Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“No, I don’t think you can become a hero without a quirk.”

Those words pierced through Izuku like a knife.

With that, the skeleton version of All Might started walking down the stairs and off the roof, leaving Izuku to spiral with his own thoughts.

Izuku thought his Midoriya tears would break through, but all he felt was numbness. Thick fog clouded his mind.

He knew he never had a chance. I mean, how did he think he ever had a chance!?

Wait.

All Might said he couldn't be a hero… What could Izuku do now? Unless there was some way to do heroics behind the law. He might just have to look into that tonight. He would especially have to catch the sludge villain, since he just had to get in the way and make All Might drop the bottles.

Izuku started walking down the stairs, making sure All Might had enough time to get out of the building. He did not need a repeat of the conversation he just had.

He walked down and out of the building All Might had flown them to. He started walking towards his cafe, after all he still had to take over for his co-managers.

Izuku walked over to the cat cafe, called just that. It wasn't super popular, but it wasn't completely unknown either. Izuku took over the cafe after Inko unfortunately succumbed to a villain attack. He hadn't been able to do anything with it when he was in foster care.

He wasn't let in on very many details, even though he was her son. Izuku had been told his mother had been going out to run some typical errands, when she was sporadically attacked by a villain trying to rob a bank. He was told that the villain had some kind of animal quirk that enhanced his size. Inko had been crushed by him. Apparently the heroes had done as much as they could, but Izuku knew they could've done more. He saw heroes all over, but no one came to his mom until someone had yelled at the paramedics about a hurt woman.

Izuku had heard about the villain after school, and wanted to watch the fight. He could take so many notes! That was the dominant thought until he saw his mother, bloodied and concussed. He was only 9 years old, what could he do!? He saw her just laying there on a stretcher while the medical team was helping elsewhere. He saw how his mom could've easily been saved. She had a concussion, a minor head injury, some scratches, and worst of all a wide cut across her stomach. It was pretty deep, but easily manageable if a medical professional was paying attention. He ran to Inko, and while doing so he grabbed all the gauze he had for when he got burned, and applied as much pressure as he could.

She had already lost a lot of blood by that point, apparent in her pale face. It was too late, and she succumbed to blood loss.

He always knew he could've done more. Brought more gauze, got there sooner, applied more pressure, the list went on and on.

Izuku was luckily able to mostly move on, at least according to how he presented himself publicly. He always just ignored the pain, never fully healing.

He walked into his co-owned cat cafe, ready to get to work. He genuinely loved working there! He loved getting to see all of the cats there, and he loved baking! It was honestly the highlight of his week sometimes. He didn't work every single day, but he worked enough to keep himself afloat.

According to his landlord and the other 2 co-managers, he was an 18 year old with a quirk that made him look years younger than he supposedly was. He was known as the young worker, Mikumo Sochi. (Izuku is currently years younger than his alias).

Well, today was an eventful day for sure. Getting attacked by the sludge villain, meeting All Might and what he said, he really better get to work. He was already 40 minutes late.

He quickly got changed in the bathroom into his usual attire, and put on slight makeup so he doesn't look like a complete child. He got to work baking some sweet treats.

While the baked goods were baking, he looked around and saw his favorite usual customer already in the corner. A gruff looking hobo, but not to be mistaken as one. He didn't see him on his way in, but he also wasn't looking for him. He was already knee deep in police files and such. He looked just about as rough as usual on the surface. His usual dark circles, ruffled hair, his same cold demeanor unless you actually knew him.

Izuku wondered if Aizawa would've actually made an official report or something on the sludge villain if he had been the one to save Izuku instead. It was a nice thought, though an untrue one.

He decided to walk over to Era- no, he was Aizawa now. He said he doesn't want anyone unnecessary knowing about his hero identity. So Mikumo just calls him Aizawa when he's here, even though Aizawa does know that Izuku knows his hero identity.

“Heya Aizawa! Your usual coffee?” Mikumo said with fake enthusiasm. It was a little hard not to cough, but he managed.

Aizawa barely looks up from his police files and stuff.

“You're awfully late, considering you're normally here before me. But yes, I'll take my usual coffee,” Aizawa responded without missing a beat.

Mikumo was curious if All Might actually reported it, but he considered it didn't hurt telling him about it. At least part of it.

“Sorry Aizawa! I got caught up watching a villain attack!” Izuk- no, Mikumo knew there hasn't been any major villain attacks in a few days. He hoped Eraser would take the bait.

Aizawa finally looked up from his papers. “There haven't been any major villain attacks in the last couple of days. What are you talking about?” Eraser responded in a cold tone. Unless you knew him you couldn't tell there was a hint of interest in his voice.

“Oh the Hero at the scene didn't report it? Huh, weird. But anyway I saw this kid getting attacked by some sort of sludge villain or something! I was about to call the police until All Might dropped in and saved the kid. The kid didn't wake up for..” Izuku pondered for a little bit, unsure of the answer himself. I’d say probably 10 minutes until he finally woke up. There wasn't anyone around, but I thought All Might would call the police or an ambulance or something but he didn't. He just waited until the kid woke up, slapping his cheek here and there. He was going to fly off and go do who knows what, but the kid kinda latched onto him, and then they were both kinda flying, until All Might stopped on a building. It looked like they were talking for a bit, until All Might left, leaving the kid there. He looked kinda defeated and sad-” Mikumo immediately stopped talking when he realised he was word-vomiting. He was able to stop stuttering at work, but he'd need to work on the word vomiting.

Aizawa groaned and leaned his head into his hands, massaging his temples to prepare for the incoming headache that was known as All Might. He would chew him out later at the next meeting in preparation for his incoming year of teaching. Hopefully the man wasn't this irresponsible when teaching.

“Too much..?” Mikumo asked sheepishly, thinking this was his fault for saying so much.

“So you're meaning to tell me, a kid got attacked by a villain, passed out nonetheless, and All Might didn't even bother to report this? And even went as far as to leave a kid on the roof of a building?” Aizawa growled out, already annoyed at his not-so-soon-to-be colleague. The next school year was 10 months off, but still.

Mikumo winced at what he thought was going to be a lecture, but was surprised to find Aizawa was mad at All Might, and not him. I mean he just got in the way, so why wasn't he mad at him?

“Thanks kid. I'll just take my usual coffee, make it an XL this time.” Aizawa gruffly responded.

Izuku stalked away to make the XL black coffee. Normally Aizawa got a large, but maybe his ‘brats’ are giving him more trouble than usual. I mean, he already expelled half of them.

He made the coffee with ease, and brought it over.

______

Aizawa was about to pull his hair out. First, his hell spawn had 2 tests today. One was on more of the physical parts of being a hero - basic stuff right? It included basic moves, basic fighting and sparring, basic quirk usage, etc. The other test was just a written test, simple as it seemed. It was made up of what to do in certain situations, basic things about heroes, and normal school curriculum.

One student passed both of these tests. One. Student. Out of the 10 students he had left. 4 of his students failed the physical test. Four. The other 5 failed the written test. Five. He had taught these hellions every single material in these tests, except for some of the school curriculum. How had these hellions failed so badly?

Don't even get him started on the fact that All Might didn't make an official report this afternoon. He was technically working now, so he would've been notified if anything of the sorts happened. Especially since a child no less had been involved. According to the presented information, assuming it was correct, All Might just stood there for 10 minutes while the child was unconscious. That is considered neglect of duties in Aizawa's book.

Luckily his coffee came out before he could delve too far into his own thoughts. He would never admit it, but he waited until Mikumo would clock in. His coffee was always the best. He referred to him as ‘coffee child’ in his mind sometimes. (No one needed to know that)

Aizawa was able to get some work done while he sipped on his coffee. Once he was done with everything he brought, he paid for his coffee and left. He had some business to attend to, after all.

_____

Mikumo wondered why he wasn't getting blamed for the attack. Or, as he explained to Aizawa, the ‘child’. He was utterly baffled.

He decided to finish his shift without another thought on it. That's the only way he kept himself from A, either stuttering or B, spiraling. He finished with his shift at 8. He closed down the cat cafe, making sure to take care of the cats before he left. He grabbed his bag and started walking back to his apartment.

Izuku got ready for bed, (though he wouldn't be able to sleep) and hopped on his computer. He started thinking about the thought he had earlier after All Might left. What was it? It was something similar to ‘I mean, he said I couldn't be a hero legally, so what about illegally? Or maybe not illegally but just legal enough where I wouldn't technically be in trouble.’

Izuku hopped on his computer and searched for ‘illegal heroes’. He didn't know what he was looking for exactly. He looked through all of the forums and articles talking about villains, sidekicks and such. He didn't know how long he had been searching for, but he found an article about different types of heroes. He clicked on it, not expecting to find much. He eyed through it a little.

It talked about legal heroes, sidekicks, policemen, firefighters, doctors and other medical professions. He thought he wasn't going to get anywhere when he finally scrolled to the bottom, and saw a short paragraph labeled ‘Vigilantes’.

He knew of underground heroes, limelight heroes, every type of hero imaginable, but this was a term he had simply never heard of.
He decided to actually read this singular paragraph. Especially considering this was the first ‘lead’ he had.

‘Vigilantes are people who illegally use their quirks to do different hero work. Vigilantes are very debatable in the hero world. Some praise their efforts, while others bash them for illegality. Some underground heroes are known to work with vigilantes, as long as they stay on the ‘good’ side of the underground, or don't cause too much trouble. Some vigilantes are known to turn to villainy, while others like the Crawler have gone through the efforts to perform hero work legally. Some programs exist to help lead vigilantes to the legal side of the law, while others don't ever gain licenses. Vigilantes remain an extremely controversial subject today to many.’

Huh. Vigilantism. That doesn't sound so bad.

____

Izuku woke up slumped against his desk. Had he fallen asleep on his computer again? He checked the time on his clock and was relieved to see he still had time to get ready.

He really did not want to go school. Don't get him wrong, he loved learning! But he hated going to Aldera, especially with the teachers. Izuku learned pretty early on that if he ever tried to speak up against the bullying, his grades suddenly dropped. At first he pondered what could have been the problem, but his conclusion was the same every time.

He was the problem. Nothing more, nothing less.

He quickly stopped trying to reach out and form bonds with his teachers.

He quickly stopped trying to befriend anyone, clear they had malicious intentions. He isolated himself, simply because of a quirk, or lack thereof. For some reason, that brought his mind back to his findings from last night.

Izuku sat in his chair, thinking about the whole vigilantes thing for a little bit. He really wanted to help people, legally or not. He just didn't think he could fit it in his schedule. He went and checked on the cafe in the early morning whenever he had extra time. He then went to school, although it felt like he was learning nothing, and then went to work at the cafe. He couldn't just take something out of that schedule.

Unless..

No he couldn't do that… could he? Izuku really wanted to be able to though. He thought for a little bit, but decided on a compromise. He quickly opened his computer and hastily searched some stuff up. He still had extra time, after all.

There's probably nothing Izuku's looking for. Don't get his hopes up but still hope, you know?

Free online school

He wasn't hoping for much! Really!
He knew deep down there probably wasn't going to be anything near what he was looking for.

He saw a few results, but nothing that was exactly free. He scrolled for a while, until he saw a website. It intrigued him, as much as he didn't want to hope.

Online school 5-12 - no cost

It looked simply too good to be true. He wanted to think it was true, but he scrolled through the page.

Apparently you had to take some sort of ‘entrance exam’ and get above 90%. Ninety. Percent.

Izuku knew his plans were flushed down the drain. If he did online school, he would have a lot of extra free time to maybe train and build some stuff to help him. He clicked on the button that said ‘overview of entrance exam’, then chose his appropriate grade/age, and scrolled through some of the questions. The test was built on every academic curriculum, but it didn't seem too hard.

Izuku didn't have the time to do it now though. He analysed the page and looked around at different toggles, etc. It seemed genuine enough, so he decided to trust it for now. It's not like it would hurt in the long run.

Izuku sighed, and closed his computer, quite content with himself. He quickly got ready for school. He threw on his uniform, ruffled his hair up a bit, then brushed his teeth. He was finally ready for the day.

Izuku roamed out into his apartment's kitchen and made some peanut butter toast. He have to have a good breakfast to fuel himself throughout the day, especially since he didn't have lunch.

Izuku had enough time to sit down and eat peacefully. Lost in thought, Izuku's thoughts wandered to his life and how lucky he was. He had his fake identity, Mikumo Sochi, right? Well his true identity still existed, living with a certain Mikumo Sochi.

Izuku had managed to create a fake identity that was believable enough to let him adopt himself. It really wasn't all that hard, considering that the CPS workers simply wanted him gone. He had been living very peacefully since then, even having his own apartment and job!

Said workers really didn't care how old Mikumo was. He put some makeup on to make him look older, but even Izuku had to admit he still looked like a child. Then again he could always just use his ‘quirk’ as an excuse.

Izuku finished his 2 pieces of peanut butter toast. He carefully cleaned his plate, as he really didn't want to clean it later. (He would most likely be busy) Izuku grabbed his book bag and everything necessary, put his shoes on, and walked out of his apartment. He made sure it was locked before starting his venture to school.

Anything but school was the dominant thought in his brain. School was his least favorite part of the day. He despised it every morning. Izuku thought back to this morning, and hoped that the website was genuine.

The sidewalks were more crowded than Izuku was used to, but he would manage. After he made his way to school Izuku sat down quietly in his chair, hoping that since he got there late enough he would be spared this morning at least. The bell rung shortly after Izuku sat down. Relieved, he let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

The day went pretty much without a hitch, aside from the constant sniggering and laughter directed at him. Apparently the punch line of today was the fact he had been adopted by a ‘rando’ as they said.

The repeated laughter, and ‘teasing’ (bullying) was really starting to get on Izuku's nerves. This was the time more than ever where Izuku wanted to be home schooled.

Izuku started packing up his things a few minutes before the final bell. It didn't really matter if he missed a few minutes of ‘worktime’. As soon as the bell rang, he bolted out of the classroom while the rest of his classmates were still packing their things up. Running straight for his locker, Izuku made sure to avoid any and all bullies or anything that might delay him. He made sure to grab everything from his locker (which wasn't much) and started walking home.

____

A sudden call from the main co-manager startled the other two. Calling in asking someone to cover for him was something Mikumo almost never did. One of the two agreed quickly, needing more hours anyway.

____

Sighing a quick breath of relief, Izuku unlocked his apartment and made a beeline for his room. He quickly showered and changed. Heading to his computer, Izuku started thinking about what he would do if it was legitimate. He'd have to call the school in his fake identity and explain. He's sure the school would be glad to get rid of him though. He hopped onto his computer and opened his bookmarked tab.

While scrolling through the page, Izuku's mind started overthinking the entire situation. He was jittery with nervous and excited energy at the same time.

He looked through the link again, seemingly having seen everything already. Izuku thought quietly for a little bit before deciding to just take the test. There's no harm in that, right? Right??

Before he could second guess himself he clicked the start button. It went through some basic directions beforehand, stating things like ‘no use of a calculator unless its shown on the program’ and basic things like that.

Getting to the last introduction page, Izuku hoped he passed. He skimmed the page before him until he stumbled upon the good old time limit and question amount. He had 2 hours to finish 100 varied questions. That was about one minute and 20 seconds per question.

This was going to be a long night, and Izuku knew it.

The first section contained math. Izuku grabbed his notebook to write things down but was genuinely surprised when he didn't really need it. He felt like all of the questions were pretty easy and straightforward, just a little bit harder than at Aldera. He passed through the first math section with ease.

Izuku noted how the questions seemed to change to harder, and more complex questions. Grabbing his notebook, he started writing things down, wanting to do his best. Izuku felt like he got most of them wrong at this point, even though he was cruising through the questions. He finished the entire math section with ease, not wanting to admit it himself.

Passing through the science section was simply easy. Especially when some of the topics were quirk science and analysis!? He passed through the rest of sections easily, hardly any struggle found.

Izuku leaned back into his chair, interlocked his hands and pushed them behind his head. The pop of his back was immaculate.

He submitted his quiz, curious about how much time he used. Izuku checked the time, and found he still had about a half hour left before the limit was up. He quickly submitted it, also curious with how well he did. Izuku knew he probably failed, but at least he tried. He still wanted to know how badly he failed.

After Izuku submitted, it a rectangular box popped up stating:

Thank you for your answers! There will be an email sent to you about your performance once the test has been graded; this might take a few hours.

Izuku hesitantly put his email in, seeing some flaws but overall deciding to take his chances. Anything was better than Aldera.

Well that was fun.

Izuku started pondering what he's going to do now that he's done.

He could walk to that beach. What was the name? Dagobah, maybe? Izuku could check it out, maybe find some cool stuff littered in the garbage in the meantime.

It was around 6. Izuku debated eating and then going out, but ultimately decided he wasn't really hungry. He then changed into some black sweat pants and a dark green sweatshirt. It was pretty light clothing, considering it wasn't very warm nor cold out.

Izuku made his way out of the apartment, and made sure to lock it as he left. Feeling pretty relaxed with himself, his mind wandered to how the test went. Izuku thought he probably bombed it with his luck. And knowing him he probably wouldn't get in and would have to continue going to Aldera. Ugh. Aldera was a thorn in his side. Izuku pushed his thoughts away from Aldera and back to his nice, peaceful walk.

After all he couldn't fret about things he couldn't control. Right? (He totally could control this)

____

Izuku walked carefully and casually among the garbage at Dagobah beach. Okay, but seriously, when did it get this bad? Like, Izuku knew it was bad, but he never knew it was this bad!

Some memories of when Izuku was a small child and Inko had taken them to the beach were replaying in Izuku's head. That was before all of the garbage had started to pile up. Back then, there were small amounts of garbage here and there, though nothing like what it is today.

He viewed the beach, taking in the mostly intact discarded items. Thinking to himself, Izuku knew he could use a majority of the garbage here, whether for training or just building support items.

Izuku started scanning the piles of trash, looking for anything valuable or of use.

He really knew he shouldn't be looking, but what's the harm? If he doesn't find anything? Great! If he does find some stuff, great!

The bronze metal glinted in the setting sun and low moon. Izuku noticed the 10 almost identical parts when he was moving past the heaping pile of garbage.

“Woah. This is some cool metal. What could it be used for though?” Izuku asked himself out loud. Well maybe the inhabitants of the beach.

Although dirty, the metal was in pretty good shape. There were 10 identical pieces found, all of which Izuku took and shoved into his pockets.

Izuku strutted around the beach a bit longer, hoping to find an idea for the metal.

A sudden breeze gushed by, causing a shutter to escape Izuku. He started realising he should probably finish up his little walk and get going home. After all, it was still a 20 minute walk back to his apartment.

He looked at a sad looking pile of garbage, quite small compared to the monstrosities next to it. It was only a few inches tall, and contained what looked to be clothes in surprisingly good condition. Izuku stalked over, grabbing the clothes albeit carefully, and examining them. Most of the clothes would be of no use to Izuku, except for a singular pair of black gloves.

They were simple cotton, although unusually thick for the type. They were a bit longer than normal gloves, but not super long.

Izuku knew he should wash them before touching them, but still decided to examine them further. They looked almost brand new, except for a few very small patches of dirt on them.

Stuffing them in his pockets along with the metal, Izuku began his way home. Thinking carefully about a plan for the two collectables, he wondered if there was a way to combine the two to create a support item of sorts. It wouldn't really be technologically advanced or anything but it would hypothetically serve its purpose.

Izuku was about halfway home when he thought of an idea.

Thee idea.

This would take a little bit of bending the metal, but what if he found a way to make some sorts of metal gloves? Put the metal over the top of his hands and over the tops of his fingers.

Izuku started analysing how effective this would be in a real fight.

The pros and cons of support items can be tricky at times. Sometimes support gear could malfunction dangerously, and can prove ineffective randomly. Well, that's if it's a technological support item, if you will. This would be more of a stationary piece, rather than the advanced support items of today.

Izuku started thinking about how he would be able to get the metal to stay on the gloves. The metal was already bendable at the hinge and had the width of about a finger, almost like it was made for the purpose. He pondered about how well it would stay if he just put it on his fingers. While it might be good for the short-term until he can figure something out, it would not be the best idea to keep it like that in the long run.

He might be able to sew it into the fabric, but he isn't much of a seamstress. A type of glue could work. Maybe a type of fabric glue? Unless he glued it and then tried to sew it into the fabric. That could work.

Izuku's train of thought came to an abrupt end as he realized he was already at his apartment building. It was an old rundown place, but cheap and reliable nonetheless. He made his way into his apartment, glad to be home. He was a little hungry now, so he decided a snack couldn't hurt.

Okay but seriously, what do you have as a midnight snack? Izuku didn't know. He wanted something small, but sustainable and healthy. He looked around in his very few pantries until he found something that would work.

An apple.

It had a few bruises in it, but it was delicious nonetheless. This apple, paired with peanut butter, would be a simply divine late night snack. And it would also fulfill him for the night. He grabbed the snack tray and made his way back into his room, hoping to find an email in his inbox.

Much to his satisfaction, there was. He read the email from whom sent it, and was bewildered to find a certain Principal Nedzu’s email behind it. Mouth taped open, Izuku made his way back to the tab, thinking he missed something. I mean, he couldn't have just taken a test from thee Principal Nedzu. He looked through the page, realizing this is very much something the rat-rodent thing would do. And that's if his analysis of the principal were correct.

He sighed, knowing he probably just failed with a score lower than his age.

He opened the email with a shaking hand, expecting to find something saying he failed badly, about how he could even be this age and this dumb. His thoughts were shaken to a stop when he read the headline of the email.

Congratulations Midoriya!

You passed the entrance exam with an astounding 98%! Only done by one other student! Welcome to your free online academia!

He was in total awe and shock at the information. He just couldn't believe it. 98%!? A ninety-eight percent!? What!??

The highest he'd ever gotten on a test was a 90%! That was even back in early grade school when his teachers had some empathy for him!

Looking further down the email, Izuku realized there was more to it than that. It mentioned how he'd have to choose some electives, or about 3 classes that aren't his main studies. There was a list, but nothing indicating where to choose them.

He scrolled through the list a few times, unsure of what to choose.

Izuku knew he wanted to do quirk science/analysis. He didn't really know what others he wanted to do though.

He mulled over the list a few times until another one caught his eye.

Hacking and coding.

That would be useful in the future for sure!

Another one caught Izuku's eye that he would have chosen immediately had he seen it earlier.

Analysis

That was it. He clicked on it, hoping it would provide further information on what exactly they would be analysing.

The description essentially said the analysis is custom to the user; it could be anything from plants to heroes, to personalities even. Izuku noted how it mentioned you can analyse different things throughout the semester and furthermore.

Oh he was definitely in. He mentally made a note of the ones he wanted, and went back to the web browser, hoping it would have answers to his endeavor.

Izuku went back and it now said he had to sign in. He entered his email and a password of his choice, and logged in easily. The first thing to show up was the different choices for electives.

Izuku quickly but surely punched in his 3 choices. There was a quick pop up that Izuku skinned through, but decided it might benefit him to fully read through.

Hello Midoriya! You can start schoolwork as early as tomorrow! There are different articles and worksheets for you to do, with specific turn-in dates. You can choose to go ahead as you wish, as the turn-in date does not change. Have fun, learn lots! - Your teacher, Nedzu.

Okay Izuku was internally freaking out. He was being taught by THE Nedzu. The principal of the most prestigious hero school in Japan! Ohh he was going to freak out. He just couldn't believe it!

Wait.

Wait.

Ugh. He still had all that paperwork to do regarding Aldera. He hoped he would be able to get it done fairly easily and quickly, considering the school wanted him gone.

He got started on that, making the necessary phone calls and all. His mind buzzed with excitement for what his future was going to look like. He could work more! Maybe even get started on his Vigilante plan and training! Oh this was going to be so much fun!

Izuk- no Mikumo, he was Mikumo right now, finished the last phone call and last sheet of paperwork necessary to un-enroll him from Aldera. He just needed to drop it off tomorrow and he was good to go.

Oh he couldn't wait! This was going to be great!

Chapter Text

What the fuck.

Okay, first that nerd didn't show up. He's always at school! Hell, he'd still go to school half dead! Katsuki wasn't going to ask about the dumb nerd though.

Ever since auntie died he's just been laid back, reserved. Of course Katsuki went easy on him ever since then, but about a few months ago Katsuki just stopped. He started realizing how fucking dumb it is. He didn't need to waste his time on a stupid Deku.

He was going to be the number one. And it was decided that Deku just wasn't worth it. (He also felt kinda bad, but no one had to know that. He piled those feelings deep down where no one would ever find them)

Katsuki wasn't about to speak up asking where Deku is;that would be useless.

Luckily some random extra decided to ask instead.

“Um hey Mr. Kaibon, where's Deku?” The extra asked, clearly innocent and oblivious to the bullying he endured.

“Thank you for bringing that up! I forgot to inform you all that Midoriya has been withdrawn from Aldera!” That fuckass teacher said it with such joy it was clear that everyone was glad he was gone.

Katsuki's blood went ice cold. Deku couldn't have gone homeschooled, had he..? There wasn’t any other explanation as to where he would've gone. No school would've taken him so late into the year.

Deku never talked about his home life and what it was like after the accident. Is this the work of that fuckass teenager who apparently ‘adopted’ him? Katsuki wasn't stupid, he knew that Deku probably wasn't comfortable with that extra, especially with the relatively close age and all.

Katsuki hadn't even had the chance to talk to him before he left! He just left, damn nerd. No wonder he was acting so weird yesterday. Especially when he grabbed everything from his locker, even his lock that didn't keep people out. He darted out of there before anyone could even get word in. Probably did that on purpose, damn nerd.

I mean, could Katsuki even blame him? Really, it was ridiculous if you started to think about it. Almost his entire class bullied him one way or another. Either that or standing idly by. That extra with the flower quirk provided the stupid spider lilies.

It was stupid how badly his class treated Deku, all because of his quirk. Even Katsuki knew that, at least to an extent, but still decided to be an asshole to him.

The school day was over in no time.

Without Deku there, it just felt.. empty. Katsuki didn't know how to explain it, but it felt like there was a hole in the school. Katsuki grabbed his bag and then slung it over his shoulders, ready to get out of this hellhole.

Katsuki ran out the door, not paying attention to his surroundings.

“Woah dude I’m so sorry! I should've been paying attention to my surroundings better!” exclaimed a very apologetic sounding extra.

Katsuki took one look at the extra and decided on a very fitting nickname. Or according to Katsuki at least.

“Watch it you shitty-haired extra!”

“Woah dude that was uncalled for. Like seriously. That was unmanly,” It seemed the extra was hoping he'd get on Katsuki's good side trying to act all high and mighty.

“Whatever, just get out of my way!”

Shitty-hair took one last breath, much to Katsuki's annoyance. He must've heard of Katsuki then, or something. It's not like he wasn't popular, after all.

“Dude, that's so unheroic!”

What.? That cannot be how people view him.

Apparently the extra knew he hit a nerve, because the look of surprise, shock, astonishment, was evident on Katsuki’s face. He knew it.

“What did you just say to me.?” Katsuki managed while grating his teeth, slowly turning to look at the black haired boy with as menacing a look as he could muster.

Is that really what people thought of him? Did they really see him as unheroic.? That couldn’t be it, right? Katsuki was going to be the number one hero, after all.

Apparently the black haired boy didn't get the message according to his next choice of words.

“Um dude, are you okay? I didn't mean to be rude saying that but now you're like, really pale,” The extra said with worry in his tone.

“I'm. Fine,” Katsuki replied, a scowl on his face. He knew he didn't really look completely with it, or like his mind was wandering elsewhere.

Katsuki started to walk away, still thinking about what that dumb extra said.
‘Unheroic.’

“Hey dude, do you want me to walk with you or something? You seem really out of it,” The extra asked, half jogging to catch up with the blonde while not even bothering to introduce himself. Not like Katsuki would remember his name anyway.

Katsuki was about to yell back, to yell at him to go away, but would that be seen as unheroic too? Does everything he do seem unheroic to everybody?

He begrudgingly walked with the boy, realizing neither knew each other's names. He wasn't about to delve into that though, that would be ridiculous. Katsuki was pulled out of his thoughts as his internal question was answered.

“Hey dude what's your name!? You seem like you want to be a hero too! Are you planning on going to UA or some other hero school?-”

“Shitty-hair, you can take it one question at a time, thanks,” Katsuki replied, a sneer on his face.

The extra replied a little more enthusiastically. “Fine, fine! But seriously what is your name? Mines Eijirou Kirishima!”

“Katsuki Bakugo. Now leave me the fuck alone. We're on my road,”

“Wait!” the extra, Kirishima, yelled while trying to keep up with the fast walker. He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from his backpack pocket.
Kirishima hastily wrote down something before handing it to Bakugo.

“Here! Take this. This is my phone number if you ever wanna talk sometime!”

“Yeah whatever,” Bakugo shoved the paper in his pockets, not really caring all too much about it and fully prepared to throw it away later.

“Now leave me alone, shitty hair. I don't need my old hag questioning me and shit,” Katsuki said
before turning on his heel, and leaving Kirishima alone with his own thoughts.

______

Kirishima thought that went pretty well for the ashen blonde's personality. He hoped he might be able to help the blonde see the wrong of his ways, and maybe actually help instead of standing idly by.
_______

Katsuki was walking into his home. All he could think about was the one word that Kirishima extra said.

‘Unheroic’

Is that really what he was? How could he even be heroic? What did being heroic even mean?

Katsuki was second guessing himself on everything he ever knew about heroes and heroicness.

While Katsuki walked in through the door, an unsuspecting Mitsuki was walking through the house.

“Oh brat you're finally home. Be a dear and do the dishes would you?” Mitsuki asked with the look of ‘if you don't I'll have to personally murder you’. “Oh and stop hanging your head and walking with a storm cloud over you.”

Katsuki sighed, but grunted his response.

He set his bag down and walked over to the sink, deciding to just get it done and over with. At least it distracted him from his thoughts.

Katsuki finished up with the dishes and headed upstairs to his room. He quickly showered and changed into some sweats and a T-shirt. He sat down at his desk, mind still wondering about what Kirishima had said.

Pondering for a bit, he finally decided on what to search up. He knew it was stupid. He knew he should already know this, yet the search bar remained the same.

What does it mean to be heroic?

He knew it was dumb, he really did. After all, he was going to be the number one.

There were some forums and articles, but nothing that immediately caught his attention.

That was until he found an interview of the #4 pro hero, Edgeshot. He would never admit it, but he thought Edgeshot was cooler than All Might. And Best Jeanist.

He clicked on it, not expecting to find what he was looking for. The interviewer asked Edgeshot a few unimportant questions about his work, nothing that Katsuki needed to know.

He was about to click off of it, when the interviewer asked the golden question.

“What does it mean to you to be heroic?”

“Personally, to me, it means doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. Being brave enough to do the right thing and stand up for others, even when people might think lower of you. That is my personal opinion on this question”

.
..
…

Does that mean Katsuki hasn't been doing the right thing? That he's a bully? Who is he kidding? He has been a bully! He bullied Deku so much to the point that he went homeschooled! Even after Auntie died he kept up his antics!

He needed to know. He didn't care how childish it sounded.

How can you become a better person and be heroic?

There wasn't anything interesting or anything that necessarily caught Katsuki's eye.

He sighed and closed his computer, opting to instead grab his phone.

That was the moment he remembered the slip he had received from that extra. Katsuki recalled a different school uniform, so he must go to a different school. Grabbing his school uniform, Katsuki dug in the pocket he remembered putting the slip in and grabbed it.

He typed the number into his phone and saved it. Just for emergencies, he told himself. (Shitty extra wasn't half bad, but no one had to know that)

He sighed before deciding to get up and figure out something to do. It's not like he could sit around doing nothing.

While thinking about what he should do, Katsuki changed into some joggers and threw a different T-shirt on. Katsuki chucked his phone into his pocket.

He decided to go on a walk, they were supposed to be calming after all.

He thought about that interview, and how he could be better. A good start would probably be not beating people up. Yeah. Probably.

Katsuki didn't really know where exactly he was going, just that he was going somewhere. He did mentally note where he was and how to get back though.

Katsuki's train of thought was stopped as he realized he was behind a different school. He didn't know where this one was. Katsuki kept walking until he heard what sounded like muffled yelling coming from behind the school. Well, he was trying to be better, wasn't he? This would be a good start, he assumed.

He walked back to find a group of guys walking away from another student. He was laying there in the ground, breathing heavily, though it seemed like something was obstructing his airway due to the haggard breaths.

Katsuki wondered what had happened. He walked to the back of the school, and was shocked at what he found.

A guy was laying there, mostly unconscious, with a fucking muzzle.

A muzzle for fucks sake!

He really hoped Kirishima lived nearby for this kids’ sake.

Katsuki had bullied people before, physically, but he'd never meant to actually hurt them too badly! He'd made sure they were still able to move properly, and didn't have any broken bones. Nothing too bad. Now that he knew how wrong he had been, Katsuki started wondering how wrong that thought was.

He grabbed his phone and called the oblivious teen.

“Umm hello. Who is this?” Kirishima sounded a little uncertain, yet still answered.

“Shitty hair. I need you to come to uh shit - what is it?” Bakugo could be heard slightly muttering to himself as he looked around.

“I need you to come to Riverside Middle. Go to the back of the school and bring lots of gauze and-shit just bring first aid. Tell me how far away are you?” Bakugo sounded about as frantic as his facial expressions. This was about the most frantic he had ever been. Then again, he'd never seen someone in quite as bad of shape as this extra.

I mean who wouldn't be? Especially one you considered there was a kid bleeding, muzzled, and mostly unconscious.

“Shit, okay, yeah, I'm on my way. I'm about 8 minutes out. How bad is the situation?” There could be ruffling heard on Bakugo's end as Kirishima got up and rushed to grab a first aid kit.

Katsuki was just then coming to the kid and was able to check.

“It's not good. He looks pale, and he has a weak pulse. I can't carry him alone and the damn hospital is too far away. The shitty muzzle looks tight, I'll do what I can.”

Bakugo was starting to worry as it dawned on him. If he would've left the kid there, would that have made him better than any of the shitty extras in Aldera?

“Wait, muzzle!? Shit, I'm on my way.” Kirishima could then be heard sprinting out of his house.

“Okay good. It- I don't think it's too bad, or life threatening or whatever. But I'll do whatever the fuck I can with nothing. I'll wait for you to get here to get the muzzle off. Fuck. When you get here, be prepared to help me carry him to the hospital or some shit.”

God dammit. He was starting to word-vomit like Deku. Whatever, that is not the main focus right now.

“Alright, I'm gonna hang up so I can sprint faster, try to apply pressure to stop the bleeding or something. I'll be there soon.”

Then Kirishima hung up, and Katsuki was left to fend for this kid until Kirishima got there.

This was not good. Could he even help? Could he act heroic?

____

“Shit. Shitty hair you better hurry up!” Katsuki yelled to no one but himself, unless you count the half unconscious kid in front of him. The kid wasn't doing too well, but wasn't going to die. Katsuki hated being the only one there with no medical supplies.

He was applying pressure as best he could to some of the scrapes and cuts across his head. They had slowed down some, which was good.

The kid was looking slightly paler than necessary though.

All Bakugo could really do was wait.

“Umm, why are you just sitting there and not like, I don't know, doing something to help him?” Another extra asked, hurrying to try and get there in a timely manner from the sidewalk across the street.

Bakugo hoped it was Kirishima, but didn't recognize the voice at all. It sounded too mocking.

“I'm waiting for my shitty friend to get here so we can help this extra. And if you can't see, I don't really know first-aid, so there's not really much I can do right now, shitty extra,” Bakugo responded snarkily.

“Why don't you try taking the muzzle off or something?” The extra tried to sound sincere, but knew he wasn't coming off as such.

Bakugo looked at the blonde with an angry look of surprise. “Are you stupid dumbass? If we manage to get the muzzle off without hurting him more, he's going to bleed like shit. Even I can tell that,” Bakugo was about to finish his little spiel, when he realized something. Something that wasn't a very pleasant thought.

“Wait. Why aren't you surprised by this extra having a goddamn muzzle on?” Katsuki asked, snapping at the extra.

He noted how the extra’s face suddenly dropped from a type of condescending, to a sadder, guiltier look.

“Well? Go on,” Bakugo snapped.

“Well um. He kinda goes to my school. I knew he was getting bullied and didn't do anything about it. I didn't know it was this bad though,” The blonde sheepishly replied, rubbing the back of his head and sparing a glance at the mostly unconscious boy. He expected to be yelled at, screamed at even for not doing anything.

“You and I both, I guess. Except I was the one bullying someone. A damn idiot I was.” Bakugo didn't really know why he started opening up to this extra. This annoying, mocking extra. Why?

The extra was expecting anything but sympathy, which was apparent by the way he looked at Katsuki.

“Everyone who goes to our school thought this guy right here, Shinsou was a villain, is a villain. The one time I tried standing up for him they called me a villain too, all because of our quirks,” he huffed out a laugh, knowing there was nothing humorous about it. “I'm too much of a coward to do anything about it, even if I do want to be a hero,” His usual condescension was back, but rougher this time.

“Me too,” Bakugo didn't know why he was opening up so much. The more he started to think about it, the more it made sense. “Teachers absolutely suck too,” Maybe his opening up was because of the emotions of having to wait while this kid's condition got progressively worse.
“The extra has a voice quirk or some shit to do with his voice right?”

“Yeah, how'd you know?” asked the extra, surprised by his guess.

“Oh I don't know, maybe the fucking muzzle on his face!?” Bakugo snarled back.

“Oh yeah that makes sense that you'd figure it out,” the extra replied.

“The name's Bakugo Katsuki.”

The other blonde smiled at his new-found acquaintance.

“Monoma. Neito Monoma.”

Monoma looked to the side and saw a kind of ridiculous black-haired boy running towards them. He had an odd looking backpack on.

“SHITTY HAIR, GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!” Bakugo screeched, causing the other boy to clamp his hands over his head.

“Do you have to be so loud!? I guess you live up to the ‘loud blonde’ stereotype!” Monoma replied with a snark.

“HUH. WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY T-” Bakugo was suddenly cut off as Kirishima ran up to them, clearly out of breath.

“That's bad, but definitely manageable,” Kirishima scrambled as he got out some gauze to try and clean up the small amount of blood pooling on the extra, Shinsou's, jawline.

“Yes, we know! I tried applying pressure, but it seemed half-useless,” snarled a half-angry, half-what-can-I-do-to-help Katsuki.

“Still means it was half-useful! Anyways, it's better if we get him to hospital quickly,” Kirishima pointed out, trying and succeeding at slowing down the bleeding a little but more.

“Can we carry him there? No it's too far, we wouldn't make it there-” Bakugo was cut off of his almost Deku-like rambling by an actually sincere Monoma.

“Okay guys I live like a block away. I can convince my older sister to drive us.”

“Okay, go then extra! We can't be wasting time here!” Bakugo yelled. In all reality, the adrenaline of the situation was making him act more irrationally than he usually did. It was weird.

“Yup, I'm on my way!” Monoma yelled before darting off a block to grab his sister.

Bakugo watched as the shitty extra ran inside his house (thank gosh it was so close) and ran outside 30 seconds later with a startled and annoying looking girl. She looked to be about 18, give or take.

The two got into the car and drove in front of the group.

Bakugo helped Kirishima grab and carry Shinsou into the back seat, where the three of them got in quickly and shut the doors while buckling in.

“Neito, you owe me for thi- never mind.” Suirei cut herself off after seeing the state the other boy was in. It wasn't super bad, but still.

“Thank gosh. I was not about to owe you a favor,” Monoma replied, not surprising his sister with his sarcasm.

“Ugh, now I want to take it back. Anyway, we are about 7 or so minutes away from the nearest hospital. So hang on and try to keep the blood off of my car seats please and thank you,” Suirei announced to everyone in the car.

“Okay, that muzzle is really starting to dig into his mouth and surrounding parts. Is there any way we can at least loosen it?” Kirishima shyly asked, clearly concerned for the boy's sake.

“Let me check around the back,” Katsuki stated while reaching. “There's a lock. I can break it which should loosen the damn thing a little. Could that work?” Katsuki asked.

“Yeah, that could work. Try it. Besides, we aren't too far away from the hospital,” Monoma replied.

Suirei cut in. “Do what you must, just don't get blood on my car. Please. It's a catastrophe to clean,” She said with a sad sigh.

“Alright, go for it Bakubro!” Kirishima replied enthusiastically.

Katsuki wiped the excess sweat off of his hand, making sure it was a very, very small explosion.

He put his hand up against the lock, and with the most control he could muster, Katsuki cracked the lock right off.

“Woah! That was so cool and manly bro! That must've taken a lot of control!” Kirishima chirped, causing Katsuki to look away in slight embarrassment.

Katsuki loosened the muzzle on his face, grimacing when he saw some of the blood start to trickle out. It wasn't very fast, but it was still concerning nonetheless.

He was also a little relieved when he saw the purple haired boy start to breathe better.

_______

They finally arrived at the hospital. By now the kid was completely unconscious. Bakugo and Kirishima were able to carry him inside, with a little help here and there from Monoma. As soon as they opened the door, the receptionist's face landed on Shinsou. The poor kid. Her face was a mix of utter sadness, and oh-my-gosh. She didn't wait to page a doctor, who took one look at the boy and ushered them inside a room. Normally she wouldn't let anyone else inside, but considering the boy couldn't move by himself, she relented.

As soon as Bakugo and Kirishima set him down on the bed, they were pushed outside and into the waiting room. He decided this would be a good time to text his old hag, though she might not have cared anyway.

Katsuki
______
Found a hurt kid behind a school. Got some extras to help me get him to a hospital. Don't expect me home for a while.

Katsuki thought that was good, as it explained the situation without using too many filler words. It was short, simple, and got to the point.

Kirishima decided then that it would be best to try and start a conversation with his acquaintance-friend.

“Thanks for calling me Bakubro. I'm glad you trusted me,” Kirishima shoulder-bumped Bakugo.

Bakugo turned his head away, clearly not used to the actual positive attention. “Yeah whatever. None of the extras from my school would've done anything. Probably would've laughed at my audacity,” Katsuki wondered if that was their problem.

Kirishima stumbled on Bakugo's words. “Bakubro, if the old people from your school would've laughed at a situation like this, you shouldn't be hanging around them. Like, at all.”

Katsuki was taken aback by Kirishima's words. Because why? It was a normal reaction wasn't it? Probably not, but it was normal for the people of Aldera to react like that.

“What the fuck do you mean? They all would've reacted like that shitty-hair. It's pretty normal for the extras in my school to react like that.”

“Bakugo, that's not normal or good. If you surround yourself with people like that then that's how you'll act. And let me tell you if they would've reacted like that? That's not manly, or heroic.” Kirishima responded without sugar coating things.

It seemed like this was something Katsuki needed to hear, because he looked like he was starting to contemplate something.

Is that why he acted so shitty? Is that why he was unheroic? Now that he thought about it, everyone thought bullying the weak was normal. This was.. Nice. Not having anyone sugarcoat anything. Having someone give him an actual answer was nice.

“Kirishima?” KatsukI titled his head up a little bit but kept his eyes in the ground. “Thanks for uh, not making my ego any bigger than it has to be.”

Kirishima was surprised by the fact Bakugo responded using his name and not ‘extra’ or ‘shitty hair’.

“Aww, you do care man! I knew you did!” Kirishima moved to hug Katsuki's side.

“Dont go getting all sappy on me! I call bullshit!” Katsuki yelled. Neither of the two questioned it if Katsuki allowed Kirishima to actually side-hug him.

Is this what it felt like to have actual friends? If it was, maybe it wouldn't be as bad as Katsuki had initially thought.

Monoma turned to look at them after getting up. “Um, guys, are we going to check on Shinsou or not? Or are you guys going to keep hugging like that?” Monoma asked, his usual condescension back. Except for what sounded like an edge to his voice, like he was worried.

“Are you sure they're done working on him? It's only been a half-hour,” Kirishima got up and off of Katsuki quickly, though made no move to stand.

“Oh, uh, probably not actually,” Monoma grumbled while throwing himself back into a chair.

They waited for another hour before the doctors allowed Shinsou to have visitors. The three stood up, following the nurse leading them to Shinsou's room.

“Also dude, what's your name? I never did get it,” Kirishima asked an unassuming Monoma.

“Neito Monoma. And you?”

“I'm Eijirou Kirishima!”

After the three exchanged a few more words, they arrived at the room. Apparently, according to the nurse, Shinsou got a few blood transfusions and is on oxygen, but he is awake now. Monoma looked slightly anxious walking into the room.

Shinsou looked at the three of them with beautiful violet eyes. And surprising to everyone was the one to start the conversation, even if his voice wobbled.

“Why? Why'd you save me?” Shinsou asked in an extremely hoarse and quiet voice.

“We weren't about to just let you die you shi- extra.”

Shinsou looked like he was contemplating his choice of words, about to speak up when Bakugo did it for him.

“And yes I know about your ‘villainous quirk’ and let me just say no quirk is villainous,” Katsuki straight up lied, though he could really care less what this guy's quirk was.

As shocked as Shinsou was, he couldn't help his mouth from gaping open.

Bakugo looked away as he started talking again.

“Look. I used to know a guy who loved learning about quirks and shit. He would've had a fucking field day learning about yours, so don't discredit yourself, dipshit,” and that, wasn't wrong. Izuku would love analyzing any fucking quirk.

Shinsou was also surprised to see his classmate next to him. He looked.. Guilty? Somehow?

“Look Shinsou, I'm um, sorry I didn't stand up for you sooner. I will, uh, try to be better too,” Monoma replied, his usual cunning and rage-baiting self a fragment of what he was right then. It was surprising seeing the boy so dialed down.

“Thank you,” Shinsou managed to rasp out, his voice gone from not using it for so long.

Kirishima was the one to talk next. “Yeah! If I see anyone trying to hurt you, I'll smack ‘em!” Kirishima responded while hardening his hands and smacking his fists together, a grin evident in his face.

Was this what having people who cared about you felt like? Shinsou could get used to this, but he knew they'd just walk out like everyone else.

He really, really hoped otherwise though. It was nice having people who kind of cared.

Chapter Text

Today was the first day of online school, and Izuku was loving it. It was honestly so educational. He felt like he was actually learning something! And his grades were so much better than at Aldera!

He breezed through his core subjects, and was really excited for his electives. About 10 minutes later, Izuku was finishing up with his hacking/coding assignment.

For some reason, a grand idea popped into his mind. If he was going to be a vigilante, he might get into a situation where he couldn't fight the villains alone. He might need backup. Maybe the other pros would need backup! Izuku hoped he wouldn't get in the way.

Izuku thought about the comms heroes have, and wondered if he could manage to make something like it. He could maybe buy an extra phone and connect to the comms so he could hack into them, and maybe have full access. Izuku knew this was a long shot, but thought about the fact he might learn how to hack better later on in the class.

Izuku dramatically sighed, and decided to finish his school work for now. He could think about it later.

He finished all of his schoolwork for the day, and was debating whether or not to get ahead in his classes.

That was until a question popped in his head.

He really didn't have a clue what he was going to do for training, did he?

Izuku wasn't a super active person. Considering that yes, he does get in an exceptional amount of activity when he's working, it isn't physically rigorous.

While searching up different training recommendations, Izuku started wondering what he wants to be good at. There's heroes like All Might that rely on brute strength to get the job done, whereas other heroes rely more on tactical planning. Like principal Nedzu.

There's other heroes that rely more on agility, stamina, and speed, like Ingenium. So now begs the question, what does Izuku want to master?

Grabbing his notebook, Izuku flipped to the next open page. He didn't really know what he wanted to title the page, so he just went with the obvious answer.

Training

And so, Izuku started writing.

I want to excel in agility and speed, but have enough strength to defeat villains easily.
I want to use tactical planning and analysis before just jumping in, so I can make the best decisions possible while fighting.

Alright. That's a good start for what he wants. Now begs the question, how is he going to train to achieve that? Izuku knew he was already pretty good at analysis, he just needed to be able to think before acting.

While thinking about how to train, he realized there was one big question that even he didn't know the answer to.

Where was he going to train?

There weren't many gyms around, and he'd have to walk quite a ways to get there. Gyms also cost quite a bit more than what Izuku was willing to spend. He couldn't even work on agility or speed there. It's not like they'd let a quirkless Deku in any way.

Izuku knew he should probably figure out the where before the how/what. It was most logical. Then he can plan around obstacles, how to do what, etc.

Izuku leaned back into his chair, contemplating his life's decisions. If he could figure out the where, his life would go so much smoother right now. Ugh. This was mentally exhausting to think about.

Thinking he needed a much-deserved break, Izuku decided to take a walk to Dagobah. Getting up and changing into some black cargo pants and a simple black graphic tee, Izuku thought about Dagobah beach, and how much of a shame it was with all the garbage.

As fun as it was walking the normal way, Izuku wanted more time to think. He also wanted to run into absolutely no people, so the scenic route through the woods it was.

Wait.

Wait.

An old, unused running trail. On the way to a beach filled with garbage he could move.

Izuku thinks he might have just found the answer to his dilemma.

Izuku sat down and started going into overdrive about how this would work out. Grabbing his notebook, Izuku furiously wrote down new plans.

If I want to train for speed, agility and stamina I could run the path to Dagobah.

For strength, I could just move the objects at Dagobah. Then I would be doing the community a favor while training! I can run back to my apartment if I feel like it.

The trail used to be commonly used back when I was young and Dagobah wasn't a garbage pile, but now I'm sure nobody really uses it anymore.

The trail isn't super windy and doesn't have a lot of sharp turns but I can figure something out for that. I can always clear off certain parts of the beach and use those, but I don't know how good it would be to train in sand.

I can make it work, though it wouldn't be preferable.

Izuku thought he would be good on notes for now.
Deciding to walk the trail, he took notes on it as he walked.

The trail started at a nearby park, and ended on the west most part of Dagobah beach. The park was about 5 minutes from Izuku's apartment complex. The trail was about 25 minutes if you walked.

Grabbing his notebook, Izuku threw his phone in his pocket. He turned off all the lights, and walked out the door. Locking the door, he started walking to the park.

Running from his apartment complex to the park wouldn't be preferable, so he decided on just walking to the park for training. Walking to the park would be preferable, considering there aren't too many sidewalks, and it's a busy road at times.

Okay, that was a good start. When he finished taking notes and was on his way home, he would condense it. They were fine for now.

When he arrived at the park, Izuku noted how the trail started on the East most part of the park. Luckily for Izuku's case, there weren't many benches or anything cluttering the opening.

Though Izuku might have to pass through some benches and different equipment to get there, since it was slightly blocked.

I might have to walk through some people and equipment to get to the opening, but it shouldn't be too hard.

Izuku started on his way down the trail, noting whatever he thought would be useful down.

Pavement, but has some cracks in places.
Narrow at some points, but manageable if no one else is running on the trail.
Some vegetation growing in unpreferable spots, but I can always trim them.
Luckily the pavement is pretty even with the ground, so if I have to get off trail for whatever reason there isn't a drop off of sorts.

By this point Izuku was around halfway through the trail. He had a lot more notes describing a fair amount of miniscule things, but he highlighted the most important of them.

There were some animals in the forest, but nothing of concern. It is a forest after all.

That was when Izuku found what would be the perfect place for agility training.

I just found a spot in the trail that would be perfect for agility training. It's a spot about ⅔ of the way into the trail, and it's probably the windiest part of the trail. The best I can describe it is it's like an S in the trail. Sprinting this everyday would be good for agility and stamina.

Walking it, Izuku found a few things wrong with it.

If I accidentally go outside of the pavement, there's lots of pine needles and leaves that I could slip on. Although the trail does grow wider here, so it shouldn't be too much of a worry.

He continued on his merry-go-lucky way, smiling ear to ear he was finally able to create a training schedule.

Continuing on with the trail, Izuku didn't find too much more to take notes on. Though he did find a few things after a few more minutes of walking.

Some spots have more cracks than others, so best be careful.
Some parts can get narrow, be wary of other runners. (If anyone else even runs this trail anymore)
Some tree branches could be trimmed so I don't run into them while running.

And that essentially concludes what Izuku took notes on for the trail.

Making his way onto Dagobah, Izuku was happy to see that there was still a small opening in the garbage by the trail. Looking at the garbage on Dagobah, Izuku's mouth gaped at the sheer amount of garbage from this view. He knew there was a lot of garbage, but from this view it looked astronomical.

Sighing, he grabbed his notebook, flipped to a new page, and began writing.

There's so much garbage I don't even know where to start.
I could make piles depending on the type.
I could make a separate pile for garbage, recycling, and anything I could personally use. Although that would mean the garbage would still be here, just condensed in more areas.
How would I be able to completely move it out of the beach?
Wait, maybe I do want the garbage to stay, then people will continue to stay away.

Izuku was quite content with his notes, and decided on what he was going to do for ‘strength training’, as he called it.

Moving them into different piles will work for now. If I can think of a different idea I'll write it down.
Okay now that that's figured out, how long am I even going to do this?
An hour doesn't feel like enough time, whereas 2 hours feels like too long. Maybe an hour and a half? That could work.

Izuku realized he would probably need to incorporate some breaks in there, because he was not in the slightest bit fit.

He speculated how long he would need for breaks, and how long of activity in between breaks. He decided to write down some ideas, figuring it would be easier to choose one once he wrote some ideas down.

5 minutes might work, but it might be too long. It's a good number to work with though. 3 or 4 minutes would probably be better.
But how long should I work in between breaks? 30 minutes might be too long for my weak body. I can always increase the time the more I train though. 20 minutes would probably be good to start out with.

Closing his notebook, Izuku walked around a little bit. He was trying to choose a spot for the piles, knowing they would probably be pretty big.

I definitely don't want them towards the water. That's a big no. I don't want them crowding the two staircases either.
There's some space between the staircases but not enough for more than one pile.

Izuku walked through the beach, going to the other staircase to check it out. There was a lot of room on the other side of the staircase actually. It should be enough for maybe two piles.

I could put my personal pile and maybe the garbage pile here, considering that recycling is heavier than garbage. Though I would have to move all of the stuff out of the way, it would be a good spot.

After Izuku finished scouting out the beach, he headed home. He did decide to go the shorter way home, considering he had work in less than an hour.

After he got home, Izuku was going to change, but decided against it, after all he was going to change for work in less than a half hour. It would be useless changing just to change again.

Izuku opened his notebook, and started making his ‘official training schedule’ as he called it.

Official training schedule

Walk to the park
Run/jog through ⅔ of the trail
Sprint through S part of trail
Run/jog the rest of the way
Take a 3 minute rest
Start strength training for 20 minutes
Take 3 minute break / rest
Strength training 20 minutes then rest for 3 minutes, and repeat until an hour and a half has passed
Either run back through trail then stretch, or stretch then walk back depending on how sore I am
Walk back to my apartment.

Should take approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes, if everything goes right.

With that, Izuku closed his notebook and changed for work.
____

Aizawa was thoroughly annoyed with All Might. He hadn't had a chance to talk to the hero, considering Aizawa wasn't going to go out of his way to talk to him. He kept his stoic face, but his husband saw right through it.

“Alright, I've gotta address the elephant in the room. What's going on Sho?” Asked a concerned Present Mic turning to face his husband.

“I'm fine, Mic,” Stated Aizawa, his mind clearly elsewhere.

“No Sho, you're clearly not. I'm not going to push you to tell me, but you know you can talk to me,” Yamada observed, putting on his tone and face that typically got Aizawa to open up.

Aizawa sighed. Hizashi knows him too well. “There was this case that coffee child brought to my attention. The hero didn't report it, so I have no facts to go on, and no facts to tell if what he said was true or not.”

Yamada pondered for a second.

“Thats tough. Have you talked to the hero yet? Also may I ask who it is? I might be able to help, you know!” Yamada stated, his usual enthusiasm shining through the situation.

“Do you just want to know the full story?” Shouta asked.

“Sure! That can help me know more about this whole situation!” Hizashi added, ever-glowing ray of sunshine in Shouta's life.

“This is what the witness said, so please don't take this for granted. Apparently, he was watching this kid get attacked by a villain, and was about to call the police when All Might showed up, saved the kid, and stood around while said kid was unconscious. All Might saw he was alright and went to fly away like normal when the kid grabbed onto him while he flew away. I mean what did he expect when a kid just woke up, and saw the number one hero in front of them,” Aizawa grumbled, knowing he was getting more pressed about this than he should be. It seemed he wasn't the only one unhappy about the situation.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Yamada droned, his enthusiasm gone. “He just left a kid there when he might've needed medical attention! Talk about hero negligence!”

Shouta nodded, agreeing 100 percent. “Thats not all. According to Mikumo, they flew to a nearby building's roof, and had a conversation until All Might left,” Shouta completely understood the frustration of his husband. He was in the same boat.

“Here I thought it couldn't get worse. He left a kid on a roof? By himself? That's so not cool!” Hizashi was starting to lose his cool, and Shouta sympathized with him. After working with kids for so long, you start to care more for them and understand them better. He can't even begin to think about what might've been going through the kid's head.

Hizashi's face changed dangerously, meaning he probably had a sort of plan to deal with the number one hero. Normally, he wasn't very fond of him, but this essentially sealed the deal.

“Zashi, what is it?” Shouta asked in his usual stoic and dead-panned expression.

“You know the meeting we have tonight? With Nedzu and some of the other 1st year teachers?”

“Yeah? Zashi, are you saying what I think you're saying?” Aizawa sighed and looked like he was done with his husband's actions. Quite the contrary to how he was actually feeling about his husband's idea.

“We can get Nem and Kumo in on this! You know they'll help us, especially if we explain the situation!”

Shouta didn't take long to cave. “Fine, but I'm not going to be the one to explain it to them. I'm forcing you to.”

“Shoooo! Yes! Though I probably would've told them anyway, thank you very much,” Hizashi huffed, amused with his husband's antics.

“I'm sure you could still catch them before they get too caught up in grading. Better hurry,” Shouta replied, a rare grin on his face, along with a small laugh.

Hizashi melted at the sight before remembering he better actually hurry to catch them.

“BE RIGHT BACK SHO!” Hizashi screeched successfully without activating his quirk. Hizashi peeked his head back in, looking at Aizawa.

“Wait, do I bring them back here or do I just explain in there!?”

Shouta glared at Hizashi.

“What!?? It's a valid question!”

“You know what, I'll just come with you. You're clumsy as shit.”

“YESSS!”

The pair began their go-lucky way toward their colleagues' offices.

After traveling for a very short few minutes, they finally arrived at the first classroom of two.

“Shota! Hizashi! How are y'all doing?” Oboro Shirakumo asked as if he hadn't seen them in months. It had been mere hours.

After the accident, he had limited movement in his left hand, though still enough for hero work and teaching. He switched the paper he was holding to his right hand, simply so he could reach across and place it elsewhere.

“Yo Kumo! We're good!! How are ya doing!?” Hizashi asked, both of them acting like they haven't seen each other in ages.

“I'm good!! What brings you guys here?” Shirakumo mentioned.

Shota was going to say hi to his friend, but Hizashi was clearly all for the talking part of it. He wasn't complaining though.

“Well we need your help and Nems help with something!”

“Zashi, you know I am all ears. I am willing to help my y'all even if it's helping hide a body.”

Shota moved past that last part, and finally decided to speak up. “Let's go to Nem's office so we don't have to explain everything twice.”

“Good idea Sho!” Hizashi replied, shooting finger guns toward him while wrapping an arm around him.

The three made their way to Midnight's office, chatting as they went.

Oboro quickly ran ahead, excited to see his wife.

“ɴᴇᴍ!!! ʜᴏᴡ ᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏɪɴɢ!???” Shirakumo half-yelled while running into the heroine.

Oboro embraced Nemuri in a tight hug, happy to see his wife again. He was the sappy one of the group, and almost always had been.

“Hey you. How are you?” She looked behind her husband. “What's this I see?” The heroine purred. “Is this a voluntary visit from Shouta?” Nemuri hugged Oboro, though kept an eye on Shouta and Hizashi.

Shouta was used to his friend's antics, though that didn't make them any less revolting. He opted to skip past that.

“I'm good! Also, ” Shirakumo said while pulling away from Nemuri. “- Shota and Hizashi apparently need our help for something. I don't know what though!” The two made their way to Aizawa and Hizashi, forming a circle. Or as much as they could with four people.

“Okay Shota, Hizashi, what did you need us for?” Nemuri asked, curious about what it could be, her seductive aura disappearing rapidly.

Hizashi took the initiative to explain the situation to Nemuri and Shirakumo. Their faces getting more and more displeased the longer Hizashi went on.

“So yeah that's what we're dealing with. We don't know if it's true or not, and I guess the only way to find out is to ask him ourselves,” Hizashi finished, his anger starting to seep out the more he thought about it. He'd been able to mostly calm down after Shouta had told him, though it was starting to seep back.

Shouta grabbed his husband's wrist, a form of grounding for Hizashi.

Nemuri was the one to break the ever-growing silence. “...You're joking right?”

“I wish. Worst case scenario is the information provided was true and the kid needed medical attention. Best case scenario is the information is false,” Shota replied, his face a little tighter than usual.

“What are we going to do about it?” Shirakumo asked. He was definitely not the logical thinker of the group. More like the logical questionnaire.

Now it was Hizashi's time to speak up, a sly smile evident in his face. “Well, you know the meeting that's in like 10 minutes? And it's about next year's plans?”

Nemuri and Oboro got the hint quick enough.

“Ohh, I get it. I like that!” Shirakumo replied.

“Yeah, we're definitely in,” Nemuri was quick to respond.

_______

“Welcome first year teachers of UA!” Nedzu chirped, his mind clearly running at all times about world domination or something of the sorts.

“As you all already know, we will be welcoming All Might into our teaching staff next year. This meeting is to figure out the logistics of positions, considering we will have one extra teacher,” The rat's beady eyes glowed with excitement. Everyone knew they almost always gleamed.

Everyone's eyes followed the rodent as he spoke and walked along the table.

“Since All Might does not have prior training in teaching, someone will teach with him. He will be teaching foundational hero studies alongside someone who volunteers, or Shirakumo-kun, considering that is what you taught before.”

Nedzu turned to face Oboro. “If you do not wish to teach alongside All Might, we can figure something else out. If anyone is willing to teach foundational heroics with All Might, you could teach their subject if you wish,” The mouse-thing turned to face the rest of the first year teachers.

Oboro spoke up. “I like teaching Foundational heroics, and don't think I'd be very good at teaching anything else. I'm willing to work with All Might on this,” Oboro replied, half-forgetting about the dilemma including him.

“It will be an honor working with you young Shirakumo!” Replied the booming voice coming from All Might.

Shouta nudged Hizashi, giving him the push to speak up about the topic.

“No offense to you All Might, but are you sure letting him teach without a hero license is acceptable?” Hizashi decided that was a good sentence to start talking about the conflict. He always found his way with words.

“Thank you for bringing this up! I was considering this, and I'm contemplating having All Might go through at least a few teaching courses, considering his inexperience,” Nedzu chirped.

“Especially with the case I heard he forgot to report,” Hizashi hoped this would be a good enough sentence to introduce the topic. Especially when he saw the hint of interest in the rodent's eyes.

“Care to repeat that, Yamada-kun?” Nedzu asked. “Dont leave out any details either,” His sadistic and animalistic demeanor started to seep through.

“According to an eyewitness account, there was recently a villain attack you failed to report. From what I heard, a villain attacked a kid and left him unconscious while you just stood there. The kid grabbed on as you flew off, then you proceeded to leave him on the roof of a building no less. I'm just curious, is this true, All Might?” Hizashi asked, his face clarifying his anger at the situation.

Nedzu turned to look at All Might with his signature look, hints of malice in his eyes, clearly thinking of a plan of sorts.

The rest of the teachers turned to look at All Might, displeased with the information provided.

“I-” All Might sighed, knowing he probably wasn't going to get out of this one.

“Yes, this is true.” He bowed his head in embarrassment. “My time limit was almost up, and I didn't have my phone on me. Still, this isn't an excuse as to why I didn't make a report. There wasn't anyone around from what I could see, so the public didn't and still doesn't know about it. I'm sorry, I should've reported it.”

Finally, Shouta could stop worrying about whether this bit of information was true or not.

“The person you should be apologizing to is that kid. Especially if he did get hurt,” Yamada replied, a bit of relief and anxiety billowing inside him from the truth.

“The kid didn't appear hurt and he was able to talk fine. There weren't any bruises or scrapes on him when I checked. It doesn't mean he wasn't injured, but it's something,” All Might weakly defended. In his favor, he knew it was wrong.

Nedzu spoke up now, displeasure in his tone. “You will now have mandatory teaching courses should you wish to teach here the following year. I understand why you want to teach, but this is no exception. You will file a report, and try to find the child that was attacked. Do you have any idea who it might be?”

“I don't, but I remember some information about the kid,” All Might began. “From what I remember, he was wearing a school uniform, and looked to be about 11-15. That would put him most likely in middle school. Other than that, I don't really remember much.”

“Do you remember his quirk if he used it?” Hizashi asked.

“Oh yeah! He did tell me his quirk…” All Might trailed off, a lightbulb moment occurring.

“And?” Hizashi was really trying to push for an answer here.

“He's quirkless,” All Might quietly murmured.

Oh.

Shouta knew how the quirkless population was treated. Poor kid probably thought it was his fault.

“Well now that we are done with this meeting, I presume you have a report to write All Might. I'm sure we all have things to get to!” Nedzu chirped, his usual enthusiasm half-back.

“Also Yamada? Do you think you can get that eye witness in for questioning? It might make this process go easier and smoother,” All Might asked sheepishly.

Hizashi turned to look at Shouta, who nodded slightly.

“Yeah, I think we can do that,” Hizashi replied, thoughts drifting back to the whole situation.

____

Izuku woke up to his alarm. He dragged himself out of bed and to the bathroom. Getting ready for the day, Izuku reflected as to how and why he chose to get up this early.

A sharp and menacing 6am.

He knew the reason as to why, but really wanted to remain in bed longer. No point in wishing when he was already out of bed.

Izuku changed into some comfortable joggers and a light graphic T-shirt before grabbing his small backpack full of things he packed last night. A ton of extra water, his notebook, some more notebooks, some gloves for moving the garbage, a towel, some deodorant, and other miscellaneous things he thought he might need. Oh, don't forget the clippers he brought for the trees.

Izuku threw on a light athletic zip up and his shoes before heading out of his apartment.

The walk to the park wasn't bad, other than the fact that the sun wasn't up yet. The sun did start peeking through the clouds once Izuku arrived at the park though.

Izuku sighed before starting his jog through the trail. He knew he would probably be dead by the time he finished, considering his lack of physical fitness. There weren't many trees needing trimming, but Izuku took a few short stops to trim some of the branches.

Izuku was almost a quarter of the way done with the trail when he couldn't go any further. He physically had to stop for a breather.

Regretting his life's decisions, he caught his breath and continued running. Izuku thought it might be easier without his backpack on, though he really needed everything it contained.

Izuku was running with his own thoughts at this point, the only thing keeping him sane being the constant sound of his feet on the ground.

Izuku made his way to the mental note he made the night before of ‘you're halfway done’ and thought he might pass out. His lungs were burning, though he kept going.

Izuku tripped on air, but caught himself before he fell. Hands on his knees, Izuku slowly caught his breath. Pushing on, Izuku forgot about the S shape sprint, and his plans.

That was until he came across another mental note, (and a physical note in his notebook) and realized his impending doom. Gulping, Izuku started sprinting, no regard for his ankles or lungs whatsoever.

He was about halfway through the S shape when he half-slipped. He caught himself in time, but it was still kinda scary to Izuku. Actually, this entire thing was scary for Izuku. He finished with the S and continued on his journey and training.

Izuku did have to stop one more time, about
3 /4 of the way through. It was a shorter break than the rest though, which Izuku hoped he would be able to stop soon enough.

He made his way onto the beach, gulping as he did.

This was going to be more work than Izuku initially thought it was.

Izuku sulked over to a bench in the middle of the beach, one of the only ones not cluttered with stuff. He set down his backpack and grabbed his water bottle, guzzling a majority down. Izuku also grabbed his phone and made a twenty minute timer.

He quickly got to work and decided on some piles to start with, which would make a better walking trail across the beach. The first few weren't very big, and reached around Izuku's height. The garbage in those piles was pretty easy to move to his ‘garbage pile’, so far only a spot on the beach with some open space. He quickly finished up a few of the smaller piles, stopping to move some of the recycling to the other side of the staircase.

Izuku was so far away he didn't hear his twenty minute alarm ring, or the shadowed figure quietly and stealthily watching him.

Izuku just got done with his fourth pile! Yes, they were the smaller ones, but still! Izuku decided he better check on his alarm, just to see how much time was left.

Izuku was dumbfounded when he found that his timer had been ringing for probably upwards of 10 minutes. Turning off his alarm, Izuku started to think about his training. Izuku knew now that 20 minutes was not enough;he didn't even hear his alarm with how locked in he'd been.

Grabbing his water, Izuku chose to basically work for as long as he could until he needed water. That should work right? He set his water down before feeling something. Now he didn't know exactly what this something was, but he knew this was not a good feeling.

It felt like a different version of some sort of eyes on him. He started looking around a little bit, until concluding where it was coming from. He stared there for a little longer, before deciding the feeling was gone.

Shrugging it off, Izuku got back to training like usual.

______

Shouta was on his way to work, having to go in for only-the-rat-lord knows. He did want to finish grading his students' papers, so he decided to go in early. Now Shouta was actually nice, and left Hizashi the car to take - the man wouldn't get out of bed by the time Shouta left.

Shouta could always simply run across the rooftops to get there. He had a hero license for a reason after all.

That was until he saw this kid, looking no older than 14, walking into a park. Now this wasn't unusual, other than the fact that the sun wasn't up yet. Having a weird feeling about all this, he decided to follow the kid. Worst comes to worst he'd have to intervene somehow, best case scenario is he'd be able to leave shortly.

He saw what looked like the kid start running through an old abandoned trail leading to Dagobah beach. He stopped a few times, but otherwise looked like he was doing running training of sorts.

Shouta followed him until he got to Dagobah, making sure to stay in the forest and trees, away from anyone's line of sight.

The kid looked to be… moving the garbage?

That was odd, and Shouta wondered what his true intentions were. The kid was pretty scrawny, so maybe he was training?

Definitely an odd way to train.

Shouta was just about to leave when the kid walked to a bench and grabbed some water.

Okay, so probably training of sorts. Nothing out
of the ordinary, and nothing worth keeping tally of.

He was just about to leave when the kid got a really strange look on his face. The kid started looking around until he looked exactly at Shouta, practically making eye contact.

The kid kept his eyes on what Shouta presumed was himself, until he left.

The moment Aizawa left, the kid's eyes left his back.

Huh, that was strange.

______

Izuku finished up his water break, then continued working even though his legs were beginning to feel like jello.

That was until he started on a new pile, this one slightly taller than him.

He started with as much garbage as he could see, separating the 3 sections before carrying them to their respective piles. He was about halfway done with the pile when he stumbled upon a box. Curiosity taking the best of him, Izuku opened it up.

The astonishment across his face said it all.

So, exactly who in their right mind would leave something like this?

What he found was what looked like a small microphone connected to something that wrapped around your ear. There was an earbud attached, making it a perfect start for Izuku's personal pile. (Which he moved to the bench with all his stuff)

The microphone was connected to a thick, bendable wire, which was then attached to the thing that goes around your ear.

Jackpot.

Now begs the question, is it broken, or not? Is it still usable? If it was still in working order, it would be absolutely perfect for vigilante work.

That was a question for future Izuku, because right now he had some training to do.

He brought the entire box over to his bench, then set it down next to his backpack.

He finished the pile before starting another, then taking another water break.

He took one final round before another water break, deciding to check the time. He got here around 6:50, so it shouldn't be later than 8:30. He looked to the east, where the sun was actively rising, and knew better than that. The sun is a lot higher than it would be at 8:30, and Izuku knows that. Checking the time, Izuku was shocked to discover that it was 9:20 AM.

Izuku rushed to grab all of his stuff, after all he did still have school and work today, though school wouldn't be a problem.

He shoved the box in his bag (thankful he brought a backpack) and started on his way back.

Izuku didn't really want to run, but he did need to get home quicker, so running it is. He stopped at about the same places as last time, give or take. He was nearing the end of the trail when he realized he did need to stretch. Izuku really didn't want to stretch in the middle of a public park, so he opted to move off the visible part of the trail.

He did a quick cool down stretch, which helped him a lot more than he was willing to admit. He walked back to his apartment, feeling actually good about himself and his accomplishments today.

He made his way into his apartment, feeling a slight tightness take over his muscles. Izuku knows it would be worse if he didn't stretch though.

Izuku changed into some comfortable light sweatpants and a different T-shirt, opting to get his schoolwork done before toying with his new earpiece.

He finished almost all of it, until he got to his hacking/coding assignment. This one came with an article that Izuku gladly read before starting the assignment. This one had Izuku try and hack into a certain website.

This was the first time it had asked of such a thing, but the comments were reassuring at the least.

Principal Nedzu had said in his caption that he created the website specifically for this assignment, so he shouldn't worry about all of the other illegal stuff.

Further comments in the assignment said to change one thing in the website, just don't make too big of a change. Or something like that. Izuku understood it well enough.

Izuku was able to do this pretty easily, until he pressed the wrong button. The problem arose when he didn't realize he had pressed the wrong mechanism.

It should've let him change a sentence in the description, but instead it took him to a completely different website.

To Izuku, it looked like some sort of official police and hero website. He thought this was just the doing of the rat, as nobody quite knows what's going on in his head.

Izuku continued on with his assignment like normal, until he opened up what looked to be some sort of chatroom or something. There weren't any cameras, but it was still strange that Nedzu would have him do something like this.

That was until one of the microphone looking symbols lit up, and a voice could be heard through.

The voice of Amplifier could be heard across the stream.

“I'm going to need some backup at 123 Nature Ave. We've got two groups of villains getting hostile while negotiating.”

The next voice was distinctly heard as another hero, Rock Lock.

“On my way. About 4 minutes out.” A crackling sound could be heard as Rock Lock's comms cut out.

Woah.

Izuku just accidentally hacked into the hero comms.

The hero comms.

Some of these heroes were patrolling around where Izuku's apartment was.

Wait, if Izuku can hear them, can they hear Izuku? Izuku looked around at his screen frantically until he found what looked to be his microphone, red with a line dashed across it.

He heaved a sigh of relief at seeing it.

Wait.

If he just got into the comms on accident, he could try and copy the code onto his phone, and then see if he could connect his phone to his earpiece.

He quickly saved the tab, and finished his actual hacking/coding assignment.

Izuku grabbed the box from his backpack and headed back over to his desk.

He opened it and examined the earpiece. It wasn't dirty due to it being inside of a box, which was good. That meant Izuku didn't have to waste time and clean it.

The earpiece was in pretty good condition, save for a few scratches. He tried pressing the button he presumed would turn it on. After a few seconds it blinked red, signifying the need of charge.

Izuku really hoped he had the correct charger for it. He examined it and concluded the fact that it used a type-C charger, which he had an abundance of.

He plugged it in, hoping it was still functional while charging. Thankfully, it was.

Checking it over and finding nothing, Izuku looked in the box again, relieved to see some paper instructions for it.

It had instructions for how to Bluetooth connect to a device. Izuku was able to do that with no complications. He put it on, and recorded a few random videos of himself talking, making sure it worked. He played different music, making sure the actual earbud part of it worked.

Everything was in working order. That left the question, why would someone leave this?
Izuku wasn't heard complaining though.

Izuku played around with the code on his computer and was able to get the comms onto his phone and connected to his earpiece.

Izuku was beyond ecstatic to say the least. He carefully placed the earpiece back on to his desk while he got himself lunch. He finally thought he might be ready to go out tonight, especially since he finished those gloves with the metal around the fingers.

Although he might need some weapons in the future, for the near future he wouldn't engage in fights unless he absolutely had to.

Izuku was beaming with excitement as his life might finally be amounting to something good for once. Maybe he might be useful for once in his forsaken life.

Chapter Text

Izuku was practically jumping out of his skin with excitement. Tonight, he was going out as a vigilante for the first time, though he did have to work first. He even managed to hack into the comms! That will be nice when he runs into a problem he can't fix himself.

Maybe he might even run into Eraserhead! Though Izuku would never admit it, Eraserhead was one of his favorites. When he was younger, he saw him take down a huge villain with some sort of hetero-morph quirk. He was basically fighting quirkless! Izuku thought he was so cool. He'd never admit that to anyone though.

Izuku had finished up with all his school work, and still had about an hour before he had to get ready for work, so he concluded that choosing what to wear tonight would be his best course of action.

Obviously Izuku wanted to be comfortable, but also with some sort of style. He didn't want to look like a bum after all.

Izuku already had his shoes picked out - some basic sneakers, originally red, that he decided to dye black. He didn't really want his status known to people he saved; that might cause some panic, or more looks of disgust. Izuku really didn't want that, or any trouble for that means!

Izuku looked through his clothes, finding nothing of interest. He could wear sweatpants, but that would get hot running around and everything. Especially in the growing heat. Leggings would just look odd, and would eventually get too sticky.

He found some older black cargo pants that would actually work pretty well. Starting his pile, Izuku looked through his T-shirts. He already had a sweatshirt in mind, so he just needed to find a good shirt that would work well with it. Something simple would work well.

Izuku found a basic black T-shirt that didn't show underneath his sweatshirt, and added it to his pile. He grabbed the sweatshirt he had in mind and tossed it into the pile. It was dark green, and had some nice pockets on the outside. They were even zippable, so he could always keep things in there without worry.

Sighing heavily and dramatically, Izuku sat back down into his desk chair, not knowing what to do with his remaining time.

Izuku pondered about his training, and how the first day went. He definitely felt sore, but in a good and fulfilling way.

Though he did feel like he was missing something in his training. He obviously didn't have access to all of the heroics items and stuff they use in hero courses, so that was out of the box.

So that begged the question, was Izuku missing something in his training?

That was the reason that led him to search up something on his computer.

Heroics training

Izuku knew this would probably lead to a dead end, but hey, it's worth trying. It's not like he has anything better to do.

He found many articles, none in particular standing out to him. He scrolled until he found an article by none other than UA.

What was the rat up to this time?

He skimmed through it, seeing the same answers as all the others.

Physical fitness
Intelligence
Strategy

Huh. That was something new. Maybe he'd have to look into that later.

Of course don't forget about the different types of fighting! We teach the basics of a majority of different styles, and guide our students from there.

Of course!

That's genius! Why didn't Izuku think of that?

Izuku physically and audibly planted his palm to his forehead. Duh!!! That's like, one of the first things of heroics! Boy did Izuku feel stupid right now.

He decided to search up:

Basic fighting tutorial

He knew it was a kinda dumb thing to search up, but he couldn't think of any other way to phrase it. Izuku found some results, and one video that stood out to him.

It wasn't anything special - the same as the others, but the way everything was explained made it seem like breathing.

Izuku still had around 35 minutes until he had to get ready for work, so he decided to try it out. What better way to spend his time than training?
He grabbed his computer and moved out into his living room, which had sufficient space.

He practiced over and over, until he felt like he nailed everything in the video. It was pretty basic stuff - dodging, kicking, punching, moving around, and it even explained how to roll properly. In which Izuku failed about 95% of the time.

Checking the time, Izuku decided to get ready for work. He had a hobo to torment after all.

Izuku hanged into the correct clothing and decided to eat something before he left. His work hours for today were from 1-8. He earned about 3,113 yen (20$), considering he was a co-manager and all.

Izuku made sure to turn off all the lights and lock his apartment before he started walking to his workplace.

It took about 15-20 minutes to get there, depending on how many people there were on the sidewalks.

Izuku clocked in and got started with his shift.
Working with another co-manager always helped, especially when it was busy. Izuku was glad another manager was working with him today - Aima.

“Hey Mikumo! Mind starting the desserts and stuff? I've got to waitress for now,” Aima asked as soon as Izu- no Mikumo, (he was Mikumo right now) officially clocked in.

Aima was a 19 year old college student, who probably needed the money more than anyone else here. Aima is pretty tall, standing at about 6'0, a side effect of her quirk. It allows her to grow and shorten her hair, controlling it in the meantime. According to her doctors, they had no idea why she grew so much, considering her parents are both pretty short.

“Yup! I got you!” Mikumo replied, already moving to begin making the desserts.

He got started on making some cookies, brownies, and some other dessert items. He popped them into the oven, thankful he wasn't working alone today. Izuku's never actually worked alone, but still.

The cat cafe was unusually packed today, the reason truly unknown. Everything went pretty smoothly for it being so busy.

Eventually, Mikumo and Aima switched spots while Izuku was on waitress duty. (Along with a few others).

His favorite hobo walked in, right on time.

“Hey Aizawa! Usual?” Mikumo asked as soon as Aizawa sat down.

“Sure,” grumbling, Aizawa thought further. “I'll also take a chocolate chip cookie in the meantime,” Aizawa requested, his usual gruffness put forward even if Izuku could tell something was weighing on his mind.

“You betcha!” Mikumo walked away, made Aizawa coffee and grabbed his cookie (fresh out of the oven) and told him the amount.

While Aizawa paid, Izuku noticed a fairly large group coming in, and seating themselves. Paying them no mind, Mikumo decided to torment Aizawa just a little bit longer.

“Soo, how are the gremlins today?” Mikumo slyly asked.

“Hell spawn, as normal. At least one of my friends was able to knock some sense into them. Now I don't have to expel the whole lot of them.”

“Wow! So the rumors I've heard are true!” Maybe Izuku really enjoyed the fact that Aizawa was one of the first people to not ostracize him. Maybe that's why Izuku enjoyed talking to him so much.

“And what would that be?” Aizawa asked, not really caring but slightly curious.

“I've heard you're the teacher who asked for the rights to expel and then re-enroll them right after! I've also heard that you hold the school record for expulsions!” Mikumo exclaimed.

“And what does that matter? If they don't have potential, there's no use in keeping them in the hero course,” Aizawa plainly pointed out. If they weren't going to survive in the hero world, why allow them to achieve that in the first place?

“I knew you were brutal to your students but still! Honestly, you would probably be better than the teachers Izuku had,” He wanted a reason to bring up the fact that Mikumo adopted a kid, without just saying to Eraser: ‘Oh yeah, I just adopted a 14 year old quirkless kid even though I'm only 18.’

Aizawa looked at him with a puzzling expression. “You adopted a kid? What are you, 15?” Aizawa asked. Because yes, a kid adopting a kid is the best idea in the world.

“What!? Also no, I'm 18, but my quirk makes me look younger. I felt sorry for the kid because I know what he feels like!” Mikumo exclaimed, acting taken aback by Aizawa's comment. In reality, Izuku was glad he at least looked a few years older. That was the ultimate goal.

“And what do you mean by that?”

Mikumo sighed heavily, then began on his little rant.

“The kid's dad left him when he was young. Kid's mom died when he was 9. He's currently 14 and in middle school,” Izuku didn't want to go too far into detail unless Aizawa asked, which then of course he'd explain to the best of his abilities. Or the

“Oh,” Aizawa knew choosing this line of work, the amount of deaths and stuff that happened, though it never ceases to sadden him when something does happen.

Mikumo didn't know if he wanted to bite the bullet and just tell him ‘his kid’ is quirkless or not. On one hand, it would be able to help him see how Aizawa acts about quirkless people. But on the other hand, it might lead to bad interactions and more questions.

He was about to go for it when Eraser did it for him. Izuku was glad;Aizawa was smart after all.

“It's about his quirk, right?”

“Yes, unfortunately. He's quirkless, and I heard he was bullied at school, though he claims it was nothing and was normal behaviour. I pulled him out and he's currently homeschooled now. Shitty teachers too,” the swear word slipped out before he could realize it, and he decided to just go with it. At least in this persona, Izuku could act like what happened wasn't normal, even though it was for him.

He knew what the kids were doing. It wasn't that bad though, he didn't know why everyone was so concerned when they found out. He decided it was probably for the best if Mikumo acted that way too. Less questions and problems that way.

“Oh, that makes sense,” Aizawa said, tone saddened.

“What do you mean?” Izuku was really anxious for this part.

“Well, quirkless people face the worst discrimination of them all, even if they can't control it.”

Izu - no, Mikumo, he had to be Mikumo right now, was expecting anything but this. He was expecting him to yell, call his ‘kid' useless, a freak, anything but that. He did keep his composure though.

“Wait, what?” Mikumo asked, genuinely shocked.

Aizawa didn't know why he felt like sharing so much info to this kid. Maybe his paternal instincts were acting up, not just for Mikumo. Though he really didn't like the idea of a kid, adopting a kid.

“You don't know how many quirkless people I've talked down from buildings. The suicide rate is about 49% for quirkless people,” Aizawa stated, clipping his hands together in front of his face.

“You mean you don't look down on them? O-or think they're useless?”

“Why would I? There's absolutely no reason to. Quirks are simply tools, and just because someone doesn't have one doesn't mean they're immediately ‘useless’ or weak,” Aizawa's genuine opinion on the matter started to peak through. He'd been looked down on for his quirk, which he couldn't control, so why should other people as well?

“That reminds me. Are you able to be interviewed right now? It's for the incident you told me about. We're now trying to properly report it, and we need your eyewitness account.”

“Like right now? Do you need me to clock out Orr?” Mikumo's mind was going 1000 miles a minute. Why the sudden change in subject? Izuku was glad though.

“Actually, we have everything needed here. Detective Tsukauchi is on his way and should be here any minute. Do you guys have a break room we can use?” Aizawa asked.

“Umm yeah? Wait, you mean Detective Tsukauchi? Like thee Detective Tsukauchi?” Okay, Izuku was starting to geek out. He'd always wanted to meet Detective Tsukauchi, if only to analyze his quirk.

“Um, yeah kid. Is that a problem?”

“No, that's not a problem! I'm kinda like a.. fanboy.. Of sorts? I guess? I'm a pretty big fan of all heroes and stuff like that,” Mikumo sheepishly rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

“Pretty impressive you know who he is, kid.”

“How could I not!? He's one of the most famous detectives thanks to his lie-detective quirk! He solves cases so easily!” Izuku was definitely starting to fanboy out.

“Wait, kid, do you keep up on cases and stuff?” Aizawa was genuinely interested. Mikumo mentioned ‘solves cases so easily’ so he had to wonder. It was impressive that he recognized Aizawa as it was, now even a detective.

“Umm… yes..?” Mikumo answered shyly, slightly embarrassed with his ranting.

Aizawa was a little surprised at the fact that he actually kept up on cases. Barely anyone does nowadays. It's just not something of interest anymore.

“I don't know many peop-” Aizawa was cut off as Tsukauchi greeted them.

“Hey Aizawa! Is this the eyewitness Mic was talking about?” Tsukauchi looked at Mikumo, almost analyzing him.

Izuku just then realized how deep he was in. He kinda half-lied about the whole situation, and he was up against a lie-detector quirk. In different terms, Izuku might actually be screwed.

“Yes, this is Mikumo,” Aizawa dead-panned.

“Nice to meet you, Mikumo!”

“Umm yeah! Nice to meet you!” Mikumo couldn't believe he was talking with thee detective Tsukauchi. Especially considering the less than spectacular conditions.

“Well then, let's take it back to the break room shall we?” Tsukauchi asked, a few items in hand Izuku was too nervous to fully analyze and think about.

The two followed a nervous Mikumo as they were led away to the break room.

____

“Soo, what questions do you guys have to ask me.?” Mikumo asked, quaking in his boots.

“Just some questions about the villain attack and stuff you told me about,” Aizawa reassured, grateful for his large coffee.

“Alright, before we start, do you consent to this interview being recorded?” Asked Tsukauchi.

“Yes,” Mikumo answered swiftly and confidentially. If worst comes to worst, Mikumo would have to tell them it was him that was attacked, and he might get outed for having a fake identity. Best case scenario is what he says isn't registered as a full truth, but they have no leads to go off of, dropping the case.

“Alright.” Detective Tsukauchi grabbed a recorder device and pressed the button which Mikumo presumed started recording.

“Interviewing Mikumo Sochi on the non-publisized villain attack a couple of weeks ago. Do you have any recollection of what the villain looked like?”

“Yes. From what I remember, it was some sort of slime/sludge quirk. I believe it was a dark green, but I couldn't see very well,” Mikumo knew to be careful with what he said, as the wrong thing could be pinged. What he said was the truth though.

“Truth. Was the entire villain made out of this sludge substance?”

“Yes, it was,” Izuku answered truthfully.

“Truth. How did the villain threaten or attack the kid?”

Oof. This was a little bit hard for Izuku to talk about, due to the fact it was so gross.

Mikumo got a visibly disgusted look on his face, though anyone would if they heard how ‘the kid’ was attacked.

“He-” Mikumo gulped, for the extra emphasis, of course. “He seemed like he was forcing his body/ sludge down the kid's throat and nose. I also noted how the kid wasn't on the ground, so he was probably holding the kid up.”

“Truth.” This was disgusting to Tsukauchi, though it unfortunately came with the job.

“Do you know what All Might did with the villain?” Tsukauchi asked.

“No, I couldn't see it very well,” Iz- No Mikumo, knew if he chose his words carefully, he could scrape by without any unnecessary interrogation.

And I mean, that was the truth after all. He couldn't see very well, just not from the fact that he was far away. When he came to, Izuku had been pretty out of it. His vision had been lightly distorted, and he had some brain fog for a few minutes after.

“Truth.” Tsukauchi didn't like this. His quirk was pinging everything as true, but there was something his quirk didn't like. He didn't know what it was, but it felt weird. It felt.. Off, somehow.

“Did the kid seem out of it when he woke up? Like dazed, not totally with it?” Tsukauchi asked. He heard about the kid grabbing onto All Might when he was about to leave, but that could be due to medical reasons.

“From what I remember, yes. I may be wrong, but the kid didn't seem completely there.”

Another truth, but another weird feeling from his quirk as well.

“Truth. Did the kid have any visible medical injuries?”

“I don't really remember. I also couldn't see the best, sorry,” Izuku didn't remember having any injuries, but he could be wrong. The phantom sense hadn't been the most pleasant either.

“Truth.” Another weird feeling, but not as blatant. “Can you tell us what you remember after that?”

“Yes. From what I remember, the kid grabbed onto All Might when he was going to fly away. All Might didn't expect that, so he flew to the roof of a nearby building. I couldn't see very much, but it looked like they had a brief conversation before All Might left. The kid stood there on the roof for a few seconds before leaving.”

“True.”

It may have been true from Mikumo’s point of view, but not Izukus. And it may have been what actually happened.

“I have a question. Is it alright if I ask?” Aizawa turned to look at Tsukauchi before he nodded.

“Yes, you may.”

“You said you don't remember what All Might did with the villain. Did he just leave the villain there, or did it manage to escape?”

“I-I don't remember. Sorry,” Izuku said. He honestly didn't remember what he did with the villain. All he remembers is that he was being attacked, passed out, then woke up and the villain was gone.

“True. Thank you for your time. Those were all of the questions we had for you. The interview has ended. 7 minutes, 37 seconds long. He pressed on another button, which Izuku assumed to be to stop recording.

“Thank you for your time, kid. We'll be on our way out,” Aizawa responded.

“You're welcome! Though I better get back to work! See you around, Eraser!” Mikumo hopped up and walked out the door, leaving Aizawa and Tsukauchi alone.

“Aizawa. I had a weird feeling while interviewing him.”

“What do you mean?”

“My quirk pinged everything as true, but it gave off a weird feeling. Like it didn't like the answers given or something. I don't know why it wouldn’t if everything was true.”

“Odd. It's not enough to go off though, and then further complicate this case.”

“Yeah, I know. Let's get going. I still have other work to do,” Tsukauchi stated, packing his things up.

And with that, the two walked out of the cat cafe.

Yes, Izuku just got away with that! Oh, this was a pretty good day indeed. (Other than his soreness from earlier)

That was until he saw the infamous Katsuki Bakugo, with what looked to be actually nice people.

Ohh no. Mikumo really didn't want to have to deal with them, but he had to. Ughhh. Whyyyyy!!?? At least he wasn't acting like Izuku right now, which was good.

He was Mikumo right now! He didn't know who Bakugo was! He just had to make sure to not call him by his nickname on accident. His cover would be exposed before he could blink.

All of the other waitresses were busy with tables, so he had no choice but to go over there and talk to them.

Thank goodness for his half disguise. (He used some makeup to cover up his freckles, and used some hair chalk to make his hair half black and half green)

Putting on the last little bit of enthusiasm he had for the situation, Mikumo walked up to the table.

“Hey! What can I get for yall?” Mikumo asked, thankful he moved past his stuttering, or at least while he's working.

“Okay what the fuck. Deku?” There came the eruption from the loud blonde. If Izuku didn't know better, he assumed it would've been worse had he been recognized. Which he unfortunately had been.

“I'm sorry, do you know Izuku? I'll ask him about you,” Mikumo decided on saying, trying to make the slightest accent so he sounds different.

“Bullshit. You look and sound basically exactly like De- fuck, Izuku.” Bakugo hoped that if this was Deku, he would respond to this.

The whole group was looking at the two dumbfounded, save for Monoma, who assumed this was probably the kid Bakugo used to bully.

Izuku looked at Bakugo with wide eyes. A genuinely surprised expression on his face. He couldn't help it.

“Hah, I fucking knew it!” Bakugo exclaimed, a tone of voice Izuku had never heard before. Almost like.. Guilt? Sadness?

Izuku still had one trick up his sleeve, that probably wouldn't work but still.

“No, I'm the guy who adopted him. He talked about you, and how you always called him Deku. Surprised me, that's all,” Mikumo coldly stated. He really didn't want to deal with this right now.

“Well whoever the fuck you are, give this to him. Or read it if you are actually him or whatever. I don't care,” His tone was betraying him, though Bakugo hoped he got his point across. He reached into his pocket, grabbing and handing Mikumo a small folded note.

“You aren't going to press for an answer? Aren't you going to demand one?” Now the cold side of Mikumo was seeping through. He knew it, but didn't really care. He wanted to make it known how he felt.

“No.” Bakugo sounded sad, almost. It didn't hold any of his usual malice or conviction.

Izuku looked at Bakugo, completely stunned while the blonde continued to keep his head down.

It was almost lost along with the music and sound in the cafe, but Izuku managed to hear it.

“I don't do that shit no more.”

A-Alright, I'll make sure I get this to him. A-Any way, what do you guys want?” Mikumo tried to bring his enthusiasm back.

The group ordered their drinks, and Mikumo stalked off to make them, hand trembling while holding the note. It felt like a brick in his hand.

He walked off to the kitchen, and as soon as he was away from prying eyes, he opened the note.

Dear Izuku,
I was told to write you a note or some shit by shitty hair. Apparently it's therapeutic or some dumb shit. I don't know if I'll ever give this to you or whatever. But I want you to know I'm sorry, for everything. I'm sorry I can't say this to you in person, but I feel like I don't deserve to or whatever. If you don't want to forgive me, that's fine I guess.

Ps. I always told you I hated the nickname you gave me, but to be honest when you call me anything else, it sounds dumb as fuck.

Maybe I can give this to you one day.
Kachaan.

Izuku was half to tears while he made the group their drinks.

Two chocolate milk shakes, a strawberry milkshake, and a coffee. About the same as Aizawa’s actually, other than the size.

He grabbed a sticky note and a pen. He flipped it over so the sticky part was up and wrote a short, simple note.

What do you mean? You didn't really do anything wrong, I mean everyone else was doing the same.

Though I do accept your apology and forgive you, things will never be the same.

***-***-****
Is my phone number.

At this point Izuku was unsure of how to feel. He kept convincing himself that Bakugo did nothing wrong, though deep down he knew.

He was in constant conflict with his feelings, and how he felt about situations.

Izuku flipped it over and wrote an arrow so Bakugo would know it was written on the other side. He stuck it on Bakugo's chocolate milkshake, and brought the 4 drinks over.

He slid the shake to Bakugo last, and pointed the sticky note towards him. He gave a small smile directly at Bakugo and mouthed a quick thank you before leaving.

_____

Huh. So Katsuki was correct about this guy being Izuku. He looked at the sticky note, and flipped it over. Being careful of anyone else reading it, Katsuki read it.

What the fuck does Deku mean by ‘YoU dIdNt Do AnYtHiNg WrOnG’?

Of course the damn nerd would think that! Though it did say he forgave him (which he shouldn't) but that things would never be the same. Katsuki didn't want things to go back to the way they were. He wanted them to be seen as equals, as that's what he did with his group of friends. Eyebags, shitty hair, and fucking rage. (Katsuki has yet to come up with a better nickname)

Don't tell anyone this, but Kirishima was basically Katsuki's therapist. He insisted “it's what friends do bro!” (He knew Katauki desperately needed the help).

Ever since they rescued Shinsou, they were kinda like a group. They were definitely a crap-ton better than Katsuki's old friends. He hadn't exactly said he wasn't friends with his old friends, but rather distancing himself from them. He'd cut them off eventually, when he was more ‘stable’. (He wants to beat them up right now, and that isn't good. Actually, when has he not wanted to beat them up?)

He saw Izuku's number, and put it into his phone, if he ever had the nerve to actually text him, that is.

He got back to his group, talking normally, his mind elsewhere.

That was until sarcasm/rage had the absolute nerve to speak up.

“So, you and greenie, huh?” Monoma said with a smirk. This was his typical personality, though he was joking about 99% of the time. He was really just trying to get under Bakugo's nerves at this point.

Katsuki slowly turned his head for dramatic effect, easily ragebaited.

He noted how Kirishima almost had a saddened look on his face. It kinda made Katsuki a little sad seeing him like that, though he wouldn't tell a soul.

“What the fuck did you just say to me?” Katsuki mustered up the last ounce of patience he had. Though what surprised the group was the tone of voice he used.

“Umm, that's the calmest I think we've ever heard you speak,” Shinsou said, finally moving past being afraid to talk. (Especially after that incident)

Kirishima's face was slightly flustered, though Katsuki didn't really pay any mind to it. Seeing as he had a sarcastic and clearly mentally ill person to bea- no, calmly lecture. (He's just joking, he wouldn't ever beat someone again, unless it was a villain)

“Might I remind you about, you know what,” Katsuki said, a calm smile on his face as he looked over at Shinsou for a split second.

“I-I don't know what you're talking about!” Monoma stammered out, his face already reddening.

“Yeah, I'm sure you don't,” Katsuki said, confidence and ‘I just won and I know it’ mixed in his tone.

This however, made Monoma redden even more.

“Guys, what are you talking about, and how does it include me?” Shinsou dead-panned, hoping his face wasn't as red as Monoma's. After the blonde had started protecting him and actually hanging out with him, well Shinsou couldn't really control his feelings, could he?

“N-nothing! Absolutely nothing!” Monoma forced out, clearly trying to steal the attention. “Well, what about you and that greenie!?” Now he was desperate.

“Okay, I want to be friends with the fucker, but I would never in a million years date him.” What was left unsaid was the fact he wasn't interested in dating a damn person. He had his best friends, and that was that.

Katsuki looked to the left at Shinsou, who was a little red, but nothing like Monoma. He looked back at Monoma before leaning into Kirishima's side to whisper something.

“They're hopeless romantics right now,” Katsuki may he dense, but he could see the two fuckers fighting to keep their blush down.

Kirishima looked to his side at Katsuki.

Announcing to the table, Kirishima got that look on his face.

“Ooo~. I know what you mean,” Kirishima raised both his eyebrows at the two, exaggerating it incredibly.

Kirishima leaned back into Katsuki, probably further than he had to.

“Whats their ship name? We gotta confuse them!”

“I don't know. You got any?” Katsukin was using his rare soft voice right now, making sure the other two couldn't hear them. Kirishima might as well have put subtle blush on.

“Hm, what about Monoshin?”

“Fucking perfect, Lets confuse them, Kirishima.” Kirishima was a little taken aback by Katsuki using his actual name, but he wasn't complaining.

The two moved away from each other, while Monoma and Shinsou were looking at them peculiarly.

“Hey Monoshin. How you guys doing over there?” Kirishima said in that tone while raising his eyebrows, again.

Monoma turned a shade of beet red whereas Shinsou looked as confused as ever.

“What is that supposed to imply?” Unfortunately, Shinsou hadn't had any friends, so he had no clue what 90% of modern slang and stuff meant.

Monoma leaned into his side, and Shinsou leaned into the touch.

“That means they ship us, Hitoshi,” Monoma took his chances and called Shinsou by his first name, hoping it wouldn't make his situation any worse. He quickly jumped back, still flustered about everything.

“What. Guys, seriously why?” Shinsou said, trying to keep his face from turning red, but failing miserably.

That was when Shinsou got a mischievous smile on his face.

“Okay, Kiribaku,” His sly smile brightened up the table.

Katsuki started contemplating his life's decisions, and his feelings for Kirishima. No it was just a feeling of being best friends with someone, right? Right.

“You know what? Let's just change the damn subject. This is getting fucking sappy, ” Katsuki said, clearly not wanting to delve further into his gross feelings.

“Hey guys! Any dishes I can take?” Mikumo came up and asked the group.

“Yeah!” Kirishima stated.

“Alright!” Mikumo leaned in close to the group. “I also hope you guys know you were not very quiet in your little conversation just then,” He smirked, knowing this would probably leave Katsuki dazed for days. He leaned in closer to Katsuki, making sure he wasn't too close. He also made sure Kirishima could hear.

“You guys would make a cute couple. Have fun, Kiribaku.”

With that, Mikumo got up and strutted his way to another table.

“What the fuck,” Bakugo said, looking at the ground.

Kirishima was inaudible, as his face became redder than a tomato.

“What did greenie say to make you that, I don't know, reflective? Monoma asked with a slight smirk, implying something Katsuki was not a fan of.

Kirishima kept his head towards the ground as he said, “H-he ships us. ‘Have fun, Kiribaku.’ He said.”

With this both Monoma and Shinsou burst out laughing at these two hopeless romantics. Gosh, how dense could two people be?

I guess Bakugo was forced to think about the ‘sappy shit’ all along.

Chapter Text

Izuku was pleased with himself today.

He started training today, escaped an interview alive with thee Detective Tsukauchi, and he made an old-new (?) friend today.

Don't forget about how tonight he was going out as a vigilante for the first time!

Maybe his life really was amounting to something. Or might.

Izuku finished his shift with ease, as there were no other people there who he knew. He went home at around 8 and arrived at his apartment at about 8:17. Izuku was pretty tired, so he was glad he was able to sleep for a few hours before going out.

He showered, changed, and plopped down on his bed before scrolling on his phone for a bit.

Izuku finally remembered to set his alarm for 12am. He would patrol from around 12-3, which would hopefully allow some time to sleep before the morning.

He set his alarm, put his phone down, and fell fast asleep at around 8:35.

_______

Waking up to his alarm, Izuku stood up with excitement coursing through his veins.

He changed, and realized his entire face would still be visible. That was not plausible.

He dug in his closet for a few minutes before finding what he was looking for. A black mask. It went up to his nose, and down his neck.

Izuku grabbed his phone before connecting to the comms while shoving it into his zippable pocket. While making sure it worked properly, Izuku put in his ear piece. He grabbed his gloves with the metal on them, then put them on.

A few days ago, he was successfully able to glue and sew the metal onto the gloves.

Izuku grabbed the smallest notebook he had, a small pen as well. He put them in the other pocket that was empty.

He put his shoes on and tied them before walking out the door. Now, he knew it was a pretty bad idea to go into fights without a weapon, but he wasn't planning on getting into any fights tonight.

Izuku would simply send over a message on the comms of the why and where. Today was for getting the feel of the streets, including the layout and such.

He walked outside, hood up and mask on. Keeping his hands in his pockets, Izuku didn't want to draw any attention with his gloves.

Crap.

Izuku just realized he should probably avoid running into Eraser. If he talked normally, Eraser was sure to recognize him.

Izuku thought he had been walking around for an hour at this point (Actually around 30 minutes), and wanted something to do.

That was until he heard a scream from a nearby alleyway. Izuku started sprinting towards the sound, hoping he wasn't too late. Oh God, not again.

Izuku looked into the alley from the mouth as an attempted assault was in full swing. One of the 3 men was obviously drunk, as he was woozy and wobbly. The other two looked tipsy, but could probably best Izuku in a fight.

He could probably defeat the drunk guy if he needed to, but he would prefer to not get beaten to a pulp on his first day. Especially since he barely knew how to fight properly.

He looked around quickly, about to call some help before he saw Amplifier running around the rooftops.

He quickly grabbed his phone, and started up his comms to just Amplifier. Izuku noticed she was a few roofs over, so it was logical to call her when she was so close.

I mean, if Izuku could see her then she could probably see Izuku. It should work, right?

“Uh, Amplifier? I'm gonna need you to look to your left,” That was about the only thing Izuku could say as he made sure to keep his body away from the group.

He saw her face go through a look of shock, confusion, ‘um what’, and a determined look as she noticed the group and their intentions.

Izuku grabbed his notebook and started writing furiously while Amplifier fought. Amplifier had seemingly already taken care of the drunk guy, and was fighting the other two.

Izuku wrote about her fighting style, the way she used her quirk, as well as how she moved in general.

Izuku suddenly looked over at the victim, who looked like she was going into a full blown panic attack. That was not good. Izuku had to help!
Izuku would help her, and he even knew how to deal with other people having panic attacks! He'd had to learn that after having too many himself.

That was until Izuku saw the drunk guy start to get up from his spot on the ground, and start quickly advancing towards the victim.

His body moved before he could think, really it did! He shoved his notebook and pen in his pocket and zipped it while advancing on the low-level thug.

He saw the right hook coming from a mile away, and that was the exact move he'd watched Katsuki perform a thousand times. (Not on him)

Izuku grabbed the guy's arm, and flipped him over right on his back. Apparently it was enough, as the guy made no move to get back up.

The victim was in full blown panic mode at this point, heaving as she sobbed. She was clutching her head in her hands, shaking as she did.

Izuku mustered up as much courage and calmness as he could. He made his voice as soft as possible as he slowly approached her.

“Hey, hey, it's okay, the guys are taken care of and aren't a threat any longer,” Izuku made sure to keep his distance, while still being near.

“They aren't going to hurt you again, I promise,” Izuku hoped this would at least help a little bit. Relief washed through him as the girl stopped shaking so violently. That was a good sign.

“Hey, I'm going to need you to breathe with me. Inhale in, and out.” Izuku kept doing that for a minute, give or take while the victim slowly came back to reality. Her breathing evened out, and she wasn't shaking anymore.

Her voice was quiet as she spoke. “Th-thank you.”

Izuku smiled, though no one could see it. “Of course! That's what I do.”

Izuku was about to run off when he listened for any sounds of fighting, and found none.

He turned around expecting Amplifier to catch him, drag him back to the police station.

He saw Amplifier talking to her comm, he assumed the police or another hero. Amplifier got off the comm as she looked at him. “Damn. I think that was the quickest I've ever seen someone calm down a panicked victim.”

Izuku didn't know why praise was necessary when anyone could've done what he did.
“O-oh really! It was nothing! Happy to help when I can!”

Ohmygosh. He just realized he was talking to Amplifier.

Thee Pro hero Amplifier!!

Thee Pro Hero Amplifier!!

Thee Pro Hero Amplifier!!

He really couldn't believe it. A pro hero was talking to him!

“That was an impressive flip kid,” Amplifier acted as if she was proud, but probably was lying for the sake of it.

“Oh, really, it's nothing! Anyone could do that! Also I better get going! See ya around!” Izuku took his first possible escape route. With that, Izuku took off running out of the alley and onto the streets, probably to look for another problem to get himself into.

“Damn, kid really needs to learn his worth. Would probably be a pretty good future hero too.”

Amplifier called into her comms, forgetting about the fact this kid has access to it.

“Eraser, Rock lock, Loudcloud, we've got a potential vigilante with us tonight.”

“Copy. Thanks for the heads up,” Rock Lock stated.

A dramatic sigh came from Eraser's end, which was highly expected. “Alright. Will do,” Aizawa knew this was going to be another headache for later.

“Thanks for the heads up!” Was the enthusiastic response from Loudcloud.

_______

Woah! Izuku couldn't believe he just did that! Like ???. He just did it. He actually defeated someone, and managed to help Amplifier!

He even helped that victim away from a panic attack!

He was so happy right now!

Izuku decided that walking was too slow.
Running would be much more effective, and would help him with stamina and speed!

Well, light running would be a better word. He wasn't quite running, but he wasn't quite jogging either.

Izuku wondered what it would be like to run around on the roof, but decided against it. (He was so clumsy, he knew he'd end up hurting himself)

He was running for what was probably 5 minutes until he physically couldn't anymore.

He came to a walk and continued walking around, concluding it would be more effective than just standing there.

Until he heard a girl yelling from a few alleyways over.

So much for a break. At least he was around and could hopefully help, though.

Izuku started running over before he could think about it. He arrived at the mouth of an alleyway.

The scene didn't look good. The girl was on her knees. There were three guys in total, a guy on each side holding one of her wrists.

Izuku assumed she had a finger-based quirk, and they were preventing her from using it. That would make the most logical sense.

Izuku recalled all of the hero's patrol routes, and noted how Loudcloud would be the closest. He got out his phone and called Loudcloud through the comms.

They weren't doing anything yet, but Izuku knew it wouldn't stay that way for long. He heard Amplifier tell the group that there was a potential vigilante out and about, which would mean they would be on alert. That was good. (Hopefully)

“Hey Loudcloud. Heard about me? Yeah, there's what appears to be an assault going on at #### on 8th street. You appear to be the closest.”

Izuku didn't cut the comm off yet, just in case Loudcloud was listening.

“Woah, you can hack into the comms! Also on my way, be there in two!” Ruffling could be heard as Loudcloud started running towards the address.

Izuku kept a close eye on the thugs as the girl was clearly shaken up. Considering her situation, she was a lot calmer than most would've been.

Izuku was looking in the alley, being careful to keep his body out of sight. He watched as the guy standing right in front of the girl grabbed a knife, and held it up to her throat. He was smiling sinisterly as he did.

He just kept it there, as if taunting her about her situation.

He was about to cut the brown haired girl's throat when Izuku's body decided to involuntarily rush into the fight. Loudcloud should be getting here soon, so he should be able to create a distraction. It's not like his life was worth more than the girl's anyway.

He rushed in, and punched the guy in the middle right in the face. The knife bounced to the ground as Izuku picked it up and decided to use it for himself. The guy went flying to his back, a bruise already starting to form on his face.

Dang, these gloves were pretty handy.

One of the other guys tried advancing on Izuku as the other just stood there, trying to decide what to do.

The girl was ahead of her game as she touched the guy with all her fingers, and the guy started floating.

The girl looked like she wanted to help, but didn't know how to.

As the other guy rushed to Izuku, he was able to apply the knowledge of the basic fighting video he'd watched earlier today. The guy, clearly inexperienced, went fumbling back into the wall. Izuku saw as the other guy he punched tried to get up, but was stopped as a cloud appeared on top of him.

Yes! Loudcloud was here! Izuku took a sigh of relief as the other guy who fumbled was quickly pinned against the wall with a cloud. The girl gently dropped the guy she was floating, who was freaking out too much to really do anything. (Fear of heights, what can you say)

“Nice work Vigilante! Woah, girl you've got an awesome quirk!” Loudcloud said while quickly tying up the thugs before they could move again.

“O-oh thanks!” The girl, who looked to be about Izuku's age, said.

Izuku decided to speak up to the girl. “You handled yourself really well in that situation!” Izuku said enthusiastically.

“Thanks! I'd be toast if it wasn't for you. Thank you for saving me,” The girl practically shyly exclaimed.

“Really, it was nothing. Just doing what I can around here!”

“Nice work vigilante! I better call the police now to handle them. But anyway, I’m not too sure how enthused the police will be when they learn a vigilante was involved,” Loudcloud sheepishly explained while walking away and calling the police.

He left the two sitting there with their thoughts as Oboro explained the situation.

Izuku knew Loudcloud was right. “Well anyway, I better get going! Thanks for your help with that one guy!” Izuku said while walking out and away from the scene.

Uraraka tried yelling back to him. Tried getting his attention to thank him again. But to no avail, as he was gone before she could've gotten a word in.

Phew. That was stressful for Izuku.

After he ran away, he started realizing just how exhausted he was. He just needed a minute to catch his breath, that's all.

After he finished catching his breath, Izuku was on his way back to running around. Now that Izuku thought about it, he had been running a lot. He'd have to do some sort of stretch when he got home to help prevent soreness.

Izuku heard a weird noise, and decided to go check it out. Just in case, you know? This was what he was training to be, after all.

He saw a kid on the ground, clearly crying as a man held a knife to his throat. No, Izuku can't do anything! He's useless! The man was tall and slender, having some characteristics of a fox; Izuku knew to be careful around him.

Izuku quickly called all the hero's, unsure of who was closest.

“Hey heroes. We got a problem on ###, North Street, northbound. I don't know who is closest, so I called all of you. We've got a kid with a knife to the throat, I'll do what I can for now,” Izuku knew his voice probably wobbled, but he couldn't help it. He needed to help. He'll only make things worse.

With that, Izuku hung up, and watched as the guy taunted the kid, making him cry even harder. Until the guy actually started cutting the kids throat, very, very slowly.

Izuku rushed in and punched without thinking, hoping a hero was nearby. He knows he won't win, but he has to try!

Izuku got a pretty solid punch in, but it was clear the guy had some sort of stealth as a part of his quirk. Izuku backed up while the guy wound up for a pretty hard looking punch.

Izuku quickly moved to the side, thinking of a plan as the guy wound up for another. Come on! Think Izuku, think!

He thought of a pretty solid plan, but it included some things out of his current skill level. Hoping it worked, Izuku backed up and ran to the wall.

He jumped up, hoping to get height from it and kick the dude, but failing miserably as he slipped and fell to the ground. Come on Izuku, get up! It doesn't hurt that bad! Come on, the kid has to be more hurt than you!

The fox slithered up next to Izuku, and put his knife on Izuku's shoulder.

The guy slowly started pressing the knife into Izuku's shoulder, making sure to do as much damage as possible in the slowest amount of time.

It was agonizing.

Izuku cried out in pain, thinking about how he failed.

He failed this kid.

He failed everyone he saved so far. He failed Loudcloud and Amplifier. He failed Aizawa. He failed himself. He failed the one thing that might've given him a purpose in life.

Izuku's vision started to go black from the pain as a whirl of blue rushed by.

He felt the knife, which was only a half inch into his skin, get pulled out quickly as someone came next to him.

“Damn kid. You're really bad at this. You've been doing this for what, a week?” The scarred figure chuckled as he took and tied up the man, making sure not to harm him too bad.

Izuku could only manage a few words before he was forced to stand up by the mysterious figure.

“First day,” Izuku said, clearly in pain.

“Youre joking. This is the first day you've decided to do this, and you throw yourself head first into a fight you clearly can't win? Damn, I thought you'd be smart.”

The guy started wiping up the blood around Izuku's shoulder as the pain became a little bearable. That's okay. At least the kid was alright. Izuku's also dealt with worse, so he doesn't know why it hurts so much. Maybe it's because Izuku's already exhausted.

“Welp, sorry I wanted to help a kid from being slashed in the throat,” Izuku said with the sass he used to give his mom before she died.

The figure started walking away as his job was done here.

“Wait!” Izuku yelled back to figure. “Thanks for saving by butt back there.”

The black haired guy turned back to look at Izuku.

“No prob. Would've wanted someone to do the same if it was me.”

“Whats your name?” Izuku yelled back.

“Dabi. Call me Dabi.” The man said as he walked away and out of the alley.

Izuku realized he better call the heroes to tell them there was no immediate threat. Izuku opened the comms. “Got it taken care of with some help. The guy's still here tied up securely. I guess I'll be on my way.”

Izuku ended the comms before he could make any odd noise, considering his shoulder still hurt.

He checked the time with his still good left hand.

2:53AM.

Yeah, Izuku would call it a night. He started running back to his apartment, wanting to get there sooner rather than later.

When he arrived, he realized he'd probably need more medical supplies if he was to continue. I mean, how did he not think of that before?

He made his way to his washer and dryer, taking off his shirt and sweatshirt as he walked.

He threw the pieces of clothing in there as he turned it on, and left them to wash.

Izuku then made his way into his bathroom. Making sure he wasn't still bleeding, Izuku disinfected the area. It stung, but was manageable. He put a bandage on it and wrapped it up.

He desperately needed a shower after that, so he did. He avoided putting his right side under the water, as that would probably not be good for the area and wound.

He successfully showered and changed. Getting ready for bed, Izuku started thinking about how fortunate he was. And how much had happened today.

The small stab didn't touch anywhere that could've been fatal; he could still move his arm. Though it hurt, Dabi saved him before his shoulder could've been stabbed through entirely, and just a lot of other things.

His arm should heal completely in probably a few weeks. Though he should avoid using it vigorously until then. That would help it heal better.

Izuku made his way into his room and onto his bed.

He plopped himself down while setting his training alarm for 6am. He would have to cut his strength training in half to accommodate fighting and stuff like that. He saw on a forum somewhere mentioning different martial arts being used widely until quirks came in. He could search some stuff up and hopefully find beneficial results.

Izuku was quickly able to doze off into a peaceful slumber, unaware of the worry he caused the pros and Tsukauchi. He slept blissfully, happy with how his first day went and the people he saved in the meantime. Izuku was also quite happy about getting some notes on Amplifier.

Hopefully Aizawa didn't recognize him when he went on all the comms tonight.

____

Izuku woke up to his alarm, wishing he hadn't.

He was so sore this morning, it wasn't even funny.

Izuku got up with a groan, careful with his right shoulder. It still hurt, but it felt better this morning. Thank goodness it was a shallow stab wound and not what it could've been.

He groggily walked his way over to his bathroom. Getting ready for training, Izuku re-rapped and rebandaged his shoulder, showered, then changed into a black tank top and some joggers.

Izuku got some breakfast as well, pretty hungry from last night. After that, Izuku stretched, and oh did that feel nice on his sore and achy muscles.

He grabbed his computer and put it in his backpack along with everything else he needed for training.

Izuku made his way out of his apartment, locking it in the meantime. He began his walk to the park, thinking about the previous night. It was really fun and educational! He finally felt like he was free for once, like he could finally help for once instead of just standing by and not doing anything.

Izuku made his way into the park, glad to see it was empty - he didn't want to deal with people today. Walking over to the opening, Izuku thought about how he'd incorporate fighting into his training.

He'd have to cut his strength training in half, or use ⅓ of the time for fighting. He'd have to figure it out when he got there.

He started jogging through, taking breaks a little further past the points yesterday. Though the heaviness of the computer was weighing him down a little, he managed to push through.

Izuku made his way to the S-shape sprint, as he called it. Sprinting through it, Izuku realized just how free he felt. Running through the forest while training felt enticing as adrenaline courses through. He slowed his pace back to a jog while rushing through the rest of the trail.

Making his way into the beach, Izuku realized just how much of a difference he made from this view. Overall, it wasn't much, but it still felt like an accomplishment. It was enough to keep Izuku going.

If he was going to learn how to fight, he would have to move out a specific area of trash, which he could do while doing strength training. You need space for it.

Izuku grabbed his notebook, and started writing.

If I want to fight, I will need to move an area of garbage, which I can easily do.
I will also need to search up some videos and tutorials, which is why I brought my computer.
Maybe I can find some weapons to fight with here too.

That was it for now.

Izuku closed his notebook and put it back into his backpack. He set his bag down on the same bench, and went scouting for a good fighting spot. He could worry about moving the garbage later.

Izuku found what looked like a pretty good spot, all considered. It had a lot of garbage, but where on this beach didn't?

The one thing Izuku noticed was the fact that the actual sand didn't have a ton of tiny pieces of metal embedded in it. He wouldn't have to rake through it like he would the rest. Izuku got to work splitting up the few piles into piles of recycling and garbage.

Once that was finished, he started moving the garbage pile to his garbage pile. Deciding it was good enough, Izuku took a break. Checking the time, Izuku realized he had gone for a whole 40 minutes without a break!

Once he deemed himself able to continue working, Izuku moved the recycling to his residential recycling pile.

There was some stuff left that Izuku still needed to move, but he was pretty happy with himself.

He finished moving everything off of his fighting spot, and felt those eyes on him again. They were piercing with their attentive gaze. It felt like they split Izuku in half analyzing them.

He looked back towards the spot he felt the eyes coming from yesterday. The position was slightly moved to the right a little, though Izuku could still feel them.

He kept his eyes on it for what seemed like a few minutes until he finally felt it recede. Sighing a quick breath of relief, he grabbed his computer and opened it up to Chrome.

Izuku searched common fighting styles, not knowing how else to word it. He scrolled through the first few results, not finding much of interest.

Then he found some that sounded interesting. He read through what they were, and wasn't very surprised when all of them existed in the pre-quirk era.

There were 3 that caught his eye.

Jujutsu
Ninjutsu
Capoeira

They all had aspects that Izuku wanted to learn.

Capoeira combines dance and acrobatics in the martial art. It requires fluidity with your movements, which Izuku can definitely practice.

Ninjutsu includes unarmed combat, weaponry, stealth, and strategic thinking. It stresses the importance of a body and mind harmony so people can react quickly, and a calm mind to react effectively.

Jujutsu is more combat, and relies on close-quarters combat, grappling, and submission. You use your opponents strength and momentum against them, allowing you to defeat larger and stronger opponents.

Izuku knew he would probably use ninjutsu the most, considering he needed to be stealthy and strategic when planning to go in. He also needed to react effectively, which is why he planned to focus on Ninjutsu today. Tomorrow he could work on Jujutsu, considering it would definitely be handy when dealing with larger individuals.

Also considering how short Izuku was.

He opened YouTube, and searched up some beginner tutorials. He found what looked to be a suitable video on basic ninjutsu fighting techniques. The video had 8 basic Ninjutsu techniques that when watching, looked very handy.

Although it was confusing at first, Izuku started to get the hang of them. Some of them were just stepping back and stopping punches, whereas others were more on the offensive side.

Izuku had been practicing for what felt like an hour, and decided on a well deserved break.

He walked over to his stuff, and gulped down some water. He sat down on the bench to catch his breath and temporarily rest his legs.

Izuku could've sworn he heard footsteps, but it was almost impossible with the ocean and sand.

“Woah. This place looks so much better!”

Izuku jumped up into a ready position he'd learned the previous day, clearly not expecting someone to interrupt his training.

The boy didn't see Izuku yet, and seemed like he was talking to himself. To be fair, Izuku also talks to himself.

“Did someone do all of this by themselves!? That would be impressive!" The yellow blonde said, almost too quietly for Izuku to hear.

Izuku didn't know whether to talk to the boy or not. I mean, he did look to be Izuku's age, give or take. He was about to put his waitressing skills to use when the boy finally noticed him.

“Wait, did you do this!?” He practically bounced over to Izuku.

“Umm.. Yeah..?” Izuku sheepishly said.

“Woah! Dude, that's really impressive!” The loud blonde stated while walking over to him.

Izuku was expecting yelling, maybe a ‘why are you doing this’ but he wasn't expecting that.

Izuku looked at the boy with astonishment, though the loud boy couldn't quite comprehend what that look meant.

“Too much? Sorry, I get caught up with myself sometimes,” The boy said while rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

Izuku began frantically waving his hands frantically in the air.

“No no! It's not like that! I just.. I didn't really expect anyone to say what I'm doing is impressive or anything. I mean, it's really not"

The blonde immediately looked at him with a newfound spark in his eyes.

“You're joking! I'm trying to train to be a hero and I don't even think I could do this! Wait, are you training to be a hero?” The blonde asked with expectancy and slight hope in his eyes.

“Umm,” Izuku didn't think this random kid should know, so he went with the safer option. “Something like that?” Izuku asked as a question even though he was trying to state it.

“Well I mean, to be honest I want to be a hero, buuuuut I don't really know how to train,” The blonde sheepishly replied.

“I could teach you!” Izuku realized he came off with way more enthusiasm than he wanted to. This guy probably thought he was annoying. He was most likely trying to make Izuku feel better.

The blonde looked at him practically half to tears. “Yo-you'd really do that!?” The blonde asked, clearly excited.

“I-I mean yeah! If you wanted me to, that is! I don't want to pressure you or anyth-” Izuku was interrupted by the other boy putting his hand in front of him.

“Denki Kaminari!” Izuku took his hand and shook it.

“Izuku Midoriya.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance! Wait, also were you training before I came here?” Kaminari asked with actual curiosity.

“Uh, yeah, kind of. It's no big deal though!” Izuku stood up to be in front of Kaminari, now looking at the boy who was only a few inches taller.

“Wait, I have time right now! We could start training now if you wanted,” Kaminari hesitantly asked.

“Sure! I was working on something that would probably be easier with a partner anyway.”

All of a sudden, a sinking feeling imbedded its way into Izuku's stomach.

Izuku realized that Kaminari didn't know he was quirkless. He didn't want to lose this new acquaintance right away, but he also didn't want to lead him on either. He'd find a way to bring it up, eventually. Hopefully soon, so he doesn't get too attached.

“What is it? If it's quirk sparring, we better nooot,” Kaminari ended with an unsure and kind of scared face.

“Oh no, that's not what I was working on! What I'm trying to learn right now is Ninjutsu. It's a form of martial arts that was popular in the pre-quirk era,” Izuku hoped that didn't give Kaminari the idea to ask about his quirk. (Since its pre-quirk era stuff)

“Woah! That's so cool! I always find it fascinating to learn about pre-quirk era stuff! It must've been weird living without quirks! Not bad, but just weird,” Izuku had a weird look on his face as Kaminari spoke.

Great. Kaminari just had to ruin his new acquaintance with this guy. He seemed like a generally good person too!

Izuku didn't know what compelled him to ask the question. “Kaminari, what do you think of quirkless people?”

Crap! Of course Izuku's mouth just had to move! Great, now he lost his training buddy! Get over yourself. It was going to happen anyway.

Well, Kaminari just as well will answer his question before he's forced to leave.

“Quirkless people? Not really anything special. People say they're useless but I don't really think so. Why?” Kaminari decided to ask this Midoriya guy why he asked this peculiar question.

Izuku felt an odd look slip onto his face. It was a mix between ‘I don't trust you’, ‘I'm on guard around you’, ‘why even bother’, and ‘are you serious?’

“Wait, so that means you don't think down on them?” Izuku asked with every last bit of enthusiasm he had left.

“No, not really. I mean, I used to know a kid who had an.. Interesting quirk. It couldn't be used in combat but he still managed to win against every single one of us in a fight! It was awesome dude!”

Kaminari took a pause for emphasis. “ I realized even if he didn't have a quirk he could still kick ass! Why.. do you ask?” Kaminari asked.

Welp, it's better to just rip the bandaid off instead of getting too attached to him as a friend. Yeah. It was bound to happen anyway. It's better to simply speed the process up and then move on.

“W-well um, you see… I'm actually,-” Izuku started playing with his thumbs and fingers as he said it, avoiding eye contact. “-Sorta kinda maybe.. Quirkless..?” Izuku said sheepishly, waiting for the yelling, for the attempt at violence, anything but the actual reaction Kaminari had.

“Wait, so you're telling me you did all of this here without anything to help you? Dude, that's so cool!”

Kaminari leaped forward and rested his hands on Izuku's shoulders, forcing him to look up at Kaminari's face.

“Dude, you have got to teach me your ways! Like seriously!”

By this point Izuku was starting to get a little flustered, unbeknownst to Kaminari. I mean, he hasn't been this close to someone in years! Let alone his age, or someone who was actively complimenting him!

“It's seriously not really a big deal! I mean, practically anyone could do this!” Izuku frantically waved his hands around in between Kaminari's arms rested on his shoulders.

“Okay dude, you've really got to give yourself credit here! Like c’mon!”

Kaminari was getting mad at Izuku for… Not giving himself… credit? Eh?

Normally people only got mad at him for being a useless Deku. Or for insinuating he was better than some people. Not for.. Whatever was happening here.

“You know what? We'll work on that! For now, let's train!”

Kaminari backed up as Izuku's flusteredness began to recede.

“Sooo, what is it we're working on?”

“Oh! Here, lemme grab my computer real quick. What I'm trying to learn is called ninjutsu! It's a martial art from the pre-quirk era! It includes unarmed combat, weaponry, stealth, and strategic thinking. It has other things as well, but those are the ones I'm working on.”

“I can see how that'd be useful! Whatever you're doing, do you have to learn it?” Kaminari asked.

“No I don't, but I think I'll incorporate it into how I fight, you know?” Izuku responded. “Have a mix of stuff.”

The two watched the first part of the video, and then practiced the first move.

“Okay, get into position, and then you try!” Izuku said to Kaminari, who was rubbing the back of his head.

“Dang, this is a lot harder than I thought. How do you do it?” Kaminari said in a joking tone.

He made his way into his position, stopping as he stepped on something.

“Ouch! What is that?” Kaminari grabbed it and picked it up. “Woah, Midobro, it's the exact same color as your eyes! It's so pretty!”

Kaminari held it up right next to Izuku's face, comparing the two.

“Are you pulling my leg, Kaminari?” Izuku asked in a slightly joking voice.

“No seriously! Here, you have it!”

Kaminari handed Izuku the crystal, feeling a flutter through his chest as they touched hands.

“Woah,” Izuku said while inspecting it. “I think this is green Jasper. It's pretty rare in Japan, so I'm surprised you found it here,” Izuku said to Kaminari.

Izuku was about to give the green Jasper back, when Kaminari stopped him.

“Nah, you take it. I'm not really a huge fan of rocks or anything, and besides, it fits you a lot better!” Kaminari said while trying to fake flirt.

Izuku was finally starting to let his guard down around Kaminari, and maybe even consider him a friend. If Kaminari wanted to be, of course!

Izuku just stared at Kaminari like a disappointed mother for a good minute.

“Kaminari, if that was you trying to fake flirt you're terrible at it.”

“Oh come onnnnnn! Midobro!!!!” Kaminari whined.

Izuku just sighed and put the green Jasper in his backpack.

“Alright, let's try that again, shall we? Izuku said while pulling Kaminari to the correct place.

The two sparred for a while, or until Izuku thought it was his time to go.

“Bye Kaminari! See you tomorrow! Izuku was about to leave when Kaminari stopped him.

“Wait! Midoriya! Can I have your number so we can text about training plans?” Kaminari yelled to Izuku who had started walking back in his direction.

“Oh yeah, sure! Here's mine.” Izuku hadn't had anyone's phone number from someone his age before. It almost felt like a small weight in his backpack.

“Thanks! I'll see you tomorrow!” Kaminari yelled as he started to walk away.

____

He finally made a friend.

Well, only if Midoriya wanted to be friends with him, that is! He didn't want to push the only person who thought his energy was annoying.

He might just have to tone it down tomorrow so Midoriya doesn't find him annoying and drop him.

Chapter Text

Izuku finished all his assignments, and still had some time before his shift.

He didn't really know what else to do, so he sat there for a bit. A sly smile arose on his face as he began furiously typing into his computer.

Izuku wondered how long it would take, but considering he still had 2 hours left, he would definitely follow through.

Izuku was seeing how well his hacking had gotten since starting the elective. He had been able to hack into the cameras around the city, and wanted to see if he could hack into any… other cameras.

Which was also known as the police station. He knew he probably shouldn't, but it was enticing.

He got his code up, and started the hacking process. Now Izuku wasn't dumb;if anyone found out about his hacking, they could've easily tracked it back to his devices. Except for the fact that Izuku made them untraceable.

Hacking into the city's cameras took about 24 minutes, give or take. He assumed it would take a lot longer getting into the police cams, considering the high security.

It took Izuku about 37 minutes to hack into the police cams. He made sure the audio was on, and leaned back into his computer chair as he watched and listened to the chatter, quite pleased with himself.

His smile remained as he realized just how fun it would be to mess with the heroes. (Only Eraserhead). Izuku knew he worked at the police station, but he still had hellions to teach.

That was what Izuku thought until he watched Aizawa walk through a few of the cams.

He probably expelled his class this year, or he had some free time and needed to get work done.
That was what Izuku thought until he watched Aizawa grab a yellow blob, and pile himself into it. Upon further examination, Izuku realized it was a bright yellow sleeping bag.

Oh my gosh.

Izuku would never let Eraser live this down!

If Izuku could find a way to change his voice, or talk without Aizawa recognizing him, Izuku would definitely taunt Eraser for it. Most definitely.

Izuku stopped laughing after a good 5 minutes while he watched Aizawa sleep. He finally woke up about 10 minutes later, looking the same as usual.

Izuku was still cackling as he interlaced his hands behind his head.

He watched as Aizawa got up to his desk, and grumbled while he started paperwork for who knows what.

Izuku realized he better get ready for work, seeing as it was that time already. Unless he wanted to be late, that is. He changed, put on his makeup and hair chalk, and grabbed a quick bite to eat before leaving.

Locking the doors, Izuku made his way to the cat cafe, happy to see the cats thriving.

He arrived there, and said hello to Aima, who was working as well. While baking, Izuku thought about the blackmail to use for Aizawa, though knowing the man he could probably care less if the world knew about it.

Izuku and Aima switched duties like usual. He then watched as his favorite regular walked in. He waited until Aizawa was seated before walking up to him.

“Heyy Aizawaaa,” Izuku said with a grin, knowing his antics were expected by the hero.

“The usual,” Aizawa said in his gruff voice, a hint of ‘I'm so done’ in it.

“Why so grim? I can see the storm hanging over you by the way,” Mikumo said, acting like he was helping, which he knew he wasn't.

“Paperwork. Loads too,” Aizawa grumbled, alongside a dramatic sigh, knowing procrastinating will only mean he has to do it later.

“And why is that?” Mikumo wanted to know how Aizawa felt about the vigilante side of him, even if they haven't technically met yet and Izuku has only been out one night.

“Vigilante. They were helpful, but I do hate them when it comes to paperwork,” Aizawa stated, trying and failing to find any joy in his situation.

“A new one or something? I bet you just love that!”

“Yep. I was told he might be a kid, possibly your age or a few years older. Decided to leave us with lots of paperwork last night,” Aizawa muttered gruffly as if he was stating an everyday fact. For him, it was.

“Dang. Sounds brutal. Anyway lemme grab your coffee!” Mikumo replied, expecting a response like that from Aizawa.

He hopped away and grabbed Aizawa his coffee.

After Aizawa left, the rest of his shift went by pretty smoothly. Izuku clocked out, hurrying as he did. He hoped to catch a local electronic shop while they're still open.

Izuku made it with just 10 minutes left.

He looked around the shop, hoping to find what he was looking for.

He found it, the last one actually. A voice modifier. He would be able to sew it into his mask, and it would do the rest of the work. He'd have to charge it every other night, but it was worth it. He'd be able to talk his heart's content out.

Luckily for Izuku, it wasn't too pricey. He paid for it, and left. He put it on and tested it out a few times.

He could change the volume, but it also had a setting to keep it the same volume as his normal speaking volume, which was nice.

Izuku started figuring out what voice would work the best for him.

A voice that didn't sound like a guy, nor a girl. Something similar enough where it still sounded reminiscent of Izuku, but not similar enough where he'd be recognized. Soft would probably work. Maybe a little mechanical if he wanted it to be known he was using a voice changer.

Izuku hurried home as he wanted to sew it in before he went to bed.

Izuku was able to find a comfortable setting for him on the way home. He finally made it back to his apartment, and rushed to get ready for bed as he did.

Once he was done with that, he immediately got started on sewing the voice changer to his mask. It would leave a little bulge, but otherwise shouldn't be too noticeable in the dark of the night.

He finished sewing it as he left it to charge.

Izuku plopped down into his bed, ready for sleep. He set his alarm, and then dozed off peacefully.

____

Izuku woke up to his alarm, ready for another night of vigilanting.

He grabbed his shirt and sweatshirt from the dryer as he threw them on. It was a little difficult finagling his arm inside without it hurting, but Izuku managed.

He changed, put his mask on, put his ear piece on, and grabbed his notebook and pen.

Izuku didn't really like carrying his phone around last night, so he found a way to connect his ear piece to the comms with his phone being long distance. It was a nice change from the heavy bouncing in his pocket.

He put his gloves and shoes on, and headed out the door and into the world of heroes and villains.
____

Izuku felt like he had been running for hours, though he knew it had only been around 45 minutes. It was about 1am, and Izuku hoped he could find something he could handle by himself. He didn't want to drag the heroes down anymore.

That was until he heard a familiar voice talking to what seemed like a literal man child.

He recognized Dabi, the guy who had saved him the night before.

Izuku kept watch from the mouth of the alley as nothing was happening immediately.

That was until the other guy, who had some sort of blue hair, grabbed Dabi's arm with 4 fingers.

Izuku watched as Dabi immediately tensed, clearly showing something was going to happen.

He turned on his voice changer and hopped on the comms.

He called Midnight, which was nearest. He knew how Midnight used herself to promote, but she actually worked mostly at night.

“Midnight, we got signs of potential violence. A guy threatening another, seems as if he has a finger activated quirk. The address is ###.”

____

Midnight was starting to freak out as the vigilante she had been told about had managed to get into the comms! That was impressive.

Midnight punched the coordinates into her work phone, and quickly began making her way over.
____

Izuku watched as the blue haired guy put his fifth finger on Dabi's arm. Then, his arm started disintegrating, literally.

Izuku jumped in, using swift movements to make a solid punch on the guy.

The guy didn't seem to be very advanced in combat knowledge, or for that matter, common knowledge either.

The dude staggered up, blood dripping from his nose. He rushed toward Izuku, who realized he could use one of the counterattacks he'd learned today.

He stepped slightly to the side, and put his arm right underneath the guys arm, making sure not to touch his fingertips. That created an opening where Izuku kicked the pressure point in his neck, temporarily paralyzing him.

“Damn you brat! You'll regret this!” The man child yelled.

Dabi was holding his left arm, clearly in pain as blood ran down his arm.

“Thanks kid. Guess you leveled up lots from last night, huh?”

“Yeah! I did, I'm learning a martial arts style!” Izuku stated while Dabi looked confused.
“Oh, my voice? Yeah don't tell anyone but I got a voice changer,” Izuku knew Dabi probably wouldn't tell, considering he was technically a vigilante too.

Izuku realized Midnight was probably on her way there, and would be there soon.

He called Midnight.

“Got it taken care of. Though there is someone who needs medical attention over here.”

____
Damn.

Kid really got it taken care of pretty easily, didn't he?
____

Izuku was trying to keep Dabi calm as he spoke, considering the pain he must be in.

“Guess we're even now, huh?” Izuku chuckled. “Also, how did you even end up in that situation anyway?”

“Well, long story short, this guy was trying to recruit me for something called the ‘league of villains’. Got all pissy when I turned him down.”

Izuku thought for a second before asking a question.

“Do you want to become a villain, Dabi?” Izuku asked with a smile, though it was clear he was most definitely not letting that happen.

“To spite my old man? Yes. Any other reason? No.”

Izuku could understand that in some aspects.

“If your dad is a piece of shit, I understand. Anyone else who's good to you or something, I will personally lecture you for hours about why you shouldn't become a villain. Sound good?”

Izuku wasn't expecting the absolute belly laugh Dabi let out. He was laughing so hard he fell to his knees.

“Would-” Dabi took a second to regain his composure. “Would you believe me if I said my dad is a piece of shit? A flaming piece of shit?” Dabi asked with a chuckle.

“Yeah. When you punctuate the word flaming, that reminds me of Endeavor for some reason. Guys a flaming piece of shit for sure.”

Dabi laughed a little at that last comment. “Yes! You get it!”

“Ugh, he doesn't deserve his hero license or his kids for that matter either,” Izuku scoffed, disgusted with the hero.

“Both of those, absolutely 100% true,” Dabi agreed.

That.. Sounded weird. For some reason, that gave Izuku an odd feeling in his gut.

“Um, vigilante? This is your definition of ‘taken care of’? He's passed out cold,” Midnight walked into the alleyway.

“Oh yeah, sorry about that! Just a side effect of hitting a pressure point. He'll be fine in a few hours.”

“Wait, you successfully hit a pressure point? That's pretty cool, kid,” Midnight praised.

“Really, it's nothing. Anyone could probably do that,” Izuku started frantically waving his hands around.

Midnight called the authorities and some medical staff on standby for Dabi's arm.

“Damn, he really got you good,” Midnight said while using some immediate first aid on Dabi.

Izuku really didn't want to stick around any longer than he had to at this point. His shoulder hurt too.
“Well, I better get going! Have a good night you two!”

“Wait! Kid, what do I call you?” Midnight yelled to the vigilante while he was already running out of the alley.

Izuku thought about it for a second. What did he want to be called by? Izuku.. Never thought about that. So his mouth decided to simply work on its own, uncaring for Izuku's delayed thought process.

“Jasper. You can call me Jasper.”

With that, Izuku ran out of the alley and out into the night.
_____

Izuku found a clock and checked the time. It was about 2:30. If he ran into another incident, he would probably go home after three.

He ran around for a solid 15 minutes before he heard a familiar voice scream.

He immediately ran towards the scream, hesitating when he saw Kaminari being pushed into a wall by two pretty strong looking guys. Izuku wasn't strong enough to save him. He'd be the reason his friend died.

“H-hey guys! We can talk about this, you know!” Kaminari was trying to negotiate his way out, which definitely wasn't working well on the criminals.

Izuku immediately mentally checked who was nearby, immediately giddy when he realized Eraserhead was nearby.

“Hey ‘Raser! Your favorite vigilante here, we've got two guys closing in on a kid. Strength related quirks I think. The coordinates are ###.”

Aizawa sighed before replying, “On my way. 2 minutes out.”

____

Of course as soon as Aizawa was about to clock out and go home, he'd gotten pinged by the new vigilante. He was the talk of the office, not like any new vigilante isn't. Most never stayed around long though.

He started running over, hoping this wouldn't be too much paperwork.

____

Izuku watched as the guys raised what looked like a small pocket knife against Kaminari.

Izuku made half a plan before running in. He couldn't let his friend get hurt! He couldn't be the reason another person died.

Using the element of surprise and stealth, Izuku swiftly grabbed the knife before kicking one of the men in the gut.

Apparently, they were simply strong and didn't have strength quirks because Izuku could see the way the guy rammed into the wall. (He was only a few inches away from it in the first place)

Kaminari took that as his chance to punch the other guy, though it did very little. It did, however, give Izuku an opening where he could correctly use one of the techniques he'd learned, and kicked one of the guys in the side.

The criminal slightly stammered before running towards Izuku again.

Izuku grabbed the guy's arm, and using all his might, Izuku flipped him over. In one swift move, the criminal was now on the ground, heaving as he tried to regain his breath.

The other guy finally regained his composure before he rushed forward into what looked like a right hook.

Izuku dodged to the side as he did, surprised when the guy quickly changed to a right kick.

Izuku quite literally dove out of the way, deciding to roll as he would be able to get up quicker.

Ouch

He definitely needed to learn how to roll properly, but he was glad he didn't dive. Izuku doesn't know how hurt he would've gotten if he'd just rolled.

Luckily, the guy was left unbalanced after the kick, so Izuku was able to swipe his feet out from under him. He'd seen the move done plenty of times by pro heroes.

Izuku quickly jumped on top of the guy before he could try anything.

The other guy was still trying to catch his breath, failing slightly in the meantime. He would recover though.

Izuku rolled the guy over so he was on his stomach. He was so proud of himself! Izuku almost forgot about Kaminari.

“Woah, dude, that was so cool!” Kaminari exclaimed before taking on a more serious note. “You almost remind me of someone but I don't know who,” Kaminari turned to look at Izuku directly. “Wait, do I know you? You seem really familiar,” Kaminari put on a deep, thoughtful face.

Izuku really hoped Kaminari wouldn't figure him out. He really didn't need to drag his first true friend (he hoped) into this. He couldn't risk hurting another person again.

“Umm, I don't know what you're talking about!” Izuku laughed nervously.

“What's your name?” Kaminari asked, hoping to get some insight or general knowledge on this familiar figure.

“Jasper,” yet again, Izuku's mouth didn't wait for his brain to catch up. All at once, Izuku turned to face Kaminari head on, eyes wide like a scared cat.

“Umm, Midoriya?” Kaminari cautiously asked, leaving room for Izuku to refuse.

“I-I totally don't know who this Midoriya guy is!” Izuku exclaimed, trying to make himself sound convincing, even though he knew he didn't.

Kaminari walked over to where Izuku was pinning the guy down and leaned in close.

“Are you sureee?” Kaminari asked while he had his hand on his chin in a thinking kind of way.

Izuku was not used to being this close with someone. Anyone. Especially someone who was sort of his friend. A red blush arose on his cheeks as the unfamiliarness hit Izuku full force. And the unusual proximity.

Izuku really didn't know what Kaminari was doing when he reached toward Izuku, reaching toward his hood. When Kaminari grabbed onto Izuku's hood, Izuku wanted to move the hand out of the way. He wanted to keep his identity secret.

Yet his body did not obey.

“See! Oh, sorry!” Kaminari immediately put Izuku's hood back up. “I.. Shouldn't have done that,” Kaminari admitted. “But seriously, thanks for saving me. I would've been an electrified piece of toast if you hadn't shown up.”

Izuku sighed. “It's.. Fine. Call me Jasper when I'm working okay? But also, how'd you figure me out so quickly??” Izuku was genuinely curious. “Like, how did you know I was familiar??” Izuku asked while he started tying the criminals up.

“I don't know! It just kinda..felt like I knew you somehow??” Kaminari questioned himself. “It was super weird! And then I stupidly reached out and brought your hood down! Sorry, again. Also, you should become a hero! You've definitely got the skills for it!” Kaminari exclaimed, not exactly enjoying how his brain and words were all over the place.

Izuku looked away. “At least I don't have to keep it a secret from you! Also, no, I probably can't be a hero. It's just not in the books for me. A quirkless person can't be a hero. You know that.”

“Dude, you've gotta recognize your own talents!-”

That was the moment Eraser arrived.

“You take them down?” Eraser asked the vigilante, who was on top of one of the guys effectively pinning him down.

Izuku's usual enthusiasm around Eraser jumped back, though it was almost entirely faked. “Yup! I'd say I'm not doing so bad myself. Now sorry, but I'm gonna leave you with more paperwork. See ya!” When he was behind Eraserhead he waved a phone signal and mouthed ‘text me’ to Kaminari, who nodded in response.

Aizawa sighed before calling the police.

“You aren't harmed?” Aizawa asked gruffly while tying the guys up.

“Nope! Thanks to Jasper!” Kaminari enthusiastically said.

“So that's what he calls himself?” Aizawa questioned his last living strand of sanity that clearly wasn't going to survive long.

“Yup! Pretty cool name, right?” Kaminari remembered the piece of green Jasper he'd found earlier that day. It really was as bright and vibrant and pretty as Midoriya's eyes. Especially when they shine in the light.

Had..

Had Midoriya actually named himself after something Kaminari had given him? But Denki wasn't that special. It wouldn't be long before Midoriya got tired of him and moved on.

Kaminari hoped that wouldn't ever happen.

He cherished his newfound (hopefully) friendship with Midoriya.
____

Izuku made his way home, turning off his ear piece and voice changer in the meantime. When he got home, he showered, changed, and went to bed.

Was this what it felt like to have a friend? If so, Izuku really didn't want to lose him.

____

“Awww man! Every single one of you has met the little listener except me!” Yamada yelled across the room.

“Thats because you haven't patrolled in a week. Maybe make an effort before you whine,” Kayama pointed out, definitely mocking Yamada.

Yamada slumped his head into the table and wrapped his arms around his head.

“Yeah bro! You could always take my shift tonight!” Shirakumo mentioned to Yamada.

“I also have patrol tonight, Kumo,” Yamada sulked, ending in a slight whine.

“And yet you want to meet him,” Aizawa sighed, knowing this would get a rise out of his husband.

“Shoooo!” Yamada screeched while half leaning on Aizawa, who made no effort to move him. “Yeah, you're right,” Yamada admitted, still sulking.

“I mean, he's not all that special. Just another vigilante, is all,” Aizawa said while gently playing with Yamada's hair.

“Literally all of you said he looks like a kid! Maybe not as young as our listeners at UA, but a kid no less!”

“I'd say the only thing that surprised me was the fact he recognized all of us. Even Shota!” Shirakumo half-yelped.

“Yeah, I'd agree with Oboro. He recognized me, not many people do,” Aizawa gruffly said.

“You gotta admit the kid’s pretty cute! Though he is kinda small, which does worry me sometimes.”

“Exactly Sho! I want to see what he looks and sounds like! I'm curious!” Yamada screeched, while latching onto Aizawa.

“I don't see a problem here. You want someone to take your shift, yet you want to meet him. Just don't have someone take your shift.” Aizawa logically said.

“That's what I'm doing Sho!”

“Also, sorry to disappoint, but I think the kid has a voice changer of sorts. The first day I saw him he had more of a kids voice, though I'm not sure of age. Then Nemuri told me that last night he sounded more of a mix, and definitely older.” Shirakumo announced.

“That's okay! I mean, I gotta admit that's pretty smart!”

“Yeah, I mean, most Vigilantes don't. And he covers most of his face and hair with a mask and his hood,” Kayama stated.

“You better tell me all about it tomorrow morning!” Shirakumo yelled to Yamada.

“I won't leave a single detail out if I do manage to meet him!” Yamada yelled back.

Shouta was really starting to dislike the constant yelling. It was like pulling on his last string of sanity like a damn guitar.

“Oh, also be aware of your comm, he likes to talk to you through those,” Kayama replied sweetly.

“Wait!? He managed to hack into the comms!? That's mega impressive!”

“Just don't let Nedzu find out, or that kid won't ever see an ounce of daylight again,” Aizawa half-muttered.

“So don't tell Nedzu?” Midnight asked the Quad Squad.

The other three responded with clear answers.

“Most definitely.”

“Yeah!”

“It's most logical.”

They clearly didn't notice the short figure walking into their office.

“Tell me what, Kayama-san?” Nedzu chirped, clearly interested in the conversation.

“Oh nothing much, really!” Kayama let out a nervous laugh.

“No really! Enlighten me, please. I can always look back at the cameras!” Nedzu let out one of those ‘I have something planned’ looks.

Aizawa knew they wouldn't get out of this without telling him. It was either they tell him or the camera tells him. He let out a long sigh before looking at everyone else, who silently agreed.

“This new vigilante has successfully hacked into the comms and basically has full access.”
Aizawa said, looking at the rat-demon.

A spark of glee enlightened Nedzu's eyes.

“How interesting indeed.”

The four could tell he was definitely planning something, after all, who was he if he didn't?

____

Izuku woke up, sore and slightly bruised. Last night he saved both Dabi and Kaminari! That was awesome, and as much as Izuku could be a Debby Downer, he was quite proud of himself. At least Kaminari knows what he is. Maybe he'll leave this morning. It's always your fault everyone leaves. You drive them away.

He got up, showered, changed, ate, and got ready for training. It was a Friday, so luckily Izuku didn't have training tomorrow. He'd still go out as Jasper everyday, and consider that his training.

He was starting to be able to run a little longer, though it wasn't much. However he did feel like he was getting more fit.

He got his backpack and anything else he needed before setting out on his way to the park.

Once he got to the trail opening he started on his way.

Dang.

He really was sore.

Izuku pushed through, only to take breaks when he really needed them.

He sprinted the S shape sprint, and continued jogging on his way.

He told Kaminari that he did go on a run beforehand, but he didn't have to join if he didn't want to.

They agreed to meet at Dagobah, which then they'd do strength training and sparring together.

Now that Izuku thought about it, he didn't even know Kaminari's quirk! He wanted to ask him, but didn't want to go up to him and ask him a million questions. That's weird. It's just your nature, after all.

Though he might ask if Kaminari wanted help with his quirk, because Izuku could definitely help him. Not like Kaminari was incapable! Izuku could just come up with ideas, after all!

Izuku finished his run, walked over to a bench and sat down whilst catching his breath.

“Heyyy Midobro! How are you doing?” Kaminari walked up to him, and leaned his arms against the side of the bench.

Izuku just held a thumbs up, trying to put on a small smile while he did, too out of breath to talk for the moment's notice.

“No, because when I got home, I searched up what you were doing ‘cus I was confused, right? And apparently what you're doing is called vigilantism! Is that what you're doing!?”

Izuku had finally caught his breath by this point, though not fully.

“Yeahhh sorry! I didn't want you to know,” Izuku breathily blurt, earning a confused look from Kaminari.

“Dude, why not?” He asked in an actually sincere tone. “It's pretty dangerous and it's good to have people in your corner. Unless you don't want me in your corner, that is! I mean I don't want to force you to be my friend or anything-” Kaminari was cut off by Izuku.

“No! I didn't want to drag you into it! You want to be a hero and if you were included in stuff like that it wouldn't be good for you-” Kaminari cut Izuku off.

“Nah bro. It's not like I'm doing it myself! I just.. I want you to be safe, that's all.” Kaminari said while slightly turning away and avoiding eye contact. “And it just.. Lessens my worries if I know what's going on. Not that you have to tell me if you don't want to!”

Izuku looked at him with wide eyes. “Do-do you want to know? Also do you, w-want to be friends? Cause I'd like that,” Izuku asked sheepishly.

“Yeah. I would. And I do kinda want to know what my friend is getting himself into. If that isn't too much trouble!” Kaminari put extra emphasis on ‘friend'.

Izuku smiled. Not just the simple fake one he'd been putting on since his mom died. No, this was a genuine, sincere smile. Possibly the first one since his mother died.

“Yeah. I would like that,” Izuku thought it felt weird to call Kaminari his friend, probably because he hasn't had any true friends. Izuku hopes Kaminari’s a true friend.

“Anyways! Let's get back to training, friend,” Izuku automatically softened at the thought. He was friends with someone who didn't care if he was quirkless.

“Wait. Is it alright if I ask what your quirk is? I could plan some stuff with it! It's totally fine if you don't want to tell me thou-” Izuku tried not to be too enthusiastic, though he failed.

“Yeah bro! My quirks Electricity! I can produce electricity and output it, though I can’t really control where it goes. And I short circuit when I use too much,” Kaminari admitted sheepishly.

Izuku had already grabbed his notebook and started writing, unbeknownst to Kaminari.

A thought crossed Izuku's mind. “Oh, you don't mind if I write about it, do you?”

“Nope! You can write all you want about me!” Kaminari winked.

“I can help you with quirk control and upping your voltage amount before you short circuit,” Izuku pointed out.

“Can we work on that on Monday? I'm already exhausted and we haven't even done anything!” Kaminari groaned.

“That's fine! Anyways, wanna work on some more ninjutsu, or just more quirkless sparring?”

“Definitely quirkless sparring! Ninjutsu is nice, but so confusing at times!” Kaminari whined.

The two started with their strength training, then began their quirkless training.

“You've improved a lot since we first started yesterday!” Izuku complimented

Kaminari blushed slightly before turning away. He wasn't very used to people complimenting him. Mostly just people telling him he's annoying, or too sporadic. “Th-thanks, you too.”

After that, the training partners took a few breaks, then finished up.

“Hey! You should so come with me to this cafe!” Kaminari subtly asked Midoriya to hang out.

“Nah, it's fine. I really don't want to be a bother…” Izuku trailed off, mumbling at the end. Kaminari still heard it though.

“Nope.” Kaminari grabbed Izuku's wrists, so Izuku was forced to look him in the eyes. “As my new friend, who doesn't get annoyed when I ramble, I require you to come with me.”

“But-”

Kaminari put his hands on Izuku, and walked a step closer.

Now Izuku still was not used to being this close to anyone. He could admit his cheeks were gaining more red pigment as the seconds ticked by.

“Nope. You aren't being a bother. Actually, it will be a bother if you don't come with me. So, what is it gonna be, Midobro?” Crap. so much for toning it down.

“Ah sorry. I get kinda too excited sometimes. I understand if you don't want to g-” Kaminari solemnly stated.

“Kaminari, do you really want me to go with you?”

“Yes! Though I understand if you don't want t-”

“Then I'll go. I mean, you're kinda the first real friend I've had so I don't really know how to act sometimes either,” Izuku mumbled while rubbing the back of his head.

“Then let's go! I know a cafe about 15 minutes from here!”

Izuku finished packing up all of his stuff and threw his backpack on. The two started walking and talking about a variety of things.

“I can't stay for too long cause I've got to go to school in a half hour, but that should be long enough,” Kaminari mentally did the math, which was most likely wrong.

“That's okay! That means your school starts at around 9ish, right?”

“Yeah! I don't really care about getting there super early. None of my friends really want to listen to my ramblings,” Kaminari replied.

“Kaminari, if they don't want to at least listen to your ramblings, I wouldn't call them your friends.”

Kaminari wanted to test something. Get had a bunch he knew what the answer was.

“But what if you had friends that did that to you?”

Izuku didn't even hesitate before saying. “I probably shouldn't have been as annoying. Simple as that.”

“Midoriya, think about what you said to me, and then about yourself for a second,” He really wished Midoriya would see how great of a person he is. Why won't he realize how much he does for everyone?

“Well, you're not annoying, but I mean, I am most of the time.”

Kaminari stopped walking right there. He would not let his friend talk so poorly about himself.

Izuku turned to look at Kaminari before Kaminari grabbed his shoulders, yet again.

He decided to go for maximum impact.

“Izuku, if you talk about yourself that way ever again I will smack you over the head, okay?”

Did.. Did Kaminari just call Izuku by his first name? Does that mean Kaminari still wants to be his friend even though Izuku's super annoying?

Izuku decided to move past that. If he didn't, Izuku thinks he would malfunction.

“What do you mean?”

“If you talk about yourself so poorly ever again I will smack you! No, even worse, I'll fake flirt with you for the rest of the day!”

Izuku wondered what it would be like if Kaminari fake flirted with him. It would be pretty odd.

“Well do normal friends fake-flirt with each other?” This was a genuine question, as Izuku had never had friends after he was diagnosed.

“Actually, sometimes. I think. It depends on the people.”

“Then I don't have a problem with that, so I will continue saying the truth about myself thank you very much!”

The two continued arguing about it all the way to the cafe, which was about 5 minutes. They had about 15 minutes until Kaminari had to leave, though that was plenty.

Eventually, the subject was dropped, much to Izuku's relief. He didn't want to continue arguing about why he was right.

The two sat down and ordered their drinks, getting them almost immediately after they ordered them.

“Wait, now that I think about it, you haven't mentioned going to school. Where do you go to school?” Kaminari asked.

“Oh I'm home schooled! I do school online, so it's pretty nice!”

“That does sound nice!” Kaminari replied. “Thats why you train so late!” Kaminari could admit he had one of those lightbulb moments.

The two continued having small talk about everyday life, school, and even some of Jasper's activities.

“Dude! That's super impressive! Like, seriously! You hacked into the police cams?” Kaminari made sure to lower his voice at the last part, considering they were in a public place.

“It's not really that much, seriously! Practically anyone could do that!”

“Midoriya, what did I say about talking down about yourself?”

“Oh yeah, I don't really care. Do what you must, but the truth will prevail,” Izuku stated.

They were sitting side by side in a booth, more hidden from the rest of the cafe.

Kaminari leaned into Izuku's side, his face inches away from his ear. “Are you sure about that?” Kaminari softly whispered.

Izuku brightened up like a sunburnt person in the sun.

“Hey!” Izuku turned around to face Kaminari, who had a definite flirty face on. Izuku was just glad it was fake. He probably would've burst out laughing otherwise.

“Hey you can't just say that!” Izuku sputtered. “And don't you have to leave for school anyway!?”

Kaminari checked the time, disappointed to see he had to leave his friend.

“Guess I do,” He put on another fake flirty face while looking at Izuku. “We'll just have to hang out again sometime this weekend. I know you can't resist.” Kaminari chuckled before walking away.

Izuku sat there for probably 10 minutes, attempting to process what happened. He used the money Kaminari left for his drink and paid for his own.

Izuku left, walking back to his apartment.

Damn, maybe they would have to hang out this weekend. Maybe Izuku could invite him over to his apartment, and tell him the truth about Mikumo.

Izuku didn't want to let Kaminari go. His first friend. He wouldn't let anything happen if he could help it.

Chapter Text

Izuku had finished up his school work for the day. His mind was still in a loop thinking about what Kaminari had said earlier that day.

Izuku was wondering if he wanted to invite him over this weekend or not. He could maybe tell him about Mikumo, though he didn't want Kaminari to think less of him or anything. Or for him to absolutely hate him, yell at him, or anything normal people would hear when learning your friend has a fake identity.

Ugh. It's so confusing to think about.

Well, Izuku still had some free time before he had to work. He might as well do something fun.

Izuku's new favorite thing to do in his free time was A) hacking into random things to ‘test’ his hacking skills. B) hack into the police station and watch Eraserhead have fun with all the paperwork Izuku would leave him.

Though Izuku had only hacked into the police station once, Izuku knew Aizawa wouldn't be there if he still had a class. So he concluded that Aizawa must have expelled his class. There weren't many other possibilities.

Izuku hacked into the police cams and noticed Aizawa in one of his two usual spots. He was taking a nap in his usual yellow sleeping bag.

Izuku peacefully watched around the station, feeling unhappy when he didn't find anything of interest.

He wondered if he could hack into anywhere more secure, and pondered where that could be.

I mean, he had a few ideas, but really didn't want to intrude on the place. I mean, knowing what place he had In mind, Izuku ouldn't make it out in one piece.

Of course Nedzu would have top-notch security. I mean, they were one of the best hero schools in Japan.

Eh, Izuku could still try. I mean, if he successfully hacked into the cams his computer is untraceable.

And if he didn't, his computer was still untraceable. Though knowing Nedzu, you never knew what you were getting yourself into.

Izuku would take his chances.

He started hacking into UA, careful not to let off any of the tripwires Nedzu was sure to have planted.

After almost 52 minutes, he successfully hacked into the cams. A grin appeared on Izuku's face at the knowledge that he was getting better and better at this. He switched through some of the cams, not knowing which one to keep an eye on.

He switched through them all until he switched to the teachers lounge. It wasn't anything special by any means, but it was nice enough for the teachers.

He saw Present Mic, (Present Mic!!!), Loudcloud, and Midnight chilling and talking while grading papers. Izuku didn't know if he was able to turn the audio on or not, but decided to try anyway.

After about 5 minutes, he finally found the toggle allowing him to turn the audio on.

He caught a part of what Present Mic said.

“-eah! I still can't believe Sho expelled his entire class! I liked some of those kids!”

Who was ‘Sho’? He knew Eraser might've expelled his entire class, but he didn't know his full name. He knew his last name was Aizawa, and that was about it.

“Yeah! Though I do understand why he did though. I've gotta admit some of those kids had zero potential, though I still feel bad,”
Loudcloud mentioned.

“Yeah! I think after only one kid passed the tests, he was just kinda done with the class. Especially after he already expelled half of them at the beginning of the school year,” Midnight chimed in.

Izuku knew Midnight and Present Mics full names, though he would never purposely tell anyone. Probably because the info was supposed to be private, but Izuku still found out anyway.

Wait. Midnight talked about how only one kid passed the tests. Aizawa had talked about how he only had one student pass the tests he made.

Izuku started to think Present Mic, Eraser, Midnight, and Loudcloud were closer than most people thought.

But, he didn't think Eraser would have the first name of Sho. Perhaps it could be a nickname of sorts? Izuku started to wonder about the relationship between Present Mic and Aizawa as he continued listening.

That was until Izuku's eye caught the sparkling metal on Present Mic's left hand. Now, this wouldn't be uncommon, considering a lot of heroes wear rings in their hero costume. Though Izuku didn't think this was a mere coincidence, especially because the ring was placed on his ring finger.

Izuku quickly switched tabs to the cams at the police station, hoping Aizawa was done with his nap. He found Aizawa overlooking paper work at his desk.

Izuku searched for it, and finally found what he was looking for.

There was no way this was just a coincidence.

A metal ring, identical to Present Mics’ hanging around a necklace chain.

Huh. Izuku actually found actual black mail for not only Aizawa, but also Present Mic. (Though he would never blackmail Present Mic if he had the chance).

Now this, this was interesting.

Izuku realized the time and closed his computer. Izuku got ready for work, making sure to eat something before he left.

_____

Huh. This was definitely intriguing indeed!

There had been few people who had successfully hacked UA in the past, all of them before Nedzu’s time, but now it seemed this hacker upped their game.

Nedzu wondered who had successfully hacked into UA, but not taken anything - no data, training plans, nothing.

Whoever it was had only hacked into the cameras. Nothing more.

Nedzu tried to trace the device, like he had done with all of the previously failed attempts. He found every single person who had hacked into UAs system, but he could not this time.

Whoever this person was, Nedzu definitely wanted to meet them.
_____

Izuku had just finished his shift, and was headed home. He really wanted to go straight to bed before a night of vigilanting.

He was really starting to get the hang of it! Though Izuku had started realizing in the few days he had been out, he only really ran into people who either didn't use their quirks, had mental quirks, or didn't know how to fight very well.

I mean, Izuku wasn't complaining! He would rather run into a fight he could win rather than not.
A distant thought plagues his mind. What if he runs into a fight he can't win? Don't be silly. You won't survive long enough for that.

Izuku got ready for bed and fell asleep the moment he hit his mattress.

Izuku woke up at 12 to his alarm, actually feeling well rested. He changed into his usual vigilante outfit and grabbed his notebook.

Izuku knew he definitely needed to find some weapons soon, though he really didn't want to buy them. That would be too easy to trace back to him. He could always search for some at Dagobah beach.

That was when Izuku checked his phone, and was surprised to see a text from Kaminari.

Kaminari -12:25am
_______
Be safe! I texted now cus I didnt really know when you go out lol

It definitely made Izuku feel nice, though he felt bad for making him stay up this late.

12:26am - Midoriya
______
Thank you! Though you really don't have to stay up late to text me!

Kaminari - 12:26am
_______
Nah bro, I'm up this late anyways! There's quite literally no reason for me not to text you

12:27 - Midoriya
_____
Thank you!

Kaminari - 12:27am
_______
No problem! Also you better text me when you get back.

12:28am - Midoriya
_______

It's fine! I don't really want to bother you anyways!

Izuku didn't really know where this conversation was going.

Kaminari - 12:28am
_______
Midoriya, it will be a bother if you don't text me. I will probably not get to sleep if you don't text me

Izuku knew he couldn't reason with that.

12:29am - Midoriya
_______
Fine! But tell me if I'm being annoying and I'll stop. Anyways I have to go, byeee!

Kaminari - 12:29
_______
Byeeee! Be safe

With that, Izuku closed his phone and put it down. Luckily he didn't need to take it with him anymore, because it really was just extra weight in his pockets.

He put his mask, shoes, and gloves on and walked out the door.

_____

Izuku had been patrolling and running off and on for what felt like an hour. He checked the time in a local building, surprised that it had actually been an hour.

Izuku wondered how much more effective he would be if he was able to run on the roofs. He'd be able to see what's going on so much better. He'd need to learn how to jump far enough to get over the alleyways though.

He quickly tucked that thought away for later as he heard a scream from a local convenience store. Izuku looked into the store from a window, seeing two guys threatening a few people at gunpoint. Oh.

Izuku quickly called the comms, unsure of who was closest.

“Theres a robbery at ### convenience store. I'm unsure of who's closest, but there's people being held at gunpoint. I'll do what I can,” Izuku hung up the call, not having enough time to wait for a response.

He watched carefully, knowing it could end badly if he just jumped in.

One of the two guys openly used his quirk, which was perfect for Izuku. The man could make blades from his hands anywhere from 1 inch long, to about a foot long.

The blades definitely held some sort of fire or heat on them, seeing as he could melt through anything with them. Maybe it created heat when he made them?

The other one turned slightly, just enough so Izuku could see his eyes. They looked like googly eyes to be honest. Izuku assumed they allowed him better vision or something of the sorts.

Izuku knew he probably couldn't win in a fight against them, maybe one of them at best.

Izuku watched as Googly Eyes was about to pull the trigger. His body moved on its own, luckily still following the plan he made earlier.

Izuku kicked the gun out of the first one's hands, then using the surprise from the blade guy, he managed to kick the gun out of the way as well.

He just had to keep the attention on him as either the hostages escaped, or a pro showed up. Either way would work.

Izuky ran backwards so he could get a clear view of the two.

He gestured to the others to run.

Most of them stood there for a few moments before getting the idea and leaving. Now there was no one in the way to get hurt.

All Izuku had to do was keep their attention on him while waiting for a hero to arrive. That was much easier said than done.

Izuku was glad he watched some Capoeira videos, because they just kept going back and forth.

Izuku mostly dodged while the two guys tried to get a solid hit on him. They weren't very good at the technical aspects of combat, which Izuku was forever grateful for.

This was definitely one perk of running every single night and morning. You start to gain stamina and speed, which is what Izuku was solely relying on at this point.

These guys were brutes, so Izuku really didn't want to test his chances by landing a hit on them.

Izuku still wasn't very strong, and he couldn't really kick very well yet. He mainly relied on punches though, considering he had his metal gloves.

The three continued going back and forth in a little dance of sorts until a hero did actually arrive.

Izuku was ready to sing the heroes' praises.

Rocklock quickly locked the guys while he tied them up.

“Nice job,” Rocklock stated. Vigilantes were fine in his book, but he really didn't like kids running around and acting like heroes. Hopefully this vigilante wasn't a kid.

Izuku practically beamed at the praise. He didn't really deserve it after all.

“Thanks!” Izuku started writing down how Rocklock took them out in his notebook, the different quirk techniques, etc.

“What are you doing?” Rocklock was genuinely curious and confused as to what this vigilante was doing.

“Ehheh, just um, taking notes, is all,” Izuku trailed off at the end. He knew once the heroes found out, they probably wouldn't look in his direction much longer. They'd find it weird. It was bound to happen one way or another.

I mean, who didn't?

“Wait, on me or these guys?” Rocklock asked. He'd never experienced a kid who takes notes on heroes. Except for hero students, who were forced to do so. That was actually kind of impressive.

“Ummm. I plead the fifth?” Izuku asked
sheepishly.

Of course the kid would know even American laws. He seemed pretty smart if Rocklock was being honest.

“Kid, I don't care if you take notes. Just be careful if you do, and don't let the wrong people get a hold of them,” Rocklock would've told the kid that it was a little surprising, but he really didn't want to encourage him. Encouraging vigilantes is a bad idea.

Izuku knew this was the closest thing he would get to praise or compliments from Rocklock.

He finished writing in his notebook, considering there wasn't too much to write about.

He tucked it away in his sweatshirt and continued on his merry way.

Running around definitely tired Izuku out, but in a good way. Izuku had about 20 minutes left with his patrol as he heard a scream coming from an alley.

He made his way to the mouth of the alley, making sure not to be too loud while assessing the situation.

This time it was a woman who looked to be in her 20s.

There were no obvious signs of her quirk, so Izuku was blind in that region.

The victim was crying on the ground. He was tied up with rope while the woman brought a metal stick over his head.

Izuku checked who was closest, and was honestly looking forward to it when he remembered Present Mic was closest.

He called over to Present Mic individually. This shouldn't need more than one hero.

“Present Mic? You're closest and there's a woman over here physically assaulting a kid. No obvious signs of a quirk. The address is ### 8th street.” He tried to whisper quietly, but apparently not.

He hung up the call, and focused on the woman who was staring directly at him.

Oh.

Then, she charged.

Izuku was able to move under and past her, so they weren't fighting directly in the street.

No matter what Izuku did, she was always two steps ahead.

Izuku had gotten a few hits in, and was starting to wonder what her quirk was. Was it something that aided her with combat and knowing what her opponent's next move was?

At this point, his sole advantage was unpredictability. The more he surprised even himself with his moves, the more he out maneuvered her.

That was until the lady started talking to him, in a maniacal voice of course.

“You know, you're not too bad! First guy I've fought that actually holds their own against my quirk!”

Izuku hoped she'd take the bait.

“Really? What even is your quirk? I could write all about it and help you improve it!”

“My quirk is already to its fullest potential, kid! I can hear almost anything you know! I heard you when you first walked to the mouth of the alley! I wondered what you'd do until you talked into that little comm of yours! I can hear your movements and the air before you even do anything!”

Okay, Izuku could work with this. Present Much could definitely work with this.

Alright, so she could predict his movements based on the sound of the air and stuff. Then Izuku would just have to make sure she couldn't do that.

That was the plan until she completely over powered him and kicked him into the brick wall. Great.

Ouch. That would leave some bruises.

Izuku slowly got up, acting dramatically as he did. Maybe she'd think he couldn't fight to his full potential. I mean, he couldn't, but his adrenaline says otherwise.

That was actually the perfect time to drag something out, as Present Mic arrived. She was no match for the voice hero, considering his direct counterattack for her quirk. It was perfect, really.

Present Mic was able to yell with barely any volume before she was on the ground, hand over her ears.

As much as Izuku didn't like villains, he couldn't help but feel bad for some of them.

Izuku took out his notebook and started writing notes on Present Mic's strategy to quickly subdue her. Again, there wasn't much, but Izuku was hungry for anything.

After Present Mic tied her up and untied the kid, he came over to Izuku.

“Listener! That was a pretty nasty kick! You good?”

As much as Izuku knew most people would call him Jasper, the pros would probably never stop calling him ‘kid’, or in Mic's case, ‘listener’.

Izuku completely disregarded Present Mic's worries as he continued to write in his notebook.

He didn't even realize he was mumbling, but apparently he was.

“Present Mic had to have known her quirk as he toned his volume down a lot more than normal. Then again we are in an alleyway. He could've also known that move would've completely disabled her, and so used it. It's pretty effective-...” Izuku finished rambling and writing as he realized Present Mic was standing right in front of him.

“Listener? Are you taking notes on me and the fight?” Present Mic asked, though he sounded almost surprised, but in a good way.

“Oh yeah… sorry! I can rip the page out if you want! I know it's kinda creepy and-”

Izuku was cut off.

“Listener, I wish my students would do that! That's impressive! Is it a hobby of yours?” Present Mic asked, excited he finally got to meet this vigilante.

Izuku looked at him in complete astonishment. The Present Mic wished his students did this. What!??? That makes no sense!!!

Present Mic asked as the kid went from almost excited, to deflating.

“No really, it's fine! You don't have to lie to me about it! I mean everyone thinks they're just creepy stalker notes and-”

Present Mic looked at Izuku with his most determined, yet still soft look.

“Little listener, if anyone says they think notes on heroes are creepy, they clearly need their heads checked. I think they're nice, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!” Present Mic actually wanted to go beat some kids up, but his husband would probably beat him to it.

Or, even worse, make him sleep on the couch! Ugh, Hizashi could not let that happen again. Last time that happened, it had been for one week. That week had been absolute hell.

Izuku thought he might actually cry, but made sure to keep the tears in.

“You really think so?” Izuku asked in a tone that sounded way more grounded than he felt.

“Yes! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!” Present Mic worked on properly tying the villain up, making sure to keep his eyes mostly on Jasper

Izuku decided to change the subject, because he might actually cry if he didn't. He looked at Present Mic's hand, and remembered his hypothesis he made earlier.

A sly smile slithered its way into existence, though Present Mic couldn't see it.

His tone matched his facial expressions.

“Hey Present Mic. That's a really pretty ring! It looks like a wedding ring. Hmm, I wonder what that could mean,” Izuku dumfoundedly asked.

While Present Mic was still shocked from that comment, Izuku ran off and back to his apartment.
____

Kaminari had been waiting for a text from Midoriya for almost 3 hours.

Did Midoriya really patrol that long? I mean, Kaminari knew the heroes did, but Midoriya?

Alright fine, Kaminari would admit it. He was worried about his friend. Probably even more so than his other ‘friends’. Midoriya was the first one who didn't find his personality ‘annoying’ or ‘overstimulating’. He couldn't really help it at times!

And he really wanted to help his friend overcome his own issues. I mean, he never thought that anything he did was impressive!

He always said, ‘Really, anyone else could do this.’

Like what!??

Kaminari could not have started moving the trash on Dagobah by himself. He could not have ever become a vigilante, considering he'd probably short circuit. Kaminari could not teach himself how to fight off tutorial videos. Like, who watches tutorials and successfully does exactly what the video says? Definitely not Kaminari!

Izuku even says he analyses quirks! Like, Kaminari could definitely not do that. Especially while quirkless! Kaminari didn't really know anyone quirkless before Midoriya, so he didn't really know how to react around and about them.

But he thought it was hella impressive that Midoriya did all of that without a tool of sorts!

Kaminari was really starting to worry about his friend until he got a notification from him.

Thank goodness he's okay! Okay, maybe he worried more than he had too, but that's what friends do, right?

Midoriya - 3:27am
_______
sorry! I forgot to text you before I got ready for bed!

3:27am - Kaminari
_______
No worries dude! Just glad you're alright!
You didn't get hurt, did you?

Midoriya - 3:28 am
_______
nope! I did get kicked like 5 times though but I'm fine. It's really nothing

3:28 am - Kaminari
_______
dude! You said you didn't get hurt and that qualifies as getting hurt! Are you alright?

Midoriya - 3:29am
_______
yup! I put some bruise cream on them. I did have a little trouble with my back though

3:29am - Kaminari
_______
dude! You got kicked in the back! That had to be mega painful! You sure you're alright? I can go over to your house if you want

Midoriya - 3:31 am
_______
no! I'm fine, really! I don't want to bother you at all! Really, it's not a big deal! And it's not like I was kicked in the back, I was kicked and I flung onto my back. Not as bad

3:32 am - Kaminari
_______
That's even worse! If I knew where you lived
I would go over there right now, seriously.
Like, it would be a bother if I didn't

Midoriya - 3:33am
________
Wait, really? Maybe we can hangout tomorrow and you can see how I'm completely fine. And then maybe I can show you my place

3:34 am - Kaminari
________
That would be awesome! Though
maybe in the afternoon since
I like to sleep in a lot lol

Midoriya - 3:35 am
_______
That's totally fine! We can meet at
Dagobah since we both know where it is

3:36am - Kaminari
_______
That works! I'll see you at 3?
How does that sound?

Midoriya - 3:36 am
_______
yeah! That definitely works! See you then! Anyway, goodnight see you tomorrow!

3:37 am - Kaminari
_______
Goodnight! Sleep tight and see you tomorrow!

With that, both of them put their phones down and went to bed. Kaminari was peaceful now that he knew his friend was alright.

Izuku was peaceful with the fact that maybe Present Mic did actually believe in what he said, and wasn't just lying. Also from the fact that maybe Izuku finally had a friend that maybe cared about him.
____

Hizashi had been in some sort of daze ever since Jasper had basically told him he knew he was married.

Only the quad squad, Nedzu, Recovery Girl, and Tensei knew about their marriage. Oh, don't forget the 4 cats they have!

Hizashi had gotten back from patrol, and Shouta immediately knew something was wrong.

“Okay, Zashi, what's wrong? You've been spacing out,” Shouta asked, making sure to talk the slightest bit more gently. “Please don't tell me this is about Jasper,” Shouta grumbled while stuffing his head in his hands.

Hizashi finally got out of whatever daze he had been in previously.

“Okay, this is going to sound weird, but I think the listener knows we're married. Or at least the fact I'm married,” Hizashi said, knowing he probably couldn't keep it from his husband even if he tried.

Shouta looked surprised, but not shocked.

“What did he say?”

“He said something similar to, “pretty ring you got there. Looks like a wedding ring.” Before getting some mischievous look in his eyes. I don't think that was what he said exactly, but close enough. If he didn't have a mask on I could've sworn he was grinning,” Hizashi word-vomited with a sigh.

“So he didn't mention me or a partner at all?” Shouta asked.

“Nope. Just that. Or something.”

Shouta sighed, “I don't even know why I can see him doing that. I've met him once.”

Hizashi laughed, lightening the mood overall.

“I mean, so long as he doesn't tell anyone, it's fine for now,” Shouta said. I mean, yes it wasn't preferable to have a kid know something like that. But if their estimates were correct on his age (17-19) then he should know better.

Shouta doesn't know why he has a sinking feeling they were wrong regarding that estimate.

“I'll try to find out more without giving anything away if I see him next time,” Aizawa suggested, knowing it would help make his husband feel better.

“Thanks Sho. You're the best.”

_____

Ugh. What time was it? Izuku had no idea. When figuring out his training he decided that weekends should be spent resting and focusing on vigilante work. Maybe he could find some weapons to fight with this weekend.

Izuku checked the clock, not surprised to see that it was 9am. His body was used to not getting much sleep, though it probably wasn't good for him.

Kaminari said that 3 worked for him, and Izuku agreed. They would meet at Dagobah, since they both knew where it was.

Izuku dragged himself out of bed, grabbing some food as he did. Some peanut butter toast, considering it kept him full for a while.

Izuku ate pretty slowly, considering he had no rush to be in. He basked in the glory of the morning, realizing he missed the feeling of waking up for training even though he had only started it that week.

Izuku was already starting to see improvements, as his speed and stamina was improving rapidly.

His strength was slowly getting better, though he didn't think he was seeing any immediate improvements. Izuku was surprised he was seeing any improvements at all though, so he was grateful.

Izuku wondered what he wanted to do until he hung out with Kaminari. He took this evening off because of his plans with Kaminari.

I mean, he did need some weapons for fighting. Early on, just his skills were effective enough, but now he really needed to up his game.

Izuku wondered what weapons he'd want, though he wouldn't want to spend money on them.

He would want something effective, sturdy, but also compactable. Maybe something small, but accurate.

Izuku could find some metal pipes and fix them up so that they're compactable. But he did still want something small and accurate. Like something he could throw.

Izuku hopped on his computer and searched it up.

He did find what he was looking for though.

Ninja stars.

They could be small, and they would be pretty half-decent for long distances. Izuku could easily make them from different scrap metal on the beach. There was plenty of it too.

He might not get them back each time, so it was good to have a lot. He would however, have to find a way to store them in his hoodie or a belt somehow. He could probably sew something together.

Izuku decided to go on a little walk over to Dagobah with a different bag after getting ready for the day. He started the walk over to the crowded beach, thinking about different designs.

Izuku was able to build a variety of different gadgets, though he never had a reason to. It was another hobby of his including analysis. He had gotten into it when he was little, starting off as small things.

Izuku arrived at Dagobah, happy to see the, albeit small, amount of progress on the beach.

He started looking around for any type of metal he could bend and weld into a ninja star.

He definitely found some of what he was looking for. Izuku found a lot of aluminum, copper, and iron, which according to the internet, was perfect for ninja stars. He could bend this metal, unlike most.

Izuku was looking around when he spotted the other thing he thought about. Some metal pipes.

He needed some parts for it, which he could make if he found the right pieces and such. Considering the sheer amount of junk here, there had to be at least some of the stuff Izuku needs.

Izuku looked around the entire beach for about an hour, happy he found what he needed.

Izuku made his way home, surprised when he saw it was already 12pm.

Izuku began bending the metal into stars, happy he got the result he wanted. He successfully made 11 basic shaped ninja stars. Though they were small, they were exactly what Izuku was looking for.

Surprisingly, that didn't take as long as he thought it would. Izuku still had enough time to start on the contractible metal pipes. The idea was that they were 4 inches long until you pressed a button on them. Then they would return to the normal 2 feet they were. This would definitely help with storing them when going places.

Izuku was able to get started on them, though was kinda sad in one way when he checked the time and saw it was time to leave. However, he was excited to see Kaminari.

Izuku barely even realized he hadn't had lunch, though he didn't really want it anyway.

He grabbed his phone, his wallet, and began his journey to the beach.
____

Kaminari had gotten to the beach 10 minutes early. For him, it was the only way to avoid being late. He left on time? He still arrived late.

He was happy however, to hang out with Midoriya. He was the first genuine friend he had, and Kaminari was grateful for that.

____

Izuku arrived at Dagobah, seeing Kaminari patiently waiting for him.

Izuku couldn't help himself, and ran forward.

“Kaminari!!!”

Kaminari's face immediately brightened as his eyes laid upon Izuku.

“Hey dude!! How you doing!?” Kaminari yelled across the beach while also running towards Izuku.

“I'm good!!! How are you?” Izuku forgot how sore he was, and visibly winced when he ran wrong. His back still kinda hurts after getting thrown into a brick wall yesterday.

“No, you're clearly not! Is there anything I can do to help?” Kaminari asked as the two finally caught up to each other.

“Nah, it's fine. I'm probably just overreacting anyway,” Izuku said as nonchalantly as he could.

“I wish you'd take better care of yourself,” Kaminari huffed. Okay, he was worried for his friend, alright? He was worried about him constantly going out and risking himself.

Izuku looked at Kaminari in astonishment for a good 30 seconds.

“Umm you good?”

“Oh sorry! It's just,” Izuku scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Nobodys ever really cared like that for me before-” before Inko died. “Before my mom passed,” It was a tough topic, but he felt Kaminari deserved to know.

“Awh dude, I'm so sorry!” Kaminari embraced Izuku in a hug, which Izuku hadn't felt the comfort of in years.

He gratefully accepted the hug, melting into Kaminari's embrace.

“D-do you live with your dad then?” Kaminari didn't want to ask the wrong question, but he was pretty curious. The two broke the hug and separated. “You don't have to answer it if you don't want to! Sorry if its a sore subject I shouldn't have asked-”

“Kaminari, seriously, it's fine! And that's another reason I wanted to meet up today.” The two started walking towards the cafe they visited the previous day.

“I honestly really don't know how to say this. But it does also have to do with my parents, ” Izuku half-chuckled.

Kaminari looked uncomfortable. “Are you sure you're comfortable talking about this? I mean, you really don't have to!”

“Ive gotten over it a long time ago. It's fine, really!” Izuku responded.

“Alright. If you're sure.”

Izuku put his hands in his pockets as he and Kaminari walked side by side.

“To be honest, my dad left the moment I was diagnosed. I hardly even remember him now. Don't care for the guy. Then my mom died of a villain attack,” Izuku decided to let Kaminari digest that.

“I'm sorry about that.”

“Kaminari, I can tell you want to ask a question. You can ask it.”

Kaminari bit his lip before answering, “If you don't mind me asking, who do you live with now?”

“Thats where I have to swear you to secrecy,”
Izuku stopped and looked at Kaminari with an intense look.

“I promise I won't tell! No matter how bad it is!” Kaminari exclaimed, waving his arms around.

Izuku's sweet look returned. “Good! Anyway, I went in and out of foster homes. When I turned 13, they told me they were gonna put me in an orphanage.”

“That sucks Midobro,” Kaminari really didn't know how to respond.

“Thats when I got pretty bold. I spent all of my free time fabricating a completely fake identity.”

“You're pulling my leg, right?” Kaminari asked.

“Nope! I bought some stuff to change my appearance temporarily. I was later successful in adopting myself with said fake identity. Still don't know how it worked, but they bought it. Probably wanted me gone if I'm being honest,” Izuku chuckled at the thought.

I mean, in all honesty Izuku thought it was funny.

Kaminari just stood there in total and utter shock at what he just heard.

“Wait. So you've been living alone ever since!?”

“Yup. I don't know how, but I managed to get a pretty nice and cheap apartment. 2 bed one bath,” Izuku replied. He never thought it was anything to flaunt, but it was nice.

“Wait, so what's your fake identity? And you're seriously not pulling my leg!?” Kaminari asked. He felt like his friend was definitely joshing with him.

The two arrived at the cafe, and found a nice place to sit down.

“Nope, I'm seriously not pulling your leg. I can pull out my fake ID if you want,” Izuku suggested.

“Yeah, that's actually kinda cool! Especially since you live in your own apartment! Though it must be lonely living by yourself sometimes.”

The two ordered their drinks before resuming their conversation.

“Yeah, it can be lonely sometimes. But I met you! And besides, I love talking to the heroes at night! But I especially love messing with Eraser.”

Kaminari looked confused for a little bit.
“Who's Eraser? I've never heard of him.”

“Oh yeah! His full hero name is Eraserhead! I'd expect you wouldn't have heard of him, considering he's an underground pro-hero and all!”

Izuku could go on about him for ages, though he probably shouldn't ramble too much. Kaminari might think he's annoying.

This made Kaminari look even more confused.

“What's an underground pro-hero?” Kaminari asked sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head.

“Oh sorry, I didn't specify! An underground pro-hero is a hero who avoids the spotlight, and focuses more on the silent takedowns, more nighttime stuff, undercover work and information gathering! They often use more stealth, intelligence, and surprise! They do more of the ‘dirty work’ as more people call it. Ah sorry, am I rambling too much?” Izuku quickly digressed.

“No no! That actually helped me get the full picture! Thank you,” Kaminari quickly reassured his friend, not wanting Midoriya to further crumble in on himself. “I guess I never thought about that type of work! I mean, someone's gotta do it, right?” Kaminari chuckled.

“Yeah! Some of it is super interesting too! Though don't get me into it, or I'll be rambling for the entirety of today,” Izuku sighed as he ended his sentence. He knew how risky it was to get him started on things like that. He would never stop talking about it.

“Dude, me too! There's some stuff you don't want to ask me about, or I'll be stuck talking about it all day long!” Kaminari cheerfully replied, happy someone could relate with him.

The two continued small talk about different hobbies, interests, etc.

“Wait, you can build support stuff!? That's mega cool!”

“It's really not much. I mean an-”

Izuku was cut off by a steaming Kaminari putting a finger on his lips.

“Don't you say another word about how “Oh anyone could do this, really!” My guy, I could not do a fraction of the stuff you can do! Stop talking so low about yourself!

Kaminari took his finger away, hmphing and crossing his arms as he did.

“Fine! Fine! But anyway, I'm building some stuff right now. We can go to my apartment and you can take a look if you want.”

“Oo sure! Then I can see where the infamous Jasper lives,” Kaminari put on a sly grin, probably trying to fake flirt. (Izuku assumes he does this with everybody)

“Let me lead the way then, oh so wise one,” A mirroring expression on Izuku's face was enough to shut Kaminari up.

The two walked to Izuku's apartment.

“Wait, this is actually really nice considering the condition of the outside!” Kaminari said.

“I know right!? That's what I said! Anyway, this way.”

Izuku led them to the room where he kept his support, vigilante, and other miscellaneous stuff.

He kept a table there for working on things.

The two talked for a while.

When they got bored of that Izuku suggested the grand idea.

“Wait!?? You can hack into UAs and the police stations cameras!? That is hella impressive, you've gotta show me!”

Izuku opened his computer to the two tabs he had opened, and watched as Kaminari's face went from shock, to impressed, to utmost respect.

“Midobro!” Kaminari looked half to happy and proud tears. “I have utmost respect for you and your abilities. They're seriously top tier!”

Izuku and Kaminari switched between the UA comms and the police comms, wondering if anything exciting would happen on a Saturday.

Izuku saw a blur of yellow, and knew he had to show Kaminari.

“Kaminari, meet Eraserhead. Who ironically sleeps in a yellow sleeping bag whenever he has extra time.”

Kaminari burst out in laughter as he watched Eraser head make his way into his office with a bright yellow sleeping bag.

“That's absolute gold! Who knew a hero-” Kaminari laughed even more. “-would sleep on the job, in a yellow sleeping bag!”

The two laughed about it for a while before deciding to watch a movie in Izuku's living room.

He kept a TV in his living room over his bedroom. It was a pretty cheap tv, but worked nonetheless.

“Soo what do you wanna watch? These are the disks I have.” Izuku pointed to a small stack of DVDs.

“What's this one about? Looks pretty good.” Kaminari asked.

“Oh that one? It's called the Prince of Egypt. It's a pre-quirk animated movie! Although it is religious you can set that aside from the movie! It's really good!”

“Let's watch it!” Kaminari said enthusiastically.

The two made their way to the one single couch Izuku had. On both sides, it had a button you press to bring out a foot rest and to lean back. It was pretty nice when Izuku had someone over.

Though Kaminari was the first person he had over.
_____

The two must've fallen asleep somehow while watching the movie. The tv was now on a screen saver, and Kaminari noted how it was now 1:34 in the morning.

“Midoriya, wake up! Wake up!” Kaminari half yelled while trying to wake Izuku up.

Izuku woke up just enough to register the situation.

“Midoriya, is it okay if I spend the night? It's pretty late, and my parents don't really care. Is it okay with you?”

Izuku, still groggy, said, “Yeah that's fine. Just go back to bed,” He kept his eyes mostly shut while Kaminari went and turned the tv off.

Sensing discomfort, Izuku mentioned. “Blankets in the hall closet. Get one for us both please,” Izuku rolled around, still laced with sleep.

Kaminari grabbed one for the both of them, making sure to drape one over his friend.
He honestly thought Izuku fell back asleep.

Until Izuku spoke, definitely still laced with sleep and fatigue.

“Thanks for being my friend, Denks,” Izuku rolled around on his spot on the couch, pushing his face into the other side of the couch.

Kaminari was surprised at the nickname, but quickly softened to it.

“Thanks for being nice to me, and being my friend, Izuku.”

Izuku almost missed it by the way he was half-asleep, but he still heard it.

“Thank you,” Izuku said gently, choosing that moment to drift back to sleep.

With that, Kaminari curled up on the couch, and fell asleep.

Chapter Text

Awgh, what time was it? Izuku clearly didn't know. He groaned when he remembered he fell asleep on the couch with Kaminari a square over.

He saw the light pouring in through the curtains, so it had to be after 6. Though it looked more like it was around 9.

Sure enough, Izuku checked the time and saw it was 9. Shoot! He forgot to set an alarm to wake up last night! Oh well, he'll have to run or something today.

Izuku saw Kaminari's still slumbering figure, and Izuku didn't really think he'd wake up anytime soon.

Groaning, Izuku woke up and went to the bathroom to change and get ready for the day.

After that, he really didn't know what to do.

I mean, he was kinda hungry so he could make something for both of them. He had some pancake mix, and pancakes weren't really too hard to make. Izuku got going on them, taking about 10 minutes to make the batter.

Izuku decided to make some plain and some chocolate chip. Finishing up with the batter, Izuku grabbed a pan and sprayed some oil on it.

Kaminari groaned before opening his eyes;they did take a few minutes to adjust.

“W-what time is it?” Kaminari mumbled, mouth opening involuntarily due to a yawn.

“It is about 9:38! Rise and shine sleepy head!”

“It's too early for this!!! I'm going back to bed!” Kaminari grumbled while rolling over and stuffing a pillow over his head.

Izuku couldn't really think of a way to get him to stay up, other than using food of course.

“Awh! But then you'll miss the delicious pancakes I'm making!” Izuku whined.

Kaminari sat straight up on the couch, hair a literal rat's nest.

“What. Kind?” Kaminari dangerously asked.

“Plain and chocolate chip!” Izuku yelled back smugly.

“Nope I'm up!” Kaminari said while yawning. “Wheres your bathroom though?” You could tell he was still half asleep.

“Down that hall, to the right,” Izuku pointed down a hallway.

Though Izuku really didn't plan on having Kaminari over for the night, it was fine. I mean, even he fell asleep watching the movie. He couldn't blame Kaminari for doing the same.

Izuku started cooking some of the pancakes as Kaminari went to the bathroom.

“Yo, Midobro! I'm so sorry for just crashing here!” Kaminari said, now more awake while he came trudging out of the bathroom. “I kinda just fell asleep, and I woke up in the middle of the night. You know how much of a putz I can be at night,” Kaminari admitted sheepishly.

“No worries! No harm done other than the fact you made me forget to wake up last night,” Izuku playfully yelled at Kaminari.

“Actually, I did wake you up. You just went back to sleep,” Kaminari pointed out while sitting down at the small table Izuku had.

“Yeah, you're right! I do remember that. I mean, to be fair I didn't expect to fall asleep watching the movie.”

“Me either! Your couch is so comfy though!” Kaminari replied.

“I know right? Also can you grab us plates? I'm finishing up with the last of the pancakes. They're in the cabinet over there,” Izuku pointed across the small kitchen.

Yeah dude, I got you!” Kaminari said while grabbing the plates.

Izuku brought over a plate of fresh, fluffy, perfectly made pancakes. There were about 8 in total, 4 plain and 4 chocolate chip.

“Okay Izuku, you need to teach me how to cook sometime!” The first name slipped out of Kaminaris mouth before his brain could be like, ‘wait!!’. Kaminari immediately tensed when he finished his sentence.

“Sorry dude! I didn't mean to-”

“It's fine! If you want to call me that then please, feel free to do so!”

Kaminari took an audible breath of relief. “Okay good, cause I didn't really know what to call you after last night and- Dude, you good?” Izuku's face went pale at the thought.

“Oh my gosh I'm so sorry! I called you a nickname when we didn't even go with first names!”

“Izuku, it's fine! To be honest I kinda liked the nickname! It's kinda cute,” Kaminari admitted.

Now it was Izuku's turn to take a breath of relief.

“Okay. Maybe I'll start calling you that from now on. Only if you want me to!” Izuku quickly digressed.

“Dude it's totally fine! I'd prefer that over my normal name to be honest.”

Okay, Izuku may or may not be internally freaking out. He made it to first name basis with his first friend. He thought Denki would've left him by now.

“Okay, I'm gonna walk you home, because I'd feel bad if I didn't,” Izuku said.

“Thanks! I'd appreciate that,” Kaminari responded.

The two left Izuku's apartment after they cleaned up and got ready.

They finally arrived at Kaminaris house, which was about a half hour away from Izuku's.

“Thanks for walking me home!” Kaminari called back.

“No problem! Take care, Denks.” Izuku said while walking away.

That nickname just felt right somehow. Just like his friendship with Kaminari felt right.
_____

Izuku was walking back to his apartment until he heard a yell from behind. An unpleasant, grating, aggravating yell.

“D-Izuku!” Bakugo yelled from across the street.

“Oh, hey Kachaan,” Izuku didn't really know how to address him. After he half-apologized back at the cafe, he hadn't messaged Izuku at all. He also really wasn't used to Bakugo calling him by his first name. Maybe he'd have to get used to that sometime.

Bakugo ran to catch up with Izuku, though it was clear he was with the rest of his group.

Bakugo didn't really know what to say, so he said the first thing on his mind. “Do you, um, wanna hang out with us? I can introduce you to these extras.”

Izuku really didn't know where this nice Kachaan came from, but he kinda liked it in some ways. In others it was uncanny.

“Sure!” Izuku made sure to mask his enthusiasm well enough.

Izuku started walking with the group, unsure of their destination.

“Alright, this guy,” Bakugo pointed at a guy with black hair.

“My name's Eijirou Kirishima! Nice to officially meet you!”

“Nice to meet you!” Izuku smiled at him while the rest took the initiative.

“The name's Neito Monoma! Don't you ever forget it!” Monoma said, his condescension coming out in his tone.

Shinsou was still a little nervous talking to new people, though everybody else seemed to trust this guy.

“Um, Shinsou Hitoshi.”

“Nice to meet you all,” Izuku said.

“Eyebags, this is the extra I was talking about who'd have a whole fucking field day with your quirk. Just don't tell him if you don't want immediate analysis and improvement on it,” Bakugo said matter-of-factly.

Izuku rubbed at the back of his head in embarrassment. He really didn't know if Bakugo was talking about his analysis in a positive or negative way. He just really hoped they would be alright with that.

“Do you really analyse quirks?” Shinsou asked towards Izuku.

“U-um yeah. Though I completely understand if you find it creepy or something!” Izuku started frantically waving his hands in the air.

“It's not fucking creepy so stop saying it is. I know the buffoons at Aldera called it creepy, but it's honestly impressive,” Bakugo surprised Izuku by what he said.

Now Katsuki had never been the one to call Izuku's analysis creepy, but he never defended him at all.

Izuku returned his attention back to Shinsou.
“Really! You don't have to tell me if you don't want to!”

“I mean, I don't know. I have a pretty villainous quirk, so most everybody gets uncomfortable when I mention it,” Shinsou mentioned while also testing the waters. He trusted Bakugo, but people could switch so fast.

Izuku chimed in quickly. “There is absolutely no such thing as a villainous quirk! It's the person who makes it villainous!” Izuku stated.

“Y-you really think so?” Shinsou asked, hopeful for Izuku's answer. His world had been so full of supportive people lately, it's honestly crazy.

“I don't think so. I know so! Izuku retracted as he realized he let himself get the better of him. “Ah sorry! I let my excitement get the better of me!” Izuku sheepishly murmured.

“It's fine. Though I do want to improve my quirk, and I do want to be a hero,” Shinsou muttered.

“I think anyone can be a hero!” Izuku excitedly replied.

“Yeah, even you dipshit,” Bakugo butted in.

“M-maybe not me.” Izuku sadly replied. “But I know you can be a hero, Shinsou! You just have to put the work in!”

“Really? Even with brainwashing as a quirk?” Shinsou's friends didn't mind his quirk, so he hoped Midoriya wouldn't.

“Thats. So.-”

Yup, there it was. Calling Shinsou a villain. All of that. But surprisingly, it never came.

“-Awesome! You could handle fights so easily! You would be such a great underground hero, you could gather information super easily! You could end fights before they even started!-” Izuku continued muttering as he grabbed his phone and started typing notes.

Bakugo chuckled before saying. “I fucking told ya,” Shinsou looked very dumbfounded. Yeah, his group didn't mind his quirk, but no one had ever thought it was awesome before.

Izuku started asking a bunch of questions, letting his curiosity and excitement get the better of him.

“I'm so sorry! I let my excitement get the better of me!”

“No seriously, it's fine. Like no one has ever reacted like this over my quirk before,” Shinsou responded.

“Your quirk is just so interesting!”

The group continued to talk amongst themselves as they walked to the cafe about 15 minutes away from Izuku's apartment.

“I better get going! I still have a few things to do. Thank you for welcoming me though!” Izuku replied.

The things in question were his support pipes he was currently working on.

“Extras, go find a table or whatever. I'm going to walk this nerd home,” Bakugo said to the group.

“Alright bro! We'll be waiting!” Kirishima replied.

Izuku and Bakugo began their trek back to Izuku's apartment.

“You really didn't have to walk me home! Seriously, it's not that big of a deal!” Izuku yelped.

“I wanted to.. To talk and shit I guess.” Bakugo replied. “Look. I wanted to properly apologize in person instead of on a shitty note or whatever. I'm sorry, okay? For being shitty, for bullying you, for acting opposite of what a hero should,” Katsuki ripped the bandaid off.

Izuku looked half to tears, probably since he'd never thought Bakugo would actually say it.

“Th-thanks, Kaachan. It means a lot,” Izuku wiped his tears away before they could begin rolling down his cheeks.

Izuku never thought Katsuki would properly apologize like that. It was surprising, to say the least.

The two continued talking about life on their way back to Izuku's apartment.

“Okay, so what's the shitty deal with you and that Mikumo guy,” Bakugo asked.

“So, you're probably not going to believe me on this, but bear with me. After mom died, I went in and out of foster homes until I was 13. Got pretty brave and created a fake ID and identity. That is who you know as Mikumo Sochi, aka the legal guardian of me,” Izuku knew Bakugo wouldn't take the fake story, considering Katsuki essentially knew already.

Bakugo started laughing. “Holy shit! That's pretty fucking smart!” He regained his composure as he said, “You know the old hag would definitely adopt you though, right? She probably loves you more than me if I'm being honest.”

“No really! It's fine! I wouldn't want to be a burden on her! I mean, she already has you to take care of! And besides, I'm doing pretty good on my own! Anyways, here we are, my apartment.”

Katsuki was about to argue when the damn nerd left. Katsuki barely had time to say his goodbyes before Izuku was running away, back to his apartment.

He found his way back to the cafe and hung out with his group for a while.
____

Izuku on the other hand, was pretty excited to finish his pipes. “Yes! I finally finished!” Izuku yelled to no one but himself as held up his new masterpiece.

They were four inch metal rods until you pressed a button on the sides, causing them to elongate into strong metal rods. You just press on the end to get them back into their 4 inch size.

Izuku was extremely excited to use them tonight, including his ninja stars. Though he would have to keep them in his pocket somehow.

Luckily, he found a way to protect the edges while they were in his pockets. Just some easy, moldable clay that could be quickly taken off.

This was going to be fun.
____

Izuku had a delightful supper. He was so ready for tonight he barely even wanted to go to bed when the time came.

I mean, how could he not be excited?? He finally figured out some weapons, though he should probably refrain from using the ninja stars until he had decent aim.

Wait, that was a good idea. He could go to Dagobah and practice his aim with his stars. I mean, it was only 6:30.

That sounded like a plan to Izuku, and he made quick work of grabbing all the stuff he needed - his notebook, phone, wallet, ninja stars, water, a sharpie, and determination.

If he wanted to get good at using them, he'd probably be there a while.

Maybe he could add that into his schedule sometime. If he has any extra time, it would be good use to practice throwing.

Izuku began his walk, making sure to lock his apartment as he left.

Once Izuku arrived at Dagobah, he really needed to figure out a target of sorts. I mean, a metal sheet should work, right? He could use the sharpie he brought to draw a target on it. That could work.

Izuku started on his project, and was surprised to find it only took around 5 minutes. It wasn't perfect, but Izuku was happy with it.

Okay, now the hard part.

How do you even throw a ninja star?

Izuku opened up chrome on his phone, and saw some pretty good results quickly. What would Izuku do without the internet?

He found a 10 minute video explaining 5 different ways to throw a ninja star.

The first was overhand, which Izuku knew he'd probably use the most and have the least trouble with.

The second was underhand. Izuku didn't really think he'd need to learn this one, so he mentally crossed it off. There weren't many scenarios he'd need to use that.

The third was backhanded. This would definitely be effective, so he should work on this one a lot.

The fourth was a sidearm throw, much like a Frisbee. This might honestly be effective and helpful, so Izuku would also work on that one.

The last, which Izuku knew he'd probably be working on the most, was no reload. You can use any technique, though you hold multiple stars in your hand so you don't have to reload. That would be nice.

Izuku started with what in his opinion, would be the easiest. The overhand technique. He shouldn't spend too much time doing it though, so he can work on others.

Izuku found an empty spot on the beach and set up his target. He decided that starting close, 6 feet, would be a good starting point. It was no use trying to go further when he couldn't aim at all.

Izuku didn't know how badly he could miss, but supposed he better put something behind in case. He found some old blankets and put them behind. After all, he really didn't want to lose his ninja stars while practicing.

Izuku started with the overhand throw, and was surprised to find he missed the edge of the target. The target was about 4 feet in diameter, and about 6 feet high. It was a pretty big piece of metal, but he made sure to keep the targets smaller.

Izuku tried again and again, either completely missing the target or hitting the edge.

He worked on it for probably 15 minutes before he realized he wasn't really aiming at all. After he fixed that, Izuku started hitting the targets more often and frequently, though never close to the middle.

He decided to switch to the ‘frisbee throw’ as he called it.

He was fairly successful, though never hitting the inner bullseyes. After he worked on that for a while, he grabbed his stars and began working on the backhand technique. It was pretty confusing at first, but Izuku got the hang of it pretty quick.

Once Izuku thought he was fairly half- decent in that aspect, he decided to try the no-reload. This was going to be kind of hard for Izuku.

The first five times were complete and utter failures, resulting in him either dropping a star, or accidentally throwing more than one at a time.

Izuku persisted, determination spiking.

He finally got it after what felt like an eternity, and Izuku decided he'd try every technique a lot further back.

About 40 feet.

Izuku practiced and practiced until he felt fairly confident in his newly-acquired skills even if they were still rough at best.

Izuku went home happy with himself, and excited for what the night would bring.
_____

Izuku woke up to his 12AM alarm, excited to test out his ninja stars and his metal poles.

The night before, Izuku had sewn a black belt for his rods and stars. The two rods were placed on each side of his hip with fabric successfully holding them there. He created a small bag, similar to a belt bag, but a lot smaller and easier to open.

Since the ninja stars weren't very thick, Izuku created an opening where he could easily grab them. Essentially, the main opening was a sturdy zipper, accompanied by a small opening on the bottom where he could easily grab stars.

Izuku tried it on in the mirror the night prior and was happy that no one could see the small opening.

Izuku changed into his vigilante persona, grateful for his voice changer and earpiece.

He shoved his mini-notebook and pen into his usual pocket, hoping maybe today he'll actually be able to take some notes.I mean, it was definitely cool actually fighting, but Izuku really loved seeing heroes in action!

Izuku put the clay-like substance on the ninja stars before putting them in his bag, which was stuffed to the right side of his belt, near one of poles. He threw his poles into their respective loops in the belt.

Izuku checked his phone, and surprisingly saw a text from Kaminari.

Kaminari - 12:17 am
________
Be safe, I'm going to bed, I'm honestly tired so goodnight! Though pls still text me when you get back!

12:18am - Midoriya
_______
I will! Goodnight!

With that, Izuku set his phone down, not needing it for patrol anymore.

Izuku walked out the door, and into his patrol route, mentally noting the fact that Eraser, Midnight, Loud cloud, and apparently Present Mic, (who took someone's shift) were patrolling around his area.

They obviously patrolled a larger region than Izuku, but Izuku was alright with that. There were four people, Izuku was one.

He ran quietly on his patrol. Izuku was honestly getting a lot better at running quietly and stealthily. Izuku knew it was probably from all the extra practice he got at night.

Funny enough, Izuku didn't really have a specific route, he just kinda ran around and followed the screams. It worked for him.

Izuku ran out into the night, taking in every ounce of beautiful moonlight he could.

He loved running around at night, especially when he was able to help people. Now, he had some upgrades to hopefully help even more people!

Izuku had been running around for what felt like an hour, though it was only 45 minutes. Sometimes the time really dragged on in the silence.

He heard a scream, and immediately ran towards it.

The situation was a petty thug trying to steal from a girl. Izuku was easily able to take him down, and concluded that a pro wasn't really necessary.

He called up a very special person, who he had recently learned he was able to call.

“Heyyyyy. How are you doing Tsukauchi? I'm doing pretty good, considering that I've got a thug for you to take in. The address is ###. Signing out, Jasper~.” He hung up the call, imagining the face of Tsukauchi.

Oh, and what a sight it was to behold. It was only his imagination, but it was still pretty funny to think about.

Izuku made sure the victim was okay, and he stayed with her until he heard the police sirens.

With that, Jasper was off and into the night again.

____

Shouta as not expecting a call on his comm from Tsukauchi this late at night. The man was busy as it was, already working well into the early morning.

“Hey Aizawa? Did you perhaps know that a vigilante can hack into the comms?” Tsukauchi asked with a hint of ‘would've been real nice if you told me’ type of tone.

“Yes. Did he call you?”

“Yeah actually. He very much so did. He reported a thug trying to steal from a girl. The last time I checked, not even Nedzu could hack into the comms.”

“Yeah. Came as a surprise to us all. Nedzu knows and is probably trying to plan something to meet this kid.” Shouta said.

“Wait, kid? Just how old do you think Jasper is?”

“We've speculated around 17-19, though he does seem physically small we think it's from malnutrition of sorts. We don't think a kid younger than that could do what Jasper did.”

“Great. Another vigilante is just what we need,” Tsukauchi was internally cursing his last bits of sanity receding and leaving him.“They leave lots of paperwork behind,” Tsukauchi grumbled.

“Speaking of hacking, Nedzu detected someone who hacked into UA. Apparently all they do is look at cameras. Nedzu thinks that's related to our little vigilante, but I'm not sure,” Shouta ecided to rip the band-aid off. Tsukauchi was going to find out eventually.

“Paperwork..paperwork..” Tsukauchi grumbled even more, thinking about the absolute headache hackers can be. “On another note, that is pretty impressive. Can't Nedzu just track the device though?”

“Nedzu tried to trace the device used, but he said it was untraceable. I know he'd love to teach whoever did it if they are of teaching age,” Shouta stated. Only Nedzu would want to teach someone who proved a threat to the students and possibly the whole school.

I'm honestly not surprised. Nedzu is always planning something of the sorts,” Tsukauchi stated.

“Yeah. I better get back to patrol. Bye,” Aizawa knew he better get back to actually patrolling. It was nice talking to the detective, but he was working right now.

“Bye. Talk to you later, Aizawa.”

With that, the call ended.

____

Izuku was still running around, kind of disappointed he hadn't had a chance to try out his weapons yet.

He stopped for a small break of walking when he saw an entire group of villains attacking a local convenience store. Which was fantastic.

Locking in, Izuku mentally counted how many there were, and was a little nervous to see that there were 17 villains in total.

Yeah, he'd need all the heroes who were nearby. All of them. He called the comm, not having enough time to listen for a reply, his earlier playful personality now gone and replaced with determination.

“All heroes on deck. This is Jasper with a convenience store robbery. The address is ###. I'm pretty sure there's 17 villains in total. I'll keep watch unless I need to intervene.”

Izuku was about to hang up when he heard the gruff voice of Eraser and the rest call out.

“Copy, 5 minutes out.” Eraser replied.

“On my way! 8 minutes out!” Present Mic replied.

“I'm on the way there! 7 minutes out!” Loudcloud responded.

“I'm running a little late I guess,” Midnight stated. “Ill be there in 12 minutes!”

“Good.” With that, Izuku ended the call and kept an eye on the group.

Said group didn't look very strong individually, though they posed a threat as an entire team. If they worked together, it might be a challenge taking them down.

Izuku watched as they threatened the clerk, and basically held everyone hostage. Izuku couldn't do anything for the moment. He couldn't fight the whole group! Maybe a small amount of them, but some of their quirks looked strong.

Izuku watched as what he presumed to be the leader of sorts, grabbed out a knife and held it to the clerk's throat.

Weirdly, Izuku had a strong sense of deja vu as he grabbed a ninja star, and aimed as best he could.

Izuku couldn't risk missing this shot. Someone's life was at stake! He aimed, grateful he practiced today, and threw the star overhand. He quickly hid behind the outside wall, as he really didn't want to get noticed.

Izuku let out a sigh of relief as he heard the star grab hold of the knife and hold it in a part of the ground. Honestly, that was an extremely lucky shot. Hopefully that wasn't the only one.

“Hey, you three! Go check out the outside. We can't have little heroes running around and stopping us, can we?” The man laughed manically, though seemed unimpressed with the ninja star.

Izuku started tensing as he heard three sets of footsteps walking over to his exact location.

Think, Izuku, think! He had to come up with a plan. He looked down at his belt, and an idea came to mind.

It shouldn't be too long until Eraser arrives. He could use the element of stealth and surprise and hit the three over the head with his metal poles!
Though he'd feel bad, so maybe he'd have to hit their pressure points instead.

Izuku grabbed his metal rods, extending them as he did. He backed up a good few feet, and when he thought the guys were close enough, he pounced. He hit them over the head light enough to confuse them for a few seconds.

Izuku ran around to the backside of the trio while they were still regaining full awareness. He swiftly hit each one of them on the back of the neck with blade-like hands.

That easily did the trick, and got them down on the ground. Unmoving, but unharmed. He thought to himself while he moved away from the sight of the group. He really, really needed to improve his jumps. Maybe even learn how to jump from building to building! That would be so much more effective!

Izuku took a sigh of relief as Eraserhead rushed into the scene, easily taking out part of the group.

Izuku thought he could finally take some notes, but the universe had many, many, other plans.

Izuku watched as a criminal grabbed another knife and started walking over to the clerk, who was still tied up with rope. Izuku's body grabbed his metal pipes, and rushed forward without his mind's consent.

Apparently the guy noticed, and easily moved out of Izuku's way. Izuku clearly met his match, and the two started going back and forth with blows. Izuku managed to land some half decent ones, but so did the other guy.

Maybe if Izuku- oh.

Izuku really needed to pay attention to his movements. He wasn't using his metal rods at all! Like, they were just some metal in his hands. He started using them to his advantage, and getting some good hits in on the guy with them.

Izuku quickly started realizing the dude was extremely wobbly on his feet. Yes he was able to move quickly, but it looked like an ant could push him over.

Izuku started going for the knees, successfully getting him down and on the ground. He flipped the guy over, and hit his pressure point. He'd be down for a little bit after that.

Izuku walked over to where his ninja star was, grabbed it, and placed it back into his pocket.

Eraser was having a little bit of trouble with the last guy, who he recognized as the leader.

Izuku untied the clerk first, making sure he wasn't physically harmed in the process. Stealthily walking behind the leader, Izuku came up with a plan.

If Eraser could give him an opening, he could easily hit the guy's pressure point.

That should do the trick.

Izuku patiently waited for that opening as Eraser gave him a puzzled look.

Now!

It was Izuku's time to help!

He quickly ran forward and placed a blade-like hit to the back of the guy's neck.

“Nice one kid,” Aizawa stoically complimented, though there was a hint of amusement in his voice.
____

Aizawa was honestly quite surprised with the kid. He definitely upgraded to some weapons, finally.

But what really impressed Aizawa was the fact that the kid knew different pressure points, and was able to execute it correctly without injuring the person.

Barely anyone knew how to do that nowadays.

Aizawa was sucked out of his thoughts as Present Mic and Loudcloud arrived.

“You didn't leave any for me!” Loudcloud pouted, clearly joking with his friend.

“Or me! Cmon Sh-Eraser!” Present Mic knew he just about slipped up, but caught himself in time, earning a glare from Aizawa. It wasn't often he did that, but it still happened sometimes.

Izuku just laughed at it, wondering if he wanted to let it be known he knew about the two.

“Nice matching rings you two got there!” Izuku said between laughing as Erasermic looked at him in shock and deep understanding.

“Well, I guess that is my cue to leave! See y'all later!” Izuku said before looking back.
“Dont miss me too much!” The sassy side of Izuku showed as he left.

“Umm. Do you guys think he knows?” Loudcloud asked.

“Yeah, most definitely,” Present Mic sighed. “Dont know how he found out though. We're always super careful in public and stuff!”

“Yeah. Me either. Very kindly, don't tell Nedzu,” Aizawa looked at both of his friends who were starting to tie up the group.

“Yup! I won't tell a soul! Except for Nem,” Loudcloud mentioned.

“Hey guys! What did I miss!?” Midnight strutted in, leaving no spotlight for anyone else.

“A lot,” Loudcloud sheepishly admitted.

“So did you two. All three of you missed a lot.” Aizawa groaned.

“Ooo! Tell me!” Midnight blurted, helping tie up the criminal group.

“So the kid got some weapons. Some metal poles and some ninja stars from what I could see. He also knows pressure points, and I think he knows about,” Aizawa looked at Mic, hinting at their secret marriage.

“How!?” Midnight yelped.

“Beyond us! Just please, don't tell Nedzu,” Mic practically begged.

“Yeah, next time we won't discuss such matters at UA. He'll always find out if we talk about it there,” Midnight sighed.

“Yup. Caution is key.” Present Mic said. Everyone knew the rodent was always listening, so what better way to keep him out than caution? Or simply not talking about such matters at UA. Both were pretty good ideas for the group.

Anything to not have Nedzu knocking on the door in the middle of an important conversation.

Chapter Text

Izuku and Kaminari had finished with training as they had been for the past few weeks.

Izuku was definitely starting to feel and see physical gains. He even saw improvements in Denki as well.

Izuku was starting to get the hang of being a vigilante, though he really wished he was able to run across the rooftops. That would make everything so much easier.

Imagine the wind in your face, the moonlight shining on you! Oh, Izuku wished he could.

He really didn't know how to though.

He tried searching up different things online, but nothing offered the results he was looking for. They often included support items that had too many components to build, or were too bulky.

Or they had different quirks doing most of the work.

Izuku wondered if there was anything from the pre-quirk era, as it had lots of different fighting styles. The pre-quirk era was back when people actually had to use their basic strength, intelligence, and everything else without the help of a quirk. It was such an interesting time period to learn about in Izuku's opinion.

Izuku was walking home and was thinking about how to word it if he searched it up.

Pre-quirk era jumping across roofs safely

Izuku really didn't know how to word it. What he was looking for wasn't really a fighting style. I mean, maybe what Izuku was looking for included some acrobatics.

No matter what you do, in Izuku's opinion it's always better to be flexible.

Izuku finally got home to his apartment. He showered, changed, and finished all of his school work.

School was like a breeze now. Izuku's grades were immaculate. Light years better than at Aldera. He wondered why that was. Izuku was now able to finish his school work in under 2 ½ hours, considering there were no distractions for Izuku.

He did have social media accounts, but he never posted and barely spent time on them. Sometimes he'd search stuff up on them if Google was lacking.

Izuku finished his school work at around 11:20, the perfect amount of free time before he had to go to work and bother Aizawa with questions.

One of Izuku's favorite hobbies was bothering Aizawa at work and asking him about his ‘favorite vigilante’. It was quite entertaining to hear what Aizawa had to say about him, and now he'd figured out the perfect way to slightly irritate Aizawa, not enough to infuriate him, but to minorly inconvenience him. It was hilarious to watch the cameras when Izuku set one up.

Izuku quickly learned that Aizawa and most of the other pros didn't think he'd last long. Apparently, according to Aizawa, vigilantes rarely lasted, especially younger vigilantes like himself.

Another one of Izuku's favorite hobbies was messing with Aizawa in said vigilante form. It was a very humorous experience sometimes.

Ugh, Izuku really has to stop going on tangents. Pulling himself back to his initial intentions, Izuku started searching some stuff up, hoping to find results.

He searched up things like ‘pre-quirk era running across roofs’, ‘pre-quirk era acrobatics’, ‘pre-quirk era jumping’

Izuku found some interesting results, but none that seemed exactly what he was looking for. To be honest, Izuku didn't even think he'd know what he was looking for until he found it.

Izuku started thinking about what exactly he was looking for. Something where you jump, climb, roll, etc over stuff safely without a quirk. Okay, maybe ‘stuff’ wasn't the best term for it, but Izuku didn't really know what other word to use.

What Izuku was thinking of was some sort of hurdle, something to overcome. Y'know?

So, that led Izuku to the famous search.

‘Pre-quirk era quirkless running and jumping over hurdles’

Izuku knew he was desperate at this point, but he really wanted answers. There had to be something similar to what Izuku was looking for, right?

Izuku searched for probably a half hour before finding anything remotely of interest. This led to a desperate Izuku searching up, ‘synonyms for hurdle’. Izuku searched for much less time this time before finding a word he knew would bring better results. He tried again, searching up, ‘pre-quirk era quirkless running and jumping over obstacles’.

He searched for a few minutes until finding something he decided was worth his time.

Parkour.

Apparently, after searching it up, it was a sort of physical discipline of sorts. It uses just your body to run, jump, climb, etc across different obstacles of sorts. This was exactly what Izuku was looking for, actually. Like, Izuku was surprised he actually found something. After about an hour and 15 minutes, it was definitely worth it.

He searched for some beginner tutorials, hoping someone still made videos about it. Some videos might still exist from the pre-quirk era. Izuku did not know what he was expecting, but it definitely wasn't what he found.

The tutorials were super simple looking compared to the videos he saw earlier.

I mean, baby steps right? Izuku found a tutorial that had 10 simple moves, and such would actually benefit Izuku.

He changed into comfortable and bendy clothing, planning to use up the last of his time until he had to work.

He grabbed everything he needed to start learning this stuff. He was going to learn at least a few moves today.

Izuku made his way to the beach, making sure to grab a few extra pillows and cushions for his landings.

Izuku practiced and practiced 9 of the moves until he felt fairly decent about them. Some of these moves were different flips, rolls, and general ways to get over things. Izuku was honestly surprised he managed to learn how to do multiple flips and rolls. The rolls would definitely come in handy when dodging different attacks. Maybe he could try to jump and roll from building to building! Maybe he'd try that tomorrow.

The 10th one, called a cat walk, had to be learned in a sort of alleyway. This is one of the ones Izuku thought would be the most helpful. The catwalk was a move where you ran and jumped up on one side of the alley. You run up a few steps before jumping into the other side of the alley and grabbing onto the top of the building before getting yourself the rest of the way up.

First, the tutorial started out with being able to successfully fail, which Izuku thought was odd until it was explained. This helped reduce injuries if you do fail, and overall helped you get the feel of it better.

Izuku practiced and practiced, failing multiple times until he finally got it, in which he actually celebrated. I mean, this was awesome! Izuku could successfully get on to the roofs without using a fire escape, or other ladders. This would also be useful if he had a taller opponent, or had to run away.

Izuku really didn't know if he wanted to try to jump over an alleyway yet. I mean, maybe if he found a narrow one sure! Izuku honestly wondered if practicing it at night would be better. Sure, he could practice it now and risk getting caught. He'd rather just try it tonight instead, as he could also practice it in his vigilante clothes. That way his actual self wouldn't be doing anything illegal.

Izuku found a fire escape and safely climbed down from the building, and began his journey home. He successfully made it home, and was happy to see that he still had 20 minutes before he had to leave for work.

Izuku ate a quick lunch, consisting of a turkey sandwich and a salad.

Getting ready for work, Izuku started to think about any improvements he could make to become a better vigilante. I mean, he could save people yeah, but Izuku wanted to get better somehow. Maybe become stronger to be able to fight better, or be able to fight more people at once!

Izuku stopped his train of thought, knowing he better not delve into that rabbit hole right before work.

He does have a hobo to interrogate after all.
____

Izuku arrived at work and said hi to Aima. She was honestly a really sweet person, and Izuku wished the best for her.

Izuku got going on baking, priding himself in his work.

He made 5 dozen chocolate chip cookies, a few pans of brownies, and 4 dozen chocolate chip muffins. When you make them in big batches, they don't take too awfully long. He slipped them into the oven, and tagged Aima down for their duty switches.

Izuku watched as his favorite hobo walked in, and waited for him to sit down.

“Heyyy Aizawa! How are you doing today?” Mikumo asked brightly, seeing that Aizawa might not be in the bestest of moods. (When is he ever?)

“Could be a lot better. I'll take the usual,” Aizawa ordered, a small bit of anger in his voice.

“Okay! Coming right up,” Mikumo tried not to be too annoying, considering he did care for the hero. (Maybe more paternal than he should, okay?)

Mikumo brought Aizawa over his coffee, and addressed the elephant in the room as he did.

“Are you okay? I can tell something's bothering you, though I won't force you to tell me,” Izuku asked, concern seeping through his usually enthusiastic tone.

“I suppose you'd find out anyway at this point. Nedzu had me and Vlad co-teach 1-B for today, and it was absolute torture,” Aizawa grumbled.

“Let me guess, it's because you expelled your entire class?” Mikumo asked.

“Yes. Class has less potential than I do in my backbone. My old class even had more potential than them.”

“How bad is it?” Mikumo thought he might regret it, but right now he was genuinely curious.

“Let’s take some of them not knowing how to use their quirk as well as they should, plus some who can barely hold their own against general studies students, plus some who fail so badly in academics I would compare them to 4th graders. Combine that all together, and you've got class 1-B,” Aizawa complained. He might be overexaggerating just a little.

“So what you're saying is most of the people in that class might not make it as heroes in the real world,” Mikumo put two and two together.

“No, it's so much worse than that,” Aizawa put his head in his hands. “It was an absolute disaster,” Aizawa said while sipping his emotional support coffee.

“That's rough buddy. I mean, all I can really offer right now is some coffee and desserts when they come out of the oven,” Mikumo tried to bring some light to the situation, though it might be in vain.

“It's not as bad as some of the paperwork that's been left as ‘gifts’ from a vigilante,” Aizawa sighed, knowing Mikumo would pester him about it anyway. “Sometimes I wonder what goes through his head.”

Though Aizawa would never admit it, he did worry about the kid. If the estimates were correct, this kid might be Mikumo's age. In Aizawa's book, he was still a kid.

Well, all Aizawa could do now was make sure he didn't get seriously hurt. I mean, the kid had definitely gotten better in the few weeks he's been out. That was good for now at least, though it might not be enough in the future.

“Guess he loves leaving the boring parts for you and the other heroes,” Mikumo chuckled.

“Loves messing with me too but acts like an angel around everyone else,” Aizawa hid his face in his capture scarf, hiding the small grin evident.

Sometimes having Jasper mess with him was actually quite entertaining. I mean, sometimes it was annoying but it was honestly nice to see how creative he could get.

Mikumo chuckled at Aizawa's comment, most likely for different reasons than what he thought.

The two wrapped up their conversation while Aizawa paid and left.

Izuku finished his shift, excited for another night of saving people.
______

Izuku awoke, already yawning. It was already 12AM, wasn't it? He loved getting up to save people, but Izuku hated waking up at times.

Izuku changed into his vigilante gear and grabbed the necessary items. He figured that he would practice rolling and jumping over roofs for a little bit before patrolling. That way if he needed to roll while fighting, he would be able to do so.

Izuku walked out of his apartment towards the few narrower alleyways he knew of. Once Izuku arrived at the alleyways, he easily cat-walked up. Now, it was really just a matter of mindset. He was really nervous. Like, Izuku had never done anything like this before!

This was definitely a new experience for Izuku, and he was ready to conquer it. Izuku tried hyping himself up for probably 5 minutes before actually attempting to jump over the alleyway.

This alley was about 5 feet in width, and it was the narrowest one Izuku knew of. Izuku took a leap of faith, watching the alleyway down below as he did.

Ohmygosh Izuku was actually doing it!

Okay, remember it isn't the impact that hurts your body, but if your motion suddenly stops.Izuku put one foot on the edge of the other wall, and continued running while he did. He slowly came to a stop, panting as he did. He wasn't even out of breath, but his adrenaline said otherwise.

He successfully jumped across an alleyway! This was awesome! Izuku could maybe try wider alleys next. Izuku made sure to jump across it a few more times, mostly for his nerves and muscle memory.

Once Izuku felt confident, he moved to a wider alleyway, one he estimated was about 7 feet across. The widest alley Izuku knew of was about 8 ½ feet, which Izuku really didn't think he could cover.

Izuku calmed his nerves, and went for it. Yes! It felt like he was falling, but his foot eventually made contact with the edge of the wall. Izuku practiced it a few more times before finally leaving for his patrol.

Definitely a successful practice.
_____

Damn problem child.

Of course the vigilante child had to go and start learning Parkour. Shouta had found out about it in his first year at UA. It greatly helped him with things like what this problem child was attempting.

Shouta did also have his scarf for support, though he wanted to learn how to do it with his own strength. You never know when you might not have support items with you. That was exactly what this problem child was doing.

Unless he had made some way to get over it himself, Shouta assumed that the kid learned what Parkour is, and is now practicing it.

Shouta didn't want the kid to learn it because that meant he was getting that much deeper into this stuff.

Shouta would never admit it, but this kid who had been out for just a few weeks, had more potential than Class 1-B in its entirety.

He really didn't understand why the kid just wouldn't admit that he can be a hero too. Aizawa and his group had been trying to convince the kid that he could be a hero, but the kid always dismissed it or changed the subject. Maybe it was quirk related, maybe it was nerves, maybe it was family or schooling issues, Shouta might never know.
_____

Izuku had been running around for probably 30 minutes, and hadn't seen anything yet. He was now upgrading to the rooftops, which offered much better views of everything.

Izuku heard a scream, and immediately ran towards it. A guy was hovering over what seemed like maybe a relative, considering they looked similar.

Izuku watched from above while he called the nearest hero, Eraserhead, to the scene.

Izuku watched the guy as his body started looking all pixely. Izuku assumed it had something to do with his quirk. Izuku knew he was right when he saw the man's body disappear and reappear at the end of the alleyway, looking out.

Izuku started mentally taking notes about the quirk. It seemed he could keep the image of his body where it was located before while moving. When he got to his destination, his body reappeared in its correct spot. Unless it was some sort of teleportation, though it would work a lot quicker than what Izuku had seen.

Izuku could not win against this quirk. It was definitely overpowered compared to Izuku's skills.

Izuku was laying down on the roof when he noticed the guy's quirk seemed to activate again. His body became misty and pixely.

Izuku felt the air move around him before he moved back and felt a nice blow to his shoulder.

Ouch. That'll leave a bruise for sure.

Izuku immediately stood up as he saw the guy in front of him on the roof. He must've used the fire escape.

Izuku knew if he engaged in combat, he would quite frankly be burnt, electrified toast.

That left only one option left for Izuku.

Run.

Izuku started running as the man's body became misty and pixely again. Izuku could only assume the guy was chasing him.

So Izuku did the most logical thing to him at the moment.

“Hey Eraser! Guys chasing me, I'll link my location in the chat!” Izuku said to his comm.

“Got it. I'm at the old coordinates you gave me, but the guy’s still on the roof?” Aizawa asked.

“That's his quirk!” Izuku said while running. “You see how his body is misty and pixely? When he wants to go to a destination his body remains where it is, then when he gets to that location his body reappears. I can only safely assume he's chasing me.”

“Most logical call,” Aizawa said while climbing to the roof and putting his fingers through the man's body. “His body is a mirage. I'm on my way to your coordinates,” Aizawa gruffly said while taking off in the direction Izuku took.

“He is invisible while running, so I don't know-” Izuku huffed into the comm. “Where he is.”

Izuku said that a few seconds before he was punched in the back. Ouch, that'll leave another bruise. The only good thing out of this was the fact that the guy became visible for a few moments before his body got misty and pixely again.

“Nevermind! He's right behind me!” Izuku half-screeched into the comms.

“I'm gaining on you two,” Aizawa said while clearly running.

“I'm coming up on an alleyway, I'll jump over it and hopefully he won't be able to follow me,”
Izuku hoped, voice slightly muffled due to his sprint.

“Alright, I see it. Hopefully I can cancel his quirk if I find him.”

Izuku was running up to the alleyway before realizing it was a wide one. 8 ½ feet. Crap. Izuku couldn't jump over that but maybe he could jump and roll over it?

Well, only one way to find out.

Izuku ran up to the edge of the alleyway, running on pure adrenaline. At this point, he wasn't even the one controlling his body.

Izuku jumped from the edge of the alley.

He jumped higher than he normally would've, but he can't roll if he doesn’t get over the alleyway in the first place. Izuku reached his arms forward, knowing if he didn't make it, he would most likely break some bones. That's okay. He'd survive.

Izuku's arms and shoulders made contact with the edge of the alley. He pulled himself up, and onto the roof.

The breath of relief Izuku let out was incredible.

He watched as Eraserhead successfully erased the guy's quirk, and made quick work of tying him up. As impressive as the guy's quirk was, he really didn't seem to know how to fight at all.

He heard Eraser through his comms. “Nice roll kid. Didn't think you'd make that for a second,” Aizawa replied snarkily, though you couldn't tell the emotion hidden inside if you didn't know him.

“Hey! I made that just fine. Thank you very much!” Izuku stated in the comms.

“Yeah whatever,” Aizawa muttered back into his comms, a hint of amusement evident in his voice.

Izuku was wondering if Aizawa was starting to mess with him, just like he messed with Aizawa.

I mean, it would only be fair.

Izuku ran off into the night, oblivious to the smirk Aizawa was hiding behind his scarf.

Oh my gosh. Izuku just realized he actually jumped over an alley! He was so adrenaline fueled before that the severity of the situation hadn't dawned on him completely. Izuku was most definitely going to rant to Kaminari later or when they had training.

The two started to hang out more outside of training. It was actually quite nice! They both enjoyed each other's company.

Izuku and Bakugo had even started to become better friends. They took the process slow, which was good for both of them.

Izuku was also getting so much better at fighting!
So was Denki. There were about 9 months left until the UA entrance exams, and Izuku wanted Denki to be as ready as he could be.

Izuku felt so free running on roofs. Even more so then when he used to run around on the ground.
He really loved being a Vigilante. It was honestly the best part of his day. (Other than training with Denki)

Izuku's thoughts were cut short when he heard a scream. He realized he had been running for a while now, actually. He would take care of this, and then go home. Izuku ran toward the scream, much faster now than he was when he first started.

Izuku's body moved on its own when he saw what was going on. A girl was on the ground, covering her face with her arm. The girl in front of her honestly looked around Izuku's age, though he couldn't know for sure.

One of the girls was holding a knife above the second girl's head, most likely going to strike it down any moment now. Izuku couldn't let that happen! He had to help! Don't be the reason for another casualty.

He quickly grabbed a ninja star before side-arming it to get the knife out of the girl's hands.

Izuku succeeded, (luckily) and watched as the blonde girl, who was previously holding the knife, turned to look at Izuku. He saw a face of utter sadness, guilt, defeat, and worst of all, frustration.

It seemed like the blonde girl was doing that for necessity, or something quirk related. That's what Izuku thought, at least.

The girl who was on the ground quickly got up.

“You're a monster!” she screamed before running out of the alleyway.

Izuku watched as the blonde girl's face faltered, tears already falling freely. Izuku almost couldn't hear the words that came out of her mouth, but he did. And these were probably some of the saddest words Izuku had ever heard.

“I.. Know.” The girl said before crumpling on the ground.

Izuku didn't know why he sympathised with this stranger who was just previously trying to kill someone.

“Wh-why can't I just be normal..?” The girl spoke quietly and softly to herself. Izuku still heard. His body moved with some ounce of agreement as he put an arm on the girl's back.

“I-its okay.” Izuku said in the most calming voice he could muster. The blonde girl broke down in wet sobs, and Izuku didn't really know what to do. “Do you.. Want a hug?” Izuku asked, not knowing how else to comfort the girl.

“You'd probably think I'm a monster once you knew what my quirk was!” The girl spat out, but not fully rejecting the comfort.

Izuku knew this may be his one chance to help the girl feel better.

“I love learning about quirks! Even though I..” He trailed off.

“What?” The blonde girl asked, the venom vacant.

“Even though I'm quirkless,” Izuku softly stated, hoping this girl would understand. The girl looked at him with more clarity and surprise this time.

“M-my quirk.. I-its a villain's quirk.” The girl finally gave some information.

What was it with people thinking their quirk is villainous? No quirk is villainous! She watched as Izuku got a look of determination and confidence.

“Nu-uh! No quirk is a villain's quirk! A villain makes their quirk villainous!” Izuku said with full confidence.

The girl looked extremely surprised by his statement, and she wondered if she should tell this fellow stranger.

“Oh and also? Please don't tell anyone I'm quirkless. I'm kinda a vigilante so that'd be a lot of trouble for me,” Izuku rubbed the back of his head as he talked.

“S-sure. My quirk is.. called transform. When I drink a person's blood, I can transform into them. It makes me have lots of cravings for blood,” She explained, expecting some kind of yelling, scolding, lecturing, maybe even a beating. What she did not expect was the way that this guy acted.

“Woah, that's so cool! That could be so useful in heroics! Wait, I have a question. When you transform, do you also copy their blood type and stuff?” Izuku knew his excitement was getting the best of him, but he thought that this might be what this girl needed.

“U-um yes, why?” The girl asked skeptically

“You could donate blood to literally anyone! If you copy their blood types that would make you a perfect match no matter what!” Izuku started rambling before realizing he was definitely doing too much. “Sorry! I get caught up in learning about people's quirks and stuff. It's kinda creepy, I know,” Izuku admitted sheepishly.

The girl looked at him for a second before asking, “Do you r-really think my quirk could be useful?”

“If there's a way any quirk could be useful, I would probably end up finding it.”

The girl looked half to tears when she smiled. “Thank you. The name's Himiko Toga!”

“My vigilante name is Jasper! Though I suppose you already know about my quirk status,” Izuku looked around for a second before whispering, “My real name is Izuku Midoriya, though please don't tell anyone!”

“I won't, silly!”

It was weird how quickly Toga changed moods. It was a nice and welcome change, though.

Izuku grabbed a piece of paper out of his notebook and wrote something down before giving it to Toga.

“Heres my phone number if you ever want to contact me!”

“Thank you. And you're the first person who's actually been nice to me, so of course I'm going to contact you!” Toga followed up, tears drying and coming to an end.

Izuku smiled at the fact that he had a new friend, who would probably benefit from their friendship the most.

Izuku and Toga said their goodbyes while Izuku went home.
_____

Toga looked at the note while smiling. Did he really think her quirk could be useful? Well, considering he told her that he's quirkless, and he told her his real name, she'd consider that a win.

She definitely wanted to be this boy's friend, though hopefully he won't get weirded out by her cravings.

Himiko hoped this wasn't just a plot of sorts.

Though he did actually seem genuine! Maybe Toga would never know.

She tucked the note back into her pocket while she went to her makeshift home. (A shack she built in the woods)

Chapter Text

Izuku was walking back from his training with Kaminari when he noticed an aura of blue coming from an alley.

This street Izuku took home was probably a pretty poor and maybe villainous district. He liked walking this street anyway.

Izuku quietly walked forward to the edge of the alley, careful not to be seen. What Izuku wasn't expecting to see, however, is Dabi standing there in the alleyway, fist ablaze, clearly trying to inflict harm upon someone.

Who was Izuku to assume the story of something? He waited, hoping to see what this was all about.

“I did you the favor, and now you don't have my money. I'm not feeling too friendly right now, considering I need that money,” Dabi was definitely on edge about something, and Izuku wished he knew exactly what this fiasco was about. Either way, it didn't sound good.

Izuku looked a little further into the alley and noticed two guys cowering into the corners.

“Look, dude! We can, uh, figure out some sort of deal! Like, you give us a few days to come up with the m-money! And then we pay you extra!” One of the guys said, clearly trying to lighten the situation. He stuttered with almost every single word.

“Now I would consider that, but I need this money!” Dabi yelled, getting more and more frustrated as time went on. His hand grew brighter and brighter. His fist raised, and the flames tripled in size and brightness.

Izuku knew this was his time to step in. He was not about to allow Dabi to become a villain. Not on his watch.

“Oh-no-no-no,” Izuku said, stepping into the alley. “You are not doing this right now Dabi. You know better!” Izuku honestly felt like a mother berating or lecturing her child.

“Kid? What are you doing here?” Dabi asked, not really wanting to burn people alive in front of a kid. He knew how that felt. “Look, we're discussing business related things so-” Dabi was cut off.

“Yeah, no. I know what you were about to do, and I do not stand for that. I'm also not letting you lead your life in villainous ways,” Izuku started full-on lecturing Dabi.

“You really don't understand, kid. Rent is due, and I need that money. They promised to pay me today, but they showed up with nothing,”
Venom was evident in Dabi’s voice as he spoke. “You're a smart vigilante, you should be able to figure it out.”

Izuku started violently shaking his head with his eyes closed, similar to that thing little kids do when they know they're right.

“And how much rent do you owe? How well maintained is the place for the price?” Izuku asked.

“Well, It's not very pretty but it's the cheapest rent I could find. It's about 232,300 ¥($1,500) per month.”

Izuku scoffed at the ridiculous price. “You know, I could find you a place that's pretty well taken care of and less than half of that," Izuku chuckled.

With that information, Dabi was practically gaping before quickly regaining his composure. “I'm assuming pigs fly around there as well?” Dabi joked. It was crystal clear he didn't believe Izuku. At all.

“What if I told you I live in that apartment complex?”

Dabi's eyes opened wide at that.

“You're kidding right?” Dabi asked hopefully.

“Nope! I can take you there right now and show you my own apartment!” Izuku said cheerfully. “It's about 108,500¥ ($700) per month.

He narrowed his eyes on that.

“What do you mean, ‘your own apartment’? You're a minor, don't you live with your parents or something?” Dabi asked. Well, it made sense at least. Guess Dabi wasn't the only minor living by himself.

A mischievous and sly smile appeared on Izuku's face. It would be unnerving if he was a villain or hero of sorts. It could send the inexperienced on the other side running.

“What do you mean?” Izuku asked sarcastically while reaching into his backpack to grab his wallet. He grabbed his fake identity. “I'm legally 18 years old after all,” if there was any one minor who had managed to trick the system best, it was definitely Izuku.

“You smart bastard!” Dabi started laughing maniacally, though only for a short time.

Dabi slung his arm around Izuku as they started walking out of the alleyway. “If you would be so kind, I'd like to see this illustrious apartment of yours.”

Izuku was honestly glad he was able to save those other guys' lives. He knew Dabi wasn’t a bad person either. If Dabi needed a job, he might be able to work at the cat cafe.

“I'd be glad to,” Izuku said, happy to hopefully help Dabi out.

Wait. Izuku just realized something.

“How'd you recognize me out of costume?” Izuku asked dumbfounded.

“Pretty simple kid. When I saved you I saw a peak of your hair. Same color. Most of all I recognized your voice. Yes, you got a voice changer, but ya didn't have it that first day,” Dabi explained like it was all so simple.

Dabi took his arm off of Izuku's shoulders and flung his hands in his pockets.

“Makes sense,” Izuku pondered. “It's about 10 minutes to the apartment complex. The outside isn't very pretty, but the actual apartments are quite nice.”

“Also kid, I swear if you're pulling my leg I'm going to-”

“Nope. You're not resulting to violence anymore. If you need money and a job, I will gladly hire you at the cat-cafe I co-manage.”

“Damn. You Co-manage an entire cafe? That's hella insane for what, a 14 year old kid?” Dabi asked.

“Yup! We're not particularly looking for new staff at the moment, but the help is definitely handy,” Izuku said, full confidence in his voice now.

“Damn, I would probably scare people off knowing my face,” Dabi chuckled, already thinking of the scared faces. He wished he could go places without everyone shying away from him.

“I can guarantee most people will not be fazed by you. One of my co-managers' quirk makes her appear like a spider. When she first started working, she was really insecure, but she quickly learned the people who come to a cat cafe don't care.”

“I mean, I have income but it isn't really reliable.” Dabi replied.

“Yeah, see that, that is not a good way of income. Doing favors for people and expecting money back isn't very reliable, I hope you know that,” Izuku clocked.

“Yeah, I know. Only way I get money though,” Dabi admitted.

“What do you mean?” Izuku asked, curious about the reason why.

“I tried getting work but nobody would hire me,” Dabi sighed.

Izuku kept his head forward as he confidentially spoke. “Their loss.”

The two talked about different things, finally coming to the topic of heroes. How did they even get there? Izuku could say he didn't bring it up, but that would be a lie.

“All Might used to be one of my favorites, but then I met other heroes, and essentially liked them better,” Izuku stated, plain and cut.

Dabi chuckled. “I used to be a big hero geek before.. An accident of sorts. After the accident, I was walking around and apparently I looked like a debby-downer,” Dabi laughed remembering the experience. “That hero kinda became my favorite, considering I passed multiple other heroes that day.”

“Ooh, who is it!? Is it a daylight or spotlight hero? Or limelight or underground!?”

“I have absolutely zero idea,” Dabi replied half-truthfully.

“What did they look like!?” Izuku realized he was getting way too caught up in his passions, and toned it down a notch. “Sorry! I'm kinda a hero geek, and I get too caught up with my excitement!” Izuku rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

Dabi just laughed. You could call it a deep, belly laugh. “Okay so one, I ain't telling ya. That shits too sappy. And two, I know they're not a daylight/spotlight hero.”

Izuku decided to just leave it be, considering the fact that Dabi might not trust him with such ‘sappy’ and personal information. “Oh! I just remembered, how's your arm?”

“It's fine. Got it healed at an underground hospital," Dabi stated.

“Good! Anyway, we are here at the apartment complex! It's nothing fancy on the outside,”
Izuku pointed out.

“Yeah, I can tell.”

“The rent for apartments differ. The smallest ones they got are 2 bedrooms and 1 bath. That's the one I have with the cheap rent. Though the more rooms there are the more the prices spike,” Izuku explained.

“I kinda assumed that.”

The two walked up to Izuku's apartment.

“This is my apartment. You can choose to get one or two keys. I always keep the extra in my room,” Izuku unlocked the door and gestured for Dabi to walk in.

“Damn, you lucky bastard! Shit this is nice!” Dabi practically cheered while looking at the living room that's combined with the kitchen.

“Yup. I would show you one of the rooms, but one has my vigilante stuff and the other is my personal room,” Izuku explained. “The kitchen is pretty basic. It has a small fridge, a microwave, and a small oven. They're nothing expensive, but they work.”

“Yeah, plan on seeing me a lot more after this. If I'm able to get an apartment like this, legally, I'm so renting one,” Dabi rejoiced at the new possibility.

“The guy allows basically anyone to rent so long as they have money. Though you might have to tell him your actual name to get one,” Izuku could easily tell Dabi was an alias.

“So yeah. There's kinda just a slight problem with that,” Dabi said amusingly.

“May I ask what? I'm not going to force you to tell me, but I'm all ears if you do,” Izuku really didn't want to push this guy out of his comfort zone, considering the fact that he might go straight back to villainy.

“Just a slight problem is all. My actual identity has been declared dead for, lets see, like 8 or 9 years?” Dabi said, chuckling a bit while he did.

“Umm yeah. Just a slight issue,” Izuku replied sarcastically. For some reason, that fit into his growing feeling that he somehow knew who Dabi was, even if not personally. “If you don't mind me asking, how does one-self manage to do that?”

“Yeah um, great question. Quirk accident.” Dabi replied more casually than anyone else would've.

“Is that where you got your scars from?” Izuku asked. For some reason, the pieces put themselves together perfectly.

“Yup!” A deep belly laugh followed after.

Izuku's eyes widened as he came to a realization.

“Don't tell me you just put two and two together.” Dabi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, much like his favorite hero is.

“Eight or nine years ago there was a quirk accident with the eldest of the Todoroki family. He was assumed dead but they never found any remains,” Izuku's tone started becoming more accusing and suspicious before returning to normal with the next thing he said. “If you are Touya, I don't really care. You don't have to tell me if you are or not. It's not really my place to barge into your personal matters and such.”

Dabi just laughed at that. “But thanks kid. You're honestly a lot more mature for your age than I ever was.”

“Yeah, that kinda happens when you've been living alone for almost a year now.” Izuku replied, surprised that the puzzle pieces fit together so well.

“Dang. That sucks. Why does a nice kid like you live alone?” Dabi knew how much it sucked to live alone. He felt for this kid.

“If I'm being honest I just didn't want to go through the foster system and end up getting placed in an orphanage,” Izuku answered truthfully.

“The system’s shit,” Dabi replied. “Thank fuck I didn't have to go through it.”

“Do you know what else sucks?” Izuku gained a menacing look in his eyes.

“Endeavor,” Dabi laughed, knowing that probably isn't what Izuku was talking about.

“Yup! Especially since you had to live on your own! Guy sucks, but I guess he's a pretty decent hero though,” Izuku answered.

“Fucking finally! Someone understands the goddamn atrocities that man has committed,” Dabi replied, voice raspy.

“Exactly! My guy strokes his ego like Rapunzel brushes her hair every day!” Izuku screeched, happy to have found someone who probably equally hates Endeavor, or hates him even more.

At this point, Dabi was wiping tears from his eyes while doubled over, laughing to his heart’s content. “You are never going to believe why I'm even alive!”

“Wait, quick pause, this means that you are in fact Touya Todoroki?” Izuku asked, having never heard actual confirmation from Dabi.

“Yep, I am. I miss everyone but my old man. I used to hate my littlest brother back when I was a kid, but I simply don't really care anymore,” Dabi stated matter-of-factly.

“Dang. I guess it makes sense though,” Izuku answered, unsure of the actual reason. He wasn't about to pry either.

“Me and all of my siblings were made for my sperm-donors selfish desires. He simply wanted a child strong enough to beat All Might, so into a quirk marriage he went!” Dabi laughed, thinking about the ridiculousness of the entire situation.

“You're joking!? Right!? Quirk marriages were outlawed years ago!” Izuku screeched, shocked at this newfound information.

“Yup,” Dabi leaned back and put his hands behind his head as he continued speaking. “That's why I always hated my littlest brother. He was the masterpiece, he got all of the attention.”

“That's so messed up! No wonder you left!” Izuku yelled.

Dabi chuckled. “‘Ima vote to change subjects right about now.” Dabi asked.

“That is perfectly reasonable. Wait.” Izuku grabbed his phone as it rung with a text notification from an unknown number.

***-***-***
_______
Hey, this is Toga. Do you mind if I spend the night at your place?? It's supposed to rain tonight

Izuku quickly saved the number and replied.
Midoriya
_______
Of course! I can send you my address. I would normally walk to find you but I have work tonight

Toga
_______
Thanks!!!!! I greatly appreciate it!!!

Midoriya
______
no problem! Happy to help when I can

Izuku sent Toga his address as he realized Dabi was peeking over his shoulder.

“Who's that? A giiirrlll?” Dabi asked in that accusatory voice with a smirk on his face. He could honestly care less, but it was still funny to rage-bait people.

Izuku just looked at him, completely unimpressed with a look that screamed ‘really.?’

“Okay, I get it, you're not interested in her. Got it,” Dabi rolled his eyes. “Maybe, you're just interested in guys,” Dabi smirked, hoping to still egg Izuku on.

Izuku.. Just realized he had options. His eyes flew open in realization. Well, Izuku's never really thought about things like that in the first place.

Dabi just laughed for a good 5 minutes while Izuku simply thought.

“Kid just realized he has options! Maybe it's time for ya to come out of the closet! It's glass, y'know!” By this point, Dabi was hurled over laughing, wiping tears from his eyes. He'd never had so much entertainment in his life.

Izuku was pulled out of his thoughts as he felt his phone buzz with another notification.

Toga
______
do you mind if I come over relatively soon? It's totally fine if not! I have nothing else to do and I'm bored. I need something to do before the cravings kick in:<

Midoriya
_______
I don't mind! Though I do have to leave in the afternoon for work. And right now there is currently an ex-villain over here doubled over and laughing at me. Just be warned.

Izuku pondered for a second before thinking about some way to get Dabi just as flustered.

“I mean, you're still hiding behind the glass closet too, so I don't know what difference it makes,” Izuku had never had to insult someone, so he really didn't know what else to say.

Dabi stopped laughing a little bit. “Kid, I've accepted a long time ago that no one will ever like me, so I've kinda given up on that fact,” Dabi said so casually, it was like an everyday fact. For him, it was just a part of his life.

“I hope you know there are 8 billion people in the world; there has to be someone who'd like you. Do you have any childhood friends that you remember maybe liking, or having a crush on?” Izuku asked, hoping to bring back at least an ounce of Dabi's hope for himself.

“I plead the 5th.”

“Dabi, we live in Japan. That doesn't count - wait! So there is someone you remember!”

Dabi simply crossed his arms, and began pouting like a kid. “There isn't, and if there was I wouldn't tell you about him,” Dabi knew he slipped up when the word came out of his mouth.

“The closet is glass after all,” Izuku said in a fake solemn voice while wiping fake tears out of his eyes. “I'm not going to force you to tell me, but you're not hopeless Dabi.”

“Thanks for trying, kid, but someone like him would never notice someone like me,” Dabi answered.

Izuku pondered for a moment before answering. “Something in my gut is telling me he's a hero. Is it your ‘favorite hero’ by chance?” Izuku slyly asked.

“Clearly you're much smarter than you look. Yes he is a hero, and no he's not my favorite. He's… one of two, I suppose,” Dabi didn't know why he had been spilling all his life secrets lately. It was the kid. Blame it on the kid.

“Oohhhh, so you have two favorites, one of which you like and the other is just a hero essentially.”

“Yes! For goodness sake they're my favorites for different reasons!” Dabi frustratedly yelled. This kid sure did have ways to get Dabi to talk.

Izuku doubled over in laughter. “I-” Izuku finished laughing enough to talk. “I never saw you as a hero fan,” Izuku started laughing harder.

“Shut up you brat!” Dabi wondered if this was what it was like to have a younger brother. Okay, maybe he did miss his siblings, even Shoto. And maybe he considered Jasper to be like a younger brother to him. No one would know that though.

A doorbell could be heard on the couch where the two were sitting.

Izuku got up, still laughing his butt off while opening the door. “Hi Toga! Welcome in!” Izuku said while still laughing.

Toga now knew if Izuku didn't like her or wanted her to leave, she could just bite him and take his blood. Though she'd still feel bad doing it.

Izuku grabbed Toga's arm as he walked to the living room where Dabi was still sulking.

“Toga,” Izuku continued laughing until he could properly speak again. “ Do you imagine this guy here, being a fan of two heroes?”

Toga started giggling while putting her oversized sleeve up to cover it, though she failed completely and ended up laughing as hard as Izuku was.

“Hey, you two brats! This is not funny!” Dabi yelled.

“You're so silly!” Toga managed to say between laughs.

Okay, maybe now Dabi would have two extra brats to look out for. He'd never admit it though. No, they could fend for themselves.

The trio continued joking like that until Izuku realized he really needed to get his school work done. (He was still ahead)

Toga and Dabi watched him as he did, having absolutely no understanding of anything. (Izuku is extremely advanced in everything)

Toga and Dabi eventually introduced themselves to each other.

Izuku finished all his school work for the day.

“Okay, Dabi, do you want to work at the cat cafe? If you do, you're coming with me so we can fill out a form,” Izuku asked.

“Actually uh, that'd be nice.” Dabi looked away. Probably from the fact he hasn't had anyone do anything nice for him in years.

“Also, maybe tomorrow we can get started on the paperwork for your apartment if you want one here.”

“Damn right! This place is so much better and cheaper,” Dabi cheered.

“Alright. Toga, we do have to go to work now. Yo-” He was then interrupted.

“I'm just going to follow y'all and probably watch y'all inside the cat cafe. I don't want to be stuck here all day!” Toga admitted. She didn't want to be left behind.

“That works! We do have to leave in 14 or so minutes, and I do have to get ready for work, so if you'll excuse me.”

Izuku got ready for work while Toga and Dabi talked.

“I saw on Izuku's phone you said ‘it's supposed to rain tonight’. What's that supposed to mean?” Dabi asked. He really hoped Toga had an adequate place to stay. Before he'd found a place to stay, it really sucked.

Toga thought for a second before replying. “When it rains, the water seeps through the walls and ground! It gets cold at night,” Toga admitted.

“Where do you live?” Dabi asked.

“Oh! It's like a shack? I think? I'm not sure!” Toga cheerfully replied like it was normal to live in a shack.

“Yeah no. That's not gonna work.” Dabi shook his head. Okay, maybe he felt like he had to help her, okay? No bad intentions here.

“It works for me! There no one can..” Toga trailed off as she realized Dabi didn't know about her quirk.

Dabi saw her visibly tense at that. “Girl, tell me whatever you're thinking about. I've been living as a villain for the past like, 8 years. I can guarantee you I've heard worse.”

“W-well..” Toga trailed off, her bubbly self from earlier gone.

“If you can stand this hatchypatch of a face, I can handle whatever it is you're thinking about,” Dabi said with full confidence.

Toga laughed at that, surprised by his statement.

“Well um. My quirk allows me to transform into someone when I drink their b-blood,” Toga looked away as she talked. “I-it also makes me crave blood, and sometimes I can't h-help these cravings,” Toga quietly admitted, prepared for the worst. Prepared for the yelling, for the beating, all of the things that never came.

Dabi thought for a second before replying. “Cant you go to different blood drives? I'm sure if it was quirk related they'd let you have some.”

At that comment Toga perked up. “Y-you really think so!? Wait, would they really??”

“Yeah. I mean, I think that's a pretty cool quirk. You could just turn into someone. It'd be pretty useful too.”

This was only the second person she'd had tell her that her quirk wasn't villainous or disgusting or monstrous. It felt refreshing.

Toga started tearing up at that, and embraced Dabi in a hug.

“Th-thank you.”

Dabi really didn't know what to do in this situation, so he just accepted his fate and wrapped an awkward arm around Toga.

“You're welcome kid,” Dabi replied.

After the two finished embracing, Izuku walked out. He laughed at the shock on the two's faces at the differences.

“You're like, so the same but so much different!” Toga exclaimed while looking at him.

“Yeah.. That's how I feel sometimes! Oh, we definitely need to get going now!”

With that, the three got going on their walk to the cat cafe.
______

“Toga do you… not have a safe place to stay?” Izuku asked.

Toga had stayed at Izuku's apartment for a week now. She didn't really want to overstay her visit, but she had no other choice really.

Her shed wouldn't fully dry from the rain for at least a few more days, and she learned that it can get cold there.

“Of course I do silly! It just gets pretty cold and wet there when it rains,” Toga mentioned like it was an any-other day fact.

This made Izuku stop cold in his tracks. What does she mean it gets wet when it rains? Yeah Izuku can understand cold, but wet?

“Hey Toga, where do you live?” Izuku asked.

“Oh my shack is in the woods off of.. 3rd street? I think? As long as I remember the way back I don't keep track of the streets,” Toga joked, though she wasn't joking.

“Toga, if you are living in a shack, I'm going to force you to stay here. No way am I letting you go back and live there!” Izuku looked sternly into Toga's eyes.

“Izukuuu!” Toga whined. “It's not like it isn't a normal place to live in!” Toga complained.

Izuku looked Himiko in the eyes with fierce determination. “Himiko,” That got Himiko listening, considering he never used her first name. “Living in a shack, is not. Normal.” Izuku emphasized the not.

“It isn't?” Toga genuinely asked. She did in fact not know living in a shack was not normal. Her parents had forced her to live in a shack in the backyard once her tendencies came in. It was just a fact of life.

“No! It isn't!" Izuku exclaimed. At this point in time, Izuku felt really bad for Himiko. This just shows how anyone with a ‘villainous’ quirk can be thrown off to the side, left to fend for themselves.

When Toga first stayed the night, Izuku realized she was far behind in school. So Izuku did the only logical thing and helped her start back up. She seemed to actually enjoy doing the online school under Nedzu, though she was pretty far behind. So Toga started learning lots of different things, and learned that she actually liked doing the school work, but not going to actual school.

Izuku was trying to teach her different things too, but apparently the fact that living in a shed is not normal never crossed his mind as something he needed to teach.

“How long have you been living in a shed?” Izuku asked.

“Hmm. That's a great question! I'm not sure… Probably since I was 13, and I'm 15 now so I'd say about two years!” Himiko exclaimed.

“Well, since we're done with our school work, I don't have to work for another few hours, we'll go grab your belongings. I am not letting you spend another night in a shack,” Izuku knew that if he didn't do this, it's possible Himiko could get sick, especially with the humidity. He didn't know if her quirk could play into that too.

“Are you sure!? You've already done so much for me! I simply couldn't acce-” Izuku cut her off.

“Nope. I do not give you the option to refuse help from me!” Izuku humphed.

“Fineeee!” Toga whined.

Dabi assumed that was the best time to walk in unannounced.

“Guess who finally has an apartment here?”

“Dabi!!!” Himiko ran and embraced Dabi. The two were practically like siblings at that point. (Though Dabi never showed it) “Zuzu says staying and living in a shack isn't normal!” Himiko whined.

“Wait a damn minute. So you're telling me you weren't pulling my leg when you told me that you actually lived in a shed?” Dabi asked. “I thought you were joking!”

“Nope!” Himiko pulled away from Dabi. “Zuzu says living in a shack isn't normal! He told me we're going to my house and grabbing all my belongings.” Toga mentioned.

“You don't have any extra rooms.” Dabi pointed at Izuku. “I do. So long as you pay at least ¼ of the rent you can stay with me.” Dabi suggested it like it was common sense. In all reality, he probably wouldn't let Toga pay for anything.

Himiko lit up at that comment. “Really!? Then we can visit Zuzu a lot! And I can still do online school with him!” Himiko bounced up and down.

“That works!” Izuku announced. “Why don't we all go and grab your stuff?” Izuku suggested.

“Sure. I have nothing better to do until I work,” Dabi announced. It was now his one week anniversary of working at the cat cafe, though most of the time he was in the back being taught how to do stuff. Which is the reason he never saw a certain someone come in on the daily.

“Let's go! Also um.. Thanks. You guys.” Toga admitted.

Dabi ruffled Toga's hair, though he couldn't do much damage considering Izuku put her hair into French braids. (He watched about 5 tutorials on YouTube and he still thinks it looks terrible) “No problem, leech,” Dabi laughed at the nickname. I mean, he still had a list of other nicknames for Himiko. Izuku was just ‘kid'.

“Hey! I'm much better than a leech! I go to the blood drive for some blood every few days now!” Himiko screeched.

“Right.” Dabi loved to mess with Himiko about her quirk, though he made it obvious he could care less.

“I haven't had any urges to completely attack someone and take all their blood since I've been here!” Himiko yelled. “Unless you'd like me to take all of your blood anyway,” Himiko said menacingly.

“Woah, no need to get all Vampire on me. I don't think my blood would taste very sweet after all, considering my sperm-donor,” Dabi announced, thus causing Himiko to curl her face back in disgust.

“Eew, Eneadvor's/Todoroki blood must taste disgusting. I wouldn't drink his blood if I had to!” Himiko spat.

Dabi just started laughing as Izuku chimed in. “If I had a quirk that relied on me having to drink blood to survive, I'd die before drinking his blood,” Izuku stated matter-of-factly.

This somehow started a domino effect of Dabi laughing harder, Himiko finally breaking down in laughter, and Izuku started laughing as well.

“Oka-” Izuku finished laughing. “We better get going if we want to be back in time for work,” Izuku huffed.

“Yeah, you're probably right, kid,” Dabi said while dragging himself off of his knees.

The three sibling-like duo started on their way to Himiko’s shed and finally arrived after 20 minutes.

“This is quite literally just a fort built with sticks. This is not a suitable home, Himiko,” Dabi said sternly, surprising Himiko by the use of her name.

“Yeah, I get it! I'm living with you now so it doesn't matter,” The three grabbed some of her things, Dabi and Izuku thinking the exact same thing.

We're gonna need to get her some new stuff.

The three walked back to the apartment complex, stopping at Dabi's apartment.

“I haven't moved a ton there yet,” Dabi said. “Not like I really had much to begin with,” He muttered to himself.

“Okay, I already claimed that room, so that room over there is yours. Though we will have to get you a mattress,” Dabi said while looking away, not used to having positive influences in his life.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyou!” Toga yelped while jumping up and down.

Izuku looked like a proud big brother, though he was still younger and slightly shorter.

“No probs squirt. Not like I'd use that room anyway. Though I am going to force you to find work and pay me at least 200,000¥ a month, considering you'll be using everything too.”

“Of course silly! I was planning on it anyway, though I don't know what to do for a job.” Himiko half-trailed off.

“Dabi, this apartment costs 118,400¥. I really don't think she's going to pay you 200,000¥,” Izuku shook his head disapprovingly.

“I'm clearly joking if you can't tell,” Dabi stated.

“I mean, if you still want money, and if you can't find anything of interest, you can always come and work at the cat cafe!” Izuku chirped.

“Maybe! Ooo, ooo! Maybe I could donate blood to the blood drive! Though I would have to..” Himiko stopped as she realized she'd have to tell everyone her quirk, and she'd probably get kicked out.

Dabi put a supportive hand on her shoulder. “I'll go with you if you do decide to do that. If they kick you out, I'll give them a piece of my mind. How about that?” Dabi mused.

“That's perfect! Thank you Touya, for everything really,” Himiko stated.

Dabi hadn't been called Touya in years, but coming from Himiko it just felt right in a way. Maybe he did see her as a sister? So what? So what if he was a slight fan boy of a few heroes? Only his closest companions would know that.

He did wish he could go back to his siblings, but knowing his flaming piece of crap was still there was an effective deterrent. And it might be just a little awkward going back after 8-9 years of being dead. Like “Hey guys, how are you doing? I'm actually your brother Touya and I never really died but I finally got the courage to come back!”

Eh whatever. Touya would worry about that later. Right now, he had two hooligans in his apartment.
______

“Ah, Aizawa-san! Just the person I'm looking for!” Nedzu happily chirped.

Great. What did the rat want this time? No one would ever know unless he straight up said it.

“Since I've uploaded my online school, I've had two students join!” Nedzu happily said.

He really hoped these two children would make it out of Nedzu alive.

“I'm honestly quite interested in both of their studies! Considering they both log in on the same device,” Nedzu said, obviously planning something.

“What do you mean?” At this point, Shouta idn't even want to ask.

“My very first student excels in everything. He is merely 14 years old, and already on some senior level academics. His quirk and hero analysis levels are that of top notch analysts.”

Oh great. Nedzu absolutely wanted to personally teach this kid. Shouta could only pray.

“I honestly think he could make it as a hero in the hero course when he is old enough,” Nedzu explained his opinion further.

“So you basically want to recommend him to the hero course?” Aizawa asked.

“That is if we can find him. I know his name, but I tried searching it up and I haven't found an official address. The last one was before his mother died 5 years ago,” Nedzu entertained.

“Interesting,” Aizawa quizzed. Hopefully it will stay that way.

“Indeed. The other one has advanced knowledge in medical studies, though her other courses suffer. She took three elective courses all including some sort of medical study. I think she would be a great candidate to intern under Recovery Girl, or alternatively, be a medical hero. She has also been looking for an intern for quite a while now and this girl's medical knowledge is far greater than anyone of her age.”

“Makes sense,” Aizawa hummed, unsure of why Nedzu wanted to talk to him about it. “Why did you want to talk to me about it though?”

Nedzu got a manic look on his face, which Aizawa had already gotten used to a long time ago.

“The thing is, the device is untraceable.” Nedzu stated.

Wow, maybe this kid was pretty good.

“Okay, can't you put something on his studies for when he does that?” Aizawa asked, not very great with technology.

“The thing is,” Nedzu entertained. “He hacked his device so no one can alter anything on it. Not even I can pass through it.”

This kid has to be good if Nedzu can't get through.

“But you can change your website, can't you?” Aizawa really hoped this wasn't a dumb question considering he wasn't a technology geek.

“I could try that, yes. But it might also show up on my other students' account as well. I'm sure there should be something I can do around that though. Thank you for your input, Aizawa-san!” Nedzu gleamed.

Aizawa might have to pray for these kids, after all that might be the only thing he can do to help.

Chapter Text

Izuku was peacefully waking up this Saturday morning. It was nice having Himiko over, but it was also nice having the place to himself once in a while.

Izuku was planning on hanging out with Denki for the day and planning on him spending the night at Izuku's. They would go to the mall before heading to Izuku's apartment, unless they got hungry. Maybe Izuku would have to invite Touya and Himiko over to introduce them to Denki.

Izuku and Denki's training was going considerably well. Denki was learning new ways to use his quirk without short circuiting and how to use that in the way he fights. Denki was also getting considerably better at hand-to-hand combat. He was actually pretty well considering the fact he had no clue how to fight before.

Izuku was also starting to put on some slight muscle, though nothing crazy for only doing it for a month. There was about 9 months left until the UA entrance exam, and Izuku was confident Denki could easily pass it.

Apparently Bakugo's group had been training together as well.

Izuku knew all of them could easily get into UA, though the entrance was built for better quirks. He did feel kind of bad for Shinsou, as he'd practically be going in quirkless.

Izuku got up and got ready for the day. He made himself some peanut butter toast, something that became a staple in his life.

They weren't supposed to meet until one, but Izuku's body never really let himself sleep in late anyway.

He could visit Himiko and Touya and see how they're doing.

Apparently Touya convinced Himiko to go to the blood drive, and actually tell them her quirk.

She was able to give lots of blood, all of different kinds. According to Touya she was a hit there, which was really good.

Himiko had continued to come over for school, advancing incredibly in her elective classes.

Izuku wondered if Himiko and Denki would get along. Touya would probably make fun of him, though Denki would probably just laugh at any comments Touya made.

Welp, Izuku still had groceries to run beforehand.

Izuku went and bought his groceries, which wasn't much. He was only one person, after all. Though he did buy some cinnamon, apples, and sour cream on top of his usual products.

He made it home around twelve, apparently just in time for a visit from his favorite siblings.

“Hey kid! Whatcha doing!?” Dabi asked in his usual manic voice.

“Not much honestly. Just waiting for the time to leave. I'm hanging out with a friend.” Izuku mentioned casually.

“I bet it's a guy!” Dabi laughed at that.

“Do I even want to know what's going on in your head?” Izuku sighed.

“He probably thinks that's the guy you have a crush on!” Himiko chimed in.

Both Izuku and Touya looked at her with very different looks. Touya looked extremely proud, and very amused. He would probably break out in laughter any minute now. Izuku on the other hand looked half horrified, and half ‘I'm not even surprised at this point’.

Izuku shook his head, honestly quite done with the situation.

“I mean, the closet is glass!” Himiko stated. “It's time for you to crawl out of it, Zuzu.” Himiko stated matter-of-factly.

This causing Touya to promptly burst out in laughter.

“Leech is right!” Touya yelled between laughs. “It's pretty obvious you aren't straight!”

“Hey! I just.. Haven't had the time to think about it, that's all.” Izuku stated.

“Yeah right! You're just avoiding the truth!” Touya yelped.

Izuku started yelling at the two while they were dying of laughter. Honestly, this is a perfect description of their relationship. Touya was like an annoying younger brother who was probably annoyingly right.

“I bet that guy you're going to hang out with is the guy you like!” Touya successfully ragebaited Izuku.

Though Izuku didn't crash out, he just stood there, face blank and mind racing.

He didn't like Denki like that, right?? He was his first friend, after all! It was normal to feel like that around him, right? Yeah, these two were just rage baiting Izuku. Yeah.

What surprised Touya and Himiko was his calmness.

“No. We're just friends, that's all.” Izuku stated in his calmest voice, though a little unsettling.

“Anyways, don't you have work, Touya?” Izuku turned to look at Touya with the most unsettling expression he could muster. “And Himiko, didn't you say you were going to volunteer and help out at the blood drive?” Izuku said, turning to look at Himiko.

“Yup! Guess we better get going! See you Zuzu!” Himiko said before grabbing Touya and running out of Izuku's apartment.

Izuku grabbed all of the things he needed and left.

The two had decided to meet at the mall. It was logical since going to Denki's or Izuku's place would add extra time to both people.

Izuku walked all the way to the mall, which was about 38 minutes. Denki arrived at basically the same time, so they were walking in together.

“Hey bro! How are you doing?” Denki asked.

“I'm doing pretty good! How about you!?” Izuku asked while they started walking to the first shop.

“I'm good! I also don't plan on getting very much stuff, considering I don't really need much.” Denki mentioned.

“Yeah me either. Maybe some extra stuff but I don't want to waste all my money.” Izuku answered.

“Me too! So, what do you need to get?” Denki asked, genuinely curious about his best friend's answer.

“Nothing much. Some black cargo pants for going out at night considering mine are getting kinda old.” Izuku chuckled at the end. “I also need some new notebooks for my own analysis and for school analysis. I also kinda need more..” Izuku trailed off at the awkwardness of admitting what else he needed.

“Dude I promise I won't judge! I need some pretty shady stuff every once in a while!” Denki admitted.

Izuku pondered for a second, thinking of a way to explain. “You know how I have my fake identity, and I'm apparently 18 years old but with a slight youth quirk?” Izuku asked.

“Yeah! Why though?”

“So, I kinda wear um.” Izuku just didn't really want to say it. It wasn't bad, it was just awkward for Izuku.

“Oh, do you mean makeup? I've seen you wear it a few times as Mikumo.” Denki casually said.

“Yes! Sorry, it's just kind of awkward for me to say, considering it's more of a girl thing.” Izuku sheepishly admitted.

“Dude, you're good! Even I have some stuff and sometimes do makeup for fun! It's not limited to just one gender! Though I do understand where you're coming from.” Denki said.

“Thank you.” Izuku looked at Denki. Really looked at him. “Anyway, what do you need?” Izuku asked, stopping their pace.

“Not much really. I need some new shirts as literally all of mine are like 100 years old.” Denki exaggerated. “I need a new phone charger because the last one I had kinda blew up.”

Denki said it so casually Izuku started laughing, though he tried not to and partly hid his mouth behind his hand.

“Hey! Don't laugh!” Though he had to admit Izuku was really pretty with a smile on his face.

“What-” Izuku finally composed himself. “What else do you need?” Izuku asked.

“Actually I also need some sticky notes for class. Thanks for reminding me!” Denki exclaimed.

“No problem..I guess?” Izuku said uncertainly. “Well, you need a charger and we're closest to there. How about we go there first?” Izuku suggested.

“Yeah that makes sense!” Denki exclaimed.

The two walked and talked over on their way to the electronics department.

“Holy moly! This place is huge! They have stuff for days!” Denki exclaimed.

Izuku just gaped at the sheer size of the shop. He knew they had a good mall but seriously?

Izuku decided to look around while Denki had to grab and ask an employee where the chargers were.

Denki finally found what he was looking for and walked around to find Izuku.

Izuku on the other hand was single handedly staring at the latest and greatest compatible keyboard.

It was originally a bracelet on your wrist, which you could then press a few buttons and enable a keyboard to show in front of you. The bracelet never dissipated though. It had a lot of other functions on it too.

You could press some buttons on the keyboard and allow other things to be shown. Kind of like on a phone, just you can see through it.

Some of the other functions were a clock, a weather app, an app store, the messages app, and some other random installments.

The nice thing? It was currently on sale. 20% off. Now this device was normally expensive, but ⅕ off? Izuku simply couldn't pass this deal.

“Umm Izu? What are you looking at?” Denki asked, surprising even himself by the nickname slipping.

“Look. At. This. It's 20% off! I can't pass a deal like this!” Izuku exclaimed.

“I'm just going to nod my head and pretend I know what that is.” Denki said matter-of-factly.

Izuku wondered if it was worth explaining to Kaminari, but eventually decided against it, going for a simple explanation instead.

“It's a bracelet that can project a keyboard and connect to something by Bluetooth. It has other functions too, but that's what it's mostly used for. Lots of heroes use it!” Izuku exclaimed.

“Okay.” Denki shrugged. If it made Izuku happy he was fine with it.

The two checked out while Izuku was fanboying over the device.

“It looks like a simple bracelet to me.” Denki said, not really understanding the hype yet.

“Wait! Let me connect it to my phone and then show you! Izuku said.

“Here!” Izuku put the bracelet on, which was just a simple black band that spanned about 2 inches in width. Izuku pressed a few buttons on the bracelet, causing a cyan-blue see-through keyboard to appear in front of him.

“See how cool this is!?” Izuku was flowing with excitement at this point. Some heroes connected this to their comms to be able to send silent messages in case of issues.

“Dang that is cool!” Denki exclaimed.

“You can even install some apps! Though most of them are restricted due to the compatibility issues.” Izuku said.

“This is so cool!” Izuku squealed.

Izuku took a deal breath, calming his excited nerves while remembering he was here for his best friend, not a gadget.

“Sorry! I kinda freaked out there a bit.” Izuku admitted sheepishly. “I will not freak out about it now.”

Denki was kinda glad to have Izuku's full attention back now, though he probably wouldn't admit it.

“Alright! Since we're close, let's go to um, that store!” Denki furiously pointed at a store diagonal to them.

“Oh yeah, that's the school supply store. I have no clue what the name of it is though.” Izuku admitted.

The two got everything they needed at the school supply store, as Izuku called it, and were now on their way to the clothing store.

“I honestly don't understand how girls can shop for hours!” Denki huffed.

“Probably because they can find a lot of stuff here that interests them. Think about it. If what my mom told me is correct, lots of girls go shopping for makeup, clothes, and general hygiene stuff.” Izuku stated.

“Yeah so?” Denki asked, actually curious.

“You can find lots of that in malls.”

Denki was waiting to see where his best friend was going with this.

“Yeah?”

“Think about two or three things that really interest you.”

Denki thought for a second before answering. “What does that have to do with anything?” Denki genuinely asked.

“I know that I would have to go searching for specific stores to find the three things I am thinking of. Whereas there's already lots of stores here where girls might find items of interest. I mean, if half of the stores in malls had at least one item of interest to you, how long do you think you'd be shopping?” Izuku asked.

Dang. That was a pretty good point. As always, Izuku was the brain.

“I guess I never thought about it like that! Dang, you know basically everything!” Denki said.

Izuku, still not very used to praise, started waving his hands in the air. “Really, anyone could've known that!”

“Izu, remember what I said when you talk down about yourself?” Denki got a playful and amused look on his face.

Izuku sighed in defeat, knowing that Denki wouldn't let up if he forced his agenda more. Though was there a way to stop him in the most unexpected way? Izuku thought so. I mean, you have to outmind the mastermind once in a while.

Izuku mirrored Denki's face on his, a grin resting on his lips.

“Oh I forgot! Would you care to.. Enlighten me?” Izuku challenged, leaning slightly into Denki's personal space. Thus causing Denki to jump back in surprise, shock, oh-my-gosh-that-was-hot, I can't think my best friend is hot!, and woah.

Denki landed on the safest possible answer at the time. “Hey! I'm supposed to be the one doing that! You're supposed to be a cute innocent cinnamon roll!” Denki exclaimed.

Izuku just sighed, and thought about what Touya said.

“Try having someone who acts like your brother tell you your closet is glass when you didn't even know there were options.” Izuku laughed at the memory.

“Damn! You just realized that?” Denki didn't even know why his mind jumped to the first thought it did, but he tried to push it to the back of his mind. (And only half-failed)

“Yup.” The two continued walking to the clothing store. “Before I met you, I had so few social interactions that I never even thought about it.” Izuku admitted.

“I guess that makes sense.” Denki mused.

“I mean, his closet is glass too so I don't know why he's making fun of me.” Izuku huffed.

“That's kinda funny!” Denki said while slightly laughing.

Izuku looked over at the fact of his best friend, and instantly softened at the sight.

The two finished with the clothing shop and made their way to the makeup section.

“Okay, what do you need here?” Denki asked.

“Some liquid concealer for my freckles and some liquid contour to make me look slightly older but still child-like. Does that make sense?” Izuku asked.

“I'm gonna pretend I know what those things are!”

Izuku already knew the exact products he wanted, considering he tested them the last time he went.

“Found one of two items.” Izuku announced it to his friend.

“Dang! Why is this stuff so expensive!?” Denki was looking at the prices on some tinted moisturizers.

“Oh yeah. Those often cost more than everything else from what I've seen. Also, this is drugstore stuff. Try buying from the high-end beauty brands and you'll quickly see prices that quadruple that. Maybe even quintuple.” Izuku stated, leaving Denki to gape at more prices.

“I found the second item I need. We're able to check out now.” Izuku said to Denki.

“Okay but seriously this stuff would look so good on you! It says it gives you wings on the eyes and it sounds cool!” Denki mused.

“Oh that's a liquid eyeliner. I don't really need it but I guess it would look cool.” Izuku found it was pretty cheap, so if it doesn't work it's not a huge deal.

Izuku checked out while Kaminari was right behind him.

The two walked to Izuku's apartment and talked while doing so. Nothing special.

And here we are! Finally.” Izuku said.

The two walked into the apartment, ready for some relaxation of sorts.

What Izuku wasn't expecting was a visit from his step-siblings.

“Oh I'll get it. You can make yourself comfy!” Izuku stated to Denki.

Izuku walked to the door, not surprised when he found Touya and Himiko.

“Zuku!!!” Himiko yelled while running up and hugging Izuku.

“Hi Himiko! And didn't you have to work Touya?” Izuku asked, clearly not impressed.

“Nope! And I wanted to meet your little friend here.” Touya said.

“Fine. Come in.” Izuku knew he probably couldn't get them to leave even if he tried.

Denki saw Himiko rush up and hug Izuku, and didn't know why he felt the way he did. Was it.. Jealousy? No, it couldn't be. He was just Izuku's best friend. That's all.

“Umm Izuku, is she your..?” Denki really didn't want to say the actual word so he trailed off.

“Denks! Meet the strays I adopted off the street and who I see as siblings. No more, no less. The patched one’s annoying though. Be aware of him.” Himiko finally unmatched herself from Izuku.

“Hey! I am n-” Touya was cut off.

“Yes you are and we all know it.” Izuku stated.
“Anyways! This is Himiko.” Izuku turned to look at Denki and pointed at Himiko. “She's literally like my little sister except she's a year older than me.”

Denki took an audible breath of relief as he realized these were his siblings, though not biological.

“I'm Himiko Toga! Nice to meet you!” Himiko stuck her hand out to shake with Denki.

“Kaminari Denki. Nice to meet y'all!” Denki hoped he could get to know these two as well as Izuku seemed to.

Dani came up and bumped him on the shoulder before whispering into his ear. “Your closet is glass. Just so you know.” Touya hoped he could get under this ones skin just to annoy Izuku.

Denki doubled down though, and was not about to let Touya get the best of him. “The last time I checked yours is too.” Apparently everyone heard him.

“Yeah everyone knows Touya-nii is definitely gay. There's nothing else to it.” Himiko stated bluntly.

“Fine! You caught me!” Touya said dramatically before dropping and holding his hands over his heart.

The four continued chatting and laughing, getting to know each other better and bonding as one family.

_____

“Hey, do y'all want to watch a movie with us?” Denki asked. He did want to spend some alone time with Izuku, but he really didn't mind these two.

“I mean, we were planning on staying anyway so why not?” Touya said, his usual madman voice still there.

“Hey I was gonna bake something. You all can watch the movie while I bake.” Izuku stated. I mean, he didn't buy the cinnamon, sour cream, and apples for nothing.

“Ooo! I bet you can bake really well! What were you planning on baking!?” Himiko asked, probably wanting to try whatever Izuku made regardless.

“Oh nothing much really! Just some apple bread! Though it is more like handheld cake when you take a slice.” Izuku said.

“Okay, that seriously sounds amazing. Like I've got to try this! Wait.” Denki looked at Touya and Himiko. “Have you guys tried this?” Denki asked.

“Nope! Not this thing at least.” Touya mentioned.

Denki took a sigh of relief because what do you do if you're the only one in the room who hasn't tried it? It's like torture. “It's sooo good!” “You have to try it when it's done!” To Denki it's like being left out of a secret.

“How long does this stuff take?” Denki turned to ask Izuku.

“I'm not sure. I haven't made this specific dessert or recipe before, so it's kinda new for me.” Izuku rubbed the back of his head while saying it.

“Yeah there's absolutely no way I'm not staying to see this. Imagine you can't cook or something and your kitchen explodes.” Touya mentioned it like that was any other casual Saturday.

“Touya, you know I bake at the cat cafe. And also didn't you almost set the oven on fire when you tried to bake chocolate chip cookies?” Izuku stated smugly while looking straight into Toya's eyes.

“Honestly reminds me of when I try to bake or cook.” Denki admitted sheepishly.

“Wait, what happens when you try to bake?” Izuku asked, genuinely curious.

Denki rubbed the back of his head while looking away. “Because of my quirk there's almost always some sort of current either just below my skin or sometimes above. When I touch different appliances it messes with them pretty badly sometimes.” Denki admitted.

“Wait, that actually makes sense with your quirk.” Izuku said, not wanting to delve any deeper than that.

“Hey! Chef, get going to the kitchen, I'm hungry!” Himiko yelled, basically hitting Izuku over the head.

“Alright alright I'm going! You guys can go watch a movie or whatever.” Izuku said while walking to the kitchen

“Nah, I'd rather watch you make this apple bread. I wanna make sure you didn't put any poison or something in it, you know?” Touya said sarcastically.

“Yeah sorry Izu but I think we've all decided we're going to watch you.” Denki commented.

“Yeah! There's no way we aren't going to watch you!” Himiko chimed in.

“Well then.” Izuku huffed, knowing they might have to grab chairs.

“Okay, two of you sit here, then someone else can either stand or go grab a chair. Up to them.” Izuku calmly stated while grabbing everything.

Izuku was muttering the ingredients to himself while he got them, oblivious to his own tendencies. Denki honestly kinda liked that about him, though he didn't even know why.

“Umm kid, you're muttering.” Touya mentioned, while he was standing and leaning against a wall.

“Sorry! Yeah I kinda figured that. I can stop if you guys want?” Izuku hesitantly asked.

“I don't care. Do whatever you feel you need to do while making it.” Denki stated, wanting the best for his friend.

“I don't either! Though it would be nice to talk to you while you're working to figure out what you're doing at times.” Himiko said.

“Alright! I know grumpy hatchypatch over here wouldn't like anything I do, so his vote doesn't count.” Izuku bluntly stated.

“Hey!” Touya screeched, not paying any attention to the two teenagers laughing at the table.

“It's true!” Izuku stated while starting to peel, core, and cut the apples. The recipe called for two, but Izuku wanted more so he's using three.

“How do you peel apples so nicely!?” Toga screeched.

“Because I got an apple peeler from my mom. Basically all of my baking stuff is actually from her.” Izuku stated.

“What's that got to do with anything?" Touya asked, clearly not impressed.

Thus causing Izuku to drop the apple he was peeling onto the cutting board and whizzing around at lightning speeds.

“I've searched for almost all of this stuff online before to check prices and stuff. You do not. Know how expensive all of this stuff is.” Izuku said threateningly.

“Okay I get it!” Touya raised his hands defensively, though he was clearly joking around. “All this stuff costs so much money!” Touya sarcastically said.

“Yes.yes it does.” Izuku stated, now onto mixing the apples with 1 ½ tablespoons of the cinnamon sugar mixture.

“Touya, your big back isn't getting any of this. I'm going to force you to watch us eat it.” Izuku stated, though he was joking.

“Yeah right!” Touya rasped. “You couldn't stop me if I wanted to!” Touya definitely took the joke seriously, and was now making threats to Izuku.

“Touya, It's a joke. Though it is really amusing to see how long it takes to ragebait you.” Izuku smirked, knowing this would shut him up for a while.

“Hey! Wa-” Touya realized he was also getting ragebaited, so he just shut up, not wanting to further amuse these three.

So Touya sat with his arms crossed and pouted basically the entire time, though at least he did still talk to the group.

The four continued to talk about different interests and things, until it landed on Izuku.

“What are some of your interests!?” Himiko asked, not thinking about the fact that Izuku was currently baking.

“I like baking! It's kinda relaxing and very rewarding.” Izuku replied.

“Yeah we know that dummy! What other interests do you have?” Himiko asked.

“I mean, I like saving people, so vigilantism I guess. I also like working with tech and support gear! Though I'm not very great at it. I guess that's all I can think about off of the top of my head.” Izuku stated.

“Yeah I'm gonna have to add one or two to that list.” Denki bluntly stated.

“What are they!?” Himiko excitedly asked.

“First of all, guy’s practically a master at ninjutsu, he could probably fight for days, and he never stops telling me about how he loves messing with Eraserhead.” Izuku turned around just in time to see Touya perk up slightly at the name.

“I guess.” Izuku stated while thinking about the subtle hints Touya was giving off.

“Touya.” Izuku stated while turning to look at him. “I think I just found out who your favorite hero is.” Izuku said with that tone.

“Nope! No you don't!” Touya quickly bulldozed past the accusations.

This causes Izuku to just grin wider and wider. “It's Eraserhead, isn't it?”

Touya just sighed, knowing he was fighting a battle he couldn't quite win. “Fine. Whatever.”
Touya looked away.

“It is!! I can so see why you fanboy over him though!!” Izuku stated. “Even though he's an underground hero he's still really good!”

“Why do you-. Wait. You must like him too!! Touya stated. “You're a fanboy too!” Touya was really trying to ragebait Izuku, but I guess it just wasn't in his cards.

Izuku just stared at him, unimpressed for probably 30 seconds.

“Umm Touya, we knew this. Get in the game.” Izuku exclaimed, though in a calm fashion before returning to his apple bread.

Touya just sighed his defeated sigh, knowing he wasn't winning this battle anytime soon.

Touya remained quiet for a few seconds while Himiko and Denki spoke up.

“Wait, you're making this with sour cream!? Isn't that gonna make it like, super bad!?? Himiko screeched.

“Nope. This should enhance the flavor, according to this recipe.” Izuku calmly said.
“Oh crap! I forgot to preheat the oven!” Izuku said while walking over to the oven and preheating it.

“Silly Zuzu!” Himiko giggled.

“Honestly I would probably forget to do that too.” Denki said.

“I always forget to preheat the oven until the very end! Let's just hope we're not stuck waiting on the timer.” Izuku grimly stated, though it wasn't a big deal really.

“Timer?” Touya spoke up.

“Yes. To preheat my oven you gotta wait 10 minutes so it can fully warm up.” Izuku stated.

“Ohhhh gotcha!” Himiko chirped.

Izuku finished making the dough and put it in the 9x5 bread pan.

“Wait. Don't you have to let it rise first?” Denki asked, curious as he always had to let bread dough rise.

“Only if you have yeast or other components like that. This is more like hand held cake, so it doesn't have yeast or anything like that.” Izuku calmly explained.

“That makes sense!” Denki exclaimed. “Also, how long do we have to wait for this to be done?”

“Anywhere from 40 minutes to 70 minutes!” Izuku exclaimed, expression immediately dropping.

“Welp, we might as well watch a movie while we're waiting.” Touya said while walking over to the living room part of Izuku's apartment.

They bickered about movies for probably 5 minutes before Izuku finally recommended one.

“This one's called Ford vs Ferrari. It's a pre-quirk era live action movie. Izuku showed them the case, though it was ancient.

“I'm going to put this in, and you all are going to watch it and enjoy it.” Izuku stated threateningly. “No more bickering, no more arguing.”

The three agreed pretty quickly, seeming as no one had really seen him like this before.

They started watching the movie with Touya squished on the far left of the couch, Himiko right next to him, Izuku next to her, and Denki against the far right side of the couch.

No one had complete room, but it was enough to still comfortably move around.

Denki would never admit it, but he felt butterflies in his stomach for a reason he didn't really know. Maybe it was close proximity, maybe it was meeting new people, maybe it was sitting right next to his best friend, maybe he'd never know.

Eh whatever. Denki would focus on the movie instead of his gorgeous friend next to him.

Izuku heard the timer he set for 45 minutes ring, so he got up and checked on the bread.

It did still have another 10ish minutes to go, so he put it back in the oven.

“Hey Izu.” Denki asked when Izuku sat down.
“How long until the bread is done?”

“Probably around 10 minutes.” Izuku said, surprised to hear all three of them groan

“It feels like forever! At least this movie is pretty good.” Himiko said, distaste in her tone.

The three sat unhappily while watching the movie.

Izuku jumped up first at the sound of the timer, and the other three immediately followed.

Izuku did want to mess with them a little bit.

“Sorry guys, about 5 minutes until it's done.” He pretended to put it back in the oven while all of them groaned and creaked.

“You're joking!!” Denki stated.

“Yup. It's actually done. Grab some of the small plates from that cabinet over there.” Izuku pointed at a cabinet across the albeit small kitchen.

“Why do you only have 4 of these small plates?” Himiko asked while grabbing all of them.

“Because I live alone. There isn't really a need for me to have more.” Izuku stated, already cutting up and slicing the bread.

“This will be very hot, so be careful.” Izuku said while placing a slice on each person's plate.

The four did end up waiting another 5 minutes for it to cool down before actually trying it.

“If anyone wants forks they're over there.” Izuku pointed to a drawer.

Everyone was too hungry to care about a fork.

“This is so good!” Denki stated. “Like, the apples are absolute perfection!”

“I've never had a dessert this good in my life!” Toga said while quickly finishing her piece and grabbing another.

“Gotta admit kid, you're pretty dang good in the kitchen.” Touya said while finishing his slice and going to grab another.

“Dang. This recipe is really good! I'll have to make it again sometime.” Izuku stated while also grabbing another piece.

“Please! Invite me over the next time you do. I can't ever miss out on this heavenly apple bread.” Denki half-muttered while also grabbing another piece.

The four continued to joke around and talk while slowly eating their second pieces.

This was honestly really fun to have Touya and Himiko over, but now he wanted to spend time with his best friend.

“Okay, now that it's like 8, you guys can go now.” Izuku said to Touya and Himiko.

“Yeah Touya-nii can we go?” Himiko said in between yawns. “I want to go to sleep.”

“Fine. We'll get out of your hair.” Touya said to Izuku, though he also wanted to get some sleep.

“Good night you two!” Denki yelled while they were walking out of the door.

Now it was just Izuku and Denki alone.

“So. Do you wanna watch another movie or something?” Izuku asked Denki.

“Eh, not really. I'm kinda movied out for the night.” Denki admitted.

“Yeah me too honestly. What do you want to do?” Izuku asked, not knowing what to do himself.

“You got any ideas? Because I've got none.” Denki admitted.

“Me either.” Izuku sighed.

“We could always watch some of the cameras at UA or the police station.” Izuku mused.

“Do you think anything is going to be going on at 8:14 PM on a Saturday?”Denki asked, crossing his arms and putting on an unimpressed look.

“Probably not at UA, but there should still be stuff going on at the police station.” Izuku mused.

“At this point, sure. I got nothing else.” Denki said.

The two watched the police cams for probably a half hour or so until they were bored.

“I'mma just see what's going on at UA for a few seconds. Just wanna check on the place I guess.” Izuku didn't want to admit the gut feeling pulling him to check the cameras at UA.

“Um Izu, what is that?” Denki asked.

“I don't know. It's some kind of warp quirk, though it looks to be combined with other quirks, but that's not possible.” Izuku said, watching the figure.

This is what they were going to turn Oboro Shirakumo into, but they failed at gaining his body. So they made due with what they could find, and found another guy with a similar enough quirk.

“Yeah this may be a good time to email Nedzu.” Izuku kept the cams pulled up, and quickly created an unidentifiable email. He would never use his personal one for such affairs.

The email stated:

Dear Nedzu,

This is your fellow hacker speaking. You may want to check your cameras if UA, as there is what appears to be some sort of warp quirk in the building.

Izuku attached a picture of it, and sent it to Nedzu.

“Okay! I don't want to be any more involved in this than I have to be, so let's go watch something on the TV!” Izuku exclaimed, grabbing Denki's wrist and dragging him to the living room.

And Denki had butterflies again as soon as Izuku touched him. Ahh, he'd really have to get his stupid emotions under control. I mean, why did his mind react this way to his best friend?? Denki really wanted to know.

The two watched some natural life documentaries before turning off the TV, and falling asleep on their respective sides.

_____

Nedzu was about to go to bed when he got an email from an unknown identity.

Apparently it was from the person who hacked into his school, but made no effort to get any information.

Nedzu quickly checked his cameras, and dispatched some heroes to deal with the warp villain. Nedzu found that the villains tried to loop the cameras, but apparently failed due to the hacker dropping in.

Who was this person, and why did they help UA when they could've easily just left it?

Whoever it was, Nedzu thought they'd get along just splendidly. He really wanted to meet this hacker after all.

Chapter Text

“So, you ready to go? You got your extra money?” Touya asked.

Touya and Himiko had planned a shopping trip, considering Himiko desperately needed new clothes. She didn't have very many to begin with, and Touya really wanted her to have better ones.

The ones she currently had were not completely bad, but definitely worn.

It had been a week since they hung out with Izuku and his friend. Himiko had donated about 4 times since then, gaining a pretty decent amount of money.

(Guys, I don't know if people earn money irl from this)

Touya had required a shopping trip to get her some new clothes. He could probably stand to get some new clothes as well, but didn't need them as much as Himiko did.

“Touya! This is so pretty!!” Himiko was looking at a skirt, which Touya had figured she took a liking to over pants.

“It's cute. You should get it if you want it.” Touya really didn't know much about clothes, so he really didn't know how to be of much assistance.

“This one's cute too! They're pretty cheap too! I could get 15 of these with my budget if I wanted!” Himiko had been getting better at math, and tried to practice it when she could.

“Though I wouldn't get all skirts with my money!” Himiko explained.

Touya was happy to see Himiko enjoying herself, though he really didn't understand how she could have so much fun shopping.

Toga licked out about 5 skirts at the store, leaving money for other things as well.

“Lets go to the pants store next! I like wearing skirts more but I do want some pants!” Himiko exclaimed.

“I need some too I guess.” Touya mentioned while starting to walk in the direction of the pants store.

Toga picked out 4 pairs of pants. One pair of sweat pants, 2 pairs of sports pants that are really easy to move in (different colors), and one pair of black cargo pants.

Dabi picked out a few, though they were all the same.

“I want some sweatshirts!” Himiko exclaimed.

“I need some too. At this point what do I not need?” Touya sighed.

“Me too Touya! Now I have so much new stuff! We'll have to match sometime soon!” Himiko chirped, skipping as they went on their way.

Himiko and Touya both got 3 sweatshirts.

“Now the shirts store! Touya, you really need some new shirts. Almost all of yours have holes in them.” Himiko pointed out.

“Yeah I know. I plan to get some.” Touya remarked.

“You should really get some colors other than black, dark purple, and grey! You need some excitement in your life!!” Himiko exclaimed.

“Nah, I'm good.” Touya said, knowing he would probably lose this battle anyway.

“Come on! Just one shirt! I'll even do the work and pick it out for you!!” Himiko begged.

“Fine. Whatever.” Touya said while walking into the shirt store.

“This is my size, leech. Don't mess it up.” Touya pointed at a tag on a shirt his size.

“Okie dokie!!”

Himiko picked out her stuff first, marveling over the sheer variety there was.

Himiko shirts weren't much, but she also found a tan button up sweatshirt that she liked, so she got that as well.

It would go very well with one of the skirts she got.

Now it was time to start looking for Touya's shirt, which honestly wasn't too hard.

“You're joking. I am not wearing that.” Touya countered.

“Nope! I already got a shirt that matches it! Isn't it cute!??” Himiko squealed.

“You know what? Fine. I'm too tired to deal with this.” Touya grabbed the shirt and put it in his cart, knowing he would probably wear it regardless, since it's something from Himiko.

“Yayyy!!!” Himiko honestly knew this part of herself was her true nature. Unless she wanted to concentrate she could be serious.

The two checked out and got going on their way out of the busy mall.

Touya noticed how it was honestly much more packed then when they walked in, though it shouldn't be.

Touya grabbed Himiko's arm and dragged her out of where most of the crowd was.

“Oh my gosh!” Himiko squeaked. “What happened here!?” Himiko asked the swarm around them.

“Villain attack. Wasn't very severe but the villain had a knife and stabbed through her abdomen. She's losing blood fast.” Someone from the crowd updated the two on the situation.

“I wonder who it is! I wonder if I could donate blood to her.” Himiko was definitely not prepared when she saw the mass of purple hair laid across a stretcher.

No. It couldn't be. Not Midnight.

That was Himiko's favorite hero. She was not about to let her die.

“Is anyone able to donate blood? She won't survive if she doesn't get any!” Himiko heard some of the medical team yelling to the crowd.

Himiko was able to move closer into the crowd, and see the scene better.

Her medical knowledge kicked in, and she was concentrated.

It seemed they couldn't move her up into the ambulance because of the blood loss. They might've stopped the bleeding and sewn her up. It looked like they were trying to move her into the ambulance, but failed.

Himiko decided to try her luck and yell out to the paramedics.

“Why hasn't she been moved inside?” Himiko was still trying to get through some of the crowd.

“If we move her without blood there's it's more likely we'll tear the stitches open and the wound will continue bleeding. They have blood at the hospital but we can't move her there!”

One of the paramedics yelled out to the crowd, still trying to patch up smaller wounds and cuts.

Himiko finally moved through the crowd and reached the medical team.

“I can donate!”

“What type are you!?” A frantic voice yelled from the medical team.

“It doesn't matter. I can use my quirk and copy her blood type. If you will give me permission, that is.” Himiko didn't want to get arrested for illegal quirk use, though permission might not be much better.

“I'll cover for you.” One of the females working on the medical team said.

“Alright. Just please don't freak out.” Himiko told the group, not caring that an entire crowd of people were watching.

Himiko put her hands on the hero's costume and licked them, turning into an exact replica of Midnight.

“We don't have much time now! Do the transfer.” Himiko told the group.

One of the medical staff tried to put it into her arm with shaky hands before she grabbed the tube and stuck it into her arm with much more precision.

One half of Himiko's face slashed back, signifying they had to hurry.

“Woah! That's a cool quirk!” Yelled the female who gave permission to Toga said. “I'm assuming you also copy people's blood?”

“Yea, I copy everything about a person. Their voice, looks, blood, everything. Even clothes.” Himiko said in a weird half-Midnight, half-herself voice.

“Okay, that's a good amount! We can safely get her onto the ambulance and to the hospital now!” Someone from inside the ambulance yelled.

Himiko carefully took the hooks out of her arm as the blood flow in the tube slowed.

Himiko took the tube out of Midnight's arm, careful for the bleeding.

She carefully but quickly stitched Midnight's arm up.

Himiko grabbed a thick bandage and put it on Midnight's arm as she woke.

She looked at Himiko. “Th-thank you. What's your name?” She asked, still weak from the stab wound.

“Toga, Himiko Toga.” Himiko replied, a smile on her face as she watched her favorite hero get carried into the ambulance.

Himiko realized she was bleeding and simply shrugged before wiping the blood off and applying pressure to the area.

Touya ran up to her while throwing his hands on her shoulders. A deep, maniacal cackle coming out of his mouth.

“Didn't know you were a doctor! Himi-chan that was awesome!” Touya yelled in her ear.

“You really think so? I just did what I thought was right. That's all!”

“I think you have the potential to be a hero.” Touya never said that, so I guess this time he really meant it.

Himiko looked at him with almost tearful eyes. “Y-you really think so?” Himiko encased herself around Touya.

Touya knew he wouldn't get out of this, so he just accepted it at that point.

“Yeah. I really do leech.” Touya said while Himiko pulled away.

Fans could be heard gawking over a hero, but that hero only had one thing on his mind.

“Touya.?”

That voice made Touya stop, his expression made of pure shock and astonishment.

He slowly turned around, seeing him as he did.

“Touya.” This time it was said as a statement, and by someone who Touya had thought long forgotten him.

“I thought you forgot me.” Touya said softly as the hero came rushing towards him.

“I-i thought you died.” The hero announced, grabbing Touya and dragging him into an alleyway.

“I'm just gonna go home Touya! See you there!” Himiko announced before skipping off, assuming she should probably give these two room to talk.

“You were my only friend then.” The hero announced

Touya just laughed, clearly not expecting this.

“I thought that you would've forgotten me, Keigo.” Touya announced.

“When they told the world you were dead, I didn't believe it. I heard they never found your body, so I had hope.” Hawks admitted.

“I came back and heard you were a full on pro. I thought you probably wouldn't remember someone as insignificant as me.” Touya admitted, his raspy voice holding a hint of sadness.

“How did you even survive that?” Hawks asked.

“To be honest, I don't even know. I jumped into a lake and passed out. I woke up three years later in some sort of.. Hospital I think. My memory was fuzzy when I first woke up, so I don't remember much.” Touya admitted.
“You know, I'm honestly surprised you recognized me with my scars and dyed hair.” Touya admitted.

“I mean, I thought I'd try my luck, y'know?” Hawks joked. “But seriously, you were my only friend then. How could I have forgotten you?” Hawks asked, genuinely curious.

“I mean, you're a pro, and you see dozens of people everyday. I thought I was probably one of those people.” Touya admitted, not super happy with the sappy crap but happy his childhood friend recognized him.

Hawks was giving him an unimpressed look, meaning that he probably didn't believe Touya.

Touya sighed, knowing he could probably tell the other part of the truth. “Okay fine, you caught me. Thats part of the truth, but honestly? I was kinda mentally ill for a while after. Still am.” He joked. “But for the first two years after I woke up it was really bad.”

“How bad?” Keigo asked, genuinely concerned about his friend.

“I remember one time I thought a bird was a plushie of some sort.”

“Hey I mean, some birds do look like plushies sometimes.” Keigo admitted.

“Yeah, the only difference with this one is it was currently flying in the air.” Touya admitted, causing Keigo to burst out in laughter despite his attempts to hold it.

“I-im sorry! That's too good!” Hawks continued laughing for 30 seconds before it was Touyas turn to look at him with an unimpressed look.

“Yeah I was pretty crooked in the head. Still am, just different.” Touya stated. (This was a fact)

“Oh man. After you came back to yourself how did you feel?” Keigo asked.

“Honestly, very out-of-body if that makes sense. Like I wasn't really feeling properly. It sent me for a loop for a while before I fully returned to normal.” Touya admitted, laughing at the memory.

“That must've sucked!” Hawks exclaimed.

“Yeah. After that it wasn't super bad. Had a kid adopt me and call me a stray I guess.” Touya chuckled.

“Wait really? That's actually kinda crazy.” Keigo was nodding along with Touya.

“You can't tell anyone, but the kid may or may not be a vigilante.” Touya knew he could trust Keigo.

“Shit wait. That one Eraser says is messing with him all the time? I thought his name was Jasper or something.” Keigo laughed.

“Yup. Thought it was pretty crazy, honestly.” Touya admitted.

Hawks glanced down at his watch and sighed.

“Guess I have to go back to patrol.” Hawks handed Touya a piece of paper with his phone number on it. “Text me sometime. I'll text you back when I'm off patrol and maybe we can hang out sometime.” Keigo told Touya.

Touya took the paper and put it in his shopping bag, not knowing how to respond.

“Um thanks. Anyway I guess I'll see you around?” Touya asked.

“I wish I could stay longer but the HPSC wants me to do more shifts. It sucks sometimes.” Keigo huffed.

Touya knew exactly what would surprise Keigo.

Touya leaned slightly into Hawks, just enough for it to be visible.

“Well then. You better be a good little birdie and get going on patrol then! I'll see you around!” Touya yelled while laughing and walking out of the alley and back to his apartment.

He didn't see the flustered look on the pro hero's face as he stood there for a good 30 seconds.

Then finally, Keigo flew off, hoping that Touya would text him sometime.

____

Izuku woke up to his alarm the next morning, grumbling. He simply didn't want to get up, but he did want to go out tonight.

Today Izuku has been a vigilante for 2 months! Izuku honestly thinks that's really crazy. There was 8 months until the entrance exam for Denki and Kachaans group.

Bakugo had been getting better, but still had some of his old habits.

Izuku had also been helping Denki with his quirk limits and control. Denki's limit was now 2.3 million volts, or at least before he started to get short circuited.

While Izuku was getting ready, he realized it might be a good time to replace them.

He'd had them for a few years now, and hadn't had the need to replace them until now.

The shoes were pretty worn down, and it seemed like a few holes were starting to form. Oh well, Izuku would have to get some later.

Izuku grabbed his bracelet and put it on, happy to have it.

He successfully hacked into an app, and it now allows him to check the locations of the heroes through their comms.

Izuku also installed chrome onto his bracelet, so now he can hack into the cameras on the streets. This makes Izuku 2X as helpful now!

Walking out the door, Izuku thought about life and such.

Midnight had been on leave for a few weeks after she almost bled out, though she should be back doing hero work sometime soon.

While Izuku was running around he also made sure to check the cameras every once in a while.

Running felt like all Izuku had been doing for the last hour, which it had been.

Izuku heard a scream coming down into an alley, so he quickly ran over, making sure to keep low on the roofs to not be seen.

While the guy was just standing there, Izuku was diligent in quickly analysing the guy's quirk.

He had a sort of lion quirk, which gave him a muscly and defined look. Izuku searched his brain for any weak points he knew about lions, and found lots more than he thought he knew.

Now lions were very strong, so Izuku would instantly lose in that aspect. But what lions gain in strength, they lose in speed and stamina. Izuku hoped he could outrun this guy, though he was fairly confident in himself.

Lions also had very sensitive eyes, so bright lights or anything of the such would definitely hinder him.

Izuku watched as the guy on the ground tried to use what looked to be a common telepathy quirk but failed. Probably due to his emotional state and such.

The lion guy grabbed what looked to be a.. Crowbar?? Very odd choice of weapon indeed, but whatever works.

The lion guy was about to swing it over the guy's head when Izuku diligently threw a ninja star to it, successfully knocking it out of the lion guy's hand though it didn't go very far.

Izuku jumped down and rolled out of it, just barely dodging the punch that came toward his face.

At least Izuku did have an advantage with the guy needing time to recover after every hit, so Izuku was able to successfully dodge every hit.

“Hey there! Maybe we can.. Talk this out-” Izuku cut himself off as he kept rolling.

Izuku couldn't keep this up forever, but neither could the lion guy.

Swiftly grabbing his poles, Izuku successfully blocked a punch with them.

Izuku started to slowly switch to offensive, though he'd need to get in closer than he wanted to.

Izuku devised a plan, though he really didn't know if it would work.

He needed to get behind the guy, but he wasn't letting Izuku do that by any means. Izuku could either run up to the guy, and slide under him, or use a wall for leverage and flip behind him. Either could work, but Izuku really didn't feel like sliding on the dusty and dirty ground.

The wall it is.

Running to the side, Izuku saw that the guy was doing exactly what he wanted them to. He was going on the defensive, ready to pounce and take Izuku down.

Though what the guy wasn't expecting was for Izuku to climb a few steps up the wall and dive over the side of him.

Izuku rolled safely out of the dive, glad he was practicing more difficult Parkour moves now.

He swiftly jumped up and smacked the guy albeit gently, on the back of the neck.

Thus causing the guy to go limp from the neck down. Apparently the guy couldn't handle being beaten by a kid, so he was constantly cursing and such.

“Are you alright?” Izuku asked the guy on the ground.

“Y-yeah! Thank you so much! I can't believe you just took him down!” The guy exclaimed, quickly getting up.

“He's been part of drug operations for years!” The man exclaimed.

“Okay, I'm going to call the police now, but I'll stay with you until they arrive.” Izuku explained.

“Whats your name?” The man asked, definitely excited about this guy finally being taken down.

“Jasper!” Izuku exclaimed.

Izuku started up his watch and went straight to the comms.

Pressing on a specific few buttons, the contact icon for Tsukauchi popped up.

Izuku made sure he only called Tsukie for important matters, and someone who's been a part of drug operations sounds like something he would be interested in.

“Hey Tsukie!!!” Izuku exclaimed, having taken a liking to the man.

The man just sighed, knowing he was in for a headache.

“Jasper? Why are you calling?” Tsukauchi asked.

Izuku's voice returned to its normal tone. “I just took a guy down and the victim is saying he's been a part of drug operations for years. I thought you might be interested in him.” Izuku exclaimed.

“Whats the guy's quirk?” Tsukauchi asked.

“A sort of lion quirk.” Izuku said.

“Kid, you just single handedly took down one of the most important men of a case Eraser is dealing with.” Tsukauchi said, definitely surprised at this call.

“Umm. You're welcome?” Izuku offered. “I mean, it wasn't really that hard. I just used a lot of speed against him.” Izuku stated.

“What I mean is every time we get a lead on him, he seemingly disappears.” Tsukauchi explained. “I'm also on my way there, I'll bet about 8 minutes.”

“Okie dokie!” Izuku exclaimed.

Izuku and the other guy there talked until Tsukauchi and other policemen could be heard.

“Wait, so you're a vigilante?” The guy asked.

“Basically. Not exactly, but basically.” Izuku mused.

“What do you mean-. Oh you smart son of a beach!” The guy slapped his thigh when he realized. “You don't use your quirk, do you?”

Izuku didn't want his cover to be blown, so he went with the best answer. “Something like that.”

The two heard the police cars, and Izuku knew that was his cue to leave.

“How are you going to get out of here? There's no fire escapes!” The guy exclaimed.

Izuku just looked at the guy, and catwalked up onto the roof.

“Oh you're good!” The guy exclaimed before seeing the police walk in.

Well, Izuku's job was done for now.

He ran out into the night, happy with his current outcome in life.

_____

It felt like Izuku had been running for an hour, which he had been.

Izuku jumped across a roof, now used to the familiar feeling.

Izuku watched across the city as he took a quick breather. You can't run forever, after all.

Izuku heard a weird noise coming from an alley way, and decided it would be best to check it out. Better safe than sorry.

Izuku watched as a group of about 8 men were crowded around a woman, who looked too scared to speak.

“Just give us the money.” One of the guys spoke up, holding a baseball bat.

Yeah, Izuku could not do this alone, and Eraser was in the area. Perfect.

Izuku laid on his stomach so he wasn't too visible.

“Hey Eraser.” Izuku spoke softly and quietly. “Theres a group at ###. Some look like they might have possible bulking quirks.” Izuku mentioned.

“Alright. About 3 minutes out.” Eraser said before hanging up the call.

Izuku kept a close eye on the group and the victim, noting how she looked especially scared around a few of the men.

Izuku jumped in when he thought they were going to hit her, and successfully blocked one of their hits with his poles.

“Oh. So you want to save her little boy?” One of them tried to sound menacing, but it really wasn't working.

“Yeah I do.” Izuku put up his usual Jasper attitude. (Which was fun, mocking, and condescending) “Do you have a problem with that?” Izuku knew these guys would probably be easy to rage bait. “If you have a problem you might really want to get that checked out! It's not healthy for you!” Izuku stated sarcastically while blocking a hit with his metal pipes.

The gang definitely seemed to be getting antsy and tense, something that Izuku knew could be good and bad in the long run.

The gang started attacking Izuku, and he really hoped Eraser would get there soon.

“Awww. Hanging up on someone? That's not very nice.” Izuku fake-pouted while dodging hits left and right.

So far, he was doing a pretty good job. Until he saw a knife flinging towards him.

Enough practice though, and Izuku knew just how to throw a ninja star so the knife wouldn't hit him.

He threw the ninja star perfectly, knocking the knife to the ground while dodging another hit.

Half of the guys looked pretty surprised he had a distance weapon. (And could use it exceptionally well).

Izuku was successfully able to get behind one of the guys and hit the back of his neck, sending him to the ground.

“What is this!? What did you do to me!?” The guy screamed, not happy with his current situation.

“Nothing really. You must just be that weak!” Izuku ragebaited the rest.

If he gave away his pressure point trick, they would all make sure he didn't get behind them. That wouldn't be very preferable, though Izuku knew Eraser would be here any second so it didn't really matter in the long run.

“8 vs 1? That's not very nice.” Eraser said, though the rest of the guys were confused about his gruff and stoic tone. Izuku was the only one to tell he was amused by the situation.

Eraser started working on basically everybody, since they wanted to fight someone who could ‘actually fight’.

Izuku was really just keeping a watch out for any of the guys trying to escape.

Izuku watched as one of the guys slipped out from Eraser's view, and tried to use his quirk on Aizawa.

Izuku recognized his quirk and the guy as the one from the convenience store theft.

Izuku quickly engaged in the fight against this guy, though he seemed to have been training since then.

Izuku wasn't struggling too bad, though the guy's quirk was annoying.

Izuku decided sliding under the guy would probably work for the best. And the ground wasn't too dirty!

Izuku ran forward like he was going to attack, but at the last moment he ducked under the guy.

He quickly jumped up and while the guy was still confused he delivered a blade-like hit to the back of his neck.

The guy went down easily, cursing and swearing like the last one was.

Eraser took care of the other 6 guys pretty easily.

Eraser tied them up and then called the police, who were surprisingly only a few minutes out.

Izuku checked on the woman. She was shaken up but ultimately fine.

“8 vs 1, huh?” Eraser mused, deciding he would mess with Jasper a little bit.

“Hey! It wasn't my choice!” Izuku countered.

“Yeah?” Aizawa said.

“Yes.” Izuku countered.

“Sooo, how's life been Eraser?” Izuku sarcastically asked, wanting to mess with him a little bit.

“Oh you know, it would be better if I had more students to expel, you know?” Aizawa knew where he was going with this, and marveled at the confusion on Jasper's face.

“Whats that got to do with anything?” Izuku asked.

“You know, if you were my student I probably would've expelled you by now.” Aizawa mused, hoping that Jasper wouldn't take this the wrong way.

“Yeah I know!” Izuku replied enthusiastically. “Let's be honest here, you expel basically everyone.” Izuku replied while picking up his ninja star.

“Do you know who would keep you as a personal student though?” Aizawa said.

“After you learn more about me, I don't think anyone would want me as their student.” Izuku answered.

Aizawa thought that was said way more casually than it should have been. “Nedzu.”

Izuku just looked at Aizawa, confused. “Huh?”

“Nedzu said he'd take you as a personal student and a hero course student.” Aizawa mused, hoping Jasper would take the bait.

“Yeah you're pulling my leg.” Izuku replied, his usual Izuku tone back.

“Nope. Take a look for yourself.” Aizawa grabbed a phone and handed it to Jasper.

“Good early morning Jasper!” Nedzu chirped from the phone.

“Wait, principal Nedzu? What kind of setup is this?” Izuku asked Aizawa though it was clear he was joking.

“I can assure you there is none! I only wanted to offer you a position in the hero course, though if the heroes estimates are correct you may be too old. We can always figure something out!” Nedzu replied, very cheery.

“Wait, wait, wait. What about the ‘if the heroes estimates are correct’? What is that about?” Izuku asked Nedzu.

“That is very simple! The heroes you contact at night have been estimating your age, and they estimate you are 16-18. Is this correct?” Nedzu asked.

Thus causing Izuku to burst out laughing for a few seconds before composing himself.

“I'm sorry! It's just-. You guys think I'm almost an adult?” Izuku asked, though it was clear he found this funny. “I'm not even of age to attend high school yet!” Izuku remarked.

“Come again?” Aizawa asked. Because what? There is no way this kid is such a young kid!

“If this helps answer any of your questions about my age, let's just say I'm going to high school next year.” Izuku replied, the sarcasm back in his tone.

Nedzu was quiet for a few moments on the other end, probably thinking about ‘how could a kid this young be a vigilante’.

“I promise you, if you learned more about me, you definitely wouldn't want me to be a student.” Izuku said, though his tone was ‘this is normal’, and ‘this is a fact’

“I can assure you we would still want you as a student. You're already doing more than some pro-heroes! Please consider this offer! I'm sure you'll be in contact with Eraser until then!”

“Um sure! Thank you for your generous offer, but even if I did accept your offer,” Izuku looked over at Aizawa. “I bet Eraser would probably expel me anyway.” Izuku was definitely messing with them.

“We'll make sure that won't happen, right Aizawa?” Nedzu dangerously asked in his tone that said ‘we won't have problems, will we?’.

“Yes, this gremlin is just trying to mess with you.” Aizawa sighed.

Nedzu could be heard cackling on the other side.

“I think you and I would get along splendidly! Please think about my offer.” Nedzu mused, probably sipping in tea as he did.

“Um I will, but it probably wouldn't happen if you all found out. Anyways, I better get going! See ya around Aizawa! It was nice talking to you, Nedzu!” Izuku announced before handing the phone back to Aizawa and catwalking onto the roof and back to his apartment.

“He's hiding something. Though I'm unsure what.” Nedzu told Aizawa.

“Yeah. Whenever I mention him being a registered hero or a hero course student he always clambers up and says the same thing. I'm honestly surprised by his age, too.” Aizawa told Nedzu.

“Yes. I wonder if it's quirk related.” Nedzu wondered.

“I wouldn't be surprised.” Aizawa said.

“Well, have a good night Aizawa-san!” Nedzu chirped.

“Thanks. You too.” Aizawa told Nedzu before hanging up the call and getting back to his patrol.

_____

Okay, Izuku really needed some new shoes. His pair were actually starting to fall apart. The part that went around his ankle was really starting to become loose with age.

And, worst of all they were starting to get too small. Izuku was surprised they lasted this long in the first place.

He would've asked Denki if he wanted to come with, but Denki had school and the Izuku had to work after school got out for Denki.

Izuku threw his clothes in the wash, glad he had a small one for his smaller loads.

Izuku fell asleep while thinking about what Nedzu had said.

Yeah they would want him as a student until they found out about his quirk status.

They'd probably hate him after they found out about his quirklessness.

He'd just have to make sure they never found out about it.

Chapter Text

Katsuki Bakugo was trying to change his ways and become better. He really was!

But going back to school after a hangout with his friends was hard. His friends weren't perfect either, but they were a hell of a lot better than anybody at Aldera.

Katsuki often turned to Kirishima for advice on certain matters, and Kirishima often did the same.

Now that Bakugo actually knew how to be better, he needed to actually act to be better. It was hard, but it eventually got better.

He stopped hanging around everybody at Aldera, and since he gradually stopped, barely anybody noticed. That was part one of his plan.

He almost immediately stopped bullying anybody. Katsuki's original plan was to gradually stop that too, but he really couldn't stomach bullying anybody.

While those were his original plans, Katsuki wanted to work up to being able to stand up to the bullying in its totality.

The teachers didn't really notice anything amiss at first, which was neutral to Katsuki.

Though with Izuku gone the others easily found a new and weak target. The few time Katsuki hung out with the group he heard how I'd they ever saw him in public, they'd take him to an alleyway for who knows what.

Those comments always made Katsuki bubble with anger, though he didn't really think Izuku was the same quirkless defenseless loser he'd been in Aldera.

The few times Izuku and Katsuki hung out Katsuki noticed how Izuku had been slowly bulking up. It wasn't drastic, but definitely a difference.

Katsuki knew the actual meaning of a friend now, and those extras at Aldera were not it.

Katsuki's thoughts were stopped like a brick wall when he heard the extras at it again.

Lunch was a fan favorite time to bully people in Aldera.

Very few teachers were around, and there was no work to worry about.

“Just give us your lunch money. It's seriously not that hard.” One of the guys laughed.

This kid was their new target, as he had a pretty useless quirk.

Katsuki heard as they kept insulting him, and Katsuki wondered if he had the courage to stand up this time.

“Well then, I guess we can say you were asking for it.” One of the guys sneered.

Uh oh. That was never a good thing.

Katsuki watched as some used their quirks on the poor boy, whereas others went for just kicking him instead.

While watching, Katsuki knew he could do it the cowardly way and just help the kid after, but those thoughts were quickly swiped out of his mind as he saw some of the guys hold his arms down.

I guess Katsuki could say his body moved on its own.

“Hey. What do you extras think you're doing?” Katsuki said grimly. He knew what these extras thought he was here for, but he wouldn't let that happen. By now he was standing almost in the middle of them, but he was still a few feet out to the side. It formed almost a little triangle.

“Pf, of course you'd want to get in some punches. He-” Katsuki cut the extra off.

“Yeah, that's not what I'm here for extra.” Katsuki used the most calm voice he could muster, and knew that no one in Aldera had heard it by now.

The group of guys immediately looked a little confused and uncomfortable.

The boy who was talking to Katsuki spoke up.
“Fine, but what do you want anyway? We need to finish this up before lunch ends.” He said.

The boy on the ground was terrified, but couldn't get away.

“Yeah you won't be finishing it at all.” Katsuki huffed, grinding his right fist against his left palm.

Katsuki moved in between the boy and the group while they were confused.

“And what is this?” The guy asked challengingly.

Okay, maybe Katsuki would admit he didn't really like this, but he really needed to do this. He needed to redeem himself! He was glad that he didn't just stand by and do nothing. Though maybe he wishes he could crawl into a hole right now.

“This.” Katsuki looked around. “Is me stopping you.” As much as Katsuki cowarded on the inside, he made sure to come off as confident.

This caused half of the group to burst out in laughter, though the other half looked merely annoyed.

“And-” The guy who was talking to Katsuki collected himself enough to talk. “And you really think you can stand up to us? We really thought you were one of us, Bakugo. Guess you're just as bad as Deku.” The guy laughed again while getting ready to leave, knowing Bakugo could and would beat all of them in a fight.

Katsuki replied slyly. “Izuku is better than all of you combined. I don't need to waste my time on you extras anymore.” Katsuki replied, knowing this would get under their skin.

“You really have gone soft, haven't you? Y-” Someone from the group sneered.

“You know I could still beat all of you in a fight. Why don't you just scram? Yeah?” Katsuki snickered right back, a grin evident in his face. “You guys are worse than some villains.” Katsuki announced to the group before they were out of earshot.

This causing some of them to look back with horrified faces at the realization, and some with annoyed faces at Katsuki successfully getting under their skin.

“You good?” Katsuki asked while reaching a hand out to the kid on the ground.

“Y-yeah. Thank you.” The kid said.

“Whatever.” Katsuki was still not used to positive praise, so he often just brushed it off.

The boy got up and walked away, hoping he wouldn't really get picked on anymore.

Katsuki went through the rest of the day with glares and laughs towards him, but he could care less at that point. They were clearly planning on abusing that poor boy a lot more and a lot worse. He didn't regret a dang thing.

_____

“You what!??” Kirishima yelled out to Bakugo, who was kind of grumbling at the loudness.

“Yes, I did. So you can stop making a big deal out of it.” As much as Katsuki did like the praise coming from Kirishima, he simply wasn't used to it, so it is ‘sappy’ in Bakugo's book.

Kirishima looked like he was about to cry manly tears. He had his head slightly down, and a proud smile on his face.

“Whatever. Don't make a huge deal out of it.” Bakugo grumbled while looking away and resting his hand on the back of his head.

“Nah bro! This is a huge deal! You're finally growing your wings.” Kirishima was definitely emotional about his friend finally starting to learn and improve how he acts.

“You can stop with the sappy shit anytime now.” Bakugo announced, honestly happy to spend time with his best friend, even if they haven't known each other for very long.

Kirishima rested his hands on Bakugo's shoulders while making sure to look him in the eye.

“You're starting to better yourself, and that's manky and heroic!” Kirishima stated.

Bakugo could feel himself blushing slightly, something he thought he honestly couldn't do. That was until a voice spoke up from the side of them.

“Definitely gay, both of them.” The figure spoke to a girl standing right beside the guy.

“Huh?” Bakugo said, turning to look at the figure. “You really shouldn't be talking either, Scarface.” Bakugo scoffed, taking in the slightly purple face in front of him.

“Maybe for each other, don't you think?” The girl announced, much more cheery than any normal person.

“HUH? What did you just say Blondie!?” Bakugo's face was most definitely pink by now, which made ‘scarface’ laugh.

“I guess you're Bakugo then?” The guy announced.

“How do you know my name!?” Bakugo screeched, mind still reeling at the earlier comment from the girl.

“You know Izuku. He's mentioned you very few times. Said I'd definitely know if I ever saw you.” The guy said. “Some advice, you two definitely look as straight as a circle.” Touya looked at both of them. “The closet is glass.” He laughed before walking off with the girl skipping beside him.

“Okay, what the fuck was that?” Bakugo asked while turning back to Kirishima, who had been oddly silent. His body language wasn't though. (His face was pink, though he concealed it well).

“I-I don't even know.” Kirishima finally replied.

“Great. Now another door just opened with possibilities.” Bakugo scoffed, actually thinking about what the guy said. (They're both going to ignore what the girl said)

“Wait, you've never thought about things like that before?” Kirishima asked, trying to joke around to alleviate his emotions.

Bakugo just laughed. “I've honestly never had to. It was always ‘heroes’, ‘when I become a hero’, ‘when I'm number one’, you get the damn point.” Bakugo muttered.

“That makes sense!” Kirishima exclaimed.

“What, have you?” Bakugo asked, though his voice was mostly soft.

“I have two moms so yeah, I guess. One time when I was a kid someone called me gay and I asked my moms what it meant. They kinda exclaimed the whole idea and said they'd love me no matter what.” Kirishima smiled at the memory, and his moms.

“Makes sense. Sounds like you've got great parents.” Bakugo mustered up a small smile, one of the first real ones he had in a while. I mean, he had to show his understanding and support somehow, right?

“I'm gonna be honest with you, I'm most likely gay.” Bakugo said while looking away.

“May I ask what you mean by ‘most likely’? Kirishima asked, wanting to get the full picture of his cr-best friend.

“I've never been interested in girls at all. I don't really know how to explain shitty sappy stuff, but around girls I'm just kinda numb.”

Bakugo looked at Kirishima, who was looking at him acceptingly. “That better have made sense or I'll blow your head off smooth.” Bakugo snarled, not really knowing how to deal with emotions.

Thus causing Eijirou to laugh. That beautiful sound caused Katsuki to instantly soften at the sight and sound.

“You really need to learn how to not threaten someone with violence.” Kirishima laughed.

“Whatever.” Katsuki grumbled while looking away, not enjoying how his best friend was right.

“I've never really had a crush before.” Kirishima knew he was lying, though he really didn't want to ruin his friendship with his friend. “So I'm honestly not sure.” He knew he was attracted to guys, but he didn't really know about girls.

“How do you feel around each of them?” Bakugo asked, willing to go into the sappy shit for his friend.

“Like guys and girls?” Kirishima clarified.

“Yes dipshit.” Bakugo often called Kirishima nicknames like such when he was either doing something he didn't really like, or was under high pressure situations.

“Well I don't know. I guess I'm probably more into guys than girls, but I never really talk to them.”

“And guys?” Bakugo paused for a second before continuing. “I'm not going to force you to tell me shit, but I guess I'm willing to help you or whatever.” Katsuki grumbled, though softened at the sight of Kirishima looking at him with a touching look.

“Thank you.” Kirishima quickly side-hugged Katsuki. Thus causing chills to be sent through Bakugo's body. Something which had never happened before.

Kirishima continued after pulling away. “I mean, I don't know. I definitely feel more connected to them if that makes sense?” Kirishima stated like it was a question.

Katsuki thought for a second before talking. “Fair. Maybe you like both, maybe you don't. I'mma be blunt, I don't know if I can help ya there.” Katsuki was definitely willing to listen to Eijirou, but he couldn't necessarily help him.

“That's okay, thanks for listening anyways.” Kirishima said.

Katsuki felt himself blush slightly, though he really didn't know why. He couldn't… Could he? No. He couldn't. Eijirou would hate him, and he might lose his only friends. He couldn't let that happen. These were honestly good people. Who would he train with every morning? Who would he ask for advice?

Who else would give him butterflies every time they touched? Who else would he talk with about personal sappy shit?

He didn't really want to jeopardize their friendship at all, so Katsuki did what he was best at.

He suppressed his true feelings, and never thought about them.

“No problem.” Katsuki used his softer voice, knowing Eijirou was probably the only person he used it around.

“You should come over to my house sometime.” Bakugo replied nonchalantly.

“Maybe I will! Though I'm not allowed to on the weekdays.” Kirishima responded.

It was Sunday, so maybe they'd have to plan for next weekend.

“Next weekend then.” Katsuki replied while walking right next to Eijirou.

“Definitely!” The response was heard from Eijirou.

____

“Nem, you haven't stopped talking about her since that incident. Which I remind you that you almost died!” Shirakumo whined while leaning on his wife.

“But she seemed like such a sweet girl!” Nemuri said.

The quad squad was in an office room they often shared while grading. They'd gossip and talk while getting paperwork and such done.

“You almost died!” Shirakumo said.

“But I didn't, thanks to her!” Nemuri stated, accepting no Toga slashing.

“Didn't she give you her name?” Present mic cheerily asked.

“Yeah she did! I've tried telling you all, but no one wants to listen!” Nemuri crossed her arms while looking over students' papers.

“I would actually be quite interested, Kayama-san!” Nedzu chirped while walking into the office. “I have a hypothesis about this girl, though I would have to know her name to confirm it!” Nedzu announced.

“She told me her name was Himiko Toga.” Nemuri said, questioning why Nedzu was interested.

Nedzu's beady eyes were enough to tell the room that his hypothesis was correct.

“I am correct.” Nedzu announced.

“What do you mean?” Nemuri asked, hoping it was for a good cause.

“Himiko Toga is one of my two online students! She excels in medical knowledge, and I think she would be a good intern for recovery girl. Perhaps that's why she was able to save you without complications.” Nedzu exclaimed.

“That makes sense!” Present Mic half-yelled, having at least half a brain to not yell near Aizawa. (He really didn't want to sleep on the couch)

Aizawa just grumbled, probably a prayer for the poor girl. Nedzu would easily be able to find her, though at least he knew how to be polite about it.

“Do you think she'd want to go to UA as a sort of mixed student?” Nemuri asked.

“It's possible! We've done it in the past, so it shouldn't be too hard to formulate a proper schedule for her. Though her other studies need work.” Thoughts were clearly formulating through Nedzu's brain as he spoke.

“Would she be a general education student or a hero course student?” Midnight asked.

Toga could hypothetically attend UA as a general education student, and still intern under recovery girl for medical knowledge. She could also attend UA as a hero course student and focus on medical care as a hero. Either could work.

“We will leave that decision up to her.” Nedzu announced.

“If she attends UA you better make sure Nem gets a class with her. She acts like a mother talking about her daughter.” Shirakumo laughed at his joke, earning a glare from Nemuri, though it had no malice in it.

“She will, depending on if she does decide to attend UA. She still needs education in other subjects after all!” Nedzu stated.

“Speaking of which, that reminds me,” Yamada turned to look at Aizawa with a grin on his face. “What about your favorite vigilante? I know the HPSC wants him off the streets, though wouldn't he be too old for hero school?” Yamada was now questioning Aizawa, though he was originally trying to tease him.

“We offered him a spot in UA, thinking he was too old for high school.” Aizawa looked at Nedzu for permission to release the information.

“Me and Aizawa-kun learned his true age a few days ago. If he isn't lying, he will be able to take the UA entrance exam next year.” Nedzu grimly said. No one liked when kids got involved in hero work, so it was always sad to hear of vigilantes so young.

“You're joking.” Yamada was trying to wrap his head around this idea, though he actually thought his husband was joking.

“Wish I was.” Aizawa replied.

“Did you offer him a spot at UA? And he had to decline because of his age?” Yamada asked, this time towards both Nedzu and Aizawa.

“Actually, no. He mentioned something like, ‘when you learned more about me you wouldn't want me at your school’ or something similar.” Aizawa sighed.

“Indeed. I believe it's quirk related, but I could be wrong.” Nedzu chimed in.

“That's so sad! Do you think he became a vigilante because he didn't think he could make it as a hero?” Nemuri asked.

“It's a possibility. If we could find out who he is we could make an official offer, or have someone recommend him.” Aizawa chimed in. He wouldn't really let anyone know he cared for the child.

“Indeed! He would make a very good hero I think! I'm unsure of his intelligence though.” Nedzu mentioned.

He couldn't tell Nedzu. Nedzu couldn't get his paws on his problem child.

“I can tell you're thinking of something, Aizawa. Care to explain?” Nedzu asked.

Crap. That rodent knew almost anything about human body language, and he wouldn't rest until he found out whatever it is he's looking for.

“To answer your question, apparently he's been seen analyzing fights and some pro-heroes fighting styles.” Aizawa decided to not tell Nedzu about the fact that the kid analyzed him. Aizawa asked to look, and it was a really good analysis.

It's better than some of the analysis he's seen from professionals.

And the fact that the problem child had the audacity to say, ‘it really isn't much!’, ‘Really, anyone could do this!’, ‘this isn't even that good!’, and some other comments Aizawa forgot.

“I'm assuming you've gotten a look at it based on your body language?” Nedzu chirped, his expertise on human body language coming in handy.

Aizawa knew he'd be fighting a losing battle. There was no use lying when it came to Nedzu. He knew basically everything.

“Fine, yes.” Aizawa finally answered.

“May I ask how well it was written?” Nedzu chirped.

“Better than most professionals I've seen. Kid doesn't miss a singular detail.” Aizawa responded back.

Nedzu pondered for a second before talking. “You seem troubled by something regarding this. May I ask what?”

“When I saw it, the kid said stuff like, ‘it's not much, really!’, ‘anyone could do this!’, ‘this isn't anything special!’, and other things I forgot.” Aizawa mentioned, pausing for a second before continuing. “When I first asked about them he said, ‘I understand if you find them creepy’ or something like that.”

Nedzu thought for a second before speaking. “If Aizawa-san is complimenting this child's analysis, he must be good.” Nedzu mentioned. Aizawa rarely compliments someone, so you know it's genuine when he does.

“Isn't it kind of concerning how his first comment on it was about it being creepy?” Nemuri asked.

“I wish my students analysed fights and stuff!” Shirakumo cut in.

“It isn't something to be entirely worried about, though it probably doesn't mean anything good.” Aizawa mentioned.

“Indeed! If comments like these do become more consistent, then it will possibly become a cause for concern.” Nedzu said, hoping it wasn't anything bad.

“Yeah. I'll keep an eye on him since I patrol the most.” Aizawa mentioned. “Though it will be helpful if you three keep an eye on how he acts around you.”

“We can so do that Sho!!” Yamada spoke up.

“Yeah!” Shirakumo yelled out.

“Good! Thank you all! I'll be taking my leave now.” Nedzu chirped.

_____

“I know you wanted to go earlier in the week, but I do appreciate you waiting until today to go with me!” Denki stated while leaning slightly on Izuku's shoulder.

The two were walking through the mall, this time for new shoes for Izuku.

“I didn't really want to go alone anyway.” Izuku laughed, not knowing why he wanted to spend more time with Denki.

“I wouldn't either! This mall is pretty big!” Denki stated. “Anyways, what type of shoe do you even want?”

“I don't know to be honest. I used to use these for everything, so I don't really have any other shoes.” Izuku sheepishly admitted. “I didn't really need any other shoes.”

“That makes sense! So you want shoes you can wear basically all the time?” Denki asked.

“I'm actually thinking of getting two pairs. It would be nice to have tennis shoes for training and basically everything. Though I've found combat boots are pretty durable, they look great, can be used for anything, and are pretty comfortable.” Izuku stated, walking to the first show store he found.

Denki imagined Izuku in combat boots along with his vigilante outfit, and it was definitely a sight to behold.

“M-makes sense!” Denki stated, trying to push the image from his mind. “I think that could work!” He finally regained his composure.

“Hey, look over there. That shop seems pretty affordable, though we'd have to find another store for the combat boots.” Izuku stated, grabbing onto Denki and dragging him toward the store.

“Yeah, the shoes in there look similar to what you're looking for!” Denki chimed in, completely ignoring the touch on his arm.

Izuku tried on a few pairs before deciding on one.

“Thank goodness they have quirkless versions. The originals were sorta narrow.” Izuku chuckled.

“And those look pretty good too.” Denki exclaimed.

Izuku paid for the shoes before leaving for another store.

“Which store do you think would have combat boots?” Izuku asked, looking around at the different stores.

“I'm honestly not sure. I mean, we could just walk around until we find one?” Denki purposely suggested, wanting to spend more time with his best friend.

“Sure!” Izuku chirped.

The two walked and talked while they looked for a store that had combat boots.

“Wait, I think this store might have some!” Izuku exclaimed while dragging Denki over to it.

“I mean, there are some in the windows, though it's a sort of goth clothing store.” Denki stated.

He honestly thought people who dressed that way were really cool, though he didn't think he could pull the style off himself. Izuku might be able to though. That reminded him.

“Hey, these look really good!” Izuku said while walking over to the shelves with different variations of boots.

“I just really hope they have a quirkless option.” Izuku sighed.

“Yeah, it would totally suck if they don't!” Denki exclaimed.

Izuku and Denki looked around for different versions of the boot.

“Hey, I think I found what you're looking for! It's even in your size!” Denki exclaimed while grabbing the box from the back of the shelf.

“Thank you!!!” Izuku quickly side-hugged Denki while sitting down to try on the shoes.

“These fit perfectly! There's some space left, so they should last a while!” Izuku leaned into Denki's ear before continuing. “These would be perfect for nighttime!”

Izuku took the boots off and put them back in the box.

“Come on, let's check out so we can go back to my apartment!” Izuku called back to Denki.

“Hey, that reminds me!” Denki started talking while walking with Izuku to the register.

Izuku paid for the shoes and left with Denki.

“Do you still have that eyeliner stuff I suggested to you the last time we were here?” Denki thought the eyeliner would look sick with Izuku's vigilante costume.

“Right! I forgot about that, but yeah, I do!” Izuku exclaimed.

Denki decided to bite the bullet and admit what he was thinking. “I think it would look sick with your vigilante costume.” Denki stated.

“Probably, though I don't wear my vigilante costume for looks. It would still be cool to see how it looks!” Izuku stated.

“You should so try it when we get to your place!” Denki exclaimed.

“Sure. No harm in trying!” Izuku replied.

The two continued walking to Izuku's apartment.

“Okay, I want to see what it would look like with your vigilante costume!” Denki asked.
Okay, maybe it was an excuse to see him in his vigilante outfit. Maybe Izuku did look good in his costume, okay?

“Alright. I'll try on my costume with these shoes too!” Izuku stated before walking to his bathroom.

Denki doom scrolled on his phone until Izuku was finally done.

“I think it looks pretty alright. I was a little shaky doing it, but I managed.” Izuku stated while walking out in full vigilante gear.

Okay, wow. Izuku looked like a God right now, and who was Denki to say otherwise? Okay maybe he had a thing for his best friend. He would never admit it though.

“T-that looks really g-good!” Denki stuttered over his words, trying not to say exactly what he was thinking.

“Thanks! I might add it to my vigilante costume permanently since I wouldn't be using it anytime else.” Izuku admitted. “Also, these shoes are quite literally awesome. They look great, and feel great.”

“That's good!” Denki tried to not be too overbearing.

“Yeah! I'll love messing with Eraserhead when I show up with eyeliner!” Izuku was laughing just at the thought.

Really, Denki did like his best friend. Probably more than he should. He'd need to keep a tab on his feelings, and definitely get his butterflies under control.

“Anyways, I'm changing out of this.”

Izuku walked away and changed back into some normal lounge clothes.

The two talked and watched some videos until Denki had to leave.

Izuku walked him to his house.

“Thank you Izu! See you again soon!” Denki stated before closing the door.

Izuku didn't know if it was normal to feel all fuzzy and warn around his best friend. The butterflies didn't seem normal, but happened almost every time he made contact with Denki.

Maybe this was just part of having a best friend.

Izuku knew deep down he was lying to himself.

____

“Really problem child?-” Aizawa huffed, not impressed or surprised with his vigilante's actions.

“Yes, really. I think I look cool.” Izuku fake-pouted.

“-Eyeliner?” Aizawa finished, mostly messing with Jasper, though there was no real malice behind his words.

“My friend told me I look cool, and told me I should wear it more, so I am!” Izuku half-whined.

At least he has friends. That's a good sign. Aizawa thought for a few seconds before replying. “So he knows about you being a vigilante?” Aizawa hoped he'd fall for the bait.

Though knowing how smart Jasper is he wouldn't fall for it in his sleep.

“Yeah, nice try Eraser. That's for me to know, and you to,” Izuku thought for a few seconds. He didn't want Eraser to know more about him. “Never know I guess.” Izuku's tone was almost sad in a way. He did want Eraser to know more about him, just not that.

While Izuku was thinking, Eraser dispatched the police to handle the guy they took down together. He wasn't anything special, but the guy was fairly large.

“Offer’s still up, you know.” Aizawa called back to Izuku, who was making sure he grabbed all of his ninja stars.

“Yeah yeah. You've been telling me every day of the week since that call with Nedzu.” Izuku stated. Izuku's tone quickly hardened into a sad and grim tone.

Izuku was stuck dwelling on what he could've been if he just had a stupid quirk. Why did he have to be so unlucky!?

“You wouldn't want me at your sc-” Izuku was cut off by Aizawa.

“And you've replied with the same sentence every time I mentioned it. Tell me, what is it we wouldn't want in UA?” Aizawa started. “Youve got more drive than all of my expelled students combined. You're smart, you've got pretty half-decent combat knowledge, you know weaponry, and you can hold your own in a fight.” Aizawa just wanted this vigilante to see why he could be a hero.

So he did the only thing he thought would get to him. He complimented almost everything he could think of on the fly. Luckily for Nedzu he was watching in through the comms. (He required Aizawa to call him when he started talking to Jasper)

Izuku just froze, stuck in his tracks by the compliment. Denki tried complimenting him a lot, but Izuku thought he was just lying. I mean, friends did that, right?

Izuku stared at Aizawa, eyes wide as he watched the hero look at him with his usual stoic expression.

“It's the truth, kid.” Aizawa finished tying up the unconscious, but unhurt villain. He walked over and looked Izuku in the eyes.

“You know I mean the compliments I give out, so think about that tonight.” Aizawa mentioned before jumping up to get back to his patrol. Izuku was almost too quiet to be heard, but Aizawa heard him loud and clear.

“You're probably lying. Everyone else always is, but this time you sound genuine, Eraser.” Izuku whispered before running off into another alleyway.

“Did you get his comment, Nedzu?” Aizawa asked once Izuku was out of earshot.

“I heard him talking, but I would have to enhance the audio to figure out what he said. Is it cause for concern?” Nedzu asked.

“I don't know. It's definitely not good, that's for sure.” Aizawa sighed into his comm.

“Do you remember what he said?” Nedzu asked, own and paper ready to write it down.

He said, ‘you're probably lying. Everyone else always is, but this time you sound genuine, Eraser’.” Aizawa mentioned.

Nedzu reflected for a second before replying. “Based on my knowledge, there might've been a sort of incident or event that causes him to think like that. Unless it's a series of events that caused this mindset.” Nedzu wrote a few things down.

“His mindset about himself and what others think of him definitely isn't the greatest, I'll say that.” Aizawa said.

“Anyways, I need to get back to patrol. Hope you got enough of what you needed.” Aizawa said, waiting a few seconds for the rodent to reply.

“Indeed, thank you Aizawa-san! Tonight has been a huge help! Have a goodnight!” Nedzu chirped before hanging up the hero comms.

Aizawa got back to his patrol, making a mental note to talk to Zashi about it later.

_____

Izuku was still kind of dazed about what Eraser had said earlier.

Come on, Izuku! Get it together! Izuku quickly stopped all of those thoughts as he climbed onto the roof and towards a scream into another alleyway.

He saw Present Mic running towards the alleyway as well, though he would probably be a few minutes out still.

I guess it was up to Izuku until he got there.

Izuku laid down on his stomach as he watched down and into the alleyway. It was a typical robbery. An older woman was up against the wall, trying to de-escalate the situation.

Izuku watched as the guy raised a bat to the older woman. Luckily for Izuku, it was wood.

Izuku ignored the growing footsteps way behind him as he grabbed three stars from his pocket. He had been practicing the no-reload method more, and was honestly getting pretty good at it.

Izuku sidearmed one of the three stars since he was laying down and couldn't overhand throw.

It hit the bat, though it didn't have enough to knock it out of the guy's hands.

Standing up quickly, Izuku's hiding spot had already been revealed.

Izuku threw a star overhand, which was much more effective and gained much more strength.

It hit the bat, almost knocking it out of the guy's hands, but not entirely.

Izuku quickly threw the third star right after the other, successfully knocking the bat out of his hands.

Izuku jumped down from the roof and rolled, grabbing his metal pipes as he did.

Apparently Present Mic was able to see into the alleyway, but still had some steps to go.

Izuku extended his pipes, and quickly ran ahead to the guy. It seemed like the guy was able to sprout metal from his body.

Starting to use his quirk, Izuku realized this guy injected himself with something. Izuku really didn't want to wait to see what it was, so he quickly jumped onto the wall and behind the guy. Hitting his pressure point as he did, Izuku looked at the half-empty syringe while picking it up.

“That was so cool!” Present Mic yelled while jumping down. He took one look at the syringe Izuku was holding, and took it away.

“You really don't want to touch that listener!” Present Mic yelled while quickly taking it away.

“Hey Present Mic!!! How are you doing?? Also what is it? The guy started injecting himself with it but I knocked him out before he could use the entire syringe.” Izuku mentioned.

How could Present Mic go about this without telling him the whole operation? Eraser head, Loudcloud, Midnight, and Present Mics agency had taken the case on.

“It's a street drug, not very safe!” Present Mic went with. If he was lucky, Jasper would drop it. “Anyways, those were some cool moves! The way you threw those stars with such accuracy! And the pressure point trick!? I know pros who don't know how to safely do that!” Present Mic wanted to switch the subject and see how the kid would react to compliments.

Aizawa told him about what the kid had said, and it was worrisome. Especially for someone who worked around kids and knew how these situations turned out sometimes.

“Thanks! But you don't have to lie.” Izuku stated, mind on other things. Izuku switched the subject back. “Now that I think about it, as soon as he started injecting himself with it his quirk seemingly doubled in strength. Though he did leave himself wide open for an attack while he was injecting himself. Is this the substance that's been creating those instant villains?” Izuku asked, putting the pieces together faster than Present Mic would like.

Luckily he was recording, as Nedzu wanted most or all conversations with Jasper recorded.

“So this drug increases the strength of the quirk and body. I wonder if it enhances the quirk factor or the quirk itself.” Izuku grabbed his notebook and started writing different theories he had and different facts he knew.

“You really shouldn't be delving further into this little listener!” Present Mic tried, he really did.

“Wait, so you do know more about it! What's the name of this substance? Who's running the production and why?” Izuku started writing down some questions before opening his wristband to chrome.

Present Mic knew he was done for when the kid grabbed-. Wait, is that one of those advanced support watches? Did they sell those to the public? Present Mic didn't know.

“I remember hearing the name of an instant villain drug a while back, though I don't know if it's the one I'm looking for.” Izuku told Present Mic.

“I remember hearing about a drug that decreased the ability to make rational decisions, but increased the power and strength of the quirk.” Izuku started searching it up before Present Mic had a chance to stop him.

“Fine!” Present Mic finally relented, hoping this new information would stop Jasper. “It's currently a very dangerous and ongoing investigation. I don't want you getting hurt!” Present Mic did worry about the kid often. Maybe even as much as Shota did sometime.

“I can handle it! Besides, I might be able to help!” Izuku thought for a second. He knew Present Mic probably wasn't allowed to tell him any important information, so he'd lay off for now while he did his own research. That could work! Izuku sighed before talking, adding extra emphasis on his words. “Fine. I'll lay off of it.” He didn't add the for now, though it was probably obvious.

“Thank you!!!” Present Mic yelled while tying the guy up. “S-Eraser would kill me if he found out I told you anything at all!” Present Mic almost slipped up, but quickly covered it up.

“I understand. Eraser would probably lecture me if he knew I fought a guy who tried to use whatever it was.” Izuku ended with a laugh.

“I'm assuming your guy's agency took up the case?” Izuku asked, though he didn't expect an answer.

“I am legally not allowed to tell you any more information! Sorry listener, it's classified!” Present Mic really didn't want this kid to know anymore than he already did.

“That's what I thought.” Izuku sheepishly admitted while rubbing the back of his hood.

“Anyway, I better get going! I'll see you around Mic!” Izuku yelled before catwalking off and back to his apartment.

“Thank you Yamada-kun!” Nedzu stated, randomly popping into Present Mics comms.

“Holy crap! When'd you pop up in my comms?” Present Mic asked.

“Ive been here since you were running into the alleyway. It's been quite a delight listening to your conversation with Jasper!” Nedzu chirped, writing notes about how the whole ordeal went.

“What do you mean?” Yamada asked, confusion in his voice.

“I've learned Jasper is very intelligent from this interaction. He easily pieced information together when he barely knew anything, though you convinced him to stop. I think he would be a very good UA student, though the comment he said when you complimented him is cause for worry. We would be able to provide the resources necessary.” Nedzu mentioned.

“So the offer still stands?” Present Mic asked.

“Indeed! It may take a while for him to come around, but I believe he will.” Nedzu said, having faith in the vigilante.

“Alright! I'm willing to help try to convince him!” Present Mic yelled.

“Thank you, Yamada-kun.” Nedzu hung up the comms, thinking to himself.

For some reason Nedzu had a feeling Jasper wasn't going to just leave this case alone

Chapter Text

Monoma: we should so hang out today

Shinsou: I can't

Monoma: why not?

Monoma was genuinely curious as to why Shinsou couldn't. If it was school work Monoma could easily help him out.

Shinsou: My parents probably wouldn't let me. I also really don't want to ask

Shinsou often gave more fulfilling answers over text, as he felt more comfortable online. He didn't really like talking in real life, unless he was with close friends.

Monoma: I can cover for you. You could also spend the night at my place if you wanted

Monoma had an idea how bad Shinsou foster parents were. Though he didn't know how bad.

All he knew was that they weren't the nicest, and enjoyed it when Shinsou left the house.

Shinsou: They probably wouldn't care if I just left, but I'll see if I can hang out today

Shinsou briefly left, while Monoma doom-scrolled.

Monoma had figured out he had a crush on Shinsou for a while, but didn't really feel like telling him. The guy who mocks most everyone confessing to a guy? He'd be the talk of the school. And he didn't even want to know how Shinsou felt about him.

I mean, Shinsou obviously didn't like him back, but that was okay. As long as they were friends and still hung out often.

Shinsou went and asked his foster-mom, who was honestly a lot better than his dad. She would still get black-out drunk, but wouldn't outright slap him whenever he asked something. She just simply didn't care about him.

“Hey, can I go to my friend's house for the day?” He asked in his softest, most non-threatening voice he could muster. If she was in a mood she might resort to violence, but she was overall calm and collected.

She had to keep the family image up, you know. The perfect parents who were kind enough to foster a teenager with a villainous quirk.

“Do what you want, I don't care.” She stated before continuing on with her work.

Shinsou immediately rushed back to his room, happy that it turned out good.

The last time he went out without asking for permission, it wasn't a very happy night for Shinsou. He ended up with a fractured rib, which he just had to endure. It still really hurt, even though it had been a week. Shinsou just really hoped it wasn't too obvious he was in pain.

Shinsou: she said yes. Where do you wanna meet? I can go over to your house so I don't have to trouble you

Monoma: Listen to me, it would trouble me if I didn't at least meet you somewhere. How about we meet at that cafe near ur house?

Shinsou: fine, I guess that works. See you soon!

Monoma: you bet

With that, Shinsou grabbed his phone and some money before walking to the cafe. Sometimes they'd buy drinks there, sometimes they'd just meet there.

Shinsou and Monoma had hung out so often it was like a normal day for them. Shinsou found comfort in Monoma, as he was his first real friend. Obviously he was friends with Bakugo and Kirishima, but Monoma went to the same school as him, so it was only natural.

Shinsou didn't know why his feelings decided to crush on Monoma, but they did and there was nothing he could do about it.

He hated it. Hated the butterflies he got around Monoma, hated his smirk when he knew he was right, hated his almost luminescent crystal blue eyes.

Shinsou could almost laugh at his brain's audacity. I mean, he finally got a friend, and now he ruins it for himself. I mean, all he had to do was make sure Monoma never found out, right?

Shinsou arrived to find Monoma already there and waiting outside.

“Hey Hitoshi!” Monoma yelled over to Shinsou. The two were close enough that they were on a first-name basis.

“Hey.” Shinsou really didn't want to seem like he was in pain, but there was an uncomfortable type of pain when he talked and took deep breaths.

Apparently Monoma noticed immediately, and started asking.

“You seem like you're in pain. How are you doing?” Monoma used a tone of voice he only used around his friends, but mainly Shinsou.

“Really, I'm fine!” Shinsou tried to be enthusiastic about it, but Monoma knew better. If Shinsou was lying he would try to be over-enthusiastic about the situation.

“I can tell you're lying.” The two started walking to Monoma's house, which wasn't too far off a walk. Only about 10 minutes. “You're trying to be enthusiastic about it, when you normally wouldn't be.” Okay, maybe Monoma was being weird right now, but he really cared about the well-being of his friend.

Shinsou just sighed, which honestly hurt a lot. Thus causing him to wince slightly, but mostly covering it up.

“Okay, see that?” Monoma pointed at the way he flinched when he sighed. “That is not normal. You're clearly in pain, and I'm going to help you.” Monoma stated matter-of-factly.

“Really, I'm fine.” Shinsou was trying to be stiff with his torso and chest, though it didn't go unnoticed by Monoma.

Shinsou changed the subject until they arrived at Monoma's house. It was close to their school, so it was nice if he wanted to hang out immediately after for home work. (He made sure his foster parents knew before-hand when he did)

“We are finally here.” Monoma stated, like the trip offended him somehow.

Shinsou had been to Monomas place at least a dozen times, but always reflected when Monoma asked to go over to his house.

They walked inside, and took their shoes off in the meantime.

Shinsou took his shoes off with his other foot, as bending down would probably put him in the hospital. (At least insurance had covered 95% of the last visit)

“You can go up to my room, I'mma grab us some snacks.” Monoma stated while heading to the kitchen. At this point his sister was used to him bringing back Shinsou, so she wasn't surprised when they walked through the door together.

Though she could clearly see the stiffness and pain in the boy's walk as he made his way up the stairs.

Monoma finally grabbed some snacks and headed up back into his room.

“You may want to check on your friend.” She remembered the last time he was hurt. It was a horrible experience all around.

“Yeah, I know. I was planning on asking but knowing him he wouldn't tell a tree.” Thus meaning that Shinsou often bottled stuff up, and never really told anyone anything.

Monoma walked up the stairs, grabbing a med kit from the bathroom as he did.

“I'm back!” Monoma announced to the room while hiding the med kit in his closet before Shinsou could get a chance to see.

Monoma placed the snacks on the small low table in his room while Shinsou got off of the bed and very slowly sat down.

Shinsou sat oddly straight, and Monoma thought that might be another cause for concern.

“Okay, seriously what is going on with you?” Monoma asked while eating some of the food he brought. “You seem like something in your chest or around that area hurts a lot.”

“It's not really anything important, just a bruise is all.” Shinsou said in his usual stoic expression. Much like his favorite hero actually.

“Then let me see.” Monoma knew what he was asking was weird, but he was worried about his friend.

Monoma ignored the blush that formed across Shinsou's face, though he looked really beautiful like that.

“You've also been making excuses to skip training, and I know you wouldn't skip just to skip.” Monoma stated while slightly leaning into Shinsou personal space. They were sitting side by side at the rectangular-shaped table.

“Just a bruise. I didn't want to make it worse while training, that's all.” Shinsou stated, enjoying the lack of personal space Monoma was giving him right now.

“I have some bruise cream that would help. Just let me help you.” Monoma started getting desperate while leaning in closer, emotions getting the better of him.

“Fine, whatever.” Shinsou stated while Monoma quickly grabbed the medkit from his closet.

“This might be a little weird, and it might hurt but this should help.” Monoma laughed when he said the first little bit, considering he had never seen his friend shirtless before. Monoma rarely went shirtless when training, but he had done it before. Shinsou had always worn a T-shirt of some sort.

Shinsou knew he was busted the moment he lifted his shirt up for his friend. It was a little weird lifting your shirt up for your crush, but Monoma was persistent.

He knew he was in trouble when Monoma stopped, a mixed look of slight shock, anger, frustration, and an unsettling look was born from it.

“Toshi, who. I need to know.” Monoma had thought about nicknames for Shinsou, though he wouldn't ever think he would use them. Monoma thought using his favorite right now would hopefully help Shinsou know the severity of the situation better.

“I just got it from training, you know.” Shinsou tried to be non-chalant with this, but knew that wasn't a very believable lie. Not when it came to Monoma. Though he did really like the nickname.

“You would've been very much in pain. Obvious pain. I don't know how bad your rib is, but it looks half-healed already. This cream should still help, and I'll bandage it up.” Monoma stated while grabbing the bruise cream and some gauze to wrap around it.

“Thank you.” Shinsou murmured, not really knowing how to thank his friend. I mean, what do you say when you are getting major butterflies from him being so close to you? Shinsou was definitely having an internal panic. I mean, Monoma had never seen him mostly shirtless before, and he had never particularly touched his chest before. So it was a little awkward for Shinsou.

At least Monoma’s feelings and emotions had taken over, so it wasn't super awkward for him. Though he started to realize what he was doing the more he did it, and kept himself from totally freaking out.

“There, that should work.” Monoma finished tying the gauze wrapped around Shinsou's upper body. “Now that I'm done with that, I really need to know how you got this, and who did it.” Monoma really wanted to protect his friend, but he couldn't do that if he didn't know who was causing him so much pain.

“It really isn't anyone special jus-” Monoma cut Shinsou off by grabbing his hands and forcing him to look him in the eyes.

“I will copy your quirk and use it on you. Please, just tell me.” Monoma asked, genuine worry in his eyes. “I don't want to resort to that though.”

Shinsou had never seen this side of Monoma, and honestly didn't like seeing him worry. I mean, he'd end up finding anyway if he copied his quirk, so why not just tell him?

“Fine.” Shinsou tried to look away before a hand was cupped around his face, forcing him to look Monoma in the eye.

Though unfortunately for Shinsou, Monoma realized what he did and quickly pulled his hands away, though not moving backwards at all.

“It was my f- are you sure you want to know? I mean it isn't really a big deal.” Shinsou second guessed himself and watched as Monoma's normally cocky and prideful expression dropped, a look of sorrow and sadness filling the emptiness.

“Fine, if you really want to know.” Shinsou could tell by Monoma's expression that he definitely wanted to know who it was. “It was my foster dad. You know when I walked with you for a few hours after training last Saturday? Yeah.” Shinsou trailed off, leaving Monoma to fume in the silence.

“Neito, earth to Neito?” Shinsou asked as Monoma was one with his thoughts.

“Sorry, I just have someone to-”

“No Neito, we're not resorting to violence.” Shinsou stated, though there was amusement in his tone.

“Fine, but you are not staying there long-term. You're also gonna spend the night tonight, can you get your foster parents permission?” Monoma asked.

“I'm sure they don't care. So long as they know what I'm doing they don't care. The last time they let me out without knowing where I was someone dropped by and called them irresponsible. Gotta keep up the perfect family image.” Shinsou joked.

“So that's why. That makes sense.” Monoma grabbed his phone before asking Shinsou.

“Can I record evidence of your chest? I didn't put too much gauze on, and I should be able to take it off and put it back on quickly.” Monoma stated.

“Why?” Shinsou asked.

“If we record evidence, it'll help you get out of that hell hole faster. Especially if we can find someone to adopt you.” Shinsou looked like he was about to cry. “So that's a yes?” Monoma asked. Shinsou just nodded his head in response.

“Thank you, but really it's not a big deal. It doesn't really matter that much. I can handle the-” Shinsou tried arguing back, knowing that he'd be put in an orphanage if this family didn't work out.

Monoma just sat fully up, looking Shinsou in the eyes.

Those beautiful, violet eyes. They deserved so much better.

Monoma cut Shinsou off as he put down the gauze and his phone on the table.

“Toshi, this matters! You matter.” Monoma was about to let his emotions get the best of him and probably almost confess his feelings, but he stopped himself.

“Really, i-” Shinsou was about to say he appreciates it, but I guess Monoma got the wrong idea.

His emotions did get the best of him after all.

“You matter to me!-” Monoma cut himself off as he said that, a rosy pink blush blooming across his cheeks.

“Yeah I'm going to stop digging my own grave now and shut my mouth!” Monoma quickly finished taking pictures and put the gauze back on.

Shinsou thought for a second before asking. Be had to know. He had to. The signs were there, and with what Monoma just said, his emotions were now getting the best of him.

“Neito do-do you um.” Shinsou was notorious for hinting at things, but not actually saying them.

Monoma's face just grew redder as he finished putting the gauze back on Shinsou's chest. He did notice him flinching, though he was being careful enough for it to not hurt too bad.

Monoma brought his knees to his chest as he laid his head in between them.

“I uh.” Monoma tried to start talking, but honestly couldn't.

Great, he probably just ruined his friendship. He really liked Shinsou, but he understood if he didn't want to be friends anymore.

Shinsou knew if Monoma didn't like him, he would've immediately told him to get his mind out of the gutter, stop thinking weird things, and he'd probably just straight up refuse it.

Shinsou could feel his face heating up at the thought. Could Neito really like him? Could they actually have something together? Yeah they were young right now, but they could always wait until high school or something.

Monoma finally looked up at Shinsou, surprised when he saw the redness on the boy's face.

Shinsou finally took his attention away from his thoughts and looked at a saddened looking Monoma.

Why was he sad? Shinsou really didn't like it when Monoma was sad.

“Neito, look at me.” Shinsou used a much more commanding tone than he ever thought he had in his life.

Monoma looked like he was trying to pacify any hope he still had left.

“I-uh, I'm not really good at this stuff, so bear with me.” Shinsou tried to laugh it off, though his face was still red.

“What do you mean?” Normally Monoma would've been mocking someone, or condescending them at a time like this. But right now he just couldn't.

Monoma was almost too quiet, but Shinsou still heard him. “You probably hate me now.” As much as Monoma could tease at times, he did still worry about lots of things. He's only human, after all.

“Neito, how in the ever-loving universe, could I ever hate you?” Shinsou started out with a rough voice, but quickly softened his voice.

“What?” Monoma was genuinely surprised.

“Okay, does this answer your questions?” Shinsou took charge of the situation and grabbed Monoma's hand, interlacing it around his own.

“What?” Monoma asked again before looking down at their hands interlocked together.

“I told you I'm not really good at this stuff.” Shinsou softly laughed.

Monoma moved to be on top of his knees, matching Shinsou while making sure to keep their hands interlaced.

Shinsou decided to just bite the bullet, and hope for the best. “I've liked you for a while now.” Shinsou tried to look away, but was quickly stopped by Monoma's hand softly caressing the side of his face.

“Me too. I've been too afraid to say it but I guess my brain decided otherwise.” Monoma tried to sound like his brain offended him somehow, but all his tone could muster was happiness.

Shinsou just laughed, moving closer to Monoma until he could rest his head on Monoma's shoulder.

“I'm really glad I came to your house today.” Shinsou said, while Monoma was still internally freaking out.

“Yeah you're my bf now. You don't get a choice otherwise.” Monoma's normal personality started to show through.

Shinsou just laughed while Monoma moved to be cross-legged so Shinsou would be more comfortable.

“Thank you.” Shinsou said while, surprising to Monoma, laid down on his lap. He finally felt safe. His shoulders felt much lighter than they've been in months. He finally felt like he wasn't alone in this miserable life.

“I'm kinda tired too.” Monoma carefully lifted Shinsou up before putting him on the ground next to him.

He laid down as well, and asked if Shinsou wanted a pillow.

Shinsou was so tired he couldn't really think straight. He moved over and put his head on Monoma's chest, while falling asleep fully.

“I guess not.” Monoma smiled while leaning into the touch, though he was internally panicking.

They both fell asleep, and woke up the next morning.

Shinsou now had one leg on Monoma's while leaning into him completely.

Monoma woke up first, completely forgetting the previous day's events for a few seconds. Wow. He actually had a boyfriend now. That was crazy for Monoma to think about. Especially since it was his crush!

He looked at Shinsou's face, which looked very peaceful while he slept. He combed through his hair, honestly glad he saw Bakugo and Shinsou that day.

Shinsou woke up about 20 minutes later, forgetting as well for a few seconds. He jumped up, only to be grabbed by Monoma.

“I'm sorry! I was so tired yesterday I wasn't thinking! I'll move-” Shinsou tried explaining before Monoma asked a question.

“Do you still want to lay down?” Monoma asked.

“Well yeah but I did-” Shinsou was cut off once again when Monoma spoke while dragging him back down.

“Say no more.” Monoma stated.

Shinsou was now back to laying on Monoma's side while his arm was wrapped around Shinsou.

“A-are you really okay with this? I can move if you want.” Shinsou squeaked out, an internal panic arising within him.

“Duh. I wouldn't have pulled you back down if I didn't want you to stay. Of course I would've let you move if you didn't want to lay down anymore.” Monoma explained before turning his head to look at a shocked Shinsou.

“I feel nice and cozy right where we are!” Monoma remarked, smiling that snarky smile that Shinsou honestly loved.

Shinsou's brain finally realized that Monoma actually wanted him there.

He curled even further into Monoma's warmth, wrapping his arms around him in which Monoma reciprocated.

“Thank you.” Shinsou quietly said.

It was so light that Shinsou almost couldn't feel it. The light peck placed on his head was enough to send him into a red-faced gay panic.

Thus causing Monoma to just chuckle.

“You don't know how long and how much I wanted to do that.” Monoma stated like it was just the weather.

They stayed like that for a while, letting the world continue around them.

Chapter Text

“I'm boredddddd!” Himiko yelled out to Touya, who was in his own room.

They had finally gotten Himiko a bed frame and mattress, which Izuku had helped out with.

“Then find something to do!” Touya yelled from the next room over.

“Ughhh fine!” Himiko yelled back. She grabbed her shoes and her new phone (Izuku's old one he never used) and headed out to do who knows what. Not even she knows at the moment.

Himiko didn't bring any money with, and didn't really want to buy anything. She already had so many new clothes and outfits to choose from, she just couldn't buy anything more.

Since she'd already been to the blood drive, Himiko ruled that one out.

Maybe she could just walk around? That could work. I mean, it's something to do and she doesn't really have anything better to do.

Himiko saw a few heroes out and about on patrol, but few of them ever stopped to chat with citizens.

Himiko was looking around, hoping to see her favorite hero before realizing she probably patrolled at night.

Limelight heroes patrol both day and night, but mostly one or the other. (Idk if this is completely right so bear with me)

Himiko looked around and on the roof tops before actually seeing her favorite hero!

Midnight was Himiko's favorite for a few reasons. 1) she wasn't afraid to be who she is and embrace it. Yes her costume may not have been the most appropriate, but she needs the thin fabric for her quirk! 2) She's really pretty.

Himiko saw Midnight in a fight against a decently sized villain, though he wasn't too big.

The guy was no match for Midnight's quirk as she got in close enough and used her power.

This was so awesome! Seeing Midnight in person and in action like this was so cool!

Himiko walked up to the growing crowd and took her spot safely behind most people while the police took care of the villain.

She knew she probably wouldn't get to meet Midnight, but it was still really cool to see her in action like this!

Watching Midnight as she walked around, Himiko saw how she acknowledged almost all of her fans. She was so cool! Himiko smiled brightly as Midnight looked around at everyone, smiling as she did.

Her eyes landed on Himiko, and she felt like she might explode. Himiko watched as Midnight's features softened and her smile broadened at the sight of Himiko.

Midnight's stare lingered for just a little bit longer than Himiko thought she gave the rest of her fans, but maybe it was just Himiko being delusional.

Himiko was about to leave and continue onto her walk, when she saw Midnight waving her over.

Crap! What did Midnight want? Maybe it was a scolding, or a lecture because of what Himiko did a while back! Oh she didn't know, and was starting to tense up as she thought. Okay, maybe she might hit Himiko for using her quirk in public. Himiko could handle it, right? It wasn't any different coming from a hero, though it was her favorite. (It was very different)

Apparently Himiko had been starting to spiral, as she felt a soft hand placed on her shoulder. Her thoughts went quiet as she looked up at the R-rated hero in front of her.

“Hey, are you alright?” Midnight asked in that soft, motherly tone she used when a student or someone young was in trouble.

“U-um yeah! Th-thanks!” Himiko tried to leave, tried to keep her Image of Midnight as crystal clear and as perfect as she remembered.

“Hey, why don't you join me and we can talk? I'm done with my shift and I would like to have a word with you if that's alright.” Midnight made sure to use her softest tone, because at this point Himiko was clearly trying to not freak out.

“U-um s-sure!” Himiko tried to brace for the impact, the yelling, but it never came.

Instead Midnight looked her in the eye and asked her, “Are you alright? You seem really worried about something?” Maybe Midnight was worried about this girl. I mean, she saved her life after all!

Himiko broke and looked away. “I-i'm sorry for using my q-quirk,” Himiko snarled quirk like it was a curse. To her, it was. “In public. I understand a-any and all punishment.”

Midnight saw this girl apologize for saving her life. Saving a life! Midnight would have to make sure she never did again.

“Toga, look at me.” Himiko looked up, sadness and disappointment in her eyes. She was slightly startled at Midnight using her name. “You are not in trouble for saving a life, ever. You saved my life. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you.” Midnight stated in her firm, ‘I'm right so don't argue with me’ tone.

“Wh-wha?” Himiko trailed off, genuine astonishment written on her face.

“Actually, the reason I wanted to talk to you was regarding that!” Midnight cheering mentioned.

“We can talk privately at my agency! And then I can change out of this.” Midnight joked.

I mean, her costume wasn't not comfortable but it wasn't comfortable either. It definitely felt nice to change out of her costume after a longer shift.

The kids had today off, so Midnight took an extra shift for today.

“O-okay.” Himiko followed Midnight as she walked down a few roads to a more quiet street.

Midnight was honestly curious as to why Toga was so on edge. I mean, it looked like she was expecting some sort of punishment based off of the way she apologized.

“So, how are you doing on this beautiful day?” Midnight asked, trying to change it to a more casual conversation.

“I'm doing pretty good. Though I was kinda bored earlier.” Himiko immediately perked up at the change in subject.

Midnight mentally noted it, as they might need that for later. Nedzu had proposed later on that in the unlikely instance she didn't stay with her guardians or didn't have somewhere safe to stay she could become a ward of UA.

It wasn't too hard to become one, though some paper work had to be filled out. If anything needed to be done immediately one of the pros could take temporary custody of her.

Though that was unlikely, it still needed discussion in case.

“How are you doing Ms. Midnight?” Himiko's normal bubbly self was mostly back, but she was still on guard. I mean, she didn't learn combat for nothing after all.

Midnight almost gleamed at the ‘Ms’, though she was actually married it was still cute to hear it from Toga.

“I'm good! You can just call me Kayama for now.” Midnight mentioned to Toga, who simply beamed at the information.

“Okay Kayama-san!” Toga was starting to smile as she talked.

Nemuri was honestly ready to wipe tears away from her eyes at Toga. The kid was so cute! Toga was just daughter material. She didn't know how anyone couldn't like hers especially with how useful her quirk was!

The two talked about trivial things on their way into the agency.

“Wait, didn't you own an agency with a few of your high school friends?” Toga asked, curious about it. “It's nice but pretty boring!” Toga exclaimed, looking around.

“Yeah, the first floor is! Also yes, this agency is with 3 of my friends,” Midnight decided to tell her about Oboro, considering she seemed trustworthy. “One of them being my husband.” Midnight tried to mention it like it was casual, though it wasn't.

“I knew it! I told Jasper he was wrong!” Toga often mentioned Jasper instead of Izuku, considering the more people knew about him and Mikumo the harder it would be to keep the two apart.

So Izuku told her to mention Jasper whenever Toga was talking about things like hacking, pros, or anything of the sorts.

“Do you perhaps mean the vigilante Jasper?” Nemuri asked in a calm tone, needing clarification for herself.

“Yeah! We were talking about which heroes we thought were married.” Toga mentioned it like it was casual, though she knew she'd probably have to explain.

She saw Midnight's shocked face, and decided to explain while they were walking to Midnight's office.

“Yes, I know the vigilante Jasper, no, I'm not going to tell you who he is.” Toga wasn't about to do Izuku like that, especially after he helped her in basically every way he could.

“Okay.” Midnight was honestly just surprised she knew him at all, and seemed like good friends.

“It's Loudcloud, right? I already assumed but I just wanted to be sure!” Toga exclaimed.

“Um, yeah. May I ask how you figured that out?” Midnight was definitely reporting back to her group after she talked to Toga.

“Well, Jasper's shown me the cameras a few times. I've seen you two working together very few times, but it seems like you guys have really good communication. And we figured it wouldn't be anyone outside of your friend group, and considering we already know about Erasermic it wasn't hard to deduct.” Toga knew she was kind of word-vomiting like Izuku did, but she needed to get her point across one way or another.

Nemuri had been told about the fact that Jasper knew about Aizawa and Yamada, but she was really curious how they managed to find out.

“How did you two find out about A-Eraser and Mic?” Nemuri almost slipped up, but covered herself just in time.

“I didn't, but I-Jasper did before we met! He noticed their matching rings and then analyzed their interactions! He said it really wasn't hard to deduce!” Toga exclaimed while they walked to the second floor.

Damn, this vigilante was really good. Aizawa and Yamada had gotten some of the most common rings they could find, though they did have each other's names engraved on the inside of the ring. But deducting that they were married from their interactions?

The two hardly interacted at work! You'd think they weren't even friends! When they did interact they kept it to business and were very professional about it.

“Did he ever say anything about the way they interacted by chance?” Nemuri wanted to know, and actually slowed their pace because she wanted to talk to Toga more.

“Hmm.” Toga tilted her head and put her finger on her chin. “He did mention the way that Aizawa seems to listen to Mic more than anyone else. I don't really remember much else but I remember Jasper talking about their body language around each other! Something like Mic was more loose around Eraser and Eraser was a lot less tense around him!” Toga was learning a lot in school so now she knows a lot more things are.

“Wow. That's actually impressive.” Midnight remarked, wanting to get out of her hero costume sooner rather than later.

“I know right!? And he won't even take credit for half of the stuff he does! It's annoying.” Himiko really wanted Izuku to acknowledge that he's actually smart and talented, but that might take a while.

Yup, that sounds just like how Aizawa, Mic, and even Nedzu were describing him. Apparently he didn't take due credit for impressive feats.

Midnight walked into one of her office rooms, guiding her to a chair by a desk.

“Can you stay in here while I change? I promise I'll be quick!” Midnight reassured.

“That's fine! I'll stay here!” Toga exclaimed.

“Thank you!!!” Midnight quickly walked out of the room and away to her small changing room. It was like a locker room, but only for a few people.

So far Midnight was the only woman there, but it was always good to have extra spots just in case.

When Midnight was done with a patrol, she would immediately change out of her hero costume, choosing to instead go for either civilian clothes or a suit (like the one she wore in that MHA episode) if she still had professional matters to take care of.

Midnight finished changing and started quickly walking back to the room she left Toga in.

Now yes, she would have to get Nedzu on the phone but she already gave him a heads up.

“Hey! I'm back!” Midnight announced to Himiko when she walked back into the room, making sure to close the door.

Toga was braiding a small piece of her hair, something Izuku taught her. She often did it when she got bored or had nothing better to do. I mean, she still had to find a hairstyle she really liked after all.

Kayama pulled out a chair and sat down.

“I wanted to discuss your schooling and everything regarding that.” Kayama really didn't know how to bring it up, so she decided to be blunt about it. Better to rip off the bandaid in one go, right?

“Alright.” Himiko said suspiciously, keeping her guard up even though she trusted the hero. Dang, she did look really pretty right now.

“So, you do online schooling under Nedzu, correct?” Kayama decided to ask her in a calm tone, hoping it would help.

“I'm pretty sure, yeah. I use one of my friends' computers for work and stuff. He helps me with a lot of it when I get confused!” Himiko exclaimed.

Nemuri wondered if it was Jasper, but decided that would probably make her even more wary.

“Why do you want to know?” Himiko slyly asked, remembering her past and how if she told anyone Information like this they would always use it against her.

“Principal Nedzu and I have an offer for you!” Midnight exclaimed, not knowing how to tell her really.

“But Nedzus the principal of UA!” Himiko exclaimed, confused by the whole thing.

I mean, she couldn't be getting scouted by a hero school! She was seen as a villain! Why was that any different now!?

Midnight grabbed her phone to the already-ongoing call with the principal.

“That, indeed I am! Hello, Toga-san! Pleasure to meet you, well over the phone that is!” Nedzu chimed from the phone.

“Umm, hi. Nice to meet you!” Toga was trying to sound like she wasn't as confused and scared as she was.

“I would like to send you an offer!” Nedzu exclaimed.

“W-what for?” Toga really didn't know where this was going.

“To attend UA, of course! We think you would be an excellent recovery and medical hero!” Nedzu said.

“W-what do you mean?” Toga didn't know if this was real, or if she was even real right now.

“We have seen your actions from the day you rescued and promptly saved Kayama-san's life! You didn't hesitate to jump in and use your quirk to save another's life.” Nedzu started. He gave Toga a few moments to fully digest what he was saying. “We have also seen your advancement in medical knowledge from not only your online studies, but when you saved Kayama-san.” Nedzu explained.

“What does this mean?” Toga was so confused and shocked right now. The principal of a hero school was making an offer for her to attend and become a hero!

Nedzu continued on to another part of the offer.

“If you decide to attend UA there are a few different options for you to choose from! You could either attend general education while interning under Recovery Girl or attend the hero course while interning under Recovery Girl! That way you could become a hero who specializes in medical knowledge and healing!” Nedzu fully explained the other part of the deal.

Himiko felt like she was half to tears. Everything in her life was finally going so well! She couldn't ask for anything more at this point. She could become a hero like Midnight? She could save and protect people, like she wished someone would've when she was a child.

“I-id like that! I could actually attend the hero course?” Himiko half-choked out.

Kayama was about to cry from the happy expression on Himiko's face. It was so perfect, absolutely flawless! Okay, maybe she was starting to see Toga as a daughter, but nobody had to know. (Oboro would be getting an earful about it tonight)

Toga talked so quietly Kayama almost couldn't hear her. “Y-you guys really don't think I'm a villain because of my quirk.?” Kayama's blood ran cold because clearly she didn't mean for anyone to hear it.

Unfortunately Nedzu couldn't hear it over the phone.

“I would start next school year?” Himiko asked, hope in her voice.

“That would partially depend on your age, but otherwise yes!” Nedzu chirped.

“I'm fifteen. I will turn 16 in the middle of next school year.” Himiko mentioned.

“Perfect! You will just attend through recommendations, though I won't force you to take the tests for recommended students since you would be a hero focusing on recovery, unless you wouldn't want that?” Nedzu asked.

“I want to focus on medical, yes, but I still want to work on all of the other aspects of being a hero!” Himiko exclaimed.

“So you would want to still be in class everyday then? Instead of helping under Recovery Girl?” Nedzu asked, ready to make a compromise.

“We can figure out certain hours and times I help out with her! But otherwise yes! Thank you so much!” Himiko explained, practically jumping in and out of her seat.

“We can work out a schedule and further times for everything!” Nedzu chirped.

“Thank you!!” Himiko said into the phone.

“Thank you for accepting our offer! We will be looking forward to seeing you there!” Nedzu exclaimed. “Thank you Kayama-san for letting me talk to her! I better be on my way, have a good evening you two!” Nedzu hung up the call.

“Thank you Kayama!” Himiko squealed while jumping up and out of her seat.

“It's really no trouble at all! I wanted you to attend UA, especially after you saved my life!” Kayama wanted to slowly bring the subject back to what she said, but was afraid it might trigger some bad memories or other stuff.

Himiko calmed down a little bit, trying not to be too excited and jumpy.

“I thought you were going to try some funny business when you wanted to talk to me!” Himiko laughed.

“What do you mean?” Kayama asked, suddenly becoming even more worried for the poor girl.

“I used my quirk. It's kinda villainous so I thought I would be in trouble.” Himiko talked like it was the everyday weather.

“Your quirk is very heroic! It could save so many lives if you wanted to use it that way!” Kayama really hoped she'd be able to knock some sense into this girl, though probably not.

“Huh? No it's not really, but thank you for trying.” Himiko said.

“What do you mean?” Kayama asked it in her stern teacher's voice so hopefully this would get through to her.

“I mean, almost everybody calls my quirk villainous! Except for Touya and Jasper!” Himiko admitted.

“Why do they call your quirk villainous?” Kayama really needed to know so she could hopefully help.

Himiko put her hand on the back of her head in a sheepish manner before stating, “Promise you won't get freaked out? Please?” Himiko asked with puppy eyes.

“I promise! Quirks have downsides to them, so of course I won’t get freaked out!” Kayama exclaimed, horrified at the idea of Himiko having to ask this of every person she talks to.

Himiko looked at Kayama with unsure eyes.

“You can trust me. If you don't want me to tell anyone, I won't. But I also won't force you to tell me either.” Kayama firmly stated.

“Are you sure?” Himiko asked in the smallest quietest voice.

“I promise!” Kayama's heart was really starting to break at the sight and sound of this broken girl.

“Well,” Himiko started, unsure of herself. “A um, side effect of my quirk is that it makes me crave blood. I-i used to have major cravings I couldn't stop when I was little, causing me to k-kill animals in a panicked m-mind. I couldn't stop, but now they're c-controllable.” Himiko left out the part where every now and then she gets blood at the blood drive.

“You were a child, you didn't know any better.” Nemuri soothed, her motherly nature coming to its true light. She set her hands on Himiko's shoulders, letting the weight keep her down to earth.

“Th-they all called me monster!” Bad flashbacks were starting to pass through Toga's mind. If it had not been for Midnight, Himiko probably would've had a full blown panic attack.

“Shhh, it's okay. You're okay, you're here now.” Nemuri embraced Himiko in a hug while she calmed herself down.

“Y-you don't think I-I'm a monster?” Himiko asked, voice breaking.

“No, not ever.” Midnight's heart was breaking at the vulnerability and sadness in the others tone.

The two remained there for a while until Himiko fell asleep.

Midnight carefully awoke her, not wanting to aggravate her.

“Hey, it's time to wake up. It's getting slightly dark outside, and your parents must be worried.” Kayama did, in fact, not know that ‘they’ included her parents.

Himiko, still laced with sleep, was unable to keep it to herself. “Parents don't care. They never have.” Himiko took a second to yawn, trying to fully wake up but failing at the moment.

Kayama's heart broke again.

Kayama was afraid to ask, but knew she needed to anyway. “Where do you live then?”

“Apartment, with Touya. He's nice. He doesn't judge me.”

Kayama was relieved to hear that she at least had some place to stay, though she wondered who Touya was.

Himiko finally woke up five minutes later, to see Midnight at her side in civilian clothes.

“Sorry! I better get going now, thank you!” Himiko tried to get up before Nemuri stopped her.

“Wait! This is my phone number. Call or text me if you ever need anything!” Nemuri called out to Himiko while handing her a piece of paper.

Himiko gladly took in, smiling brightly as she did.

“Thank you.” Toga looked away, embarrassed by her feelings. “Not just for the paper, but for listening and not judging me.” Himiko quickly ran out of the agency, and away toward the apartment building.

Dang. That kid is fast. She'll make a great hero someday.

_____

Izuku has been a vigilante for almost 5 months now! It was crazy to think about that for Izuku. Don't leave out the fact that he even made friends with some of the pros!

He was even starting to bulk up a considerable amount.

I mean, it had overall been a crazy and fun ride. Now, it was time to make it officially his 5 month anniversary tonight.

Izuku woke up, practically beaming for joy when he realized the date. Yes, it wasn't a special date by any means! But it was special to Izuku.

Izuku ran into his room where he kept all his vigilante stuff. He changed into his usual vigilante costume, making sure the combat boots were still clean. (They were so nice, Izuku didn't like seeing them dirty)

He went into the bathroom and put his eyeliner on, just like he had for the previous few months. At first it was a special thing he did for Denki, but it ended up becoming tradition and it stayed.

Izuku loved it more than he thought he would. Whenever he puts it on, he reminds himself of a cat. Izuku loved cats, but couldn't keep any. He didn't really have the money or the time really.

Izuku put on his earpiece and voice changer mask, adjusting it slightly as he did.

The belt bag with his gadgets was holding up really well so far! Izuku had only lost two ninja stars, and was able to easily remake them.

Izuku put on his metal layered gloves, and went out on his way. Not before grabbing his notebook though.

Izuku ran out into the night, enveloping the nice breeze and moonlit rooftops. This is one of the things he loved about being a vigilante. (Though not technically). Being free.

Izuku had been running around for a while before he heard a scream further out and down the rooftop.

Wasting no time at all, Izuku quickly ran out while grabbing two ninja stars just in case.

The scene was already progressing quickly. The victim was backed up against a corner while trying to discreetly grab her phone.

The group of three guys were definitely bulky and muscly, though nothing Izuku couldn't handle.

He quickly threw one of the ninja stars into the gun the guy was grabbing.

While the gun was sent flying and the guys were distracted, the woman in the corner quickly grabbed her phone and called the police.

That was good. At least she was aware of her openings and things like that.

Izuku was quick enough to dodge the hit from the man behind him. Don't worry, Izuku won't forget about him.

Izuku had been getting much quicker and much faster, which was extremely good against guys like these who were bulky and muscly.

Izuku put away his extra ninja star while grabbing his two metal pipes. He had been practicing using them in different ways, and was now more successful and precise whenever he did use them.

Climbing up the wall about 5 feet, Izuku flipped forward while using his poles to propel him out more.

Hitting the back of his neck, Izuku had taken out the first guy. It really wasn't hard, you just had to know the right stuff.

He quickly moved the guy to one side of the alley while he moved and dodged the other man's attack.

Crap. The third guy was trying to regrab the gun that Izuku had thrown out of their hands.

If he didn't wrap this up quickly, they would probably start using their quirks. Normally they all tried to use them right away, but I guess this bunch was different.

Izuku ran to the other wall while also climbing up. He was able to see the man down their start to wind up his quirk, which meant Izuku had to make this quick.

Izuku jumped to the other wall before pushing himself over the man.

The guy looked like he had some sort of wind or weather quirk based off of the now picking up wind and the clouds starting forming overhead.

The third guy who was grabbing the gun seemed to have some sort of nail elongating quirk. Now that he thought about it he remembered one of the guys from Alderson could do that but with his fingers. Relatives, maybe.

Izuku dove over the head of the weather quirk guy, cursing internally at the touch of a big blast of wind. It didn't put him too off course, but the landing wasn't as soft as he would've liked.

He sprung up immediately before the man had enough time to turn around, smacking him in the back of the neck while he did.

That was his signature move.

By this point, the other guy had already reached the gun but hadn't quite picked it up yet.

Izuku grabbed a ninja star and threw it with perfect aim to knock away the gun while the guy was mid-grab.

Izuku was successfully able to knock the gun away, and pounced on the opening.

Nails barely had his head turned back before he was hit on the back of the next and falling to the ground, unable to move.

Izuku turned to look at the woman who was still slightly shaking, but otherwise had a proud look in her eyes.

“Th-thank you! What's your name?” The woman asked. I mean, duh of course she wanted to know her savior's name.

“It's no problem! My name is Jasper!” He grabbed his two ninja stars before walking over to her and lending her a helping hand up.

“Also, your situational awareness is amazing! Good job calling the police the moment there was an opening!” Jasper praised, though unable to take praise himself.

“I didn't do much, really! I should be thanking you! You saved my life!” The woman exclaimed, happy to finally meet this vigilante. She'd only heard rumors, after all.

“Well, I better get going!” Izumi exclaimed, happy to help someone in need.

“Thank you again!” The girl praised.

Izuku cat walked onto the roof, and started running to the right until he heard the distinct explosions coming from the opposite direction. Izuku turned to look around, gasping as he did.

The villain in question definitely had some sort of booster for his quirk. From what Izuku could see he had some sort of nature quirk. Izuku knew he was probably wrong, but from his point of view he could definitely see some wood, leaves, maybe even some blossoms you could find on trees.

Izuku could just barely see the top of the villain's head. It was absolutely huge. The guy was bigger than some of the buildings in the area!

They could definitely contain this beast, right?

Izuku immediately ran over, noting how it seemed like the villain was trying to block off a certain building. The guy was yelling someone’s name, over and over.

Okay, this guy definitely wasn’t in the right headspace. He seemed loopy, and almost like his quirk was dragging and controlling his body.

The closer Izuku got, the more he learned and noted about the guy and his quirk. The guy used his quirk to sort of lace around two buildings, one on either side. Though this might not be completely accurate considering Izuku couldn't fully see the man. This trick seemed to be keeping him upright and preventing him from falling.

Jumping over the final building, Izuku finally saw the entire man. He wasn't actually that big, but his quirk made him seem a lot bigger.

It looked like the guy had a quirk similar to Kamui Woods, though it was slightly different.
The guy's body wasn’t made entirely out of wood, but it seemed he could grow wood from his body as he pleased. He could extend this wood for seemingly forever, but Izuku knew there had to be a limit, though he feared they weren't dealing with just any other villain. If this was just a normal villain they were dealing with, he definitely wouldn’t be able to extend it this far.

Izuku opened the comms to every hero available and in the area. Those heroes included Eraser, Mic, Amplifier, and Rocklock

“Every hero available, there's a villain with some sort of tree quirk at ### downtown. He doesn't seem like just any villain to me. He's unable to make the best decisions and it seems like he can't quite control his body. I'll start working on the evacuation and safety of everyone.” Izuku stated, already moving into one of the most damaged buildings.

“Copy, on my way, 4-5 minutes out.” Eraser stated, immediately leaving his normal patrol route to help. Aizawa had a feeling they might've been dealing with an instant villain of sorts, though he hoped he wasn't.

“On my way, 6 minutes out!” Present Mic yelled into the comms, having a feeling after this Jasper would just delve further into this case.

“5 minutes out.” Came the response from Rock lock. After learning how old the vigilante was, Rock lock was not very pleased to have him running around and doing pro work. Yes, the vigilante was really effective, but he wasn't even a high school student yet!

“Coming! Be there in about 8 minutes!” Cheered Amplifier who sounded a lot more enthused about the situation than anyone else felt.

“Alright.” Izuku responded to the comms, feeling a lot more grim about the situation than he thought he would.

Izuku ran to the building, using his voice changer to slightly increase the volume of his voice.

Izuku ran into the slightly shaking building, hoping he got out as well.

He ran and opened all of the doors to the apartment building. It was similar to his, but definitely nicer and probably more expensive.

“Hey everyone! There is a villain attacking and it's not safe to stay here in this building!” Izuku yelled into the first few buildings.

Panicked civilians came running out, though Izuku knew how to calm them down.

“Everybody, calm down! There is still time to leave in a timely fashion, but we cannot do that if everyone is panicking!” Izuku yelled out to the growing group of people from the first floor. A lot more than be expected honestly.

Luckily the crowd started to calm down and actually listen to him.

Izuku opened his watch to look at the cameras of the surrounding area. Once he concluded which way was the best, he announced to the crowd.

“Exit through the North! There should be at least a few exits that way!”

The crowd started exiting down and out of the building.

Okay, Izuku really needed to hurry this up. He looked outside and the villain was getting more antsy as time went on.

Izuku quickly hurried up the steps and safely evacuated the rest of the building. There were a few people who couldn't walk on their own, so Izuku asked for some volunteers to help with them.

“Okay, building one evacuation complete. Hopefully you all can get here soon, he's getting more antsy as time goes on.” Izuku sighed, looking outside the window.

“Slight problem.” Aizawa started. “He's grown trees so tight together throughout all of the South, East, and West. I'm currently trying to find a passage to get through.” You could hear rustling and things of the sort while Aizawa moved around the trees.

Apparently there were also some on the roofs, though not nearly as many. They may be able to go through the roof.

“Okay, do you think you'd be able to get in over the roofs?” Izuku asked, moving down and out of the building.

“I could try, though there's lots of vines, mazes, and trees blocking the way.” Eraser mentioned.

Crap. This was bad. Izuku might have to distract the guy while Eraser and the others find a way to get in.

Izuku finally got out of the building, seeing the newly formed growth on the roofs of surrounding buildings.

Izuku was about to call the comms when a quick root almost sent him flying. I guess this guy was not willing to wait.

Izuku quickly and sloppily rolled to the side, cursing internally at the probability of new bruises forming on his back.

Okay, Izuku was staring at the man and he wasn't as big as before. It seemed like the villain was focusing his efforts on more of the outskirts of the area he was kidnapping. Izuku just had to wait for Eraser to find a way in. He could do that, right? Right??

Izuku wondered how he was going to fight this.

They weren't in an alley, which was his strength in most fights. They were on a more narrow road, but Izuku didn't think it was close enough to use to his advantage.

This guy was also mid-air thanks to his quirk. It seemed he built a tree to hold himself up, but not to protect himself.

Izuku grabbed his pipes and extended them, hoping they would help him.

Izuku tried to get in close, though the guy was doing an exemplary job at keeping him at least mid-range.

Izuku had an idea, though hoped it didn't hurt the villain. He grabbed a ninja star, and swung it the next time the villain tried to attack him. Luckily it was a vine, just about 8 inches around.

The villain's face shifted into a mix of shock, confusion, horror, and some sort of extreme discomfort.

Okay, at least Izuku knew that it didn't hurt him, though Izuku knew couldn't slice anything bigger. His ninja stars were only so sharp and strong after all.

Okay, he could continue doing this until Eraser found a way inside. This wasn't super bad. It could be much worse.

Izuku continued dodging attacks, using what he could to slice the vines and smaller growth.

Izuku started noticing how once he cut them, they couldn't move again. They turned this odd dead brown color. Izuku assumed that once he cut them, they couldn't be moved or used again.

He wondered if they could be retracted and replaced with a new one, considering this guy's quirk seemed to be endless. Maybe he was on some sort of drug that was preventing his mind from making that command.

Izuku cut off another one of the guy's vines, creating an opening for himself while the guy's expression distorted into the most extreme face of discomfort.

Izuku quickly ran forward while climbing the tree. He wrapped around to the back of the villain, hitting a precise landing on the back of his neck.

The villain crumpled forward, unable to move his body and his quirk.

“Are you alright?” Eraser finally came onto the scene, covered in ferns and leaves.

Izuku jumped off the guy, landing in a weird sort of squat while talking. “Yes! You should've seen how epic that was!” Izuku patted himself on the back figuratively.

“You better be lucky you got him when you did, listener!” Present Mic came rushing into the scene, though he did seem out of breath.

Izuku was confused by that. “Why?”

“He was strangling one of the buildings with his tree roots so hard it was about to fall down! It hasn't been fully evacuated yet, but they're now working on it considering the state of it.” Present Mic exclaimed, trying to catch his breath but also needing to explain right away.

“Yeah. I had to use my capture scarf and an axe, a local kindly lent me and had to hack through the mazes and vines on the roof. It seemed like they were growing thicker by the second.” Eraser mentioned. “I finally got through when the vines and trees seemingly dropped and fell limp.”

“Dang. I didn't know it was that bad.” Izuku wished he would've done better. Would've gotten more buildings evacuated in the time he had.

Present Mic stepped forward in front of Izuku.

“Okay listener. That was awesome!!! You've gotta tell me all the details of the fight! That must've been epic to watch!” Present Mic exclaimed.

Izuku looked confused for a second before talking. “It wasn't that much, really. I mean, he literally gave me an opening!” Izuku announced, sure of himself. “Eraser probably could've used his capture scarf and defeated him in an instant!” Izuku exclaimed.

“Kid, I don't know why but I can't erase his quirk. Look.” Aizawa looked over at the guy who was laying on the ground, vines and trees now limp all over.

Aizawa activated his quirk, though nothing seemed to happen.

“I would've had a hard time against him. His vines and roots are a perfect match for my skills and capture scarf.” Aizawa really hoped he was getting through to the vigilante, though probably not knowing him.

“Exactly!” Mic agreed with Aizawa.

The three looked around as the vines and trees started to retract back into the man, forming into one single medium-sized tree in front of him.

“Mic.” Eraser basically gave an order using one word.

Present Mic walked forward and checked the guy's tongue before looking at Aizawa and grimly nodding.

“This is one of those instant villains, right?” Izuku had assumed that the instant villains that were becoming more frequent had something to do with the drug the villain tried to inject himself with a while ago.

Aizawa knew not to tell the kid too much. He honestly wanted the kid to stay as far away from this case as possible. I mean, all he wants to do is protect his chi-vigilante.

“Yes.” Aizawa confirmed.

“Thank you! Well, I guess I'll be off!” Izuku announced. “Hey, what's so funny?” Izuku asked Present Mic who was trying not to laugh.

“Guess you'll have your first appearance on the news, little listener.” Present Mic was able to talk quietly enough so just the three of them could hear.

Izuku quickly looked around before spotting a news reporter on the roof of one of the completely intact buildings.

Izuku showed an expression of shock, realization, and embarrassment. He pulled his hood further over his head before running off into the night.

Izuku found a fire escape to jump up into the roofs while making sure he wasn't being followed. He finally ran home, having one heck of a story to tell his siblings.

“He's just like you Sho!” Present Mic exclaimed, still trying to hold his laughter at the thought.

Aizawa just grumbled, knowing his husband was right and that any reaction would get the press and media recording him.

“I guess so.” Aizawa finally responded.

Aizawa wrapped his capture scarf around the villain, ensuring he wouldn't go anywhere.

Present Mic finally stopped snickering. He talked in a low enough voice that only his husband could hear.

“That's really hot you know.” Present Mic said like it was a casual Tuesday.

Eraser just hid his reddened face behind his capture scarf while grumbling.

“At least our shift is almost over. Then we can finally go home!” Present Mic exclaimed, quietly. The ‘and then cuddle’ was left unsaid, but both knew they probably would.

Eraser still couldn't believe Jasper took down this villain all by himself, without even getting majorly hurt as well. That was an impressive feat, and one that would definitely take him a long way as a hero. Though the vigilante was too self-conscious to realize it.

Aizawa thought he might just have to hit it into this kid's thick head, maybe then he'd understand

Chapter Text

Okay, Izuku didn't know how bad he had gotten hurt from that roll. But apparently, it was a lot. Because it currently hurts like a mother trucker.

Izuku looked in the mirror the moment he came home, expecting to see a few smaller bruises. What he didn't expect was the absolute monster of a bruise on his back.

Okay, it wasn't that big but it was still decently large. It was the size of a mini plate, if you know the size of those.

Izuku had tried reaching back to apply bruise cream, but he still couldn't get the entire section.

Izuku was also conveniently talking to himself, which actually made him feel sane at times. (And look insane). He debated calling Touya or Himiko, though he assumed they'd be sleeping given the time.

He could call Denki, but Izuku would definitely feel bad.

It was a Friday night/early Saturday morning, and Izuku didn't want to ruin his friend's Saturday.

Izuku defeatedly grabbed his phone, probably doomscrolling while he thought about his options. I mean, he could try and grab something that would help him apply the cream to the back of his neck.

Izuku wasn't even thinking about asking someone, though it would be nice.

Izuku saw on his phone as Denki texted him.

Denki: Woah dude! Was that you in that video!?

Izuku was not expecting a text from Denki so late, though Izuku knew Denki would stay up worrying about him.

Izuku: What video?

Denki just sent Izuku a link, finding it easier.

Denki: This is going semi-viral and it was just posted today!!! It's literally you as Jasper isn't it?

Izuku: let me watch the video rq

Izuku clicked on the video, stomach in knots all around.

He watched the video and sure enough, it was him. He watched the sloppy roll he made in the beginning, and then understood why he had a bruise so large. Guess he didn't feel it at the time, but there was actually a piece of cement under him. It wasn't very big, but definitely mini-plate sized.

I mean, the rest of his dodges were okay. Some were still sloppy but a lot safer than the first one.

Izuku watched as he ran up the tree, twisted around to the other side, and landed the final blow to quickly wipe the guy out.

Honestly, this villain wasn't anything special. The trees and roots honestly made it easy to predict his attack. He didn't seem to have any combat experience or knowledge. The guy was also severely distracted, giving Izuku that opening, and the guy seemed to be loopy. He seemed like he could make a lot better choices, but made the ones he did hastily.

It was odd.

Izuku hopped back into the chat with his best friend.

Izuku: Yeah that's me

Izuku really didn't know if Denki would be mad at him, or if he'd be disappointed.

Denki: Dude, that was so cool! You just took the villain down like it was nothing!

Izuku just hoped Denki didn't see his first roll. It was honestly so bad, and Izuku couldn't bear to see it.

Izuku: It really wasn't anything much! I mean, the guy wasn't even fighting. His quirk also made him really predictable with his moves. :)

Izuku knew that if they were hanging out/talking in real life, Denki would've never let Izuku say that about himself.

Denki: Yeah no, I'm not going to let that slide. I'm on my way over to your apartment, expect me there in like 15 minutes. Also, I'm sure you need help with applying bruise cream after that first roll:)

Crap. Of course Izuku just had to mess it up and now Denki was taking hours out of his sleep schedule just because of stupid Izuku.

Izuku tried to reassure himself that Denki made that decision on his own, but he couldn't help but feel like it was his own fault.

Well, Izuku might just have to start researching while Denki was on his way.

There's no harm in that, right?

Izuku walked over to his computer, still shirtless because of the pain in his mid-back.

Okay, Izuku would go over the knowledge he already had about this stuff.

Izuku was pretty sure it was illegal in Japan, and that's why Erasers agency is taking on the case.

It seems that the drug increases/strengthens either the quirk itself, or the quirk factor.

Mic didn't want him meddling in it, so it's probably bigger than Izuku thinks.

This substance is also what's been creating the instant villains, so whatever it is is instantaneous inside the body.

It seemed like most of the instant villains were happening in the daytime, though there were a few here and there at night.

Alright, this was good so far. Now the questions Izuku had.

What is the name of this stuff?
How do you get it?
Who's behind all of this and why?

Izuku had more questions, but those were the ones he hoped to find out online. Maybe he could secretly help out with the case without the agency's heroes finding out.

Izuku was sure he'd be able to do that, though he wasn't sure. I mean, if he can't find anything he can just hack into their agency. His computer is untraceable for a reason after all.

Izuku went searching up stuff online not wanting to waste any of the 15 minutes Denki gave him. Izuku probably would've stayed up another few hours to research more as well, considering they didn't have training Saturday or Sunday. (Their bodies need to rest ok)

Izuku searched up the first thing that came to his mind.

Instant villains drug

I mean, he hoped no one would look at his computer anytime soon.

He found a few results, but little of what he needed to find out. Izuku thought he still had a few minutes until Denki arrived, though he was quickly proved wrong when he heard the doorbell ring.

Izuku begrudgingly got up, happy to see his friend but mad at himself for allowing him to come all this way alone.

“Hey Izuuuu!! Denki walked in the moment Izuku opened the door, though not expecting to see him shirtless. It was kind hot though.

Okay, Denki, get yourself together. Just because your crush is shirtless doesn't mean you have the right to stare.

Denki had a pit in his stomach at what this might mean.

“It's your back, isn't it?” Denki asked in his tone that stated ‘really.’

Izuku was about to brush it off when Denki ran around to look at his back.

Dang, those were some nice back muscles-no. Denki had to focus right now.

“Izuku, what did you do to gain this bruise?” Denki asked in his motherly tone, which surprisingly he was actually good at.

Izuku just sighed, knowing he was going to try to fight a losing battle.

“It's from that.. Roll.” He finished, a little awkward being shirtless considering Denki had never seen him shirtless.

“Where’s the bruise cream?” Denki asked, ready to help his friend.

“Let's just go to the bathroom.” Izuku softly said.

Oh boy did Denki like that tone of voice coming from Izuku.

“I just left the cream on the counter.” Izuku told Denki.

“Ok! We are going to get you all patched up because you can't not get hurt when fighting.” Denki stated to a defeated Izuku.

Izuku just sat down on the toilet sideways, wishing but enjoying how caring his friend was.

“Actually it would be better if you stood up.” Denki sheepishly said.

“Okay.” Izuku shrugged.

Okay, maybe Izuku did like this a little more than he should. He was allowed to enjoy his friends' company, right?

What Touya had said popped in his mind, and he pondered for a little bit. Was he gay? Straight? He didn't even know. He'd never had a crush on anyone before. Izuku's intrusive and his brains thoughts rushed into his head

Izuku couldn't like Denki, could he? I mean, they were best friends after all! But Izuku didn't really know at that point.

“Please be a little gentle. It kinda hurts.” Izuku mentioned.

“Got it!” Denki cheerfully exclaimed.

Oh my gosh, did Denkis touch feel like the touch from a God. Maybe part of it was the cream, but let a person dream.

“Thank you!” Izuku made sure to tell Denki.

“It's no problem dude! It would've been more of a bother if I didn't! I would be stuck awake all night worried sick!” Maybe Denki did say a little bit more than he wanted, but it shouldn't be too bad, right?

“Also I'm forcing you to stay tonight.” Izuku mentioned it like it was a casual Tuesday. “I don't want you going home this late at night and you're already here.” After Izuku had been living by himself for so long he kinda forgot parents needed to know about these things.

Denki just laughed while applying the rest of the cream to his bruised back.

“I was probably going to ask to stay anyway.” Denki admitted, though he wouldn't want to trespass on his friend. “Alright, that covers all of it! Though please be more careful next time.” Denki pleaded, he tried to sound more friendly than i-have-a-crush-on-you, and was half-failing.

“Thank you!! You are a life saver!!” Izuku exclaimed. “This might be a little weird, but Ima keep my shirt off because it hurts. Are you okay with that?” Izuku asked. He really didn't want to do anything his friend was uncomfortable with, even if that meant enduring pain.

“Of course! I don't want you to be in pain, because I'd probably die internally.” Denki admitted, though he sounded more joking, he actually meant it.

“We should probably get to bed.” Izuku stated, though he wasn't tired.

“I'm not really tired either.” Denki lied. Who could blame him if he wanted to stay up later and longer to spend more time with his crush?

“We should do something quiet.” Izuku suggested, knowing all too well that even if they tried both of them couldn't get to sleep.

“We could watch a movie?” Izuku suggested.

“Wait! Do you have more of the stuff you made that apple bread with?” Denki asked, suddenly feeling quite hungry.

“Actually I do! We could do something like last time?” Izuku suggested, really understanding Denki and his random bits of hunger.

“Yeah! Though I'm going to watch you make it.” Denki announced. Of course he wanted to talk and spend more time with his friend. I mean, who didn't?

“Okay. Fine by me!” Izuku was secretly glad Denki chose to talk to him. Maybe he wanted to see if his hypothesis about himself was correct. (Izuku had never done/felt anything like this, so he's doing it the only way he knows how to.)

Izuku grabbed all of the ingredients, happy to find he had enough apples.

“Do you want to help cut and peel apples? It'll definitely help me make this quicker!” Izuku did want the help, but he also wanted to see how well Denki could cut.

“Umm sure!” Denki sounded a mix of enthusiastic, nervous, and scared. “Though I can't cut very well.” Denki sheepishly admitted.

“You can peel them then! I have this apple peeler here, it should be really simple.” Izuku grabbed the peeler, hoping Denki could help with that.

“Oh yeah I can do that!” Denki grabbed the first apple and the apple peeler, starting on the first apple as he did.

“I'm actually surprisingly good at this!” Denki announced to Izuku, who felt like a proud mother watching her son.

“Yeah! I can't even get them like that in that little amount of time!” Izuku stated.

Denki peeled all three apples while Izuku cut them into small-large pieces.

Okay, your best friend should not be that hot cutting apples. Apples. Like what? Who found their friend attractive while cutting apples? Maybe it was the fact that Izuku was shirtless, though Denki did worry about the few starburst shaped scars on his upper back.

“Okay, I'm gonna get going on the rest of the dough. Do you think you can mix up the apple and part of the cinnamon and sugar mixture?” Izuku knew he could count on Denki, though he didn't want to be found annoying.

“Of course Izu!” Denki stated, grabbing the spatula and stirring the mixture.

The two finished the dough, just as it was about 4:30.

“Ughhh. This won't be done until 5:10.” Izuku whined to Denki, who felt the same.

“Well, let's go put on a movie.” Izuku said to Denki, who knew he might fall asleep if they did.

“Does this look good?” Izuku asked Denki who just nodded absentmindedly.

“Also, if I fall asleep, wake me up when the bread is done please.” Denki asked, though he probably wouldn't want to be woken up when the time came.

“Yeah no problem!” Izuku replied. Okay, his hypothesis was starting to be proven wrong.

The two fixated into their specific spots on the couch.

They made it about 10 minutes into the movie before Denki fell asleep.

This gave Izuku an opening, though he'd have to be careful if Denki woke up.

Izuku carefully and quietly got up, tip-toeing to his room to grab something.

Izuku walked into his room and grabbed his computer as he did. He walked out and tip-toed back to his spot on the couch. If Izuku was in his room when Denki woke up, it would definitely be suspicious. If Izuku just researched on the couch but was careful when Denki started to wake, it would be a lot better.

And besides, Izuku wanted to stay in the range and sight of his friend. Denki just looked so peaceful sleeping. Almost like a red fox, though he wasn't very sly with things.

Izuku continued on his search for any leads, though he didn't think he'd find anything.

Izuku had been searching for about 20 minutes before he started to get more desperate. Maybe it was his agitated emotions from his best friend, maybe it was his lack of sleep, but something pulled Izuku to click onto a Reddit forum.

The app was ancient, having been made in the pre-quirk era. Somehow it had been kept alive, and even people today still used it.

The forum said:

‘Okay, what is with these instant villains? I've heard it's some sort of drug but it's seriously starting to get annoying.

Izuku scrolled to some of the replies, hoping one of them had something.

‘I heard it was something called trigger or something like that, though I'm not 100%. Just hearsay.

Yes! Finally some sort of lead! Izuku quickly opened his online notes version he had and added the name to his instant villain page.

Izuku scrolled down, though nothing seemed very interesting or of use. Though Reddit was known for disabling comments if they didn't want information going public. It wouldn't hurt to try, right?

Izuku was able to hack into Reddit in under 5 minutes, and it had been one of the easiest things he had ever done in his life. It was like breathing for Izuku.

Izuku searched around until he finally found the same forum he was just on.

Izuku scrolled through the comments, seeing multiple that were disabled, though not for the reasons Izuku wanted.

He scrolled all the way down until he found a comment that was intriguing.

‘This comment will probably get taken down, but I've heard people say the one who's behind it is the leader of the underground, All Mights Equal. The symbol of evil.’

Now this is getting interesting.

Izuku scoured the internet for anything about the symbol of evil until, coincidentally, he found another Reddit forum. Maybe he should start with Reddit for information.

Though Izuku didn't know how trustworthy the information was, it was still a lead and better than nothing.

The forum read:

"Guys, I just heard someone mention being in debt to the symbol of evil. Who is that?’

Izuku scrolled down a few replies until he found something of use.

‘Dude, whoever that is is cooked! The symbol of evil is known as All for one!’

Izuku could've sworn he'd heard that name before, but he simply couldn't remember where.

Izuku clicked on that reply, seeing another reply from the creator of the post.

‘I could've sworn I heard some sort of tale about someone called All For One who could give and take quirks. That's just a simple tale, right?’

Okay, as much as Izuku wanted information x he was starting to debate if he should even give this information a chance. I guess it was a lead, though not a very believing one.

Izuku wrote that down in his notes. He wondered if this is an actual real guy, if he had anything to do with the instant villains and substances.

Izuku would search about the guy later, but for now he had to keep searching for anything regarding the trigger.

Izuku searched the internet, not expecting to find anything immediately.

By this point there was about 20 minutes left on the timer, and Izuku hoped he would find something by then.

Izuku finally found a hero forum that had the word trigger in it, and really hoped he found at least a lead.

‘Does anyone know what's and who's been causing the instant villains? It's seriously bad stuff!

Izuku scrolled to the replies, hoping he wouldn't have to hack in like with Reddit.

He found a reply that had exactly what he was looking for. A lead.

‘Apparently people are naming some parasite named queen bee behind all this stuff. She climbs into her hosts through an eye socket. People say the very few victims she's had have had eye patches and a personality change after some sort of accident. Just hearsay from the underground’

Okay, this was exactly what Izuku needed! He quickly typed the information down in his notes.

Just as he was about to continue researching, the timer for the apple bread did as well.

Izuku got up and checked the bread, making sure it was done before waking up Denki.

Izuku tried to wake Denki up but burst out in laughter when Denki talked. He was half asleep, so it sounded absolutely adorable and sleep-laced.

“Zuks, it's too early for this.” Denki stated, eyes still closed.

Oh Izuku's heart just melted at the nickname. Yeah, he definitely proved his hypothesis wrong, though some advice from Touya would definitely help him out some.

“But the delicious apple bread is done!” Izuku stated to Denki who immediately sat up.

Izuku just laughed while ruffling Denki's hair, melting when he leaned into the touch.

“I'm up!” Denki stated to basically no one but himself.

The two got up and walked to the kitchen while Denki was still trying to wake up.

“I'm going right back to sleep after this.” Denki said.

“Me too. I guess I'm getting pretty tired too.” Izuku said before yawning.

Denki just melted at the sight. How could he have pulled this God of a person to be his friend?

They ate and talked quietly, though their feelings felt like they were going to burst.

“Okay, I'm going to bed now.” Denki said putting his dishes in the sink, as well as Izuku.

“Me too. I expect to be sleeping until 10 at the earliest.” Izuku states while yawning.

Izuku grabbed them some blankets while Denki got situated on the couch.

Izuku threw a blanket on Denki before promptly passing out on his side of the couch.

Yeah, this is good. Izuku could live with this, though is it selfish if he wanted more?

____

Himiko was currently out doing who knows what, and Touya was about as bored as a baby.

Yeah he could bother Izuku, but Izuku would most likely end up lecturing Dabi, and he really didn't want that. Though Izuku was good company, he didn't just want to bother someone.

I mean, it's totally not like he had any friends.

Dabi made sure he was forgetting about that specific friend, considering he loved psychologically messing with people. For Dabi? It was a casual weekday. Sometimes it was odd when he wasn't messing with people.

Dani decided to go for a walk, I mean, what better way to pass the time?

If Touya was lucky, he wouldn't run into anyone from his family or any hero. Unless it was Eraserhead, of course. Touya would never admit Eraser was his favorite.

Touya begrudgingly grabbed his phone and wallet, just in case he decided to grace a cafe or shop with his wonderful presence.

Touya was now going on a walk, considering he was getting exercise and it was nice. The wind in his hair, not too many people on the streets, the perfect temperature outside yeah this was nice.

Touya had been walking around until he heard the one voice he wanted to avoid. (He's trying to be difficult for the winged hero. It was funny watching Hawk's reactions in his opinion)

Touya immediately started walking in the opposite direction, putting his hood up as he went. And besides, Touya really couldn't control his feelings. They were sappy and stupid in his opinion. I mean, it's not like he ever had a chance with the number three hero. Touya knew that and had come to accept it a long time ago. (Even in middle school)

The flapping of bright red wings could be heard overhead. Touya internally swore, wanting nothing more than to just walk around and maybe stop for some coffee. He'd gotten fond of the drink lately.

“What's a little burnt chicken nugget like you doing out here?” Dabi internally cursed as he heard the voice of the winged hero beside him, though he was in the air.

Touya took a deep breath and spoke, knowing he was probably going to have a headache later from the hero.

“Going on a walk as a normal civilian?” Dabi spat out. “And aren't you supposed to be on patrol little birdie?” The venom in Touya's voice was evident but if you knew him you'd know he was mostly joking. Mostly.

“Actually I'm done in about,” Hawks checked his watch. “About 5 minutes. You'd only have to wait for me for 5 minutes.” Hawks said charismatically.

Touya just sighed, knowing he probably wouldn't get out of a forced hangout from the number 3 hero.

“Oh come on! I'm not that bad!” Hawks replied to the dramatic sigh by the Todoroki child.

“No one is as bad as Endeavor.” Touya said, realizing Hawks didn't know the full story. Yes, he did recognize him and all, but he was oblivious to the true reason Touya burned up and left his family.

“Huh?” Hawks asked, because what do you do when one of your favorite hero's children hates him?

“Right, you don't know the full story!” Touya laughed his normal maniacal laugh.

“Would you mind telling me that full story?” I mean, Hawks just wanted an excuse to hangout with his late elementary and early middle school best friend. At least the commission let him attend that private school for social interaction.

“Nah. I got crap to do.” Touya tried to walk ahead, though he knew Hawks could catch up to him in his sleep.

“I could accompany you, then.” Hawks suggested in his perfect camera trained voice.

“I got gremlins to watch. They probably wouldn't like you.” Now Touya was fully lying, and he knew it. First, he didn't watch anyone except for Himiko. She often did her own thing though. And Izuku? He was his own person.

If anyone needed watching, Izuku would probably look after them both, considering how Izuku found them and dragged them to the good side of the law.

“I'm great with kids!” Hawks exclaimed. I mean, most kids tended to like the number three hero a lot. Yeah, Izuku would have the field day of his life if the number three hero came over to his house.

Touya had never heard the kid actually talk about the number three hero, though he hadn't heard him talk about very many heroes at all.

“Yeah right.” Touya said while continuing to not really look in Hawks direction at all. Oh how did Touya love psychologically messing with people, though he wasn't really doing it in public right now.

“Anyways, I got crap to do and so do you, so little birdie, what are you going to do?” Touya asked in that mocking and condescending voice.

“Hey! I just got off of my shift so now my afternoon is completely clear!” Hawks exclaimed, keeping the trick up his sleeve as a last resort.

Maybe Touya didn't really want to be bothered by Hawks. He honestly didn't really care that much though. I mean, he thought he would be considering Hawks is still associated with Touya before being burned.

Touya honestly didn't really know at this point. He didn't mind Hawks, but he wasn't obsessed with him either. It was odd to him.
Maybe his emotions just didn't really like him all too much right now. I mean, when did they ever?

“Sureee. And what is everyone going to say when they see the number three hero stalking someone who looks like a drug dealer?” Touya asked, not realizing how true that statement sounded.

“I mean, to be fair I would actually follow a drug dealer. I am a hero after all!” Hawks said, now walking beside Touya instead of flying.

“Eh good point.” Touya mentioned, not willing to fight on something as stupid as that.

They continued walking in comfortable silence for a little bit, coming to poorer streets until Hawks spoke up.

“Why didn't you ever go back?” Keith was genuinely curious as to why his one and only friend never returned.

Touya just chuckled, remembering that horrible hospital he woke up in.

“I did, though I quickly saw no one would've cared. Apparently I was in a coma for three years after.”

Hawks thought on this for a few seconds before replying.

“How did you survive?”

“I don't know. Some people took and saved my body. I would've died otherwise.” Touya remembered that radio call with that weird guy. All for one or something like that.

Hawks didn't really know how to respond to that. Just to think that his friend did try to come back, but wasn't seen and ultimately left.

“Anyways, I have stuff to do. So be a good little birdie and go find some French fish to eat or something.” Touya stated sarcastically.

“Nah, I think I'll just follow you.” Hawks tried to be nonchalant, but failed.

“I think not.” Touya smirked before sighing.

“You're planning something.” Hawks stated suspiciously.

“No, I was. I don't really think I could outrun you though.” Touya decided to tell the truth, though not like it would really matter.

“I mean, I could always just fly over to Endeavors agency and conveniently mention the survival of his eldest child.” Hawks smirked as he said it, knowing he just won.

Touya just laughed, that deep, maniacal, amused laugh.

“He wouldn't believe you even if you tried!” Touya stated between laughs.

“I mean, I could just grab some of your DNA and have it tested.” Hasks leaned in slightly, just enough to make Touya uncomfortable but not enough for anything weird.

“Fine. I guess you're that desperate, then!” Touya remarked, walking in the direction to his apartment.

“I mean, you are my only friend from school.” Hawks admitted.

“Who would have known, the number three hero only had one friend from school!” Touya acted out. He was most definitely going to be a theater kid if he hadn't burned himself.

“Yeah, after middle school the commission had me go private. Too many ‘bad influences’ apparently. Hawks laughed as he finished the sentence.

Touya just chuckled, knowing how bad the commission was.

“Also, where are we going?” Hawks asked.

“To my apartment of course.” Touya mentioned, proud he finally had a stable income and place to live.

“Wow! The big fearsome Dabi owns an actual apartment!” Hawks sarcastically stated.

“Yeah, I thank the greenie for that one.” Touya admitted.

“Who's greenie?” Hawks asked, thinking Touya already had a friend or SO.

“Just a sibling of mine. He'd have an absolute fucking field day with you and your quirk.” Touya admitted.

“I'm guessing someone who acts like your sibling but isn't?” Hawks already knew Touya's siblings, and greenie didn't match the description for any of them.

“Duh. What else would I be referring to?” Touya spouted.

“Anyway, who was that other girl you were walking with when I first recognized you?” Hawks asked, mind suddenly jumping topics and subjects.

“Oh she's my other little sibling. Sometimes I wonder if she actually has a brain or not.” Touya mentioned, exaggerating a lot.

“Wow, you are one meaaan big brother!” Hawks exclaimed, extremely sarcastically.

Touya just turned his head away, hiding the slight grin slipping his lips.

“Anyways, I'm almost interested in meeting this little greenie you talk of! Also what do you mean he'd have a field day with me? Obviously people love me!” Hawks assorted his prideful ego.

“He absolutely loves analysing people and their quirks. He probably wouldn't even care about you as a person, just about your quirk to be honest.” Touya admitted.

“Huh. Interesting. Don't let the commission get a hold of him!” Hawks joked.

“I think he'd rather self implode, actually.” Touya stated matter-of-factly.

Hawks chuckled at that thought.

“Anyways, we're here now sooo.” Touya stated as the two walked up to a pretty old looking apartment complex.

“This is where you live?” Hawks asked, knowing he probably wouldn't even make a dent in his wallet if he bought the entire complex.

“It's cheap, and the actual apartments are very nice.” Touya stated very casually.

“Well then, let's see how nice the inside actually is.” Hawks challenged.

“I really don't have the energy for,” Touya dramatically whirled his hands and pointed at Hawks while doing so. “All of that.”

“Fair enough!” Hawks admitted, following Touya into his apartment.

“So, this is your apartment.” Hawks stated, trying to be humble about his nice house and property.

“Yes, actually. I'm not the only one who lives here though.” Touya admitted while popping down on the couch.

“So you have a roommate?” Hawks asked, suddenly feeling 2nd best.

“You know the other girl I mentioned?” Touya asked, not remembering he referred to Toga as just his sibling.

And Hawks knew he now had absolutely no chance. I mean, of like he did anyway.

“Umm, no? You did mention two people you thought of as siblings.” Maybe Touya did refer to Toga by name or pronoun and Hawks just forgot.

“Right. So the second one I mentioned who I see as a sibling is Toga. She's also my roommate and pays for a fourth of the rent.” Touya explained.

“May I ask how old she is?” Hey, Hawks was curious! That's all!

“She's 15 and still a minor. Lay a singular fingertip on her and your status will go from chicken to fried chicken.” Touya threatened an actual threat this time. He let that digest for a few seconds before finishing. “Got that birdie?” Touya questioned.

“Yup!” Hawks quickly agreed.

Dang Touya could be scary. Hawks thought it was kinda hot though.

“Anyways, I have literally nothing to do here, so have fun sitting around.” Touya said while walking away.

“Hey! Where are you going? Hawks yelled back to Touya.

“Hiding, away from the reality of life.” Touya mentioned before he heard a knock at the door.

“Ugggggghh.” Touya visibly and audibly groaned while standing there for a few seconds.

A voice could be heard from outside the apartment door.

“I have a feeling you're groaning to avoid answering the door. Open up before I let myself in Touya!” Izuku could be heard yelling through the door and into the apartment.

“Damn, he's pretty good.” Hawks admitted.

“That's the problem.” Touya mentioned while walking over and opening the door up.

“Why are you here greenie?” Touya asked. “Don't you have work today or something?”

“I actually don't work for another 2 hours, so I have time. I had a gut feeling you had someone over here, and that gut feeling told me to bring my notebook, in which I listened.” Izuku admitted, making himself at home in Toya's apartment.

“Oh, I guess that's the other hero you were talking about then?” Izuku questioned, sitting down on the other couch Touya picked up off of Facebook market place.

“Yeah, no. Don't twist it greenie.” Touya ruffled Izuku's hair.

“Is this the sibling you were talking about when you mentioned a field day?” Hawks asked, not really knowing how else to word it.

“Yup. Prepare for the interrogation.” Touya warned while sitting down on the couch.

“And I thought you were going to your room to ‘hide from the realities of life’ or something like that.” Hawks asked Touya.

“Nope, not any more. You say you don't get uncomfortable around the press? He's 10 times worse with questions.” Touya said grimly, ready to see the hero in an uncomfortable situation.

“Yeah, listen to hatchy patch over here.” Izuku pointed a thumb at Touya with the most normal, expressionless face that existed.

“Okayyy.” Hawks said.

“Anyway, nice to meet you Hawks!” Izuku chimed up, excited to meet the hero. Though Touya did slightly bring the mood down around heroes, he never knew why.

Though Izuku was holding back a lot of his unusual traits he gets around heroes.

“I do have prepared questions for you. Just so you're aware.” Izuku cheerfully said. Touya just leaned back on the couch, arms crossed and grin on his face.

“Wait, do you have prepared questions for every hero?” Hawks was genuinely curious about it.

“Most, yes. Some I have more questions, whereas others I have less on.”

“How many do you have for me?” Hawks wanted to know okay? He was curious about this kid.

“Hmm, I would say a low-medium amount. About 3 pages is all.” Izuku mentioned, looking at his notebook.

Dang. This kid might actually be pretty good.

Okay, don't blame him but Hawks was curious about another thing as well. “Wait, what's the most amount of questions you have for a hero?”

“Hmm, probably about 10 pages!” Izuku excitedly chirped. “Anyway, I'm going to write down your answers, so be prepared for some sort of analysis about you.” Izuku mentioned.

I mean, it wasn't unused for Hawks to be analyzed. He just didn't know how well this would be, considering he looked like he was just a kid.

“Alright, ask away!”

“First question, how long does it take for your wings and feathers to fully grow back?” Izuku asked, ready to write.

“Actually only about 2-4 days, depending on how bad they are. Most people think it takes longer!” Hawks chirped like an actual bird.

Izuku started up again once he finished writing. “How many miles per hour can you go?”

“At my fastest? Probably up to 110 if I push myself, though I've never actually tried that.” Hawks started wondering why he hadn't.

Izuku wrote down, talking as he did. “You should really try that. It might even help you sometime! Alright, question 3. Do you think you could ‘fly’ underwater? Like, flap your wings and be able to move underwater?”

Hawks just stared dumbfoundedly before answering. “I’ve actually never tried that! I should sometime!”

“You absolutely should! You never know when you might need to do that!” Izuku wrote down his version of ‘unknown’ or ‘haven't tested.’ No one really knew what Izuku was writing.

Touya just sat there, still leaned back and arms crossed. His smug expression was on hold while Hawks was still comfortable.

“Next question! Do you think if you flapped your wings fast enough you could create some sort of mini-tornado or vortex of some sort!?” By now Izuku was starting to lose his resolve and calmness, becoming more frantic and excited by the moment.

“I've never tried that either!! I bet I could if I really tried, though it might be kinda weak.” Hawks got lost in his thoughts for a few moments.

Izuku put down his equivalent of ‘unknown but a big possibility’.

Izuku asked a whole page of questions about his feathers, what they can do, and their limitations.

Much to Touya's Displeasure, Hawks was honestly matching Izuku's freak, excitement, and energy.

“Okay, I've gotta admit I've never thought about basically all of these!” Hawks exclaimed once Izuku said he was done with his questions.

“Yeah, I can tell. It would be so cool if you could learn how to do some of three things!” Izuku exclaimed, already 9/10 of the way done with his analysis he started as soon as he interviewed Hawks.

“Anyways, I'm almost done with my analysis I'm making of you. I've made a few before, but I have lots more information now!” Izuku exclaimed while furiously writing his 4 page analysis.

Hawks was actually quite interested to see the result of this. He's had lots of professionals analyze him, though they always missed key details a lot of the time.
“You better show me when you're done!”

Izuku finished with the last little bit of his analysis, surprising Hawks at his quickness.

“Dang! You're already done with that?” Hawks asked as Izuku started flipping the pages to show Hawks just how much he wrote.

“Yup. You'd be surprised that this little greenie here can write like a madman high on crack. Maybe Hamilton as well.” Touya laughed.

Izuku moved over to sit next to Hawks to show him the analysis.

“Yeah I'm taking a picture of this.” Hawks said while grabbing his phone and taking pictures of every page.

“Yeah, I wouldn't let you leave without them. Some of these could seriously help you out!” Izuku exclaimed, super excited to finally have a hero see Izuku's analysis about them.

“Thanks little greenie!” Hawks said while putting his phone away. “Don't let the commission ever get their hands on you!” Hawks exclaimed, hoping the kid wouldn't understand what he was saying.

“Oh don't worry!” Izuku smiled that sweet, menacing smile that announced he was definitely either planning something, or planning something for the future if something specific happens. “The commission wouldn't have a building left if they tried that!” Izuku probably wouldn't actually set their building on fire, but it was always a possibility.

“Anyways, I better get going since I have work in about 15 minutes. Bye Touya! See you!” Izuku quickly darted out of the door when he realized the time.

“Work? How old is that kid, 12?” Hawks asked, surprised by this kid.

Touya didn't know if Izuku wanted the number 3 to know about Izuku or Mikumo. He'd go with the safe option.

“Nah, he's 18. His quirk makes him look years younger though.” Touya explained.

“Huh.” Hawks looked at the pictures of the analysis on his phone. “He should really consider becoming an analyst. This is better than all of the professional analysis I've seen.” Hawks mentioned, looking back at the photos.

“Dont worry, we've all tried getting him to accept he's good at literally anything and the little shit just says, ‘oh, this is nothing! Anyone could do this!’. It's super annoying.” Touya admitted, sitting further into the couch.

“Anyways, I'm going to put on something to watch. What do you want to watch?” Touya asked while grabbing the remote.

“At this point I don't really care.” The ‘as long as I'm hanging out with you’ went unsaid.

The two watched some random shows while talking. It was actually quite calming and enjoyable for the both of them. Touya may have remembered why he liked Hawks in the first place.

“Okay, now I'm going to bed. I need to wake up for work tomorrow. You should probably also get going back because it's already 8pm.” Okay, maybe Touya didn't have to wake up super early, but he really needed to get him to leave before Himiko came back. If she came back, Hawks would never leave again. Touya got up and was now standing close to the hallway to his room. He didn't have too many things, but it was definitely more than enough for Touya.

“Fine, fine!” Hawks got up from the couch, raising his hands with that silly little smirk on his face. “Awww. Does little Touya need his beauty sleep?” Hawks was walking closer and closer to Touya.

Hawks reached his arm out while backing Touya up to a wall, smirking while looking him in the face.

Okay, maybe Touya was internally panicking. Maybe his face showed just a little bit of that panic. Okay, maybe a lot. The pinkish-red hue was evident on his cheeks as he froze.

“We can't have that now, can we?” Hawks said while staying there for a little bit longer. The extra emphasis, you know.

“Well, I guess I'll be taking my leave then!” Hawks left Touya there, staring at the opposite wall for probably 10 minutes while he rethought his entire lifes choices.

Hawks couldn't..? Could he..? I mean, he was the number three hero after all! His options were wide open! He could have anyone he wanted! Was Touya… ?

Well, he had to go to bed, right? He had a feeling he wouldn't get to sleep anytime soon.

Chapter Text

Izuku woke up bright and early for training this morning. He was honestly excited to see Denki, and he didn't really know why. It had been just a few days after Izuku had gotten that nasty bruise on his back, but that really wasn't enough to stop him from training this beautiful Monday morning.

At least his bruise didn't hurt whenever he moved now! Only when he moved his back oddly or twisted his back. It wasn't anything he couldn't handle!

While getting up, Izuku thought about the Friday night Denki had stayed at his place. He was able to find out some information, though whether it was true or not was a mystery.

Maybe Izuku would start searching for this elusive queen bee, though it might be hard if she decides to switch hosts. Izuku wondered how this ‘queen bee’ worked in the host's brain. Did it completely take over the person's brain, or did queen bee only take part control? There were so many questions that Izuku didn't know if he'd be able to answer any time soon. That's okay. He had Denki, and that was enough for Izuku.

He got ready, now wearing more work-out clothes than when he first started training. Now he wore a black tank-top and some comfortable dark grey cargo pants on top of some shorts.

Izuku grabbed everything he needed, and went to meet Denki at the park. I mean, they were training after all. That included stamina and speed, of course.

About a month ago Denki had started running with Izuku to Dahobah beach. It was definitely nice, considering it was comfortable silence aside from their feet hitting the concrete.

Izuku waited just around a minute while Denki came from the other side of the park.

“Hey Izu!” Denki yelled while half-jogging to Izuku.

“You dummy.” Izuku started, absolutely no malice in his tone. “If you keep jogging you aren't going to get even a quarter of the way through without a break.” Izuku knew he wasn't punching himself on his runs as much with Denki, but his nightly activities made up for it.

“Fine!!” Denki yelled, slowing his pace to a walk.

Izuku walked over to meet Denki so he wasn't awkwardly walking to Izuku.

“How have you been!?? Are you sure you can train with that bruise? I don't want you to overwork yourself! ” Denki asked like he hadn't seen Izuku in ages.

The two were now walking to the trail side-by-side.

“I'll be fine, Denks. As long as I don't awkwardly twist I'll survive.” Izuku said, remembering why he concluded to have a crush on his best friend in the first place a few nights ago. I mean, all of the evidence he gathered told him otherwise.

“Still! That was a large and considerably painful looking bruise!” Denki pointed out, remembering the slender figure of his best friend from that night.

“I've seen pros get lots worse injuries!” Izuku remembered the left side of the number one hero's stomach from that day. “I will survive! And besides, I'm not missing a day of training over this small thing!” Izuku pointed at his back while making sure not to twist it.

“Fine! Just please be careful.” Denki asked, hoping his best friend would listen to him.

“Dont worry! I will, I promise.” Izuku was walking sideways to look the blonde in the eyes, though it was definitely an odd sight.

Denki just laughed at his cute, wonderful best friend. He knew his best friend could survive. He was strong.

The two walked for a few steps before a random thought popped into Izuku's mind.

“Sometimes I want to learn acrobatics and stuff like that.” Izuku stated as casually and nonchalantly as the weather.

“That would actually be pretty cool.” Denki hummed while the two slowed their walk across the park to have more time to talk.
“Though I think my body would break if I tried to do anything like that.” Denki admitted. Izuku just chuckled at that.

“I've always been oddly flexible, though I guess I never knew it. I don't think I'd have too much trouble with some of it.” Izuku mentioned.

“If you do, my respect for you will go from infinite, to infinite times two.” Denki stated, sure about his answer.

Izuku gleamed at the answer while turning his head away to hide the deepening pink hue grazing his cheeks. “Thanks.” Izuku muttered, barely audible.

This time Izuku couldn't deflect the praise. It was someone else's opinion about him, which he couldn't change with simple words.

The two finally arrived at the entrance to the trail, ready to start their daily run.

Denki just sighed sadly, knowing he wasn't really built for running as well as other things. He was surprisingly good at hand to hand combat, though Izuku was better.

The two did their run, stopping for Denki here and there.

They finally arrived at Dahobah beach, Denki walking to the nearest bench before collapsing on it. Like he did often after runs. Though surprisingly Denki liked running better than he thought, he just wasn't very good at it. He was miles better than when he started a month ago.

“Oh come on! It isn't that bad!” Izuku half-joked while catching his breath. Denki marveled at the shoulder and arm muscles on display when Izuku did that. It was great for him.

“No,” Denki continued catching his breath for a few moments before finishing. “It really isn't but I love being dramatic.” Denki said, now getting up off of the bench.

“Yeah I know. And I love teasing you about it.” Izuku put up his fake confidence and his real smirk towards Denki. It always made him weak, though he'd never admit it.

“Anyways, let's get going on moving stuff. We're doing well so far!” Izuku exclaimed.

“Weve still got about 2-4 more months of moving stuff though, which will be perfect for you and the UA entrance exams!” Izuku exclaimed. “Though if we finish early we'll have to find other ways to continue gaining strength.” Izuku said, wanting to grab his notebook but refraining. They really wouldn't get anything done if the cursed notebook made an appearance.

“Alright! Let's get going!” Denki exclaimed, energy now basically the same as when he woke up.

The two moved some of the more medium sized things, considering that now almost all of the small things had been cleaned up.

Denki stumbled upon something in one of the piles.

“Woah.” He whispered to himself, looking at it. “Hey Izu! I think I found something you'd like!” Denki yelled over to Izuku who started walking over.

Izuku looked down between the fridge and other garbage at what looked to be some sort of sort or Katana. Izuku wasn't an expert in swords, but he knew a fair amount about them.

“Wow, this is really cool! It looks pretty dirty, but I can wash it!” Izuku looked down on the sword stuck in a circle of garbage and a random fridge.

“Ugh, how are we going to get that out?” Denki asked. “I can't move an entire fridge, and if we try to move the pile we risk tipping it over. And then it starts getting dangerous.” As much as Denki appears to be stupid, he could actually be smart when he wanted to or when he felt like it.

“Yeah.” Izuku stated while pondering how to get to it. He looked around, analyzing everything before speaking again. “The garbage pile isn't relying on the fridge, so that would be our best bet.” Izuku exclaimed to Denki.

“Yeah, I'm not going to be very much help with that. Sorry dude.” Denki stated. I mean, what 15 year old kid could move an entire fridge?

“Eh, might cause me a bit of trouble but I should be able to do it.” Izuku casually mentioned while they jumped off of the platform they were on. It looked down and into the small hole between the fridge and garbage pile.

“You may want to stand back in case anything goes wrong.” Izuku stated, wanting his friend to be as safe as possible.

“Yeah you really don't have to tell me twice!” Denki immediately backed up a considerable distance. He wondered if Izuku could move an entire fridge by himself. It would be incredibly impressive if he could.

Izuku looked around to the sides of the fridge, trying to find the best grip to drag it.

After Izuku found his preferred method of gripping it, which was bizarre to Denki, he started pulling.

Izuku was dragging it with what looked to be little to no effort. Denki was simply amazed at the sight, and was standing there in awe of his crush and best friend. He really should force Izuku to attend the entrance exams with him.

Izuku finished moving it without even breaking a sweat.

“You should come see this!” Izuku yelled, turning over to Denki. “It's a lot cooler up close!” Izuku wasn't going to touch it just yet, considering it looked old and dirty, but otherwise fine.

Denki ran over to his best friend, who was shining just like the sun. His eyes were absolutely gorgeous in the sun. Almost identical to the color of Jasper.

Izuku looked at the intricate designs on the sword's handle.

“I think this is a Katana. Though it looks to have been altered to the length of a normal sword. It's really cool!” Izuku stated, grabbing his towel from his backpack on the bench.

“Woah, you're right! Is that the sheath or the actual sword?” Denki asked. His surprising knowledge did not include any type of sword or Katana.

“Denks, that's a sheath.” Izuku said, slightly afraid of what his friend did and didn't know about weapons. He was walking back to the spot where the sword was.

“Right! I totally knew that! I was just testing you!” Denki exclaimed, knowing Izuku could tell he was most definitely lying.

Izuku looked at his friend oddly, though he was really trying to hold himself together.

Grabbing the sword with the towel, Izuku wondered if he could sell it, though he probably wouldn't want to. I mean, how cool would it be to have something like that?

“Dude, it would be so cool if you learned how to use that! You just show up to a fight and wham!” Denki made a dramatic action of blocking a sword with another sword which only existed in his imagination.

“Maybe. I don't know if this sword is in fighting condition though.” Izuku laughed while grabbing it, noting the weight of it.

“It's pretty light, so that's good for hitting with it and stuff. Though I don't know if a light sword would be good if you want to deal serious damage or not.”

Izuku and Denki walked over to a more clear part of the beach. Izuku set the sword down on the sand with the towel, some of the dirt and residue transferring over as he did.

“This is pretty cool though! Look at some of the designs on the handle.” Izuku and Denki looked at some of the intricate designs on it.

“Woah, that is really pretty!” Denki exclaimed, popping down on his knees right next to his best friend. The distance was electrifying, almost literally.

Izuku took the sheath off, looking at the quality and thickness of the blade.

Izuku analyzed it for a few moments before talking to his friend. “This seems like pretty good quality! The blade doesn't seem dirty, so it probably hasn't been out of the sheath in a while!” Izuku exclaimed.

“That's good.” Denki said. Okay, imagine how badass it would be if Izuku just showed up to a fight with a sword and mastery in wielding it? Denki was head over heels just thinking about it. Not like he wasn't in the first place.
“What are you going to do with it?” Denki asked.

“Imagine if I learned how to use a sword and do acrobatics? That'd be so cool!” Izuku was practically watering at the mouth like it was a 5 star gourmet meal.

Denki had to agree that would be pretty impressive. Especially when it was his Izuku behind it.

“I honestly should learn how to use this. It would give me another weapon in my inventory! Though my metal pipes could serve as a sword.” Izuku pondered, wondering if the sword would be worth it.

“I mean, I'd give it a try and see how you like it.” Denki suggested, purposely trying to be nonchalant.

“That could work! Watch some tutorials for a few days and see how I like it.” Izuku turned to look Denki in the eyes, sending shivers down his friend as he did. “Thank you for the suggestion!”

“N-no problem!” Denki said the first thing his mind and mouth would connect to.

“Anyways, I'm going to put this over by my stuff and then we can get back to moving stuff!” Izuku said, grabbing the sword with the towel while walking over to the bench.

“Okay, I'm just going to get back to moving stuff!” Denki yelled, watching as his friend walked away.

“Okay!” Izuku yelled back.

While Izuku was walking back, he unfortunately tripped over what would become another addition to his inventory.

Izuku looked down after it was already too late. He saw a thin wire strewn just underneath the sand.

Izuku let out what had to be the equivalent of a yelp, speak, and groan. He was now falling forward, and let go of the sword to catch himself as he fell.

‘Wait, isn't this similar to some of the stuff they do in acrobatics and stuff like that?’

Izuku kept his momentum going as he put his palms on the sand and flipped his lower body over. Completing some sort of mangled front walkover, Izuku landed with his knees bent and his back leaned slightly back.

Okay, no way Izuku just did that. I mean, he had never done anything like it! Was this what it felt like to do acrobatics? Because if it was, Izuku wanted to learn immediately.

Denki looked back the moment he heard the squeak of some sort.

“Izuku!” Denki was now running forward, prepared to help his crush and best friend.

Izuku looked around now that he was up right. He kept his arms slightly forward as a way of saying ‘did I just do that?’.

“Woah.” Denki stopped in his tracks as he saw Izuku awesomely flip over and land it square in his feet.

Izuku turned to look back at Denki, and the two were now just staring at each other in total shock and awe until Izuku broke the silence.

“D-did I just do that?” Izuku asked, now standing straight up with his arms at his side.

“Yeah Izuku, you did.” Denki stated, extremely proud of his friend.

“Um, anyways.” Izuku looked down to grab his sword and towel, which thankfully hadn't gotten hurt when Izuku dropped them.

“What did you even trip on?” Denki asked.

“Some sort of,” Izuku looked at the ground and grabbed the wire underneath his foot. “Wire.” Izuku thought back to the vigilante who had used wire to swing back and forth on buildings.

“Huh. That looks pretty long too.” Denki said, walking about 10 feet next to Izuku and picking up another part of it.

“Pfh, imagine if I used these wires like knuckleduster did.” Izuku joked, though he didn't know how true his words would become.

“Who?” Denki asked, clearly not as knowledgeable as Izuku on heroes.

Izuku winced while forgetting Denki probably wouldn't know who knuckleduster is.

“He's a vigilante from a few years ago. He used wires with hooks to get from building to building." Izuku explained while grabbing and wrapping up all of the wire.

“Ohhh that makes sense! Wait,” Denki thought about it for a second. “Wouldn't that be like, super dangerous!?” Denki always worried about his friend going out and doing stuff like this.

“Yeah, it definitely would be! Imagine if your rope got cut and your midair! Or if the hook fails?” Izuku got caught up in the possibilities and the support gear he could make to save someone.

“Why do you seem like you'd be excited about something like that!? You could die!” Denki exclaimed, helping Izuku pick up the extremely long but thin rope.

“Sorry!” Izuku realized Denki was right, his brain just worked faster than his mouth. “I'm thinking of the gear and stuff I could make if the wire fails in this situation!”

“Ohhh, that makes sense.” Denki said. He wouldn't tell his friend he was worried about him. That would probably be weird in Izuku's book, and then things would just go downhill from there.

“Imagine if we found some sort of gun shaped thing with a hook next to it.” Izuku continued to joke around, knowing he could easily fix it and modify it.

Denki spotted the weapon the wire seemed to have once been attached to.

“Umm, Izu?” Denki looked at the hook and gun shaped thing it seemed to have once been attached to.

“Denks, remind me to buy you whatever you want after this.” Izuku knew he could easily reattach the wire and hook. He could probably make the retractable thing better as well. It all depended on how much weight the weapon could hold. He'd also have to add retractable handles to it. Nothing Izuku couldn't do within a week.

Denki just laughed at the cuteness of his friend's face. He'd never tell him though.

“There's no need for that!” Denki exclaimed.

Izuku picked up the rest of the wire, which ended up spanning about 250-300 feet from estimate, the hook, his sword, and the gun looking weapon it seemed to have once been attached to.

He brought them all over to his backpack, deciding he can figure out where and how to transport all of them back to his apartment later.

The two finished moving stuff around and were now sparring quirkless.

Honestly, it was both of their favorite times of the day. It was definitely nice to see the other working hard for their dreams and goals.

“Wow, you're getting a lot better at this!” Izuku exclaimed to Denki when they took a water break.

“I mean, what can I say?” Denki mused. “I got a great teacher.” Denki nudged Izuku's shoulder with his own.

Izuku's face just turned red as he turned his face away.

“Come on, you've gotta admit I wouldn't be anywhere without you!” Denki admitted.

Izuku turned around to argue with that statement. “Hey! I learned 90% of what I know online! I simply can't take credit for it.”

“Yes,” Denki put his hands on Izuku's shoulders. “But you explained it in a way that I can actually understand. When I didn't get things right away you explained in another way so I could understand.” Denki stated, looking his now lean friend in the eyes. A huge difference compared to when they had first met.

“O-oh, um. I guess I never thought about it like that.” Izuku slightly turned away while Denki pulled away and finished guzzling some water.

The two got back to sparring, having fun while they did.

For them, it was a sort of normal/constant in their lives.

____

Izuku arrived home from training with Denki. He had to carry the sword, which had been slightly awkward, but he managed. He was able to stuff the wired machine into his backpack.

Izuku looked around the beach after they were done training and was able to find a handlebar that would work for when he used it to fly from building to building.

Knowing it was risky, Izuku still wanted to try fixing it and try using it anyway.

Izuku had all the tools necessary in his apartment, so that part was pretty easy.

While Izuku showered and changed, he set the sword down in his kitchen to wash it. He doesn’t really know how to wash things very well, so bear with him.

Once Izuku was done changing and all that, he got going on at least trying to wash the sword's sheath.

Izuku used a washcloth, or just something he had laying around. The tag was dirty in about 30 seconds, and he was basically just moving dirt around at this point.

So, Izuku grabbed probably another 4 washcloths, and finished washing it, talking to himself as he did.

“Ugh, these things are kinda ragged…” Izuku trailed off as inaudible muttering could be heard.

“Finally!” Izuku yelled as he held the sword up, finally clean. It was honestly so pretty when it was cleaned. You could now see more of the intricate designs on the handle, and even a few on the silver and gold striped sheath.

While the sword was air drying, (Izuku was too afraid to touch it, as if it might break) Izuku got going on grabbing the wire plus everything else, and bringing them into his support gear/vigilante room at this point.

Adding the wire back into the machine shouldn't be too hard, and it shouldn't take too long either. Adding the retractable handlebars are going to be the hard part for this project.

“What are you doing?”

Causing Izuku to jump, Himiko walked in through the door. Thankfully Izuku hadn't started anything yet, so he didn't break anything by jumping.

“Himiko! Hi! How have you been?” Izuku spitted out the first words that came to mind after being scared half to death.

“I'm good!! What are you doing there?” Himiko asked, though she was probably bored.

“Nothing much! Just working on this retractable hook wire machine!” Izuku started showing Himiko how it would work, though she wasn't very interested.

“Well, I'm gonna go. No offense but that seems pretty boring.” Himiko mentioned.

“Yeah, that's okay.” Izuku rubbed the back of his head at the unexpected but expected visit.

I mean, she came over a lot for school work and stuff.

“I finally had enough money saved up from donating blood, so I bought myself the cheapest computer I could find. So now I can do my own school work!" Himiko mentioned, while watching Izuku.

“That's great!” Izuku set down his tools to look at Toga.

“Anyways, I'm going to get that school work done now. Bye bye!” Himiko skipped out of the room, leaving Izuku to continue working.

Izuku finally finished attaching the wire to the gun about 20 minutes later. After making sure the wire retracted properly, Izuku looked around for the hook.

He attached that to the end of the wire, happy to see that it stopped retracting when the hook hit the machine. The hook wasn't too big, but was a strong enough metal to the point where it should hold at least 3 Izuku, hypothetically.

Now was the hard part. If Izuku actually wanted to use this, he couldn't just use the machine to hold onto.

There had to be something that was horizontal for Izuku to hold onto, and that had to be retractable. The handles he found would work, and should hold at least 2 Izukus, hypothetically.

Retractable things weren't the easiest, but weren't the hardest part in support gear to make.

Getting going on starting to create it, Izuku was careful while doing so. One wrong move and he risked cutting the wire in half.

Izuku worked diligently for probably an hour before he actually felt like he was getting anywhere. It was probably somewhere around 11:10ish.

Izuku continued working on it until he finished, mumbling and talking to himself when he did. Yes, he had stopped the bad habits around people, but around himself? Someone had to entertain Izuku when he was alone.

“And that goes…. Yea… umm what?...” Were some of the intelligible things that were heard.

“Yes! I think..” Izuku knocked on wood before finishing his sentence. “I think I'm done!” Izuku made sure the buttons he added worked and actually extended the handle bars to the side. They weren't very big, but they worked quite well. Izuku was originally going to add a button to the top and call it good, but he didn't want to accidentally press it and risk interfering with stuff. So Izuku added a button to each side of the gun-like machine. Both had to be pressed for the machine to properly extend, meaning for Izuku it was pretty fool-proof.

As much as Izuku wanted to test this new addition out, he still had school and work to do. Though school shouldn’t take too long for Izuku as he’s pretty ahead, and doesn't need to get anything done right away. I mean, he could just skip today for school work and test the machine out, but he really didn’t want to do that in broad daylight and in his two civilian identities.

Before Izuku set the machine down on the table he had in his support/vigilante room, he grabbed his sword/ katana from the kitchen and brought it over to the room as well. If Izuku was able to, he would try to make some sort of leather holding for it. Dennis would probably think it would look cool on his back, and that would probably make it the most versatile and useful. Though Izuku would definitely have to find a new way to dodge and roll if he did.

Izuku begrudgingly got up and made his way into his room, mentally checked out. I mean, Izuku was still able to perform just as good in school when he was mentally checked in compared to when he was mentally checked out. It didn’t really matter in the whole scheme of things to Izuku.

He completed his work without troubles, though he definitely checked in when it came time for electives. Izuku had been learning to hack so much better, and was excited for the next ‘challenge‘ the principal prepared. The ‘challenges’ weren't really much of a challenge to Izuku.

He quickly finished his assignment, and put in the time he recorded for how long it took him per the assignments instructions. The analysis assignment was as easy as walking to Izuku. Probably due to the fact he already completed it due to his hobby, and didn’t have to actually do anything. He finished his other elective easily.

Now he had free time until he had to work. What should he do? Izuku had about 2 hours until he had to get ready for work, and he really didn't want it to go to waste.

Wasn’t he going to try acrobatics or something like that? Izuku wondered if there was anything he could do in his apartment, considering he didn’t have a whole lot of room, but it was definitely enough to try some stuff. Maybe he could rely on the internet and find a tutorial, like basically all of the other things he had learned.

Eh, the worst he could find was nothing, and then he wouldn’t have to figure out what to do. In Izuku's opinion it was a win-win either way.

Izuku knew some of the stuff acrobats did. Like cartwheels and flips and stuff, right?

The first few videos Izuku found were similar to what he thought it was, though It would take a long time to get to that skill level. Maybe he was thinking of a mix of acrobatics and something else? Maybe he wouldn’t be able to find exactly what he was looking for.

What Izuku was thinking of included the accidental flip thing he did on the beach. Like backbends and stuff like that.

Well, Izuku had only used about 5 minutes, so he still had plenty of time left.

After about 25 minutes later, he finally found the other thing included in the mix he was thinking of. The idea he had was a mush of acrobatics and gymnastics. I mean, how useful would being able to flip out of the way be? Imagine being able to flip over someone, and miss them entirely?

It would take Izuku a long while to get there though, and he knew that. Though he had already conquered one of the biggest challenges of them all. Mental block. After that flip on the beach, he felt pretty confident trying some of the beginner tutorials.

Almost all of them had different stretches, so Izuku decided to try the one that seemed the best. It was a gymnastics one that started with things like a bridge, cartwheel, roll, handstand, and other basic things like that. Izuku already knew how to roll, so he’d probably just skip past that part. Izuku definitely felt weird doing some of the stretches, but he concluded it was for the best.

The stretches took anywhere from 20-30 minutes. Izuku wasn’t necessarily counting. Maybe he would gain flexibility doing it. Don’t you need that for a lot of different moves?

Izuku really didn't trust himself with a cartwheel or a handstand, so he placed some cushions from the couch down and underneath him.

Better safe than sorry.

Izuku practiced until he felt fairly confident doing both of them. He could hold a handstand for about 30 seconds give or take. His cartwheel wasn't the worst, but his legs were still bent. They were works in progress.

Izuku removed the cushions, and was able to successfully do each of them on the ground. He honestly found it easier, considering the ground was hard floor instead of squishy, like the cushions.

Realizing he had to get ready for work, Izuku got up and got ready.

He left his apartment and made his way to the famous (not actually) cat cafe.

Aizawa hadn't been able to come every day for the last month or so, though Izuku hoped he would come on today. Izuku assumed it had something to do with the trigger case. He better keep an eye out for any new information or leads.

He got going on the pastries and desserts, something he was really good at. It seemed that Touya also worked today, though he mentioned to call him Dabi at work. He was mostly either in the back washing dishes, getting taught something new, or waitressing. He had a natural way with people.

Izuku started and finished the desserts, switching with Aima as he did. They just had a natural order and schedule for things, you know?

Izuku was now thinking how he would practice tonight. He had to find a good place, after all. Maybe Izuku would go out a little bit earlier and practice for a little bit. I mean, it would be dangerous but Izuku didn't know how much he would be able to practice with the mechanism.

He still had a job to do after all.

Izuku perked up and mentally checked back in when he saw his favorite hobo walk in. Izuku honestly thought it was funny that Aizawa knew him as two different people, but didn't know they were one and the same.

Izuku at least had the politeness to let Aizawa sit down before coming up and striking a conversation with him.

“Hey Aizawa! How are things going?” Izuku asked, already putting on his fake identity known as Mikumo.

“Fine.” Aizawa replied, already looking over different documents and papers. There were a few reasons he liked this booth. A) Barely any people come back here. B) There were absolutely no cameras that came into this booth, meaning that he could work in peace, and the confidential work of the case wouldn't be exposed. Some of the cats liked to venture over and lay onto or next to Aizawa from time to time. It was perfect.

“The usual?” Mikumo asked, trying not to be too annoying.

“Yup.” Aizawa said, eye bags even deeper this time. Maybe he shouldn't have accidentally fallen asleep on his desk at the agency last night. Aizawa had already got coffee this morning, but clearly needed more.

“On the way!” Mikumo quickly walked away and made Aizawa his coffee.

“Here you go!” Mikumo said while setting the coffee down on the table. Izuku really didn't want to dig into the pro's struggles and problems, but he looks rougher than he usually did. Now for Aizawa, that's saying something.

“Whats got your head in a loop?” Mikumo asked, genuinely worried for the pro.

He seemed fine the night before, so Izuku didn't really understand.

“Something the commission put out.” Aizawa said, wondering if it would be wise to tell Mikumo. I mean, he did seem trustworthy, but that wasn't really something you could go off of in the hero world.

“Makes sense.” Izuku didn't want to pry, but the commission was almost always up to no good. Though Izuku did have a feeling it was about him. No, the other him. (Jasper)

“I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it was about that vigilante you always talk about.” Izuku wanted to figure out if the topic was about him or not, though he wouldn't pry.

“You guessed it. The Commission doesn't really like him anymore.” Aizawa mentioned.

“Yeah, I'm not surprised. The commission doesn't really have a history of enjoying vigilantes.” Izuku remembered The Crawlers case. The commission would've rather gotten him an actual hero license than have him running around. They were cooking a plan up for The Crawler until Ingenium offered to take him.

“Yeah.” Aizawa agreed. I mean, he trusted Mikumo with this knowledge. It isn't like it wasn't going to be public knowledge in a week or so.

“Probably want to force him off the streets or something.” Izuku joked while Aizawa sipped on his black coffee.

“It's worse.” Aizawa huffed, sad for the reality of his problem child.

“What?” Izuku asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“They told the pros who he contacts most, including myself, that if we can't convince him to join a hero school, we have to force him off the streets.” Aizawa hoped Mikumo got what he was hinting at, but given his age he probably didn't.

“What do you mean?” Mikumo asked.

“You don't understand? If he stays on the streets for 3 or more weeks we have orders to arrest and sentence him.”

Izuku had a feeling he might not have the easiest time from now on.

Chapter Text

After Aizawa had left, that gave Izuku time to think and reflect upon the newly gathered information.

He knew the commission was desperate, but really? Then again, Izuku didn't know if the commission actually knew his age or not. Yes the pros and Nedzu knew, but Nedzu can get his paws on basically any information he wants as long as he sets his sights on it.

Izuku didn't know how to combat this situation. He had three weeks until the commission stopped their nice guy act. Knowing them, they probably thought it was only a short term thing. Yeah, Izuku wouldn't let go that quickly.

As Izuku mindlessly moves around the cafe, taking people's orders as he did, he thought about this.

He could always just run away before any pro has a chance to catch him. Though he probably shouldn't call Present Mic if he wants to survive. Yes he could run away, but Present Mics voice is built for long distances. Eraserhead could easily catch him, but he just had to run away before that happened. Eraser wouldn't chase him if he couldn't see him.

Midnight could easily put Izuku to sleep, but he needed to be in a closer range. Loudcloud could pin him with a cloud, though that needed closer range. Rock lock could really just lock him, but that needed extremely close range. Izuku could manage that much.

Well, Izuku still had three weeks to plan, after all. In the meantime, he had to act like everything was just dandy. It shouldn't be too hard. Nothing ever was for Izuku.

Izuku finished his shift, which didn't take very long, considering he made the time pass quickly while being in such deep thought.

During the walk home, Izuku's mind wandered back to the sword. He could carry it on his back, but there's a few problems with that. A) he can't roll. B) It would limit his moves. C) if he's in a sticky situation, it wouldn't be the easiest to grab it. D) he could always just use one of his metal pipes as a sword.

Those were his points against carrying the sword, but who is Izuku if he doesn't make cons and pros? A) it would be useful for a slightly larger range, in case he can't touch the opponent. B) if there's ever anything that needs to be cut, the sword would prove useful. C) it can always be used as a throwing knife. D) it looked cool.

Izuku sighed, knowing he probably wouldn't bring the sword with him for a while. I mean, Izuku could always make it retractable.

Though that might take the whole point away, though if it helped, Izuku was willing to do it. I guess he's becoming a master at retracting things. Though it would always be easier to use a metal pipe as a sword.

Well, Izuku was probably going to start focusing more of his free time on learning gymnastics and stuff like that, and he didn't see how he would be able to make the sword retractable. It would be difficult, and Izuku didn't want to mess up and completely ruin the sword. Considering its age, it seemed in almost tip-top condition.

Well, Izuku still had a machine gun to try tonight.

After getting ready, he crawled into bed and fell asleep.

____

Izuku awoke to his alarm, and groggily dragged himself out of bed. Just because he was excited didn't mean he was excited to wake up.

After getting ready, he grabbed his new and improved belt ( made to be able to hold the new machine) and the rest of his inventory.

Izuku was excited to go out tonight, though he might have trouble acting the same after the information he learned from Eraser at the cafe today.

It would definitely be hard, but Izuku could persevere. And besides, if worst came to worst he could always find another area to patrol. Though Izuku did enjoy patrolling in the area he did. It wasn’t the richest area, but it wasn’t the poorest either. Izuku originally had the idea to patrol in one of the poorer parts of town, but he quickly decided against that when he saw just how many scandals and stuff like that went down.

So now, Izuku made his way out into the night, excited to finally test out his new mechanism.

———

Izuku had been running around for around 20 minutes by the time he actually found a good place to test the machine out.

The buildings were a good distance apart, but the taller building wasn’t too much taller. Izuku actually wanted to survive if the machine failed. A decision that in middle school, Izuku wouldn’t have really cared about. If he survived, great. He didn't? Great.

Izuku slowly started fighting past the mental block, making a plan for if the machine does fail. He could always slow himself down from a fall by putting his feet on the alleyway below. He always had his metal pipes he could use to take the impact himself. If he falls towards the top, he could try to push off and fall diagonally, then he’d be able to roll out of it. It would probably hurt, but Izuku didn't think a hero would necessarily want to babysit him while he tested this thing out,

Well, here goes nothing.

izuku made sure the handlebars were extended before pressing the button to release the wire and hook. He flew it up, catching the top of the other side of the alleyway.

The side he was on was probably about 15 or 20 feet, if Izuku's estimates were correct. The other side seemed to be about 50 feet tall, so it was definitely a good place to practice.

With time and even more practice, Izuku would be able to swing and hook onto a lot taller buildings.

Izuku pressed the button that made the machine start retracting the rope as soon as the hook was able to firmly wrap around the lip of the building.

Oh my gosh. Izuku was actually flying! He was actually doing it! At first it was scary, but the longer Izuku stayed in the air, the more enticing and exciting it became. It felt genuinely freeing! All of Izuku's thoughts and problems dissipated while he swung up to the building.

The ride lasted all of about 13 seconds, considering the incline and slope he had to travel up.

The hook was made from a strong type of metal, so it was able to dig into the roof slightly, though not enough to damage it, but enough to have a firm grasp of it.

Izuku was able to grab onto the ledge and pull himself up, taking out the hook as he did.

Depending on how deep the hook went into the roof, the harder it would be to take out.

Izuku didn't have this one digging into the roof too much, so the machine was able to retract it by itself. Izuku assumed that if the hook did dig into the roof too far, he might have to manually dig it out.

The machine would probably be preferable to use on railings, and just have it wrap around.

Izuku wanted to practice being able to safely but quickly get up and onto the roofs, so he ran around for a little bit before finding an alleyway with even more of a gap.

He didn't notice the pair of eyes staring and watching him. For his safety, of course.

____

What was this damn problem child doing now? Aizawa had seen him running around, which was normal of course.

But the problem child had been looking at all the alleyways, as if deeming them unfit for some reason.

So Aizawa did the only logical thing and followed him. He couldn't have his problem child getting hurt on his hands.

Aizawa didn't comment on the fact that Nedzu was currently watching him, though the cameras of course.

No, Nedzu was greatly interested in this child. For some reason Jasper piqued Nedzu's interest, and so Nedzu trusted his employee to make sure that didn't happen.

For Nedzu, Jasper was quite a mystery indeed. So much potential, yet he never claimed it. So much talent, yet he refused to see it himself. Nedzu deeply wondered why, but already had a hypothesis.

No one knew it, of course. He didn't want the possibility included in Nedzu's hypothesis getting out.

Aizawa knew Nedzu ordered him to keep an eye on Jasper, though he definitely would've done that anyway.

Aizawa watched as the kid now almost masterfully leaped and landed across alleyways and gaps in buildings. Aizawa remembered the once clumsy kid running around on the ground, not really knowing how to fight either.

The kid had grown so much in these 5ish months, Aizawa couldn't even believe it. His little green bean was now growing up before his eyes.

The once scrawny and malnourished looking kid now looked slightly muscular, and had actually been putting some healthy weight on. He even seemed to be a good bit taller.

Aizawa now watched as the kid leaped and ran across the buildings. Aizawa was able to keep up, though he made sure to keep his distance.

The kid stopped at an incredibly tall building, which branched off to a different part of town.
The building seemed to be about 100 feet, while the building Jasper was standing on seemed to be about 30.

The kid thought for a second, looking at the railing like it was a key to life.

“What is he doing.?” Aizawa muttered to himself, though he was sure Nedzu could probably hear him one way or another.

Nedzu was extremely entertained watching this go down. The vigilante had what appeared to be some sort of support gun with a hook attached to the end, and Nedzu had about 10 ideas what it could be used for.

Aizawa watched as the little vigilante grabbed the machine gun, and threw it up.

Wait, no, hold on.

Aizawa watched as Jasper wound up, and then threw the hook towards the railing.

“Don’t tell me.” Aizawa started to say, keeping his position the same.

Much to Nedzu's entertainment - and slight worry -, and Aizawa's shock, they both watched as the wire rolled around the railing a few times.

The vigilante made sure it was secure by tugging on it a few times.

“Aizawa, do you have any ideas as to where he got this machine?” Nedzu asked through the comms.

“Nope. I don't know any illegal support stores that sell anything exactly like it, though there are some similar.” Aizawa answered.

“Wait, are those, handlebars?” Aizawa half-mumbled, half yelled.

The two watched as the kid pressed two buttons one on each side of the machine, and two handlebars shot out on either side. They weren't very big, but looked sturdy.

“Indeed those are! Especially interesting, considering you don't have any clues as to where he might've gotten this contraption.” Nedzu chirped.

The two watched as Izuku grabbed onto the handlebars, and pressed a button.

Thus causing Aizawa to watch in slight astonishment while Nedzu just sat, definitely entertained.

The kid pressed another button, which this time started retracting the rope. The kid went flying up, clearing having done this before.

Jasper was not afraid as he went flying through the sky, unaware of the eye watching him.

“Quite impressive indeed!” Nedzu chimed into the comms.

The kid reached one hand out towards the railing, and side-jumped over it, landing safely on the rooftop.

Izuku used the mechanism and gravity to force the machine to unravel itself. He was honestly quite pleased with the machine. Maybe with more practice he would be able to swing from building to building like Aizawa.

“Damn.” Aizawa said to himself.

His little green bean was already all grown up. Hizashi had been the one to give him the nickname, and it had stuck in the Erasermic family. Which was just Aizawa, Yamada, and their three cats. (All strays, found on the streets)

Izuku quickly grabbed his notebook and wrote down the success and details of the gun. He really had to figure out a name for it other than ‘the gun’.

Now it was Izuku's time to patrol.

He obviously couldn't just jump down, and he didn't really know if he wanted to test going down with his gun.

I mean, it sounded like fun. He'd have to practice it sometime.

And besides, Izuku really didn't feel like walking all the way down.

The two adults watched in slight horror as the vigilante threw the hook back down to the building below. The building had a slight ridge on the side, so Izuku was luckily able to latch onto that.

Izuku grabbed onto the handlebars, and made a leap of faith.

“Is he crazy?” Aizawa yelled while getting up from his spot, ready to catch the falling problem child. Yes, he knew the kid had the wire, but that didn't mean it wasn't dangerous. Apparently the kid wasn't afraid of imminent death if he kept up with these antics.

“Aizawa wait, I have faith in him.” Was the statement that came from Nedzu. “Get in close if you want, but I believe in him.”

“Fine.” Aizawa was still going to get in close, but just to the point where he wouldn't be seen but could still jump in and help if needed.

The two watched as Izuku was now falling down, and at a pretty good slope. Which also meant he was falling pretty fast.

When Izuku was just a few feet away from being on level with his hook, he retracted the wire, which then began pulling him in.

He was able to slow his fall by doing so, and was rapidly being pulled into the hook. Izuku grabbed onto the ledge and easily pulled himself up, almost frozen in fear. Almost. He may or may not have had the fear of God instilled through him.

Once Izuku finally recovered from the freeze, he did the only thing that was coursing through his mind.

He cheered, not very loudly, not very obvious, but he did.

That was more exciting and thrilling than any rollercoaster Izuku had ever been on.

Izuku quickly wrote down his discoveries in his notebook.

Scary the first time you do it, but then you get over it.

Maybe that was just for Izuku, but after the first time he did hard things, they weren't so hard anymore.

Izuku put his notebook away while he pressed the button and the wire retracted back and into the gun.

He slid it back into the loop on his belt designated for the machine.

Izuku still had some patrolling to do.

He quickly started running around, though making note that it didn't seem very busy around.

Izuku had been running for what felt like forever before he had some weird sort of gut feeling.

It was like nothing he'd ever felt before. Like a… pull?

Well, the worst that can happen is it's just a weird, one time feeling. Izuku decided to follow his gut into a medium distance alleyway.

It looked the same as basically every other alleyway around, save for the group of three guys in there close to something Izuku did not want to see, nor did he want anyone to become a victim of.

Izuku analyzed the situation in mere seconds while he grabbed and extended his metal pipes.

Two of the guys looked strong, but not too strong. It was a kind of mix in between for them. The last guy seemed to be physically enhanced strength wise by his quirk. His quirk was pretty clear and obvious, as it was evident on his body. He had some sort of turtle quirk. The shell on his back was obvious enough, but his turtle head said enough. A hetero morph, Izuku assumed.

The other three guys must have some sort of emitter quirk, because there were no obvious signs of one otherwise.

Izuku quickly saw one of the guys use his, so that gave Izuku an advantage. The advantage of knowledge, of course.

The guy had some sort of hardening quirk that didn't affect his body. He was holding a bottle of water and instantly hardened it, threatening to throw it at the woman if she didn't comply.

The third man was a wild card when it came to his quirk.

Izuku analyzed all of that within 5 seconds all while grabbing and extending his metal pipes.

He jumped off the roof, rolling safely onto his feet as he did.

Apparently the only guy who's brain was working was the dude with the liquid hardening quirk.

He threw the bottle of hardened water at Izuku, though he only managed to hit one pipe out of Izuku's hands.

Crap. He'd be down to one for now. He didn't have time to bend down, give them an opening, and grab it. If he couldn't use it, then neither could they.

Izuku quickly kicked it away and out of the alleyway, using his remaining metal pipe to block the turtle guy from hitting him.

The turtle guy wasn't as strong as he looked, though he was still much stronger than Izuku.

He quickly rolled out of the way, putting his foot out to trip the man.

Izuku got up and managed to dodge another hit by what seemed like a singular hair, but was actually a few inches.

Okay, Izuku couldn't win against an entire trio attacking him at once, but then again, he was on the ground. At ground level, he didn't seem very effective. If he could maybe just…

Izuku grabbed his gun and shot up the hook into the alleyway, dragging himself as he did.

Yes! Okay, now Izuku just had to..

Izuku quickly retracted the wire, gravity bringing him down in the meantime.

Since Izuku wasn't able to change the course of his body coming down, he had no other option but to use his legs. He'd never kicked before. Izuku had only used his arms and his metal pipes.

Maybe he should change that.

Izuku came crashing down on the liquid hardening guy, smashing the side of his face and part of his shoulder.

Izuku really didn't think he used that much force, but he debated otherwise as the guy went falling to the ground, too defeated to move further.

Okay, one guy down, two to go.

The last guy was still a wild card since Izuku didn't know his quirk and since he hadn't actually seen him try and hit Izuku.

He just seemed like he was focusing really hard on something.

While Izuku was still midair, the guy ran forward, touching Izuku with all five fingers.

The guy sneered and laughed as he ran to the other side of the alleyway. “You're defenseless now!” The guy snickered.

Izuku really hoped it wasn't like the girl's quirk who had helped him a while back. If it was, Izuku probably wouldn't see the ground for a while.

I mean, he didn't feel any different so he went back to fighting the turtle guy.

One thing he definitely had to watch out for was if the guy ever thought to use his shell as some sort of shield or something to attack with.

The turtle guy was now advancing on Izuku, giving him the perfect opening.

Izuku waited until the man was probably 4 feet away.

Izuku jumped onto the side of the brick wall, thankful for his grippy combat boots.

He jumped and rolled over the side guy before quickly jumping up and landing a decisive blow on the back of his neck.

It was a little difficult considering Izuku had to move his placement a little because of the guy's shell, but it worked all the same.

“How did you do that!? You're supposed to be defenseless!” The guy from the back yelled. He was still concentrating really hard, clearly not the fighter of the group.

“And what's that supposed to mean?” Izuku wondered if he did something to him internally without him knowing, but he felt all the same.

“I erased your quirk, dammit! When I touched you I erased your quirk!” The guy yelled, still trying to concentrate while yelling.

Ohh. That makes a lot more sense. Izuku's internal panic quickly subsided as he walked forward, hoping this would be pretty easy.

“You can go easily, or I can take you down.” Izuku sneered in his usual playful voice.

Clearly the guy wasn't having any of it, and ran forward at Izuku.

Obviously Izuku easily dodged, but it seemed this guy wasn't going down without a fight. Izuku would treat him like any other villain he fought.

Izuku was not about to underestimate someone, even if his assumptions may be correct.

The guy actually seemed pretty skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

Izuku was able to dodge it pretty easily, though the guy was actually pretty skilled.

“I'm just getting warmed up!” The guy yelled.

Well, Izuku hadn't had a good fight in a while. This would be fun. No one could see it, but Izuku held a smirk under that mask.

“Ooo! So you like to play games! I can play games alright.” Izuku brought back his cocky tone, though he didn't actually feel that way internally.

The two went back and forth dodging and punching. It was actually pretty fun for Izuku, though he did want to help the victims and then go home to his nice, warm, bed.

“This is fun, but I actually want to go home now!” Izuku executed the move he had been practicing perfectly.

First, he made it look like he was going in for a right hook, then he would quickly grab the person's arm and slide underneath them. After that he'd quickly jump up and land precisive blow on his opponent's neck.

He'd practiced it with Denki a million times, though it was quite hard to slide in sand.

He executed it perfectly, taking down the guy as he did.

“That was fun! Thanks!” Izuku half-sneered, half-sincerely said.

Izuku quickly opened his watch and called 911, hoping they'd arrive soon.

After Izuku finished talking to them, he went to the victim, taking in her calm but shaken up state.

“Th-that.. It was awesome!” The girl exclaimed, standing up as she did.

“Thank you!” Izuku has finally learned it's better to just accept compliments instead of denying or arguing with them. Apparently people found it rude sometimes.

“Are you hurt?” Izuku quickly got back to his duty, unaware of the red and beady eyes still watching him.

“No! I-i was, b-but then you came.” The girl exclaimed.

“That's good! The police might ask for your statement, so be ready for that.” Izuku decided to mention it.

Izuku heard the police sirens in the background, and decided it was his time to leave.

He took one last look at the girl, taking in her dark black hair and tall figure. Though what really caught his eye was the hair covering a dark, empty hold in her left eye, and the eye patch she was holding in her left hand. Huh, weird.

Izuku took off before he could think too much about it.

Man, he sure was excited to go back to sleep.

___

“That was too close, Queen bee. Make better decisions next time.” Came the voice of All for One from the new host's phone.

“Yeah yeah, I know. I'm still getting used to this new body, so I can't help it if guys prey on me.”

“I don't think that foolish child knows about us, so you are fine for now. This is a warning.” All for One had many pawns, and Queen Bee was only one of them.

“Yeah, yeah. I know. I'll be more careful from now on.”

“Good.”

____

“Quite impressive moves young Jasper showcased to us. Don't you agree, Aizawa?” Nedzu chirped into the hero's comm, clearly having seen a good view of the fight.

“Yeah. Pretty impressive he was able to endure for so long.” Aizawa admitted.

“I find it quite fascinating how he adapted to the quirks present! Especially how he was able to analyze the situation from only a few seconds of viewing it!” Nedzu shared his thoughts with Aizawa.

Great. Nedzu was already interested in Jasper. That was not what he wanted for the boy, though he was quite impressive indeed.

“He would do just fine in our hero course, don't you think, Aizawa?” Nedzu always asked for the teacher's opinions, clearly persuading him to agree with the rat.

Though this time he wasn't wrong.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Aizawa would never let Vlad King teach him. He still had a personal vendetta against him when he stole his flag at the last second in the Calvary battle. Aizawa's team still moved on, but they were in 4th instead of 1st.

Maybe the gremlin would finally let Aizawa and the others teach him, and admit he actually had talents.

Talents that interested Nedzu, to be frank.

Nedzu would definitely make sure Jasper became his personal student if he ever joined UA. Though the rat didn't know he already was, just online.

_____

“Little listener did what!?” Yamada yelled across the office room the four of them sat in, including Nedzu in Aizawa's scarf.

“Quite impressive! Don't you agree, Aizawa?” Nedzu chimed in.

“Yeah.” Aizawa grumbled, hating the principal's tactics sometimes.

“I've been keeping an eye on him from the cameras!” Nedzu explained. “He seems to have developed and learned more tricks and strategies over these 5 months.”

“I mean, that's good, right?” Kayama asked.

“Yes and no.” Aizawa answered. “The good part is he's less likely to get himself killed. But now the commission has their eyes on him, and it's not looking favorable.” Aizawa explained.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Shirakumo asked. “The commission is almost never up to anything good.”

“Exactly.” Nedzu chirped. “The commission is still deciding on how they plan to deal with Jasper. Though it looks like they might be edging towards jail or juvy.” Nedzu exclaimed.

“They already gave us pros the message to arrest him after a set date if he's still out.” Aizawa continued on for Nedzu.

“Eh, I never check that stuff.” Shirakumo mentioned.

“Yes.” Nedzu confirmed.

“Well, the greenbeans still cute and safer.” Yamada sighed.

“Yeah, no. He acts cute around all of you.” Aizawa huffed.

“Indeed! I've been watching!” Nedzu chirped.

“Awwww Sho! Are you jealous because the green bean messes with you?” Yamada asked.

“I'm not really a fan of bright pink glitter in my work boots,” Aizawa replied.

Yes, Jasper messed with him. Yes, Aizawa got annoyed. Yes, he still had a soft spot for the kid. Aizawa didn't really want anyone to find out. Well, except for Hizashi.

Kayama and shirakumo just burst out laughing. Yes he was gruff, but they knew him better than that. They could see behind the stoic persona he put on. They could tell he cared for the boy, even if he was a menace sometimes.

“Anyways!” Nedzu directed the conversation back to the main subject. “I want some of you to make futile attempts to arrest Jasper.” Nedzu dropped the bomb, which he's been waiting for a good time.

“What?” Aizawa asked. He knew they weren't controlled by the commission due to Nedzu, so why would Nedzu ask that? Never mind. You never know why Nedzu does what he does.

“It might help us and him in a way or two.” Nedzu flashed a gleeful smile, gears turning in his head.

“And what would that be?” Aizawa asked, trying to keep his cool.

“If we convince him that the attempts would be continued due to the commission, we may be able to convince him to accept UAs offer, and protect him legally.” Nedzu knew it probably wouldn't play out like that, but it was still fun to watch. I mean, that's practically the whole point of Nedzu deciding this.

There were a few other reasons for Nedzu, but those went unsaid. Nedzu was curious to see if Izuku really knew the rat's history, considering it wasn't very publicised. Nedzu wanted to test the child's knowledge. Hopefully if he didn't have any advanced knowledge, Jasper would at least join UA.

Though Nedzu had a feeling Jasper wouldn't join UA no matter how much they pushed. He simply didn't see himself as good enough, and Nedzu also hoped to find out why.

Aizawa was almost immediately suspicious. The rat almost never explained his plans, and this one seemed too simple for the rat to come up with.

Aizawa didn't exactly think this would work either. He knew the problem child, and he wouldn't fall for something like this. He was too smart.

Maybe they'd just have to wait and see, for now.

“Though no offense Yamada-kun, I don't really want you in this effort.” Nedzu asked, voice and tone light.

Yamada actually took a sigh of relief. This meant he'd still be able to see the kid and still nurture their ever-growing relationship.

“Yeah, good point. I'd probably blow his ear drums out with my luck!” Yamada always joked about that.

Nedzu turned to look at Midnight.

“Not me either?” Kayama asked.

“Indeed.”

“Makes sense. I mean, he'd probably find out our plan if me and Yamada joined in, as we'd have to hold back our power and efforts greatly.” Kayama explained.

Kayama silently thanked any and all entities currently in their midst. The two didn't interact often, but the kid was still absolutely adorable.

“Quite right! That leaves Aizawa-kun and Shirakumo-kun!” Nedzu looked at the two of them.

The tension could be cut with a knife until Shirakumo spoke up.

“Fine!” Shirakumo sighed, and half-pouted by leaning forward in his chair.

He already knew his fate, but that would mean he'd probably ruin the small relationship he had grown with Jasper over the months. It was a sad realization for Shirakumo.

Aizawa just internally groaned. Months of leading and building up the small trust Jasper had shown him gone. Down the drain. Hopefully Jasper would overcome this little mind game Nedzu was playing.

“Great! Thank you all!” Nedzu exclaimed as he pressed a button and the floor opened up below him. He slide through down and into the UA vents.

Just another day as UA faculty.
_____

Aizawa wondered why his nose itched slightly the entire meeting. A little vigilante and his friend might've been debating the different theories they had on him, though Aizawa would never know.

_____

Izuku was getting ready to hangout with Bakugo and his group.

Katsuki had invited him to one of the group's hangouts, and Izuku wanted to get to know everyone else better anyway.

Apparently he heard news that Monoma and Shinsou were now dating, and he was happy for them.

Ugh, if only Kirishima and Bakugo could get the stick out of their back ends could they mirror the other two. That was honestly how Izuku saw it.

The two seemed perfect for each other. Bakugo was now starting to view everyone as an equal, though Kirishima was the first.

Izuku saw how the two acted around each other. It was pretty obvious Kirishima liked Bakugo, and the other way around. Bakugo was a little harder to figure out, but Izuku thinks he did.

Though Izuku didn't know if Bakugo had actually realized his affection for Kirishima yet. Katsuki always seemed to hover around Kirishima, and always walked by him.

Bakugo always looked at Kirishima with admiration, and always actually listened to him. Oh, don't forget the blazing sign. Bakugo actually calls Kirishima by his name.

No one mentioned it when Bakugo and Kirishima started on a 1st name basis.

Monoma and Shinsou knew it was only time before they were dating as well.

Well, Izuku wouldn't continue thinking about that. Right now, he still had to walk to the cafe.

It was early afternoon on a Saturday morning, just under one week since he'd gotten his new upgrade. He had fallen once, but he was pretty low to the ground, and was able to easily fall down. That didn't really discourage Izuku at all, but it was definitely a scare for the pro watching him.

At least it didn't hurt his still healing bruise. Denki definitely lectured him after Izuku accidentally told him, and it was a whole ordeal. His friend was worried, and Izuku respected that. Though he didn't really have the same self respect.

Izuku was now walking to the cafe where they all planned on meeting. This time it wasn't a cat cafe, much to Shinsou's sadness.

Izuku was still weary around Bakugo, but had ultimately ended up having this weird half-trust half-not, joking, brotherly stranger kind of relationship. Izuku couldn't really describe what they were. I mean, Bakugo was making sure not to move in any way that might scare Izuku, which he respected.

I mean, at least Bakugo had been making conscious efforts.

Izuku's thoughts were stopped as he rounded the corner to the cafe, seeing Bakugo and Kirishima waiting outside.

“Hey Midoriya!” Kirishima yelled to him, masking the disappointment his alone time with Bakugo had ended already.

Izuku grimaced slightly at the last name. He hadn't been called that since Denki called him by it. It felt weird and foreign to Izuku.

When Inko died, Izuku had quickly stopped interacting with basically anyone.

Izuku, stop with the depressing thoughts.

“Hey!” Izuku yelled while waving and walking over to them.

“How are you doing?” Kirishima asked. Yes, he likes Midoriya as a friend. No, he didn't hate him because he interrupted his time with Bakugo. He knew it would come to an end eventually.

“Waiting on the lovebirds?” Izuku knew Kirishima and Bakugo loved teasing the pair about it.

“Yup. Of course they've been rubbing it in our faces.” Little did Bakugo know that's what Kirishima wanted.

“I mean, to be fair I would do that too.” Izuku admitted, opting for a casual tone around them. Izuku started thinking about Denki and their relationship. Apparently it was normal for friends to flirt with each other, but Izuku was almost starting to think otherwise. Don't get him wrong, he loved it when Denki ‘fake’ flirted with him, but it stopped feeling so ‘fake’ a while ago.

Maybe Izuku was just being delusional. He was okay with that. He knew he'd never have a chance with Denki.

Anyways.

“Yeah, I get it.” Kirishima really did. If he was in a relationship with Bakugo he'd probably flaunt him everywhere.

“I really don't want to wait for their dumbasses out here. Let's go find a table or some shit.” Bakugo snarled, though it held no real malice.

Kirishima really loved when Bakugo just took charge like that.

Izuku and Kirishima followed Bakugo into the cafe, and sat down once they found a booth suitable for their group. It wasn't really comfortable when three were smushed on one side, so they chose the one in the back with three sides. It was also quite private and secluded, which was perfect for the group.

Izuku sat down on the only one that was facing the other way, leaving the ones straight across from Bakugo and Kirishima for Shinsou and Monoma.

“So, how have you two been?” Izuku tried to break the awkwardness, and for his sake succeeded.

“I'm good! How have you been? Haven't you been like, really busy lately?” Kirishima asked, inching just those two inches closer to Bakugo. If he noticed, he didn't say anything.

“Yeah, I kind of have been.” Izuku admitted. He'd tell about 60% of the truth, leaving out his nightly activities in the meantime. “But I'm here now!”

“Wait, I'm curious, what have you been up to lately?” Kirishima asked, curiosity getting the best of him. “Like, you're a kid our age but it seems like you're always doing something!”

“Yeah, I have been up to a lot lately.” Izuku admitted.

Obviously Katsuki knew Izuku had to have been doing some sort of physical training. He was a lot more lean and a lot less scrawny.

“Well, let's see. In the morning I train, then I do all of my schoolwork. After that I usually work on some sort of gadget or machine, or I have some sort of free time. Then I have work, and then I go to bed.” Izuku definitely left out the part where he woke up at night and saved people.

“I guess that makes sense!” Kirishima exclaimed. I mean, Kirishima and the rest had been training after school. After all they were all planning on enrolling into UA.

Bakugo had a question, though he didn't know if it would be offensive or not. Clearly Izuku saw right past his mask.

“It looks like you have something to ask, so ask it.” Izuku stated, tone soft.

Bakugo hesitated for a second before asking. “Are you planning on enrolling into a hero school? Since you're training and shit.”

Izuku just chuckled at that.

“No, I would never make it past the written exam. I train to-,” Izuku paused for a moment, thinking of an excuse. This didn't go unnoticed by Bakugo, of course. “Correction, I train to be physically stronger and healthier. You gotta admit I was pretty scrawny and weak before,” Izuku joked.

Bakugo knew there had to be some other reason, considering Izuku and his pause. He never would've paused before. Bakugo also knew Izuku like a book, and he was clearly thinking about something else.

“Oh my God. Why did you guys have to choose this spot all the way back here without telling us?” Monoma and Shinsou sat down at the empty bench, dragging Katsuki out of his thoughts.

Shinsou was quiet as they sat down, like usual. Though Bakugo could tell his mind was wandering and his arm stiff. Something was definitely wrong with Shinsous and Bakugo wanted to get to the bottom of it.

“Oi eye bags, what's wrong with your shitty arm?” Bakugo asked.

Monoma's face darkened, but no one said anything about it. He knew about some of the abuse, but definitely not all of it. Just because they were dating doesn't mean Shinsou was willing to tell him anything about his foster family. He really didn't want to be moved away from Monoma and into an orphanage.

“O-oh, um nothing, really. I just bumped it, that's all.” Hitoshi knew he wasn't a good liar. Monoma could tell when he was lying.

“You really lie like a bad rug, Toshi. What's wrong?” Monoma put on his very rare, sincere face. Though his tone was firm.

Izuku was starting to see the signs, and he knew this probably wouldn't end very well.

“I'm fine, really.” Hitoshi responded. As much as he wanted his friends to find out and care, he couldn't. He couldn't be moved again. Especially not from an apparent ‘abuse’ case. They all said he was lying, so Hitoshi thought it was normal.

“No Toshi. You're not. You told me your foster parents were just a little neglectful sometimes. Were you lying about that too?” Monoma didn't even care he was being lied to, he really just wanted the best for his Hitoshi.

Izuku decided to speak up, hoping these would be the right words to goad Hitoshi out of his thought process.

“Shinsou, are you being abused by your foster parents?”

“What!? No! Of course not! Why would you even think that…” Hitoshi trailed off as he realized the signs were obvious. “Well, they're not. It's pretty normal.” Hitoshi blurted out words before he could process them.

“I think that because I've seen the signs before, Shinsou. And your arm.” Izuku looked at it. “It's practically hanging limp at your side.”

Okay, Hitoshi had to admit that it did hurt. He was able to take a lot of ibuprofen and Tylenol, and it had helped. Some.

All Hitoshi could do was fall silent. He couldn't be put in an orphanage. He'd be taken away. Far from Neito, Bakugo, Kirishima and even Izuku. The two weren't best friends, but definitely friends.

Bakugo took a second to process what Izuku had said. ‘I've seen the signs before..’ .

“Izuku. Where the fuck would you have seen ‘signs’ before?” Bakugo snarled, though not completely forgetting about his other friend. He had a knack for getting hurt.

Izuku just froze, like a deer in headlights. “I um.” Izuku tried to find an answer, though failed to find one believable enough.

Izuku quickly changed the subject back to Shinsou, his calm vigilante persona coming in handy.

“Does your arm hurt?” Izuku moved to other side of the bench, so he could get a better look at the boy's arm.

“I told you it's-ow.” Shinsou quickly said when Izuku barely poked it.

“It's clearly not, Shinsou. You need help.” Izuku looked Shinsou in the eyes, ignoring his jealous boyfriend glaring daggers into him. Though they were ‘friendly’ in Monoma's book.

“Please, let us help you.” Izuku finished.

“Yeah dude. We're always here for you.” Kirishima mentioned.

“Yeah dipshit. I didn't save your life for you to be suffering all the damn time.” Bakugo chimed in, planning on asking Izuku about his comment at a better time.

Shinsou broke at all the unwavering support. He really wasn't used to this.

“F-fine.” He heaved out, not really enjoying the attention and everything.

“I'm going to carefully lift your sleeve up, alright? I need you to stay still.” Izuku asked.

Hitoshi just nodded, not excited for the stares. Monoma grabbed his hand and squeezed it for support. Hitoshi just melted, still not believing he actually bagged someone as good as Monoma.

Izuku carefully rolled up Shinsou's sleeve, eyes going wide at the black ring halfway between his elbow and shoulder.

“Shinsou, can you move your arm?” Izuku calmly asked, though his demeaned change was noticed by everyone.

Shinsou tried, but was only able to bend his elbow slightly. It sent a pain rivaling death through the entire left side of Shinsou's body.

“Oi, what's wrong with it?” Bakugo yelled, not being able to fully see the arm.

Kirishima was just staring at the arm, wondering how in the world Shinsou managed to do that. Monoma did mention foster parents. If it was them, Kirishima didn't think he'd let them see the light of day again.

The color drained from Monomas face as he saw his boyfriend's arm. It was his fault. He knew Shinsou's foster parents were rough sometimes, but he never knew it was this bad. He really shouldn't have overlooked Shinsou's rib injury like he had been convinced to.

“It seems blood flow has significantly slowed in your arm. It should be fine for a little bit more time, but if we don't get you to a hospital in time you might lose feeling and control in your arm.” Izuku had enough medical knowledge to be able to have an idea of what was going on. It also seemed like the arm was broken, which is another factor of the limited mobility.

“What? We can't! My foster parents will kill me if I bring home another medical bill!” Shinsou yelled.

Monoma finally took back the control in his body, deciding on living in the present and not what he could have done better.

“Shinsou, look at me.” Monoma commanded. Izuku was trying to very gently massage more blood flow while Monoma tried to calm down a panicking Shinsou.

“You are more important than money. You should not have to worry about that.” Monoma looked Shinsou in the eye.

“We should really go parent shopping for you.” Monoma tried to slightly lighten the situation, and successfully made Shinsou laugh.

“We better get going to the hospital.” Izuku noted, slight worry in his voice.

“Shouldn't we call like, an ambulance?” Kirishima asked.

“No! I can handle waiting until we walk there. It's only a few minutes away anyway! An ambulance would just cost more money.” Shinsou was firm on his answer.

“Yeah, we really were dipshits last time for not calling an ambulance.” Bakugo stated.

“Yup.” Kirishima agreed with him, feeling his pain. He also rested his arm around Bakugo's shoulders who didn't dare move him.

“The sooner the better!” Izuku quickly pushed the group along, who started speed-walking out of the cafe.

You know, it was a weird feeling. Having people care about you was something Shinsou was not used to.

Izuku had an idea who might be willing to adopt Shinsou. They were practically like father and son, after all.

Chapter Text

The group had finally arrived at the hospital, and the painkillers Shinsou took were already starting to wear off.

“Okay, now it's starting to hurt.” Shinsou winced as they walked into the front desk.

“No, there's no reason at all why part of your arm would be purple. No reason at all.” Monoma said extremely sarcastically, leaving no room for argument.

Okay, neither of them really knew how to really ask the front desk or if they had to do paper work or not. Well, obviously they would, but no one could really fill it out, except for Shinsou.

After they talked to the front desk, Shinsou was admitted and they started working on his arm. Apparently it was a priority compared to other injuries, considering if they waited he'd lose movement in his arm. Maybe even his arm, if he was unlucky enough.

The group waited while Shinsou, (who was against the idea of coming here in the first place) was getting checked on.

Izuku wanted to call Eraser already. His first candidate was the Erasermic household. Izuku felt Hitoshi would be able to connect with them. His second candidates were Midnight and Loud cloud. They seemed like they'd treat him well, though it would take a lot longer for Hitoshi to open up to them.

Izuku would've already called Eraser by now, but there were a few problems. 1) If he calls as Mikumo, it would be suspicious because Mikumo didn't have Aizawa's phone number. 2) It wouldn't work as just himself either. It would definitely be weird if a random kid called you and then acted as if they knew you. 3) If he called as Jasper, he would risk putting all of his friends in danger from the man. Yes, Aizawa would do anything to find out his identity. Same with Nedzu.

If only there was some sort of way to alert the clerk about the situation.

It seemed she was doing some paperwork for now, though she glanced over at the group before getting up and walking to them.

“How did Shinsou get this injury?” She asked. Clearly she had her own suspicions.

“What do you mean?” Izuku asked, in his sweet, I would never hurt a bee, face.

“Well, his injury shows clear signs of abuse. If there's even a chance of abuse I legally have to report it.” The woman explained. She knew she probably wouldn't get anything out of his friends, but it was worth trying.

“We're pretty sure.” Monoma said, now having time to wallow in on himself.

The clerk got out a piece of paper and a pen.

“Please, I need more details. If you will, of course.” The woman gently asked.

Monoma was the first one to speak up, given he clearly knew more than anyone.

“A while ago Shinsou came to my house with some sort of rib injury. At first I came to the conclusion it was abuse, but after a few days he convinced me it was nothing, and he just ran into a door handle or something.” Monoma hated how guilty he felt. His condescension gone.

The woman wrote down the important parts, and talked to the rest. “Thank you. Do any of you have other things to add?”

Kirishima wanted to say something, and finally worked up the courage to speak. He couldn't be cowardly. Not any longer. “It almost seemed like he was protecting his foster parents.”

The woman internally cursed before writing it down. The boy being in a foster home will make this more difficult. If only a pro-hero would come and help resolve this.

“Anything else?” The woman felt for these kids. They were only in what? Middle school? And we're already discussing problems like this.

The group looked at each other before shaking their heads.

The clerk walked away and reported the incident to the police. Hopefully it wouldn't be like last time when they sent one measly officer who just dismissed it entirely.

After about 2 hours of waiting, they were finally allowed to see Shinsou.

Apparently he'd had some painkillers, so he might be slightly loopy.

“Hey Eyebags.” Bakugo said in a slightly more sincere tone than how he normally talked.

“Toshi.” Monomas face was written with worry as he moved to the side with Toshi's good arm, and grabbed his hand. Monoma made sure to squeeze with what he hoped felt equal to support.

“N! Neito!” When they mentioned he was loopy, they didn't know just how loopy. Apparently drugs like that simply had that effect on Hitoshi.

Hitoshi squeezed back, though in an odd way.

“Okay, you two can stop with that lovey-dovey shit anytime now. Making me nauseous.” Bakugo snarled.

“Oh you're just jealous because you wish you had the same thing. Aren't I right, Kachaan?” Izuku said sweetly. He'd never hurt a bee.

“Shut the fuck up, nerd.” Bakugo said. He still hasn't come to terms with his feelings for Kirishima yet.

“You really gotta accept your feelings sometime.” Izuku replied. He obviously shipped Bakugo and Kirishima, though the two couldn't tell.

“Whatever.” That comment would now send Bakugo home thinking about all of his life's choices and his feelings. Hopefully he'd realize his feelings for Kirishima in the meantime.

____

“Eraser, can you come over here for a second?” Tsukauchi asked.

Eraser had honestly just wanted to go home and cuddle with Hizashi. Though he couldn't do that, could he?

He walked over to Tsukauchi in the office room.

“Weve just been sent a report for child abuse from ### hospital. I think it would be best to send you, considering you're better with keeping people calm and stating facts.” Tsukauchi normally would've sent just a few police officers but considering Eraser wasn't getting anywhere with the Queen Bee case, and since they're dealing with the foster system, it was wise to send Eraser. He knew how to discuss topics calmly.

Aizawa sighed before speaking. “I'll be on my way. I need a break before I rip my hair out.” The Queen Bee case was quite frustrating.

“The boy's currently being worked on, and his friends are in the waiting room. According to the clerk his friends had an idea about the abuse but not that it was this bad.” Tsukauchi explained the situation.

“I might have to talk to them when I get there.” Eraser didn't really have a way with children like Zashi did, though he'd manage.

“I'll get going now.” Eraser stated, grabbing the necessary files and papers and such for this new and unfolding case.

“Do you want a ride?” Tsukauchi asked.

“No, I'm good. Thanks though. It's faster on the rooftop.”

——

Back in Shinsou's hospital room, the 5 were still talking and joking, trying to keep the spirits high.

“Anyways, how are you doing Shinsou? Do you need anything?” Izuku sweetly asked, trying to do stuff for his friend.

”Water.” As loopy as Shinsou was, he was still mostly present. Definitely a fun sight to see for someone like Monoma, given their relationship.

Izuku walked to the sink and grabbed a glass of water, filling it up and then handing it to Shinsou.

“Here.”

“Thanks!” Shinsou chirped, taking the water and basically chugging it.

Izuku thought he heard footsteps outside, but maybe his delusional self was making it up.

A knock could be heard at the door as Eraserhead, the pro hero, walked into the room. He had absolutely no clue what to say, and he didn’t really know how to talk to children very well. That was Hizashi's job. He was the one to convince Aizawa to become a teacher in the first place. Good benefits, I guess.

“Good afternoon.” Aizawa greeted, trying to sound approachable.

Shinsou locked eyes with the pro hero, his face coming into a mix of shock, astonishment, and awe.

Shinsou raised his non-hurt hand pointing at Aizawa as he did. ”You!” Was the only thing Shinsou could yell as his brain raced through a thousand different emotions, feelings, and thoughts.

”Me?” Aizawa teased back. This kid didn't seem half bad.

Izuku was trying to slightly hide behind everyone else. If Eraserhead had noticed him, he was staying silent about it.

Shinsou kept the same shocked face on as he kept talking to Eraserhead, trying to find words for his favorite hero appearing seemingly out of nowhere.

Eraser honestly thought the kid was kinda cute in this state, though no one would ever know. Aizawa thought the kid honestly looked a little bit like him. The same eye bags, same tired look, (though the kid was kind of out of it), and same unruly and deserted hair. Though the kid's hair was more like Oboros with it standing up.

“You're Eraserhead!” Shinsou yelled out, some of the loopy effects starting to wear off.

Aizawa had to hold back his grin behind his scarf. How could anyone hate this kid?

“Yes, Yes I am.” Aizawa replied.

“You look like a damn hobo to me.” Bakugo remarked, looking at the entirety of Aizawa's outfit.

Shinsou just blanked, trying to process what this feeble being just said.

“You're joking.” Shinsou replied.

“Nope. What even are you?” Bakugo snarkily asked, leaving no room for anyone to try and change his mind.

Aizawa grabbed his hero badge from his pocket, already assuming something like this would happen.

“I'm a pro-hero.” Aizawa looked around, taking in the surprised faces of three out of the five children. There was another child who Aizawa recognized, but he didn't know where. The boy wasn't surprised in the slightest, which was an unhealthy reaction to Aizawa.

“I'm also the pro-hero who's going to take over your case, Shinsou.” Aizawa replied, seeing the expression change on the kid's face.

It seemed Shinsou was starting to come back to his senses, though he was still a tiny bit out of there.

“Eraserhead… “ The boy started mumbling to himself. Between the mumbles Aizawa and the rest of the room heard Shinsou almost clearly say, “Favorite hero.. Why me?”

“Because, all children deserve loving homes.” Aizawa replied.

Shinsou half-sqeaked, half-yelled. “Di-.. Did I say that out loud?” His face turned into a slight shade of pink.

“Yes Toshi, you did. We all heard it, and I personally didn't know you were a fan of heroes.” Monoma teased Shinsou, clearly enjoying it.

All Shinsou did was turn an even brighter shade of pink, the loopy effect working its way out of his body even more.

Aizawa honestly recognized himself and Yamada in these two. A loud blonde with his more quiet stray cat. Okay, maybe Shinsou hadn't proved to truly be the quiet type, but that's what his vibe was giving off. Ugh, Yamada was always better at these types of things.

“Well you never asked.” Shinsou quietly huffed, more comfortable around his friends than he had been with anyone in his life before.

“Anyways, why are you here again? My brain didn't process it quick enough the first time.” Shinsou's brain could choose to work, or not to. Right now, his brain was purposely not working.

“I'm the hero who's going to take on your case.” Aizawa stated matter-of-factly.

“My what?” Shinsou asked sweetly.

“Your case, with your foster family and all. We're working on getting you into a new home right now.” Aizawa didn't want to talk about the topic so bluntly, considering the kid might be traumatized or something. Again, Zashi was better at this stuff. Normally the police would be able to handle this, but Aizawa had nothing to do and wanted to get out of the office.

“Theres really no need for that!” Shinsou started rapidly moving his non-hurt hand in the air, trying to convene his thoughts.

“Your current state says otherwise.” Aizawa looked at Shinsou's arm. This was definitely a clear sign of abuse, though Aizawa wouldn't say it out loud.

“Please, just let me stay!” Shinsou yelled.

“First of all, are you actually getting abused by your foster parents? And if so, why do you want to stay?” Aizawa went for the blunt way of asking. It was either now or later.

“I'll have to leave! I'll have to go to an orphanage.” Shinsou spoke more tense than he ever had. “I'll leave everyone here behind.” Shinsou was barely above a whisper, though everyone heard him crystal clear.

Monoma walked up and put his hand on Shinsou's arm.

“If that means you're in a good family then I'm okay with it. We can plan hangouts and stuff.” Monoma was never this emotional, but he could definitely make an exception for his boyfriend.

“Let me just say Eye bags, you're never gonna become a hero if you're too worried about hiding injuries from your own parents.” Bakugo would be sad to see his friend go, though he'd never admit it.

Ah, so the kid wanted to be a hero. That made sense. Maybe Aizawa could help him sometime, though, then again, Zashi was better at that stuff. Maybe that's part of the reason they'd been married for so long.

Aizawa wondered about something, so he asked. “Why do you think you'd go to an orphanage?” His tone was the same as before, though Izuku could tell he had sincerity in his voice. Izuku wanted to comfort his friend, but the moment he talked Eraser would recognize him. It was better if Aizawa simply didn't know Izuku. The true person behind Mikumo and Jasper.

“I've been handed off from family to family since I was 4.” Shinsou wanted to leave his quirk out of it. Maybe Eraser's tinted version of him could stay for a little longer before he learned about his quirk. Then he'd probably be disregarded like the rest.

“How many families do you think you've gone through?” Aizawa honestly felt for the kid. He hadn't gone through the same thing, but he could imagine people weren't very fond of his quirk.

“Uhh.” Shinsou froze before he started to mentally tally. He lost track at age 8 when he realized he wouldn't ever be staying long term anywhere. “I'd say around 16 or 17. I lost track after I moved to my 10th home.” Shinsou admitted.

To say Aizawa was angered was an understatement. He honestly wondered why he felt this way toward two problematic children. He never felt this way for his students or other children, but of course he had to start getting attached to a problematic vigilante and a foster child. Maybe he'd just have to temporarily foster him. Both him and Zashi did have emergency foster licenses, after all.

“The social worker told me I'd be going to an orphanage if I didn't manage to stay in this one. And besides, all my friends live here.” Shinsou looked at every one of his friends, feeling like he might cry, though he hadn't in ages.

“Of course, bro. We'll always be here when you need us!” Kirishima yelled out.

“If you think we're going anywhere, no the fuck we ain't.” Bakugo snarled.

“Years it's gonna take a lot more than that to get rid of us.” Monoma mentioned.

Izuku just smiled and showed him a thumbs up. Shinsou and the rest of the group did know about Mikumo after all.

Shinsou regained his composure before speaking again.

“It's not even a big deal anyway. It's not like it isn't normal.” That was one lie Shinsou had started to believe after every home told him it was.

“Who told you that?” Aizawa snapped back, though he kept his voice even, Izuku could tell he was angered.

“Mmm, basically all of the homes I've been to.” Shinsou replied like it was just the weather.

The five others just stared at him in absolute shock.

“What?” Aizawa asked, clearly missing all the facts.

“Yep.” Shinsou popped the p with extra emphasis. “It's a pretty normal occurrence.” Shinsou replied, confused by all the looks in the room. “Why are you all staring at me like that.?” Shinsou asked, probably showing more emotion in this room than he had in his entire life.

“Because, Shinsou, that's not normal.” Aizawa said, firm with his tone. He gathered the boy's name from the files he'd looked over before coming here.

“Huh?” Shinsou asked.

“Getting hit by your parents is not normal.” Aizawa stated, hoping to knock some sense into this foolish child. Again, Zashi was better with things like this.

“What do you mean ‘it isn't’.” Shinsou asked.

“Parents should care and love for their child, and not harm them in any way.” Aizawa said.

Well, getting told that it isn't normal didn't really have an impact on Shinsou. Not unless it was coming from his personal favorite hero who was standing in front of him and actually talking to him.

“I also know about your quirk. It's in your files.” Aizawa thought he should mention that, considering it might make the boy feel better, he hoped. Again, Zashi was much better with these things.

“O-oh.” Was all Shinsou could manage before he basically froze, lost in his own thoughts.

“Dipshit.” Bakugo walked over to him and smacked his arm, though lighter than normal. “He doesn't think your shitty quirk is villainous. Get out of your head.” Bakugo walked back to the previous spot he had been in.

“Correct.” Aizawa knew the poor boy's situation was probably due to his quirk. Things never went well for people with quirks seen as ‘villainous’ or ‘useless’.

Shinsou just looked at Aizawa with the dullest, most devoid of emotion expression Aizawa had ever seen in his life. It was honestly the saddest thing Aizawa had seen all day.

“Shinsou, I do not think you or your quirk are villainous.” Aizawa decided to state it himself for the boy. Hopefully it would make him feel better. Zashi was always better at these things, again.

“R-really?” Shinsou asked, unable to express his feelings properly. He never had been able to freely express his feelings anyway.

“Yes, really.” Aizawa tried to reassure him, though, again, Zashi was better at these things.

The annoyed social worker decided that was the perfect time to barge in. She simply didn't get paid enough to deal with villain children who didn't even deserve some of these chances.

“Hello, everyone.” She replied in a clearly fake, cheery tone. Even Aizawa, who had no social skills whatsoever could decipher it.

She thought it sounded genuine. I mean, it was preferable to make the best impression around heroes.

“Were here to talk about the further placement of Shinsou Hitoshi, correct?” The worker clicked her pen and looked down at her sheet, trying to look professional.

“Yes.” Aizawa confirmed.

“Well, I already told you you'd probably be put in an orphanage if you failed this home.” The older woman put on the fake cheery tone you would normally use with little kids.

Aizawa could just barely hear the words muttered under her breath. “God, such a villainous child.”

Aizawa had never wanted to punch someone in the face more, which was unusual considering he was the one who always had to talk sense into Hizashi when he wanted to smash someone's face.

“You'll probably be moved to the one in East Tokyo. How does that sound?” The woman replied cheerily.

Shinsou looked half to tears as he muttered quietly, “Sure.” To the woman.

Aizawa was about to lose his crap. There was one right in Musutafu where he knew there were extra spots and positions.

Aizawa had heard about the one In South Tokyo. It was an extremely runned-down one, only for the troubled kids. Kids who couldn't control their quirks, had behavioral issues, the works. The place was practically built with dust, considering the fact it was so unclean.

“There's one in Musutafu with open slots.” Aizawa stated blindly, hoping to at least help the kid out. He would not be letting a good kid like that live in rags all because of his quirk.

“Well, we're trying to ration the few positions left. You know.” The woman stated, trying to get a hero to understand it.

The four kids just stayed silent, knowing they had no say in what happened, though they hated every second of it.

“There's plenty of open spots in South Tokyo.” The social worker sugar coated her tone.

“Yes, but the trip is long.” Aizawa stated. (I don't actually know this, but that's the case in this universe). “Shinsou has already made his home in Musutafu. Why can't he stay?” Aizawa reasoned.

It was weird hearing your favorite hearing advocating for you. A weird kind of good though.

“Sir, there are very few spots left. We are rationing.” The woman tried to sound intelligent, but sounded stupider and stupider the more she talked.

Aizawa had the worst and best decision of his life. He knew he would absolutely hate himself later, and Zashi would too.

I mean, they did talk about having kids and neither minded. Aizawa just didn't want to raise a little kid.

“Actually, I can technically foster him.” Aizawa spoke before his logical side could change his mind.

“You really do-” The woman tried to reason with the pro before being cut off by Aizawa.

“I have an emergency foster license, and this seems like an emergency to me.” Aizawa stated.

“Sir, please-” The woman really didn't want this revolting child to end up in a pro hero's care. It didn't matter if he was underground. He was still a pro hero.

“Would you get the paperwork for me?” Aizawa asked.

The social worker had absolutely no say in the hero's mind, so she legally had to comply.

Shinsou was just staring at his friends in shock as they looked at him with varying expressions. His life had, quite literally, been flipped upside down. He was being temporarily fostered by his favorite hero, and Shinsou didn't do a single thing to change his mind. He'd have to ask him about it later, if he could.

____

“Hizashi.” Aizawa spoke into the phone.

“Yes?” Yamada answered sweetly. He was hoping to have a nice evening with his husband when he got home from work.

“I may or may not have made the most irrational decision yet.” Aizawa stated in his gruff voice. He didn't regret a thing, but now the hard part came. Well, not really hard considering his husband loved kids and could easily talk to them.

Hizashi was actually caught in surprise, not really expecting this phone call at around 4pm on a Saturday.

“Sho, love of my life, what did you do?” Yamada made sure to ask sweetly, though in that tone that shows he's genuinely curious.

“I don't regret it, though we may need another room for now.” Aizawa said. He did only temporarily foster Shinsou, since it was an emergency.

“Sho. Please don't tell me you found another stray and are currently bringing it home.” Hizashi knew Aizawa like the back of his hand, and that is definitely something Aizawa would do.

“Mm,” Aizawa thought for a second before speaking back into the phone. “He's similar enough.”

“Wait, Sho, pleaseeee tell me what happened and the outcome. Pleaseeee.” Aizawa could hear Yamada practically begging from the phone. He'd already gotten off of his shift, and didn't have his radio show for hours.

Aizawa sighed before attempting to explain it to Yamada. “You remember that brand new case I told you about?” Hopefully Yamada will get the memo.

“Yeah? With the Shinsou kid?” Yamada was not getting what Aizawa was putting down until he thought for a second. “You didn't temporarily foster this kid, did you?” Yamada asked, already knowing he probably did.

“I don't regret it, though it was irrational.” Aizawa stated into his phone.

“I've been betting with myself when you'd bring home a stray kid, honestly.” Yamada said with a slight chuckle. Behind that mask of gruffness, Aizawa was a caring person, whether he wanted to or not. That's one of the things Yamada loved about him.

“Fair point. We're getting him discharged right now.” Aizawa kind of forgot to mention the fact that they were currently at the hospital.

“Um, Sho, why are you guys at the hospital? Don't tell me.” Yamada was able to put two and two together.

“Yup. It seems like his parents broke his arm. He had to stay a little longer to make sure blood flow to his arm was good. We're able to leave now. I'll clock out when we leave.” Aizawa stated.

“Okay, I guess I'll get the guest bedroom ready in the meantime.” Yamada replied. Those two could work as a team like no one ever knew.

Yamada just accepted his fate, just like he did with their four cats. Well actually the first cat he tried to argue against, but he couldn't argue long against his husband. And besides, it was only temporary. Probably until they find him a much better home or are able to get him into the Musutafu orphanage, though it would be sad to see the kid go to an orphanage. Maybe they could ask to enroll him into UA and become a ward of UA. That could work.

Yamada just sighed, knowing his husband collected strays (cats and humans) like pre-quirk era people collected pokemon cards. There's almost nothing you can do to stop it from happening.

Aizawa ended the call and put his phone back in his pocket. He had stepped out to make the call, in case Hizashi wasn't fond of the idea. Quite the contrary actually, he was really just wondering when.

Aizawa went back to the room where Shinsou laid alone. His friends had gone home when they heard he was being discharged. They made sure to say bye and everything before they left, though.

“We can go home once we finish some more paperwork.” Aizawa stated to Shinsou, who was honestly pretty tired as it was, but definitely not loopy anymore.

“Okay.” The boy spoke so quietly, Aizawa almost didn't hear him. They'd have to get him some therapy while he stayed with them.

It looked like the boy had something to say, but wasn't saying it. Aizawa just stared at him with that look that goad everyone to just blurt it out.

“Wh-why?” Shinsou asked. Though the question wasn't specific, Aizawa knew what he was talking about.

“It would be foolish not to. I can continue working on your case while we can hopefully find you a better home.” Aizawa stated.

The boy looked surprised for a moment at the word ‘home’. The closest thing he had to a home was Monomas house, which we went to often. “You probably won't find me a home. Maybe a house.” Shinsou stated, trying to convince the hero's mind. He knew Eraserhead, and his mind wouldn't be changed easily.

“Then you could become a ward of UA.” Aizawa mentioned while trying to finish some discharge paperwork.

“Huh?” Shinsou asked.

Aizawa knew he'd probably have to explain it. No one outside of UA knows about the program, and only students of UA are accepted.

“We'd have to wait until the upcoming school year, but it's a program where the school basically provides you with basic living necessities. UA also provides housing to students who don't have it. Though very few people have gone through the program.” Aizawa explained.

“So they'd be like… my guardian or something?” Shinsou asked, his inner teenager breaking through. His tone was tired, and devoid of most emotion, so his usual tone.

“Yes. Though we'd have to wait until the next school year, as UA is a high school.” Aizawa replied. “And you're still a middle schooler.” Aizawa replied.

“How much do you know about me?” Shinsou asked, the slightest, smallest rise in pitch. If you were anyone else you wouldn't have been able to tell.

“Everything that's in your files.” Aizawa mused. It was fun seeing the kid too tired to become worked up, but seeing the storm clearly roaring its way through his head.

Shinsou just sighed. He'd try not to get used to having his favorite hero as his temporary guardian. It was only temporary, and Shinsou really didn't want to get attached.

Aizawa finished the discharge paperwork, and walked to the receptionist to turn it in.

Aizawa walked back to Shinsou's room.

“We're ready to get going now.” Aizawa stated.

Shinsou silently got up from his bed, grimacing at the sight of the cast on his arm. He knew it was there, but refused to acknowledge it when he was laying down.

“We have permission to grab all of your stuff from your old house.” Aizawa stated while they were walking out.

“Okay.” Shinsou stated, too tired to argue. He really didn't want to go back, but he did kind of want to grab the few things he had.

Both were people of few words, but they liked it that way. Until Shinsou had a question, it remained a comfortable silence.

“How long am I staying with you?” Shinsou asked, wanting to know how long he'd have to prepare himself for.

“An absolute max of six months. Or until we can figure out a fitting home for you.” Aizawa answered.

“I thought I'd be going to an orphanage or something?” Shinsou asked while they were walking back to the car.

“No. Those places.. Aren't very fitting for kids” Aizawa answered. He didn't want to straight up diss them in front of Shinsou, but it was tempting.

Shinsou just remained quiet as they walked to the sidewalk.

Shinsou was honestly confused as to what and where Aizawa was going.

“Do you not drive a car or something?” Shinsou asked.

“I took the roofs here. I didn't really think I'd be taking a kid home with me.” Aizawa admitted.

“Sometimes I forget you do that Eraser.” Shinsou admitted, though in a teasing type of tone.

Aizawa just realized he forgot to introduce himself to the kid. Hizashi was so much better than Aizawa at this.

“Aizawa. Shota Aizawa.” Aizawa stated, not really knowing how else to say it than to just say it. He was definitely one for blunt matters.

Shinsou just stayed quiet, not knowing what else to say.

Aizawa did want to ask Shinsou about something, and probably warn him about Hizashi.

“You know, when you were mumbling I heard you say ‘favorite hero’.” Aizawa was also going to say, ‘Was it me you were referring to?’, but that went unsaid.

Shinsou just blushed in return, not wanting to remember how he acted when on the painkillers. (I know this probably doesn't actually happen, but pretend it does here)

Aizawa decided to take the initiative to keep talking. “You know, I didn't really think anyone knew me as a hero. Let alone a kid.” Aizawa admitted, humming as he did.

“I um, saw you once. As a little kid. I tried researching you but found very little.” Shinsou admitted, talking quietly for fear of punishment.

“How did you find out my name, then?” Aizawa was curious, okay?

“I ended up finding your name after searching it up on Reddit.” Shinsou admitted, maybe it would be best to not make too much conversation with the pro, though Shinsou couldn't help himself.

“Huh. That's a pre-quirk era website, right?” Aizawa clicked his youngest at the recognition.

“Yeah.” Shinsou could talk about the website or heroes for ages for that matter, but he never had anyone to talk to about it, well until he met Izuku. The two could talk about heroes for hours. Izuku had also told him about his ‘theory’ of Present Mic and Eraser head being together.

Shinsou wouldn't talk to Aizawa about it. Shinsou knew he'd get too attached.

The two finally arrived at Shinsou's old house.

Aizawa could tell Shinsou had anxiety about entering his old house, though it seemed he refused to acknowledge it.

“Your ex-foster parents are currently out of the house and in the police station for questioning.” Aizawa stated.

Shinsou immediately deflated, anxiety leaving him like a human running from a spider.

“You really think we would've let you go to your old, abusive household with the abusers still present?” Aizawa thought it was common sense, though the kid has had a rough day.

“No, but still.” Shinsou admitted.

“I'm assuming you need help carrying stuff?” Aizawa asked, because normal kids have lots of stuff.

“Nope. I don't have much, so I can fit it into a backpack and bag.” Shinsou walked into the house, and Aizawa walked closely behind.

“Still, it would be illogical for you to carry everything, considering your broken arm.” Aizawa stated, devoid of any emotion.

“Fine whatever.” Shinsou said, his teenage self coming out. He immediately retracted in on himself a little bit, realizing his outburst. “Sorry.” Shinsou walked up the stairs quicker, trying to avoid Aizawa.

“You're seriously apologizing for that?” Aizawa asked. He'd seen citizens unhappy because a hero saved them the ‘wrong way’.

Shinsou just remained silent as he packed his 5 sets of clothes into his backpack. He packed his school supplies and his only hobby he was able to have. Other than training and fighting, his hobby was art. It was the only place of self-exclamation Shinsou was able to have. He was actually really good but never admitted that. Just like Izuku.

“Okay, that's all of it.” Shinsou stated as he looked around. His room was the barest room Aizawa had seen. He had a small shelf for his clothes, and he just kept his school stuff in a corner.

Years Aizawa would definitely have to get the kid more school supplies. It seemed Shinsou was using notebooks which survived world war two. They were horrible and notebooks were even pretty cheap if you searched correctly.

“Let me carry your bag,” Aizawa wasn't asking.