatever they could, occasionally retaliating with Izuku's gun when needed. And then the timer kit 3 minutes and Present Mic betrayed them. "Wow! Watch all the little listeners go! With three minutes left we have a surprising line up! Currently in 1st after having played pass the potato with the 10 million is Team Bakugo! 2nd is the shockingly mixed team Midoriya! 3rd is…" Shit fuck. He tuned out the rest of the announcers rambles as a whole slew of teams suddenly turned towards them.

Of course they would make a more viable target than the walking bomb of Kachan's team. He takes a deep breath as the others approach. "OK. Plan space jump. Brace yourselves!" 

Uraraka tapped all four of them with her quirk and Izuku prepared to flip the switch on the jetpack Mei had strapped to his back. The controls on it were hard to use, but he would have to make do in order to get his team out of the press of aggressors coming right for them.

At the last possible moment he hit the button on the joystick he had clipped to a lead connected to his jacket. He angled it forwards slightly as they rose into the air quickly with their reduced weight. Once they had made it over the group of students that were gunning for them he angled the stick more to bring them in for a landing and then hit the button to turn off the propulsion system once more. When they were a foot off the ground Ochako returned their weight and they landed in a dead sprint.

Team Midoriya ran in an arc, keeping near the wall as they were chased by a mob of super powered teens. Occasionally one of the other teams would manage to get close enough to attack and they would have to jump again, bouncing around like an evasive bunny.

Their luck ran out at the one minute mark. Apparently they had gotten too close to team Bakugo. And the other boy had seen a chance for a little revenge. So as they hopped into the air to avoid the quicksand trap set by Honenuki they were met by a flying feral blonde with a vendetta.

Izuku yelped twisted to dodge the explosion aimed right at his face. Unfortunately the jet pack took the full force of the attack instead. The sudden force of the straps across his shoulders as the device was forced away from the strike was painful. And then Izuku noticed it was smoking. Fearfully he scrambled out of the device's confines and tossed it to the ground below them. As soon as it hit it exploded sending the still airborne teens flying across the arena. And knocking over several of the teams still on the ground.

"My baby!" Oh shit. Mei was pissed. "Zuku. That bastard killed my baby! I want payback!" Ah well… there was no saying no to her now. "Plan boom." He responded as they landed near Team Bakugo. Sero was reeling in the flying sparkler as they turned onto their target. "Ready?" Izuku waited half a second, just long enough for Bakugo to regain his seat. "Now!"

The three teens holding him in dashed forwards and Izuku reached a hand out right as his ex friend sensed his danger and turned to face him. With a grin the green haired support student snatched the 10 million point headband right off of him. Before tossing it in the air and shooting it with his gun. With a boom the bullet let off a small explosion. And the headband went up in flames.

The whole stadium sat frozen in shock even as the final buzzer sounded. But Mei took the moment to gloat. Turning back around to the ash blond who was glaring murder at her team she crowed. "Hell yeah! That's what you get! An eye for an eye bitch! Hurt my babies and I hurt you! Whoo!" She fist pumped even as Shinso devolved into cackling laughter at her antics.

Izuku flinched at the rage that the taunts ignited in Bakugo's eyes. He tapped the shoulders he was sat upon to signal he wanted down as Present Mic seemed to snap out of his shock. "Wow listeners! What a stunning last minute turn around pulled off by team Midoriya! With three seconds left on the clock they managed to steal and then destroy the coveted 10 million point headband! Not only solidifying their own place in first place with Midoriya having kept his own team's headband worth 645 points! Added to that they managed to snag several other headbands at the start of the round for a total of 2,005 points! Second place goes to team Todoroki who managed to freeze a few competitors in the last minutes to snag the extra points needed! Their total is 1,105! Third is team Tokoyami with two hero classes working together! They managed 950 points! And last but not least! Even though at the last second they were knocked from the first place throne team Bakugo still has just enough points to move on to the next round! Scraping by with 245 points!"

Oh Izuku needed to hide before Bakugo destroyed him.

"Alright listeners! We are taking an hour break for lunch! Go cool off after that explosive show! There are food stalls set up for visitors just outside the stadium! Students, you can either enjoy those as well or make your way to the cafeteria for Lunch Rush's usual miracles! Okey dokey! Stay tuned, in an hour we will have the regular sports festival games as we gear up for the finals!"

As soon as they were dismissed the green haired boy made a beeline for the tunnels, his friends following along dutifully. Determined to not let himself be cornered by his old bully. They made their way to the vendor stalls, weaving through the crowds with a bit of struggle. Mei broke off to grab them a few orders of tokoyaki. Hitoshi spied a drink vendor and headed that way. Izuku saw a stir fry stall and decided to make that his contribution. He tried not to cringe at the price as he paid for himself and his two friends.

After he snagged three orders he looked around for his friends. Mei was still haggling with the vendor, Shinso was leaned against the wall of the stadium looking exasperated. With a grin Izuku caught his eye and gestured towards the girl. After a moment of consideration the purple eyed teen let loose an exasperated sigh and stomped towards the rogue mechanic. He tossed some money onto the counter and dragged their friend and her portion of their lunch back towards the main school building.

They set up their improvised picnic under a tree a good deal away from the crowds. They each traded their extra portions around before digging in. As they sat and chatted a few others from their classes came and went, stopping in the shade to inhale their own snacks and chat before running off to go talk to someone else they had seen. It was a nice lunch.

What was less nice was walking back into the arena to find most of the girls from 1-A looking embarrassed while wearing horribly garnish cheerleading uniforms. Jiro practically hiding behind the taller Yaoyarozu. Izuku glanced over his shoulder to where Shinso had been walking only to find that the taller boy had vanished. He spun until he found his friend stalking off towards two of his other classmates. He quickly identified them as a slightly uncomfortable looking Kaminari and a gleeful Mineta. Ah. So that's what was going on.

The greenette sat back and watched as his friend took care of the situation. He was too far away to hear what was said but from the stance and Kaminari's face he could guess at the lecture. The electric blonde seemed to agree quickly enough and turned to the girls as if to apologize. But the smaller of the purple boys didn't seem repentant at all. Izuku grinned as he saw Hitoshi's stance turn from protective anger into righteous ferality. 

It only took a few short threats before the tiny pervert scampered off into the tunnels. Mei was giggling by that point, having caught on to what was up. After a second she skipped off towards the other girls. He pretended he didn't hear her loudly complimenting her fellow pinkette on the outfit.

Chapter Text

Izuku took a few deep breaths as he walked forward, trying to force down the anxiety making his insides squirm uncomfortably.

He climbed the few short steps and listened as Midnight went over the rules with them one more time. His kyoketsu-shoge was in his hand down at his side, he didn't want to have to unclip it and waste time once the fight started, but he also didn't want to be accused of cheating. So it remained at rest.

As soon as Midnight called the start Izuku dodged to the side, just barely making it out of Iidas range as the other boy passed. Coming out of his roll he popped up to his feet and swung the weighted end of his weapon in a wide arc, the cord unfurling with a snap as it went. Iida stumbled as halfway through his turn his legs were suddenly ensnared and he went down, hard. 

A green blur was on him in an instant, pinning the bigger boy on his front by yanking his arm back into a pressure hold. Midnight gave them a second and then when Iida admitted he couldn't get free she called it. And just like that, the first match went to the quirkless support student.

Freckled hands trembled a bit with leftover adrenaline as he helped the blue haired teen untangle himself and stand. Trying his best to ignore the confused but impressed comments from the stands. "Sorry a-about that Iida, you fell pretty h-hard, are you ok?"

"Yes. Thank you Midoriya! That was a wonderful move! Maybe we can spar together some time so I can get more practice fighting against weapons?!" Izuku grinned up at him as they made their way across the pitch, together this time. "S-sure! Sp-sparring with the M-mirokumas g-gets kind of r-repetitive."

"The Mirokumas? As in Mirokuma Kiba?!" Izuku tilted his head in confusion at the tone. "Yes?" The other boy chopped his hand excitedly. "My brother plans to have him tutor me over the summer break. He is a fantastic instructor! No wonder you are so talented with your martial arts!"

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward giggle. "Ah. Y-yeah. I've been g-going to his self d-defence classes f-for a few years… It's j-just recently that I-i started having pr-private lessons…" They passed Tetsutetsu in the hall, the steel skinned teen obviously in the zone.

"I-uh. I'm going b-back to the st-stands. I w-want to check on 1-H, m-make sure n-no one got hurt d-during the ob-obstacle course... Are you going to cl-class 1-A's box?" 

"Ah. No. First I have to make a phone call to my brother." Izuku smiled and nodded at the show of familial devotion. "OK! I-i'll see you later then!" As the other boy stalked off towards the locker rooms the freckled teen took a left and walked up the stairs towards the student boxes. Once up the stairs he looked out over the stands, the first box on this side was 1-K he nodded to the business students he vaguely recognized from around the school and started looking for his own class. J... I… ah. There it was.

He stepped past the short partition and into their seating area. Only to be swarmed immediately. The press of noise was a bit too much for him to really understand what they were saying. He did catch a few shouts of congratulations. And questions on his feild review of his gear so far. But not much else. Eventually Kuroyama was shoving his way between them, even his considerable bulk had some trouble shifting the rabid support students in order to give Izuku some breathing room. "Alright! Enough! He doesn't need you all swarming him! Back! Back you creatins!"

Izuku giggled at the overdramatic display. "I-I'm glad to see e-everyone is ok." His hulking friend spun to look at him. "Oh yeah! None of us got more than a few bumps and bruises. Though we've all got tons of ideas for support items to start on when we get back!" The greenette smiled and let the others ramble to him about the ideas they came up with when they got stuck on the obstacle course.

Apparently only about half of them even made it to the Fall. And from there only four made it to the minefield.

As Izuku congratulated Kuroyama on actually being able to make it through to the end, though a few places too far behind to qualify for the second round, a voice called out over their little partition from the hall. "Hey Midoriya! Good job on your fight bro!" He turned just in time to see Kaminari disappear from where his head had popped up from over the low wall. And then the excitable blonde was cheerfully waving from the entrance, making sure it was ok to intrude on their space.

"Hi Kaminari! Thanks!" Kuroyama excitedly waved the other boy forwards and Kaminari beamed at him before running over and excitedly bouncing in place. "For real though man! You were like, oop! Whah! Bang! Dunzo! It was so cool!" Izuku flushed bright red as the hero student layered on the praise while mimicking his earlier dodging and counter attacking. "I uhm. I just. It wasn't th-that great! I just g-got in a l-lucky shot!"

He got distracted from trying to deny more by Midnight announcing the start of the next match. Izuku frowned down at where he could see Tetsutetsu and Kirishima squaring up. "This… might take awhile" Kaminari and Kuroyama looked at his curiously. "Th-their quirks are too s-similar… this is g-going to end up as a b-battle of st-stamina." 

Kuroyamma perked up. "Great!" He smacked his large hand down on Kaminari's shoulder and guided him towards the benches. "This means we have time to talk about your suit upgrades!" Izuku grinned and followed them,  sitting down next to the Hero kid just in case he needed to bail him out. He knew very well how intense the support class could be.

In the end neither of the two competitors won. They both passed out from exhaustion at the exact same time. Present Mic announced that there would be a tie breaker when both of them had awoken.

Up next was Uraraka vs. Sero. Izuku mumbled theories under his breath and the other two boys stopped their enthusiastic discussion to listen in. "OK. So Sero has the advantage of reach. But Uraraka is fast and nimble. If she can dodge and get close to him she might be able to tag him with her quirk and toss him from the ring… butthenserocouldandurarakamight…." When his mutters turned into indistinguishable mush as his brain moved faster than his body could keep up Kuroyama started up their discussion on target disks as a viable support item.

Down below Uraraka managed to get in close and smack Sero across the face. The smack was loud enough to hear in the stands and Izuku leaned forwards in anticipation, waiting to see if any of his predictions came through. 

The young heroine grabbed hold of her opponent and spun him around to build up momentum for her toss. Sero was almost over the line, but then he shot out a length of tape and wrapped it around Uraraka in a move similar to how Izuku caught Iida. Unfortunately Uraraka didn't see the danger until too late and was already in motion to release her quirk.

As his gravity returned Sero had the leverage he needed. In an impressive show of core strength he grabbed the tape and torqued his body, pulling Uraraka harshly off of her feet. She landed with an Oomph, one foot touching the ground outside of the marked line just a second before Sero himself hit the grass.

Midnight pronounced Sero's win as Yamada enthusiastically praised both of the fighters for the close match. Even Aizawa pitching in to give a begrudging compliment.

Izuku buzzed with excitement before Kaminari grinned over at him. "Do you wanna go say hi to them? I think Mei and Shinso are with 1-A right now. So you can go talk to Sero and Uraraka and then chill with them?" Izuku paused where he was bouncing in his seat and then nodded enthusiastically. When the two stood Kuroyama did as well. "May I come too? I would like to talk to Mei about the functionality of a disk shooter."

"Sure man! The more the merrier!"

With that the three of them headed out, walking around the top of the stadium towards the hero course boxes. When they arrived Kaminari called out a greeting. "Hey guys! Look who I found!" They walked through the entrance and were bombarded by welcomes and compliments on Izuku's match.

Mei was on them in an instant. Babbling about all of the things she had been talking to the hero kids about. Izuku smiled and nodded along even as he signed a greeting to Shinso who waved from his spot on a bench near the front.

As they all waited on the next match they chattered to each other. The hero students bouncing from one conversation to another with ease. After a moment Izuku retreated to Shinso, Mei following along without pausing in her ramble.

The next fight ended quickly and with a fairly predictable win. Aoyama just didn't have the mobility or the tenacity to take down Bakugo. As the match ended Mei scampered over to the other pink themed girl in the stands near them and all but dragged her away. It was their turn next after all.

Izuku hoped she asked before she used the other girl for her plan. But knowing Mei she was already three steps ahead in her mind space and would probably forget to communicate. 

The way the fight went actually surprised him though, it seemed like Mei changed her plan after all. Instead of Ashido using the gear Mei had made Mei was using it all herself, narrating over hijacked loudspeakers as they went. Mei would pull out a baby, Ashido would see what it was and attack as if she knew what it did, and then Mei would counter with the invention. And then the dance would begin again.

Izuku was on the edge of his seat the whole time. There were so many gadgets that Mei had never even mentioned to him! Oh he was so hacking her computer in the lab to see what else she had been holding out on him. After about thirty minutes of grandstanding and playing up to the support companies who were watching Mei finally showed off her last bit of gear. A shimmery smoke bomb in her trademark pink.

"And that, folks, ends today's demonstration! Please give it up for my lovely assistant Ashido Mina from 1-A!" As Mina waved to the crowd the support student went on. "And remember! If you need gear without peer come to me! This is Mei Hatsume of Hatsume Incorporated signing off!" With that she stepped out of bounds with a grin.

Midnight was giggling uncontrollably as she announced Ashido the winner. And then the two girls walked off the pitch arm in arm. Izuku smiled at their antics. Writing down all of the questions he had for Mei in his notebook so he could quiz her when they got home 

It was good to see her getting along with other people their age. Especially people he himself didn't really hang out with much. He was really happy she had made a friend.

Chapter Text

Izuku leaned forwards with anticipation as Shinso and Kaminari walked into the ring. This next fight could really go either way. Izuku knew Hitoshi had been doing his best to avoid using his quirk in class. And the couple of times he did use it he tried to hide its activation requirement with things like eye contact or 5 point physical touch.

So Kaminari didn't know how Shinso's quirk worked. But Shinso knew all about Kaminari's quirk and its drawbacks. That being said, the electrical quirk was exceptionally powerful. So this match really came down to whether or not Shinso was able to dodge long enough to ensnare the blonde.

They started off with a bang, lighting flew as Kaminari electrified the ground. But Hitoshi was ready, jumping up, and forwards managing to dodge the worst of the shocks, though the static made his already wild hair poof out even more than normal. He landed in a crouch right as his blonde opponent stood. In one smooth movement he latched a hand around the other boy's exposed ankle and heaved himself up, levering Kaminari onto his ass.

Before the electrical teen could right himself he was pinned and Hitoshi was smirking down at him. Asking him a question. Kaminari answered with a smirk of his own as his hands once again started sparking. But it was over. His face blanked and his hands fell to his sides as Hitoshi took control. 

The purple themed teen stood slowly before ordering his opponent to stand and leave the ring. The crowd went wild with confusion and astonishment as the fight was called.

Izuku and Mei went wild with glee. Though the greenette did plan to give Kaminari some tips for his quirk as a consolation later. And he knew Mei was already drawing up plan for more support gear for him in her head.

The two boys joined their friends back in the box as Yaoyarozu and Tokoyami took the stage. Their fight was over a lot more quickly. Izuku frowned in disappointment as Momo hesitated after making a shield. If she had been quick enough she could have made a light source and won. But Dark Shadow managed to push her out of bounds before she got her head around an idea.

As they left the arena after a civil handshake Izuku stood. His next fight was coming up quick after all. He waved his friends off, stating he wanted a quiet moment to think and then left for the green rooms.

The way down beneath the stadium was winding. Eventually he pulled up the map on his phone so he knew he wouldn't end up lost and forfeiting his match. He managed to make it to the room labeled with his name just as Todoroki and Honenuki made their way through the exits onto the pitch.

The small screen set into the wall showed the fight as it played out above him. Izuku started on his favorite yoga routine as he watched. Feeling better as he took mediated breaths and let his mind be distracted by the fight.

It wasn't as quick as one would have originally thought. Todoroki started right off the bat with a power move that stunned the audience. An arctic glacier appeared in the ring to completely immobilize his opponent. One anyone but Honenuki that move might have worked. But what is softened ice if not water?

The resulting splash as the glacier melted doused the first three rows of seats on the south side of the stadium, much to the spectators' displeasure. Izuku leaned further into his toe touch as the camera showed Todoroki's disgruntled expression. 

Honenuki really was a bad match for the ice user. The next few minutes were a flurry of ice and water as Todoroki struck out in an effort to catch his opponent and Honenuki countered with his own quirk, dancing around to avoid getting caught by any ice before he could soften it. 

After a bit of this the hetrochromatic teen seemed to get frustrated enough to resort to hand to hand, closing in quickly. Honenuki started to crouch, obviously intending to soften the ground and trip the other fighter up. But Todoroki was surprisingly quick. He closed in and kicked up, forcing Honenuki to stand or take a tennis shoe to the face.

As the student from 1-B stumbled back Todoroki revealed his plan. He stomped his foot, sending a sheet of smooth ice racing across the ring and then struck his opponent with a well placed palm to the chest. Honenuki skidded back several feet as he desperately pinwheeled his arms to keep from falling. The crown screamed as they realized he had been pushed out of bounds.

Midnight called the fight as Present Mic hyped up the final move and gave a few congratulatory words. Todoroki gave a polite bow to his defeated foe before turning and leaving without a word.

Izuku took a few more deep breaths as robots decended to clean up as much of the rapidly melting ice and water as they could. Looked like he was up.

___

Kirishima stared him down from across the ring. He was grinning as usual, but his gaze was intense. The greenette gulped as he anxiously ran his hand over the cord of his kyoketsu-shoge.

With the signal to start Izuku lunged forwards. Pressing the button on the side of one of his gloves to release the short hooked claws from the knuckles. He managed to dodge Kirishima's hardened punch and land his own, though the claws and therefore his punch just bounced off the boy's quirked skin.

He moved with the momentum, spinning away from another rock hard punch while reaching down to unhook the clasp of his weapon. He slammed his knees into the concrete to stop mid spin one he was directly behind his opponent. 

Kirishima hurried to turn and face him, stepping right into the path of the cord that was sent into its own ached flight by Izuku's sudden stop. When it hit the other teen's shoulder it started rewinding itself immediately. As soon as he saw his chance Izuku slammed his hand down on the button of the hilt in his hand. 

The redhead froze up as the electrical current shot itself into his system. Before he could regain his mobility the smaller boy was on him. Kicking his feet out from under him and using the cord the hero student was already tangled in to help keep him pinned.

Midnight quickly called his win much to the delight of the crowd. Once he was sure it was over Izuku scrambled off of Kirishima. Quickly stopping the other teen from trying to get untangled himself. "H-hold on. It c-can b-be hard to g-g-get out of, es-especially after y-you've been shocked…"

The redheaded grinned up at him with his mouth full of sharp teeth. "Speaking from experience bro?" Midoriya ducked his head with a blush as he carefully unwound the loops of his weapon. "M-my sensei w-wanted to m-make sure th-this one w-was well b-balanced. Something about m-me and t-target t-tendencies?"

Kirishima laughed. "What? Does he think you're going to run into more villians?" He waited for an answer, but when green haired boy helped him to his feet without meeting his eyes he quickly got concerned. "Wait? Really? Why?"

He only got a small shrug as Izuku started to make his way off the pitch so the next match could start. 

___

Sero stood no chance against Bakugo in a flat ring. Their fight was over as fast as the snap of the fingers. Or the crackle of an explosion in a palm.

Next up was Shinso and Ashido. Surprisingly the purple haired boy let her sling a few globs of her acid around while he dodged. Izuku wondered what he was doing for a moment, the girl was a notorious motor mouth after all. But then Hitoshi dashed in and smacked her on the arm before asking her something. She frowned as she replied, looking confused.

Her black sclera made her blank eyed stare look even eerier. Shinso released his hold as soon as she stepped over the line. She took a moment to realize what happened before spinning around to face her classmate with a grin. She yelled something back at him before skipping off as Hitoshi was named the winner.

The last fight for the round was Tokoyami vs. Todoroki. The match should have been over quickly. Todoroki had the perfect weapon to counter the Bird headed boy after all. But he once again stubbornly refused to use the fire side of his quirk. That being said, Dark Shadow didn't possess the power the could have while in the center of the bright stadium. It took the quirk creature a few hits to break through the ice constructs. Eventually though one blunted spike manages to get through and knock Tokoyami back with a solid hit, sending him flying into the grass.

As Present Mic announced a break in between the rounds Izuku, who had been rejoined by his friends, stood to hunt down a drink. Of course his quiet question of if Mei wanted anything ended up with everyone asking him to grab them something. Shinso rolled his eyes and offered to come along to help carry things. 

That's how they ended up making their way down the winding halls, picking up a wandering Kaminari who had gotten turned around after going to the bathrooms. Izuku scribbled down the last of the orders on a spare page of his notebook as Shinso finished straightening the wad of cash that had been shoved into his hands and slid it into a pocket.

It took a few minutes to find some vending machines. When they did, Izuku started listing off requests as the other two boys fed the capitalist pit and placed the drinks neatly on the floor so the small greenette could keep track of what was needed.

After he double checked their list they divided up the bounty and loaded up their arms. Or they tried too. After he dropped one Izuku paused to think for a moment before grinning and setting his third of the drinks back down. He quickly stripped out of his sports jacket, glad he had decided on a long sleeve under shirt after all when he got dressed that morning. He might be extra sweaty but at least he wasn't bothering anyone else with his scars. 

He deftly tied a knot in the sleeves and fashioned the bulk of the jacket into a sling bag. He tossed it over his shoulder and across his body before loafing it up with the drinks. When he turned around again he found the other two looking at him with weird and slightly jealous looks. They were both wearing the short sleeved uniforms after all.

They headed back to the box. Izuku giving a fast paced breakdown of his thought on Todoroki and Yaoyarozu's quirks and what each of them could do if they fought. He was gesturing wildly with his hands and completely fanboying over the girl's OP quirk as they turned a corner. The smallest boy rammed right into someone going the other way and rebounded to land on his butt with a loud yelp. Luckily he only dropped two drinks in the crash, it could have gotten messy if he dropped them all and some of them busted.

"Ouch!" After a second to react to the shock, green eyes shot up to see who the other accident victim was. A freckled face paled a bit as Izuku's gaze locked with grey and blue. "Oh! T-t-todoroki-San! I'm so s-sorry! Are you ok?"

The quiet hero student studied the boy on the ground impassively. That's when Shinso and Kaminari kicked into gear, the electric boy kneeling down to ask if his friend was ok while Shinso took half a step forwards in an attempt to shelter the smaller boy a bit. But Todoroki completely ignored all of it. Just staring Midoriya down and asking, "You really think she has any chance against me?"

The greenette paused in waving off Kaminari's concern. "Yes? With you no-not using the fire element t-to your quirk th-there are many strategies she could u-use to b-beat you. Honestly th-though I think it w-would come down to a m-m-matter of stamina and qu-quick thinking..." 

The support student flinched when he looked back up from his minor mumble storm. Todoroki, despite his face still being fairly blank, looked furious. He started back pedaling quickly. "I m-mean! I-if y-you uh-uhm. U-using y-your f-f-fire would ev-even th-th-the playing f-field con-considerably! S-so uhm- I- uhm-" He flinched again as the ice welders facade broke a bit. "I will NOT be using that bastard's fire."

Shinso stepped more in front of Izuku, preparing to use his quirk. But it was Kaminari who asked a question first, talking without thinking as was his habit. "Dude? Why not? Both sides of your quirk are powerful as fuck!"

Todoroki was full on scowling now. "Because I do not agree with how my quirk came to be. Tell me, have any of you ever heard of quirk marriages?" The other three teens winced. That was a part of history no one really liked brought up. Eugenics in general had been outlawed ages ago. But when quirks had showed up the practice had seen a resurgence of popularity.

Izuku was, of course. The first to put the question together with their topic. Shinso was quick to get it as well. Though Kaminari was a little slower on the uptake. The greenette stood from where he had been sat on the floor, a furious look crossing his face. "You're kidding. He didn't!"

Hitoshi looked nauseous. "It makes sense Zu. His quirk is perfect. There's no way it wasn't manipulated into being." The grimace on the shortest boy's face was unusual, but depicted his disgust adequately. "That's awful!" This time it was Kaminari's turn to stand from where he had been crouched near Izuku. Confusion painted across his features. "OK uhm… what did who do?"

Purple eyes locked with blue and grey. "Endeavor used Todoroki's mom to make the perfect quirk…" Shinso stated with his usual bluntness, though the lilt had a bit of question to it. As if he was asking, begging, to be wrong. That hope was quickly stomped on as the boy across from then gave a sharp nod.

"That's right. My father bought my mother. And then paid off everyone else who questioned their union so they would look the other way. I'm the fourth child, and the only one to come out with an even split of their quirks. The day my quirk manifested was the day I was first taken to the training hall. Endeavor had a masterpiece to refine after all."

Izuku was pacing now. Scarred fingers running through and tugging harshly at tangled curls. "That's so fucked. Damn it. I've never liked the man, but he's a hero! He shouldn't be allowed…" The support student froze before turning to the once again expressionless teen. "Your mother. Is she ok?"

He caught a glimpse of deep sadness in his eyes before Todoroki looked up towards the ceiling. As if remembering something. "I hope so. In all of my memories she was always crying. She hated that my left side resembled HIM so much. I'm sure that made things so much harder on her. She called it unsightly before she poured a kettle of boiling water on my face…" Thoughtlessly a hand reached up and traced the edge of the blotchy red scar. "He had her committed to the psych ward for damaging his prize. I haven't seen her since, though I hope that being out from his direct influence means she's at least a little happier."

Kaminari was openly crying. "Dude! That's so messed up! You need a hug. Can I give you a hug?" The other boy looked back at him in confusion. "Uhm? Sure?" That was all it took before he had an arm full of the class joker. Seeing that he didn't pull away Midoriya quickly stepped in to join the hug as well, making sure both boys saw him so he didn't spook anyone. 

After a minute everyone stepped back and sorted themselves out, Izuku pulled out a travel pack of tissues from somewhere to hand to Kaminari so he could clean up. And then the green haired teen delved into the next hard topic. "OK. I get wh-where you're coming from. I r-really do. But, the pr-profession the three of y-you are going into is t-too dangerous for that mind set Todoroki-kun. If you g-go into heroism half assed you might not get y-yourself killed. But the people who depend on you in the field, y-your fellow h-heros and civilians, there will be s-so many you could have saved. But, because of stubbornness you will sign their death w-warrants instead. Is th-that the kind of hero you w-want to be?"

As the other three stood frozen at his harsh realism Izuku scooped up the couple of drinks he had dropped and started around the corner. Before he looked back over his shoulder. "O-oh! Also! He m-might have had a ha-hand in creating that quirk. But n-neither part of it is his. After all, he doesn't co-control it, just like he shouldn't control you. That's your q-quirk Todoroki-kun. You sh-should choose how you use it without even thinking of h-him." With that he stalked off, mumbling in sign to himself, Shinso caught a few words and smirked. "Oh. Endeavor just awakened the beast. Come on Kaminari, let's get these drinks back, my arms are cold."

They quickly followed after the short tornado of a genius. Leaving a stunned elemental to stare after them in shock.

Chapter Text

Izuku stood at the exit of the tunnel feeling nauseous. For some reason his brain had blocked out that if he won his last match then this one would be against Kachan. And now he was getting to feel all of the stress at once. Joy.

He could just bow out. He had shown off his support items well enough. He had nothing to prove, not really. Except he kind of did. He kind of wanted to see how he would do against his tormentor in an actual fight. In the past he hadn't been allowed to do more than try and minimize the damage. But that one flip he had allowed himself on his last day at Aldera had felt… good. It had felt good when he fought back. And he wanted to see if he could actually win.

He took a deep breath as his name was called. By the time he stepped out onto the field Bakugo was already in the ring, waiting. He thought about backing out again before he shook the thought off irritably. He couldn't live in fear forever. Besides, the villains at the USJ had been scarier. He stepped up to the challenge. Squaring off against his oldest foe.

Midnight reiterated the rules, eyeing the blonde teen with barely concealed apprehension. At the sound of go his ex best friend lunged. Right hook. Typical. Izuku ducked and drew the gun that had been strapped, to his thigh for the entire festival. He dug out one of the rounds from his right pants pocket and shoved it into the chamber. 

He dodged another swing, this one laced with the familiar heat of an explosion, and brought the muzzle up to bear. A hand was reaching for his face, the glitter of fiery death held in the palm. He quickly pulled the trigger, not allowing himself to think. He hit his target, it was hard not to at this range. 

Kachan screeched as the ammunition hit his palm, right above where the ball of the hand met the wrist, just to the left of the mutated nerve igniter. It hit. And then it exploded into foam. The blonde teen cussed up a storm as he frantically tried to swing his arm to get the clinging substance off. But it was ineffectual. His fire suppression foam was made to stick to and cover surfaces in order to prevent fires from spreading as well as put them out. 

He loaded and shot off the other round he had in his hand, hitting the other boy in the chest. Izuku would have aimed for his other hand but it was currently out of direct line of sight. Lucky for him though, the instinctual reaction to being shot in the chest was to touch the spot of impact. And Bakugo didn't stop to think before he used his free hand to clutch at the pain as the breath was knocked out of him.

And within seconds of the fight starting, Izuku had managed to effectively cancel out the great Bakugo Katsuki's quirk. The playing field was a bit more even now. Making a split second decision he shoved the gun back into its holster. He wanted to see how things would play out without the use of his support gear.

While his opponent was still reeling from the loss of his quirk he struck, getting in a good solid punch to the solar plexus. Most people wouldn't be able to effectively fight after losing their breath twice in less than a minute, but Katsuki was too stubborn to back down. He swung wildly in response, making Izuku dodge out of the way with a neat roll over one shoulder. 

Bakugo has always been the type of fighter to press forwards. Relentless and aggressive. For a few more swings he kept Izuku on the defensive. The greenette grinned when he spotted his chance. Kachan struck palm open, obviously an instinctive attempt at using his quirk, and when the concussive force of an explosion didn't come he stood for a second longer than he should have, braced for the recoil. This left the blonde wide open.

Izuku lunged for the wrist in front of him. Quickly gaining control of the arm and thus the body attached to it by locking the joint in a pressure hold. He followed the momentum of the movement and twisted, turning the bent wrist as he went. He dragged his bully to the ground and looped a leg around his straining elbow effectively cutting off any further movement with the threat of shattering the delicate weak points of the wrist and elbow.

Bakugo of course still tried to struggle free but only ended up cursing in pain. After a full thirty seconds Midnight called the match. Izuku had won against Kachan.

He quickly released his hold and scrambled back, straightening and whirling around to beam at the wildly cheering boxes of his classmates and hero course friends. He waved in excitement, the adrenaline making him bolder than he normally would have been. Mei and Hitoshi were at the front, pressed against the wall of the stands; they looked even prouder than he felt. He could just barely make out their faces at that distance, but he saw enough to watch as their expressions turned from that of excitement, to concern, to fear, in rapid succession.

But he didn't have the chance to react before he felt the familiar burn of an explosion bloom across the backs of his shoulders. Oh, Midnight must have used the spray solvent he was required to provide her with for his foam. And Kachan was angry.

As he fell to the floor instincts kicked in and he attempted to curl into a protective ball. But the fresh burns across the majority of his back screamed in protest. His assailant managed to land a sharp kick to his ribs before the pro hero in the ring with them managed to press a hand to the raging teens face and force her quirk into his airways. He slumped to the ground within a second landing practically on top of the boy he had just attacked.

Izuku waited, all he could hear was the roar of angry voices. And all he could feel was the pain of his injuries. This wasn't like the USJ, he had nothing to protect here. No reason to push past the pain he was feeling and stand back up. No, this was middle school all over again. He was never going to escape this was he? He wanted to cry. Why him? Why did he deserve this? Why did no one seem to care? Why did he keep try-

A soft hand carded through his curls, a concerned voice was speaking quickly over his head. He cracked his eyes open. Turning his head to the side so he could see who was crouching over his prone body. Pain filled green met worried blue. And suddenly he wasn't in the halls of Aldera. He was back at UA. And Midnight sensei looked scared.

"Y'ok M'nih s'nsei?" He slurred worriedly. Hoping Kachan hadn't hurt her in his effort to get to him. "...Am I alright?! Midoriya! You were just attacked out of turn and burned pretty badly! YOU are the one we should be worrying about right now!"

"M'fine. Hurts. But 've had worse. Don' even thin' I 'ave a 'cussion this time…" Midnight looked really pale. The support student frowned and started trying to get his arms under him. Wincing slightly as the burns pulled. The woman crouched beside him started fluttering around anxiously, telling him not to move but he shrugged her off. "I's fine. Gotta clear the ring righ'?"

"Midoriya that is SO not the problem right now!" But by that point the teen had levered himself to his feet and she quickly had to step in to keep him from over balancing and hitting the ground,  more than likely to land directly on his burns. With a sigh and a curse at reckless idiots she helped in his endeavor to make it to the short set of steps leading off of the platform. The crowd was still going crazy around them and Izuku made sure he kept his head down. He really didn't want to listen to them yelling at him for ruining their fun day. 

As they made it to the stairs he was glad to see the school's medibots approaching. That meant he could lie down again. Moving hurt. He wasn't sure Kachan had ever burned him that badly before. Except for maybe the brand on his shoulder. That had been pretty ugly. Or maybe the burn on his chest?

Midnight sensei helped him into the stretcher, belly down with his arms down at his sides to keep the skin in as relaxed a position as possible. She was being really nice. She was such a good hero.

As the medibots started trundling forwards he stopped forcing himself to pay attention to what was being said around him. The crowd sounded angry and that was enough for him. He let go and floated for a bit, the pain more distant from the part of his head he went to when he didn't want to feel. When he saw Recovery Girl he knew it was time to come back and he sighed as he made himself focus back in on existence.

"-riya-kun. Ok I need you to shift over onto a bed. I have one of my third year assistants here to help. She can make things float with her quirk. Kiro-chan is going to tap you and help me guide you to the bed. Ok?" When he nodded a girl who had been hanging back stepped fully into his line of sight. She reached towards him, palm down, fingers relaxed, obviously letting him watch her approach. She gently clasped his upper arm and he started to float about an inch off the gurney. 

The two women got him above the bed with practiced precision. Then they discussed something with a quick exchange of jargon and hand gestures. Within seconds the heroine turned to him with a question. "Midoriya-kun, do you think if we flipped you over you could sit up while we clean and bandage you up?" 

The boy nodded without much thought. If they needed him to then he would. With his agreement they got him flipped over and then helped him sit up before he was lowered back onto the bed. The girl in the medical course stepped back for a moment, looking a tad bit green. But after a few deep breaths she was back at his side and helping Recovery Girl remove his shirt.

He could feel where the edges were tugging at his skin. Either the material of the shirt had melted, or his burn was bad enough that it was already oozing. He hissed as they peeled it away but didn't protest. It took several minutes to pull the last of the stuck cloth away and after that he was informed that there were still a few bits of fibers they would have to pick out before they could really clean the wound. He nodded, knowing it was necessary. And they got back to work.

It took a while before things were cleaned and wrapped and he was given the full rundown. Second degree burns from the tops of his shoulders to his waist. First degree across the skin that had been subjected to the blasts outer edges. And, right between his shoulder blades, was a hand sized circle of a third degree burn. So Kachan had let the spark go before he actually made full contact. That was unusual for him. Usually when Izuku was involved he liked the branding effect his hand had when he let the blast start at point blank range. Luckily his ribs were only bruised. He was getting really tired of them being broken and sore.

Also his hair was singed and would most likely need to be cut. Which sucked because his curls were a bitch to grow out. But he could worry about that later. Right now he had a very important question to consider. Did he want to drop out of the tournament or not? His answer would decide how much he was healed right at that moment.

So. Did he really care to keep going? He didn't have much riding on his win. Not really. But on the other hand, he was surprisingly competitive and the desire to push himself to at least give the finals a good old college try was definitely there. So he asked for the middle ground. He asked to be healed as if he was going to compete, and he would see how he felt after a nap. 

One grandmotherly kiss later and he was out like a light. They let him sleep for about 30 minutes. Through the second semi finals fight and the last of the little interim games set up to let the rest of his year group have fun. When they woke him up Shinso, Hatsume, and Kaminari were sat by his bed. He groaned groggilly and started trying to sit up from where he had been laid on his belly.

Hitoshi reached forwards to steady him as sleep stiff arms wobbled a bit under his weight. After a moment he got himself sitting up on the edge of the bed and did his best to rub the crust from his eyes. Naps had always left him extra sleepy afterwards. After a moment he was handed a water bottle, it was then he noticed that Aizawa and Mic were in the room too. "Wha-" He started to ask, before realizing he couldn't hear anything that was going on around him. Ah. They must have removed his hearing aids.

He settled on signing instead, not in the mood to ask about his mechanical ears. "What's going on?"

Mic was the one who replied, hands signing rapidly matching his usual way of speaking. "We need to know if you still want to compete in the final match, little listener. There's no pressure if you don't want to! We just need to know so we can either announce your withdrawal or set up the ring!" Oh. Right. Damn naps and their ability to tamper with his short term memory. After a moment of consideration he turned to the purple haired teen who still stood beside him. "Who won your match?" 

His friend grimaced before pointing to himself. Why did he look upset if he had won? Todoroki was a formidable opponent, winning against him would be something to be proud of. Unless… "Oh gods Hitoshi. Please tell me you didn't." His friend looked away, shame written in his stance.

Izuku sighed. "Why go so far?" His friend refused to look up to see his question so he resorted to one of his least favorite things. Speaking without being able to hear. "W-why Hito? He trusted us…" at least that got a reply, though he wished he had chosen different wording after the intrigued looks his teachers were giving them and the look of discomfort from the blonde sitting to the side.

"I was angry." His friend stated, still not looking away from his chosen spot on the floor. "I had just watched my best friend be blindsided by the explosive shitstain who should have been expelled a month ago. In front of a crowd. On live television. And I wasn't able to do anything. And they just expected my match to go on like nothing had happened. I didn't even have time to ask if you were badly hurt before I had to be in the ring. I just wanted to get it over with so I could come see if you were ok. So I… used the first thing that came to mind that I knew would get him to talk."

Izuku sighed. "I'm fine. I w-will be fine. But y-you need to ap-apologise to Todoroki-san." His friend nodded miserably. The greenette sighed again and looked back to the teachers, settling back in to sign now that he was speaking to people who could make eye contact. "Is the crowd still upset? I don't want to make anything worse by going out there. I don't mind stepping down if my going into the ring will just make them angrier."  

He was treated to the weird sight of Aizawa looking completely confused. Though it only took a second for Mic to catch on. "Oh listener. No one is mad at you. Why would you think that?" Izuku cocked his head to the side. The answer was obvious to him. "I ruined the tournament. I knew I should have thrown that fight. I knew Kachan would be angry if I won. But I still fought him anyways. And then I let myself be distracted. I know better than to turn my back on him. So… I ruined the mood and… they sounded so… furious…"

He saw his teacher's face fall and he scrambled to try and fix whatever he had said that was wrong. "I mean I set up the opportunity to be attacked and the whole festival is about sportsmanship so I should have known better than to give Kachan that opportunity! I know sportsmanship isn't his thing. I know how he reacts to things! I was stupid. I left myself open. If I was in the crowd I would be pissed that the fight was ruined too!" He watched as Yamada sensei took a deep breath before he stepped away from the wall. He crouched down to be lower than the small boy perched on the edge of the infirmary bed and signed slowly, but with feeling. "Izuku. None of what happened to you is your fault. You do not provoke people. The attack Bakugo made outside of the match was his decision and he will be punished accordingly. No one is mad at you for the things that have been done to you."

Izuku instinctively went to sign back, either in protest or denial he wasn't sure. But the man in front of him caught his hands and gave them a gentle squeeze. Green eyes locked with green as Yamada seemed to try to get his message across with his gaze alone. After a moment the teen was sobbing. "I-i d-d-don't. I c-can't. Pl-please. I do-don't understand!" His teacher tugged him forwards into a hug. He felt the vibrations of the man speaking but he couldn't hear the words. Luckily Aizawa was quick on the uptake and took over signing so his husband could comfort the boy in need. He was positioned just right for Izuku to be able to see his hands over the blonde's shoulder.

"It's ok. You don't have to understand right now. Just accept for the moment that no one is mad at you, no one who matters at least." Izuku sniffled as he considered that phrasing. No one who mattered. Without a doubt if Kachan was awake right then he would be furious. But did he really matter? The greenette had been so much happier over the past year or so and Kachan had barely had any part of his life in that time. And the times when he was around were the darkest bits in his memories. So maybe Yamada was right. Maybe he needed to think about letting his childhood friend go once and for all. Or something like that.

After a few minutes of calming signs and Mei finger combing his tangled curls he leaned back away from his teacher and signed. "I think I would like to compete." He grinned and turned to the gloomy violet themed teen who was still sitting in his chair. "Besides, I have to kick Toshi's ass in order to protect Todoroki's honor." Mei giggled in glee at the joke. And even Hitoshi cracked a smile, though his eyes promised he would act on his regret and apologize properly later.

Chapter Text

Mic left soon after his decision, heading towards his announcers booth and setting in motion the next steps for the tournament. Hitoshi handed him a spare uniform top and long sleeved jacket. He smiled at his friend's thoughtfulness even as he mourned the death of his nice undershirt. He had saved up a bit from his job and bought that one as a birthday gift to himself. It had been made from really good sports material, though the synthetic fiber was probably why it had melted to his skin so badly. 

He stood and waited for a second to make sure he wasn't going to have any nasty surprises like falling over or fainting. After he was sure he was in the clear he nodded. And started walking to the door. Shinso handed him a water bottle as they made their way out of the room, their teacher shadow (guard) following them. He took a swig then, realizing just how parched he was, a couple of quick gulps. He stopped there not wanting to make himself sick. Mei held out his hearing aids for him and he took them with a mumbled thanks, before pausing in the middle of the hall. 

He turned towards Hitoshi and gave his friend a considering look. Then spun back to the pinkette and handed the devices back. "Hold on to these please?" He turned to look over his shoulder at an exasperated brainwasher. "Really Zu?"

"Todoroki."

"Oh come on! I'm sorry ok? I swear I'll make it up to him!" But Izuku wasn't listening. He had started walking again, smirking in a surprisingly Hitoshi way. If he had his ears in he would have heard Aizawa's amused chuckle as he patted the purple teen on the shoulder before giving a light push to get the complaining teen moving again. To Izuku's credit he also left his support gear with Mei.

When they reached the exit from the tunnels their two escorts left, Aizawa headed towards the booth where his husband was busy rounding up stray spectators, letting them know the small break was coming to an end. After a short signed conversation they decided there was no real point to one of them walking all the way around to the other exit. They could share the one they were waiting at. Walking half of the circumference of the giant stadium was too much effort.

Izuku started a loose round of stretching. Too sore and tired to do a real yoga routine, but stiff enough from his nap he knew he needed to work some of the tension from his muscles. After another minute or so the yellow light above the arch in front of them flickered on and the two of them started preparing to head out. The green teen gently folded his right arm so his elbow was pointing towards the ceiling and his palm was pressed gently to the fresh, extremely sore, scarring between his shoulder blades. He reached up with his other hand and gently tugged on his elbow and leaned towards his left. Being careful not to push fragile skin too far. He did the same with the other arm before the light turned green.

They stepped forwards together, neither really caring to listen to see who was announced first. As Izuku walked he continued to stretch his arms. This time with them reaching across his chest, locked into place and pulled taught by an opposing elbow. As they stepped into the sun he saw Hitoshi flinch and clap his hands over his ears. He was suddenly very glad he couldn't hear the roar of the crowd. He wasn't sure what they were saying but he could FEEL the volume. 

He frowned and signed to his friend. "You ok?" He nodded and slowly removed his hands from their guard position. "Yeah… they're just… really excited to see you…"

A pale nose crinkled in confusion, making freckles wrinkle cutely. "Me?!" He saw his friend's mischievous smirk and felt a surge or foreboding. "Yeah you. You should wave to your fans!" Tanned cheeks paled a bit. "Oh no! I couldn't! No way!" But then Shinso was grabbing his wrist and hoisting his hand into the air in a clumsy wave. And Izuku felt the wave of vibrations as the audience responded.

He glared at his friend even as his face flushed with embarrassment. The grin he received in return was almost sadistic and shouldn't have made his heart flutter so much. Instead of chewing the other teen out he twisted his wrist so he could counter grab and dragged his opponent the last couple of meters to the ring. Very pointedly not looking at Hitoshi's face in an effort to eradicate his blush.

Midnight let them get set up. Both taking stances a few feet away from each other. The heroine checked that they were both ready and remembered the rules, hashing them out once more as a reminder. Aizawa must have warned her that he didn't have his hearing aids in because she signed along with her words. That was nice. He was still terrible at lip reading.

After a heavy reiteration that no fighting would be tolerated after the match was called, which was probably more for the benefit of the crowd and cameras than the two students in the ring, she called for the start. Shinso took off at a sprint, using his long legs to get into range in just a few steps. Izuku ducked under a punch, taking a step forwards to get past his friend's guard. But Hitoshi was savy to that move after all of the sparring they had done over the past year. He skipped to the side, back out of Izuku's shorter reach.

The greenette growled even as he grinned, the familiar dance of sparring with his friend making something in his chest relax a bit. He swept his right foot forwards in a tight half spin, planting it when he had reversed his stance. Then he continued the momentum shifting into a back kick with his left foot. The half a step forwards and the extra reach of his leg was enough to close the small distance needed and he blew past Hitoshi's guard. His kick landed squarely in his diaphragm. 

He felt the breath leave the taller teen as he stumbled back and pressed his advantage. Dodging an off balance hook, he ducked into his purple haired friend's space. 

Shinso took another step back trying to regain his advantage but he wasn't given the chance. A freckled and scarred hand latched onto a wrist. And then his friend was stepping past him, his free arm coming up to loop across a pale throat. And then with a sharp torque and a yank on the arm he had gained control of, Izuku was slamming the taller boy back first onto the ground.

Shinso kicked out at the greenette who was still standing. But with his arm still held up and to the side the angle was off. Even though it landed solidly against a hip it didn't have enough force to do more than shift him a bit. It also reminded Izuku that his legs were free.

Within one breath and the next Hitoshi was pinned under 135 lbs of genius. Izuku was straddling his waist , his ankles hooked across Shinso's thighs as he sat back on his heels to keep his longer legs pinned. 

And as he looked up at his friend, tanned face flushed with the adrenaline of a fight, smile wide and wild, green curls an absolute mess, he knew he was in trouble. Apparently he still had a hold of his wrist too. He didn't even notice he was put in a submission hold until Midnight asked if he could free himself and in response Izuku pressed a bit harder against his elbow where he had it held across his chest. Hitoshi quickly tapped out. Not wanting to deal with that kind of pain when he knew he didn't have the experience to get free.

And with that the last match of the first year sports festival was over.

___

A small group of teens stood in a large circular junction under the stadium. Hound Dog was giving them a quick rundown of the ceremony as Cementos prepared the winners podium.

Izuku was using himself as a buffer. Standing in between a quiet Shinso and a blank faced Todoroki. The tension between the two of them was palpable. He would have to ask Hitoshi what exactly he said later. Green eyes glanced around nervously, and when Hound Dog asked if they had any questions he raised a freckled hand. 

"Yes Midoriya?"

"U-uhm. Wh-where's Ka-oh-uhm Bakugo?" When the pro hero let out a growl at the name he flinched. Hound Dog caught the reaction and the sound cut off abruptly. "Sorry kid. I'm not mad at you." The hero let out a distinctly dog-like huff. "Bakugo was disqualified for attacking another student outside of the competition. He is currently in a detention room back on the main campus awaiting his parents who were called for a disciplinary meeting." The smallest teen stared at him, gobsmacked. "What?"

Hitoshi chuckled. "Come on Izu. Did you really expect UA of all places to ignore what he did to you?" That gave him pause. He just stood there for a full minute, eyes glued to the wall. "I-I'm not sure what I ex-expected? I'm n-not use to an-anyone caring? So… is th-this how adults are m-meant to re-react?" 

Hound Dog chuffed quietly. "Oh kiddo… you and me are going to have some meetings ok? I'll sit and talk with you about how adults should behave all you want." The hero reached out with a large hand, slowly enough for Izuku to dodge if he wanted, and ruffled his singed curls with a gentle 'smile'. 

Soon after that Cementos was calling them over and getting the three boys settled on their platforms. With a surge of precision quirk use the ceiling above them opened and their podium rose into sight of the crowds. The roar of the people in the stands was overwhelming at their entrance. Izuku did his best to keep his flinch from being too obvious. Hitoshi didn't quite manage it, the wince clear on the screens showing their close ups. Izuku seriously thought about taking his hearing aids back out, but now that there were cameras on them he didn't really want to draw attention to the discreet tech.

He could barely hear the screech of Yamada hyping the show over the loudspeakers. But after a moment he and Midnight butchered All Might's extravagant entrance. He couldn't help but feel a bit of vindictive glee at the buff man's disgruntled expression. And then the metals came out. He couldn't hear what the behemoth said to the other two boys. He spoke low and quiet. Unusual and previously unheard of from All Might. Quiet just generally wasn't his thing.

And then it was his turn. With an easy step the hulking form of the Symbol of Peace was on his platform. Yamada announced him one last time.  "Midoriya Izuku! Our first ever support student to claim first place!" Midnight handed the blonde in front of him a medallion colored a shimmering gold. Izuku bowed politely as it was draped around his neck. And then he was scooped into a hug and the small green teen froze.

"Wonderful show my boy! You should consider the hero course! Congratulations on first place!" And then the number one hero was gone and Izuku was left reeling in front of thousands of people. His skin still crawling from the hug, only one thought circled in his mind. 'All Might really didn't remember him at all.'

Chapter Text

Izuku relaxed back against the couch. Doing his best to turn his brain off for the night. They Were at the Hatsumes' and Mia was actually cooking for once so he was looking forward to the food. Whatever she was making smelled delicious. 

He had taken a shower before they headed to dismissal back at UA and as he sat in the floor Mei was doing her best to brush out his ruined curls. She was trying to be gentle but by the amount of cursing and tugging that was going on he was pretty sure his hair was done for. It wouldn't be the first time his hair had been burned irreparably so he wasn't too worried about it. Though he was kind of sad to cut it and expose his weaknesses once again.

He let her keep at it for another ten minutes or so before he finally sat forwards as she let out an even more frustrated string of curses. "OK Mei. That's enough. If we have to cut it we have to cut it." She pouted. "But Izu! Your curls are so pretty! It's such a shame to have to shave them off!" 

Shinso took that moment to make his appearance. He frowned at Mei's exclamation. "I take it his hair can't be saved then?" With a dramatic sigh the pink haired girl flopped back onto an overstuffed cushion. "The hair at the base of his neck is completely melted! And all of the rest of the back of his head is at least singed! That bastard. I ought to sneak into his room and super glitter glue HIS stupid hair! It would be an improvement!" Hitoshi snickered. "Come on you two, Hatsume-san said dinner is ready."

The two teens jumped up quickly and raced past the bringer of good news. They walked down the short hallway, Mei still planning how to revenge ruin Bakugo's hair. Mia was setting the last serving tray down on the table as they walked in. The woman looked up as she recognized the sound of her daughter plotting. "Hey now. Who are we scheming against and why? Aren't you kids too tired to get into trouble after today?"

"Moooom! Bakubitch totally ruined Mido's hair! I'm just making sure karma is extra sweet!" Mia frowned and walked up to the greenette in question. Motioning for him to turn around so she could see. He did as she asked and sighed as she started to poke around at the clumps of burnt curls. "Hmmm. That blast you took must have been really hot to do this… are you ok Izuku-kun?"

He blinked and looked over his shoulder at her concerned tone. "U-uhm. Yes? Re-recovery girl g-got to me qu-quickly so I'm a-all healed! There's n-not even th-that much of a sc-sc-scar!" He flinched a bit when they all looked sad at that last comment. Mia turned him around with a gentle hand on his shoulder and cupped his cheek in her hand. "Sweetheart. You shouldn't have a scar from that kid at all. I know that you're used to the world being unkind. But it's ok to be upset when someone hurts you. Just… think about it ok?" 

With that she stepped back, drawing him with her to the table by a loose grip on his wrist. "Now! I made a feast for the gold and silver medalists! We have char siu, jiaozi, fried rice, and spring rolls! After we eat I'll see what I can do for your hair kiddo." Izuku grinned and nodded. If he could avoid going to a salon he would, they cost too much money.

Dinner was fantastic. Afterwards when Izuku was whisked away to the master bathroom Mei and Hitoshi all but collapsed into the couch shaped void in the living room and lazily started a Mario cart competition. Mei kept turning the 3d hologram feature to the home made TV on and off to throw her friend off when he managed to get in front of her. "Mei I swear to the gods!!"

"Eat my ass Tosh!"

"Ew. No. Guys only thanks."

"Fine! Eat this shell instead!"

"Oh fuck the fuck right off!"

Their 'friendly' competition kept going for an hour, and though they got louder and louder both teens were too tired to dissolve into the normal wrestling for controllers that was their normal end of Mario cart antics. Hitoshi was contemplating throwing a cushion though when Izuku walked back into the room. "H-hey guys! What d-do you think?"

The tallest teen looked over the arm of the couch upside down and blinked. Oh. Hatsume-san was trying to kill him. Neat. His heart stopped. Where before there were wild curls now green hair was styled into an undercut. Short on the sides and back. Though Mia had managed to save most of the top, she had cut it a bit shorter so that the curls were a bit tighter and the green looked lighter. The worst part was that the mess of green no longer hung in his face. The cut showed off his high cheekbones and pretty jawline perfectly.

Mei squealed and spouted out an excessive amount of compliments, which caused their anxious friend to relax quickly. A freckled hand reached up to mess with the missing curls at the back of his neck only to pause at the foreign feeling of buzzed hair. After a moment Mei came to Hitoshi's rescue. Kicking him in the calf hard enough that his lungs restarted. After another second of staring he finally managed a, "It looks good Izu." That earned him a glare from the pink haired genius who was trying to help him.

"Good?!" She asked incredulously, standing up and making her way over to Izuku. She then snatched him by an arm and dragged him to stand in front of the couch. She spun the boy to face Hitoshi and stood behind him. "I can't believe you! Look at him!" She then gently tugged the greenette's face around by the jaw. Letting the floundering teen on the couch get a good look from all angles. Which of course sent his heart spasming again.

But then Hitoshi noticed a bit of distortion in the hairline behind his ear. He stood and took his jaw for himself, holding it lightly enough he could move away if he wanted. "Oh Izu…" There were faint, almost invisible burn scars around his ears. No one would have been able to see them through the thick curls. And honestly they were subtle enough that they were more a texture change than anything. Izuku frowned and stepped away, fingers coming up to trace the uneven edges. "Yeah… that's why I grew my hair back after… well. That and because the hair hid the hearing aids too…"

Hitoshi frowned. "But why? Your scars are a part of you right? That makes them cool as far as I'm concerned." 

"Cool?!" Mei signed in exasperation where their friend couldn't see. She didn't have to worry though, Shinso was kicking himself for his wording without her input. He sighed in irritation with himself. "That is- I mean- ok. Look Izu. We love you, scars and all ok? You don't need to hide them from us. And I'm sure the people at UA don't care either way so… don't worry about it? The haircut looks really nice on you so if you like it you shouldn't have to worry about growing your hair back out…"

And Izuku was sniffling. "But the scars are gross." Mei growled and pulled the smallest teen into an aggressive hug. "Nope. Absolutely not. There is nothing gross about being a survivor Izu-kun!" Hitoshi nodded and grasped a tanned hand with both of his. "You're perfect just the way you are. Your scars are a part of you, they show how much you've fought to be here. So we love them too, because they're proof of your strength."

They ended up cuddled in the swamp of a couch again as the shortest of the three sniffled and processed his emotions. Once they had all calmed down Mei had turned the TV to a remake of the How it's Made show. They worked their way through an episode on motherboards before there was a honk at the front of the house and Shinso was grumbling and digging for his phone where it had been devoured by the cushions. "Ah that's Yamada. He wants to know if you want a ride Zu."

The greenette waved his hands. "Oh no! I couldn't bother him like that!" Unfortunately Hatsume-san chose that moment to interrupt. "Honestly Midoriya-kun, I would feel more comfortable if you took the ride. You've had a long day and it's late… if you don't ride with Yamada-san I'll drive you myself…" She ignored his protests. Helping him gather his stuff she grabbed her keys and dragged the three teens out to the driveway. The driver's side window was rolled down and the two adults had a quick chat. Before he knew it Izuku was in the back of the car with Shinso, waving as Mei yelled a good night.

"So kiddos! Was dinner good?" The teacher asked as he swung the car around to head towards the GPS coordinates he'd had Izuku put into his phone. They confirmed that dinner was excellent, the greenette giving a quick rundown of what Hatsume had made for them and how wonderful it was. After that chatting was easy, the blonde man behind the wheel made talking simple, the anxious teens who both had issues with talking appreciated it greatly.

They got to his apartment complex and Izuku was surprised when Mic parked instead of just dropping him off. "Ah actually kiddo I had a question for your mom so I figured I'd go ahead and ask real quick while I was here. That ok?" The freckled boy shrugged. "I-I guess? She might n-not be in right now th-though. I d-don't remember if she took th-that late shift or not…" The hero gave a cheery answer and they all slid out of the car, Izuku leading the way up the worn stairs to his apartment. He unlocked the door and opened it with the customary greeting. Only to be met with the furious gaze of his mother.

She didn't even notice the two figures behind him before she started her tirade. "Midoriya Izuku! Why the hell was I shown a video of you getting hurt at the SPORTS FESTIVAL?! I don't remember signing the permission forms for you to participate! You're too fragile to be playing rough with the other kids! You know that! And where have you been?! I've been worried sick!" The teen she was targeting raised both hands defensively, taking half a step back on instinct. "Mom! Hi! Uhm… I think the permission forms were in the ones you had Hatsume-san sign as your stand in? I uhm- I-" 

"Oh! I knew that woman was bad news! And then you just had to go and rile Katsuki-kun up! What were you thinking joining in like that?!" She then actually seemed to look at him. "Oh my god! What did you do to your poor hair?!" 

"Mom… please…"

"You know it looks better long! I always had it cut that way for a reason! What possessed you to cut it so short?!" She grabbed him with both hands cupping his cheeks harshly yanking his head to the side so she could see better. "Oh no! You can see your scars! Baby! This is going to take forever to grow back out!"

She was gearing up into tears by this point. And Izuku flinched at the glimmer of them in the half light of the doorway. But then there was a cough from behind him and Inko was distracted by their guests. "Oh. Izuku? Why did you bring someone here so late?"

"I'm sorry ma'am. I gave Izuku-kun here a ride home and asked to come up and speak to you real quick…" he paused a bit when she frowned. "Hey kiddos, will you two go back to the car for a moment and grab my phone? I think I left it in the console…" Hitoshi nodded quickly and snagged Izuku from the woman's grasp with a bit of resistance before fleeing with a worried looking greenette.

"Uh-uhm Hitoshi? Why did M-mic look mad?" His friend spun around to sit him on the bottom step. "Because what she was saying was wrong. Wrong and hurtful and awful! Why didn't you tell me she was that bad Izu?" The teen in question cocked his head in confusion. "She's n-not that bad? She just w-worries a lot. And uhm… s-she likes it when my h-hair is styled like my d-d-dad's… I kinda for-forgot about that until s-she said something."

"Zu. That was more than worrying, that was… I'm not sure how to put it but it felt wrong. It was hurtful. And you shouldn't have to deal with it." Izuku flapped a hand in dismissal. "It's really not that bad! Besides I don't actually have to listen to her say that kind of thing often! You know she works a lot so I only get to talk to her a few times a week…" But his friend's frown didn't disappear at his reassurance. "Izu-" They were interrupted by Hitoshi's phone ringing. He looked at the screen and answered it on speaker. "Hey kiddo! Sorry! My phone was in my pocket! Silly me! Hey what do the two of you say to a sleep over? Izuku-kun can grab his stuff and then we head back to our place for the weekend! Midoriya-San looks like she's going to be super busy this weekend so it'll be better that way right?"

The two teens exchanged a glance before they cautiously agreed and headed back up the stairs. When they got there the two adults were in the living room, Inko sat on the couch and Yamada standing with a loose but… anticipating stance. "Izuku-kun, make sure you grab everything you need ok? If you forget something we can give you a spare but I know it always feels better to have your own stuff." The tanned teen frowned at the weird wording, a weird feeling in his gut told him he should read more into it. He nodded and led his friend to his room. 

When he was there he pulled out two large duffle bags instead of the normal battered yellow backpack. That was still in the entryway filled with the stuff he had brought for the festival anyways. His friend looked around at his nearly empty room with a raised eyebrow. Quickly he snagged all of his notebooks off of his shelf as well as the three engineering books he was currently borrowing from Hatsume-san. In went the two file folders of loose blueprints he was working on. Then he dug his small collection of practice weapons out from under his bed. His butterfly knife was already in the pocket of his hoodie, and his kyoketsu-shoge was in it's case in the support lab. He then stuffed his laptop and all of the spare chargers for his electronics into the now bulging first bag and zipped it up.

The second bag was used for toiletries and clothes. He packed more than he thought he would need. Following that gut feeling Yamada's words had triggered. But he also tried to keep it basic. A couple of pairs of overalls, some sweats, and a blend of simple tops and undershirts. He once again spared a moment to grieve for the favorite undershirt that had been lost that day once more. Before shaking his head and looking around to see if there was anything else he wanted to grab. After a moment he dug under his mattress and snagged the small bundle of bills he had been saving up. 

He zipped up the second bag and turned towards Hitoshi. "I-i think that's i-it!" His friend was frowning. Looking around still, after a moment he pointed to the wall. "What happened to the posters? You had a lot of them right? You can see where the paint of the walls is faded around where they were…" The greenette laughed. "I to-told you I sold a lot of my hero m-merch to f-fund my pr-projects before UA."

"Hmmm…" The purple haired teen lifted the first duffle with a grunt. "C'mon. I wanna get home and pass out asap." His friend giggled and hoisted his own bag before leading the way back to the living room, snagging the bo staff by his door as he walked past. The weapon drew a pointed look from his mom. "Izuku? Why are you bringing that with you?"

"O-oh! I was h-hoping to sp-spar with Hitoshi at some point this w-weekend. He n-needs more weapons pr-practice if he w-wants to be a hero!" And her furious frown was back. Izuku shrunk in on himself as she started in on him again. "I swear to God Izuku! You know you shouldn't spar with other kids! The only reason I let you go to those stupid classes is because Mirokuma promises to go easy on you! Seriously! Go put the stick up before you get yourself hurt again!"

Yamada sighed and held up a hand to stop her. "That's enough Midoriya-san. As a pro hero I will make sure both of them are safe if they spar. Kids, let's get home yeah?" With that he ushers them out the door, shutting it in Inko's face as she tried to follow them and continue stating her 'concerns'. 

The man guided them down the stairs and popped the trunk so he could set down the yellow bag he had snagged and the two boys could toss in the two larger bags. "OK kids. Why don't we stop and grab some ice cream on the way huh?" With that he got them all loaded up and headed to a conbini on the way to the pro hero's apartment. 

Chapter Text

Hizashi and Shouta stood in the kitchen, looking over the counter at the couch where the two boys currently in their care were passed out on the couch in a sea of blankets and empty ice cream containers. A movie played softly in the background, subtitles on for the green one when he had been awake. 

The two adults were waiting up for confirmation from Tsukauchi and Nedzu that the investigation they had requested was open. And that Midoriya was officially in their care for the moment until they could figure out what was going on with him. The Voice hero sighed and leaned his forehead tiredly against his husband's shoulder. "What are we going to do, Shou? The poor kid's face when she was going at him…" 

The more stoic man shrugged. "We do what we have to Zashi. Just like always. Why don't you go check on the little monsters and then head to bed? We have a lot to do tomorrow after all." The blonde grumbled a bit but complied, too tired to really argue. He walked down the hall to the cat room where Shouta had locked up their swarm of furry disasters when he had texted him the situation earlier. Peering through the glass door he made sure the cats were all happy and bedded down for the night and glanced over the auto feeders and water bowls to make sure everything was full and clean. He then headed on towards the stairs and the nice warm bed that was waiting for him.

Shouta sighed and set about making a fresh pot of coffee. He knew he wouldn't be getting any sleep that night, after the confirmation was called in, Nezu would be calling with questions. And then inevitably have little things for the underground hero to look into himself to progress the situation faster. And besides, someone needed to keep an eye on the kids. It had been a rollercoaster of a day after all.

When the text came in thirty minutes later he suppressed a groan at the amount of work that just got placed on his shoulders. With a sigh he set to work. Contingency plan N was a big change after all and they would need all hands on deck to make sure all of their students transitioned easily. 

___

The smell of coffee and bacon drew Izuku from his slumber. Which made him frown a bit. Not only did he not remember the last time his mom had made breakfast, he knew she hated eating fatty foods in the morning. Green eyes fluttered open in confusion. For a moment he stared around himself, not remembering the strange space he found himself in. A living room. Pale grey walls. Grey and black furniture. Pops of yellow and green tastefully scattered around. And on the other side of the couch he was sprawled across a bundle in a fluffy lavender blanket.

He blinked a few times as the memories for the day before slowly settled back into his addled brain. This was why he didn't sleep. After a few minutes he stretched out a foot to nudge the mass of fluff. "Toshi?" He slurred with a yawn. A familiar pale hand slipped from the confines of the purple cocoon to slap at his leg before retreating back into the warmth it had been hiding in. That made Izuku giggled a bit. He knew Shinso was notoriously difficult to wake once the boy finally fell asleep.

With a yawn he stood to stretch out his aching shoulders and back before deciding to see what was happening in the kitchen. He walked to the partition between the two rooms and peered around it curiously. The smell of bacon becoming ever more enticing the longer he was awake. 

As he peeked in he found a sight so domestic he just had to smile. Aizawa sensei was passed out at the table, loose papers, a laptop, and a couple of mugs scattered around him haphazardly. And beyond him was Yamada, dancing along to something as he scrambled some eggs in a large bowl. After a moment of studying he managed to catch a glimpse of yellow plastic hiding behind hair and he smiled again. He knocked quietly on the wall to announce his presence now that he knew his teacher would be able to hear it… even if Izuku couldn't hear it himself. Oops. He would have to figure out where his own hearing aids had gotten to. 

Luckily they didn't seem to be necessary in this house. Yamada spun around with a smile. The green teen saw lips moving in a greeting and he raised his hands to sign back his own good morning. The man quickly sets down his whisk and signs back. "Good morning kiddo! Sorry I snagged your hearing aids last night to charge them. They're over here on the counter! How did you sleep?" Izuku smiled shyly and stepped into the room to where he could see his charging port and the green bits of machinery off to the side of where the pro was working. Once he could hear again he turned back to the man to answer his question. "I s-slept well sir. Th-thank you."

The blonde man cocked his head to the side a bit. "Hey now kiddo. No need to call me sir when I'm at home ok? Just Hizashi is fine. Or Yamada if that's more comfortable." The freckled teen waved his hands frantically at the suggestion. "O-oh no! I c-couldn't!" The English teacher snorted. "Sure you can kiddo! Anyways! Breakfast is almost ready! Can you do me a favor? There's a glass door down the hall, think you can open it and let the gremlins out? They'll take care of waking the other two for us." 

Forest met lime in confusion. "Gremlins?" But instead of replying to the question the pro just grinned and waved him to the hall that went further into the apartment. So off he went. He wandered down the hallway towards the stairs there were two doors on the left, one on the right. The first on the left was the only one made of glass so he made his way to it and opened it with a quiet click. Almost immediately he was yelping and stumbling back as multi-colored streaks of fur popped out of their hiding places and made a mad dash for freedom. It took a moment for him to realize they were cats. That was a lot of cats holy shit.

He stood for a second in stunned silence before a yelp and a curse echoed through the space from the direction of the living room and he stumbled forwards to see what the 'gremlins' had done to wake up Hitoshi. What he found made him giggle uncontrollably as he fished his phone out to take a picture.

His friend was on the floor, tangled in his fuzzy blanket and unmoving in his defeat. Four felines were perched along his back and legs as they basked in their victory. He heard another curse, this time coming from the kitchen. It was answered with a cheery 'Good morning Sho! Mind clearing the table?'. Wow the cats really were effective for waking people up. 

After a few more moments of grumbling Shinso shook off the furry menaces who were pinning him down and sat up with a yawn. "G'morning." He mumbled. "Good morning Toshi. Did you sleep ok?" His friend nodded and stood before heading down the hallway while rubbing at his eyes. Still clearly struggling towards wakefulness. Izuku giggled again and went back to the kitchen to offer his help with breakfast.

___

Breakfast was delicious. Apparently Yamada was a decent cook and partially good at American dishes. He made a note to tell Hatsume-san that little tidbit at some time in the near future. He knew she had a soft spot for American food after living with her college roommate.

Afterwards Aizawa cleared the table and waved off any attempt to help with the dishes. Instead he ordered his husband and foster son to give Izuku a proper tour and show him the guest room he would be using. The apartment was a bit odd. It looked like a basic apartment block from the outside, but apparently you could buy the spaces inside by the half floor and have it customized to suit your needs. It was apparently a safe haven for several heros and other people with money who were willing to spend it on privacy. Aizawa and Yamada owned two floors. Which seemed like a ridiculous amount of space to Izuku who was used to the tiny apartment he shared with his mom. The bottom floor was home to the kitchen, living room, cat room, a bathroom, a training room/ gym, and a large storage space for training supplies. The second floor was taken up four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large office space, and Yamada's personal studio where he could record music or even connect to his station's frequency if he had to run a show from home for any reason. Everything was done up in tasteful black and pale greys with pops of green, yellow, and occasionally purple.

After the tour he was led to the second guest room on the right. All of his bags were sitting neatly at the foot of his bed. His English teacher invited him to unpack and get comfortable, letting him know he had free range of anything in the bathroom if he needed something. After he was left alone he huffed a bit and checked his phone. 8 am. He should get moving.

He got dressed in his coveralls quickly. Then did brushed through his shortened curls with a comb. Frowning slightly at the weird sensation of having so little hair. He tossed his phone charger and wallet into his pocket and made his way back down stairs. Hitoshi noticed him as he walked out of the hallway and into the living room. The brainwasher took in his outfit and frowned. "There is no way you are working a shift right now." 

Izuku shrugged. "I work every chance I get. Why would today be different?" His friend groaned before calling out, "Yamada!" Loudly enough to make Izuku grimace, knowing his friend would have a sore throat later. It was a matter of seconds before both of their teachers appeared. Aizawa from the kitchen and Yamada from upstairs. "What is it kiddos?! Is something wrong?!" The blonde man questioned them with a hint of urgency.

He relaxed a bit when he saw Shinso's face though, sensing from his expression that at least there was no immediate danger. Instead the teen stood and snagged his friend's arm to fully turn the other boy to face the adults. "Apparently this dumbass thinks he's going to work today." Izuku sputtered indignantly but his protests at the wording pettered off as he caught onto the adults' expressions of surprise and exasperation. Before he knew what was happening Yamada had his phone out and hooked into the Bluetooth of his hearing aids. Making a call.

It was a matter of seconds before he was speaking, the built in mics of the mechanisms in his ears picking up his voice easily. "Hatsume-san! Good morning! Haha yes I know I know, I wrote a copy down last night. I'll be sure to send it with Hitoshi the next time he goes to yours. But hey, quick question, I have a little green kid here who says he has to work today? I was wondering if… yeah I thought that might be the case… no… ok… uh huh. Yep! Will do! Hahahahahahaha sure! Yeah here…" The man swiped at his screen a few times and then Hatsume-san's voice was in Izuku's ears instead.

"Izuku-kun? You there?" 

"A-ah yeah I'm h-here!" He heard a little bit of rustling and the distant sound of a drill over the line. "Hey. So. Wanna explain why you thought you were working today? You don't normally work on Saturdays." Izuku sighed. "I just thought I would pick up an extra shift? Mom said that every little bit helps so I just thought…" he trailed off when the woman on the phone let out a huff. "Midoriya Izuku. You know the deal with me keeping you on when you started school was that you weren't to overwork yourself. You did a lot yesterday. Not only that, but Recovery Girl had to use her quirk on you and I KNOW that knocks a person for a loop for a day or two. So no. You are not working today. You are going to stay there. Spend time with your friend. And rest. No studying. No tinkering. Sit and watch TV or something. Understand?" 

Izuku frowned a bit, but knew better than to argue with his stubborn boss. With a sigh he agreed. After a few more words the woman asked to be passed back to Mic. Izuku let the hero know he was done and the call was switched back over to the hero. Izuku promptly flopped down onto the couch to pout and figure out how to make the Bluetooth feature of his hearing aids more secure. It wouldn't do if just anyone could tap into them after all.

The adults continued to talk amongst themselves for a while. Izuku and Hitoshi stared at a play through of the latest Animal Crossing game that the violet insomniac had cast from his phone as a way to distract his friend. Izuku wasn't really focused on it but it gave his eyes something to follow as his brain pondered his new puzzle.

Chapter Text

The morning was filled with forced idleness and it was driving Izuku mad. He hadn't brought any of his school books with him. They were all neatly stacked at his work area in the shop from where he had caught up on assignments the day before the festival. So he couldn't study. His personal tools and supplies were all at his desk at home. So no tinkering. And he was apparently supposed to be resting so he couldn't run through any kata or practice with the weapons he had brought. But maybe they would make an exception for yoga?

It couldn't hurt to ask right?

He slowly stood up from the couch, careful to not jostle a snoozing Shinso, and made his way to the kitchen where he knew Aizawa was still set up with his paperwork. He knocked politely on the wall to announce his presence once again, getting a grunt of acknowledgement in return. "U-uhm. Aizawa s-sensei? I k-know I'm supposed to ta-take it easy today but u-uhm… can I d-do some yoga or so-something? I-I just… I'm not used to sitting f-for so long and I-"

The adult cut him off with a calmly raised hand. "That should be fine kid. As long as you make sure not to push yourself too far ok? I think I have a yoga mat in the storage of the training room… give me a sec while I go dig it out." He then looked the teen up and down, taking in the coveralls he was still wearing. "Actually why don't you go change into something more comfortable while I do that…" Izuku nodded quickly and ran off in triumph. He was happy to finally be doing something so he wasn't going to argue the fact that he did yoga in his work clothes all the time.

He quickly made his way to the guest room upstairs and dug through his duffle bag to pull out a pair of dark green joggers. He figured the shirt he was wearing was good enough so after he switched out his pants he hurried back down towards the training room.

He opened the door and peeked his head in to find Aizawa rolling out a thick mint green yoga mat. The hero looked up at him then gestured towards the mat with a nod. "This good kid?" The small teen jumped a bit at the question. "O-oh! Yes! It's g-great thanks!" The man hummed and made his way towards the door and by proximity the kid. "Alright. I snagged you a water bottle." He pointed to the lime green reusable bottle on the floor by the door. "The speakers in here are under GymSurround if you want to hook up your phone. Feel free to ask if you need anything else." With a quick pat on the shoulder as he slips past the man leaves Izuku to his own devices.

Izuku wanders over to the mat and pulls his phone from his pocket. He debated for a moment but eventually decided to hook up to his ears instead of the sound system in the room. He didn't want to risk disturbing anyone with his music. When the small chime sounded to let him know his phone was connected he swiped through his playlists, settling on a chill lofi list he sat his phone down on the floor by the mat. With a content sigh he started in on his easiest routine.

He felt his mind relax as he went through the familiar stretches. Floating along peacefully as his body loosened up. The soreness in his back and shoulders slowly easing a bit. He leaned back into the saddle pose only to be met face to face with strikingly orange eyes. He blinked at the fuzzy creature who was staring him down. "Uhm…"

The small black cat mewed at him before reaching out to bop him on the face. He giggled a bit before reaching out and letting the kitty sniff his fingers. "H-hello." Slowly he eased out of his stretch to sit up and pet the baby properly. He almost jumped out of his skin when a voice spoke from the doorway behind him, "That's Spooky. He's a little shit." Hitoshi grinned down at his friend as the boy scrambled to turn off his music so he would be able to focus on the conversation. "O-oh. That's a cute name… why Spooky?" His friend walked over and plopped down on the floor, pulling the feline into his lap. "He's a black cat with orange eyes. Yamada apparently named him because of the western holiday of Halloween I think?" 

Izuku smiled a bit at the cuteness of that. He had watched a few holiday specials All Might had done when he was studying in America and he had always thought the festivities looked like a lot of fun. "H-he's really cute. There are o-others, right? I di-didn't get a count when I opened the d-door this morning but…" Hitoshi snorted. "Yeah. There's eight of them."

Green eyes stared at the pale boy incredulously, obviously thinking Hitoshi was joking. "Eight?" The violet haired teen nodded. "Yup. Apparently Aizawa has a soft spot for strays. Who woulda guessed." There was a hint of sarcasm in the statement and Izuku laughed a bit, thinking of how easy it was for the man to invite the two of them into his home. He quickly sobered though. The thoughts that he'd been pushing away all day finally catching up to his racing mind. 

"H-hey Toshi? What do… what a-am I… do y-you know why Yamada insisted I stay here this weekend?" His friend sighed and his shoulder slumped. "I'm not one hundred percent sure Izu. But I know he wasn't happy with the way your mom was treating you. Besides wouldn't you rather relax after yesterday rather than worrying about what your mom is going to say?"

The greenette frowned. "But that was the first time she was home at night in over a month. Shouldn't I have stayed and spent time with her?"

Hitoshi frowned. "That doesn't make her case look any better Izu." Green eyes looked at him in helpless confusion.

Shinso just sighed and stood up, he walked towards the back of the room where the supply closet was. "H-hitoshi?" His friend waved off his concern. "Gonna find another mat or something. You've been bugging me to stretch with you more right?"

__

Shinso slammed his head dramatically onto the table with a groan. Yamada snickered at the display as he dished up their lunches. Stir fry with chicken and a crap ton of different veggies. Yum. 

"C-come on Toshi. It wasn't th-that bad! We t-took it easy!" Izuku pouted playfully at his groaning friend. "You're the devil!" The hero hopeful exclaimed with a flamboyant finger pointing at his friend accusingly. "A stupidly flexible demon! Your unnatural coloring proves your infernal origins!" Izuku raised a green eyebrow and looked pointedly at the purple fluff standing out wildly from his friend's head. "Uh huh."

"Alright boys! Time to eat!" The bowls of fresh food were set in front of them and with a quick "Itadakimasu" and the surprisingly polite reply of "Douzo meshiagare" from Mic, the two boys dug into the meal as only teenagers can. The two adults chatted quietly amongst themselves as they made their way through their portions at a more sedate pace. Going over plans for the rest of the day and making sure the groceries were set for dinner that night.

After a little while, as the boys started to slow down a bit, the adults dragged the two of them into the conversation. "Midoriya." Aizawa started. "We really need you to answer a few questions, a detective friend of ours is willing to be the police liaison. Would you like for him to swing by tonight? Or if you prefer he could come by tomorrow after lunch…" 

Green eyes stared in confusion at the hero. After a few uncomfortable seconds Izuku let loose with the question he had held as his teacher spoke. "Why… Do I n-need to speak to the p-police?" The two pro heros at the table exchanged a look. Mic quickly chewed and swallowed the bite he was working through before taking over for his husband. 

"Kiddo. I know this might seem weird, but for us to use our emergency foster license the people who are in charge of these things are going to need to ask some questions ok? Don't think on it too hard. Just answer truthfully and we will take care of the rest." Izuku starred the pro down. "Emergency… foster?" Aizawa sighed and pushed his bowl away. "Look. Midoriya. As pro heros we have seen some concerning behaviors from your mother, which means we can't in good conscience leave you in her care until we make sure her home is a good environment for you."

"B-but my m-mom doesn't hurt me? She's n-nver hit me or anything…"

Shinso decided to cut in. Wanting to help his friend through the confusion he himself had felt at first. "Izu… I don't think your mom has been doing what she is supposed to. According to Yamada and Aizawa a caregiver is supposed to provide for you, a roof, food, clothes, and more importantly they're supposed to BE THERE for you. I've never seen your mom do… any of those things…" Izuku sniffled as he wrapped his arms around himself. "She-she's b-b-busy with work…" The excuse sounded flimsy, as they sat in a nice apartment owned by two men with five jobs who still made sure to take time out for their days for their foster son.

After a moment of uncertain silence Yamada sighed quietly and stood so he could walk around the table and crouch down beside the now silently crying green haired teen. "Look kiddo. I know this is hard on you. But just bare with us ok? If we find that she's taking good care of you we will send you back nice and easy. If not… well... we… we will cross that bridge if we come to it ok? I promise we only want to make sure you're in a good environment. One where you can thrive. One where you have the means to reach for your dreams kiddo."

It took a little while for them to calm Izuku back down and placate his concerns about the situation. But eventually he agreed to see the detective that afternoon. As Hitoshi cleaned away the dishes Hizashi stood and ruffled green curls. "Alright. I have to get to the radio station. I'll see you all tonight at about 9. You boys behave." With that the man wandered off to find his wallet and keys. 

Aizawa smiled softly at his husband's back before a beep from his phone from its place on the table distracted him. "Ah. Tsukauchi says he will be here at about 5. That ok Midoriya?" The teen nodded quietly, staring down at the table obviously lost in thought. The teacher frowned for a second before standing in search of a mood enhancer.

It took him only a moment to find one sleeping under the couch. He tempted her out with a treat before scooping her up and walking back over to the despondent teen at his table. He plopped the small fluffy black poof into Midoriya's lap. "Rookie likes chin scritches." He stated before wandering off upstairs for a nap.

Izuku looked down at the ball of black floof in uncertainty. After a second bright blue eyes blinked open and soft triangle ears popped up from nowhere. And then the void spoke. A tiny mew showed a flash of sharp white fangs and soft pink tongue. The teen melted as he allowed himself to pet the chink in space that was apparently named Rookie.

When Hitoshi turned around after doing dishes he outright laughed at the matching looks of contentment across the faces of boy and cat. "Yeah. She does that to people. She likes being carried, do you wanna bring her upstairs? I have some homework I need to get done…"

"Homework? Didn't you finish it the other day at the shop?" Shinso blushed faintly. "I uh… I double checked my planner and realized I forgot an assignment for Snipe sensei." Izuku snorted. "Of course you did. Come on then I'll check your answers."

"Thanks Izu."

Chapter Text

Detective Tsukauchi is just as plain as Izuku remembers from his interview after the USJ incident. Unassuming face. Dark brown hair and eyes. Simple, if nice, clothes. The man was obviously more focused on his work than his looks.

Izuku was settled on the couch, Aizawa at the other end giving him space. The detective had pulled one of the armchairs over from near the windows to sit in front of the teen. Hitoshi had been sent back up to his room by his foster father, which Izuku was thankful for, this was stressful enough without the added worry about his friend's reaction to whatever they end up talking about.

The detective pulled out a little recording device once again and went through the whole introduced speil that Izuku was starting to become uncomfortably familiar with. "OK. Midoriya-kun are you ready to start now? We can give it a few minutes if you need, or if you prefer to do it tomorrow instead, that is still an option." But the boy shook his head, what was left of his green curls bouncing with the movement. "I-it's ok d-detective. I'm good w-with doing this n-now."

"OK. Let's start off easy. Over the last month how many times have you physically seen your mother at home?"

Izuku tilted his head back a bit to think. "D-does last night c-count?" 

"Sure."

"Th-then um… twice I think? Sh-shes usually home when I'm at school I thi-think so I don't get to see her face to f-face often…" The detective nodded, his face not really giving away his thoughts on the matter though the greenette saw Aizawa frown a bit from the corner of his eye.

"OK. On a day to day basis how much food is normally kept in the house?" Izuku winced a little bit knowing his eating habits weren't going to look the best. "Uh uhm. Not much, usually just some small snacks. B-but that's on me! I don't eat there much! M-mom leaves me a weekly food bu-budget! And I m-mostly spend it on sc-school lunches."

"I see… how much does she usually leave you?"

"A-about 3500 yen usually? Sometimes a bi-bit more or less depending on her checks." Aizawa was looking downright concerned at that. "Midoriya. That's not enough to pay for full meals at UA for a full week."

"Ah well. I uh. I usually just get a b-bowl of rice or something ch-cheap from the vending machines every oth-other day… but it's ok! I eat dinner w-with the Hatsumes. Hatsume-san always makes s-sure I have enough to eat!" The pro looked unimpressed. "Uhuh. And what did you do before you met Hatsume-san?"

"Ah well… I uh I ate a lot of instant Ramen? And I uhm I didn't usually eat at sc-school because Aldera was… yeah… and it was better to not go to th-the lunchroom." The two men exchanged a look the teen couldn't quite decipher before the detective took over again. "Alright. And when did your mother start leaving money instead of buying groceries?"

Once again the boy paused to think, finger lightly tapping his lip. "Uhm… around th-the first year of m-middle school? I think? M-maybe the break be-between primary and middle?"

"So when you were around ten to eleven?"

"Y-yes? She left more money back then though. Enough to buy groceries for the both of us."

"And when did that change?"

"I-i think when the rent went up? So… middle of second year?"

The nondescript man nodded to himself. "I see. Ok moving on. Has your mother ever touched you with intent to harm?" 

"N-no sir."

"Alright. Has your mother ever physically hurt you?"

At that Izuku flinched a little bit. It didn't go unnoticed. "Please remember my quirk Midoriya-kun, and that I'm here to help you." The teen sighed. "She uhm- She has a habit of grabbing at things when she's upset… either w-with her hands or her qu-quirk… and uhm… sometimes wh-when she's like that sh-she d-doesn't always r-realise h-h-her strength…"

"How did she use her quirk?"

"She uhm. She has p-pretty fine t-tuned control so she can gr-grab at whatever even if i-its too big to a-actually move. M-mostly she grabbed at my clothes. Making s-sure I wouldn't b-be rude and le-leave when I should ha-have been listening to her. B-but sometimes sh-she would tug my hair o-or something… o-one time she was… r-really really m-mad and sh… she uh…" Midoriya trailed off looking queasy. 

Aizawa huffed and slid over a bit on the couch so he could rest a reassuring hand on messy curls. "It's ok kid. We need to know this. I know it's hard to talk about but it needs to be said." Izuku took a shaky breath, leaning into the hand on his head a bit. "She uh she tu-tugged at something inside. I uhm I'm n-not sure wh-what. I-i think it was m-my kidney? But uh… i-it really h-hurt. I w-was sore for days a-after."

He looked up from where his gaze had shifted to the floor after a minute or two of neither man replying. Both of them looked pale and a bit sick. "Uhm… she was… really mad… and it o-only happened once…"

Suddenly Aizawa's expression shifted from one of shock to that of rage. Izuku flinched hard. "S-s-sorry! I-i uh-" The underground hero raised a placating hand obviously trying to calm his reaction after seeing the boy's flinch.

"I'm not mad at you. What she did was incredibly dangerous. You're lucky she didn't kill you." Aizawa ran his hand through his hair with a huff. "OK. Alright. Ok. That's not good. But let's come back to it later, ok?" Izuku stared at the hero as he very obviously tried to calm himself. Eventually he gave a hesitant nod. "Sure? Though there's not really much else to say about that." 

Tsukauchi decided to step back in to the conversation in an effort to keep the normally composed hero from exploding. "Right. Later then." The detective paused for a moment to give them all a moment to compose themselves.

"Next question. Would you say your mother has met your emotional needs?" That one really threw the boy off. Uncertainty written boldly across his face. "Like… how? What kind of e-emotional needs? Sh-she makes sure to t-talk on the ph-phone at least once a w-week? D-does that count?"

The brunette sitting in front of the teen sighed. "No... that doesn't… I'm more asking if when she talks to you does she help you feel better? Let's say you're stressed about an upcoming test, when you talk to her about it, does she try to help you at all?" Izuku tilted his head again. "Uhm… more than likely sh-she would just ch-change the subject? She doesn't r- really like talking ab-about school… i-it makes her s-sad I g-guess and sh-she doesn't need m-more stress…"

"So she just… avoids talking about things you need help with?" 

"U-uhm kind o-of? It de-depends?"

"Hmmm ok. Say… someone said something rude to you and it hurt your feelings. You tell you mother what happened. What would she do?" To the men's surprise the teen scoffed. "Oh. That's not a big deal. Mom a-always tells me how it i-is. If I te-tell her what so-someone said she wo-would just tell m-me if they were r-right or n-not. Most of th-the time they we-were so…"

That last comment set off alarm bells for the two people listening to the boy. Aizawa rested a hand lightly on his shoulder once again. "What kinds of things were people saying to you that she agreed with?" The greenette waved a freckled hand in dismissal. "Does it matter?" 

"Yes Midoriya-kun." The detective stated firmly. "If it hurts your feelings then it matters." Izuku sighed and started playing with his fingers distractedly. "It's been awhile since I've actually gotten my feelings hurt over this kind of stuff… I'm a Null after all. I have to have a bit of a thick skin."

Tsukauchi flinched back at the term and Aizawa looked furious. "Midoriya Izuku. Please tell me your mother never called you that slur."

The boy tilted his head a bit to the side, refusing eye contact and tugging at his fingers. "N-n-not directly?"

"So she didn't say it directly. But she didn't dispute it." The teen said nothing, tugs on his fingers getting a tad harsher in the stress of the moment. Aizawa sighed quietly and reached over to gently pull his hands apart. "Gentle on yourself kid. Alright the answer to that question was yes. Let's move on." And so they went, there weren't too many more questions so it didn't take too long for the detective to finish up the interview.

After they were done the adults shared a look and Aizawa sent Izuku up to hang out with Shinso, saying they had something they needed to discuss about a different case. The green teen headed for the stairs great fully, glad that the worst was over with.

He scampered up the steps only to falter when he got to the top to see his friend crouching by the banister. "Uhm…"

The purple eyed trouble maker raised a finger to his lips and pointed to his ears. Izuku raised an eyebrow incredulously, before realizing he could be listening in to cool hero business. He joined his friend and turned the gadgets in his ears up to eavesdrop more easily.

After a moment he could focus in on the conversation downstairs. He had to ignore the sound of the AC and the downstairs neighbors' TV though. Which of course sparked the idea of rewriting his tuning code, maybe he could make it into an app for his phone so he could clean up audio in real time if he ever felt like eavesdropping again. That would be cool!

Wait. Focus. Spy mode.

He concentrated on Aizawa's low grumbles. "Are you sure she isn't picking up extra shifts?"

A sigh. "She isn't. And her coworkers had a lot of… opinions about her. Most seemed apathetic, but some showed signs of distaste. There were also a few who brought up her status as mother of a… well… I refuse to use the terms they did. But some of the other nurses seemed more irritated about her attitude."

"Of course there's discrimination in a hospital. Honestly. Why am I surprised at this point? Did you note down the ones that said that shit? I'll have Nezu look into them."

"Yeah I got them. But anyways back to the crux of the matter. Inko Midoriya has not been taking extra hours at work. A deep dive showed no other jobs. So… where is she going when she abandons her son for weeks on end?"

"The million yen question."

Izuku knew his breath was hitching. He turned with wide eyes to look towards Hitoshi. The other boy was frowning, slightly confused looking. After seeing the state Izuku was slipping into though he snapped into action. Standing he dragged the smaller boy up and into his room, closing the door quietly behind them. "Izuku… I didn't really catch all of what they said… What was that about your mom?"

The question seemed to be what opened the floodgates. Izuku keened quietly to himself before slumping to his knees with a sob. "Sh-she lied to me. She- how could-d she?! I worked s-so hard f-for her! I- she- why?! Why?! What did I do?!" The anguished cry made even Hitoshi's eyes tear up and the pale boy quickly threw himself into the floor with his friend, scooping him up into his lap and murmuring soothing words into wild green curls. 

It takes awhile for the boy to calm down. And as soon as Shinso was sure he wouldn't burst straight back into tears again he started in on distracting Izuku from what he was sure was too much to process. First things first he turned on the small TV on his dresser and synced his Switch Pro, pulling up the easy and calm game of Animal Crossing Crosstimbers. He hefted his friend up and out of the floor with him and walked over to the bed where he settled with the small greenette back safely in his lap. After awhile the sniffles slowed. Green eyes stared blankly at the screen as Hitoshi worked on reorganizing his orchard.

After a bit a little chime went off and a little bubble showing Kaminari's villager popped up in the top corner. That started off a chat full of friendly banter and memes. Eventually Izuku started giggling at the antics on screen as Hitoshi and Kaminari's villagers ran amok, playfully fighting with each other.

When Yamada called them down for dinner they had to said goodbye to their other friend. Only to hesitate when he invited them to come hang out the next day, claiming that his mom's wanted to meet the group. Shinso quickly told Denki that they would let him know if his fosters said they could before logging off and turning to the exhausted support student still cuddled into his side. "Do you wanna ask if we can go? If not I can make an excuse and we can just stay here again tomorrow…"

Izuku sighed before rubbing his swollen eyes. "No I… I think I w-wanna go… I don't want th-this to take me a-away from my fr-friends. Besides, I alw-always feel better when you g-guys are around so…" Hitoshi smiled softly at the sweet words before turning the expression into a smirk. "Fine. Guess I'll ask Yamada if we can go. Lord knows you'll take every chance to fangirl over Denki and his stupid quirk." Izuku screeched in indignant denial. And the huffed out a laugh as he was dumped onto the bed. They wrestled for a minute, Shinso still teasing the smaller boy for his obsession with the electrical teen. Eventually Hitoshi was sprinting out of the room and to the kitchen, Izuku hot on his heels bubbling with denials and giggles.

Chapter Text

The next day found Izuku in his borrowed bed, staring up at the ceiling as he slowly woke himself up. After a few minutes he managed to convince himself that getting up early for another round of yoga was still worth it. So he dragged himself out of bed, hooking his phone up to the aids in his ears as he quietly padded down the stairs. Luckily over the past year his tastes in pajamas had shifted from his old matching All Might sets to his more worn activewear. So he didn't need to put forth the effort to change since he was already in some ugly green sweats and an oversized grey t-shirt he was sure was Hatsume's at some point. As tattered and holey as they may be they worked well enough for a quick morning yoga routine.

He put one of his more tranquil mixes on as he fetched and rolled out the mat. He took a few paced breaths before he stepped into his first stance, slowly waking his body up for the day. Another round of breathing and then he's sliding his foot out further and bending his back just so. Hold. Breathe. Ease into the next form.

He is never as at peace as he is during early morning yoga.

He allows his mind to wander amongst half formed thoughts. Nothing concrete. Nothing he wanted to focus on. Hold. Breathe. Next. The thought of familiar green hair and eyes popped into his head for a half a second before he shoved it away with a savage ferocity. Nope. Not today. Breathe. Next.

And on he went, working his way up in the complexity of his movements and contortions. When Hitoshi stumbled into the training room he had his chest to the floor, back arched and the tips of his toes brushing the floor by his face, resolutely ignoring the slight pulling of his newest scars. "Gods Izu. That doesn't even look natural."

The greenette stuck his tongue out petulantly, but kept up with his breathing instead of replying. Slowly he lifted his legs to point towards the ceiling before he carefully shifted his weight from his chest to his elbows. From there he straightened into a full handstand. Unfortunately his baggy shirt made it to where he couldn't really see much when he was upside down like this so he didn't see his friend eyeing his toned tummy. 

He did hear the gasp from the doorway though. And the sound suddenly reminded him that he was in someone else's home and that not everyone knew of his scars. And he wasn't wearing an undershirt. He quickly jackknifed into a standing position tugging his shirt back down and tucking his arms behind himself, wishing that the stretched out collar of the old shirt didn't show quite so much of his shoulders and collarbones. 

He nervously looked towards the door where Yamada stood in all his ruffled half asleep glory. The sharp movement of the kid seemed to have snapped the hero out of his surprise luckily, and the man was quick to slide an easy smile back onto his face. "Sorry kiddo! Didn't mean to startle ya! I was just surprised at how easy you made that handstand look! I've never managed to master them myself…. Anyways! I was just popping in to tell you two that breakfast will be done in about thirty minutes or so if yall want to get a shower or something first…"

Hitoshi frowned at his foster father from his spot leaning against the wall. Minorly upset with the man for yanking Izuku out of his quiet contentment. "OK Yamada. We will be out in a bit then." He turned back to his friend, trying not to feel bad about being a bit snippy with his tone. But damn it his friend had felt comfortable enough to not wear one of his stupid undershirts. And now the loud mouthed hero might have gone and ruined it.

"Come on Izu. Let's go grab showers real quick and then we can head for the train right after breakfast." The taller teen made a discreet flapping motion with his hand at the man in the door. Luckily Mic got the memo and walked away with a cheery, "See you two in a minute!".

The two teens made their way back upstairs, Shinso trying not to sigh as his friend very obviously did his best to keep his arms out of sight. When they reached the guest room he reached out and grabbed the smaller boy's shoulder. "Izu… he didn't mean anything by it. He was just surprised. You don't need to hide them, especially not from me." 

The tanned boy grimaced a bit, freckles distorting. Green eyes locked on the door handle. "B-but they're so… u-ugly…" Hitoshi hissed. A flare of anger making him harsher than he usually was with his friend he tugged on the shoulder in his hand until Izuku was facing him. "Don't you dare say that! Izuku. NOTHING about you is UGLY. Not your freckles. Not your curls. Not your scars. They CAN'T be ugly because they're a part of YOU. And you, Midoriya Izuku, are one of the most beautiful people I have ever seen." 

Izuku stared at him, surprised at his outburst. Green blinked in shock for a moment and Hitoshi felt the tips of his ears turn pink as he realized what exactly he said. Too late to back down now though. He huffed. "OK look. You don't have to go around shirtless or anything. You don't have to show them if you don't want to… but… Aizawa and Yamada are pros. They're used to scars. And they really don't bother me at all, all they show me is how strong you are. So… if you want to be comfortable and wear t-shirts or crop tops or whatever here that's fine. None of us are going to judge you for the shit you've had to survive in the past, Izu."

After a pause, where the words slowly sunk in, Shinso had a hug full of sniffling genius to calm down. It took a bit, and they had to rush their showers, but when they headed down to eat the smaller boy was indeed wearing a t-shirt, his usual black spandex nowhere to be seen. The old green tie dye shirt highlighting the lighter tones in his eyes. Hitoshi smiled with pride at his friend. And gave his fosters a grateful look when neither man reacted to the marks showing up and down the boy's arms.

Breakfast was calm once again. Chit chat about the day's plans rolling over them all with ease. Aizawa made sure the green child had both of the adults' personal numbers added to his phone just in case something happened when they went out.

The boys quickly cleaned up after everyone was done eating, Izuku borderline bullying Hitoshi into letting him help. Saying goodbye to the heros they made their way to the genkan to slip on their shoes, Izuku also sliding on a red zip up hoodie that was so well worn it was borderline pink. With that they were out the door and on their way to the train station to meet with Mei.

They bumped shoulders playfully as they walked down the sidewalk and chatted about school and Animal Crossing. Apparently Yamada had bought the console and game for himself but passed it along to Shinso because he was too busy to play most days. And now the sleepy teen was obsessed. Honestly, after one two hour session Izuku was too. He wondered how many hours he would have to work to get his own console and copy.

He also wondered how much coding it would take to add in his own characters. He bet Mei would look adorable as an anteater. Hmmm… maybe he could buy Mei a console too and then code them all cute little animal versions of their friends. Might be a fun project to help him learn more about 3D imaging and design. Would Kaminari be a bunny or a dog? Probably a dog. 

It took Hitoshi waving a hand in front of his face to break the support student out of his ramble spiral and alert him to the fact that they had arrived at the station. He hummed in acknowledgement and followed his friend's lead as they headed towards the tiny bakery off to the side of the platform. Hitoshi had found it two weeks before on his way to school and was completely obsessed with their collection of cat themed treats.

As they slipped into the little shop they were met face to face with a cheery pink whirlwind. Mei was excited to tell her brain buddy about the new idea she had for the boots they had built. A way to make the kinetic motor run more smoothly at a smaller size. This of course set off a round of tech babble, which Hitoshi promptly ignored with a fond eye roll. As the two support prodigies did their thing their perpetually exhausted babysitter dealt with the thing they were actually there for. Treats to offer Kaminari's mothers as a greeting.

He quickly picked out an assortment of cookies and then, after a moment of debate, added in some anpan and chocopan. All were cat shaped and adorable. Perfectly cute with little faces and whiskers and tails. He took a quick picture of the box full of sweets before he closed it. Paying was quick and then he was dragging his distracted friends to their platform before they missed the train.

Once they made it to the right neighborhood, about ten minutes by train away from the Yamada-Aizawa apartment, Izuku plugged the address they had been given into his phone. Lucky he did since the apartment was in a large complex, the Kaminaris' building near the center of the maze. It would have taken them a while to find the right building without the guide.

As it was, they were buzzing the intercom soon enough, waiting patiently until their friend answered and hit the button to release the lock to the lobby. Soon enough they were four stories up and knocking politely at the door, giggling at a joke Mei had made in the elevator.

Kaminari let them in quickly, obviously having been waiting by the door. His usual bright and bubbly smile was in full force as he pulled them into his home and towards the small dining area where his moms were sitting, tea already made and waiting for their guests. The women stood to bow and welcome them. They introduced themselves as Akane and Reia Kaminari. 

Akane was thin and willowy, long brown hair perfectly straight, pale skin flawless. But it was her eyes that were her most striking feature. A bright, shocking blue. She seemed to almost look through you. But her smile eased the intensity of her gaze, soft and kind. Obviously welcoming and comforting, if her eyes were like being dunked in ice water then her smile was like falling into a warm bed on a cold day.

And then there was Reia, she was taller than her wife, Akane came up to about her shoulder. She was also a bit wider across the shoulders, and curvy where the other was thin. But she was no less kind. Her platinum blonde hair was cropped into a messy bob and her golden eyes promised mischief and fun.

And oh, looking closer Denki's smile is a perfect mix of both of theirs. Easy and light hearted and comforting and sweet. No wonder the boy was sunshine incarnate if these two were the ones raising him. 

They spent an hour with the women, chatting and having tea, before heading out to the nearby arcade and wasting the rest of the morning and a good chunk of the afternoon messing around. They ate lunch at the snack bar, nearly making themselves sick with the greasy food. Denki challenged them to a DDR tournament, which he won, but not before Izuku gave him a real run for his money. And they laughed at and cheered for and heckled each other endlessly. 

They discovered new things about themselves and one another. Shinso is surprisingly good at video games. Apparently a lot of foster homes would just shove old consoles at the kids to keep them quiet and entertained. Denki was not allowed to play any of the games with exposed metal bits anywhere near where his hands would be. The owner knew him on sight as the kid who fried a console with a metal plate under the joystick one time. Mei had no patience for first person shooters because they messed with her eyes. And Izuku was ridiculously good at finding patterns in the games. He got the high score on the vintage Ms. Pac-Man game on his third run through.

It was a fun day. A good day. They had fun, loud, obnoxious fun. Like the teenagers they were. And when Kaminari's moms called to let them know dinner was almost ready they traipsed back to the apartment feeling refreshed and lighthearted.

They ate a far healthier meal with the two women, the adults getting to know the three kids who had so enraptured their son. And found themselves approving of these odd, but endearingly sweet, outcasts. Later they would let their son know the three of them were welcome to come over at any time. Eventually it was time for them to head home for the night. They did have school in the morning after all. So after a round of farewells the original three stood in the hall waiting on the elevator. Mei chattering happily about the project she was going to work on when she got home while Shinso acted as her soundboard.

Izuku giggled at their antics before glancing out the window a few feet further down the hall. Only for something to catch his eye. He frowned, stepping closer to get a better look. Something about the view seemed familiar but he couldn't quite put his finger on why. It was like experiencing acute deja vu. He knew he had never been here before. But the maple tree in the little communal courtyard area below looked remarkably similar to something he had seen before. He was pulled out of his musings by the ding of the lift arriving before he figured out the weird feeling.

With a giggle and a mental shrug he let his friend's pull him away from the view below, and then onward towards the train station. And then to the bed awaiting him at the Yamada-Aizawa apartment. He didn't remember the last time he had felt so much like a kid, but he was so glad to have been able to spend the day with his friends. He knew he would look back on these memories with fondness for years. As he fell asleep he found himself replaying the best of the laughter over and over again in his head.

Chapter Text

Izuku was really starting to like the vibe of mornings with Aizawa, Yamada, and Shinso. The start to their days were simultaneously boisterous and calming. The paradox perpetuated by the general hubbub of a morning where a home full of people are getting ready, 8 cats underfoot, and yet the easy quietness of those same people. It's not that they were trying to be quiet. It's more that they were content to move around each other without more than a simple greeting and a smile. Extra words were saved until everyone was sufficiently awake enough to appreciate them.

But there was still noise. The sizzle of fish in hot oil. The patter of paws. And the quiet humming of the resident DJ. It was peaceful without being silent. And the greenette would admit to himself that he loved it.

It wasn't until everyone was around the table and had at least taken a few bites of rice and miso before the spell was truly broken. Aizawa sighed from where he was checking emails on his laptop. Third cup of coffee at his elbow and thoroughly Done look on his face. "Midoriya-kun. Nezu would like to meet with you before classes." Izuku tilted his head in confusion, not seeing the look Yamada gave Shinso as the other boy tracked the action. "Why?"

The underground hero ran a hand through his hair with a grumble. "He needs to talk to you about Bakugo's repercussions for attacking you. As well as the general meeting for people in other courses who place in the festival. The question is, who you would prefer to go with you. As your temporary fosters either of us could go, or we could call Hatsume-san up since she is still on your paperwork."

"Uh. I-i don't… whoever has the t-time is fine?"

A sigh. "We all have the time, kid. Which of us do you want?" But the boy just shrugged. After a moment of silent conversation between the two adults the men nodded to each other. "Ok." From there the conversation dropped and Mic took up chattering about the themes he had picked out for his radio show that week. Breakfast rushed by quickly from there. Aizawa taking over the dish duty with a grumble and an order for the two boys to make sure they had everything they needed in their bags.

And then they were all piling out the door, a small struggle with an escaped cat and they were out and on their way.

Izuku stared out the windows on the car, feeling weird about being out and about so early, his train normally didn't leave for another hour. But because he was going in with teachers they had to leave earlier so they could do their morning set up and paperwork. About a block away from the outer wall of the campus the car took a right turn away from the front gate and into a dim alley and from there through what looked like a loading bay door. But instead of an industrial space, like the door and the building it was set into seemed to hint at, they ended up in a tunnel that sloped gently downwards. It went on for a little bit before ending in a check point where Yamada had to scan his teacher's ID before the heavy looking door rolled open. Beyond was what was obviously a parking garage, filled to the brim with various vehicles emblazoned with the UA logo as well as what were obviously more personal cars for the staff.

Mic parked the simple black sedan in a spot near the wall and the elevator and they all slid free of the mechanical coffin. When they got in the lift Izuku was treated to a sleepy Hitoshi standing behind him and draping his arms over his shoulders and using the smaller boy to prop himself up. For All his pouting at the obvious poke at his height he also fully enjoyed the physical presence of his friend.

It couldn't last though. The doors opened with a cheery ding and Hitoshi was sent on his way to his classroom for a nap. The smaller boy was guided gently towards the principal's office. A walk that was becoming increasingly familiar.

As it did every time before,  the door opened before anyone knocked. And once again Izuku was welcomed into the room by a smiling mammal. The one thing that did surprise him however, was the fact that both of the pro heros who had walked with him also entered the room. He had fully expected one or both of them to branch off at the door. For them to do their part in making sure he got to the meeting and then be on their way. Off to do teacher things.

But no, as Izuku was guided into having a seat at the table off to the side of the office. Both of the men took up their own seats on either side of the boy. Yamada typing furiously at his phone as he settled. The principal hummed a cheery tune as he busied himself with pouring tea and setting it in front of his guests. "Is she ready Yamada-san?" 

"Yes sir! She's logging in now!" 

"Wonderful!" The small creature chirped as he spun around and hit a button hidden against the edge of the table. The TV on the wall near the desk had been tilted on its pivoting bracket to face the table. It flickered on with a hum and was soon showing the bright hair and eyes of Hatsume Mia.

"Good morning Hatsume-san!" Nezu greeted. "Can you hear us ok?" Once she had confirmed the connection was good Izuku took the brief pause to ask his most burning question. "Uhm… w-why are all three of you…" Yamada grinned down at him and telegraphed a hair ruffle. "Well you didn't know who you wanted here so now you get all of us!" The adults continued the polite small talk as the boy regained his scattered brain. Giving him the time he needed to try and process the kindness of people who actually liked him.

Once the green haired child had managed to push back his tears and take a sip of tea with only a slight tremble in his hands Nezu moved the meeting forwards. "OK Midoriya-kun. First things first." The rodent scampered up from his lifted chair and onto the table. He then promptly bent into a deep bow. "I have some apologies to make. First, that Bakugo Katsuki was allowed to face you in the festival at all. We had toyed with the idea of making him sit out entirely. We allowed him participation under the guise of seeing how far the boy had progressed in his anger management courses. I should not have signed off on that. I should have taken your safety into more consideration. Second, that you were left in an unstable living situation for so long. There were signs as far back as your first interaction with Recovery Girl that I should have taken into account. I let myself believe you were fine without following my instinct and digging further into things. So I am very sorry. I have failed you as a pro hero and as an educator."

Green eyes blinked blankly in shock for a moment. The principal kept his head down in his bow, trying to drive home the seriousness of his apology. "I-i uhm. It's n-not your f-fault though?" A button nose twitched as Nezu looked up to pin the boy under his gaze. Beady eyes heavy and serious. "I might not be the cause, but I could have been the solution. That I wasn't means I have failed. And so I am sorry Midoriya-kun."

There was a pause. One breath. Then two. And then Aizawa cleared his throat. Looking pointedly at his employer. "You spoke to the Bakugos after the festival, yes?"

The rodent sat primly on the table top, not bothering to climb back onto his seat. "Yes. It was a very… interesting talk. Bakugo-kun has been suspended for the foreseeable future. If he can't pass some rigorous mental health and anger management tests he will be expelled. Honestly, I have gotten several emails from other heros asking why he was accepted into the school in the first place. That brings us to our next topic for today. Aldera. I had already done a brief dig into the school district last year. But I'm ashamed to say anything more than a surface skim of them was pushed aside once I was informed of your escape from their clutches. I was under the impression that there were more important things for me to do. But if I had dug in even a little bit deeper then Bakugo-kun would never have been allowed anywhere near you." He sighed, running a hand over his muzzle to smooth twitching whiskers.

"But I didn't. So we have to figure out where to go from here. I took the liberty of writing out a full exposé on the school district, complete with the video evidence recovered last fall. The issue with releasing it is that we will also be releasing your quirk status. So I will leave the choice on that matter up to you. On the same note… it seems the winner of the sports festival has garnered a lot of attention from a lot of the heroes who were watching. The amount of emails and interest has left us with a few questions to ask." He paused, looking up at the boy. "We are going to have to switch you into the hero course. The school board isn't giving me a choice on that. The question is, would you like to be just a hero student? Or would you like to switch your hybrid status from Buisness/Support to Hero/Support or Hero/Buisness?"

Izuku blinked up at him blankly. Brain completely overloaded at the turn the conversation had taken. "...What?"

"Of course, I've been told by Ectoplasm that you could probably test out of the required math classes completely, and if we do that and maybe a few of the sciences we could open up a bit more of your schedule and you can try and fit all three courses in… though you might have to stay an hour later for some extra tutoring… although there is also the matter of Sundays. I know we had said I would offer to teach you personally on Sunday mornings, but with everything that's happened that got put off a bit. But now that things are calming down around the whole USJ debacle I would be more than willing to use Sunday mornings to help you keep up with whatever course load you choose!"

The small greenette sitting in front of the jovial rodent curled into himself. It took a beat, maybe two. But then he was speaking, voice quiet but clear, eyes locked onto the beige carpeting. "But I c-can't be a hero. So why b-bother putting me in the classes?" He missed the looks the adults shared over his head. It was Yamada who stepped up to the plate, voice uncharacteristically quiet. "Why do you say that little listener? Of course you can be a hero."

None of them miss the quiet sniffle. "Y-you don't understand. I c-can't! I'm a useless, quirkless, D-deku! I'd j-just be a l-liability in th-the field!" The teen started tugging at his fingers, agitation obvious. The underground hero next to him sighed and reached over to calm the painful fidgeting. "Easy on yourself kid. Anyways. Who said you would be a liability? It looked to me like the opposite was true during the attack on the USJ. I don't know who told you you were useless but they couldn't be more wrong."

The reaction to those words wasn't what anyone expected. They all thought there would be a few tears sure, but they expected the boy to be happy, to feel relieved he was believed in. They didn't see the meltdown coming. In a flash the small teenager was out of his chair and pacing, pulling harshly at short green curls. "No! No! I CAN'T. You d-don't un-understand! H-he told me- HE c-c-can't be wr-wrong! I f-found a new dr-dream! He- I-"

He didn't hear the slightly panicked voices of the heros and mechanic over his own mental monolog. He spun to pace back the other way only to be brought up short by the crouched figure of a blonde who was looking up at him with bald concern. "Izuku darling. I need you to take a deep breath ok? Can I touch your hand honey?" 

The small boy curled into himself with an almost silent whimper, sinking to his knees as he pulled one hand roughly out of his tangled hair and reached for the hero in front of him. He squeezed green eyes closed against his tears as his hand was taken in two larger ones. Long fingers, calluses from both knives and guitars, gentle. They guided his own scarred fingers to press against a muscled chest. "Breathe with me darling. In 2, 3, 4…"

It took 27 minutes, the adults counting each and every one with prayers in their hearts. But eventually they were through the worst of it. When Izuku was breathing steadily Mic took the chance of moving forwards a bit, telegraphing his movements. After a moment he ended up with a still tearful child curled into his lap, slumped tiredly against his shoulder hands latched onto the leather of his jacket.

Aizawa stood and made his way over, sitting in the floor a few feet away. "Hey kiddo. I know you're tired but I have a few things to ask before you nap ok? First, who was the he you were talking about? Because if it was Bakugo…"

But the groggy greenette shook his head, cutting in, "No… well yes but I never li-listened to him… no I uhm… I met All M-might a y-year or so ago… and w-well…" His voice faded away after he peeked up from Yamada's shoulder to the others in the room. At the pure rage on their faces he whimpered and hid himself away again with a flinch.

"All Might." Aizawa intoned with a voice devoid of the emotion he had shown on his face. "All Might told you that you couldn't be a hero. Right. Nezu. I want him off the staff."

"You know I can't do that. The school board would skin me… not to mention the PR nightmare… I'll see what I can do about keeping him away from first years though. Maybe I can force him into some remedial courses on how to deal with children as well. He obviously needs it."

As the other educators conspired on how to deal with the situation. Mic had started up whispering to the hurting kid in his arms. "...It's going to be ok kiddo. We will set him straight ok?" But the boy shook his head. "I-i don't understand… H-he's the number one h-hero… of course H-he's knows wh-who can and can't be a hero…"

"Oh darling no. That man is just as human as the rest of us. He can be wrong too. And he was wrong about you. You can be a hero, it may not be like how that muscle head is a hero, but a hero nonetheless. Maybe you could be like Sho. Or even Maijima. Either way all it's going to take is you finding your own path ok? Now why don't you nap for a bit while we wait for those three to finish their plotting ok?"

The small teen blinked up at him for a moment before nodding and visibly putting his troubled thoughts aside for the sweet call of sleep.

Chapter Text

When Izuku became aware of the world once again he found himself laid out on one of the sofas in the corner of Nezu's office. He rubbed at crusty eyes as he sat up, trying to take stock of the situation. His shoes had been removed, and Aizawa and Yamada had left. Nezu was sat at his desk chatting with someone over the intercom system connected to his computer even as he appeared to multi-task, scribbling on and stamping paperwork with one paw and the other scrabbled across his keyboard.

The teens movement seemed to catch his eye though and the mammal looked up from his tasks. "Midoriya-kun! Did you have a nice nap?" The boy hummed an unsure affirmative before reaching for his uwabaki, sliding them on and cringing a little as his toes were compressed uncomfortably.

He realized the woman on the speaker was Hatsume-san as she also greeted him asking how he was feeling. He gave a quiet answer as he settled into the chair across the desk from the principal. "Alright Midoriya-kun. Here is my suggestion for today. I managed to dig up some tests for you to go through. There's no pressure to pass this round ok? Just answer everything you can so we can get a good idea of what classes you can test out of. From there we will decide on what to do about the whole situation. Does that sound good to you?" The boy blinked for a moment, still a tad bit groggy from crying so much and then his nap. "Uh-uhm… I guess?"

Hatsume-san spoke up calmly, "Izuku, if you don't want to do it today that's OK too, you could go to class like usual, or just come to the shop and chill, and we can do the tests tomorrow." The boy took a moment to think, gadging how he was feeling and checking the time to see how long he slept. He hadn't been out for too long, an hour and a half, there was still plenty of class time left. It would be a shame to waste it, but he didn't really feel overly social, the thought of dealing with rowdy support students wasn't as appealing as it would usually be. After a few moments of contemplation he sighed and nodded to himself. "L-let's go ahead a-and get it out of the way?"

Nezu clasped his paws together with a smile. "Excellent! I admire your tenacity Midoriya-kun! Now, let me make us tea and we will get you all set up!" And so they did. After saying goodbye to Hatsume-san, Nezu set the kettle on to boil and piled a stack of packets on the table where their morning meeting had been, asking the boy if he needed any pencils or erasers. Izuku shook his head and pulled out his small pencil box and selected the least battered mechanical pencil and made sure it was full of lead.

By the time he was setting his old yellow backpack back down out of the way the mammal was scampering back to the whistling kettle and prepping the tea. He was quick and efficient and soon the green haired boy was presented with a warm cup that was exuding the relaxing scent of peppermint. "Here we are! Alright now. Each of these packets are for a different class, the classes are for all three grades in all four courses. You can do them in any order you wish, and again, if you can't answer a question that is ok. Most of these are way past what a child your age would normally be learning. Do what you can and we will figure out the rest. Any questions?" Izuku shook his head, it was pretty straight forwards, and he had been through things like this twice before after all. "OK then. Let me know if you have any. You can take breaks whenever you need, and I will let you know when it is lunch time. Good luck Midoriya-kun." With that the rodent retreated back to his own desk and left him to it.

The teen took a deep breath, running his hand through slightly tangled curls in an attempt to center himself. He leaned forwards and dragged the large stack of papers over and looked through the packets, sorting them quickly into four piles, the subjects he liked, the subjects he had confidence in probably passing, the subjects he knew a bit about, and the ones he was unsure on.

He started on the last pile first, figuring it would be the quickest since he would probably be skipping a lot of questions. He starts in on the first art history question with a determined frown. He was surprised that he knew the answer. He knew he had read the whole textbook one rainy evening, but honestly most art stuff didn't make a lot of sense to him. Well, maybe he would do better with this subject than he thought?

He did his best to work steadily, every three packets from the hardest pile he would allow himself a packet from either math or science as a kind of reward. Unfortunately those never seemed to last him long. And he would soon be back to slogging through literature or history.

___

Across campus from where an emotionally numb child worked towards his future, two angry guardians had finally tracked down their target.

The warning bell for the second period rang loudly as a very confused Small Might was dragged from the teachers lounge by an obviously irritated Aizawa. The shorter man all but flung the older hero in through the door of one of the soundproof meeting rooms when they reached it. The symbol of peace sputtered at the rough handling, not noticing Mic leaning against the conference table right away. "Goodness Aizawa! Whatever the issue is, I'm sure it's not necessary to man handle me like that!"

But instead of calming down his colleague as intended the words seemed to only incense the man more. "Oh yes. Let's talk Yagi Toshinori. I have plenty to say to you after all!" The blonde himbo tilted his head in confusion at the nearly rabid tone. "Aizawa my boy, is something wrong?"

Suddenly the seething younger man once again had a fist full of Yagi's shirt, dragging him down to make eye contact this time. "I. Am. NOT. Your. Boy. But from today on you WILL be calling me Aizawa sensei because you obviously need lessons on speaking to kids and I guess I'm going to have to be the one to teach you." His eyes glowed faintly yellow in an obvious show of restraint as the older man once again sputtered his confusion.

They paused when a quiet snicker sounded from farther into the room. "Damn Sho. You're always so hot when you're angry." Yamada stood and slunk towards the other two teachers, his husband relaxing a bit at the quietly threatening aura that was suddenly filling the room. Not that All Might noticed it of course. That would have made things too easy. The voice hero leaned against Aizawa's shoulder with an easy grin fixed onto his face.

"Yo Yagi. We've been wanting to ask you about something interesting we heard earlier today. You got a second?" He ignored the quiet mutter of, "I don't give a damn if he has a second or not." Focusing all of his attention on the taller blonde before him. "Yamada? I-I guess? What is all of this about?"

"Oh you know, we just heard something interesting this morning that we wanted to check up on. Say, do you remember meeting Midoriya-kun last year sometime? Back when he was still in middle school?"

"Midoriya-kun? Uhm, he's the support course student right? The one who won first place? Uhm, no I don't think I met him before that first heroics lesson?" The voice hero hummed thoughtfully, barely keeping his quirk in check.

"Lets see… he mentioned a roof top and a slime villain… ring any bells?"the two younger heros were treated to the sight of slowly dawning realisation. "Oh! Right! The quirkless kid!"

Aizawa sighed and released his grip roughly, spinning on his heel in to stalk away a few paces. He ran his hands through his hair in an effort to calm himself. "Yes because green haired quirkless children are so common. Of course you would forget him."

Mic hummed again, a slight slip of his quirk making the air vibrate a bit. "Right? I've seen hundreds of green, quirkless children running around! I keep forgetting to stomp all over their dreams though!"

"I- excuse me?"

Aizawa spun around to face the cause of his ire once more, quirk flaring a vivid gold. "No. Excuse me. Mr. Number one hero, I have a question for you. In what world is it EVER ok to hurt a child? And then, as if that wasn't enough, you left him on a roof?! A quirkless kid?! Do you just NOT see the news? Or do you only read headlines that mention your own name?"

The tall, skeleton-like man took a small step back, raising his hand placatingly. "Now now. I don't remember exactly what I said to him, but I was only trying to get the boy to be realistic about his future. I gave him better options…"

"Options like what Yagi? The police academies no longer accept quirkless applicants as of five years ago. Its nearly impossible for quirkless kids to get into good highschools, which of course makes any kind of higher learning a pipe dream. What did you suggest to that kid that was attainable in this society?" The shorter blonde clenched his fists in an effort to hide the rage that was making them shake.

"Uhm well I- I was unaware about the police… but the kid was smart enough to get into UA so honestly, is it really that hard to believe he could be a doctor or something?"

Mic took a deep breath. "Yes. Izuku is a brilliant kid with a bright future no matter what path he chooses. But most kids aren't hidden geniuses. And quirkless kids are often bullied and abused. And you crushed the dream he had had since he was a toddler and just… left him on a roof."

All Might tried to explain his actions, stuttering and stumbling over his excuses. Eventually Aizawa got tired of it and cut him off. "Look. Midoriya is being moved to the hero course later this week. From now on you will have limited contact with him. Now that your… issues… in speaking to children have come to light all of your classes will be overseen by one of the other teachers "

"W-what?!" The bumbling idiot questioned incredulously. "I- I don't need help with my classes! They've been going well! And- and you're letting that kid into the course even with his status? What if he gets hurt! The school would never hear the end of it! I mean the kid was the only one out of 20 students to be hospitalized after the USJ, surely he would be a liability-"

He cuts off as a fist was launched into his face, loud smack reverberating through the air as he stumbled in surprise. Mic wasn't done though, he kicked out, hooking his foot behind All Might's knee as he stepped back, tripping him and sending him to the floor. Aizawa managed to catch his husband around the waist before he could jump onto the downed number one and inflict more damage.

The DJ was yelling profanities in silent rage as the tired hero behind him erased his voice in order to not cause damages to the building. "Zashi. I need you to calm down. C'mon I know you're mad but the kids will be in danger if I blink."

It took another minute of soft consoling before the voice hero seemed to snap out of his anger. Gritting his teeth and nodding to the man behind him who finally blinked, a small sigh of relief escaping. After a second, where he took a few calming breaths, dark eyes pinned the fallen hero in place on the floor.

"Yagi. If you have any complaints, take them up with Nezu after school. He is too busy to deal with your shit right now though. Cementos will be supervising your class this afternoon. If you know what's best for you, you will make yourself scarce until then. Am I clear?" Without waiting for an answer he hoisted his still furious husband over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, 

He ignored the knowledge that Hizashi was flipping the other man the bird with both hands as he carried him from the room. Honestly he wished he could have let the feisty blonde beat on All Might a bit more, but they really didn't need a lawsuit while they were in the middle of trying to officially adopt Hitoshi. He sent out a quick one handed text to Nezu so the principal could scrub the video feed from that room. No evidence meant no crime right?

___

He was about half way through the stack of tests when there was a knock on the door. He paused in writing down his best effort of dissecting a flowery poem. Looking up as the door opened on a small group of guests. Present Mic ushered in four teens before he, his husband. And Maijima sensei followed. They were all carrying bentos, and as the smell of fresh rice wafted through the room Izuku realized he was absolutely famished. 

"Ah! Wonderful!" Nezu chirped from his desk. "Midoriya-kun! Why don't you finish that question and then we can all sit and eat?" The boy nodded and scribbled in the last of his answer, it was a bit messy but he was too hungry to really care much. He then stood to head over to the comfortable sitting area, only noticing how stiff he was when he went to step forwards. He frowned, resolving to add in extra yoga when he could. He soon found himself squished onto the same couch he had napped on. Sat in between an eager Kuroyama and a sleepy Shinso. Kaminari was sat on the floor with Mei, doing his best to follow along with her explanation of her latest baby.

The adults made small talk as they ate, talking about the weather forecast for the week and about whether they would need to move the general education's P.E. classes indoors on Thursday when rain was predicted. Hitoshi only made it halfway through his bento before he gave in to the urge to nap, slumping sideways o to his smaller friend's shoulder with a quiet huff. Izuku just giggled and lifted his own bento closer to his face so he would move less while he ate. He focused back on Kuroyama's enthusiastic description of an explosion Mei had set off that morning in first period's algebra lesson, and Ectoplasm's exasperation.

He hummed and giggled along with his friend, doing his best to keep himself from thinking too much. Taking his chance to relax while he could. He was grateful the teachers had had the foresight to set up this little luncheon. Just the thought of dealing with the cafeteria right then stressed him out. So to have the opportunity to just sit in a quiet space with his friends was appreciated.

Eventually their hour drew to a close and the teens made plans to go to the shop after school, inviting Kuroyama along so he could ask Mia if she had any research papers about the new slash proof fabric that was about to go onto market. They ran their plans by the underground hero and his husband, making sure the fosters were ok with it. The compromise was reached that the heros would drive the group, and would Mei please text her mom and let her know they would be stopping by to chat for a bit?

Izuku smiled through the quick hugs and goodbyes from his friend's as they hurried back to classes. And then it was back to the grind for the greenette as well. He sat back at the table, erasing the untidy scrawl of his last answer to write it more legibly. A fresh cup of tea at his side and a relaxed smile on his lips.

___

Izuku felt simultaneously invigorated and exhausted by the end of the day. His brain hurt, but it was the hurt of a well worked muscle rather than that of a headache. As the packed SUV made its way out of the hidden UA parking lot he let his head rest against Shinso's shoulder. As the shortest he had been crammed into the middle seat, all protests ignored. So his revenge was making his friend play pillow. Even as the purple haired teen talked over his head to Kaminari who was pressed up against his other side, static electricity making what hairs were left on his arm stand up.

Honestly, for being squished into the middle seat he was ridiculously comfortable.

They had to wake him from his half doze to get him out of the car. He was still yawning even as he broke off from the group when they entered, through the front door for once since they had some newcomers. He made his way to the bathroom to change into his beat up coveralls, doing his best to wake up so he could get work done. He had been forced into taking time off and his inner scrooge was freaking out about the lost funds a bit.

When he made his way back out the others had all moved through the massive warehouse space to their small break set up. Extra stools pulled over from some of the work benches to make enough seating. And Hatsume-san had tea already passed around and a pile of sweets and treats set up on the coffee table looking more tempting than they had any right to be. 

He was gestured over by Mei and Denki who had set him a stool between theirs and were busy playfully bickering over daifuku. He hopped up onto his seat with a small smile and thanked Hatsume-san as she handed him a cup of tea. Mmmmh matcha.

From there he quickly caught his friends up on what exactly was going on. Why he had been in Nezu's office all day. Why he was being forced into the hero course. They all obviously had mixed feelings about the situation. Kuroyama and Mei were upset that he would have less time with the support kids. Kaminari and Hitoshi were happy they would get to see him more. And all of them were mad that he didn't really get a choice.

Discussions then moved in to semantics, his foster parents wanted to make sure Hatsume-san had the ability to weigh in on his potential schedule so they set up a text and call system so she could voice her opinion to them without having to close her business down for a long call every day.

By the time they'd set that up Mia had managed to bully Aizawa and Yamada into staying for dinner. Kaminari and Kuroyama had also gotten permission from their parents to stay. To say their meal was extra rambunctious would have been an understatement. Mia ordered a veritable feast from the Thai place down the street. They ended up piling one of the work tables high with take out cartons and everyone went by buffet style with their plates and bowls. Izuku taking several of the savory Ba Wan. The addition of the voice hero mixed with Kuroyama's excitable nature meant the workshop was extra noisy as everyone enjoyed the food. 

Luckily only a single order came in while they were eating, Izuku waved Mia off when he stood up to check the print out. She was in the middle of answering Kuroyama's questions and he didn't want them to have to pause the discussion. He grabbed a crate and started pulling quickly, filling it up in no time. He sighed and went to grab a second crate. Of course the second half of the order was almost all smaller, more finicky pieces. It took him a minute to search them all out from amongst the shelves and boxes. But finally the last piece was found and he could take his bounty to the loading bay.

He didn't really feel like making two trips though. So with a grunt he hefted the crate in his arms up onto one shoulder. And then with a bit of work, and using a shelf to balance one corner, managed to get the first crate onto his other shoulder. With that he made his way to the back of the building. He passed through the open area where the others were, not noticing when two of the teens paused in their conversations to watch him walk. If they appreciated the way his shoulders pressed against the fabric of his tight undershirt it's doubtful they would ever admit it.

Soon enough he was back with the group and finishing a large helping of danzai noodles, laughing along with his friends at a joke Mic had made. When dinner was over the adults said goodbye, taking Kuroyama and Kaminari with them, giving them a ride home. They of course made their foster sons promise to be home before their ten o'clock curfew before leaving. A thought which weirded Izuku out. He hadn't had a curfew in years.

From there their evening went on in a more normal manner. They did homework. Hatsume-san showed Izuku a coding trick. Orders came in and were pulled. Mei blew stuff up. And slowly but surely Izuku felt himself relaxing. The familiar ambiance of his second home releasing the tension that had been building up all weekend. 

As he listened to the shop sounds and Shinso and Hatsume bickering he let himself bask a bit. Things might have changed a lot in a short amount of time, but at least he still had this.

Chapter Text

It took another day for him to get through all of the tests and for them to be graded. Wednesday morning saw them gathered in Nezu's office once again. Shinso sent off to nap in the teacher's lounge, Hatsume-san on video call and ready to help them figure this whole mess out.

The Principal didn't waste any time once everyone was settled in with their tea. He had a gleeful grin slashing across his muzzle as he slid a paper over to the teen. Izuku looked it over, making it halfway down the page before it really clicked what he was looking at. It was a transcript. It showed how many credits one Izuku Midoriya had gained towards his education. Once he knew what he was looking at he hurriedly reread the whole thing. Then again, and again, eyes widening in disbelief. 

According to this list he had gained the credits for every single math and science course UA offered. He had also managed to pass all 3 years of English and several of the ethics and history classes. As well as a couple of the more random subjects they would have been scattered through the year and course groups. Once he was absolutely sure of what the paper was saying he slowly sat it down and looked up at the grinning mammal in front of him.

"S-so… what d-does this mean f-for me?" Yamada reached out towards the paper but paused, waiting for Izuku's permission before he snagged it. When the greenette nodded he slid the page over to himself to read, letting out an impressed whistle as he went down the list. "Wow kiddo! You sure you dont wanna just skip highschool and head to college?"

Nazu chuckled at the comment and the paper was handed over to the other teacher. "Midoriya-kun doesn't quite have enough credits in history, occupation studies, and physical education to graduate just yet. But by next year we might be able to get him some online courses to get ahead for a degree if he likes."

The teen felt himself flush a bit at the praise and suggestions. "I- uhm- well…" luckily enough for him Nezu didn't let him flounder trying to find a response. "For now, let's focus on getting the credits he does need, and figure out how we are going to balance the two courses he chooses. Speaking of, have you figured out what kind of route you wanted to go for?"

Izuku flushed some more, hands coming together to fidget a bit under the table. "I- uh. If- if I have to t-try the hero course I-I think it m-might be nice t-to be a hero l-like Power Loader sensei? N-not s-sup-support and rescue based? But s-support and in-investigation maybe?"

"Wonderful! I think that would be a great fit for that brain of yours! Though, hero students don't start choosing their specialties until half way through second year. But please do keep investigation in mind, having an idea to work towards will help you choose things such as weapons and costumes on the way. Now. Let's work out that schedule!"

The rest of the morning was spent figuring out the mess that would be the rest of his first year. Apparently Nezu had designed a computer program a few years back that helped him keep track of things like lesson plans and other important class scheduling things. It helped tremendously in figuring out when Izuku should be where. And of course, if there was an instance where making it to one important lesson meant missing another, it was merely a matter of Nezu writing the topic down to cover in one of their now certain Sunday morning private lessons. 

By lunch everything was ironed out and the teen was released to head to the cafeteria to meet his friends.

He bowed as he left, thankful the worst of it was over. His head was still spinning with all of the plans and logistics even as he reread the schedule he had been handed for the next two weeks. He sighed, resigned to his fate. The next two years would be hectic, but at least Nezu was going to let him tweak the code he had written for an app so he could keep his schedule updates on his phone. And once it was set up the teachers could update him to any and all changes.

He sighed, after lunch today he was supposed to go with 1-A for their heroics lesson. Or well, his heroics lesson too now…

He made it to the cafeteria and bee lined it to the table where he knew his friends would be. Flopping down dramatically in his customary place next to Hitoshi, he groaned. "If they w-wanted the quirkless guy dead there are easier w-ways…" Mei snickered from where she was sat across the table, apparently having a deep conversation with Ashido. "Hiya Izu! I take it things went well then?" The inventor cackled.

Izuku let his head flop onto the tabletop with a bang. Much to the amusement of the others who knew where he had been. Mina looked over at the other teen, pulling her hands away from where Mei had been 'examining' them. "What went well? Where have you been Mido? Building some super cool super secret super weapon?"

The greenette just groaned as his friends laughed at his expense once again. Hitoshi patted one slumped shoulder with his infamous shit eating grin. "Oh he WISHES he had been locked away in a lab. Unfortunately though we've been asked no to say anything until the teachers make the official announcement."

"Awww that's no fun!" Several other complaints rose up from the others at their tables and those around, but were fended off with playful banter. After a moment a plate of curry was tapped against the back of the greenette's head, the smell convinced him to sit up and actually eat something. He smiled at Kaminari as he was handed the plate. The blonde must have gotten up to get him food as soon as he saw Izuku heading to the table to have returned that quickly.

He dug in as his friends chattered away around him. Some of the support course students stopped by the table to ask questions about certain things for their dual projects and he sighed at the reminder of all of the coding he was behind on. He would have to ask Mia to borrow her computer for some of the more complex things so he could still work on them after school.

He turned to ask Momo a question about the upgrade to her costume before pausing, noticing the empty chair to her left for the first time. He let her continue her chat with Jiro as he pondered why Todoroki wasn't sitting at their table like normal. After a moment he looked over at Shinso and raised a pointed eyebrow. The purple haired teen winced a bit and looked away, having noticed where his smaller friend's attention had wandered.

Bingo.

"Hitoshi! I can't believe you. I thought you were going to apologize!" He singed the last part after making sure he had enough of the other boy's attention. He didn't want to broadcast their drama to the rest of their year. He watched as an embarrassed flush spread across Shinso's ears. " I was going to! But he avoided me before class on Monday and then we ate lunch with you… and then I was distracted by Kaminari this morning…" he tried to explain himself with short flustered movements. Izuku made a note to give Denki a sign name soon so they wouldn't have to spell it out every time.

He sighed. " We have heroics next. Hopefully we can find a chance then. You really shouldn't let it go on like this though. The longer you wait the harder it will be. " The taller teen nodded with a sigh, running thin fingers through wild purple hair. "I know. I'll try and do it as soon as possible ok?"

They ignored the curious look from those around them at the silent conversation and finished scarfing down their food before the bell could call them away from it.

Chapter Text

Izuku waited outside of the classroom doors, listening as the class settled into their desks, conversations buzzing pleasantly between friends. Aizawa turned the corner down the corridor and nodded as he drew closer. "Wait here for a minute until I let them know what's going on ok?"

The greenette nodded and watched as the teacher entered the classroom, listening with amusement as the students scrambled to their desks. Aizawa's deep voice echoed in the silence when they had settled, and the hybrid student sighed as he waited for his cue.

"Alright listen up Hellspawn. Starting today we have a hybrid student switching tracks and becoming part of the hero course. He will be joining our class in all classes relevant to his studies so as of right now you will treat him as a classmate alright? Come in kid."

He tried to keep his hands from shaking as he slid the door open to enter the room, but there was no way to stop the flinch as the class exploded into noise when he stepped into the room. The hero kids quickly settled when their teacher flashed a glowing yellow glare and growled out. "Quiet Heathens."

Izuku stepped up to the traditional place beside the podium as Aizawa continued his introduction. "You all should know this, but this is Midoriya Izuku. From today on he will be a hybrid member of both class 1-A and 1-H. Please be mindful of his specialized schedule, if I hear of any one of you Hellspawn making him late to a support class it will be you taking the detention for him. Understood?" He waited for confirmation before turning to the green child next to him. "Anything you want to say Midoriya?"

The small teen started a bit before looking nervously around the room, relaxing a bit when he recognized every face there. "U-uhm… I'm happy t-t-to be working w-with all of you. Pl-please take care o-of me!" He bowed quickly. Earning a few encouraging and welcoming words from his new classmates before the stern homeroom teacher sent him to sit at the desk in front of Shinso.

He gave his friend a shaky grin as he deposited his bag on the hook attached to the side of his desk, fighting the instinct to hide it under his chair to protect it. Aizawa started up the class as his newest student sat, frowning sternly out at the sea of young kids. "Alright listen up. We have a special informatics lesson scheduled for today. He snagged a remote from the podium, clicking a button to bring up a list on the smartboard.

Names were neatly listed one after the other. 10 of them or so with numbers listed beside each. "Alright. This is a list of offers that were put in for 1As first year internships." Izuku perked up a bit and looked closer at the list as chatter picked up around him. 

Todoroki 5,471

Yaoyarozu 2,384

Iida 890

Ashido 421

Sero 403

Uraraka 335

Kirishima 105

Kaminari 34

Tokoyami 10

Aoyama 2

Shinso 1

Izuku sighed a bit once he had a chance to take in the distribution of offers. Noting the obvious favoritism towards a certain demographic of the class. To his surprise the others picked up on this rather quickly as well, Kaminari speaking up to question the numbers. "Sir? Why doesn't Shinso have more offers or Midoriya? They were both on the podium with Todoroki and he got so many…"

The greenette was surprised again when it was Todoroki who answered the other boy. "Most of those offers are to appease my father. They don't actually want much to do with me personally."

Aizawa hummed. "There is that. The top three students on this list are from prominent hero families. But there are other factors at play here as well. Anyone have any ideas?"

Izuku glanced back over his shoulder at Hitoshi, fidgeting a bit with indecision on whether he wanted to answer. Purple eyes rolled at him and with a smirk Shinso lazily raised a hand. He didn't even wait to be called on before drawling out a simple, "Quirkism. Obviously."

Izuku snorted a bit at his tone, trust Shinso to be so blunt, before glancing around the room. He frowned when he saw confusion and hesitancy scattered about the hero kids. "Midoriya? You have an opinion?" And trust Aizawa to catch the look on his face.

He sighed and pulled at his fingers under the desk. "U-uhm. H-hitoshi is r-right. Heroics is o-one of the m-most quirkist careers there is. The ex-examples set there are w-what set the tone for the qui-quirkism that exists in the r-rest of society after all, s-so it m-makes s-s-sense to assume that o-our quirk st-statuses are th-the reason for the dis-discrepancies in th-the numbers when y-you compare it-t to other sit-situations we have experienced previously…"

There was a pause as everyone digested his wordy answer and Izuku studied the top of his new desk, tugging at his fingers harshly as the pause drew on. After a moment their teacher took pity on him and cut back in. "Very good points Midoriya. You and Shinso are correct. The reason the two of you have fewer offers are due to quirk statuses. Shinso, you have a mental quirk with an activation requirement you've managed to keep hidden. And Midoriya you're the first quirkless student to even make it to UA in 30 years. The heroes who were watching are uncertain of you two. So they're going to hang back and keep an eye out to see what happens. Right now they don't see you as a reason to put their own names on the line. It's stupid, but alot of heros prefer to have interns that have quirks similar to their own." He cleared his throat. "Now, I'm going to move us along, but rest assured there is a whole week of classes for quirkism in the industry in the second semester. If any of you want to ask questions before then, come visit me during office hours and I'll clear things up as best as I can."

"For today, I'm going to hand out the lists you have to choose your internships from, those with no offers will have the standard list of 40 agencies who work closely with the school every year." He set stacks of papers down on each of the front desks, letting them pass back the packets after they found the one with their name in bold on the front. 

"Right. Now before you make that important decision there is yet another important decision you have to make first. Something that could affect the rest of your career for better or for worse." The tension in the room skyrocketed, Most of the kids leaning forwards over their desks as they waited to know what could be so important.

The door slid open with a bang, making most of the kids jump. Izuku flinched away from the loud sound, whipping his head around to see if the person entering the room was a threat. Midnight strolled in with a grin and a half sung, "Hero names!" She went on to explain the repercussions of choosing the wrong name and why she would be helping them while Aizawa took a step back, grumbling about his own name and Present Mic.

After whiteboards had been passed around and they were given free reign to talk amongst themselves Izuku turned his chair around so he was facing Hitoshi. The purple haired teen looked exhausted. "Any ideas Zuku? I have no clue what kind of name I should go with…"

The greenette hummed, tapping the cap of the marker against his lip. "You're aiming for un-underground right? That g-gives you a bit of wiggle room… N-no offence but I d-don't think something bright and bubbly would s-suit you or that t-type of heroics…"

"Darn." The violet haired teen sighed dramatically, a sarcastic smile plastered across his face. "My first instinct was to go with Butterfly Boy. You don't think that fits?" Izuku snickered. "Oh. No. N-never mind. That's perfect! H-here, let's write it down before you forget!" He uncapped his marker and spent the next minute or so wrestling for control of Shinso's board. In the end he sat back, completely devolving into giggles as he looked at their now ink smeared hands.

A tap on his shoulder made him flinch a bit, suddenly remembering he wasn't goofing off at the shop, but instead stuck in a new classroom with several kids he didn't know very well. He quickly looked up, relaxing a bit when he met honey yellow eyes. "O-oh Kaminari-kun! Wh-what's up?"

The other boy smiled at him like the personification of electricity that he was, bright enough to light up the room and mischievous enough to send a tingle down the spines of the two seated teens. "I was wondering if you could help me with my name as well, after hearing that Butterfly Boy is off the table I'm totally lost."

Izuku collapsed into another round of giggles and Hitoshi groaned dramatically. The blonde hopped up to sit on the edge of the desk that was now behind Izuku, leaning forwards to hook his chin over the smaller teen's shoulder and look at their smudged and messy boards. "So is this part of the creative process?"

After a beat Shinso took over replying, taking pity on Izuku while his brain rebooted from overheating at the press of the hot blonde against his back. "I mean, yeah. Have you seen Izu's handwriting when he's in the zone? Looks about the same to me." The greenette squawked and launched a marker lid at his face for the audacity. Before they could descend into more rough housing though Midnight called out the reminder that they were on a time limit and the three boys settled in to really think.

After a few minutes if tossing ideas back and forth Kaminari got excited and sat back to excitedly scribble on his board, finally allowing Izuku's cheeks to calm down from their bright flush. Shinso raised a knowing eyebrow at him, a smirk playing at the edges of his mouth. Izuku raised his own eyebrow in return, daring him to tease. Their little contest was interrupted by a new presence walking up to their desk. 

They both looked over to be surprised by the ever stoic form of Todoroki. "Midoriya." The elemental quirk wielder greeted. "I was wondering if you had any suggestions for a name I could use? I was just going to use Shoto, but after listening to some of the suggestions you had for Kaminari I wanted to see if there was something better…" The whole time he spoke the taller boy stubbornly kept his gaze directly on Izuku, refusing to even glance at the purple haired boy across from him.

Izuku played with the marker in his hand nervously. "I- uhm- I can g-give you suggestions! But uhm- I'm n-not sure they'll be all th-that good…"

"What have you got?"

The greenette started rattling off suggestions, interspersed with explanations when needed, just like he had been doing for Kaminari and Shinso a moment before. Somewhere in the mess of ideas something struck Shinso as good and he started writing down variations to see what felt right. After a few minutes Izuku trailed off, having gotten his best suggestions out and not wanting to overwhelm the quieter teen. Todoroki nodded his thanks and started to walk away, looking thoughtful.

Hitoshi quickly reached out to snag his wrist in a gentle hold. "Uh-just a second Todoroki, I was wondering if you- I mean- can I talk with you? After school if you have the time?" Ice cold eyes finally glanced over at the purple eyed boy and Shinso flinched a bit at the frigidity. The flinch seemed to make the dual toned boy pause a second, before he silently nodded and removed his wrist so he could walk away. 

Izuku beamed at Hitoshi, approving of him taking the step needed to start his apology. The smile faded as Midnight ordered them to settle back in their seats so they could start to present their names. He felt panic in his bones as he stared down at his smudgey but blank board. He looked back up at his friend pleadingly but Shinso just frowned and shrugged, gesturing for him to turn back around. "Sorry Izu, I got nothing."

The greenette groaned under his breath as he spun his chair back around and settled in to think. He tapped the marker against the board in thought, his brain frustratingly blank. One by one his classmates went up, several got shut down straight out. Ashido was warned that names evoking horror movie vibes probably wouldn't work well with her image. And Aoyama was told using a whole sentence would make him hard to market, they fixed his right there by changing 'I can not stop twinkling' to 'The Twinkling Hero: Starlight'. And Ashido eventually came back up with the cute name Pinky.

Some of the names were just boring, like Ojiro's Tailman, Hagakure's Invisible Girl, and Sato's Sugarman. They were gently prodded to think about it some more and if they couldn't come up with something else they liked then they could go with their basic AF names. They ended up having some kind of circle discussion with Ashido and all three ended up with things that were a bit cooler. Talisman, Specter, and Flex respectively.

Jiro was told that her name, Earphone Jack, might be a bit hard to say for kids who weren't used to English. She was also given the option to keep it, but after a few minutes she took a page out of Uraraka's book and found a word that alluded to her quirk, and started with the first syllable of her name. Kyoshin. Izuku also thought it was cuter and easier to market.

When Iida goes he insisted on using his given name and a niggling feeling poked at the back of his mind. But he didn't have much of a chance to think on it since Midnight caught his eye and raised an eyebrow, sending him spiraling back into thoughts of his own name. 

Hitoshi, Kaminari, and Todoroki's names made him smile a bit, they obviously took his suggestions to heart and thought hard. The names they settled on fit them pretty well in his opinion. The Compelling Hero: Yuchi, The Electric Hero: Kizetsu, and The Versatile Hero: Hantai. He especially liked the dual meaning in Todoroki's name.

As Shoto returned to his seat though he felt himself truly panic, what should he choose? He didn't have a quirk to base his name off of like everyone else. He could base it off his looks, but he was kind of plain. Maybe his coloring? Something to do with green? He hadn't felt this stupid in ages. As his name was called he shakily scrawled out the only thing he could think of and stood.

He showed his board to the room and instantly felt the disapproval of the teacher next to him. He flinched as he glanced over to see her frown. "Isn't that what Bakugo kept calling you in the ring? What does it mean?"

Izuku fidgeted with the edge of the board in his hands. "It- uhm- it's a nickname? Kind of? I-it's an alternate r-reading of m-my name. It's uh- sh-short for Dekunobu. It uh- m-means-s useless?" Midnight's frown deepened. "So it is an insult. Why would you want to use that as your hero name?" 

He shrugged a little helplessly. "I just- it's what I th-thought of? I- uh- it's wh-what I've been called f-for ages?" 

The hero sighed. "Ok. No. I'm sorry honey but I can't let you use what is essentially a slur as your hero name. Tell you what, since I know this hero thing is a bit of a surprise for you I'll be nice and give you an extension. You have until tomorrow morning before classes to come up with a name. Just swing by the teacher's lounge before class to see me."

With that he was banished back to his desk and Aizawa climbed out of his cocoon to teach the rest of the lesson, mostly just an overview of the rules and such for their internships.

Izuku sighed and started taking notes. He had a feeling it might take him all night to find a good name 

Chapter Text

Izuku and Hitoshi were splayed out on the break couch at the shop. Kaminari was helping Kuroyama through an english lesson at one of the work benches while Mei was setting off controlled (for once) explosions in the tiny testing room. "I still don't know what to do about a name." He confided, slipping his hearing aids free to toss them onto the messy coffee table. His tinnitus had been acting up for the last hour and listening to the muffled booms was only making things worse.

The lanky boy shifted a bit so signing would put less of a strain on his shoulders, moving so he was sat more up right. "Why don't you try the same thing you did for Kaminari and I? Just think of what you want to convey and throw out synonyms until you find something that sounds cool?" Freckled hands threaded through wild curls in irritation and he huffed. "That's great and all. But I don't have a quirk to convey!" He knew his signs were a bit sloppy and wide with his frustration, but he also knew Shinso would catch his meaning. 

He could almost hear his friend's long suffering sigh as he sat up straight, turning to face him fully and bringing his legs up to sit cross-legged. "I never said anything about a quirk Izuku. I said, 'think of what you want to convey'. So, what do you want people to think of when they think of you? Who do you want to be? Think on that for a while, ok? See if that leads you anywhere." With that Hitoshi flopped back onto the cushions and closed his eyes, obviously going to try for a nap.

The greenette sat back thoughtfully, taking in the advice and rolling it around in his head for a minute or two before he reached down to snag a notebook from the coffee table. By this point he barely bothered to label the things. He had 3 'sets' and each had up to a dozen notebooks already filled. Heros, support, and class were scrawled haphazardly over the covers. He managed to reach a hero one from his seat and opened it to the last few clean pages at the back. This was heros #13 which meant it was mostly full of sketches of class 1B and ideas for improving their quirks. 

Absent-mindedly he jotted down some buzz words. Things he thought a hero should convey, things he wished he could be. Things he thought of when his friends popped into his head. He filled the whole first page with just random words before he paused and went back to look it over to see if anything stuck out to him.

By the time he had it narrowed down to three or four themes to play around with, Hatsume-san had already ordered dinner for those who were allowed to stay that night and he was trying not to get distracted with thoughts of the Italian food heading his way. He had never tried Italian before he started hanging out with Mei, but Mia was obsessed with good food and insisted on any kids in her vicinity trying a variety of things to expand their palates. And now he was drooling at the thought of chicken piccata with artichoke hearts. No. Bad Izuku. Focus.

But garlic bread.

Names. Names. Themes. What kind of hero did he want to be? When he was a kid he wanted to save people with a smile just like All Might. But now he knew better. Now he knew how much of that smile was fake. So, now that he had a second chance, now that he was actually in the hero course at his dream school. What did he want to do? Who did he want to be?

He didn't realize he had been staring blankly at a wall for ten minutes until Mia leaned in to block his view. "Izuku-kun? You ok there kiddo? Having trouble with a code or something?" He smiled a bit and shook his head. "N-no. I'm just- I have t-to choose a hero name and…"

"And you don't know what to choose." He nodded, feeling himself slip back into his head a bit. "A-after All Might told me no I-i… I guess I sw-switched dreams? B-but now I get to have BOTH dr-dreams, and I'm h-happy! R-really I am! B-but I had sh-shoved the wh-whole hero thing so far down. A-and now…"

"And now you have to drag it back out from the dark place you hid it in huh? Oh kiddo…" He smiled up at her weakly, glad she understood his rambles. Bronzey gold eyes closed for a moment while she ordered her thoughts. When they fixed on him again he felt himself relax a bit. She had that look on her face, the one Mei said was her 'MOM MODE' look. He knew whatever she said was going to help him get to where he needed to go.

"Izuku, honey, you've been through alot. Especially in the past few years. And you've been so very strong, so very brave, and so very stubborn. Kids like you are so rare, kids who are willing to strive with all of their wit, strength, and determination to push forwards against everything that tries to stop them. And that is how I know that no matter what path you take, you will push through and end up on the other side stronger. And if that path is heroism, well I think the world better watch out, because you're going to be a damn good hero."

He gave her another wobbly smile, fighting back tears after her little speech. She grinned back, before getting distracted by the fog horn going off. She stood and ruffled his hair before quickly making her way to the shelving maze to go and grab their food. Izuku let his gaze drift back down to the notebook still open on his lap, something niggling at the back of his head. "She's right, you know." A voice startled him and he looked over his shoulder, green eyes wide, to find Kaminari leaning a hip against the back of the couch, arms crossed and smiling at him softly. "You're going to be a better hero than the whole of 1-A put together." 

His bright yellow gaze flickered to the other end of the couch, Izuku followed to look to meet eyes with a half awake Hitoshi who just gave him a crooked grin. They let the rest of that conversation lie for the moment though, because Kuroyama was packing his stuff up to leave and Kaminari was jogging over to help Mia sort through the mass of take out boxes. And the small green boy on the couch felt himself warm a bit in the confidence of his friends as he got handed a massive box of pasta.

___

Bakugo Katsuki was pissed. He had been for as long as he could remember. Anger was a normal emotion for him, but since the day of the sports festival the boiling fury in his gut had reached a new height. It had only gotten worse the day after he and his parents were called back in to discuss the official decision on his punishment for his 'transgression'.

As if putting that quirkless freak back in his place was a bad thing. But apparently the standards of UA had dropped dramatically in recent years because instead of kicking the useless Null like they should have, Katsuki, the student with the most potential to make the number one spot, had been kicked from the school instead.

His parents were furious. Ever since they had dragged him home from the school after the festival the three of them had been in one long fight. He had been confined to his room and every few hours the hag or the old fart or both would barge in and try and 'talk' to him. He had finally broken today and used his quirk to break the lock on his window so he could go out and get some air. And if he happened to stop by and see a friend while he was at it well… who was there to stop him?

He stomped up the stairs to the apartment, doing his best to squash the sense of nostalgia. He counted the numbers as he passed, 302, 304, 306. Bingo. With no hesitation he banged his fist against the worn door, noting the faint smudges on the paint, little brown speckles that looked like they had been swiped at with a rag at some point, but whoever had tried to clean them apparently didn't care too much to truly do much more than that. Figures that the loser would be just as useless with cleaning as he was with everything else.

After a moment he growled and banged on the door again, taking out some of his frustrations on the inanimate object. Just as he was contemplating using his quirk on the lock like he had done to his window the door creaked open, but instead of being met with the scared and freckled face he was expecting, a different greenette stood before him. He blinked in surprise at seeing his auntie, it had been years, and as far as he knew she should have been at work around this time.

Her voice shook him from his vague musings. "Oh! Katsuki! How are you honey? It's been so long! I knew you had grown up a bit after having seen you in the sports festival, but seeing it in real life is different!" She cupped his face in her small hands and tilted his head back and forth a bit. "Goodness you're so handsome! Just look at you! I'm sure your mother is proud! It was sad that they pulled you out of the festival! I have no idea what they were thinking. Really? Surely they saw how strong you were? And wasn't that the whole meaning of the event?!"

He grunted, letting the man handling slide, he would never raise his voice at his auntie after all. "That's actually why I'm here. I was hoping to have a word with Deku." Inko frowned a dark look passing over her face that had the boy before her pausing in surprise. 

"I'm afraid Izuku is no longer here dear. I received a notice this morning. I've been ordered to appear in court next month for child abuse charges! Can you believe it? I have no idea what Izuku told those teachers of his for them to go this far!"

Red eyes stared at the woman in incredulous shock. "He lied about you too, auntie? That little… I can't believe he went that far! The next time I see him he's dead!" He raged for a few minutes more before Inko calmed him with a gentle hand on his shoulder. "What did he say about you dear? You're obviously upset…" 

And so he spilled his guts, ranting as he was led into the apartment, barely pausing to kick his shoes off before settling down at the old beat up table. His auntie poured him some tea and hummed and gasped in all the right places. But it wasn't until he mentioned being expelled that she really reacted. Suddenly she was standing, a furious look on her face. "They did what?! How could they expel their most promising student?! You were only looking out for Izuku! I can't believe this! Ugh! Now I'm even more glad I'm moving! See how he likes being abandoned!"

Bakugo blinked at the announcement and looked around, taking in the mess of an apartment for the first time. He noted the moving boxes and the nearly empty roll of tape, the walls were mostly bare, save a few pictures where Deku smiled his stupid smile out through the dusty glass. "You're… moving?" 

"Yes. I've been thinking of moving closer to the hospital for a few years now. And since Izuku decided to run off and live with someone else I figured now would be a good time to sort it out. I have a van coming tomorrow for the furniture, all I have to do is pack everything I'm taking tonight. And then once I'm out I'll text that bastard of a teacher to come get Izuku's things. Though I have half a mind to just toss them into the street for whoever wants them. Actually. Katsuki, why don't you go see if there's anything you want out of his room. He doesn't deserve any of the things I bought for him." 

The teen nodded, trying to hide a smile at all of the All Might memorabilia he knew to be in the room. "After that auntie, would you like my help packing up?" 

"Oh, you are such a dear. I would love the help."

He nodded and stood making his way to the familiar hallway towards an equally familiar door. The nameplate was a bit more beat up than he remembered, but it still read the same. He opened the door, no longer hiding his grin, trying to remember exactly which shelf the 25th anniversary limited edition All Might in flight figure was sitting on.

But to his shock when the door swung wide there were no figures to be seen. No figures, no posters, no brightly colored hoodie hanging from the bedpost. He froze, sweeping his gaze around in confusion. Instead of the shrine to All Might that had been in this room since he was a kid there were blank walls and empty spots on the shelves. The room wasn't empty per say, the desk was covered with a variety of small tools, and a few of the shelves held a small cardboard box or two that when he investigated were full of small bits of metal and wire and screws.

He scowled. Now not only was the Deku a freak, but he had the balls to replace his hero with useless junk! What was he supposed to do with any of this shit? With a growl of irritation he swiped everything off of the surface nearest to him before turning towards the desk and picking up the closest tool. He lit his hand up with a high intensity bang melting the plastic handle, he made sure to drop the molten substance onto a pile of small parts fusing them together. He then reached for his next target, and the next, and the next. None of that bastard's tools would be usable ever again if he had any say in it. From there he grabbed a sharp bit of metal and went around slashing what he could so there would be no usable boxes or blankets or clothing left.

Deku had gotten on his last nerve and if he wasn't here to take the brunt of his anger then his stuff would have to play the temporary stand in. When he was done he took a deep breath and turned to leave, only to find Inko in the doorway, blinking around at the mess he had made of the room. "Huh. It's a lot less colorful in here than I remember… Oh well, Katsuki would you be a dear and help me pack up the dishes?" 

He nodded with a grunt, giving one last kick to a busted box of screws before he followed her out. She had a lot to pack up tonight after all.

Chapter Text

Izuku fought valiantly against his yawns as they walked to the teachers' lounge. He had spent a late night wishing for something to tinker with while he debated the pros and cons of his chosen hero name. In lieu of a gadget he had pulled his practice balisong out of his bag and worked on a few new tricks, the various bruises on his hands and arms showed the progression of his exhaustion as his brain continued to second guess itself into the early morning hours. He did have the knuckleduster trick down pretty well now though.

He made it to the door first and knocked politely with a quiet 'ojyama shimasu', ignoring Mic snickering a bit at his manners when he was technically opening the door for teachers too. He slid the ridiculously large door aside and bowed a bit as he stepped in, looking around for the teacher he was meant to speak to.

Midnight was reclining in her office chair, feet propped on her desk as she read from an old paperback novel. When she noticed their entrance she grinned and slid a bookmark free to mark her place. "Good morning cuties!" She greeted them cheerfully. Shinso just huffed and wandered over to the couches in the small lounge area, flopping down face first and doing his best impression of a dead log.

Izuku smiled at his friend's theatrics, hoping for his sake he was able to nap a bit before class, he was well aware that Hitoshi hadn't slept at all the night before, the quiet whispers of the animal crossing villagers had lasted until their alarms had forced them from their rooms. 

He hesitantly walked over to the female pro, doing his best not to crumple the form in his hands from nervousness. "G-good morning M-midnight sensei! I uhm, I settled on a n-name…"

She grinned, setting her book down and holding out a hand for the paper. He smiled back shyly and handed it over. She looked over the form, making sure it was filled out correctly before her eyes alighted on his choice. She felt herself grinning again. "Oh yes. I think that has a nice ring to it, honey. Yes. That will do nicely. Approved!" She reached over and gave his hair a gentle ruffle before she woke her computer to begin filing his request. 

Izuku bowed to her, a pleased thanks falling from his lips before he excused himself to go chat to Mic about an upcoming assignment. He was ecstatic that a pro hero who relied so heavily on marketing approved of his choice of name. And now that he was over the hurdle he felt himself relaxing a bit.

The teachers' lounge in the early morning was a peaceful place. Izuku found himself leaning into the quiet atmosphere, watching as the other heros and staff trickled in in ones and twos. Most of them bee lined towards the large coffee bar in the corner, the only thing keeping most of them sane. Speaking of the coffee bar, Aizawa approached Yamada's desk from that direction, hands expertly juggling four large mugs.

Green eyes blinked up at the dark haired man in confusion when one of the mugs was set down in front of him. Instead of an answer he just got a hair ruffle before Aizawa moved to place another mug in front of his husband. The teen looked down at the mug that was obviously meant for him and noticed a cartoon watermelon printed on the side along with the english pun 'ya'll gon' make me lose my rind'. 

A chuckle drew his gaze back to Mic. "Sho has a talent for picking out personalised mugs. He found that one after he saw you in that tie dye shirt the other day." The boy tilted his head in confusion. "Wait, the mug is mi-mine? I thought I was just going to b-borrow it for today?"

The blonde smiled fondly. "Nah lil listener. Since you and Hitoshi will more than likely end up here most mornings we made sure to get you your own. The daily struggle for the communal mugs isn't worth it. That being said, make sure you rinse it out and hang it on your labeled peg before you head to class ok?" Izuku nodded hesitantly, picking up the mug and taking a sip, eyes lighting up at the delicious brew. "Oh! This is good!"

That earned him another chuckle and a nod. "Yeah. Nezu keeps us stocked with the best beans and fixings. And Sho is a master at finding the perfect mix." The teen hummed appreciatively as he took another drink. Most of the coffee he'd had recently had been the basic corner store stuff Mia brewed at the shop. It wasn't good, but it kept him going. But this was fantastic, nutty and smooth with just a hint of chocolate sweetness. It made him miss going to the coffee shop with his friends. They should go again soon. He settled in as Mic went over the study guide he had been given for the test needed to receive his JSL certification. Once he had that then he would have a tiny bit more wiggle room for his classes. He giggled at a joke the English teacher made and leaned forwards to look at the paper.

Things at school were finally leveling out a bit. Now all he had to do was keep busy and keep his mind off of the issues with his home life and he would be fine.

___

The green and pink teens in the corner cheered wildly as the teacher approached before a loud bang and an accompanying plume of smoke cut their celebration short. Power Loader snorted and continued walking towards the kids, snagging a fire extinguisher on the way. He tossed the device to Hatsume who was already spouting off ideas on how to fix the issue with her now ablaze 'baby'. Turning to Midoriya he motioned for the boy to follow and turned to lead the way to his small private office, a circular room situated in the center of all 4 support labs.

Once they were settled at his desk he leaned forwards towards his student. "Ok kid, I have an offer for you. If you haven't chosen someone to intern with yet I would like to extend an offer. Normally us teachers don't take interns because the whole point is for you guys to go out and network with heros you don't interact with often. But with your unique situation I thought it might be a good idea for you to see what it's like being a hero who also works as a part of the support industry. You can think about it, I don't need an answer righ-"

"Yes!" The student in front of him was leaning forwards excitedly. "Yes! I would love that! It would be g-great to see how you juggle those t-two careers! You have your own agency rig-right? How does that work? Will I get to st-stay there for the week?" The teacher chuckled at the enthusiasm and held up a hand to pause the ramble. "I'll file the paperwork then. Yes you will be staying with me at the agency for the week… As for how it works well… I guess you'll just have to wait and see now won't you?" The small teen nodded enthusiastically. "Yes sir! I can't w-wait! W-what will I need to do beforehand?"

The teacher smiled, pulling out a sheaf of paperwork. "All I need is for you to sign a few things and then get a guardian's signature on this release form here…." They spent a few minutes going over what logistics needed to be finished before Power Loader leaned back in his seat, stretching his bare arms above his head. "Other than that all you will need is enough clothes for the week and your regular toiletries. Oh and your costume. By the way Kuroyama was saying he will have it ready for a final fitting in the next day or two. So be ready to come in for that during lunch or after classes. I'm sure he will let you know when." 

Izuku blushed a bit at the reminder that his friend had been working tirelessly to update the design of the outfit he had worn to the USJ. Completely remaking it in the heavier duty, hero grade, materials. Just the thought of having such an expensive costume made for himself was enough to make his brain shut down into error 404 mode, comprehension not found. He didn't even try to think about all of the gadgets he and Mei had designed to go with it.

Still, he nodded his understanding and took the papers he needed one of his guardians to sign as he was released back into his early 'free' period. He had asked Nezu for an extra hour that morning to work on the new motor for the boots. The principal had been super nice in arranging the schedule for both him and Mei to have the time they needed. It still weirded him out that the teachers here were all so willing to fix things like that at his request. He still kind of half expected to have the need to take his projects home to work on. Though if he were honest he would totally still be doing that if not for the fact that Aizawa and Yamada only had like two screwdrivers in the whole apartment. And one of them was stripped.

He hummed to himself, wondering if he could sneak over to his moms to grab some of his own tools without worrying the two pro heros who seemed determined to keep him away from that side of town. Making his way through the currently empty lab felt a little weird. He was used to the bustling energy of his fellow support students. The banging and drilling and occasional explosion mixed with the raised voices of teens giving pointers and suggestions and warnings. But this early in the morning the only people on campus were the few teachers who were giving up valuable sleep time in order to help a student or grade the work they had fallen behind on. Poor Mic was one of them today. He had agreed to drive Izuku for his early access to the lab, Aizawa and Shinso would catch a train a bit later.

When he made it back to his friend he found her staring in consternation at the piece of the new motor that was once again smoking. He chucked and snagged the soldering iron from her hand, pointing at where the wire she had been trying to reattach had gotten too close to a small computer board. She smacked herself upside the head and ripped the wire free, snagging a longer piece from the roll and a fresh chip to replace the slightly melted one. "Once again Izu. You're a fucking genius. Ok if I attach the wire here instead of there do you think…"

The rest of the hour and a half they had wrangled for their exploits passed by quickly, but between the two of them they managed to get both tiny motors put together. Mei would be able to make the casings and grips for the bottoms of the boots during her lab time that afternoon. The boots themselves caught Izuku a bit off guard. Instead of the old over-large work boots that Mei had fished out of a closet for him to use with the last prototypes, this time she pulled a sleek pair of combat boots from the cabinet below her work top. Matte black with graceful lines of maroon running down the sides and woven through the heavy duty laces. Though they still looked a little odd without the full bulk of the soles that they would be attacking, just a thin bit of leather to serve as a base to build off of.

He looked at his bubblegum buddy with a raised eyebrow. She motioned for him to try them on. "Kuro-kun wanted to surprise you when he gave you the full costume. But I convinced him that you needed to try them on before I went through the trouble of making the soles. They should work with your extra joint. He did a good bit of research before he started cutting the leather." Green eyes blinked in shock. "H-he… MADE these?!" 

She nodded, waving a hand vaguely. "Apparently leather working is a hobby of his? I don't know. Ask him about it later. But try 'em on real quick before you have to head to class so I can tell him if adjustments need to be a thing."

He nodded and slipped off his school provided steel toed slippers (only to be used in the lab in an effort to keep the mess from spreading). Lacing them up took a second to figure out, he had never had to use lacing hooks before, they weren't commonly offered on quirkless shoes after all. But then Mei showed him a trick to do them up faster by holding both laces spread between the fingers of one hand and he promised himself he would practice so he wouldn't be slowed down changing into costume later.

The boots themselves felt nice, nothing pinched or rubbed wrong. The only weird bit was that he was currently standing flat footed. But that would be fixed with the addition of soles with a motor in the heel and some insoles. He tried not to tear up any as he texted his friend to give his thanks. These were the coolest shoes he had ever had. And the first that weren't two sizes too big and/or the quirkless signal bright red.

When he was done walking around to check the fit he quickly switched out and left his new favorite thing on the worktop as he raced to class. He really did have the best friends.

Chapter Text

Izuku stood nervously amongst class A, feeling a bit out of place in his gym uniform while everyone else was in costume. It was his first official practical heroics lesson as a part of the course. They were waiting in one of the gyms for All Might to show up, how the man managed to be the number one hero with his abysmal record of class attendance was beyond the teen. 

The kids chattered energetically amongst themselves until their teacher finally showed, a full five minutes late. "Apologies! I was held up with another student for a moment! Thank you for waiting! Midnight won't be able to join us as planned so today will be a bit of light sparring! Don't want to tire you kids out with your internships so close now do we! Now, as always, come forward to draw a lot to determine your first partner! From there, partners will switch every five minutes!" Izuku rolled his eyes, randomized selections again? Honestly for a hero the man was so lazy. It would be much better to place less experienced fighters against more experienced fighters. The newbies can learn from their peers, and those who have experience will get to test the old adage 'the best way to learn is to teach'.

As they slowly separated out into 10 pairs Izuku studied Shinso and the way he stood next to Todoroki. They seemed fairly relaxed, he hoped that meant they had made up. Hitoshi was still getting used to having such a large friend group, it would be a shame if one of their quieter friends decided to stop hanging out because of one bad decision. The small teen smiled quietly to himself as Hitoshi murmured something to the other boy, getting a small nod in response before walking over to draw his lot. It seemed things were at least civil now.

Hearing his name Izuku startled out of his musings and stepped forwards to pull a tag from the box, snagging the second E and ending up partnered with Ojiro as his first match. He started up some basic stretches as he waited for the rest of the class to get organized, he had noticed All Might's penchant for skipping warm ups during the classes he had sat in on and he wasn't looking forward to the extra soreness he would no doubt deal with later on. Maybe he should bring that up with Aizawa later. Not warming up seemed like a big oversight for a hero school after all.

They separated onto their mats, pairs chatting easily amongst themselves. Izuku smiled shyly at the taller blonde across from him. The other boy smiled easily back, though he seemed a bit distracted by something. The smaller boy decided to leave him to his thoughts as they waited for the signal to start. But before All Might could tell them to go, Ojiro was distracted by their smallest classmate. "Oi Ojiro! Make sure to go easy on the Null right?! Wouldn't want to beat up someone like that, it wouldn't be heroic!"

Izuku felt his ears burn in embarrassment as he ducked his head. He was mortified to be called out so blatantly during his first heroics class. He heard a bit of commotion off to the side and flinched. Damn it. He had made a scene, he really hoped he only got detention for the distraction.

It took a moment for what was being said to filter through the muddled emotions in his brain. But eventually he realized it was Hitoshi and Kaminari who were kicking up a fuss, shouting at Mineta and being held back by their sparring partners. Green eyes chanced a look around and Izuku flinched again at the scattered looks of irritation and anger, even Todoroki looked vaguely upset. 

When the usually charming Kaminari let loose with a string of curses aimed towards their classmate the newest hero student felt a jolt of panic. He needed to diffuse the situation quickly, who knew what kind of punishment would be doled out for causing a fight at UA. He scampered forwards quickly, placing himself in between Mineta and most of the others. He raised his hands placatingly. "Hey. Th-that's enough. I- uhm- it's ok?"

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. Kaminari lost control of his quirk a bit, sparking angrily and causing Sero to let go with a yelp. The electric blonde stalked forwards, fists clenched and Izuku couldn't hide his instinctual flinch. His shoulders drew up to his ears as his eyes locked onto the floor, braced for a blow.

"Mido…" The name was said quietly, the sadness sounding wrong coming from Kaminari. The freckled boy blinked and looked back up at his friend. Only to be completely confused by the mix of emotions on the other teen's face. "Mido, what he said really isn't ok. No one deserves to be called a slur like that."

"W-what? Null?" He noted the various flinches at the word and tilted his head, trying to puzzle out the reaction. "I-it's fine. I've h-heard it of-often enough… b-besides, Ojiro-kun really d-does have a b-bit of an advantage on m-me. H-he's taller and heavier. Plus he has been ta-taking martial arts l-longer than me. So…"

This time it was Shinso who spoke up, gently shrugging out of Kirishima's grip and calmly stepping forwards. "Izu. You know that's not right. You've been doing intensive personal training with Kurokuma for a year now. And how about you run that… term… by Aizawa, or better yet Mic, before you decide if you're ok with it."

The smaller teen winced, obviously trying to picture the reactions of the two pros. "Hitoshi…"

A loud cough interrupted them before they could discuss the situation further. "Now children. We've gotten a bit… distracted it seems. How about we get started on our lesson and you can continue your discussions after class? As it were, Ojiro my boy, it couldn't hurt to go easy on little Midoriya could it?! Now that that's settled, let's go!" All Might clapped his hands loudly, cutting off the protests of several of the teens. With some grumbles they all filtered back into their places.

Izuku tried not to sigh as he settled into a balanced stance. His opponent was frowning fiercely, eyeing the smaller teen up and down, obviously trying to figure out a plan of attack. Probably also trying to figure out how to win without hurting the quirkless kid and making himself look bad.

The small green teen felt a flash of irritation. He had won the sports festival. Why did everyone still doubt his abilities to fight? Was it because he used support items? He sighed, there really was no winning was there? All Might called the start in his deep booming voice and Izuku launched himself forwards. If there was one lesson the Kurokumas had beat into his body it was to never hesitate at the sight of a weakness. And Ojiro's hesitance was a truly glaring weakness.

He spun into a kick to add a bit of extra power, his opponent had the size advantage after all, and felt a bit of fierce satisfaction at the oof the blonde let out as a small foot lodged itself in his side. The taller boy stumbled back a bit. Trying to gain ground to regroup, but Izuku pressed onwards, not giving him room to regain his breath. His goal was to get in close to cramp the others' range. So he did his best to slip in past the extra length of Ojiro's legs. To use his size to its greatest ability and keep his partner off balance.

He kicked again, letting his leg bounce off of a hurried block before swinging around and dropping into a sweep. He expected Ojiro to dodge, the other boy was well versed in martial arts after all. But instead he was surprised by his fellow student going sprawling. Once again though, missing an opening would have been a shame so he jumped at his chance. Snagging an arm and his tail he flipped Ojiro onto his belly and plopped down with all of his weight. He once again pulled an arm lock out of his repertoire, locking the elbow into a painful position with very little wiggle room. And leaning back to use his own weight to keep the other pinned.

After a few seconds Ojiro tapped out and Izuku let him go, standing up easily and settling back into his stance, ready to go again. But instead of getting back into his own stance his partner was just standing there, looking at him with a weird expression. "Oji-Ojiro-san?" At the hesitant question he seemed to snap back out of whatever thought he was having and settled into a stance.

Izuku chewed on his lip, wondering if he had done something wrong, but in the end he decided to continue their spar. This was his first heroics class after all. He really did want to make the best of it. So when the taller teen stepped forwards he once again didn't hesitate, stepping in with a short uppercut.

Ojiro managed to block and threw a punch of his own. The smaller boy didn't have to duck much to make it under the swing before popping up and landing a hit with his elbow up under the other's chin. And once again his opponent was down. Out cold this time. 

"Shit!"

Izuku dropped to his knees, starting the basic first aid checks to make sure he hadn't caused too much damage. "Fuck! Ojiro-san? C-can you hear me?" He gently tapped the other boy's breathing and pupils before tapping his cheek gently. "O-Ojiro-san?"

"What the fuck?"

The quiet question made the green eyed boy jump and half spin around. The whole class had paused in their own matches and were staring him down, frozen in place. But then a loud laugh startled them all out of their daze. Shinso tried to cover his mouth to muffle the rest of his giggles but he wasn't completely successful. "D-damn Izu! Dropped him like a brick! Did he actually try to go easy on you? I didn't think he was that stupid!"

Izuku frowned at his friend. "T-Toshi! Not the t-time! H-help me get him to R-Recovery girl!" Again All Might, in a slightly delayed reaction, spoke up. "No need for you to escort him! We have medibots waiting in their closet for a reason! Let's just get him on a stretcher and then… well I guess you can uh… uhm… watch the other fights until time to switch?"

"Y-yes sir…" Quickly the students got their fallen fellow onto a stretcher and sent on his way and Izuku did as he was told. Wandering around a bit and simply watching. That was until Kaminari called out to him, waving him towards his and Sero's mat. "Hey Mido! I was wondering if you had any tips for me? I'm more used to sparring with you and Shinso, I feel like Sero's style is different?"

Green eyes sparked in interest. "I'm s-sure! Sero is a mo-more 'outside' styled fig-fighter with his quirk! I'm sure that affects h-his quirkless fighting too! Wh-why don't you too sh-show me what y-you were do-doing and I'll see if I-I can't come u-up with something?"

And so they did, the two taller boys sparred vicously for a minute or so, each giving and taking hits before their small green spectator called a halt and walked over to talk to Kaminari quietly. Focusing his advice on the boy who had actually asked. After a nod of understanding the match started back up. Only this time the electric blonde focused on shortening his own range while also dragging the other boy out of his own comfort zone. It was similar to the strategy Izuku himself had used against Ojiro. Except since Denki and Hanta were closer in height Kaminari had to bring the fight to closer quarters by sticking to elbow and knee strikes while constatly pressing forwards so Sero couldnt get back to his prefered range.

Right before the five minutes were up Kaminari managed to get a good hit straight into Sero's diaphragm. Bringing the other boy to his knees as the air was knocked from his lungs. From there the blonde managed an effective pin, winning the match with a whoop and a good natured congratulations from his opponent.

All Might called for a switch, before hesitating and glancing at Midoriya. "Ah. My boy why don't you continue-" before he finished he was interrupted by Shinso stepping forwards and slinging an arm around his friend's shoulders. "Hey Izu! Why don't you fight me and Ashido next? Who knows two against one might actually give you a challenge!"

"What?!"

"Shinso-kun I don't think-"

"That's a bad idea!"

"Shinso my boy I don't feel like that is a fair-"

Very few of their classmates were close enough to see the flash of irritation cross Izuku's freckled face at the objections. He spoke over the hubbub, "Sure Hitoshi. S-sounds fun!" A bright smile lit up his face and he quickly walked over to the mat his new opponents were set up on.

The pink girl looked a little unsure but didn't object, settling into a slightly too wide stance. Before the boys could ready themselves a consistently loud, and progressively more annoying voice stopped them. "Ha. Midoriya my boy I'm not sure if that's a good idea. What if you get hurt?"

Purple eyes met green and Hitoshi rolled his eyes in exasperation before turning to All Might. "Look. If you have a problem with Izuku, take it up with Aizawa. He approved his transfer into the heroics course because he knows Izu can wipe the floor with most of us no problem. Now are you going to keep interrupting class time with you quirkist bullshit or are you going to let us actually get to work?"

The giant of a man sputtered but couldn't actually refute the point without making himself look bad, so with an admonishment to not go around calling people bad things he let Shinso have his way.

If only All Might would have known the massacre that was heading their way. Working together the two hero students managed to win one out of four rounds during their allotted 5 minutes. Most of the class had been distracted with watching the small and slippery green teen slide past the defences of the other two over and over, calling tips for how to counter the next time once they were on the floor.

When it was time to switch, Kaminari called his friend over to go against him and Aoyama. That pairing was even more brutal since the two blondes had even less hand to hand training than Shinso and Ashido.

After two quick wins Izuku frowned and asked for a pause. Quickly he showed the other two boys a few moves he thought would be easy to work into their fighting styles. Remembering watching Kurokuma sensei teach these moves to other students with similar builds. AKA middling height and slim built for more long distance attacks, even though he thought Kaminari's quirk would be fantastic for close combat. He had taught him a few similar things durring their spars at the shop but honestly both of the two blondes could use a personal teacher.

He had them feel out the kicks and punches a few times, correcting stances and incorrect limb positioning as they did, then had them try the moves on him. He blocked and countered, showing them how to string the three moves together for greater effect. By that point it was time to switch again and when he turned to see if anyone else was willing to be his partners he was surprised to once again have a small audience.

"U-uhm?" 

Jirou stepped forwards with an interested look on her face. "Hey, show me next? That combo looked easy enough…" And so his next five minutes were dedicated to showing her and Sato a few punches and strikes internally crowing at the thought that she had asked for his help.

Not everyone wanted to spar with him in the end, but that was ok. They ended up scrapping All Might's lesson plan, ignoring the hero's grumbling and pouting, and he sparred against the pairs that were willing, helping them practice the things he had shown them and feeling a warm sense of usefulness.

Chapter Text

The boy's changing room was noisey. The small greenette slipped to the stalls in the back, glad he only had to switch out of his gym uniform instead of an elaborate costume. He made quick work of getting back into his uniform, cringing a bit at how sweaty he was but unwilling to use the showers while the other boys were in the room.

He might trust Hitoshi not to make fun of the scars, but he didn't know the others well enough to guess their reactions. That and changing rooms in general just made him nervous. Only one exit and filled with potential bullies. Sure he could theoretically fight back now, but old instincts and all.

Once he was dressed he left the room and waited in the hall, not really feeling comfortable standing amongst the hubbub and bustle. Slowly the other boys passed him by on ones and twos, heading off for dismissal in their homeroom. Todoroki stepped out, looking freshly showered, his hair perfectly parted even though it was damp. And instead of wandering off he stepped up to the waiting greenette. "Midoriya."

"Todoroki-san! G-good job today!"

The stoic teen nodded his acceptance to the praise eyes glancing around. "Waiting on Shinso?"

"A-ah yes! P-probably Kaminari-kun too. He s-seems to like ha-hanging out with Hitoshi." Green eyes sparkled a bit with the comment, the small boy glad two of his friends got along well.

But all he got in return was a non-committal hum. "Todoroki?" Dual toned eyes flickered to the door as they two they were waiting for stepped into the hall. "I'll head back first then." With that the elemental wandered off, not really letting his new classmate stop him.

Hitoshi sighed as he sidled up, drooping a bit more than usual. "That's my fault isn't it? He accepted my apology, but I guess it'll take awhile to rebuild his trust. If I ever get it back at all." He frowned sadly, normal smirk nowhere to be seen as he sank into gloom. The walk back to the classroom was spent with the two shorter boys doing their best to cheer him up.

___

Shinso draped an arm around Izuku as they walked, following Aizawa to meet up with their other foster dad in the teachers lounge so they could go home. The shorter teen groaned at the added weight dramatically but allowed the comforting contact. The man in front of them grumbled to himself as he scribbled down a note in a file as he walked, apparently pissed that Midnight had let All Might teach alone. Hitoshi had immediately walked up to the underground hero as soon as dismissal was over and let his foster parent know what had happened during class, with both All Might and Mineta. A few of the other students who were still packing up chiming in with their own viewpoints.

All of them ignored the blushing and placations of Midoriya as he tried to run damage control.

After he had gotten the whole story out of the lot of them the teacher had pulled a file folder out from the back of his podium and started filling out some sort of form cursing quietly to himself as most of the kids rushed off to catch their trains or meet up with friends.

He was still cursing and scribbling by the time they made it to the lounge. Skillfully, and violently, sliding the door open with a kick. He walked straight for his desk without breaking stride. Shinso snorted at the display and headed for the coffee bar, figuring that whatever complaint Aizawa was filing would take long enough for him to get in at least one cup before they could leave.

Izuku was about to follow him, thinking of all the coding he was going to have to slog through that night in order to catch up with his partner projects from the support course. But a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He flinched away a bit, but relaxed when he noticed that it was Yamada who had caught his attention.

"Hey kiddo. I uh, I got a message from the precinct for ya. Do you wanna hear it now or in the car?" The greenette felt his heart sink and his throat close up in fear. " Is it about mom?! Did something happen to her? Is she ok?!" He resorted to signing, a note of panic in his gesturing hands.

"Hey now. It's ok. Take a breath kiddo. I won't say everything's ok because honestly I'm too angry, but your mother isn't hurt." That caused the teen to pause a moment, taking in the comment and the tight way the man in front of him was holding his shoulders. He folded in on himself a bit in uncertainty. Not really sure how to deal with an angry Yamada. "D-did I-I-I…" He paused, taking a breath before relying on sign once more. " Did I do something wrong? Do the police need me to come in?"

All at once the man seemed to relax, the tension running through his body melting, the tightness in his features shifting into an expression that looked more like concern. "No kiddo." He sighed. "The precinct contacted me to pass a message from Inko. She said that if you want anything from your apartment to come get it by tonight. That she just broke her lease and will be handing the key in tomorrow."

And just like that Izuku's world froze. She what? She was getting rid of the apartment? He felt his breath hitch a bit, sure it had been an empty and lonely place for a few years now, but he had spent his whole life there. It's where his parents brought him when they brought him home the day after his birth. It's where he watched his first All Might cartoon. Where he spent countless afternoons learning how to write while sitting at the kitchen table.

Mic, seeing his face, decided to change his approach. The man knelt down and gently took Izuku's hands. "Hey now, look we have some options on what to do here ok? First you decide if there is anything you want from there. And if there is you can either go and pick it up with one or both of us, or you can write up a list and we can go get it and you and Shinso can go home. So just… take a few minutes and figure out what you need ok kiddo? Any way we swing this is ok. You just tell us what YOU need."

With that he nudges the short teen the few steps to the side needed to get him to a chair. With a gentle press on the shoulder Izuku is sitting and Mic stands to go make him a cup of tea. Hard decisions are best made over tea after all. A warning glare at Vlad where the man was standing by the open door to the office warns the other hero off of disturbing the kid currently slumped at his desk. He can do his paperwork once Midoriya is ready to move.

Vlad moved towards the couches with a grumble and Yamada went back to making the best cup of matcha he could. He passed by his husband on his way back and made brief eye contact, a small nod let him know that Eraser had listened in and knew what was going on with their foster son. And that he was ready to do whatever Izuku decided needed doing.

The steaming mug of tea was set gently on the top of the desk, melon pun on full display. Green eyes blinked up at him. "Y-yamada-san?" And of how the man hated that note of fear in his voice. Not fear of the voice hero, more likely fear of more rejection, fear of being abandoned again. "Yeah kiddo?"

"Could… Would… u-uhm… Would y-you come w-w-with me? If y-you aren't busy?"

The blond nodded, slowly reaching out to run callused fingers through short green curls. "Of course I will. Let me tell Shou and we will take the car ok?"

___

The unassuming black sedan pulled up in front of his apartment block, backed up into the spot reserved for moving tenants. The green haired teen in the passenger's seat dug through his battered yellow backpack for his key, praying to whoever would listen that it hadn't fallen out of the small hole in the corner that he had forgotten to sew back up when the last patch had ripped a few weeks ago.

Eventually he found it, hidden amongst some loose screws in the front pocket and he let out a sigh of relief before sliding it home into the lock. They opened the door to darkness, which was weird because Izuku always made sure the genkan light was on so his mom must have turned it off whenever she was here last. He fumbled for the switch as he toed off his sneakers flipping it on and reaching for his worn green slippers.

When he finally looked up he had to take a second to pause. It was strange, almost all of the furniture was gone. She left the couch and the old rocking chair that had been in the corner since he was a baby. But she had taken the table and shelves. The pictures of her and his father were gone, but with a pang he realised she had left any picture with him hanging in its place on the walls.

Yamada laid a hand on his shoulder, distracting him from the start of what probably would have been a spiral. "Ok kiddo, how about I grab all of the pictures and you can head to your room with the boxes and start there?" The teen nodded quietly and took the stack of flat boxes they had stopped to grab from the store and the large roll of tape.

He headed to the short hallway, hefting his awkward load. When he made it to his door he propped the flat packed boxes against the wall, figuring leaving them in the hall would be the best bet. He went ahead and made one up just to start with before opening the door to his room.

A strangled sound left him when he took in the damage, about a second after he registered the mess the smell of smoke and nitroglycerin hit his nose and he slumped. "Kachan."

He sighed, slumping a bit before turning around and heading to the kitchen. Luckily his mom had left most of the cleaning stuff and the trash bags under the sink. He grabbed the box of bags and headed back, unfurling one as he went. 

With a sigh he picked up the first casualty, a large flathead screwdriver. He grumbled a bit to himself when he realised it was one from the nice set he had bought himself as a reward for getting into UA. He had found he preferred the slight extra weight of wooden handles in his tools, so even though they were a bit on the pricier side he had splurged for the occasion and the set had quickly become his favorite. Now, looking at the splintered handle he just felt sad as he came to the realization that most of them probably didn't make it through his old friend's rampage.

He huffed and continued to clean the area of flooring in front of the door, clearing it of the smashed remains of the tinkering project he had been working on when he couldn't sleep but was too tired to work on a real project. He didn't trust the cleaning of the room to whoever the apartment manager hired to deep clean once they were gone, Kachan's explosions left behind a lot of residues and they could be dangerous if mixed with certain common cleaning detergents. He didn't want to be responsible for someone getting sick. He knew they still had a bottle of the specialty cleaner under the sink in the bathroom, he would grab it and wipe down the surfaces before they left.

He had just started carefully shifting the bag out into the hall, cursing the fact that he always bought the cheaper ones that were way too flimsy for this job, when Mic appeared from the living room "Hey kiddo! Do you have a specific box you want these…." He trailed off when he processed the mess that was before him, lime green eyes widened considerably. "What happened in here?"

The greenette sent him a rueful grin. "Lo-looks like some sort of ex-explosion right? Don't w-worry I'll get it cleaned up super quickly and then we can h-head out!" He moved to grab a fresh bag but was stopped by a gentle hand on his arm. "Was it Bakugo? Your families were close right?"

The teen slumped in defeat before giving a small nod. The hero hummed, taking a closer look around the room. "Most of this is tools and the like right? You buy them all yourself?" Another nod and it was Yamada's turn to sigh. "If you can make a list me and Sho can try and find replacements for you-" 

"N-no! I can't- you- that's way t-too expensive!"

"Kiddo…"

But the greenette was shaking his head furiously and as much as the voice hero wanted to push the issue, another glance around him led him to the decision to put the issue on hold for a moment. "Let's… let's get this cleaned up and see what we can salvage yeah?"

And so they do. It takes almost an hour just to sort through the floor and what was left of his set up on his desk and shelves. He managed to find a small handful of tools scattered around that had escaped the carnage, and a soldering iron that he could fix easily by rewiring it with a cord that wasn't half melted. But that was about it. He left Mic wiping the desk down while he went to pack up his clothes from the closet. Only to sigh and go to the hallway to grab another trash bag.

He heard the hero grumbling as he turned to look into the small closet but neither really said anything and Izuku started shoving the half charred and slashed remains of his wardrobe into the bag to toss out. Luckily he didn't have that many clothes to begin with so that part of the cleanup didn't take too long. He managed to save a pair of tights that only had a couple of small singe holes and an old Wild Wild Pusycats t-shirt that was a bit small on him but would work as a sleepshirt.

With a defeated slump he tossed them into the single box that was sitting on the bed next to the small pile of picture flames and snagged the cleaner and rag to start scrubbing the chemicals off of the walls where the scorch marks were. It took another hour or so for them to call the room safe. The teen glanced around one more time, making sure there was nothing else that he needed to snag or scrub down before he slid the frames into their own box and carried them out into the living room. Leaving the door open to try and let the smell of smoke and heavy cleaner dissipate a bit.

There wasn't much else left in the appartment for him to take, he had a couple of slightly ratty towels in the bathroom, as well as the shampoo Mia insisted he buy for his curls. He pulled the memory chips with the copies of old family videos and photos out of the drawer of the half empty tv stand. And then found that his favorite mug, deep green enamel with a traditional coy fish design, was still in the cabinet in the kitchen.

His whole life now fit in two duffle bags and two half full moving boxes. That was just sad.

He did one last walk through, making absolutely sure there was nothing else he wanted, before he scooped up one of the boxes. Yamada grabbed the other one and together they headed out, one last lingering glance was all Izuku allowed himself before he closed the door to his home for the last time. He could break down about all of this later he decided, when he wouldn't have an audience.

Chapter Text

Shouta knew something was wrong as soon as his husband walked through the door. He stood up from where he had been reading through paperwork on the couch, intending to help carry boxes in from the car. But once the green problem child was through the door and kicking his shoes off Hizashi was nudging the door closed and shaking his head with a frown. This of course caused the dark haired man to frown as well.

But after a short look from the man he was sworn to he kept his mouth shut and sat back down, rereading the last paragraph of the report he was working through to make sure he knew what had happened. Lucky for him he was patient and could wait for an explanation as to what had gone down while the two more bubbly personalities of the apartment were away.

About five minutes later he was rewarded with a lap full of lanky blonde. He gently ran a hand through his husband's slightly sweaty locks as he waited to see what would be said. When he finally found the words Hizashi whispered them, obviously trying to keep Midoriya from overhearing if the boy had his aids turned up. "They destroyed all of his stuff Sho. The baby barely found anything worth keeping."

The underground hero frowned, catching a concerning detail amongst the other concerning details. "They?" He rumbled quietly. A nod against his chest. "Yeah. Apparently Bakugo helped Inko move and took his anger out on… well everything in Izuku's room. I'm surprised the whole room didn't catch fire if I'm honest."

Aizawa took a deep calming breath. "Ok. Is it worth it to get the police involved? If not, what can we replace?" His partner sat up with a frustrated groan, switching to sign so he wouldn't lose control of his quirk and alert their ward to the discussion. "That's just it! I told him to make a list of all of the tools that were beyond saving and the kid freaked out on me! He doesn't want us to spend the money! I don't wanna know how he would react to us sueing either of them..."

"Zashi, the kid has been practically taking care of himself for years on what I would guess was a very strict budget. I'm sure money is a touchy subject for him. We will just have to think up a way to get him some things without upsetting him too badly. Maybe text Hatsume-san and see if she has any ideas?" He watched as his dumb, lovely, big mouth took a deep calming breath before nidding and pulling out his phone, sliding to sit on the couch properly so Shouta could get back to his work.

With a gentle bump of his shoulder to remind the blonde that he was there for him he dove back into his investigation of a drug ring. They would figure out how to help Izuku, things would pan out eventually.

___

Hitoshi knocked on the door to Izuku's room, intending to offer his help unpacking. After about a minute of hearing his friend moving around with no signs of him coming to the door he frowned. He knocked again and continued his wait, before realizing Izuku might not be able to hear him if he had taken out his hearing aids. With an exasperated huff aimed at himself he stomped his foot a couple of times on the wooden flooring, sending some vibrations into the room that he hoped his friend could feel.

After a pause he heard footsteps approaching the door. It swung open to show his favorite green imp with a small arm load of tools. "Hi Toshi. Sorry i took out my aids so they could charge."

"It's ok Izuku. I just came to see if you needed help getting unpacked?" His friends suddenly looked sheepish and Hitoshi felt a bit of a sink in his gut. "Ah. Well. I don't actually have much left to unpack?"

Purple hair shifted into his eyes a bit when he tilted his head in confusion. "You just got back right? There's no way you unpacked all of those tools I saw at your mom's that quickly." Izuku wasn't meeting his eyes. "Yeah I… I didn't really bring all of them with me." 

Shinso is about to ask why, confused when he knew how hard Izuku had worked to get those tools. But they're both distracted when a yowling and writhing mass of orange and grey streaked from the end of the hall and through the open door, almost knocking the purple eyed boy over on their way past. "Uhg! Norris! Stop ambushing the other cats you asshole!" With that he lurches into the room and scoops the fluffy grey cloud up from where he had cornered a smaller orange cat under the desk.

The furry terror immediately turned into a poof of purrs, going boneless draped over his arm as the other cat trotted free of his hidey spot and went to sniff Midoriya's toes. 

The other boy giggled and plopped down to the floor in order to better greet the kitty. He looked up and signed a short question asking for their names. With a sigh Hitoshi pointed to the sleek orange furred yellow eyed cat that was pacing circles in Izuku's lap. "That one is Cheese It. And this master of guerrilla warfare goes by Up-Chuck Norris. Don't let him near your shoes. How many have you met now?"

"4? I think? Spooky and Rookie for sure. And now these 2…"

"Huh weird, I would have thought more of them would have sought you out by now unless… do you sleep with your door closed?" When he nodded his friend sighed. "That explains it, Baroness, Lucky and Chewy prefer cuddles in bed. I'm not sure why the last Key hasn't shown up yet though."

"Key?"

"Aizawa has 3 black cats, Spooky, Kooky, and Rookie. He calls them the keys for short."

The green haired boy bounced a little in place, careful not to dislodge the feline puddle in his lap. "That's so cute!"

Hitoshi laughs. "Don't let Aizawa hear you say that. But now that I know you haven't met the other fuzzballs we are totally going on a scavenger hunt. Baroness was on my bed a minute ago so she should be the first stop."

What followed was an hour of hunting down the 8 furry residents of the apartment, Shinso making sure Izuku knew which black cat was which. Pointing out the different colored eyes and the fact that Spooky was still at the end of his kitten stage. They bowed to Baroness from where she loafed on her bed throne, staring down at them with her purple eyes. Lucky and Chewy were the last they found, well it was more like Chewy finding them. The blonde tabby made himself known by dashing out and biting Hitoshi's toes before running back into his hiding spot under the couch. When the taller teen had knelt to snag him and introduce him to the newcomer he also found a set of bright green eyes. Lucky was coaxed out gently and Izuku was instantly in love with the sweet calico. 

Neither of them noticed the blonde hero standing by the entrance to the kitchen watching them smother the fur babies with affection with a soft smile on his face.

He eventually did have to explain to Hitoshi why he didn't bring most of his hard earned tools with him. To say his friend was livid would have been an understatement. It took an hour of repeating why hunting Bakugo down was a bad idea, as well as begging him to show him the new cat villager that had moved into his town on Animal Crossing, before the taller teen finally relaxed.

The two teens sat cuddled up on Hitoshi's bed, Baroness taking pride of place on the best pillow, and delved into the world of cute animals and relaxing music. Izuku forced thoughts of his mom and oldest friend from his mind, trying to stay in the comfortable moment.

That's where Yamada found them a couple of hours later, peering in through the open door to let them know dinner was ready. Shinso hummed an acknowledgement and saved his game, prompting his friend to sit up with a stifled yawn, digging his second hearing aid out of his pocket and sliding it into its place in the ear that had been settled against Hitoshi's shoulder.

The two boys staggered ungracefully to their feet and followed the blonde down to the table, settling in as Aizawa finished setting cups of tea in their places. The meal, simple noodles with a hearty veggie rich broth, passed easily. Conversations flowing about school work and hectic schedules, about the cats and stories of how they came to live in the apartment. Simple, easy things. 

Izuku did his best not to compare dinners in this household with the dinners of an empty apartment.

___

That night after the boys were in bed Hizashi and Shouta snuck into the training room, measuring tape and the extra boxes from earlier in hand. They didn't really need most of the old training equipment after all. As quietly as possible things were sorted. What was being kept placed onto a single shelving unit that they had pulled into the corner of the training room proper. Everything else going into boxes to be dealt with in the morning. Once they were done Shouta pressed a kiss to his husband's temple before heading out on patrol.

Yamada kept working, measuring walls and sketching out ideas on an old legal pad. Their contractors had worked miracles with his rambling scribbles when they had customized their home the first time; he had no doubt they would be able to fix this space just as nicely.

He also pondered ideas for making the living room a bit more comfortable. It seemed to be the favored napping spot of one purple insomniac after all. Maybe a hammock? He would ask for opinions tomorrow when he called. Never let it be said he didn't see to the needs of any child under his care.

Chapter Text

Neither Izuku nor Hitoshi are sure how they ended up at the mall with Yamada. It was just after schools let out so the place was packed and both teens could immediately list several other places they would rather be. Especially with their internships starting the next day.

But the eccentric pro insisted, bubbling along brightly as he drug his two reluctant shadows around gently. At first they assumed they were here for something the man needed. That delusion died in the first store, when Yamada immediately walked up to a rack of sweaters and flipped through sizes before tugging out two matching cable knits in pastel green and purple.

The two students shared twin looks of dawning horror 

The next three hours are spent wrestling clothing away from their foster dad. He fights them every step of the way, even more stubborn than they ever thought he could be. Eventually the two boys start flagging and Yamada slowly fills up bags with items he managed to get them to admit to liking. 

Izuku ended up with several fluffy sweaters that were a couple sizes too large, and compression shirts far nicer than his regular ones (and several packs of t-shirts in a variety of colors that he was as yet unaware of). He hadn't yet let the man buy any pants, but apparently he wouldn't be able to get out of it because the next store 'had the best denim'.

Hitoshi hadn't done as well as his friend. His bags were full of hoodies and graphic tees. Not to mention the three pairs of shoes he couldn't get the man to bargain on. He almost wished he had a similar excuse to Izuku when it came to shoes. When the green haired gremlin told Yamada about his weird feet, the man had looked heartbroken that he couldn't pick out shoes for him as well. 

Both boys groaned in perfect synchronization as they were dragged into yet another store. "This is the last clothing store I swear! The sooner the two of you each choose 3 pairs of pants and at least one jacket the sooner we can move on!" Green and purple eyes meet, resignation mirrored and compounding when the other also seemed completely done with the situation. With a sigh Hitoshi stepped forwards towards a display of artfully ripped jeans.

After a minute or two more of standing defiantly in the doorway Izuku gave in as well and started meandering through the store. After browsing through a display of cargo shorts and comfortable looking jeans a rack of jackets caught his eye. He tossed a couple of pairs of bottoms over his arm to try on before heading over to look closer. There were several different cuts and finishes but everything on the rack was made from denim.

The short teen found himself drawn to a black one, it looked like the cross grain was done in a deep ruby thread. The jacket was distressed in places, showing the slight pop of color through the black. He loved it. Unfortunately Yamada chose that moment to sneak up from behind and snag the jacket. He gave it a look over with a grin. "Fantastic choice kiddo! Try this on really quick so we know it's the right size!" He was handed the now traitorous article back with a flourish.

The teen grumbled but handed over his burden of bags and pants in order to slip the jacket on over his school button up. He was spun to look at himself in a mirror hanging on the wall by the changing rooms. Unfortunately he actually really liked the damn jacket. Curse his affinity for red things. 

"Hey Yamada I-" Hitoshi stepped out of the changing room only to cut off when he saw Izuku standing so close. The shorter green teen immediately felt his face light up when he caught sight of what his friend had tried on. The rips in the jeans went almost all the way up his legs, showing off pale skin and just peeking the edges of the boy's purple boxer briefs. "Oh nice! Those look rockin' lil' one! Do they fit ok?"

"Uh, yeah? I- uh- I'm not sure they really look all that good though…" And well, Izuku couldn't let that note of doubt stand. "Y-you l-look geat H-Hitoshi!" He did his best to send a reassuring smile even as he refused to look at the other boy's legs again. Long fingers, long legs, he wondered what else was long. No. Bad Izuku. 

"Oh. Uh. Thanks. I really like that jacket Izu. It looks cool with your shoes." The green teen stuttered out a thank you of his own before retreating back into the racks so he could implode in peace. He never once dreamed he would have such dirty thoughts about his friend. He knew Hitoshi was attractive, with his sharp jaw and smooth voice, but to think something like that? He must be hanging out with Kaminari too much.

Speak of the devil.

"Yo! Mido! What are you doing here?" The small boy let out an embarrassing eep before spinning around to find an electric blonde making a bee line for him. He did his best to pray his blush away before the other teen got too close but he wasn't sure it worked too well. "O-oh! H-hi Kaminari! We uh- I mean- we uh were l-looking for clothes?

"Oh! Well cool! I came to browse their accessories. This shop is the coolest! You must have great tastes." The blonde wiggled his eyebrows and looked the smaller boy up and down. "Yup. That jacket really shows off your shoulders and waist Mido. Great taste." And now he was sure the blush was back.

"Th-thanks?"

"Anytime. You know I love complementing attractive people!" Green eyes blinked at him blankly as the comment sunk in. "Th-then shouldn't you comp-complement yourself m-more?" The two teens paused a second before what they had both said hit them and then they were both blushing messes. After a second Kaminari saw Hitoshi off to the side, refolding and putting away his rejected clothing, and made an excuse to walk over his way. Izuku all but dashed to the changing room himself now that it was open.

Once in privacy he buried his face in his hands, groaning at his stupidity and praying he hadn't just made things awkward between himself and his friend. After a few minutes, in wich he managed to mostly hide his flush under his freckles, he started trying on the pants Yamada had left on the bench for him. The sneaky bastard had added a few of his own picks to the pile.

He stared at himself in the mirror once he realised what his foster father had tricked him into. Tight faux leather pants laced up the side from ankle to hip. He knew he made some sort of noise. Apparently the universe hated him because it seemed like Mic had been listening for it. There was a knock on the door and then the man was harassing him to come out so he could see. "N-no way!"

"Awww come on kiddo! That can't be that bad! Wait, did you try the leather or the corduroy on first? Cuz if corduroy doesn't fit juuuust so it looks awful…" Izuku all but kicked the door open, throwing the green corduroy bell bottoms at the man's face. "Why?! J-just why?!"

He heard a choking sound from off to the side and foze, slowly turning to face his two friends who were staring at him in shock, obviously focused on the tight leather and revealing lacing monstrosity currently incasing his legs. This time the teen heard the noise he made, it was somewhere between a chipmunk and a dying whale. Within a second he was back in the changing room and doing his best to rip the too tight pants away from his person. When he was free he launched them over the door in the direction of where Mic had stood. Judging by the indignant squawk he had yet to move.

He took his time from there, refusing to come out to show any of them anything else he tried on. Carefully rehanging and folding everything before he sorted out the keeps and the put backs. It was a full twenty minutes before he was able to feel safe showing his face again. When he cracked the door he was relieved to see that none of the others were waiting for him. He quietly started back around the shop, putting away the things he didn't want to get.

When he was done he took a breath before looking over to where he had seen Yamada perusing the wall of accessories with Kaminari. He meandered over, and cleared his throat. "Oh! Kiddo! You find some things you like?" The green haired teen nodded quietly holding up his small selection of jeans and shorts.

"Alrighty! After we check out there were a couple more stops we needed to make. No more clothes though! Let's grab Shinso and head up to the front." With that the man snagged the confusing array of buckles and straps Kaminari had been looking at and pranced off. Whistling smuggly to himself.

Golden eyes followed the man's escape in confusion but Midoriya just shrugged in resignation when his friend tried to ask. By the time they caught up and Izuku placed his items on the counter Shinso's stuff was already scanned and bagged. The green teen is suddenly reminded that he never took off the jacket when Yamade grinned at him and asked for the tag. The small teen flushed yet again and yanked it from the sleeve, handing it to the cashier with a stuttered apology. She just shrugged it off and shoved Kaminari's new… whatever into a separate bag. 

They left the store with a bit of banter, the slight tension loosening quickly as the teens were drug around by their excitable chaperone. The next stop was apparently a home goods store. Hizashi grabbed a basket and made a break for the bathroom section, telling the boys on his way past that they needed to grab at least 5 things to decorate their rooms with.

With rolled eyes Hitoshi let an excited Kaminari drag him over to a section of lava lamps, exclaiming that he would help them find the coolest things. Izuku just sighed and grabbed a basket of their own before following the other two.

They ended up with a lava lamp for Hitoshi and a small desk sitting neon light shaped like a cactus for Izuku. From there Kaminari went a little wild, both boys found themselves forced to choose small area rugs and large bedding sets. Any time they tried to refuse their energetic friend would look sad and well, neither of them could stand making the perpetually bright boy sad.

Posters that neither of them chose ended up in the basket, as well as a couple of throw pillows and plushies. Apparently Kaminari was taking cues off of their bedding selection and just finding things that he thought would match. That was when Izuku caught sight of the hero themed decor. And well… he couldn't help himself. The Fatgum cushion looked like the best, most squishable thing ever. Who cared that it was almost as big as he was. If he had to pick something he was picking that.

He ignored Hitoshi's snickers as he started trying to balance the large stuffy over the top of the already overfilled basket. He outright laughed when Kaminari stepped forwards to try and help, only to send several pillows to the floor. After a few more seconds of struggle the electric blonde skittered off and came back with a second basket, plopping Fatgum and the pillows into it with a triumphant grin. Before promptly racing off towards a shelf full of smell good things. With a sigh the other two boys grabbed the buggys and followed.

After a little bit they all ended up flagging. Tired from a long day of school and now hours of shopping. Luckily that was when Yamada came back to find them. He had his own basket full of things, and was quick to gush over their mounds of pillows, ushering them towards check out.

They got distracted on the way by an impulse display near the counter. Little pins with pride colors of every type. Mic squeeled and grabbed a rainbow one and one with pink blue and yellow stripes. He then turned to the boys and gestured excitedly for them to snag any they wanted. Kaminari bounced in place, excitedly grabbing one that was blue purple and pink and one that had those colors but with black and white spaced between.

Hitoshi ginned at the other teen and grabbed a rainbow one for himself before looking at Izuku to see if he saw one he wanted. But instead of snagging a pin freckeld hands wrung together nervously. "I-i uhm. I d-don't…"

"Hey kiddo it's ok if you don't want one! I just thought they would be fun." The man smiled brightly, trying to keep his charge calm. But it faded a bit when his comment only seemed to stress Izuku out more. "N-no! I uh- I'm n-not against-t them! But I don't know w-what any o-of the colors mean…" Kaminari bounced over to his smaller friend and pulled the boy closer to the display. "That's no problem! I have most of the more common flags memorized! Do you know what your preferences are? Like are you bi like me?"

"Oh uh… I think… I looked it up a long time ago and I think the one I liked most was… pansexual? Like I dont really care what people are as long as we like eachother?" Yamada perked up at that. "Oh cool! We match!" He held up the pink yellow and blue pin. Hitoshi dug another one out of the bin for Izuku before pausing and snagging another one, looking at it curiously. Blue red and black sripes behind a yellow infinity symbol twinned around a heart. "I haven't seen this one before."

Kaminari hummed cheerfully. "That one's a bit more rare! It means polyamorous! Theres also a version with the pi sign instead of the heart, but i think this one is nicer." 

It was Hitoshi's turn to look confused. "Poly… what now?"

"Polyamorous! Polyamory is when someone loves more than one person at once. Relationships with multiple partners are called polycules! Cool right?" Purple eyes stared down at the badge held in a pale hand as a look of dawning realisation came over Shinso's face. "Oh." He looked a bit overwhelmed as he set the pin back gently before handing the other button to Izuku. After a second he cleared his throat and looked at Mic, noting the weird look the man was giving the three of them he raised a pointed eyebrow. "Arent we going to be late for dinner at this rate?" 

That got them moving at least, but not before Yamada had dug through the bin for a handful more buttons for his 'friends'.

In the end they were really lucky that Kaminari had joined them, there was no way they would have been able to get everything out to the car otherwise. As it was, Izuku tripped over his feet several times as he struggled with his arms full of bags and giant plushie.

Mic insisted on driving the other blonde home, praising him profusely for his wrangling of the other two boys in home goods. And chattering about music and Denki's favorite bands the whole way there. The bubbly teen hopped from the car, dragging his own small bag with him and chirpped out a cheery goodbye before skipping towards his building. Unknowing of the two matching fond gazes that watched as he went.

It wasn't long before they were dragging things into the elevator of their own appartment building, struggling under the sheer amount of bags. They dumped everything into the floor of the livingroom as soon as they made it through the door. Completely lured in by the smell of takeout coming from the kitchen.

The boys all but collapsed at the table, ignoring teasing remarks from Eraser where the man was standing at the counter unpacking the food. It was katsudon. Izuku felt a weird fluttering in his belly, suddenly feeling his hunger dissapate. He managed a few bites of rice, but the first taste of the cutlet sealed his fate. Quietly he excused himself, packing his food back up in the container and setting in the fridge before going to the living room to sort the bags. 

He started carting Hitoshi's things upstairs first, figuring the other boy could get started on setting up his room and packing anything new he wanted for the coming week as soon as he was done eating. With a grunt he managed to get most of the bags lifted, with the rolled up area rug balanced under one arm. The stairs were a good challenge. The burn in his calves and thighs distracted him from the still present ache in his gut.

He huffed as he gently settled the bags in the floor by the other boy's bed. He turned to go back for his own things only to be startled by the appearance of a pale purple apparition. "G-geeze! H-hitoshiiii! Don't do t-that!"

"Sorry Izu. Didn't mean too. I just came up to see what's going on with you." Green eyes slid away from his friend, suddenly finding the tag on the back of the rug very interesting. "N-nothing!"

"Izuku." Shinso's voice was stern, but also kind, understanding. And Midoriya felt his resistance crumble. "Katsudon is HER fa-favorite meal. She always made it a-anytime anything g-good happened. And I just… I couldn't handle it, not t-today."

A hand settled on his shoulder before drawing him into a hug, long arms wrapped around him securely. "Thank you for telling me. Now, how about we help eachother unpack all of this shit so we can be done with it?" With a giggle Izuku agreed and they got to work.

It was nearly an hour later when the small teen pulled out an offensive article of leather with a squawk and Yamada had to run an intervention to make sure the expensive pants weren't burned.

Chapter Text

Izuku gave Hitoshi and Kaminari one last hug before he darted off to meet his train, following Iida to the line heading for Hosu. "I-iida-kun! Wait up!"

The tall, broad shouldered, teen paused, looking back to see who made the request. Midoriya caught up and looked up at him with a shy smile. "I- uhm. I thought that si-since we were heading i-in the same direction m-maybe we could ride together?" 

"Of course Midoriya-kun." Came the stiff response, before Iida spun back towards their train and walked off stiffly. The shorter boy hurried to keep up, chatting nervously at his new classmate. 

They managed to find a bench on the bullet train, sitting across from a businessman and a pregnant woman who were dutifully ignoring each other as they shared their own bench. The boys settled their duffle and suitcase in the overhead rack, but kept the cases with their costumes with them, settling them on the ground between their feet protectively.

The hour ride was filled with Izuku's nervous rambling. His travel companion's broody silence only served to make his anxiety worse and thus his rambling more obnoxious. He sweated from the tension, his past encounters with the other boy had given the impression of a loud but nice boy, who respected rules. But maybe he had gotten the wrong idea about Iida. 

Or maybe the speedster was just in a bad mood?

Eventually though they made it to Izuku's stop and the small teen made his retreat with a polite goodbye. As the train pulled off to head deeper into the city, freckled hands dug a cracked phone from the battered yellow backpack Izuku had slung over the opposite shoulder from his duffle bag. He pulled up a map with the location of his destination that he had pinned the night before. With an excited grin he hurried off to meet up with Power Loader.

The pro hero agency was about a ten minute walk from the train station. When he found the building he looked up at the modern facade in curiosity. It was done up with lots of glass, all tinted so that no one could see in. He bet the inside got a lot of nice lighting during the day though. In between the large panes the metal framing glinted a metallic yellow, showing Power Loader's color preference. The freckled boy grinned before hurrying towards the large double doors.

They opened into a simple lobby, everything was concrete, the floor, the pillars to the vaulted ceiling, the front desk, and the benches in the waiting area. Though all of the seating had comfortable looking cushions in black and yellow. And what wasn't concrete was the same metallic yellow. It looked industrial but tasteful. Like the person who owned the building had money, but knew better than to spend it on prissy decorations. Down to earth in a way that Izuku knew Power Loader prefered.

He scampered up to the front desk, standing nervously for a moment as he waited for the receptionist to look up from his computer screen. The young man seemed to be wearing some sort of mechanic's uniform in a dark grey, his purple black hair pulled into a high bun to keep it out of the way. When he seemed to sense Izuku's presence he looked up sharply, seeming a bit startled. "Sorry! I was in the zone! These calculations won't finish themselves after all!" He chuckles brightly, solid silver eyes reflecting an image of the room. "How can I help you today?" 

Izuku tamped down on the urge to ask about his obvious quirk mutation, smiling shyly as he replied. "H-hi, I'm h-here for an in-intership? M-my name is Mi-Midoriya Izuku, hero name Doryoku." This piqued the receptionist's interest. "Oh! You're one of the students PL kept talking about! Nice! I'm Kagami Yu, an apprentice mechanic here at Power Corp.!"

"O-oh, sen-sensei talked a-about us?"

"Yeah! He always brags about the kids at UA that he plans on scouting once they graduate. He was sad when you transferred to the hero course since it meant you probably wouldn't want a job here once you get your diploma. He was also frustrated that the other one, Hatsume right? Wouldn't be likely to come here either since her mom already has a shop of good repute and all."

"Oh-oh! I uh- I didn't- uhm…" Kagami snickered. "Chill bud. PL is always like that when he finds raw talent. Don't stress over it. Now," he continued with a slap to the desk in front of him. "Let's get you set up in your space for the week and then I'll give you the tour! PL is running behind because he got called in to help with a review in the next town over but he should get back before dinner." 

The mechanic snagged the phone receiver beside him and hit a button. "Yo! Michael! Tag you're it!" He laughed at the grumbles from the other end of the line and turned to a door situated across the room waiting until it opened to stand and walk around the desk towards the elevators. Another young man huffed and plopped down in the chair with a groan. Yu called out a teasing comment as he pushed the button to call the lift. "Chill Mike. You'll get those orders done soon enough!"

With a ding Izuku was bundled into the elevator. His guide bounced in behind him. "Poor guy," he confided. "We apprentices have to take turns with desk duty and he always seems to draw the short straw, getting called over every time he starts getting somewhere with his assignments. Don't worry though, he's a mathematical genius, will probably have the intensity of the lasers we need figured out by the time I get back."

Izuku did his best not to bounce on his toes, jumping in an elevator is rude, and forced down the questions about what they needed lasers for. Lucky for him the doors slid open before he broke and his curiosity got the best of him. He followed the silver eyed engineer into a hallway with only two doors. 

"Alright floor 6, the dorms, men on the right, women on the left. If you need a private room let us know but those are usually reserved for the fancy guests." Izuku shook his head shyly. "I-I can deal with whatever." 

"Cool. Men's ok?" At his nod the teen was lead to the door on the right which opened into a large room filled with bunks. The lights were on low, a few people were scattered about, most snoring loudly and absolutely covered in grease, oil, and other cast offs from machinery. "Engineers who've forgone sleep for at least a day." Came the whispered explanation as Kagami made his way through the bunks to a door on the opposite wall from the entrance. It lead into a locker room of some sort with an empty doorway on the right showing toilets and it's mirror on the left leading to showers.

Kagami hummed as he scanned the bays of lockers for a free one. "Aha! Here we go, he opened a door and motioned for Izuku to stow his things. The freckled teen did with a shy smile, only keeping his backpack on him. The man grinned cheerfully and pulled a lock from his pocket. "Ok! The code for this is 14-3-26, got that? PL keeps this spare in the desk for guests who don't get a fancy room so make sure you bring it down to the front desk again before you go home."

"Yes sir!" 

The dark haired man visibly cringed. "Please, for the love of god, do NOT call me sir. Kagami or Yu ok? No suffixes either, most of the other people here will tell you the same. You'll find that most of the types in the support industry don't have the patience for that kind of thing. Personally. I grew up with a hard ass for a father so the word 'sir' makes me wanna gag." Before Izuku could fumble for an apology Kagami was already shrugging off his dour look and plastering on his bright smile. "Anyways! Just, don't be surprised if things here are a lot more lax in manners then you are used to. The support industry is infamous for 'rude' engineers and designers. The in joke is that the ruder they are the better they are at their job."

With a cheerful bounce he once again led the teen out into the larger room, pointing to a large bin and several shelves full of bedding. He explained that every night he was to grab sheets and things for whatever bunk was open, and every morning he was responsible for stripping his bed and tossing the used things into the bin for the laundry to take care of. When Izuku asked about the wastefulness it was waved off. "Look kid, we can't have assigned bunks, and between the sheer number of people who work here and the weird sleep schedules of most of the brainy types, a rotation would never work. This is the best system anyone could come up with. Plus it opened up extra jobs for people in the area who needed them."

The teen hummed and nodded, giving in to the logic. He honestly didn't think he would be sleeping enough this week to even care much anyways. They moved on, heading back to the elevator, his guide explained the floors above while they headed down. Floors 7 and 8 were hotel style guest rooms, set aside for clients and any heros who protested the communal spaces of floor 6. The top floor was Power Loader's personal office and design studio.

Floor 2-5 was all offices, everything from advertising to order sorting was done there.

The first floor was the lobby and the cafeteria, as well as a giant loading bay behind the building.

But the underground was what Izuku really wanted to see. B1 was essentially storage for finished product, it had a huge industrial lift near the sloped exit to the loading bay so that they could bring up supplies and projects up and down to the different studio levels with ease.

B2-B5 were the mechanic's studios, each floor divided into 4 rooms. Each assigned to a team and their individual projects. B6-B7 was the aesthetics department. Filled to the brim with fabrics and paint. It was the job of the teams there to sew and style everything a hero could need for their suits. B8 was the design studio, this was where they started the tour. It was one big open room filled with bean bags, couches, tables, and baskets of sensory objects. The wall near the door was covered in shelving labeled with names, each name marking a thin slot. 

Kagami walked to the shelf and pulled a tablet out of a slot named 'guest 4'. He quickly powered it on and handed it to Izuku. "Create a log in really quick, I'll set you up with authorization codes after. This tablet will stay with you the entire time you're working, do not let it out of your sight. And ALWAYS secure it when you're done for the day. Since you're a hero that means you can slip it into one of the safes that are on each floor, but try not to do that if you can because getting them out requires a higher clearance than most people have and it can be annoying."

The teen nodded, short green curls bouncing with the movement before he quickly set up a log in, memorizing it quickly so there would be no embarrassing forgetfulness later. It only took a few more minutes for his account to be granted access to all base level programs and information. 

Once he was all set up Kagami put two fingers to his mouth and whistled, making the teen beside him jump in surprise at the loud sound. "Listen up! This is PL's intern for the week. Midoriya, these guys are some of the engineers and designers." He pointed to each of them in order of left to right, giving their last name and what department they worked in. "Yamaha, chemistry, Rigoku, development, Toshiha, art, Mikiko, art, Watashi, experimental physics…" and so on. And that set the mood for the rest of the tour, in each lab they entered he was introduced and inundated with names. In the end he resorted to using his tablet, scribbling down a distinguishing feature, name, and department as quickly as he could.

Then Kagami took a deep breath and led his charge back above ground and into the PR department. Suffering a 20 minute lecture on Tweeter etiquette and not cussing out idiots in his public account. While the man was getting reemed by a tiny woman in a pencil skirt the hero student was passed around by the others in the office. Each of them introducing themselves and asking him about any public image plans he might have. This dissolved into an enthusiastic discussion circle as Izuku explained that he was planning to base most of his image off of his support items. The mildly intimidating suited business people then did their best to completely figure out a life plan for him in the ten minutes it took before Kagami managed to break away and drag Izuku back into the hall.

There was a ding from the tablet the dark haired man had in a case strapped to the back of his belt. With a sigh he pulled it out to check the message. "Oh. That was Mike. He says PL is back and wants to meet in the cafeteria. Nice! I'm starving!" The freckled boy snickered a bit at the antics of this 'more mature' person as he was led to the elevator to go meet with his supervisor.

Chapter Text

The small mess hall buzzed with quiet conversations as they slipped in through the door. It was a large room with two long tables that went from the serving window to the windows that overlooked the loading bay. The tables weren't filled. But there were clumps of people sitting up and down their lengths, talking amicably. He noted several tablets being waved around, and watched as a stylus was used to bean someone with an opposing opinion in the side of the head for being insufferable. The young teen felt himself relaxing a bit, this honestly just felt like lunch time with the support students.

A waved hand caught the attention of his guide. "Oh! There he is! Alright Midoriya, let's get some food and then see how PL wants to play things this week." He stormed towards the service window, chatting amicably with the line cooks at the sides station. She giggled and served both of them a second cookie. When they both had their trays they walked over to the man who had waved earlier. 

Power Loader looked weird out of his costume. He knew he had seen him in business casual once before during the entrance exam, but it was different somehow now that he knew who he was. The hero was in some tailored slacks, and the white shirt was perfectly clean. But it looked like the man had untucked it and pulled his tie free at the earliest opportunity. Which honestly was fair, Izuku found himself doing the same often enough once school let out for the day.

"Midoriya." He greeted with his normal kind smile. "Did you get the tour?" When his student nodded confirmation he continued. "Good. That means you can join Hikari's team this evening. They're having trouble with a bit of code and I think a fresh set of eyes might be just the thing. Just know that we have a patrol scheduled from 2-5 am so make sure you get some sleep and some food beforehand."

"I-i uhm, isn't that a weird ti-time for a patrol?" The pro snorted. "Kid. I have three jobs. All of my patrols are at weird times. I schedule hero work, consultations, AND studio time around UA so early morning patrols are normal." The boy nodded thoughtfully and took a bite of his nado.

They made small talk as they ate, multiple people coming over to chat with Power Loader, usually about one project or another. Izuku listened in, amazed at how much of the technical jargon he actually understood. It was weird to think that a little over a year ago he wouldn't have understood half as much.

When they were done eating the three of them stood and carried their trays over to the cleaning receptacle. Which was, on brand with a major support company, super high tech. They slid the tray in on one side and the machine buzzed and whooshed for a few seconds before the tray was spit out of the other side, being snagged and stacked neatly by a dexterous robot arm. Izuku buzzed with questions but was pulled away before he could completely lose control of himself.

Once they were back out the door and heading through the short hall to the lobby Maijima turned towards Kagami. "You still have calculations due Dreamweaver?" The younger man nodded. "Unfortunately boss, I was about 3/4ths of the way done when I got pulled from the desk." 

Power Loader nodded with a grin. "Figured as much. Thanks for taking the kid under your wing for the afternoon. Tell The Dragon I said to give you an extension." Kagami waved a hand in dismissal. "It was no trouble. It's always fun to see what kind of talent catches your eye PL. And I'm probably going to be done with that assignment before morning. There's no need,  'specially if Mike decides to jump in in order to make me sleep."

The pro snorted. "Both of you boys probably need to sleep. But you do you, just make sure not to pass out in the hall again ok?" The apprentice engineer saluted with a smirk before wandering off towards the front desk, waving to Izuku as he passed, already sliding his tablet from its holster.

Power Loader ushered the teen to the elevator before he could think to properly thank his guide. He resolved to do it at some point in the week as the doors closed behind them. Instead he turned to his mentor and asked the most pressing question at the moment. "Dr-dreamweaver?"

The man beside him shot him a grin. "This industry is super informal. And it's kind of a right of passage to be given a nickname at some point. Kagami is a bit of an odd example though, usually it takes another year or two before you make enough of a name for yourself to earn one. But his quirk made a bit of a splash when he decided he wanted to apply it this way."