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Shadowstep

Summary:

All Izuku wanted was to become a hero...

But when his quirk - Rogue - finally manifested, all anybody said was that he was going to go villain. A desperate late-night search into underground heroics with few results left Izuku feeling crushed.

Months later, the bullying is worse than ever and Izuku's been arrested for a crime he didn't commit. Thankfully, Tsukauchi Naomasa is there to vouch that his words are the truth. The underground hero on site didn't believe Izuku even after it was confirmed that Izuku was innocent.

Now his parents are dead, and Izuku has been rescued by Aizawa Shouta. He's thrilled to be living with Present Mic and Eraserhead but what happens when the person who killed his parents shows up again? Izuku was never destined to be a hero.

~*~*~*~
Possibly coming off hiatus. At least for a few chapters.
~*~*~*~

I have a Discord server now! If you want to join up and say hi, come join us! The Eclipse

Notes:

Before we get started, I want to thank StallKing for helping me with this idea! I came to him with just a quirk and the vaguest of ideas, and in the span of a few hours, I had enough to make my outline. Please go read his stuff!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Izuku hated this, he really did! Why did Kacchan have to be so mean?? Mura-kun didn’t deserve to be hit like that! It doesn’t matter that his quirk isn’t as cool as Kacchan’s, Kacchan shouldn’t hit him! Sometimes Izuku thinks Kacchan does these things on purpose – he knows Izuku will step in front of him and try to protect whoever he’s bullying, and then he’ll hurt Izuku. Today’s no different.

 

“Come on, Deku, get back up! If you want to prove you’re better than me, you have to be able to get back up!” Kacchan fired up some sparks in his hands, ready to burn Izuku again. “Or you can prove to everyone that you’re a useless, quirkless, worthless Deku and stay down!”

 

With tears in his eyes, Izuku got back to his feet. “I won’t let you hurt people for no reason, Kacchan!” Izuku gritted out. He was glad that Mura-kun had already run off, but now Izuku was going to get it even worse since Kacchan’s original target had left.

 

“Then it’s a good thing you’re not a person, huh, Deku!?” Kacchan snarled.

 

Izuku clenched his eyes shut tightly and wished he was anywhere else, so Kacchan couldn’t hit him anymore, and suddenly, he felt the world… shift?

 

Izuku carefully opened his eyes and was surprised to find himself standing behind Kacchan, and . . . Izuku looked see-through! He stumbled back with a yelp, and Kacchan spun around looking for him with fury in his eyes.

 

“Where did you go, Deku?! Come back here!” Sparks were flying off his palms, bigger and brighter than ever before, and Izuku knew that those would leave more than just some slight redness, so he started running away from Kacchan as fast as he could.

 

So, of course Izuku tripped over a pebble and fell to the ground. “DEKU!!” Kacchan yelled, having seen the boy fall to the ground. Izuku panicked and as he got up and started running, he tried to make himself see-through again. It must have worked since he heard Kacchan yelling about him vanishing again.

 

Izuku kept running all the way back home and didn’t stop until he ran into the door. Digging out his key, he unlocked the door and tossed off his shoes, looking on in wonder as they went from see-through to fully visible as he dropped them.

 

“Izuku, sweetie, is that you?” Inko called out to him, leaving the kitchen.

 

“Yeah, mom, I’m home,” he answered, still panting from his run home.

 

“Honey, where are you?” she asked, looking around. “Did you already go to your room?”

 

“No, I’m right here!” he called back to her.

 

She looked back to where she had heard his voice. “Sweetie, I don’t… Oh! Your quirk must have come in!” She clapped her hands excitedly. “The quirk specialist said you were just a late bloomer!”

 

Izuku grinned up at her. “I’m see-through!” he said, jumping up and down.

 

Inko tilted her head and put her finger on her chin. “No, you’re not see-through, Izuku. I can’t see you at all.”

 

Izuku looked down to his hands and his body. “But… I can see myself?” He was struck by sudden realization. “Oh, probably so I know where I am! This is so cool!” He ran up to his mom and hugged her, turning himself visible when he touched her.

 

“Oh! Here you are, Sweetie!” she exclaimed as she hugged him tightly. “I can see you now!”

 

“Mom, can we go to the quirk doctor tomorrow? I want to know what I can do!”

 

“Sure baby, I’ll make an appointment now, and hopefully your dad can come with us!” Inko said and picked up her phone to make the call.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Izuku was sitting in the waiting room, with his mom on one side and his dad on the other when the nurse called for them. “Midoriya? This way please.” She directed Izuku to stand on a scale to get his weight, and then she got his height. After recording both, she took his temperature and blood pressure, then left the room, saying “The doctor will be with you shortly.”

 

“I’m so excited!” Izuku squealed. He was bouncing in his seat and his parents were both laughing at him, and he must have gotten too excited because he noticed his hands were see-through again. “Oh, oops,” he pouted. He hadn’t quite figured out how to control that, and he didn’t know how to turn it off other than to touch someone. He knew that he should be able to turn it off another way, after all when he was running from Kacchan yesterday, it stopped after he tripped.

 

His mom just giggled at him and reached out for him so he could undo the quirk. “Thanks mom!” he grinned.

 

The quirk specialist knocked on the door and opened it. “Well, hello Midoriya family! It’s good to see you again. In case you forgot, my name is Doctor Tsubasa.”

 

“Doctor Tsubasa, I got my quirk!” Izuku said happily. “You said it was just late, and it was!”

 

“So, it seems!” the doctor chuckled. “Let’s see what all you can do!”

 

~*~*~*~

 

After about an hour of various tests, the doctor looked pleased with his results. “Well, it seems you’ve got quite the interesting quirk, young man! It seems to me that you have four main aspects of your quirk. First is invisibility, which I believe you have already become familiar with. Next is a form of teleportation, but it seems you can only teleport to a person’s back. The third aspect of your quirk appears to be an affinity for agility and dexterity-based skills, such as acrobatics or parkour. The final aspect of your quirk,” Doctor Tsubasa seemed hesitant to say the final aspect, but forced himself to, “has to do with poison.”

 

“Poison?” Hisashi asked.

 

“Yes, poison. It seems your son can manipulate the oils in his skin, specifically on the pads of his fingers, to create poisons. These poisons will remain for a limited period on whatever he places them on.”

 

“I have one more question,” Hisashi asked. “These poisons, you said they come from the pads of his fingers? Will he need to wear gloves to prevent the poisons from effecting others?”

 

“No, no, not to worry there. Creating the poisons will be a conscious effort – he will need to want to create them, and he can only create one once he knows how it is constructed. Since I doubt he’s studied poisons right now, he won’t be able to create any.”

 

Hisashi nodded his thanks and the doctor moved on.

 

The doctor looked at the list of abilities once more. “I don’t believe I have ever seen a quirk like this before.”

 

Hisashi huffed out an amused laugh. “That would be my fault,” he said. “We have a long list of fantasy-based quirks on my side. One of my relatives could turn invisible, another could enchant items to have a certain effect, and I can breathe fire. I’ve read up on fantasy books and games, just in case my kid has a quirk from my side of the family. It sounds like Izuku’s quirk wants to make him into a Rogue!”

 

“Dad, what’s a Rogue?” Izuku asked.

 

“They are tricky close-combat fighters who rely on speed and grace to fight their battles, rather than raw power. You’ve heard of Underground Heroes, right, Izuku?” At Izuku’s nod, Hisashi continued, “A Rogue is a lot like an Underground Hero.”

 

“Cool!” Izuku grinned brightly.

 

“There is one problem,” Doctor Tsubasa cut in. “Because Izuku can create various poisons, his body will be immune to the effects of medicines, since his quirk won’t be able to differentiate between poison and medicine.”

 

“So, if he gets sick, we won’t be able to give him cold medicine?” Inko asked, worried.

 

“Well,” Doctor Tsubasa said, “you could, but it would have no effect on him. Furthermore, if he was to injure himself, pain medicine would also have no effects on him.” Turning a small smile to Izuku, he asked, “Now, what would you like to name your quirk?”

 

“Hmm.” Izuku scrunched up his face and thought hard, before he brightened back up. “Dad said it’s like a Rogue, right? So, I want to call it Rogue!”

 

Izuku and his parents left the office soon after, with little Izuku in a fantastic mood, while his parents were a little more cautious. Inko worried about how she would be able to care for her son when sick if medicines wouldn’t work, and Hisashi worried about how his son might view his quirk in the future when he realizes what society will inevitably come to view his quirk as.

 

Meanwhile, Doctor Tsubasa was making a note in the child’s file and sending an alert to the local police to keep an eye out – this child had a very dangerous quirk with the potential to be a powerful villain. If the child is allowed to train his quirk, he could become an A-Rank villain quite easily – possibly even an S-Rank.

 

~*~*~*~

 

“Don’t forget to brush your teeth, Izuku!” Inko said and kissed her son’s cheek as he went to get ready for bed.

 

Once she was sure he was safely in his room and asleep, Inko turned to her husband. “What aren’t you telling me?” she asked.

 

Hisashi looked up at Inko with a bit of worry in his eyes. “His quirk,” he whispered. “It’s going to be looked at as villainous. Poisons, stealth, teleporting to a person’s back? I don’t know how to protect him from this, Inko.”

 

She walked over to her husband and pulled him into her arms. “We’ll deal with whatever happens as it happens, Dear.”

 

“You’re right. But I shouldn’t have mentioned a Rogue,” Hisashi muttered. “Rogues are known for being murderous, thieving tricksters, equally apt with blades and traps, they deal damage so fast their targets are often dead before they have time to attack back.” He buried his face in his wife’s shoulder. “Maybe I should have mentioned Druids instead? But no, they deal in nature magic.” He groaned in despair.

 

“Hisashi, Izuku will be fine! He’s a smart boy, and he’s always wanted to be a hero! With this quirk, you already said, he’ll be able to be a great Underground Hero! Izuku will learn how to spin this. Rogues are a fantasy construct? Have there never been good rogues?”

 

“Well,” Hisashi hesitated. “Rogues are usually played as a morally grey character, at best. Or if they do fight for the forces of good, they do so in the worst way possible, like, a chaotic good? The main selling point of a Rogue is that they don’t play by the rules.”

 

Inko ran her fingers through her husband’s hair. “Well,” she finally said. “I’ll just have to make sure he does. And if anyone tries to call him a villain because of what his quirk has the potential to become, they’ll have to deal with me.”

 

Inko was one of the best discrimination lawyers in the country, and if anyone was going to be prepared for the ordeals that would befall having a child with a supposed ‘villainous’ quirk, it would be Midoriya Inko.

 

Hisashi could almost feel pity for the poor souls who felt they could mistreat their son.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Izuku quietly snuck back into his room. He had wanted to get a glass of water and he had heard his parents talking about him, so he used his quirk to become invisible and listened in.

 

His quirk was villainous? But…

 

Izuku shook his head, and he wiped the tears that had started falling. He wanted to be a hero! He was going to be a hero!

 

Izuku turned on his computer and started looking up information on Underground Heroes. He wouldn’t be able to be a hero like All Might, but he would still be a hero!

 

After looking for a while, Izuku started getting a little upset. He couldn’t find any information on Underground heroes! All he was able to find was a definition of what an Underground Hero was. And, well, that did make sense, but how was he supposed to see how they handled their quirks around the public? Did any of them have villainous quirks?

 

With these questions in mind, Izuku got out a new notebook and started writing. Underground Heroics for the Future Vol. 1.

 

He’d have to do a lot of research on these types of heroes, they weren’t as easy to find as the Limelight heroes he normally watched, but this was important! Izuku wasn’t a villain, and he didn’t want to be treated as a villain. Izuku wanted to be a hero!

Notes:

I have a Discord server now! If you want to join up and say hi, come join us! The Stream

Chapter 2

Notes:

I am loving this fic so much that I just couldn't stop myself from adding Chapter 2 on the same day I posted Chapter 1.

Chapter Text

Izuku woke up the next day with his face on his keyboard, little imprints on his face. ‘Oh, great, mom’s going to realize I didn’t go to sleep last night,’ he thought to himself. Glancing at his new notebook, he read what he had written.

 

“Underground Heroes usually have weaker quirks than Limelight Heroes, or they appear to since their quirks aren’t flashy. They work at night most often. They avoid media. Very little information on them, could only find a few – Shroud, Clover, Oculus, Kobra. No information on their quirks could be found.”

 

Izuku had spent hours last night, and those were the only four Underground Heroes he could find. Izuku scratched at his head in irritation. If he was older, he might have been able to find more, but he was only six.

 

He gave a little sigh of defeat and wandered into the bathroom to get ready for the day. He had missed school yesterday, but he would have to go back today. His mom would be taking him and bringing the paperwork for updating his quirk status.

 

Remembering his quirk made him perk back up. He wasn’t quirkless anymore! He had a super awesome quirk, he could turn invisible! How cool was that?!

 

Izuku focused on that, trying to turn himself invisible again, and when he looked at his hands, they were see-through. He was getting pretty good at turning on his quirk!

 

Looking at himself in the mirror was weird, though, since he was invisible in the mirror, even while being able to see his hand in front of him while he brushed his teeth. ‘I wonder if I’d show up in a camera?’ he thought. He’d have to ask his mom to take a picture of him to test it out! He spit out the toothpaste and grabbed a washcloth to wash his face.

 

He was about to take out the comb and attempt his hair but realized that not being able to see his reflection could be a problem. How was he supposed to know if his hair looked okay if he couldn’t see it?

 

Looking at the mirror, he concentrated on trying to make himself visible again. He had to be able to do it himself without relying on other people. It took him a few minutes, but eventually he managed it! Happily, he started combing his hair.

 

~*~*~*~

 

“Did you see the alert this morning?” A small group of officers were waiting for their morning coffee at a local coffee shop.

 

“Yeah, about the villain kid?” one of them asked, the only one to have their coffee already. “Don’t they have some crazy strong quirk?”

 

“Yeah,” said the first one. “Has something to do with poison and assassinations. I hope the heroes keep that little creep on a tight leash, the parents will be too scared of him to deny him anything.”

 

“Poor bastards. They should probably just toss him into the foster system, wash their hands of him now before they can be accused of being accomplices to his crimes,” muttered the third officer.

 

“I don’t know what I’d do if I had a villain kid,” the first one commented, picking up their completed order. “Well, I have to get going, my partner keeps getting on me for being late to patrol.”

 

“Take care man,” the other two officers said. A few minutes later, the last coffee was ready, and the last two officers left the coffee shop.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Inko and Izuku got to the school, and Izuku hugged her before taking off to his classroom while Inko entered the office. Walking up to the receptionist, she said, “Good morning. I’m here to update some information on my son.”

 

The receptionist looked up at her with a smile. “Certainly, what’s your son’s name?”

 

“Midoriya Izuku,” Inko replied.

 

The receptionist pulled up his file. “Okay, and may I know your name? For verification purposes.”

 

“Midoriya Inko.”

 

“Very well. Midoriya-san, what can I help you with this morning? You said information needed to be updated?” she asked.

 

“Yes. My son’s quirk came in the day before yesterday, and we took him to the quirk specialist yesterday. I have his updated information here.” Inko handed the documents over.

 

The receptionist started entering the information into the computer and paused. “Rogue? What does this mean?”

 

“Basically, he’ll be able to turn invisible, and use minor teleporting,” Inko answered carefully. The receptionist kept reading the documents and Inko could tell the moment she read about Izuku’s ability to create poisons, because her eyes widened comically. “He will also be capable of creating various chemicals from his skin oils, but he currently doesn’t know any, and this ability is not something he can do accidentally.”

 

“R-right. Right.” Her hands were shaking slightly as she finished inputting all of Izuku’s information into the system. “Okay, Midoriya-san. I’m all finished. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

 

“No, that will be it. Thank you.” Inko turned and started walking towards the exit but stopped. “By the way, please keep in mind that I am one of the top discrimination lawyers in the country. I expect treatment of my son to remain the same as before his quirk came in. Am I understood?” she asked the receptionist with a steely glare.

 

“Yes, Midoriya-san,” she nodded.

 

“Good. Have a nice rest of your day!” Inko finished pleasantly.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Aka walked into the main base of operations of his boss, Itami-sama. He had listened in on a conversation between three police officers this morning at a coffee shop, and he was sure his boss would appreciate the information on this kid.

 

If they could get him at a young age, a kid with a quirk geared to assassination would be a huge asset to their organization! Aka was sure Itami-sama would reward him for this information!

 

Aka presented the coffee he had picked up for his boss and then started to speak. “While I was at the coffee shop, I overheard three officers discussing a child with a villainous quirk I think you might be interested in.”

 

Itami-sama raised an eyebrow at Aka and took a slow sip of his coffee. “Explain.”

 

Aka gulped nervously. “The boy’s quirk seems to be something to do with poisons and assassination.”

 

Itami-sama waved his hand in a ‘go on’ motion, and Aka started sweating nervously. “Well, that’s all they said. That, and that the parents will be scared of him, and that he’ll probably be sent into foster care soon!”

 

Itami-sama looked at his coffee closely for a moment, and then said in a cruel voice, “So, you don’t have the child’s actual quirk, his name, his age, his address, nothing?” He looked up at Aka, and his black eyes turned yellow as he activated his quirk – Pain. As Aka fell to the ground, screaming in agony, Itami-sama finished his coffee with a smile, and then closed his eyes, freeing Aka from the pain of his quirk. “You have three days to bring me more information on this boy, Aka. Do not fail me.”

 

“Y-yes, Itami-sama! I will bring you everything I can find!” Aka exclaimed and then ran out of the room, leaving Itami-sama alone.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Days turned into weeks and weeks into months, and Izuku was starting to lose his cheerful demeanor. It used to just be Kacchan and his group that picked on him, but lately, the whole school seemed to have decided he was a good target. It had gotten so bad that Izuku almost never left the house unless he had his invisibility activated.

 

Stealth, he had read that Rogues were masters of stealth.

 

Izuku had started reading up on Rogues, since he couldn’t find any information on Underground Heroes. From what he’d read, a Rogue can completely erase their presence, so no one would be able to detect them. Izuku didn’t really know what that meant, but he thought that meant making himself totally silent. Since that wasn’t something that happened automatically when he became invisible, Izuku had started trying to move silently. He figured that would be able to help him when he became an Underground Hero!

 

Then he started thinking of the teleportation. When he got older, he could use that as a way to help fight crime! He could pop up behind the bad buy and arrest them! He could sneak in using his stealth, and then teleport, and the bad guy would never know what hit them!

 

As for the agility stuff, in everything he read, Rogues used daggers to fight, and the higher their agility score, the more damage they could do, and the less likely they would be hit by their opponents. So, having the agility already added to his abilities meant he should be harder to hit, right?

 

Izuku adjusted the ice pack on his arm.

 

Maybe the agility was something he needed to train, because the older kids were still able to catch him and hurt him. Izuku had gotten really good about activating his stealth, and he’s started calling it Vanish when he uses it to get away from people, but it’s still Stealth when his quirk is activated.

 

He has tried to use the teleportation thing again, but so far, the only time he’d been able to use it was the day his quirk came in, that first time. He wanted to practice it, but he didn’t know how to ask his parents to help him learn without telling them about the bullies at school.

 

About how they call him a villain.

 

About how the teachers won’t do anything to stop them.

 

About how he gets detention for starting fights.

 

Izuku didn’t like how they treated him, but he was able to avoid most of them by using his stealth, even if that sometimes also gave him detention. He’s not supposed to use his quirk in public, that’s illegal, and he knows the quirk law, but he doesn’t know why it’s so bad for him to use his quirk to Vanish but it’s not illegal for Kacchan to come at him with his hands sparking with painful explosions!

 

All Izuku does is run away with his quirk, he hasn’t ever used it to attack anyone, but he’s the one who keeps getting in trouble! It’s not fair!

 

Izuku scrubbed at the tears falling down his face.

 

The principal said if he caught Izuku using his quirk at school again he’d be calling the cops on him and putting a black mark on his record. A black mark will prevent him from being able to apply to a hero school.

 

As he adjusted his ice pack again, he decided he’d just have to get used to it. He wanted to be a hero, he couldn’t get any black marks on his record. He just couldn’t.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Aka finished stitching up his latest wound. Itami-sama was still upset with him for not being able to find the kid, and when Itami-sama was upset, he used his quirk. Pain was really powerful, and with it, Itami-sama was able to cause pain to anyone he could see. If he kept looking at his target, the pain would manifest into a physical injury, and if he still didn’t stop looking at his target, he could even cause enough physical injuries to cause their death.

 

Aka had seen Itami-sama kill enough people to know he was starting to get dangerously close to upsetting Itami-sama enough to get himself killed. It had been almost nine months, and if he didn’t get results soon, he was going to be killed!

 

He just hoped this plan would work.

 

Aka was going to start abducting teachers from the local elementary schools, starting in alphabetical order, and questioning them about kids with villainous quirks. The first school on the list was Aldera Elementary School.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Izuku had been arrested. He was sitting at the police station with two officers and a pro hero, Kobra, waiting for his mom to arrive.

 

They were accusing him of killing his teacher.

 

He didn’t do it, but no matter how much he cried, they just wouldn’t believe him. He begged them to just listen to him, but nothing he said made them change their mind. They were going to charge him with murder, and he hadn’t done anything!!

 

Izuku had his face buried in his hands when his mom came into the interrogation room followed by a detective with black hair and a tan trench coat. She instantly went to her son and hugged him. “Oh, baby, are you okay?”

 

Izuku shook his head. “I-I d-didn’t d-do any-anything, mom!” he cried.

 

“I know you didn’t, Izuku, sweetie, and I brought someone with me who can help set this straight!” Inko said, petting her son’s hair.

 

“Hello, I am Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa, and my quirk is called Lie Detector. I can determine if a person is telling the truth or not. Knowing this, Midoriya-kun, are you willing to answer a few questions?” the detective asked him.

 

“Y-yes. Please, I d-didn’t do anything!”

 

The detective smiled at him and sat down across from him, the other officers and hero in the room flanking him on either side.

 

“First question: What is your name, age, and quirk?”

 

“Midoriya Izuku, I’m six years old, almost seven. My quirk is called Rogue.”

 

“True,” Detective Tsukauchi said. “Next: Are you aware as to what happened to your teacher, Ito Kanase?”

 

“I w-was told Ito-sensei w-was killed when I was a-arrested, but n-no, I didn’t know b-before that s-she was dead. We were told s-she was mis-missing.”

 

“True. Did you in any way cause the death of your teacher?”

 

“No.”

 

“True.”

 

“That’s bullshit!” the hero in the room interjected. “This little villain had to be responsible for the teacher’s death!”

 

“Kobra,” the detective said, getting to his feet, “he said he wasn’t, and my quirk registered it as truth. This boy had nothing to do with her death.”

 

“Just because you said so?” Kobra laughed. “No, I’ll be keeping my eye on you, little villain.” Kobra then stormed out of the interrogation room, slamming the door behind him.

 

Izuku started crying again. “I really didn’t do anything!” He buried his face into his mom’s shoulder and continued sobbing. “Why won’t anyone believe me?”

 

“I believe you,” Detective Tsukauchi said quietly. “I’ll make sure this doesn’t show up on your record.”

 

Izuku sniffled and looked up at the detective with tearful eyes. “Thank you,” he whispered.

 

~*~*~*~

 

“Midoriya Izuku. Age six. Quirk is called Rogue. He can create poison with the oils of his fingers, and he can turn invisible,” Aka said proudly to Itami-sama. His gamble had paid off, and quickly! The first teacher he had abducted just happened to be the teacher of the kid he was looking for!

 

Itami-sama smiled. “Very good,” he purred. “And you were correct, that would be the perfect quirk for an assassin. I want him. Find him, we’ll set up a little… conversation with the boy.”

 

“Yes, Itami-sama!” Aka walked out of Itami-sama’s presence for the first time in months without getting punished. It was a good day.

Chapter Text

The Serpent’s Lair Hero Agency employed solely heroes and sidekicks with snake and reptile quirks. Nearly all of them were Limelight heroes, but they did have at least one Underground Hero among their ranks, and Inko was furious that they were the agency that Kobra belonged to.

 

Because TSL employed so many snake and reptile quirked heroes, they had some very good PR lawyers, and the comments Kobra had said to her son were not recorded, so even though there were witnesses to his discrimination, there was no proof. And ‘How can you reasonably expect us to believe that someone with a cobra mutation would call a child villainous based solely on their quirk?’

 

It had been three months, and Inko had no choice but to drop her lawsuit against Kobra.

 

Izuku was the one most upset about his comments – he had been slowly losing faith in the police and heroes in general, but he had at least still held out hope that Underground Heroes would be different, but Kobra’s words had hit him so hard.

 

Today was the first time in nearly a month that Inko had seen her son smile.

 

“Izuku, sweetie, what’s got you in such a good mood?” she asked him brightly.

 

He looked up at her with light in his eyes again. “I was listening to the radio, and Present Mic was on. He was talking about how a person’s quirk didn’t define them! Mom, there’s a hero out there that doesn’t think I’m a villain!”

 

Inko threw her arms around her son and sent a silent prayer of thanks to Present Mic for bringing a light back to her baby’s eyes, even if just for a day.

 

~*~*~*~

 

“Honey,” Hisashi said thoughtfully, “Izuku has been really happy recently, and mentioning Present Mic a lot.”

 

Inko nodded and smiled. “Yes, I love seeing him smile again.”

 

“What do you think about taking him to HeroCon this year? I read that Present Mic will be there this year. Maybe Izuku could meet him in person?” he suggested.

 

Hedging, Inko said, “While I want to say yes, what if his words are just for his public image? Hisashi, what if Present Mic doesn’t really believe in quirk equality? That would destroy Izuku,” she finished in a whisper.

 

Hisashi was about to agree with her when they both heard a noise in the hallway. Izuku stepped out of the hallway, turning visible at the same time. “I want to meet him. Please.”

 

“Baby, are you sure?” Inko asked.

 

Izuku nodded. “I want to believe in one hero, but I don’t want to think he’s great only to find out years later that he’s just as quirkist as Kobra is.”

 

Hisashi walked up to Izuku and pulled him into a hug. “Okay, I’ll get tickets for one of the days Present Mic will be there.”

 

Hugging him back, Izuku said, “Thank you, Dad.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

A few weeks later, Izuku and his family were at HeroCon. There was so much merch everywhere, and Izuku tried, he really did, but he just couldn’t get excited about any of it.

 

He looked at the Endeavor booth and remembered how he used to like the hero since he had a fire quirk like his dad did, but now… something about how Endeavor was glaring out of his pictures made it feel like he was glaring directly at Izuku. Condemning him for things he’s never done.

 

Izuku moved on to an All Might booth, and for the first time ever, his smile didn’t look comforting. That smile looked as thought it was mocking him, as though he was saying, ‘I am here, in between you and the innocent civilians.’ Izuku didn’t feel safe anymore.

 

Izuku wandered the booths with his parents and even the Edgeshot, Wash, and Best Jeanist booths were making him feel judged. He wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to make it long enough to even see Present Mic. And it seemed as though his mom was picking up on his mood.

 

“Izuku, are you going to be okay staying for another hour?” she asked, kneeling down to his level.

 

With tears in his eyes, Izuku shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

 

“It’s okay, sweetie. Come on, let’s head home.” Hisashi held his hand and together, the three left the building.

 

As they were on their way to their car, Izuku saw a man with long blonde hair talking on the phone. For some reason, he looked really familiar, but it wasn’t until Izuku heard his voice that he realized just who he was.

 

“Sure thing, babe, just send me a text with what you need, and I’ll stop by the store on my way home…. Yeah, I’m scheduled to be on in an hour… No, I already told you, I won’t be home before you start your patrol, I’m going to the station after the Con…. Okay, I’ll see you in the morning. Love you, Sho!” The blond man put his phone away, and Izuku hesitantly approached him.

 

“Um, excuse me?” he whispered.

 

“Hey kid, what’s up?” the blond man asked.

 

“Um, are… are you Present Mic?” Izuku asked quietly.

 

“Izuku,” Hisashi interjected, “You shouldn’t walk up to just anyone and ask-“

 

“Wow, Little Listener, I’m impressed! I’m never recognized when I’m out of costume!” the man, now revealed to be Present Mic, exclaimed. “Are you on the way to the Con?”

 

Izuku hesitantly shook his head. “We were already there. We’re leaving now.”

 

“Oh, well I’m glad I got to meet you, Little Listener!” Present Mic smiled brightly at Izuku.

 

“Um, c-can I a-ask you something? B-before you go?” Izuku stuttered.

 

Present Mic kneeled down to be on the same height as Izuku. “Sure thing!”

 

“Um, well, you t-talk a lot on your s-show about all q-quirks being equal. D-do you r-really mean it?” He looked at Present Mic with hope-filled eyes. “C-could someone w-with a villainous q-quirk be a hero?”

 

Present Mic inhaled sharply, then let it out in a sad little sigh, taking Izuku’s hands in his own. “There’s someone that means the entire world to me. When he was little, he was constantly bullied for having what most people called a villain’s quirk. He was determined to prove the world wrong, and through pure spite, he became a Pro Hero. He’s Underground, so I can’t tell you his name, but I can tell you one of the things he’s said constantly.”

 

Present Mic paused to wipe a tear away from Izuku’s face. “There’s no such thing as a villainous quirk, only villainous people. Quirks are just tools, it doesn’t matter what your quirk is, only how you use it. So, do I think you can be a hero? Absolutely, I do.”

 

He wiped away a few more tears from Izuku’s face and continued. “If you want to be a hero, you will need to put in a lot of hard work and effort. There will most likely be people who try to say you can’t do it, people who will want to see you fail, but you know something, kiddo? I believe in you. If this is what you want to do, the path in life you want to take, you have my full support.”

 

Izuku was full on sobbing at this point, and he threw himself into Present Mic’s arms and just held him tight, and only cried harder when the hero held him just as tightly. “Thank you,” he whispered to him. “I knew you were a good hero.”

 

Inko was also tearing up, happy that her son’s favorite hero was the same in person as he was on the radio.

 

“Thank you,” Hisashi said quietly. “Our son has been getting heavily discriminated against for his quirk, and you’re the only hero he still likes. We actually came here today specifically to meet you.”

 

Present Mic was rubbing Izuku’s back comfortingly as he continued to cry. “I’m so glad you found me, then.” Still holding Izuku in one arm, Present Mic reached into his pocket and pulled out a small business card. “I’m going to be busy this week but give me a call and maybe we can get some time together next week. I’ll see if my friend will be able to meet up too.”

 

Hisashi took the card and smiled at Present Mic. “Thank you, really. We appreciate it.”

 

“Of course.” Present Mic pulled away slightly from Izuku. “Hey there, little man. Are you going to be okay? I have to get going, but I can stick around for a few more minutes if you need me to.”

 

Izuku wiped his face. “Y-yes, I’ll be okay. Thank you so much!” Inko let a few tears fall when she saw her son’s face. He was smiling one of his old, bright smiles. “You’re my favorite hero, Present Mic!”

 

“And you’re my favorite Little Listener!” Present Mic bopped Izuku on the nose with a grin, earning himself a giggle in the process. “By the way, what’s your name?” he asked.

 

“Oh, Midoriya Izuku!”

 

“Well, Midoriya-kun, I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon, so you be good, okay?” he ruffled his hair and stood up. “Take care!”

 

~*~*~*~

 

Four months. It had been four months and that incompetent waste of oxygen Aka had still not brought his newest recruit to him. With a disdainful sneer, Itami stepped over Aka’s corpse. He’d just find the boy himself.

 

Itami turned on his computer and hacked into the police’s database and pulled up the kid’s information.

 

“Perfect,” he purred. He had the kid’s address. Now, time to pay him a visit.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Izuku and his parents had gone to a nice café for lunch after their surprise meet with Present Mic, and Izuku was in a great mood. After lunch, they had gone to the aquarium, and they lost track of time among the tropical fish.

 

They were finally on their way home, chatting happily about nothing and everything, when suddenly Hisashi dropped to his knees in pain, for just a few moments.

 

“Midoriya family, I presume?” a silky voice called out from the alleyway they were passing. “Please join me here, I would like to speak with you.”

 

“Run!” Hisashi called out to Izuku and Inko. “Get out of here!”

 

“Ah, ah, ah, it’s the boy I want to speak to. If you run, I’ll just kill you both, and still take the boy. So, just make things easy for yourselves, and come speak with me.”

 

The three Midoriyas fearfully entered the alley with the man.

 

“Good, I’m glad to see you know what is best for you,” he said with an evil grin. “You may call me Itami, boy. I hear your name is Izuku?” Izuku looked at his parents but didn’t answer. Suddenly, Izuku saw the man – Itami’s eyes glow yellow and Izuku gasped in pain. The pain only lasted for a split second, but it was enough to get his point across. “You will speak when spoken to, Izuku. Am I understood?”

 

“Y-yes,” he whimpered.

 

“Good.”

 

“Izuku, run away!” Inko called out to her son, collapsing suddenly in pain, but still managing to scream out, “Get out of here!”

 

“Run, Izu!” Hisashi added, before also collapsing in pain.

 

“If you run,” Itami said coolly, “I will kill them both. I have no interest in them, only you.” Izuku’s eyes darted back and forth between Itami and his parents, unsure what he should do. “Izuku, if you come with me, I will spare their lives. Look, you see how they are starting to show injuries?” Izuku nodded, terrified. “If I don’t stop my quirk, they will die. You don’t want that, do you?” Itami had walked next to Izuku at this point and had his hands on the boy’s shoulders.

 

“W-what do y-you want with m-me?” Izuku stuttered.

 

“I find myself in need of an assassin,” Itami said. “With proper training, your quirk would be perfect for the role I need filled. An assassin that strikes from behind, with a cute, innocent demeanor, no one would ever suspect you.”

 

He leaned down slightly. “If you run away from me now, it will be as if you killed your parents yourself,” he hissed into Izuku’s ear.

 

Inko glared at Itami and in a last-ditch effort, she used her quirk to throw a rock at his head, making him blink. When she realized the pain was gone, she Pulled her son to her and Hisashi stood up and took in a deep breath, ready to unleash his flames, but he was too late. Itami’s eyes opened once again, and the pain returned.

 

“Now, what exactly were you expecting to accomplish with that?” He reached forward and tried to grab Izuku’s arm, but he ducked out of the way. “Boy, come here.”

 

“N-no! Stop hurting my mom and dad!” Izuku refused.

 

“Izuku, vanish! Get out of here!” Hisashi managed to say through the pain. “I don’t care if I die, but I don’t want you to go with that man!”

 

“D-dad!”

 

“Vanish, Izuku!” Inko called out. “Stay safe, baby!”

 

Itami glared at Izuku. “I really will kill them, child. Are you truly willing to have their deaths on your hands?”

 

Izuku clenched his eyes closed, listening to his parents alternate between crying in pain and begging him to leave them. He opened his eyes and looked at them both, and whispered, “I’m sorry!” before Vanishing, and quietly running further into the alley, away from where Itami would expect him to go.

 

“That stupid, worthless, brat!” he hissed in rage. “I was going to let you live, but now? Now you die!”

 

Itami continued glaring at Inko and Hisashi for several minutes more, until they both stopped screaming, and the alleyway was running red with their blood.

 

With a final disdainful look, Itami left the alleyway.

Chapter 4

Notes:

Goodness, I think this is Day 3 since I've started working on this story, and I'm already on Ch 4.

*Whispering to myself* I need to stop....

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Izuku didn’t know how long he sat there, kneeling between his parents, clinging to them both, and covered in their blood, but it must have been hours. The sun had completely set by the time anyone found them.

 

A man dressed in black with a long grey scarf dropped down from the roof and landed in front of Izuku. “Hey, kid, are you okay?” he asked softly.

 

Izuku had long since stopped crying, having cried all of his tears out. He was cold, he was sticky, he was terrified, he just wanted his parents to hug him and tell him everything would be okay, but they couldn’t. Not ever again. They were dead. And it was all his fault.

 

“Kid?” the man tried again.

 

Today had been one of the best days of his life, he had met Present Mic, he had been told that he could still be a hero! That his quirk wasn’t villainous! They had gone to the aquarium! It had been a really good day, and Izuku had smiled again. But now they were dead. And it was all his fault.

 

“Kid, I’m going to touch you,” the man warned, having not gotten any reply from Izuku.

 

Izuku felt a touch on his shoulder and snapped his gaze up to the person in front of him. Widening his eyes in terror, he Vanished. Was the guy who kill his parents still after him? Did this person work for him? Izuku had to stay safe! If he let himself get caught, then his parents would have died for nothing!

 

Izuku tried to pull away from the man, but he had gotten a grip on Izuku’s arm. “Woah, kid, I’m not here to hurt you, I just want to know if you’re okay.”

 

Izuku wasn’t buying it, he just wanted to give Izuku to the guy who killed his parents, he had to get away! With a burst of desperation, Izuku felt the world shift and suddenly he was behind the man in black. Izuku took off silently back down the alley, the same place he had gone when he ran from Itami.

 

He was going to wait here for this man to leave, just like he had before. He was going to stay safe. He owed it to his parents.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Shouta was momentarily surprised when the boy disappeared in front of him, and even more surprised when he teleported to his back, but he hid his reaction. He heard the boy run down the alleyway and stop, likely hiding and waiting for Shouta to leave. Breathing a sigh, Shouta took out his phone and dialed Detective Tsukauchi. He needed to report this regardless of the kid, and so long as the kid stayed where he was, Shouta was willing to pretend he didn’t know the kid was there.

 

“Hey, Tsuka,” Shouta greeted as the phone was answered. “I’m going to send you my co-ords, I need you to bring a team and head over. I found a couple dead in an alleyway, and there was a kid there, looked like he was their kid.”

 

“Okay, I’ll be there in a few. Is the kid still there?” Tsukauchi asked.

 

“Yeah,” Shouta answered, but not saying anything that could clue the kid in that he was talking about him. “I’ll see you soon.” Shouta then hung up the phone and waited.

 

During the ten-minute wait, Shouta leaned against the wall, looking for all the world as if he was sleeping while standing, when in reality he was keeping an ear out for the kid. His breathing was still a bit shaky and erratic, but he seemed to have calmed down a bit. The kid was probably calm enough now to attempt approaching him.

 

Before Shouta could convince himself to acknowledge the kid, Tsukauchi’s car pulled up and he got out.

 

“Eraser,” he greeted. Shouta nodded back. Tsukauchi got closer to the couple and instantly paled. “Oh, no,” he whispered.

 

“What?” Shouta asked.

 

“Midoriya Inko.” He looked up sharply and started looking in the shadows of the alleyway. “You said a kid was here?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Green hair and eyes? About seven years old?”

 

Shouta nodded. “You know him?”

 

“Where is he?”

 

Shouta pointed in the direction the kid was hiding. Tsukauchi got up and slowly approached the area the kid was in. “Hey there, Midoriya-kun, do you remember me? We met a few months ago. I’m Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa.”

 

A timid voice called out, “I remember you. You’re the man with the lie detector quirk.”

 

“That’s right!” he said, relieved. “Do you think you can come out? I promise, we aren’t going to arrest you for this, we know you didn’t do anything.”

 

Shouta couldn’t help but raising an eyebrow at that. Why would he say something like that? Of course, the kid had nothing to do with this. There’s no way some six- or seven-year-old kid had the ability to kill two people who were most likely his parents.

 

“He… he said he wanted me to go with him,” the timid voice of the kid said. “He s-said he would kill my mom and dad if I vanished.” Shouta could hear the kid sniffle. “Mom and Dad told me to Vanish, and to s-stay safe. So, I did. A-and he…. He killed them. It’s my fault they’re dead!”

 

“Midoriya-kun, you said you remember my quirk is Lie Detector. Well, out of everything you just said, the only lie you just told was that this is your fault. Kid, nothing that happened today is your fault. Please, come out, let us take care of you?”

 

While Shouta could hear the kid step out of his hiding spot, it was just very faint. Now that the kid wasn’t as afraid, Shouta could tell that this kid had worked hard on being stealthy. This was a talent the kid should cultivate more. Shouta almost laughed when he saw that Tsukauchi was still looking at where the kid’s voice had been, but the kid was a lot closer, almost right next to him, if the quiet footsteps were anything to go by.

 

“Please, Midoriya-kun. Let us help- Ack!” Tsukauchi squeaked when the kid suddenly appeared right in front of him. “Oh, I didn’t hear you come closer.” Shouta snorted quietly. “Shut up, Eraser.”

 

The kid looked up at Shouta, and then ducked behind Tsukauchi. “Who’s he?” he asked.

 

“This is Pro Hero Eraserhead, and don’t you worry, he’s nothing like Kobra. He’s not going to accuse you of anything just because of your quirk,” Tsukauchi said gently to the kid.

 

“You promise?” he asked in the smallest voice Shouta had ever heard.

 

“Yeah. He’s a good hero. I promise.”

 

“Is… is he as good as Present Mic?”

 

“Yeah. He knows Present Mic, too. You might be able to talk about him, if you want,” Tsukauchi encouraged.

 

The kid perked up slightly. “You know Present Mic?” he whispered.

 

“Yeah, kid. We went to school together,” Shouta said.

 

The kid looked at where his parents were now being tended to by crime scene technicians, and then looked back to Shouta. “Are… are you the person he said became a hero through pure spite?”

 

Shouta facepalmed and groaned. “Of course, he tells people that, why wouldn’t he?” Shouta muttered.

 

“We met him today,” the kid said, slowly approaching Shouta. “He said his friend says something all the time. There’s no such thing as a villainous quirk, only villainous people. Quirks are just tools, it doesn’t matter what your quirk is, only how you use it. Was he talking about you?”

 

Shouta just looked at this kid, cautiously showing the tiniest bit of hope, and squatted to be on his level. “Yeah. If he told you something like that, I bet you were worried about your quirk?”

 

The kid nodded. “I want to be a hero, but everyone says my quirk is villainous. The bad guy who killed my parents was after me be-because he wanted me to be an assassin for him.”

 

“Kid,” Shouta put a hand on Izuku’s shoulder. “What Hi- uh, Mic said is right. A quirk isn’t villainous in itself, it’s how a person uses it that can be either Heroic or not. Can I ask you what your quirk is? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

 

The kid was quiet for a few moments, and Shouta thought he wouldn’t answer, but then he said, “It’s called Rogue. I can turn invisible, teleport to a person’s back, I have an affinity for agility-based skills, and… and I can create poisons.”

 

“That sounds really cool,” Shouta said. “All I can do is erase a person’s quirk temporarily.”

 

The kid shrugged. “My dad said it’d be perfect for Underground Heroics, but even underground heroes say I’m a villain in the making.”

 

Shouta looked up at Tsukauchi alarmingly. “Who in the hell said that?!” he demanded.

 

“A few months ago,” Tsukauchi answered, “an elementary school teacher was killed. She was Midoriya’s teacher. Some of the officers and the hero who found her accused him of her death. The officers were placed on administrative leave, but sadly, Kobra’s agency managed to keep any consequences away.”

 

Shouta growled at that. “Oh, I’ll show Kobra what happens when he calls a kid a villain, I’ll shove my foot so far up his ass he’ll be burping leather for a month!”

 

The kid gave a quiet little giggle and then leaned into Shouta, who then wrapped the kid in a hug and stood up. “Kid, I think Tsukauchi said it, but I didn’t catch your name. Mind telling me?”

 

He nodded, his face pressed into Shouta’s shoulder. “Midoriya Izuku.”

 

“Okay. Midoriya-kun, while I am going to be taking you to the police station, it’s only because we’re going to need a proper statement on what happened, and I want to get you a shower and a change of clothes. Is that okay with you?” Shouta asked.

 

He nodded again but stayed silent.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Watching the kid sleep on his lap while on the couch in Tsukauchi’s office, wearing a spare t-shirt and shorts from the donation bin, Shouta was torn. It was clear that the man who had killed the Midoriya’s was going to be coming after the kid again, so he needed to be in protective custody, but he also very clearly didn’t trust many people other than himself and Tsukauchi.

 

He would be safest if he came home with Shouta.

 

But what would Hizashi say? Shouta couldn’t just bring home a whole ass child! But then again, he did meet Hizashi already…

 

Shouta made up his mind and pulled out his phone. 4:32am. Hmm. Now he’s torn for another reason – wake up Hizashi and risk getting yelled at or wait another two hours for it to reach a timeframe Hizashi will find mildly acceptable.

 

His mind was made up for him when Midoriya whined sadly in his sleep and clutched tighter to Shouta’s hand.

 

Shouta clicked on Hizashi’s contact and waited for his husband to answer the phone.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Izuku was a good kid, incredibly smart, and eager to learn. He knew it was dangerous for him to be outside on his own, so he never left the apartment without either Hizashi or Shouta, and since one of them was always home, Izuku was set up with online schooling.

 

The kid spent the hours while Shouta was sleeping doing his schoolwork, and then once Shouta was up for the day, he spent the next few hours training. Shouta had quickly come to realize that Izuku was indeed gifted with agility-based skill and took to parkour like a fish to water.

 

He was even managing to learn Shouta’s capture scarf simply by watching him! But the most impressive, was his skill with daggers, knives, and thrown weapons.

 

One of the things that really shouldn’t have surprised him was how close he was with Hizashi. After all, he had admitted that Present Mic was his favorite hero, so Shouta really should have expected to hear the two of them singing in the afternoons together.

 

~*~*~*~

 

About a year into their guardianship of Izuku, while at dinner, Izuku looked up from his food and said, “Hizashi, there’s a YouTuber I found earlier today I think you should listen to!”

 

“Oh yeah?” Hizashi asked.

 

“Mhm. He records covers to different songs, so far he only has three songs, but his channel is still really new. But he recorded a really nice version of Speechless! You know that song from Aladdin? The one Princess Jasmine sang?” Hizashi nodded. “I watched the movie today while Shouta was sleeping, and I wanted to hear the song again, so I went looking on YouTube, and found this guy! His channel is called Siren Sings, and I think he’s either got really good recording stuff, or he’s got a voice quirk like you do!”

 

“Can you show me after dinner?” Hizashi asked, huge grin on his face.

 

“Sure!”

 

~*~*~*~

 

“His fever isn’t going down, Shouta. What do we do?” Hizashi asked, gripping on to Shouta’s arm.

 

“You gave him the fever reducer?” he replied concerned.

 

“Of course, I did! It didn’t do anything!” Hizashi whined. “Izuku said medicines don’t affect him!”

 

“Well, put a cold cloth on his forehead!” Shouta suggested.

 

“I’m not an idiot, Shou, of course, I have a cold pack on his forehead! It’s not working!”

 

“Maybe we should just sit with him, keep him company until his body fights the fever on its own?”

 

~*~*~*~

 

“I can still hear you, Izuku,” Shouta said. The two did a lot of sparring, and Shouta had started making Izuku spar while still Stealthed.

 

Izuku huffed out a frustrated sigh. “I can’t just not make sound while fighting! You can hear my footsteps, my breathing, and even my clothes! It’s not possible to make no noise!”

 

Shouta raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? Is that a fact?”

 

The rest of the spar, the only sounds came from Izuku and the meeting of their practice blades.

 

“Woah…” Izuku breathed in wonder. “How did you do that?!”

 

~*~*~*~

 

“You realize you’re really advanced in your schooling, right, Izu?” Hizashi asked one day.

 

“I am?”

 

“Yeah, I was checking your grades and it seems you’re almost a full year ahead of your age group.” Hizashi ruffled Izuku’s hair. “I’m proud of you, listener!”

 

Izuku smiled brightly at him.

 

“Shouta and I were talking the other day about your quirk. You’ve been making huge improvements in everything, except for your poisons. It seems you haven’t even started working on that.”

 

Izuku shook his head. “The poison part of my quirk is what everyone is afraid of, so I don’t think I’m going to do anything with it,” he replied sadly.

 

“Nope, you need to master all aspects of your quirk,” Hizashi corrected. “You don’t have to use it, but what if there is a point in your life where you could have saved someone if only you could do this one thing you never trained in? Would you feel good about yourself knowing that you failed someone just because you were afraid of your own quirk?”

 

“Well, no,” Izuku admitted.

 

“Good answer,” Hizashi pulled Izuku in for a hug. “That’s why I was checking your grades. I want to get you started on Chemistry, but it’s a difficult subject, especially at your age. I think, though, that with a sturdy enough foundation in chem, you’ll be able to create a whole lot of different poisons, maybe even medicines!”

 

Izuku’s eyes widened. “Medicines?”

 

“Well, yeah! Your quirk registers medicines as poisons, so they don’t affect you, right? Well, if your quirk registers them as a poison, why couldn’t you create them yourself? Just something to think about.”

Notes:

That last part was a 3 year montage of living with EraserMic.

Chapter 5

Notes:

Before you start this chapter, please get some tissues. I had to stop every other sentence at the end to cry.

This is your only warning.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Shouta was grumpily trudging to his bedroom to go to sleep when Izuku stuck his head through his doorway.

 

“Hey Shouta, rough patrol?” Shouta didn’t bother replying. After three years of living with him, Izuku knew that when Shouta came home anytime after 5am, it had been a rough night. “Dang, so you’re not going to be up until late. Is it cool if I go to the park later for a run? I’ll keep my dagger on me and I’ll stay in Stealth the entire time.”

 

Shouta just grunted and waved an affirmative as he crashed face down on his bed.

 

“Cool. Sleep well! I’ll set a pot of coffee for you before I head out.”

 

Shouta adored that kid.

 

~*~*~*~

 

One of the best parts of going on runs at the park was that Izuku could perch up in a tree branch and people watch when he was done. Shouta didn’t usually care if he was out for long, so long as he stayed in Stealth and had his phone on him so he could text him to come home if needed.

 

Izuku was happily watching as two kids with similar frog quirks were playing on the playground, they must be siblings, when a shiver went down his spine. He looked around, recognizing that as part of the situational awareness Shouta had been training into him for the past three years, and he gasped in surprise when he saw the face that haunted his nightmares – Itami.

 

His first instinct was to call Shouta and have him come and collect the man, but he stopped himself right before he clicked on Shouta’s contact. This was the perfect chance for Izuku to get his revenge.

 

Now, Izuku wasn’t one of those people who actively was looking to get revenge, he wasn’t! But he knew that this opportunity wasn’t going to just… happen again.

 

With this thought in mind, Izuku jumped out of the tree he was in and started following Itami. He could probably find where the man lived, or where he conducted his business, at the very least. Izuku took out his dagger and concentrated on the only poison he had managed to figure out, running his fingers along the blade before sheathing it again. If he were to cut someone with this blade within the next few hours, the poison would cause the person to start bleeding heavily from the cut, and their organs would start to shut down soon after.

 

Izuku also knew how to create the antidote for the poison, but if he used it on Itami like he was planning, then he would ‘conveniently forget’ how to create the antidote.

 

Maybe ten minutes into following Itami, Izuku felt his phone vibrate. Looking at the message, he saw that Shouta had woken up and was telling Izuku to come home. “Sorry, Shouta,” he whispered and turned his phone off. He had to do this. He owed it to his parents to kill the man who murdered them.

 

Itami wanted him to be an assassin? Fine. Just for him, Izuku would be an assassin.

 

Izuku kept following him for an hour, it seemed Itami was doing his errands before he finally seemed to arrive at his office. Izuku watched as Itami locked the door behind him. Izuku glared at the door, before moving to a window and peeking in. He’d never tried to teleport through walls or windows before, he wasn’t sure if he could.

 

And if he couldn’t, would he just slam into the window? And if he did, that would alert Itami to Izuku’s presence. If that happened, then he could escape. Would Izuku be able to follow him? Is he willing to take the risk? Should he just tell Shouta where he is? Maybe Hizashi, he’s on patrol right now, he could come and get Itami.

 

No, Izuku remembered the man’s quirk, and Hizashi wouldn’t be able to fight against that. Izuku could. Izuku wants to see this man’s blood pool beneath him, just as he did to his parents.

 

But. . . if he did this, Shouta would be so disappointed in him. He trained Izuku so he could protect himself, not so he could get revenge. And if Izuku did this, he’d really never be able to be a hero. He’d have a murder charge on his record. It would be different if he’d been attacked and killed in self-defense, but this? Izuku looked at Itami again through the window. This would be murder – he doesn’t need to do this, he doesn’t.

 

But at the same time, he does. He really does need to do this.

 

He wants to do this. He wants to see Itami’s blood spilled by his blade.

 

He doesn’t just need this, he wants it.

 

With that in mind, Izuku pulled out his dagger again and double checked that the poison was still in effect, before focusing on Itami. The secret behind his teleporting, Izuku had discovered over the past three years, was to focus on their shadow. Yes, the first two times had been desperation, but ever since then, Shouta had been helping Izuku learn this skill and the shadows were the key.

 

Izuku had started calling this skill ‘Shadowstep’ since he stepped into the shadows to teleport.

 

He was pleased to see that a wall or window was not a barrier to his skill, when Izuku reappeared behind Itami.

 

Last chance,’ Izuku thought to himself. ‘This is the last chance to change your mind, call Shouta or Hizashi, let a hero take care of him.’

 

Izuku had just about convinced himself to leave when Itami got a phone call.

 

“You had better have good news for me,” he hissed at the person on the other line. After a pause, he growled, “How hard is it to find one small child?! It’s been three years, and no one can find him! I want that brat, and I want him now! I’m already three years behind in his training, I need him soon to ensure he is loyal to me and only me!”

 

And that did it. That made up his mind. This man would continue to hunt Izuku until he was dealt with. And if Izuku had to use a dagger to deal with him? Then so be it.

 

He waited for Itami to hang up the phone, and then slipped the dagger into Itami’s back.

 

As Itami fell to the ground, he looked back to see where the attack had come from and didn’t see anyone. “Who’s there?”

 

Izuku let himself become visible for a few seconds, but not long enough for Itami to think to use his quirk on him. “You were right,” Izuku said coolly. “With my quirk, I would be the perfect assassin. What you didn’t take into consideration was the fact that I didn’t want to be one. You’ve forced my hand, though. You just couldn’t leave me alone, though, could you?”

 

Izuku hopped up on the desk. “If you had only been willing to let me go, if you hadn’t had that phone call just now, I may have let you live.”

 

“I’m not dead yet,” he coughed.

 

“No, you are. You just don’t realize it yet. Your blood has lost the ability to clot, and your organs will start shutting down in another minute or so. The pain will start to become unbearable shortly after.” Izuku picked up a tissue from the desk and wiped off his blade. “Huh. I thought it would be harder than this.”

 

Izuku sheathed his blade and turned on his phone. Three missed calls from Shouta and 19 texts. Shouta was going to be pissed at him. Shrugging, Izuku called the police.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Izuku was sitting in an interrogation room, simple handcuffs holding him to the table. The officers who had arrived on the scene first had given him a quirk suppressant injection, so they didn’t think they needed the special cuffs.

 

Idiots. The injected version was registered as a poison to his quirk, so it did nothing.

 

Izuku could feel it coursing in his veins, though, and seeing as how he was simply sitting there with nothing better to do, Izuku decided to focus on that feeling, and when he did, he encountered something strange. It was as if his quirk was registering the chemical compound of the poison. Izuku gasped when he realized that he would be able to create a quirk suppression poison now. He could clearly imagine in his mind how the chemical was supposed to be created.

 

Did this mean he could re-create any poison he encountered?

 

Before Izuku could follow that train of thought very far, the door opened to the room and in walked Shouta and Detective Tsukauchi.

 

Izuku winced at their matching looks of disappointment. Yeah, he knew this would happen. He hung his head and sighed. “I’d say I’m sorry, but I’d be lying,” Izuku muttered.

 

Shouta sat heavily at the table and sighed. “Was it worth it, Izuku?”

 

Izuku looked at his hands for a few moments and then shook his head. “No. But I don’t regret it.” He looked up at Shouta with tears in his eyes. “I’m not sorry for killing him, but I am sorry I disappointed you. That is something I do regret.”

 

Shouta took Izuku’s hands in his. “You know that with this, you most likely will not be able to become a hero, right? This will not be easy to remove from your record.”

 

“I know,” Izuku whispered. “That thought almost made me rethink my actions.”

 

“Why did you do it?” Detective Tsukauchi asked.

 

“I wanted to,” was his quiet reply. “I hadn’t planned it. I was at the park, people watching after my run, waiting for Shouta to wake up. I saw him. I see him all the time in my nightmares, I re-watch him killing my parents, saying it’s my fault. I followed him. I kept thinking about calling someone to get him, I had even come close to calling Shouta once. When I got to his office, I again thought of calling someone, Hizashi was already on patrol.”

 

“Why didn’t you?”

 

“His quirk. It effects whoever he’s looking at. It wouldn’t effect me if he couldn’t see me, but he’d be able to see Hizashi,” he shrugged. “So, I Shadowstepped through the wall – did you know I could do that? I didn’t – and again hesitated. I had almost decided to leave when he got a phone call.” Izuku noticed he was crying.

 

He’d have to leave Shouta now, there was no way he’d be able to keep living with him.

 

“He was complaining to whoever was on the other line that he’d been after “the kid” for three years, and how hard is it to find one kid, and he was losing training time.” Izuku scrubbed his tears away. “He wasn’t ever going to stop coming after me. Not unless he was stopped. So, I stopped him.”

 

Shouta stepped around the table to pull him into a hug.

 

“I wanted to do it,” he muttered into Shouta’s chest. “I wanted to see him dead by my own blade. No matter how many times I tried to talk myself out of it, the fact is I wanted to do it. So, I did.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

Izuku waited for the next time the door to his room was opened, and then he Vanished and Shadowstepped behind the officer who shouted about his escape. Within moments every alarm in the station was set off, every officer on high alert, looking for him.

 

Izuku didn’t find it difficult to slip between them, with the frantic shuffling and the piercing alarm, he didn’t even need to worry about being silent. Maybe Shouta would have noticed him, but none of these officers would.

 

Barely ten minutes later, Izuku was several rooftops away from the station, and while hiding in a shadow, let his Stealth drop. Pulling out the note that Shouta slipped him while in the interrogation room, he read, ‘I know you’re going to escape. I’m not going to warn anyone. Please come home before you leave for good. Let us say goodbye. Please.’

 

~*~*~*~

 

An hour later, and Izuku hesitantly opened the door. “I’m home,” he called out quietly.

 

“Izuku!” came Hizashi’s panicked, yet quiet call before he barreled into him and crushed him into a hug. “Oh, my baby!”

 

Izuku wrapped his arms around Hizashi just as tightly. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry!”

 

“It’s okay, baby, it’s okay!” Hizashi cried, smoothing down Izuku’s hair. “We’ll figure something out.”

 

“Hizashi,” Shouta said calmly. “You know he has to leave.”

 

Hizashi only gripped him tighter and shook his head.

 

“I have to go,” Izuku said through his own tears. “I’m sorry, Hizashi, but I have to go. I came back to say goodbye.”

 

Hizashi just shook his head harder, not trusting himself to speak.

 

Shouta wrapped his arms around the both of them, and kissed Izuku’s hair. “Izuku, I’m going to give you a debit card and a new phone. I want you to keep in touch with us, call us at least once a month. Please. We want to make sure you’re okay.”

 

Izuku nodded. “I promise.” He looked up at Shouta. “Thank you for believing in me. I’m sorry I couldn’t live up to your expectations.”

 

Shouta’s voice broke when he said, “I’ll always believe in you, Izuku. Maybe you won’t be a hero, but whatever you do, you’ll be amazing.”

 

“I promise.”

Notes:

I'm sorry! But you knew from the summary, he was never going to be a hero!

Chapter 6

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

It was surprisingly easy to rent motel rooms, Izuku found out. It was equally easy to get himself a laptop. He needed to learn more poisons, and medicines. He needed to figure out how he was going to survive out here on his own.

 

Fortunately, he didn’t need to worry about money. The debit card that Shouta had given him was tied directly to the account Shouta shared with Hizashi, and their combined income was pretty impressive. Even still, Izuku made sure to keep tabs on how much he spent. One day he’d pay them back.

 

The problem was, he didn’t know how? What was he supposed to do now? He’d never be able to be a hero, not even if he changed his name, his quirk would flag him instantly as Midoriya Izuku. He could change his name and try some other kind of career, but what?

 

The answer seemed obvious, really. He should be a vigilante!

 

Wait, no, he’d never be able to pay back Shouta and Hizashi if he was a vigilante. They didn’t get paid, afterall.

 

The question of what to do with his life from here on out was still weighing on his mind when he called Shouta and Hizashi a few days later.

 

“Hey there, Izu, how are you holding up?” Hizashi asked. “Are you eating okay?”

 

“Yeah, Zashi, I’m doing okay. I’m eating fine. I miss you guys.” Izuku’s voice cracked, but he managed to keep himself together.

 

“Oh, Zuku, precious little bean, we miss you too!” Hizashi didn’t even try to hide the tears in his voice. “I just want to wrap you up in a huge hug and keep you safe at home forever and ever!”

 

“I’ll make sure to give my Present Mic plushie a big hug,” Izuku giggled, and smiled brightly when he heard Hizashi squeal. “Is Shouta there too?”

 

“Yeah, Problem Child, I’m here,” Shouta said.

 

“Oh, okay. I, um. I’ve been thinking the past few days, and I need some advice?” Izuku asked hesitantly.

 

“Go for it, kiddo!” Hizashi chirped.

 

“For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a hero, and now that it’s no longer an option, I’m drawing a blank. What should I do now? My first thought was . . . um. . . probably something neither of you would approve of,” Izuku admitted.

 

“Vigilantism?” Shouta guessed.

 

“Y-yeah.” Izuku stuttered, much to their amusement. “But while that would be the next best thing to being a hero, there’s no money there, so it’s not really something I’d be able to do for a career.”

 

Shouta sighed. “Zashi, either take out your hearing aids, or leave the room. You don’t want to hear this.”

 

“No, Shou, my baby bean, I get to hear!” Hizashi pouted. “Besides, he’ll tell me anyways, right, Zuku?”

 

Izuku giggled. “Maybe? Depends on what Shouta is going to say.”

 

Another sigh, and Shouta grumbled, “Fine. When I was younger, before I managed to beat Zashi at the Sports Fest my first year at UA, I was certain that I’d never make it into the Hero Course. I couldn’t see myself in any regular job, just like you. I mean, you could probably make it in the analytics field, but someone will probably recognize you there.”

 

“Yeah, I could change my name, but my quirk’s pretty much a giveaway,” Izuku agreed.

 

Shouta hummed in agreement. “My back-up plan was to be a hero-for-hire. A mercenary, really.”

 

SHOUTA!” Hizashi shrieked at him.

 

“I told you, didn’t I? That you wouldn’t want to know?” Shouta complained to him.

 

As the two started bickering back and forth, Izuku just rolled the idea around in his mind. A mercenary? That could work. . .

 

The rest of the call was spent with some good-natured teasing among the three of them, before Shouta had to leave for his night patrol.

 

~*~*~*~

 

It had been a few months since Izuku had left, and Shouta constantly found himself missing the Problem Child. He would wake up in the afternoons and want to spar with him, only to remember that he wasn’t there anymore. Or he would use a trick in the field and want to teach Izuku, only to barely choke back a sob when he remembered the boy was gone.

 

The days where he was able to talk to the kid were the best, but the time was never long enough.

 

So, when he got a call from a number that wasn’t in his contacts, Shouta couldn’t really be blamed for thinking Izuku might have gotten a new phone.

 

“Hello?” he answered, careful not to say Izuku’s name, just in case it wasn’t him

 

“Shouta-kun!” came the high-pitched squeak of his old Sensei, Nedzu.

 

Shouta paled. What could the rat want from him after all these years? “Nedzu-sensei. It’s been a while. Um. What do you want?”

 

“I can’t call one of my favorite students just to catch up?” Nedzu laughed.

 

“You can. You just don’t,” came the reply.

 

“Hmm. Quite true. I suppose I can enlighten you to the reason I’m calling. Two of my teachers have retired, and I find myself short-staffed for the coming school year. I will be asking Hizashi-kun as well, since one of the positions is for English, but the position I am reaching out to you for is for Law and Ethics, with a side of Heroic Course Homeroom.” Nedzu paused to let his words settle. “I heard that you were training a student for a few years, and therefore have some experience in training children. Would you be interested in the position, Shouta-kun?”

 

~*~*~*~

 

Two years. It had been two years, and not one single student came close to measuring up to Izuku. Shouta knew he was biased, Izuku was his kid, he had built-in affinities for Shouta’s type of fighting, but still.

 

Izuku never tripped over his own feet so bad he broke his nose, arm, and gave himself a mild concussion all at the same time! How?! How was that even possible?! This kid didn’t even hit anything, that was all just an introduction to the floor!!!

 

Shouta was in the teacher’s lounge drinking his fifth cup of coffee of the day, pretending to be a functional human being, while Snipe and Ectoplasm were discussing something or other that happened a day or two ago. Or something. He wasn’t really paying attention. He really only caught the tail end of what Snipe said, “- called Shadowstep, I think.”

 

“Wait, what?” Shouta interrupted. “Shadowstep?”

 

“Yeah,” Snipe shrugged. “He’s some new mercenary, no one’s been able to catch him. It’s like he just shows up, is visible for the full second it takes to finish a job, and then is gone again, back into the shadows. If it wasn’t for the fact that what he’s doing is undoubtedly illegal, I’d say he’s doing a damn good job!”

 

Shouta couldn’t help but feel the swell of pride that his kid was starting to make a name for himself. Maybe he should try to call Izuku tonight?

 

~*~*~*~

 

“Hey, babe?” Hizashi called out to Shouta when he got home from school. “Can you check the bank account? I want to make sure I’m not going insane.”

 

“Why, did Izuku make a huge withdrawal or something?” Shouta asked doubtfully. Their kid had always made sure to keep his withdrawals modest.

 

“N-no, the, um. The opposite?”

 

Shouta raised an eyebrow and pulled up their bank information. Yeah, that was a pretty massive deposit. Damn, their kid was doing good for himself if he had the ability to just drop a deposit like that. 140 million yen.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Izuku smiled to himself. He had managed to pay back everything he had gotten from Shouta and Hizashi, not only for the years he’d been on the run, but also for the years he lived with them. Izuku was only 15, but he was already the top requested mercenary in the country. He’d taken jobs from everyone, from Heroes, to Villains, Vigilantes, Government agencies, and even a few Civilians.

 

He had a moral code that he refused to budge on, and whenever he took a job that he thought might go against his morals, he made sure to leave himself a loophole in his contract, especially when he took a job from a villain, but so far things were going well.

 

He had managed to save up enough to where he could easily retire now and never have to work another day in his life if he kept things modest, but he had found he actually enjoyed his work, and he was really good at it. Maybe it was another aspect of his quirk that he’d never noticed before, but Izuku had found over the past few years that he had very. . . ambiguous. . . morals. The big thing was “don’t kill kids” followed very closely with “no sexual assault” but past that? Meh, things got a little grey.

 

Don’t get him wrong, he knew the difference between right and wrong, but so long as he got paid and his clients didn’t violate his main two rules? He wasn’t too bothered.

 

This next job, though, Izuku had a bad feeling about it. Walking into the bar, Izuku made sure not to show his nervousness.

 

“Welcome,” said the bartender, a man made up of black and purple swirling mist. “My master will be with you shortly. In the meantime, would you like something to drink?”

 

“Just water, please.”

Notes:

So in the past 5 days I have posted 6 chapters. This is the official end of the Prologue.

The next chapter will not be out for a while, I need to put some focus back to my main fic. Unless, of course, Shadowstep starts punching me in the face, demanding to be written.

Chapter 7

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Izuku looked at the time on his phone and then pointedly at the bartender. His master was late.

 

Even though he didn’t have anything else to do at the moment, Izuku didn’t want to give anyone the impression that they could just fuck with him like this. “Your master has five more minutes, and then I’m gone,” he warned the bartender, who only nodded and disappeared in a swirling black and purple portal.

 

With only thirteen seconds to spare, another black and purple portal appeared in front of the table Izuku was sitting at and a lanky man with light blue hair tumbled out and into the chair across from Izuku. The bartender exited calmly behind him and moved back behind the bar.

 

The blue-haired man got back up and glared at the bartender. “I said I was almost done!” he hissed. “There was no reason to shove me into a portal!”

 

“Your guest was about to leave, Shigaraki Tomura,” the bartender replied.

 

The blue-haired man, now identified to be Shigaraki Tomura, turned back to Izuku, who only nodded. “He’s right. I was thirteen seconds away from never replying to another message from you again,” Izuku confirmed.

 

Shigaraki huffed in annoyance. “So what? What’s one expendable NPC to the grand scheme?”

 

Izuku hummed. “An NPC, huh? Well, if we’re talking in gamer speak, I see myself more as a Party Rogue, but if you’re not interested in hiring me, I suppose I can be the NPC that was nothing more than a brief dialogue box.” Izuku stood up. “I’m not hurting for cash, so if you’re not interested in acquiring my services, I’ll just head out.”

 

“Please wait,” the misty bartender stated. “Shigaraki Tomura, this meeting was arranged by Giran on Sensei’s behalf for the benefit of your mission. This man, Shadowstep, is one of, if not the most, requested mercenaries in the country. His skill at assassination is unrivaled. If anyone can help you to complete your goals, it would be him.”

 

“A Rogue, you say? Those are fairly useful…” he trailed off, scratching his neck thoughtfully.

 

“Mhm. My specialty is poison, so even it my blades don’t get in a lethal hit, so long as I draw blood, my target will die.” Izuku took a sip of his water, but still hadn’t sat back down. “Are you interested or not?”

 

Shigaraki looked Izuku over carefully, and this time noticed the blades nestled all over Izuku’s body, instead of just his long green hair pulled back into a bun and an oversized hoodie that had the kanji ‘shoes’ across the chest. Grinning, Shigaraki said, “Yes, I am. Take a seat, let’s talk.”

 

Izuku sat back down with a smirk and got into his contract negotiation mode. Even though his mom had been dead for years, Izuku still remembered how fierce an attorney she was, and he had studied laws and loopholes, contracts, and various negotiating methods. He’d gotten fairly good at them, too.

 

“Giran only told me you have a difficult target you want to take out, but none of the details. So. Who am I going after?”

 

“Technically, no one,” Shigaraki said. “I have a creature, Nomu, who was created specifically for this target. The thing is, there’s a chance it will fail, and I don’t want this person to survive the encounter.”

 

“Ah, so I’m the emergency measures, yes?”

 

“That’s right.” Shigaraki’s smile would have been terrifying if Izuku hadn’t lived with Shouta in his early years. “My target is All Might!”

 

Izuku had been in the middle of raising his glass of water to his lips when Shigaraki dropped that bombshell on him. Slowly, Izuku lowered his glass. “All Might,” he repeated, making sure he heard correctly. When Shigaraki nodded eagerly in reply, Izuku sighed. “All Might. Alright.” He pulled out a small notebook and started flipping through what he had written down.

 

One of the habits Izuku never managed to convince himself to stop doing was taking notes on heroes. He still wasn’t a fan of any heroes other than Shouta and Hizashi, but he respected most of them for their abilities and willingness to protect the general population from villains. All Might was Number One for a reason, after all.

 

The most recent note he had in his notebook stated that All Might had recently accepted a position as a Heroics Teacher at UA. The best place to get to him would probably be before or after school, when there’d be fewer heroes around to potentially get in the way. Plus, Izuku didn’t want to risk any kids getting hurt or killed in the crossfire.

 

“Assuming I take this offer, I want you to be aware of my biggest rule, one I will not budge on – I will not allow any children to be killed while in my presence.” Izuku stared Shigaraki dead in the eyes. “If you will not agree to this term, then I walk out the door right now.”

 

“Yes, yes, the children aren’t our targets,” he said flippantly. “We’ll be bringing in a large group to make sure the kids don’t get in the way, but they’ll be nothing more than cannon fodder. These kids are hero brats, they should be able to hold their own against this level of grunt.”

 

Izuku thought about it for a few moments. These were kids, but Shigaraki was correct – they were heroes in training, they should be able to hold their own against low level thugs, and if this monster was designed to kill All Might, then none of the kids would stand a chance, it would be best if the kids were out of the way.

 

He nodded his agreement. “So far, I don’t see any issues. When and where will you need me, should I accept?”

 

“Here, tomorrow morning. Say, nine am. The raid should start at ten, but I want to ensure everyone is set up and in their places before we go.”

 

“Hmm. That sounds agreeable as well.” Flipping through his notebook once more for show, Izuku suddenly snapped it shut. “Let’s talk price. What are you offering?”

 

Shigaraki’s grin lit up his entire face with manic glee. “The fame of killing All Might!”

 

“Pass.”

 

“Wait, what?” Shigaraki’s confused voice almost made Izuku laugh.

 

“Pass. I’m already well-known enough, I don’t need the murder of All Might to boost my reputation further. I accept payment in cash or favors, depending on the job.” Izuku shrugged. “With a difficulty level this high? The payment had better be equally high. I don’t accept low-ball offers.”

 

Shigaraki glanced back at the bartender, asking wordlessly for an idea. He was saved when the television monitor against the wall crackled to life. “Shadowstep,” a disembodied voice called out. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

 

Izuku turned his attention to the monitor. “I’d say likewise, but ‘monitor man’ doesn’t have a nice ring to it.”

 

“Fair enough,” the voice chuckled. “You may call me Sensei.”

 

Izuku nodded. “Sensei, then. Since you are cutting into a conversation about payment for services, may I assume you have an offer in mind?”

 

“Indeed. How does one million yen sound?” Sensei offered.

 

“Hmm. Pass. I’d accept one million dollars but yen? No. I said I don’t accept low-ball offers. This is for All Might, not Uwabami.” Izuku stood up. “If that’s all, I’ll be on my way.”

 

Sensei laughed deeply. “Very good, young man! I admire your resolve. Very well, one million dollars.”

 

Izuku nodded. “You can send the payment to Giran, he knows how to get it to me.” Turning his attention back to Shigaraki. “I’ll be here tomorrow morning at nine am. Have a pleasant evening.”

 

With that, Izuku Vanished, but did not leave the bar. He wanted to listen in, make sure they weren’t about to double-cross him.

 

So, he was paranoid, can you blame him?

 

“Well, Tomura? Will this Rogue be an . . . acceptable party member . . . for you?” Sensei asked.

 

“Yes, Sensei! Thank you!”

 

“Anything for you, Tomura. Just keep in mind his rule – do not kill any of the students. You will not want him to cancel the contract mid-job,” Sensei warned.

 

When Shigaraki nodded in agreement, Izuku decided he could leave. They were not planning to double-cross him.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Izuku was listening to Hizashi’s radio station, like he always did on Wednesday nights, and couldn’t help but smile when he mentioned the YouTuber that Izuku had introduced him to years ago.

 

“So, you all may recall me talking about this YouTube singer over the past few years, but their latest video just kicked me in the heartstrings! You all need to go check it out!” Hizashi exclaimed. “Their channel is called Siren Sings, and the song I’m currently obsessed with is called Shatter Me!”

 

Once Hizashi’s show was over, Izuku pulled up the channel and started listening to the song. The chorus of the song really was powerful, especially how Siren was singing it.

 

Somebody shine a light

I'm frozen by the fear in me

Somebody make me feel alive

And shatter me

So cut me from the line

Dizzy, spinning endlessly

Somebody make me feel alive

And shatter me!

 

Wow, yeah, that would be the song to kick Zashi right in the feels. Especially with it being the first week of school, that song is just calling out for friendship, someone to come along and break down all the walls built up around a cold heart, afraid of reaching out. It’s enough to tug on Izuku’s feels, too.

 

Izuku smiled sadly to himself and decided he wanted to listen to Siren’s entire playlist while he got himself prepped for tomorrow’s job. His favorite was still Speechless, the first song he had heard from him, but Siren had also recorded a song that reminded Izuku so much of Shouta he was certain Siren had recorded it specifically for Eraserhead – I’m Not Famous.

 

Izuku hummed and sang along with Siren’s dulcet voice as he double-checked all of his blades and reviewed a list of the poisons he’d need to take down someone as powerful as All Might.

 

Rumors had it All Might’s skin was too hard to pierce with a blade, but Izuku didn’t believe that for a moment. Just in case, though, Izuku made sure to add a few throwing needles he could use to get through his eyes. On the off chance that the needles would be the only way for Izuku to get access to the hero’s bloodstream, which poison would be best? Hmm, maybe his derivative of ricin? Respiratory and organ failure, with death in less than an hour. That would be a good one for if All Might’s skin really can’t be cut.

 

Or should he just go with his normal go-to of quirk suppressants and paralytics? Hmm, decisions, decisions.

 

In the end, Izuku decided on paralytics on the needles, and his daggers would be coated in quirk suppressants and his version of ricin. He didn’t really think All Might was invincible, so he wasn’t going to put one of his most lethal poisons on the needles.

 

Oh, captain, let’s make a deal

Where we both say the things that we

Both really feel

I feel scared and I’m starting to sink

And I only sink deeper the deeper I think

Oh, captain, make up your mind

Before the salt burns your eyes and you

Run out of time

‘cause you’re popping the cork, you get

Lost in your brain

And you lose touch with all the things that

Made you feel sane

 

Izuku really did love Siren’s playlist. Ship in a Bottle was another of his early songs, but Izuku vibed hard with it. It really called out to how he sometimes felt isolated from others because of the nature of his quirk.

 

He wondered what Siren was like? Maybe one day he’d finally reply to one of Hizashi’s requests to come on his show, then he could ask Zashi to tell him all about the singer. That’d be fun!

 

~*~*~*~

 

Nine am came around and Izuku was packed in the bar along with about 70 other people, all of them extremely petty, low-level thugs. Izuku’s tiny shred of worry for the students was quickly dispelled. If the students couldn’t handle these, they didn’t deserve to be called heroes in training.

 

The misty bartender, who had been introduced as Kurogiri, was busy separating the thugs into groups based on their quirks. It seemed they had a fairly decent plan. Izuku approved.

 

Izuku’s place for this whole ordeal was to be next to Shigaraki and wait for the Nomu to fail, so he walked up next to him and entered Stealth.

 

Shigaraki gave some semi-inspirational speech about destroying hero society that Izuku just barely paid any attention to, and then they stepped through the portals.

 

 

Notes:

I may or may not have up to Ch 10 written and ready to be posted....

This fic has taken over my life and I am in love with it!

Chapter 8

Notes:

USJ Time! Go Izuku!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Izuku stepped out of the portal and looked around at the USJ. It was just as big and impressive as Shouta had always said it was. He was almost jealous of the hero students being able to come here and learn rescue from their teach. . . ers. . . like. . .

 

Oh, shit.

 

Izuku looked up at the collection of students and teachers and his worst fear was quickly realized – there was Shouta.

 

Stupid, stupid, stupid! How could you forget that Shouta did a USJ trip during the first week of school!?’ Izuku looked around in terror. There were too many villains here, this is a worst-case-scenario for Shouta’s fighting style! It’d be different if it was Hizashi, he’s good with long-range and with groups, but Shouta is an ambush-style fighter!

 

It was just supposed to be All Might, he wasn’t expecting Shouta to be here, he can’t let Shouta get killed, but he’s already gotten his contract confirmed, payment accepted, he can’t back out now, not unless they break his rules! Izuku never thought he’d actually ever wish for a client to attack a child before in his life, but right now, he wanted nothing more than for Shigaraki to put a kid’s life in open peril.

 

Izuku’s breath caught in his throat as Shouta jumped down the stairs from the entrance and started decimating the villains that had gathered in the plaza. He knew Shouta would be able to handle them for a while, but sooner or later he’d start to get tired, or someone would figure out his tell. ‘Please stay safe,’ Izuku prayed. He couldn’t lose Shouta, not like this, not on a job where he was on the wrong side!

 

Why didn’t he listen to that bad feeling he had?!

 

“He’s so cool,” Shigaraki’s scratchy voice whispered. “But where is All Might?!”

 

Kurogiri stepped next to Shigaraki. “It seems All Might is not here, Shigaraki Tomura. I will spread out the students now.” With that, Kurogiri disappeared.

 

As Izuku watched, Shigaraki just got more and more irritated, bordering on manic and irrational. Izuku was keeping an eye on him, both worried and hopeful that he would resort to attacking a child so Izuku could put an end to this whole ordeal.

 

Shouta kept plowing through the mob of thugs and Izuku was happy he couldn’t see any hints of him slowing down yet, but he knew it was coming. They had the same weakness, after all – Izuku couldn’t do long, drawn out fights either. He just didn’t have the stamina.

 

“Shigaraki Tomura,” Kurogiri said as he reappeared next to Shigaraki. “I have spread the students throughout the facility, as planned, however one of the students managed to escape.”

 

“Useless, if you weren’t our way out of here, I’d decay you where you stand!” he hissed. Shigaraki’s attention went back to Shouta. “Hmm… he really is so cool…”

 

Izuku couldn’t help but agree with that sentiment. Shouta was really cool. He was a little more than half-way through the mob of thugs, but Izuku had just seen the first signs of fatigue from Shouta. ‘Shit,’ Izuku thought to himself. ‘There’s still about twenty left.’

 

“…nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two…” Shigaraki was muttering under his breath. Izuku looked over at him curiously for a moment, but his eyes widened in realization when he started over. He had noticed Shouta’s tell and was timing him!

 

Izuku clenched his eyes shut in despair, how would he ever be able to face Hizashi again if something happened to Shouta today? Would Izuku even be able to live with himself if Shouta got killed while Izuku could have stopped it? If he broke his contract right now, Izuku would have so many people after him, that’s what happens when a merc breaks a contract, he would know, he’s been sent after a few.

 

None of them would succeed in killing him, but what if they went after Shouta? If Izuku broke the contract to save Shouta, that’d just be putting a bright red target on his back, one that shouts out “I’m Shadowstep’s Biggest Weakness!”

 

Please, please attack a child, please,’ Izuku silently begged.

 

No, Shigaraki did not attack a child. Instead, he lunged into action against Shouta!

 

Izuku held his breath as Shouta fought Shigaraki, dodging his attacks gracefully and landing a few hits of his own, but then Shigaraki grabbed his elbow just as Shouta was nearing the time he needed to blink.

 

And when his elbow started to disintegrate, it took all of Izuku’s willpower not to scream.

 

Shouta gave a good hit to the face to disengage from Shigaraki, dislodging the hand that was on his face and then he took down the last three thugs and returned to facing Shigaraki, who was just staring at the hand, calling it ‘Father’ and placing it back on his face.

 

“By the way, Hero, I never said I was the final boss,” he said gleefully.

 

‘No, no, no, no!’ Izuku knew what was going to happen, he was going to send his All Might monster after Shouta!

 

“Nomu.”

 

And with that, Shouta was pinned underneath the massive creature, both arms broken, and bleeding from his face. Izuku knew he was going to have a total breakdown after this was over, but right now, he had just noticed a few kids edging along the outskirts of the plaza. ‘Please notice them, please notice them!’

 

“All Might still isn’t here,” Shigaraki gritted out. Looking to the kids – ‘yes!’ – he mused, “Do you think he’ll show up if I kill a few kids?”

 

“Master, no!” Kurogiri tried to warn him, but it was too late.

 

Shigaraki had dashed to the girl with the frog mutation and placed his hand directly on her face.

 

And. . .

 

Nothing happened.

 

“Eraserhead, you really are so cool,” he praised as the frog girl jumped away from the villain. Shigaraki turned around to look at Shouta, but the sight he found wasn’t the one he had expected.

 

As soon as his hand had touched the girl, Izuku took that as a breech of contract, and he Shadowstepped behind the monster. He used his dagger coated in quirk suppressants as a handhold to reach the creature’s head, where he had sunk his ricin-covered blade deep into the brain, twisting the blade for good measure before tugging on the creature, pulling out both blades as the Nomu toppled away from Shouta.

 

Turning visible for the first time since his arrival at the USJ, Izuku said, “I told you, didn’t I?” he asked in a steely voice. “I don’t allow kids to be killed in my presence. And if it weren’t for Eraserhead here, you would have just killed a kid. That action nullifies our contract.” Izuku turned a dark grin at the man. “The way I see it, you have two choices now. Cut your losses and run, or…” Izuku twirled the dagger in his hand. “Well, I’m sure you can figure out your second option.”

 

Izuku was adamantly ignoring Shouta behind him brokenly whispering, “I’m… sor… ry… I… zu… ku…”

 

~*~*~*~

 

The day had started out good. Shouta had woken up well-rested for once, and a few minutes before Hizashi had, so he was able to simply bask in his husband’s gentle warmth for a little while, breathing in his sunshine scent, before he had to get up. He had managed to finish up the grading of his third-year student’s start of term quizzes before Hizashi had emerged, ready to head to school.

 

Even his students had been fairly well-behaved, with him only needing to use his quirk on Bakugou twice!

 

But then everything went to shit as soon as they got to the USJ, and now Shouta was fighting for the lives of his students. Dodging, kicking, punching, grabbing, and throwing thugs left, right and center with his capture weapon, all while keeping the calm-looking blue-haired man in the corner of his eye. He noticed it when the man had started counting and realized that he had figured out Shouta’s tell. This was why Shouta was Underground, his tell was so obvious!

 

Shouta had thought about shaving his head a few times, but the feel of Hizashi’s hands in his hair had always been the deciding factor for keeping it long.

 

Just as Shouta was almost done with the thugs, the blue-haired guy lunged at him. This guy was fast, and from the way he kept attacking with open-handed attacks, Shouta could tell that he had a five-point touch quirk. Best not to let him touch him.

 

Shouta had gotten in some good hits, but this guy just took them, and then finally, he grabbed Shouta’s elbow and just wouldn’t let go! Shouta had no choice but to blink, and the pain that ravaged through his elbow was excruciating, but nothing Shouta couldn’t deal with.

 

“By the way, Hero, I never said I was the final boss,” the man said, and then Shouta’s entire world dissolved into pain.

 

As his life started flashing before his eyes, Shouta was sure he had a concussion. He kept thinking of Hizashi, had he told him he loved him this morning? Had he kissed him before they went to their separate classrooms? He knew how much Shouta loved him, right?

 

Did… did Izuku know how much Shouta loved him? When was the last time Shouta had spoken to that kid? Did he know just how proud Shouta was of him? That kid had taken the worst life could give him and had made an impressive life for himself.

 

If Shouta had any regrets right now, it was that he couldn’t hug his kid one more time, tell him he loved him, that he was so glad he had gotten the chance to know him.

 

Shouta barely managed to notice the blue-haired man running at one of his students in time to activate his quirk in time, but if these were his last few seconds of life, he would go down fighting to protect his students.

 

When Izuku heard of his death, would he be proud that he had gone down fighting? Would he finally be willing to call Shouta his uncle? He had made it clear that he wouldn’t let them replace his dad, but Shouta and Hizashi had always wanted to adopt the boy. Would he let Hizashi do it now?

 

Wait… was that Izuku’s voice? Was Shouta really lucky enough to hear his kid’s voice one last time? Maybe Shouta was being given one last chance to tell him everything, everything he was feeling, everything he wanted to say. But what did he want to say? There was so much! The only thing he could think of to say was…

 

“I’m… sor… ry… I… zu… ku…”

 

~*~*~*~

 

No, don’t you dare apologize to me, Shouta! This is all my fault!’ Izuku thought to himself, still refusing to turn around to look at the man he adored. If anything, Izuku should be the one apologizing to him. When this was all over, Izuku was going to sit down and talk to him and Hizashi, face to face! Maybe even move back in with them!

 

One of Izuku’s most recent jobs had been for the HPSC, and his price was not only a perfectly clean record, but immunity to further crimes. He's no longer a wanted fugitive, he can have his family back! The only reason he hadn’t already done so is because he’s afraid of what they’ll think of him. They had made sure to avoid all talk of Izuku’s career as a mercenary, Izuku’s sure they won’t approve of the life choices he’s made.

 

But that’s neither here nor there, right now, Izuku had a crusty blue-haired man to deal with.

 

“You can’t do this! You double-crossing, back-stabbing—” Izuku cut him off before he could continue his rant.

 

“Look,” he said, using one of his daggers to pick at his fingernails. “The first rule of working with me is ‘Don’t kill kids,’ and you purposely went to kill that girl. I mean, your Sensei even warned you not to risk canceling the contract mid-job, and what do you do?” Izuku shrugged. He was giving him a mental countdown, three minutes, before he killed him.

 

He wanted to check on Shouta so badly, but he couldn’t let them know how much the man meant to him.

 

“I’ll kill you, you traitor!” Shigaraki screeched at Izuku and lunged his way.

 

“Oh, look, you left yourself wide open,” Izuku grinned as he Shadowstepped behind Shigaraki and hamstrung him with the dagger that had the paralytic on it. “Now, what should I do with you?” he hummed. “Oh, I know!” Izuku stabbed the paralytic-covered dagger into Shigaraki’s back, right into a kidney, and then gripped him by the hair and pulled his head back. “You should have just left when you had the chance.”

 

Izuku slit his throat before shoving him to the ground and turning to Kurogiri. “Are you next? Or will you do the smart thing and leave?”

 

Kurogiri looked back and forth between Izuku and Shigaraki, bleeding out on the ground, and then he created a portal beneath Shigaraki, taking him along as he left. Izuku didn’t mind, the blade he had used was coated in ricin, so even if they healed his wounds in time to prevent him from bleeding out, the poison was already in his bloodstream. The man was dead already.

 

Izuku quickly Shadowstepped next to Shouta and started to assess the damage done, and was pleased to see he was only unconscious, not dead. Izuku breathed a sigh of relief, and then instantly looked up in alarm when the wall exploded. What now?!

 

Oh, the other heroes were here. Okay, that’s good. “Oh shit!” Izuku hissed as he realized Snipe had locked on to him and raised his gun, instantly Vanishing and wondering if that would be enough to avoid his quirk.

 

Fortunately, it must be, since the gunslinger didn’t shoot.

 

SHOUTA!” Hizashi shouted and ran to Shouta, ignoring Snipe’s warning that there was still one person in the plaza, likely another villain. Hizashi had to get to his husband's side, and he had to get there now!

 

“Shouta, Shouta, oh gods, Shouta!” Hizashi was doing his own assessments of his husband, finding the same things Izuku had, that he was hurt, badly, but alive. Hizashi sagged in relief and lowered his head onto Shouta’s shoulder for a brief second while he pulled himself back together. “Okay, okay, you’re going to be okay, time to get you out of here.”

 

Izuku, while still in Stealth to avoid getting shot from Snipe, took that moment to speak. “Hey, Zashi. It’s good to see you again.”

 

Hizashi spun around to where he heard the voice. “Who’s there—wait, Izuku?! Baby, is that you?!”

 

“Yeah, it’s me. I don’t want to get shot, so I’m gonna stay in Stealth for now,” he said, “but I’m here.” He moved forward and placed his forehead against the side of Hizashi’s head. “I’m so sorry about this, I wasn’t thinking, and I took this job. I forgot Shouta did the USJ trip early in the year, he wasn’t the target, I promise. You know I would never hurt Shouta,” he finished in a whisper.

 

“I know, baby bean, I know.” Hizashi hugged Izuku close, and then looked up to where Snipe was. “Don’t shoot this kid, Snipe. You’ll just piss me off, and when Shouta recovers, he’ll end up killing you. This is our kid.”

 

Izuku sobbed at that and wrapped his arms around Hizashi. He had missed him so much.

 

“I need my arms, baby, so I can get Shouta to medical. Once he’s on the way to the hospital, you can cling all you want, how does that sound?”

 

Izuku nodded and dropped his Stealth. “I’ll help you get him to medical.”

Notes:

Okay, so three things!

1. If you are a Shigaraki Fan, I am sorry. If you wanted to see me kill off All Might, I am also sorry.

2. Yeah, I am finally admitting defeat, Shadowstep is my new Main-Fic!

3. I have a Discord server now! If you want to join up and say hi, come join us! The Stream

Chapter 9

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Shouta was quickly loaded into an ambulance, along with Thirteen who Izuku hadn’t even realized had gotten injured, and was on his way to the hospital. As soon as the ambulance started to drive off, Hizashi pulled Izuku into a tight hug. “I’ve missed you so much, Izu,” he whispered.

 

“I’ve missed you too, Zashi,” came Izuku’s equally whispered words as his grip on Hizashi tightened. He hadn’t been held like this in five years, he didn’t want to let go anytime soon. And it seemed that Hizashi wasn’t going to be letting him go either, since when an officer came to ask questions, Hizashi just glared at the officer, silently daring him to ask to speak to Izuku alone. The officer simply walked off and sent Tsukauchi over instead.

 

“Present Mic, uh…. This isn’t one of the students, right?” Tsukauchi asked.

 

While keeping his face buried into Hizashi’s shoulder, Izuku muttered, “I feel I should be offended you don’t recognize me, Tsuka. Am I offended? I’m not sure. I feel I should be, though.”

 

“I should recog-- . . . Midoriya Izuku?” Tsukauchi whispered. Izuku nodded as much as he could with a face full of shoulder, but it was enough for Tsukauchi. “What are you doing here?”

 

“I did a dumb, and everything came so close to falling to shit because of it.” If possible, Izuku buried himself even further into Hizashi. “I don’t know how I’ll ever apologize to Shouta for today,” he whispered.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Izuku sighed and pulled his face out of Hizashi’s shoulder to look at Tsukauchi. “The group of villains that attacked, they’re called the League of Villains. I was hired to join them, and to kill All Might when their monster, Nomu they called it, failed. I told them that my primary rule was that no kids were to be killed.” He took a deep breath and let it out in a defeated sigh. “I forgot that the class that would be here was Shouta’s. I never would have taken the job if I knew Shouta would be here.”

 

“No, Izuku, it’s a good thing you were here!” Hizashi interjected. “Just imagine if you weren’t here? They would have killed Shouta. I’m sure when Shou wakes up, he’ll say the same thing.”

 

Izuku shook his head. “If their leader hadn’t attacked the frog girl, I wouldn’t have stepped in. Shouta still would have died even with me there.”

 

“Wait, I think I’m missing something,” Tsukauchi said.

 

“Oh, you don’t know, do you? I’m the mercenary known as Shadowstep,” Izuku clarified.

 

“S-shadow. . .  oh. Oh. Oh.” With each word, Tsukauchi’s eyes widened. “So, that’s why no one’s tried to arrest you yet.”

 

Izuku shook his head. “No, it’s because Zashi won’t let me go, so I’m as good as arrested according to everyone else.” He turned his head back into Hizashi’s shoulder. “Not like I want to go anywhere else, though. I’d probably fight anyone who tried to peel me away from Zashi right now.”

 

“You wouldn’t need to, kiddo, I’d scream at them first,” Hizashi said and buried his face into Izuku’s hair.

 

“Can we go to the hospital to see Shouta, now?” Izuku whined.

 

“I have a few more questions, but then I’d be willing to drive you both there,” Tsukauchi offered. Izuku nodded in agreement and Tsukauchi continued his questions.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Sitting in the waiting room with Zashi was both nerve wracking and nice – he loved being with Zashi again, but the fact that they were waiting to hear just how bad Shouta’s condition was sort of put a damper on the whole experience.

 

“I meant to mention this earlier, Zuku,” Hizashi commented suddenly, “but I love your hair!”

 

“Oh!” Izuku pulled away from Hizashi slightly and pulled out the hair tie that was keeping his hair up, releasing his curly hair to his mid-back length. “I started growing it out when I was ten,” he said. “I missed playing with your and Shouta’s hair.” He started combing his fingers through his hair, detangling the few knots he came across. “Now, though, I just really like it.”

 

Hizashi reached for his hair but stopped when Izuku tensed slightly, even though he relaxed quickly. “Sorry, I don’t normally let anyone touch my hair,” he laughed. “I actually stabbed the last person who tried.”

 

“. . . you stabbed someone for touching your hair?” Hizashi raised an eyebrow.

 

Izuku grinned and nodded. “Yup! Of course, she was trying to treat me like a child, even while attempting to hire me for an assassination. I mean, when a kid is openly carrying six blades, that aren’t hidden, maybe keep your hands to yourself?” He shrugged. “I didn’t take the job, and she was lucky my blades weren’t poisoned.”

 

“Izuku,” Zashi’s voice was admonishing. “If you don’t want someone to touch your hair, you slap their hands, you don’t just stab them!”

 

“Huh… then I probably shouldn’t tell you about what I did to that guy who grabbed my hair in a fight three months ago.” Izuku started braiding his hair, since he had gotten the tangles out. “I’ll probably be okay with you touching my hair, just, maybe not yet?”

 

“Fair enough,” Hizashi sighed. “I really rather not get stabbed on accident.”

 

Izuku looked horrified. “I’d never! The two people I’d never stab are you and Shou!”

 

Before Hizashi could reply, the doctor stepped out. “Aizawa?” she called out.

 

Instantly, both Izuku and Hizashi got up to join her. “I’m Yamada Hizashi, Shouta’s husband, and this is our kid, Izuku.”

 

She nodded and gestured for them to join her. “First, I want to let you know he’s going to be fine, and he’s in his room, resting now. He won’t be waking up for a few more hours, though.” Hizashi nodded as the doctor continued to guide them to Shouta’s room. “Both of his arms were severely broken, and the skin of his right elbow was disintegrated, along with a little bit of muscle – we were able to restore the muscle and the skin is still in the healing process. It will leave a fairly large scar, and may ache occasionally, but he will have full range of motion with that arm, and it will not impact his hero work.”

 

Hizashi smiled slightly. He hadn’t been worried about Shouta’s arms, it was his head he was worried about, that’s what he wanted to know more about.

 

The doctor seemed to pick up on what Hizashi was worried about and continued. “He had a major concussion, but we were able to heal most of it, so it is now fairly minor. His orbital bone was fractured, but the injury wasn’t as bad as it could have been. If he had hit his head one more time, it would have been much worse, but after a few hours, the bandages can be removed.”

 

“All in all,” the doctor seemed to be finishing up, “Your husband will be fine. He should be able to go home by tomorrow evening, although the casts on his arms will need to remain for a few more days. I hear he works at UA with Recovery Girl?” Hizashi nodded. “I will transfer his medical information to her, she should be able to finish the healing process by the middle of next week.”

 

“Thank you,” Hizashi smiled widely at her.

 

The doctor nodded and left the two at Shouta’s door. “Well, let’s go it!” Hizashi wrapped an arm around Izuku’s shoulders as he opened the door.

 

~*~*~*~

 

As Shouta started waking up, the first thing he noticed was that he was alive. Which was odd, he was sure he was going to die. How did he survive?

 

He remembered some huge creature pinning him down, breaking his arms, and smashing his face into the ground. He remembered thinking he was going to die, trying to recall if he had told Hizashi he loved him, and. . .

 

Izuku. Gods, he missed his kid.

 

If he really was alive, and it seemed he was, Shouta was going to call up Izuku as soon as he could and see about scheduling a meet up. He needed to see his kid, he needed to hug his kid, tell him how proud he was of him, and that he loved him.

 

Hmm… Shouta was pretty sure he had a concussion, but it didn’t seem too bad. So why did it seem Izuku was here with him, talking to Hizashi? Was he still hallucinating? Shouta opened his eyes and looked over to where he heard the voices.

 

“Yup, every Wednesday, I set aside a few hours just to listen to your show. And on Saturdays I usually listen to the recordings from the previous week.”

 

Yeah, that sounded like Izuku, and if it weren’t for the long hair, the kid even looks like Izuku. He’s even sitting on Hizashi’s lap, with his head snuggled under his husband’s chin, just like Izuku used to do. Maybe Shouta is still hallucinating. There’s no way his kid was actually back home. Right?

 

They were still talking, but Shouta had zoned out their words, and was just focusing on their tone. This was nice. This was a good hallucination. He didn’t want this to stop.

 

Suddenly, the kid that looked like Izuku looked over at him and his face lit up as he jumped up from Hizashi’s lap and ran to Shouta’s side. “Shouta!” the kid exclaimed. “You’re finally awake!”

 

“This is one hell of an hallucination,” Shouta whispered.

 

The kid giggled. “You’re not hallucinating, Shou,” he said.

 

“I must be. Izuku doesn’t have long hair.”

 

“Okay, look,” the kid started. “I was ten, I missed you and Zashi, so I started growing my hair like you both. I like it like this, though, so I kept it.” He started toying with some of Shouta’s hair. “It’s really me, Shouta.”

 

Shouta’s breath caught. It really was his kid. “Oh, Izu,” he breathed.

 

Before Shouta could say anything else, Izuku interrupted him. “I’m sorry, Shouta. Hizashi keeps telling me it’s a good thing I was at the USJ with the villains yesterday, but… I should never have accepted that job. I shouldn’t have been there, and if I had stopped to think for three seconds, I would have remembered you were going to be there.” Izuku lowered his head to rest on Shouta’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

 

“I really did see you there?”

 

“Yeah,” Izuku raised his head back up to look at Shouta. “It was so hard, standing there, watching their monster hurt you like that,” he whispered. “But then Shigaraki attacked that frog girl, and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to see a kid get attacked in my life. That was a direct violation of the contract I had with them, so I was free to act as I wanted.”

 

“Izuku killed the guy with the hands,” Hizashi interjected. “And he’s grounded.”

 

Izuku rolled his eyes. “For the last time, Zashi, you can’t ground me, I don’t live with you anymore!”

 

“I can, and I will. You’re grounded. No more arguments.”

 

“Sure, sure.”

 

A knock sounded at the door and Hizashi went to open it, letting in their boss, Nedzu. “I do hope I’m not interrupting anything!”

 

“Nothing much,” Hizashi stated. “Shouta just woke up, though.”

 

“I’m glad to see you’re doing well, Shouta-kun!” Nedzu exclaimed. “However, I actually did not come to see you, but young Midoriya Izuku!”

 

“Me?” Izuku asked, pointing at himself.

 

“Indeed! Although, Hizashi-kun and Shouta-kun are more than welcome to hear what I wish to discuss with you.”

 

Izuku sat on Shouta’s bed and gave Nedzu his attention. “Forgive my assumption, but it sounds almost as though you are going to try to hire me for a job,” Izuku narrowed his eyes.

 

Nedzu nodded. “You are correct in your assumption. The villain group was after All Might, and since he is a teacher at UA High School, I have a feeling that they may try once more to attack my school. I would like to hire you as security, to protect the school and students.”

 

Izuku studied the small mammal for a few moments, weighing the pros and cons. “You know I’m a mercenary,” he settled on, not making it a question.

 

“Certainly. And I am aware that you have, as of recently, a perfectly pristine legal record, up to and including legal immunity from any crimes committed in the process of completing or dealing with the fall out of a contract.”

 

Izuku nodded. “So, assuming I accept your offer, what exactly would you be asking me to do?”

 

Nedzu grinned. “Class 1-A has already been attacked, and with Shouta-kun being injured, his class will need some additional protection for a while. I am proposing for you to stay with his class, and to do whatever you deem necessary to protect them.”

 

Shouta interrupted. “You do realize he uses lethal force, right?”

 

“Yes, the track record I was able to find for him is why I am requesting his services.” Nedzu looked at Izuku again. “I may be a hero, but I am an animal first and foremost. Threats must be dealt with swiftly and permanently.”

 

Izuku nodded. “What are you offering as payment?”

 

“What would you accept?” Nedzu countered. “I could offer a decent sum of money, but I have a feeling you would prefer something else.”

 

Izuku closed his eyes and thought for a moment. What did he want? More importantly, what did he want that Nedzu could give him? He smiled softly and opened his eyes.

 

“Two things,” Izuku said. “I want two things, perhaps three, and if you are able to provide them, then I will protect the school for the remainder of this school year, and the following two years as well.”

 

Nedzu nodded. “Go on, I will try to accommodate your request.”

 

“First, I want my family back. I used to live with Hizashi and Shouta, and I want to live with them again.”

 

“Easily granted, I think they still have a room set up for you. Your next request?”

 

Izuku’s eyes widened as he looked at Hizashi who was only nodding. “We kept your room just as you left it,” he confirmed.

 

With another smile, Izuku turned his attention back to Nedzu. “When I left home at ten, I wasn’t able to finish school. I’ve tried to keep up with my age group, and there are definitely subjects I’ve long since mastered, but I want to say I’ve finished school. So. My second request is enrollment into UA up until I graduate, with the knowledge that I am not, nor will I ever be, a hero. I am quite content in my occupation as a mercenary.”

 

Nedzu nodded. “I can sweeten the deal and offer to make you my personal student, as well. In addition to the regular curriculum, you will learn many other useful skills that would likely be an asset in your chosen career field.”

 

“My last request, then. So long as they don’t interfere with the job of protecting the students, I will be able to accept outside jobs, should one catch my attention.”

 

Nedzu was quiet for a moment. That last part, Izuku could honestly take it or leave it. His main requests were the first two – he wanted to finish school, and he wanted his family back. Being able to take outside jobs would be nice, but he’d be perfectly content to just cuddle with Hizashi and Shouta again.

 

After a minute or two, Nedzu nodded his head. “That will also be agreeable,” he said. “That said, the students of class 1-A as well as the faculty, will be informed of your occupation.”

 

Izuku easily agreed. “I’m certain this will not be a sore subject for you, due to the nature of your request, but the two rules I will not budge on, no matter what – I will not stand idle while a child’s life is in danger, nor will I accept any sexual assault in my presence. I will nullify any contract to prevent either of those from occurring. Are you still interested in making this arrangement?”

 

Nedzu’s grin took up his entire face. “Of course. I am counting on it.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

This is Izuku with long hair in this fic, btw! :D

Notes:

So, who all saw this coming? Izuku gets to go home, and is hired by Nedzu!

Chapter 10

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Hey, Shouta?” Izuku had been going over the roster of students for class 1-A and had come across a name he was mildly surprised to find.

 

“Yeah?” came Shouta’s grumbled reply. He was laying on the couch with his head on Hizashi’s lap while the blond was watching some documentary on a pre-quirk band named The Stray Cats.

 

“What do you think about Bakugou Katsuki?” Izuku asked.

 

Hizashi groaned in annoyance as Shouta made a vaguely displeased noise. “He’s got an attitude, and I’m trying to fix it, but he’s also got an impressive drive to improve and prove himself. Why?”

 

“Oh, he may or may not have been my biggest bully as a kid, before I moved in with you guys. I’m curious how he’s going to react, seeing me again after all these years.” Izuku aimed a smirk at Shouta. “Fair warning, if he gives me any shit, I’m putting him in his place. I won’t kill him, but I may scare the shit out of him.”

 

Shouta shrugged. “Be my guest. Maybe that will be the ‘come to Jesus’ moment he needs to get his act together and stop being a little shit.”

 

Hizashi coughed in a way that clearly meant he was covering a laugh. “You know, you really shouldn’t be encouraging this, Shouta.”

 

“Don’t care, that kid’s a menace and if Izu can make him take a chill pill, then I welcome it.” Shouta nuzzled his face into Hizashi’s stomach. “Besides, it’s not like I could stop him in this condition even if I wanted to. What do you expect me to do, wave my casts at him?”

 

Hizashi just ran his fingers through Shouta’s hair and shifted his attention back to the television with an amused expression.

 

~*~*~*~

 

“I’m not a staff, why do I have to be here?” Izuku whined. He had wanted to sleep in the classroom while waiting for the students to show up, but no, Shouta and Hizashi made him attend the Monday Morning Staff Meeting.

 

“Hush, brat,” Shouta muttered, lightly bonking Izuku on the head with his cast. “If I have to attend, so do you.”

 

“What Shouta meant to say,” Hizashi glared lightly at his husband, “is that we still need to introduce you to the rest of the faculty.”

 

Izuku groaned loudly in defeat as he trudged behind them. “Fine, but I reserve the right to zone out if I get bored.”

 

The three made it to the staff room and Izuku squeezed his chair in between the two of them and then leaned against Shouta while they waited for the rest of the staff to join them. “So, All Might is a teacher here, right? I’m assuming I get to meet him?”

 

“Mhm,” Hizashi hummed and reached for Izuku’s hair tie. “I don’t like how you did your hair, I’m going to fix it.”

 

Izuku shrugged. Over the weekend, he had found he loved it when Hizashi played with his hair, so he’d given him full permission to do with his hair what he wanted, so long as he didn’t cut it. Izuku closed his eyes as Hizashi started braiding his hair and half-listened to the teachers entering.

 

About five minutes later, Nedzu stood up on his chair and the meeting started. “Good morning, everyone! As some of you may have noticed, we have a new addition to our group today! Everyone, I’d like to introduce you to Midoriya Izuku, professionally known as Shadowstep.”

 

Izuku opened his eyes and looked around. “Morning, all! It’s nice to meet you!” He glanced at Snipe. “I might have some questions for you later, just a head’s up. Thursday’s events made me curious about something.” Izuku really had been wondering if Snipe could still hit him if he locked on before Izuku Vanished.

 

Looking over the teachers, Izuku tilted his head. “I thought All Might was supposed to be here?”

 

“He is,” Shouta muttered, and gestured to a tall, skinny blond man with his cast.

 

“Oh. Okay. So, I was right. He’s not invincible.” Izuku shrugged. “Cool.”

 

Nedzu smiled at them and continued. “As I was saying, Midoriya is a mercenary, and I have hired him to protect the school and students for the next three school years, including this one. Even though he will be here as security for the students, he will also be attending classes as a student. Class 1-A will be informed of his true occupation, but the rest of the students will not.”

 

Power Loader raised a hand slightly and asked, “Will he be a real student, or just posing as one?”

 

“A real student,” Izuku answered for Nedzu. “I had to drop out of school at ten, and while I’ve mastered Chemistry, Biology, and am fluent in English, other school subjects weren’t really important to me. I mean, I’ve tried to stay at my age level, but when learning Chemistry and Biology directly helps you with your quirk and career, History and Modern Lit just… aren’t important?”

 

Power Loader nodded his head.

 

The next to speak was All Might. “Is it really wise to have a mercenary on campus?”

 

“Careful,” Shouta warned. “This mercenary is my kid, mine and Zashi’s.”

 

“I. . . see,” All Might said. “But my point still stands. From what I understand, mercenaries are soldiers for hire. What if someone puts in a higher bid for his services?”

 

Izuku grinned at him. “Fair enough question, I guess,” he shrugged. “Perhaps it’ll help you to know what I’m being paid for this job. As I said earlier, I had to quit school when I was ten, due to some… legal issues that have since been removed from my record – last month, to be totally transparent,” Izuku smirked. “Before last month, I was on the run. I had to leave my home, my family. Nedzu’s payment includes not only letting me attend school so I can graduate, but I also have my family back.” Izuku was still leaning on Shouta, but now gripped onto Hizashi’s arm. “Good luck to whoever thinks they can outbid that.”

 

All Might nodded. “I see. Well, then, I’m glad to have you on board.”

 

Izuku tilted his head. “Can you do me a quick favor? It’s cool if not.”

 

“Um, I suppose?” All Might answered cautiously.

 

“Okay, so… this is going to sound really weird, and if you want an explanation I’ll give it, but. Can you do the whole, ‘I am here’ thing real quick?”

 

Hizashi and Shouta shared a quick look. Huh?

 

All Might buffed up and with his signature smile called out “I AM HERE!!” and then deflated back to his smaller form.

 

“Huh…” Izuku muttered, and then shrugged. “Thanks.”

 

Everyone just stared at Izuku, clearly wanting an explanation. He sighed, “Okay, so I was a late bloomer. My quirk didn’t come in until I was six. My quirk is called Rogue, and my parents were the only ones who didn’t automatically see me as a villain. I’d been harassed by police, teachers, other kids, and even a few heroes. By the time I was seven, there was a grand total of one hero I actually felt safe around.” Izuku jerked his thumb at Hizashi. “I was pretty afraid of all the rest.”

 

“The day my parents died, we had gone to a HeroCon – Present Mic was scheduled to be there, and I really wanted to meet him – and we left early due to how high my anxiety was. Point is, every hero there, every piece of hero merch, everything in sight, it all felt like they were judging me, blaming me for something I hadn’t done. One of the main things that really kicked my anxiety up was the All Might merch. That smile made me feel like you were sizing me up for a jail cell.” He closed his eyes again. “Anyway, I just wanted to see if I was still afraid of you or not. I’m not.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

“Since the majority of you aren’t idiots,” Shouta said, speaking to his class as Izuku waited outside for his introduction, “I’m sure you remember that I expelled Hachi on the first day of school.”

 

Izuku could hear the students murmuring in assent, and Izuku’s only thought was, ‘Huh, well at least it wasn’t the whole class like last year.’

 

“I am bringing that up because we have a replacement student. Before he comes in, I want to make one thing very. Very. Clear. He is not in this class to become a hero. If he tells you to do something, especially in an emergency situation, you will follow his orders as if you were following mine. Is this understood?”

 

A few students once again murmured in assent.

 

“One last thing before I call him in. While he’s usually an easy-going person, you do not want to anger him. Even if I wasn’t injured, there’s not a lot I could do to stop him if he wanted to hurt someone. Keep that in mind.” Shouta paused for a few moments to let that sink in. “Okay, you can come in now.”

 

Izuku could practically taste the tension in the air as he opened the door and stepped in. With his brightest smile he waved happily to everyone. “Hi! My name is Midoriya Izuku! I’m a mercenary! It’s super cool to meet you all! I hope we all get along!”

 

The class’s reaction could only be summed up as, ‘huh?’

 

At least until one angry blond realized just who was standing there. “Deku!? What the fuck?!” Bakugou stood up and ran at Izuku, face full of rage, hands sparking with explosions. Izuku’s smile didn’t fade once as he expertly dodged and ducked Bakugou’s attacks.

 

“Kacchan! How nice to see you again! How have you been? It’s been, what, eight years? You’ve gotten taller!” The more Izuku dodged, the angrier Bakugou got, and the more incoherent his screams became, until finally, Izuku had enough.

 

In one smooth movement, Izuku took a slim needle coated in a paralytic poison he had prepared just for a situation like this, and jabbed it in Bakugou’s arm, instantly paralyzing him. As he lay on the ground, unmoving, Izuku let his smile drop, donning his most deadly aura, and kneeled next to him.

 

“I’m not seven years old anymore, Kacchan,” Izuku hissed to Bakugou. “I not only can fight back now, I have the ability to drop you like a sack of bricks.” He let his smile return, but this time it was cold, calculating. “You remember my quirk, right? Stealth, teleportation? Poison?” He held a finger right up to Bakugou’s lips. “If I wanted to, I could kill you right here, right now. And after the hell you put me through when we were kids? I might not even regret it,” came his whisper. “But!” Izuku returned to a cheerful demeanor and hopped up. “I was hired to protect the class, I can’t just go about killing students now, can I?”

 

As Izuku laughed, the paralytic wore off and Bakugou was able to stand up again. “Kacchan? Don’t. Ever. Call me Deku again. Or the next time I poison you, you won’t be able to get back up.”

 

Izuku took his seat at his desk, and Bakugou slowly re-took his own seat.

 

Shouta just sighed. “Yeah. Like I said. I can’t stop him, so don’t piss him off.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

Izuku had been observing the students in their training, and one particular fact had been made abundantly clear – the purple-ball-headed kid was not well liked. Somehow, he managed to appear decent whenever Izuku looked at him, but every single girl in the class had approached him and in a half-serious tone asked if they could hire him to get rid of the ‘perverted little creep.’

 

Izuku was ConcernedTM.

 

His concern only heightened when he was approached by a few of the boys, asking the same thing on behalf of the girls.

 

Izuku could tell that the guy was on his best behavior, but since literally half of the class had asked him to be removed permanently, he decided to err on the side of caution.

 

Knocking firmly on the principal’s door, Izuku waited for the quiet, “Enter.”

 

“Mineta Minoru,” he said in lieu of a greeting. “I think he needs to be expelled.”

 

“Oh? Normally it is Shouta-kun who makes these requests,” Nedzu stated, eyes lit up in interest.

 

“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure he’s waiting for proof,” Izuku shrugged. “I’m not waiting. Rule #2, I won’t sit by and witness sexual assault, and that includes harassment. I have been approached by every single girl in 1-A and a few of the guys on their behalf, with half-serious requests to end the grape. It’d be best for you to expel him now, before I witness him doing something and I come up with a more permanent solution.”

 

“Ah, yes, I understand. With that in mind, I do believe expulsion can be arranged,” Nedzu said with a glint in his eyes. “Shouta-kun had actually requested his expulsion early last week, but Mineta’s uncle is a member of the school board, so an expulsion needed to have proof. With your role as protector of the students, and willingness to use lethal force, that proof is no longer required.”

 

“Glad I can be of service.” Izuku nodded at Nedzu and walked out of the office and towards the Teacher’s Lounge to meet up with Hizashi and Shouta so they could go home.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Mineta Murata barged into the principal’s office with a look of pure rage. “What is the meaning of this?!” he demanded.

 

Nedzu merely hummed and took a sip of his tea. “It appears to me as though your nephew has been expelled.”

 

“Why?” Mineta hissed. “I will make sure that your funding is cut!

 

“Well, Mineta-san, if you must know. The students and I have become acquainted with a mercenary. He has a very lose set of morals, and murder is not something he shies away from. He informed me that he had been approached by approximately half of class 1-A, all with half-serious requests for him to kill your nephew for his perverted behavior, of which I did inform you was not acceptable. I felt it better to expel him than to risk his murder.”

 

Nedzu took another sip of his tea as he watched the man before him pale. “Would you rather your nephew take his chances with Shadowstep?”

Notes:

Izuku doesn't kill kids. As much as I know you all wanted to see a permanent ending to Mineta, but Izuku doesn't take chances, and he doesn't kill kids.

All Might has made his entrance! This is NOT going to be All Might bashing, but there also likely won't be much of him at all.

Chapter 11

Notes:

Okay, so I didn't MEAN to write nearly 8 pages of Hitoshi, it just sort of... happened?

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Izuku stretched his arms over his head as he wandered towards the teacher’s lounge. He was going to be going home with Shouta and Hizashi, and that’s where he figured he’d meet them. As Izuku opened the door, he was greeted by the sound of Hizashi apologizing to Shouta.

 

“I’m sorry, I totally forgot! I’ll make it up to you, I swear!” Hizashi pouted.

 

Shouta just huffed out a sigh. “Fine, wake me up when you’re done.” He then flopped onto the couch and fell asleep almost instantly.

 

“I feeeeeeel like I’ve missed something,” Izuku directed to Hizashi.

 

Hizashi rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously. “Yeah, I forgot that I promised some second years I’d tutor them in English on Mondays.”

 

“Ah. So, my options are go home alone, explore the school, or use Shouta as a pillow as I take a nap myself.” Shouta grumbled at Izuku’s last ‘option’ but didn’t say no.

 

Hizashi laughed. “You might want to explore the school, kiddo. Shouta won’t admit it, but his ribs are still a little sore.”

 

“Oh, I know. He’s also been favoring his left foot, I think he stubbed a toe this morning,” Izuku shrugged. “But yeah, I could go exploring. Text me when it’s time to go?”

 

“Sure thing, Izu.” Hizashi pulled him in for a quick hug.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Izuku had already explored the main school building during lunch, so he was now wandering around the campus, checking out the various gyms. He had found a few that he’d love to play around in, like Gym Delta that was set up as a huge parkour track. He was willing to bet some serious money that Shouta spent a lot of time in there when bored.

 

As Izuku was passing through Gym Epsilon, he heard what sounded like someone working on the punching bag. They didn’t really sound as though they knew what they were doing, though, so Izuku decided to check up on them, make sure they weren’t going to hurt themselves.

 

When he got closer to the person attacking the bag, he had to stifle a giggle. The guy’s stance was all sorts of wrong, there wasn’t any power behind his punches, and the only thing he was doing correctly was how he was clenching his fists.

 

“Okay, okay, sorry, sorry, but I have to stop this!” Izuku said through his choked back laughter. Lavender eyes turned to glare at him. “I need to correct your stance before I die laughing!”

 

The boy glared at him and then turned back to the punching bag. “Just leave me alone,” he grumbled.

 

“Oh, wow, now that is a voice!” Izuku mimed fanning himself. “Has anyone ever told you that you have the voice of an angel? Holy shit, please keep talking!”

 

The boy turned to him again, eyes full of suspicion. “What do you want?”

 

“Many things, but right now? To hear you keep talking. After that? To show you how to throw a punch.” When the boy narrowed his eyes at him further, Izuku just sighed. “Alright, alright, your voice is a sore spot, I take it? Fine, you don’t have to talk. But seriously, let me show you how to throw a punch so you don’t hurt yourself?”

 

“I don’t need some Hero Course student to help me,” he grumbled, but didn’t turn away.

 

“Good! I’m not Hero Course!” Izuku chirped happily.

 

The boy raised an elegant purple eyebrow and pointedly looked at Izuku’s blazer, showing the single button on the shoulders and the double stripes at the cuffs of the Hero Course.

 

“Ugh, okay. So, I’m technically in the class, but I’m not, not really.” Izuku held out a hand. “Here, how about this? My name is Midoriya Izuku. Nice to meet you!”

 

The boy hesitantly took his hand. “Shinsou Hitoshi. Same?”

 

“Great! So, Shinsou, please correct me if I’m wrong, but I have a hunch you want to be in the Hero Course?” Izuku asked.

 

Shinsou lightly glared again, but this time Izuku didn’t think he was glaring at him, just glaring in general. “Maybe. What’s it to you?”

 

Izuku shivered slightly. ‘Holy shit that voice!’ he thought to himself. “Okay, so, first, I’m going to tell you that analysis is a hobby of mine, and I’ve been doing it for the past ten years or so. I’ve gotten pretty damn good at it.” Izuku paused to see if Shinsou was keeping up with him and was pleased to see he was. “Okay, so just by the quality of your voice, I can tell you have some sort of Vocal quirk. And hot damn, I am not joking, I could just listen to you speak all day and not get tired. But! Not my point!”

 

“My point,” he continued, “is that people with Vocal quirks, unless they’re something like Present Mic’s, aren’t normally ‘suited’ to Hero Course exams, so you probably failed if you tried it.” Shinsou’s angry sigh was all the proof Izuku needed to know he was right. “I think that exam is total bullshit, and if you’re trying to get into the Hero Course, the best way would be to make a good showing at the Sports Fest. My guess is you know that and are trying.”

 

Shinsou didn’t answer right away, and Izuku was about to apologize to him and move on to explore another gym, when he answered. “Brainwashing.” Izuku tilted his head and he continued. “My quirk. It’s Brainwashing, activated by a vocal trigger.”

 

“Oh.” Izuku’s expression fell. This kid must have been called a villain his whole life. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I know that just sounded terrible, but I understand, probably more than you would expect.”

 

This time it was Shinsou who tilted his head.

 

“My quirk is called Rogue,” Izuku grinned sadly at him. “It’s a damn cool quirk, highly versatile, makes me nearly unbeatable in a fight. One of the main aspects, though, is I can create any poison you can think of with the oils on my fingers.”

 

Shinsou gasped in surprise. “You’ve been called a villain, too, haven’t you?”

 

With a huge grin, Izuku confirmed. “I was falsely accused of murder when I was six years old!” Shinsou choked on air at the way Izuku admitted that. “My parents were killed in front of me by a villain who tried to recruit me to be an assassin.”

 

“And yet you’re in the Hero Course?”

 

“Eh, I’m spending time there, yeah, but no. I’m not participating in any of their training, nor will I be taking part in the Sports Fest.” Izuku poked Shinsou’s arm. “You look like you’d be fast with some training. I’d be willing to help you, if you’re willing to learn.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

Almost two hours later and Shinsou was able to throw a punch and do proper stretches. “Hmm, there’s only about three weeks until the Sports Fest,” Izuku muttered. “How do you feel about some daily training? Maybe two hours daily during the week, and about five or six on Saturday? At least until you impress people enough to transfer into the Hero Course?”

 

Shinsou was sitting on the ground, rubbing at his arm. “I don’t know if I can keep up with that schedule,” he admitted. “I mean, I can try, but I’m already really sore.”

 

“Oh, uh. Hm. How are you with weird shit?” Izuku asked. Shinsou raised an eyebrow. “What I mean is, medicine counts as poison, according to my quirk, and pain meds are meds. If you’re cool with licking my finger, I can give you something to help with the soreness.”

 

“You want me to. . . lick your finger.”

 

“Hey, I can make anything from aspirin to fentanyl to morphine. Pick your poison,” he winked. “Actually, you can pick whatever you want, what I’d actually give you is something of my own creation, helps with pain and is non-addictive, the effects last about twelve hours, and actively de-stresses the muscles to alleviate the soreness.”

 

“You. . .” Shinsou shook his head. “That feels like cheating, so no thanks.”

 

Shrugging, Izuku grinned. “No complaining about your training schedule then! I’m literally offering you a way to deal with the pain and you’re refusing.”

 

“Here you are,” Hizashi called out, walking in, dressed in his casual clothes. “We’ve been texting you for the past thirty minutes, Izuku! You ready to head home?”

 

“Oh, was my phone going off?” Izuku pulled out his phone and saw he had five missed messages. “Sorry! I met Shinsou and started helping him with some stuff! I’m going to be training him for the Sports Fest!”

 

Hizashi looked over at Shinsou, who was blushing slightly at the attention. “That’s awesome! Shinsou, Izuku is probably the best you could hope for to train you! You look like you’d be really fast and agile, and that is literally Izu’s fighting style!”

 

“I’ll start him on some strength training after the Sports Fest, I think. He’ll build up some muscle just going through the exercises I have set up, but I want to make sure he’s got at least a little muscle memory on how to attack. Won’t matter how strong he is if he can’t attack without hurting himself.”

 

“Maybe you can get Shouta to tag along? He trained you, he might be willing to help,” Hizashi suggested.

 

“Wait, wait,” Shinsou interrupted, wide-eyed. “What, exactly, is going on?”

 

“Oh, you do know Hizashi, right? Present Mic?” Izuku hadn’t even thought that he wouldn’t recognize Zashi in his casual clothes.

 

“Wait, you’re Mic-sensei?!”

 

Izuku and Hizashi laughed. “Yeah, Zashi looks sooooo different out of costume, doesn’t he?”

 

Shinsou nodded, quickly recovering from the shock of seeing Present Mic out of costume. “Okay, so you said getting someone else to help with training? Who?”

 

“Oh, Shouta. You’ll like him. Wait,” Izuku looked back at Hizashi, “he’s still waiting for us, isn’t he?”

 

Hizashi nodded.

 

“Shinsou, we’ll have to pick this up again tomorrow.” He snatched Shinsou’s phone and quickly put his contact info in it. “There, now you can text me to complain about how you didn’t want to take a pain reliever, and I can tease you relentlessly for it.”

 

“Wait, he’s refusing pain meds? Even Shouta took your pain meds.” Hizashi looked over the rim of his glasses. “If Izuku is training you half as hard as Shouta trained him, you’ll be asking for pain meds soon enough.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

“Alright, you did good today. Do your cooldown stretches and grab a shower, then we can head out.” Izuku had met up with Shinsou again the next day after classes, and for the rest of the time before the Sports Fest, Izuku wouldn’t be going home with Hizashi and Shouta, but would be spending his time with his new friend Shinsou.

 

“Why aren’t you even slightly winded?” Shinsou asked.

 

Izuku shrugged. “We didn’t really do all that much,” he answered. “When Shouta’s fully healed, I’ll see if he’ll be willing to show you how we train. Or, well, how we used to train,” he amended. “I haven’t had the chance to spar with him in years.”

 

Fifteen minutes later saw the two heading out the school gates.

 

“So,” Shinsou started. “Other than causing me legally allowed torture, what do you do for fun?”

 

Izuku smirked. “It’s not that bad, Shinsou! I was doing that back when I was seven.” Izuku scratched his cheek. “I actually really like listening to music.”

 

“Oh really?” Shinsou’s surprised tone was a little odd to Izuku, but he shrugged it off.

 

“Yeah, remember, I lived with Present Mic for a few years, we would spend every day singing together as we made dinner, or we would have karaoke parties at home where we forced Shouta to sing – those were the best, Shouta hates singing! – and we would watch YouTube videos of people who did covers. Our favorite YouTube singer is called Siren, and his channel is Siren Sings! I introduced Hizashi to him like, seven years ago!”

 

“You… you listen to Siren?” Shinsou asked quietly.

 

Izuku nodded. “His songs are so. . . I don’t know the right words to explain them.” Izuku stopped talking for a moment, and then continued, much more subdued, “When I was really little, it felt as though everyone was trying to, almost erase me from existence, lock me in a cage, take my freedoms away. First, I was treated as quirkless, and then later as a villain. So, one day I was watching the movie Aladdin, and the princess sang a song, Speechless. It hit me hard, right in the heart, so after the movie was over, I decided to look on YouTube for the song, and that’s where I heard Siren for the first time.”

 

Izuku looked back at Shinsou. “I think I played it on repeat for an hour or more. It’s still my favorite song, and Siren’s version still makes me cry on really bad days.”

 

Shinsou was blinking back tears. “I’ve always been encouraged to be silent,” he said. “My birth parents gave me up when my quirk developed, and every foster home I’ve been in refused to speak to me. The only time anyone would speak to me was when we were singing – since it’s not a conversation, it’s a lot harder for me to activate my quirk.”

 

Izuku’s breath caught. ‘Holy shit, is…. Is Shinsou actually Siren?’

 

“I saw that movie, Aladdin, when I was about seven, and that song. . .” Shinsou took a breath and sang a few lines.

 

I won’t be silenced

You can’t keep me quiet

Won’t tremble when you try it

All I know is I won’t go speechless

‘cause I’ll breathe

When they try to suffocate me

Don’t you underestimate me

‘cause I know that I won’t go speechless

 

He looked over at Izuku who had stopped walking after the first line of the song. “Um.”

 

“You. . . you’re Siren. . ?” Izuku whispered.

 

Shinsou nodded hesitantly, and Izuku’s smile was blinding as he launched himself at the taller boy and hugged him. “I love all of your songs! I’m constantly listening to your playlist and singing along! Oh!” He released the taller boy. “This means I was right! Eight years old and I could recognize a Voice quirk! Yes!”

 

Hitoshi rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “I didn’t know people actually listened to my channel.”

 

Izuku stared at him again. “You. . . how could you not know?! Every few months at least, Hizashi actively promotes your channel on his radio show, and he shares all of your videos not only on his Present Mic channel, but also on the Put Your Hands Up main page, and he comments on each video! Your channel has over a million subscribers.”

 

“What.”

 

Izuku nodded. “Just last week, Hizashi mentioned your cover of Shatter Me. I don’t know how I missed that video, but I watched it as soon as Hizashi was off the air. I loved it!”

 

The two continued their walk to Shinsou’s house in silence. Shinsou was trying to piece this new information together, and Izuku was just happy to realize he had finally met Siren.

 

Once they had reached the door, Shinsou turned back to Izuku. “Um, I’d invite you in, but my fosters won’t like it.”

 

Izuku tilted his head. “They aren’t abusive, are they? I’ve heard how foster families can be with kids who have quirks like ours.”

 

 Shinsou shook his head. “Some of my first homes would muzzle me, but then my social worker got them arrested. She’s a force to be reckoned with, so every home since has made sure to be at least decent. None of them have been good, but they also haven’t been bad. They feed me, make sure I have clothes and stuff. But they won’t talk to me. The kids won’t talk to me. They encourage me to be silent but won’t try to enforce it.” He shrugged. “It’d be nice to have some parental support for once, but I know this is the best I can hope for.”

 

“If. . . if I could get you a better home, would you accept?” Izuku asked hesitantly.

 

“. . . probably.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

“Hey, Shouta, sign here,” Izuku handed Shouta a pen and some documents.

 

“What’s this?” he asked, reading it over.

 

“Oh, nothing much. Just, you know, legal guardian transferal paperwork,” Izuku shrugged. “I found myself a brother/cousin! I just need you to make it official.”

 

“You didn’t think about maybe asking me first?”

 

“. . . he likes cats and coffee?”

 

Shouta stared at Izuku with a deadpan expression and then sighed in defeat. “Welcome to the family, I guess.”

Notes:

Please remember, this is NOT Hito/Izu! I know Izu flirted hard with Hitoshi, but damn, you have all heard that boy's voice.

Chapter 12

Notes:

Have a fluffy chapter! :D

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Tachibana-san was helping Hitoshi load his belongings into the car, careful about the boxes that held his recording equipment. Hitoshi really liked her, she’d been his social worker for nine years, and had really stood up for him and made certain that the first few families he was with were brought to justice.

 

As soon as she got the request for Hitoshi’s change in guardianship request, she came to him to get his opinion before accepting or rejecting the placement change. Hitoshi wasn’t sure about what to think until he saw the names of the new potential guardians: Yamada Hizashi and Aizawa Shouta. His new potential guardians were Present Mic and the guy who trained Izuku!

 

Hitoshi had agreed to the placement change and had started packing his things that day.

 

“I was a little surprised you accepted this placement,” Tachibana-san said as they were driving to the new home. “You hadn’t mentioned anything about not liking this home.”

 

Hitoshi shrugged. “It wasn’t bad, but… well I met someone at school, and we kind of started talking?”

 

“Oh? Have you met someone, Shinsou?” Tachibana-san teased.

 

“No!” Hitoshi denied, with a laugh. “Midoriya’s nice, but he’s not my type. My point,” he continued, “was that he also has a villain’s quirk. We were talking about our homes, and I mentioned wishing I had more support for my dreams, and he seemed concerned, worried even, that I might be in a bad home. He asked if I’d be willing to move if he could get me a new placement.”

 

“You think this was your friend’s doing?”

 

“I know it was. Yamada Hizashi and Aizawa Shouta are the names of the people he lives with.” Hitoshi let himself smile a little bit.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Shinsou had gone straight home after classes on Thursday so he could get his belongings together and his social worker could bring him to his new home, so Izuku was now stuck waiting for him, staring out the window while Hizashi made dinner.

 

Izuku had already cleaned out the spare bedroom and replaced the bedding. It was ready for a new occupant, and Izuku was really excited to have a brother/cousin!

 

Hmm, would they be brothers or cousins? Izuku turned around to where Shouta was laying on the couch with a cat on his stomach. “Shouta?”

 

“What?”

 

“Would Shinsou be my brother, or my cousin?”

 

Shouta lifted his head to look at Izuku. “. . . cousin,” he finally stated. “Unless you want to finally agree to let us adopt you.”

 

Izuku smirked at Shouta. “How many times have we had this discussion? No, I don’t want to be adopted.”

 

Shouta shrugged and flopped his head back down. “Then Shinsou is your cousin.”

 

Izuku nodded and turned his attention back out the window. After what felt like hours, a car finally pulled up with a few boxes in the backseat. “Shinsou’s here!” Izuku called out excitedly.

 

Shouta grumpily sat up, dislodging the cat that was sleeping on him in the process. “I suppose I should greet him.”

 

Izuku was first out the door, wanting to see if Shinsou would recognize Shouta as Eraserhead or not. Shinsou had just opened the backdoor to grab the first of his boxes when Izuku tackled him.

 

“Hi! Welcome!” Izuku dropped into a whisper, “I didn’t tell them you’re Siren, I want to see how long it takes them to figure it out, but you can tell them if you want.”

 

Shinsou nodded. “Now get off me and help with the boxes.” Izuku grabbed a box and had turned around just in time for Shinsou to realize who Shouta was. “M-midoriya…?” he stuttered.

 

“Yes, Shinsou?” Izuku asked sweetly.

 

“Is… is that… IS THAT ERASERHEAD?!” he shrieked at Izuku, turning around with wide eyes.

 

“Hmm, is that who Shouta is? I didn’t notice,” Izuku smirked as he walked up the path to the front door. As he passed Shouta, he smugly said, “Oh, I forgot to mention, Shinsou is a fan of yours, Shouta.”

 

Izuku could feel the judgmental stares of both Shouta and Shinsou as he happily whistled, taking the box up to Shinsou’s room.

 

By the time he came back downstairs, Hizashi and Shouta had invited the social worker inside and they were talking in the family room while Shinsou kept bringing in his boxes. Izuku followed him back outside to grab the last two boxes, and then instead of dropping them off just inside the door, they took them up to Shinsou’s room.

 

“This is your room!” Izuku exclaimed. “It’s close to mine,” Izuku gestured to the door across the hall, “and we’ll be sharing a bathroom. I’m pretty neat, organized, and minimalistic when it comes to my things, habit of living hotel-to-hotel for years. If you want to use any of my products, feel free! I only get the nice stuff since the cheap stuff is hell on my curls. If I don’t approve of your hair products, we’re going shopping for the good stuff for you, by the way.”

 

Shinsou raised an eyebrow at him. “What if I like the cheap stuff?” he challenged.

 

Izuku gave him a deadpan look. “If you refuse to use good stuff, I will literally drink your crappy stuff and force you to use the good shit.”

 

“Bet.”

 

“Shinsou, I’m immune to poisons. Shampoo tastes terrible but won’t impair me at all. Are you sure you want to try to call my bluff?”

 

“That seems hugely unfair,” Shinsou complained.

 

Izuku shrugged. “It has its perks, especially in my line of work.”

 

“You’ve mentioned stuff like that a few times now. Aren’t you my age?” he asked.

 

Izuku nodded as they dropped off their boxes and went back for more. “I’m fifteen. Going to be sixteen in July, though.

 

“Oh, really? Me too. July first.”

 

“Fifteenth. Hizashi’s is the seventh.” Izuku picked up another box. “Maybe we can convince Shouta to hold a combined birthday bash for all three of us on the seventh?”

 

“You just want an early birthday, huh?” Shinsou teased.

 

“Nah, we used to do a combined birthday on the eleventh, right in between us, but with your addition, we can probably get it moved.” Izuku shrugged. “Up to you, though. If you want your own day, that’s cool, and me and Zashi can keep our combined day.”

 

“What do you typically do on those days?” he asked.

 

“Karaoke! We drag Shouta along with us, he hates singing, but he loves listening to us! We used to go out to karaoke bars and just sing until everyone else started hating themselves!” Izuku laughed.

 

Shinsou raised an eyebrow at that. “Until everyone else hated themselves? Uh, explain?”

 

“Dude. Really? Zashi has a Voice quirk, just like you do. It’s so disheartening for us non-vocal quirk people to follow a voice quirk in karaoke unless you give zero shits. Or unless you spent a lot of time practicing, like me.” Izuku grinned at him.

 

“Ah. Makes sense, I guess?”

 

“Is this the last box?” Izuku asked.

 

~*~*~*~

 

“Why… are you… making me… do this??” Shinsou complained as Izuku counted out push-ups for him.

 

“Is that your stupid question of the day?” Izuku retorted. “You need to work on some strength!”

 

“You’re… trying to… kill me,” he panted.

 

Izuku snorted. “If I was trying to kill you, you’d be dead before you realized you were in danger.” Izuku patted him on the head. “You can take a break from the push-ups, though. Come on, let’s take a few laps! Cardio is important!” he grinned.

 

Shinsou collapsed with a groan. “I can’t, I’m dead. You killed me! Let me rest in peace!”

 

Izuku giggled and pulled Shinsou to his feet. “Nuh uh, no quitter talk! We can take it slow, but you do need to work on your stamina, so let’s go.” Izuku paused. “Unless you don’t want to make it into Class 1-A during your first year? If you want to wait for second year, we can take it a bit slower.”

 

The look of determination that sparked in Shinsou’s eyes was all the answer Izuku needed. “Let’s go!”

 

After the first lap, Izuku could see Shinsou clearly struggling. “Talking about something will help take your mind off the running,” he suggested.

 

Shinsou just kept panting. When Izuku was sure he wasn’t going to say anything, he asked, “Who’s the cute blond in 1-A?”

 

Izuku grinned. “You’re going to have to be a bit more specific, there are a few blonds.”

 

“He’s a guy,” Shinsou said.

 

“Yeah, all of 1-A’s blonds are guys, and there’s four of them. Are you talking about the sparkly one, the calm one, the happy one, or the angry one?”

 

“The… I don’t know, the one with the black streak in his hair?”

 

“Kaminari Denki, he’s the happy one.” Izuku smirked at him. “If you mention him being cute anywhere near Shouta, be prepared to endure an hour-long lecture about all the downfalls of a loud blond, while he uses Hizashi as a reference.” Izuku snorted.

 

“Will he really do that?” Shinsou managed to raise an eyebrow at Izuku before he nearly stumbled and resumed his focus on running.

 

“Oh yeah,” Izuku easily answered. “I remember when I first told them I was bi, Zashi was crying tears of joy that I still trusted them enough to tell them things like that, and Shouta used that exact emotional display to explain the ‘trap that is the loud blond.’ Hizashi was laughing all the way through Shouta’s lecture.”

 

“Huh.” Shinsou was quiet for a while, but then said, “Hypocrite. He married the loudest blond of them all,” sending Izuku into a mess of giggles, causing them to pause their laps.

 

~*~*~*~

 

The weeks passed quickly, and in that time ‘Shinsou’ had become ‘Hitoshi’ while ‘Midoriya’ had become ‘Izuku.’ Hitoshi felt that if he was going to be murdered, he should at least call his murderer by their given name, and Izuku had joked back that if he was going to kill his cousin, he should at least call him by name.

 

“Hey, Izuku?” Hitoshi asked the day before the Sports Fest.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Is… is there any way you can get the parentals out of the house for an hour or so today?” he asked.

 

“. . . Possibly. Why?”

 

Hitoshi blushed. “I kind of want to record a song tonight, and I don’t want them to hear?”

 

Izuku’s eyes lit up. “I accept watching and/or joining in as payment!”

 

“. . . payment?” Hitoshi asked, confused.

 

Izuku hadn’t told Hitoshi yet about his work as a mercenary yet, he was waiting either for him to figure it out on his own, or for him to get into 1-A. Whichever came first.

 

“Yup. Payment. If I’m going to figure out a way to get them out of the house long enough for you to set up your equipment and then record whatever you’re going to sing, you can bet I need to be paid.”

 

“Well… I suppose you can watch. And depending on your singing voice, maybe you can join. The song I’m looking at would be better with an additional singer,” Hitoshi mused. “I’m planning on ‘Ready As I’ll Ever Be,’ since, you know, tomorrow’s the festival.”

 

Izuku nodded. “Give me ten minutes!”

 

~*~*~*~

 

“They’re plotting something, aren’t they?” Hizashi asked Shouta as they pulled up to one of their favorite date night restaurants.

 

“Undoubtably,” he replied. “But if I’m going to be stuck in an announcer’s booth with you for an entire day, it is a good idea for you to remind me that I actually love you, so I don’t commit homicide accidently.”

 

“Babe, if you were to commit homicide, I seriously doubt it’d be on accident,” Hizashi teased.

 

“Hmm, true. So, if you don’t remind me that I love you tonight, then you might die tomorrow,” Shouta shrugged.

 

Hizashi laughed and kissed his husband before they got out of the car. “I’ll do my best to remind you, then, babe.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

Now it's time to step up or it's time to back down

And there's only one answer for me

And I'll stand up and fight 'cause I know that I'm right

And I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready

Ready as I'll ever be

 

Izuku was absolutely blown away – he had thought Hitoshi sounded amazing in his videos but listening to him in person was incredible! Clearly, his recording devices needed to be upgraded, because they didn’t manage to capture all the raw emotion his voice held in person.

 

Fuck, if he were my type, I’d be hopelessly lost right about now,’ Izuku thought to himself.

 

When he finished recording the singing – and Izuku had managed to sing some parts with him – Hitoshi started the editing process. There was a lot more than Izuku had thought there would be to putting out a song, but he thought the process was interesting.

 

“Are you going to be watching the Sports Fest tomorrow?” Hitoshi asked out of nowhere.

 

“Hmm? Oh, no. Well, maybe a little?” Izuku scratched at his cheek. “I’m going to be working security. I don’t know if I’ll be able to see the Festival, but I’ll be able to hear it.”

 

Hitoshi looked up from his computer and stared at Izuku. “You’ll… be working security?”

 

Izuku nodded with a huge grin on his face.

 

“. . . well alright then.”

Notes:

Shouta: No loud blonds!
Izuku: Don't worry, I'm not into blonds.
Hizashi: Shouta, you do realize I'm blond, right?
Shouta: Blonds are very pretty, and that's how they trap you! Be better than me, Izuku, resist the allure of the Loud Blond!
Izuku: Again, I'm not into blonds.

Hitoshi: *looking around nervously, whispers* I like blonds...

Chapter 13

Notes:

You know, after I did Datastream, I vowed to never again fully write out the Sports Fest. I like how I manage to get around it! :D

Chapter Text

Izuku had decided on pancakes for breakfast – chocolate chip! He had sliced up some strawberries and bananas for toppings and was just about to pour out the first batch when Hizashi danced in listening to a song on his phone. “Good morning, my sweet little Zuku!” Hizashi gave him a huge hug.

 

Laughing, Izuku hugged him back. “Okay, what happened? I know you’re a morning person, but this is ridiculous!”

 

Hitoshi had been following Hizashi into the kitchen, so he was listening in when Hizashi grinned even brighter. “Siren recorded a new song last night!” He was practically jumping in joy. “I swear, I think he might be a student at UA, his song was Ready As I’ll Ever Be! And with the Sports Fest being today, it’s as if he’s been training for it and he’s ready! Ooh, Izuku, what if Siren is a student at UA and I’ve met him?! How awesome would that be?! And he might have a new friend, that song sounds like there’s another person singing along!! Ooh, I’m so happy for Siren!!”

 

“Calm down, Zashi, you’re about to get too loud,” Izuku laughed at Hizashi’s antics, and grinned at Hitoshi as he blushed and took a seat at the table.

 

“Do you want eggs with your pancakes?” he asked Hitoshi. He already knew how Hizashi and Shouta took their breakfasts, so he just started on theirs.

 

“Sure?”

 

Izuku nodded and added more eggs to the skillet.

 

“So, Hitoshi!” Hizashi turned his attention to the purple head that was laying on the table, trying to get a few more minutes of sleep. “Are you ready for the Sports Fest today?”

 

“He’s as ready as he’ll ever be!” Izuku winked at them.

 

Hizashi’s laugh made the joke worth it. “Seriously, Hitoshi, how are you feeling about today?”

 

Hitoshi sighed in defeat. “Well, I doubt I’ll win it, but I’m hoping I get far enough to get noticed. I really want to transfer into the Hero Course.”

 

“Well, you didn’t hear this from me, but,” Hizashi lowered his voice to a whisper, “if you make it to the third event, you have a pretty good shot. Now, that’s not saying it’s a sure thing, but your odds are a lot better.”

 

Hitoshi nodded. “That’s what I’m aiming for.”

 

“I won’t be allowed to cheer for you while commentating, I’m supposed to be unbiased, but know that you’re the one I’m rooting for.” Hizashi ruffled Hitoshi’s hair. “Good luck today, kiddo!”

 

Izuku put the plates down on each seat and poured out a mug of coffee. “I’ll be right back,” he said as he wandered down the hallway to bribe Shouta to join the land of the living.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

Izuku was casually laying down on one of the outside monitors overlooking the entrance to the stadium, fully in Stealth, and watching as people got their tickets checked. Today was probably going to be boring, he could already feel it.

 

With as many heroes as where here, there was no way anyone was going to attack the venue. If anything, villains were going to be watching the event on their televisions at home, learning the strengths and weaknesses of the students for future battles.

 

But whatever, that’s just his personal opinion as a researcher/mercenary, but what would he know?

 

Izuku sat up when he noticed Endeavor pushing his way through the crowd. Izuku remembered when he used to look up to the fire hero, and looking at him now, he can’t understand why he never saw how big of an asshole he was.

 

. . . wait. . .

 

‘Please don’t tell me he’s like this at home, too?’ Izuku thought. Oh gods, poor Todoroki. If this man is the same at home as he is in public…

 

Pulling out his phone, Izuku sent a quick text to Shouta.

 

BladesForDaysIs Endeavor always an asshole? Or is that just a hero persona?

 

CatMothMan – He is an asshole of the first order, no matter where he is.

 

BladesForDays – Fantastic. Thanks.

 

CatMothMan – Why?

 

BladesForDays – Just a hunch. I hope I’m wrong, though.

 

Izuku jumped down from his perch and decided he was going to follow Endeavor. Something in his gut was just not sitting right, and the last time he ignored that feeling he ended up working with villains to try to kill All Might.

 

~*~*~*~

 

The first event was an obstacle course, and while Izuku was watching Endeavor, he made sure to keep an eye on Hitoshi. And maybe also Todoroki, since Endeavor’s temperament kept getting more and more sour. Izuku had even heard Endeavor muttering along the lines of ‘use your fire, you ungrateful brat, use your fucking fire,’ and if that wasn’t a Bright Red Flag, he didn’t know what one was.

 

So yeah, he was watching Todoroki. And damn, how Izuku never really noticed that boy before is completely wild.

 

That, or he’s really good at remaining unnoticed, which, hello, do I spy another Red Flag? Thinking back on every time he’d ever seen Todoroki, Izuku realized the boy purposely didn’t stand out. He never used his fire, either, only his ice. He rarely smiled, rarely talked, kept to himself.

 

All of that put together was leading Izuku to think maybe Endeavor deserved a dirt nap. Unfortunate that no one had a contract out for him.

 

Todoroki managed to get first place in the obstacle race, and Izuku expected his father to be pleased, but no – Endeavor was livid that his ‘masterpiece’ hadn’t bothered with his fire. Endeavor then grumbled about there not being any time in between the first and second events for him to talk to his son.

 

Izuku raised an eyebrow at that. It didn’t matter that there wasn’t time in between the events, the students weren’t going to be out in the more public areas until the lunch break after the next event. He wasn’t going to try to get into the student only areas, was he? Ooooooh, he better not!

 

Izuku calmed down a bit as Endeavor settled down to watch the calvary battle. Hitoshi had a group of three hero students with him, and they all looked a little zoned out. Izuku hoped that didn’t come and bite him in the ass later, but he was super proud of Hitoshi being confident enough in his quirk to use it on purpose.

 

Izuku was so enraptured in watching the event and cheering for Hitoshi for getting the third place in the event he almost missed it when Endeavor got up, seething once more about his ‘fucking brat, just wait until we get home, you’ll wish you had used your fire,’ and Izuku was starting to wonder if this man had any Green Flags as a father, or if they were all red.

 

As Izuku followed Endeavor, his glare just got worse and worse – he was heading into the staff and student only section. Izuku wanted to just drag Endeavor out of the area, but at the same time, he wanted to see if his theories on how Endeavor was as a parent were true or not.

 

It took nearly an hour of wandering the area for Endeavor to finally come across Todoroki relaxing alone in an empty hallway. Izuku saw instantly how the boy flinched when he saw his father approaching, and he saw red.

 

“Shouto, what was that pathetic excuse of a performance? Why didn’t you use your fire?!” Endeavor yelled at his son.

 

Todoroki merely stood there, eyes downcast, posture stiff, and Izuku was sure he saw the slightest hint of a tremor in his hands. This boy was terrified of his own father.

 

“Shouto, if you don’t step up your performance in the next event, we’ll be spending the rest of the weekend in the Training Room! Do you understand me?!” he roared at his son. And with that, Izuku decided he’d heard enough. Thanks to his short height, Izuku was able to see how Todoroki’s eyes widened in fear at Endeavor’s threat.

 

Dropping his stealth, Izuku grinned at Endeavor. “Well, hello there, Endeavor! What are you doing here? This area is restricted to Staff and Students only,” Izuku said brightly.

 

“This doesn’t concern you, child. This is a private matter between myself and my son,” he growled back.

 

“Yeah, I’m sure it is, but you see, you’re still not allowed to be back here. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Izuku wanted him to argue one more time, just one more time, please….

 

“And just what do you think you’re going to do if I don’t?” Endeavor had finally turned fully to Izuku, with a haughty glare.

 

Izuku only smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that.” Izuku swiftly pierced Endeavor’s arm with his poisoned needles – a paralytic and a quirk suppressant – and the man dropped, flames going out instantly.

 

Izuku reached down and grabbed his foot, preparing to drag him out of the area, but looked at Todoroki first. “Are you okay?”

 

The boy just stared at Izuku with a look of awe in his eyes, and then shook himself. “Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.”

 

“Okay, just making sure. Good luck in the next event!” And with that, Izuku turned around and started dragging Endeavor out of the student access area with a merry little whistle.

 

Todoroki was blushing as he watched the tiny green mercenary drag his father away.

 

~*~*~*~

 

BladesForDays – So, if I wanted to kill a Top 10 hero…..

 

LightItUp – NO!

 

CatMothMan – Depends.

 

LightItUp – It does NOT depend, the answer is no!

 

BladesForDays – But he’s an asshole!

 

LightItUp – Figure out something else, but NO MURDER!!

 

BladesForDays – There goes Zashi, ruining all my fun… Fine, I’ll figure out something else.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Izuku had decided to stick closer to the students after he had tossed Endeavor out. He was sure the man would be back once his poisons wore off, but until then he’d just be laying in a hallway. Boring.

 

The first match of the 1v1 round was Hitoshi vs. Kaminari. Izuku groaned at that. This would be over quickly, but Izuku wasn’t sure if it’d be funny or depressing. If Kaminari used his quirk out there, Hitoshi was going to go down hard, but if Kaminari let Hitoshi start talking, then the win would go to Hitoshi.

 

He’d been practicing pick-up lines for Kaminari since he realized he had an electricity quirk.

 

Hitoshi was careful to never share them when Shouta was around, but both Izuku and Hizashi were subjected to the torture that those pick-up lines were. Some of them were truly terrible.

 

As soon as Midnight called for the match to start, just as Kaminari was looking to charge up an attack, Hitoshi smirked. “Hey boy, are you an electrician? I just want to spark a conversation.”

 

Kaminari’s eyes widened comically and his hold on the electricity sputtered. He grinned widely at Hitoshi, and said, “You’re like an exposed wire. Hot and dangerous!”

 

“You’re my lithium battery, you charge me up.”

 

“You’re the perfect switch, you turn me on.”

 

“I don’t usually like being shocked, but when I saw you, I was almost knocked off my feet!”

 

“I’m not paralyzed, but I seem to be struck by you.”

 

“You and I are so perfect, want to make a complete circuit?”

 

“You’re pretty cool—” And with that, Kaminari was caught in Hitoshi’s quirk.

 

“Walk out of bounds,” Hitoshi said, still grinning.

 

Izuku put his head in his hands. ‘I can’t believe that actually worked,’ he thought.

 

As Hizashi commentated on Hitoshi’s victory, Izuku could swear he heard Shouta’s muttered, “Oh gods, I need to have the Loud Blond talk with him.”

 

Hitoshi followed Kaminari out into the tunnels after he was declared the winner, and they seemed to be engaged in a conversation, although Izuku was sure he saw a dark flash pass through Hitoshi’s eyes for a split second. He’d have to ask about that later.

 

The next match was Todoroki against Sero, and there was never a single doubt in Izuku’s mind that Sero would lose against Todoroki, but dang, that was a lot of ice!

 

~*~*~*~

 

The next round of matches were going to start, and it was Hitoshi against Todoroki. Izuku wanted to cheer for Hitoshi, but he was a realist. He knew the way this was going to end, and he was not wrong.

 

As Todoroki thawed out the ice encasing Hitoshi, Izuku noticed a bright point in the audience – it seems Endeavor had recovered and was back in the stands. Izuku almost ignored him, but he saw the way he glared at his son and turned to head into the tunnels.

 

Worried that he was going to have another ‘chat’ with his son, Izuku darted after the hero.

 

He pulled out another of his needles and laced this one with a mild hallucinogenic. Not enough to make him dangerous, but it would leave him happy, tipsy, and talking to walls for a few hours.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Bakugou really needs to work on that temper of his,’ Izuku mused to himself. Even though he’d started acting civil towards Izuku, the angry blond had continued to act like a walking time bomb around the rest of his classmates.

 

The final round of the event was Bakugou v. Todoroki, and Bakugou destroyed the arena trying to get Todoroki to use his fire against him and refused to accept his victory since he felt it was undeserved.

 

Now Bakugou was on the first-place pedestal, chained up and muzzled as he tried to attack his classmate. Izuku shrugged. Whatever. If his ego was a little more down to earth, maybe he would have realized that not everything was about him. Todoroki never used his fire, it’s not like this was a new thing for him.

 

Izuku was glad the event was finally over, he wanted to go home and tease Hitoshi over his match with Kaminari and see if he got the blond’s phone number or not.

Chapter 14

Notes:

Chapter 13.5

This is short because it was not planned out, but I wanted to include it. Chapter 14 will be out soon~ish, probably. It's already written, but I'm not allowed to post another chapter until I have written at least 2 chapters - doesn't matter if they are Legacy, Screech, or Shadowstep, but I have to write 2 chapters before I can post another. Otherwise, you'd all have up to chapter 17 posted right now.

Chapter Text

Hitoshi was smiling at his phone – he’d gotten Kaminari’s phone number. He was about to text him and ask if he wanted to meet up over the weekend when Izuku stepped next to him and threw an arm around him.

 

“So, you know how I told you not to say Kaminari was cute anywhere near Shouta?” he asked instead of a greeting.

 

“Yeah…” Hitoshi answered hesitantly.

 

“Well, having a flirt-off, or whatever you want to call that, where Shouta could hear you also kind of counts. But no, you had to do that, didn’t you? I mean, congrats on the win, but now you’re going to get the Loud Blond talk on the drive home.” Izuku shuddered. “I hope it was worth it.”

 

“It can’t possibly be that bad,” Hitoshi said, rolling his eyes.

 

Izuku just quirked an eyebrow and grinned.

 

~*~*~*~

 

It was that bad.

 

Shouta had sat in the backseat with Hitoshi while they had Izuku driving, so Hizashi could laugh without risking a crash.

 

“The first thing you need to know about Loud Blonds is that they are pretty. That is just a fact of life, and the less sleep you get, the prettier they are. In retrospect, I should have known that you would be susceptible to the Curse of the Loud Blond.” Shouta hung his head in defeat. “I have failed you.”

 

Hitoshi stared back at him, wondering if this was really happening right now, as Hizashi and Izuku were giggling.

 

“The second thing you need to know is – they are Loud. I know, it seems obvious, since they are designated as Loud Blonds, but however Loud you think they are, you are wrong. They are louder. And it’s not just in volume, no, most of it is their personality, their gestures, their energy levels. The just. DON’T. Stop.” He pulled on Hizashi’s arm as a demonstration. “See? There is nothing subtle about him, from the hair to the glasses, to the jacket, everything is so LOUD!”

 

“He’s not loud at home, though,” Hitoshi pointed out.

 

“No, no, that’s where you’re going to get trapped!” Shouta had nearly a manic look in his eyes. “The Loud Blond is quiet at home, soft. It’s a ruse to make you feel safe, to make you let your guard down, that’s how they dig in and plant their claws into your heart! They make you fall deeper in love every time they’re quiet, so they don’t risk getting murdered when out in public with you, being Loud!”

 

“The third thing you need to know about them is this: they will invade your personal space and cling to you for no logical or discernable reason.”

 

“Says the man who lays nearly completely on top of me when we have movie nights and won’t let me up?” Hizashi snickered.

 

“Shut!” Shouta shot back. “When you’re out and about, while they’re being Loud, they will cling to you. They will not let you go.”

 

Shouta sighed in defeat. “I’m too far gone, Hitoshi. You need to be better than me. Resist the temptation of the Loud Blond.”

 

Hitoshi looked at Hizashi with a confused expression. “Is… is he being serious right now?”

 

Hizashi snorted. “Honestly? I’m not sure. He’s been complaining about Loud Blonds ever since we started dating in high school, but yet he still married me.”

 

Shouta grumbled. “I already said I’m too far gone, Hizashi. Stop rubbing it in…”

 

Everyone just laughed at him.

 

“Anyways,” Shouta said. “If Hitoshi doesn’t manage to resist the allure of the Loud Blond, who’s giving Kaminari the shovel talk?”

 

DIBS!!!” Izuku called out excitedly.

Chapter 15

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“You did great out there, Toshi! I don’t know why you’re so upset you didn’t make it into the finals!” Izuku poked Hitoshi’s cheek. “I mean, you’ve only been training for real for a few weeks. Todoroki’s been training probably since he’s been old enough to walk. Not a lot of people can really stand up to that kind of power unless they have a comparable power.”

 

Hitoshi sighed. “I know, but still.” The embarrassment of Shouta’s ‘Loud Blond’ talk had finally died down, and Hitoshi was reminded of the fact that he had lost in the second match of the third event.

 

“You made it into the third event, and as a General Ed student, that’s great! You should feel proud of yourself, Toshi!”

 

“Heh, I guess you’re right,” he said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Do… do you think I did well enough to make it into the Hero Course?”

 

“I don’t know, but I hope so! And if not, that just means we’ve got another year to work with! I will get you into the Hero Course. That is a promise!” Izuku grinned.

 

The two were in the front room, waiting for Hizashi to get dinner ready, when Izuku’s phone pinged. He looked at it and couldn’t help himself from snickering.

 

“What’s up?” Hitoshi asked. When he saw Izuku’s phone, he snorted and pulled the phone closer for a better look. “Is that Endeavor?” Someone had sent surveillance videos of Endeavor arguing with a cardboard cutout of All Might, slurring his words, and wildly off-balance. “Who sent this, and can you send it to me? This is amazing!”

 

Izuku kept laughing, “I got it from Nedzu, and I probably shouldn’t send it to you, sorry, but you can feel free to watch it whenever you want!”

 

From the kitchen, the two boys heard sudden laughter get cut off. “Oh, looks like Shou and Zashi likely just saw that video,” Izuku commented.

 

“Okay, I can understand them getting the video, but why would Nedzu send it to you?” Hitoshi asked.

 

“Oh, simple – it was my poisoned needle that caused him to act like that in the first place.” Izuku’s grin was just this side of terrifying.

 

Hitoshi wanted to know more, but at the same time, he was afraid of the answer.

 

Shouta was glaring at Hizashi with his quirk as Hitoshi and Izuku decided to enter the kitchen, and Hitoshi suddenly realized that Hizashi’s entire voice was his quirk – it was always on – since he hadn’t stopped laughing, he just couldn’t make any sound with Shouta glaring at him.

 

“I swear to all that is holy, if you don’t stop laughing right now, I’m going to strangle you. Zashi, I need to blink!” Shouta growled at him.

 

Hizashi put both of his hands over his mouth trying to hold back his laughter and Shouta allowed himself to blink. Hizashi’s laughter came back but was at a much more acceptable volume. Shouta glanced at Hitoshi, “You’re going to need to come to the school tomorrow with us, even though you won’t have classes.”

 

“Question!” Izuku held up his hand. “I’m not on security tomorrow, do I have to come?”

 

“No.”

 

“Good.” Turning to Hitoshi, Izuku said, “If you want, after whatever reason you have to come to the school is over, come back home, and we can get started on using Shouta’s capture scarf! I know where he keeps his spares!”

 

“You know how to--?” Hitoshi blinked. “Who am I kidding, of course he taught you.”

 

“Nope!” Izuku sang. “I watched, and I stole a scarf and played with it while he was sleeping, and I figured it out.”

 

“You figured it out on your own?”

 

“It’s part of his quirk,” Shouta muttered. “The capture scarf is purely based on agility and dexterity, and Izuku has a natural affinity for those skills. So. Consider it cheating on his part.”

 

Izuku giggled, “Look, just because it took you six years to master it.”

 

Shouta shoved Izuku’s head to the side. “Shut up, Problem Child.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

The next day, Hitoshi came back from his trip to the school with a stunned expression and flopped face-first onto the couch.

 

“Uh, you good?” Izuku asked him, poking him.

 

“M mm m mmm mmm mmMM MMMM!!!!” Hitoshi said into the couch cushions.

 

“Mhm.” Izuku grabbed a fist-full of purple hair and pulled Hitoshi’s head off the cushions. “Now, repeat that so I can understand you.”

 

“I made it into the Hero Course!” Hitoshi repeated as asked, fully sitting back up in the process. “That’s why I had to go to the school! Nedzu told me I won’t actually be joining until after finals, and my joining now rests on my ability to pass my finals with at least a B on every test, but if I can manage that, I’ll be in the Hero Course for the next term!”

 

“That’s awesome!! We can study together!! I want to get a good grade on the finals too!” Izuku hugged Hitoshi.

 

Hitoshi was grinning widely as he hugged Izuku back. “I can’t believe I really made it! I need to record another song!”

 

“You just did one, though? You don’t normally upload that quickly.”

 

“Don’t care! I need to record! Hmm, what would be a good song…?” Hitoshi started muttering as he wandered back to his room.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Hitoshi had decided on the perfect song – Fight Song. As Hitoshi started recording his song, he had his headphones on, listening to the music, getting lost in the lyrics. Even while he sang, his mind fell to everything in his life that brought him to this point, all the homes he’d ever lived in that didn’t believe in him, every time he was ignored.

 

Every time he was silent, when all he wanted was to scream and be heard.

 

It’s why he chose the name Siren, honestly. While it was a subtle – or, well, not really subtle – nod to his quirk, he loved the way the mythological sirens were seen as creatures that people wanted to listen to, and not just as the monsters who lured sailors to their deaths. They were afraid of the Sirens, true, but they were curious about their alluring voices, Odysseus even purposely left himself unprotected from the Siren’s call just so he could hear them.

 

Hitoshi wanted to be heard. He wanted to make people listen to him.

 

And all those things I didn't say

Wrecking balls inside my brain

I will scream them loud tonight

Can you hear my voice this time?

 

He was proud of his showing in the Sports Fest, he was, but there was still a lot of fight left for him. Kaminari had mentioned briefly that he had been warned about Hitoshi’s quirk, told not to speak to him or he’d be captured, but he had laughed it off. He had forgotten, but he didn’t mind, the flirting was fun, so he didn’t regret it.

 

But he had still been warned about his opponent’s quirk.

 

Hitoshi was sure that if he’d had some other quirk no one would have said anything. If his quirk was just a pretty voice, no one would have tried to prevent Hitoshi from capturing his opponent in his villainous quirk.

 

Maybe it was done with pure intentions – after all, Hitoshi knew that Kaminari’s quirk was Electricity, and that Todoroki’s was Ice, but it still felt like it was personal. As if someone was showing a bias towards his quirk. He would fight, harder than ever before, when he got into the Hero Course to change the way people perceived him and his quirk.

 

It was with these thoughts in his heart, that he sang this song.

 

This is my fight song

Take back my life song

Prove I'm alright song

My power's turned on

Starting right now I'll be strong

I'll play my fight song

And I don't really care if nobody else believes

'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me

 

~*~*~*~

 

Hizashi was standing in the hallway, so stunned he could barely breathe. That voice… that was Siren… he was sure of it. The feeling, the emotion, the passion. That was … Hitoshi?

 

“Izuku,” Hizashi whispered, “is Hitoshi Siren?”

 

Izuku linked his arm with Hizashi and leaned his head against him. “Yeah. I warned him you’d be home around this time, but he said he had to record the song no matter what.”

 

Hizashi pressed a kiss onto the top of Izuku’s head and whispered, “Thank you baby,” before turning around and walking out the door, pulling his phone out at the same time. He had to call Nedzu.

 

Two rings later, the phone was answered. “Hizashi-kun! I wasn’t expecting a call from you. Is everything okay?”

 

“Yes, I just want to put in a request for an intern. The student isn’t in the Hero Course, yet, but I want him,” Hizashi answered. “Shinsou Hitoshi. I want to put in an official request for him.”

 

“Hmm, very interesting! Does this mean you finally realized he is the mysterious Siren you’ve been wanting to meet for years?” Nedzu chirped excitedly.

 

“How did you know?!” Hizashi exclaimed. “I just found out like a minute ago!”

 

Nedzu laughed. “Well, Hizashi-kun, you must keep in mind that I have slightly better hearing than you do.”

 

“Ugh, of course, you recognized his voice. Izuku knew too and chose not to tell me. You both know how much I adore Siren and how long I’ve been trying to get him to come on my show! And now that I know he’s just a kid, the only way I can get him in the station is as an official Intern!”

 

Nedzu squeaked out a giggle. “I’ll get it all taken care of for you, Hizashi-kun! It’ll still be his choice to accept or not, but your offer will be ready and presented to him on Monday. Will you be informing him prior to Monday about your intentions?”

 

“Yes. He’s recording a song right now, but when he’s done, I’ll be talking to him.”

 

“Mm. Good luck, then! I’ll see you tomorrow for the third-year’s events!” Nedzu hung up and Hizashi walked back into the house.

 

Izuku was in the kitchen with Shouta lazing by the counter and was getting the ingredients out for Oyakodon. He looked up at Hizashi with a smirk. “Did you just put in an internship request for Toshi?” he asked knowingly.

 

“Shut up. Get out of my kitchen.” Hizashi grumbled. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me he was Siren!” Hizashi suddenly whirled on him. “You! You were the extra singer in that video, weren’t you?!” He dramatically placed the back of his hand on his forehead. “Betrayed! Betrayed by my own son!”

 

Izuku giggled and hopped up on the counter next to where Shouta was leaning. “Nephew,” he corrected.

 

Hizashi waved a hand, “Still my kid, no matter what.”

 

“I’ll give you that one,” Izuku agreed.

 

They fell into a familiar routine for making dinner, and when Hitoshi finished his recording and came out, he hesitantly sat down at the table, knowing full well that they had all heard him.

 

Hizashi aimed his brightest smile at him. “You sound so much better in person! I think we need to upgrade your equipment so everyone can hear how you really sound!”

 

Izuku nodded. “I thought that too.”

 

Hitoshi stared at them both blankly. “I have the best I can afford, though?”

 

Izuku and Hizashi both nodded. “Yeah, the best you can afford. Zashi knows sound equipment better than probably anyone, and since he’s your new Papa, it’s his job to spoil you.”

 

“I don’t…. what?”

 

“Shh, shh, don’t worry about it, Toshi! I made sure you got a good family this time! These two are the absolute best! You will be spoiled, and you will learn to accept it!”

 

“Bet,” Hitoshi smirked in challenge to Izuku.

 

“Hitoshi, my dear, sweet cousin. I have a bigger bank account than these two put together. Don’t try to call my bluffs, you will lose.”

 

“Okay, that’s it. You drop too many hints. How in the HELL do you have a bigger bank account than two Pro-Heroes?!” Hitoshi shrieked.

 

“Oh, that’s easy. And now that you’re going to be in 1-A I can tell you!” Izuku grinned widely at him. “I’m a mercenary!”

 

“. . . what.”

 

“Don’t encourage him, Hitoshi,” Hizashi rolled his eyes. “I keep trying to get him to quit, but he just won’t.”

 

“He’s damn good at it, Zashi, why should he quit?” Shouta mused.

 

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because killing people is illegal?!” Hizashi replied.

 

Shouta snorted. “Come on, a little murder never hurt anyone.”

 

“THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT IT DOES!!”

 

“No, no, no, my targets usually die too quickly to really feel anything.” Izuku joined in with a wink to Shouta. “The only ones I let suffer are the villains.”

 

“Grounded. You’re both grounded.” Hizashi just turned back to making dinner. “Why do I love you both? You’re going to make me go grey before I turn thirty-five.”

 

“You… you kill people?” Hitoshi asked hesitantly.

 

“Yeah, but only if I’m paid properly. And I don’t kill for the fun of it, only if it’s a job,” Izuku shrugged. “If it’s a contracted kill, it won’t even show up on my record anymore.”

 

Shouta spoke up at that, “I never did ask, how did you manage that?”

 

“Oh, I did a job for the HPSC. The president offered me 1 billion yen for a job, and I negotiated a clean record instead.” Izuku paused, and then scratched his cheek. “Well, I say instead, but really I dropped her down to 500 million yen and the record wiped clean.”

 

All three were staring at him. “What? I don’t like the HPSC, so of course I’m going to overcharge them!”

 

“Fair enough,” Shouta shrugged. “Is dinner almost done?”

 

~*~*~*~

 

“Hitoshi,” Hizashi said while Izuku was doing the dishes with Shouta. “On Monday, internship requests will be handed out to students.”

 

Hitoshi nodded. Izuku had mentioned internships were coming up for the Hero Course. “Yeah, but that’s for the Hero Course, right?”

 

“Yes and no. It’s for whoever got a request and decides to take it.” Hizashi started playing with Hitoshi’s hair. “I’m sending you an internship request. You don’t have to accept it, I know your acceptance into the Hero Course now depends on how you do on your finals, so I’ll understand if you chose not to accept the internship. Also, it won’t be like the rest of the internships, since you don’t have the same training as they do.”

 

Hizashi paused to let Hitoshi take that in and then continued, “I will mostly have you with me in the agency, and in the station. Maybe I’ll be able to convince you to come on air with me? Do some talks about discrimination? Advertise your channel? Maybe even sing for us?”

 

Hitoshi blushed but nodded. “Yeah, I’d like to do that! But,” he hesitated, “I don’t want my hero name to be Siren.”

 

Shouta and Izuku had finished the dishes and entered the family room in time to hear him say that. “Aww, but Siren is such a cool name!” Izuku pouted.

 

“It is, and I love the name, but I want that to be for the YouTube channel. I have always wanted to be Underground, so I don’t want a public persona attached to my hero name.”

 

“Makes sense,” Shouta muttered.

 

Izuku watched as both Hizashi and Shouta started thinking up names. “Honestly, Shouta, you couldn't think of your own hero name, but you can think of one for him?”

 

“I’m not fifteen anymore, Zashi!” he defended himself.

 

“Then why’s the cat named Bastard?” Izuku asked innocently.

 

“Because the cat’s a bastard.”

 

Hitoshi and Izuku giggled as the others kept thinking. Shouta glanced at Hitoshi and then said, “Eggplant! Ouch!” Hizashi had smacked him. “Scrambler?” This time he ducked before he got hit.

 

Another few minutes passed before Shouta made another suggestion. “Pocket Watch? You know, because people use them to hypnotize people?”

 

“I’m not using a pocket watch in my costume,” Hitoshi shot down.

 

“Fine, call yourself Coffee Cup, I’m sure you’ll have one with you,” he grumbled.

 

Izuku patted Shouta on the head. “And with that, Shouta’s naming privileges have been revoked. Again.” Shouta shoved Izuku away with a huff. “My suggestion,” Izuku said while laughing at Shouta, “is Piper. Like the story of the Pied Piper!”

 

Hitoshi shook his head. “I thought of that one when I started my channel,” he admitted. “Do you know the full story of the Pied Piper?”

 

“Uh, he led all the rats out of town?” Izuku cocked his head.

 

Hitoshi nodded. “That’s the part most people know, yeah, but that’s just the first part of it. The town of Hamelin was suffering from a rat infestation, and a piper dressed in multicolored clothes appeared, claiming to be able to solve the rat infestation. The mayor promised to pay him for the removal of the rats, I think it was 1,000 guilders? The piper accepted, and he led the rats into the Weser River where they all drowned.”

 

Continuing, “The mayor reneged on his promise and only paid 50 guilders, and then blamed the piper for bringing the rats into the town himself so he could extort the town. In revenge, the piper played his pipes and lured 136 children out of town and into a cave, and the children were never seen again.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Okay, now, my turn to think up a name?” Hizashi asked hopefully.

 

“Sure.”

 

“Stray Cat.”

 

“. . . and you called my ideas bad?” Shouta scoffed. “Remember, kids, Hizashi is the one who came up with the name Eraserhead.”

 

“He also came up with Present Mic,” Hitoshi smirked. “I’m listening.”

 

“Thank you!” Hizashi grinned. “I was watching this documentary a while back, and there was this pre-quirk band called The Stray Cats. You like cats, you’re practically a stray yourself that we took in, and they are tied to music, since they’re a band.”

 

“Hmm…. Excuse me while I confer with the council.” Hitoshi grabbed Izuku by the arm and pulled him into a corner. “I hate all of those names,” he whispered, “but I kind of want to spite Shouta and go with Stray Cat!”

 

Izuku giggled. “I’ll try to come up with something else, but you should totally do that!”

 

Both boys nodded and returned. “I’ll go with Stray Cat.”

 

SON OF A BITCH!”

Notes:

I'm not sold on Hitoshi's hero name, so if someone can come up with something better, I may use it.

Psyren (or Siren) and Hypnos are not available names, though, they have already been used in my other fics.

Chapter Text

“Lord Explosion Murder!” Bakugou announced proudly.

 

Before Midnight could say anything to him, Izuku started giggling. “Murder? Please, come back with that name after you have a body count.”

 

Everyone in the classroom, except for Shouta in his sleeping bag who just snorted, looked at him with apprehension. “What?” he shrugged, twirling a loose lock of hair. “You all know I’m a merc, you think I haven’t killed before?”

 

Iida was the first to recover. “Midoriya-san, what you are inferring is highly illegal! How can you expect to become a hero if you are saying you would be willing to - to kill? Heroes do not kill!”

 

Izuku raised an eyebrow and let all of the amusement fall from his face. “Who said I wanted to be a hero?”

 

Iida sputtered. “Y-you’re in Hero Class 1-A!”

 

“Yeah. And? I told you all on my first day, I’m a mercenary. I’m not a hero, I’m not here to be a hero, I don’t want to be a hero.” Iida, as well as most of the class, was confused by that, but sat down regardless.

 

Midnight shook herself and then asked, “Who’s next?”

 

Todoroki got up and walked up to the front of the class. “I’m choosing to use Flashfreeze.”

 

“Ooh, I like that!” Midnight cooed.

 

As Todoroki sat back down, Izuku couldn’t help but be a little concerned. Just a little, though, this time. Flashfreeze did perfectly describe his ice side, but he didn’t mention his fire at all – and Izuku knew he could use fire, he remembered Endeavor getting upset about that in particular.

 

Why didn’t Todoroki use his fire? Was it because of his father? Honestly, he remembered when he hadn’t wanted to use his poisons, so he could understand where he was coming from, but still.

 

Izuku was still musing about Todoroki’s lack of fire usage when lunch came around. Normally he would go to the cafeteria and spend lunch with Hitoshi, but Shouta had mentioned that Nedzu wanted to speak to him.

 

As Izuku neared the principal’s office, the door swung open on its own and he entered. “Hello, Nedzu-sensei!” Izuku called out. “Shouta said you wanted to see me? Oh, hey there, Tsuka!” As he always did upon entering a new room, Izuku had looked around and noticed Detective Tsukauchi sitting at one of the couches in the office.

 

“Midoriya,” he greeted with a smile.

 

“Come join us, Midoriya-kun!” Nedzu waved for him to sit with them.

 

Tsukauchi breathed a little sigh, and then said, “I came here today to ask Nedzu if we could borrow you for a few days, and he has informed me that since it doesn’t impact his students, the choice on whether you accept or not is up to you.”

 

Izuku rubbed his hands together. “Ooh, a job from the police? Or from you in particular?”

 

Tsukauchi hesitated. “Well, technically, from the police. But I would appreciate it if you would accept.”

 

“For you Tsuka, I’ll take a job. So. I’m listening. What are you asking?” Izuku leaned back and grinned.

 

“Stain.” Tsukauchi took a deep breath before he continued. “During the First Year’s Sports Festival, Stain attacked and permanently injured Pro-Hero Ingenium. We know he is currently in the city of Hosu, and by his current pattern, he will not be leaving until he has attacked at least two more heroes, and no one has been able yet to capture him.”

 

“So, let me see if I am understanding,” Izuku clarified, pulling the tie out of his braid and pulling it into a bun. “You want me to go to Hosu and . . . what, capture Stain?” Izuku wrinkled his nose in distaste.

 

“Yes. We are aware you would normally kill a target, but-“

 

“No, it’s not that. I mean, yes, I would normally kill a target like this, but the issue for me here is that I actually agree with his philosophy. Heroes on the whole, with a few certain exceptions, care only about their popularity, and not as much about helping the citizens. They are biased against those of us with less socially acceptable quirks. They ignore those who need their help if they won’t get good publicity out of it.” Izuku rubbed at his arm. “I still remember how I was treated when I was a kid. Things like that leave their mark, you know.”

 

“Please, Midoriya, this man is dangerous, and he’s been killing good heroes, not only the ones-“ Izuku interrupted him again.

 

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it, Tsuka. Just that I agree with his philosophy.”

 

Tsukauchi let out a sigh of relief. “Good. Now, uh, I know you are going to want payment, but I don’t know what the department will be willing to pay.”

 

Izuku closed his eyes, thinking. Stain. They didn’t want him to kill him, just capture him. That would be pretty easy, all things considered. And they had the foresight to send Tsukauchi - Izuku would be willing to do it for cheap, for him. Just pay the bill for the hotel he’d be staying at, and travel fees. That’s all Izuku would need.

 

Opening his eyes, Izuku took out a pen and his notebook, writing what he’d take as a price. He ripped out the paper and handed it to Tsukauchi. “I have a price in mind. Take this to whoever needs to sign off on it and get back to me. If they will accept that, I’ll do it. That is, by the way, the lowest I’m going to go. If they aren’t willing to pay that, I’m out.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

After school let out, Izuku was waiting at the gate for Hitoshi, the two were going to go to a café to work on some homework – Hitoshi needed help on an English essay, and Izuku needed help on his Math – when Izuku noticed that Uraraka was jogging his way.

 

“Hi Mido!” she greeted him.

 

Izuku nodded back. “Hey. What’s up?”

 

“Um,” she looked nervous about something, and got his attention. The kids in 1-A hadn’t been outright afraid of him since his first week, so it wasn’t him she was nervous about. “I don’t really know how to say this,” she admitted.

 

“That’s fine, start at the beginning?” he suggested.

 

“R-right,” Uraraka stuttered. “Okay. So, during the Sports Fest, I’m not sure if you’ve heard or not, but Iida’s brother was attacked by Stain.”

 

“Yeah, I heard about that earlier today. I hear he’ll live but won’t be able to be a hero anymore.”

 

“Mhm. Iida’s really upset about that. His brother is his whole world, and from what I’ve heard from him, his parents are sort of absent? So, his brother is more like his parent, than just his brother.” Uraraka winced, “I’m not sure I was supposed to say that, oops?”

 

Izuku chuckled, “I won’t tell him you said anything.”

 

“Thanks,” she blushed. “What has me worried, though… Iida is going to be taking his internship in Hosu, the city where the man who almost killed his brother is. I think he’s going to try something stupid,” she finished in a whisper.

 

Izuku sighed deeply. “Of course, he is,” he muttered. “Don’t worry, Uraraka, I’ve already been approached about Stain. The job is currently just pending payment verification. I’ll capture Stain.”

 

She shook her head. “I don’t care about him,” she said, a determined look entering her eyes. “I want you to protect Iida while he’s in Hosu.”

 

Izuku scratched his cheek. “You know, he’s going to be a hero, Uraraka, I can’t just protect him from every danger that may occur. I get that your main worry is Stain, and I’m already going to be taking care of him.”

 

“But… but can you make sure Iida doesn’t go after him? Or rather, if he does, that he won’t get hurt? What if Iida manages to find him before you do? What if you don’t get to Stain until after he’s already hurt Iida? Please, Mido, Iida is my first friend here! I don’t want anything to happen to him!”

 

“Fine, fine! I’ll go to Hosu and babysit Iida. BUT!” he cut off Uraraka’s cheering, “I won’t do it for free.”

 

She looked at him with a look of almost defeat. “I don’t have any money to pay with,” she muttered.

 

Looking at her downcast expression, Izuku rolled his eyes. He wasn’t going to do it for free, but he could ask for something other than money. But what?

 

“I don’t only accept money as payment, Uraraka,” he reminded her.

 

She perked back up. “What would you accept?”

 

“Hmm,” Izuku let his eyes wander, searching for inspiration, and noticed Todoroki leaning against the wall a few yards away, and his brain stuttered. That boy was just… honestly, how had Izuku not noticed him since day one? He was so elegant, beautiful, even while doing nothing but looking at his phone. Izuku could see that he was totally relaxed right now, no sign of the tenseness he saw while in Endeavor’s presence.

 

“Him, I want his phone number,” Izuku found himself saying.

 

“Who?” Uraraka turned around to see where Izuku had been looking. “Todoroki?” Izuku only nodded. “Okay!” She then jogged over to Todoroki. They exchanged a few words, Todoroki looked up at Izuku when Uraraka gestured his way, and Izuku could swear he saw the boy smile at him before turning back to Uraraka and nodding. He got out a pen and Uraraka gave him a receipt from her pocket for him to write his number, and then she returned to Izuku. “Here you go Mido!” she beamed.

 

Izuku looked at the number, pulled out his own phone and entered it before sending a quick text.

 

BladesForDays – Hey there, Todoroki, it’s Midoriya. Only fair, you get my number if I get yours.

 

Shouto – Hello. Uraraka only mentioned my number was payment for a job you are going to do for her?

 

BladesForDays – Ah, yeah, protection detail. I couldn’t figure out what I wanted for payment, but then I saw you. ~()

 

Izuku put his phone back in his pocket. ‘Holy shit, I just sent him a winky face. WHY did I send him a winky face?!’

 

Ignoring his slight panic, Izuku looked up at Todoroki. He was blushing, but walking towards a car, it seems his ride had shown up. He glanced over towards Izuku before he got into the car, and when their eyes locked, Todoroki’s blush darkened slightly, and he smiled again.

 

Izuku’s grin stayed as he watched the car leave.

 

“Okay, yeah, payment accepted,” he said, finally turning back to Uraraka. “I’ll make sure Iida gets to and from Hosu in one piece.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

When Izuku and Hitoshi arrived home, it was to Shouta complaining to Hizashi about something. “I’m going to kill him! I can’t believe he’s going to do something so stupid!”

 

“I know, babe, but maybe his brother can talk some sense into him?” Hizashi suggested hopefully.

 

“He’s just barely awake, he’s in no condition to give Iida a lecture.” Shouta flopped face-down into the couch.

 

“Hmm, Iida Tenya?” Izuku hummed, picking up Shouta’s legs and sitting on the couch himself before dropping his legs back down. “It looks almost as though someone should follow him around on his internship and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

 

Shouta and Hizashi both looked at Izuku.

 

“I wonder where I’m going to be during Internship Week?” Izuku made a show of thinking, finger on his chin and everything. “Oh! That’s right! I’m going to be in Hosu!” He grinned at Shouta, “Uraraka already hired me to make sure Iida doesn’t get himself killed by Stain.”

 

Shouta sat back up. “What did you charge her? You know she’s in UA on scholarship, right?”

 

“I did not know that, but I only charged her for someone’s phone number,” he blushed, making Hitoshi laugh. “Shut up!” Izuku threw a couch cushion at him.

 

“Oh gods, please, not a loud blond! We’ve had this conversation before!” Shouta grabbed Izuku by both cheeks and made him face him. “I don’t care how pretty the loud blond is, they are nothing but trouble! Promise me, Izuku, you won’t fall for a loud blond!”

 

Izuku managed to speak through his smushed cheeks, “Don’t worry, he’s not loud, nor is he blond.”

 

Shouta released him. “Good. It’s my job to warn you of the Loud Blond Trap.” He turned to Hizashi. “They are so pretty, but that is how they trap you.”

 

Hizashi raised an eyebrow. “Uh huh. Love you, too, Shou.”

Chapter Text

Izuku had gotten final approval that his hotel and travel expenses would be covered by the Hosu Police Department, so the day before the students all went off to their internships, Izuku was packing a bag for the trip.

 

“Are you going to be alright all on your own?” Hizashi asked, causing Izuku to stop, look over at him, and raise an eyebrow. “Right, right, never mind. I’m just going to miss you while you’re gone!” he whined.

 

Izuku let out an exasperated sigh. “It’s just a week, Zashi! And you’ll know where I am this time!”

 

Hizashi pulled Izuku into a tight hug. “You’re my baby, Izu, and I don’t want to let you go. It about killed me last time, not knowing where you were, how you were doing, if you were going to be okay,” he whispered. “And now you’re packing a bag, I’m getting flashbacks of the last time you left.”

 

Izuku held on just as tightly. “How about this? I’ll text you every day, so you’ll know I’m okay.”

 

“With a picture, so I know you’re not hurt,” Hizashi insisted.

 

Laughing, Izuku agreed. “With a picture. Can I finish packing, now?”

 

“If I say no, can I just keep you home and safe for the rest of forever?”

 

“Zashi,” Izuku said patiently, “I’m going to be just fine! I promise!”

 

“. . . fine.” Hizashi finally let him go.

 

“You’re such a big baby, Zashi,” Izuku teased. “You don’t get this upset when the hero students go on their internships.”

 

“That’s because those kids aren’t MY kid. And Hitoshi will be with me the whole time.”

 

“Zashi, I am literally going to follow Iida around while in Stealth for the week, and if he comes across Stain, I’ll paralyze him. Iida is likely to be contained at Manual’s agency for the majority of the night, so I’ll search for Stain myself during that time. And if I find him and catch him before the week is out, then I’ll come home early.”

 

“I know you’re going to be okay, but I still worry. You’re my kid. It’s my job.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

Izuku was waiting at the train station for Iida to arrive. The heroes in Hosu City knew he was going to be there, and he had spoken to Manual personally the night before and told him that he’d be tailing Iida, so he was presented with their schedule. Izuku knew that Manual would be showing Iida deskwork that, while not exciting, was still an important part of a hero’s duties, as well as some training in the mornings.

 

During those times, Izuku would be sleeping. He’s long since trained himself to function on minimal sleep, but he really doesn’t like it – he can’t keep up the same hours that Shouta can, after all, caffeine doesn’t affect him. Stupid immunity.

 

He watched as Iida got off the train and greeted his mentor for the week. Izuku could see that Iida was a bit more subdued from his normal behavior, but for anyone who didn’t know him, he wouldn’t be raising any red flags. But for Izuku? Those flags were freaking crimson.

 

That first day was primarily for him to see how Iida would act away from the school, see if he would try to sneak away from his mentor. See if he tried to place any landmarks to return to later. So far, Izuku wasn’t impressed with Iida’s ability to case a city. He and Manual had done a fair bit of walking from the station to the agency, and Iida didn’t seem to take in any of his surroundings.

 

This boy would get so lost if he were to try to sneak out.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Two nights later, Izuku was proven correct. Iida had snuck out of the agency, and it was clear he was lost. He had been wandering around, in his hero outfit, for the past two hours.

 

He had realized that there was a tracker in his phone the first time he snuck out, when Manual had called him and asked why he had left the agency at night. His reply was he wanted to get a snack from the convenience store.

 

So now he’s out without his phone, lost, with no way to get back. Izuku almost wants to tap him on the shoulder and direct him back to the agency, but he doesn’t want to reveal himself. ‘I’ll give him one more hour. If he’s still lost as shit, I’ll drag him back.’

 

With that thought still fresh in his mind, of course he saw a flash of red. And just as luck would have it, so did Iida.

 

Firing up his engines, he took off towards the flash of red, leaving Izuku behind, cursing vehemently.

 

Fortunately, the alleyway that Iida had run into wasn’t very far, so even though he was lagging behind, he got there before Stain had a chance to touch the boy.

 

Izuku quickly Shadowstepped behind the killer and sliced his arm with one of his daggers coated in paralytics.

 

Stain instantly dropped, to the confusion of both Iida and Stain. Dropping his Stealth, Izuku glared at Iida. “Look, I get it, you’re all pissed about your brother. But for the love of all things holy, don’t just go running off when I’m trying to follow you! Shit, I almost didn’t get here in time, then I would have had to give out a refund!” Izuku walked right up to Iida and pulled him down by his helmet. “I have never had to issue a refund, and if you had been the catalyst of my first ever refund, you would have regretted it,” he hissed, releasing his helmet and turning towards Stain.

 

“M-midori-“ Iida started to say when Izuku spun around and grabbed his helmet again.

 

“You do not speak civilian names in the field!” he hissed at Iida. “You know damn well what my merc name is, and you will use it, or Stain will be the least of your worries, am I understood?”

 

“Y-yes, S-shadowstep!” Iida stammered and dropped to the ground, his knees unable to support him in the wake of Izuku’s angry aura.

 

“You,” Stain called from behind him, still not able to move, “what did you do to me? Is this your quirk?”

 

Izuku turned to look at him, pulling out his cellphone at the same time, texting the police that he had captured Stain. “Yeah, that’s part of my quirk.” Izuku put his phone back after he got a confirmation text. Izuku walked over to Native, the hero who must have been Stain’s original target, and knelt next to him. “You okay?”

 

“Y-yeah, my shoulder got hit, but it isn’t too bad,” Native said.

 

“Good.” Izuku got back up and pulled out a slim needle. Slowly rubbing his fingers together, he pulled the needle between the pads of his thumb and first finger, coating the needle in a stronger paralytic than the one currently effecting Stain.

 

“I’ve heard of you,” Stain jeered. “The cowardly assassin who attacks from the shadows, killing for nothing more than money!”

 

“Partially accurate,” Izuku admitted, “I am an ambush fighter, primarily, and I coat my blades with poison. Speaking of,” Izuku jabbed his needle into Stain’s neck. “There, now I won’t have to worry about the paralytic wearing off for another few hours.” Izuku smiled brightly.

 

“This society, overgrown with fake heroes, where the word itself has lost its true meaning, and the criminals who wave their power around idly should all be purged. Criminals like you, fake heroes like him, and future fakes like that brat.” Stain couldn’t move his body, but he pointed at everyone with his eyes alone. “You should all be cleansed from this corrupt society!”

 

“What makes us fake heroes?!” Iida demanded.

 

With a growl, Stain answered. “You all only do the work you do in exchange for money and fame! You don’t save people with the sole goal being to save and protect. If I must be the one to stain my hands in blood to cleanse the world from the fakes, then so be it!”

 

“That’s not true! Heroes, like my brother you injured, are good people, and they protect the innocent!”

 

“They act like heroes for the camera, but they are all money-worshippers!” Stain snapped back. “Until this world realizes its mistake, I will continue to appear!”

 

“Well said,” Izuku agreed.

 

“Mi-uh, Shadowstep! How can you agree with a monster like him!?” Iida shouted.

 

Izuku shrugged. “The man’s not wrong. There’s a very small handful of heroes who I actually respect and trust unconditionally.”

 

“But he’s a murderer!” Iida countered.

 

“And? So am I. I have a larger body count than he does, he’s only got a bit over twenty to his name.” Izuku smirked. “My count is in the triple digits.”

 

“Boy, you seem proud of that fact,” Stain pointed out as Iida sputtered in shock.

 

“Yeah, I am. My work takes skill and accuracy, both things I honed from a young age.”

 

“Why do you do this? Do you kill for sport? For the money?” Stain seemed genuinely curious, but his voice was still laced with disgust.

 

“Nah, mainly because I had my dream of being a hero ripped away from me when I was young. Then I had to survive on my own, and with my quirk, no one would ever think of hiring me for honest work.” Izuku smiled sadly. “Mercenary wasn’t my first choice, that was Underground Hero, but I actually really like it now. I have the option to quit, go straight, become a hero, or an analyst. But I don’t want to. I found my niche in this world.”

 

Izuku looked up at the sounds of approaching sirens. “My skills are recognized by all, heroes, villains, governments, everyone.” Izuku’s smile was genuine now. “Now, I think it’s time to get you put in actual cuffs.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

Tsuragamae Kenji, the Police Chief, entered the office where Izuku and Iida were situated. Izuku, for the takedown of Stain, and Iida because he was a witness. What Izuku hadn’t counted on, was Shouta entering the office behind Chief Tsuragamae.

 

“Oh, shit, Iida, I hope you have your will prepared,” Izuku joked.

 

Iida looked up at Shouta’s face and paled. “S-sensei, I can explain!”

 

Izuku snorted. “Don’t bother, your motives were never secret.”

 

“No, they weren’t. But please, Iida,” Shouta growled out, “explain.”

 

Iida merely bowed his head, no excuses coming.

 

Chief Tsuragamae chose that moment to step forward. “I want to thank you, Shadowstep, for the capture of the Hero Killer, and to ask you if you would be comfortable in having your identity disclosed to the media for the capture?”

 

“No thanks. You can give the credit to whoever. Say it was an Underground Hero, or something – that way you won’t have to give them a name, what with the privacy laws surrounding the identities of the Underground Heroes. Or you can give the credit to Native, since he was the only actual hero in the vicinity,” Izuku added on with a shrug. “Just don’t let my name slip and we’re good.”

 

The Chief nodded his head and then turned to Iida. “As for you,” he began, but was interrupted by Izuku.

 

“Meh, just growl at him, he’s going to be getting a lecture from Eraser, and he technically didn’t do anything other than wander around the city lost for a few hours after curfew. No matter what his intentions were, I got there before he could break any laws.”

 

Chief Tsuragamae looked back and forth between Shouta and Iida, realizing that a lecture from Shouta would indeed be far more effective than anything he could do or say, nodded and instead said, “Again, you have my deepest gratitude, Shadowstep, and perhaps we will call upon your services again in the future.”

 

Izuku smiled his brightest smile. “Sure thing! Don’t expect me to be so cheap next time, though.”

 

Soon it was just Shouta, Izuku, and Iida. Before Shouta could really get started in his lecture, Izuku cut in. “Shouta, I’m gonna head back to my hotel and grab my things. Is it okay if I tag along with you on the way home?”

 

Shouta nodded. “I brought the car with me. I’m bringing you both back tonight,” he glared at Iida as he said that.

 

Izuku lightly punched Shouta’s arm on the way out. “Alright, I’ll be back in about an hour. That should be about enough time for you to traumatize the idiot.”

Chapter 18

Notes:

Hello! This chapter was heavily inspired by Canary by cloud_nine_and_three_quarters. If you've never read it, I highly suggest reading it! Such a good fic! That fic is probably the first one I read with Mentor Mic.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Hitoshi had gone to Hizashi’s agency for the past two days. He had learned all about how the station was incorporated into his agency, and Hitoshi knew he’d love to be a part of that! He didn’t want to be Limelight, but maybe he could work here as Siren sometime in the future?

 

People saw Present Mic on the streets, saw how he cared, saw how he dealt with the day-to-day issues that a civilian would encounter, and how he had an extremely low casualty rate for any fight he was involved with, and they trusted him. The general population trusted Present Mic, they trusted him to have their best interests in mind, to not go overboard, to listen to them if they just needed someone to talk to.

 

So, they tuned into his radio show, and he was every bit the same person on the radio that he was in person, but now he could spend more time talking about whatever struck him at any time, whether that be a real issue he’d encountered that day, or a new movie that came out, or a band that just debuted, or even hero news.

 

And people listened to him. They listened to what he had to say, and they would talk to him about it when they saw him on the streets.

 

The circle of trust and popularity continued to intertwine, and so when he had gotten his own agency, he added an extra layer – his non-emergency hotline.

 

Since so many people listened in to his station, he decided to add the hotline so people who needed help could reach out. The Hotline was a call-center, and depending on the level of severity, either a sidekick would be sent out, or the calls would be routed to the police. Very rarely would Present Mic himself be sent out to respond to the calls, but that was also stated along with the hotline’s number.

 

Hitoshi was in love with the radio station and the hotline. He had thought back on all the times he could have benefited from just having someone to talk to, but as much as he loved music, Hitoshi had never been into the radio. He had spent a few hours the past few days listening to recordings of past shows, and he couldn’t help but blush when he heard Hizashi promoting his channel.

 

Today, Hitoshi was going to be going on air with Hizashi. And Hitoshi was terrified!

 

They had already decided that he was going to sing a few songs, talk about quirk discrimination, and just be chaotic the rest of the time. Hitoshi had provided the music for the songs he wanted to sing, only one of which he actually told Hizashi of – the second was supposed to be a surprise for him.

 

“Nervous?” Hizashi asked as they were sitting in front of their microphones, waiting for the song to finish up.

 

“Yeah,” Hitoshi admitted. “I think one of the hardest parts is going to be calling you Mic again, honestly.”

 

Hizashi ruffled Hitoshi’s hair. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. You don’t have any problems calling me Mic at school.”

 

“That’s because you look like Present Mic at school!” Hitoshi countered.

 

And it was true, today Hizashi was wearing a simple black long-sleeved shirt with his hair pulled into a messy bun and simple wire-rimmed glasses. The only thing about him that looked like Present Mic was his moustache.

 

Hizashi snorted. “Don’t worry, once we’re on air and I get into character, you’ll be fine. I promise.”

 

Raising a doubtful eyebrow, Hitoshi shrugged. “If you say so. But don’t be surprised if I slip and call you Zashi.”

 

“We’re live in three, two……….. HELLO THERE, LISTENERS!” Hitoshi’s eyes widened in mild shock. Hizashi was right, in the span of just a few seconds, he went from regular, average, Yamada Hizashi to over-the-top, excited Present Mic, and Hitoshi was just in awe. “IT’S ANOTHER FABULOUS WEDNESDAY EVENING, AND I HAVE A SPECIAL SURPRISE FOR YOU!”

 

Hizashi winked at Hitoshi. “So as most of you probably know, for the past eight years, I’ve been mildly obsessed with this singer on YouTube, Siren! I’ve shared all of their videos, and I’ve been asking them to come on air in every single comment! Well, guess what?” He paused for dramatic tension. “HE FINALLY SAID YES!!!! So, my wonderful Listeners, please welcome Siren to the show!”

 

“Hey there, Mic, thanks for having me!” Hitoshi greeted.

 

“So! Siren, I have to know, what made you finally decide to accept my invitation to come on the show?!”

 

“Ah, well. . . hang on, I need to check my notes for the answer we worked on,” Hitoshi muttered, causing Hizashi to laugh. “Ah, here it is! Okay, so first of all, even though my answer was written out ahead of time, this is my real answer! I just knew I would screw it up.”

 

“So, my answer,” Hitoshi continued. “It’s sort of a story, so strap in, I guess? I never bothered to check my comments, or how many followers I had, how many views my songs had, nothing. I wasn’t much a fan of the radio, either, I wanted to listen to specific songs without any commercials or commentary, so up until a few days ago I’d never even listened to a single one of your shows. I never knew you wanted me to come on the air with you.”

 

“So, the thing that made you say yes was?” Hizashi prompted.

 

“Meeting you in person. I didn’t know you wanted me on your show, and once you asked me in person, well, who in their right mind says no to a direct invitation like that from Present Mic?”

 

“Well, I am super glad you agreed!” Hizashi beamed at him. “Are you up for a few personal questions?”

 

“I mean, sure? That’s kind of the whole point of coming here today, right?”

 

“So, my first question for you is this! What made you first decide to start singing?”

 

Hitoshi paused, not sure if he really had the courage to say this out loud, but Hizashi put his hand on his and gave him an encouraging smile. “Well, I’m not going to state what my quirk is on air, but I will admit that it’s a voice-based quirk.” He faltered, clearly starting to let the nerves take him.

 

“It’s okay, Siren, you can take your time,” Hizashi said softly.

 

“R-right. Well, for a lot of kids who have a voice-based quirk, they’re . . . encouraged. . . to not speak. There is a lot of mistreatment to those of us who can activate our quirks so easily, especially when it’s nearly impossible to tell if the quirk is active or not. I got lucky, my social worker was an advocate in quirk equality, so most of my foster homes were afraid to muzzle me.”

 

“Most,” Hizashi commented carefully.

 

“Yeah, most. My first two or three kept me in a muzzle, and only let me out for meals. They tried to keep me quiet, silenced. I could be around the rest of the kids, but only if I had the muzzle on. I was to be seen, and not heard.” He paused again to breathe for a moment. “Sorry.”

 

“No, no need to apologize to me, Listener. I went through that very same thing. See? If you look closely, I still have scars from the muzzle I was forced to wear as a kid. So, you’ll never get any judgement from me on that. If you need a moment, we can put on a song?”

 

“Thanks, Mic, but I’m good. I can finish this answer before a music break.”

 

“Okay, if you’re sure. Don’t push yourself, though, if you need a moment, let me know.”

 

“I had just gotten placed in the first home that didn’t muzzle me. They still encouraged me not to talk, and refused to talk to me, afraid I would use my quirk if I spoke. I was so scared that I was just one mistake away from being muzzled again, so I stayed in my room most of the time. One day, though, some of the kids put on a Disney movie. Aladdin. Not the cartoon version, though, I hadn’t ever seen this one.” Hitoshi let a small smile show. “The princess had this song, Speechless. And I could see myself in the lyrics, the defiance in her voice, the determination that she wouldn’t be silenced, she wouldn’t be afraid to speak.”

 

“The first time I heard that song,” Hitoshi continued, “I cried. I wanted to be like that, I wanted to dare the world to silence me, to stand up and tell everyone that I cannot be broken, and that I wouldn’t live unspoken. To just watch me, I wouldn’t just lay down and live a life of silence.” Hitoshi wiped away a tear. “I looked up the full song later that night. It took me a little while to learn the lyrics, and then a few more weeks to figure out how to work YouTube and then to record the song.”

 

Hitoshi chuckled a little. “I was sure I’d be terrible at it, so I didn’t check the comments. And even now, I still don’t think I’m all that good, but someone told me the other day that I have over a million subscribers, so I guess someone out there thinks I’m okay?”

 

“One of those subscribers would be me, Little Listener!” Hizashi cheered. “Would you be willing to sing that song for us today, Siren?”

 

“Yeah. I can do that. I figured you’d ask that, so I prepared the music.”

 

“Well, you heard him, Listeners! After this music break, we’ll have Siren sing for us! I’m excited to hear the song that started it all!” Hizashi pushed a few buttons on the console in front of him and the ‘LIVE’ icon turned off, signaling their mics were off.

 

“How was that?” he asked.

 

“Not as bad as I thought it’d be,” Hitoshi admitted.

 

Hizashi nodded. “The music track is ready, all you’ll have to do is hit a button when you’re in the sound room, and you’ll be ready. You’ll be able to hear me, but I’ll mute my microphone as soon as your music starts, and then we’ll go to a commercial break when you’re done. Sound good?”

 

Hitoshi nodded, and he was brought into the soundproof booth and got set up.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Speechless

 

As the first few notes of the song started, Hizashi was struck by just how powerful this song was, and just how much it meant to Hitoshi. He started the song quietly, almost timidly, but then started to gain that strength and determination in his voice, until his voice was strong with defiance.

 

While Hizashi had always liked the song, mainly for how it affected Izuku when he was young, he never really looked at the song from this point of view. As he listened to Hitoshi sing, along with the story of why he chose that song in the first place, what made him sing, it started to trigger every memory Hizashi had carefully buried deep in his subconscious.

 

He remembered how his parents would complain about how he destroyed their hearing before they abandoned him to the system. He could feel the muzzle that had been forced upon him biting into his cheeks, the blood dripping down his face, how he was afraid of his own voice for years. He remembered how he had tried to tell people that he couldn’t hear! That his own hearing had been lost! How no one listened to him, how he had to teach himself how to use JSL. And still he was muzzled, his constant tears burning as they touched the cuts from the ever-present muzzle.

 

He remembered how, even once he made it into the hero course, it wasn’t until he met Shouta that he really started to become comfortable with his voice.

 

Shouta, the one person who loved to hear his voice, the one who would encourage him to talk, the one who learned JSL so he could still communicate with Hizashi when his fears took over and his voice failed him. Shouta, the man who loved him regardless of how loud Hizashi got, Shouta who never complained about the sheer volume of Hizashi’s voice, not even when Hizashi found out that Shouta had gone to Recovery Girl for his own hearing. Shouta, who never once truly tried to force Hizashi into silence.

 

Hizashi, once he realized he was damaging his love’s hearing, made Shouta promise to erase his quirk if he got too loud, and oh how he loved Shouta for hesitating at that, but finally agreeing for Hizashi’s own peace of mind.

 

And this song brought it all back to him.

 

As Hitoshi finished up the last few bars, Hizashi wiped at his eyes and cleared his throat, before he unmuted himself. “And that was Siren, singing Speechless! Woo, that just brought up a whole boatload of feels, so we’re going to take a quick commercial break! When we get back, we’ll have more time with Siren!”

 

~*~*~*~

 

“Well, we’re just about done for tonight,” Hizashi said, “BUT! Siren, I think I remember you saying you had another song you wanted to play for us tonight?”

 

“Yup! This one is just for you, Mic! I haven’t recorded it yet, but once I met you, this song just popped out at me!” Hizashi was a little nervous at the mischievous glint in Hitoshi’s eyes, but decided what the heck, why not?

 

“Do you want to go back to the sound room for this?” he asked.

 

“Nah, I want to watch your reaction to this, and if I mess up and start giggling, well, I’ll just be recording it later on anyways.”

 

Hizashi started up the music and instantly recognized it as Rock Show.

 

Rock Show

 

“Little girl, you like it loud

Come alive in the middle of a crowd

You wanna scream, you wanna shout

Get excited when the lights go down”

 

Hizashi giggled, this was one of his favorite songs, and he couldn’t deny that he loved all things loud.

Notes:

I fully admit, when I was writing Hizashi's reaction to Speechless, I cried. I had the song on repeat, and I broke my own heart while writing. I hope you like it!

Chapter 19

Notes:

Huge thanks to StallKing for letting me cat-nap Cheshire! That cat is purely his creation, and I love that cat so much.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

By the time Izuku and Shouta had arrived home, it was Thursday morning. Shouta shuffled into his bedroom and faceplanted in his bed hard enough to wake up Hizashi, but Izuku hadn’t managed to make it even that far – he flopped onto the couch and reached for the Present Mic blanket that was draped over the back of the couch and checked out for the next few hours.

 

Izuku woke up a few hours later to the feel of a cat jumping on him. “Ugh, Bastard, get off…” he grumbled, shifting a bit to try to make the cat move, with no success. He heard giggling, so blearily opened his eyes and saw Hitoshi covering his mouth, trying to muffle his laughter.

 

“That’s not Bastard,” he managed to get out.

 

Izuku looked at the cat that was laying on him, only to blink. There was no cat there. But there was a cat? He could feel the cat. What..?

 

“While you were in Hosu, Dad picked up a new cat to foster. Turns out, the cat has an invisibility quirk, and a sense of humor. This is Cheshire, and he’s no longer a foster.” As Izuku watched, the cat’s head appeared, and he started licking a still invisible paw before staring at Izuku with bright green eyes. From just what he could see of his head, Cheshire was a beautiful grey Tabby.

 

He let out a quiet “mrrp” before he disappeared again.

 

“. . . mine.” Izuku simply stated. “You are my cat now. I will fight anyone who says otherwise.” Izuku nodded his head and then laid back down on the couch. “Since you’re not Bastard, you can stay there.”

 

Cheshire started purring.

 

“Anyways,” Hitoshi managed to get out around his laughter. “I know you were busy yesterday, but did you listen to Zashi’s show?”

 

Izuku opened his eyes again and shifted so he was facing Hitoshi and not the back of the couch. “No, I was stalking Iida all evening, then caught Stain, packed my stuff, and then listened to Shouta lecturing Iida for his irresponsibility.” Izuku yawned. “I thought the lecture would be over within an hour, but I grossly underestimated Shouta. Either that, or he was pulling bullshit out of thin air. Which, thinking on it, is on point for him, so that’s probably it.”

 

“I was on the air with him yesterday,” Hitoshi said. “It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be, after we got past the initial bit.”

 

“Hmm, I’ll have to check it out later. Maybe once you two are out, I’ll see about pulling up yesterday’s recording and listen to it with Shouta.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

The rest of the internship week passed, and soon Monday was rolling up. Izuku walked into the classroom and skipped right over to where Todoroki was sitting, smiling brightly. “Hey! How was your week? You were with Glacia, right?”

 

Todoroki nodded. “This time of year is the end of when she’s effective, her quirk works best in the winter and early spring, but she was still able to give me a few pointers on more precision work.”

 

“That’s good.” Izuku dropped his voice to a barely audible whisper. “I heard your dad wanted to host you for the week and I was worried you’d end up with him.”

 

Todoroki opened his mouth to say something, thought about it, closed his mouth, thought a little more, and then finally said, “He offered, yes.”

 

Izuku narrowed his eyes. “There’s a story there, huh?” Todoroki slightly nodded. “It’s okay, I won’t pry, but if you want to talk about it, I’m willing to listen. I can already tell it’s not going to be pleasant.”

 

Todoroki looked at his left hand for a moment, and Izuku could see the silent struggle behind his dual-colored eyes. Finally, he seemed to come to a decision. “I don’t mind telling you, but only if there is somewhere private?”

 

Izuku gave him a soft smile. “Sure. We can kick Shouta out of his office during lunch.”

 

Todoroki nodded, and Izuku moved over to his own desk.

 

Shouta soon entered the classroom and looked around at all of the students. “Well, I’m glad to see all of you managed to make it back in one piece, in spite of your best efforts.” He paused for a moment, looking directly at Iida before moving on again. “Today, we are going to be going over a special lesson – using Hero Names in the Field.” He stared pointedly at Iida again, “and tomorrow our lecture will be about Vigilantism.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

Izuku and Todoroki had stopped at the cafeteria to get some food before heading over to Shouta’s office. Upon opening the door, the two boys saw Shouta wrapped in his sleeping bag on the couch.

 

“Out,” Izuku commanded.

 

Shouta cracked an eye open. “This is my office, you get out,” he countered.

 

“Todoroki wants to tell me something private, so you gotta go.” Izuku poked Shouta in the cheek. “Go kick Zashi out of his office, or something.”

 

“People actually go to his office. I wouldn’t get any rest there,” Shouta grumbled.

 

Izuku rolled his eyes. “Well, you have people who have come to your office. You won’t get rest here either.”

 

“I’m not leaving.” Shouta rolled over to face the back of the couch.

 

“Ugh, fine. I can give you a thirty-minute tranq nap, how does that sound?” Izuku offered.

 

Shouta turned back to Izuku and glared. “Last time you said ‘thirty-minute tranq nap,’ it ended up being almost nineteen hours.”

 

“I was eight! I’ve gotten better!” Izuku defended himself.

 

Shouta quietly stared at Izuku for a few minutes before sighing in defeat. “If I don’t wake up in thirty minutes, you better take over my classes for the rest of the day.”

 

After a moment of thought, Izuku agreed. “Fine.” He held a finger to Shouta’s mouth and seconds after Shouta licked Izuku’s finger, he fell into a deep sleep.

 

Turning to Todoroki, Izuku grinned. “He’ll be unconscious for thirty minutes.” Izuku then guided the boy into one of the chairs that were in front of the desk and with a more somber look, asked, “Do you still want to tell me the story? Or would you prefer to draw on Shouta’s face while he’s sleeping?”

 

Todoroki blinked at him. “Won’t sensei be upset if we drew on him?” he asked.

 

Izuku shrugged. “If we’re quick about it and are back in our seats before he wakes up, he won’t notice until someone points it out.” Izuku then pulled out a marker from Shouta’s desk and smirked. “So, do you want to?”

 

Todoroki spent the next ten minutes telling Izuku a story that simply broke his heart, all while drawing whiskers on Shouta’s face, one of abuse disguised as training, a brother lost to the desperate attempts to please their father, a mother driven mad enough to hurt her child, another brother neglected due to his quirklessness, and an older sister trying desperately to hold their family together.

 

While Izuku listened, he had been braiding sections of Shouta’s hair so he would have cat hears to match the whiskers Todoroki had drawn on his cheeks. The two boys sat back and admired the look their teacher was now sporting and moved back to their seats.

 

“Okay, so I guess that kind of explains away a question I had,” Izuku muttered, focusing back on Todoroki.

 

“What question?” he asked, tilting his head.

 

“I was curious as to why you didn’t use your fire when you clearly have it. It’s to spite your father, isn’t it?”

 

Todoroki nodded. “I want to show him that I can be a hero without his power.”

 

Izuku let out an annoyed breath. “So. You’re totally going to hate what I’m about to say, and I get it. Please don’t hold this against me? It’s something that I was told when I was younger, back when I still had hopes of being a hero.”

 

Todoroki tilted his head again but nodded.

 

“Okay. So, when I was little, I was very heavily discriminated against for having what everyone else called a villainous quirk. I had agreed with Shouta to train my quirk, but I only trained parts of it – my stealth, teleportation, and agility. I had refused to touch on my poison ability for the longest time, because that’s what everyone was afraid of.” Izuku took on a mocking tone, “Oh look, the villain kid, look out, he’ll poison you, he’ll kill you,” Izuku massaged his temples for a moment.

 

“That must have been annoying,” Todoroki offered.

 

Izuku laughed harshly. “Oh, it was worse than annoying. I was accused of murder when I was only six because of that. The person who died had been poisoned and was my teacher at the time. It was a coincidence, but only one person, a detective with a lie detection quirk, believed I hadn’t done it.” Izuku tugged on his braid. “My point is, I was terrified of my own quirk. I wanted to be a hero, but I didn’t want to use that part of it.”

 

Izuku looked up at Todoroki earnestly. “What are you going to do, Todoroki, when the only way to save someone will be with your fire? Will you be able to live with yourself if there was something you could have done, but because you couldn’t use your quirk confidently, you let someone die? I’m not talking about your father here. This has nothing to do with him. But let’s say a villain has a quirk like Kamui Woods, or like Best Jeanist? They would both be very weak to fire, and ice wouldn’t be too much of a hinderance for them. What if the only way to save people from them was with your fire? How would you feel?”

 

Todoroki’s expression was mixed. He wanted to deny Izuku’s words, but at the same time he knew the boy was right. How would he feel? “I. . . I don’t know,” he finally admitted.

 

Izuku nodded. “That was almost my same reaction at the time. But look, Todoroki. Here is my advice for you. Learn how to use it, and how to use it properly. You don’t ever have to use it in the field, you can stick to your ice, there’s no shame in that. But on the off chance that your fire is truly needed, you’ll be able to react properly.”

 

Izuku took Todoroki’s hand in his. “You said you don’t want to use his quirk. But can I let you in on a secret?” Todoroki nodded. “It’s not his quirk. My quirk isn’t my dad’s, your quirk isn’t your dad’s. Shouta’s quirk isn’t his dad’s either. Everyone’s quirk is theirs, and only theirs. No one else can control your quirk other than you, you’re proving that every day you refuse to use your fire.”

 

He looked at his left hand, held tightly in Izuku’s own hand. “I want to be a hero,” he said quietly. “I don’t want to let anyone get hurt if I can save them. But,” he hesitated, and looked up at Izuku. “I don’t want to learn from my father,” he whispered.

 

“And that’s totally okay,” Izuku said, equally quiet. “You can learn from another hero. I’d prefer that, honestly. Endeavor is a walking dumpster fire who doesn’t care for human life. You would be a lot better off learning from. . . hmm. . . You know the term BFG, right?” Izuku asked.

 

Todoroki nodded. “Of course, I do. Both my father and All Might are BFG’s, as is Present Mic.” The term BFG was originally a pre-quirt term, Todoroki wasn’t sure where it came from, but it meant Big Fucking Gun. In today’s world, the term was used for a Hero who held a massive amount of destructive power.

 

Izuku nodded and smiled brightly. “I’m impressed, not many people realize that Mic is technically a BFG, since he has one of the lowest casualty rates and property damage among all categories of hero. But yeah, with your quirk, you’re likely to be a BFG in your own right and learning from someone like Present Mic would help you way more than Endeavor ever could.”

 

“Do you think he would even bother training me?” Todoroki asked.

 

“Oh yeah, that’s a given. I could get him to do nearly anything I wanted,” Izuku said flippantly, earning him a snort from Shouta, who must have woken up. “Oh, hey Shouta! I guess it’s been thirty minutes already.” Izuku shrugged. “Todoroki, I have been helping to train Shinsou, along with Shouta, and if you want to tag along, I can probably manage to drag Mic to the gym we’re training at so you can talk to him, and maybe even start training with him today. And if he’s busy, you can help with Shinsou’s training!”

 

“Shinsou. . .” Todoroki seemed to be in thought for a moment, but then recognition hit him. “The boy with the purple hair I fought in the Sports Fest?”

 

Izuku nodded. “I’ve been training him since my first week here, but there really wasn’t much he could do against a quirk as powerful as yours when he couldn’t trigger his quirk on you. Maybe if I’d been training him a bit longer,” Izuku mused.

 

“Do you think he’s holding a grudge? I won’t want to upset him,” Todoroki hedged.

 

Izuku shook his head. “Nah, Toshi knew he wasn’t going to win the Festival, but he did his best and his best was recognized. He’s going to be transferred to 1-A after this term.”

 

“Oh. Well, if you truly don’t think he’d mind, I’ll gladly join you,” Todoroki smiled softly at Izuku.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Hitoshi was watching Izuku with a smirk. He had brought Todoroki to their training session, so his distraction was entirely his own fault. From how often he was stealing glances at Todoroki talking to Hizashi, Hitoshi was pretty sure he’d be able to land a hit to Izuku this time. With an evil grin, Hitoshi decided to try to press his luck.

 

“Want to make a bet, Izu?”

 

Izuku’s attention snapped back to Hitoshi. “Depends. Lay your terms, and I’ll consider it.”

 

“If I can land a single hit on you, you have to come on my channel and sing a certain song that I’ll pick out for you.” Hitoshi’s grin was something he had learned from Shouta, and Izuku narrowed his eyes at him.

 

“And what song would you have me sing?”

 

~*~*~*~

 

Freckles

 

Brushed against those freckles that I hated so,

Life goes on and I heave a little sigh for you

It's heavy, the love that I would share for you,

But it dissolves like it was just a sugar cube

Now the little pain sitting in my heart

Has shrunk in a bit, but it really does hurt me now

Those silly horoscopes, I

Guess I can't trust them after all

If we could get further away,

I wonder what it would be like ?

Yay!

I'd be so happy

Inside my heart

All the memories I have are beautiful in my mind,

But they don't feed the hunger deep inside my soul

And tonight I thought,

I'd be just sitting in my sorrow

And now I must wonder why

What did it really mean to you?

I just can't see it anymore!

I just can't see it anymore

Oh

Notes:

So, I may have been writing my other fics a bit lately while still posting Shadowstep chapters, and because of that, I've ran out of my stockpile of chapters. The next chapter hasn't been finished yet, and every time I've been trying lately, my brain has been going "but the hoot hoot! sad owl!"

So yeah. It might be a minute before the next chapter of Shadowstep comes out.

Chapter 20

Notes:

Hey all! So I know it's been.... oh, wow, three months! Three months since my last update, yikes. That was not supposed to be three months.

I got burnt out on this fic, decided to take a break, decided to abandon the fic, almost orphaned it, decided I actually love it, abandoned it again, and then decided to reread it and leave its fate up to chance.

Through it all, my buddy Del kept dropping hints that this was one of her favorites, so I reworked the parts that were giving me fits in the outline (with more than a little help from StallKing), and decided to drop a new chapter. Everyone, say thank you Del!

Hopefully, the spark has returned for this fic and it'll get finished.

Chapter Text

Izuku was watching the 1-A kids do their practical finals. Most of the students were doing pretty well, but then there was Kirishima and Sato against Cementoss, and Ashido and Kaminari against Nedzu. Izuku felt bad for those four kids – more so for Kaminari and Ashido, I mean they were up against Nedzu after all – but all four of them were soundly defeated.

 

The current match was another one that Izuku was interested in – Bakugou and Sero against All Might.

 

Izuku knew that originally, Shouta had been planning to have those two go up against Midnight, but she’d had a really bad night and was still dealing with the paperwork, so they had switched them to All Might. The objective of the match hadn’t changed, after all – Bakugou still needed to learn how to work with others, and Sero needed to learn how to stand up to Bakugou.

 

As the match started, it became quickly obvious that Bakugou and Sero weren’t really working together. Sero had tried talking to Bakugou, but the other ignored him and started stalking towards the center of the battle ground.

 

Izuku played with the tip of his braid as he thought how this fight should have gone, with Sero setting up traps to distract All Might into thinking they were going in a different direction, and then the two running for the exit, with Bakugou holding the rear for when All Might realized that they were making a run for it, he could hold him back while his partner made a clean get away.

 

Clearly, that was not going to happen here.

 

Well, not at first, anyways. Bakugou decided to just go for it, and he attacked All Might with everything he had. Sero, knowing where his strengths lied, decided to take off. He quietly managed to escape the blast radius of Bakugou and All Might’s attacks and used Bakugou as a distraction to make it through the gate.

 

“That could have gone over better,” Izuku muttered.

 

“Indeed,” Nedzu chirped from next to him. “They didn’t manage to divine the purpose of their exam after all, but Sero did manage to pass the gate.”

 

“Barely,” came Izuku’s smirking reply.

 

“Barely,” Nedzu nodded in agreement. Izuku couldn’t keep the grin off his face if he tried as he saw Bakugou limping towards Recovery Girl. “As a side note,” Nedzu mused, “I would like to speak to you after classes today, if you don’t mind.”

 

Izuku nodded. “Sure thing. Can I get a preview on the chat now?”

 

Nedzu hummed in assent. “It’s about the summer camp,” he said, and then walked off.

 

~*~*~*~

 

BladesForDays – congrats on your fight against Shouta!

 

Shouto – thank you. Sensei was very difficult to fight against

 

BladesForDays – your initial plan for yaomomo to create little dolls wasn’t the best way to determine if Shouta was watching you, though. Shouta is primarily an ambush fighter, so he normally would have let you keep your quirk active right up until the point of attack.

 

Shouto – so he erased our quirks like that to make it easier for us?

 

BladesForDays – yup! And I’m sorry, but I’m changing your chat name, it’s sooo boring.

 

ButterflyKnife – what’s wrong with my name?

Why is this my name?

 

BladesForDays – because it’s a cute knife, and I’m teaching you how to use knives?

 

ButterflyKnife – does this mean you think I’m cute?

 

Izuku stared at his phone and blushed. Yes, that is exactly what that meant. But since when was Shouto the type to tease him about that!? Izuku whined as he slipped his phone in his pocket without answering. He knew Shouto would be able to figure out that yes, he’s very cute.

 

Izuku reached up to knock on the door to Nedzu’s office, but it opened on its own like always. Inside were Nedzu, Shouta, and Hizashi. “Ooh, it’s a party!” Izuku joked as he squeezed in between Shouta and Hizashi, in a spot that was not supposed to be a spot, causing Shouta to huff in annoyance and scoot over while Hizashi snickered and wrapped an arm around him tightly.

 

Nedzu offered Izuku a cup of tea which he gladly took. “So, you said this had to do with the summer camp?” Izuku prompted.

 

“Yes!” Nedzu chirped. “As you know, we have had some leaks about various security measures this year, and to try to avoid these as much as possible, we are limiting the knowledge of where the camp is to only the teachers who will be attending the camp.”

 

Izuku nodded and took another sip of his tea. “So only Shouta and Vlad, right?”

 

“Indeed,” Nedzu agreed. “Only Shouta-kun and Sekijirou-kun.”

 

Izuku had been about to take another sip of his tea when he realized something. “Wait. If it’s only Shouta and Vlad, does that mean not me?”

 

“That is correct. Since no one will know where the camp is, I feel this is a good opportunity for you to take a vacation. You have mentioned before that you have not had the chance to take a vacation since Hizashi-kun took you to England when you were nine,” Nedzu said with a grin.

 

“Huh.” Izuku blinked at him for a few moments. “I thought I was going to be going along with the class.”

 

“If that is something you wish to do instead, I will of course allow it,” Nedzu offered. “I just thought you would appreciate the chance to do something fun on your own.”

 

Izuku thought for a few more moments before his face split into a huge grin. “Zashi, I’m kidnapping Hitoshi! We’re going on vacation together!”

 

~*~*~*~

 

“Toshi, I’m gonna kidnap you in a few days, so you should start packing for a week long trip,” Izuku stated, jumping on Hitoshi’s back out of nowhere.

 

Hitoshi stumbled slightly but managed to catch himself. “Uh, do I get a say in this?”

 

“Since when do people get a say when they get kidnapped?” Izuku laughed. “Nice catch, by the way!”

 

Hitoshi grumbled a bit but accepted the praise. Back when he first met Izuku, he never would have been able to keep from collapsing under the unexpected weight of his cousin. “Where are you taking me on this kidnapping adventure?”

 

“Haven’t decided yet,” Izuku admitted. “The hero kids are all going to a camp, and I’ve been told I get the week off. I haven’t had a vacation in six years, and I’m not sure what to do with the time off. So, if you have any ideas, I’m open to suggestions.”

 

“I have never been on a vacation before in my life,” Hitoshi pointed out. “None of my old fosters ever went while I was with them.”

 

Izuku dropped off Hitoshi’s back. “Huh. Well. Maybe Shou and Zashi will have ideas? Last time, Zashi took me to England for an English language immersion getaway, but I don’t feel like leaving the country, and you don’t have a passport.”

 

Dragging Hitoshi by the arm, Izuku found Shouta and Hizashi in the kitchen making dinner. “I need help!” Izuku exclaimed as they plopped into stools at the counter. “So, I’m gonna kidnap Toshi for my vacation, right?” He paused to get nods from both of the adults. “Neither of us have any idea where to go.”

 

“Ooh! I’ve always wanted to go bungee jumping!” Zashi exclaimed. “Or ziplining!”

 

Izuku hedged at that. “I was thinking something a little more…. Relaxing?”

 

“Nothing more relaxing than a cat café,” Shouta offered. “Couches and bean bags to nap on, dozens of cats to keep you warm. It’s perfect.”

 

“While you’re not… wrong… I don’t need a vacation to visit a cat café, there’s one literally two streets down,” Izuku pointed out.

 

Shouta shrugged. “Then I’m out of ideas.”

 

Izuku huffed out an annoyed breath. “Do either of you know what ‘relaxing’ even means?”

 

“I thought the cat café sounded nice,” Hitoshi offered.

 

Izuku rolled his eyes. “Let’s go, then, we can come up with a real idea while being smothered in cats.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

Izuku was idly petting a large ragdoll cat while watching his cousin attempt to breathe through the nine cats currently using him as a bed. Hitoshi wasn’t going to be any help at all in coming up with an idea for their vacation. Hmm. Who else could he ask?

 

“Hmm, I bet Dabi would have an idea,” he muttered and pulled out his phone.

 

Hey there, Bella, how’s my favorite bitch?” Dabi answered after a few rings. Izuku rolled his eyes. Dabi’s been alternating between calling him Kermit or Belladonna since they met. Kermit, because Izuku used to lick poisonous frogs to get their toxins registered in his quirk, and Belladonna because it’s a poisonous plant and Dabi got the added bonus of calling him a pretty little bitch at the same time.

 

“Things are good, Bacon Bits. Need some advice and got an offer for you at the same time.”

 

Shoot,” he replied.

 

“Okay, well, my current job is giving me a bit of vacation time, and I have no idea what to do with it? Like, I want to do something relaxing, but I’m drawing a blank? What do people do when they want to relax?” Izuku slumped in his seat and scratched the back of the cat’s ears. “I’m taking a friend with me, and if your idea doesn’t suck ass, you can tag along too.”

 

Dabi laughed at him. “Not that I don’t appreciate the invite, I do, but I’m in the middle of a job.”

 

“Fair enough. But do you have any ideas? Maybe I’ll treat you after you’re done?”

 

Tempting.” Dabi paused for a few seconds, thinking. “You know, I do really like going to an Onsen. Nothing more relaxing than the hot water on your muscles. Just. Yes.”

 

“So, being burned alive wasn’t enough for you, you also want to boil yourself?” Izuku laughed.

 

Fuck off, Bella, it’s nice!” Dabi laughed along with him. “But seriously, I’ll send you the links to a few I want to try out, you can pick one.”

 

“Well, it’s a better idea than anything else I’ve gotten. Thanks!”

 

~*~*~*~

 

“We’re going to an onsen, why do I need hiking gear?” Hitoshi complained as Izuku dragged him through the camping goods store.

 

“Because,” Izuku explained, “one of the ones we’re going to is in a forest, and hiking might be fun? I don’t know, but the website says it’s pretty up the mountain, and I want to go. And if I’m going, you are – OH MY GOD THAT IS AMAZING!!!

 

“No. No, no, no, that thing should not exist!” Hitoshi was staring at the thing Izuku had found in abject terror. “Please, Izuku, if you have any love for me, you will not.”

 

Izuku’s smile was terrifying as he pushed aside various color options until he found the one he wanted. “I’m gonna get it.”

 

“No, please, for the love of all things holy, do not buy that!!”

 

~*~*~*~

 

Hitoshi and Izuku came home, both with very different expressions. Hitoshi looked as though he had glanced into hell and found a horde of rabid clowns, all extroverted and trying to engage him with small talk about their dogs while the walls slowly closed in, trapping him inside.

 

Izuku, however, looked as though Christmas had come early.

 

Shouta wasn’t sure if he should be worried or not.

 

“Hey Shou!” Izuku cheered, walking over to him. “So, since you are adopting a kid, I have decided I need to up my game to remain the favorite child.”

 

Shouta’s eyebrow raised as Hizashi snorted and said, “We don’t have favorite kids in this house, Zuzu.”

 

Hitoshi shuddered. “After this, you will,” he warned.

 

Hizashi and Shouta shared a curious expression as Hitoshi went to hide behind Hizashi and Izuku handed Shouta a bag with a fairly large box in it. Shouta opened the bag and pulled out the box, instantly devolving into terrifying cackles. Hizashi stared at it in open terror.

 

“Told you so,” Hitoshi whispered.

 

“Those poor students,” Hizashi lamented. “They’re going to have so many nightmares.”

 

Inside the box was a bright yellow sleeping bag. With arms and legs.

 

With arms and legs.

Chapter 21

Notes:

Hey, hi, hello! It's been over a year since this was updated, so I totally understand if you need to re-read a chapter or two... or the whole fic... to remember what's going on. I didn't want the wait to be this long, but I just... lost all inspiration for this fic when I started this chapter last year.

I have the next chapter already written, so no matter what, there will be another chapter coming soon. I'm working on the chapter that comes after that one - there are only 4 more chapters that need to be written for this fic to be completed, and dangit, I want to have another completed fic to my name.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Shouta could feel the gazes of the 18 students staring at him in horror as he told them to get off the bus at their “rest stop.” It was taking every single ounce of his self-control not to cackle at them and to stick with just his manically sadistic grin.

 

Fuck, Shouta loved his new sleeping bag.

 

“Hey, Eraser! Long time no see!”

 

Shouta nodded a greeting to Pixie-Bob and turned back to the students. “These are the pro heroes who will be working with us during the camp, the Wild Wild Pussycats.”

 

“Nice to meet you!” the class chimed in together.

 

“We own this whole stretch of land here,” Mandalay said with a grin. “You all will be staying at the foot of that mountain.” She pointed to a campsite that was just barely visible in the distance.

 

“So far!” Mina exclaimed.

 

“Huh? Then why did we stop here?” Kaminari asked, utterly confused.

 

While Shouta could see that Todoroki had figured it out, it was Uraraka who said something. “Why don't we get back to the bus, huh? Fast.”

 

With those words, the rest of the class seemed to realize that Shouta’s face had split into his crazy grin.

 

“Yeah,” Kirishima called out. “Let's do that.”

 

Pixie-Bob giggled and knelt to the ground with her hands on the dirt. “It's 9:30 a.m. right now. If you're fast, maybe you’ll get there around noon?”

 

“No way guys! Let's get back! Get back to the bus! Hurry!” The entirety of 1-A started running back towards the bus screaming, and Shouta just barely managed to hold back a laugh.

 

“Kitties who don't make it by 12:30 won't get any lunch!” Pixie-Bob called out, her hands starting to glow blue.

 

“Sorry, Hellspawn,” Shouta finally lost the battle and laughed as his students toppled over the cliff. “Training camp has already begun.”

 

The heroes kept watch for a few minutes to make sure none of the kids had gotten injured in the drop. In that time, the bus driver had gotten the bus started again and took off for the camp, leaving Shouta to ride with the Pussycats.

 

A few minutes into the drive, Mandalay glanced over to Shouta. “Hey, Eraser, I have a question for you.”

 

Shouta tilted his head. “What is it?”

 

“Underground heroes know some shady people, right?” When Shouta nodded, she continued. “Have you met any mercenaries?”

 

He raised an eyebrow at that. “Yeah, I have. Why? Are you trying to hire one?”

 

“No, nothing like that,” she huffed out a laugh. “It’s my nephew, Kota. He’s only six, but he’s decided that he’s going to be a mercenary when he grows up.”

 

Shouta snorted. “What?”

 

"He just won’t let go of it," Mandalay huffed, throwing him a playful glare. "A mercenary, for crying out loud! Where did he even get an idea like that?"

 

"Probably overheard some old war stories from Tiger," Shouta chuckled, remembering his penchant for embellishing battlefield tales. "Remember that time he fought off a horde of killer robots with nothing but a spork and his wit?"

 

Mandalay rolled her eyes, a smile twitching at her lips. "He never fought any robots, Eraser. It was a stray toaster with a bad circuit board."

 

"Sounds just as terrifying," Shouta teased, then sighed. "Seriously, though, don't worry about Kota. Kids fixate on things like this all the time. It's like when Pixie-Bob wanted to be a professional pillow fighter because she once knocked out her brother with a well-placed teddy bear."

 

Mandalay snorted. "She did not! It was a tactical retreat!"

 

Amused, Shouta just shook his head. “I’ll talk to him. Do you know why he wants to be a merc?”

 

She shook her head. “He just came home from school one day and declared that’s what he was going to do. I asked his teacher, and she said she had no idea where it came from either.”

 

Shouta hummed thoughtfully and they let the subject drop. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth of his sleeping bag for the rest of the drive.

 

~*~*~*~

 

They’d been at the camp for two days and Shouta hadn’t managed to find the time to talk to the kid. The only times he’d been around the camp was for a few minutes at breakfast, maybe another brief appearance at lunch, and then he went to bed right after dinner.

 

Shouta really did want to talk to him. Mercenary work wasn’t something the average six-year-old kid would come up with, and he wanted to know where he’d gotten this idea. So, when he saw the kid watching some of the kids training before lunch, Shouta took the opportunity and walked over to where the kid was sitting.

 

“Hey there, mind if I join you for a chat?” he asked.

 

“Sure, I guess,” Kota replied.

 

"I’ve been meaning to talk to you since I got here. Your aunt said you want to be a mercenary?" Shouta began, his voice gruff but gentle. Kota looked up at him with a steely look in his eyes and nodded. "Why do you want to be a merc?"

 

Kota's small fists clenched. For a moment, Shouta didn’t think he was going to answer, but then he took a shaky breath. "My parents... they were killed by a villain," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "I was in the park one day, feeling all alone, when I met this guy. He was maybe about their age?” Kota gestured at the students, “And he... he understood. He said he lost his parents to a villain too, when he was about my age."

 

Shouta listened patiently as Kota continued, wondering if it was a coincidence that the boy seemed to be describing Izuku, or if he had met his kid in the park.

 

"We talked for a while, about how if felt to lose parents, and I told him how everyone always just tells me how proud of them I should be for dying in the way they did, and how I was always angry, and how I didn’t care about how they died, I just wanted them back.” Kota sniffled and wiped his eyes where tears were starting to gather. “And then he just... he hugged me. Said it was all the payment he needed. Two days later, that villain… the one who killed my parents… he was dead.”

 

Shouta huffed out a breath. "You met Shadowstep." It wasn't a question, but a statement. That sounded just like something his kid would do.

 

Kota's eyes widened. "Yes! I did! He's amazing! He said he was a mercenary. I want to be a mercenary like him!"

 

“You know, I trained him for a few years,” Shouta said.

 

“Really?!” Kota had stars in his eyes at that.

 

“Mhm. And his quirk is the only reason he was able to make it as far as he has. Without a quirk suited to that kind of career, you would be a lot better off choosing something like Hero as a career path.”

 

Kota huffed out an angry breath. “No. I want to be a mercenary! You’re not going to change my mind!” He then got up and ran off in the direction of wherever he had been spending his days.

 

“Well, that didn’t go as planned,” Shouta muttered.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Steam wreathed the mountaintop onsen like a ghostly veil, obscuring the snow-dusted peaks beyond. Izuku sighed, sinking deeper into the warm, mineral-rich water. His muscles, still aching from the arduous hike through the mountain pass, finally surrendered to the soothing heat.

 

Across the pool, Hitoshi lounged against the rocky edge, eyes closed, his usual stoicism melting under the onsen's spell. The silence between them flowed comfortably, punctuated only by the gentle clink of water droplets and the chirping of unseen birds.

 

"This hike..." Hitoshi finally broke the silence, his voice muffled by the steam. "I thought I'd die halfway up."

 

Izuku’s lips twitched in a ghost of a smile. "Yeah, well, the scenery was worth dying for."

 

Hitoshi snorted. "Yeah, these mountains are impressive. And seeing them without having to dodge traffic like usual... kind of peaceful."

 

A moment of quiet passed, then Hitoshi spoke again, his voice softer. "It is peaceful. I bet you don't get enough of that.”

 

Izuku considered this, the image of how his life has been the past five years- a constant whirlwind of chaos and adrenaline. "No, not really. Maybe that's why this hike felt so good. Away from the noise, the missions...”

 

The two of them stayed in the water for a little while longer before Hitoshi casually mentioned being hungry.

 

Once they got out of the water and dressed again, Izuku’s phone started buzzing. He pulled it out of his pocket and glared at it, seeing Nedzu’s name.

 

Connecting the call, Izuku greeted him. “Aren’t you the one who told me to go on vacation?”

 

Nedzu sighed in annoyance. “Indeed, I did. It seems the villains have branched out from killing All Might to recruitment. The training camp was attacked, and a student was abducted.”

 

Izuku’s eyes narrowed, and he looked over to Hitoshi. “Pack your things, we’re leaving. We can grab a snack on the way.” Hitoshi nodded and jumped to start packing. “Is everyone okay?”

 

“From Shouta-kun’s report, there were only a few injuries, mostly minor. There are ten students in the hospital after inhaling a gas of some sort, one had a mild concussion, and one student suffered a minor burn. The rest were just minor scrapes and bruises.” Nedzu paused a moment and then added. “Bakugou Katsuki was abducted.”

 

Izuku took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Alright. Do you have a location for me to go? I’m getting him back.”

 

“Not yet, no, but the police are fairly certain they have a lead in Kamino,” Nedzu answered.

 

“Alright. What can you tell me about the villains that attacked? What should I look out for?”

 

“According to the report, there was someone with a lizard-type quirk, a woman wielding some large type of magnet, a young man who used blue fire, a girl with—”

 

“Blue fire?” Izuku interrupted. “Is there a description of him aside from the blue fire?”

 

“Mhm. Shouta-kun encountered a clone of him. He said he had massive scarring all over his face and arms, most likely burns, and he had a lot of medical staples in his face,” Nedzu supplied.

 

“That gods forsaken, fucking, son of a bitch, I’m going to drop him in a vat of acid and then peel his skin off!” Izuku hissed. “I knew Dabi had loose morals, but this was a fucking training camp for kids!”

 

Nedzu was silent on the other side of the line, so Izuku clarified. “I’ve done a few jobs with Dabi before. He’s early 20’s, blue fire quirk, black hair, blue eyes, covered in burn scars with medical staples keeping his skin from falling off. He’s also sort of my friend. If he was involved, I’ll have a location in just a little bit.”

 

Before Izuku could end the call, Nedzu spoke up. “Name your price.”

 

“For what? Protecting the kids is already part of the contract.”

 

“I want the one who planned this taken care of,” Nedzu said with a growl.

 

Izuku hummed. “An assassination, I take it?”

 

“Yes,” he replied tersely. “Name your price.”

 

Izuku tapped his chin as he thought. “Well, the guy who paid me to join the attack at the USJ seemed to be the boss. I wouldn’t be surprised if ‘Sensei’ is the one who planned this.” Izuku hummed again. “This asshole attacked Shouta’s camp, so he gave up his right to life. Hmm, but I really can’t just go around doing jobs for free, no matter what. So. Since my vacation is being cut short, just cover the cost of the onsen I’m not going to be able to fully enjoy, and we’ll call it good, yeah?”

 

“That is definitely doable,” Nedzu agreed. “Please send me your itinerary and I’ll have it paid before you return to UA.”

 

“Sounds good. I’ve got a phone call to make, and then I’ll get to work.” Izuku ended the call with Nedzu and pulled up Dabi’s contact. After two rings, the call connected.

 

“Kermit, that's two calls in as many weeks. What's the occasion?” Dabi said in lieu of a greeting.

 

“Hey there, Bacon Bits. Kidnapped any kids lately?” he asked with a grin in his voice.

 

Dabi paused for a few seconds before asking, “How the hell did you know that?”

 

“Oh, you know. It's just that I was recently hired to protect a bunch of hero brats. No one was supposed to know the location of their camp, so I was told to take a vacation. My boss just called and told me one of the kids was kidnapped while I was on said vacation. There was a heavily scarred guy with blue fire in the middle of the villains who attacked the camp. Ring any bells?”

 

Izuku could practically hear Dabi’s heart beating through the phone. “... Uh... Nooooo?”

 

Izuku’s expression turned dark. “Dabi. You're a smart man. Tell me, how many people have actually managed to escape me?”

 

“... Zero,” he replied in a terrified whisper.

 

“Do you believe you have what it takes to be the first?”

 

“The kid’s unharmed, I swear!” he said, voice cracking slightly. “Fuck, Shadowstep, I swear I didn’t know this was your job, I would have turned it down.”

 

“I believe you, Bacon Bits. And I’ll tell you what. Since I like you. Tell me where the kid’s being held, and when I show up to take him back, I’ll let you live.”

Notes:

So, I'm not really all that proud of this chapter, but I needed to get past the camp so I could continue. It took way too long for me to complete this chapter. It was totally forced, but as I said at the start, I want to have another completed fic to my name, so I'm forcing myself to get past this and on to better stuff.

I actually like how the next chapter turned out, so just bare with me on this one.

Chapter 22

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“I could take care of this a lot easier if I was alone,” Izuku muttered to himself as he stood next to All Might, waiting for the signal to attack.

 

After he had gotten the location of where the League was holding Bakugou, he had called Nedzu back and given him the information. Soon after, Yayorozu had woken up from her head injury and informed the heroes that she had managed to slip a tracking device on the Nomu she had fought in the forest. The two locations didn’t match.

 

Izuku had wanted to take care of the entire attack on his own, something that would be incredibly simple for him. All he’d need is to have Dabi open a door for him, pretending he was going outside to smoke or something similar, and he’d be able to sneak in, paralyze everyone, get Bakugou out, and then head over to the secondary location. Quick, simple, efficient, just like all of his jobs are.

 

But for some reason, All Might didn’t trust him not to kill everyone. Which Izuku just felt was rude. He knows how not to kill people!

 

Izuku cracked his knuckles and then pulled out a dagger. He hummed to himself, contemplating between a paralytic or a quirk suppressant when All Might spoke up.

 

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t use any lethal force,” he stated with a small frown on his normally smiling face.

 

Izuku raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t planning on it. At least, not with these guys,” he admitted. “Nedzu does want me to take down their leader, and him I will be using lethal force on.”

 

All Might winced at that. “The leader is my responsibility.”

 

“Then you better hope you get him before I do,” Izuku replied easily. “He might survive you, but he won’t survive me.”

 

All Might seemed disturbed by Izuku’s statement, so much so that he missed Edgeshot saying through the coms, “Kamino Pizza Delivery!” which was the code for the raid to start. Izuku had to gesture towards the building with an exasperated look for him to remember he needed to make an entrance.

 

Izuku smirked at All Might's flustered reaction. As the hero finally bellowed his iconic "I AM HERE!" as he smashed through the wall, Izuku slipped behind him, one dagger coated in a paralytic poison and the other in a quirk suppressant.

 

It took less than a second for Izuku to locate his first target – Kurogiri. He knew Kurogiri was their warper, their way in and out of a situation, and if he wasn’t taken down first, they could all get away. So, with a quick Shadowstep to the warper’s back, Izuku got two quick slices on him to spread both poisons. Kurogiri went down.

 

Next, Izuku Shadowstepped into Magne’s shadow and delivered the same quick strikes to disable her, before spinning around to double-strike Mr. Compress as he was reaching to use his quirk on Izuku.

 

“Nice try,” Izuku smirked as he fell. “Better luck next time.”

 

The glint of Toga's thrown knife snapped Izuku's gaze to the blonde girl. He pivoted with dancer-like grace, the blade shearing past his ear and embedding itself in the wall, barely missing the stunned and staring All Might. A playful chuckle bubbled up in his throat, "Oh, someone else plays with knives I see.”

 

Before she could respond, he was upon her, a whirlwind of precise movements. Their knives flashed in the light of the remaining overhead light, a deadly display of clashing steel and parrying instincts. Izuku's daggers danced with viper-like ferocity, while Toga countered with acrobatic flourishes.

 

With a lightning-fast flick of his wrist, he managed to graze Toga's arm, the paralytic venom taking immediate effect.

 

Izuku didn't linger, he Shadowstepped behind Spinner, the villain spinning on his heel in surprise. But the surprise wouldn't last long. Izuku brought his daggers down in a brutal X-pattern, aiming for the pressure points at Spinner's neck and spine.

 

Spinner, however, was quicker than he looked. He whipped his sword upwards, blocking the first strike with a sickening clang of metal against metal. The second dagger, though, sliced through the scales on his back just as Izuku meant it to, nicking Spinner's shoulder and injecting a small dose of the paralytic.

 

The villain fell quickly, and Izuku glanced around for his next target, only to find there was no one left but Dabi.

 

For a beat, the room held its breath. The heroes, still reeling from Izuku's whirlwind performance, watched with a mixture of fear and fascination. All Might himself stood frozen, his face a mask of conflicting emotions.

 

With a smirk, Izuku put his daggers back in their sheathes and approached Dabi. “Bacon Bits, good to see my favorite crispy critter is smart enough to stay out of my way.”

 

Dabi snorted. “When my favorite bitch has moves like that,” he gestured to the fallen villains, “you can be sure I’m going to keep my distance.” His expression turned guarded. “We’re good, right, Bella? I can walk away?”

 

“I’m not going to stop you, but they might try,” Izuku admitted, nodding towards the heroes. “I told them I had an informant, though, so who knows.”

 

“Alright, I’m gonna head out then.” Dabi put his hands in the pockets of his coat and walked out the front door, all of the heroes just watching him leave, too stunned still at Izuku’s performance to even think about stopping him.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Katsuki had closed his eyes when the wall was destroyed, the room filling with dust and debris, but he had clearly heard All Might’s distinctive “I AM HERE!” call out before noticing that the hero hadn’t moved since he had broken in.

 

His eyes snapped open, locking onto the impossible sight of Deku mid-air, daggers flashing in the flickering light. His body, still tethered to the chair, screamed in protest, but Katsuki’s gaze stayed glued to Deku, a whirlwind of disbelief and something suspiciously like... fear.

 

This isn’t the same Deku he remembered from his childhood, and this isn’t the same Deku that had been sharing classes with him for the past few months.

 

Deku moved like a wraith, a viper striking with deadly precision. Each takedown, each effortless dodge, was a brutal ballet of silver blades and bone-chilling grace. And though the villain extras were obviously weaklings, Katsuki couldn't ignore the tremor of alarm that rippled through them as they watched Deku take them down one after another.

 

Katsuki wasn’t alone in staring at Deku in open terror, even All Might seemed to be scared of Deku.

 

“Well, Kacchan, let’s get these cuffs off you, yeah?” Deku said, turning to him with a bright smile, all hints of the terrifying mercenary vanishing.

 

Before Katsuki could say anything in reply, he started choking on some sort of grey goop that was coming out of his mouth. He started panicking, not knowing what it was, as it emerged and started to cover his entire body. Within seconds, however, the goop disappeared, and Katsuki was deposited on the ground, out of the chair he had been chained to.

 

Panic clawed at him. What was that? Was it some villain’s quirk? Katsuki quickly stood up and looked around, finding all of the villains from the bar had also been transported to this new location, except for the patchwork fucker who had walked away.

 

“It seems Dabi abandoned his contract,” a sinister voice hissed behind Katsuki.

 

He turned around to find a tall man in a nice suit with some sort of black mask? Headgear? Thing? Covering his face. “Who the fuck are you?” Katsuki demanded.

 

"Patience, young Bakugou," the man in the suit chuckled, his voice a dry rasp that sent shivers down Katsuki's spine. "I’m one who understands your frustration, your rage. One who can offer you the power to control it, to make the world bend to your will."

 

He stepped closer, the black mask glinting in the dim light. "I am the one who knows what drives you, what fuels your fire. I am the one who can help you become more than just a firework, a supernova that will leave the world in ashes."

 

Katsuki scoffed, trying to mask the unease twisting in his gut. "Supernova? Don't give me that bullshit. I'm not playing your games."

 

But the man didn't flinch. He leaned forward, his masked gaze boring into Katsuki's. "Bakugou, you are not meant for the chains of hero society, the stifling limitations of their morals. You are meant for something greater, something explosive."

 

"You think you know me?" Katsuki spat, his voice tight with anger and something else, a flicker of fear he couldn't quite deny. "You think you can just offer me power and I'll jump at the chance to be another one of your pawns?"

 

“No, Bakugou. I offer you freedom. Freedom from the expectations, from the rules, from the heroes who never understood your true potential. I offer you the chance to become something more, something that will make All Might himself tremble."

 

Katsuki's eyes burned with defiance. "Freedom?" he sneered, his voice laced with venom. "I don't need your twisted power to surpass anyone, least of all All Might! I'll forge my own damn path, with my own damn explosions!"

 

He lunged, his palms crackling with raw power, aiming for the man's masked face. But the villain, seemingly anticipating the move, sidestepped with inhuman agility. The blow missed by a hair, sending a shockwave through the air that rattled the remains of the building behind him.

 

"Impulsive as ever, young Bakugou," he chuckled, his voice a dry rasp. "But temper tantrums won't change the truth. You're simmering with potential, a tinderbox waiting for a spark. I offer you the match."

 

Before Katsuki could reply, a booming voice echoed through the night, shaking the very ground. "Enough, All For One!"

 

Dropping out of the sky, All Might arrived, creating a crater where he landed.

 

The man’s chuckle turned into a guttural laugh. "Ah, the Symbol of Peace himself," he rasped. “Have you come here to die? Or to watch as I turn this young man against you?”

 

All Might's gaze landed on Katsuki, a flicker of concern in his eyes. "Bakugou, come away from him," he boomed, his voice laced with urgency. "Don't listen to his lies."

 

“Yeah, no fucking shit!” Katsuki yelled and ran behind All Might. “This fucker’s insane!”

 

All Might breathed a small sigh of relief, and then schooled his face into a more serious expression. “It seems you didn’t take the hint and stay dead the last time we fought. So, I’ll have to defeat you a second time!”

 

~*~*~*~

 

Izuku’s not upset that All Might left. After all, he’s pretty sure the man went to the secondary location where the villain’s boss most likely used a quirk to summon the villains to him for an escape or something. He’s a little miffed that the villain took Kacchan, though, but that’s the main reason Izuku’s fine with All Might leaving. He’s probably going to be able to get to the villain long before Izuku could.

 

No, Izuku’s upset that All Might left them with all of these fucking Nomu!

 

Izuku had managed to swap out the current poisons on his blades to Ricin before he started cutting through the monsters, not only dodging the claws and various appendages of these things, but also fire blasts from Endeavor who clearly doesn’t know how to aim. Izuku wanted to take off towards the secondary location, the warehouse, but he wanted to take down a few more of these Nomu before he left.

 

“Kid!” Gran Torino landed next to him after kicking a Nomu in the face. “Shouldn’t you be following the big guy?”

 

“Just a few more, and I’ll head out,” Izuku answered, stabbing one in the gut, before spinning around to slice another in the arm. “I want to poison as many of these as I can, reduce the burden on the rest.”

 

“We appreciate it, really, but if All Might is going to be facing All For One like I think he is, he needs you more than we do!” He kicked another Nomu away and towards Endeavor and his fire blasts. “Come on, kid, I’ll give you a lift there!”

 

“No thanks, I can get there on my OWN!” Izuku ended in a yelp when Gran Torino grabbed him by his armpits and took off towards the warehouse location.

 

Gran Torino soared through the chaotic battlefield, Izuku struggling in his grip. "Stubborn ass kid," he chuckled, dodging a swipe from a Nomu that Endeavor promptly incinerated. "But trust me, you're needed more where the storm's brewing."

 

They reached the warehouse just as All Might crashed through the building across from the warehouse, landing in a heap on the rubble-strewn floor. All For One stood across from him, a dark grin splitting his face. The air crackled with raw power, the very atmosphere humming with anticipation.

 

He gritted his teeth, watching as All For One unleashed a torrent of stolen quirks, each one slamming into All Might with devastating force. The Symbol of Peace, once seemingly invincible, was now on the defensive, his attacks landing with less and less impact.

 

"Right there, kid," Gran Torino yelled, releasing Izuku mid-air. "Don't hold back!" Izuku rolled eyes as he fell through the air. Really? The old man just dropped him like this? If Izuku couldn’t teleport, the old man would have just killed him.

 

Instead, Izuku Vanished and Shadowstepped to the villain’s back and dug both of his blades into his back.

 

All For One quickly turned around and Izuku managed to dodge back a few meters to avoid getting impaled by the villain’s tentacle arm. He continued to dodge attacks, both waiting for his poisons to take effect and for All Might to catch his breath.

 

But it was taking too long for the villain to drop. What was going on? He should be having trouble breathing, lungs unable to take in air, drowning in fluids by now. Why was he still alive? Izuku Vanished again, determined to step back and watch for a moment.

 

“Shadowstep,” All For One said, looking for him yet unable to find him, “I know all about your silly little poisons! Do you really think I would have risked hiring you, knowing you could turn on me, if I didn’t have a quirk to nullify poisons?”

 

That makes sense, Izuku thought to himself before narrowing his eyes. So, the bastard’s immune to one of his most lethal poisons. Well.

 

Let’s see how immune he is once his quirks are suppressed.

 

In his 5 years as a mercenary, Izuku had come across a few people with poison immunity quirks, but none of them had been immune to quirk suppressants like Izuku was. With that in mind, Izuku re-applied one blade with the suppressants, and then paused. He could leave the second blade with Ricin. Or, he could use his most deadly cocktail of poisons. One that made Ricin look tame.

 

He smirked as he coated his second blade with his custom poison. Let’s see him survive this.

 

Izuku tightened his grip on his blades and Shadowstepped behind All For One again and delivered a quick three-slice attack on his back, ending with a stab to his kidneys, all with the blade coated in quirk suppressants, before stepping back to admire his work.

 

“I already told you, child, your poisons won’t work on me,” the villain sneered at him. “But if you agree to work for me once again, I’ll allow you to live.”

 

Izuku tilted his head. “You really think I’m going to work with you again? That’s adorable.” He let his smirk turn dark. “Also, are you sure my poison isn’t taking effect right now? You’re still bleeding.”

 

If his eyes had still been there, All For One’s would have widened at the revelation that his wounds hadn’t healed yet. “What did you do?” he asked in a hiss.

 

“One of my oldest poisons,” Izuku laughed darkly. “Law enforcement grade quirk suppressants. It’s the good stuff. I even upgraded it to Tartarus grade about a year ago. Your quirks aren’t going to work until that manages to work its way out of your system, but…” Izuku darted in quickly and stabbed him in the sholder with his second dagger. “You aren’t going to live long enough for that to happen.”

 

All For One grabbed at his shoulder, trying to stem the flow of blood. Izuku had purposely not gone for his throat, he didn’t want this ending too quickly – he wanted to watch as the poison spread in black veins across the villain’s body.

 

All For One dropped to his knees as the poison started to take effect. This poison caused paralysis, organ failure, and prevented a person’s blood from clotting. This villain was going to start bleeding through his pores any second now, and his nerves would start feeling like they were being soaked in acid and lit on fire, all while his lungs seized up and prevented him from taking in the breath needed to scream in pain.

 

All Might had managed to get to his feet and was walking towards Izuku by this time, and he was staring in horror as his nemesis died before him, unable to breathe, unable to scream in pain, unable to call upon the hundreds of quirks that would normally be at his disposal.

 

Izuku twirled his blades in his hands and then re-sheathed them. “That was fun,” Izuku smiled at All Might.

 

“You killed him,” All Might whispered.

 

“I did,” Izuku confirmed. “But hey, I gave you a head start. And I warned you, didn’t I? He’d survive you, but not me.”

 

All Might glanced between Izuku and the dead villain on the ground before he nudged him with his foot. “He is… very dead.”

 

“Yup, he sure is!” Izuku proudly stated.

 

“What kind of poison did you use on him? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

 

“Haha, fuck you!” Izuku answered easily.

 

All Might winced. “I see, it’s a trade secret, then?”

 

“Hmm? Oh, no, that’s what I named that. It’s a very custom creation of mine. I don’t think it’s even possible to recreate it in a lab or anything, but who knows?” Izuku shrugged. “It deteriorates into nothing within a minute of the victim’s death, so you won’t even be able to find it in a tox screen. I’m very proud of this one.”

 

All Might paled as Izuku turned away and casually strolled towards the police barricade, whistling a haunting melody.

Notes:

Here's the song Izuku is whistling at the end. Whistle of Death Thanks, Stall, for the idea of what he's whistling.

The next chapter is about half-way done.

Chapter 23

Notes:

Have a chapter! :D

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Bakugou had been checked out by the paramedics on scene when he was rescued but was still taken to the hospital to ensure he really was fine. Izuku, however, had gone to the police station to pick up Hitoshi from where he had left him after coming straight from the Onsen. It was nearly four in the morning before Shouta and Hizashi were able to pick up the two boys from the police station, since they had gone to the hospital for Bakugou first.

 

Bakugou seemed to be trying to merge with the door, he was so far away from Izuku. Hitoshi was in the middle seat, since Izuku had decided he was going to sleep and had passed out barely five minutes into the drive.

 

Bakugou wasn’t any less nervous with him sleeping, and Hitoshi was starting to get annoyed at how many times the walking explosion kept shooting nervous glares at his cousin.

 

“Okay, why are you looking at him like that?” Hitoshi finally asked.

 

"Like what?" Bakugou snapped, eyes darting away from the slumped form of Izuku sleeping against the window. His cheeks burned, both from the lingering nerves and the unwelcome scrutiny.

 

"Like you wanna lick his eyeballs or something," Hitoshi retorted, deadpan. "Seriously, dude, chill. I know you think Izuku's a walking freak show, but you're staring like he's gonna sprout extra limbs and attack us."

 

Bakugou's fist clenched. "Shut it, Eyebags! It's not like that."

 

Hitoshi raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "Then what is it? You got a problem with Izuku being unconscious while you're wide awake? You know you can sleep too, right?"

 

His pride wouldn't let him admit it, but witnessing Izuku's calculated, venomous assault on both the League extras and their boss All For One had shaken him. It was a far cry from the reckless Deku he'd known. This new Deku – no, this isn’t Deku at all anymore. This is Izuku, the mercenary, the silent executioner, and he was terrifyingly effective.

 

"It's just…" Bakugou mumbled, avoiding Hitoshi's probing stare. "It's not Izuku I'm worried about. It's… what he did. How."

 

Hitoshi tilted his head, a ghost of a smirk playing on his lips. "You mean how he managed to take down the entire League of Villains in just a few hours? Yeah, that was pretty damn impressive."

 

Bakugou growled, but a grudging nod escaped his lips. "He had poisons that paralyzed, he had quirk suppressants, and then there was whatever the fuck he used to kill that faceless freak. How did he even get his hands on that stuff?"

 

Hitoshi shrugged. "Fuck if I know. He has his ways. Maybe you can ask him when he wakes up?”

 

“Fuck that!” Bakugou replied, loud enough to where Izuku nearly woke up.

 

“Nnn, dun wanna go to Hero Con… Heroes are lame… Not you… you’re pretty…” Izuku mumbled in his sleep.

 

“He better not be dreaming of a blond,” Shouta grumbled from the driver’s seat, causing Hizashi to snort.

 

“Shou, the baby’s already said he doesn’t like blonds. Plus, I’ve caught him blushing around Todoroki, so I’m pretty sure he’s dreaming about him.”

 

Shouta hummed in thought for a moment before he nodded. “Todoroki is acceptable.”

 

“What the fuck?” Hitoshi heard Bakugou whisper. “How is this the same person who…?”

 

Hitoshi just smirked.

 

~*~*~*~

 

“MRRROOOOOOOOWWWWW!” Cheshire’s hungry scream echoed throughout the apartment.

 

“Heartbreaking: local cat has never been fed in entire life, says local cat!” Hizashi joked as he looked at the kids sitting on the couch playing games on their phones.

 

Hitoshi glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. “Sources close to cat claim cat may have actually been fed between four to six hours ago. These claims are still under investigation.”

 

Hizashi giggled at that.

 

“Breaking news,” Izuku spoke up, not bothering to look up from his phone. “Cat was fed twenty minutes ago by the last person to walk into the kitchen. Cat claims fake mews.”

 

Walking into the kitchen to look at Cheshire’s bowl, Hizashi added, “We now have exclusive footage shot by our News At Nine chopper that confirms there’s literally still food in the cat’s bowl right now.”

 

“What the hell did I just walk in on?” Shouta asked as he took off his boots.

 

“MRRROOOOOWWWWW!!!” Cheshire screamed again.

 

“Oh.” Shouta nodded in understanding. “Izuku, go change his litter box. That’s why he’s screaming.”

 

Izuku looked up at Shouta as he put his phone in his pocket. “I thought your quirk was Erasure, not Cat-Talk?”

 

“When you’ve been around as many cats as I have, you pick up a few things,” he answered with a shrug. “Now, hurry up. I’ve got something to talk to you two about.”

 

“Oh, are we doing that now?” Hizashi asked.

 

“Might as well.”

 

Izuku quickly cleaned out the litter box only to have Cheshire step immediately into it and squat. “Seriously?” Izuku groaned. “You saw me JUST clean that!”

 

“Mew,” the cat responded, and then cutely brushed against Izuku’s leg before turning invisible to go do whatever it is invisible cats did.

 

After cleaning the box again, Izuku went back to the couch. “So, what did you want to tell us?” Shouta was sitting in the loveseat, petting Izuku’s invisible cat with a smirk. “As you pet my traitorous cat.”

 

“He was my cat first,” Shouta countered.

 

“ANYWAY!” Hizashi butted in. “Didn’t you have something to tell them?”

 

“Right. After the recent events, Nedzu has decided he’s not taking anymore chances with villains targeting the students, and he’s converting the school into a boarding school. The dorms are currently being built, and students will be moving in next week.”

 

Izuku crossed his arms and slumped back into the couch. “Come on, really? I finally come home, and now I have to move into a dorm? This is bullshit.”

 

“If you really want to stay in the apartment, I’m sure Nedzu would let you,” Shouta said with a shrug, “but both me and Zashi are going to be staying at the dorms, so you’ll be here all alone.”

 

Izuku narrowed his eyes at Shouta, before huffing in defeat. “Fine, I guess I’ll move into the stupid dorm. It’s not like I actually unpacked my things and settled in, keeping only a small to-go bag packed for any jobs or anything. Oh wait. I did.”

 

Hizashi came up to Izuku and started running his hands through Izuku’s hair. “I know you’re upset, baby bean, and believe me, I didn’t want to move into the dorms at first either for the same reason. BUT! Nedzu has both Shouta and me in an apartment-type dorm, and it’s got a few spare rooms, so you boys both have a room there with us.”

 

Hitoshi startled at that. “You really have a room set aside for me?”

 

“Of course we do!” Hizashi exclaimed. “We just gave you a home, you’re our kid! There’s no way we’d just make you live in a cold dorm all by yourself!”

 

“The dorms aren’t going to be cold,” Shouta huffed.

 

“They’re all the exact same,” Hizashi countered. “The temperature won’t be cold, but until they are all personalized by the kids, they’ll just be as cold as the average hotel!”

 

Izuku raised his hand. “Can confirm. Hotels are cold and impersonal, and even the luxury hotels have that same feeling. I much prefer here, where the entire space has personality and feels lived in.”

 

“Been to a lot of luxury hotels?” Hitoshi asked.

 

“I’ve got top tier memberships to 12 different chains, for the past three years, I’ve lived solely in luxury. The cheap hotels always have a distinct smell of urine, no matter how much air freshener I use,” Izuku shuddered.

 

“Sounds pleasant,” Hitoshi grimaced.

 

“Well,” Shouta interjected before the conversation could get too far off course. “These dorms won’t smell like urine, but they might smell like fresh paint. You’ll both have a room in our apartment at the teacher’s dorms, but you’ll also have your own dorm room in the 1-A building.”

 

“Wait, but I’m not in 1-A yet?” Hitoshi reminded them. “I’m still in 1-C.”

 

“Not exactly,” Hizashi said, moving from Izuku to sitting next to Hitoshi. “Your transfer to 1-A is effective as of the start of the next term. So, since you’d only be in 1-C for about ten minutes at most, Nedzu’s decided to have you move into the 1-A dorms instead. Your transfer will be announced on move-in day.”

 

“Okay, but if I’m moving in with a bunch of people I don’t know, I want my room next to Izu’s,” Hitoshi demanded.

 

Shouta raised an eyebrow. “That’s already where your room was going to be,” he stated in a deadpan.

 

“Sweet.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

Hitoshi had left his recording equipment at the apartment in the teacher’s dorms, not wanting to give away the fact that he was Siren to any of his new classmates. Classmates he still hasn’t really gotten the chance to meet yet.

 

And he flat out refused to meet them without Izuku there with him. Yes, he knows he’s being unreasonable. No, he’s not changing his mind.

 

“Hey, Izu?” Hitoshi knocked on the door to the room next to his, opening it slightly as it hadn’t been fully closed.

 

“Hmm?” Izuku hummed as he adjusted a small Present Mic figure on his desk.

 

Hitoshi forgot what he was going to ask as he looked around the room. It was nothing like the room Izuku had at the apartment – that one had weapons in easy reach, a few knives on display, and generally had the feel of a mercenary’s room. This one, however, looked like a Present Mic fanboy took over.

 

This room was a kaleidoscope of his unexpected interests. A wall proudly displayed a collection of Present Mic posters, each signed with personal messages in the hero's signature flamboyant script. A life-size cardboard cutout of Present Mic, complete with a boombox stood guard in one corner. A beanbag chair shaped like Eraserhead's hero head, complete with tiny yellow felt goggles, sat invitingly in another.

 

"Yeah, uh, consider this my 'guilty pleasure' room," Izuku chuckled sheepishly, realizing Hitoshi's wide-eyed surprise. "A place to unwind that doesn't remind me of work."

 

Hitoshi raised an eyebrow, a rare spark of amusement dancing in his usually stoic eyes. "Didn't know you had a 'work' room and a 'fun' room," he quipped, his voice betraying a hint of genuine curiosity.

 

"Well, you learn something new every day," Izuku shrugged, gesturing around the room. "So, what did you need?"

 

Hitoshi shuffled his feet, his gaze flitting across the eclectic collection of Present Mic memorabilia. A signed photo, a limited edition bobblehead of the hero mid-vocalization, and even a pair of fuzzy yellow speaker-shaped slippers were just a few of the eye-catching items. “I knew you loved them, but holy shit, you Love them, huh?”

 

“Yeah, I do,” Izuku easily admitted. “I told you about how I met them, right?”

 

Hitoshi tilted his head. “No, I don’t think you did.”

 

Izuku huffed out a breath and sat on his bed, gesturing Hitoshi to take a seat. He sat in the surprisingly comfortable black and yellow Present Mic chair that was in front of the desk.

 

“I met Zashi – or rather, Present Mic – before I met Eraserhead, but I met them on the same day. I had gone to a Hero Con with my parents, we went specifically to meet Present Mic. My anxiety started acting up really bad, being surrounded by so much Hero Merch, so we left early. I thought I had missed the chance to meet Mic, but he was walking towards the Con as we were leaving. He was. . . how do I say it? Aside from my parents, he was the first person to ever say I wasn’t a villain, to give me hope. He believed in me.” Izuku picked up one of the Present Mic pillows from his bed and hugged it. “He’d already been my favorite hero for a while at that point.”

 

Hitoshi nodded in understanding. Yeah, Zashi was a great hero and an even better person. He could totally see him doing that.

 

“Later that day,” Izuku continued. "My parents were killed in front of me. That’s when I met Eraserhead. Just like Mic, he hadn’t blamed me or called me a villain. He was the second Underground Hero I had met, the first one had tried to blame me for the death of my teacher.”

 

“Weren’t you like, six?” Hitoshi asked.

 

Izuku nodded. “Yeah. But my quirk is villainous, so clearly it was my fault.” Izuku shook his head, as if to dislodge his memories. “He didn’t blame me, and when he heard that I was being targeted by a villain group, he decided to take me in.”

 

A thoughtful silence settled between them. Hitoshi took in the room, a new understanding dawning on him. It wasn't just a room filled with fan memorabilia – it was a testament to Izuku's admiration for his unconventional heroes, a reflection of the values they instilled in him. He cleared his throat, breaking the silence.

 

"So... these slippers," he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, pointing to the Present Mic slippers near the bed. "Are they comfortable?"

 

Izuku's eyes widened in surprise, then crinkled at the corners as he erupted in laughter. "Surprisingly so," he admitted.

 

Izuku’s phone chirped with an incoming text. “Oh, it seems Shouta’s about to greet the rest of the students and wants us down there. You ready?”

 

“Right!” Hitoshi suddenly remembered why he had come to Izuku’s room to begin with. “That’s why I came in here. There’s no way I’m going to meet them without you there.”

 

Izuku snorted. “They don’t bite.”

 

Hitoshi raised an eyebrow. “You sure about that? I’ve met that explosive blond, I’m pretty sure he does bite.”

 

“Okay, fair point, he probably will, but the rest won’t.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

“Why’d I even agree to teaching you how to use a knife if you’re not going to use a knife?” Izuku teased as he dodged Hitoshi’s attack with the capture scarf. “If you’re scared of nicking me, don’t be. You won’t manage to get a hit on me.”

 

“It’s not you I’m worried about!” Hitoshi countered, throwing out another length of capture scarf at his cousin. “Last time we tried this I cut myself!”

 

“That’s why I gave you blunt edged blades today!” Izuku kept dancing just out of reach of the scarf. “But if you don’t pull a knife on me soon, I’m just going to steal the scarf. You’ve already proven you’re decent at it.”

 

“I need to keep practicing with the scarf, though!” Hitoshi countered. “The licensing exam is coming up!”

 

Izuku sighed in irritation and the next time Hitoshi sent the scarf at him, Izuku caught it and coiled it around his own arms to use it to capture Hitoshi. His purple cousin dropped to the ground, fully tied up in his own scarf. Izuku kneeled next to him. “Your control with the scarf is just fine –“

 

“Says the person who managed to tie me up in my own scarf,” Hitoshi huffed.

 

“- but you need to work on more than just the scarf,” Izuku continued, ignoring Hitoshi’s interruption. "Look," Izuku sat next to Hitoshi, lowering his voice a notch. "The licensing exam is important, sure, but being a hero is about more than just passing a test. You need to be prepared for anything. Think about it – what if you're facing a villain who can counter your scarf? What then?"

 

Hitoshi remained silent for a moment, considering Izuku's words. He let out a frustrated groan and mumbled, "Fine. You win. But you're showing me how to use those blunt knives safely, no cuts this time."

 

A grin split across Izuku's face. "That's the spirit!" He helped Hitoshi disentangle himself from the scarf. “Since you don’t want the blunt knives I already gave you,” Izuku muttered, then retrieved two identical wooden practice daggers from a nearby stand. "Alright, listen up. Knife fighting isn't just about slashing and stabbing. It's about control, leverage, and positioning."

 

He spent the next hour patiently guiding Hitoshi through basic knife-handling techniques. He taught him proper grip, stance, and footwork, emphasizing safety and control at every step. While Hitoshi initially fumbled with the unfamiliar weapons, his movements gradually grew more fluid under Izuku's guidance.

 

As the afternoon sun began to dip below the horizon, casting long shadows across the room, they took a break. Hitoshi, pleasantly surprised by his own progress, leaned against the punching bag in the corner, catching his breath. "Alright, I gotta admit," he conceded, "that wasn't as bad as I thought."

 

Izuku wiped sweat from his brow with a satisfied smile. "See? You're a natural. Just keep practicing, and you'll be surprised what you can learn."

 

“I still don’t think I’ll be good enough with a knife to bring it to the Licensing Exam, though,” Hitoshi admitted.

 

Izuku just groaned in irritation. “I knew I should have started your knife training earlier! Shouto’s bringing a knife to the exam!”

Notes:

There are only a few chapters left! Woo!!! I'll have another completed fic soon!

Notes:

I have a Discord server now! If you want to join up and say hi, come join us! The Eclipse