Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

She’s woken by a light drifting through the cracks in the boarded up window of her makeshift home. She blinks into the light and sighs. Her body groans in protest as she sits up, her threadbare blanket falling from around her. She sits for a moment staring at the large hole in the wall contemplating whether or not to go to school today. She knows she will go, but it’s nice to think that she might skip just this once. But no, she can’t do that. If she skips school, the teacher will be required to call her current fosters, and if they call her current fosters then her current fosters will notice she’s gone and they will call Mrs. Fujioka and she’ll be required to report her missing, then the police will look for her and she’ll undoubtedly be found and sent back to her current fosters, or, more likely, be sent somewhere far worse. At least the current ones ignored her. So no, she can’t skip school today. 

She stretches and slowly climbs from her little cot. There’s no running water in this shack, so she grabs her last bottle of water and makes do to try and wash her face and swish some in her mouth. Next is her uniform, the various patches and loose stitches obvious to anyone willing to look close enough. As she pulls it on, her eyes can’t help but travel to the jagged vertical scars on her wrists. She lets her fingers drag across the raised skin for a moment, first on the right side and then the left, feeling the familiar numbness enveloping her. She’s sure she should feel something when faced with what she has done, what she tried to do, but she just feels tired. Soon enough she shakes herself out of her stupor and tugs her sleeves down to hide the evidence.

With one more sigh she grabs her bookbag, all her precious notebooks shoved inside, and heads toward Aldera Middle School. The walk is unfortunately not very long, so she doesn’t have to wait more than a couple minutes before the slurs and mocking begin. Somebody trips her right before she makes it through the front doors, making her fall on her face. She is then stepped on by at least three more people before she’s able to get up and dust herself off. A teacher nearby scolds her for loitering in the doorway and she nods her apology. She makes it to class and finds a bouquet of spider lilies sitting on her desk. She doesn’t even blink as she picks them up and places them under her desk to be dealt with later. Pulling out her most recent notebook, she lets herself get lost in analyzing a new hero who debuted the previous day. There had been news coverage in a nearby electronics store, so she had quite a few observations already written down. Both the hero and the villain had such interesting quirks and it almost made her smile as she watched. She’s long since given up being a hero, but analyzing quirks still gives her something to do in her spare time. So she uses the less damaged pages to organize her thoughts about what she saw and how either quirk could have been used differently. She lists out their weaknesses and then how they could have covered them better. She writes about ways the villain could have won, or how the hero could have ended the fight faster. She writes and writes, the world around her falling away.

Unfortunately, that's when Kacchan arrives. He and his buddies make their way over and her notebook is swiped away from her. When she reaches for it, she is shoved back, forcing her to fall from her seat.

"What are you writing so much about, Dumb Deku?!" Kacchan reads the cover of the notebook. "What's this?! You still trying to be a hero?! When will you learn that you're nothing but a waste of space, a useless Deku!" His hands start to spark when the teacher finally walks in.

"Bakugou, no quirk use." Kacchan rolls his eyes and drops her notebook with a sneer. "Deku, stop provoking the other students and get back in your seat."

Izu nods, climbing back into her desk. She keeps her head down and clings to her now singed notebook. Class continues without much fanfare. The teacher announces something, but Izu isn't really paying much attention, and then assignments are handed out. Izu completes her work quickly, turning it in and receiving a glare from the teacher. She knows she got everything right on the assignment, but she also knows that she'll either get marked down for some made up reason or be accused of cheating. Since she was the first to turn it in, she's going to go with the former. But Izu really can't be bothered to care. She just sits back down and opens up her notebook to continue writing. Her analysis notebooks are her weak tether to this world. Without them, she might as well be dead. Heck, with them she might as well be dead.

She shakes her head at the thought and scratches at her wrists. Mrs. Fujioka told her to stop thinking that stuff. She said if Izu wanted to be able to stay in a good home, she had to try and be normal.

But who is she kidding, Izu will never be "normal". She's just a weak, pathetic, useless deku. She's not worth the air she breathes. 

The final bell rings and Izu is brought out of her spiraling thoughts by her notebook being torn from her grasp once again. "Stupid Deku, if you want a quirk so bad, maybe you should take a swan dive off the roof of the building and pray for one in your next life!" Kacchan then explodes her notebook and throws it out of the window. He gives her a good, quirked shove, burning new holes in her uniform, before strutting out the door with his lackeys following close behind. He didn't stick around to beat her up today, but those words are almost worse than anything he could have done to her physically. She may get told to kill herself everyday by everyone else in class, but Kacchan, her Kacchan, has never said anything like that before. He beats her up, sure. Uses his quirk on her. Even calls her useless and worthless. But he’s never told her that she should die. Never that.

Feeling the now familiar crushing despair beginning to drown her, she wipes away her tears and grabs her bag, running out the door and down to the koi pond where Kacchan threw her notebook. It didn't fall in, but it was close. It is, however, burned all the way around and some of the pages are now illegible. Tears now flowing faster, she turns and begins walking a familiar path. She begins walking home.

The route is still familiar even if she hasn’t lived in that apartment since her mother left her all alone. The walk is both comforting and absolutely soul wrenching. She tries to pretend that she’s heading home to a mother who loves her. A mother who will make her a snack and ask about her day. A mother who is warm and alive. But once she makes it to the familiar street, the familiar building within sight, the weight of reality settles on her shoulders and she turns around to walk back the way she came.

She gets about halfway back to the school when she feels slime crawling up her body, sinking into her mouth and nose. It suffocates her as she listens to it call her a “meat shield”. It’s apparently running from something and killing her is its only escape. The slime continues to shove its way inside of her and she almost gives into the darkness that is seeping in around the edges when a blast of wind knocks her and the slime-being back.

She jolts awake to find AllMight standing over her. “HELLO THERE! GLAD TO SEE YOU’RE OKAY! I SIGNED YOUR NOTEBOOK BUT I MUST BE OFF NOW!”

She wants to stop him, to finally have someone to help her. She doesn’t realize she has grabbed onto his clothes until they are suddenly high in the sky and flying through the air. Her hero yells something about her letting go but she doesn’t really understand what he’s saying.

They land on a nearby roof and he takes a moment to scold her about latching onto him and slowing him down. He then continues on to yell at her about taking up a hero's time and that he needs to be on his way. And then he’s gone. 

And she’s alone. 

On a rooftop.

Kacchan’s words echo in her head, “ Take a swan dive off the roof of the building and hope for a quirk in your next life!”  

As she looks around the rooftop, the wind whipping around her, she starts to think that’s not such a bad idea. Thanks for the advice, Kacchan. A serene smile makes its way slowly onto her face as she thinks of the old times with Kacchan. He was her best friend, they did everything together. He’s the smartest person she knows. The only one who knew her before. If he says she should jump, maybe she should.

She steps up to the fenced ledge and looks down. The wind whips harder around her as she slips off her sneakers. She pauses for a moment to think about leaving a note. She should leave one for Kacchan, her Kacchan. He needs to know that it’s okay. That he was right, like always.

She pulls her backpack off her back, it’s still covered in slime, and opens it up to find her burned notebook. The scorched pages are ironically perfect for what she wants to write. When she opens it up, she finds AllMight’s signature and tears prick at her eyes, but she is quick to wipe them away. She is finally going to have peace, this is no time for tears. She decides to write her note on the back of AllMight’s signature so Kacchan can have it. 

Dear Kacchan,

Thank you for being my friend. I know you didn’t want me after everything, but I’m still glad to have once been able to call you my best friend. You are still the best person I’ve ever known. I know you'll be a great hero someday. I believe in you, Kacchan. You're the only one left who even remembers who I was before, the only person left in the world whose opinion matters to me, so if you think it’s my time to go, then I trust you. Thank you for the advice, a roof will definitely work. I’m just sorry we couldn’t be hero partners together. I know you'll make us all proud.

Goodbye forever,

Deku

She can’t help but smile knowing Kacchan will get her note. That he’ll know how much he meant to her. With that completed, it is finally time for her to be free. Free from the sadness. Free from the exhaustion of just existing. Free from this life. She carefully climbs over the railing and stands on the edge. She thinks she can hear someone behind her, but she shakes off that thought. What are the odds of someone being on this random roof in the middle of the city at this time of the day? She takes a deep breath and just as she takes that next step she hears a soft, “Wait, Kid. Don’t do it.”

She turns and finds Eraserhead, the greatest underground hero ever, The Eraserhead, standing just a few meters away from where she left the note for Kacchan on her shoes. She smiles at the man to let him know everything is okay, but he just furrows his brow even more.

“It’s nice to get to see you, Eraserhead, sir. I’m glad you’re the one who found me.” And then she lets go.

She’s free-falling for only a few moments before something wraps around her wrist and she is jerked to a stop, her arm being wrenched from its socket. She cries out in pain before she starts sobbing, desperately trying to unwrap the cloth from around her wrist as she can feel herself being pulled back up to the roof of the building. She almost screams as her body eventually crests over the railing and she collapses into her savior.

Eraserhead holds her tightly, but is gentle around her dislocated shoulder. “It’s alright, Kid. Everything is gonna be alright now, you’ll see. Whatever it is that brought you to this moment can be fixed. You’ll be okay.”

She sobs and tries to get away from him for a few minutes, desperately reaching for the edge of the building. As she struggles, he continues talking to her, hushing her cries and telling her that everything will be okay. Her wrestling gets weaker and she eventually stops, but her sobbing becomes that much louder. She can’t stop the tears streaming down her face as what has just happened and why hits her over and over again. She was so close. So close to being free. So close to seeing her mom again. So close to it all being over. All because Kacchan told her to and All Might left her here, the perfect place to do it. How could all of that have lined up so perfectly and yet it still not work?

Eventually her cries lessen and she is left feeling empty. Eraserhead pulls out a phone from somewhere and calls someone, but Izu’s head is too fuzzy to really hear what is said. Once he ends his call, he carefully picks her up bridal style and carries her through the empty building and out to the street where an ambulance meets them. He gently sets her down on a stretcher and follows the EMTs into the back. They ask her a bunch of questions, but she refuses to answer, choosing to just stare straight ahead as her mind buzzes. It’s only once they arrive at the hospital that she realizes Eraserhead has been holding her hand the entire way.

She is checked into the hospital and brought to the pediatric floor where they pop her shoulder back into its socket. They run a few tests and then take her to a room to be observed for the next twenty-four hours. Eraserhead tells her he’ll be right back before he leaves her to settle in for the evening, a nurse watching over her until he returns. She pulls on the hospital gown, used to the suicide protocols, and crawls into the waiting bed. The door opens and she hears footsteps enter, much louder than those of Eraserhead.

“Deku?! What the heck are you doing here?!” A familiar voice shouts.

The nurse in the room tells Kacchan to quiet down, but the boy ignores her in favor of yelling some more.  “I wanna know why you’re in my room right now and you’re gonna tell me, Worthless Deku!”

Thankfully Eraserhead chooses that moment to walk up behind the blonde boy. He gives him a glare before stepping around him and heading for Izu. He pulls the privacy curtain around them while the nurse coerces Kacchan into his own bed. 

“Here, Kid. I had an officer retrieve these from the rooftop.” The hero hands her her shoes, the note, and her backpack with her notebook inside. She nods at him and holds the notebook close to her chest, waiting for the hero to leave now that his job is complete.

He surprises her by sitting down in the chair next to her bed. She looks at him, tilting her head in confusion. He notices this and explains, “I’m going to stay here until your parents arrive. Then we need to have a conversation.”

She looks at the man and chews her lip. An idea pops into her head and she opens her notebook, taking out a pen from her backpack and writing the hero a note.

I don’t have parents. I’m in foster care.

“Then I’ll wait until your current guardians arrive. We need to contact them, you know.” She nods solemnly. “Can you give me your name so I can call them?”

Before she can write down anything, the nurse walks around the curtain. “That’s Izu, Midoriya Izu. We’ve already contacted her case worker and she is on her way.”

The nurse, Isa Junko if Izu remembers correctly from last time, smiles at the greenette and then leaves them alone. Eraserhead looks at Izu, seeming to be waiting for her to explain. She sighs before writing another note.

I’ve been here before. A few times.

He reads the note with a furrowed eyebrow and then looks back up at her. “For similar reasons?” She gives him a noncommittal nod, shoulders shrugging a bit. “I see.” He doesn’t say anything else and she doesn’t offer anymore notes, so they sit there in silence as they wait for Mrs. Fujioka to arrive. As they wait they can hear Kacchan arguing with the nurses every now and then, but he doesn’t attempt to interact with them at all.

An hour passes and Mrs. Fujioka finally arrives. A different nurse, Kojima Hina, leads her over to Izu’s bed and Izu can’t bring herself to look the woman in the eyes. Eraserhead leads the older woman into the hallway to talk with her, and Izu is left on her own for the first time since the roof.

Why did Eraserhead save her? Probably because he doesn’t know how useless she really is. Soon he’ll leave and she can just try again. She doesn't have her knife anymore, but maybe she can find some broken glass at that abandoned house?

A sharp pulling of the curtain brings her out of her thoughts and her attention to the person she is forced to share a room with. “What are you doing here, Deku?! Your guard dog isn’t here anymore, so what is going on?!”

She looks down at her belongings and sees the note she had written for Kacchan. She grabs it and writes a small note at the end.

P.S. I’m sorry it didn’t work. I promise I’ll try again later.

She then hands the note to the angry boy before turning onto her side. She can hear him opening the paper and she waits two breaths while he reads. She’s not sure what reaction she’s waiting for, and she’s not really sure she wants to find out. Will he call her useless or a failure for not dying? Will he just huff and walk off? Will he even care that she tried to die? She almost smiles at that last thought. Of course he wouldn’t care that she almost died tonight, what a joke.

“Deku…” She hears him whisper after a moment. “You didn’t-”

He’s interrupted by a loud voice in the hallway and then Auntie Mitsuki is walking into the room and Kacchan is pulled back to his bed, note still in hand, by his mother who doesn’t seem to have noticed Izu. Izu doesn’t mind though. She just shuts her eyes and tries desperately to fall asleep.

Chapter Text

Shouta isn't sure what to make of the girl in front of him. He knows he heard her speak on that rooftop, but now she insists on writing her responses to him. It doesn’t bother him of course, but it is puzzling. Maybe she's selectively mute? And then there's the fact that she has apparently been here so often the nurses know her on sight. When he asked if the reason was related to her attempt at suicide tonight, she merely shrugged and nodded a little. So this obviously wasn't her first attempt. Shouta is now itching to speak with her case worker. 

He waits an hour before a  middle aged woman in a hastily put together suit walks in behind one of the nurses. The girl he saved doesn't even look at the woman, so Shouta makes the decision to talk things over in private. Leading the woman into the hallway, he sends a silent prayer to the universe that that angry blonde kid doesn't bother her.

"So, you're Eraserhead?” She asks. He nods. “I’m Fujioka Michiko. I am Midoriya Izu’s case worker. The nurse on the phone said she’d had another incident?”

Shouta quirks an eyebrow at the odd phrasing. “If by ‘incident’ you mean she tried to jump off a roof, then yes, she had another incident.”

The woman sighs. “You have to understand that this has been an ongoing battle with Midoriya. I can’t keep her in a home long enough for her to settle in before they’re calling me telling me she’s hurting herself, she’s refusing to eat or sleep, or she’s had another incident. It doesn’t help that the child doesn’t talk. I’m really at my wits end trying to help her, but nothing I do and no placement I make seems to be enough. Frankly, at this point, no one wants her."

“When you say another "incident", how many have there been?”

The woman sighs again. "Look, I can give you her file if you want, but it's a depressing read. She's just not the kind of kid anybody wants in their home." She opens her briefcase and hands him a large folder full of papers. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of calls to make."

With that, the woman turns and leaves him. He's about to enter the room when a blonde woman rushes past him and into the room. He can hear the blonde boy complaining, so he assumes she's the boy's mother.  Giving them space, he sits down in a nearby chair and opens the file.

The first thing he sees is a document titled in big, bold red letters "Mandatory Restrictions". Under the title is a handwritten list, obviously added to over some time. The first thing on the list is "NO KNIVES", the two words underlined multiple times. Next no scissors. No razors. No nail files. Broken glass must be cleaned by someone else immediately. Bathroom time is restricted to only five minutes before guardians are required to check on her. No belts. No shoelaces allowed in her room. And finally, there's a restriction against her being allowed access to cleaning products. 

Shouta turns the page, wary of what situations these restrictions resulted from. He is unsurprised but greatly horrified to find pages of notes on her multiple 'incidents'. The first one when she was eight years old. The second right before her tenth birthday. Then another at eleven, two at thirteen, and one on her fourteenth birthday. That means today was her seventh 'incident' in six years. And they are all written as just that, incidents. No descriptions of what happened, what caused them, or any treatments for the obvious underlying issues. Just seven ‘incidents’ starting when she was eight. 

Shouta has to swallow back the bile that rises up in his throat. He keeps looking through all the various notes from previous caregivers, all saying about the same thing. She’s silent as a ghost and more trouble than she’s worth. How could anyone be so cold toward an obviously hurting child? 

Shouta eventually abandons reading the file in favor of watching over the kid. He heads back into the room, giving the angry kid and his mother a wide berth before seating himself in the same seat he had taken before. He observes the apparently sleeping kid. Midoriya Izu. She’s just a fourteen year-old girl who is hurting so deeply and no one has bothered to look past the surface. No one has tried to find out why she is the way she is. They have apparently just written her off as a problem and sent her on her way. He shakes his head and stands from his seat, heading back out to the hallway to find Ms. Fujioka.

As he steps out of the room, he sees the woman he planned to find just hanging up her phone. He is quick to make his way over to her before she can make another call. “Ms. Fujioka?”

She startles. “Oh, Eraserhead, sir. Yes, sorry. I’m just trying to find a new placement for Midoriya, but that’s turning out to be rather difficult.” She purses her lips.

He frowns. “What seems to be the problem?”

The woman fully looks at him and it’s safe to say the woman looks exhausted. “Like I said before, sir, no one wants her. I have to disclose that she has several issues, and with the dings on her file for her little ‘incidents’ no respectable family wants her. Heck, even the less respectable families don’t want to deal with her baggage.” She sighs. “It looks like I might have to look into another group home.” She looks back down at her phone.

“I’ll take her.” He doesn’t even hesitate to offer.

The woman keeps looking at her phone, “Hmm?”

“I said, I will take her.”

The woman still doesn’t look up, just keeps scrolling through her phone, so Shouta places a firm hand on her wrist, forcing her to lower the device. “Ms. Fujioka, I said I will take her. I have an emergency foster license and I’m a pro hero who specializes in sensitive cases such as this. I will take Midoriya.”

The woman looks at him with wide eyes. “Are- Are you sure? She is a lot to deal with even for experienced foster families.”

He frowns at her. “I will take her.”

“Oh, okay. I will, uh, get the paperwork together then.” And she’s quickly scurrying away from him. 

Shouta sighs and pulls out his phone for one more phone call. Time to let his roommate in on their newest house guest.

—

According to suicide protocol, Midoriya Izu has to stay under medical supervision for at least the next twenty-four hours. Usually a suicidal patient stays in the psych ward, but apparently given her frequent flyer status, a few rules are bent so she could stay in the pediatric ward with the nurses that know her. And oh how those nurses dote on her. The angry kid that Shouta caught yelling at the young girl was quickly discharged after a night of observation, so Midoriya has a room to herself during the rest of her stay, and Shouta watches as the nurses bring her the “best” flavors of jello, update her on their lives since they last saw her, and bring her fluffy blankets and a stuffed dinosaur from the hospital gift shop. The entire time Midoriya doesn’t say a single word to any of them, but that doesn’t seem to bother them in the slightest. Her half smiles and nods are enough to brighten each nurse’s face and get them to continue the conversation as if it isn’t completely one sided.

And the whole time Shouta watches. He watches how each nurse treats her. He watches what makes her smile even just a little and what makes her turn her face away. He watches the way she gently caresses the soft fabric of the gifted stuffy while listening intently to each nurse’s story. He watches and he takes mental note of everything. If he is going to do this, he is going to do it right.

And doing it right means filling in Hizashi. So, while Midoriya takes an afternoon nap since she was unable to sleep much while the angry kid was there, Shouta picks up his third call from Hizashi.

“The kid just fell asleep, Zashi. What do you need?” Shouta sighs, keeping his voice low so as not to awaken the traumatized girl.

“What is the Little Listener’s favorite color?”

“... What?”

“I’m setting up the guest room and realized I have no idea how to decorate a teen girl’s room! What’s her favorite color? Does she like heroes? Does she have a favorite?! What if she hates her room?!! I have to make sure she’s going to be comfortable here, Sho!”

“Zashi, calm down. Take a deep breath.” He hears his best friend make a very dramatic sigh over the line. “Better?”

“Yeah…”

“Good. Just get the basics for now. She has been in the system for nine years, so I’m sure she isn’t expecting a fully decorated room-”

“But Sho-”

“Hold on, I wasn’t finished.” Shouta can hear his friend pout from the hospital. “Being able to slowly decorate her own room might be good for her. No matter how you decorate it now, it won’t feel like hers until she makes those decisions. We should probably just keep it simple for now and maybe you can take her shopping or something later to pick out stuff. As she accumulates things she can add them to the room, making it her own.”

“... why do you have to be so logical all the time?”

Shouta can’t help but crack a smile. “Because nothing would get done if I wasn’t. We’ll be home around dinner time, do you want me to pick something up or…?”

“No, I’m giving that child a home cooked meal! Ask her what she likes when she wakes up and text me! I should have time to grab the groceries and have it made by the time you both get here.”

Shouta shakes his head. “Whatever you say, Zashi. I’ll see if she has a preference. Is there anything else you need right now?”

“Hmm… You said there are restrictions on her file? Do I need to do anything special to the house?”

Right, the restrictions. Shouta looks over at the sleeping teenager and sighs. To think a child her age and younger would have already gone through so much. “Yeah, you need to lock away the knives and anything sharp. No scissors, letter openers, or razors. Basically anything she can potentially cut herself with needs to be locked away, at least for a while. And based on what some of the notes in her file said, we will probably need to monitor her eating habits as well. I’ll speak with a nutritionist here at the hospital and see if we can put her on a diet plan.”

“You suspect an eating disorder.” It wasn’t a question.

“I’m not sure, but she’s definitely lighter than she should be and some of her previous placements talked about a refusal to eat, so I wouldn’t be surprised.” Shouta feels himself sigh again.

“I can feel you worrying from here, Sho. Don’t. We’ve got this. If we can handle the mess that was left of the three of us after Oboro, we can handle this.”

Shouta covers his face with his free hand. “She’s been through so much, Zashi. I know I only met the kid today, but looking through her file…” He pauses and sucks in a shaky breath, removing the hand from his face so he can look at the sleeping form on the bed. “No child should feel that untethered to the world, but I don’t know if I can blame her. I’m still not sure what exactly happened to her mother, but after the woman was gone every person she should have been able to rely on gave her up the moment she didn’t respond to that trauma the way they thought she should. She was five, Zashi! She was five years-old and no one would keep her for longer than six months because she was “too quiet” or “too antisocial” or some other bullcrap. She needed support and safe people to attach to and she got passed around like unwanted leftovers. I just…” A deep breath goes in as he fights the feeling that rises in his throat. 

"She's got us now, Sho. We'll take care of her and we won't give up on her. Plus, you know Nem is gonna flip when she finds out, so the little listener will have three Pro-Heroes in her corner. We'll build her a support system that she can lean on. It won't be easy, but we've got this."

"Since when are you the voice of reason?"

There's a soft chuckle over the line. "Don't get used to it. Now, don't forget to ask the angel what she wants for dinner tonight! And ask her what her favorite color is! Oh, and ask her if she-"

Shouta notices his new ward shift under her blankets. "I gotta go, Zashi. I'll text you with dinner in a few minutes. Bye." He hangs up the phone without waiting to hear a response. Just as he puts the phone away, Midoriya turns over, eyes blinking up at him. "Sleep well?"

She blinks at him a few times, but eventually gives him a slow nod. He tries for a soft, reassuring smile in return. She sits up slowly and looks around before grabbing her notebook and a pen. She writes for a moment and then hands him the book with a confused expression.

Why are you still here?

“Does it bother you that I’m here?”

She shakes her head before writing something else down. No, it’s just weird. No one ever stays with me here. Not even Mrs. Fujioka.

Shouta frowns. “I’m sorry. Does it upset you that no one ever stays with you?”

She shrugs. The nurses are nice, so I don’t mind it so much anymore.

“But it used to bother you?”

She shrugs again. You never answered me. Why are you still here?

“Because I’m your new guardian.” He knew he should have brought this up much earlier, but he didn’t and now he’ll just have to hope she’s okay with this. “Well, me and my roommate.”

Her eyes widen significantly and she begins writing furiously. What? Why would you want me ? Have you seen my file? 

“Yes, I’ve seen your file. Why would that make me not want you?”

She rolls her eyes, but looks down sadly as she writes the next few words. Because you know.

“And what is it that I know?”

She takes a little longer with her response this time. That I’m useless. I’m just a waste of space and everyone’s time. I’ve got a ton of problems and I’m more trouble than I’m worth. If you read my file, you should know all of this already.

“Hmm, that’s not what I saw in your file.” She looks at him incredulously. “I saw that you’re a very sad, clearly traumatized girl who has been failed by every adult in her life. I saw that you need a safe place to heal. A place to call home where you are loved unconditionally . A place with people who will support you and allow you to just exist without expectations of perfection. I saw someone that I could help and provide all those things for.”

But I’m quirkless.

“And? What does that have to do with being a child needing a home, love, and support?” 

She just stares at him for a few moments, not writing anything down.

“Oh, my roommate is making dinner and wants to know what you want to eat. You got a favorite meal, Kid?”

She shrugs, but does end up writing something down. I used to like katsudon.

Chapter Text

The ride to Eraserhead's home is quiet, neither Izu nor him saying much of anything. And for some reason, Izu is actually okay with the silence. It’s better than pushing her to try and talk. She leans against the car door, her head against the window, and watches as the city passes by. They take a few turns that Izu recognizes, but then they turn down a street she’s never seen toward a gated community. Izu sits up a little. They pull up to the gates and a guard comes out of his booth. He and Eraserhead talk for a bit before the guard returns to his place and opens the gate. They drive down the winding road, passing large house after large house, before turning down a side street and parking in front of the least gaudy house she’s seen yet. Next to the mansion-esque houses with their bright colors and obvious hero motifs, this house looks almost ordinary. It’s still larger than any house she’s stayed at before, but it’s smaller than the others in the community. It’s painted a soft yellow with black shutters and a baby blue front door. It’s kinda nice.

“Well, this is it, Kid.” Eraserhead unbuckles his seatbelt and makes his way out of the car. Izu is quick to follow him, not wanting to be left alone. She grabs her bag and holds it close to her chest as she follows the hero inside.

“Sho? Is that you? Are you back with the little listener?” An oddly familiar voice rings out through the halls of the house.

“No, it’s the boogeyman. I’ve come to eat your toes.” Eraserhead calls back in a completely monotone voice. Izu stifles a huff of laughter, but apparently Eraserhead caught it, because he gives her a small grin in return.

“Oh, shut up or I won’t let you have any of the food I’ve been slaving over for the last hour!” The masculine voice grows closer until the unmistakable form of Present Mic enters the living room. His hair is in a loose messy bun and he’s wearing normal red-framed glasses, but it’s still him. If Izu wasn’t already a silent ghost of a girl she’d be speechless. “There she is! Oh, I am just so excited to meet you! I’m Yamada Hizashi, but you can call me whatever!” 

Izu drops her bag and pulls out her notebook, writing something swiftly in it before showing it to Eraserhead.

“Right, yeah, my roommate is Present Mic. He’s loud but ultimately harmless.”

Present Mic sputters. “What?” He turns to Izu. “I will have you know I am delightful!”

Izu looks between the two men before shrugging. Present Mic’s smile doesn’t falter though. He instead gestures to the slippers he had apparently gotten just for her that wait by the door before leading her further into the house. The smell wafting through the room makes her mouth water. She hasn’t smelled something so delicious in so long. Not since… She shakes her head. She has to forget. Everyone else has. She looks up from her thoughts to see a massive kitchen unlike anything she’s seen before. There are stainless steel appliances and meters and meters of shining counters. Across from it is a wide open space featuring a very expensive-looking kotatsu, the futon on it a pale gray with white geometric designs.

“You can sit anywhere you like! The food is almost done!” Present Mic gestures to the kotatsu before running over to the beeping rice cooker. She just stands there for a moment before she is gently pushed by Eraserhead toward the comforting furniture.

She sits down on a cushion on the side of the table and pulls the futon over her legs, feeling the heater already on. She wants to melt but reminds herself that she is with new guardians. Guardians she knows very little about. So she does her best to sit up straight as she waits for the heroes to join her.

It doesn’t take long and they are all seated together eating. Well, the heroes are eating. Izu kinda just stares at her food. It looks so good, but she knows she doesn’t deserve it. It’s too nice, too good, for her.

“Eat up, Little Listener! Before the food gets cold.”

She looks at Present Mic and then back down at her food. When she still doesn’t reach for the chopsticks in front of her, Eraserhead pulls a notebook and pen from somewhere and hands them to her. She looks at the offering and takes it, a little surprised that he still seems so okay with her way of communicating. All of her other guardians insisted she speak.

She carefully writes. It’s too good for me. I’m not worth it. She hands it over to the underground hero.

He shows the note to Present Mic who frowns slightly. “Why do you think you aren’t worth it?”

The notebook is handed back to her and she writes again. Have you seen my file?

This time Eraserhead answers as Present Mic reads, “I have, and I brought it with me to share with Hizashi. Nothing in it tells me you don’t deserve food. Eat up, it will make you feel better, even just a little bit.”

She stares at the men next to her and then back at the food, still unsure.

“I made it just for you, Little Listener. It would make me very sad if you didn’t at least try it to let me know how it is.”

She looks at the man and nods slightly before looking back down at the food. She slowly picks up her chopsticks and uses them to grab a piece of the pork off the plate in front of her. Bringing it to her lips, she takes the bite and chews slowly. It’s the best thing she’s had to eat in years. That being said, she only eats about half of her serving before she places the chopsticks back down.

“All done, Little Listener?”

She looks at Present Mic and nods.

“Okay then. Thanks for trying.” And he smiles at her. Like, actually gives her a genuine smile. To say Izu is confused would be an understatement. She’s not sure what to do now. Does she leave the table? If she does, where does she go?

As if the man could read minds, Eraserhead speaks up. “If you don’t mind sitting with us for a little while, I’ll show you to your room once I’ve finished eating and cleaning up.”

She nods and then stares down at her hands as she pulls on her sleeves. The tension in the air is soon cut by Present Mic starting up a conversation with Eraserhead, taking the attention off of her. She looks up at him slightly and he winks at her before diving into a story from his most recent patrol. Izu tries to listen, but that almost crushing weight has started to settle back into her bones and she just wants to lie down.

The heroes do eventually finish their meal, both standing up and cleaning the table. When Izu tries to help, Present Mic stops her. He picks up her plate from where she was about to grab it. “I’ll take this and put it away for you in case you get hungry later, okay? No pressure if you don’t, but I’d rather you have easy access to food and not need it than need food and not have anything for you. Ya dig?”

She looks at him for a moment but then nods slowly. He smiles at her and takes her plate further into the kitchen. While he wraps her leftovers up, Eraserhead returns to her side and nods his head toward the hallway. She stands and follows him back into the living area. Walking past a large couch and coffee table, they make it to a staircase. Izu follows the hero up the stairs which leads to a long hallway ending in another staircase.

“Mine and Zashi’s rooms are up those stairs on the top floor. This one,” He motions to the first door on the right, “is your room. Zashi was able to find some simple clothes for you to use to sleep in until we get your stuff from your old house tomorrow.”

Before he opens the door, she taps him on the arm softly. He turns to look at her and she pulls out her notebook and writes a note.

My stuff isn’t at my last foster’s house. I ran away months ago. 

“Then where have you been staying?” He asks without judgment, like he’s asking about the weather.

She writes again. 

An abandoned place near my old neighborhood.

“Then we’ll go there tomorrow morning and get your things. Zashi will most likely insist on taking you shopping tomorrow afternoon as well.” He lets out a suffering sigh. “Which means I’ll probably get roped into going as well.”

Izu looks down, scribbling a small note and showing it to Eraserhead without looking at him.

I’m sorry

“Why are you sorry?”

My fault

Eraserhead huffs a laugh. “It’s not the shopping that bothers me. We need to get you the things you need, so it’s logical that we’d need to go shopping. No, what bothers me is shopping with Zashi.”

Why?

“You’ll see.” And he smirks at her, leaving her feeling apprehensive toward the next day.

Eraserhead then opens the door, letting her into the room that would be hers for however long he decides to keep her. It’s not a gigantic room, but it’s bigger than anything she’s had for just her. There’s a double bed in the far left corner, a desk along the back wall, and a closet to her immediate left in front of the bed. The bed has a plain blue blanket with lighter blue sheets and plain white pillows. On the floor is a shaggy white rug. Other than the rug, the room is pretty bare of decor.

“The next door down this hall is a bathroom and then the last door is just an office area that Zashi and I share. You’re allowed anywhere in the house, but if you need into one of our rooms, please knock first. Do you have any questions?”

She chews her bottom lip but eventually shakes her head.

“Then I’ll let you get ready for bed. Get some rest and let me know if you need anything.” And he’s gone.

Chapter Text

Light cuts through the pale curtains over the window. Izu blinks her eyes for a moment before she hears a knock at the door. Right, that’s what woke her up. She pulls herself up and out of the comfortable bed, walking over to the door. Opening it, she finds a disheveled Eraserhead.

“Morning, Kid. Zashi made breakfast.” And then he leaves down the stairs.

She stands at the door for a few minutes before turning and going over to her backpack. She shuffles through it until she finds a spare shirt and a pair of shorts. She changes slowly, pulling the long sleeves over her scars, before heading downstairs. 

The smell of eggs wafted through the living room and she could hear someone talking animatedly, probably Present Mic. She is proven right when she enters the kitchen and finds Present Mic carrying on a one-sided conversation while Eraserhead nurses a cup of coffee. She isn’t sure what to do now that she’s here. 

Eraserhead notices her first. “Hey Kid.”

Present Mic whips around. “Hey Little Listener! You ready for breakfast?”

She looks between the two men and shrugs.

“I’ll take that as a yes! Here, sit down and I’ll grab you some eggs and rice!” He places an ever so gentle hand on her back and guides her to the same seat as last night. He then heads further into the kitchen, returning moments later with a bowl packed with steamed rice and two slices of tamagoyaki. He places it in front of her before sitting back down and continuing his story from before.

He wants her to eat this? All of this? She looks back over at Present Mic and then over to Eraserhead. Neither are watching her or waiting to judge how much she eats. She looks down at the food in front of her. After that dinner last night, she doesn’t really feel like eating. Eating just seems pointless. She ate last night because Present Mic made the food for her and he asked her to, she would have felt worse if she had upset him. But now, with how the exhaustion hangs on her bones, she just doesn’t feel like it. 

Instead, she silently and discreetly observes the men in front of her. Present Mic is very loud and he moves his arms a lot when he talks. Eraserhead on the other hand just stares down his cup of what she assumes is black coffee from the smell. He gives Present Mic barely perceptable nods to show he is listening, but doesn’t really add much to the conversation, if you can even call it a conversation. Neither man is wearing their hero costume, instead they are both dressed rather casually. Present Mic is in a cream-colored cardigan with brown patches on the elbows, a navy v-neck, and distressed jeans with his hair tied up in a messy bun. Eraserhead is in a black long-sleeve t-shirt, a pair of black jeans with a chain, and combat boots with his hair hanging pretty much in his face right now. They look and act like total opposites, but she can tell they are good friends from the way they seem so comfortable together. And they want her to stay with them? 

She’s probably nothing but a burden to them. They’ll realize soon enough that she isn’t worth their time and they’ll get rid of her. Then she can find a new roof and try again. This time it will work. This time she will be free. 

“You ready to go get your stuff?” Izu is startled out of her thinking by Eraserhead’s voice. She looks up at him and nods. “Then let’s get going.”

“I’ll just wrap up your breakfast so you can try it later.” Present Mic says easily. He takes her bowl into the kitchen, wrapping it in plastic before placing it in the fridge. He’s not mad that she wasted the food?

She shakes off the weird experience and turns to follow Eraserhead to the front door. Putting on her shoes and using her notebook to communicate the abandoned shack’s location, they head out.

—

“This is where you’ve been living?”

She looks over at the gruff hero who spoke and nods, eyebrow quirked in confusion. She watches him and Present Mic as they cautiously walk through the shack, eyes jumping from the boarded up window, to the holes in the walls, to the tarp she used to keep herself dry when it rained. She decides to try and look at the place as they must be seeing it. It’s definitely not a place any respectable person would stay given the choice. But she thinks it fits her. Her and this shack belong together. Both are broken beyond repair and better off left to rot.

“Sweetheart, you know this place isn’t safe, right?” Present Mic looks at her. She shrugs. “Right, well, where are your things? You mentioned they were stashed here.”

Izu doesn’t respond, just wanders over to the other tarp that’s in the corner. She pulls it up to reveal a threadbare duffel bag. She carefully looks through it to make sure everything is there before hefting the bag up. The bag is immediately taken from her by Eraserhead. She doesn’t fight him. If he wants to carry it, why should she stop him.

“Is this everything?” He asks. She nods. “Can I check to see what you have here? I promise to be careful with your things. I just want to make sure you have everything you need.” She only shrugs in response. The hero takes her response as affirmation and gently sets the bag on the floor, looking through her things with great care. “Midoriya, are you sure this is everything?”

“What’s wrong Sho?”

“Zashi, come look at this.”

Present Mic goes over and kneels down next to Eraserhead, looking through her bag with the same level of care and curiosity. Suddenly he looks up at Izu. “Is this really all you have?”

Izu folds in on herself a little, but nods at the man. What’s wrong with her stuff? She only needs the essentials. It’s not like she has access to a lot even if she wanted it.

Present Mic stands and walks over to where Izu is standing in the corner of the building. He reaches out slowly, placing a hand on her shoulder and leaning his hand to try and look her in the eyes. “Midoriya, can you write and tell me why all you have to your name is one extra shirt, a pair of jeans, a dirty school uniform, and a sparse first aid kit?”

She furrows her eyebrows, but nods. Present Mic hands her the notebook they’d been using for her, the pen in his other hand. She takes the offering and writes quickly.

It’s all I need.

Present Mic frowns. “Oh, Honey, no. No it isn’t. You need a lot more than one spare outfit. You need a jacket for one. You also need things to keep you clean, more clothes, food, clean water, and many other things.”

She shakes her head and takes the notebook back from him. 

I have what I need. Anything else would just go to waste. I’m fine.

Present Mic looks sad as he turns away from her to look at Eraserhead. They share a look before Present Mic looks back at her. “Even if you don’t need anything else, I- We would still like to give you more. Would that be okay?”

She shrugs and doesn’t look him in the eye. Who is she to tell them what to do with their money. If they want to waste it on her, then she’ll let them. It’ll just mean the local homeless shelter will get some nice donations once she’s gone.

Present Mic smiles at her, and her heart clinches a little at the sight. It hurts to see him look at her with such joy, like she’s done something to earn his affection. It’s going to hurt so much when he abandons her too. Maybe she’ll be gone before he has the chance to discover how worthless she really is. 

Eraserhead makes his way over and places a hand on her other shoulder. “It’s time to go, Kid.”

She nods and follows the two heroes out of the only home she’s known in so long.

—

The shopping district isn’t very crowded given it’s a weekday. They wander for a while, not really going inside any shops, just browsing the window displays. Eventually Presnt Mic claps his hands together, gaining their attention. “Okay, why don’t we grab some lunch and discuss a game plan. Sound good?”

Eraserhead looks at Izu before they both shrug at Present Mic. They make their way to the food stalls nearby, grabbing some street food. Eraserhead grabs some yakisoba and Present Mic gets some karaage, but when they look at Izu, she isn’t sure what to do. She didn’t eat breakfast, and now they want  to buy her food. She chews her lip before she sees a vendor selling dango. She points to the vendor and the heroes oblige her. She takes the offered food and follows the heroes to a local park area to eat their meals. 

Once they’ve finished eating, even Izu under the watchful eyes of both heroes, Present Mic starts up the planning process. “We should figure out what it is we need to get first. Midoriya needs new clothes, that’s obvious, but we also need to get her soap for her hair and body, a toothbrush, and perhaps some new school supplies. Can you think of anything else we should get?”

Eraserhead responds, but Izu has begun to tune out the conversation. Why do they insist on buying her things? First a room just for her on a separate floor from them, so she actually has privacy, then a bed so soft she actually got some real sleep for once, and now this. What is she going to do when they figure out they’ve wasted their money on a Deku like her? Die, probably. And wouldn’t that be nice. Maybe when they realize how pointless it all is, she’ll be able to get back to that rooftop. Or maybe they’ll be lax with the restrictions…

“-riya? You okay?”

She looks up at Eraserhead, realizing he must have been calling her. He has a concerned look in his eyes, but the rest of his face is blank. Is she okay? Probably not, but she isn’t going to tell him that, so she just nods her head.

The concerned look doesn’t leave, but he continues talking anyway, “We are heading out now. You ready?”

She nods, standing up and following the men to a nearby store.

—

They return to the house hours later with Izu now dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt with thumb holes, a band tee for Swords and Daisies, distressed cargo pants, and a new pair of red hightops. They found a grunge/emo/punk store that Present Mic remembers having some good stuff that he said fit her “aesthetic”, so she is now the owner of many more clothes than she started with. She also now has toiletries including jasmine-scented shampoo and conditioner, and cherry blossom body wash. While she heads upstairs to “unpack”, she can hear Present Mic in the kitchen starting on dinner. 

Eraserhead helps her get all the various bags up the stairs to her room. He waits for her to nod him in before entering her room to help her put the new clothes in the dresser and closet. When he leaves he suggests she take a shower, so she gathers the new toiletries, and a new set of cotton pajamas, and heads next door to the bathroom. 

Walking in she is reminded of all the things that have happened in bathrooms for her. Images of blood and drowning along with the feelings of desperation and momentary peace shift through her head before she shakes her head and starts the water. She bathes slowly, allowing the water to soak away her troublesome thoughts. She contemplates pulling her head under the water, but she knows one of the heroes just downstairs will come to check on her soon, so she finishes up washing and climbs from the tub. She dries off and pulls on the pajamas that are oh so soft and much better quality than anything she remembers ever owning.

Making her way downstairs, she hears the voices of her guardians, but her tiredness prevents her from really comprehending what they are discussing. She sits at her place at the table and stares at the offered food for a while before using the ever-present notebook to ask if she can just go to bed. Both heroes look concerned but eventually agree to allow her to sleep given she returns to school the next day.

“I’ll have your uniform clean and mended by the time you’re up and going in the morning!” Present Mic calls after her as she walks up the stairs. 

Chapter Text

She’s drowning again. As she walks through the hallway, the voices throwing insults at her barely make it through the vast ocean she’s sinking into. She is tripped on her way into the classroom, but even that doesn’t really hurt her like it probably should. Why is she even here? 

She is able to notice the void that is Kacchan missing from his seat behind hers. He has always been seated behind her and to the left, but today his seat is empty. She thinks for a moment that should matter to her. 

She makes it to her seat without falling for a second time and sits down. She doesn’t pull out a notebook. She doesn’t get out a writing utensil. She doesn’t even lift her head when the teacher walks in. She just lets herself slowly fall deeper and deeper.

On the outside of her perception, she notices Kacchan walk in late and speak quietly with the teacher. Once the teacher nods her approval, he makes his way quietly to his seat. Is that odd? Maybe. She’s not sure if this is even real anymore. Is she even real?

The teacher begins her lesson, but it’s all just a murmur to Izu. She’s sure at this point that she should be paying attention, but she can’t even find the energy to push her head above the water, let alone also attempt to focus on the meaninglessness of what is happening at the front of the room. It’s not like she’ll need this information when she’s dead.

The bell rings, signaling the next class period, and Izu finally gets her head above the rapids to take a real breath of reality. If only it was a nicer view. Ishigawa and Nakamora make their way over to her, making it so they are standing on either side of her. There’s no escape. Not that she was going to try.

“Hey, Deku. What are you doing back here, huh? We all thought you’d finally off’d yourself. We had a party to celebrate one less null in the world.” Nakamora laughs.

Ishigawa shoves her. Hard. She’s knocked out of her seat. “Nakamora asked you a question, Null. Answer him. What made you think you’d be welcome back here?” He kicks her in the ribs with each sentence, then another three for good measure.

She just lays there silently, still fighting to stay above the rough water. Ishigawa kneels down and grabs her by her hair, pulling her head up to look at him. “No one wants you here, Deku. So why do you keep coming back? Why not do us all a favor and die.” He drops her and her head hits the floor. 

She lays there waiting for Kacchan to join his friends. Waits for the familiar sounds of explosions. Waits for the familiar feeling of burning. She waits, but it never comes. Ishigawa kicks her a few more times in the stomach and ribs, before he begins stomping on her shoulder and side. The last thing he does before leaving her is a swift and hard kick to the face, busting her lip and most likely breaking her nose.

She lays on the floor slipping back into the welcoming waters until the next teacher enters. The teacher yells at her for being on the floor and tells her to get up already so tehy can move on. Izu does as she is told, the laughter of her peers muted by the ocean swirling around her.

She manages to make it to lunch before anyone else makes their displeasure at her return known. This time it’s a couple of girls. She is seated outside under her favorite tree when Yuushi, Tanaka, and Mayori surround her. 

“If it isn’t little Deku all alone.”

“Why does she think she can be around normal people?”

“Such a waste of space.”

Tanaka, ever the leader, takes the bento that Izu wasn’t planning on opening and pours its contents on the ground. She stomps on the delicacies that Present Mic worked so hard to make for her that morning. Sure, Izu wasn’t going to eat it, but that doesn’t mean she wanted to see it wasted on the ground.

“How many men did your whore of a mother have to sleep with to afford fancy crap like this?”

An ice shard of pain to rips into her heart. It’s not surprising that most people at this school don’t know what happened, but it still hurts to be reminded of what she’ll never get back. The three girls hurl a few more insults at her, but she doesn’t hear any of them. She just sits and stares at her broken meal.

She makes her way back to class and sits quietly at her desk. She feels the beginnings of tears begin to fall. She wipes them away quickly. There’s no use for tears now. She’s gone and she’s never coming back. Izu just needs to get over it. That’s what everyone says. She should move on. Why can’t she move on?

When the teacher doesn’t immediately enter the classroom once the bell rings, Nakamora makes his way over to her desk, Ishigawa on his heels. He doesn’t even say a word before he pushes her from her chair. He leaps over her desk, landing on top of her, and begins punching any space he can find. The class cheers as her nose is definitely broken now and she feels the burn of a new black eye. The beating ends only moments later when the teacher finally arrives. Good, right?

Wrong. The teacher only hesitates long enough to take in the scene before she grabs Izu by the scruff of her uniform and drags her to the principal’s office.

—

Her face is throbbing when they arrive. She stares at the pair of scissors on the principal's desk as his secretary announces her guardians’ arrival.

“A Mr. Aizawa and a Mr. Yamada are here to see you, sir.”

The principal looks at her. “Are these your new caretakers?” She nods softly, causing the throbbing to get worse. “Let them in.”

Present Mic, in full hero gear, is the first to enter the room. He makes his way over to her and drops down in front of her chair. “Oh, Sweetheart! Are you okay? Of course you aren’t okay! Oh, my little baby. What happened to you?” He turns to look at the principal who appears to be in a state of shock. “Who did this to her?”

The principal shakes himself. “If you wouldn’t mind having a seat, we will discuss Ms. Midoriya’s punishment.”

“Punishment?!” Present Mic nearly uses his quirk with the question.

“She started a fight. We have a zero-tolerance policy on fighting here. She needs to be-”

“Where’s the other kid?” Eraserhead speaks for the first time.

“What?”

“If this was a fight, where is the other kid?” Izu glances at Eraserhead to find him dreadfully calm. Calmer than any of her other fosters. Both of them are acting differently from what she has come to expect, but the fact that Present Mic is worrying over her instead of yelling at her is too weird for her to even comprehend right now. No, she’ll stick with the deadly glare Eraserhead is giving her principal.

“He was released with the other-”

“Was he injured?”

“Well, no, but the point is-”

“So the boy who did that ,” He points at Izu, “Was allowed to leave, but the very injured child who it seems saw no medical care is being punished. Do I have that correct?”

“Listen here, I will not have you question the way I run my school! I understand you must be frustrated, what with her record of fighting, but this is no way-”

“And in how many of those “fights” was Midoriya the only injured party? Should I have Nedzu, the principal of UA where both I and Yamada here work, look into these other incidents? Maybe interview a few of the students and faculty? I know he loves taking down corrupt places of education, so I’m sure he would have a field day with you.” And then the hero smiles. But it’s not one of joy or anything. No, this is the look of a cat who has caught the canary.

“Uh, th-that won’t be necessary. I’m sure we can come to some agreement here.”

“Yes, you will fix her records to show what really happened. You will then punish the actually guilty party. If that is not done by the time I return tomorrow, you will have a lawsuit on your hands. I will also be withdrawing Midoriya Izu from your school, so you will have all of her paperwork ready for me to take tomorrow.” He turns to Present Mic and nods.

Present Mic returns the gesture and takes Izu’s hands, helping her up and pulling her from the room, leaving the principal slack-jawed behind them. They pass through the halls and Izu isn’t really sure what to do with this encounter. Her guardians took up for her? They are threatening to sue the school? All because she got hurt like she always does?

—

They step through the door to the house and are welcomed by the sound of meowing. What? Izu looks at her guardians and Eraserhead answers first.

“That’s Bastard. He was staying with a friend until you had a chance to settle in a little. Don’t worry too much about him. He’s just loud and too stupid for his own good.”

“What Sho means is the cat is the light of his life and he spoils it rotten.” Present Mic winks at her.

She looks down when she feels something rub at her legs and finds a very fluffy, orange cat. The cat is fairly round, but not to the point of being overweight, at least she thinks. She glances at the two men for a moment before squatting down and reaching out a hand to pet the cat. He’s just as soft as she expected and she feels a little warmth light up in her chest as she feels the feline begin to purr at the affection.

“Looks like you made a new friend, Little Listener.” Izu looks up at Present Mic when he speaks. “Let’s head inside and get you cleaned up, okay?”

She nods, standing and following him into the livingroom. Present Mic gestures for her to sit on the large, gray couch. Once she is seated with Present Mic at her left, Eraserhead appears with a first aid kit. He kneels in front of her and begins pulling out gauze, rubbing alcohol, and other various medical supplies.

“This is going to sting a little.” He warns before touching an alcohol soaked cottonball to a cut on her cheek. She barely winces, taking the pain stoically. Present Mic begins rubbing her back as Eraserhead moves on to her nose. “I need to set this so it heals properly. It’s going to hurt at first, but it should feel better in a few minutes.” He places a hand on either side and jerks to the right, the bones and cartilage cracking back into place. This time she does let out a visible wince. Eraserhead places a kind of splint on her nose and begins cleaning the dried blood off. After he seems satisfied with his work, he leans back and looks her over. “How do your ribs feel? I notice you’re sitting a little stiffly.” She shrugs. “Would it be okay if I had a look at them?” She shrugs again, but nods a little. He lifts the side of her shirt a little and places a gentle hand on the already bruising skin. “They don’t seem broken, just a lot of bruising.” He looks at the other side before nodding. He turns to Present Mic, “We shouldn’t need to take her to the hospital. Some painkillers and rest should be fine.”

Present Mic claps his hands together. “I say we get comfy and have a movie marathon! Have some family bonding time!” He grins at Izu. Family bonding time? But Izu isn’t either of their family. She’s just a burden they’re stuck with for now. Izu looks at Eraserhead who sighs.

“Whatever.”

Present Mic claps. “Yeah! As soon as we all get cleaned up and changed into some comfy clothes, I’ll make popcorn and Midoriya can pick the first movie!”

—

Shouta makes his way back downstairs to find Midoriya snuggled up on the couch with a fuzzy yellow blanket wrapped around her waist and an even fuzzier orange fluff ball in her lap. She’s wearing a black t-shirt with the cover of some obscure band on the front and a long sleeve white shirt underneath, her thumbs through some holes at the bottom of the sleeves. He makes his way over and plops down next to her, still giving her some personal space but also staying close enough that she can reach out if she desires. He can hear Zashi making popcorn in the kitchen, so he turns to Midoriya. “What are we watchin’, Kid?”

She looks over at him and shrugs, petting the cat in her lap with long, calm strokes. There’s a loud crash in the kitchen followed by a few english curse words. For a split second Shouta sees a small uptick at the corner of Midoriya’s mouth. Not quite a small, but not her normal blank expression either. He huffs a laugh at Zashi’s antics in the kitchen and the uptick grows the smallest bit.

“Okay, no one go in the kitchen for a while! Everything is fine, I’ll clean it up later!” Zashi sits on Midoriya’s other side and places a large bowl filled over the brim with popcorn on the coffee table. “Do we know what we are watchin’ yet?” When Midoriya just shrugs again, Zashi continues. “Then I guess I get to pick, Woo!”

Throughout the first movie, Shouta senses Midoriya relaxing little by little. About halfway through the second movie, he feels a warmth drop to his arm and finds green curls spilling over his shoulder. Midoriya is fast asleep. As she sleeps, he looks over the bruising of her face and feels his heart clench. In the very short time he’s come to know Midoriya, he’s found that he’s rather fond of her. He found she has a similar dry humor to him given the looks she gave Zashi and the things she wrote to them on their shopping trip the day before. She has started to fit so well into his life in just a few days and he may be growing a little attached. When he was called about her being in a fight, he didn’t hesitate to grab Zashi and race down to her school. Looking at her face now, the way her left eye is bruising black and her nose is not quite straight anymore, he can’t help the anger that boils in his gut. 

“I know what you’re thinking, Sho.” 

Shouta looks up at his roommate. “I want that school to burn. I want black marks on those kids’ records and that principal fired, her teacher too. I want the whole place investigated for child endangerment. They can’t get away with hurting her. She’s already been through enough, Zashi.”

“I know, but she’ll be okay. We’ve got her now and we won’t let this happen again. We’ll find her a better school. If all else fails, we’ll homeschool or something. We’ll figure it out. But the most important thing is that she will be okay.”

Shouta sighs and looks back down at Midoriya. “Yeah, she will.”

Chapter Text

Both Eraserhead and Present Mic stay home with her the next day. Present Mic makes her a simple breakfast and she actually eats some of it. Then, when it’s their normal time to leave for work, they just… don’t. Present Mic keeps telling her a funny story about Eraserhead while the man rolls his eyes and grabs more coffee. The time passes and they stay. No one has ever just stayed.

They all get dressed in comfortable lounge clothes and hang out in the living room. Bastard watches them from his cat tree in the corner, Present Mic turns on the hero news network, and Izu grabs a notebook, feeling the sudden motivation to do some analysis. She watches the screen, her two guardians holding a conversation behind her, and writes about the newest hero to debut, a woman named Zenith with red skin and an acid quirk. 

When Izu’s hair keeps falling in her face, Present Mic comes over and offers to pull it up for her. She hesitantly nods and it makes him smile. He grabs a spray bottle and a hairbrush, gently working through her hair until it’s in a simple French braid down her back. She tries to give him a small smile in thank you and thinks she might be successful since he positively beams back at her.

Her hand begins to ache from all the writing around lunchtime, and she manages to eat two nikumaki onigiri. She catches Present Mic smiling at her when she takes her last bite and it makes her feel a little warm inside. When she turns to look at Eraserhead, he’s looking at her with what can only be pride in his eyes. Is this all because she ate something? But why would that make them so happy?

After lunch is finished, Izu hesitantly pushes her communication notebook over to Eraserhead with a note asking if she could watch the Hero News Network again. He smiles and nods, getting up and showing her how to turn the TV on and which remote works on their streaming service. She feels a seed of joy and smiles genuinely for the first time in a while as she sits back down at the coffee table to write some more.

Eraserhead leaves the house about an hour later, to do what, Izu isn't sure. While he's gone, Present Mic sits on the couch behind her and shares his own commentary about the heroes that make the news. His comments tend to lean on the comical side, sometimes exclamations when they make or take a good hit, other times commenting on their costumes. She let out a couple huffs of amusement, which seemed to encourage him.

A little before dinner, when her hand is just starting to ache again, Eraserhead returns and sits down on the floor next to her. “What’ve you been writing about all day?”

Should she show him? He’ll probably laugh or tell her it’s dumb. But… he’s been so nice. She eventually decides just to slide the notebook over without looking at him. Her heart pounds as she stares at the grains in the wooden coffee table. She waits for his reaction. Will he tell her she’s silly? Will he scoff at her ideas? Will he call her stupid for her work? She unconsciously begins rubbing at her wrists and biting her bottom lip. Why did she let him look? This is her one and only light in the darkness. Why did she share it with him?

“Wow, Kid. This is some great work.” Her head jerks over to look at him, eyes wide. “You got all of this from watching the news today?” She nods slowly. “This is impressive. Do you mind if I show Hizashi?” Does he mean it? Or does he just want to show his friend so they can laugh behind her back? She nods slowly again and he smiles a little at her before getting up. She hears him walk into the kitchen where Present Mic is cooking dinner.

When he doesn’t come back after a few minutes, she carefully rises from her place on the floor and silently makes her way toward the kitchen. She doesn’t hear any laughter. She gets right to where there’s the wall that separates the kitchen from the living room. She stands there, bottom lip between her teeth, and listens.

“...amazing, Sho. She did all of this today?” The sound of pages turning.

“Yeah, that’s what she’s been working on so hard. Look at this part right here. Do you see how she spotted the weakness here and then came up with theories for improvement?”

“I haven’t seen anything like this since-”

“The rat, I know. I’m not sure if we should show this to Nedzu immediately to help cultivate this talent of hers, or hide her from him so he can’t corrupt her.”

More pages turning. “I think we both know what needs to be done. This is too great a talent for her to waste.”

Talent? Her analysis? And why would they need to talk to Nedzu? What is going on? Izu peeks around the corner and looks at the two men both looking down at her notebook. They like it. They actually like it. An unknown feeling rises up inside her. Is it pride or… satisfaction? She doesn’t know, but she likes it. It feels… good. She feels good.

“Midoriya! Come here, Sweet Girl! I wanna- oh, there you are!” Present Mic almost bumps into her. “That notebook of yours is rad! How long have you been doing that?” She thinks for a moment before holding up all ten fingers. “Ten months?” She shakes her head and holds up all ten fingers again. “Years?! You’ve been doing this for ten years?!” 

Izu widens her eyes and then runs over to the coffee table, grabbing her communication notebook. She writes in it and hands it to Present Mic.

“No, it’s not bad. I’m sorry, I was just shocked. You have a real talent here and you’ve spent a lot of time cultivating it.” She writes something else. “Yes, I really like it. Both of us do.” He looks at her for a moment before continuing, “Sweet Girl, has no one ever told you how special this is?” He holds up her notebook.

She shakes her head before writing. 

They say it's creepy. That I'm too obsessed.

“Who says that?”

Everyone.

“Well, I don't think it's creepy at all. I think it's wonderful!”

She hesitates for a moment, chewing her bottom lip before writing. 

Even if I wrote about you?

“You wrote about me?” She nods slowly. “Can I see it?” She shrugs but eventually nods. 

She waves her hand to gesture for him to follow her. He nods and follows her up the stairs to her room. He waits at the door for a moment before she waves at him again, now entering and sitting on her messy bed. She goes over to her desk and pulls open the bottom drawer, revealing the other twelve notebooks. She looks through them before finding the one she needs and handing it to Present Mic. He pats the bed next to him and she sits down. He flips through the pages until landing on the one titled Present Mic. He reads for what feels like an eternity, and the whole time Izu remains tense beside him. He's definitely going to think it's creepy now. Now that he sees how she writes about him, he'll think she's a creepy stalker and throw her out. The idea makes her heart clench and she's not sure why.

“This is amazing.” He's oddly quiet and calm as he turns to look at Izu. “Your theories and notes are impeccable. Your attention to detail is outstanding and your ideas are revolutionary. Midoriya, this is a work of art.” 

She pulls out her communication book.

Call me Izu.

He smiles and she can see tears beginning to form in his eyes. “Okay, Izu. Can I give you a hug?”

She shrugs but leans into the touch when he initiates it. The hug is warm and oddly comfortable. She's not sure she remembers the last time she was truly hugged. She definitely doesn't remember her mother's hugs. But this one is nice, she supposes. It makes her feel… not whole, but better.

Sooner than she really wants, the hug is over. Present Mic sits back and looks at the journal again, holding it reverently in his hands. “Do you have an entry on Sho?” She nods and gets up to collect that notebook. She hands the book over to the man. “Would you mind if I showed it to him?”

She shakes her head no, more confident that at least Present Mic will appreciate her work. He smiles and they head back downstairs together. When they arrive in the living room, Present Mic immediately flips open the notebook to Eraserhead's entry and hands it to the man. Eraserhead reads and for a moment Izu is again struck with that same anxiety. Sure, Present Mic didn't think it was creepy, but that doesn't mean Eraserhead will feel the same.

The small eternity lasts until the dark hero slowly closes the notebook and looks at her. “When did you write this?”

I started that entry about a year ago. I last added to it maybe a month ago.

“This is very good. I know for a fact that there isn't much media coverage of me, so for you to be able to get this much is impressive.”

Tears begin to spill from her eyes and for once they aren't from sadness. She tries to wipe away the wetness from her cheeks as she feels both men staring at her.

“I take it this isn't the reaction you were expecting.” She shakes her head. “How did you think we would react?”

I thought you'd laugh or call it creepy.

“Your analysis is nothing to laugh at, and it certainly isn't creepy.”

And now she's sobbing. She feels her legs begin to buckle and is caught by strong arms. They like her analysis. They really like it. The one thing that even slightly holds her to the world and they think it's wonderful. When was the last time anyone liked something she had done?

—

They stay again the next day. She walks down the stairs to find both men talking in the kitchen. They all eat breakfast together, Present Mic even trying to include Izu in the conversation with quips and questions she can easily answer and react to nonverbally. It’s kinda nice, if not for the ocean beginning to surround her. Once they’ve all finished eating, her only having a few pieces of melon, Eraserhead guides her into the living room and sits her down on the couch.

“I want to check how this is healing.” He reaches up and removes the bandage from her cheek. She sits there, floating and unable to reach the surface. He hums as he looks, placing gentle fingers around the still-tender wound. “It’s looking much better now.” Next, he checks her nose, pressing gently and causing the slightest flinch from her. He wrinkles his nose, “Not great, but healing. How are the ribs?” She shrugs, not looking at him. “Would you mind if I took a look?” Again she shrugs. He lifts the side of her nightshirt and examines the bruising on her sides. She glances at him and finds him frowning. He meets her eyes and she looks away. “They’re still bruised pretty badly, but there isn’t much we can do about that.”

He turns to talk to Present Mic, but Izu doesn’t really process what he’s saying. She’s drowning again and she’s too tired to fight it. The world is muted around her as the weight settles on her shoulders and against her chest. She stares off, not really taking anything in. 

That is until something soft and warm settles against her bare feet. Looking down, she sees Bastard looking up at her from where he’s perched on her feet. Without really thinking about it, she reaches out a hand and scratches between his ears. The weight on her chest lifts just a bit.

A clap startles Bastard and Izu looks up to see Present Mic looking at her. “I have an idea! Let’s go on a little adventure! Some fresh air and a change in scenery might help us all!”

With that, they all head to their rooms to get dressed for their adventure out of the house. Izu pulls on a long, oversized t-shirt with long sleeves and a pair of leggings with small slits going horizontally down the front. She looks in the bathroom mirror at her face, the bruising under her eyes, the splint on her nose, the bandage on her cheek. For once her outside looks how her inside feels. That being a broken mess. She pulls her long, curly hair up in a messy bun and leaves the bathroom before either of her guardians can come check on her.

They end up in the shopping district again, Present Mic saying they need to get some stuff for her room. She thinks the room is fine, but Present Mic seems to disagree. She holds her notebook close to her chest as she and Eraserhead follow the blonde man from store to store. Present Mic asks her what her favorite color is, then buys mint green paint and a sage green comforter. He asks her favorite place to visit, then buys wall decals of birch trees. He asks her favorite music, then buys a stereo, tons of various metal CDs, and posters of her favorite bands. He asks her favorite hero, then buys posters and various merch for Mirko, Edgeshot, Ryukyu, and Selkie, promising her he can get limited edition merch for himself and fanmade stuff for Eraserhead. He buys curtains with a pattern of leaves on it, a shag rug the color of grass, and enough throw pillows to cover the bed. Anything she shows the littlest of interest in, he buys.

Then they pass a hobby store. Izu slows down to look at one of the displays and suddenly Present Mic is pulling both her and Eraserhead into the store. They wander around for a while, Izu refusing to answer any questions until they reach the back of the store. There a display of various paints and canvases sits. She touches the rough canvas, memories of laughter mixed with the smell of drying paint filling her mind. She looks at the watercolors, oil paints, charcoal pencils, everything sitting there. As she touches the various materials, Present Mic follows behind her placing one of everything into a cart.

It’s not until they get back to the house that night that she realizes the weight is gone. That it had been gone for a while, slowly lifting with each store they entered.

—

They stay again. It’s now Thursday and Izu finds herself looking at Eraserhead and Present Mic, each with their hair pulled up and dressed in dirty clothes, covering everything in the room she sleeps in with sheets of plastic. Cans of mint green paint sit next to her, her job being to pour paint into the palettes. Once everything is covered and the window has been taped, they all grab paintbrushes and begin.

There are a couple of times that Present Mic splashes paint on Eraserhead, who then immediately retaliates. Each time Izu can’t help but smile a little. She’s pretty sure Present Mic caught her a few times, given the wink he gives her, but for some reason, she doesn’t mind. 

They eat lunch while the paint dries, Izu having only one piece of the delicious onigiri, then head back upstairs to decorate. The tree decals go up behind the bed, the posters of bands and heroes alike going on the other walls. They give her the job of putting the various merch on the desk and the shelves above it. Once it’s all done, Izu thinks it looks… nice. It feels like home, a little bit.

But then she remembers that she’s too broken to love and the sea of despair begins to flow in. Sure, it’s been nice these last few days, but that doesn’t make her suddenly whole again. They’ll realize she’s useless soon enough and throw her away. Or they’ll get tired of her not speaking or eating and decide she isn’t worth the trouble. Either way ends with her alone again.

She doesn’t eat dinner that night.

Chapter Text

Eraserhead isn’t there when she wakes up on Friday. Present Mic tells her it’s because he’s running a special errand, but won’t tell her anything else. She skips breakfast and sits down at the coffee table to take notes on the most recent hero fight. Present Mic eventually comes in and sits on the couch behind her, sipping on some tea and offering little facts on the heroes he knows every now and then. It’s a comforting quiet.

Eraserhead returns a few hours later, a little before they usually have lunch, and sits down at the coffee table with Izu. She looks up at him for a moment and sees him looking at her seriously. She puts her pencil in her notebook and closes it.

“I’m sure you noticed I’ve been gone for a while.” She nods. “I was interviewing a few principals in the area to find you a school.” He was doing what? Since when do people interview principals? And why go through all that trouble? Seeming to read her mind, he continues, “I wanted to make sure the place I send you during the day will keep you safe. Where you were wasn’t good enough and the people there didn’t take care of you. It’s my job as your legal guardian to provide you with safety and comfort, and that includes making sure your school is appropriate.” His eyes scan her face. “Does that make sense?” She’s still confused, but she nods anyway. “Good. I believe I’ve found a suitable school and it’s fairly close, so we’ll be able to drop you off on the way to work in the mornings.” He looks at her for a moment and seems satisfied with what he sees. “Now, it’s past time we take you to see a doctor. I was waiting until you settled in more, but I don’t like the look of those ribs, so we’re going to go see someone I trust.”

Izu looks around for a moment before Present Mic taps her on the shoulder and hands her the notebook she uses to communicate. She nods her gratitude and quickly scribbles, You don’t need to do that. I’m fine.

“You are very much not fine. Your nose was broken, your face cut, and your ribs severely bruised. What that boy did to you was assault and I’m already pressing charges against him.”

Her eyes blow wide and she scribbles faster. No! It wasn’t that bad! I’m not worth all that!

Eraserhead looks sad for a moment. “Who told you you aren’t worth basic decency and being protected?”

She shrugs. When he just continues to look at her, she writes slowly in her notebook. I’m just a useless deku. I’m not worth anything to anyone. She passes him the note without looking at him.

A hand lifts her chin and she’s suddenly looking into dark, tired eyes. “You are worth the world to me.”

Those words hit her hard and suddenly she’s being held close to a warm body as she cries.

—

The doctor Eraserhead wants her to see is at UA. She’s too stunned to do much more than gawk at the massive building at first. Eraserhead places a gentle hand on her back and guides her inside, through various hallways, and into a well-lit room with cots along one wall.

“Ah, Shota, Dear. Is this the young lady you wanted me to check over?” An older woman appears from behind a curtain. Izu squints at her for a moment before the information hits her. It’s freaking Recovery Girl! Eraserhead brought her to be seen by Recovery Girl?!

“Yes, it is. I’m worried about the injuries she sustained during the assault I told you about.”

Recovery Girl frowns. “Ah, yes. It was a few days ago, right?” The elder heroine gestures for Izu to sit on a nearby cot.

“Yes. I applied the splint to her nose after popping it back into place, and did some basic first aid to the rest of her injuries,” as he talks, Recovery Girl begins examining Izu’s face. “But it’s been four days and the bruising around her ribs still looks so dark. I’m worried I missed something.”

Recovery Girl removes the splint from her nose, gently pressing at the break. “You did a good job with this splint, Shouta. Her nose seems to be in good shape given the circumstances.” She applies a new splint over Izu’s nose and moves to examine her cheek and the bruising around her eyes. “The bruising here doesn’t look too concerning. Keep an eye on the cut for infection, but I’m not too concerned. I know you know what you’re doing.” Recovery Girl finally goes to lift up the side of Izu’s shirt. She places a soft hand against Izu’s ribcage, pressing with her fingers every now and then. Izu does her best not to react, but she can’t help but wince when the older woman touches certain spots. “How does that feel, Deary?” Izu shrugs. “Can you tell me the pain level from one to ten? One being no pain and ten being the worst pain you’ve ever felt.” Izu holds up six fingers, then Recovery Girl touches that spot again and she puts up two more fingers. Recovery Girl sighs and turns to Eraserhead. “I’ll need an x-ray to be sure, but I’m fairly certain she has at least one cracked rib. It isn’t easy to judge the difference between a cracked rib and just heavy bruising, so I don’t blame you for not knowing.”

As Recovery Girl leaves to get her portable X-ray machine, Eraserhead comes over to sit next to Izu. “How you doin’, Kid?”

She doesn’t look at him as she shrugs. She really isn’t sure how she feels. Her ribs definitely hurt, but she’s been in pain before and no one has gone this far for her.

Recovery Girl returns quickly and she gets the images she needs to let them know that Izu indeed does have three cracked ribs, two on her left and one on her right. The adults begin to discuss what should be done for her to heal. Izu just sits on the cot, not really sure what to do now. Eraserhead has done more for her in the last week than anyone else has since… Why does he care? He’s read her file and still, he cares for her. He treats her like everything, all the baggage she carries, is completely normal. He has never tried to force her to eat or speak. He defended her and continues to check on her. He stays. No one has ever just stayed before. As she continues down the rabbit hole of thought, she rubs at her left wrist unconsciously, the sleeve rising without her realizing it.

“What's that, Deary?”

Izu rapidly comes back to the present, pulling her sleeve down. But it's too late. Recovery Girl takes her left hand and pulls the sleeve up, turning her hand so her wrist is in plain view. Her scars with it. All of them.

Eraserhead takes in a breath as both he and Recovery Girl look at what she has done.

—

He knew she’d tried before. He’s seen her list of “incidents” in her file and all the restrictions. He knew, and yet looking at Izu’s scars, Shouta can’t help the growing horror that rises in his chest. He does his best to school his expression, but he sucks in a breath before he’s able to gain control. He knew, but seeing not one, not two, but three healed vertical scars overlapping one another down the fragile vessels on her wrist fills him with grief. He knew, but watching Chiyo raise Izu’s sleeve to her elbow to reveal a massive scattering of horizontal scars all at different levels of healing makes him sick.

It feels like hours pass in silence as both he and Chiyo examine the many scars littering the young teen’s arm. When the tension in the room is about to reach its breaking point, Izu snatches her arm back and pulls her sleeve down to cover her whole hand. She refuses to look at either of the adults.

“Deary,” Izu flinches as Chiyo’s voice cuts through the air. Shouta places a hand on Chiyo’s shoulder and motions for her to give them a minute. She nods and leaves, closing the privacy curtain around them.

Once the elderly woman is gone, Shouta kneels down in front of Izu, catching her eye before she looks away. He waits a moment, watching her as she twists her sleeves in her hands. “Izu, will you look at me please?” She shakes her head. He tries again. “Please look at me.” She closes her now teary eyes and shakes her head again. “Why don’t you want to look at me? Are you afraid of my reaction?” She nods. “Do you think I’m angry with you?” She shrugs. “I’m not angry with you, Izu. I promise.” Tears stream down her face and he reaches up to gently wipe them away. She flinches at first but then leans into the soft touch ever so slightly. “I won’t lie to you, I am upset,” she flinches again, “but only because it makes me sad that you have been so lost and alone in your life. It makes me sad knowing you’ve hurt yourself. It makes me sad, but I’m not upset with you. I’m upset for you.” She finally opens her eyes at that and a sob escapes her throat. “Oh, Izu, I wish I could have been here for you sooner. I wish you had never had to feel so lost that you thought leaving the world was your only option.” He slowly wraps his arms around her and she leans into him, tears quickly soaking the shoulder of his shirt. He uses one hand to stroke her back as sobs rip through her chest. “I’m so sorry you’ve been so hurt.”

They stay that way for a while, Shouta just letting Izu cry before she pulls back. He lets her and watches as she looks around. He makes a quick judgment and reaches into the bag he’d brought with him, handing her the journal he’s glad he thought to bring with them. She nods and writes down something, scratches it out and writes again, then scratches that out and writes something else before handing it back to him.

Do you still want me?

Will you stay?

You promise you aren’t mad?

“Yes, I still want you,” her posture relaxes significantly. “Yes, I will stay,” she relaxes even more, now slouching and looking very tired. “And yes, I promise I’m not mad.” Tears begin to pool in her eyes again. “Are you okay?” She bites her lip and nods. “Good. You ready to go home?” She smiles a little and nods, a yawn escaping soon after. “Looks like we could both use a nap.” 

—

What was supposed to be a short nap turned into the best night of sleep Izu has had for years. She wakes up mid-morning that Saturday feeling okay. She walks downstairs and finds both of her guardians watching the Hero News Network. She taps Mic on the shoulder, and when he looks up at her she nods toward the kitchen. He positively beams and hops right up, making her a plate of tuna mayo onigiri in thirty minutes. 

She eats her food at the coffee table, sitting on the floor in front of Eraser. As she eats, she takes notes about the heroes on screen, Mic making his usual commentary. But this time Eraser adds his own dry humor to the mix. Izu even finds herself laughing a few times. It’s a calm morning and Izu thinks the day couldn’t get any better.

Then they have a late lunch and Eraser says he has a surprise for her. He leads her back up the stairs and to the room next to hers. If she remembers correctly, this room is his and Mic’s shared office.

“As you know, this is another shared space for the members of this household. It holds sensitive files in locked cabinets and mine and Zashi’s computers and desks.” She nods her understanding. “But you’re a member of this household now, too. So we figured you should have something of your own in here as well.” He opens the door and tears immediately spring up in her eyes. Next to the window on the back wall stands an easel with a large canvas sitting on it. Next to the easel and under the window is a window seat that Eraser shows her is actually a hidden storage container holding paints all all kinds, dyes, sketchbooks, charcoal, colored and regular pencils, and basically every other thing she touched in the art store. On the other side of the easel sits more than ten canvases of varying sizes.

“We can get you more canvases or other surfaces to decorate whenever you run low, this is just the ones we could fit in here.” She turns from where she had been staring at the easel and wraps her arms around Eraser’s middle. He hugs her back, stroking her hair. “I take it you like it then?” She nods into his chest. “Good. You’re allowed in here whenever you like, even if me and/or Zashi are in here. This room is never off limits to you.” She looks up at him and smiles at him as brightly as she can, hoping to convey just how much this means to her.

She spends the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday painting. Eraser and Mic are in and out of the room often, either doing their own thing or watching her, adding compliments and commentary about her work in progress. She only leaves to eat and sleep, which she does more of than she has in years. It’s all so good, she almost forgets the weight she carries. She almost forgets that this is temporary and that they will grow tired of her soon. She almost forgets that joy is fleeting and she is meant to be dead.

Almost.

Chapter Text

Otani Junior and Senior High is actually nowhere near where Eraser and Mic live. It is in fact in another city entirely. On Monday morning, Eraser and Mic drive with Izu to the station where they split off, Mic going to UA and Izu riding a different train in the opposite direction two hours away into Kyoto. 

The building is huge and the crowd of students entering the building is intimidating. Maybe she should have taken Eraser up on his offer to come with her. No, she’s already caused him enough trouble. Readjusting the strap of her backpack, she follows the crowd through the gates of the school. Using the various signs posted, she makes her way to the principal’s office with the letter Eraser gave her to give the man. Apparently, it’s an introduction for her and a reminder of her “unique” circumstances. Izu didn’t ask too many questions about the letter, just glad she wouldn’t have to speak to the principal herself.

She walks up to the secretary and hands the envelope to her. The older woman looks it over for a moment, reading the script on the back, before ultimately handing it back and buzzing her into the principal’s office. She nods her thank you, then steps through the door. The principal is a short, rotund man probably in his forties. He rises when she enters.

“Good morning, are you a new student?” Izu doesn’t answer beyond handing the letter over. He reads it, pales a bit, then turns to Izu with a wide smile. “I remember your guardian well. I can assure you, Ms. Midoriya, we don’t tolerate discrimination of any kind here. You are safe. Why don’t I show you to your new class?”

She shrugs as the man comes around his desk. She follows him through the hallways that have since emptied of most students, only a straggler here and there. They reach a room with a sign stating it to be class 3C above the door. He opens it and calls the teacher, a Mrs. Ishinawa, over.

“Good morning, sir. Who is this?” Mrs. Ishinawa is a tall woman with pale blue skin and a horn mutation. 

“This is Midoriya Izu, the ward of that hero I told you about.” She pales a little before perking back up again.

“Ah, yes.” She turns to Izu. “Welcome, Midoriya! If you have any trouble, please don’t hesitate to let me know.”

Izu nods. The smile doesn’t leave Mrs. Ishinawa’s face as she thanks the principal and leads Izu into the classroom. She directs Izu to an empty seat behind a boy with wings and in front of a girl with pink dreads. Izu takes her seat quietly, not looking at anyone as she pulls out her notebook. The talking around her stops as Mrs. Ishinawa steps up to the front to begin teaching. Izu’s focus dims as she realizes she is already familiar with the topic at hand. Her mind seems to float, riding the waves that are coming in around her. Not sinking into them, just floating along the surface. Thoughts drift in and out, before disappearing back under the surface of the waves.

Will this school be any different?

Does Eraser really care?

Why does Eraser care?

Mic cares too, right?

But why?

The thoughts pass by and she’s unable to latch onto them for longer than it takes to register their existence. Certainly not long enough to find an answer to any of them. So she just sits and drifts. It’s actually rather calming, drifting through time. She feels the waves as they calmly rock back and forth, back and forth, back and-

“Hey, New Kid! Who are you? What’s your quirk? Why did you change schools in the middle of the semester? Why do you have that thing on your nose? Why do you have a black eye? Did you get into a fight? Did you win the fight?” 

Izu nearly falls out of her seat when the girl who sits behind her grabs her shoulders and begins the rapid-fire questioning only inches from her face. As Izu watches, little crosshairs in the girl’s eyes seem to zoom in and out automatically. Is her quirk sight-based? Obviously, but is it just zooming in? How far can she zoom in? Can she also see great distances given that she can zoom in on her subject? The girl waves a hand in her face and Izu comes back to attention again.

“New Kid, are you okay? I asked too many questions, didn’t I? Everyone always says I ask too many questions and don’t give people time to respond. My mom says I talk too fast too. But I think that there’s just too much to learn to not talk at top speed! What do you think?” And those eyes are back to zooming in and out on her.

Izu holds up a finger, wide eyes still watching the other girl’s, and grabs her notebook. She quickly looks away to write a message to the girl.

You just surprised me. I wasn’t paying attention when you grabbed me. Sorry.

She turns the note around so the pink-haired girl can see it.

“Oh, that’s fine! So, who are you? What’s your quirk? Why are you all beat up?”

Izu chews her lip but decides to be honest.

My name is Midoriya Izu. I’m quirkless. The thing on my nose is because my nose is broken. I also have a couple broken ribs. A kid at my last school attacked me because I’m a useless, worthless deku. My new guardians decided to move me to this school after it happened.

Izu doesn’t look at the girl as she reads, body shaking as she waits for the girl’s rabid friendliness to change into cruel antagonism.

“You’re quirkless? That’s perfect!” Izu looks up so fast her ribs hurt at the motion. “I’m Hatsume Mei, the future CEO of Hatsume Industries! I make support tech for heroes! Do you want to be a hero? Please say yes! You being quirkless would be perfect to show off my babies! I wouldn’t have to calibrate to suit your quirk because you don’t have one! You’d rely on the babies I make for you! And don’t worry, I make the best babies! My babies are perfect and you are the perfect person to use them!”

Izu quickly writes a new message.

You think I could be a hero?

“Sure, why not?”

But I’m quirkless 

I’m just a worthless deku

I’m completely useless

“Nothing is worthless or useless! If you think something is, you just haven’t figured out how to use it yet! You just need some of my top knotch babies and you’ll be the best hero around!”

Izu can’t help the tears forming in her eyes as she listens to this bright, energetic girl tell her she’s not useless, that she just hasn’t found her function yet.

Thank you, Hatsume.

“That won’t do! We are partners now! Call me Mei! Okay, Zuzu?”

Izu smiles a little.

Okay, Mae.

—

Mei eats lunch with Izu, discussing all the projects she wants to try and how she uses the electrical parts from a nearby beach turned dumping ground to make her inventions. It’s the most fun Izu has had at school since she was three. By the time the school day is over, Izu has a new contact in her phone and a smile on her face.

She rides the train for the two hours it takes to get to her station and texts her guardians.

Me: I think I made a friend…

Mic: WHATTT?!! That’s AMAZING!!! My baby is growing up so fast!!

Eraser: What Zashi said, but with less enthusiasm. 

Eraser: I’m glad you made a friend, Izu.

Eraser: Does this mean you had a good day at school?

Me: Yeah, I think I did…

Me: Eraser?

Eraser: Yeah, Kid?

Me: Could you train me to be a hero?

Chapter Text

Training begins with getting Izu to eat more. Shouta knows that convincing a depressed, suicidal, not-so-borderline anorexic teenage girl to eat more will be its own battle, but she needs the calories to be able to do the hard stuff. He explains this much to her when they get home from picking her up from the station. He agreed immediately to train her, she needs a hobby and something to look forward to and this will give her that, but when they arrived home it was time to help her see what training would mean.

“So if you haven’t at least had breakfast and lunch, there will be no training after school, okay?”

What about half my lunch? What if I eat most of it, but just can’t finish?

“We can work up to you finishing, but only light exercises until we can get you to that point, okay? We need to get your physical strength and stamina up to healthy levels before we can get you to heroic levels. Sound like a plan you can agree to?”

It takes her only a moment to reply.

Yes.

—

With the idea of training to be a hero in mind, Izu manages to eat a serving of natto, one hotspring egg, and a piece of grilled mackerel for breakfast the next morning. Mic doesn’t hesitate to voice his pride in her, going so far as to offer her a hug, which she hesitantly accepts. Eraser is calmer in his pride, but she catches his small smile and feels it warm her soul. They believe in her.

She leaves early for school, wanting to be there when Mei arrives, so the train is nearly empty for her ride into Kyoto. Once there, she walks up the steps of Otani Junior High, replaces her shoes for the required slippers, and makes her way straight to the classroom. Having left so early, she actually arrives well ahead of most of her classmates. To pass the time, Izu pulls out a sketchbook that Mic had given her and begins sketching a bouquet of red tulips, yellow rapeseed flowers, and red poppies. Her picture is practically complete when she’s knocked out of her concentration by a familiar voice.

“Zuzu! Guess what! Guess what!” Mei grabs one of Izu’s hands and begins bouncing in place. Izu gives the excited girl a small smile and nods for her to continue. “I stayed up most of last night brainstorming ideas of what babies I could make for you, and I think I came up with the perfect ideas!” Mei lets go of Izu’s hand in favor of opening her own backpack and pulling out a beat-up journal. She flips through some pages before she seems to find the one she wants, “Look! Look!” She plops it down on Izu’s desk and then stands there bouncing in place.

Izu looks at the open page and sees some sort of... armor? She recognizes a chest plate, but the other images are harder to make out, especially with the scratched kanji taking up most of the space. She looks back up at Mei who is essentially vibrating at this point. When she tilts her head at the inventor, Mei immediately begins pouring out her ideas.

“I figured we should start with some way to protect you! You’ll need flexibility for movement, and since we don’t know your fighting style yet, we need to leave room for adjustments down the line, so I started with something basic. If you look here,” she points at an oval-like shape, “this will be the arm guards that I will fit to your costume. Which is another thing we need to talk about. Do you have any costume ideas in mind yet? Though before you can think of costume ideas, you’ll need to know what track of heroics you want to go into. Do you know what kind of hero you want to be yet? It’s okay if you don’t! I can make babies for any type of heroics imaginable! Like this armor! It’ll work great for underground as I’ve decided to make each piece as thin as possible without compromising for safety. The prototype will have to be made from steel, as that’s all I have access to right now, but once I get into the support course at UA, I’ll have access to much stronger stuff. The armour will be thin so it’s inconspicuous. I figure we can use people’s underestimation of you against them! The armor I’m making for you will fit under most clothes and be able to withstand and absorb any hit you get from someone without a strength enhancement quirk. I’ll need better materials to make it hold up against strength quirks. But not to worry, I’m sure it’ll be perfect before you ever meet someone like that!”

While Mei is talking, Izu turns a page in her sketchbook and writes her a note.

Breathe

Mei reads it and takes a deep breath before continuing her spiel, much to Izu’s amusement. “I designed the arm guards to be more like ovals to compliment the musculature of the forearm. The leg guards are rounded diamonds to do the same thing for the shins. I also designed thigh guards, gloves, this chest plate, and a back plate to give you almost three-sixty coverage! But I made each piece to be compact so as to not get in the way of your movement. Next, I’m thinking we should design you a weapon, though we may need to get advice on what type of weapon suits you. Do you know anything about weapons?” Izu shakes her head. “That won’t be a problem. We have time to figure it out. What do you think?” Mei has finally stopped shaking at this point.

Izu gives the other girl a small smile and reaches into her backpack for her designated notebook.

It all looks really cool, Mei. Are you sure it isn’t too much though? I don’t want you to waste too much time on me.

“Nonsense! Protecting my best friend while she protects others is the greatest use of my time!”

Izu nearly chokes. 

Best friend? I’m your best friend?

Mei gives her a weird look. “Of course you are. You’re the only one here worthy of my babies. Why wouldn’t you be my best friend?”

Something warm blossoms in her chest. 

You’re my best friend too, Mei.

Mei smiles wide, “Of course I am! We are going to be the best team in heroics history! I’m going to make you the best weapons and gear, and you’re gonna take down all the worst bad guys!”

Izu smiles a little wider at that.

Do you have any other ideas you want to show me?

Mei’s grin becomes mischievous. “I thought you’d never ask…”

—

“You ate your lunch? All of it?” Shouta watches Izu nod her head. Zashi had packed her a light, protein-packed lunch in the hopes that giving her something easy to eat would encourage her to eat more of it. It looks like he was right. Shouta gives his charge a small smile. “Then we can start with some warm-up exercises and go from there. If it gets to be too much for you, let me know and we’ll take a break. It won’t do you any good to overwork yourself.” Again she nods, but this time there’s a hint of a smile there. He nods to her and gestures to the gym area. Zashi offered to let them use the gym at his agency, and Shouta figured it would be the safest place to train Izu.

They start with stretches, where Shouta finds that Izu is actually quite flexible, before they run two laps around the large gym. Shouta keeps his pace slow to make sure Izu can keep up with him. He can’t help the pride he feels as he watches the determination in her eyes. Once they are warmed up, Shouta leads her over to some gym equipment. They start with some very light upper-body lifting, just enough to gauge where she’s at in terms of strength. It turns out that she’s only able to lift up to three and a half kilograms before it becomes too much, but they have time to work her up to more.

“Okay, that’s enough for today.” Izu looks at him and shakes her head. “Yes, it is. Remember I said that it won’t do any good to overwork yourself. You’ve done really well today, but we need to make sure you train in a healthy way. If you do too much too fast then it will strain your already weak body and that will set you back further. If you can keep up this pace, and keep up your good eating habits, then we’ll move to the next phase of your training in no time.” He watches her sigh and lifts a hand to ruffle her messy hair. She gives him a small smile, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. He kneels down so he can meet her eyes. “I promised you I would train you to be a hero, and that’s what I’m going to do. But I also promised to keep you safe and healthy. This is the way it has to be for now. I get that you’re disappointed in how slow your progress is taking, but each step, no matter how small, is getting you closer to being the best hero you can be. Do you believe me?” She nods. “Good. Now let’s get home and see what Zashi has cooking for dinner.”

He ruffles her hair one more time and then leads her out the door. They drive home in comfortable silence, Shouta making a training plan in his head while Izu stares out the window. They reach the gated community quickly, Shouta waving to the guard, and make their way to the house. Before Shouta can get out of the car though, Izu grabs his sleeve. He turns to her and she has this look in her eyes. He doesn’t know how he knows, maybe it’s the time he’s been spending with her or maybe it’s because they are so similar, but he just knows what she’s asking him without her having to write it down.

“You did a great job today. It’s not your fault that you can’t do more. You have been neglected and wronged by so many people, Izu, but all of that stops now. I’m going to help you as much as I can, and Zashi has your back too. You are worth the effort we are putting in and you are going to be a great hero someday. I’m glad I get to be a part of your origin story.” She searches his face for something. She must find what she needs because the next second he has a frail body clutched to his. He holds her and feels his shirt become damp with her tears as she silently sobs. “I’ve got you now. You’ll never be alone again.”

Chapter Text

The next couple of months went just like that. Mei came to school each day excited to see her and involving her in conversations about heroics. After school, Eraser would train her to build up her strength and stamina. On weekends, her, Mic, and Eraser would watch the hero news channel and they would commentate while she analyzed. Sometimes they watched movies together. It was nice. She found herself feeling better. Feeling wanted. Feeling whole. 

She should have known it wouldn’t last.

—

“Hey, Izu? Can we talk to you about something?” Mic speaks up at breakfast that Saturday. Izu looks up at him and Eraser, both sporting serious looks, and nods. Mic smiles. “You’ve been with Sho and I for two and a half months now. We’ve both noticed a positive change in you. You’ve been doing so good and your eating has gotten so much better.”

“That being said, we’ve put this off long enough. With how I found you and the struggles you’ve had in the past, it’s time we found you someone to talk to.” Eraser looks at her with concern as she mulls over what he said.

Like a therapist?

He nods. “Yes, exactly like a therapist. Have you been to see one before?”

She chews her lip as she writes.

When I was little. They talked a lot and let me play with toys. They were nice, I guess.

Mic and Eraser look at each other. “It’ll be a little different now that you’re older. It should be mostly you talking, or writing, and them helping you work through some of your thoughts. Is that something you think you can handle?” She hesitantly nods. “Good. Then instead of training on Monday, I’ll take you to see one we found near the house. She has some good reviews, so I’m hopeful she’ll be able to help you.” Eraser smiles at her and she tries to return the gesture.

—

The office of Dr. Endo Fumi is dark, with only a window and small lamp giving the space any warmth. Eraser is waiting outside for her, but Dr. Endo insisted on seeing her alone. Said it would be best so she doesn’t feel any pressure. Izu looks back as the door shuts.

“Now, Miss Midoriya, please have a seat.” She gestures to a couch a good few meters away from the desk where she takes a seat. Izu follows the directions, sitting on the edge of the couch and fidgeting with the long sleeves of her shirt. “Good. Let’s start with introductions. I’m Dr. Endo Fumi, please call me Doctor or Dr. Endo. I will be seeing you twice a week for the foreseeable future as we work through your troubles.

Izu opens her bag and pulls out her notebook to write down her introduction but she’s stopped by the doctor’s voice.

“That won’t be necessary. I must insist that you use your voice to communicate, please. I promise this is a safe place to speak. I’m sure that man out there,” she gestures toward the closed door, toward Eraser, “has made you feel pressured not to speak up, but it’s safe here.” 

Izu gulps, opening her mouth and then closing it again. Eraser has made her feel the safest she’s ever felt. She loves living with him and Mic. It’s not his fault she doesn’t talk. He says it’s not her fault either. He lets her communicate however is comfortable for her. She tries to write that down for the doctor, but her notebook is promptly snatched from her.

“I told you that won’t be necessary. If you aren’t ready for introductions, that’s fine. When I found out you were in the system, I made sure to get your file from your social worker, so I have everything I need to help you.” Izu’s eyes grow wide. Her file? But then she knows… Izu’s heart plummets. “Let’s start off with your relationship with your mother…”

The waves crash in and she misses whatever else the doctor says. The ocean is a comfort as it sweeps her away. She feels it pulling her deeper and deeper below its depths. It’s been so long since she felt the cold touch of the water, but she finds it a welcome release from the present. As the doctor continues to talk, her voice muffled from where Izu sits below the surface, Izu just stares blankly ahead. She should have known better. The world is not good like Eraser. Like Mic. Like Mei. The world hates her. She doesn’t belong with normal people.

The session ends and light sweeps in as the door to the outside is opened. Dr. Endo hands her back her notebook as Eraser and her discuss something. Izu just waits, drowning in her own mind. They head to the car and Eraser talks to her, asking her how it went, but she can’t bring herself to write anything.

When they arrive home, she goes straight to bed without dinner.

—

“I see you’re still refusing to talk to me. I’ve told you time and again that this is a safe place. You need to talk to me in order for me to help you.” Izu says nothing, just stares straight ahead as she has done for the last three sessions. Dr. Endo sighs. “I didn’t want to have to do this, but you’ve left me no choice.” The doctor closes her eyes for a moment before she opens them again, but this time they are glowing bright blue. “ How do you feel today? ” As she speaks, blue mist leaks from her lips.

As the words ring in her ears, the air in her lungs is sucked out. She can’t breathe. The ocean around her becomes rough as words are forced from her lips. “I… feel…” She does her best to fight the feeling, but it burns in her chest.

“ Don’t try to fight it. Are you angry with your mother for what she did? ”

“No… she… was… so… sad… all… the… time.” She can only breathe again once the words are out of her lips.

“ Because of you? ”

“No…”

“ But she would have been happy if you had been born with a quirk, isn’t that right? Your quirklessness isolated her. She lost most of her friends, isn’t that right? ”

“I… I don’t… know…”

“ Don’t you blame yourself for her death? ”

The pain in her chest is excruciating now. “No…”

“ Be truthful now. ”

She fights the feeling. She fights and fights, but she needs to breathe. “Yes…”

“ Now we’re getting somewhere. ”

—

“I don’t know about this Dr. Endo, Zashi.” Shouta looks up at the stairs as Izu ascends to her room again. It’s been three weeks since she started seeing this therapist, and after each visit Izu looks so dull and lifeless. 

“I know what you’re thinking, Sho. But has the little listener said anything about her? Has she said she doesn’t like her?”

“She doesn’t say anything, Zashi!” Shouta sighs. “Sorry, Zashi. It’s just… After every visit she goes straight to her room and refuses to leave until school the next morning. She won’t tell me what’s going on, if she likes her therapist, if she doesn’t like her therapist. Nothing. It’s like all the progress she’s made is just gone.” Shouta rubs a hand over his face as he sits down at the dining table.

“I’ve seen it too. But we can’t know what’s going on unless she tells us. It could just be that she’s emotionally tired. You remember how we were after Oboro. She’s probably talking about some rough stuff and that can be exhausting.”

“I know, but I just can’t help but think that something else is wrong.”

Chapter Text

The shout is what made her stop and turn back. She sits at the top of the stairs and listens to the conversation happening below.

“...won’t tell me what’s going on, if she likes her therapist, if she doesn’t like her therapist. Nothing. It’s like all the progress she’s made is just gone.”

Mic’s voice filters through the air toward her. “I’ve seen it too. But we can’t know what’s going on unless she tells us. It could just be that she’s emotionally tired. You remember how we were after Oboro. She’s probably talking about some rough stuff and that can be exhausting.”

“I know, but I just can’t help but think that something else is wrong.” She hears a loud sigh from Eraser.

“You care about her, so it’s only logical that you’d worry, Sho.”

“Why do you have to throw logic at me.” Laughter rings through the air. “You’re right, though. I know she’s only lived with us for three months, but I love her like she’s my own, Zashi.”

At those words, Izu can’t keep listening. Eraser loves her? Why would he love her? She’s just a burden making him worry. Her mom loved her and Izu ruined her life. What’s gonna happen to Eraser? What’s gonna happen when he realizes that she really isn’t worth all this trouble? 

She runs to her room and collapses onto her bed. Rolling over, she looks around at the room she’s been given. The art on the walls that she made, the posters Eraser and Mic bought for her, the room that they painted for her. They’ve done so much for her, and what has she done for them? Just caused worry and stress. She’s a failure and a lost cause. They’d be better off without her. Especially Eraser. He’ll get over it eventually. 

Yeah, they’re all better off.

—

“Izu! Guess what?!” Mei runs into the room screaming. 

Izu looks up and smiles at her best friend. 

What’s up? What has you all excited?

“I finally figured out what kind of weapon to make for you!” Izu nods for her to continue, her smile growing. “Well, you know how Eraser has been training you?” The thought hurts a little, but Izu nods anyway. “I figured I should make you something that would go with his fighting style since that’s most likely what you’ll be learning first! I figured I could make you wrist guards with wires that can easily anchor you to buildings or lamp posts like a grappling hook and are easily retractable, so you can fly through the air like he does! And that made me think, why not put reinforcements into your boots so if you fly toward a baddie, you can kick him with greater force? Then that made me think of how you talked about baseball bats last week, so what if I made you a bat that could strap to your back? What do you think?!”

Izu smiles wide. 

That all sounds amazing, Mei! I’m so glad you’re my friend. I’ve been so lucky to know you.

“You sure are!” They talk a little longer before class ultimately starts. Izu stays pretty aware throughout the day, talking with Mei during lunch and doing her work in class. When the final bell for the end of the day rings, Izu turns to her best friend in the whole world. Her only friend in the whole world. 

I want to give you something.

“Really? What is it?” Mei looks excited as Izu reaches into her bag. She pulls out her two most recent hero analysis for the future journals and places them on Mei’s desk. Mei looks at them questioningly. “What are these?”

They are to me what your inventions are to you. They are my most recent “babies” and I want you to have them. I know you’ll take care of them and understand how special they are.

Izu smiles at her best friend, so much light in her eyes.

“But why are you giving them to me?! Don’t you need them?”

Izu shakes her head.

I have what I need.

She hugs her friend goodbye and heads for the train home. She has therapy today.

—

Dr. Endo used her quirk on Izu again, just like always. But this time Izu didn’t fight it as hard. She’s just so tired. Too tired. Besides, it would all be over soon. When she leaves the office, she sees Eraser hang up his phone with a frown.

“Hey, Kiddo. That was Tsukauchi. I’m needed for a short patrol tonight. You gonna be okay with just Mic?”

She nods at him and smiles. He startles but smiles back at her. 

“I’m glad you seem to be feeling okay. Let’s get home.”

They walk to the car and Izu uses her notebook to write little notes to Eraser that he reads whenever he stops at a light or stop sign. They are actually able to hold a conversation doing this. She can tell it makes Eraser happy and she’s glad to see the smile on his face.

They eat dinner together, Izu nodding along to their conversation and adding her own written comments. They laugh together and it’s all around a great night. As Eraser is pulling on his boots to go on patrol, Izu runs over to him and gives him a hug. He accepts, of course, and she smiles up at him. She and Mic wave goodbye to him as he walks out the door.

She turns to Mic and gives him a hug before scooping up Bastard and running up to her room. Sitting in her room and looking around, she cuddles Bastard and allows herself a moment to cry. To the tabby cat’s credit, he doesn’t try to escape as she wets his fur with her tears. He just lays there and comforts her.

She does eventually get up and heads over to her desk. Sitting down, she begins writing.

Dear Mei…

Dear Uncle Zashi…

Dear Dad…

—

When Tsukauchi called and said that he needed Shouta to help in the search for some escaped convicts, he was initially worried. It’s a therapy night and he likes to be at home on those nights just in case Izu needs him. But when she came out and smiled at him, he felt a little better about going. Then she talked with him on the ride home and at dinner and he was just overjoyed that she seemed to be making a turn for the better. And then she hugged him goodbye and he thought he’d melt right there. She’s back and he couldn’t be happier.

He caught the criminals pretty quickly with the help of some vigilantes and other underground heroes, so it wasn’t too long before he was heading home. He said goodbye to everyone and went out to his car. When he got there he saw his phone sitting in the front seat, notification light flashing. Both Izu and Zashi know he doesn’t use his phone during patrols. If they have an emergency they’re supposed to go straight to the comms link in the office. Maybe it isn’t important? He shrugs it off and gets into the car.

It begins to nag at him as he drives though. Who could have tried to call or message him while he was on patrol? What did they need? Was it Izu? What if she needed something and couldn’t get Zashi’s help with the comms? What if something happened to Zashi and she is just sitting at home in fear? No use worrying. When he reaches the gate to their neighborhood, he pulls his phone out and looks at the screen.

1 missed call from: Izu

1 new voicemail

Izu called him? She always texts. As his hands begin to shake, he hits play on the voicemail.

There’s static and the clearing of a throat, “I know you’re on patrol right now so you won’t get this for a while, but I just had to tell you before it’s too late. I’m so glad you found me that day on the roof. You have been the best guardian I’ve ever had and I need you to know that. You’ve done absolutely everything right. And… I love you so much for that. I love you, Dad.” 

He’s pulling into the driveway when the voicemail cuts off. The car is barely in park before he’s opened the door and is running up to the front of the house. He’s shaking as he unlocks the door to the house. He runs up the stairs and bursts into her room. 

It’s empty save three letters sitting on her neatly made bed. His heart sinks as he turns around and heads for the bathroom. Heart pounding, he tries the knob. It’s locked. He knocks on the door. “Izu? Izu, Sweetheart, are you there?” He knocks harder. “Please answer me. I need you to answer me.” He begins pounding on the door as hard as he can. “Izu! Izu open the door!”

He hears footsteps on the stairs leading to his and Zashi’s rooms as he continues to bang on the door. “What’s going on, Sho?”

He doesn’t answer, just slams his foot into the door, forcing it open. When he breaks through all he sees is Izu curled up on the floor. He doesn’t hesitate to rush in, hands shaking as he checks her pulse. He can’t feel anything. 

He rolls her over and puts his ear to her chest. Nothing. 

Shouta begins chest compressions. He hears Zashi on the phone, most likely with emergency services, but it’s all muffled. He does thirty reps, then checks her pulse. Nothing. Thirty more reps. Checks her pulse. Nothing. “Come back to me, Baby. Come back. Please come back to me. I love you so much. Please come back. Please don’t leave me.” Thirty more reps. Checks her pulse. A small thump. Another small thump. On the third thump against his fingers, he scoops her up and runs down the stairs.

An ambulance arrives just as he’s exiting the front door. He places her on the stretcher and climbs in behind her into the ambulance. Before they can leave, Zashi comes running out of the house.

“Wait! You need this!” He runs up to the back and hands Shouta an empty pill bottle. The doors shut and the ambulance is off. He looks down at the bottle in his hands. It’s his old prescription of oxycodone. He’d been prescribed thirty tablets. He only ever used two. He’d kept the rest in his medicine cabinet in his bathroom. She got this from his bathroom. He hands the medicine bottle to the EMT and lets him call it into the hospital. 

The entire ride he watches Izu. She’s barely breathing and her heart rate on the monitor is thready at best. He grabs her hand in one of his and uses the other to stroke her hair. He leans in close and begins whispering in her ear. “I love you, Izu. You are so loved and so wanted. I need you to stay with me. Please, Baby. Please stay with me. I still want you. Please come back to me. Please, Izu. Sweetheart, please.” 

When they arrive at the hospital, Izu is whisked away to another section of the hospital where doctors can assess and save her. They have to save her. They have to.

Eraser collapses in the waiting room of the ER just as Zashi walks in the front doors. His best friend runs over to him and helps him into a chair. “She has to be okay, Zashi. She has to be okay.”

“She will be, Sho.”

“How do you know?”

Silence is his only response.

Chapter Text

He reads the note again for the hundredth time. It still doesn’t make any sense to him. 

Dear Dad,

I need you to know this wasn’t your fault. You have shown me more love in these past few months than I’ve felt since my mother died. You’ve supported me and taken such good care of me. You’ve done so much for me and I can never thank you enough. I just can’t keep pretending anymore. I can’t keep pretending like I’m worth your love and care. I can’t keep pretending like I deserve the things you’ve done for me. 

You were right about so many things, but you were wrong about me. It is my fault. All of it is my fault. It’s my fault my mom is gone and it’s my fault that the world hates me. It’s my fault that you are so stressed and worried. It’s all my fault. 

I’m a burden and you don’t deserve to be stuck with me. If being who I am killed my mom, then I can’t let anything happen to you. I only hurt the people who love me. I’m a failure of a daughter and you deserve so much better.

I’m sure you’ll move on soon enough, and that’s okay. I want you to. I love you so much. You’ve been the father I never thought I’d have and I appreciate that more than you know. 

Please make sure Mei and Uncle Zashi get my letters. They need to know it’s not their faults either. They were both so good to me. But you were the best.

I love you, Dad. 

If this was how she’s been feeling, why didn’t she come to him? He could have helped her! He thought he was helping her. So why is he now sitting in her hospital room waiting for her to wake up? He should have done more. He should have been there last night. He should have stayed with her. Why didn’t he stay with her?

—

Hatsume Mei knows many things. She knows how to build a microwave from scraps in a junkyard. She knows she's going to one day own her own support company. She knows that her best friend is Midoriya Izu and that she will be a great hero one day. She knows many things, but there is one thing she does not know. 

Where is Izu?

Mei's best and only friend in the world is always early to school. She is always the first one here between the two of them and she hasn't missed a day of school since she arrived. So where is she?

As the school day lets out, Mei begins blowing up Izu’s phone with texts.

Mei: Where are you?

Mei: Are you okay?

Mei: Did something happen?

Mei: Was it the kids from your old school?

Mei: Izu?

She stares at her phone all the way to the train station. When nothing comes through, she finally decides to call. Izu doesn't talk, but maybe the ringing will get her to answer the texts? The phone rings three times before a masculine voice answers.

“Who is this?” The voice sounds hoarse and grumpy.

“Hatsume Mei, Izu's best friend. Who are you? Why do you have Izu’s phone? Is she okay?”

There's a rough sigh. “She told me about you. No, she's not,” his voice cracks a little and he takes in a deep breath. “She's not okay. I’m her guardian and she is currently in the hospital.”

“What hospital?! I can come right now!” Mei starts looking at the incoming trains and tries to remember where Izu said she lives.

“I’m not sure that’s the best-”

“Listen, Mr. Guardian-Man, Izu is my best friend. If she’s hurt or sick, then I need to be there! Where is she?!”

There’s a sigh on the other end of the line. “Musutafu General.”

Mei finds the right train almost immediately with her quirk. “Got it. I’ll be there in two hours.” Then she hangs up on the man, running to the train and wishing it would take off faster.

—

It’s been three days and Hizashi is starting to worry about Sho. He refuses to leave the hospital, snapping at any nurse who tries to convince him to take a break, and has barely eaten anything. Hizashi has brought him a change of clothes and food, but there isn’t much else he can do for his best friend. And that fact is killing him. 

The pink-haired girl has been coming every afternoon after school and is currently spending her Saturday in one of the plastic hospital chairs reading a book to the still comatose Izu. The girl, Mei, claims that Izu just needs some brain stimulation to wake up. So everyday she comes by and stays through visiting hours reading, doing her homework out loud, and talking about her latest ideas for inventions. She’s only asked once what happened, but neither Hizashi nor Sho could bring themselves to tell her.

Sho is finally sleeping, sitting in a chair pushed all the way up to Izu’s bed, her hand in his. Hizashi looks around and finds a spare blanket in a cupboard. Being as gentle as possible to not wake the man, he paces it around him. This action of course leaves Hizashi right next to Izu.

Looking at her pains him. She looks almost peaceful, laying there sleeping, if it wasn’t for the tube down her throat and the machine breathing for her. The doctors said it’s only temporary, just to give her body time to heal, and that they will remove it the moment she wakes up. If she wakes up.

Hizashi shakes his head to try and get rid of the thought. She’s going to wake up. She’s going to wake up and they’ll all go back home and everything will be okay. She’s going to wake up. She has to.

Hizashi turns from Izu and walks over to the lumpy couch in the corner. He collapses on it and takes a deep breath, pulling out the letter she wrote for him. 

Dear Uncle Zashi,

This isn’t your fault. You need to know that before I say anything else. This is not your fault. I can hear you downstairs right now watching TV and I know that when I’m found you are going to blame yourself because you’re the one who is here with me. But it’s not your fault. It’s mine.

You and Dad have shown me so much love in these last few months. More love than I’ve known from anyone since my mother. You’ve done so much for me even though I’m not yours and I can’t thank you enough for it. I only wish I could deserve it all.

I know this is going to hurt at first, but you need to know that this is for the best. I’m just a burden on you and Dad. I can’t ever hope to be worthy of your love and I can’t keep pretending like I can. This is what’s best for everyone.

Please take care of Dad for me. He loves me and I think he might take this pretty hard, but it’s not his fault either. I’m so broken and unfixable, and he deserves a daughter who is whole. So please take good care of him. And tell him I love him.

I love you, Uncle Zashi.

Tears drip down his face and he has to breathe in deep to keep the sobs at bay. He was there. He was in the house with her and he couldn’t save her. He thought everything was fine and if Sho hadn’t come home when he did, Izu would be dead and it would be all Hizashi’s fault for not checking on her. Why didn’t he check on her?

—

It happens on Monday at around nine in the morning. Shouta only knows the time because Zashi said it was about time he went and got breakfast. Shouta had just closed his eyes to try and rest a while when he feels it. It’s so light at first that he thinks he imagined it. But then it happens again. A faint pressure on his hand. His eyes dart to the hand in his and he stares. Did he imagine it? It feels like forever before he sees the hand twitch and squeeze his. All the breath is knocked out of him as he sits up and squeezes the hand back.

“Izu? Sweetheart?” He looks at her face and sees a twitch around her eyes. Then those same eyes squeeze shut more before blinking open. “Nurse! I need a nurse!” He turns back to her and smiles. “Hey, Kid. You’re okay. Everything’s okay.” He starts stroking her hair as a nurse rushes in. 

Izu looks around appearing dazed until the nurse starts shutting down the machine that had been breathing for her. They pull the tube from her throat and she begins coughing. After a few moments, she turns to look at Shouta, confusion on her face. Then realization. And then tears start to flow. He doesn’t waste a second before pulling her into his arms. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you and I am never letting go.”

—

After Shouta manages to get her a notepad from the nurse’s station, Izu doesn’t hesitate to talk to him.

You’re still here.

“Yes, I am.”

Why?

“Because you need me. Because you are hurting and I made a promise to be with you no matter what. Because I love you.”

Tears wet the page as she writes again.

You still love me? Even after what I did? You still want me?

Shouta leans forward and strokes her hair, putting some behind her ear. “I will love you no matter what you do. I will always want you. Forever.”

But I’m broken. I’m worthless and useless. It’s all my fault and you deserve so much better.

“You are not broken. You are not worthless or useless. You are a child and you are the best thing in my life.” He looks her in the eyes, searching to see if she believes him. “I would give up being a hero if it would save you.” Her eyes go wide.

No! Don’t do that! You’re the best hero there is!

“I’m glad you think so highly of me. But you are worth so much more to me than my career as a hero. I need you to understand how much you are loved and wanted, Izu. I need you to understand that you are worth more to me than anything in this world. You are a treasure to be cherished and adored. You are everything that is good in this world. You have people who love and support you no matter what. If you were to leave, our lives would never be the same. The world would never be the same. You are a light in a dark world and we need you.”

Izu really starts to cry at this point, so Shouta moves her notepad and wraps her up in his arms, rocking her back and forth. He doesn’t shush her, just strokes her hair and rubs her back in soothing circles.

Chapter Text

“You know we need to talk about this, right?” Shouta asks gently. It’s been a few hours now since she woke up. She and Zashi had their own moment when he got back with breakfast, and he has since gone to get lunch, leaving Shouta and Izu alone to have this hard conversation. Izu looks away from him but nods. “I know this will be hard, but I need to know a few things.” She still won’t look at him, instead fidgeting with the blanket in her lap. “When did it start getting bad again?” She shrugs. “Why didn’t you come to me or Zashi when you started feeling this way again?” Again all she does is shrug. He sighs. “Okay, then let’s talk about the letters.” Her eyes flit to his and then back down again. “Why did you say it’s “all your fault”?” 

She reaches out for the notepad. 

Because it is. Everything is my fault. My mom’s gone because of me. You’re stressed because of me. I’m just a burden to you and Uncle Zashi.

She passes him the note and goes back to looking down at her hands. As Shouta reads, he can feel his frown deepening. “Izu?” She curls in on herself a little. “Look at me, Sweetheart.” He uses a hand to gently lift her chin so she’s looking at him. She already has tears in her eyes. “I don’t know what happened to your mother, but I’m absolutely positive it wasn’t your fault. I’m stressed because I’m worried about you. That’s what happens when a parent loves their child, they worry about them. And you are not and never have been a burden to me or Zashi. We both love you so much.” He lets go of her chin to wipe away the tears starting to spill again. “Now, I need you to tell me something. I need you to be honest because this is very important. Can you do that for me?” She nods. “Who made you think it was your fault?”

Dr. Endo

Ice goes down Shouta’s spine. “Your therapist? She told you it was your fault your mother is gone?”

No. She made me say it. With her quirk.

Shouta has to take a deep, calming breath so he doesn’t scare Izu. “She used her quirk on you?” Izu nods.

I wouldn’t talk to her and she wouldn’t let me write, so she used her quirk to make me talk. I told her it wasn’t my fault, but she kept talking about how my mom would still be here if I wasn’t quirkless. She wouldn’t stop until I said it was my fault. Her quirk hurt so much, I couldn’t breathe unless I spoke to her. I didn’t like it. She made me talk about other stuff too.

“Other stuff? What else did she make you tell her?”

About the way people hurt me. How it’s my fault I got hurt. How I’m just a burden on society. The ways I’m failing. Stuff like that. She made me say all my bad thoughts out loud and then told me they were true.

Looking up from her note, all Shouta can do is watch the way Izu twists at her wrists. He reaches out a hand and places it over her’s. “She lied, Izu. She should never have done that to you and she should never have told you those things. She is a quirkist liar, only out to hurt you. I am so sorry I ever let her near you.” It really is his fault. He should have followed his gut and stopped those therapy sessions when he noticed how sad she got after. He should have done better. He should have-

Izu shoves the notepad into his hands, interrupting his train of thought.

It’s not your fault. You didn’t know.

“I still should have done something for you.”

She points at “It’s not your fault” and gives him a look.

He returns her look with one of his own before sighing. “Fine, but I’m going to do something about this now.”

What are you gonna do?

“Well, first I’m going to-” He’s interrupted by someone opening the door. He looks over to find the last person he wanted or needed to see walking in like she owns the place.

“Mr. Aizawa, I wish to have a moment alone with my patient.” Dr. Endo speaks with arrogance and disdain dripping from her tone.

Immediately Izu latches onto his arm, her fearful eyes fixated on the woman in front of them. The anger inside his soul burns and he can feel his quirk activating as he glares at the intruder. Just when he was finally getting Izu to open up to him again. And she thinks he’ll let her be alone with the teenager? Never again.

“That will not be happening.” He feels Izu relax ever so slightly at his words. 

Dr. Endo takes a deep, condescending breath. “Mr. Aizawa, my patient has been through something incredibly traumatic and it is my job to see that she receives the care she needs.”

“No, actually. It’s my job as her guardian to make sure she gets the care she needs, and you will not be providing any kind of care to my daughter ever again.”

“Now, Mr. Aizawa, we both know she isn’t legally your daughter. She belongs to the state and I’m sure her social worker will agree with me that I am her best option. We’ve been making great progress and I’m sure I can help her more than you can.”

Shouta stands up, ready to absolutely end this woman, when Zashi finally returns with lunch. “Hey, Sho, the restaurant didn’t have any yakisoba, but I managed to get some- what’s going on here?” Before the doctor can say anything, Shouta tosses Zashi the notepad Izu had been using. He’s never been so grateful that his best friend is a fast reader. It doesn’t take but a moment for Zashi’s face to turn into a mask of pure rage directed at the woman who nearly destroyed their lives. “You did what to my niece?!”

The woman has the audacity to roll her eyes. “You are being so dramatic. I don’t know what she’s told you, but everything I’ve done nothing but try to help her.”

“By using your quirk on her? By convincing her that she’s a burden? You’ve done nothing but make her mental health worse . You’re a disgrace to the psychiatric community and you will lose your license for what you’ve done!”

“And how do you plan to make that happen? I’m a highly respected doctor and you’re nothing but a couple of bums on society. You can’t touch me.”

Shouta has heard more than enough. “I can do more than touch you.” He pulls out his phone and makes a call to Tsukauchi’s direct line. “Yes, detective? I’d like to have a one Dr. Endo Kimiko investigated for child abuse and unlawful quirk use. She used her quirk on my daughter without her consent and maliciously exploited her emotional distress. I would be delighted to detain her for you.” Shouta cracks a smile as Zashi grabs the woman by the wrists and wrenches them behind her back. Surprisingly, a nurse brings over a set of zip-ties and offers them to Zashi. He hangs up the phone and is pleased to see the horrified look on the horrible woman’s face. “You will not only lose your license for what you did to my daughter , but you will also be facing jail time. How’s that for a couple of bums?”

—

Izu watches from behind her dad as Dr. Endo is pulled from the room by her uncle. Did that really just happen? Their going to all this trouble just to protect her? Why are they doing all of this? She’s not worth all of this. She’s just a stupid, quirkless-

“Hey there, no bad thoughts. I can see it all over your face, you’re thinking bad things about yourself. But all those mean thoughts, the terrible things that she made you say about yourself, they are all untrue. You are worthy. You are valuable. You are so very loved.”

He took her notebook to show Uncle Zashi what she said, so she’s unable to say anything to him, but that doesn’t stop her from reaching out for a hug. Her dad returns it fully, squeezing her tightly against his chest as she begins to cry. He really does love her. He’s her dad and he loves her.

They stay that way for a while, just holding onto one another. Eventually two police officers and Detective Tsukauchi arrive and take Dr. Endo away in handcuffs. Nurse Isa comes in to check on her and take her vitals down, offering a kind smile and gentle pat on the head. Uncle Zashi comes back into the room and passes out the food that had been abandoned up until now. Everything seems to settle around her and she feels… peaceful. Everything just feels right with the world.

Chapter Text

Looking through the glass at the woman that almost ruined two of his friends’ lives, Naomasa is a little underwhelmed. The woman doesn’t look like anything special. Her graying hair is a little disheveled from her hissy fit in the cruiser, but her pantsuit is still wrinkle-free. She sits in the hard metal chair looking indignant and it boils his blood to think what this woman, this “doctor” did to poor Midoriya. From what Shouta and Hizashi have told him, Midoriya is a sweet, kind, and intelligent girl. She’s been through so much and this “doctor” has gone and set back all the good that Shouta and Hizashi have done for her.

Taking a deep, settling breath, Naomasa braces himself for the interrogation and walks into the room with the woman. He drops the case file that Sansa hastily put together and sits down in front of Dr. Endo.

“This is clearly all a misunderstanding. I insist you release me at once.” The arrogance in this woman’s voice is revolting.

“I’m afraid it won’t be that simple, Mrs. Endo.”

“It’s Doctor Endo.” 

“For now.” Before she can interrupt him again, he continues on to teh questioning. “I am required to inform you that my quirk allows me to know when someone is lying to me. I cannot turn it off. This interrogation is also being recorded.” He gestures to the microphone between them and the camera in the corner facing the table. “Now, when did you first start seeing Ms. Midoriya Izu?”

Dr. Endo crosses her arms. “I began treating her about five weeks ago. We were just starting to make some real progress, too.”

“Progress? What do you mean by progress?”

“We were finally getting to the real root of the issue.”

“And what issue is that?”

“The reason why she keeps attempting suicide. She just can’t accept her place in the world and it’s causing her to try to escape. If she would just accept her place and live in that place, she would be fine.”

“And what exactly is her place?”

The woman has the audacity to roll her eyes at him. “She’s quirkless.”

“Yes, I am aware of that fact. That doesn’t answer my question.”

She sighs heavily. “I’ll go slow so you can keep up then. DO you know what happened to her mother?”

“I know she has been dead for a number of years.”

“She committed suicide three years after Midoriya was diagnosed quirkless. Midoriya is the one who found the body.”

His quirk says she’s telling the truth. Poor Midoriya. Losing her mother at such a young age had to be so difficult. And being the one to find her body? No wonder the poor girl is so traumatized. Do Shouta and Hizashi know about this? “That is very unfortunate, but it doesn’t explain what you mean by her place.”

“It means that her quirklessness is the reason her mother is dead. Her being quirkless was such a burden that it killed her own mother. And ever since she has been a burden on the people who try to care for her. All these suicide attempts are just her trying to gain attention and get people to feel sorry for her. Once she recognizes and accepts that she is a burden on society and those around her as she is currently, she can begin to grow and become useful.”

It takes everything in Naomasa to not throttle this woman right here and now. These are the horrible things she was leading Midoriya to believe about herself? What kind of messed up monster parades around as a mental health professional only to cause more harm than good. “And what do you say to the allegation that the “progress” you were making with Midoriya was detrimental to her mental state?”

“I was doing what is best for that girl! What’s really detrimental is the way that raggedy man coddles her. He’s letting her believe that she’s perfect just the way she is. He allows her to avoid speaking and is enabling her by letting her write instead! That’s what the real problem is, not me.”

“Is it true you used your quirk on her to force her to speak?”

“She needs to use her voice.”

“Answer my question: did you use your quirk on her?”

“No.” Lie.

“For the record, that was a lie. Remember what I said at the beginning, you won’t get away with lying to me.”

She huffs out a breath. “Fine, whatever. I used my quirk, but only so she would give up her childish notions of not speaking. She needs to learn to communicate like a normal person.”

“It may surprise you, but Midoriya Izu is a child. She is allowed to be childish. And according to her foster father and his roommate as well as several witnesses from her school, Midoriya communicates just fine.”

“That is not communication!”

“If what she wants or needs is being conveyed in some manner, then communication is happening. Whether you believe it or not. Moving on. Do you have a license to use your quirk on minors?”

“Well, no but-”

“And are you aware that using your quirk without a license is illegal and you can be fined?”

“Yes, but-”

“And are you aware that using your quirk on another civilian without that civilian’s expressed consent is a crime punishable with up to two years in prison?”

“Yes, but this is-”

“And are you aware that using your quirk on a minor without their guardian’s consent is considered a crime punishable by up to five years in prison?”

“Yes, but you aren’t listening, I needed to-”

“And are you aware that using a quirk to harm or coerce a minor is considered child abuse punishable by up to ten years in prison?”

“I didn’t hurt her!”

“Midoriya said in front of two pro heroes that your quirk caused her great pain and discomfort unless she spoke. It felt like she was being suffocated. I would consider that causing harm to her, and I’d be willing to bet that any jury would agree with me.”

“Wha- I- But- You don’t understand! I was trying to help her!”

“And in doing so you pushed her to try and end her life.”

“That is not my fault!”

“So if I were to take your session notes in as evidence, I wouldn’t find any trace of you either telling her or forcing her to say that she is worthless, useless, better off gone? None of that would be happening in your sessions? What if I asked Midoriya? Would she not tell me that her sessions with you were the reason she tried to take her own life?”

“That’s not fair!”

“Niether is what you did to that innocent girl. We are done here.” 

Naomasa stands up and collects his file, leaving the room as the former doctor screams at his back.

—

Due to her attempt on her life, Izu is required to stay another twenty-four hours at the hospital after she woke up in order for her to be evaluated. And then she is required to be under constant watch for another forty-eight hours at home just to be safe. Both her dad and Uncle Zashi signed off on the agreement. But Izu is actually pretty okay with it. It gives her extra time with her family.

Her family. Wow. That’s a weird thought. She has a family that loves her now. They stayed with her in the hospital even when she was sleeping. They still haven’t left her side since she woke up. They even had that scary doctor arrested. It’s like a dream. But it’s not a dream, it’s her life. Izu smiles at the thought.

“What’s got you smiling over here?” Her dad walks over to sit next to her now that he has a coffee.

Why are you drinking coffee so late? Won’t that keep you from sleeping?

“Hey, I asked first.”

She giggles. Just thinking about how nice it is that I have you and Uncle Zashi. I have a family now. It’s just a really happy thought.

He gives her a soft smile. “It is a very happy thought. And you’re never getting rid of us, Kiddo. We are always going to be here for you, good days and bad.” She reaches out and he sets his coffee on the side table so he can wrap her in a hug. “I mean it, Kid. Whenever you need me, I’m going to be there for you. Doesn’t matter how bad it might get in that big brain of yours, I’m going to be here to whether the storm with you. You aren’t alone anymore, and you never will be again.”

A few tears find their way down her face, but she’s still smiling. When she finally leans back, releasing the hug, it’s to find her dad smiling at her like she’s the most precious thing he’s ever seen. She goes to write something else when Uncle Zashi walks in with dinner.

“I found this really good sukiyaki restaurant just down the road! It smelled so good, you guys wouldn’t even believe me! I brought us all a dish of it!” Uncle Zashi sets the to-go containers down on the sliding table and begins dishing out each of their portions. 

As they eat, Izu writing her responses or just nodding along, Uncle Zashi looks at her for a moment before interrupting her dad. “Have you ever thought of learning sign language, Izu?” She quirks an eyebrow at him and shrugs her shoulders before shaking her head. “It’s just, it would be a lot faster than writing, and I think it would be fun! As you know, I’m deaf and use hearing aids, but I also enjoy signing when I’m with people who know the language. It’s special to me and I would like to share it with you. Then you have one more way to communicate. Plus, Sho also knows it, so we could all talk more easily and you still don’t have to use your voice if you don’t want to! It’s just a thought though.” He looks away, a little bashfully.

Izu taps his arm and hands him the notepad. I think I would like to learn. You said Dad knows it? Do any of the other teachers at UA know sign language?

Uncle Zashi’s face lights up. “Actually, all of the teachers at UA know it! It’ll be really useful once you get to UA so you can answer questions during class and everything!”

Izu smiles at him. Then would you please teach me? It would be nice to feel like I could talk to you both.

“It would be my pleasure.”

—

Izu texts Mei as they walk up the door to the house. She’s still fairly weak from the whole ordeal, but plans to return to school once the forty-eight hour suicide watch is over. As expected, her hyper best friend can’t wait.

Mei: My mom said now that you’re out of the hospital, I need to focus on my school work and can’t visit you anymore :( 

Izu: That’s okay! My dad and Uncle Zashi are both staying with me until I can return to school. 

Mei: Then I guess I’ll see you when you get back! I have tons of updates to the gear I’m planning for you! I even made a prototype of the wrist guards! I just need to measure your wrists

Mei: And feet

Mei: For the boots, not the wrist guards

Izu: I can’t wait to see what you’ve come up with

“Are you still texting Mei?” Her dad calls from the doorway. Izu takes off her shoes and nods to him as she walks over to the couch. She sits down and Bastard wastes no time before crawling into her lap, purring as she strokes his back. “That girl is a special kind of crazy, but I can tell she really cares about you. And so does that cat. I think you’re his favorite.”

Izu laughs as she gives the fat tabby cat neck skritches. Eventually everyone takes a shower, Izu being checked on at least twice before she leaves the bathroom, and get into comfy clothes. Dressed in a dark band t-shirt and army green joggers, Izu settles back onto the couch, her dad settling on her right and her uncle on her left.

“What do you guys think of a movie marathon?” Uncle Zashi looks between them. “We could watch Studio Ghibli movies.”

Izu nods quickly, then slowly signs “H-O-W-L-S M-O-V-I-N-G C-A-S-T-L-E?”  She looks between her guardians, trying to make sure she signed it right.

Her uncle grins. “We can definitely start with Howl’s Moving Castle! And great job with teh fingerspelling!” She beams.

“How about some snacks for the movie?” Her dad speaks up as he stands and walks to the kitchen. He turns back to receive a nod from both of them.

“S-H-R-E-D-D-E-D S-Q-U-I-D?”

“I think we still have a few packages from our last grocery trip. Which flavor?”

Izu smiles at being understood. “C-H-I-L-I!”

Her dad rolls his eyes. “I don’t know where you got this spicy streak from, but it definitely wasn’t me. I blame Zashi!”

Izu and Uncle Zashi laugh as her dad gathers the chili flavored shredded squid she requested as well as some hoshiume dried plums (his favorite snack) and curry flavored bakauke senbei (Uncle Zashi’s favorite snack). While he’s grabbing the snacks, Uncle Zashi tells her he’ll be right back and runs upstairs. When her dad returns with the food, Uncle Zashi comes running back down, his arms ladden with what has to be every spare blanket in the house. They all cuddle up under the blankets and eat their snacks as they watch the beautifully animated movies. 

After the third Ghibli movie, Izu rests her head against her dad’s shoulder and wraps her arms around his arm. Comfortably surrounded by her family, Izu’s eyes softly close and she falls asleep warm and content.

Chapter Text

A knock at her door wakes her up in the morning. “Izu, are you up? Tap twice for yes.” Izu stretches before tapping her side table twice. “Good. Zashi’s making breakfast, so come down when you’re ready. If you aren’t ready in the next ten minutes, I’ll come back to check on you.”

At the sound of her dad’s retreating footsteps, Izu moans a little, but does sit up. Looking around her room, Izu can’t help the small smile creeping up her face. She has a room. A room full of her favorite things. A room decorated for her by two people who love her. A room in a home of her own.

Getting out of bed, she grabs the first t-shirt she sees and a pair of joggers. It’s not until she’s downstairs and standing in front of her dad and uncle that she realizes the mistake she has made. Her body freezes as both men’s eyes land on her. And her bare arms. Her very scarred bare arms. Her arms that only her dad and Recovery Girl have seen. 

“Hey, Kiddo! Cool shirt! I love that band!” Uncle Zashi smiles at her and goes back to plating breakfast.

She looks down at her shirt to see it’s for a band called Stare 281. She also likes the band, having listened to them a lot when she was younger. They were her mom’s favorite. 

“You gonna join us?” She shakes out of her stupor at her dad’s voice. She nods and slowly makes her way to her place at the kotatsu. Her dad and uncle smile, watching her take a bite of natto before breaking into casual conversation.

“So, Izu, is there anything you’d like to do today? Sho has to go to the police station for a little bit, but then I thought we could all play some board games together or maybe watch the Hero News Network and you could do some analysis. Oh! Or we could work on your sign language! It’s completely up to you though!” She looks between the two men before gesturing to her uncle. She points at him and then her hair. “You want me to fix your hair?” She nods. His face breaks into the biggest grin. “I’d love to!”

While her dad and her clean up from breakfast, Uncle Zashi runs up the stairs returning a few minutes later with a small bag and a hairbrush. Her dad smiles and shoos her over to the living room where her uncle has her sit in front of him on the couch. He hands her a notebook and turns on the tv so she can take notes while he works. It turns out the bag had a special detangling spray in it that he uses to comb gently through her curly hair. The feeling of someone taking care of her hair is so relaxing, and it leaves her feeling warm inside. 

She takes notes on Mount Lady and Kamui Woods while he works. The two heroes started off their careers being a little at odds, Mount Lady having stolen Kamui Woods’ take down, but they now work perfectly. She writes about the improvements she sees in the way they work together, and how Kamui Woods covers some of Mount Lady’s weaknesses and vice versa. She’s really enjoying herself when the feeling of fingers in her hair leaves. 

“Wanna see how it looks?” She nods and Uncle Zashi smiles, handing her a small mirror. She takes it in hand and looks over the hairstyle he’d worked so hard on. He left a curly strand on either side of her face loose so it would frame her face. Then there is a french braid on each side leading to a high ponytail. He used a strand of hair to wrap the ponytail holder so it looked like her hair was tied with more hair. Overall, it made her feel pretty. She hasn’t felt pretty in a long time.

She turns to her uncle, smiling and signs, “Thank you, Z-A-S-H-I.” 

He laughs. “You are so very welcome. And you don’t need to spell out Zashi when you want to talk to or about me. I have a special sign that I use as my name.” He proceeds to sign a Z with a flourish next to his mouth. “It’s called a sign name. Sho has one too.”

Her dad walks into the room at the sound of his name. “You know I hate my sign name.” 

Again, her uncle laughs. He stage whispers to her, “A deaf, hard of hearing, or mute person has to give you a sign name, a regular hearing person can’t just make their own. I gave Sho his when we were still in school.” 

“And it’s stupid.”

“It is not!” Uncle Zashi turns back to her and signs something like pulling whiskers and then the sign for friend.

Her dad sighs. “It literally means cat friend.”

“And that’s exactly what you are! You are my dearest cat friend!” Uncle Zashi laughs.

Izu looks between her two guardians and thinks for a moment. She pulls her notebook over and flips to a blank back page, writing something down quickly. What’s my sign name?

“You don’t have one yet, Sweetheart. Do you want to help me make one for you?”

She nods quickly, a smile firm on her face.

“Don’t let him make it into something crazy, okay, Izu? I need to go now. Have fun and I’ll be back soon.” Her dad gives her a light kiss on her forehead and heads out the door.

“Okay, now that the grump is gone, let’s make some decisions.

Smiling, Izu and her uncle come up with a special sign to represent her using the sign for green and the sign for rabbit. She wanted to be like her dad and use an animal sign for her name, so her uncle suggested the sign for rabbit since she’s like a sweet little bunny. They continue on, her uncle showing her different signs and the structure for forming sentences in sign and her repeating him. She catches on quickly, her hands gaining stability and grace as she gets more comfortable with the signs. By the time her dad returns a little over two hours later, she’s already gained quite the vocabulary.

“I’m back. How’s the signing coming along?”

Izu turns and smiles big at her dad. “Really good! Zashi taught me a lot! And I have a sign name now!” She proceeds to sign green bunny, smiling wider when her dad doesn’t hide his own grin.

“You sure have learned a lot. And that is a very cute sign name.” He comes over and joins them on the couch, taking the open seat on the other side of her. “Why don’t we practice holding a conversation in sign? Then you can work on your speed.”

She lights up and nods. Both men laugh and they all three begin their silent conversation, showing her new signs as they come up in the conversation. She catches on more quickly now that things have context and it isn’t too long before they are all able to actually hold a complex conversation. 

Day one of suicide watch is a success.

—

Pulling the sleeves of her oversized hoodie down, Izu follows her guardians through the gates of the top hero school in the country. Both Uncle Zashi and her dad needed to go back to work today, but her suicide watch isn’t over yet so she’s forced to tag along. Not that she’s necessarily complaining. It is her dream school after all. 

Walking across the campus to the front doors, Izu can’t help the way her nerves spike. She latches onto her dad’s sleeve causing him to slow to a stop. He turns to look at her, causing Uncle Zashi to look too. “What’s up, Kid?”

“Scared.” She signs one-handed.

His brow furrows. “What are you scared of?”

Instead of answering, she looks around at the students arriving and shrugs.

“Izu, look at me,” a hand is gently placed on her head and she turns to see her dad looking at her with soft eyes. “It’s okay to be nervous. How you feel is valid and understandable. But I promise you that you will not leave mine or Zashi’s sight at all today, so no one can mess with you.” Izu nods, but still feels a little uneasy. “Plus,” her dad smirks, “you’ll get to meet some new heroes…”

Izu’s eyes go wide. Why didn’t she consider that before? Of course heroes would be here since UA’s staff is entirely made up of heroes or people from the hero industry. And she will most likely get to meet some of them. She looks up at her dad who is smiling at her. 

“You have two brand new notebooks in your backpack.” And then he turns and begins walking back towards the school, slightly dragging a stunned Izu behind him. 

They make it to the teacher’s lounge without further incident, but the moment they walk in, Izu is overwhelmed. Thirteen is sitting at a table looking over some paperwork. Powerloader is talking to Vlad King and Ectoplasm in a corner. Snipe is sitting at a desk on a computer. And now Midnight is walking over to them. That’s six different heroes all in one room!

“Well it’s about time you two introduced me to this little nugget!” Midnight’s loud statement brings the other five heroes’ attention to Izu’s little family. So Izu does the only appropriate thing. She hides behind her dad. “Aw, she’s so shy! Eek! So cute!” Midnight squeals.

“Nem, calm down. You’re scaring her.” Izu’s dad rolls his eyes at his friend.

Midnight waves him off, “Hey there, Kitten. I’m Kayama Nemuri, but you can call me Auntie Nem! I’ve been best friends with your dad and uncle since high school.”

Izu peeks out from behind her dad, “Hello. Nice to meet you.”

Midnight smiles wider. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

Eventually Izu is introduced to the other heroes in the room and, through the use of both sign and writing, Izu is able to ask them questions about their fighting styles, various battles she saw on HeroTube, and her theories on how to cover potential weaknesses. She’s amazed by how open and honest the heroes in the room are, especially the mysterious Ectoplasm and the harsh-looking Vlad King. She manages to fill up half a notebook before her dad kneels down next to her and whispers, “Hey Sweetgirl, there’s someone else who wants to meet you before classes start.”

Surprised, Izu nods and waves goodbye to the other heroes in the room, following her dad out of the lounge and down the hall. There are students in the halls now, so Izu sticks close to her dad’s side, eyes constantly in motion as she takes in all the high schoolers and their quirks. Some of them must be hero students, right? Which means she is getting a first look at future heroes! The thought helps her relax a little as they continue their walk. Once they reach a set of double doors down a quieter hallway, her dad stops and turns to her. “Now, no taking over the world until you’re at least eighteen, okay?”

“What?” 

Her dad just smiles in answer as the doors in front of them open on their own.

“Welcome to UA, Miss Midoriya! I’ve heard so much about you!” Nedzu, the principal of UA high school and one of the smartest beings in the world, stands on a very fancy desk, his paws clasped behind his back. “Please, have a seat. Tea?”

Izu looks from her dad to the rodent principal. Her dad just smiles and gently pulls her along into the room, the doors shutting behind them. He leads her over to a comfortable looking chair and helps her sit down before taking a seat next to her. Principal Nedzu pours her a cup of tea, which she accepts with a hesitant nod, then sits down at his desk. “Let’s start with proper introductions, shall we? I am Principal Nedzu and my quirk, High Specs, gives me a higher IQ than the average human.” He then gestures to Izu.

“I’m M-I-D-O-R-I-Y-A I-Z-U, and I’m quirkless.” She looks to her dad and he smiles, so she assumes that was an okay introduction. 

“Hello, Miss Midoriya. As I’ve said, I’ve been told much about you and I have to say, you being quirkless just makes it all more fascinating. I understand you met some of my staff today?” She nods. “Tell me, were you able to do any analysis on them?”

“I’ve analyzed them all before today, but I was able to update my information and even gain new insights. Why?”

Nedzu smiles. “May I see your notebook? I would like to read your analysis for myself.”

Izu nods, slowly pulling out her notebook and handing it over. As he reads, she nervously tugs at her sleeves and pulls on her wrists which prompts her dad to place a hand over hers. She’s grateful for the distraction and takes his hand.

“My, what a wonderful mind you have!” Nedzu looks up and grins at her. 

“Did you think I was exaggerating?” Izu’s dad asks, a smirk on his lips.

“I know you are not usually one for hyperbole, but human emotions can sometimes cloud judgment. I’m delighted to see that was not the case here!” He turns to look at Izu. “You have a better understanding of quirk theory than most third years in my school, not to mention your analytic skills are most impressive!”

Izu’s eyes grow wide. She shakes her hands and hastily signs, “It’s nothing! I’m sure anyone here could have done better! I’m really not as special as all of that.” She begins wringing her hands and looking between her dad and Nedzu.

Nedzu steps back up onto the desk and walks so he is standing directly in front of Izu. “I know the world can be a cruel place for those with minds like ours, but trust me when I say you are more special than you realize. I know kids with analysis quirks whose skills are not even close to the level you are at right now.”

Izu looks between her dad and the principal, chewing her bottom lip. What is she supposed to say to that? She’s not really that special, is she? She’s just a useless deku with creepy stalker notebooks. Right? But… Uncle Zashi and her dad both like her notebooks, and now the principal of UA is complimenting her work. What is she supposed to do with this information?

“I can see it will take time to convince you of your genius. But not to worry! If I have my way, and I usually do, we will have plenty of time to cultivate this skill and work on your confidence in it!” Nedzu turns to her dad. “Now, you have a class to get to. I assume you will be taking Miss Midoriya with you?”

“She’s not leaving my sight.”

“Good. Then I would like you,” he turns to face Izu once more, “to do a thorough analysis on each of Eraser’s remaining students in Class 1-A. I will expect at least one page on each student, but you may do more if you wish.” Izu nods, a little overwhelmed. “Good! Then you are both dismissed.”

—

As Nedzu watches the young girl disappear with his favorite student, he can’t help the manic grin that appears on his face. A new personal student to add to his collection. Now all he has to do is make sure she gets into the heroics course. What fun!

Chapter Text

Now that her forty-eight hour watch is over, Izu gets to return to school. It took some convincing, but she’s able to go by herself at her usual time. Riding the train has become one of her favorite parts of the day as she gets to people watch and hypothesize about the other passengers’ quirks. Today the train is a little sparse of passengers, only a handful sharing her car with her. She observes a woman with a horn mutation and the woman’s daughter who has a similar horn, along with a man with blue skin and cat eyes, and a woman with a tail. A few more passengers come and go by the time she makes it to her stop. Pulling her bag onto her shoulders, she gets off the train and walks the short distance to school.

Walking into the classroom is strange. So much has happened and yet everything here is so normal. The kids who get here early still come in early. The teacher nods her head at Izu and goes back to work. Everything is just as she left it. And then a loud, pink blob comes running in and almost throws her from her seat.

“I missed you so much!” Mei squeals in her ear. Izu smiles wide and nods her head when Mei leans back a little to look at her. “You're okay, right? The hobo man wouldn't tell me what happened, just that you were sick. But you’re all good now, right? You were gone for so long and even after you got out of the hospital I still didn't see you! Are you sure you're okay?!”

Izu smiles a little sadly at her friend but nods. She puts up a finger, Mei pausing in her worry to wait semi patiently as Izu pulls out a notebook. I'll tell you about what happened later. It's a long story and there's not enough time before class starts. I'm okay, I promise. I had to be watched for a while after I got out of the hospital, but I'm okay to be back at school now.

Mei pouts for a moment. “If you're sure…” Izu nods and Mei brightens up. “Okay! Since you've been gone for a while, want me to show you the notes you missed?”

Izu’s small smile widens a bit as she nods to her friend. They spend the remainder of time before class discussing the notes that Mei took. They aren't as detailed as what Izu normally does for class, but they're better than the notes she takes when the ocean is too high for her to concentrate. All around, pretty average but still. Izu appreciates what her friend has done for her, Mei doesn't usually take notes during class, and makes sure to let her friend know how she feels.

At lunch, Izu pulls out the lunch bento Uncle Zashi made for her and sits next to her best friend. They hold a pretty one-sided conversation, Mei telling Izu about her newest idea for weaponry and Izu mostly just nodding along. It's calm and it leaves Izu feeling… warm. Izu had missed this. And if she had succeeded that night, she never would have gotten to have this again. That dark thought causes her smile to crack a little, but she shakes it off in exchange for melting into the simplicity of her friendship with Mei. Mei doesn't expect Izu to talk. Mei doesn't expect Izu to hold up a full conversation. Mei has shown that she cares about Izu no matter how much or how little she can offer at any given moment. It's perfect and it leaves Izu feeling safe.

—

“Did you eat your lunch?” Izu nods. “All of it?” Izu nods again, her smile widening with pride in herself. Her dad smiles too. “Good. Then I think today we will up the difficulty level of your training.” 

Izu begins to bounce on the balls of her feet.

“Wait,” Her dad holds up a finger to tell her to pause. “Before you get too excited, I have some stipulations.” Izu nods to show she's listening. “You just got out of the hospital three days ago, so we are going to go slow. Only one rep per exercise at the new level until I'm sure you can handle it. You tell me if you get light headed or spacey and we take a break. Sound good?”

Izu nods rapidly. “I promise to follow your lead!”  

Her dad's smile grows. “Good. Then let's start with six laps around the track.”

What follows is a training day filled with exercises just outside of Izu’s current limit. She does ten more push-ups than she's used to, ten more pull-ups, ten more sit-ups, etc. Everything is just slightly above what she's used to and she is so excited when she's able to do more than three reps through the whole training menu before her dad calls it for the day. And she only needed two breaks! She can feel herself getting stronger and it fills her with warmth.

“You look happy for someone who should be exhausted.”

“I'm getting stronger!”

“You sure are. I'm proud of you, Kid.” Her dad ruffles her hair as they head to the car. Izu preens under the affection. They climb into her dad’s old car and Izu sinks into the seat. He wasn't wrong when he said she should be exhausted. She feels like she could sleep for three days straight. “You're really doing a great job, Izu. It's only been a few months and you're already excelling at your training. Especially with what's been happening recently, I'm really proud of your motivation to keep working at this.”

Izu doesn't look at her dad as she responds. “This is all I've ever wanted. To be a hero. To be strong. To be loved.”

“I love you, Kid, strong or not. You know that right?” He asks as they pull up into the driveway.

Izu nods. They park and her dad turns to her, using a hand to pull her face to look at him.

“I need you to know that I'm serious when I say I love you and that I'm proud of you. I'll say it over and over again until I see that seed of doubt in your eyes completely erased.”

Izu bites her lip. “What if it takes too long? What if I always doubt it just a little? What if I'm never whole again?”

Her dad gives her a sad smile. “Then I'll just never stop saying it. And you are whole. You may need some glue here or there, but all of the pieces that make you you are right here. And I'll do whatever it takes to put you back together again as many times as it takes.”

Chapter Text

The first week back to school and training is exhausting, and it leads to Izu sleeping in at the start of the weekend. She rolls out of bed just before lunchtime and pulls on a pair of joggers. She’s too tired to worry about changing out of her sleep shirt, so she wanders downstairs in her oversized White Veiled Widows t-shirt, her multitude of scars on full display.

“Good morning, Sunshine!” Zashi greets her as she enters the kitchen. 

“What’s for lunch?” She signs with a yawn.

Her uncle smiles. “I was thinking mentaiko onigiri?”

Izu grins, but then pauses. “What about Dad? He doesn’t like spicy food.”

“I’m making a batch of Tuna Mayo ones for the party pooper.” He jokes with her, giving her hip a bump.

Izu laughs and watches as her uncle gathers the various ingredients. After he’s got everything together and the rice is done cooking, Izu grabs his sleeve and tugs softly. He turns with a smile and she signs bashfully, “Can I help?”

Zashi’s grin widens. “Of course! It would be an honor to have you cook with me! Come over here and I’ll show you my process!”

They spend the first few minutes with Zashi showing her how to hold the cooling rice, how to pack it with the delicious filling, and how to form it into a triangular ball. Izu laughs softly as her uncle cracks jokes with her as they work together to prepare lunch for their little family.

Eventually her dad makes his way downstairs and he looks much more tired than Izu was when she came down. He goes straight for the coffee, oblivious to the other two watching him with poorly hidden smiles. Once he’s had a good few sips, he turns to the two chefs.

“Izu? Are you helping Zashi with lunch?” She grins and nods. Her dad smiles. “Good. At least I can be sure that the food will be edible.”

“What?! My food is always delicious! How dare you!” Her uncle plays at being offended, but the smiles on both men’s faces give away their true intentions.

Izu’s dad doesn’t pay any mind to Zashi’s words, instead walking over to give Izu a hair ruffle and a forehead kiss before he turns around and plops down at the table. The food is ready quickly after and they all settle down to the meal. Conversation flows with light and happy topics. All is well at home and Izu is grateful for this wonderful place she gets to stay in.

—

Instead of training on Monday, it’s Izu’s first session with Hound Dog for therapy. Nedzu had insisted that they use UA’s resources to help her, so here she is walking back up the steps of the hero school on her way to have therapy with a hero. Wow has her life changed, but in only the best kind of way. Her dad walks with her and reassures her that it’ll be okay.

“He may look really intimidating, but he’s a totally softie for kids. Just talk to him like you’d talk to us and don’t worry about scaring him. He’s seen a lot as a hero and as a counselor here, so he’ll be sure to know how to help. If you don’t feel like talking about a particular topic, just let him know and he should drop it.”

“Dad, I’ll be okay.” 

He sighs. “I know, but after what happened last time…”

They both look down at the memory. Izu is the first to recover. “I’ll tell you if I feel that way again, okay?” She reaches out a hand to pinky swear. He laughs and interlocks his pinky with her’s.

“Okay. Have a good session and I have a surprise for after.”

With that she heads through the open door to sit with Hound Dog. The hero’s office is calming, not too bright but not too dark, with a dark wooden desk and chair set and a green couch that looks incredibly comfortable. She looks over at the hero sitting at the desk.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Midoriya. It’s wonderful to have you. I have been made aware of your preference for sign and want to let you know that I also know the language if you wish to use it.”

Izu lets out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding and nods. He smiles and stands from his seat, pushing the wheeled desk chair over in front of the couch. “Have a seat and let’s chat.”

She sits on the couch and looks to the man. After a few minutes without any words being said, she raises her hands to sign. “What now?”

“Now you talk about whatever you want. Tell me about yourself, your day, anything really.”

“Anything?”

He chuckles. “Anything.”

So she does. She tells him about her training with her dad and how her uncle let her help cook that weekend. She tells him about Mei and their friendship. She talks so much her hands get tired. He asks questions here and there but mostly lets her talk. It isn’t until the end of her appointment that they hit any sad or distressing topics. 

“Have you told Mei what happened?”

Izu looks at her hands. “Not yet. I just don’t know how. What if she doesn’t want to be my friend anymore after I tell her? What if I’m really too messed up?”

“Too messed up for what? Friendship? Love?” She nods. “But hasn’t your dad told you he loves you? Hasn’t he and Hizashi shown that they love you? They know you pretty well by now and have gone through all of this with you and you said so yourself that they still love you. Why would Mei be any different?” She shrugs a little dejectedly. “Why don’t you think it over and talk with your dad and Hizashi about it. See what they say. We can revisit the topic next week. Does that sound good to you?” She nods and he smiles. “Good. This seems as good a time as any to stop. Why don’t you go see about that surprise your dad has for you?”

“How’d you know about that?”

He smirks. “Oh, I know more about it than you do. Now, go see what it is.”

She smiles and nods, leaving the room to find her dad still waiting for her. He smiles when he sees her, arms opening for a hug. “I’m so glad to see you smiling. I assume it went well?”

She leans back from him and nods. “Yeah! I talked so much my hands hurt.”

He chuckles. “That sounds good. Lets go get your surprise.”

“Why does Hound Dog know about my surprise? He said he knows more about it than I do.”

“That’s because I got his advice on it. Now, no more questions or you’ll ruin it.” She laughs but agrees. They make their way outside and down the street, but turn left when home is right. Izu’s confusion is soon cleared up when they stop in front of a small shelter.

Izu looks up at her dad, hope in her eyes. He smiles. “Hound Dog thought an emotional support animal might be helpful to you. I dislike most dogs, but all cats are good and this shelter is the perfect place to find the right one.”

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” She hugs her dad close and then pulls him by the arm into the shelter. 

Her dad stops to talk with the manager and fill out the main paperwork while a volunteer leads Izu to the cat section. She bounces on the balls of her feet looking through the window at all the cats. The volunteer lets her into the play room and she looks around at all the different cats as they play and meow at each other. Kneeling to sit down among them, she’s fully lost on which one to choose when a different volunteer drops a new cat into the mix. This one is small, with large, bat-like ears and big amber eyes. Its smoky black coat shifts as it moves through the crowd of cats and right into her lap. The moment the cat lays down in her lap, it begins purring. She smiles and begins petting the cat’s soft, curly coat. It feels like downy feathers and she can feel herself calming down.

“That little thing wouldn’t stop screaming until I brought him in here and now he’s happy as a clam.” The volunteer who had dropped the cat off mutters to her. She smiles and lifts him up, carrying him over to where her dad is waiting for her.

“Is that the one?” She nods. “The breed is called Devon Rex, and they are known to be good companions. I think you made a good choice. Do you have a name picked out?” She nods.

They go up to the front and sign the rest of the papers, promising to keep their new cat inside and follow all care instructions. When it’s time to name him, Izu simply writes Heiwa.

—

Izu is so excited for Saturday. Her dad and uncle have to go to some meeting and they still don’t like the idea of leaving her at home alone, so they said Mei could come over and hangout with her! They’re going to watch movies and eat take out and it’s going to be the best!

“Izu! Mei is here!” Her uncle calls up the stairs. 

Izu throws on the last piece of her comfy outfit and runs down the stairs smiling wide. She stops running only when she gets to the front door, immediately hugging her best friend. Mei squeals in the hug and they bounce for a bit.

“Okay, Girls, we’re going to go now that Mei is here.” Izu’s dad looks at them both as they break apart. “Izu, if you need anything, text us. I have my phone with me and your notification sound is loud, so I’ll see it right away. I can be back home in ten minutes if need be.”

“Dad, stop worrying. I’ll be fine. Go to your meeting.” Izu signs exasperatedly. 

Her dad chuckles and gives her a hug. “I only worry because I love you.”

Izu smiles, signing “I love you, too,” before turning to her uncle Zashi and giving him a hug bye as well.

“You Little Listeners, have fun! We should be back for dinner!” And with that, the girls are left to their own devices.

Izu turns to her best friend and smiles wide, grabbing her hand to lead her to the living room. They make it to the couch and Izu lets go of Mei’s hand only for Mei to grab her hand back and turn it over so that Izu’s wrist is in view. Her wrist covered in vertical scars.

“Izu… What are these?”

Izu’s eyes go wide as she watches her best friend in the whole world’s eyes zoom in on her disgrace. She forgot to cover them. How could she forget to cover them? She stands frozen, Mei looking between her face and her wrist.

“Izu? Izu. Hello? You still there? Izu?”

“Uh, um…” Izu makes sounds, no words coming out. How does she explain? How does she tell her only friend in the world what she’s done?

Seeming to know what’s going on, Mei gently takes the lead and pulls Izu over to the couch where her notebook is waiting. Dropping her wrist, Mei hands her the notebook and smiles at her, eyes zooming in on her face. “Please tell me.”

Izu swallows her fear and nods. She takes the notebook and writes. SHe writes and writes and writes, and Mei sits there patiently as ever waiting. When she’s done, she hands it over and curls up into herself. Heiwa walks his way over and jumps up into her lap, purring a comforting rhythm into her soul. She smiles a little, scritching him behind his left ear. It’s silent for what feels like hours when Mei finally looks up from the notebook.

“You’re okay now though, right? You’re not gonna…” The worry in Mei’s eyes breaks Izu’s heart. She’s quick to grab the notebook to reassure her friend that she is receiving good counseling now and she is very much okay for now. “Good. You’re gonna be the best hero out there and I need you to show off all my babies!” Mei grabs Izu, leaving Heiwa to meow disgruntled at being jostled, and hugs her tightly. “You are my best friend and I don’t know what I’d do if you were gone.”

Izu smiles, tears welling in her eyes and hugs Mei back tighter, trying desperately to communicate that she loves her too.

Chapter Text

With that tough conversation out of the way, Izu turns on one of her favorite movies and snuggles close to her best friend. Mei talks through almost the entire thing, commenting on the effects, the movie support equipment, and the logistics of how everything would actually work. Izu doesn’t mind the constant chatter, allowing it to seep into her bones and fill her with warmth at the fact that their relationship hasn’t changed at all now that Mei knows. She knows about the darkest moments in Izu’s life, and she’s still sitting here on the couch with her talking as fast as ever about anything and everything. 

They eventually order delivery from one of the restaurants her little family orders from often, getting Katsudon and Yakisoba to share. The food arrives, Mei using the money Izu’s dad left to pay for it, and they get back on the couch to eat and watch more movies. Heiwa curls up next to Izu, purring instantly and leaving Izu feeling more loved with each moment that passes. 

When her dad and uncle finally return, it’s to find Izu sleeping on Mei’s shoulder and Mei whispering about the current movie to her. Her dad takes a picture while Uncle Zashi goes to fix dinner. Mei leaves with a hug and a promise that she will always be there for Izu whenever she needs her.

—

The day was going so well until she ran into Ishigawa and Nakamora. Izu and Mei were dropped off at the mall by Izu’s dad and uncle with some money to spend, her dad finally feeling comfortable enough with letting her out of his sight in public. She and Mei had gotten some lunch, with Izu eating all of her portion, and they had been window shopping, Mei chattering the whole time. Everything was peaceful and happy until she heard a familiar voice call out a familiar slur.

“Hey Null! What are you doing showing your ugly face in a public space?! Didn’t we teach you that you don’t belong around normal people?!” Ishigawa yells over the sounds of the crowded mall. Several bystanders turn to look at the sound of the slur being used. Izu freezes up, looking at the two boys who assaulted her only a few months ago. She’d been deep in the ocean back then. She is finally feeling like she’s on dry land, and now she can feel the waves nipping at her heels.

“How dare you call her that!” Mei immediately steps up to defend Izu. “Don’t you know that’s a disgusting slur only said by disgusting lowlifes?”

“Who you calling a lowlife? What, are you friends with the deku or something? That must mean you’re also some kind of freak of nature!” Nakamora steps closer, hands balled into fists.

“I call them the way I see them! You’re nothing but mean thugs trying to pick fights. We’re in a public place, so you can’t do anything to us but throw out pitiful insults.” Mei turns to look at Izu. “Are you okay, Zuzu?”

Before Izu can answer her, Nakamora grabs Mei and pulls her back away from Izu. Ishigawa then steps up and cracks his knuckles while eyeing Izu. “No one will care if I hurt the little null. It’s not like she’s worth anything anyways.” He pulls back and throws a punch, narrowly missing Izu as she ducks out of the way. He sneers at her as Mei shouts for the other boy to let her go. Ishigawa throws another punch, hitting Izu in the cheek, but he misses the third hit as she side steps away. She’s not in the ocean anymore. She won’t be an easy target this time.

“Get her, Ishi!” Nakamora calls out. Ishigawa throws another punch, hitting Izu in the gut and making her lose her breath for a moment. He smiles maliciously and throws two more hits at her, landing both against her face. She can tell she’s gonna have a black eye soon. If she’s not careful, she’ll get a broken nose again too. She just manages to pull back far enough to miss his next punch, but accidentally walks right into his next move, leaving her on the ground. She curls in on herself as he begins kicking her in the stomach and ribs. When he sees that she’s protecting herself, he changes tactics and climbs on top of her. She barely has a chance to cover her face when he starts beating her. Punch after punch hits her arms. When she tries to push him off of her, it gives him access to her face again and he lands a few blows before she manages to block him again.

Mei is still screaming and people are filming the scene and no one is doing anything to help. At least at first. Just as Izu is starting to feel dizzy from the onslaught of blows, something wraps around Ishigawa’s arm and wrenches him backwards off of Izu. Izu looks up at the ceiling above her as she hears more shouting. Then a new face appears above her. “Are you okay?” It’s a boy with tanned skin and black hair. He’s looking at her with concern. She groans and pulls a thumbs up gesture. He smiles a little, letting out a huff of laughter at the gesture before his face grows concerned again. “Do you think you can sit up?” She nods, which makes her dizzy all over again, but the boy helps her as she does her best to sit up. He looks from one of her eyes to the other. “I don’t think you have a concussion, but you should probably still see a doctor.”

She raises her hands to sign, then thinks better of it, looking around for Mei. She finds her best friend berating the two boys from her old school who seem to be tied up in… tape? She looks back at the boy and really looks at him this time. He’s wearing an oversized yellow hoodie with the sleeves rolled up exposing a mutation to both of his elbows. His dark brown eyes are looking at her with such care. She watches the way he watches her and finds that she doesn’t mind the way he is still holding onto her, supporting her back. She tilts her head at him and he smiles, rubbing his free hand against the back of his neck, “I’m Sero Hanta, by the way. I saw what was happening and stepped in.” She smiles in thanks, wincing when she realizes rather harshly that her lip is split. “Are you okay? I heard them shouting and saw what they were doing. Do you need to call someone? I already got someone to call the police.”

She looks to Mei and Mei finally turns to her. “Oh, Zuzu! I’m so glad you’re okay!” She rushes over to Izu’s side. When Izu mimes writing, Mei immediately grabs her back pack and pulls it closer to her. Izu smiles again at the boy who is still very close to her, and puts up one finger to signify that she just needs a moment. She pulls out her journal and turns to a new page.

I’m okay now. Thank you for stepping in. My name is Midoriya Izu. It’s nice to meet you.

Sero smiles. “It’s nice to meet you too. I wish it was under better circumstances though…” He gives an awkward laugh.

She smiles and writes some more. Me too. But you were my hero, so maybe it wasn’t such bad circumstances?

That makes him blush. “I don’t know about hero, I just did what anybody would do.”

But nobody did it. Only you stepped in to help. That means a lot.

“Well, then you’re welcome. Do you need to call anybody before the police show up?”

Izu’s eyes widen as she thinks of her dad and uncle. She nods and turns to search for her phone. Opening it up, she types out a message to the family groupchat explaining that she was attacked, that she’s okay, and that a nice boy saved her. It’s only a matter of minutes before she receives a message back that they are coming. She texts them the store she’s in front of and then puts her phone away. She finds the boy, Sero, smiling at her. He looks away bashfully when he sees that he’s been caught staring.

She smiles and writes him a message, tapping him so he’ll look at it. How do you know I don’t have a concussion?

“Oh! My mom’s a nurse. She’s taught me a lot about various injuries and what to look for.”

That’s really cool! Is she here with you?

“No, she’s working right now. She has a double shift today, so I’m just hanging out here for a while to pass the time.” 

I’m sorry

He looks surprised. “Why?”

It just seems like you miss her.

He laughs. “Yeah, it’s just me and her, so I do tend to miss her when she has to work, but she’s doing it to save up for my high school tuition, so I can’t complain too much.”

Izu smiles and nods in understanding. She’s about to write more when pounding footsteps distract her. The police have arrived. Izu looks to Sero and then to Mei, unsure what to do now that the police are here. Where is her dad?

“Excuse us, what happened here? Who tied up these boys?”

Sero stands. “I did, Officer. They were assaulting this girl, so I pulled them off of her and tied them up for you.”

One of the officers sighs. “You can’t use your quirk against others, Kid.”

“Not even when the other person is physically assaulting someone? Am I just supposed to stand around and watch while they beat her half to death?” Sero’s voice turns angry at the edges. Izu lifts a hand and grabs his. He looks down at her and she smiles up at him, mouthing “My hero” to him. He looks back at the officers. “It was an emergency.”

“Emergency or not, you can’t just-”

“My baby!” Uncle Hizashi, in full hero gear, comes barreling past the officers. He kneels down next to Izu and begins looking her over. Izu looks past him to find her dad with his quirk activated.

“What is going on here?” Her dad sounds pissed.

One of the officers points at Sero. “He used his quirk illegally to restrain these young men.”

“Only because they were beating a girl up!” Sero defends himself to the officers.

Her dad turns to Izu and his quirk flares ever brighter for a moment before he takes a calming breath, releasing his quirk but seeming only angrier. “Thank you, Young Man, for defending my daughter.”

“Daughter?” The officers grow pale. “This is your daughter?”

“Yes, so I would prefer if you focused more on the assault that just happened and less on the kid who saved her. I believe the physical assault charges out rank the minor quirk usage, especially given that it was used in defense of someone.”

Her dad then comes to her side. “Are you alright, Sweetheart?” His tone is soft as he examines her face.

She nods, signing “S-E-R-O saved me. The ones who attacked me are from my old school. The ones who hurt me when you pulled me from A-L-D-E-R-A.”

“Thank you for telling me.” He looks up to where Sero is watching them. “Thank you again, Sero. You did good.”

Sero looks shocked at the praise. “Thank you, sir.”

Izu smiles up at him. She finds her notebook and writes down a message quickly. Would you like my number? So we can maybe talk some when my life isn’t in danger? She hands the note to him and then doesn’t look at him. He’ll probably say no. What was she thinking? Of course he isn’t gonna want to talk to the null girl-

“Sure!” She looks up at him and finds him blushing a little. His answer was so immediate she barely had time to spiral. She smiles big and wide at him. While her dad and uncle handle the police and the two boys who assaulted her, Izu puts her number into Sero’s phone. Mei smiles off to the side, being remarkably quiet. Unusually quiet. But Izu will worry about that later. For now, she has a new contact in her phone and a new possible friend!

—

Hanta smiles as he watches the pretty girl leave with her dad. When he first stepped in, he didn’t care who was being hurt, as long as he could help them. But now? Now he’s so glad he helped. She’s the prettiest girl he’s ever seen, and that’s with her face partially smashed up and bloody. Her constellation of freckles and the emerald of her eyes, she’s a work of art. And he has her number!

He leaves the mall soon after, pulling his hood up to hide his face in the blindspot of a camera, and makes his way to the nearest building. It’s fortunate that Eraserhead didn’t recognize him. He was so sure when the man appeared that he’d be in so much trouble. But the man seemed too focused on his daughter to worry about the kid he’s been chasing down at night for the last two weeks. Hanta smiles, pulling out his mask and covering his face. He’ll need to be more careful, maybe change his route home, but getting to know Midoriya will be so worth it.