Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Zuko could only stare at the city skyline in complete bafflement but also reluctant acceptance. From his perch on a random building’s rooftop, he could see the bustling nightlife of the people in this world, all with strange attributes.

One woman had horns, another had a bush for arms, a man had skin the texture of earth, a child had the wings of a bird. All in all, Zuko could only be resigned to his fate.

When Avatar Roku came to him in a dream, the night RIGHT BEFORE he was going to approach the current Avatar’s team and try to talk, he was not expecting a message from Agni themselves. (Gonna keep Agni’s pronouns neutral cuz I can’t find anything about them)

“You, Agni’s Chosen, are to be sent to another world and aid their heroes against a great evil. Fortunately, Agni understands that there is a deadline for our world’s fate, and is therefore keeping time stagnant with the other Great Spirits while you embark on that quest. Agni’s blessings will go with you.”

He was expecting it to be a wild dream, and then wake up in his camp. But no, he woke up in a different world! His life is just destined to be entertainment for the Spirits at this point.

Still, he’s partially hoping this is all some kind of fever dream or hallucination. Thankfully, his things were brought along with him. Like his Blue Spirit Mask, his dual dao, his clothes, some food… should be enough to last for a while.

Now, to try and understand this world, since it clearly seems to be drastically different from his own…

Natsuo stopped his bickering with Fuyumi for a moment when he heard something interesting on the TV’s news channel.

“—They’re calling them the Blue Spirit, this new vigilante!” The news anchor said, and it cuts to a grinning civilian being interviewed.

“They’re skilled and agile, wearing all black save for a grinning blue demon mask! They beat up the people who were mugging me, with just his hands! And, and, he had two swords strapped to his back! Then they left, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, like… some sort of ninja!” He rambled excitedly. He then came closer to the camera. “Hey, Blue Spirit! If you’re seeing this, then thank you! If you see me again, can you sign my poster of you!?”

“Woah! Did you hear that, Fuyumi? The Blue Spirit! That’s such a cool name!” Natsuo gushed.

“Natsu! It’s a vigilante! We’re not supposed to be cheering for them, they’re breaking the law!” Fuyumi scolded.

“But they’re helping people! Unlike some actual licensed ones.” Natsuo refuted.

“Natsu, please.” Fuyumi sighed. Natsuo faintly felt guilty, but he ignored it.

“What? It’s true. I’m gonna be cheering for some real heroes.”

“You haven’t even heard of this vigilante until now. Maybe do some more research into it first, okay?” Fuyumi sighed again.

“You know what? Maybe I will!” Natsuo huffed, and left.

Unbeknownst to them, their youngest sibling was listening with a thoughtful look on his face.

Zuko dropped into his temporary hideout, and took his mask off with a sigh. He’s been doing this whole shtick for a month now, and he’s still getting used to it.

A superpowered world with highly advanced technology, with heroes and villains? How could anyone live in a world like this and think, yeah that’s normal?

But maybe that was only because Zuko was from another world. Perhaps bending could count as a ‘quirk’, but quirks were more diverse.

Though, on that topic, Zuko’s firebending seems to have weakened. Just like when he…

But it doesn’t matter, he has his dual dao, and that’s enough for now.

The language was another thing. There were some similarities, but it was a bit hard for him to understand at first. It makes sense though, considering the whole other world situation.

At least now, he could understand some things. That’s gotta be something good, right?

He checked his food supply, and hm. He’ll have to find some more soon. Will it be stealing or buying this time?

He counted the money he scavenged, and nope, definitely not enough to get him enough to last at least a week. He’ll save the money until he does, and steal some food for now.

He sighed, a bit of smoke coming out with it, and he settles down onto the cold floor of the abandoned warehouse he found.

It’s dusty and rundown, but clearly no one’s been here in a long time. He’s a light sleeper anyway, so he should be fine.

There was a meow beside him, and it seems that cat came back. On his first week here, there was a cat that would follow him everywhere. No, not a cat-owl or anything, just a cat.

It took a bit getting used to, how an animal was split instead of being one, but honestly, he’s not sure what else he would be expecting.

Anyway, this particular cat seemed to like him, and it tried nudging him towards a particular building a few times. It’s like the cat was trying to bring him home like he was some kind of stray.

“Hey there, it’s you again.” He murmured as he scratched the cat behind the ears. The cat had a black pelt, save for a patch of grey around its neck, like a scarf. It had grey eyes, and long fur.

It nuzzled his hand, and proceeded to curl onto his lap, purring. Then Zuko noticed a collar, hidden under the long black fur. It must be new, since it’s all shiny and clean.

He tried reading the name on the metal, before remembering that while he can understand some of the language here, he can’t quite read yet. Zuko groaned, put absentmindedly pet the cat when it meowed for his attention.

He tried reading it again, and wait—

Zuko squinted, his scarred left eye narrowing even more. It looked like… the written script in his own world. But also slightly different?

太消 , it read. Tasho. Thick erase? Whatever.

This country, Japan, seemed to share some similarities with the Fire Nation, it seemed. (the Fire Nation is based off of Imperial Japan) But maybe not just the Fire Nation?

Zuko slowly laid down, Tasho meowing with displeasure as its perfectly comfortable position was jostled, but as Zuko curled into himself, an arm under his head, Tasho too curled up against his chest, purring.

The cat probably liked his warmth. He was a firebender, after all. Even if his firebending ability has weakened, he will still run hotter than the average person.

He gently pet Tasho, and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Zuko woke just as Agni’s rays barely filtered into the warehouse. Tasho was already gone. He did vaguely remember that cat slipping away at some point. Zuko rubbed his good eye, and stretched.

Ah, it was one of those rare days where he wasn’t plagued by nightmares. Thank Agni.

He shook off some dust, and changed his Blue Spirit clothes to what’s considered casual for this world. It just looks strange to him. [He stole the clothes]

Using his hair to cover as much of his scar as possible, he left the warehouse and slipped into the crowd on the busier streets from an alleyway.

Now that he realized he might be able to read after all, maybe he can get some more information. His head was angled to his right, scanning the stores and buildings.

His blind side was in front, and he bumped into someone.

“Sorry!” He quickly blurted out, thankfully in their language and not his own. It’d be weird.

“It’s all good.” The person he bumped into said. “Kinda my fault for standing here anyways.” It was a boy about his own age, with bright yellow hair and a streak of black in his bangs.

“Sorry again.” Zuko gave a quick bow, his scar becoming more obvious for a second, and he scampered off.

Phew. Social interaction was somehow even more stressful than in his own world.

Kaminari Denki wanted to call out for that stranger, before stopping and sighing. Man, and that scar looked so cool! And other than that, he seemed pretty nice too.

The stranger would probably be nice person to be friends with. Too bad Denki couldn’t catch a name. Oh well!

Huh? What was he doing, standing there just now?

Oh. He was staring at a new video game in the window of a store. Totally not looking at the hot girl standing inside who was looking at some music discs.

(She was so so pretty! Purple short hair, tomboyish clothes, and—were those ears of hers like earphone jacks? How cute!)

He looked inside that store again, but she was gone. Denki sighed. There’s plenty of other fish in the sea, or whatever…

Wait. Denki forgot why he was here so early. Dammit… what was he doing again?

Zuko sighed in defeat as he exited the library, Agni’s position already past noon. Apparently he could only read names. The other alphabet? He couldn’t read.

Yes, he did try to learn, using those ‘dictionaries’, but the closest written language to his home world’s was something called ‘Mandarin’. While the spoken seems to be ‘English’.

So, progress, but not as fast as he would like. Seriously, if only Agni could’ve somehow gave him the ability to understand this world’s language with no problem.

It would certainly make things a lot easier. Like his supposed quest to help the heroes in this world. Was it all the heroes, or a select few? Was it now? Was it soon?

Maybe time will tell. Hopefully.

But he doesn’t feel very hopeful.

… He’ll go back to learn how to read properly tomorrow. For now, he’ll find some supplies.

Zuko watched through his mask as Agni disappeared into the horizon, officially declaring it night. Time to work.

He kept across rooftops, his good ear listening out for anything suspicious. But that didn’t stop him from relishing the feeling.

The feeling of freedom as he sailed through the air between buildings, as if he was flying.

Which is, of course, exactly when everything decided to go downhill. Because he could never be happy.

It was one of those heroes that came out at night. This particular hero was annoying. He had long, almost greasy-looking black hair, yellow glasses of some kind, and a grey scarf-bandage thing.

That scarf-bandage thing could also wrap around someone and be hard to escape. Zuko knew, because he fell victim to it once. And he only got out because there was a ‘villain’ that was more urgent to take care of.

(Why didn’t he use his fire? He didn’t want to reveal that so early on.)

Apparently, the Blue Spirit was classified as a vigilante, and not a hero. Because apparently they need licenses to be heroes. Weird.

But anyway, while vigilantes usually helped take down ‘villains’, they were still considered criminals.

Thankfully, this hero understood that actual criminals were more important to restrain instead of criminals who wanted to help.

Unthankfully, there were no ‘villains’ to distract the scarf-hero now. Great.

Zuko cursed under his breath as he dodged another attempt of capture—the bandage things lashing out towards him. He leaped and turned sharply, going down alleyways and then climbing back up onto another building. The scarf hero was still hot on his trail. Ugh.

He landed in another alleyway, but this time with a dead end. Of course. Because when did his luck ever work out for him?

He whirled around, back against the wall, and his good eye darted around for some kind of escape. The wall behind him was too sleek and new to climb, there’s nothing to grab onto. There’s a few ledges on the right wall, but the hero was closer to that building. The left wall had windowsills he could use to climb up, but it’d take too much time and he’d definitely get captured by the time he’s up the second one.

In other words, Zuko’s trapped.

The hero slowly approached as if trying not to startle a wild animal, his scarf thing at the ready. He sighed gruffly, and stopped.

“Listen, you can come with me quietly, or you can struggle and make this harder for us both. I’d really prefer it if you choose the first option.” Scarf-hero said.

Dammit. What was he going to do now?

Fuck it. He’ll take his chances.

The Blue Spirit took out his dual dao in a smooth and swift motion, the metal glinting in the moonlight as an answer.

Shota Aizawa was not happy with that clear response. He internally sighed, It comes with the job, he thinks to himself.

He prepared, staring down the vigilante’s mask. It has bulbous eyes, he duly noted. Aizawa went for an attempt to once again snag the Blue Spirit in his capture scarf, which the vigilante dodged nimbly.

But before the battle could escalate or even continue, a cat jumped down between them. Now, while cats aren’t the most intelligent animals, they certainly know better than to saunter into a squabble between humans, unless they were fiercely loyal to one of them. (Or maybe if the humans were fighting too close to their kits, but Aizawa was getting off track.)

Then, Aizawa realized, it was one of his damned cats that landed. Tasho. The devil spawn that looked like him and was named after him. (Aizawa was a bit offended to be compared to this demon, but who was he to deny his husband’s stupid goofy grin?)

Aizawa wanted to groan. Tasho knew that he shouldn’t interfere with Aizawa on his patrol, so must mean the cat also liked the vigilante.

How? Aizawa didn’t even want to think about it, he was just cursing the heavens out in his head.

Tasho, the brat, simply stared at Aizawa pointedly, before purring and brushing his cheek against the Blue Spirit’s leg.

Even the vigilante looked dumbfounded, Aizawa could tell through the body language and also because Aizawa just knew.

Both humans just stared at the cat in silence. Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled deeply. Fuck, what was he going to do now? Tasho only liked children, it was some kind of paternal instinct in the cat. Any adult other than Present Mic, and it would hiss and claw anyone that came close.

So unless the vigilante was an exception to Tasho’s preference in humans, that likely meant the Blue Spirit was a god damned kid. Of course. Did Aizawa even want to know how a kid got so good at handling a sword?

Aizawa needed coffee or else he was going to go mad.

Zuko, like the scarf-hero, had no idea what to do anymore. Maybe he should take the chance and escape, since the hero is distracted, but…

Zuko slowly lowered his hands to his sides, but kept his eye on the hero.

The hero, though his eyes were covered by his yellow glasses-visor thing, could see from the man’s mouth and eyebrows the plethora of emotions that just went through.

Eventually though, the hero moved into a more relaxed stance instead of battle-ready.

“Listen kid, you’ve probably heard this a hundred times already, but you’re too young to be fighting. Whatever happened to make you want to do this, isn’t worth it. Just enroll in a hero school, it’ll be safer.”

Zuko could only understand the gist of what he said. That may be a problem. But has that ever stopped Zuko?

When Zuko didn’t reply, the hero muttered something under his breath, but spoke again. “I’m not going to fight a kid. Teenager. Whatever. But seriously, you should reconsider.”

Zuko can’t. It’s literally his entire reason of being in this world—to help the heroes against a great evil or something. Honestly, why was it him and not the Avatar? Surely the bridge between spirits and humans would be more suited for the job.

Then Zuko remembered with a pang, that the Avatar was younger than Zuko. Zuko still felt bad for chasing literal children over the world.

Wait, no, focus!

“… you have this whole mute thing going on.” The hero stated. It wasn’t really a question. “That’s fine. But maybe it’s better if we settle this civilly. I’m Eraserhead. And I want to help you with whatever you’re struggling with.”

Chapter Text

Izuku Midoriya, still in middle school, had his notebook on his desk and his laptop replaying a footage. It was low-quality, and not all that good, but it’s one of the only public videos the internet had about the mysterious Blue Spirit. The darkness made it even harder to see clearly, but there was no mistaking the slinking silhouette with a grinning blue mask.

The figure expertly climbed the wall, and disappeared from view. Even an amateur could tell how skilled and precise the vigilante moved. It was like the Blue Spirit was apart of the shadows, moving in tandem with the darkness. It was amazing! Maybe Izuku could incorporate those moves somehow, when he becomes a hero!

The Blue Spirit may have disappeared in the last few months, but that doesn’t mean Izuku couldn’t learn from them!

He scribbled rapidly in his notebook, so fast that the pen was practically smoking. He was sure that he was muttering, but since he’s only in his room, it’s fine.

He checked the clock, and oh.

He missed his sleep entirely! It’s morning already!! How did he not notice!? Oh no, oh no, how’s he gonna focus today if he’s tired? Forget it, he’s gotta get ready!

Hastily putting on his uniform, dashing out the door to greet his mother, scoop up the breakfast, say bye to his mom, and then speed out the door.

He made it just in time, and sighed in relief as he set his bag down and sat in his seat.

“Right. Good morning, class.” His teacher grumbled.

“Good morning, sir.” They all chorused.

“We have a transfer student, be sure to welcome them.” He said, gesturing to the door.

The class used this brief moment to whisper.

“A transfer? Now?”

“A boy or a girl?”

“Hope it’s a cute girl!”

“Nah dude, you’ve got no chance!”

“If it’s a boy, he better be hot!”

“Probably just another extra.”

“Wonder what their quirk is?”

“Please don’t be another Deku…”

The door slid open. And… oh.

A boy. Black, somewhat shaggy hair. Pale skin. Lean figure. Golden eyes. But what really made the entire room of teenagers immediately quiet, was…

That scar. It took over practically a third of his face. It looked horrible…

The boy calmly stepped inside, and stood beside the podium. The cool and stoic air he had is immediately gone when he awkwardly waves. “Hello, Zuko here. Uh, Zuko Aizawa. I’ll be in your care.”

That last part almost sounded like a question.

“Yeah yeah, you can just go ahead and sit next to Midoriya. Midoriya, raise your hand.” The teacher waved off.

Izuku squeaked, and meekly raised his hand. Aizawa [Using Zuko’s “last name” because polite, don’t be confused for Aizawa Shota!] nodded, and took his seat, on Izuku’s right side. Aizawa’s scar was facing Izuku, and he saw that it even reached to his ear, which was shriveled and a husk.

Izuku was sure that Aizawa could hear and see the whispers and glances sent his way. Most of these glances were on his scar.

“A gang member?”

“Quirk accident?”

“Villain attack?”

His classmates whispered.

Aizawa did not react.

It was break time, and Aizawa was immediately swarmed.

“What’s your quirk?”

“How’d you get that scar?”

“Wanna go out with me?”

“Eat lunch with me!”

“Who’s your favorite hero?”

“You do have a quirk, right?”

Aizawa looked incredibly overwhelmed, even as Kacchan shoved his way through. “Oi, extra, what’s your quirk?” He gruffly demanded.

“… firebending.” Aizawa replied hesitantly. It almost sounded like a question, like earlier.

Kacchan huffed. “Yeah, definitely another extra.” He said, and lumbered off.

Aizawa blinked after Kacchan, evidently confused.

“Ah, don’t mind Bakugo! He’s always like that.” A classmate said.

“Uh… alright.”

It took a while for everyone to leave him alone, when it was evident that Aizawa was painfully awkward and could not keep up with the conversation. Izuku nudged his arm gently, and Aizawa flinched slightly.

Izuku winced, noticing how the other boy’s eye was narrowed from the scar. “Sorry.” He hastily said. “I-I didn’t realize that, um…” That I’m in your blind spot.

“It’s fine.” Aizawa stated, and turned his head. “What is it?”

“Um, I just wanted to ask you about your quirk, if it’s alright?”

Aizawa raised his only eyebrow.

“Y-you see, I have an interest in analyzing quirks, so…” Izuku stuttered. “You don’t have to answer! I-I just…”

“I can tell you about it, sure.” Aizawa nodded, cutting off Izuku’s rambling. Izuku sighed in relief, and quick, before someone—

“Ahh, Aizawa-kun! Careful, Deku’s quirkless! Don’t want him to infect you!” A classmate shouted, getting everyone’s attention.

Aizawa blinked. “Quirkless…?”

Izuku shrunk back. “N-no, it doesn’t work like that…!”

Aizawa just glanced at the class, then to Izuku, and he waited for the inevitable hate and disgust to appear on his new classmate’s face…

Aizawa’s look softened, almost imperceptibly.

… what?

Izuku knew to read expressions. With being picked on, he had to. Had to know if someone’s angry, and about to let off some steam on Izuku.

But Aizawa’s face… wasn’t disgust, anger, or hatred. Not even pity. No, it was… sympathy? But that’s impossible… right?

“That’s okay. Just ask anyway.” Aizawa prompted.

Izuku felt his hope soar. “R-really?”

The other students had varying reactions. Some clicked their tongues in disappointment, some just sighed, some looked at Aizawa like he was crazy and weird, and some just straight up gawked.

But Aizawa wasn’t paying attention to them. He was patiently waiting for Izuku’s questions, but he was starting to look a little restless.

Izuku smiled. It was a shy thing. “Aizawa-kun, thank you!”

“Just call me Zuko.”

When it was the end of the day, Izuku smiled to himself as he packed his things into his bag. He made a friend! Right next to his desk! And his quirk was so cool! Firebending, a quirk that has been inherited in Zuko’s entire family! It had history and culture and tradition and just… wow!

Though, Aizawa had this weird look on his face as he talked about some things. He wasn’t really sure why, but it didn’t look like it was directly because of Izuku.

Zuko said goodbye to Izuku, and went to leave. Izuku returned the goodbye, and went back to think about his notes.

But his thoughts were interrupted by Kacchan slamming a fist on Izuku’s desk. “Made a friend in the new extra, huh?” He said harshly. “I bet he’s gonna get sick of you real soon, or else he’s just as much of a nerd as you are, Deku!”

Izuku briefly saw Zuko stopping in the doorway.

“S-stop it, Kacchan.” Izuku weakly protested.

Kacchan just smirked. “Oh, I’ll stop. I’ll stop… if you stop being such a loser.” He said, and reached a hand towards Izuku.

But Kacchan was suddenly flung back by Zuko, who kicked him in the chest from the side. “Leave him alone.” Zuko said.

Kacchan had landed, a few desks and chairs toppled over with him, and he snarled as he got up. “You damn extra…! I’ll kill you!”

“I’d like to see you try.” Zuko said, getting in a stance.

“No! B-both of you, stop! You’ll get in trouble!” Izuku tried to get between them, but Kacchan shoved him out of the way.

“Out of my way, Deku! I’m not backing down from a fight.” He grinned.

Zuko just sucked in a breath, and fisted his hands.

Izuku wanted to try and separate them again, but was held back by Kacchan’s friends.

[Just saying, I suck at writing fighting scenes.]

Kacchan went in to use his quirk on Zuko, but the scarred teen expertly sidestepped and punched Kacchan in the stomach.

Kacchan doubled over and wheezed, he couldn’t recover as Zuko threw him over his shoulder and into some other desks.

Kacchan growled, and got up. “Fucking…” He then roared and tackled Zuko, but Zuko flipped them both over so that Kacchan was pinned against the ground.

“Give up.” Zuko hissed, “This is pointless.”

“Yeah? Then let me go so I can beat you up!” Kacchan thrashed, and his hands let out explosions that burned some of Zuko’s uniform.

“What’s going on here?” A teacher demanded, no doubt lured by the sounds of the fallen desks and explosions.

“Uh oh.”

Chapter Text

Aizawa took a deep breath, and pinched the bridge of his nose. This new problem child of his is going to give him daily headaches. He stared in disappointment at Zuko, who pointedly avoided his gaze by looking at the green kid.

The explosion kid was fuming as he nursed his bruises, glowering at Zuko hatefully. His parents were looking between their son, Zuko, the green kid, and the principal.

The green kid and his mother both looked like they could burst into tears at any moment, which Zuko looked vaguely concerned at. Aizawa sighed inwardly, leaning back in his chair. The moment of (awkward) silence was broken by the principal clearing his throat.

“Care to tell me what exactly happened, Aizawa-kun, Bakugo-kun, Midoriya-kun?”

And then it was chaos.

“This bastard—

“Explosion boy here—

“Kacchan—

“Attacked me for no—

“Was bullying my friend—

“isn’t at fault, and Zuko—

“fucking reason!”

“And for what anyway? Your ego?”

“Was just trying to help—“

“I’ll show you ego!”

“Bring it on!”

“Please don’t expel them!”

“Silence!” The principal snapped. “Let’s hear it from Bakugo-kun first.”

“Yeah, have the clear favorite speak first.” Zuko muttered under his breath, and Aizawa discreetly kicked him.

“The new extra attacked me for no reason.” Bakugo sniffed. The boy’s parents looked over Zuko.

Zuko immediately opened his mouth to protest loudly, but Aizawa smacked a hand over it, mindful of the scar.

“Is that true, Aizawa-kun?” The principal said.

Aizawa took his hand off, giving him a pointed look to not yell.

“No, that’s wrong.” Zuko growled. “Bakugo was bullying Midoriya, and he didn’t even do anything to provoke him! He looked like he was about to hurt Midoriya, and I stepped in.”

As much as Aizawa was proud of Zuko’s sense of honor, he really wished he could at least think things through before getting into a brawl with a classmate on the first goddamn fucking day.

“Can you confirm that, Midoriya-kun?”

Midoriya gave a subtle and meek nod, glancing at Bakugo, who grit his teeth. The boy’s mother glared at him fiercely, while Midoriya’s looked incredibly sad and shocked.

The principal sniffed. “Bakugo-kun, you’re suspended for two weeks. Aizawa-kun, you’re suspended for three weeks.”

Aizawa and Zuko only nodded. They thought they would be dismissed, but then—

“Midoriya-kun, you’re suspended for one.”

Aizawa frowned. Wait, what? What did Midoriya do?

Zuko, who clearly had the same thought, protested before Aizawa could stop him. “Why is Midoriya getting suspended too? He didn’t do anything wrong!”

The principal just shrugged. “He’s quirkless, so—

“What does that have to do with anything!?” He stood up.

“Zuko.” Aizawa warned. He wasn’t pleased either, but he can’t have Zuko fighting the goddamn principal right after fighting a classmate.

Zuko grit his teeth, and sat down.

“Now, I hope you’ll all learn something from this.” The principal said, dismissed them. At the school gate, he could hear the Bakugos.

“Bullying Izuku!? I raised you better than this, damn brat!”

“Shut up, hag!”

“Katsuki, listen to your mother.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!”

… the Midoriyas…

“Oh, Izuku, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m sorry mom, I… I didn’t want to worry you.”

“But I could’ve helped you, baby.”

“I know…”

And then Aizawa himself.

“I can understand why you did it, but I told you to think things through before acting, dammit.”

Zuko shuffled. “Uh… sorry?” He said, not looking very sorry.

“And I also said that you’re a terrible liar.”

“… Right.”

Aizawa sighed, knowing that while Zuko didn’t regret doing it, he was sorry for causing trouble for everyone involved. “Try not to do it again.”

“Can’t promise anything.”

“Of course you can’t.” Aizawa muttered and massaged his temples.

Zuko just huffed, then growled. “It’s not fair. It’s not right! Why would they punish an innocent person who didn’t do anything wrong? He was even trying to stop us fighting, for Agni’s sake.” He ranted, then stiffened and blinked to himself.

Aizawa raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment. This was clearly one of those moments the problem child would often have, saying something or doing something, and then blinking to himself in surprise, self-consciousness, or… something. He wasn’t really sure, and he didn’t want to pry. But he knew it had something to do with his ‘from another world’ thing.

“Sometimes we just can’t help it. There will always be those people. The most we can do right now is accept it and move along.” Aizawa sighed.

Zuko stewed in anger, plumes of smoke seeping out his nostrils and mouth, gritting his teeth, but that was it.

They returned home, both a bit grumpy and practically looking exactly like father and son if it weren’t for the different colored eyes.

Tasho immediately went up to Zuko and meowed, and the firebender picked the cat up and walked in after kicking his shoes off.

“Got into trouble on the first day, huh?” Yamada said from the kitchen. He didn’t go because he might be a bit too recognizable, being a spotlight hero, having a radio show and all that.

Zuko just grumbled something from where he sat on the couch, his face buried in Tasho’s thick fur.

Aizawa sighed and out the keys on the hook. “Suspended for three weeks.” He said, more informing than angry like any other parent would be.

“Oh! Perfect, then we can go to the beach!” Yamada beamed, poking his head out.

“Hizashi, the nearest beach is literally a dump.”

Yamada’s face fell. “Oh yeah.”

Zuko lifted his head, a thoughtful look on his face as he looked at the ceiling hesitantly. “We could… go see a play?”

“Good idea! I’ll book tickets right away.” Yamada grinned, and quickly finished whatever he was making and grabbed his phone.

Aizawa just shuffled to the coffee machine and sighed.

They went to the play. Zuko looked thoroughly impressed, but once the play was over, he immediately went on a critical tangent.

That one actor was focusing too much on his lines, and not his actions.

The lighting and its positioning were terrible.

Those props needed repairing or replacements.

The costumes looked great, but they could tear easily.

Zuko went on and on, and shit. He adopted a theater nerd.

Yamada, clearly realizing this as well, had the opposite reaction. Where Aizawa was mentally trying to brace himself for future endearing but long rambling of plays, Yamada immediately started planning to take their new son to more plays and find a favorite. Yamada said as such.

Zuko perked up, and said that his favorite play from his home world was called ‘Love Amongst the Dragons’ and oh no, he was going to reenact the entire thing, wasn’t he? Then he was going to rant about it, and Aizawa won’t be able to stop him. He may have only discovered that Zuko was a theater nerd, but just knew.

He was also reciting the entire script to Yamada as of right now, so. They’re in public, so he’s probably going to reenact it at home.

Aizawa, though not looking forward to sitting and listening to a teenager talk for ten hours about plays, was glad said teenager had something he was passionate about and would talk more as a result.

Izuku slumped into his bed after a long talk with the Bakugos. Auntie Mitsuki was furious with Kacchan, and Izuku, his mother, and Kacchan’s father all watched as the mother and son had a screaming match, only sometimes did the spectators speak.

An understanding was met, apologies were given between adults, and Izuku finally got some sleep from the all-nighter he pulled researching the Blue Spirit.

Izuku, having woken up tomorrow afternoon and was in the middle of continuing his Blue Spirit research, realized that he hadn’t exchanged a way to keep in touch with his newest friend. Did Zuko even want to be his friend now? Izuku was kind of the whole reason he was suspended the longest out of the three of them. Maybe he hates him now.

Gloomily, he hunched over his notes and wrote at a depressing pace.

A week later, the doorbell rang. Zuko was standing there, smiling awkwardly like he wasn’t really sure how to smile properly, and waved. “Hello, Zuko here.”

… was that the only greeting he knew, or…?

”How… how did you find my house…?”

”I just went through every apartment and house in the area.”

”… what.”

Anyway, both boys’ eyes lit up with hope and guilt at the same time.

“I’m really sorry—

“I’m sorry, it was—

“What?” They said, cutting off.

“You go first.” Zuko offered

“No, you go first.” Izuku insisted.

“Alright, then, uh. I’m sorry, it was my fault you got suspended. If I thought things through and got you out of that situation in a better way, maybe—

“Wait. You’re apologizing? But it’s my fault! You didn’t have to step in, and—

“What? No! What he was doing was cruel and it was wrong. It must’ve been happening for a while, right?”

“Well… yes, but—

Inko just smiled as her son and his friend both started arguing who was at fault.

Neither of them were, she thought to herself.

Keeping up with the Yamada-Aizawa Family: Episode One

A week since they took in the vigilante. The kid was clearly hesitant around them, only really just nodding his head, shaking his head, and just… existing. He only relaxed with Tasho around.

Two weeks in, and the kid finally started talking. His name was Zuko. His voice was soft, but raspy and even a bit deep. The raspiness was slightly concerning, but they didn’t comment.

Four weeks. Zuko took off his mask. The scar was highly concerning. Because that scar? It was on a teenager’s face. It was large. And it was almost shaped like a hand. But they knew that they shouldn’t pry or ask, so they didn’t. Zuko should tell them if he wanted to, and when he wanted to.

Two months. Zuko told them how he got the scar. How he was from another world and couldn’t go home until he completed a quest given by what was basically a god. How he was the Prince of a nation that started a war that lasted a hundred years. How he did horrible things, and he wanted to redeem himself. How he now wanted to help the very group he had been chasing.

Two months. They were family.

Chapter Text

Soon enough, Izuku joined Zuko to watch those plays. At first glance, a teenager with a large scar on their face would make you think that they’d be jaded and cynical, and… edgy?

But Zuko, giving a critical review on a play, and looking so passionate about it? It just gives the opposite feeling.

Izuku would also ramble about heroes. The first time he did so, he immediately stopped himself once he realized, but Zuko shook his head and urged him to continue.

Was this… was this real friendship?

Izuku’s suspension was over, and his classmates would occasionally insult him and scare him a little, but that’s it. Then Kacchan came back, and… he completely ignored Izuku like he never existed. It was certainly better than going home bruised and burned everyday, but…

It was weird.

And finally, finally, Zuko’s suspension was over. They did so many things that Izuku saw other friends do. Eat lunch together, chat at breaks, whisper occasionally to comment… it was amazing!

“You guys are all third-years now.” Their teacher said, a stack of paper on the podium. He swiped a sheet from it. “It’s time to start thinking seriously about your futures!”

The class perked up.

“I would hand out these future career forms, but…” He threw the papers around, scattering them. “I assume you all want to be heroes!”

The class cheered and whooped, showing off their quirks. The guy on Izuku’s left had his clothes ripped due to a sudden expansion of muscles, and the student on Zuko’s right had a swelled face like a frog. The two friends exchanged a glance.

“Yes, you all have wonderful quirks. But you know that it’s against the rules to use them in school!” The teacher said, but clearly not actually doing anything to stop them. “Oh, and speaking of wonderful quirks, Bakugo, you’re aiming for U.A. High School aren’t you?”

The class froze, looking to Kacchan in awe and shock. Said boy was simply leaning back in his chair, legs on the desk. But he remained mostly calm.

“That national school!? The cutoff score this year is 79, right!?”

“I hear they barely accept anyone!”

“If anyone from our school can get in, it’s definitely Bakugo!”

“But hasn’t he kinda cooled off in the last months?”

“True, he hasn’t really shouted like he used to lately…”

“Oh, you’re also going for U.A., aren’t you, Midoriya? You’re going with Aizawa too.”

The class froze, again. They all turned in perfect synchronization, staring. Some of them laughed.

“You? Deku? Useless quirkless Deku? No way!”

“Good grades alone can’t get you in the hero program, you know!”

“Aizawa has no chance of being a hero with that ugly thing on his face! He won’t get any ladies at all!”

“We’ve barely even seen him use his quirk, does he really have one?”

“Maybe it’s so weak, he hides it!”

Izuku saw Zuko close his eyes, and take deep breaths. He’s probably counting to ten in his head.

Izuku noticed—Zuko would do that breathing thing whenever he looked like he was about to combust.

Izuku looked over the class, who were still insulting them. He glanced at Kacchan, who simply looked at Aizawa with an unreadable gaze. Izuku, who was actually pretty good at reading people, felt uneasy.

Once school was over, Izuku mentally reminded himself to research Mt. Lady and take notes since she debuted today, then asked if Zuko could show him some firebending, and the boy had sheepishly told him: “There’s a small issue with my firebending lately, I’m not sure why. But I can show you the forms?”

Huh. An issue? Oh well, the forms are enough!

Though, it is a little weird how Zuko always says ‘firebending’ and not ‘quirk’. Maybe it’s a family tradition thing.

“Sure!”

They decided to go to Zuko’s house for it, since Izuku’s was a bit small. And Izuku’s house was actually on the same path, too! It was just a bit of a detour.

They walked beneath an underpass, absorbed in conversation. Then Zuko paused, and whirled around into a stance. Izuku was confused, but then noticed the green… slime? Goo? Emerging from the sewers, two eyes and a large mouth on it. It was out of breath.

“Two medium sized bodies… to hide in…” it locked onto its closest target—Zuko.

Zuko did an axe kick at it. It was a little dumb to try and attack slime with a kick, but Zuko’s kick was somehow strong enough that it produced enough force to blow the slime back.

“Stay back!” Zuko says, Izuku wasn’t sure who he was saying it to.

“Dammit, this kid’s strong…” the slime—no, villain muttered. It then looked to Izuku, and lunged.

Zuko punched into the wall before it could reach him, managing to hit the mouth.

Izuku quickly tried to analyze the villain. “The eyes! Go for the eyes!”

Zuko glanced back, and nodded. As the villain was recovering, Zuko prepared to kick and then…

The manhole cover went flying with a clang as someone emerged. “Fear not, kids!” A familiar and booming voice declared. “I am here!”

“Shit!” The slime villain said, trying to escape, but Izuku knew it’d be too late.

All Might reared back his fist, “Texas…”

Zuko’s eyes widened, and quickly pressed himself to the wall while holding an arm over Izuku’s chest.

“Smash!!!” All Might yelled, punching the villain, smelly green goo went flying all over the place.

“Shock wave…!?” The villain uttered, before splattering, unconscious.

Izuku stared at his idol right in front of him, gaping, and proceeded to faint.

“Wha—Izuku!” He heard Zuko gasp, and that was it.

He woke up to Zuko’s face peering down at him in thinly veiled concern. He visibly sags with relief when Izuku mumbles something. “Thank Agni, you’re alright.” Zuko says.

There it was again. Agni. Zuko always used this Agni in sayings. Izuku wasn’t sure who Agni was, and he never had the chance to ask. Was it someone Zuko and his family worshipped?

“Excellent!” A booming voice says, and Izuku’s memory slams back into him. All Might. Izuku scrambled back, gaping.

All Might put a hand to his head. “Apologies for getting you two caught up in my villain hunt. Mistakes like that aren’t my style, but… this is a strange land to me. And besides, I’m off camera!” He held up two bottles of Coola, now filled with the villain’s goo. “But my success here is all thanks to you both! I’ve contained the villain!”

Izuku trembled, frantically looking around. “Oh! A-an autograph! Where’s… ah, my notebook!” He noticed it in Zuko’s hands.

“Don’t worry, I already asked him to sign it.” Zuko smiled, showing him the signature.

“Wowww!!!! Thank you so much! What a treasure!! It’ll be my family heirloom!!” Izuku said, bowing quickly.

All Might just have a thumbs up. “Okay! Now I just bring this fellow to the authorities! You can catch me again on TV!” He said, putting the bottles into his pockets.

“Um! Wait… is that it…? I…”

“A pro battles not only his enemies, but also time.” All Might sighed, tensing to jump.

Izuku stepped forward.

“Until next time… thanks for your support!”

Izuku latched on.

“Hey, wait—Izuku!” He heard Zuko shout after him. He felt guilty leaving his friend behind, but he just had to ask All Might this. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

Zuko cursed, watching as All Might and Izuku got farther and farther away until they were a mere speck. He quickly scaled the wall, and climbed houses. He leapt from rooftop to rooftop, reminiscent of his Blue Spirit days, and soon caught up. He saw something fall from All Might’s figure, but it wasn’t Izuku, so what…?

Zuko skidded to a stop. The slime villain.

He glanced at the disappearing All Might and Izuku, then to where the villain landed. If that villain got out of the bottle…

He looked again to where his friend was, but a speck in the horizon at this point, and made a decision.

He jumped down, looking for the bottle, only to see Bakugo about to become a victim to the villain.

Without thinking, he shoved him out of the way, and got ensnared instead.

CAN’T

BREATHE

Immediately, it was a world of pain. It was like the villain was forcefully trying to take over Zuko’s body by entering him, making him gag on slime. He swore he felt some of it try to enter via his eyes as well. His scar ached.

It hurts.

He firebended, and while it wasn’t just sparks this time, it was still weaker than how he was before. However, it managed to light something on fire, and someone screamed. He squeezed his eyes shut.

It hurts.

He tried using his Breath of Fire, it accomplished nothing but an uncomfortable feeling in his mouth. He thrashed and clawed and kicked, but it didn’t stop.

It hurts.

He vaguely heard people shouting, the crackling of fire, the crumbling of buildings. But it felt like he was underwater, barely registering the sounds.

Stop! He wanted to shout. Stop this! Let go of me!

It hurts.

He opened his eyes, desperate to find at least something that can help him out of this situation, and locked eyes with Izuku.

Oh.

The bottle fell because of Izuku. He’s going to blame himself, won’t he? He shouldn’t. It was Zuko’s own fault for not thinking.

It. Hurts.

Izuku rushed towards him, and Zuko wanted to scream. What were the heroes doing?

A glance told him nothing. The heroes were doing nothing. Wow. First his father deeming him dishonorable, and now the heroes deemed him unworthy of being saved?

It. Hurts.

As the villain forced Zuko’s arm back to attack Izuku, the boy threw his backpack and hit the villain’s eyes.

Air.

He gasped, getting in as much oxygen as he could. It was good he had such a large lung capacity, or else he probably would’ve passed out. He was already feeling lightheaded.

“Duck!” He yelled, and breathed fire, turning his head sharply towards the villain. It made the villain recoil, and Izuku at least did duck in time. He wrenched an arm free and just managed to punch one of the eyes, freeing himself.

All Might suddenly appeared, grabbed his and Izuku’s arms, and blew the villain away with a single punch. It started raining.

Seeing the Number One Hero in person is one thing, but this? Damn.

Izuku slumped to the ground.

Zuko coughed, and he suddenly remembered that he was forced to ingest some of the villain’s slime. He proceeded to gag, then throw up.

Izuku shrieked, sitting up. “Zuko!”

He coughed again, grimacing at the vomit mixed with slime. Ew. “I’m fine.” He said, ignoring the way he sounded raspier than normal.

“No you’re not!”

“I am.”

“You’re really not oh All Might—”

The heroes collected the villain’s scattered body, and managed to put him into custody. The heroes were really mad at Izuku while Zuko got all the praise.

“You were real tough out there! And that quirk!”

“Consider becoming my sidekick once you go pro!”

“You got potential, kid!”

Zuko’s eye twitched. What. The. Fuck??

He only managed to get free thanks to Izuku. They should be praising Izuku right now!

He grabbed Izuku’s forearm and took them both away. It was silence for a bit. “… well. At least you did see me firebend today, just… not in the way we both thought.”

“Yeah.” Izuku said, looking crestfallen.

Zuko looked over at him, confused and worried. Didn’t he just meet All Might? Did something happen before Izuku arrived?

What happened?

Before he could ask, Bakugo yelled from behind them.

“Hey, Scar face!”

Zuko froze, and Izuku did too.

“I never asked you to save me. I could’ve beaten that shitty villain myself if you didn’t push me. I don’t want your pity! Don’t you dare fucking mock me!” He shouts, and left.

Zuko blinked. “… I’ll take that as a ‘Thank you’.” His sweat dropped.

“You… saved Kacchan?” Izuku asked.

“Yeah. I don’t know what I was thinking, I just… did it.”

Izuku’s eyes widened slowly. “Me too. When I saw you, my legs just started moving. I wasn’t thinking at all.”

Zuko stayed silent, finding the words. “Izuku, you—”

“I AM HERE!!”

“Huh!?”

Izuku jolted, while Zuko found himself in a firebending stance.

“All Might!? Why are you here? You were surrounded by reporters…” Izuku blinked, incredulous.

“Hahaha! Shaking them off is nothing to me! After all, I’m All Mi—KOFFF!” He broke off with a mighty cough, blood gushing out of his mouth and turning into a skinnier, gaunt form.

Zuko’s brain stopped working.

Huh.

HUH!?