Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tuesday, Alternate Reality

By some divine power’s interference, Shota manages to get a solid seven hours of sleep from the time he flops into bed, to the time he stirs. He’s slept for seven hours, but it still doesn’t feel like enough. It never feels like enough.

It feels like he hit the pillow after changing out of his costume and he was out like a light, yet at the same time, it feels like he only fell asleep moments ago.

He honestly would’ve slept longer too, if it weren’t for movement in the corner of the room.

Shota’s always been a light sleeper—so he’s quick to jolt up when something bumps against the closet door in the corner of the room; groggy mind making a feeble attempt for the capture weapon he’d deposited on the floor before flopping into bed.

“Aye!” comes a surprised yelp, “sheesh, Sho, it’s just me. Tripped on your boot and bumped the door by accident. Sorry I startled you; I know you need the sleep. Nezu said you were at the station working on a high-profile case when he asked Nem and I to take over your class.”

Hizashi.

Of course it’s just Hizashi. It’s always Hizashi. Who else would it be sneaking around in their bedroom?

Midoriya—it could’ve been Midoriya.

He knows its probably unlikely that the kid would’ve just come into the room. He seems polite enough; probably would’ve knocked and given Shota a second to orient himself.

But still.

It could’ve been an emergency or something.

Shota draws in a shaky breath at the thought and silently thanks the universe that it was Hizashi and not the kid in the room. God, it would’ve scared the shit out of the teen if he’d been coming looking for Shota for something and Shota panicked in his groggy state and caught him in his capture weapon. Again.

And, the upsetting part of that is, even after just meeting the kid, he knows Midoriya would probably apologize for disturbing him, even though Shota had explicitly told him he could. He knows the kid wouldn’t be offended in the least if it did happen— startled and scared, definitely, but Shota just has the worst feeling that the boy would find some way to defend him against his own actions.

Shota would still feel like an asshole though.

It could’ve been traumatizing for the poor kid, so Shota can’t help but being relieved it really was Hizashi. He wouldn’t even feel bad if he accidentally tied up his husband. Far better than scaring the skittish doppelganger of Japan’s current most feared villain.

Shota reaches a hand up to rub at his tired eyes before letting his fingers raise higher to card through his own sleep mussed hair. He groans into the room and really debates flopping back down and trying to fall back to sleep, but ends up kicking his legs over the edge of the bed instead, “’s okay. ‘m sorry.”

“What’s got you so on edge?” Hizashi has turned towards him now, his brow furrowed in concern.

Shota takes a second to clear his head, trying to wipe the sleep from his eyes once again.

He digs the heel of his palm into his eye before dragging down to scratch idly at the scar from the USJ subconsciously.

He tries not to think about catching Deku’s eyes just seconds before the teenager leaned over to Shigaraki, speaking calmly to the villain as he gestured to Shota uninterestedly. It was all in the blink of an eye, which was followed by Deku promptly disappearing through those Quirk portals after sealing Shota’s fate and giving Shigaraki an upper hand in the fight.

Shota’s not sure he’ll ever forget the teen’s crooked grin and the mock salute he’d thrown in Shota’s direction before stepping through the portal and disappearing from sight as Shigaraki rushed him, prepared to take him out using whatever insight Deku had offered up.

He takes a second to differentiate the teenage from the USJ and the one currently asleep in their guest room, as hard as if feels to do so.

Viewing them as the same person will only hurt everyone in the long run, and honestly, Midoriya doesn’t deserve it. He knows they’re different people, from different realities, but it’s still so hard to look at Midoriya and not see Deku.

“Shota?” Hizashi is now at his side, a hand on Shota’s thigh, while his other lifts to swat at where Shota’s still scratching the scar. “Did something happen at the station? Nezu said it was high priority, but... you only rub at your scar when you’re thinking the USJ and Deku.”

“No,” Shota drops his hands to his lap as if he’d been scolded, the hand that had been pressing into his cheekbone settling over Hizashi’s hand on his leg so he can curl his fingers into Hizashi’s. “Nothing happened. Nothing... nothing bad, at least.”

“But something did happen?” Hizashi questions quietly, and all Shota can manage is a nod.

“Something did,” he gets out in confirmation after a second, “and... I don’t know how you’re going to take it, but I need you to try and take it well.”

Hizashi opens his mouth the respond, but it snaps shut just as fast. He stares at Shota, brows furrowing as his lips curl downward in a small frown. Finally, Hizashi seems to find his voice again, “what happened?”

Shota thinks about telling Hizashi now—just blurting it out without beating around the bush— but he doesn’t know how his husband will react to that. It sounds crazy, honestly, and he sorta doesn’t think Hizashi will even believe him unless there’s some proof. Unless he sees it for himself.

Hell, Shota probably wouldn’t believe it either if he hadn’t seen the ID card (both at the station, as well as when Nezu had tried it on the gate where it had come so close to actually granting entrance), and heard the kid talking about his own reality that was different but just so similar at the same time.

And if that didn’t already seal the fact that this Midoriya Izuku was not their Deku, then watching how the kid broke down into not one, but two, heartbreakingly distraught and lost panic attacks surely would. Villain or not, no one would be able to act such raw emotion.

Shota knows he has to be careful with this.

Though Hizashi hasn’t come face to face with Deku—the teen had been long gone when All Might and the teachers finally made it to the USJ that day— he’d seen the aftermath of it. Had sat at Shota’s bedside after he’d been left within an inch of his life. All Might isn’t the only one who harbors negative feelings for the kid.

Shota stands, stretching out his back before holding a hand out for Hizashi to take. The blonde eyes it suspiciously before taking Shota’s hand and letting the dark-haired Hero tug him up. Shota sees the confusion in his eyes, but he’s glad Hizashi trusts him enough not to say anything just yet.

Shota leads the blonde down the hallway before pausing outside the guest room. Hizashi just looks confused as they pause outside the door as Shota’s second hand settles on the door knob.

It’s no surprise that Hizashi doesn’t have a clue that there’s someone else in the apartment. It’s not like they have many guests, and with the door usually always shut, no one would even think to go in unless they specifically needed something, and there’s no way Hizashi would need anything from the room considering the only things in there are the furnishing Nezu had put in when Heights Alliance came to be.

Shota drops Hizashi’s hand, lifting a finger to his lips in a silent ‘shh’ gesture that Hizashi absolutely hates. The blonde bristles in annoyance, and Shota sees him gearing up to vocalize his annoyance in the way he usually does, but the Voice-Hero seems to decide to heed the warning instead.

Though, in usual Hizashi flare, he does blow out an annoyed huff as he crosses his arms over his chest.

Curiosity outweighs the annoyance easily though when Shota finally turns the handle and eases the door open. The blonde’s eyebrows furrow as he leans into the room, before they shoot up in surprise when he spots what’s out of place.

The room is silent besides the small, evened out breaths of the sleeping teenager. Shota peeks in enough to see the blankets on the bed rising and falling in pattern with the slow breaths. You can’t really see Midoriya besides the tufts of green curls barely seen at the head of the bed.

Shota’s glad to see the kid’s supposed Hero costume folded as neatly as the torn fabric can be, settled on the desktop in the corner of the room. He’d half expected to see the clothes Shota had given him there instead, but it’s both heartwarming and genuinely terrifying how much the teen trusts him.

“Shota...” Shota glances to where Hizashi is still taking in the kid, “who is—”

“Midoriya Izuku,” Shota whispers back bluntly, preparing for the worst. He winces as Hizashi whips around to face him, face dropping first into shock, then momentary fear before settling on fury. The blonde whips back to face the sleeping teenager, lips pressed in a scowl.

He’d known that Hizashi would piece the civilian name to the villain name just as fast as Shota had.

“Dek—”

Shota’s quick to slap a hand over Hizashi’s mouth before he can get the name out, his own Quirk glaring into at his husband. He chances a glance to where Midoriya has stirred faintly at the noise, but not woken up. His breathing is still slow and deep, so Shota’s fairly sure he’s still in a deep sleep.

He’d hoped that seeing the kid asleep, innocent and not trying to kill them, might’ve eased the news, but that was clearly a miscalculation.

Hizashi is glaring back at him just as fiercely to the point Shota thinks Hizashi might actually bite him, except he’s also looking at Shota like he’s lost his mind. Shota blinks, letting his own Quirk fall, but he doesn’t release his hand from the blonde’s mouth.

“Shut up,” Shota snarls quietly, before levelling his voice. “There is an explanation if you’ll let me talk. This is not what it looks like Hizashi, think rationally. I will explain everything, just not right here. He’s had a shit time and if you think I needed the sleep, the kid definitely needs it.”

He doesn’t pull his hand away until Hizashi gives a slow nod, though his eyes are still hard and he’s watching Shota like he’s insane. Maybe he is, who knows?

Hizashi licks at Shota’s palm, and the black-haired man scowls at the childish action as he rips his hand away from Hizashi’s face. He wipes his hand dry on Hizashi’s shirt, shooting him with an unamused glare, unsurprised to find Hizashi’s bright eyes glaring right back.

Hizashi doesn’t back down, that bright, challenging fury that Shota very rarely sees alit in his gaze. Though Hizashi is clearly pissed, he does keep his voice at a whisper as he hisses out his question through clenched teeth, “why the hell is there a villain in our guest room, Shota?”

“There’s not,” Shota refutes. “Please, Hizashi. You know I wouldn’t do anything stupid—”

“This feels pretty stupid, Shota.”

“—without good reason. I’ll remind you again, this is not what it looks like.”

“It looks like there is a villain on our school campus; there’s a villain in our home, Shota. Are you seriously going to tell me that’s not what this is? Deku is in our home. Do you have any idea how dangerous this is? What the hell are you even thinking— I know you’ve done some questionable things, Shota, but that kid tried to kill you. He tried to kill our students— he's a villain.”

“That’s not Deku, Hizashi,” Shota whispers, and he frowns as Hizashi rears back.

“What the hell does that even mean?”

“Look,” Shota rubs at his eyes, “let me explain before you come to your own conclusion without hearing all the information; don’t just condemn the kid without having all the facts. Now, let’s go to the kitchen, I’ll make you some tea and we’ll talk. I seriously don’t want to wake the kid up— he’s had a very rough night. Just... he's not who we know, Hizashi. Trust me.”

Hizashi’s shoulder square up like he’s going to keep fighting, but all at once he wilts.

The blonde frowns thoughtfully as he studies Shota’s face intently. The dark-haired man doesn’t know what his husband spots in his expression, but whatever it is has some of the fight draining from Hizashi’s tense body. Hizashi huffs a breath, as he looks away in what Shota can only call defeat.

The nod he gets in response is tiny, but honestly more than Shota was expecting.

Shota gives a nod of his own as he checks one last time to make sure the boy is still out before finally easing the door shut. He turns to head down the hall, but before he gets very far, Hizashi catches him by the arm, “listen to me though, if that kid tries anything, I’m going to burst his eardrums. I’m not kidding, Shota, I don’t trust him.”

“He won’t,” Shota assures softly. “Just let me explain.”

Hizashi gives a stiff nod as he lets his hand fall from Shota’s arm. The blonde glances back at the guest door before following Shota out to the main living space.

Hizashi sits at the table in the kitchen while Shota busies himself making tea.

The blonde is oddly silent; thoughtful as he watches Shota grab the mugs, tea bags and start the kettle. Every so often, Shota will see his husband glance down the hall like he’s ready for Midoriya to spring out from the shadows and kill them both.

Shota chooses to ignore it for now— Hizashi's wariness is good. Until he’s gotten an explanation, he should be cautious. Shota can’t fault Hizashi for being cautious when he doesn’t have all information. As far as Hizashi is concerned right now, there’s only one reality and that kid asleep in the guest room is the same person who’d attacked them countless times.

It would be illogical to not offer his husband some leeway until he’s been made aware of the situation.

Though if it continues like this after Hizashi’s been informed of Midoriya’s situation, Shota will put a stop to it. Midoriya is not a criminal, and he’ll be damned if anyone makes him feel like he is one any more than they already had at the station before figuring this whole mess out.

Shota can only imagine the damage that did to an innocent Heroics student seeking help in, what he assumed, was his own reality; searching out people you expect to be on your side and instead getting arrested for crimes you didn’t commit. That’s beyond fucked up, even if no one knew at the time. Everyone was in the same confusion boat.

As is, he’s already sure the kid will be returning to his reality with the trauma from those mistakes.

It doesn’t take long for Shota to prepare two mugs of tea to their liking. He grabs both and sets them on the table before plopping down in the seat across from Hizashi. The blonde is too busy watching the hallway to really notice, so Shota toes at Hizashi’s leg to get his attention.

“He’s not going to do anything,” Shota frowns as Hizashi’s attention slowly crawls back to him, a light frown on the blonde’s own face.

Hizashi squints at him before turning fully towards Shota as he wraps his hands around his mug, “you say that, but I can’t really believe you. He’s a criminal.”

“The kid’s asleep; I wouldn’t be surprised if he slept a good ten more hours.” Shota deadpans as he lifts his mug to his lips, “and that kid is anything but a criminal. Seriously, if I had any doubts about his character, he wouldn’t be here, Hizashi. I wouldn’t put you, or my students in harm's way and you should know that.”

“I do know that,” Hizashi’s face puckers up at Shota’s words. The blonde drags his hands down his face as he slumps back in his chair, “I have the utmost faith in you, and you know that but— but that’s Deku in there. Shota, this is insane; surely you know that?”

“I know it’s insane,” Shota sighs, leaning back in his own chair, “I know. Trust me, I know it’s insane, but you’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg here, ‘zashi.”

“Okay,” Hizashi huffs. “Okay, well, explain this to me then, Sho.”

And he does.

He tells his husband how he’d found Midoriya. Or, better yet, how Midoriya found him. He tells him of arresting the kid on the spot—disregarding everything he was saying because it really did sound insane. He tells Hizashi of the station, and Tsukauchi and Nezu, and that impossible ID card.

He leaves out some of the finer details for now, like the panic attacks— Shota refuses to use the kid’s emotional distress as any sort of convincing point, even talking to his husband.

He tells Hizashi of their alternate selves that apparently exist in a reality far from theirs but not all that different. He insists that Midoriya really is a 1-A student, even as Hizashi’s face pinches in disbelief. Shota wishes that he’d thought to keep Midoriya’s ID card as proof, but Hizashi will end up seeing it at some point or another, he’s sure.

He tells his husband how the kid had known things—things Deku could never. Specific things that you could only know if you really were a part of it. He doesn’t go into too much detail on that, not wanting to freak Hizashi out before he even actually meets the kid, but he expresses how spot-on Midoriya had been.

Hizashi listens dutifully, cradling his tea in his hands, but not drinking it. His eyebrows are furrowed as Shota speaks, and he’s really listening—probably picking Shota’s words apart as they go.

Hizashi is actually a very intelligent person under all the leather and boisterous personality—he'd been top of their class in school and he’s fluent in three languages, not to mention is capable of holding a conversation in a couple more, which in and of itself is remarkable. People don’t give him enough credit.

“That’s insane,” Hizashi offers when Shota’s finally finished. He doesn’t look as wary, but he still doesn’t look completely convinced either. It’s an eccentric story, even if it is the honest truth. “I just... I don’t even know how to really respond to this, Sho.”

“Yeah,” Shota agrees tiredly. He sips at cold tea, “I know it sounds crazy, ‘zashi, but it’s the truth. Deku would never be able to con his way through both Tsukauchi and Nezu. And I saw what that ID card did to the gate with my own eyes. That kid isn’t from here. I know you’ve never met Deku, but the kid in our guest room is not him.”

Hizashi is quiet for a long second, staring off into space instead of focusing on anything around them. Shota lets him wade through the information, finishing off his tea as he does so.

“Alternate realties though...” Shota looks towards his husband when Hizashi breaks the silence they’d settled into. “I do believe you, it’s just... this is— it’s, it’s—”

“Insane,” Shota offers drily. They’re using the word so much it’s starting to not sound like a real word anymore—but it’s still the only word that gives the situation any justice.

“Yeah,” Hizashi snorts. “Definitely insane.”

Hizashi pauses before finally sipping at his own cold tea, “it’s just hard to wrap my head around the fact that that kid, our Deku’s reality double, is a Heroics student. He’s a student at this very school in another universe somewhere. He’s a kid in your class where he’s from. Deku attacked this school. He attacked you.”

“They’re not the same person,” Shota shakes his head. “I mean, they are, in a sense, but they’re different. He’s a nice kid—I haven’t really figured him out yet, but from what I can see he’d be a good student to have.”

“I know, I know,” Hizashi reaches up to card his fingers through gelled hair. It’s at the point now where the gel is starting to lose its stiffness and strands are falling out of the updo and wilting. He’s in desperate need of a shower. “I get that. It’s just, it’s Deku. How’m I supposed to look at the kid and not see the villain who helped Shigaraki pulverize your head, ya’dig?”

“Just... meet the kid before you blacklist him, alright?” Shota rubs at his forehead with the knuckle of his thumb, “he’s got high expectations for us and he’d be devastated if any of us boycotted him for things he literally didn’t even exist in our world for. Deku’s actions are not Midoriya’s.”

“I hear ya,” Hizashi snorts, “I’ll give the kid a chance, but just know my threat still stands. One wrong move and his ears’ll be bleedin’, yo.”

“Reign it in, will ya?” Shota sighs. “He’d probably cry if he heard you say that. Wouldn’t shut up about you: how good of a teacher you are, your radio show, even your Hero career. It was almost cute—he got all stary-eyed and everything.”

He feels a little bad throwing Midoriya under the bus, and maybe a bit bad for digging into Hizashi’s weakness of hurting his ‘Listeners’ feelings, but it’s worth it when Hizashi turns to him in surprise, head cocked like a big, dumb golden retriever. “Really?”

Is it wrong of him to butter his husband up in hopes of easing the actual introduction between them later? Probably. Does he care? Not in the slightest. Whatever gets the job done. Besides, it’s all true. It’s not like he’s putting words into Midoriya’s mouth, the kid had literally launched into a full-blown worship rant about Hizashi.

Plus, he knows it’ll all go smoother if Hizashi already has a sense of Midoriya’s character. And Hero worship is about as far as Shota’s figured out at this point.

He has only known the kid for a couple hours.

“Oh yeah,” Shota manages a tiny smile, “his reality’s you made quite the impression on him. It’ll probably crush the poor kid if you threatened him.”

“You’re playing dirty now,” Hizashi whines, glaring halfheartedly at Shota.

The dark-haired man shrugs indifferently. No point defending himself when that’s exactly what he’s doing. They both know it, so it would be illogical to try. And Hizashi is one of the few people who’ll actually call him on his bullshit.

“Smh,” Hizashi pouts, “just for that, you’re on dishes duty while I go shower. And then you get to go pop in and show your kids that you’re alive. They were worried about your absence since you’ve never missed a day—not even after getting your face smooshed into the ground.

“I tried to tell them you were just caught up at the station, but then Kaminari convinced everyone that the only reason you were at the station and not at school was because you probably got arrested and couldn’t leave, so have fun with that one.”

“And you didn’t tell them I was working on something?” Shota frowns as Hizashi drains what’s left in his mug and slides it towards Shota’s own. They clink together softly, drawing Shota’s eyes down. The dark-haired man raises his gaze from the mugs again as Hizashi stands. “I’m literally a Pro Hero, what the hell would I be arrested for?”

“No idea, babe, I’m just the messenger,” Hizashi grins. He rounds the table and presses a quick kiss to Shota’s head, “I’ll be on my best behavior and shoot you a text if the little Listener wakes up.”

“I doubt he will,” Shota sighs, dragging his palms down his face, “I wasn’t kidding, he’s had a rough time. For his sake I hope he sleeps for a while. I can only assume reality jumping can have some negative effects on the body; I just hopes he sleeps them off.”

“Reality jetlag,” Hizashi nods solemnly.

Shota snorts in surprise, shaking his head at Hizashi’s antics.

“Go shower.” The man huffs, grabbing both mugs with one hand and shooing Hizashi away with the other, “I’ll wash these up, and then I’ll head down to check up on my gremlins. I guess I have to assure them I wasn’t incarcerated because my lovely husband didn’t think to plead my case.”

Shota turns to the sink as a cackling Hizashi disappears down the hallway.

It’s a few more hours until they see Midoriya.

Shota’s returned from being the responsible guardian he’s supposed to be, completely drained and wishing he’d chosen literally any other occupation then teaching. He leaves the dorm common area with a headache, and a newfound respect for these children’s parents.

How they’ve dealt with them for over fifteen years is a mystery to him, in the nicest way possible.

Why did he ever agree to being a temporary guardian for nineteen Heroic brats?

He’s not surprised to hear Midoriya hasn’t stirred at all after his hour with his students, even when Hizashi had poked his head into the room to check on him. The kid really was down for the count.

The two of them had had a nice quiet dinner of curry, making sure to set some aside for Midoriya for when he woke up. He’d probably be hungry; he hasn’t eaten since before Shota arrested him at least, and that was well over twelve hours ago by this point.

They’re at the table marking when Shota first hears movement down the hall, followed by the door easing open softly— that’s when Hizashi startles from his English assignments. Hizashi’s attention whips towards the hallway opening, leering to the side as if he could spot the teenager from his position. He can’t.

The two of them share a glance, but neither moves. Shota doesn’t want to crowd the kid, and Hizashi still holds that inkling of fear that Midoriya is actually Deku.

The bathroom door shuts, and Shota leans back in his chair. Hizashi has forced his attention back onto the assignments in front of him, but he’s no longer marking despite the narrowed eyes on the neat printing of Yaoyorozu’s essay. He’s waiting.

Midoriya is in the bathroom for a good ten minutes— enough time that Shota’s about to get up and check on him, but then the toilet flushes and the sink runs and not long after that, the bathroom door squeaks open.

Hizashi sucks in a breath as soft footsteps pad closer, but Shota just turns in his chair prepared to greet the kid and get the introductions out of the way.

He pauses before he can even open his mouth though.

The kid looks... well, bad.

He’s pale faced, but flushed bright red in the cheeks. He squints like the world around him in a raging sun and Shota can see flecks of pain in the kid’s eyes. He subtly holds his stomach and wobbles faintly as he steps. It’s overall concerning.

The tee-shirt lets Shota actually see the extent of the kid’s arms as well and it’s not a pretty sight. He’d thought the swollen wrists and hand scars were bad, but seeing the old scars and injuries that climb up the kid’s arms is horrifying. What the hell does that destructive Quirk even do to the poor kid? How has anyone let this continue?

Out of the corner of his eye, Shota sees Hizashi bristle too as his careful eyes settle on some of the worst scars visible. The blonde shoots him a look of concern that Shota can only reply to with a halfhearted shrug, and then Hizashi’s gaze is back on the teen, bottom lip drawn and being worried between his teeth.

Still, the Voice-Hero doesn’t draw any attention to himself, and the teenager doesn’t notice him.

Shota frowns as he turns fully towards the kid, “Problem Child?”

The kid jumps, and if that’s not a testament to his current state, Shota doesn’t know what it. The kid had been looking at them, hazy eyes on them, but almost unseeing. Like he didn’t process them as actual people in the room with him.

“Sensei,” Midoriya whispers, and there’s a faint slur to his voice.

Shota’s frown deepens as he takes the kid in entirely, “you okay?”

The kid’s dirty curls fall into his eyes as he bobs his head in a slow nod. His squeezes his eyes shut for a moment as he wavers in place. It’s quite the feat, almost falling over while stood in place. Shota’s about to get up and steady the kid when the teen slowly turns and pads softly towards the table, zeroing in on the last remaining chair.

Hizashi nudges the third chair at their table out with his foot, and Shota shoots him a thankful glance as the kid almost topples down into it.

“’m okay,” the boy eases down into the chair, lifting his hands to dig the balls of his palms into his eyes, “s’bright. Sorry.”

“You don’t look very okay, Problem Child,” Shota’s brow furrows, “we should probably take you down to see the nurse—”

“I don’t wanna bother Recovery Girl with this,” Midoriya gives a faint shake of his head that sets off a recoiling wince. Shota has to remind himself that Midoriya is a student at this school where he’s from, but Hizashi jumps in concealed surprise at the mention of their nurse. “She’s busy. Besides, I think it’s just... my body realizing it’s not in the right place, y’know? I was fine when I fell asleep.”

“So it’s an effect of the Quirk?”

The kid gives a thoughtless shrug before he shifts so he can cross his arms on the table top and settle his chin on his forearms. “It’s not that bad—I've had worse. At least nothing’s broken, right?”

And isn’t that worrying. Another red flag Shota knows he’ll never be able to leave well enough alone.

“If it is a side effect of the Quirk,” Shota starts slowly, shifting in his chair so he’s angled towards the child, even if Midoriya is tucking himself into a contorted pretzel sort of shape and doesn’t notice in the slightest, “we should probably monitor it. What’re your symptoms?”

“A migraine,” the kid offers softly without opening his eyes, “well, um, I think. I don’t know, I’ve never had a headache like this. It’s either that, or my head’s imploding— I really hope it’s not though. But besides that, I’m... kinda nauseous? And... my eyes hurt when I open them. And everything is just so bright. I’m s-sore—like, my arms hurt earlier, but... but everything hurts now.”

Shota narrows his eyes as he turns the symptoms over in his head, “you were throwing up in the bathroom just now, weren’t you?”

Shota’s not sure how the kid’s exhausted face manages to convey guilt in his state, but it does. And honestly, it’s all the answer he needs. He sucks in a breath and frowns deeply. Problem Child. Definitely.

“I thought I told you to come to me if you needed me?” Shota leans back in his chair, arms crossing over his chest as he eyes the kid. Midoriya’s forehead is cushioned on his forearms now, face hiding in the pit he’d created between his arms in an attempt to block out the light.

“Thought you’d be busy,” Midoriya croaks out, “sorry. I tried to sleep it off after I woke up, but then I felt very sick and I—I didn’t want to make a mess in your home. Sorry. Plus... I don’t think there’s much you could’ve done to help, Sensei.”

“Y’know, we wouldn’t have been mad if you did make a mess,” Hizashi finally speaks. Midoriya jolts up like he hadn’t realized Hizashi was even here, head jerking up so fast Shota thinks he’s given himself whiplash. “That’s definitely not something you can help and it’s not your fault, Kiddo, don’t apologize for it.”

“And especially don’t apologize for something that didn’t even happen,” Shota tacks on drily.

Shota feels like his words go straight over the kid’s head, since Midoriya is now staring wide-eyed at Hizashi. Hizashi looks startled at suddenly having the kid’s full attention. His husband shifts uncertainly, eyes darting between Shota and the teenager cautiously.

Shota fears for a second he’ll have to intervene, until the kid brightens considerably, “Present Mic-Sensei!”

Hizashi’s eyes widen in surprise, even though Shota had briefed him on this. He’d prepared his husband as much as he could, but no amount of warning and preparing could really make you ready for a Deku look and sound alike to beam up at you in unadulterated awe.

Shota had warned Hizashi that Midoriya wasn’t like Deku.

It hits Shota like a bus that Hizashi looks so shellshocked because this child recognized him so easily out of costume. It doesn’t happen often— Hizashi looks different out of costume and with his hair down. It’s part of the reason why he decided on such an out there Hero costume (and to embrace his adoration of leather). People don’t tend to realize they’re one in the same, because unlike most Heroes, Hizashi has created a whole Hero persona out of the more chipper and eccentric aspects of his own personality.

It’s probably terrifying that a Deku double had figured him out so easily.

He’s a bit surprised too, if he’s honest, but he knows more about Midoriya then Hizashi does. And Midoriya had known he and Hizashi were married, so as far as they know, Midoriya could’ve just pieced it together with what he already knows. Plus, who else would be in Shota’s apartment with him after hours?

That’s the thing though. Midoriya knows things—sees things. He really does have a knack for analysis and observation that very well could make him a threat. It did make Deku a threat, after all.

So, as surprising as it is that the kid knows him out of costume, it’s also really not.

Shota realizes a second to late that he and Hizashi have been quiet too long.

Midoriya breaks the silence, smile waning as he tugs at his own fingers nervously. “I’m very sorry to intrude in your home without your permission, Sensei. Aizawa-Sensei said it was alright, but... but it’s really not fair for you to be scared in your own home because of, um, because of me... I know it's probably difficult considering— considering everything that I-I... or, ah, w-what he’s done. Um, what Deku’s done. I understand if you’re not comfortable with me, uhm, staying here?”

Hizashi blinks as he absorbs the information before looking quickly towards Shota like the apology and empathy towards Hizashi’s situation is some sort of riddle with a hidden meaning. All the dark-haired man can offer in reply is a shrug, because he also doesn’t know what to make of the doppelganger.

The two may look and sound the same, maybe even think partially the same too, but Deku and Midoriya really are very different.

Shota just needed Hizashi to see that for himself.

“It’s fine, Lil’ Listener!” Hizashi grins as he finally lets his attention settle back on the slowly wilting teenager. The bout of energy had passed, leaving Midoriya reeling from the excitement in his unwell state. Shota doesn’t even know where the kid pulled the energy from anyways, he looks like he’s going to keel over any second.

Hizashi seems to notice the subtle shift too, because his voice lowers but keeps that bright edge when he continues, “I don’t mind you hanging here with us for a while, yo— it'll take some getting used to, sure, but I trust Eraserhead and he trusts you! I’m sure we’ll be buddies in no time, yeah?”

“You trust me?” Midoriya squeaks as he turns to glance at Shota with a similar awe in his eyes.

“Have you given me a reason not to?” Shota counters, cocking an eyebrow.

Hizashi reaches over the table to pat Midoriya’s shoulder, and it’s just such a trusting action that Shota thinks he falls even more in love with his husband in that moment. Hizashi is still scared—he can see it in his eyes, but he’s extending that arm to the kid because Shota’s vouching for him. “If Eraser didn’t trust you, you wouldn’t be here, Kiddo! Everything’s cool, ya’dig?”

Midoriya looks back at Hizashi as he pulls away before glancing at Shota once again. The teen’s expression softens and he manages a light nod as a tiny smile lifts onto his lips. “Thank you. F-for your hospitality and... um, and for trusting me.”

Shota flaps a dismissive hand, as Hizashi grins to the point Shota hopes he doesn’t start cooing at the poor kid. He should’ve known Hizashi would be completely and utterly weak against Midoriya’s charm. The soft, usually unwarranted apologies, and the thoughtfulness and the genuine kindness that no one in their right mind would associate with Deku.

“So,” Shota reigns in the conversation before Midoriya can apologize for anything else, “we ate while you were asleep, but something in the way you’re wincing at the mention of food right now tells me you probably aren’t interested in eating.”

The kid’s nose wrinkles in addition to the wince and he gives a nervous shrug. “I don’t think I could keep it down, Sensei. I don’t even have anything in me and I still feel really—” the kid swallows thickly, “sick.”

“Do you think you could stomach some tea then? The students have a really nice ginger tea in the kitchen downstairs. That might help settle your stomach?” Hizashi asks patiently, “or even just some water? You should drink something if you’re not going to eat. We’ll have to bring you to Recovery Girl if you get dehydrated; then we’d all get scolded.”

“Um,” Midoriya rubs at his forehead, and Shota wonders what kind of pain tolerance the kid has. “M-maybe some ginger tea? I don’t... know. I don’t want to be a bother, I can just... go back to sleep. I probably just need to orient myself. Hopefully.”

“Hizashi’s right,” Shota frowns, “you should drink something. And we talked about this: just because you’re in pain, doesn’t mean you need to suffer with it. We have Advil for a reason and I know for a fact a hot shower is known to help with a migraine. You do need to sleep it off, but you don’t need to do so without help.”

The kid stares at him with squinted eyes, before he deflates into his chair. The teen sucks in a breath, “showers help?”

“They do,” Shota nods, “heating and cooling packs will too, but I thought you might like to clean up as well. You look like you’ve been on patrol.”

“I was on patrol,” the teenager snorts as he drags a hand through his dirty green hair. “I didn’t realize I was so dirty— I mean, I think I got thrown into a wall, and I did wake up on the street. Um, sorry about your sheets in the guest room, I uh, I probably should’ve showered first...”

Shota swallows down an exasperated sigh, “I wasn’t worried about the sheets, Problem Child. It was just a fact. I thought you might want a shower, but you don’t have to take one.”

“Oh,” Midoriya blinks. “Um—”

“If you apologize again, I will make you run laps when you’re feeling better.”

The teenager’s jaw clicks shut, face contorting into a grimace as it vibrates his head. He reaches up to rub at his temples. “I w-would like a shower... um, if you don’t mind.”

“Perfect,” Hizashi stands, with a casual smile, “c’mon, Lil’ Listener, I’ll show you where everything is in the bathroom and how to work the shower; it can be a bit tricky, yo. And while we do that, Shota here will run downstairs to get you some ginger tea from his kiddos. Don’t you worry, they love to share!”

“Why do I have to run downstairs?” Shota drawls as he watches Hizashi usher the lagging teenager up to his still unbalanced feet. His hands hover like he’s prepared to catch him if he tips, but Midoriya keeps himself upright. The kid’s got a will of steel.

“They’re your students,” Hizashi snorts fondly. “It’ll be weirder for me to do it, and they’d probably think I was an intruder or something since I’m out of costume. C'mon, Sho! Do it for the Kiddo, look at this little face!”

“O-oh, um, yo-you don’t have to—”

“I’ll get the tea,” Shota huffs before the kid can finish, already standing and heading towards the door. “I really don’t mind, Midoriya, I was just teasing Hizashi for being demanding. He has a tendency.”

“You love it,” Hizashi scoffs dramatically as he leads the kid away, “while you’re down there, steal some of that delicious peach matcha tea Yaoyorozu has for me. She keeps giving me cups before class and now I’m addicted. It’s the bomb, ya’dig?”

Shota lets out an unimpressed hum, but despite the tone, both he and Hizashi know he’ll do as requested. He always does when it’s Hizashi asking.

And he knows Yaoyorozu adores when people enjoy her teas, it’s the only reason he’s entertaining Hizashi’s demand. She’ll probably be ecstatic to see Shota finally trying it since she’s offered it dozens of times and he always declines. “Uh huh.”

Shota returns after being caught by Iida and Yaoyorozu in the kitchen. His students greet him pleasantly, if not a bit surprised by his presence, as they ask if there’s anything they can help him with. It’s expected of the scion children.

The two are planning a study group for the rest of the students to participate in if they choose to, since there are a couple big tests on the horizon.

Shota gives a pleased hum as they inform him, before he rounds the table and beelines for the cupboard the kids dedicated strictly to tea (Yaoyorozu’s doing, he’s sure).

Yaoyorozu, as expected, brightens when Shota asks if he can have some of her teas, and he feels better when he walks away knowing he’d asked instead of just taken, even if he’s sure a couple teabags missing wouldn’t have even been noticed.

When he finally makes his way back upstairs, Hizashi is parked right back at the table, the end of his glittery red marking pen settled between his lips as he reads English essays.

Hizashi glances up out of habit, and grins widely when he sees the packages of not just peach matcha tea powder, but raspberry and vanilla as well. He’d asked for the peach, and had the other two selections shoved into his hands before he could decline. They’re all high-grade ceremony quality teas, and Shota doesn’t doubt they probably cost a pretty penny.

He might have to try a sip of Hizashi’s teas just to see what money tastes like.

Midoriya is still gone, but Shota doesn’t hear the shower running.

He shoots Hizashi a look of confusion, to which his husband smiles bashfully.

Hizashi had somehow managed to convince Midoriya to have a hot bath instead of a shower, which is probably for the best considering his balance isn’t quite up to par and they’d have more problems if the steam made the kid lightheaded while he was standing.

Last thing they need is for Midoriya to pass out. A concussion on top of everything else would just be the icing on top of the cake, wouldn’t it?

While the kid is in the bath, Shota gets to work preparing everything for the teas. He refills the kettle and grabs two mugs, the two they’d used earlier. He readies everything stopping just shy of turning the kettle on.

It’ll only take a couple minutes to boil when the kid’s out of the bath.

Midoriya isn’t in the bath long; soon he’s emerging from the bathroom with a fresh, fruity scent of Hizashi’s shampoo clinging after him. The tension in his body has eased a bit, but he still looks unwell. Pale and flushed, but now also looking exhausted.

He’d put back on the clothes he’d been wearing, and he even goes as far as to thank Hizashi excessively for the limited-edition radio merch. “I’ve never seen these, Mic-Sensei, I wonder if my Present Mic is coming out with a line like this! Thank you very much for letting me borrow it! It’s so cool!”

Hizashi shoots Shota a hidden dirty look when he finally spots the brand-new merch that won’t even be released for a couple months on the kid.

Shota snickers behind his hand as he waits for the kettle to boil.

The kid drinks the tea slowly, watching through squinted eyes as Hizashi marks the essays between sips of his own matcha tea. Shota has reclaimed his own seat, and is more or less just studying Midoriya, not that the kid notices.

The teenager manages to keep the tea down, even if there’s a few points where he recoils away from it like the scent makes him feel sick.

He still doesn’t bother to try eating any real food, even when Shota offers something easy to keep down like toast, or soda crackers. Shota doesn’t mind to much, he’s really just glad Midoriya managed to get something down. He’ll just make sure the kid eats something for breakfast tomorrow.

By the time Midoriya’s finished his tea, he’s pitching tiredly towards the table.

They send the poor kid off to bed with a gel cooling pack for the migraine, a dose of Advil and a glass of water for if he wakes up thirsty in the night. The kid disappears after bowing thankfully (mortifying yet again), and he’s down for the count once again when Shota checks on him half an hour later.

“He’s definitely not what I was expecting,” Hizashi hums when Shota returns from checking on the kid.

Shota can’t help the snort of laughter as he flops back into his chair, helping Hizashi pile up the essays. He can already see some not great marks, so some of the kids will definitely benefit from the study group, “I told you so.”

Wednesday, Alternate Reality

For the first time in a long time, Shota actually goes to bed with his husband and wakes up beside him in the morning. And, not only that, but Hizashi is the one who needs to get up first, and not him.

He’d gotten into contact with his agency after Midoriya was good and asleep, and with Nezu’s interference, had been given some paid leave to work on the confidential case that Nezu had insisted was priority. Though he’s not usually one for skipping patrol, Shota can’t argue that it's not a weight off his shoulder to not have to leave the Heroic student doppelganger of a villain alone in a Hero school.

He wants to keep an eye on not just Midoriya, but anyone who interacts with him too. Shota knows there will be some mixed feelings about his presence here, and he hates the thought of Midoriya taking the brunt of everyone’s dislike for Deku.

Hizashi though, unfortunately, still has his early morning patrol, so he rolls out of bed after pressing a sleepy kiss to Shota’s cheek and gets himself ready for his busy day of patrol and teaching.

The kid is awake when Shota finally stumbles out of his room.

“You’re up early,” he comments as he beelines for the coffee pot, pouring a cup and drinking it black. He savors the burn and bitter taste as he stares at the coffee pot for a second before turning to Midoriya and eyeing him carefully. “How’re you feeling this morning?”

“Much better,” the child chirps. “My head still hurts a bit, but besides that I’m good! And I’m always up this early. I usually go for my morning run around this time, but I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to go without you, so I did some sit-ups and lunges instead. All Might and I made a workout schedule that I try to follow every day.”

Of course, he’s one of those early morning exercise enthusiasts.

Shota really doesn’t know what he was expecting, but it should’ve been this. “Of course you do.”

Shota takes another gulp of his coffee as he tries to organize his thoughts. “You were right. For now, it would be better if you stuck close for a while—especially until you meet the students and we can gage their... reception of you— but besides that, Nezu will explain the guidelines he’s put in place for you today when we go see him before classes this morning.”

“That’s the only rule you have?” Midoriya cocks his head.

“Well,” Shota squints thoughtfully at the kid, “you’re my student in your reality, so I’ll assume the rules I’ve placed here match up decently to the ones you know. We could go over them, but I feel it would be a waste of time. You’re a smart kid, just use your common sense, okay?”

“Of course, Sensei!” Midoriya grins. Shota hides a smile behind the rim of his mug as the teen’s eyes light up along with the grin. “You don’t have to worry about me!”

He wants to tell Midoriya it’s not exactly him he’s worried about, it’s him he’s worried for.

Shota doesn’t think the gravity of this has really hit Midoriya yet—those he’s met in this reality thus far have believed him after some convincing. Not everyone will, and that’s dangerous. Deku is terrifying. He's a villain— and Midoriya is unlucky enough to be him, just on a different path of life.

“Well,” Shota sighs, dragging his fingers through his hair. He snags a knot from sleeping and works it out with his fingers, “I’m going to go get dressed and then we’ll go find you a uniform in roughly your size. There’s bound to be one somewhere in storage. I’m sure Nezu’s already working on getting you a fitted one, but you can’t make a very good impression in pajamas.”

The kid hesitates before nodding slowly.

“Good,” Shota finishes off his coffee, knowing damn well he’ll be getting another cup in the teacher’s office before classes start. “Why don’t you eat the curry we put aside for you last night, if you think you can stomach it, and take some more Advil before we leave to keep the remnants of that migraine under control.”

“Yes, Sensei,” Midoriya nods dutifully.

By the time he’s dressed in his Hero costume, sleeping bag tucked under his arm, Midoriya is just finishing up the curry.

It’s not hard to sneak out of Heights Alliance without being seen by the students. There’s a back door that Shota and Hizashi use when they don’t want to risk disturbing the students, and it makes for the perfect escape.

It’s still early enough that very few students are even in the school—since they switched to dorm life, they don’t have students arriving hours before school starts due to transportation issues.

Midoriya sticks to Shota’s side, but he looks to be taking everything in, probably trying to spot differences between his Yuuei and theirs. Shota would be lying if he said he wasn’t interested in that as well.

When they get to the supply closet, Shota digs through boxes as he tries to find a regular uniform in the kid’s general size, as well as a training uniform. He’s not quite sure if he’ll let Midoriya participate in anything yet, but better safe than sorry.

The kid looks relieved when he has a uniform in his hands, and it’s not something Shota can say he’s seen when handing a kid a uniform that will essentially be a second skin to them.

Their next stop is the washrooms so Midoriya can change into his uniform.

Shota feels a little better when the kid blends in with the rest of the students, but he’s still got a bad feeling about how this will play out. It’s hard not to have a bad feeling when he knows exactly how he, Nezu, Tsukauchi and Hizashi had all reacted to the kid’s presence.

The arrive at Nezu’s office next, and Shota frowns as he knocks on the door. As expected, Nezu’s chipper voice invites them in almost instantly.

“Ready?” Shota cocks his head in the kid’s direction.

Midoriya fiddles with his fingers and sucks in a breath nervously, “I know I saw Nezu-Sensei yesterday, but it sorta feels like I’m in trouble now, which is stupid because yesterday I was in handcuffs. I don’t know, there’s just something about going to the principal’s office that makes me nervous.”

“Welcome to my world,” Shota snorts drily. He doesn’t wait for Midoriya’s response, just pushes the door open and sets a hand on the kid’s shoulder so he can guide him into the office.

“Welcome!” Nezu chirps from behind the desk with a clap of his paws, “it’s very nice to see you again, Midoriya-kun, and I’m quite glad it’s under better circumstances then yesterday morning!”

“Good morning, Nezu-Sensei,” the teenager ducks his head, almost shuffling closer to Shota.

The man tucks his own face into his capture weapon as he leads them both to the two waiting chairs across from Nezu. Midoriya seems to be more skittish of Nezu then he is of Shota, and it makes sense when Shota thinks back to some of the things Nezu had said yesterday before they realized who Midoriya wasn’t.

He’d threatened an innocent kid with the most secure prison in all of Japan.

Honestly, how can Midoriya even look at them, let alone trust them after that?

“I trust you’re feeling better this morning?” Nezu smiles at Midoriya, angling his head towards the teen. “Aizawa-kun mentioned you were quite unwell yesterday evening. I can’t imagine reality hopping would be very kind to one’s body, but I’m sorry to hear you had such a poor time.”

“I feel a lot better,” Midoriya assures quickly, “Aizawa-Sensei and... and Yamada-Sensei were very kind even though I um, I know I make them nervous. Or, uh, Yamada-Sensei, at least. It probably would’ve been, um, worse if they hadn’t helped me. I wasn’t sure what to do when I got so sick so suddenly, but they... they both did know how to help. I’m very thankful.”

“I’m pleased to hear that, Midoriya-kun,” Nezu’s smile softens. “I apologize that people have been, and will continue to be, unfortunately, wary of you. Please don’t take it as a slight against your character, though I know it’s difficult not to. I really do sympathize with your position here.”

“Thank you,” Midoriya bows his head slightly. “I... I know people aren’t upset with me, but... but the me in your world. It’s very confusing, but it does... it’s sad because everyone here is... you’re all my teachers, but you don’t know me and I haven’t even met class 1-A yet, but they’re my friends in my reality.”

“That sounds quite difficult,” Nezu sympathizes offhandedly.

Midoriya gives a nod, wiping at wet eyes. It’s a dagger through his heart for Shota to see, but he knows there’s not much he can do. It’s not like he can force his co-workers or students to just be okay with Midoriya. The most he can hope for is them not immediately lashing out.

“Sorry,” the teen says after clearing his throat.

When he looks up again, the tears are gone. “Aizawa-Sensei said you had some rules?”

“Guidelines,” the principal corrects easily. “And some of these apply to both of you.”

Shota isn’t surprised by this—he'd expected it.

“Though I trust my staff, and my students, I believe it’s for the best that Midoriya-kun shadow you, Aizawa-kun. This’ll mean him attending all of your classes, including Heroics and when you’re teaching the second and third years. I would like you to keep him within sight during the school day. You’re welcome to have him participate in your lessons if you see fit, that will be completely up to you, but I trust we’re on the same page when I say no harm should come to him.”

“We are,” Shota gives a serious nod.

“But wait, what if I’m participating in something like Heroics?” Midoriya cocks his head, “I can hold my own, Sensei, I’m in your class. I have good Quirk control, and I’d never hurt anyone. I can take a hit too—it's unfair for them to have to hold back.”

“It’s not you I don’t trust, Midoriya,” Shota sighs, angling his head towards the teen, “you’ve gotta understand that people are afraid of Deku. Afraid of you. I don’t want an innocent sparring session to end with you injured, or worse, because someone gets scared and reacts in fear. I have good students, but fear is a dangerous emotion, Midoriya, and I can’t fault them for being scared.”

“This isn’t a punishment,” Nezu continues, “this is simply us being cautious for your wellbeing. Our knowledge of the Quirk you’re being affected by is quite limited. We don’t know what would happen if something happened to you; if you’re gravely injured or killed here, you very well might be in your reality too. There are too many unknown variables for us to just let you participate to the extent you’re used to, as much as I’d love to do so. We must face the facts here, as unpleasant as they are, your counterpart is a known villain. We are not in your reality, Midoriya-kun, even if it looks like we are.”

Midoriya wilts, managing a small defeated nod. It shouldn’t hurt Shota’s heart as much as it does, but it’s for the best. He can’t argue this—it would be illogical to do so. He’d rather have a sad Midoriya then a dead Midoriya.

“You won’t be benched,” Shota offers as consolation, even if he’s sure it doesn’t really help right now, “you’ll be restricted. I can handle my students, but I don’t want to see you hurt if someone starts something under the impression that you’re Deku, and I’m not fast enough to intervene.”

“I... understand,” the child whispers, and Shota really doesn’t believe him. He thinks Midoriya is offering up what he thinks they want to hear, and that he really doesn’t understand these restrictions. Shota has to remind himself that Midoriya is a child, and that to a child, this does seem unfair, even if it’s completely necessary.

If Nezu comes to the same conclusion, Shota doesn’t know. The rodent’s attention shifts between them before he clears his throat, “in addition, we should also try to keep Midoriya-kun away from Yagi-San, which we did mention yesterday. That, fortunately, I don’t see as being much of an issue, what with all the time Yagi-San has been spending working with the Detective and the third years since the school year started.”

Midoriya nods again, but this time Shota feels like he’s the one who doesn’t understand completely. Why does he get the feeling that there’s more to this specific restriction then meets the eye?

“Besides those two restrictions, I’d suggest you tread carefully when it comes to telling the rest of the staff and the students. I'm going to ask that you only do so when Aizawa-kun is around, Midoriya-kun. For the most part, I believe the teachers are fairly understanding—this isn’t the first wayward Quirk we’ve encountered in Heroics, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. We’ll still make it a general rule of thumb to avoid the name Deku, even if I suspect some might be able to connect the dots with just your name. Aizawa-kun managed, and I suspect Yamada-kun might’ve as well.”

Shota offers a shallow nod.

Nezu returns a nod like he’d expected as much. “I believe that covers everything for now. I will keep you both informed if I hear anything from Detective Tsukauchi. Please inform me of any incidents, and if my assistance is needed. I suspect there might be some unsavory encounters. You are a student at Yuuei, your ID card is proof enough of that, and I take my student’s safety quite seriously.”

They leave Nezu’s office pretty quickly after that.

Midoriya is oddly quiet, but Shota doesn’t have time to dwell on it. If he wants another coffee before homeroom, they’ll need to be fast.

The halls are filled with students at this point, it being so close to classes starting, but in his uniform and with his head ducked, Midoriya blends in well enough. It’s a blessing that Deku is as shy and careful as he is— his face isn’t well known, and even his civilian name has been kept fairly hush-hush.

When they arrive at the teacher’s offices, Shota holds the door open and gestures the kid in. He doubts Midoriya has been in the office in his Yuuei, since it’s rare for any student to be granted entrance and he thinks he’s right by how Midoriya bites his lip and hesitates.

It takes a second for them to be noticed, but when they are, the usual chatter dies off and Midoriya wilts in an attempt to make himself as small as humanly possible.

“Aizawa?” Snipe is the brave one to break the silence. They all know his students, and for the most part, most of the teachers know most of the students. Midoriya sticks out like a sore thumb. “Isn’t it a bit late in the year for a new student to be starting?”

“Hang on, I didn't hear anything about a new student,” Kayama turns to study the teenager. Midoriya shifts awkwardly, keeping his head ducked. “Was there an email or something sent out that I missed?”

“He’s not a new student, and it’s last minute,” Shota frowns, glancing quickly back at Midoriya quickly. “It’s not permanent. He’ll be sitting in during my classes only.”

“Just your classes?” Hound Dog cocks his head, “why? Don’t you teach first, second and third years? That’s a bit odd.”

Shota tucks his hands into his pockets as he squints at the group. He takes a second to study over each of them, mostly searching for Yagi’s face in the crowd, which is thankfully missing.

He hopes this doesn’t backfire.

“This—” he hesitates, suddenly unsure. It’s not like he can’t not tell them—they do deserve to know; it is a matter of security, really. Not just the school’s safety, but Midoriya’s as well. There will definitely be problems if someone misidentifies Midoriya as Deku and no one knows the boy is an innocent doppelganger in a bad situation. “—is Midoriya Izuku.”

It’s pin-drop silent as the introduction soaks in.

Shota watches on high alert as his co-workers faces twist as they process what he’s said. Some just look confused, while others settle into looks of fear and disbelief— he even spots anger flash across some of his co-worker's faces. Probably not good, but there’s no easy way to ease them into this. He doesn’t have time to introduce them all one by one, and he’s almost certain word of mouth would fly faster than he’s able to break the news if he’d tried.

Shota does a quick scan around the room as the silence gets heavier—more cautious. Most of the staff is staring at him like he’s insane, while others look genuinely scared.

Hizashi has perked up where he’s sitting at his desk, and Shota appreciates the pitying look he’s sending both Shota and Midoriya.

“Midoriya Izuku?” Vlad King repeats, tone hinting towards danger. A danger Midoriya recognizes, if the way he subtly shifts closer and half hides himself behind Shota is any indication. It’s a smart move, since Shota’s already squaring his shoulder and scowling right back at the bulky man.

“That can’t seriously be…” Kayama stares in disbelief, “if that’s really... him, he should be in cuffs. He should be in prison. How the hell did he even get on campus, Aizawa? What’s he done to you and why the hell are you so calm? He’s dangerous—”

“No,” Shota scoffs, trying to keep himself for letting the irritation show. This is worse than he’d expected—he'd at least thought they’d let him explain. Hizashi had been shocked too, but he’d let Shota explain before letting his emotions get out of control. “He’s done nothing wrong, now would you all just—”

“The villain’s obviously done something to Aizawa!” Snipe growls in horror, “there’s no way Aizawa would let Deku wander free like that, not around the kids! Not after the USJ! Someone restrain Deku before he does something! Call the police!”

“Hang on a second,” Shota snaps, stepping fully in front of Midoriya as his Quirk flares just in case any of his co-workers decide to try and use theirs—Kayama specifically who could put them to sleep. Most of the staff bristles when his Quirk strips theirs away, and he knows they’re offended he’s using his on them.

He sees Hizashi rising to his feet as well, ready to join in defending. Hizashi’s voice is low and calming, placating, “hey, hey, hey everyone just calm down a bit, ya’dig? There’s obviously a reason for all this, yeah? Listen to what Aizawa's gotta say.”

“Calm down?” Vlad snaps, stalking towards Shota, but still keeping his distance like he’s afraid the cowering child behind Shota will suddenly spring up and attack him. “You want us to calm down when Aizawa’s brought him into our school, Mic? What reason could there be for Aizawa to have a villain with him?”

Hizashi flounders for a second before his expression hardens.

Shota’s jaw twitches as anger settles in his stomach.

“Listen,” Shota snarls, “you all need to calm the hell down. This kid did nothing to me, and he’s done nothing to any of you either, so back the fuck up, or I’ll make you. This is not Deku. He’s...” Shota’s anger lapses as he tries to decide of what Midoriya could be—something that will get the message across without being completely ridiculous, or mind boggling, because he’ll give them the benefit of the doubt to be shellshocked when it comes to alternate reality jumping Quirks.

Besides, he needs to focusing diffusing the situation before things get out of control; the explanation can come after when everyone has cooled off enough to logically think. “He’s an exchange student.”

“From where, Tartarus?” Vlad snarls, arms crossing over his chest. Shota bristles at venomous quip, twitching with a need to strangle Vlad with his capture weapon. “That vile villain belongs in prison, Aizawa, not in our school! You know exactly what he’s done!”

“How can he be an exchange student?” Thirteen shifts nervously. Shota’s at least glad they aren’t letting fearful anger take over, but genuinely terrified isn’t much better. He does understand though, Thirteen had also been at the USJ when Deku and Shigaraki had launched their attack. “Aizawa, don’t you remember what he did? He’s a villai—”

“Now, now!” Nezu pops up behind them. “Everyone, please take a second to collect yourselves. Aizawa-kun is accompanying our guest, and that was not a very warm welcome he received from the teachers of this fine educational establishment.”

Midoriya startles at the sudden appearance of the principal, Shota does not. He’s used to the rat popping up at random times from literally anywhere.

“I must say, teachers,” Nezu continues, nose twitching in that tiny tic that conveys his anger, “I’m quite appalled in what I’ve just witnessed. I had hoped my staff would consider the fact that Midoriya-kun is here accompanied by a trusted Yuuei teacher, wearing a school uniform and very obviously not restrained in any way, but it seems you were all too quick to emotions to think rationally. That’s disappointing.”

“Nezu-San, that’s—”

“Our newest student who will be here for an undetermined amount of time, approved by both the police department, as well as myself,” Nezu cuts off with a clipped voice. “The child with Aizawa-kun is not the villain Deku, although they share an uncanny resemblance, no? And, if you had waited a moment, and let Aizawa-kun explain as he’d been trying to do, instead of verbally and very near physically attacking a student under the protection of this very school, you would’ve known that.”

“He’s a student under Yuuei’s what—”

“Since you wouldn’t let Aizawa-kun explain Midoriya-kun's presence, I will, and in doing so, you will all be receiving a formal reprimand for your carelessness and failure to logically assess a sensitive situation of high stress. I’m quite disappointed. I must say, I expected as much from the students, but not seasoned Pros. Truly concerning. How can I trust you to teach the students to think with their heads and not with their hearts when you are not setting an example. Jumping to a conclusion whilst ignoring the facts laid before you is dangerous—not just for yourselves, but for everyone involved.”

“But, Nezu-San,” Vlad digs his own grave, “Deku’s a villain—”

“He certainly is,” Nezu agrees darkly, “Deku is a villain, but Midoriya-kun is not.”

The rodent steps past Shota and Midoriya, and Shota sees the bright colours of Midoriya’s ID from his reality held in Nezu’s paws, which are laced together over the small of his back. Proof. Good. It’s hard to deny the card. Shota had tried when he first met the kid, but it truly is Nezu inspected authentic. Hell, it’s a reality difference short of their Yuuei's security accepting it.

The rodent hands the card to the first teacher he reaches, who just so happens to be Vlad himself who'd decided to act as a protector, positioning himself between the other teachers and Shota and his student.

Vlad takes the card without looking away from Shota as he does so. They’re leveling each other heated glares and unlike every other time Vlad sparks up that stupid class rivalry, Shota is not about to back down.

Nezu makes a clicking noise with his tongue, voice stiff when he continues, “Sekijiro-kun, I’m going to have to ask that you cease the glaring, I understand it’s considered quite rude to you humans. Now, please study, then circulate the card in your hand around to the rest of the staff. I trust you all will be able to identify exactly what it is you’re being shown. I would like everyone to take a good look at that card before another word is said.”

Nezu’s voice holds a finality that none of the teachers are stupid enough to challenge. He’s incredibly scary for a creature so small.

“Oh,” Nezu hums as an afterthought, “and, please be careful with it; it is not ours to damage, and it will be returned exactly as it was lent to me. In pristine condition. Please have a very good look at that ID, and then, when you’re satisfied, pass it to the next person and take a seat at your desk. We’re going to be having a discussion.”

Vlad glares at Shota and Midoriya for a second longer before finally managing to drag his gaze down to the card in hand. Shota takes pleasure in the way his eyes widen and his jaw goes slack. He squints down hard at it like he just can’t process it, jaw then clenching as he quickly flips it over, inspecting the back intently before flipping it back around to Midoriya’s face.

His brows furrow as he glares down at the card, “this can’t be—”

“It is,” Nezu says flatly. “Make note of the date it was issued, and then pass it on, Sekijiro-kun. There are a lot who need to see that and we have very little time before you all need to get to your classes.”

Slowly but surely, Midoriya’s ID card circulates around to all the teachers. Shota does not move, and behind him, Midoriya is frozen in fear too. His heart breaks for the kid. More trauma to add to his growing collection—the teachers he knows and trusts literally taking one look at him and condemning him on spot. Perfect.

Shota had known this could be a possibility, but that didn’t prepare him for it actually happening.

“Aizawa-kun?” Shota lowers his glare to Nezu before he can think to settle the dark look.

Thankfully, his boss doesn’t seem to mind.

The office is near silent, everyone sitting at their desks like scolded school children. There’s a general weight of confusion in the room, but also levels of varying guilt. It shouldn’t make Shota as pleased as it does. Though guilt doesn’t help the trembling child behind him.

Nezu sends a sharp glance over his staff before turning back to the Underground Hero and his student, “please grab what you came in for and then take Midoriya-kun out to calm down before classes start. I will explain the situation to our staff, and I trust they will take my explanation seriously if they didn’t bother to take yours. Now, I’m sure you’ll have your hands full come homeroom, so, please make haste. If any class shouldn’t be left to their own devices for long, it’s class 1-A.”

Shota only does as directed when Hizashi takes his place as Midoriya’s human shield. Hizashi, the saint he is, crouches down and says something Shota’s to angry to make out to the boy, and Midoriya gives a shaky nod in response.

When Hizashi’s stands up to his full height, Shota finally sets away towards the coffee pot.

He doesn’t delay pouring himself a mug of coffee, shooting his co-workers a dark look as he does so.

He can’t believe not one of them considered the possibility that there was more to the situation then what they saw. Not a single one of them took a second to assess the situation past the knee-jerk reaction of Villain!.

He really does understand it’s insane— he’d been there just yesterday, but Midoriya had had him vouching for him this time. It wasn’t like the kid just strolled into the school by himself. He was in a uniform; he’d passed their high-tech security and he was being escorted by a trusted member of the staff. The explanation was being offered to them, even if none of them cared to listen to it.

He knows his reaction wasn’t much better, but the difference there was no one knew what the hell was going on when Midoriya first approached him. There wasn’t anyone offering an explanation to Shota; there was just a teenager who introduced himself as the current most feared villain in Japan, after essentially tracking down him on patrol. Of course he’d be on alert.

But when they’d taken a second to really think, to assess the situation and when an explanation had been offered; to him, and Tsukauchi and Nezu, they’d listened. They’d been convinced.

His colleagues didn’t have that excuse.

Shota takes his coffee and stalks back to Midoriya, knowing his aura is dark and angry by the way Hizashi frowns softly when he draws closer. Shota shakes his head when Hizashi looks like he’s debating saying something, and the blonde just nods knowingly, stepping away when Shota was close enough to the teen to set a guiding hand between the boy’s shoulder blades.

He pushes the office door open with his elbow and doesn’t bother looking back, just ushers the child away from the threats. He’s quick to get them away from the office, guiding Midoriya though the halls swiftly. The teen keeps pace silently, eyes downcast.

“How are you holding up?” Shota asks when they’re far enough away from the office that Midoriya has almost stopped trembling. Shota’s not used to having a student tucked so close to him, but he knows it would be cruel to push Midoriya away after that.

He wonders what sort of bond Midoriya’s Aizawa has with his students, and wonders further if its anything like Shota’s own with his kids. They’ve all definitely gotten closer since moving into the dorms, but he wonders if Midoriya himself had played the part of glue holding them all together. It wouldn’t surprise him.

“Uhm okay. I, um, I’m okay,” the boy stutters out, looking anything but okay. Shota glances down at him, mouth pulling into a frown when he notices the kid fisting at his white shirt, just over his heart. His entire fist is a pale bone-white as his grip clenches. “You... you warned me. I-I should’ve been... I should’ve been prepared for something like that. It was just... I thought Vlad-Sensei was going to— I thought he was gonna— y-you were right, Sensei.”

For the first time in Shota’s life, he wishes he wasn’t right. He wishes he’d been wrong, and that the other teachers had hesitantly accepted Midoriya like Hizashi had. What a fucking mess.

“I don’t know if...” Midoriya swallows thickly, and Shota glances down once again and sees bright, watery eyes staring back up at him, “I don’t know how I’ll take m-my friends doing that, Sensei. M-my classmates. It was b-bad enough my t-teachers did, but I don’t know if I can handle m-my friends saying things like that. I-I feel sick—”

Shota stops walking now, uncaring that the bell goes off just as he does and the halls are suddenly empty as kids scurry to class. Midoriya stops too, but only because Shota grabs a handful of the blazer where his hand hadn’t moved from where he’d been guiding the kid. “Midoriya,” he calls softly, “wait a second.”

“Y-you’re going to be late, Sensei,” Midoriya turns to him with glassy eyes. His shoulders are shaking, and his face is pinched like he’s trying so hard to keep that mask of okay on. “You’re n-never late.”

“Do you want to do this today?”

The kid wilts like he’d suddenly realized Shota can see he’s not holding it together as well as he thinks he is. More tears rush to his eyes, but he’s quick to wipe them on his sleeve.

“You don’t need to do everything at once, Midoriya,” Shota tells him calmly. “You deserve a second to decompress and think about this. That was hard, and that was grown adults who should not have jumped to conclusions the way they did. I truthfully don’t know how my students will react to this, and I can’t be sure they won’t react similarly to the teachers. This is... it’s a lot to process, Kid.”

Shota pauses, surveying over Midoriya, but he’s still just trying not to cry, “just remember, Problem Child, there’s nothing wrong with needing a bit of time to process what just happened. I can get Hizashi to cover my homeroom class if you want to go back to the apartment for a while. You do not have to force yourself to do everything today. There’s nothing wrong with needing a break.”

“No,” the kid whimpers, rubbing harder at his eyes, “I-I need to know. I need to do this. I can’t... I can’t just relax if I’m afraid of what they’ll say—what they’ll do. It-it's like it’s looming over my head and suffocating me. I know they’re not my friends b-but they are. To me.”

“Okay,” Shota nods, “I understand.”

Midoriya is still sniffling, rubbing his eyes raw like he’s trying to press his tears back into his eyes before they can fall. Shota feels awful. This is a child who’d suddenly been dumped in a place where he’s public enemy number one. Where everyone he knows and loves considers him a villain and are treating him accordingly. That would be a hard pill for anyone to swallow, but this is a child. “What do you need right now, Midoriya?”

There’s a pause.

Midoriya shifts awkwardly at Shota’s side, still wiping at his eyes. The underground Hero waits patiently for an answer, whether it be a request for something, or just an unconvincing ‘nothing’ from the teenager that Shota won’t push.

“Can—” the teenager cuts himself off, choking on a stuttered breath, “c-can I just... can I have a hug, Sensei? T-that's probably a weird request, and I’m sorry, I-I— I just—”

The man doesn’t bother answering, just wraps an arm around the kid and tries not to feel that annoying flurry of heartbreak and fondness cloud his chest. Midoriya cuts himself off abruptly, melting into the hug. He returns it with enough force that Shota wobbles momentarily in an attempt to keep them both standing. The teenager hardly wastes a second before burying his face in Shota’s capture weapon, and lacing his arms around the man’s upper chest.

He wonders how long the kid had been craving affection as simple as a hug; too scared to ask for it but needing it. Or, maybe he didn’t think he could ask for it here. There’s probably a lot going on in the kid’s head that he couldn’t even begin to understand.

Shota blows out a sigh through his nose as he lets his chin fall onto the top of the teenager’s head.

He lets his hand rub up the kid’s back, careful not to spill the coffee in his other hand.

The hug doesn’t last long, Midoriya tearing himself away carefully and taking two tiny steps back when he decides it’s been long enough. He gives a water half-smile as he roughly drags his sleeve over his face. “Sorry.”

Shota frowns, but doesn’t bother saying anything. It's starting to seem like a lost cause to get Midoriya to stop apologizing for things he can’t help. And Shota doesn’t think he really needs a reprimand, as soft and logical as it is, after what just transpired.

“I’m ready,” Midoriya does manage a nervous little half-smile. “I think.”

Shota gives a nod, and doesn’t question him. He can’t keep pushing, even if it does feel like Midoriya is trying to take everything in too fast. He’s trying to rush this, and Shota fears he’ll only end up getting hurt that way. Still, it probably shouldn’t be delayed, and if Midoriya is ready to do it, they should while he’s got his nerve.

They walk side by side the rest of the way to the 1-A classroom. Shota can hear his kids from down the hall. Bickering and chatting. Laughing. Iida’s voice trying to corral them, and settle them down. He sighs internally. They pause for a second outside the door, and as they do, the room falls silent and desperate shuffles are the only sound.

Midoriya’s nervous expression dips to one of amusement for just a second before the fear and anxiety is back full force. He shuffles anxiously, staring at the door like it’ll magically open and eat him.

Shota waits another second for good measure, sipping at his coffee. He brushes the kid out of the way carefully as he throws the door open. The silence carries on as he glares uninterestedly into the room, all eyes on him.

“We have a guest,” he tells the students without greeting them. Straight to the point. “I have a... personal student who will be sitting in on all of my classes for a while, so I expect you all to be respectful.”

Shota steps into the room and gestures the teen in behind him. He gives Midoriya props for how he manages to keep his head held high, even as he jitters anxiously in place after settling a step or so in front of Shota.

The boy scans the room, offering a bashful half smile, “h-hi.”

“Class,” Shota gestures the hand not holding his coffee towards Midoriya, “this is—”

“Deku!” growls a familiarly angry voice, and then Shota hears the telltale sound of crackling sparks as an ashen-haired blur barrels at the green-haired teen. Midoriya braces for impact, protecting his face and the most Shota can do in that blink of a second is cancel out Bakugou’s Quirk so no serious damage can happen.

The blonde doesn’t seem bothered as his Quirk is erased, continuing straight for Midoriya. He doesn’t waste a second as he grabs two fistfuls of the other boy’s uniform and lifts him up threateningly so only Midoriya’s toes are on the ground. The green-haired teen looks afraid, but... not as afraid as Shota would’ve expected.

“What the fuck’re you doing here, Deku?”

Shota silently morns his mug of coffee as he prepares to drop it so he can get both hands on his capture weapon and restrain Bakugou.

He feels like an idiot for forgetting— of course Bakugou Katsuki would know what Deku looks like. He’d been kidnapped by the League. He’d probably interacted with Deku, not that the teen told them much about what the League of Villains actually wanted with him.

Shota had expected for none of his students to piece it together when he introduced the kid. Midoriya Izuku was not a name that was circulated; the news outlets, and other Heroes spread the name Deku. Easily remembered with no chance of confusion. He hadn’t even said Midoriya’s name, and already the entire class knew. Fuck.

“K-Kacchan, please!” Midoriya winces, not fighting back whatsoever. Shota’s mouth dries at the... the childish nickname? Were he and his Bakugou Katsuki close in his reality? Shota never would’ve guessed that one. “Don't do this, you're a Hero now!”

Just as Shota’s about to drop his coffee mug and whip his capture weapon around Bakugou, the ashy-haired teen roughly shoves Midoriya away as if the green-haired teenager had physically burned him. Bakugou recoils, tugging his hands into his chest as he takes three measured steps back, shaking in place as Midoriya stumbles back into Shota.

The coffee sloshes over onto his hand when Midoriya makes impact, but he can’t even begin to care about the burning pain of hot coffee sinking into his skin.

What?

“Who—” Bakugou looks like he’s suddenly seen a ghost, pointing a shaking finger at Midoriya, “who the fuck is that?”