Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izuku should have known better than to believe Kacchan would be kind to him. He hadn’t expected his childhood friend to suicide bait him, but he thought he’d at least show the kindness of ignoring his presence. Just like everyone else did. Especially Inko. Inko was good at pretending Izuku didn’t exist. She left the money he’d need when she wasn’t home, always left a meal on the table for him before she disappeared to go to bed and always ignored his presence in the house, unless she decided that she’d had a bad day and wanted to yell at him. He walked home from school, hands gently peeling through his soaked notebook. There was no way he could salvage it, but thankfully he could read the hero names and some of the points he made. He’d be able to do an updated version to replace it. That was okay, he didn’t mind having to do it again, it just meant he’d get to go over everything a second time and make it even better. Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice the manhole of the tunnel crack open until a slimy substance started to seep out of it. It started to crawl towards him, growing as more of it slid from the tunnel. It leaped on him, invading every one of his senses, suffocating and heavy.

I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. Please no.

Izuku barely notices the thrum of electricity under his skin in his panic, his urge to run overtaking every thought in his head. He wants to move, wants to be able to scare this villain away or have the option to turn tail and run like his life depends on it. The sudden shift in wind pressure around him makes the villain disappear from his skin and mouth, but he chokes up some fluid, a vile sewage green colour that makes him feel ill. The ground is cold under his back and he’s vaguely aware of someone slapping his face to rouse him with a little more force than necessary, so he snaps his eyes open, possibly to be a touch rude to whoever the hell keeps trying to wake him, he falters when he sees All Might. The man who he’s looked up too since he was a small boy, the man who made him want to be a hero. He remembers when he was a kid, scrounging money together like scraps and instead of buying food like he should have, like his stomach demanded, he’d sprint the whole way to the hero merch store to buy a knockoff All Might figure for his room. He stares at the hero, sitting up carefully, mindful of the fact he was sure there was still some of the goopy liquid in his lungs. He’d have to get checked later. The hero stares right back at him, big smile on his face. He stands, making excuses that he has to leave and Izuku doesn’t think twice before latching onto the hero’s leg. He yelps as All Might attempts to remove him, mid-air, and he can’t help but think that the number one hero is possibly a bit empty upstairs. He lands on a roof, ready to give off to Izuku, but Izuku just yelps again as the hero deflates like a balloon. All Might explains his injury and asks Izuku not to tell anyone. He can do that, he has no friends to tell anyway. As All Might turns to leave, Izuku takes a steady breath before taking his chance.

“Even if I don’t have a quirk, can I become a hero?”

Izuku’s world shatters around him. All he can hear is the words “be realistic” battering through his skull. He completely misses everything the hero says after that, staring at his shoes as his hero, the man he wanted to grow to be, tells him he cannot be a hero without a quirk. Izuku feels sick, he’s so focused on not throwing up that he misses All Might leaving and he misses how much time has slipped by as darkness begins to settle. When he realises how dark it is and feels the chill in his bones, he takes off running down the stairs and for the first time he’s aware of the thrum under his skin. He chooses to ignore it, but the strange knowledge of it being there soothes him. He makes it back home, aware that he’s extremely late, sliding inside as quietly as he can. Unfortunately, it’s not quiet enough, and his mother rounds the corner, rage evident on her face.

“Where the hell have you been brat?! Why bother coming home if you’re going to be so late?” She’s screaming at him, face flushed red in anger and Izuku can feel the thrum getting stronger the more he wills to be able to run away.

“I’m sorry mama! There was a villain-“

“Don’t lie to me boy! I won’t pity you! Get out! Get out of my fucking house! Don’t come back until after school tomorrow!”

Izuku is aware of two things at once. Inko is raising her hand to hit him, a hit he knows is going to hurt more than her usual hits. He’s also aware that the thrum is so strong he can hear it vibrating in his head, so he reaches deep inside himself and grabs it, tugging as hard as he can. His mother suddenly reels back in fear, eyes wide and full of despair. He’s taller now, he isn’t sure why, but something in his head prompts him to bare his teeth, so he does. Izuku is unaware of what Inko is staring at, but she seems frozen, so he takes his chance to do what he’s always wanted. He turns tail, and he runs through the open door.

It takes Izuku an hour and a broken mirror in an alleyway before he realises why his mamma was afraid. He stares at the mirror and a big, black wolf stares back. He’s not all black, the tips of his ears and his tail are green like his hair, but his body is mainly black. He realises that it’s still dark out, but he can see pretty well. He tilts his head, watching the way his fur swishes with the movement. He’s bigger than the average wolf, standing on all fours he had been taller than Inko. He wasn’t exactly scary, the ribs protruding from his sides because he didn’t eat enough certainly helped with that, but he knew people would still fear him, fear his quirk. So with a final blink, watching his own bright green eyes, Izuku turns and disappears down the alleyway, searching for a dark corner to curl up in where no one will find him.

—

Izuku isn’t sure how long he’s been sleeping on the streets, he stopped keeping track a long time ago. He sleeps during the day, tucking himself into a dark corner, waking up at nightfall to go searching for food in hopes of eating enough to fill him. He doesn’t feel bad about catching his own food anymore, he just did what he had to to survive. After he eats, he always watches the heroes that are still around. He sits like a dog more often than not, watching people walk by and heroes mingle with the crowd, but his all time favourite hero much prefers to stick to the shadows, just like Izuku. Izuku lays out of the way, watching with big green eyes full of awe as Eraserhead binds a villain with his capture scarf. He knows his tail is swishing back and forth, but no villain ever pays mind to a large dog, so he just lays, watching them fight. When the small group have been zip tied together, Eraserhead lifts his head to look at him. Izuku sits up, his tail beating against the ground in his excitement, before he yips and takes off, headed for the small den he’d made himself over time.

Shouta watches the ridiculously large dog take off round the corner. He’s noticed it a few times, watching him take down villains. He always knows it’s there, the telltale thump thump thump of its tail against the ground when Shouta is winning the fight alerts him that the pup is back, probably watching him with those excited green eyes. Probably a quirk, he believes so anyway, no dog is that big and has neon green eyes that expressive. He will never admit having a soft spot for the lanky thing, he’s always been a cat person anyways, but the big dog has ribs sticking out and matted fur and Shouta just wants to ask Hizashi if he can bring it home. Knowing Hizashi, he’ll probably say yes. He stops at a shop nearby to pick up some ham because who doesn’t like ham? Before heading down the street where he knows the big dog sleeps. He sees it laying in a corner, curled up with its tail over its face. He knows it can hear him, because it’s ears perk up and twitch, the tail moves and Shouta can see a bright green eye staring at him. So he sits a few feet away, opens the package of ham and offers it to the dog. It considers him for a moment, tail flicking, before it huffs and stands.

That is not a dog.

Shouta stares and he stares hard. The piece of ham is gently taken from his hand, by a huge wolf. He’s currently second guessing taking it home, but at the same time, it’s exactly like a big dog. So Shouta offers it more ham, and it lays its head in his lap as it takes it, Shouta running his fingers through the soft fur on its head. It tilts its head for scratches, and he wonders if Hizashi would be more upset by the fact it’s head is bigger than Shouta’s lap, or because it’s a wolf. His train of thought is broken by a low growl from his lap, the wolf standing, stepping over him in a protective gesture from whatever its snarling at. Shouta squints and he can see someone standing up ahead, the glint of a knife in their hand. When the wolf sees it, it lowers in a warning, head curling to show its protecting the man still sitting on the ground. Shouta watches the way the wolf’s lip is curled over its teeth, hackles raised and low growl rumbles through its body. He stands slowly, setting a hand on the wolf’s back, which seems to soothe it just a bit, before he takes off sprinting towards the knife wielder, who’s running at him just as fast. His pace is overtaken by a blurred shadow and he sees the man drop, tackled by a growling wolf. Shouta is extremely thankful that this pup likes him, because that has to be terrifying. It backs off when Shouta gets close, lifting the stray knife in its mouth, handing it to him like it’s a stick before disappearing down the alley. Shouta curses under his breath, he’d wanted to bring home the big puppy.

—

Eraser comes to see Izuku a lot more after the first night. At first, Izuku thinks he might be in trouble, but Eraser just sits by his den and offers him ham, just like the last time. Occasionally he’ll leave chicken behind and once he even left a whole turkey and Izuku is incredibly thankful. He almost wants to show himself to Eraser, but he’s scared that if he does, Eraser will know he’s not worth the care and kindness he’s been showing him and then Izuku will be left alone again. It’s about an hour or so before Eraser will be around his den, so Izuku takes off at a trot around the city to stretch his legs. However, he’s not exactly expecting to see someone with a knife pointed at a girl, a girl who he suspects is maybe close in age to what he would be now, and the man is making a move to touch her. Izuku snarls, loud and frightening, slinking into the alley with his teeth bared, saliva dripping from the gaps between his teeth. The man backs up and the girl gets herself behind Izuku, whispering a thank you before disappearing back into the well lit street. Izuku watches fire lick over the mans skin, a wave of it hitting Izuku’s shoulder as he yelps and howls, tail between his legs as he tries to rush away. He’s only spurred on as another clump of heat smacks his hind, and he snarls this time, snapping his teeth. This time he’s not afraid of the fire, but he’s always sworn not to attack people. His mind cleared of his rule, an ugly snarl ripping through his throat as he stared down at the man. The man backs up in fear, his fire dying off in his palms. Izuku doesn’t feel sorry as he snaps his jaw over the mans arm and shakes his head, ignoring the mans scream. He’s careful not to maim him, just a warning, he drops the mans arm and licks his now blood covered snout as he turns tail and runs.

Eraserhead finds him half an hour later, licking over his burns with his still bloodied muzzle, whining softly. Now he’s had time to think, he feels guilty, not looking up when Eraser approaches him but his ears flick up to alert the man that he knows he’s there. He misses the way Eraser grimaces at the patches of missing fur, but he freezes when he feels a hand petting his head.

“You put the fear of god into that man fluffball, he confessed in the middle of the police station, said a hellhound made him face his sin.”

Izuku can’t exactly find the humour in that, especially when he can feel the blood still coating his fur.

“Why don’t you come back to my place pup. We’ll get the blood washed off you and see what we can do for those burns hmm?”

Izuku knew he should disappear into the shadows and move to a part of the city where Eraser wouldn’t find him, but instead, he got up, leaning against the mans side, shoulder to shoulder as they walked. It wasn’t a long walk, they stuck to back alleys so Izuku wouldn’t scare anyone. They reached the apartment and Izuku squinted. How am I supposed to get in there?

It seemed that Eraser was having the same thought, but ultimately seemed unbothered by it. He led him through the building and Izuku was pleased that he didn’t have to walk up a flight of stairs or cram into an elevator. He unlocked a door at the end of the hall, leading him inside, stepping aside to allow Izuku to roam about, sniffing the air. He tilted his head in confusion, smelling a stronger scent here that he was used to smelling on Eraser. He huffed after his realisation that someone else lived here, but he knew he’d be long gone by the time the other person was aware of him.

Shouta watched the wolf awkwardly shuffle about, careful of its surroundings. He wanted to laugh at himself now, thinking it had just been a really big dog, but it was clear when it stood that it was clearly a quirk and it was definitely not a dog. He stepped into the bathroom to get his first aid box, stepping back into the hall to see the wolf staring at the bedroom he shared with Hizashi. He knew Hizashi should be sleeping by now, and by the reaction the wolf had, he’d say he was correct, especially when the wolf flicked its ear and lay down in the livingroom, allowing Shouta to approach him and take a look at his burns. They settled for burn cream and a loose bandage for his hind and to leave the smaller one on its shoulder bare of any bandages. He steps back into the bathroom to get a washcloth and a bowl of warm water, he sets it beside the wolf before crouching down and petting its head.

“You’re a good pup. You saved that girl. There was no heroes nearby. You did good.”

Izuku is so tired. He rumbles softly at the praise, lifting his head so Eraser can wipe the blood off his snout, so he can be clean of the blood physically. Izuku knows it probably won’t be the last time he snaps his teeth around skin, but he can hope, just for tonight, as he falls asleep.

Shouta wraps a spare blanket over the large wolf and looks at the window. The pups consistent in his sleep schedule, the sun is starting to rise, so Shouta heads to his bedroom to sleep, thanking everything above that the school year hasn’t started just yet.

Unfortunately, Shouta is not the first one to wake up that morning. He’s woken by his husbands scream, along with a loud “SHO WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!” Shouta hauls ass as fast as he can, making his way down the hallway to see the wolf curled in on itself and cowered beside the wall with Hizashi backing as far away from it as he can.

“Zashi. Stop squealing, he got burnt so I brought him home.”

“You brought home a wolf. A huge wolf.”

“…yes?”

Hizashi, despite looking entirely done with Shouta’s shit, takes it in stride, stepping into the kitchen, leaving Shouta to step over to the wolf and soothe its fear.

Izuku can quite confidently say, when Present Mic walked into Eraser’s livingroom, the source of the scent that Izuku had previously already acknowledged to be the man’s husband, he nearly had a heart attack. His tail thumped once in his excitement, but the set of eyes locked onto him and widened immediately. He screamed, loud, making Izuku wince. It was too early for this shit. He made sure to stay quiet, backing away from his bed that Eraser must have prepared after he fell asleep, pushing himself up against the wall. Mic shouted for someone named “sho” and Izuku panicked, curling in on himself, staying like that until Eraser came out of his room to settle his husband. Izuku practically melted when Eraser scratched his chin, mumbling that it was okay and “that’s just Zashi pup. It’s alright.” When he was calm again, Aizawa let him go back to his messy bed, telling him to sleep so he’d heal faster. Izuku didn’t really believe him, but it was bright outside, so he really needed to nap so he could be gone tonight. He slumped into his bed, curled up and tail over his face, huffing softly.

Shouta followed Hizashi into the kitchen, stopping in the doorway. His husband looked up, small smile on his face. “Sorry for scaring your baby Sho, he scared the shit out of me. His eyes are so bright I could see them but not him.”

Shouta shrugged. “Maybe don’t scream at the pup laying in a bed next time hmm?” He smirked, walking into the kitchen to press a kiss to his embarrassed husbands cheek.

“You ready for the entrance exams coming up? There should be some good kids this year yeah?”

“Yeah-“ They’re cut off by a loud thump thump thump in the next room and Shouta snorts. “It seems the pup knows exactly what we’re talking about.” He laughs softly as the thumps get harder, so he peeks his head around the corner. The wolf is sitting up, green eyes bright with excitement as his tail thumps the ground.  

“Say little wolf, do you know about UA?”

Thump

Shouta looks at his husband, who seems just as surprised at the response as he is. “Does… that mean yes?”

Thump

Shouta is very, very sure he’s about to have a stroke. “Do you have an intelligence quirk?” The wolf hesitates this time and when Shouta is about to tell the pup not to worry, he gets a response.

Thump Thump

“Sho.. do you think that’s a-“

“Human? No that’s not-“

Thump.

They stare at the wolf, the wolf stares back. Shouta isn’t sure what to do. “Can you switch back?”

“Switch back? That could be a whole grown man!”

Thump Thump

Hizashi’s face drops. “A boy?” He’s whispering now, but they know the wolf hears it because his ears perk forward and he looks so guilty.

Thump.

Shouta feels sick. He steps towards the wolf and it steps back. It looks terrified. It looks around the room for an escape, and finally sees one. Hizashi had a bad habit of leaving the sliding door open while he cooked, and from the angle that the wolf was sitting, he’d be able to see it. Shouta isn’t able to stop it in time, it darts through the doorway and into the garden, running as fast as it can for the 9ft tall fence at the edge of the garden. Shouta and Hizashi chase after it, but it pushes off its lanky back legs and tucks it’s front paws to its chest, easily clearing the jump. Shouta’s body slumps as he realises it’s gone and the chances of him finding the wolf- the boy are so low, that it’s nearly impossible.

Chapter Text

Izuku realised fairly quickly that living just as a wolf wasn’t going to work. Especially now that Eraser is looking for him. So he does what any teenager that wants to be a hero would do and he applies to UA. His application is so late that he has to hand deliver it to the school itself, thankfully he’d had all morning to make himself look half presentable. He felt a bit guilty for stealing clothes from the charity shops, but he doesn’t have the money and he needs the clothes. He stops at a run down gym in town to shower and change before heading for the school, meeting a receptionist by her desk. She seems shocked to see an applicant on the last day, but she accepts his application with a kind smile and wishes him luck. Izuku knows he needs it, so he returns her smile and thanks her before heading back into the city. He decides not to shift back to the wolf just yet, deciding to walk around and see the people up close for the first time in a while. If Izuku’s guess is right, he knows it’s right, he remembers the day he scared his mama even though she scared him, he’s been a wolf for nine and a half months. The entrance exam is in a week and a half. He knows he’s pushing it with the application, but he wants to attend UA, he wants to try. By nightfall, Izuku is  making his way to a new corner in town, his black fur swaying in the light breeze.

Izuku stares at the letter that arrives in the P.O box that the man had told him he could have for free because no one ever used it. It’s a letter from UA, stating that despite the application being a day late, explains the ladies shocked face at seeing me, he is allowed to take the exam. Izuku wonders why, until he realises he never updated his quirk status. Nezu is likely allowing him to take the test, because he’d be the first Quirkless person to try. Now Izuku is determined to get in without using his quirk. If he can’t do it, he’ll pull on the steady thrum that hums throughout his body, but he’ll try like hell to succeed quirkless. As a boy, he swore he’d be a hero and now he will be.

In his determination to get into UA, he forgets one very important detail. Eraserhead and Present Mic have day jobs, and teaching UA students just happens to be said job.

—

Izuku stands in front of UA, staring at the building like it personally offended him. He shouldn’t be here, he disappeared without finishing junior high school, has awful grades wiped all over his file and a string of reports so long that his was the thickest student file in the office. He doesn’t belong here, with the kids who come from bad situations who want to make the world a better place, with the kids who are descendants from hero families. He doesn’t deserve to be here with all the kids who fought tooth and nail to be here. He steps through the gate anyway, heading for the room where he’ll be taking his exam. He pales when he sees Mic, but he knows that if he gets caught, it’ll be Eraser that catches him, so he relaxes, focusing on the test before him. As soon as he’s given the green light, Izuku starts his test, barely blinking at the questions. He finishes first, setting his test on the desk set up for them to place them on before sliding out a side door and into a spare room. He has another hour before he needs to prepare for the next part of the exam, so he sits in the darkest corner of the room and closes his eyes. He’s woken by a phone conversation happening half way across the room. Learning that some aspects of his quirk carried over into his human side was strange, but not unwelcome, but he couldn’t help but freeze at the two voices talking back and forth. He didn’t open his eyes, listening to Mic and Eraserhead talk.

“Sho what if he’s here?”

Izuku suddenly feels a lot more guilty about hopping that fence. 

“I don’t think he’s there Zashi, he probably knows we’re teachers at UA. He doesn’t seem to want to risk running into us, he didn’t even go back to clear out his den, he just disappeared somewhere new.”

He feels like shit for that too, but he hadn’t felt safe enough to go back. It took him three days to realise it was because he felt safe in their apartment and that the streets felt foreign to him once more. He hated that, he wasn’t supposed to get comfortable anywhere where he could suddenly be sent away.

“You’re still making sure his den is good for him when he comes back right?”

“Yeah Zashi. There’s a pack of that ham I always get him tucked behind one of the new blankets you got him.”

“I just wanna apologise to the lil’ listener ya know? I didn’t mean to scare him away.”

“I know love. I’m sure he’s alright, we can both apologise when he comes back.”

Izuku feels like crying. They’re waiting on him coming back, waiting on him returning to his den so he can eat the ham left for him and sleep in their blankets. Waiting so they can apologise for scaring him. His forehead touches his knees as he leans forward, attempting to hide the singular tear that has run down his cheek. A few minutes pass before a hand shakes his shoulder gently. He looks up, met with a bright grin from Mic. “Hey lil’ listener! It’s time to get ready for your exam. Ya good?”

Izuku nods slowly, standing up again with the help of the pro hero. He isn’t sure about touch, but the hero is gentle with him in a way he doesn’t expect. He wonders briefly if he’d be that gentle with his fur. He smiles shyly at Mic, offering a small nod. “I’m fine Present Mic sir, just tired.” The hero gives him an even brighter grin with a thumbs up before leading him through the doors to the exam.

“Don’t sweat it kiddo! The robots won’t actually hurt you, so if you need to breathe, don’t be afraid to stop and catch your breath. I gotta go, I’ll have my eye on you green bean!” Mic darts off to where he’ll be inevitably commentating on the exam and Izuku smiles as he goes. The guys joy is contagious and Izuku feels more relaxed about the exam after just a short conversation. He stands among a group of teenagers, some of them will potentially be his classmates someday, based on how well he does today. He grits his teeth and narrows his eyes, and the second he sees the gate open he takes off, Mic’s shout of “hell yeah! Green Bean has the right idea! Go! Go! Go!” Falls on deaf ears.

Izuku doesn’t use his quirk once. Well, the shifting side of it. He absolutely takes advantage of the hearing, smell, sight and enhanced strength, leaping and darting through the test with a steel pole that is now his best friend. He and that pole have officially been through some tough shit together. Izuku beats robots into sparking mounds of trash, pulls people out of the way with a grin before taking off again and he even gets a few minutes to see what kind of quirks he’s up against. His fanboying is cut short when he hears a metallic screech, followed by a feminine scream. He runs as fast as his legs can take him, ducking through the bodies of hero hopefuls who are running away. He sees the big robot first, knows it holds zero points. He sees a brunette girl pinned under rubble and he’s thankful for the enhanced strength as he pulls rubble off her. When she’s free, he sees her walk with a limp, so he sets her off in a corner and sprints at the robot, using his strength to push him as high as he can as he crawls between the cracks in its armour. It takes him 17 seconds to locate the off button and he leaps off the robot with a large grin as he walks over and picks the girl up bridal style. He’s walking her through the rubble when Present Mic screams that the exam is finished, and he looks down at the girl.

“How are you feeling? Can you rate your pain for me?”

The girl gives him a shaky smile, an arm draped over his shoulders. “Uh, I’m alright, maybe a four? It’s okay though, you can put me down.”

Izuku politely ignores her, walking over to one of recovery girls stretchers and placing her on it. “Recovery girl will fix you right up, it was nice to meet you.”

“You too! Thank you for saving me!”

He offers her a small smile before he turns away, leaving the exam and UA behind him. He’s briefly aware that he recognises her, but he isn’t sure from where.

Izuku returns to his den after the exam. Sure enough, there’s a fresh packet of ham and blankets that smell like Eraser and Mic. He pushes the ham aside and lays down, tucking his tail over his face to block out the sun. It’s nightfall before he wakes, the sound of careful footsteps making him lift his head. He blinks at Eraser, who smiles sadly at him and sits a few feet away.

“You went to the entrance exam. You heard Zashi talking to me.”

It wasn’t a question. Izuku decided to humour him anyway. Thump.

“Come back just for the ham?”

Somehow that made Izuku feel even more guilty. Thump Thump. Eraser just smiles at him.

“You gonna show me who you are or keep me guessing?”

Thump Thump.

It seemed Eraser had expected that, because he just chucked. Izuku didn’t approach him for pets tonight and Eraser didn’t offer. They were balanced on an edge, and Izuku wanted to see him more clearly as a human before he allowed himself to push either way. Eraser left after an hour, telling him to be safe. Izuku went out hunting to fill the night, the guilt hanging over his head too much for him to touch the ham.

—

With the start of the new week came a letter. Izuku checked his mail every Monday and Friday, so he was pleased the letter came so quickly. He ran back to his den on lanky legs, far too used to the beat of four paws as he sprinted through the streets. He crouched into his den, ripping open the letter to read it.

Dear Midoriya Izuku,

Congratulations on passing the UA entrance exam. For the written exam, you scored the highest score ever received on the exam, an excellent 98%. As for the physical exam, you scored a whopping 94 points, surpassing all of your future classmates, who relied heavily on their quirks.

Congratulations Midoriya, I hope you share your quirk with us soon.

Principal Nezu.

Izuku wasn’t sure how exactly the rat knew he had a quirk, but it wasn’t exactly surprising. Izuku tore out the top line before scrunching up the ball of paper and tossing it aside, along with the extra note Nezu had written him. He shifted and stretched, shaking his coat before laying down with his paw over the scrap of paper.

Shouta approached the wolf just after nightfall. He went to sit, but was stopped by a soft yip. He stepped closer, crouching down when the kid moved their paw to show a torn scrap of paper. He squinted, reading it to the best of his ability in the dark. His head snapped up in shock, staring at the wolf.

Congratulations on passing the UA entrance exam.

The kid was going to UA. Shouta would be able to find him. He knew the kid didn’t want to be found right now, that he was comfortable with things like this, but Shouta felt sick every time he left the kid behind at night. Hell, he didn’t care if the kid didn’t show him who he was as long as he was safe.

“Would you like to sleep in the house tonight? We won’t ask you to tell us who you are.”

Izuku blinked. Eraserhead could easily use erasure on him and the game would be up, but he seemed to genuinely want to have Izuku trust him.

“When Zashi and I go to bed you can shower if you’d like, we kept a uniform at the house for you, it might be too big though. Nezu made us take it for you.”

Izuku isn’t sure what he’s done to deserve this kindness. He isn’t sure he deserves it at all. But yet, he’s willing to give it a shot. Thump. His tail whacks the ground once before swishing back and forth. It’s a horrible tell, but it’s one that lights up Erasers face. He leads them through the dark once more, heading in the direction of his home. It’s not as late this time, Izuku wonders if Mic will still be awake.

Judging by the deafening squeal let out when Izuku trots through the door, he’d say Mic is still awake. The excitable blond makes a beeline for him, stopping just in front of him and slowly lifting his hand for Izuku to see what he’s doing. He holds his hand up so that it’s Izuku’s choice whether he gets petted or not, so he pokes Mic’s hand with his damp nose before pushing his head into the man’s hand.

Shouta can see the exact moment that Hizashi’s heart melts and he falls in love with the ridiculously large wolf in their house. He snorts, passing Hizashi the scrap of paper that the kid had given him. Hizashi’s eyes widen and he looks at the kid. “You’re going to UA?! Does that mean I saw you at the entrance exam?” The kid doesn’t answer him, but Shouta can see Hizashi going through every single student he met and spoke too. He sets a hand on his husbands shoulder.

“He wants to sleep here and take a shower after we go to bed. He doesn’t want us to know who he is just yet.”

Hizashi still seems to be recounting every kid he spoke too, but he doesn’t ask the kid if any of his guesses are correct. The kid is curled in on himself in the corner of the room, his breathing huffing out steadily as he attempts to fall asleep. It’s a few hours later when Shouta is waking him, telling him that he and Hizashi are going to bed so he can shower and walk around on two legs if he wants. He scratches a big, green tipped ear before heading to his bedroom, Hizashi already waiting in bed. The second he lays in bed, he hears the nails clipping the floor stop, replaced by hesitant footsteps instead. Both of them freeze. The kid is out there, just wandering about and they could finally see him, but Shouta said he wouldn’t. They listened to the sound of bare feet pad around the house, disappearing into the bathroom and reappearing 20 minutes later. The steps stopped, replaced by a large huff and the clicking of nails on the floor. The kid was a wolf again, so Shouta closed his eyes and went to sleep.

Izuku woke early the next morning, having not really slept at all. Starting school again was going to be a pain for him, especially with his quirk making him sleep during the day. But he shifted and stumbled down the hall on two legs, rolling his sore joints. He found the uniform hanging in the kitchen, and got dressed in the bathroom. After sliding on his stolen red trainers, he shifted back again, thankful his quirk preserved his clothes so he didn’t have to gather them up every time he wanted to shift back and forth. He lay by the couch, waiting for the two men to start their day. They woke about an hour later, Eraser patting his head and disappearing into the kitchen to make coffee while Mic stopped to pet him and talk softly to him. Neither of them ate breakfast in the mornings, but Mic offered him some ham and they were on their way out.

“Hizashi, I’m gonna walk with the kid. I’ll see you there.”

Mic- Hizashi nodded, waving before getting into their car. Eraser just looked at him before shrugging, starting to walk down the street with Izuku trailing behind him. Crowds parted like the red sea for them, a scruffy, intimidating man with a large black wolf walking behind him like some pet. Any time someone raised their hand to touch sleek black hair, they were met with a dark grumble and a flash of sharp teeth before the wolf returned to its owners side.

“Stop scaring the civilians kid, there’s already going to be a news story about you.”

Izuku snorted and huffed, but stopped baring his teeth at the people who wanted to touch him. He simply started flicking his tail in irritation, allowing Eraser to discourage their efforts. They were early to school, Izuku forgetting they had to be for Eraser, considering he was a teacher. Eraser left him by the gate, so Izuku found a tree near the entrance and curled under it, using his tail to cover his eyes from the sun and slipped into a light sleep.

He was woken by a hand petting his head. It was nice, but the smell wasn’t Eraser or Hizashi, so he growled without moving to ward them off. The hand stilled against his head, but they did not leave. He moved his tail and stared, eyes catching on purple hair and eye bags that rivalled Eraserhead’s. This boy needs sleep. So he allowed his instincts to purr through his chest as he used his tail to pull the boy into his hold, almost completely covered by his tail alone.

“You’re pretty soft ya know?”

Izuku thumped his tail against the ground once before placing it back on the body he was curled around. The boy just laughed and threaded his fingers through the hair on his tail while Izuku went back to sleep. He was woken the second time by the boy telling him they had class.

“You wouldn’t be laying here if you weren’t a student, so we have to go.” Izuku just sighed and let the boy up, about to take off when the boy stopped him. “Do you not want anyone to know your Quirk?”

Izuku just stared. “I understand that. Come see me when you’re a kid again? Names Shinsou Hitoshi. I won’t tell anyone.”

Izuku took off, darting around the side of the building and away from cameras to fluidly shift. Shifting immediately as he ran, moving from four legs to two was difficult, but with a bit of practice he’d be perfect. He jumped through an open window, not wanting to tip anyone off that he was the wolf, and set out to find his classroom.

1-A’s classroom door was huge. He could fit into this as the wolf easily. He almost wanted to try it out. He stepped into the room and grinned when he saw purple hair standing on its end. He walked up to the boy, smirked and tilted his head. “Shinsou Hitoshi. You need more sleep.”

Shinsou gaped at him. “Fuck kid, I would’ve thought you’d be taller or some shit.” He laughed softly, like Izuku’s height was genuinely amusing.

Izuku giggled. “Mid- actually, you can just call me Izuku.”

“Not good with your second name? Chill, me neither. Hitoshi.”

They sat together, talking softly. Both agreed they preferred cats and Hitoshi swore he’d take him to a cat café after school today, he was adamant that he was paying so Izuku’s lack of money didn’t matter, because he intended to go after school anyways. Izuku suddenly sniffed the air subtlety and muttered “Eraserhead.” Hitoshi perked up, looking at the door. Sure enough, Eraser was staring at them both, having heard Izuku’s mutter, but not knowing how he had noticed him. The teacher shrugged and moved to the podium, alerting the rest of the class to his presence.

“One of you noticed me the second I was here and the rest of you didn’t notice me until I was already in here. We need to work on that. My name is Aizawa Shouta and I’ll be your homeroom teacher. Green haired kid, what’s your name?”

“Izuku.”

Aizawa raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment on the kids lack of family name. “Alright Izuku, your spacial awareness is good.”

He was cut off by a loud snort from a blond kid, one he already knew to be Bakugou Katsuki but the kid didn’t say anything so Aizawa switched the topic of conversation. “I have a test for you all. Go get dressed into the gym uniform and meet me outside. You have ten minutes.”

Izuku and Hitoshi walk together in silence. Izuku can see that Hitoshi wants to ask questions, but he doesn’t, which Izuku doesn’t mind. He wouldn’t lie to Hitoshi if he asked, so he’s holding out until his new friend inevitably does. It likely won’t last long, especially when the second Izuku steps foot in the changing room he’s cut off by Bakugou, popping explosions in his face.

“Deku! What the hell are you doing here?! You’re supposed to be dead!”

Hitoshi flinched beside him. Yeah, that was a great first impression. Bakugou thrived on fear and Hitoshi just showed something similar. Before Bakugou could even think of rounding on Hitoshi, Izuku took up his attention. “But I’m not dead Bakugou. Who told you I was dead?”

“Auntie did!”

“Inko is a liar Bakugou. It would do you well to ignore her.”

He ignored the pain in his chest from his mothers lie, ignored the feeling of his grief suffocating him. He dressed stiffly, on auto pilot and only stopped when he heard a soft intake of breath. Izuku locked eyes with Hitoshi, holding his shirt in his hand as he frowned, wondering what was wrong.

“Izuku. Your shoulder. What happened to you?”

Izuku quickly tugged the shirt over his head before anyone else noticed. The scar still peeked out from under his shirt, but it was mostly covered so he didn’t mind. “There are bad people out in the alleys. They don’t seem particularly fond of a wolf sneering at them until they stop.”

“Did you fight him?”

“I bit him.”

Izuku was expecting to be hit, to be cursed out for a villains quirk. He wasn’t expecting the soft “good.” That Hitoshi whispered. They headed outside together, surprisingly the first to make it out to Aizawa. He stared at them a moment before approaching them.

“Kid, your spacial awareness is good.” Almost too good for a kid. “How’d you learn?”

“It comes with being labelled quirkless sir.”

Aizawa lifted a brow. He knew the kid was diagnosed quirkless, but he’d also seen the way the kid acted in the tapes of the exam. He was good, perked up to sounds several blocks away and asked a contestant “are you hurt?” And pointed to her clothed arm, where sure enough, a trail of blood was running. Aizawa was beginning to doubt the kids diagnosis. The look in the kids eyes showed that he saw Aizawa’s doubts. Especially with how he immediately backed up a touch, adjusting his body to protect Shinsou. Aizawa stepped back and looked away from the kids eyes. He had already been perceived as a threat to Izuku, he didn’t need to find out what happened if Izuku thought he was a threat to Shinsou. He was definitely sure now, the kid must have an animal quirk of some kind, one that definitely wasn’t an animal at the bottom of the food chain either. He wondered briefly if Izuku was the wolf, him favouring Shinsou would make sense, the wolf was still wary of Shouta, even if he allowed himself and Hizashi to comfort him. Aizawa wouldn’t ask until the kid was ready, especially considering Izuku had never shown his quirk fully. He backed off just in time for the rest of the class to join them, throwing glances at Izuku who had now curled his lip back over his teeth, sporting a pair of sharp canines that were clearly a part of his quirk. He locked his eyes onto Shouta once more, and when he seemed to find whatever pleased him, the canines disappeared and Izuku dropped his subtle protective stance.

Izuku sighed softly as Aizawa stopped staring. “Why was Aizawa staring?”

“Because he’s starting to figure something out that I don’t want him to.”

“Which is?”

“Aizawa has a bad habit of bringing home strays.”

Hitoshi burst out laughing, gaining the attention of everyone as he covered his mouth. He shut up as fast as he could, leaning over to whisper, “you sleep in our teachers house?”  Izuku ignored him in favour of listening to said teacher. A test to see their quirks, last on the board packs up and goes home. Any means necessary. He can do that.

First place in the entrance exam means first in the quirk test. He does well enough that he’s not last, but not as well as Bakugou or the girl with the gravity quirk. He learns Hitoshi’s quirk when the boy looks ready to throw up on his shoes. “Hey Izuku? Can I use my quirk on you for the test?”

Izuku doesn’t even think about it. “Yeah.”

“You don’t wanna know what it is?”

“…I don’t mind. I trust you whatever it is.” Izuku finds that he means it. He hasn’t even known Hitoshi a day, but he trusts this boy.

“It’s brainwashing.”

Hitoshi definitely looks ready to vomit. Izuku pays it no mind as he belts out “that is so cool! You can definitely use it on me!”

Izuku doesn’t miss the relief that floods over Hitoshi’s face, but he’s called forward by Aizawa. Hitoshi stands in the circle and turns to face Izuku. “Hey Izuku?”

“Yeah-“ Izuku feels a heavy fog roll over his consciousness, enough to muddle his head, but not enough that he isn’t aware. It’s strange and surprisingly comforting. The fog feels like Hitoshi, so he allows it to roam free in his mind.

“Izuku. Take the ball from Aizawa and step into the circle please.”

Izuku lifts the ball from Aizawa’s hand, stepping into the circle beside Hitoshi. Hitoshi smiles at him, and if not for the heavy fog, Izuku would’ve smiled back.

“Izuku, please throw the ball as hard as you can.”

Izuku allows himself to grab onto the thrum that flows through his body, but he doesn’t pull. He just grasps it, pulling on the strength he can take without shifting. He reels his arm back and throws the ball as far as he can, passing his previous score. Hitoshi flicks his forehead and the fog clears just in time for Izuku to hear the class start arguing over Hitoshi making Izuku do his ball throw. Izuku just steps back into his spot beside Hitoshi, smiling at him. “I liked that. The fog feels like you.”

Hitoshi seems both surprised and embarrassed by that, ducking his head down as the class continue to argue and call Hitoshi a cheater. Izuku hates it. “Aizawa said any means necessary. It’s a quirk test. He gets to use his quirk. Why is it different than any of you using your quirk?”

He’s met with silence. He hates that too.

By the end of the test, he and Hitoshi aren’t last. Some little pervert with sticky balls for a quirk was told to pack his shit and leave. Izuku was very tempted to break the kids fingers after watching him interact with the girls, so he memorised his scent and didn’t react to anything the kid said or did. They packed up to go home and watched Aizawa slide himself into the ugliest sleeping bag Izuku has ever seen. He snorted softly, receiving a questioning look from his new friend. He tilted his head to the slumped sleeping bag. “He’s out like a light already. His breathing and heart evened out and slowed. He’s fast asleep.”

“You can hear his heart. Out of everyone in this room.”

“I’ve spent a lot of time with him.”

Izuku grabs a piece of paper and scrawls a note onto it for Aizawa. His writing is awful at best, not writing for ten months only making his usual chicken scratch worse, but he can’t exactly be picky. He listens to Aizawa’s heart and breathing for a second to make sure he’s definitely asleep before setting it on the mans desk and leaving with Hitoshi.

Shouta wakes when Hizashi comes to get him. Considering there isn’t a large wolf laying in his classroom, he assumes he’s going home without his new companion. When he gets up, he notices the scrap of paper on his desk. The writing is god awful, so bad that Shouta is willing to just toss it, but he stops when he see’s who it’s addressed to and from. Instead of being addressed to Aizawa, it’s to Eraser. It’s from ‘kid’.

Eraser,

I won’t be going home with you from school, I had plans for today. If I’m still welcome, I’ll show up around 9. If I’m not, just leave a note on the apartment door and I’ll make sure to stay out of the way. Also, Ball boy is delightful. Will he be punished?

-Kid.

Well shit. Shouta sighed, handing the note to his husband. “I thought I found him earlier, but now I’m almost certain. Especially now that I know he’s in my class. He’s not really hiding, but he’s refusing to say anything so I can’t ask him. Smart kid.”

Hizashi frowned. “Who’s ball boy?”

“Kid who got in. I used the quirk test to expel him. Kid couldn’t take his eyes or hands off a woman for more than ten seconds. If our wolf is who I think it is, ball boy is definitely not in for a good evening.”

“You know who our wolf is?”

“I have an idea, but he’s good at not giving anything away Zashi. He’s probably been hiding stuff from people his whole life.” Hizashi looked heartbroken, standing in the empty classroom with him. Shouta had a feeling he looked similar.

Izuku sat opposite his new friend, petting the fat tabby cat that refused to leave his side. Hitoshi was downing his mug of coffee like a shot before he reverted his attention to Izuku. “Alright, ball boy. What are we doing about him?”

“Tracking his scent from the school. Aizawa should be gone by now. Even if he’s not, It won’t matter. Just keep out of sight. He probably won’t bother with me for long.”

They cleared up and moved out, thanking the owner as they left. They trekked back to the school, Izuku briefly ducking into an alley to shift before they arrived. Izuku supposed this was why everyone thought he was a dog. His snout hovered above the ground as he swished his tail, stilling when he smelled the vile tinge he associated with Mineta. He huffed when he smelt two familiar scents. He looked up to meet Aizawa’s eyes, Mic standing behind him. Mic looked slightly worried, and Aizawa just seemed bored. Izuku went back to sniffing the ground, aware that he had left Hitoshi a street over.

“You gonna kill him?”

Izuku bared his teeth.

“Gonna bite him?”

Izuku growled, shaking out his fur.

“Good enough for me. See you at home kid. Let’s go Hizashi.” They left Izuku to his sniffing, sprinting to get Hitoshi when he was sure Aizawa was gone. They walked the streets together, Izuku sniffing and wagging his tail. He stopped outside an apartment block, yipping loudly. Mineta was here. He lived here. Izuku took off after the scent, it was stronger here, harsh on his nose due to the small boys constant presence here. It wasn’t soothing like Aizawa and Mic’s home, a calming scent that he was thankful for compared to the sharp stench of the streets. He found Mineta about to open his front door, so he curled back his teeth, stalking up to the boy was grumbling about “fucking UA, Let’s some kid who refuses to show his quirk and his villain buddy stick around but not someone who actually has what it takes to be a hero”. Izuku could see the exact moment Mineta noticed something was behind him. He curled in, peeked over his shoulder and yelped. “What the fuck is that?!”

Izuku let out a low snarl, Hitoshi walking slowly behind him. They had already established their plan for this, almost word for word.

“Zuzu. That’s enough.”

Izuku immediately backed off, turning and walking to stand curled around Hitoshi with his lips curled back and his tail flicking in irritation. Hitoshi liked being in control. Izuku could see it now, despite how fearful he’d looked when Izuku had given him permission to give him commands. Having a wolf stalk up to you was scary. Having a wolf stalk up to you that was commanded by someone who saw you openly being a pervert? That was terrifying.

“Of course the villain kid has a fucking monster for a pet!”

Izuku snaps his teeth and barks, teeth coated in saliva as he bares them, hackles raised.

“Zuzu, show our little friend some… hospitality. Will you?”

Izuku stalks forward again, growling so loud he’s sure everyone in the first floor of the apartment complex can hear it. He snaps his jaw shut close to Mineta’s face and the boy shrieks as his ass hits the ground. “What do you want?!”

Izuku takes advantage of Mineta being on the ground and towers over him, snarling and snapping at the boy who as devolved into a mess of tears and snot.

Hitoshi steps up beside Izuku, resting a hand on his fur covered ribs. “Touch another girl in an inappropriate manner or say something crude to a girl again, and I’ll send Zuzu to get you. I won’t be here to command him to stop.”

Izuku barks right in Mineta’s face, hot, sticky saliva spraying on the boy as he wails. “Okay! I promise!”

“Zuzu.”

Izuku backs off, leaving Mineta on the ground. Hitoshi walks beside him until Izuku has an idea, laying on the ground. It takes a moment, but Hitoshi finally understands and climbs onto his back. He mutters a soft “holy shit.” When Izuku stands, which turns to loud shouts and laughter as he takes off at a sprint, Toshi holding his fur tight as they barrel through the alleys, long after the time Izuku said he’d be home.

Chapter Text

Shouta had gone to bed in the early hours of the morning. He had waited for the kid to come home, long after he said he would’ve been. Maybe the kid fucked up and actually did kill Mineta? But that wasn’t possible, there were no reports. When he opened the door to leave for work that morning, he very nearly tripped over a ball of black fur, soaked through and asleep on the apartment complex front doorstep. He sighed and rubbed his face, crouching down beside his kid. “Hey, kid.” He was met with tired green eyes that blinked slowly at him. “Are you still in your uniform?”

Thump

“You wanna shower before we go?”

Thump

“Come on kid.”

After the kids shower, they walked to school together again. There had been a news story about the large ‘dog’ roaming around with a seemingly protective stance over its ‘master’. Shouta had smiled at that, he was incredibly amused. The kid had been labelled a hellhound and Shouta, (who is thankfully mostly unrecognisable in the picture) was dubbed his master from the underworld. That certainly got a laugh out of him. There weren’t any less stares this time, but someone did shout “hellhound!” At his kid, who flicked his tail in response and gave a soft growl of annoyance, but he didn’t react further than that. The parted at the gate once again, but this time, Shouta was curious. He went inside, straight to Nezu’s office. Judging by the two cups of tea, the stoat had been expecting him.

“Aizawa! What can I do for you?”

“The kid. You know who he is.”

“Yes. A bright young student. I was rather pleased when I saw how he worked around not revealing his quirk. He’s certainly intelligent.”

“Can you show me the camera for the grass beside the front gate?”

Nezu seemed to know that it was exactly what he would request, so he moved his computer screen so they could watch together. Shouta watched as the kid seemed to be asleep, but it’s ears perked up to an unknown noise and his tail started to wag. A boy from his class stepped into frame, smiling down at the mass of black fur. Shinsou Hitoshi was grinning at the wolf like they were friends. The wolf lifted its tail and caught Shinsou with it, dragging Shinsou to lay with him, tail covering his body as they lay together, enjoying each other’s company. Shinsou only spoke to one person yesterday. That one person had been incredibly protective of Shinsou.

“Izuku.”

Nezu grinned, nodding. “Yes. It seems Midoriya has been keeping quite the secret. I’m not sure how long he’s been the wolf you’ve been talking about-“

“Ten months. He was sleeping on the streets for ten months. He slept in the rain last night because he was home late. He didn’t think to wake us.”

“Oh dear. It seems the poor boy requires a bit of care and reassurance Aizawa.”

Shouta sighed. He knew that already. He knew him and Zashi could help the kid, give him a place to stay, even if it was just until he found somewhere he wanted to be. He looked at Nezu, frowning slightly. “What’s the kids address?”

Nezu shuffled through some paper on his desk and hummed. “I believe it’s a P.O. Box on the route of one of your patrols.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because it’s the only reason I allowed him to take the exam. He sent his application in a day late. It was only because he hand delivered it that I accepted it at all. The receptionist said he was scruffy and tired looking, that he was skin and bone and that he looked like he hadn’t walked in months.”

Shouta had to fix this. The kid still looked too thin, so they’d have to make him meals through the day. He would have to come ‘home’ for dinner instead of running around doing fuck knows what all day. Rubbing his face, he turned away from Nezu and leaned against the wall. He couldn’t tell the kid he knew who he was, it’d break the very fragile trust he had already gained. He knew it was hard for the kid to even sleep in the house, nevermind have a conversation about why he had been sleeping on the street for ten months.

“He’ll be staying with me and Hizashi, put us down as his contacts. Whatever numbers are under that section are probably false.”

“Already done Aizawa.”

Aizawa left for the teachers lounge, immediately stepping up to his husband and leading him away from other ears. “I need you to not slip up with what I’m about to tell you.”

Hizashi looked confused, but nodded. “Of course Sho, what’s wrong?”

“It’s Midoriya Izuku.”

“What?”

“Kid. The kid is Izuku.”

Hizashi’s whole face dropped. “Sho. He was in the room when I was on the phone to you. I thought he was sleeping. I guilted him into going back to his den didn’t I?”

Shouta couldn’t say no. Not when he knew that Izuku had probably curled himself into some corner like he always does and listened to Hizashi talk about his den. They couldn’t  change it now, but they’d be better in the future. “It’s okay Zashi, he knows you didn’t mean to, but we have to pretend we don’t know it’s him. He has to come to us with this.” His husband nodded immediately, rubbing his hands over his face. The first bell rang, alerting them to start moving. He stopped for a minute, staring at the floor.

“Sho?”

“I need to give him time to shift back. He sleeps out on the front lawn with Shinsou Hitoshi. They’ll probably walk in together now that their friends, so it’ll take longer.”

Hizashi smiled at him, bright and kind, taking his hand and squeezing it before heading to his own class. Shouta gave it five minutes before he headed to his own, noticing Izuku and Shinsou sitting together at one desk. He didn’t mention it, nor did he mention the way Izuku closed his eyes for half a second and whispered something to Shinsou as Shouta was walking in, which made the purple haired boys eyes flick directly to him. Izuku had sensed him coming again. Now Shouta knew why.

Izuku sat with Hitoshi, eyes on the floor. Hitoshi didn’t seem bothered by the fact he wasn’t feeling good enough to maintain eye contact, he just kept talking, eventually cut off by the door busting open. Clearly, he and Hitoshi had no idea what was happening and Aizawa could see it as he approached their desk. He mumbled a soft, “you have heroics now.” As he passed them, small smile in place as he leaned against the wall beside the desk they shared. Izuku looked up to see their heroics teacher. He caught the sight of the telltale bangs first. He clenched his jaw as the class cheered over the arrival of the number one hero. Izuku feels like he’s going to either throw up or maul All Might. Either works in this situation. So he does the closest he can get. He stands, chair scraping, grabs Hitoshi and gestures to Aizawa before basically booking it out of the classroom. Hitoshi doesn’t question him, but when Aizawa joins them in the hallway, he raises a brow, curious at the reaction he’s had at the number one hero.

“I won’t take heroics with him.”

“Why?”

“He told me I couldn’t be a hero because I was quirkless, told me to be realistic and then left me on a roof. After he told me his little secret.”

Shouta was officially ready to drag the number one hero out of his classroom and kick his shit in. He settled for the closest thing he could get for right now. He opened the door, stared at Yagi who was beaming at the kids with that stupid smile he’s always hated, and suppressed the need to smack the hero. “All Might, please join me out here.” He gestured for Izuku and Shinsou to head back inside, which they did, Shinsou sitting beside Izuku again, this time taking one of the boys hands and whispering softly to him. All Might stepped out of the room and Shouta squinted at him. God he fucking hated quirkest assholes. “Do you recognise Izuku? The green haired boy?”

“I think so Aizawa, but I’m not sure from where, why do you ask?”

“You told him your secret. Then you told him he couldn’t be a hero and left him on a roof. Do you remember that?”

“Oh, the quirkless boy yes?”

“Yes.”

“…Is there a problem? I’m not understanding what’s wrong.”

“You don’t understand what’s wrong?”

Shouta watches Yagi turn into skin and bones and he feels like the form is just to placate him. When Yagi raises his hands to show he means no harm, Shouta grinds his teeth and seethes.

“The boy is quirkless, he cannot be a hero Aizawa. I told him so because it’s the truth.”

Shouta swears he wasn’t going to use violence. He would’ve even promised. But the second the blond moron opened his mouth, Shouta couldn’t help it. He knows the crack that sounds when his knuckles connect with Yagi’s face, isn’t from his hand. Which means he’s probably broken All Mights nose. His knuckles are split, he could feel it, so he shakes his hand to relieve the pain and leaves Yagi holding his nose and cursing in the corridor. The second he walks back into the classroom, Izuku’s eyes are on him, flicking down to his hand and when the realisation settles in his head, his eyes widen and he says something quietly, which causes Shinsou to swivel around and stare at his hand. He knows the rest of the class won’t catch it, so he doesn’t attempt to hide it. He just hopes Yagi has decided to move from the hallway. “Get your hero outfits. You’ll be doing heroics training with me for today.”

Some of the class look disappointed, but Izuku and Shinsou look relieved, which is enough for Shouta. They’ll just be testing their costumes today, checking that they can move and run a short obstacle course. He watches as Shinsou collects his case, but Izuku doesn’t. He walks over and is met with a sketch laying on Izuku’s desk. It’s of what Shouta assumes is his hero costume, and Shouta doesn’t understand why it hasn’t been made.

“I sent my application late, there was no time to send my suit design. Can I go down to support now sir?”

Shouta sighs. He should have known the kid had no suit, especially when the only time he spent on two legs was during school hours. He only applied after he heard Zashi asking about the new classes of this year. The kid probably hadn’t even known what month it was. The kid needed a costume, and this one seemed practical. It leaned heavily towards underground heroics, plus the kid had a good quirk for it.

“Underground heroics?”

The kid smiled at him. “Yes sir.”

Didn’t that just make him soft. “Yeah, go down to powerloader, do you want to run the course with Shinsou even without the suit?”

Izuku perked up, grin on his face. “Yes please!”

“Okay, Shinsou suit up, Izuku, go hand that in and discuss it with support. You and Shinsou can run the course when you get back.”

The pair shot each other grins. One taking off in one direction and the other taking off in the opposite. It took Shouta a second too long to remember the kid could move a lot fucking faster than most of the people in his class and Shouta had just handed him the opportunity to race. He walked the class to the gym, watching as they split off to go to their locker rooms. Shinsou was the first one done, his suit incredibly similar to Shouta’s own, only in a shade of dark purple. The kid smirked at him, but said nothing, waiting patiently for his friend to return.

 After the group set off to do the course, Izuku raced through the door to stand beside Hitoshi. He pulled off his blazer and tie with a grin, twisting to crack his back as Shouta hoped to christ the kid was just trying to be flashy. When he had the pair line up one their own after everyone else was done, he sighed as he hoped the kid would go easy.

“Go.”

Obviously there wasn’t a fucking god out there willing to listen to Shouta, because the kid took off like a fucking rocket, leaving Shinsou in the dust. He vaulted over things like a professional, jumping over things with his knees tucked into his chest and landing in tucked roll, sprinting off again the second he was on his feet. He finished 20 seconds faster than Shinsou with a wide grin on his face and not even breaking a sweat. He had the fastest time, which seemed to be the breaking point for Bakugou Katsuki, who stormed over to him, explosions popping and cracking as he lunged for Izuku. Shouta whipped out his capture scarf as Izuku froze up, fear evident on the kids face.

“Fucking Deku! You’re a cheater! You useless, quirkless little freak! Stop trying so hard to be a fucking hero! We both know you’ll be killed before you make it anywhere close!”

Two things happened at once. Izuku paled, hands up to placate the other teen, stumbling over apologies. “I’m sorry Kacchan! I wasn’t cheating I swear!”

And Shinsou Hitoshi stepped in front of Izuku, face pulled back in an ugly, angry sneer as he reared his head back and slammed it into Bakugou’s nose, who was completely unable to defend himself because of the capture scarf he was bound in. The blond boy wailed, attempting to hold his bloody nose, but unable. Shinsou had single-handedly terrified the whole class. Everyone was watching him, Bakugou’s blood smeared on his forehead as he growled out his piece. “Izuku will be a hero. A fucking better one than you. Who gives a shit if he has a quirk or not Kacchan. We both know you’re just terrified about how quickly he’s catching up to you, you fucking bully.” He backs off, returning back to Izuku who latches onto him and checks his forehead, hands shaking as he holds tight to his friends jumpsuit. Shinsou has an arm around him protectively, daring anyone to open their mouths.

Shouta is furious, pulling the bloody faced teen towards him and dragging him out of the room with a sharp, “class dismissed. Go back to homeroom.” The kind of submissive behaviour Izuku had shown was learned, which raised a quiet fury throughout his body. He dragged the kid the whole way to Nezu, growling as he shoves the kid into a seat and retracts his scarf before Nezu even has the chance to greet him. “Why the hell is an aggressive bully in my homeroom with his fucking victim?”

Nezu frowns at him. “I’m sorry?”

“He just lunged for my kid and Izuku immediately tried to placate him. I’ll bet my job that if you actually look into them both you’ll see for yourself.”

So the rat does. He doesn’t mention how he called Izuku his kid, he just does what Shouta asks. They sit and flick through Bakugou and Izuku’s files and see how everything in middle school had been plastered onto Izuku’s record, and how they didn’t think to report him missing, simply giving him his ‘predicted’ grades so he could apply to schools when he eventually showed up again. Apparently the kid had been prone to missing school, his mother always calling him out for something. The kid had been taking better care of himself than his mother had as a whole. By the time they’re done, it’s clear Bakugou is a bully, one who probably left a fair amount of marks on Izuku’s skin, one’s that Shouta would never have seen under the boys fur.

He stares at Bakugou who stares right back. “If you’re gonna fucking expel me then do it hobo. I’ll still be right about him. He’s quirkless.”

“Midoriya isn’t quirkless Bakugou.” Nezu is so overly polite about it, it’s frightening. A small, sharp smile that makes Shouta’s instincts scream at him to turn and bolt. He doesn’t, watching Bakugou frown.

“The hell you mean? He was diagnosed when he was a kid. He’s got the toe joint and all that shit.”

“I can assure you, Midoriya has a quirk. Aizawa has seen it himself.”

Bakugou grinds his teeth and Shouta can see the kid is pissed. “What is it? What is Deku’s fucking quirk?”

“None of your business Bakugou. You won’t be finding out either. You’re suspended for the time being until we learn everything you have done to Izuku.”

Shouta turned on his heel and left, knowing he couldn’t be in the same room as the bully who pushed his kid around and probably pushed a lot farther than a few popping explosions to scare him. He stepped into the classroom, immediately noting that Izuku and Shinsou weren’t here. He stepped back out again, heading back to the gym, where sure enough, Izuku and Shinsou are sat on the ground exactly where he left them, fingers intertwined as Izuku talks. Either he’s so upset by Bakugou’s outburst and doesn’t notice him or he doesn’t care that Shouta is here, because neither of them seem to realise the door has opened and Shouta is standing there.

“-It manifested later that day when I was attacked by the sludge villain. I could feel it thrumming under my skin, but I still couldn’t do anything. He’s right Toshi, I can’t be a hero.”

“That’s bullshit.”

Shouta is aware it’s himself that has said it as both boys whip around to look at him, wide eyed. He walks over, sitting himself on the floor with them. “You’re a good kid Izuku. You have the potential to be a great hero. I know you’ll be a great hero.”

Izuku promptly bursts into tears at his teachers words. No one has ever told him he could be a hero. Sure, Izuku could be a sarcastic little shit, but this was the man who had taken him in off the streets, not even knowing it was him, hadn’t seen his quirk yet, hadn’t seen him do anything remotely heroic, was watching him cry like a little bitch, but still, he sat with a small smile, one he often shared with Mic at home, one he reserved for people he cared for. It crushed Izuku’s heart for lying to him, but he wasn’t ready to tell him yet. He knew that Aizawa wouldn’t make him leave because he was a wolf, he had invited the wolf inside his home but Izuku couldn’t forget the clear fear and despair on his mothers face after screaming at him to leave her house. It was his own fault, he hadn’t known he was a wolf and bared his teeth, a clear sign to people to back the fuck off. He wiped his tears, unsuccessfully, trying to smell the scents around him to calm himself. It didn’t work, his nose too blocked from crying to pick up Toshi or Aizawa’s scent. He whined, a pitiful noise that mortified him, but he was quickly granted a soft weight on his shoulders. He was aware of Toshi touching whatever it was, and when he focused enough to pay attention, he noticed the weight was Aizawa’s capture scarf and Toshi was rubbing his wrist on one of the strands close to his face. He was leaving his scent on it so Izuku could smell both of them on the scarf. This prompted more tears, latching onto Toshi like a dying man.

“Thank you both. Thank you.”

Shouta hadn’t known what to do when Izuku whined, but the weight of the capture scarf was something that always helped him, so he dumped it on Izuku’s shoulders. Judging by the way the kid immediately relaxed, he’d have to go and find his spare one. Maybe he could even teach the kid. His line of thinking shut down when Shinsou started running his wrist on a piece of the fabric close to Izuku’s nose, which cause the boy to relax even more. He remembered the kid was running around as a wolf every day. The kid attached himself to Shinsou, whispering thank you’s. Shouta wasn’t moving from here without his kid, so he sent Hizashi a text to ask him to cover his class for the next while. His husband quickly replied, making Shouta promise to tell him what happened later. The kid fell asleep on Shinsou’s lap, the purple haired boy carding his fingers through Izuku’s hair.

“Sir? I’d like to be dismissed from classes for the next while, I have some things to do.”

Shouta snorted at the kids tone, laced with sarcasm and affection. “Yeah kid. No problem.”

They sat in silence, Shouta mentally trying to figure out where his spare scarf was, so he called the one person who would know.

“Sho? Is everything alright?”

“Everything is fine Zashi. Do you know where the spare capture scarf is?”

“Yeah? It’s in the bedroom closet. Why?”

“I wanna give it to Izuku.”

Shinsou sighed. “It’s the smell, the scarf helped, but he likes being able to smell you. Apparently he thinks you’re safe.”

“Sho? Is that Shinsou? Is something wrong with Izuku?”

Shouta felt ridiculously out of his depth. Apparently his problem child liked the weight of the scarf, but preferred to smell him. He knew smell was probably important to Izuku. He just didn’t realise his smell was important to Izuku.  

“Nothings wrong with Izuku. It’s a gift, he seems to like it.”

“Okay. I’ll dig it out when we get home from school. See you soon Sho.”

Hizashi hangs up and Shouta turns to Shinsou. “Will you wear it for a few hours?”

Shinsou looks incredibly pleased by this request. “Sure.”

When Izuku wakes, he’s still wearing Aizawa’s capture scarf and Hitoshi is playing with his hair. His nose is still blocked, so he can’t smell who’s here, but he can smell Aizawa and Toshi on the scarf. He curls into it as much as he can manage, ignoring Toshi’s soft snort. Toshi tells him that there was an alarm a while ago, but it was nothing, so he can go back to sleep. He fists his hands into the fabric of the scarf, holding it tight so he doesn’t have to let go yet. It smells like coffee, faint hints of the streets he lived on for ten months and Mic’s green tea. He can smell a faint touch of Aizawa’s sweat, but his blocked nose means he isn’t sure exactly of what it smells like, so he moves onto the portion that smells like Toshi. That smells like coffee too, the smell of cats lingers on him. He can smell a feminine scent too, Izuku thinks it might be Hitoshi’s mother. He creases his nose a little at that, the unfamiliar scent sharp on his nose. The smells mixed together are now what he decides is home, but he’s vaguely aware that it’s missing the smell of citrus and the bubblegum scented hair gel he associates with Mic. The smell of his family lulls him to sleep again, curled up around Hitoshi, listening to Aizawa’s heart beat smoothly.

Izuku can easily pinpoint when he decided to trust Aizawa. Aizawa had called All Might outside and returned smelling of blood, his knuckles split open. Aizawa had punched All Might over him and Hitoshi had headbutted Bakugou. They were his family now and if Aizawa trusted Mic, Izuku would too. He still wasn’t ready to tell Aizawa about his quirk, fear of abandonment gripping his heart in a tight grip, but he was definitely more comfortable now.

Which clearly showed when Aizawa’s final class ended, long after Izuku had woken and returned his scarf, a large black wolf walked into the classroom like it belonged there. It slumped at Aizawa’s feet, completely ignoring the questions from the students as Aizawa sighed and packed up. “If you want to walk home together, you’ll have to wait, Nezu wants to talk to me. I suppose you can come with me. He might even refrain from getting too angry.”

Thump.

Aizawa snorted, finished putting everything in its place and turned to the wolf. “You ready kid?”

Izuku stood, following Aizawa out into the hallways and down to Nezu’s office. The door swung open on its own and Izuku snapped his teeth together, but didn’t make any other noise. He walked in behind Aizawa, standing curled around him protectively. Aizawa was here because he punched All Might for him. The least he could do was make sure he was safe from now on.

“Aizawa. I see you’ve brought our local news story with you.”

Izuku flashed his teeth, chest grumbling in complaint. He hated that name.

“What’s the punishment?”

“There isn’t one. I just want to know the whole story.”

“He was a quirkest bastard to one of my students. So I punched him.”

“The whole story, Aizawa.”

“Izuku called me from class after All Might appeared because he wanted to tell me something. He informed myself and Shinsou Hitoshi that he had met All Might previously and that when he asked if he could be a quirkless hero, All Might told him no and left him on the roof of a high rise building.”

Izuku hated that Aizawa had to share his story, but it was necessary for him to keep his job, so Izuku allowed it. He would’ve even encouraged it. The rat hummed and nodded, causing Izuku to be briefly afraid that Nezu wouldn’t believe them.

“I’ll make sure All Might is dealt with accordingly. There will be no fault placed on you or Midoriya. As for Shinsou, we’ll have to talk about not head butting people who upset your friends.”

Izuku curled his lips back, but didn’t growl, trying his absolute best not to out himself over his protectiveness of his family. Thankfully Aizawa saved him. “No, we won’t. Shinsou acted when his friend was scared, he controlled the situation and prevented it getting worse. Could he have done it differently? Maybe. But he didn’t, and it’s done. Is that all?”

“…yes Aizawa, that’s all. You’re free to return home with your hellhound and Yamada.”

Izuku did growl at that, ears flat to his head. He really didn’t like that rat. He made sure to stay behind Aizawa, letting him set the pace. They stopped by the teachers lounge to collect Mic or Yamada as he had learned, forgetting the teachers lounge would be full of people. Midnight jumped and stepped away from him, eyes locked on his teeth. All Might was skinny, staring at Izuku like he was a threat and Izuku could only stare at his crooked nose. Clearly he had ran like a dog with its tail between its legs and refused to get help. Snipe’s hand went to the gun on his hip as he stepped back, which immediately put Izuku on the defensive. He positioned himself around Aizawa again, his front crouched as he growled and showed his teeth, staring at Snipe while his drool dripped off his muzzle.

“Sho? Kid? The hell is happening here?”

Izuku looked behind him where Yamada was standing in shock. Izuku quickly used his tail to pull Yamada close beside Aizawa, still growling at the other teachers. They may be his teachers and pro heroes, but right now they were a threat.

“Sho. What the fuck is happening?”

“He’s protecting us. He sees them as a threat. Snipe, take your hand off the gun and back up. Yagi, just turn around or some shit. I don’t care as long as you stop staring like the kids a villain.”  

Snipe stepped back, raising his hand away from the gun. All Might turned around and the other teachers all backed away, leaving them plenty of room. He turned his head to sniff Aizawa and Yamada, checking that they weren’t injured or in distress in any way, only stopping the deep growl when he was sure everyone was far enough and that his family was okay. He flicked his tail once before returning to the hallway to watch as Aizawa looked around the room. “Kid, everyone. Everyone, kid.”

That was a good enough introduction for Izuku.

Midnight stepped closer, head tilted in confusion. “Shouta, why the fuck is there a wolf staring at us like we just threatened to kill it’s family?”

Because you did. All Might looked ready to start swinging and Snipe had his hand on a gun. That is a threat.

“That’s kid. He lives with us. Next time you see a wolf, maybe don’t look like you’re about to shoot it and it’s friends.”

Izuku decided he didn’t like these teachers. They were jumpy and unpredictable, especially when faced with an unknown. It wasn’t very heroic of them.

“Plus, if you shot him, you’d have to explain to Nezu why one of his students is missing. He’s a quirked kid.”

Midnight seemed interested now. “That’s a kid? I’m an aunt?”

No. Izuku snapped his teeth and Shouta grinned. “Not unless you earn it. Kid doesn’t like you very much.”

“Why?!”

“Nemuri you did just look ready to go all ‘pro hero’ on him. Lil’ listener has good reason to be wary. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I want food and I can’t get it here.”

Izuku was sure now that he had made the right choice to trust Aizawa’s opinion of Yamada. Yamada was a gift from heaven that saved Izuku from listening to Pro heroes talk about him like he was nothing better than a dumb dog. He led them out of the school with a hand in Aizawa’s and a hand on Izuku’s side. This time it’s Aizawa that leaves to drive the car home, leaving Yamada to walk home with him. Izuku presses his nose to Mic’s chest, the smell of his citrus soap and that strange cologne sticking to his clothes. He can smell the bubblegum scented hair gel from here too, which causes him to huff, unable to laugh. Mic pats his head with a smile, rubbing his ears softly. They walk through the streets together, people moving aside for them, occasionally stopping to talk to Mic. Izuku likes walking with Yamada, but he much prefers the peace of walking with Aizawa, an amazing hero, but one who doesn’t get recognised and stopped in the street. The people are hesitant to get to close to Mic, especially with Izuku practically wrapped around him, his tail swishing gently at being so close to Mic. There’s definitely going to be a video or photo floating around of them and Mic won’t be able to hide from it, unlike Aizawa.

Eventually they make it home, Yamada opening the door for him and letting him slump into his bed to sleep. He’s woken an hour later with food in the widest bowl they own, set beside his bed so he can eat without having to hide away in a room to do so. He tries to eat as quickly and quietly as possible, not wanting to bother them. He wants to be more help and do the dishes or even bring his bowl in, but the fear doesn’t go away, no matter how illogical it is. He can hear Aizawa talking to Yamada about class plans for tomorrow and he hears about the surprise trip to USJ. He thumps his tail in excitement, a pair of black eyes locking onto him.

“Don’t be telling any of your friends kid. It’s supposed to be a surprise.”

Thump.

Aizawa smiles and pets his head, taking his bowl and heading back into the kitchen, so Izuku curls up and falls asleep again. When he wakes up, Aizawa is on the couch wearing a new capture scarf. He can smell the difference, this one doesn’t smell like him or Yamada and the last of Toshi’s scent doesn’t cling to it. When Aizawa asks him if he wants to join his patrol later that night, Izuku thumps his tail against the ground too many times for them to use their limited communication, but he seemed to understand Izuku is excited and he smiles, taking off the new capture scarf and setting it aside to pull his old one over his head. Izuku leaves the house first, not noticing Yamada watch him with a smile as he wraps the spare capture scarf over his own shoulders and heads out of the house not long after them.

Izuku sprints as hard as he can through the streets, people making way for him without looking twice. He always liked that about the shady side of town, no one gave a shit that he was running around as a wolf at night. Sometimes people even greeted him if they remembered him being around. He knows they’re more hesitant now, especially with the stranger on his back, holding onto his fur so he doesn’t fall off. Aizawa had asked Izuku to stay back from fights, which Izuku did, only because Aizawa asked. He got a little banged up in some of his fights, so Izuku lay down for Aizawa to climb on his back. After he was seated properly, Izuku rose slowly, carefully starting to trot so he didn’t scare Aizawa. Toshi had liked when he ran, but Aizawa might not.

“Say kid, fancy getting us home early so we can raid the kitchen before Zashi gets home?”

So Izuku sprinted as hard as he could, paws beating against the road as he went. He noticed a fence, one he could definitely clear, so he stared at it, Aizawa catching onto his plans. “Kid I swear to god you’re gonna kill us.”

Izuku pushed off on his back legs, tucked his front paws to his chest and cleared the fence, yipping when he landed and continued running, Aizawa muttering a string of curses, Izuku huffing in response.

They arrived with half an hour to spare, Aizawa spooning out some leftovers for them both and setting Izuku’s bowl on the counter beside his own, both of them scarfing it down in the dark like men starved. Izuku finished before Aizawa, licking his snout clean when the apartment light switched on, Izuku caught red handed cleaning his snout and Aizawa freezing, chopsticks halfway to his mouth.

“Shouta? Kid? What are you two doing?”

“…You’re home early.”

“Are you eating the leftovers?”

Thump

Aizawa shot him a fond glare. “Snitch.”

Thankfully, Yamada wasn’t actually mad at them. He joined their little leftovers scrounge up, all of them heading to bed stuffed full. Izuku didn’t know it yet, but Yamada hadn’t been at work at all, but shopping for things to put in the spare bedroom of their apartment for Izuku. Including the biggest dog bed he could get his hands on, incase Izuku preferred it to the bed, or he genuinely liked sleeping in his wolf form.

Izuku curled up on the floor, Aizawa wrapping his blanket over him and patting his head, Yamada crouching to rub his ears and scratch his chin. They headed to bed, Izuku laying his tail over his eyes like always, closing his eyes and drifting off surrounded by the smell of 2/3 of his family.

Chapter Text

Izuku feels the impending sense of wrongness from the moment he opens his eyes the next morning. He knows something is different about today, something is going to happen. Izuku learned to trust his wolf instincts while on the street. So he does the only thing he can.

It’s long before Aizawa and Yamada will be awake, so Izuku shifts back to his human form, grabs some paper laying about and steals a pen from where Aizawa had been grading papers while Izuku slept. His writing is still awful, but at least it’s legible.

Something is wrong. Be safe. -Kid

He places them on the counter, darts off to take a quick shower and pull on his fresh uniform that has been laid out for him, before shifting back. He trots out of the bathroom and Aizawa is staring at his note.

“Instinct?”

Thump.

“So bad you had to shift so you could tell us?”

Thump.

“Okay kid. We’ll be safe, I promise. Breakfast?”

Thump.

Aizawa makes breakfast, fetching the large bowl once again for Izuku, who easily clears his bowl. Yamada joins them, hair not yet swept into its usual style that entertains Izuku greatly. He looks like a cockatoo. The thought makes Izuku let out an ugly snort, gaining the attention of both Aizawa and Yamada. He shakes his head and wags his tail, dipping his head in thanks for the meal. Aizawa moves to the door for them to leave and Izuku hops in excitement, forgetting his size momentarily, and barks once. He startles them both and quickly droops his ears and tail in apology.

“Don’t look so sad kid, we just didn’t expect it. It’s alright.”

Aizawa’s words caused his tail to start wagging again and they headed through the door, Izuku following close behind Aizawa. This time he doesn’t growl at the people who call out “hellhound” he stays close to Aizawa, tongue hanging from his mouth as they walk, Izuku slightly disappointed when it’s over. He realises he can’t watch Aizawa and make sure he’s safe if he goes now, but Aizawa promised he’d stay safe. Izuku made a promise in his head then, promising to protect his family until he was dead and buried.

Not that he needed to promise, he would do it anyway.

Aizawa pats his head, smiles and takes off, leaving him beside his tree, where he slumps to wait for Toshi. He’s woken up when something pokes him. When he looks up, it’s not Hitoshi.

“Dude! That’s so cool!”

Izuku is very aware that some group of kids have just walked into UA, while there is no gate, and poked a fucking wolf in the forehead. Izuku feels like he’s been dragged backwards into a different reality.

“Kaito! Don’t poke it! That dog is huge!”

“Shut up Aki! It’s not even awake!”

Izuku remembered a time when he and Kacchan had been like these boys. But unfortunately, these situations always ended with Izuku on his ass and Kacchan laughing at him. He knew he’d have to tell Aizawa about it soon, but it could wait until after they talked about Izuku being the wolf. He huffed when Toshi arrived, staring at the boys.

“Why are you annoying him?”

“Is this your dog mister?”

“That’s not a dog. It’s a quirk.”

“Eh?!”

The boy who had poked him, poked him again. “Oi! I wanna see! Show me!”

Izuku pulled back his lips and grumbled. It wasn’t a real growl, not by a long shot, but the kid didn’t back up. So Izuku, stood, stretching out his stiff limbs and shaking his coat. The kid could easily stand under Izuku’s belly and still have a few inches to grow, so Izuku lowered his head, stared at the kid and watched with a strange, awkward grin as the kid turned and ran. The quiet boy stayed a moment longer, giving Izuku a small wave before he ran off to find his friend. Izuku turned to Hitoshi, taking his appearance in for the first time. He was wearing a capture scarf, one that smelled like home. He could smell Aizawa’s coffee, Yamada’s bubblegum hair gel and the smell of Hitoshi’s mild cologne. He can smell the same cat that Hitoshi must visit on his way home because he’s never mentioned owning a cat. He can smell the citrus the scarf was missing yesterday. He stares at Hitoshi, then at the scarf. With no care who sees him, he shifts back to stand in front of his friend, hand reaching out before he stops himself. Hitoshi snorts at him and dumps the scarf around his shoulders. “Dadzawa’s idea. He wore it for a bit, Mic wore it a bit I assume and then I did.”

Izuku wraps his arms around his best friend. “Thank you Toshi.”

“Of course Zuzu.”

—

The bus ride to the USJ is borderline painful. Izuku sits in his new capture scarf beside Hitoshi with his class shooting him strange looks. Todoroki is the first to grow a set and lean over, keeping his voice low.

“Are you Mr. Aizawa’s secret love child?”

Izuku thinks that one is interesting. He’ll be sure to leave it on a post it on Aizawa’s desk. Hitoshi grins beside him, wide and mischievous as he says, “Yes he is Todoroki, yes he is. Don’t tell anyone though, you know how it is for the legacy kids, being one yourself.”

Izuku is extremely tempted to take back his friendship with Hitoshi. Todoroki looks like someone has just told him the secret of life, nodding his head immediately with wide eyes when asked not to share. Izuku is now in the sights of a legacy child, and knowing how tight knit they all are, Izuku is going to be in the sights of all of them by tomorrow morning. Izuku rushes off the bus as soon as it stops, effectively avoiding Todoroki and leaving Hitoshi to catch up with him. He waits for Hitoshi outside the bus, grinning when his now irritated best friend steps out of the bus.

“Why would you do that to me? Iida is ridiculous.”

“That’s what you get for throwing me to the legacy kids.” 

They grinned at each other, Izuku hiding his in his capture scarf, taking each other’s hands and following Aizawa into the USJ building.

Izuku made sure to stand close to Aizawa, still holding Toshi’s hand. Thirteen started a speech about the danger of some quirks and Izuku’s mouth dried as he tried not to pale. He was overcome with the feeling of complete wrongness again, his eyes darting across the inside of the building.

“Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Something’s wrong. What is it? What is it? Wrong. It’s all wrong.”

Shouta turned to Izuku was mumbling into his capture scarf, unaware that he and Shinsou were looking at him. He kept muttering, eyes bouncing around the room until the suddenly stopped.

Izuku dragged Hitoshi behind him. “Villains.”

Aizawa swivelled quickly, hand out in front of Izuku protectively.

“Has the exercise started already?”

Izuku would’ve given anything to be as naïve as Kirishima right now. To not feel the protective urge to maim these fucking villains who dared to come here for a fight with his family. He could feel the thrum dancing under his skin, waiting to be called upon. The leader of the villains stared at each one of them, seemingly deciding who was going to be a threat. Izuku was small, skinny like a fucking twig despite his new access to food. But he had built up muscle in his time as a wolf and he knew he was in good enough condition to protect his family. Until a brute of a thing walked through the purple mist, all muscle and clear mutation. That was going to be a problem.

“Stay back! Those are real villains!”

Aizawa shot off orders to thirteen to protect the kids. Izuku just watched the villains until Aizawa was about to jump down. He grabbed the mans sleeve, eyes still locked on the villains. “Be safe.”

Aizawa’s eyes widened slightly as he seemed to realise what Izuku was doing. He was extending the promise of his identity. Sure, he’d practically confirmed it, but he was dangling the promise of “it’s me. I’m the wolf” over Aizawa’s head.

“Okay kid. I’ll be safe. I promise.”

With that, he jumped into the sea of villains, leaving Izuku behind.

—

Izuku was not having fun. They’d dumped him and Hitoshi in some city place and Izuku had been furious to be sent away from Aizawa, but thankful he was with Toshi. Izuku had watched as Hitoshi brainwashed one of the villains to attack the other, then they legged it to find Aizawa.

Izuku didn’t like what he found. Aizawa was grimacing in pain as his elbow flaked away, jumping back and obviously ignoring the injury. He took out a few more villains without the use of his arm, and a sense of pride filled Izuku. It was washed over with cold horror when the man who was clearly the leader frowned and said, “Nomu. Kill Eraserhead in front of that little fiery kid who seems to like him judging by his face.”

Aizawa looked over at him wide eyed as he took off his gifted capture scarf and dumped it on Hitoshi’s shoulders.

“Izuku! Get out of here!”

Izuku didn’t listen. He had promised to keep him safe. The Nomu started running to where Aizawa stood, clearly unprepared, as Izuku hauled himself out of the water, took one look at the leader and sprinted at the Nomu. He could hear the disheveled man yelling at him that he shouldn’t be so cocky, that he’d definitely die. He took a soft breath, grabbed the thrum and yanked it as hard as he could. He shifted as he ran, the slap of two feet on the ground turning to the beat of four paws. Aizawa knew now, he’d probably be sleeping on the streets after today, but as long as he was alive, it was okay. Everything was okay as long as Toshi and Aizawa were okay.

Izuku had never again wanted to feel skin between his jaws. He hated it, it tore too easily and the metallic taste and stench of blood made his stomach roll. But still, he clamped his jaw around the Nomu’s arm, locked on as tight as he could, his canines half sunk into the meat of the monsters arm, braced himself and shook his head violently. He could feel the muscle tearing from bone as he shook, snapping his teeth down harder until he felt bone. He shook his head until he heard a sickening pop, let go and immediately latched onto one of its legs. He didn’t expect the healing quirk, he should have.

Two arms grabbed him, encircled his chest and started to squeeze. Izuku didn’t think about his ribs breaking or the shouts he could hear of his name, the shouts that were muffled like his head was underwater.

Only one thought was loud enough for him to hear.

Useless Deku. Couldn’t even save your family. There’s a reason Kacchan tried to beat some sense into you Deku, now you’re the reason they’ll all be dead.

“Zuzu!”

“Izuku!”

“Midoriya Izuku!”

Izuku’s head snapped in the direction of Hitoshi. His chest ached and he could tell his ribs were shattered, but Toshi was staring at him like they needed help. They did need help. Izuku was the only one who could help right now. Aizawa couldn’t fight the Nomu and win, he’d be hurt and beaten beyond repair. I fucking promised. He snapped his jaw closed to stop the god awful howl he knew would bubble up his throat when he moved, and started violently thrashing his body out of the monsters grasp. His ribs screamed at him and burned, but Izuku tore himself from its hands, landed on his side with a yelp and picked himself up.

Aizawa and Hitoshi were standing together on the path, Hitoshi behind Aizawa in a protective stance, both of them watching Izuku with wide eyes. Izuku saw the hand villain walking towards them, hand outstretched as he whispered, “so cool Eraserhead, so cool.”

Izuku ran to their sides, curling around them and growling, tail flicking. He showed off his bloody teeth, snapping and snarling the closer the man got. The Nomu and the hand villain were moving at the same time and Izuku didn’t know what to do. He snapped at the hand that came too close, the man’s left hand outstretched with all five fingers. Five points of contact. Izuku snapped at the outstretched hand again, latching onto his wrist and shaking his head, spitting out the meat that hits his tongue.  The man wails and grabs his arm, leaving Izuku to clamp down on his shoulder and toss him like a rag doll.

Izuku stared at the approaching Nomu, crouched down and staring, trying his best to portray that this is his family. He’ll die and kill to keep them safe. The monster clearly doesn’t understand, eyes locked on Aizawa as it approaches, only listening to its masters order of “kill Eraserhead.” 

Izuku uncurls himself from his family, stepping in front of them with his teeth bared as bloodied drool drips off his snout. He knows he should get them out of here, he’s in no state to fight with his ribs shattered into pieces, he can taste the blood creeping up his throat, but he licks his snout, crouches and pushes off, snapping his teeth down on the things head. It can clearly regenerate its body, so Izuku needs to make sure it’s dead. He needs to kill it. The thing grabs his sides, squeezing down again, but Izuku doesn’t feel it as he bites his jaw down as hard as he can, feeling the bone splinter in his mouth. He can feel the second the things skull gives way, it’s head crumbling between Izuku’s teeth. It drops and takes Izuku with it, the pair hitting the ground with a loud thump. He curls in on himself, soft whines filling the space instead of his snarling and growling.

Aizawa rushes to his side as the door busts open, All Might stepping into the building. He locks his eyes onto Izuku, then the mess of the hand villain who’s cradling his torn arm. He sees him just in time for him to disappear, then his eyes flick to the Nomu who looks like it’s had its head beaten in with a bat. All Might steps towards him, looking at Aizawa with a guarded expression. “Young Aizawa. Step away from the Villain. He’s a murderer.”

“All Might. Stop, he saved us. We would have died.”

“I wasn’t asking Aizawa. Move aside.”

Izuku can see Hitoshi run to stand in front of him, to put himself between Izuku and the number one hero. “You’re not touching him. He’s just a kid. It’s a quirk.”

“He’s a murderer young Shinsou. Move, or I’ll move you.”

Izuku growls, low and far more dangerous than it had been at the villains. Aizawa puts a hand on his fur to calm him, it works, his growl dying off in his throat. For some reason, that just makes All Might even more upset by his presence.

“He’s dangerous and you’re petting him like he’s a dog. That kid killed someone!”

Izuku can’t deal with this right now. Aizawa needs medical attention for his elbow and he can smell Hitoshi’s blood from a small scrape. His ribs are practically dust and it hurts to breathe. He can’t risk shifting back, but he’s very well about to if All Might doesn’t fucking move.

“Hey All Might? Can you help us move Zuzu out of here so we can treat his ribs?”

“Why would I-“

All Mights eyes glaze over, unseeing and Izuku almost cries with joy. He huffs softly to portray his amusement, gaining a grin from Hitoshi and a soft laugh from Aizawa. They wait for paramedics, but they’re unable to help Izuku, so Izuku bangs his tail on the ground until they take Aizawa and Hitoshi, but it doesn’t work, so he barks, it falls off to a whine when he jostles his ribs. He hears a soft voice that cuts through his desperation. “He wants Aizawa and ‘Toshi’ to get treated.”

Izuku looks to the side but can’t see the source of the voice. Something shuffles into view, nervous and shaky. It’s Koda, smiling softly at him and looking unsure. Can he hear me? He yips softly, gaining a nod in return. He grumbles a soft, thank you and he gets a small smile.

Aizawa and Toshi do get treated, someone having the perfect quirk to treat Aizawa’s elbow. It barely scars, just a tone different than his usual skin tone. Hitoshi had one scrape on his hand that he said didn’t need treated. Izuku had snapped his teeth until he had finally relented. Recovery girl was specifically requested for Izuku, she arrived with Nezu, both of them approaching him while he lay with his head on Toshi’s lap, Aizawa settling the capture scarf he had gifted him on his body so he could smell his family. Right now he would have preferred to see Yamada, but he’d take what he could get. Nezu leaned down beside him so he didn’t have to move his head as he breathed in shallow breaths, his ribs aching with the small movements.

“You’ve done very well today Izuku. Thank you for keeping our school safe.” He turns to Hitoshi, then All Might, who is still gazing at nothing. “You can release him now Shinsou. He won’t touch Izuku.”

Hitoshi hesitantly releases him, watching as the hero swivels, eyes on them in a cold fury. He’s quickly stopped by Nezu raising a paw in an almost disinterested manner. “This boy is a hero Yagi. You will not be dragging him out of here like some villain.”

“He killed someone.”

“He saved the lives of the children, Aizawa and even you. He is a hero.”

It’s Aizawa that speaks next, voice cold and protective. “Touch my kid and see what happens Yagi. I fucking dare you.”

Izuku ignored All Mights reaction in favour of watching recovery girl approach him. She smiled softly at him, petting his head. “You’re a good kid and an even better hero young man. I look forward to seeing your work when you’re older.” She plants a soft kiss on his head and his eyes slide shut, aware of his head on Toshi’s lap and Aizawa sat beside him, his hand petting the fur on his back with a whispered, “thank you kid.”

—

Izuku wakes up in the hospital, the beeping of his heart monitor infuriating. After relying so heavily on his senses to protect his family, the loud beeping is crude and violent in his head, so he unplugs it, not caring about anything else. He pokes himself in the ribs and is pleased that it hurts no more than a bruise, so he climbs out of the bed and immediately heads for the door of the pristine, overly white room. He’s stopped by a male nurse opening the door and immediately reaching for him, and he bares his human teeth and ducks out of the way, but the nurse doesn’t let up. He needs to leave, needs to make sure his family are okay, but the nurse is unrelenting, trying to get him back in his bed as he ducks and snaps to get away. It’s takes the nurse calling another for them to catch him, the first one injecting him with a sedative. He knows if he had’ve pulled on the thrum of the wolf before the needle was injected he would’ve just burned it off immediately, but now it will take some time. Less than the average person, but too much time. He’s desperate to get to his family, yelping when they lift him to put him in bed again. “No! No I have to see my dad and Toshi! No! I have to make sure they’re okay!”

The nurses grimace at him, pinning him down on his bed until the sedative takes over and he slumps, but does not fall asleep.

“What the fuck? I put enough sedatives in that kid to take down a grown man and the little shit is still awake?”

The nurse is sweating, visibly pissed that Izuku refused to comply, but the sedation is enough to prove that. He grits his teeth and blinks slowly, doing everything he can to stay awake and burn the sedative off faster. “I need to see my dad. I need to see Toshi.” He’s desperate now, the nurses know it just as much as he does, the thrum barely under his skin just because of some medication. Quirk suppressant. His mind supplies the answer, but he can’t quite believe it. They must know what he is and they must be afraid.

“Look boy, we saw your medical files, your dad hasn’t been around in a long time and who the fuck is Toshi?”

“I need to see my dad. I need to see Toshi.”

It becomes a mantra, whispering it into the room as the nurses stand over him. It’s twenty minutes before he can move his fingers. It takes another twenty for the sedative to wear off. He should be off his feet for at least another hour and the nurses have moved to the seats in his room by now, so that can’t move quick enough to catch him when he jumps off the bed and darts for the door, throwing it open and running down the corridor on wobbly legs. He doesn’t run far when he hears it, the familiar heart beats of his family, all of them are here. He hears them talking next.

“What do you mean I can’t see him? He’s my kid.”

“I’m sorry sir, but legally you’re not his father and he’s not awake to say you are his guardian. There’s no paperwork of it.”

“At least let his friend in. Just let one of us see him.”

Izuku sprints for the voices in one of the corridors a few to his left. The second he hits the corridor they’re in, the nurse catches him, grabbing his arm. He yelps as he slips, hitting the ground, his quirk refusing to fully cooperate. So he does the next best thing.

“Dad! Toshi!”

Shouta’s head snaps up when he hears Izuku shout. He’s moving before anyone can stop him, Shinsou and Hizashi on his heels. He can see Izuku on the floor with his arm in an awkward position because of the man holding his arm, and Izuku is baring his teeth, growling like he had when Yagi had threatened to move Shinsou.

“The fuck are you holding him so tight for? Let go.”

“Sir? He’s dangerous, back away. There’s a reason he’s on this ward.”

“That’s my son. Back the fuck off. Now.” Shouta uses his quirk to emphasise that he is not joking. The man let’s go and Izuku scrambles to his feet, launching himself at them. He catches Shouta in the chest, arms wrapped tight around him. He’s shaking, mumbling words into his chest and Shouta can’t hear exactly what he’s saying. Judging by the way Shinsou stiffens beside him, he heard everything.

“Zuzu, can you say that again please? I want our teachers to know why I’m about to give up being a hero to kill a man.”

Shouta gently grips Shinsou’s shoulder, slightly afraid the kid might actually follow through.

“I woke up and I was trying to leave to find you all and they sedated me. Held me down until I went limp. Said they used enough to take down a grownup and they didn’t understand why I wasn’t asleep. I just wanted to see you were all safe.”

Shouta lifts his head to stare at the nurse, body rigid. He looks at Hizashi, who looks ready to beat the nurse himself.

“You sedated a child because he wanted to make sure his family were safe?”

“He was dodging us and snapping his teeth! He was dangerous!”

Izuku turns, but keeps his hands on Shouta’s jumpsuit to ground himself. The kids eyes are hard and detached, his mouth pulling into a sneer. “Don’t fucking lie. You read my medical file and deemed me a threat, because I can turn into an animal. Is it the animal you’re afraid of? Would you like to see it? I’m sure the quirk suppressants have worn off by now.”

Shouta blinks. Quirk suppressants? That can’t be right? It was highly illegal to use them for your own reasons when a patient had no aggression towards you with their quirk. Considering the kid had been snapping his teeth, he had had no intention to shift. He was just trying to deter them.

“We’re leaving this hospital and we’re taking Izuku with us. His treatment will be administered by recovery girl herself. Goodbye.” He put his hand on Izuku’s shoulder leading him out of the hospital. The second they got outside, Shouta took off his capture scarf and dumped it on the kids shoulders, smiling down at him.

Izuku was glad to be free of the hospital, lifting his shirt to get a proper look at his ribs. They were matted an ugly shade of yellow, a few purples too, but they weren’t shattered into dust anymore, so he was happy. He followed his family to the car, pleased that Toshi was coming with them, even though they were just leaving him home. He had completely missed the concerned looks at him, simply jumping in the car and being ready to go home. He just wanted to sleep in a place he knew.

—

Izuku stared at Yamada’s latest project. In one corner of the room was a big bed, sheets pulled out neatly so there were no creases. I’m another corner was the biggest dog bed Izuku has ever seen because Yamada didn’t know which he’d prefer and wanted him to have both. Izuku did his absolute best not to cry. It resulted in wiping a few stray tears away, but he was pretty successful.

“You didn’t have to do this for me. I would’ve been happy in the livingroom.”

Hizashi crouched down beside his son. “Little listener, we wanted to do this for you. We started planning it before you even showed Sho who you are. We want you to be here with us.”

All hope of containing his tears flew out the window as he bust into sobs, clinging onto Yamada and Aizawa like a dying man.

“Thank you Papa.”

Hizashi turned his head to stare at Shouta wide eyed. He was papa.

Chapter Text

When Izuku wakes up the next morning, it’s to the sound of a mug shattering. 

“ Fuck . We have to tell Izuku.”

Izuku pulls himself from his bed on the floor and trots out the door, heading into the kitchen to see his dad standing next to the mug, clearing it up. Papa is standing in front of the Tv, a worried look on his face. Izuku shifts back, standing in his pyjamas as he steps around Papa to get a better look. 

“Well fuck .” 

“This is a report of Musutafu’s local ‘hellhound’ who has actually been identified as UA hero student Midoriya Izuku. Midoriya’s identity was revealed after he shifted into the hellhound at the USJ incident, taking out the ‘Nomu’ as it was dubbed by the league of villains. Midoriya is reported to have attempted to get the villain to back off from his teacher and his suspected friend, but ultimately decided to kill the Nomu. Take a look for yourselves Japan, we have the whole thing for you to see.”

The Tv cuts away from the news reporter and to a feed from the USJ. It shows him, hunkered down and curled around Aizawa and Hitoshi, tongue licking over his teeth as he growls. His ribs look grotesque, poking out at wrong angles and dipping in where they aren’t supposed to. He looks terrifying, looks like he could kill, but then it shows that Izuku does kill. It shows his teeth locking around the Nomu’s head, the way it’s skull starts to sink as the Nomu squeezes his ribs again and then the feed cuts off and returns to the reporter. She looks slightly uncomfortable now, shifting in her seat and a little pale. 

“That is the only section of the video feed we were able to get ourselves. We haven’t identified the two others in the video yet, we only know it’s a teacher and another student, but we will have their names very soon. Call us up and let us know what you think about this wolf kid who protected his school!”

Izuku watches with wide eyes as someone does call. It’s a man, older and probably hasn’t touched hero work with a ten foot pole, never mind being attacked by a villain, but he thinks he has a place to speak anyway.

“That mutt shouldn’t be in the hero course! He’s a murderer! It’s a miracle he didn’t kill that kid and the other guy with him.” 

Izuku feels his dad step up to his side and his papa take his hand. His Papa looks so sad . Izuku knows he’s the cause of it, but he doesn’t have it in him to apologise right now as civilian after civilian call to tell the news that Izuku is a monster, that he shouldn’t be a hero. 

“Hi! My name is Uraraka. I’m in the hero course with Midoriya!” 

Izuku’s head snaps up, so does his parents. They’re all staring at the Tv, watching as interest flicks over the reporters face. 

“Oh really? What’s he like as a hero student Uraraka?”

“He’s the best! He’s probably the most determined to be a hero. He didn’t hesitate when the Nomu came for our class.”

“And how do you know it’s not just because someone he loves was there?” 

“Because the scars you can see on his shoulder and hind are from the night he saved me, long before UA. He’s not protecting people just because they’re his family, he’s protecting them because he’s a hero. Civilians who have never been attacked by villains or who have never considered heroics have no place to judge what Midoriya did to keep everyone safe. He’s a hero and someday he’ll be one of the best. Goodbye.” 

Izuku is crying when Ukaraka is done her speech and hangs up her call immediately, but he doesn’t get any peace to lay down and process because the shaken reporters phone rings again. 

“Hello? What’s your name and opinion on Mid-“

“You realise he’s watching this, yes?”

Izuku cries even harder at Toshi’s voice through their Tv. Dad is hugging him now, playing with his hair as papa hums softly to soothe his cries. 

“I’m sorry?”

“Izuku. He’s watching this. He’s a fifteen year old boy who wants to be a fucking hero. He is a fucking hero. He stood up to something that no one else dared too. Can you say you’ve done that? Can anyone who’s called say that? I know I can’t.”

“Midoriya only stood up to protect-“

“Me. He stood up to protect me and someone else he cares very much about. Izuku is already on his way to being a great hero. I’m sure his other classmates would agree. Zuzu? I know you’re listening. Don’t listen to these assholes. They don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about.” 

Izuku wipes his tears as he stares at the screen, determination clear on his face. He reaches for his phone, his dad realising what he’s doing. 

“Izuku. Are you sure about this? This is supposed to be your day off.” 

“It’s okay dad. Maybe she’ll slip up and I get to drag her on live Tv.”

Papa snorts from beside him, touching his cheek gently, fondness obvious in his eyes. “I think Shinsou and Uraraka just did that for you baby. But if you want to drag her on live Tv, it sounds like a plan.” 

Aizawa is running his fingers through his hair and Izuku smiles up at him. “I didn’t know you saved Uraraka that night.” 

Izuku shrugs. “Neither did I.” 

He dials out the number, putting it to his ear as his dad mutes the Tv. 

“Hello! Please share your name and chat with us about the hellhound!”

It’s shaky this time, forced. It’s clear she’s getting more abuse than she thought she would. Izuku supposes it’s time to tear her world down around her. Especially considering he knows his dad has stepped aside to call Nezu. He looks at his dad, who gives him a manic grin and nods his head, so Izuku grins right back and says into the phone,

“Hello ma’am. My name is Midoriya Izuku.” 

—

Izuku can see the way her face changes on the Tv. She looks incredibly uncomfortable, like she hadn’t been expecting him to call. She probably hadn’t been expecting his friends to call either. 

“How do I know it’s really you?” 

“Well you don’t, but you also can’t verify what Ukaraka said or that Toshi really knows me, but here we are lady.”

“That boy. Were you really protecting him?”

“That’s Toshi. He’s my best friend, which by default makes him my family. I’d kill and die for my pack. That’s how my quirk works.” 

“And the other man?” 

“Also part of my family.” 

“Biologically?”

“No.” 

“Do you really want to be a hero?”

“Of course I do. I go to UA. Why else would I have bust ass to get in? For the giggle?” 

“Midoriya-“

“Listen lady, I’ve listened to you drag my name all morning, I’ve even cried over it. I can turn into a wolf, big fucking deal. I snapped my jaw around a monsters head to protect my teacher and Toshi. So fucking what. They would have killed us all. I was a late bloomer, not a god damned hellhound sent from the pits of hell. I stress manifested my quirk. I relied on it heavily for almost a year. If you wanna call me a fucking villain, so be it. But I’d do it again to keep my family safe.” 

Izuku drops his phone as he rolls his eyes, looking over to his dad. “I guess you’re just my teacher now dad.” 

His dad smiles, full of pride and entertainment as Izuku’s phone starts to light up with messages. Papa unmutes the tv as they curl up together on the sofa, more people lining up in the call queue, this time defending Izuku. His absolute favourite was when there had been no calls for a minute and then there had been one ring out in the silent office. 

“Hello?”

“This is Nezu, principal of UA high. Please stop your reports on my student at once. It is not appreciated. You can have this debate after he becomes a pro hero. Which he will. Also, well done Izuku, your bravery on the situation has been noted. I look forward to seeing you back in school soon.” 

The broadcast quickly ended, much to Izuku and his family’s relief. Nezu had shut it down after his call, but one look at Izuku’s phone which was pinging so much Izuku thinks it might explode, proves that this lady hadn’t been the only one to cover the story. He’s everywhere . Both ‘Midoriya Izuku’ and ‘hellhound’ are trending everywhere. Hitoshi and a few of his classmates were texting him, but one message caught his eye. 

“I hope you’re alright Midoriya. -Todoroki.”

Izuku blinked. He set the phone down without replying and headed for a shower while papa cooked breakfast. He always made sure to take quick showers, never wanting to be a bother. After stepping out of the barely warmed water, he stared at himself in the mirror. Normally he dressed and shifted as quickly as he could, paying his reflection no mind, so this was the first time he’d seen himself since before he got his quirk. His hair was longer now, reaching down to his shoulders. His face was slim but not hollow like it had been when Inko hadn’t been feeding him. He was taller too, but he had no way to tell if his wolf grew with him. He doubted it, he was pretty big. His chest and shoulders were muscled, his ribs a yellowish purple but he could still see the outline of muscle left behind by his time as the wolf. His body still held its lanky frame, but he was fit now, just a little underweight. Izuku had no doubt that Dad and Papa would fix that issue up in no time. He messed with his curls, grabbing a hair tie off the cabinet and tying his hair out of his way in a half bun before throwing on some clothes and shifting into the wolf. He wanted a lazy day today and he was going to have it. He trotted into his bedroom, grabbing his dog bed with his teeth and dragging it through the apartment, huffing when he heard his dad laughing softly at him, yipping when papa took pity, lifting the bed and letting Izuku carry the end that dragged. They made it to the livingroom, and Papa dropped the bed, letting Izuku drag it to the sofa before heaping himself into a pile. He ignored his dads laughing softly, grumbling loud enough for them to leave him be. He’s called not long after to come eat, but he’s just so tired. Of course, Papa appears with the wide bowl, Izuku’s bowl, and its packed full with breakfast. He picks through it, leaving the bowl by his bed so he can pick through it later. His dads join him soon after, papa humming softly as dad flicks through the channels. 

This time it’s a male reporter.

This time it’s Kacchan on the line.

“Look, the runt has a flashy quirk, he did what he had to. Stop fucking hounding him. He’s lived a life full of trauma, bullying and barely surviving. He deserves to be a hero. He’s going to make a great hero some day.”

Katsuki doesn’t leave his name, but Izuku knows his voice. He didn’t know he could cry as a wolf, but he does now. His day of relaxing devolves into finding out that two grown men and a large wolf can fit on the sofa, and his dads are damn good at comforting him.

-

Izuku stands on two legs in front of the bathroom mirror, scissors in hand. He misses the innocence that comes with his short hair, how he looked like a boy. Now he looks older, worn. He looks broken. So he takes a strand of his hair, and he cuts it as close to his head as he dares. It’s papa that finds him, leaning against the doorway of the bathroom, just watching him. After a few more snips, he moves into the bathroom, smiling sadly at him through the reflection, taking the scissors. “Longer at the top kiddo?”

Izuku nods.

He stands as papa cuts his hair, and soon his dad appears too, small smile in place as he sees his husband and his son. Izuku standing so still, careful not to move as Hizashi runs his hands through Izuku’s hair, cutting it shorter, and with each lock of hair that Hizashi cuts, Izuku looks… lighter. 

When they’re done, Izuku has lost the worn look that he gained when surviving on the streets. Well, the beginning of it. He looks his age now, and he looks happier. They spend the rest of the evening on the couch, and Izuku staying on two legs isn’t missed by Shouta. Neither is the way he willingly curls up with them, spare capture scarf wrapped around his shoulders, small smile on his face as Hizashi cards his fingers through his hair, talking about the movie softly with him.

And if Shouta and Hizashi see Izuku light up when a certain lilac haired boy texts him, neither of them mention it other than a shared knowing look.

Chapter Text

Izuku sat quietly in the corner on his dog bed, legs tucked into his chest as he listened to the soft cries from his dads’ room. 

“Sho, I was so scared when the call went out for all pro heroes to head to the USJ. I didn’t know if you and Izuku were okay, and as we headed out Nezu informed us there were two injured, and I knew, I knew when he didn’t tell us who it was that it was going to be one of you. But both-”

Izuku can hear the choked off sobs coming from his papa. He can hear his dad shushing him softly, probably worried that Izuku will hear them. It doesn’t matter, the damage has been done, and the guilt has set in, eating away at him. It is his fault after all. He hadn’t protected his pack. Him getting injured in the name of his pack works, he can do that if he knows his family, his pack, are safe. He doesn’t know what to do, the guilt is suffocating him, he’s having trouble breathing, so he grabs a hoodie Hizashi had gifted him, pulls it over his head and stumbles out of the house. He can't even remember if he shut the door as he sprints, the erratic beat of two shoed feet turning to the softer controlled beat of four padded paws. He sprints as fast as his quirked body can take him, picking up the trail of who he’s looking for easily enough as he gets closer to his home. He finds the right house easily, he can smell him all over it, so he headbutts the door and barks. It sounds wrong, pained, and Izuku thinks it sounds fitting. 

Pained and childish his mind supplies.

He howls and barks until he feels a pair of arms wrap around him, a pair of arms he knows. He shifts back, crying softly. “I couldn’t keep my dad safe Toshi, I can’t have a pack if I can't even keep them safe! What kind of wolf can't even keep his pack safe!”

Hitoshi is petting his hair, whispering softly to him to soothe his panic. It works, Izuku curled into his chest, crying so hard he wets Hitoshi’s shirt. Maybe that's his snot. He isn't sure. 

He only realises he’s fallen asleep at all when he wakes up the next morning curled around Hitoshi in his single bed. His head is over Hitoshi’s heart, he can hear how it beats slow and regular, a healthy heart. It lifts a weight off Izuku’s shoulders, a weight he hadn’t known had been settled there. It takes an hour for Hitoshi to wake, and it seems he doesn’t know Izuku’s awake. He pets his hair as he scrolls through his phone, scratching his head. It's another 30 minutes before Toshi “wakes” him. “Zuzu, we have to get ready. We’ll be late.” Izuku reluctantly gets up, faking rubbing his eyes, stretching his muscles as he stands. He pauses. 

“Toshi.”

“Yeah Zuzu?”

“I don’t have a uniform.”

Hitoshi blinks at him, sticking his lips out as he frowns. “Dude you’re the teacher's kid it doesn’t matter, but you can take my spare.”

Izuku does take the spare. He shifts the second they hit the street, letting Hitoshi on his back, trotting to school. They’re already late, so Izuku walks them the whole way to class instead of to their tree. It feels like he's missed a step in his good luck ritual. Like he’ll end up paying for it later. He trots right into class, freezing at once at the smell of distress from his pack.

He realises what he’s done as Hitoshi is clambering off his back and he locks eyes on his dad, who’s staring at him from a corner. He looks hollow somehow, like he’s been through a night of hell, maybe even cried. Izuku felt the guilt shatter in his chest.

“Izuku?”

And then he felt every shard of it slice him, cutting him in ways he didn’t even know he could hurt. So he did what he always does when he believes he’s being abandoned. He turns tail and runs, runs like his life depends on it.

His dad finds him in  the gym. He’s curled in a corner, tail over his nose, but he flicks his ear to let him know that he knows he’s there. He hears his dad sit a few feet away, and Izuku can’t help but remember the dark alley he used to sleep in, the alley where he got soaked through in the rain and where he lived off scraps, where a pro hero saved him. 

Where his dad saved him.

Shouta feels like he’s been pushed back to the very beginning when he’d fought so carefully to get Izuku to trust him, he’s reminded of offerings of ham and Izuku laying his head in his lap. Shouta had been comforting Hizashi when he heard the front door swing open and the sound of shoes hitting the ground. He was out of bed in less than 10 seconds, but he hadn’t quite been fast enough. Hizashi’s tears only grew tenfold when he realised Izuku had probably run when he heard him cry. They had called and texted Hitoshi, only getting a reply an hour and a half later, when Shouta was considering filing Izuku as a missing person. He had run to Hitoshi, scared and crying about not being able to protect his pack. Shouta had shed a few tears of his own when he realised he was just as much at fault as Hizashi believed he was. Now Izuku was here, and Shouta could see he was afraid again. He had a damn good idea why.

“We heard you leaving last night. Hitoshi told us where you were. Kid, we aren’t mad. We’ll never get mad and leave you. You’re our kid for as long as you’ll have us. Hell, Hizashi’s been planning taking you shopping for all the hero merch he can fit in the car since we even suspected you as our son.” Shouta is expecting a grumble, or to be ignored, maybe even for Izuku to get up and leave him here. He’s not expecting the lap full of crying teenager he gets, who’s busy clutching him like a dying man. Shouta hugs him close, face buried in his green curls, shushing him softly and promising not to go anywhere. They stay like that a while, until Shouta realises he's supposed to have a class right now. “You wanna sit in the teachers lounge?”

“Please dad. And can I-” 

“Of course you can shift Izuku. Let's get you comfortable.”

Izuku feels better now. Not fully of course. He feels out of place, like he doesn’t quite belong, but his worries are soothed away as he walks along beside his dad, who has a hand in his fur. It also helps that the second he steps into the teachers lounge, his papa is on him like a starved man to food, smiling and petting him, eyes watering, but carefully controlled not to overflow. Soothed with love and promises, Izuku easily falls asleep in the corner, his dads sitting with him until they have to leave for their respective classes. He sleeps the best he has since Aizawa took him in that first night, happy with the smell of the people who love him lingering on his fur.

Izuku is woken by a foul smell and a hand around his scruff. He’s not a pup anymore, his scruff now grown in properly, and he yowls as he’s dragged from the teachers lounge. It takes him a second to realise he’s being dragged by All Might. He tries to snap his teeth, wriggle free and he even tries to dig his claws in to stop him, but All Might just lifts him off the ground and keeps walking. Izuku thinks he’s being shouted at, but he can’t hear anything but the blood rushing through his head. He howls, trying to snap his teeth again, but All Might clamps a hand around his snout, squeezing far harder than necessary. Izuku thinks he might have even broken his jaw if the crack and shooting pain are anything to go by. He’s dragged into one of the gyms, and Izuku realises why very quickly.

All Might pulls a dog muzzle from a table, and no matter how much Izuku thrashes, he knows he won't be able to prevent it being put on. He whimpers and cries through his forced shut snout, trying to appeal to All Might’s humanity. Clearly it doesn't work, because the back of the number one hero’s hand cracks across his head, and Izuku skids so far across the floor that had All Might done it to a villain, Izuku would have been impressed.

“Shut up you fucking mutt! You’re a villain, a murderer! Then you whine and cry to your false daddy when something doesn’t go your way! Then you call the news who tell the truth, along with that little boyfriend of yours and try to tell the public you’re innocent? You’re nothing but a damn dog who won't learn his place!”

Izuku is lifted by his scruff again, but this time he’s limp. The muzzle is several sizes too small, it bites into his snout and face, but he lays there, he doesn’t make a noise. Not even a whimper. He receives a beating for his compliance, it's not as bad as when the nomu got him, but All MIght isn’t kind to him. He’s back handed a lot, enough that the world is spinning, but eventually, All Might must take pity, and he leaves him to lay in a heap on the floor. He cries softly, wishing for his dads, for Toshi. The muzzle is crushing his snout, cutting his face and Izuku can smell his blood. He feels sick, feels like he’s going to vomit, but he holds it down, afraid to be seen even more weak than he already is.

It’s Hizashi that realises Izuku hasn’t shown up for lunch. He has Izuku’s bento on his desk, and when he heads to the teachers lounge, he sees the claw marks in the ground. He follows the marks scattered across the hallways, sending Shouta a message as he walks. They stop at the gym, and Hizashi steps inside. He’s met with two sights at once.

All Might is looming over his son, hand raised over his slumped body, as it connects with Izuku’s head, and his son goes skidding across the gym, Hizashi sees the second sight.

Glinting under the light, Hizashi sees something he swore to never lay eyes on again. His face burns and he has to fight everything in him not to claw at his face, to make sure his own isn’t there. 

Because Izuku, his son, has a metal muzzle strapped around his snout, and it's soaked in blood. 

Hizashi can’t even scream to get All Might, because Izuku’s ears are so sensitive. He rushes across the hall, standing between Izuku and Yagi. He stares at him, and while everything in him screams to check on Izuku, the threat of All Might is much worse. He’s expecting a lot of things, Yagi pulling out a familiar muzzle isn’t one of them.

Izuku jolts when he hears his papa scream. It's not a quirked scream, it's a fearful one. He wildly looks around, thinking it's just a spider dad forgot to kill before he left on patrol, before he remembers where he is. His head snaps to the side, and he sees All Might, holding his papa by his bright blonde hair, his other hand holding a muzzle, trying to force it on papa’s face. 

For the first time in his life, Izuku sees red.

He pulls himself to his feet, bloodied drool dripping between the gaps of the muzzle. He growls, low, deep and dangerous. All Might holds a tighter grip on papa, and Izuku tries to snap his teeth. He fails, the muzzle too tight, and All Might snorts and ignores him.

Izuku tries to pry it off first. It doesn't work.    

He snaps his head forwards, crashing the muzzle into the ground. It doesn’t break.

Again.

Again.

Again.

The muzzle snaps, just one piece, but it's enough for him to get his teeth between it and snap his jaw shut, slicing his face even more, but shattering the entire cage. 

He’s free.

And he’s fucking pissed.

He stalks up to All Might, who now has the muzzle secured around Papa’s face. He smells wrong, like he’s been in a sewer and Izuku hates it. He growls again, barking loudly at the monster holding his papa. Holding a member of his pack. All Might throws Mic aside.

Izuku curls his lips back over his teeth and snarls, deep enough for it to vibrate through his chest and throat. He’s standing over Hizashi now, standing over his papa, protective and possessive. He can hear papa crying, struggling to breathe, trying to pry the muzzle off. It cuts him. It's only a drop, not even enough to scar, but Izuku is furious, and he lunges forward, snapping his teeth around the monster's arm, biting down and tearing. He shakes his head wildly, biting as hard as his broken snout and jaw will allow. He thinks of his mothers beatings, her rejection. Thinks of how Katsuki left more scars than kind memories, thinks of All Might calling him a villain, a murderer and a mutt. He doesn’t stop tearing until the number one hero is out like a light.

Izuku can hear his heart. He almost doesn't want to, but he has to take care of papa.

He uses his head to help him clamber on his back, and Izuku shakily walks through the halls as papa cries into his fur, given up on trying to pry it off. Izuku walks them right to his dad, and only when he’s got papa off his back and sees the muzzle be removed by his terrified dad, does Izuku slump forward, his once again broken body hitting the floor.

He can feel hands on his fur, but his only coherent thought is I kept my pack safe.

Chapter Text

Izuku hates that fucking beeping. It rattles in his skull and it hurts . He can’t open his eyes, but he can hear, he can smell and he can feel. He can feel the hand petting through his fur, feel the tube in his throat. He backpedals, confused. Fur? That can’t be right, he should have shifted back by now, he did last time. Maybe he can't. He feels like he shouldn’t, his snout feels wrong, like they’ve not even attempted to fix it. He hears his dad, speaking softly, Izuku thinks it's him that’s petting his fur.

“Izuku? Can you hear me?”

Izuku is so tired, so so tired. He can't talk like this, but he can communicate, even if it’s just barely. 

Thump.

He can hear his dad huff a soft laugh, it’s wet and sickly, like he’s been crying, but he seems relieved. “Hi kid. They’re going to remove the tube. They can’t heal you like this, they've tried all day and I can’t get a hold of Recovery girl. they need you to shift back kiddo, they said their quirks dont work when you’re like this. Can you shift back?”

Thump.  

He isn’t actually sure if he can, but his dad asked him to, and no matter what, Izuku trusts his dad. 

Izuku learns a little about how his quirk works. He can feel his bones shift and snap in a second, where usually smooth and painless, his face burns and he yowls, which falters into a scream in less than a second. Apparently he’s taken more of a beating than he believed, his screams cutting off into cries as he feels his face try to snap into the right position, his ribs settling awkwardly, his shoulders snapping into the wrong place. He cries for his dad as he feels the blood drip down his face. He’s undeniably got a massive cut across his face, mostly his own doing by crashing his muzzled snout into the floor, then snapping the muzzle off by force. But it hurts and Izuku can do nothing but reach blindly for his dad in the sea of darkness and pain. He wants to be good, wants to sit still and let the doctors treat him, wants to stop thrashing around for a pack he can’t even see, but he can’t, he’s terrified and he wants his dad. He wants his whole pack, but he knows why papa isn’t here. Izuku had been fast, but not fast enough. Maybe he’s even scared of Izuku now. He keeps thrashing, and it takes a double dose of sedatives to knock him out cold as his dad clutches his hand tightly and pets his curls. 

He wants to see his dad.

When he wakes, he assumes he’s on a very strong pain killer, because his face doesn’t hurt half as much as it had. He still can't see, and before he can panic, he feels two people grab his hands, one on each side. 

“Zuzu. It's okay. Relax.” Izuku grips Hitoshi’s hand, whimpering softly. It's a few seconds before Izuku can see, and he discovers his face had been bound in bandages, probably to keep it in place, but he wants to see. He needs to. His dad and Toshi hover over him, smiling down at him to help him relax. It works, but they both look like shit. He tries to tell them as much, but he can’t open his jaw. He panics, but of course, dad understands. His dad always understands. 

“It’s okay Izuku. It’s just until recovery girl gets here later. She’s on her way now. You’re okay kid.” 

So Izuku makes himself calm down, breathes through his nose and watches his dad and Toshi. They sit where he can see them, talking softly to him, holding his hands. They don’t talk about All Might, they don’t talk about papa. They do talk about the sports festival, talking about how to train and what they’ll do for both Izuku and Hitoshi. They talk about increasing Izuku’s muscle mass, talk about improving Hitoshi’s body strength and stamina. Izuku listens, but stays silent. Increasing muscle mass means eating more, and Izuku already isn’t eating enough. His metabolism burns through his food fast, too fast, and he refuses to tell his dads how much he really needs to eat. 

Of course, that flies out the window the second the doctor tells his dad that he’s still dramatically underweight. His dad doesn’t understand until the doctor smiles sadly at him.

“You took Midoriya in, yes Mr. Aizawa?”

His dad frowns and nods. “So?”

“So I suspect Midoriya is afraid you’ll see how much his quirk requires. He simply isn’t eating enough. He’s likely barely eating enough to sustain the lifestyle he maintains. If he doesn’t start bulking his food intake, I'm worried it may have permanent side effects.”

Shouta stares at the doctor. He’s clearly a quirk doctor, what he's saying is clearly true, but Shouta can’t believe he hadn’t seen it. Izuku’s coat as a wolf had been filling out and getting thicker, covering up where Izuku’s boney figure had once been visible. The kids' clothes are all oversized, and sure, Shouta noticed how they hung off the kid, but the clothes are massive, borrowing from him and Zashi until they had an opportunity to go shopping for him. Shouta realises that that had been today's plan, to go shopping, get Izuku his hero merch and all the clothes he wanted. To get him comfortable. 

Instead Izuku is lying in hospital, and Hizashi is laying in their bed at home, alone, because he didn’t want to drag Shouta through this again when Izuku was going to likely experience it for the first time. His train of thought is cut off by the door opening, Recovery girl stepping into the room, small frown on her face as she ignores him in favour of stepping up to Izuku. She speaks softly to him, smiling down at him before she plants a kiss on his forehead. His son is asleep almost instantly, but not without the small whisper of “ thank you. ”

-

When Izuku wakes again, he’s not covered in bandages. He sits straight up, aware the pain feels more like he’s fallen down the stairs rather than been beaten to a pulp by Japan’s number one hero. He locks eyes with his dad, and now that his jaw isn’t wired shut, he can ask what he needs to. “Where’s papa? Is he okay? Did I get him to you in time? What happened to that bas-“ 

“Izuku. Slow down. Hizashi is fine. He just doesn’t do so well with reliving something he swore to never lay eyes on. He’s real sorry he can’t be here kid.” 

Izuku takes note of the fact he doesn’t mention All Might. 

It’s bad then.

He’s allowed to leave the hospital by the end of the day because he lives with pro heroes. He promises to rest, take his pain killers when necessary, and promises to go easy on his training for a week. 

When he walks through the doors to go home, he’s got one hand in his dads, the other intertwined with Hitoshi’s. He knows he’s well past the age where kids want to hold their parents hands, but Izuku likes to have the contact. He likes to know they’re there.

Izuku is met by soft sobs when he enters the apartment. He hadn’t been fast enough, but he’d try to fix it. He hadn’t looked at himself in the mirror yet for this specific reason. Judging by the look on his dads and Toshi’s face, he’d say he didn’t get off kindly. So he walks through the apartment, leaving Toshi and his dad in the hallway, heading straight to his parents bedroom. He steps inside quietly, met with his papa’s back, curled in the bed with the blankets around him.

“Papa?” 

The sobs get louder. Izuku clambers awkwardly onto the bed, touching his papa’s side gently. “Papa. I’m sorry I wasn’t fast enough.” 

Hizashi cries. He cries harder than he ever had over being muzzled himself, because Izuku was here, after being hospitalised, apologising to him. He rolls over, face red and wet from crying, and he sees his worst nightmare before him. Even in the darkness of the room, he can see the damage to his son’s face. The scar is raised and ragged, running across his cheekbones and his nose, disappearing up into his hair and down below his jaw. He bets if Izuku lifts his head, the scar will be perfectly connected. So Hizashi sits up, one hand touching the tiny slice over the bridge of his nose. He sits, and he looks at Izuku. His son. “I’m not upset about how fast you were baby. I’m upset that that monster put a muzzle on you at all.” 

Izuku blinks. He doesn’t understand. He only has a scar, a few bruises. “But the muzzle. He-“ 

“Izuku baby. Yes, the muzzle isn’t a good memory for me at all. But the thought of you being as afraid of them as I am, because we couldn’t possibly predict All Might would stoop to such levels. But don’t you ever believe I’d be mad at you for something like this. Okay? You’re my boy. Mine and Shouta’s. We’re supposed to make sure you’re safe. We’re supposed to protect you. ” 

Izuku’s crying now too, hands pulling at his hair. He’s frustrated, frustrated he couldn’t stop All Might, couldn’t prevent his papa’s pain. But papa takes his hands, puts one on his face, and the other on his own. Izuku can feel it. It’s shaped slightly differently, it’s faint, but it’s there. His papa’s scar, the one from his childhood, the one caused by his muzzle. He can feel his own, and he wants to see. “Will you look at it with me papa?” 

“Of course baby. Of course I will.” 

It’s.. worse than Izuku is expecting. It’s ugly and raised, and Izuku hates it. He’s not sure how his pack can even look at him. 

“Can I be alone for a second papa?” 

“Of course Izuku.” 

Papa ruffles his hair sadly, fixing how it sits behind his ears before he leaves, leaving the door open behind him. Izuku stares at himself in the mirror, he feels sick, disgusting, like he should throw in the towel now. No one wants to be saved by a hero who is a monster. He touches his face, digging his nails in and dragging, a last ditch hope to get rid of it. Of course, it doesn’t work. 

“Beautiful.” 

Izuku freezes, eyes flicking to the person standing in the doorway. His eyes lock with lilac ones, ones surrounded by eyebags that tells him Hitoshi probably hasn’t slept the whole time he was in the hospital. 

“What?” 

Hitoshi smiles at him. It’s small and nervous, but it’s a smile. “You’re beautiful. With the scar, without it, with the new ones you’ll gain.” 

Izuku stares at the sink. He wipes the tear that’s running down his face away with the back of his hand, shaking his head. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.” 

Hitoshi approaches from behind him, slow, but determined. “No. I’m saying it because it’s true. You showed up in the shape of a wolf, and you stayed in the shape of a boy, a beautiful one, who has my fucking heart. I was going to tell you before- before he got you, but I’m telling you now.”

“Why? We both know I’m broken beyond repair.” 

“Because you’re broken beyond repair.” 

Izuku turns around, leaning against the sink and staring at Hitoshi like he’d made a bad joke. 

“And because you keep going anyway. You feel responsible for your pack, you fight to be a hero. You do it all, but how much of it do you really do for yourself? Sure, you want to be a hero, but you aren’t doing it for fame or money, you’re doing it to save others. That’s why. You’ve been battered and broken by life, and you just keep going.” 

Izuku lets his head fall forward as he nods. He steps up to Hitoshi, pausing before wrapping his arms around him. “Please can we go to bed?” He’s not sure if he’s asking for his benefit or for Hitoshi’s, but he’s so relieved when Hitoshi laughs and agrees, leading him to his bedroom. They lay down together, and both of them are out in a matter of minutes, curled around each other. 

Shouta stares at the Tv. They’re confirming All Might's status in hospital, reporting his injuries after a villain attack. Shouta stares with his teeth grit together. He can’t stand it. But he has to know. 

“And we’ve officially confirmed that Japan’s top hero is back on his feet! He’s taken quite the beating to his side and arm, his shoulder and around his chest, but apparently he’s up and ready to go, gearing for a press conference to discuss his injuries and the villain that attacked him!”

Shouta sighs. “ Fuck. ”

He gives it to the next morning. Izuku has been through enough already, and Shouta isn’t exactly excited to put him through more. He’s made calls to Nezu, who’s promised to be at the press conference. He told Shouta to get Izuku in his uniform and to shave and wear a suit, so he shaves, pulling on a suit he hasn’t had reason for in a long time, and he heads to Izuku’s room. He swings the door open, pausing when he sees Hitoshi awake with Izuku curled around him, as he just pets his hair. He rolls his eyes, raising his brow. “Finally grow a pair and confess huh?” 

“Finally giving up your mistaken for a homeless man tally?” 

“…fair enough kid. Get him up and in uniform. All Might’s trying to ruin his life again.”

“Fuck. I got him old man.” 

Shouta stares at Hitoshi. The kid doesn’t mean just right now. He means it all. He nods, his worry for today soothed by the knowledge that Hitoshi will be by his son’s side. “Thanks Hitoshi.” He closes the door on his way out, throwing out some food for them. He puts triple in Izuku’s bowl, and he waits. 

Izuku wakes to Hitoshi gently shaking him. “Zuzu. You have to get ready. All Might is starting shit again.” He sighs softly, nodding his head and heaving himself out of his comfortable spot on the bed. 

-

Izuku stands in the doorway of the press conference, hand in hand with Hitoshi, his side practically pressed to his dads, a hand curled in the fabric of his suit. He knows it’s childish, but he’s so tired, and he just wants some peace to be allowed to go to school and spend time with his pack. 

They watch Nezu take his seat, and everyone excitedly waits for All Might to step into the room. Hitoshi squeezes his hand and his dad rubs his back. He knows papa is watching at home too. 

All Might looks.. awful. He’s missing chunks of skin, his face is scarred and it runs down his throat and under his shirt. His arm is in a sling and he’s limping. Izuku has absolutely maimed him. He’s proud of himself, no matter the outcome, because he did it to protect his papa. They watch him hobble in front of the cameras, up towards the stage. 

He raises his foot, misses the step, and trips. 

His head hits the ground, and Izuku hears his heart stop. 

“No fucking way .”

The reporters are going wild, and Izuku is staring at the dead hero at the front of the room. “There’s no way.” 

His dad speaks first. “Izuku is he-“ 

Hitoshi laughs softly. “He’s fucking dead.”

Izuku nods. “He’s fucking dead.”

His dad’s phone starts ringing, and Izuku unashamedly listens in. 

“Sho? What the fuck happened? The cameras cut out and-“

“Looks like Izuku isn’t gonna be dragged away anymore, Yagi hit the floor. Izu says he’s dead.”

“Holy fuck? Shouta. You can’t have kids in there when the number one hero is dead, Izuku just declared him dead. Jesus Sho.” 

Izuku shrugs, watching Nezu, who seems to be setting something else up. He steps onto the table, grinning down at Izuku. It’s wild and feral, and it makes Izuku grin back. 

“Attention all! Yes I know you’re all in a bit of shock, but! I have something to share with you all, and a very special guest on four legs!” Izuku sighs and steps away from his family as he shifts, trotting up to sit beside Nezu. “Now! I’d like you to turn your attention to the screen, where I will show you who All Might really was.”

Nezu presses play, and Izuku watches Japan fall apart. 

The first video is All Might threatening Toshi in the USJ. Even watching it makes Izuku give off a low growl, and it’s only soothed by Hitoshi sitting on his paws, leaning back against his legs as he mindlessly scratches Izuku’s chest. 

The second video is All Might admitting to telling Izuku he couldn’t be a hero, paired with the video of Izuku telling Aizawa. They cut out the part where Aizawa broke his nose though. 

The third is multiple clips meshed together to make one. It starts in the teachers lounge, Izuku sitting with his tail wagging as his dad's pet and coo over him. It cuts to him sleeping on his own, tail tucked over his face when someone grabs him by the scruff. He hears what All Might was saying for the first time, and he hates it. 

“Fucking mongrel. You’re no better than that villain boyfriend of yours, both of you are setting two decent heroes up to fall. You’re corrupting then you mutt!” 

All Might is cut off by Izuku yowling and snapping his teeth, trying to dig his claws in. It cuts away again, this time the screen shows Izuku being backhanded across the gym. Shows the muzzle being strapped around his snout. Izuku knows he’s got a bald patch in his fur where his scar is, knows that people are staring at him, but he can’t help the low whine that escapes him, even as his dad and Toshi try to comfort him. He only gets louder as it shows All Might muzzling his papa. He watches himself beat his head into the ground, and then he watches the shift in his own body. His hackles raise, his body is coiled tight, blood flowing from his face as he snarls and snaps. 

He lunges, and he sees that he hadn’t torn down All Might with no excuse, because after the warning snap Izuku can’t even remember giving, All Might swings. And Izuku catches the arm and tears. 

When the press conference is over, All Mights name holds no meaning as a hero over Japan, and Izuku, his name has been cleared, he’s no longer that villain that murdered a Nomu, just a boy who protected his pack. 

-

Izuku sits at the table, stuffing his mouth as he eats. His dads have been making him massive portions, for the last day, and his dad even told him he could use the hot water. He felt a little guilty, but he figured if he was quick, then it’d be okay. 

“Hey Toshi?”

“Yeah Zuzu?” 

Izuku smiles from the couch in his spot between his dads. “Thank you. Thank you all.” He’s met with soft smiles and even his dad messing his curls.

Izuku sleeps well that night, curled in his dog bed with Hitoshi curled up, leaning on him, Izuku’s tail covering him up. Izuku thinks he’ll be okay now, as long as his pack is by his side. 

Chapter Text

The news coverage over Izuku and All Might’s death had been relentless, to the point Izuku couldn’t even walk through the streets without his hood up, and never with a pro hero, especially his dads, or even Toshi. He’s already sick of not being able to walk to and from school every day, not even allowed to attend because the school has been crowded with reporters, so he grabs a hoodie and pulls it on, throwing his blazer in his dad's car. “I’m walking. I’m bored of hiding just to escape some cameras.”

He doesn’t wait around for a reply, shifting the second he hits the street. He trots as far as his meeting spot with Hitoshi, grumbling as he sees his.. friend? Boyfriend? He isn’t sure, but it’s his Hitoshi. He crouches down for Hitoshi to hop on, and when he’s properly seated, Izuku sets off. 

“Say, weren’t you supposed to be in hiding or some shit? 

Izuku huffs his response, growling and snapping like an annoyed dog. He ignores Hitoshi’s laugh. He stops at the gate and crouches, and Hitoshi hops off. “Why aren’t you- oh.” He sighs softly, and Izuku can't quite look at him as he sits, expecting Hitoshi to tell him he can’t follow through with his plan. 

“The nurse or the lady?” 

Thump. 

Hitoshi shrugs. “Cool. Let’s go.” 

Izuku grunts and stands, trotting off. He growls when he hears Hitoshi following him. He’s jogging, sighing loudly. “Zuzu. We proved with the little pervert that both of us work well, you know it’ll go better.” 

Izuku did know that it would go better with Hitoshi. Hitoshi would be able to speak to the nurse while Izuku would be able to show him the wolf he so clearly wanted to see. At the same time, Hitoshi will get in trouble. 

If anyone finds out.

-

Izuku lays outside. Hitoshi is sitting in his usual spot with Izuku’s tail covering him, scrolling on his phone. He waits, so very patiently, for the nurse to come out. He had reeked of cigarettes. Izuku guesses maybe one break every couple of hours. So he lays, and he waits. The reward for his patience comes an hour and a half later. Izuku can smell him across the parking lot, and a deep growl rumbles through his chest. He gently noses at Hitoshi to get him up, and he follows him at heel across the lot. 

Drool drips off his teeth as he runs his tongue over them, snarling at the man now on his ass and backed up against the brick wall behind him. 

“Zuzu, heel.”

Izuku snaps his teeth, curling around to return to Hitoshi’s side. “You were so brave when he was a teenager, where’d all that bravery go?” Izuku barks, hunkered low and growling, lips curled back and tail bristling, flicking in his rage.

“Look kid I’m sorry! But you- your file specifically states you as a danger. It’s why you were on my ward in the first place! It’s a secret, hidden even from the heroes that were here to see you. It’s a ward specifically for the hero types, the ones in training and the ones who are pro’s. It’s only for the dangerous ones.” 

“Zuzu.” 

Izuku gets close, close enough that the man is only able to breathe in Izuku’s hot breath, feel it sticking to his skin. Izuku snaps his teeth, hard. The man screams, and Izuku barely grazes his nose, enough to take the first layer of skin off. No blood, not even enough to scab. He growls, hot saliva dripping from his mouth into the man’s lap. He’s openly crying now, begging to be let go. 

“Zuzu. Enough.” 

Izuku returns to Hitoshi’s side instantly. “You ever lift a quirk suppressant or sedative to someone who doesn’t need it, you’ll meet Zuzu and I a lot faster than even god himself can get you. You fucking hear me?”

“Yes! I’m sorry! I said I was sorry!” 

Izuku and Hitoshi don’t spare him a second glance as they leave, Hitoshi swinging up onto Izuku’s back to hitch a ride to school. They’re in school grounds in time for dinner, and Izuku throws himself in a heap by the tree out the front. 

“Come on Izuku, you gotta eat.”

Thump thump. 

“Zuzu. It wasn’t a suggestion. Let’s go.”

Izuku follows Hitoshi, grunting and huffing the whole way, even when he switches back to two legs. He eats slowly, picking through his meal. 

“Izuku. You know your quirk requires you to eat loads. Aren’t you hungry? Surely quirk use would make you hungry.”

“No.” He shakes his head softly, shrugging as he pushes his bowl away. “I prefer the wolf honestly. It’s… simpler, I suppose. It never takes any energy either, which is helpful.”

They spend the rest of lunch in silence, Izuku too nervous to speak in fear of bringing up their new status, and Hitoshi too scared to push him.

-

Izuku stays after school to train. He has less than a week to train for the sports festival, and he wants to see how his quirk can work in human form. He knows he can drop his canines in human form, use his senses to a degree, but nothing close to the range he has as the wolf. He catches Cementoss on his way to the gyms, very nervously stuttering along his request for a quick built course. Cementoss complies with a small smile, following him to the gym and creating a massive course for him. Izuku bows and thanks him profusely, but the hero just smiles and shakes his head. “I heard your first meeting with some of the staff went a little rough, so I'm hoping I did a little better. Call if you ever need anything kid, not just a course.” he smiles and waves as he leaves, Izuku a little confused on why the hero even wanted to help him at all. He doesn’t question it though, shrugging as he pulls his jacket off, walking through the course so he can see what it contains. He’s happy enough with what he sees, so he returns to the start and sprints through it, pushing his body as hard as he can.

He does it again.

And again.

Again.

Again.

Again.

He peels off the shirt that’s stuck to him, using it to wipe himself a little before tossing it at the starting line and going again. He runs it again and again, running until every jump, tuck, roll and climb is second nature, done by muscle memory instead of being thought about. Then he does it until his body is tired. He’s climbing one of the walls when he slips, and without thinking he digs a set of claws into the wall, pulling himself up. He grins at his clawed fingers and takes off at a run through the last of the course. He pulls his claws in again and jogs around the gym to relax, paying no mind of Hitshi’s entrance. Until he speaks anyway.

“We’re gonna have to talk about what I said to you Izuku.”

“Are you taking it back?”

“No! It’s just-”

“You’re waiting to know how I feel.”

Izuku stops his jog to look at Hitoshi. “I feel possessive of you. I like spending time with you and I like it when you give me all of your attention. I was happy when you told me yesterday, I couldn’t imagine what my life would be like without you.”

Hitoshi lets out a small gasp, like he doesn’t quite believe what he’s hearing. “You… want this?”

“Yes.”

Hitoshi smiles widely, like he’s been handed a winning lottery ticket. 

“But we can’t.”

His face falls and he looks confused. “What? Why? I thought you-”

“Wolves mate for life. We pick one individual and that’s it. Do you really want to be tethered to me for your life? Stuck to me like a ball and chain permanently bound to your ankle. You’re fifteen Toshi, you don’t need that.”

“You’re right. I am fifteen. I’m fifteen and I found the person I want to stand beside until the day I die. Crazy, isn’t it?”

Izuku stares at him, jaw slack. That hadn’t been the point he’d been trying for, but when Hitoshi cradles his face between his hands despite the fact his skin is slick with sweat, Izuku melts. 

“I want that Izuku. If you’ll have me, I want it all. Everything.” Izuku nods, listening to Hitoshi’s heart as he holds his wrists. He wants Hitoshi to be the one who’s by his side through it all. So when Hitoshi places a soft kiss to his lips, they’re both a furious shade of red, but Izuku feels the wolf in him purr in contentment. It feels good.

Izuku is training alone again when his dad comes to get him. Hitoshi had panicked when he saw the time, pressing a kiss to Izuku’s damp hair before sprinting off to catch his train. Izuku had pulled his capture scarf out of his bag, attempting to get used to the weight and feel of it. He got tangled twice in the first half an hour, but he wants to keep this specific training a secret, so he tosses the capture scarf in his bag when he hears his dad on his way over to the gym, and he takes off through the course again. Izuku has forgotten to put his shirt back on. When his dad steps through the door and sees his bare upper half rocketing through the course, he’s not focused on his movements, but the collection of scars. Some from Bakugou, some from Inko. when Izuku rolls to a stop, he realises his mistake. “Sorry. Let me grab my shirt.”

Shouta shakes his head. “You don’t need to be sorry kid. It’s not your fault.”

The kid nods softly as he pulls his damp shirt back on.

“Wanna walk home?”

The answer comes in the shape of a six foot tall wolf bouncing around the gym like he hadn’t been running sprints through the course for two hours. They walk together, Shouta taking Izuku’s bag from his mouth to throw it over his shoulder as they walk. His phone buzzes and he picks it up,knowing if it’s anything interesting, Izuku will probably listen in. 

“Eraserhead speaking.”

“Hi, I’m calling as a courtesy call before the media catches wind of this. Midoriya Izuku is not to blame for All Might's death. His doctor was an animal type. His doctor didn't fix him in surgery at all, he was just sewn up and sent to the press. He was sent to die. He was sentenced to death for his crimes against the wolf.” The line goes dead as he and Izuku stare at each other. He watches Izuku huff in amusement as he walks off, entirely unbothered. Shouta shrugs. No Yagi means no beatings or crimes against Izu. Any means necessary is fine by him.

They keep walking, passing Izuku’s old neighbourhood when he freezes. He can smell  All Might. That’s not possible, he’s smelling a dead man. Confusion washes over him when he locks eyes with Bakugou, who’s coming home from shopping. He recognises the wolf clearly, because he sprints across the street and right up to him.

“Izuku! Izuku! I’m so sorry for everything i did, but i really need your help! He gave me his quirk!”

Realisation washes over him like a cold shower, and Izuku laughs. He laughs so hard he shifts back to two legs, just to keep laughing. He wipes his eyes, taking another look at Bakugou’s desperation. It would be fitting to walk away now while he stands with his dad, who looks furious , but Izuku has never left a man behind in his life. He wasn’t about to start now. He grabs a pen from his dad’s pocket, grabbing Bakugou’s arm and scrawling his number messily. “Text me what I need to know.” he puts the cap back on the pen, handing it back to his dad, ignoring the stare Bakugou is directing at his scarred face. “Which means tell me everything. No detail is too small. Then i’ll want to see it. See you round Bakugou.” 

He holds his dad’s hand the rest of the way home, the realisation that his class would finally see his face tomorrow looming over him.

Chapter Text

Izuku stands in the doorway to his class, staring at the ground. He hasn’t quite got the bravery to step in yet, but Hitoshi stands at his side, a ring now fitted around his right ring finger to match the one on Izuku’s own. They figured it was a little more humane than a bite. He breathes heavily, struggling within himself to even find it in him to lift his head and look at Hitoshi. 

“Izuku. It doesn’t matter what they think. Everyone saw what he did. You brought the number one hero down. He’s no hero. And you showed everyone that.” 

Izuku squeezes Hitoshi’s hand, and steps inside. His dad smiles at him from the podium, and the class is deathly silent. It’s broken by Kirishima. “DUDE! SO MANLY!” He rushes over, grinning ear to ear as he looks over Izuku’s scarred face. “So, so manly bro. Your quirk is amazing! And the way you protected your family? SO-“ 

Hitoshi cuts him off. “Manly?” 

“YEAH!” 

Izuku laughs softly as his class take turns to wish him well and congratulate him, and he pauses when a set of warm and cold hands settle on his. “You did very well Midoriya. All of Japan is watching you now, they’ve been calling you the number one hero of the public’s hearts.  …It’s good to see you well again.” 

Izuku smiles at Todoroki. If there’s anyone he doesn’t need to worry about his scar with, it’s him. He nods his head in thanks, grinning. “Thank you Todoroki. Just Izuku is fine. And uh- thank you for checking on me after the USJ, I appreciate it. I didn’t text back because-“

“You prefer four legs after a traumatic experience.”

“Uhh.. yes.”

“It’s alright Izuku.” He smiles softly, shrugging. “And Shoto. It’s only fair.” 

“Sounds good Shoto.” 

Izuku sits with Hitoshi and Shoto, introducing them to each other and both of them taking the time to learn about Shoto, as Shoto learns about them. They’re left alone in their corner, his dad leaving a note to leave them be during classes, hoping that it’ll help Izuku settle better. It does, and by lunch, Izuku, Hitoshi and Shoto have already exchanged numbers, returning to their spots to complete their work. No one mentions how their desks get pulled closer together, and how at the end of the school day, both Hitoshi and Shoto have been kidnapped by Izuku by his tree. The three lay together, Shoto amazed by his fur, petting it softly while he talks with Hitoshi. They say their goodbyes as Izuku gets up to leave with his dad, and as they walk together, his dad speaks. “Todoroki, he’s turning your little pairing into a group?”

Izuku nods, huffing as he listens to his nail clip against concrete. He wags his tail at the thought of his new friend, caught when his dad chuckles softly. He opens his mouth and grumbles, shaking his head as he snaps his teeth in embarrassment. He keeps walking, shaking out his fur as he goes. “Patrol tonight?” Izuku hops around, tail wagging as he barks and runs around the street.  

-

Izuku stood in his dads’ living room. He was absolutely panicking. He hadn’t prepared. Well he had, just.. not enough. “Holy shit I’m gonna fail. Holy shit I’m not prepared for this at all.”

His dad is at his side, soft, comforting smile in place. “Izuku. You know you’ve been training every day for this. You’ll be fine. You know what to do. Your body will know what to do.” He ruffles his hair, tilting his head. “No matter what you place, your Papa and I will be proud of you, you hear me? Hitoshi and Shoto will still be by your side at the end of it, and so will we.” 

Izuku walks to school that day on two legs, hand tightly fisted in both his dad and papa’s clothes. They meet Hitoshi on the way, and even Shoto. They walk together, Izuku gaining just a touch of confidence with each step, and by the time he’s through the gates, he’s ready for what he knows the day will bring. 

Izuku realises his confidence is very short lived when his dad tells him he’ll have to make a speech. 

“I’d like to drop out of UA, effective immediately.”

“No.” 

“Worth a shot.”

So he walks hand in hand with Hitoshi the whole way to the stadium, gripping his hand tight enough that he’s sure he’s cutting off the circulation in Hitoshi’s hand, but Hitoshi says nothing, and Izuku isn’t quite ready to let go yet, his other hand clenched in the fabric of his capture scarf. He stands still, head swivelling around to take in the sheer amount of people. He is very much not prepared for this. He’s also not ready to give the name he left behind when he left Inko behind.

“Izuku, it’s time for your speech.” 

Izuku decides he may as well fake it till he makes it, and he takes the stage, stepping up to the podium with a cocky smirk. He really hopes his dads don’t get upset with him over this. 

“My name is Aizawa Izuku-“ he’s pretty sure he just heard his papa scream somewhere in the booth. “-and I don’t have a fucking clue what I’m doing here, but I promise to make a hell of a show out of it.” He bows, acting flashy for the crowd. He steps down, linking hands with Hitoshi again as he rejoins his class. The first section is an obstacle course, and Izuku grins. “Hey Toshi. Fancy a ride?”

Izuku waits at the start line, sitting on the ground as the other students are getting ready to go. “Izuku, aren’t you getting ready to go? The race-”

“Is another test. There’s hundreds of kids about to be pushing through that small tunnel, I can't jump that far, and we can’t push through them and I refuse to step on them. So we wait, unless you wanna run on?”

Hitoshi takes a seat beside him. “I trust you Zuzu.”

So they sit, hands still linked as they wait. After they get the go, Izuku’s prediction is proven right, kids pushing and shoving to get through first. 

“Sho. Izuku isn’t moving. Do you think something’s wrong?” It’s barely a whisper through the mic, but Izuku hears it just fine, so he looks up at the camera that’s watching them and he smiles, sticking his free hand up to give the camera a thumbs up and a smile, pointing at the crowd of kids. He keeps waiting, and when there's enough space for him to get through, he launches onto his feet, shifting as he goes. He crouches down for Hitoshi, and the second his boyfriend is securely on his back, he takes off at a sprint, jumping over the last wall of kids, paws tucked to his chest. He can hear his papa cheer, it's far louder than the people who have come to see Izuku, the one who caused the fall of All Might.

He sprints as hard as he can, seeing the ice over the robots. If he’s fast, he should be able to get through the unstable gap before it falls, so he focuses on the gap, the beat of his paws against the dirt and the weight of Hitoshi on his back as he bounds down the path, sliding under the gap just before it falls. He knows people were under them, but he also knows it was Kirishima, so he keeps going. He runs until he comes to the next part, towers connected by wires. He keeps his steady pace, leaping from the edge to the next tower, digging in with his claws when his chest hits the edge. He growls, snapping his teeth as he pulls himself up, leaping to the next, then the next, before he hits the last cliff. His claws dig into the ground again, this time, he hasn’t got the leverage to pull both himself and Hitoshi. So he takes a risk. He wildly throws his head around, snagging Hitoshi’s shirt with his teeth and throwing his head with enough force to use the leverage of Hitoshi’s weight to throw him onto the ledge. He skids a few inches, tossing Hitoshi to keep him in the game has cost him a few inches of space on the ledge. He digs his back claws into the dirt, growling and snapping as he tries to push himself up. Hitoshi grabs his paws and smirks. “Shift back dumbass, I got you.”  

Izuku is pulled over the ledge on two feet, and by the time he can get on his feet, he’s already on four again. Hitoshi swings himself up again, and they’re off. Izuku freezes at the minefield, watching people be flown forwards by loud bangs and bright lights. He knows they won't hurt. Hell, he’s counting on it. He focuses, and as far as he can see, they've been covered up incredibly well. But he can smell them. He doesn’t have the time to waste to smell them on a path, so he shakes his fur out and bares his teeth, pawing at the ground in frustration as his tail thrashes.

Fuck it.

He lowers his nose two inches off the ground, and he sprints as hard as he can. He leaps everytime he can smell the stench of one of the mines, hoping to anyone above that when his front paws hit the ground, they don't hit a mine. 

He’s lucky.

Until he isn’t.

His front paws hit the ground and he’s launched forward with a yelp, throwing him on his side where he hits another. 

And another. 

He can feel Hitoshi clinging tightly, knees dug into his ribs and hands curled around his fur in a death grip as they’re thrown across the field. God, or Nezu, who knows, grants them a small win close to the end of the field. The mine they land on is defective, and Izuku pulls himself to his feet, shaking himself awkwardly before taking off again, giving himself a run before he pushes off on his back feet as hard as he can, pushing everything he has into his legs. When he lands, his tail hits the last mine, but Izuku is already sprinting off, Shoto on his heels. He slows, letting Shoto be level with them, and he’s happily surprised when Shoto uses his ice to swing himself up onto Izuku’s back. 

“I'd rather cross the line with friends.”

Izuku agrees.

They cross the line together, and to award places, they measure who crossed the line and when.

Izuku’s snout crossed the line first.

Hitoshi’s hands gripped in the fur by his shoulders crossed second.

And finally, Shoto’s hands, holding Hitoshi’s shirt, crossed third.

Izuku lays in a heap in the middle of the stadium, Hitoshi curled up next to his head, petting him between the ears as he lays with his eyes closed, as Shoto sits leaning against his hind, head resting on his back. His eyes are closed too, and everyone leaves them unbothered. They’re left alone for the short break, only called when Midnight is explaining the next game. Izuku doesn’t even bother shifting back, trotting up with Hitoshi and Shoto at his sides. He sits to listen, easily understanding the next game.

Everyone has points. You steal them, you win. You lose them, you’re out.

Izuku has 10 million points.

Hitoshi has 205.

Shoto has 200.

Izuku is smart enough to know they’re fucked, that everyone has their eyes on them. They’re given 15 minutes to create a team, but judging by the fact that neither Hitoshi or Shoto leave his side when the timer starts to count down the time for them to find and arrange teams. So he lays down again, and Hitoshi goes to register their team, returning after a few minutes with a headband with their linked points, retaking his position by Izuku’s head to pet him, Shoto already laying against him. Izuku can feel the stare of who he assumes is Shoto’s father, he’s just too lazy to roll over and confirm what he already knows. Hitoshi however, doesn’t seem to care.

“Oi Shoto.”

Shoto opens a single eye to look at Hitoshi, turning his head against Izuku’s back. “Hmm?”

“Why is Endeavor staring at us like that?”

Shoto turns his head, still not bothered to open his other eye as he stares at his father, shrugging lazily as he leans against Izuku again, closing his eye and getting comfortable. “Probably because I'm friends with you both. He’s very big on the fact that I should only be friends with legacy kids or people who will be useful to me as a hero.” That gets a soft snort from Izuku. “Plus he’s pissed that he became the number one hero because All Might tripped up some steps.” 

Izuku huffs so hard he jolts Hitoshi and Shoto. Both look very unimpressed to have been disturbed, frowning and wiggling to get comfortable again.

They’re on their feet again faster than Izuku was hoping, but he now has the weight of his boyfriend and his friend on his back again, and thanks to Hitoshi carding his fingers through his fur mindlessly, Izuku doesn’t even mind. Hitoshi has the band on his head because he’s riding at the front, and Izuku is fairly certain his teeth can keep most of these kids away. Any who do attempt to come near, will easily be taken care of by Toshi and Shoto. He freezes when he catches sight of Bakugou across the stadium. He’s in a group with some of the other classes, being a lot quieter than Izuku is used to seeing. It’s probably why he didn’t notice him before. 

And he’s staring right at Hitoshi’s headband. Izuku rolls his eyes, trotting into the centre of the stadium, tail wagging softly as he waits. The second midnight says go, Izuku sprints across the dirt, putting a wall behind him. He walks back and forth, and when Bakugou finally comes for his headband, he hunkers low, growling deeply, teeth on display for all of Japan to see. 

“Hey Kacchan. ”

“Don’t-”

Bakugou’s eyes dull as his face falls, and Izuku can hear Shoto laugh softly from atop his back. 

“Give me your headband, take your team and fuck off to the other side of the arena.” And Bakugou does, much to his team's confusion. 

Izuku walks the wall, teeth bared, prowling. He licks over his muzzle, saliva dripping between his teeth to ward off the rest of the groups. He watches the groups steal and outsmart bands off each other, and by the end of the round, Hitoshi still holds their points proudly on his head, along with Bakugou’s teams around his neck. The second the round is over, Hitoshi takes off their 10 million band, holding it high for the crowd to see. Izuku jogging a lap to entertain his proud boyfriend, and to embarrass his mortified friend who’s quietly begging Hitoshi to “ please stop waving your hand around Hitoshi, they're all staring at us. Hitoshi- ”

Izuku keeps trotting along, tongue rolled out of his mouth as he goes, tail wagging.

Izuku takes the break to shift back to two legs, giving Hitoshi a quick hug before disappearing up to the commentator’s booth to see his dads. His papa wraps him in a hug the second he’s through the door, laughing and twirling him around. “That’s my boy! Look at you go! I mean I was panicking when you were struggling to get onto the road after jumping so far and-”

Izuku squeezes his papa tighter, grinning up at him. “Papa, I'm okay. You know Toshi has my back.”

“Yeah, yeah I know baby. I just worry. You know how I am.” 

So Izuku sits by his papa, holding his hand as he talks to his dad, believing that papa needs the contact even more than he does. He takes the rest of the break to rest, curled in a big ball by his papa’s feet.  

He’s woken up to listen to the next game announcement, but he doesn’t leave the booth. He stands between his dads, watching the stadium below. Everyone who is still in, fights. You win, you keep fighting. You lose, you’re out. 

And Izuku is against Hitoshi first. 

“Aw shit.”

-

“Izuku, if you’re going to be joining me on patrols at night, I want to train with you a little, teach you different ways to protect yourself; and don’t argue that your wolf quirk is enough-”

Izuku laughs softly, grinning as he shakes his head. “I wasn’t gonna argue dad, I’d love the extra training.”

-

Izuku stands opposite his boyfriend, staring at him. He turns his head, looking at the booth where he left his dads. “Say Toshi, how about a good quirkless spar?”

“Depends, you mastered that scarf yet?”

“Mastered? No, but I got pretty good. Doesn’t matter Toshi, I won't use it on you. It’s a surprise.”

They smile at each other, and Hitoshi shakes his head softly. They look at Midnight, and the second she gives the go, they sprint for each other. Izuku swings low, dodging the high hit Hitoshi had been telegraphing so obviously that it was almost painful. He can hear his papa on the speakers, talking excitedly. “Eraser! What are you teaching these kids?! They aren’t even using their quirks! Why?’ He swung himself to the side when Hitoshi swings again, throwing his arm up to defend his head when he misjudges Hitoshi’s reach. “I didn’t teach them that. They’re giving each other a fair shot, considering their best friends, they know as much about each others quirks as they know about their own. They’re competing based on skill now.” Izuku keeps low, knowing his shorter stature gives him the advantage low to the ground. He shows his canines when Hitoshi gets a good hit in against his stomach, but he returns the hit easily, his shin connecting with Hitoshi’s side. They go back and forth for a while, and when Izuku is battered and bleeding, when Hitoshi has shown all the cards he holds, Izuku waits until Hitoshi is circling him like he’s prey to switch his position, moving from low ones to high ones. It’s enough to startle Hitoshi, making him back up just enough for Izuku to swing his leg up and around, catching Hitoshi’s chin. His boyfriend hits the ground, cradling his split chin, and when Hitoshi doesn’t get up, too occupied by his chin, Izuku is named the winner. He rushes over to Hitoshi, helping him sit up, almost expecting him to push him off, but he’s met by a wide grin and kind, loving eyes. 

“Shit Zuzu, that's some kick.”

Izuku laughs, hugging his boyfriend in the arena as they cackle loudly.

Izuku fights a few other matches, but most of the time he only gets to growl and snap at them before they basically throw the match. He watches Shoto’s match against Bakugou, and by the looks of it, Bakugou hasn’t been learning how All Might’s quirk could affect his own. His explosions are off, timed wrong and too big. The crowd probably thinks he’s being flashy, and Izuku, had he not already known the quirk was borrowed, would probably think the same. He watches Shoto wipe the floor with him, like he’s not even worth the ice he’s used to trap him. Izuku knows Bakugou is caught. He can’t trust his quirk anymore, and so he surrenders. Which means Izuku is going against Shoto to win.  

Izuku figures now is a good time to show what he’s been learning.

He sprints at Shoto, dipping to the side to avoid Shoto’s ice. He shoots the capture scarf out, catching Shoto’s ankle as he tugs hard.  He hits the ground, and Izuku keeps running, watching Shoto roll himself to get back on his feet. Izuku throws the scarf again, but Shoto is ready this time, treating him as if he’s as much of a threat as their teacher is. 

Izuku throws it a third time. Shoto moves, the movement practised and easy, he looks confident, and Izuku smirks. It’s exactly what he wanted. 

He drops the scarf as it shoots past Shoto, and his front paws hit the ground as he sprints at Shoto, crashing through the wall of ice that he throws up. 

Izuku freezes when the fire bursts from Shoto’s side, and so does Shoto. They stare at each other, and Izuku growls, the ache in his shoulder and hind ghosting over his skin. 

“Izuku I’m sorry, you startled me-“

Izuku stands before his friend on two legs, bloody and bruised from a day of fighting, just to be seen. “Don’t apologise to me Shoto. It’s your quirk. You were born with it, you shouldn’t apologise for it.”  He stands and stares at Shoto, and Shoto stares right back as a small smile spreads over his face. 

“Thank you Izuku.” 

The flames get brighter, taller and stronger, creeping over Shoto’s skin, they roar over him, and Izuku hits four paws to the ground as he snaps and snarls. They run at each other, meeting in the middle. A hot hand connects with his side as he topples Shoto over, pinning him to the ground. Ice and fire push him off, and Izuku hits the ground, skidding backwards. He rights himself, body checking Shoto and dragging him by the ankle, swinging him hard enough that he’s sure he’s broken Shoto’s ankle, and tossed him out of bounds. 

Izuku stands as the winner. The cheers are deafening, he can hear his papa screaming down the mic, and he simply shifts back to lift Shoto onto his feet, make sure he’s okay, and he leaves. 

He doesn’t take the podium, he doesn’t show his face in the arena, he just walks out, texting his parents as he heads out, shifting the second he hits the street, heading home as he listens to the clicking of his nails against the concrete. He has no time for medals that say he beat his friends; and he certainly doesn’t have time for people who have come to see the hellhound that he’s rumoured to be. So he walks the whole way to his home, to his dads’ home, and he lays by the doorstep while he waits for his parents to come home. It doesn’t take long, within the hour his dad is patting his head to wake him, papa, Toshi and Shoto standing with him. “Come on kid, we’re celebrating.”

Izuku walks with a hand in Hitoshi’s, talking softly with his dad as they go. “So that’s the training you've been hiding from me. You were training with the scarf.”

“Yup! I got stuck a few times and I even had to call Hitoshi to come get me down a few times.” 

His dad laughs, and Izuku realises they are at a fancy restaurant. “Why are we here?”

“You won the sports festival kid. We’re celebrating.”

“Here? Isn’t this a bit much?”

It’s Hitoshi who groans and drags him inside. “Live a little Izuku, come on!”

Despite his worry, Izuku does enjoy himself. He stuffs his face and laughs with his family, and when they're done, his dad and papa say they have one more surprise.

His dad is the one who starts. “You said today that your name was Aizawa-”

Izuku immediately falls back on himself, panicking. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“Izuku. You aren’t in trouble. I’m asking you if you want to be Aizawa Izuku.”

Izuku blinks. He isn’t exactly sure what he’s being asked. “I don’t understand.”

Papa clears it up for him real fast, and Izuku bursts into tears as he nods wildly, rushing around the table to hug his parents as Hitoshi cheers loudly and Shoto smiles.

“Baby, we’re asking if you’ll let us adopt you.”

Chapter Text

Izuku goes with his dads to submit the adoption papers. The process is quick, especially for a pair of pro heroes, and they tell his dads, but mainly they tell Izuku that the papers have been filled and now they just need to be reviewed. This random woman who can see him beaming like he’s been gifted his whole world, and she’s telling him that the papers are filled. Not his dad or his papa, but him. Izuku feels his smile grow bigger somehow, and when the lady beams back and offers him a high five, Izuku smacks her hand and cheers, and his dad chuckles and ruffles his hair and papa kisses the top of his head because the papers only need to be reviewed and then he’ll be their son. Izuku feels amazing. The best he has in his whole life.

The papers are returned a week later. They sit together as Izuku practically vibrates out of his skin with excitement. He tears open the envelope, pulling it out and accidentally creasing it down the middle, he straightens it the best he can as he flicks his eyes over it. His dads are reading over his shoulder, Izuku is skipping words to get to the part where he’s legally their son, and as he reads the line, his fists tighten and his claws extend, ripping right through the paper. 

He’s not their son. 

He stares at the torn paper, as if the weight of his stare will change the words in front of him. For the second time, Izuku’s world shatters.

“Aizawa Shouta, pro hero Eraserhead and Yamada Hizashi, pro hero Present Mic, cannot be awarded parental rights of one Midoriya Izuku, on the basis of parental rights still being held by biological parent, Midoriya Inko. 

When Midoriya Inko was asked if willing to relinquish rights to her biological son, she declined, stating that she intended to bring her son home again.

It is with deep regret that we write to inform you that you, Aizawa Shouta and Yamada Hizashi, will not be granted parental rights of Midoriya Izuku.”

Izuku is crying as he gets to a handwritten note on the bottom. It’s unprofessional and likely not allowed, but Izuku remembers the writing of the sweet secretary who had been so happy for him, who had given him a high five. He wipes his face so he can read again, choking on his sobs.

“Hi Izuku, (I figure you don’t exactly like Midoriya, so I hope Izuku is okay.) I obviously saw your verdict. I'm so sorry kid, If you can convince Midoriya to give up parental rights, come back immediately, I’ll make sure the form is reviewed the same day, no matter what time you bring it in, even if it’s closing. I wish you well Izuku, your dads seem like they love you a lot, I have no doubt you'll legally be their son soon. I’ll see you soon Izuku.”

Izuku cries, choking and pulling on his hair, scraping his still clawed fingers over the scar that burns his face. He can’t breathe, he can feel his wrists being restrained and pulled from his face, and while he knows he’ll be thankful for it come morning when he’s calm, right now it pains him, blind and numb to the blood streaming down his face and the inevitable pain that will also come with the morning. He can’t feel it, but he knows somewhere deep inside his bones where his wolf lies, that his dads are right with him, hugging him and maybe even crying as much as he is.

They are. Izuku can’t see it, but both his dads are crying, promising that they’ll make this right. 

-

Izuku hits the street in the dark, shaggy hair swishing in the wind. He’s due a shed around now, but the thought barely even lurks in the back of his mind. He just keeps walking, skin, bone and scars, trekking the streets like he never left them. The realisation dawns on him, but he’s too focused to give a shit. He has a destination in mind, and he’s so focused on getting there that he doesn’t even care about the fact he can feel his dads following him. He just trots on, turning the barely familiar streets to the place he once called home.

Izuku stands in front of his mothers home, two feet on the tarmac, rather than four. He steps up to the door, aware of his parents standing by the gate. He bangs on it wildly snarling with his lips curled back as she swings the door open with a sly smile. 

“Oh Izu! I knew you’d come home when you were over your little tantrum, come on in, I'm making dinner. Your little hero friends are welcome to join us sweetie.”

Izuku knows the false pleasantry is because he has two pro heroes standing directly on his flanks. He steps into the house, and every part of the wolf within him is screaming at him to run, to turn tail and sprint, never to return. But there’s also a small slither of defiance, of chaotic rebellion that howls with glee at the idea of telling his mother to relinquish her rights and give up. Izuku is not coming back. He’ll be cold and dead before he ever calls this bitch mother again.

“Inko. I’m not here for your bullshit pleasantries, I’m here to tell you that you will relinquish your parental rights. I’ve been gone a long time bitch, and in that time, you’ve only stooped lower. Telling Bakugou I'm dead? The hell did you think would happen when I met him again?”

Inko’s bullshit facade drops instantly as she eyes the pro heroes flanking him. “No.”

“What do you mean no ? It wasn’t a question Inko.”

“You’re my son Izuku, even if you happen to be some mongrel.”

He hears his dad move behind him, his hand settling on his shoulder. It settles him just a little. “Izuku, come on, there are other ways to-”

He’s cut off by Inko, who looks furious. “How dare you try and tell my son anything! As if you’re his father! ”

Izuku feels his dad physically recoil, like Inko had been right, like he wasn’t Izuku’s father. He can hear his dad stumbling over how to explain himself as if he needs to, but Inko beats him to it. 

“You may think you want that fucking mutt, and maybe you do. Maybe he cleans your house perfectly or makes you all breakfast, lunch and dinner, maybe he washes all your clothes and has them folded neatly by sunrise. All I can say is I wish the little bastard had done it for me. It doesn’t matter why you want him, he isn’t yours, he never will be, because you aren’t his dad, and he’s not your son!” She uses her quirk to pull plates towards her from the kitchen, and his dad, who is standing between her and the kitchen, gets several plates in the back of the head.

Izuku growls as the thrum vibrates in his head, and this time the shift feels different. At the start, he’s still on two legs, but he can feel his tail flicking with his rage, and his ears are pinned down against his head. 

“I fucking knew you were nothing but a mutt!”

“Leave my dad alone you miserable, abusive bitch! ” He breaks off into a snarl as he speaks, his body changing again, but this time it's the full shift. Yet, somehow it's different.

He realises why incredibly quickly, because his back connects with the roof and it cracks under the pressure of his growing body. He hunkers down, snarling, too angry to focus on the growth. 

Inko looks scared.

Izuku gets a strange rush of joy from it.

Izuku can feel his instincts creeping in through his consciousness, like it's digging its claws in and taking over his thoughts. Before, he had wanted to keep his dad safe, it had been a want based on his thoughts based around his quirk.

Now it was life or death. Izuku needed to keep her away from his pack. He snaps his teeth into her collarbone, and he shakes . Her screams are deafening, and they don't stop for the whole 23 seconds it takes for his dad to snap his head up, lock his eyes onto Izuku and activate his quirk. Izuku slumps forward as his mothers weight falls, and Izuku lands beside her, no longer tall or strong enough to support her weight now that he’s back on two legs. He groans, tired from how much energy the shift took. He freezes when he hears papa.

“Sho- She isn’t breathing. Holy shit-”

Izuku has killed his mother.

He isn’t arrested. Self defence, prone to aggression when family is placed in danger they say. He isn’t arrested because he’s got a quirk. Izuku doesn’t miss how no one stares at his scars. They're staring at the blood of his mother smeared over his mouth and face.

Izuku spends the next few hours as a hollow shell of himself. He refuses to eat or sleep, and he refuses to speak. That's the one that seems to bother Aizawa and Mic the most. How he reverts back in on himself like how he had been before, even shifting back to the wolf, which is once again back to its normal size. He lays in the corner like he had before, when he didn’t have a room. Aizawa looks at him as he passes into the kitchen where Mic is cooking. He places his tail over his eyes as he fakes sleep, allowing Aizawa and Mic a chance alone. It takes 20 minutes before Mic speaks. 

“Shouta. He meant to-”

“Enough Hizashi. Just don’t.”

“Sho, I’m not saying something bad, i’m just saying maybe we need a quirk specialist to tell us if this is a normal thing-”

“ Hizashi.”

Izuku has considered his quirk multiple times. He knows that he was bound to kill someone sooner or later if they pushed him. He hasn’t analysed his quirk yet, or any quirks in a while, his lack of notebooks the only reason he has. But he’s not stupid enough to beleive he could turn into a wolf without any consequences. He doesn’t think his protective tendencies are bad, but whatever the hell he grew into is definitely not good . He doesn’t need a damn specialist to fuck up his quirk and tell him what isn’t true about himself. 

“Shouta. He needs help.”

“A slip isn't a failure, Hizashi. I’ll help him. Just stop.”

“He’s our baby Sho, I know you love him and I do too, but he needs proper help to understand his quirk.”

Izuku can’t listen to this anymore. He isn’t getting help and he’s not getting between Aizawa and Mic. He’s already ruined enough.

Mic is cooking.

The sliding door is open.

Izuku feels guilty when he sees Aizawa realising why he’s standing in the kitchen doorway. 

“Izuku-”

Izuku sprints through the kitchen, straight through the door and down the garden.

“Izuku! Don’t! Please-”

The guilt breaks his will as he clears the fence for the second time.

Chapter Text

Izuku dreams a lot now. He thinks it might be to do with the fact he’s been returned to the one spot he’s never been watched over, he enjoys the familiarity, despite the fact he’s skipped into a completely different city. He dreams of his dad, of his papa. He dreams of how he was found and cared for, how they loved and cared for him even with his scarred face and the ones that peaked out from his shirt sleeves. He dreams of his dad finding him, even though he’s gone out of his way to make sure he won't be found. He’s hidden in hosu, his den in some of the darkest streets he can find. He eats enough to live, but no more. Hecan't be exactly sure. He’s hears of the panic surrounding the hero killer, and he makes sure to visit one of the older crime scenes a town over so he can learn the killers scent, he doesn’t want to be caught out when he could have known better.

He’s glad he does. Two weeks after Izuku goes to learn the scent, Hero killer stain comes to Hosu. Izuku freezes as he happens across it in the street behind his den, but he shakes himself as he follows it, watching the fires in the street and the Nomu’s that barrel themselves at heroes, teeth snapping and sharpened claws. Izuku happens across Manual, who’s calling out for Iida. Izuku watches a Nomu swing at the pro hero, and Izuku barks and doesn’t want to treat himself to more than he deserves. He’s losing weight fast, but he hadn’t exactly been all that big before. He thinks it's been a few weeks or so, but he caswings himself up, snapping his teeth around the monster's head and snapping his jaw shut as hard as he can, feeling its skull splinter and snap between his teeth. When he’s sure it's dead, he lets go of its limp body, ignoring the horrified look on manual’s face so he can follow Iida’s scent. He may be living on the street, but he’s not stupid. He’s heard about the attack against Iida’s brother Ingenuim, and if Iida is here, he’s likely hunting the hero killer himself. It’s stupid, but Iida is academic smart, not street smart. So he has no doubt that he’s walking around like he actually has the set to kill a man. Izuku almost wants to laugh.

He follows the overwhelming smell of orange, growling softly when it links up with the metallic stench that clings to the hero killer. He follows it through a dark alleyway, slinking through the shadows as best he can, lowering his belly to the ground when he can see Iida with pro hero Native and who he believes to be Stain facing them. He watches Iida lay on the ground as Stain talks about how Iida can never be a true hero, how Stain should rid him from the world, and Izuku is busy taking a wild guess about how Stain’s quirk works. He knows it's related to blood, judging by how the smell clings to him, Izuku watches as Stain flicks his tongue out, and the stench gets stronger. Izuku hopes its consumption of blood as he stands, growling. He's nothing but a bag of bones with no will, but Iida doesn’t deserve to die. So he stands tall, blood coating his fur from killing the Nomu as he barks.

Izuku watches Stain lick his blood from a knife, and his stomach drops. He’s going to die because Iida can’t learn to let things go. 

Stain’s eyes widen when Izuku doesn’t hit the floor. 

The wolf has burnt off his quirk so fast he’s immune.

Izuku uses the shock factor to get close, snapping and scratching at Stain as Stain cuts through fur and flesh, giving up on the hope that Izuku will fall to his quirk.

“Izuku. Go home, this is my fight, just go home to Aizawa.”

The words only make him more violent. He snaps his teeth down on Stain’s arm, listening to bones snap and Stain’s screams. He gets a knife slice across his ribs, but he doesn’t let go, tearing flesh violently. Izuku’s ear flicks as Shoto enters the alleyway, freezing Stain to the ground up as far as his shoulders. 

“Izuku?”

He can understand the confusion. The Izuku that Shoto had known was lean and powerful, careful and gentle. Now he stands thin and shaky, wild and uncaring. He’s covered in blood, and now that Shoto is here and Stain is contained, Izuku has no reason to be here, so he dips his head once and disappears down the alley, ignoring the shouts of his friend begging him to come home.

He hides in an alley a few streets away, close enough that he can hear his dad’s rushed heartbeat as he runs into the alley where he fought Stain.

“Izuku was here? You’re sure?”

“Yes Mr. Aizawa. Izuku was here.” It’s Iida that replies, and Izuku finds out fairly quickly why.

“Izuku.” Izuku’s tail bristles as he whips around, eyes locking on Hitoshi and Shoto. He stares at them, not knowing if he should shift back and beg them to forgive him for being a coward and running away, or if he should keep being a coward and turn tail and run.

“We heard what happened to Midoriya. We don’t really care.”

Hitoshi slaps Shoto across the back of his head as he sighs loudly. “Shut up Shoto. Anyways. We know what happened and it doesn’t change how we feel about you Izuku. We know you need a little time, but if you need something, you know how to find us.”

Izuku licks them both, sticking his wet nose in their faces before trotting off, thankful that two of the important people in his life don't hate him for being a coward.

Shouta runs into what seems to be his hundredth alleyway for the night, nearly running into Hitoshi and Todoroki. “Have you seen him? He was here, Iida told me he was here-”

Hitoshi pats his arm as he smiles sadly, tears in his eyes. “He’s not coming home Aizawa. You missed him. He’s not coming home.”

Shouta thinks it’s strange to see Todoroki look so sad when he always looks so uninterested. It’s strange to see Hitoshi cry when it’s normally Hitoshi comforting Izuku, who’s normally the one crying. It’s strange to see Todoroki comfort Hitoshi the way Hitoshi so commonly comforted his son. It sinks in then what Hitoshi has told him.

Izuku isn’t coming home.

Izuku curls himself in a corner, and he lays there for days. Day and night, Izuku lays in that corner and he does not move. He’s not in Hosu, he’s not exactly sure where he is, but he knows it doesn’t matter. 

He’s come to these streets to die.

Izuku drifts in and out of sleep as he waits for death, he dreams of his dad, of his papa, of Toshi and Shoto. He regrets leaving them behind, but he isn’t strong enough to move anymore, so he waits patiently for death.

Izuku has a dream three weeks after he curls into his corner. He sees his dad, crying and offering him ham, which of course Izuku accepts, because the ham his dad buys is his favourite, and he’s been craving it since he ran away. Izuku can’t remember much more, he figures he’s just slipped into a deeper sleep.

Shouta tries not to let his feelings invade his work, but when he lays eyes on a black wolf that's more bone than muscle, he cries. He drops down beside Izuku, waving the ham in front of his nose to judge if he’s awake or not. He’s met with dull green eyes, ones that show their owner has long given up. Izuku takes one bite of ham before passing out, and Shouta freezes deathly still to listen for a breath. He doesn’t move an inch for a full 23 seconds before he starts to panic. He uses his quirk on his son, lifting the frail body carefully, scared of how hollowed out his face had become, and how Shouta could easily see his bones. He was pale white and even his hair looked paler, and Shouta lifted his son, sprinting to the closest hospital. They take Izuku quickly, a begging pro hero in tears works wonders apparently, and Shouta doesn’t know what to do. So he called the one person he knew Izuku would want to see.

“Shinsou Hitoshi, what’s up?”

“Hitoshi. I found him.”

Shouta can hear Hitoshi take the phone away from his ear, likely to look at the caller ID. 

“Old man? Don’t play with me. Don’t get my hopes up. It's cruel.”

“Hitoshi. Izuku is coming home.”

Shouta can hear Hitoshi crying on the end of the phone. He assumes Hitoshi can hear him crying too.

The process of Izuku’s healing is oh so painfully slow, and the only thing he says when he wakes up for the first time is that they shouldn’t call Hizashi, that he’s been enough of a bother. He hasn’t woken since, and Shouta makes as many excuses as he can, leaving Hizashi alone in the house in the early morning every morning as he heads out to see Izuku. He runs into Hitoshi most days, but sometimes, Hitoshi is already there, mug of coffee long forgotten as it cools on the bedside table, as Hitoshi lays on the bed beside Izuku and cries. Shouta never wants to see Izuku like this. He Looks frail, and Shouta can see how careful Hitoshi is being as he weeps, as if even the slightest movement will break him. It’s those days that Shouta waits outside silently, tears streaming down his face.

Izuku wakes, immediately choking on something in his throat. He immediately grabs it tight, pulling it out violently. He coughs and struggles to hold down vomit, aware he’s got an IV in the hand he’s using to pull the tube from his throat. He gasps for breath as he finally pulls it free, sitting up straight in the bed. He turns his head to the side wildly, locking his eyes onto a figure he knows well.

“Dad?” His voice is croaky and hoarse, the single word is broken up and shaky, but it's good enough for his dad to hear him. 

“Jesus Izuku. You scared the shit out of us we thought you were-”

“Dead.” Hitoshi stands in the doorway, staring at him with a straight face. “We thought you were dead.” 

Izuku cowers at the sight of his boyfriend, showing his throat in a submissive gesture, knowing it will do nothing to appease Hitoshi. Hitoshi isn’t a wolf. The gesture seems to dawn on his dad though, who steps up to his bed, taking his hand that holds the line he assumes is hydrating him. Izuku reaches a hand up his face, there's new scars, and a tube in his nose. He stares at his dad, wide eyed. 

“How long?”

“More than two months. Almost three. You fought stain a month ago. You’ve been here a week, and you lay on the street after the fight for three. You dropped a lot of weight very fast. You have a line to keep you hydrated, and the one in your nose is to feed you. They haven’t used it as much as they’d like to, they’re afraid your human body won’t withstand it as well as your wolf body can, especially because you’ve been a wolf for so long.”

Izuku barely pays attention to a word he says, watching Hitoshi instead. “I didn't know what to do Toshi. I didn’t want to see how people would look at me when they realised what I did. I’m so sorry.” He cries, awkward and painful from lack of use and the abuse of the tube. Hitoshi is beside him in seconds, wrapping his arms around him awkwardly as if not to hurt him. Izuku clutches onto him as he cries, one hand fisted in the fabric of Hitoshi’s shirt, the other clenched tight around his dad’s hand. He sputters apologies, his tears soaking into Hitoshi’s shirt as they return his apologies for making him believe that they thought any differently of him. 

Izuku knows he has a long way to go before he’ll be trusted again, but he’s willing to work for their trust again, and even though he’s nothing but bone right now, he promises to get strong for his family. He promises that he won’t ever leave them again. Not when they’re willing to take him back again.

So he accepts their help and their love, he works with the doctors and talks to his dad and Toshi about how much food his quirk really needs, how he prefers the wolf body and they even talk a little about the half shift and the bigger one. They talk about how it was linked to rage, and how he wasn’t fully aware of what was happening, like he was witnessing it rather than doing it. He cries more, and Hitoshi is right beside him in the bed to comfort him when necessary, especially when they tell him they’ll be keeping him in hospital for at least a week until he can handle solids. He accepts the consequences of his actions with no complaint, but he squeezes Hitoshi’s hand just a little tighter. 

“Dad?”

His dad turns to look at him, and Izuku frowns as if deep in thought. “Stay home with papa. I’ll see you when I'm out. He needs you.”

His dad opens his mouth to argue, and Izuku cuts him off. “Dad, you’ve saved me three times. I'm not going anywhere. You can pick me up when i'm discharged, Toshi can give you a recount of how many times i blinked if you want. Just make sure Papa is okay.”

“He just wants you home Izuku, we both do.”

“I know dad. I’ll be back home soon.”

“I love you kid.”

“I love you too dad. Now go see your man.”

Izuku curls up that night with Hitoshi hugging him tight, like he’s scared that if he lets go, Izuku will vanish. Izuku understands, so he holds on just as tight.

Chapter Text

Izuku gets the okay to go home two weeks later. The line in his hand has been removed along with the tube in his nose, and after they watch him eat solids for three days, they say he's fit to go home. Hitoshi had in fact been giving Aizawa daily updates on everything that Izuku had done, even including the time Izuku had sneezed when getting his nose tube replaced. Izuku thought that had been a bit excessive, but he wasn’t the boss apparently, so he let his boyfriend do as he pleased. Thankfully, Hitoshi depriving him of any privacy, means his dad is outside when he’s being discharged, so he comes in to sign the forms to take Izuku home. The car ride is awkward, the suspense of Izuku seeing papa again hanging over his head. He considered that he might be rejected, but Hitoshi squeezed his hand, smiling softly at him to help him relax. It doesn’t work, but Izuku is glad for Hitoshi’s effort. Izuku feels deathly ill when his dad stops the car, and the panic settles in. It had been papa who had been hesitant about Izuku, and Izuku understands. He does. He just doesn’t want to see his papa’s face fall as the fear sets in when he realises there's a monster in his house.

“Izuku.”

Izuku’s head snaps up, and he realises that his dad and Hitoshi both look slightly panicked, and his breathing is irregular, heavy like he’s ran a marathon. “I-” he pauses, the words stuck deep in his throat and trying to force them out pains him, so he looks wildly at Hitoshi, hoping to convey his panic.

Hitoshi sighs softly. “Take us to my place. He’s not ready.”

Izuku can see the soft lines of disappointment take over his dad’s face, but he nods, starting the car as Hitoshi takes Izuku’s hand, trying his best to get him to focus and relax. 

Izuku meets Hitoshi’s mother formally, stumbling and calling her Mrs. Shinsou. Hitoshi snorts behind him, a hand resting on his back. “Focus Izuku baby. Relax, it’s okay.”

Izuku breathes deeply, recalling the scent he had once smelled off Hitoshi on his scarf. He can clearly smell it now, smell the sharp scent sting at his nose. He inhales, tilting his head as he notes she doesn’t smell just right. 

“You’re adopted.”

“Yes. but you knew that already, you’re smart Izuku.”

Hitoshi is right, he had known somewhere deep in the back of his mind that she hadn’t smelled quite right. Her scent was too heavy, where it should have been calming and light like Hitoshi’s own. Unless she had been threatening towards Hitoshi, Izuku would have known by now, especially from Toshi’s scent. His dad stands behind him with a small bag of his things, and he promises to come visit soon after he talks to Hitoshi’s mother, who lets them head upstairs to get comfortable. Izuku stands awkwardly in his boyfriends room, he feels out of place, he misses his dad, he misses papa, and he misses when everything was normal. He cries for what he believes he’s lost; and what he knows will come, and Hitoshi is by his side like he always is, whispering soft words and assurances.

-

Shouta sits silently in Izuku’s room. It had been a common habit since Izuku ran away, but now he knew where Izuku was, and he just couldn’t bring him home. It’s a few hours before Hizashi starts to worry, appearing in the doorway. “Sitting here isn’t going to bring him back Sho, come to bed.’

Shouta doesn’t move. He can’t be here, he needs to be with his son. But he knows Izuku is safe, so he can spare two minutes. 

“When I asked you to stop, why didn’t you?”

“Sho?”

“When I asked you to stop talking because he was listening, why didn’t you stop talking?”

“He was asleep, Shouta. I waited until he was asleep. I made sure-” Hizashi falters, looking at Shouta as the realisation settles in. “He… No he was sleeping.”

Shouta stands, pushing the hair from his face. “His breathing rattles when he sleeps as a wolf Hizashi. You know it does. You sat and watched me cry over it for weeks after the USJ. We need to give Izuku time to understand his quirk. I told you I would help him. Now excuse me.” He lifts Izuku’s favourite hoodie from the closet, an Eraserhead one that Shouta had surprised him with after he hadn’t flaked on his sports festival speech, and he heads for the door. 

“Shouta? Where are you going with his stuff?”

“To see him.”

Shouta swings the door shut, already halfway down the hallway before he hears it click. 

-

Izuku spends the next few days relearning his human body. His legs are unsteady, he has the overwhelming urge to topple forward, used to the balance of four paws. He has to relearn the scars on his face, how not to burst into tears at the sight of them. Hitoshi constantly hovers, but he knows it's to keep him both safe and sane. After all, the last time he was human, he had just killed his mother. He sees his dad everyday, they talk over things that happened in the time Izuku had missed. Apparently Bakugou had been having some trouble with his quirk, and Izuku swore he’d go back to see him soon. His dad tells him he can return to school if he wants, but he won't be taking part in any heroics lessons until he puts some weight on and regains some of his muscle. He says he can still train as long as he takes it easy, so Izuku agrees, determined to build himself up to how he was before, and surpass that. He wants to be the best he can be, especially now that he’s with his dad again. He still misses home and papa though. 

School is strange. It's unfamiliar and familiar at once, the noises all drown together and individually cut through him, and he hates and loves every second of it. His classmates try to ask him where he went, but Shoto and Hitoshi get them to clear off incredibly quickly and Izuku takes his seat. He’s glad for the peace, but it doesn’t last. He freezes as he hears familiar footsteps coming towards the classroom. He looks wild as he shoots onto his feet and heads to his dad, on four paws before he can actually consider what he’s doing. He lays beside his dad, whining softly, but his dad understands, as he always does, and he pets Izuku’s head, letting it rest in his lap like he had all those months ago when Izuku had been nothing but a street mutt. Izuku hears breath catch from the doorway, and he cracks an eye open to see his papa staring at him, eyes wide and watery.

“Izuku? How are you here? When-”

Hitoshi and Shoto are by his side in seconds, staring at his papa like he’s a threat. Izuku is confused. On one hand, this is his papa, who has allowed him into his house, lay with him as people called a live TV reporter, dragging him through the dirt, who comforted him when he cried and bought him a dog bed so big it could barely fit through the doorways.

But Izuku had also got in the way of his dad and papa, he had made them fight, and papa wanted to send him away for help with something that was part of him. He didn’t need help, not from a stranger. He needed his family and some time. He thinks he can hear someone talking to him, but it's not until Hitoshi pets his head softly and whispers to him that he’s right there that he starts to focus. The bell has rang, It's only him, his dad, Toshi and Shoto in the room while his papa stands awkwardly in the doorway. He shifts back, letting Hitoshi play with his hair as Shoto holds his hand.

“I’m sorry papa.”

It’s croaky and slightly broken, giving away his lack of using his voice, and how vulnerable he is right now. He sniffles as Hitoshi smiles softly at him, trying to calm him. 

“Hizashi, we can do this later-”

“It’s okay dad. We can talk now.” 

And they do. Izuku is left with his parents after he tells Shoto and Hitoshi that it was just fear of rejection that made him so scared, and they reluctantly leave him behind to go home, and Izuku sits, and he listens. He listens to his dad explain that Izuku has done nothing wrong, how sorry he is and as he starts to try to explain himself, Izuku cant listen anymore. It sounds false, like he’s only saying it to appease whatever his dad has argued with him about. 

He sits on the roof, watching the sky. He knows it was rude to leave while he was being spoken to, but he can’t listen to false opinions right now. He can hear his papa coming up the stairs, swinging his human legs over the ledge as he sits. After what Izuku assumes is hesitation, his papa walks up towards him, standing a little behind him. He’s silent, so Izuku speaks first. The promise of an olive branch.

“You can speak freely now. You don’t have to lie for dad, I'll listen to what you have to say.”

Papa takes a soft breath, and he sits. Izuku looks over, a sad smile on his face as he sees the dull scars that Izuku’s own blood red ones match. He’s still silent, but Izuku gives him the time he needs to form the words to his own opinion.

“I want you to come home Izuku. I miss having you in the house, the sound of your claws clipping against the floors and getting to make you dinner.”

“...but?” Izuku is waiting for the other shoe to drop. He’s been waiting for it. He’s waited since his dad laid eyes on him for the very first time. He knows it’s happening now, and he doesn’t like how unfinished it feels.

“I want you to seriously consider getting your quirk looked at by a quirk doctor. You don’t have to, but I think it’d be best if you did.”

Izuku stares at the ground that's so far below him. All it would take is a slip, and this whole situation would be over. Instead he lifts his head to stare defiantly at his papa. “And if I don't? What happens then?”

“Nothing. We will try and help you the best we can. We won’t send you away Izuku, you’ll have to register your quirk so it shows when you take your hero exams, but the rest can be done as you please.”

“Why?”

Papa stares at him like he’s grown a second head and confessed to being a reincarnated serial killer. “Why what?”

“Why are you letting me have my way when it clearly bothers you that I can't come to terms with the fact that my quirk slipped out of my control and made me kill my mother?”

“Because my son is a soft, sweet boy who’s so nervous it took him months to even tell us that he didn’t actually like some of the food we made him. He’s kind, he cares about his family and he’ll fight to the death to protect them. The boy I see now is scared, defensive and he’s barking and baring his teeth at shadows. I know you’ve had a rough time Izuku, but let us help you. I want you to be my son, but only if that’s what you want. Let us help you heal and love you.”

Izuku’s shoulders shake as he cries, broken, wet sobs that tear out of his throat and cause him pain. He holds his papa’s hand, and he holds him tightly on the roof as Izuku cries until his mouth and throat are dry and his chest hurts from heaving. He’s cried so hard his chest is rattling with every inhale, but it’s okay because his papa is scratching his head and humming softly, just like he always has.

Izuku feels ashamed that he ever doubted his family. He’s also relieved that they still want him to be their son.

Chapter Text

Izuku sits in his bed at home for the first time in months. It’s strange, but the comfort of knowing that his dad and papa are right down the hall settle his worry. He feels like he’s been sent back to square one, he’s shifty, refuses to walk around the house unless he’s in his wolf form, because it helps him believe he’s done nothing wrong yet, like he’s just the stray that his dad picked up off the street. Of course, he still lays by their feet while they watch TV at night, because even though he feels guilty, he can’t turn away from his longing for their love and acceptance.

He’s sitting on his bed when he hears his dad approach his room. He perks up, watching his dad lean against his door frame. He smiles, feeling his still agitated scars pull across his face, and his dad smiles back. Izuku finds that he isn’t insecure about the grotesque pull of the scars when his dad is all too happy to smile in return.

“Hey kid. Wanna go get some stuff for your room? It needs a little… hero’s touch.”

The scars pull even tighter as he beams, hopping off his bed to join his dad. 

He hates the people, the amount of them stings his nose and hurts his ears, and he’s forgotten his scarf. He’s staring at the floor, eyes barely lifting to see what his parents are offering to buy him. He feels his papa leave his side, but he can’t hear why, and he’s aware of his dad gently moving him into a corner that has no people. He sits, holding onto his dad's hand with a vice grip. It’s a few minutes before his papa returns and gently puts something over his ears. The world immediately quiets around him, and Izuku can finally look up with watery eyes. He lifts his free hand to feel, smiling softly when his fingers close over the ear muffs of headphones. Noise cancelling ones, knowing his papa, probably the best ones currently available. They wait for him to gather himself together, then they’re walking through the stores again, this time Izuku is happy to add his input, and even ask for a few items of clothing. He keeps reaching up to touch his new headphones, small smile in place.

His world hasn’t been this quiet since the sludge villain invaded his lungs and choked him. 

They’re walking between shops when Izuku freezes mid step, eyes slowly lifting to a hero merch store. His eyes are wide, and that's all it takes for his papa to take his hand and lead him inside. His eyes scan across the shelves, and he stops when he sees an All Might figure. It’s cheap, a knock-off; and Izuku knows that the same one stood on his dresser for years, bought with money he had planned to buy food with. He snorts and rolls his eyes as he walks past it, teeth bared as he remembers how hungry he was just so he could have one figure of a man who ended up being a bastard.

He doesn’t pick up a single thing, but any time his eyes linger, his dad lifts whatever he paused for when he moves on. When Izuku finally does pick something up, it's a poster. It’s one of his dad, his scarf weaved around him and shot off the side. It’s from his early days as a hero when he was first known, as time went on he was able to hide in the shadows to make his work easier. But he can have this one thing of his dad, and he wants it. He turns to ask for it, staring at the basket full of everything he’d paused to look at. 

“You don’t have to- I just want this poster and one of papa too.”

His papa smiles, ruffling the hair at the back of his head so he doesn’t hit the headphones, but Izuku pushes them off one ear so he can hear his parents. 

“Izu baby. We want to get you this. We want you to have things that you want. Pick things up Izuku, be happy, you’re allowed to be spoiled.”

Izuku walks around the store holding his papa’s hand. How he doesn't get recognised with only his hair down and a change of clothes is beyond him, but he accepts it, because it means he can slip his headphones back on and lead his pack through the store. 

He leaves with multiple posters, (one of his papa of course) a few figures of heroes, new and old; and two keychains. 

One Eraserhead, one Present Mic. 

He’s going to attach them to his keys when he gets home.

They’re walking out when his dad stops behind them, making his papa stop too. Izuku slips his headphones aside again, looking back at his dad. He’s not paying attention, so Izuku tracks his eyeline to see what he’s staring at.

“Holy fuck. ”

The display is huge, a massive poster with figures on shelves under it. He’d be surprised that he hadn’t seen it, but people are crowded around it, practically covering the whole thing. 

Izuku would have to be stupid not to see who it is, clear as day.

The wolf is huge, all black with green tipped ears. 

Izuku is staring at a fucking poster of himself, and underneath there are shelves of figures of him. 

Right in the middle, there's a figure of him, teeth showing as his lips are pulled back, ears so far back they almost touch his head as he crouches. He’s growling at All Might. Izuku laughs, loud and surprised, and he picks it up. 

Izuku leaves with three of that figure. One for him, one for Toshi and one for Shoto.

He also sees his dad lifting two of the posters. One for them and the other for Toshi he assumes.

They shop for furniture next, and Izuku picks a desk, but refuses to look at chairs, saying he can find a cheaper one somewhere else. His papa decides to pick up a very expensive gaming chair that's apparently very comfortable. Izuku knows better than to argue, so he lets his papa pick one, and he picks a black and yellow one. He likes it, and he leaves with drawers for his clothes, his desk and chair. He’s practically bouncing as they leave, so many thank you’s rushing from his mouth that he’s not even sure if he’s making sense as he skips towards the car with a grin.

Izuku sits in school the next day, the earliest he’s ever been in homeroom, massive grin in place. Shoto arrives first, eyebrow raised when he sits beside him. “You  weren’t outside by the tree.”

“I come bearing gifts.” he snorted, pushing a box towards him. “Don’t open it until Hitoshi gets here. You both have one.”

“One what?” 

Izuku smiles widely as Hitoshi pulls his chair up beside him and rests his arm on the back of Izuku’s chair, holding him in a half hug. Izuku pushes the second box towards him. “Open.” Shoto and Hitoshi open their boxes at the same time, their eyes widening when they realise what it is. Hitoshi laughs loudly, holding his stomach as Shoto’s jaw goes slack, not quite understanding why this is a thing. Izuku just keeps grinning from ear to ear, laughing quietly. When they've finally calmed down, the rest of the class start filtering in. Izuku is too busy giggling quietly at Hitoshi, who's still quietly whispering about the figures, that he doesn’t even realise his dad is talking to him.

“ Izuku. ”

Izuku’s head snaps up, looking at his dad. “...yes?” Hitoshi laughs beside him, and Izuku elbows him as he pays attention. His dad sighs, but ignores them, focusing on his question. 

“While you were away, we chose hero names. Have you thought of one or would you like time to decide?”

Izuku has chosen his hero name. He thought on it a lot, even researching different things it was tied to, and in the end he decided he loved it, especially how it linked to how his quirk is viewed. “I have one.”

His dad gestured him to the front, handing him a whiteboard where he scrawled his name messily in his usual chicken scratch before turning it around to show the class.

The canine hero: Orthrus

Izuku stands proudly at the front of his class as his dad smiles softly. “Orthrus is the two headed hound, brother of Cerberus.” he headed back to his seat, letting his dad announce the final exams coming up. They had a little time to train, but he wasn’t sure exactly what the exam would entail. He’d just have to train and hope he was good enough to pass.

Izuku does train. He’s almost religious in his training, returning home long after dark absolutely soaked with sweat and having to haul himself into the lukewarm shower he always takes, then dragging himself into bed without a word or his dinner. He’s pushing himself as hard as he can, even sneaking off to play around with the new features of his quirk. He often wakes up a few hours after activating it, staring at the trees that he's clearly torn down, but he can't remember anything after activating it. He decides not to activate it again, the wounds he's sporting after waking up are already bad enough, so he decides to stick with the wolf he knows, the one that's under control and that has kept him safe since the first day it was activated. He does decide that he’s going to do the final exam without shifting though, he thinks it’s important that he earns everyone's trust again, and he figures this is a pretty good first step, so he trains his body harder, until he can’t even make it to the shower at the end of the day, just slumping over the couch and calling it a night. 

Izuku is so tired when he stands in front of his teachers, listening to them discuss what will happen for their exam. All that Izuku’s tired mind really comprehends is that he’s fighting a teacher.

His teacher. 

His dad. 

He’s paired with Hitoshi, and they’re paired against his dad.  

“Fuck.” 

Izuku isn’t even sure if it's him or Hitoshi that said it. Maybe both. Either way, he wholeheartedly agrees. Especially now that he knows that his dad won’t be wearing weights, but he will. He wants to cry or laugh. He’s not exactly sure which.

“Fuck.”

That one was definitely him. He groans as the teachers strap their weights on, and his dad comes over to strap on his own, grinning at him. “You’ve got this kid, you’ve got the easy. We both know you can do this Izuku.”

Izuku is not as confident in his abilities as his father is, but Hitoshi doesn’t seem to care very much about passing, or whatever camp that has been promised if they pass. He just seems to be happy enough to work with Izuku against Eraserhead. Izuku figures this simplicity might help him relax.

It doesn’t. 

Izuku stands awkwardly beside Hitoshi while they wait for the countdown to end and for his dad to start hunting them through the fake city. He sighs before grabbing Hitoshi’s wrist, dragging him through the streets. He drops down awkward alleyways, taking cover in the lower floor of one of the buildings. He peeks out the window, catching sight of his dad sprinting down power lines on their street, heading away from their building. Izuku hums. If they can get past him undetected, it’s still a win, they can avoid him completely.

Or Hitoshi can.

“Give me the cuffs. I have an idea.”

Izuku stands in the street regretting his life choices, rubbing his face before he takes off at a sprint. The goal is to track his dad's scent, get close enough for him to be able to track Izuku, and close enough to Hitoshi that he can move without being seen. Easy .

He can hear his dad on his left above him, and he can smell Hitoshi on his right, a few streets over. He dodges one street to his right, hoping to any god above that his dad will think he’s trying to lead him away from Hitoshi. He throws himself to the side hard enough to hit the ground when his dad shoots the capture weapon out to catch him. He hisses as he slides across the ground, agitating his injuries from testing his new form. He gets back on his feet to run again, yelping when his dad's scarf catches his foot and he hits the concrete face first. He growls as he’s strung up on the powerlines, hung upside down.

“You’re hardwired to protect your pack, which means you’ll be leading me away from Hitoshi.”

Yes. 

“Which is exactly what you’re counting on me trusting, so he’s probably within a few streets radius from us.”

Fuck. 

He’s right of course, Izuku can smell Hitoshi one street over to his left. He must have hopped across when Aizawa was focused on him instead of catching Hitoshi. His dad hums as he hops onto the roof, leaving Izuku behind to track Hitoshi, who’s moving again, but not fast enough. Izuku growls as he flips himself, letting his claws drop and shred through the scarf, feeling a touch guilty when his feet hit the ground and the tattered scarf falls around him. He can hear Hitoshi shouting all sorts of curses, so he throws away his promise of not using his quirk, bounding down the street on four paws, crashing into his dad as a wolf, but hitting the floor as a human, barrelling them both across the street as he growls, standing protectively in front of Hitoshi. He watches as his dad stares at them, seemingly thinking, before he lunges forward, pushing Izuku back if he wants to maintain his protective stance. He feels stupid, not shifting when he knows it could get them the pass easily, but neither his dad or Hitoshi say anything, and his dad lunges again, his leg connecting with the arm Izuku throws up to protect his head. Hitoshi thankfully gets the hint and starts to run, letting Izuku keep his attention, trading hits back and forth. His training has helped, but he’s not on the same level as Eraserhead, and Hitoshi still isn’t close enough to the exit. He needs a plan. He ducks and dodges, dealing out his fair share of hits when finally, his dad shifts his weight to one foot, and Izuku raises his arm, with the open cuff in his hand. His dad realises his mistake too slowly, because his leg connects with Izuku’s hand, and Izuku snaps the cuff in place. He slumps as they’re given their pass, and Izuku has a feeling his dad went easy on him as he unclasps the weights, rubbing his raw wrists.

Of course, he doesn’t question it, smiling at his dad who takes his hands, checking to see his wrists himself.

Chapter Text

Izuku thought on his promise to help Bakugou while he sat on the train. He had promised to help, and he had every intention to do so, but as he walked towards the street he grew up on, he couldn’t help but wonder if he could just turn around and leave. It’s not like Bakugou knows he’s coming, he could turn around and leave right now and no one would know, but he promised he would do it. He sighs as he walks down the street, chipping stones as he walks. It’s not that he’s afraid of Bakugou, its just that he’s not particularly in the mood for Bakugou. He’s been… quiet. Izuku almost misses the familiarity of Kacchan’s explosive anger. He doesn’t miss being the main focus of the rage, but the quietness is almost frightening on someone like Katsuki. He averted his eyes when walking past his old house, only catching a glimpse of the cracks rippled up the side of the house from the pressure of him growing into the roof. He keeps walking, stopping at the end of the street to face the house where his childhood friend lives. He steps up to the door and knocks, twisting his fingers while he waits. It’s Mitsuki who opens the door, and she pauses for a moment before moving to let him in. “How are you Izuku? It’s been a long time since we’ve had you around here.”

Izuku smiled awkwardly, nodding his head. “Yeah, i’m sorry aunt-“

“Kats tells me that you’re living with someone now, ya know, after Inko died.”

Izuku huffs, the unexpected ambush being entirely expected with Mitsuki. 

“I was living there before school started. They tried to adopt me.”

Mitsuki doesn’t seem to expect that, tilting her head as she considers it. “They treat you good little runt?”

“They do.”

Mitsuki smiles, it’s honest and genuine, and Izuku awkwardly replicates it. 

He’s shuffled upstairs, knocking on Katsuki’s door. He’s called in and he stands in the open doorway until Katsuki looks up, staring at him. “What are you doing here Deku? I never text you what you needed to know. Just go home, I don’t want your help.”

“You need it though.”

“I don’t need you Deku.”

“I never said you needed me. I said you needed my help. Emphasis on help. ” 

They stare at each other for a moment, and Izuku doesn’t believe that Katsuki will let him help, but after a few minutes he sighs, nodding. He doesn’t mention running into Izuku in the street after his run in with All Might, and he doesn’t mention Izuku’s scars. He swivels his chair around, looking at Izuku with a hard stare.

“You heard about the sludge villain right? He saved me. He found me on my walk home and said I had potential to be a good hero. But he told me that he could make me a great one. All I had to do was say yes.”

Izuku stares at the floor. Just hours after All Might shattered Izuku’s dreams, he was throwing out promises to Kacchan about becoming a great hero, but then he threw a power to Katsuki that he can’t even control. So he sits, rubbing the bridge of his nose while he looks at Katsuki. “All right. Tell me what training he did with you, what he showed you to use it, then we can work from there.”

Katsuki scratches the back of his hair awkwardly, closing one eye as he tilts his head and shrugs. “He didn’t.”

Izuku laughs, quiet at first, his shoulders shaking. He can tell Katsuki is staring at him, but the laughter starts getting louder, and it doesn’t take long before he’s got tears running down his cheeks and Katsuki has turned his back to him, clearly annoyed by his laughing, but unwilling to snap because he knows if he does, Izuku will leave and take his offer of help with him. He eventually pulls himself together, wiping his eyes as he sighs. “Alright, so All Might gives you a big quirk that you can’t control, that influences your own quirk, so now you struggle with both of them.” He looks at Katsuki, who’s looking at him again. “And you’re telling me he didn’t even help you learn? ”

Katsuki shakes his head, and Izuku promises in his head that he’ll do whatever he can to help Katsuki.

“Show me.”

“What?”

“His quirk. Show it to me.”

And he does. He also tells Izuku everything All Might has told him about his quirk. Izuku feels terrible when he recognises what he’s hearing.

“It’s called one for all and-“

“He taught you about All for one though right?”

“What?”

Izuku gapes, staring at the blond, who’s currently staring right back.

“The hell are you talking about Deku?”

Izuku feels awful having to explain this to someone who can’t even control his own quirk right now. But he does. He tells Katsuki everything he knows, from rumours he overheard in the streets, to things that the underground heroes and vigilantes whispered to each other in the dark. He tells Katsuki every single piece of information he knows. When he’s done, they sit in silence for a while, and Izuku is slightly worried he’s broken Katsuki.

“I need you to help me fix this shit. I need to be good. The best. You were quirkless before, and now you’re better than I ever was. I can’t lose to you. I won’t. ”

Izuku sees his demand for what it is. Katsuki is offering an olive branch, and Izuku takes it. 

“I won’t be so easy to beat this time Kacchan.”

“I’m counting on it Deku. I want some real competition.”

Izuku and Katsuki spend the rest of their time together outside, and Izuku gets to see the quirk better now that they aren’t contained to Katsuki’s room. He shows him his own quirk as well, the blasts are bigger now, even a small one that he lets off is bigger than some of the big blasts he used to make in school. 

“I focus One for All in my hands mostly, but it’s either 100% or zero. There’s no middle ground.”

“Why do you only focus it in your hands?”

“…Because im only using it in my hands Deku.”

Izuku shakes his head. “No, that’s like if I only focused on my hands when i drop my claws or use my strength. I have to pull on the thrum and feel it through my entire body.”

“So… Try to move One for all throughout my whole body?”

“..Couldn’t hurt to try right?”

“What kind of analyst are you?”

“I’m not. I haven’t done it since before U.A.”

“Fuck around and find out it is then.”

They spend the rest of the day together, practising the ways Katsuki can use the quirk when he spreads it over his body. So far he can barely use one percent, but even his own quirk is easier controlled now, and Izuku thinks that Kacchan has done well. He’s about to head home for the evening when Katsuki stops him. 

“Can you show me?”

“What?”

“The wolf. Can you show it to me? Will you?”

Izuku stares at him, but he nods. He backs up a few steps before pulling on the familiar thrum, and he looks down at Katsuki, who looks at him with awe evident in his eyes. He reaches out slowly, and Izuku presses his damp nose to Katsuki’s hand. He watches the way Katsuki’s face lights up, and he’s immediately glad he decided to come out to help him. He lets Katsuki pet him, and eventually they part ways, and Izuku trots through the streets and his fur swishes, and all he can do is think back on all the times that Kacchan had looked at him like he was less than, that he had burned him bad enough that Izuku still had the scar on his skin. Of course, he doesn’t hold it against him, he never will. He forgave him a long time ago. 

But even then, he wants nothing more than to curl up with his dad’s, just so he knows that he’s safe. So he picks up the pace, making it home in half the time. He shuts the door as his papa serves dinner, and he grins as he hugs them both before hopping up to the table.

Izuku stands again in the black marble foyer that he had met the kind lady in. He stands proud, because this time when he hands the brown envelope full of papers to the lady who beams at him and says his name, he knows that this time, this time he will be their son.

“Hi, Izuku. It’s good to see you again!” She lifts her hand again, just like the first time, and Izuku beams right back as he smacks her hand to high five her, and she winks as she sorts through the papers and stands, smiling at him. “I promised they’d be reviewed the same day, so please, wait out here and I’ll be back very soon.” She disappears down the hall, and Izuku stands with one hand in his dads, the other in his papas. They sit, waiting as Izuku vibrates with nervous energy. It’s close to 45 minutes before the woman returns, a smile in place as she hands back the brown envelope. “In the most polite way, I hope I don’t see you back here Izuku. It was amazing to meet you.” She waves as she leaves, and Izuku waves back. He looks at his parents, and they nod, so he opens the envelope, his eyes flicking over the words. He pauses when he sees his name, and it tells him the answer to his question. 

Izuku cries. He grasps at his dads hand, crying loud as he hands the paper over. He can see his panic at his tears, likely believing that it’s been denied again, but his eyes widen as he reads the paper, and then he passes it to papa. Izuku is only briefly aware that him, his papa and his dad are crying in public, grouped together in a big hug as they cry and laugh. 

Izuku has never been so happy in his life.

Because on his document, he isn’t Midoriya Izuku. He isn’t the son of Midoriya Inko.

He is Aizawa Izuku, adopted son of Aizawa Shouta and Yamada Hizashi.

When he attends school the next morning, his grin is wild and wide as he corrects Uraraka. 

“Midoriya!”

Izuku smiles at her. “Aizawa.” He watches as she swivels around, but she frowns when Aizawa is nowhere to be seen. 

“He’s not here-“

“No, me. I’m Aizawa. Aizawa Izuku.”

Chapter Text

Izuku bounces around from foot to foot, shifting anxiously. He’s back in the mall again, this time with a death grip on Hitoshi’s hand because he’s forgotten his headphones. Again. He’s out with his classmates, happy to be around both Hitoshi and Shoto again. He watches his classmates break off into groups to buy what they need for the training camp, and Shoto heads down to get them coffee, treat from Endeavor he says, and Hitoshi sends Izuku with him to get him away from the crowds as he goes to get something. Izuku figures it’s strange, but he lets Hitoshi go, following Shoto into the small cafe. Shoto prompts him to pick something to eat too, and Izuku does. He’s leaving with his iced coffee and muffin when he pauses midstep. 

He can smell it.

He can smell the decaying flesh and the fear that clings to it. He can smell Hitoshi.

He shoves the coffee and food in Shoto’s general direction, taking off at a sprint towards the smell, his two feet turning to four paws so he can move faster, people parting way for him immediately and gasping as he barrels past them.

He skids to a stop when he sees them, hackles raised as he snarls. 

“Ahhh. You’re the one who killed my Nomu. Eraserhead’s kid right?”

Izuku growls, deep and vicious. He watches the man shift, sighing. “So rude of me. I’m Shigaraki. The pleasures all mine, I’d shake your hand Eraser runt, but my hands are a little full right now.”

Izuku watches the four fingers pressed to his boyfriends neck press harder, hard enough that he can see the skin of Hitoshi’s neck pull under the pressure as he tries to take a breath. He curls his lips, a warning, but Shigaraki just smiles at him. 

“I want to see your face. We can't talk like this, I don’t speak dog .”

Izuku stares. He can hear Shoto quietly making room around them, trying to clear out civilians to keep them safe. He steps forward, and the fingers press deeper. He takes another step, this time, his shoe connects with the floor rather than a paw. 

“Let him go and we can talk all you want.”

“Let's call him a pawn shall we? A shield of sorts I suppose. Gotta deal with him if you want the prize.” He smirks, his pinky finger ghosting over Hitoshi’s neck. Izuku doesn’t react, but his chest twists at the panic that flashes over Hitoshi’s face. “See, I didn't plan to come here and find you, he just fell into my lap you know? And where he goes, I figured his bitch wouldn’t be too far.” He nods to Hitoshi’s right hand, where Izuku knows Hitoshi’s ring sits, matching his own. Izuku doesn’t know why Hitoshi had wanted to go to that shop alone, but the guilt that seeps in makes him ill. 

“What, do you want Shigaraki.”

“What does he have that I don't? He gets all that attention for what? You caught him, he’s gone, but still! What do I have to do to be better than him?”

“Dude was cooler not gonna lie.”

Izuku stares at Hitoshi. 

“What the hell are you talking about pawn?” 

“The hero killer right? That dude had swords. The hell have you got? Definitely not vaseline. Sure, you had those chickens-”

“ Nomu. ”

“Yeah the chickens, but you were scary, then Izuku killed the chicken. Stain? He was a ghost. He never made any big claims that he didn't follow through. You did.”

Izuku watches Shigaraki hum, his fingers loosening on Hitoshi’s neck as he thinks. “Eraserheads runt. What do you think?”

“I think he’s right. I think you showed up with a big bang and a flash of light, but instead of a grenade, you were nothing more than a flashbang.”

Surprisingly, Shigaraki seems to be taking their opinions to heart. He’s thinking, deathly silent. He doesn't even notice Shoto stepping up beside Izuku. “The heroes have been alerted. They’re coming. Eraserhead is coming.” Shigaraki suddenly stands, dragging Hitoshi up with him.

“Don’t bother. Take your pawn. I’ll be seeing you all soon enough.” He pushes Hitoshi forward as he steps back, walking back to disappear into the crowd. 

Izuku launches forward at the same time Hitoshi does, and they grab onto each other with deathly tight grips, knuckles white as they hold each other. They don’t speak, but they’re still clinging to each other when Izuku sees his dad and papa arrive. They’re quick to make it a pack hug, and no one complains when Izuku drags Hitoshi home after his medical check, laying in bed with him silently, the pair tangled around each other, afraid to let the other go.

Hitoshi’s mother tells Aizawa that Hitoshi can stay over until they’re feeling better.

“Look Aizawa, I want nothing more than him to be here where I can see him, where I know he’s safe, but he and Izuku.. It’s.. I don’t even know how to describe it, he can stay as long as both he and Izuku need. I know they need to be together right now. So when they’re a little more detachable and a little less fragile, I’ll come get him.”

Izuku hadn’t meant to listen in on his dad’s phone call, but he was glad to know they would be left alone for now. He closed his eyes, curling himself closer to Hitoshi. He sleeps, neither of them willing to move just yet.

Hitoshi goes home the day before they’re due to leave, needing to pack. His father has already arranged for them to have a private room at the camp, too afraid to step on their desperate link that’s holding them together. Izuku is left alone now, but he knows his parents are just down the hall.

Izuku packs his bag, then he unpacks it and repacks it.

He unpacks it again.

Papa repacks it.

Izuku unpacks it.

Izuku repacks it.

He unpacks it.

Izuku stares at the bag like it threw a plate at his head and beat him with a stick. He swings the door open, stalking down to the yellow sleeping bag on the couch. “Dad. Dad. Dad.” His dad doesn’t wake. He huffed as papa chuckled from the kitchen. “Papa, was he up late?”

“No Izu, he’s just napping.”

Izuku shifts as he curls onto the couch, right on his dad's chest. He ignores the soft wheeze, blinking at his father who is now blinking back at him.

“You’re getting too big to lay on me as a wolf Izuku.”

Izuku grumbles, shifting back, his smaller body much lighter as he lays, still refusing to move and accept defeat.

“What?”

“…help me pack my bag for the camp?”

His dad snorts softly but nods, ruffling his hair before standing and heading down the hallway, Izuku runs after him, shifting foot to foot as he watches his dad pack his bag. When he’s done, Izuku grins as his dad passes him, ruffling his hair again before heading back to the living room. He can hear his parents talking. “I just packed for him, I have no idea why he needed you to do it.”

Izuku pokes his head around the corner, shrugging. “I don’t know, I just feel better now that dad did it.”

Papa smiles softly as he kisses Izuku's curls, ruffling them as he straightens up. “That’s good baby, now come sit, you need a good meal before going in the morning.”

Izuku hops onto the chairs, grinning at the big plate that’s set in front of him. He eats and talks with his family, knowing that this is the last meal he’ll have with his whole family until the camp is over and he returns home. Of course, this means one thing, and one thing only. The second the dishes have been cleared away, Izuku waits until his parents are on the couch so he can shift and lay on top of them, and when no one complains, Izuku starts to doze off, aware of his dad scratching his head.

-

Izuku hates buses. He could run to wherever they’re going in half the time, and without being cramped and being forced to listen to 19 other children breathe, talk and snore. He hates it, and it must be very obvious because Hitoshi takes his hand while his dad passes the familiar new headphones his papa got over to hitoshi, who slides them onto his head. He relaxes slightly, but he still fucking hates buses. He plays with Hitoshi’s fingers, focusing on twisting his hands around so he can trace over the skin, helping him ignore the bus entirely. He watches everyone get off the bus at a rest stop, but Izuku can smell the fresh dirt and hear the footsteps. He knows he’s going to be walking the rest of the way. He groans, remaining in his seat long after everyone is gone, including Hitoshi. He stands, sighing as he hears everyone rushing back to the bus, but failing miserably as he watches them slide down the cliff, Hitoshi’s yelp ringing out over everyone else’s, but Izuku doesn’t smell blood, so he trusts that Hitoshi is okay as he steps out beside his dad, shifting the headphones off his head.

“Oh! It seems one of you got lucky and escaped the fall! Who would you be?” 

Izuku looks at the speaker, identifying them as pixie-bob, one of the Wild, Wild Pussycats. He tilts his head, watching her from where he’s shifted slightly so he can hide himself mostly behind his dad. “Aizawa Izuku.” 

He watches the hero gape slightly like a fish out of water, looking between Izuku and his dad. 

“As in…”

“As in Aizawa Shouta, yes.” It’s his dad who speaks, allowing Izuku’s childish hiding as he watches them. “Izuku, would you like to get on the bus again?” 

Izuku shakes his head, handing his headphones to his dad, who takes them carefully while ruffling his hair. Izuku sprints from behind him, right past Pixie-bob and throws himself off the cliff, pulling on the thrum as he lands on four paws, his body protesting over the big jolt from the drop. He follows Hitoshi’s scent, finding him and their classmates fighting against what he had smelled before. He helps, desperate to get out of the forest and keep Hitoshi safe, the image of Shigaraki’s fingers pressed to his throat spurring him to be relentless, tearing through as many as the dirt beasts as he can. 

They seem to make it in good time, but Izuku isn’t pleased until he can see both his father and Toshi, so he drags Hitoshi with him by the back of his shirt, growling when pixie-bob tries to ask him how he destroyed her beasts so fast. He dumps Hitoshi beside his dad, and lays down, curling around them both. Thankfully, his dad has the sense to sit, letting Izuku curl around them properly as he huffs, content once more. 

The food is good, but Izuku picks at it, sighing softly. It’s his first night away from home since his dad allowed him to come back, and he hates it already. He can’t smell papa here, he can’t run to his room where the scent of his family lingers from when they stop in to talk with him. He only relaxes when Hitoshi gently scratches at the back of his neck, kissing his temple. He closed his eyes and breathes, lifting the chopsticks to his mouth again. He doesn’t miss the eyes on him however, and when he opened his eyes again, he’s locked eyes with the boy that had been with the pussycats when they greeted the returning group. He stares, as does the boy, but eventually he looks away, so Izuku returns to his meal. 

They’ve been given time in the hot springs after dinner, and Izuku only sighs as he pulls off his clothes. He settles for a towel around his waist as he sits on the edge, feet submerged in the water while Hitoshi sits in the water, talking with Kirishima. 

“Dude. Your skin. It’s-”

“Maimed. I’m aware.” his skin had taken a severe beating over the last year. He knows it. He just doesn't want to think about it. He stares at Denki, who immediately shifts away. He awkwardly stands, heading back inside as Hitoshi scrambles to follow him, but Izuku takes off, four feet hitting the ground. He headbutts his dad's door, stepping in when his dad swings it open, and he makes himself comfortable on the floor. His dad leaves him be, and it's not long until Hitoshi shows up, making room for himself beside Izuku. Neither of them hear Izuku’s dad protest, so they figure it’s fine, and both of them fall asleep on the floor.

Denki stands awkwardly in front of them the next morning at breakfast, head tilted as he scratches his neck. “I’m real sorry about last night, I didn’t mean to-“

“Don’t worry about it Denki. It’s forgotten.” he waves his hand dismissively, showing that there's no harm done, but Denki still looks fairly guilty. Izuku doesn’t know how to tell him it really is okay, but he doesn’t have to, because Denki nods quickly and walks off, heading back to wherever he had appeared from. Izuku figures that will be the end of it, that it will go unmentioned from now on.

Considering he keeps losing his phone and then finding it fully charged, aware of Denki’s eyes on him, he guesses Denki won't be giving up any time soon.

He eats quickly, clearing his bowl and clearing it away. He heads outside on his own, rubbing his face in an attempt to chase away his tiredness, but it does nothing to help, and he gives up quickly. His dad joins him, looking down at him as he moves his hair out of his eyes. It reminds Izuku that he should ask to be taken for a haircut, his own hair is starting to fall into his eyes again. The thought distracts him, and he blinks at his dad who’s staring at him. “Say what?”

“..are you nervous about your training kid?”

Izuku shakes his head. He’s not, he just doesn’t want them to realise he’s been training things that he shouldn’t be without his dad, or more accurately, Eraserheads supervision. He could probably get in a lot of trouble for that.

He could definitely get in a lot of trouble for that.

“No, just curious. What will I be doing?”

“I wanna see how good your nose is. Useful in case you want to look into specialising in search and rescue. I know you’re interested in the underground, but it’ll be good to cover both.”

Izuku nods. He should be able to do whatever is perfectly fine, so he’s not worried at all now.

“What were you thinking about?”

Izuku snorts and smiles at his dad, who smiles right back. “Getting a haircut.”

His dad snorts softly, shaking his head and nodding. “Of course. When we get home I’ll take you kid.”

It doesn’t take much longer for the rest of the class to join them, Hitoshi included, who stands at his side, linking their pinkies together while he listens to Aizawa talk about each of the tasks they’ll be doing to strengthen and learn about their quirks.

“Izuku. You’ll be finding lost people basically.”

“..like the dogs.”

“Like the dogs.”

Izuku stares, but he figures it’ll be an easy day.

It is not an easy day.

The first three times he digs one of the heroes from mountains of dirt and finds them in caves is fun. The rest of the day ends up being repetitive, his coat is caked with dirt and no matter how hard he shakes his fur, the beads of hard dirt stick to him like they’ve been glued on. He smells of wet dog, and he hates it. He huffs as he lays down, looking up when Tiger approaches him. 

“Ragdoll tells us you’re on the brink of exhaustion by now. Apparently that makes the search more desperate.”

Izuku stares. He doesn’t quite understand what Tiger is trying to get across, but it's making him feel uneasy.

“She said you were good, stripped emotion from the search.”

Izuku looks around. He stands, eyes wide as a soft whimper escapes him. He can't see his dad, and he can't see Toshi.

“She wants to see how good you do when feelings are involved.”

Izuku growls, snapping his teeth as he takes off, blindly chasing scents that he knows are older rather than fresh. Logically, he knows that they had to have asked his dad and Hitoshi to take part in this. He can't let it sink in though, his head tells him that they’re gone, that he has to find them, keep them safe.

He pants heavily, pausing to breathe. He presses his nose close to the floor, moving slowly. He knows he can’t help them if he’s panicking. He slows, keeping a steady pace as he follows the smell of coffee and the streets that leaches into his dad’s clothes. He follows it to a pile of rubble, and he carefully digs through, careful not to shift the stones and dirt and crush his father and boyfriend. He can hear their breathing, and he’s able to dig enough for them to get out. 

He’s decided he fucking hates this camp.

They’re left alone to cook on their own for dinner, and Izuku works silently as he chops the vegetables. Hitoshi watches him, sighing softly. “Are you mad that Aizawa asked them to use us as a training method?”

“Yes. stop talking. I'm chopping food.”

“Zuzu-”

Izuku drops the knife, ignoring the clatter as it hits the counter. He turns to Hitoshi, staring hard. “I am aware that it was a training exercise, I am very aware of that. I came here to train my quirk, not drag my boyfriend and father out of a dangerous pile of rubble after dragging people, dolls, and sticks out of mud, caves and rubble all day.” Hitoshi doesn't respond, but he nods, and Izuku turns on his heel and leaves. He knows he’s being slightly overdramatic, but the last time his family were in real danger and he couldn’t see them, his dad's elbow decayed and flaked away, he got his ribs shattered into dust and All Might tried to have him arrested for being a villain. Forgive his dramatics, he’s not built for these kinds of situations. 

He walks up the paths he had trekked all day, pausing when he sees the small boy that had stared at him during their dinner the night before. “You’re Kota right?”

The kid nods, staring at him. Izuku sighs, figuring that this is as far as the conversation will go. “Is that man your dad? The hero?”

“He is.” Izuku sits next to him, watching the tops of the trees sway gently. “Why do you ask?”

“He’ll die someday, you know. Heroes always do. Why would you want to be a hero?” 

Izuku looks across to the kid, blinking once. It was rude, sure, but Izuku figures there’s likely a backstory that explains the kids reaction. He figures honesty is best. “I always wanted to be a hero. I’ve never wanted anything else.”

“So what? Wanted to follow your dad’s footsteps?”

Izuku smiles softly as he shakes his head. “No. My dad only adopted me recently. I was quirkless most of my childhood, so I just wanted to be able to help people.”

“Then what about your real dad? Is he dead?”

“No. Just gone. But I don’t mind, it means that I got to be with the family that matters.”

Kota sits quietly for a moment, staring at the trees. He twists his fingers, then tugs at the hem of his shorts. “Then how do you get a second try? Why do you get to have good parents a second time, while mine are just gone?”

“Your parents saved people Kota.”

“And it cost them their lives.”

“Yes, it did. For that I'm sorry. You should never have to deal with that.”

They sit in silence, Kota covering his mouth to muffle his soft cries. Izuku pretends he doesn’t hear him. He leaves soon after, following Kota down the mountain. They don’t speak as they part ways, and Izuku can only hope that some of Kota’s hatred has diminished. 

The next night, Izuku drags his feet to dinner after training. His muscles hurt, today's lesson focused on half shifting. He’s so tired that he doesn't even bother to shift back, but he’s not used to the tail that keeps bumping into things and the ears that sit atop his head. He isn’t exactly fond of them, but he’s just so tired. He looks at Hitoshi, watching with his eyes half closed as he chops the vegetables, not letting Izuku anywhere near the chopping board and knives. Izuku gives up even trying to help, slumping over onto four paws as he walks off, and he finds himself walking to join Kota again. 

“You’re him aren’t you? This is your quirk.”

Izuku huffs softly, nodding his head. He lays down, curling up as he breathes softly, his breath still slightly ragged from his workout today. 

“Do you miss them? Your family? The real ones.” 

Izuku stares, sighing as he lets his body shift back to being human, this time minus the tail. “No. Not really. I miss before, when I was a little boy, the kindness then had been real, but as I got older it stopped. But I would never choose my biological parents over my parents now.” 

Kota turns to face him, his knees pulled to his chest as he sits opposite him on the dirt, the sceptical look on his face tells Izuku that he’s still not sure. “Even if it was like before? When it was nice?”

Izuku smiles, the curiosity is refreshing, it means Kota is willing to learn, to adapt and grow, even heal. If sharing personal information will help Kota, Izuku will do it. “I wouldn’t give up my family for the world. They mean everything to me.”

“But I saw you last night and today. You’re mad at them.”

“Hmm, sort of. I’m not mad at them. I’m mad at the situation I was put in, and I don’t know how else to show them how scared I was.”

Kota looks confused now, squinting and tilting his head. “Why don’t you just tell them?”

“That’s a good question Kota.”

They sit in silence for a while, and Izuku is about to ask if Kota is coming for dinner when he hears something moving behind them. He hops from his sitting position into a crouch, staring at where he had heard the noise. A muscular figure steps around the corner, spiky blond hair and a deep scar over his eye. Izuku recognises him immediately. He growls lowly as he drags the back of Kota’s collar, dragging him behind himself in a protective gesture, one he’s only ever used for his pack.

Kota is pack now, whether they like it or not.

Muscular grins, head tilted back to jut out his chin. He points at Izuku, flexing his arm as it stretches out towards them. “Look at that. I bet I'm the first person to find one of the names on the list. The kid isn’t on it, but ill make you a deal and kill him anyway.” 

Izuku growls louder, and he can hear Kota’s breathing behind him. It’s too quick, shallow and it sounds wet and ragged. He can feel Kota curling his fingers in his shirt, “mama.. Papa.. you-” he tugs on Izuku’s shirt as if to pull him away from muscular. Muscular doesn’t stop approaching, ignoring Izuku’s growl as he laughs. 

“Midoriya Izuku. First on the list and the greatest priority for this mission. I’ll drag you back once I'm done with the kid.”

Izuku stands, his canines on display as he snarls. “It’s Aizawa, bitch.”

He launches himself forward, shifting as he throws himself. Muscular lifts his arm as Izuku snaps his teeth around it, throwing Izuku across the dirt. He lands with a yelp, but quickly gets back on his feet, grabbing at Musculars ankles, tripping him up and dragging him away from Kota. He yelps when Muscular connects his free foot with Izuku’s muzzle, but he digs his teeth in and keeps dragging him. Muscular grips into the dirt, and Izuku shakes his head to tear at the skin, making Muscular shout as he uses his quirk, tearing away from Izuku. He wobbles, but stands tall as he sneers at Izuku. “You mutt bastard.” he hisses, the muscles in his arms growing and flexing. Izuku snaps his teeth and barks, growling. 

“Alright mongrel, let's play.”

Izuku flies through the air a second time, and he’s fairly certain that when he connects with the side of the mountain that he’s broken something. He’s not exactly sure what exactly, but his whole left side burns. He pushes himself up, growling. His teeth lock around the villain's hand, and it earns him a punch in the head, his legs immediately folding under him. He can feel something wet coating his head, and he’s not stupid enough to hope that it’s not blood. He isn’t exactly hopeful that he’s going to get out of this in one piece. He backs up as muscular approaches, growling and snapping his teeth. 

Muscular swings, and Izuku ducks, his ears being clipped by the villain's skin. Muscular grabs the scruff of Izuku’s neck, pushing Izuku into the ground as he tries to bite at him. Muscular pushes harder, laughing as Izuku snaps his teeth uselessly.

“Yeah! Yeah! I’m gonna crush you!”

Izuku feels his hind legs buckle, and with them his front legs give out. He hits the ground, listening to Muscular’s laughs above him. 

“Stop it!”

Izuku feels the water drip off Musculars skin, seeping into his fur. He can hear Kota, and just the reminder is enough, enough to make him slide his paws under himself, pushing himself up as hard as he can, his mangled left side burning as his skin starts to shift, his body growing as he growls, and Izuku recognises the pull that comes with when he had been experimenting with the bigger wolf. Right now, he can't afford to lose control. Kota needs him to defeat Muscular, to keep him safe, and that’s what Izuku will do. He stands tall over Muscular, his lips curled back as Muscular takes a wide eyed step back, clearly not expecting Izuku to get so much bigger. Izuku launches forward, this time his teeth hit their mark and he locks his jaw around Musculars throat, biting down until he hears it snap. He stumbles backwards, his ass hitting the ground, human once more as he gasps for breath. 

“Kota. Are you alright?”

Kota doesn't answer him. Instead, he’s staring at Izuku, at his shredded shirt that’s soaked with blood, the thick stream of it that runs from somewhere in his hair down the side of his face, only just missing his eye, the wounds that are seeping from him being thrown across the gravel and dirt. Then of course, the fact that his ribs are already turning a dark blue.

The icing on the cake just happens to be when he tries too hard to suck in a breath and he coughs, and Kota watches his hand come away from his mouth wet with blood.

Izuku can’t protect Kota like this. He has to get him back to the camp, and he’s praying that whatever the smoke he can smell is coming from isnt the camp. 

“ Kota. Are you alright?”

The boy nods, and Izuku finds himself nodding with him. “Alright, I'm gonna turn into a wolf again and you can ride on my back, okay? I’ll make sure you’re safe Kota.”

Izuku barrels through the trees, breathing ragged as he struggles to suck in a breath. He keeps moving as fast as he can, but the weight of Kota on his shattered body isn’t helping. He finds out that the smoke is from the bright blue fire, the flames licking up and over the trees as he keeps Kota far enough from them that he won't be burnt.

“Izuku, look”

Izuku sees his dad running on the path, and he shifts back, Kota yelping as the position changes and he’s suddenly being piggybacked. He skids in front of his dad, ignoring his attempts to speak as he starts. He can't slow down, he’s afraid to, because he knows if he stops to listen, his body won’t start again. 

“Can you look after Kota? I need to find Hitoshi and Shoto. Gotta go.”

“Izuku.” 

“Yeah dad.”

“I love you kid. Be careful. Please. ”  

Izuku’s whole body freezes. His dad knows that he’ll never be able to stop him from going, but he didn’t expect that his dad would be scared he wouldn’t come back. 

Somewhere deep down, he knows he isn’t coming back. So he smiles, sweet and innocent as if he isn't coated with blood and just killed a man. 

“I love you dad. I’ll be right back, don’t worry about it.”

Izuku is back on four paws and bounding away before his dad can respond, but he hears his dad lift Kota, talking softly with him. that ‘s enough for him to push on.

Izuku runs into Shoto first. 

Literally.

He skids across the ground for the third time that night, the consequence for how hard he threw himself to the side to avoid hitting Shoto hard enough to topple him over. He groans softly, his side burning at the hit. He sees Shoto scramble over to him, wide eyed. “Izuku what happened to you-”

He pushes himself up, shifting so he can talk to Shoto. “Doesn’t matter, where’s Toshi?” 

Shoto shakes his head, helping Izuku onto his feet. “No idea, if I had to guess, he’s probably further down the trail.”

Izuku nods as he takes off down the path, Shoto close behind him. He’s starting to get nervous when he finally sees the purple hair, and he crashes awkwardly into his boyfriend. “Toshi, shit, what are you still doing out here?”

Hitoshi pulls him close, hugging him carefully. “You fucking scared me, you left at dinner and never came back where the fuck were you?”

Izuku winces, but he holds Hitoshi tight. “Talk about it later we gotta go Toshi, I don’t exactly want to be in a burning forest.” Hitoshi nods and they all run together, and they’re so, so close when Hitoshi’s scent disappears from beside him. He swivels around, watching the villain above them twirl a marble between his fingers.

“Where’s Hitoshi you bastard.” he sneers, his body tired and sore, and he has to suppress a cough, the blood that was going to come up with it lines his throat. 

“I took him with my magic.”

Izuku just stares, not quite sure how he’s supposed to counter that. He tilts his head, squinting. The dried blood on his face pulls and peels at the action, but he pays it no mind as he pulls his lips back. “Well, give him back. ” 

Shoto rushes forward, ice shooting from the ground and up through the trees, but the man is gone, then so is Shoto. Izuku yelps, paws hitting the ground as he runs after the man who has almost half of his pack. The man moves fast, and Izuku has to push his broken body to its limits to keep up with him, something he could do in his sleep when he was healthy and not worn down by two days of training. The villain stops in a clearing, and all Izuku can think about is the fact that he has no way to actually stop him like this, and he was prepared to chase him until they gave up.

Whoever gave up first echos in his head.

Izuku only realises there's a portal when he curls his lips back to growl, and the villain steps next to another villain. This one is covered in scars, and he takes one of the blue pearls from the other villain with a smirk. Izuku can see it's the one containing Shoto. He snaps his teeth, and the scarred one jerks his hand back, as if to put himself between Izuku and Shoto. 

“Want to know the best part mutt?”

The scarred villain leans his face towards Izuku, smirking wide.

“Todoroki Shoto isn’t even on the list.”

He chuckles, like what he’s said is genuinely amusing, and Izuku has to bite his tongue so he doesn’t launch forward and get them all killed. 

“We were sent for two people. Shinsou Hitoshi and Midoriya Izuku.”

Izuku growls, standing tall as he shifts back, squaring out his shoulders in a far away hope that it’ll make him look confident. It doesn’t, he’s covered in blood and his eyes are wild, claws dropped along with his canines. He just looks feral.

“Swap them for me.”

The scarred one raises an eyebrow, tilting his head. “Well, it is you that Shigaraki really wants.” he hums. “Deal mutt.”

Izuku takes a shaky step forward, and when the scarred man's hand settles across his nape, he tosses the pearl containing Shoto across the grass. 

“And Toshi too leather face.”

The scarred hand on his nape tightens, but the man laughs and nods. “Of course.” he nods once to the other man, and Izuku watches Hitoshi’s pearl land beside Shoto’s. 

“Turn them back, clown. Now.” 

“A lot of demands for a kid who gave himself up.”

Izuku growls, but he gets what he wants. The masked man snapped his fingers, and Izuku finally stood face to face with Hitoshi and Shoto again.

“Izuku. What have you done.”

Izuku smiles softly at Hitoshi, shrugging. “I protected my pack.”

The villains start to step through the portal, and Hitoshi starts to move forward as Izuku steps back, guided by the hand still on his neck. He watches the panic on Hitoshi’s face, and he feels horrible that he can't soothe it, that he caused it. “I love you Toshi.” it makes Hitoshi pause mid-step, and Izuku’s eyes flick to Shoto. He’s already halfway into the portal, only his face is showing. “Keep him safe Sho, please.”

The portal closes, and Izuku can see he’s in a bar or something similar. The scarred man snorts behind him. “At least you had the sense to tell that freak you loved him. Chances are you won't be seeing him again.”

Izuku slumps his head forward in defeat. “I know that.”

As they sit him in the chair and tie him to it, he grinds his teeth, trying his hardest to choke down the sob that’s bubbling up his throat. 

He looks up when a familiar figure steps in. “Shigaraki.”

Shigaraki grins down at him. “Eraserhead’s runt, Midoriya Izuku.”

Izuku figures if he’s going to be stuck here and potentially die, he’s not wasting time being polite.

“It’s Aizawa, wrinkles. What the fuck do you want with me.”

Shigaraki snorts, shaking his head like it’s obvious. “I want your quirk. Whether you come with it or not is entirely up to you.”

Izuku stares at the floor. He promised he’d be right back. He misses his dad.  

Chapter Text

Shouta is panicking. Izuku should be back with Todoroki and Hitoshi by now, but he hasn’t seen any of them. He’s already squished two false villains tonight, the real one still out there somewhere, he doesn’t need to catch another one while he’s carrying the kid Izuku handed off to him. He had tried to set him down when they got back to the camp, but the boy had shook his head furiously and held on, eyes locked onto the treeline.

Shouta let him stay. After all, he was just as worried about Izuku.

“Do you think he’ll be okay?”

The voice is so quiet that Shouta almost doesn’t hear him. “I think my son is a very strong boy, one who puts his family above all, and that is why he will be okay.”

The boy, Kota, nods and Shouta sits with him, surrounded by the rest of 1-A as they wait. The only ones left to return are Hitoshi, Todoroki and Izuku. Shouta sees the purple hair break through the trees, and he carefully sets Kota down as he rushes over. “Hitoshi-” he freezes when he sees his sons boyfriend crying, his eyes flicking to Todoroki who looks so guilty. He looks between them, and not for the first time, he’s too late. He’s missed Izuku.

“He’s not coming back, is he?”

“No. he’s not.”

“Is he.. is -” he cant say it, but Todoroki seems to understand what he means. 

“We don’t know.” 

That doesn’t make him feel better at all. It makes him feel much, much worse. He slumps, his ass hitting the dirt as he pulls his knees to his chest. “ Fuck.” it a childish manoeuvre, but its the only thing his body can manage right now. He rocks himself back and forth, a hand reaching up to tangle in his hair as he tugs on it. Its an old habit, one Hizashi had helped him curb, especially with Izuku in the house. They’ve seen Izuku reach to tug on his hair on a few occasions, but it isn’t the kind of behaviour that they want to enforce with Izuku when they want to help him. After all, Shouta has more than one small bald spot from where he’d tugged the hair out and it never regrew. He tugs harder, the tears streaming down his face. He knows that he’s supposed to be strong for the kids under his watch, he’s a hero. 

But for right now, he’s just a dad that has to call and tell his husband that their son is gone.

-

Izuku spits a wad of blood at Shigaraki’s feet. He stares up at him, growling. “You can take the quirk from my cold dead hands. Good luck trying to control it if you can take it.”

Shigaraki shakes his head as his lips curl in distaste at the bloody saliva on the floor. “Either you join us, or you die when we take your quirk. Don’t you want to live?”

“Not if it means that I have to give up my pack to do it.”

Izuku gets backhanded for his rudeness. He smirks as he spits another wad of blood, this one containing a tooth.

“My dead mother hits harder than that. Put some effort in raisin.”

Izuku snaps his teeth as the muzzle is fitted to his mouth, his efforts for nothing when they snap a clip into place and his jaw is forced open, unable to close and rendering him useless. They put a bag over his head and leave him there, and Izuku has no idea how long he’s actually been sitting here. He perks up when he hears a familiar voice, but he deflates almost as fast.

His dad is taking the blame for his kidnapping. 

He thrashes in his seat, growling from deep in his chest until finally someone takes the bag off his head. He stares wide eyed at the screen, his dad is freshly shaved and in his suit, his hair tied back as he introduces himself as the teacher of 1-A.

“My name is Aizawa Shouta, I am the homeroom teacher for class 1-A. This week, I supervised a visit to a training camp. This evening, the League of Villains attacked, and attempted to kidnap two students, one of which being their targets. However, a third student, their main target, offered himself in return for the other students to be returned to safety.”

Izuku watches his dad pause, clearing his throat. It’s clear he’s been crying, and it makes guilt swim in his stomach uncomfortably. 

“That student was Aizawa Izuku.”

His dad is flooded with questions, and Izuku can see that he’s panicking slightly. His dad only answers one question, and it makes him slumps his head forward, pain searing through his chest.

“Yes, Izuku is my son.”

Izuku stays silent when they beat him. They laugh and howl as Izuku simply watches his dad on the screen until he’s taken enough of a beating that he can zone out, fading into his own mind. He likes it here, where papa is passing him a mug of hot chocolate, excited for the movie they’ve picked out to watch for the evening. Of course, his dad comes along with a box of cookies, handing them to papa who had caught them eating sweets earlier and scolded them for ruining their dinner. Obviously, he has a packet of Oreo’s hidden, sliding them to Izuku as Papa puts the movie on. Izuku grins, passing an oreo over to his dad before stuffing one in his own mouth, munching away with his cheeks full as he grins.

Izuku is reminded he isn’t at home when a fist cracks against his head, and something hot trails down his arm, and Izuku has to bite his tongue not to throw up at the smell of his own burning flesh. 

But he doesnt make a noise. 

Not even when he’s half dead in his chair, staring at the tv where they’ve paused it on his dad’s face. He sits as his eyes slide shut and his head rolls back, and he realises he cant feel the pain anymore. That’s not a good sign.

Izuku wants his dad.

It takes him three days to become feral. At first he just growls when they look too long or approach him, then he tries to snap his teeth, snarling at them. He gets in real trouble when his teeth snap hard enough to break the cheap muzzle and snap around Shigaraki’s arm, and the scarred man, Dabi, punches him hard enough to make him dizzy and let go of Shigaraki’s arm.  When they realise that the beatings aren’t beating him into compliance, just making him more feral. They lay off, choosing a different approach.

It’s day five when he hears his father again, and this time he’s not wearing a blindfold, so he see’s everything from the start. His father looks ragged, he’s not clean shaven and his hair is down. He’s not even wearing a suit. His eye bags are worse than Izuku has ever seen them, and he looks defeated. Izuku longs to go to him, to tell him it’s okay, that he misses him and papa and he’s staying strong so he can go home to them. He wants them to know that he misses them just as much as they miss him. He grinds his teeth, the pull in his chest so powerful it hurts him, but he knows with how he’s bound to the chair he’ll dislocate his joints. So he waits for his chance.

It comes on day seven.

He is always let free to eat, but only once a day, and only with Dabi’s hand around his nape, threatening to light him on fire at the smallest flinch. Today however, Dabi is not here. But Shigaraki is, and Shigaraki is easily distracted. He walks away without realising Izuku is still untied, speaking of his master coming this evening. Izuku knows better than to try and take on the League of Villains on his own. 

Breaking out is nothing more than slipping away, being thankful its night while he shifts and disappears into the shadows. But he doesn’t go home just yet, the fear of it was just too easy looming over his head. So to keep his family safe, he goes to the one place he knows better than anyone. He goes back to the streets.

The first night, he’s in too much pain and too paranoid to sleep. His head deafens him with screams of THEY’RE COMING RUN RUN RUN, and no matter how much he whimpers and cries, his head does not relent its attack. He spends the next day curled in a corner, dozing lightly. He’s too afraid to sleep, his body forbidding it just as much as his mind, and its nightfall before he goes searching for food. He comes up empty, but he isn’t bothered, far too paranoid to be worried about anything other than the league of villains.

The consequences of his disappearing act rear their head within the week. He’s half asleep when he hears it, its so clear and almost haunting that he thought he’d been dreaming until he hears the familiar voice that settles chills throughout his spine. He walks slowly until he finds it, only to see the public watching too. There, on every billboard in the city centre is a video of the man Izuku has been hiding from for days.

“Midoriya Izuku. You know who i am and where i am, yet, no one has come to arrest me. You are hiding from the heroes just as much as you are hiding from me, aren’t you runt?”

Izuku can see that people are beginning to recognise him, parting the crowd so he can approach the screen and see it perfectly, and Izuku ignores their whispers, focusing on what he hopes is a nightmare. He almost begs any god there is to let it be nothing but a nightmare, but he knows there is no way a nightmare can mimic or create what he’s feeling right now. He feels that knowledge chip away at his will while he watches the screen.

“Midoriya, you might have been able to escape, but didn’t your time here teach you anything? You offered yourself in place of you little friends. We don’t have you.”

Izuku shifts back, standing shakily on two legs, ignoring the gasps of the crowd around him. He sneers at the screen, watching as Shigaraki stands, walking to two chairs with two people seated, bags over their heads. Shigaraki lifts something, proud smirk on his face as he stands between the two bound people. Izuku can recognise his phone from here, and he can see the gesture for what it is, an invitation. Izuku clears his throat awkwardly, looking at the woman next to him. “May I borrow your phone?”

“Midoriya-“

Izuku grits his teeth, pain searing through his jaw at the movement. “My name is Aizawa. May I please borrow your phone.” He puts his hand out, and the woman nods quickly as she hands it over. He’s quick to dial the number he had so frequently rattled off after his papa had bought him the phone, and he lifts it to his ear as it rings. He watches the crowd turn to watch Shigaraki as the phone in his hand rings out, and he laughs. 

“I knew you were watching, runt.”

He picks up the call, and Izuku wants to throw up at how smug he looks on the screen. Shigaraki puts him on loudspeaker, and Izuku isn’t sure if it’s so the people he’s kidnapped can hear him, or if its so the public can hear him break. Maybe its so his dad can hear him before they come to kill him. He doesn’t really care.

“Hello Midoriya.” 

Hearing the voice through the phone and the speakers at once makes Izuku wince, his voice overbearing and pushing a heavy weight on his chest. He licks his lips nervously, pulling in a breath with too much force. He closes his eyes, listening to Shigaraki breathing on the phone.

“I’ll fucking kill you for this.”

He opens his eyes to see the confusion on Shigaraki’s face, because Izuku is a hero right? Izuku is afraid of him, right? Izuku may throw himself into difficult situations, but he’d never throw himself to die. Right?

“I attacked All Might because he put my family in danger. Do you think you’re more dangerous than him?”

“You’re a broken mess. We beat you for days, you aren’t half the wolf you were when you took on All Might.”

“All might beat me within an inch of my life and muzzled me. You aren’t half the threat he was.”

He can see Shigaraki stumble, and from the laughter in the chair on his left, he knows the villain has Hitoshi. It makes something in him shift, and it only gets worse when Shigaraki seems to snap and pulls the bags off the boys heads. Izuku stares at his boyfriend and his best friend, and he just watches. The silence seems to be worrying Shigaraki, as he looks wildly at whoever is behind the camera. “The fuck are you waiting for mutt?! Fight back!”

“I’m coming for you Shigaraki. If Hitoshi and Shoto are still there when i get there, ill kill you all.” He hung up the phone, taking joy from the flash of panic on Shigaraki’s face, passing the phone back to its owner as he ran off, four paws hitting the ground. The crowd parts for him again, but this time, he is not afraid. 

When he arrives, Shigaraki is standing with four fingers pressed to Hitoshi’s throat, mimicking the way he had stood over him in the shopping mall that day. He looks shaken, a little confused, but Izuku thinks his favourite part is where he thinks he’s still in charge, still thinks he has the upper hand. He stands with his group of villains, and Izuku can see that Shigaraki is using them as a shield. 

“Give them to me, or die.”

The doubt that flickers over Shigaraki’s face is enough to have Izuku take a step forward, a paw hitting the ground rather than a shoe. He’s bigger than normal, but not quite as big as he can be. He accepts it for what it is, a middle ground that holds more power, but allows him to hold more control. He growls loud and low, pawing at the ground as Shigaraki stares at him, like he’s deciding if it’s worth it. Izuku snaps his teeth and sees Shigaraki flinch.

“Same deal as last time. You for them. But this time you give up your quirk.”

It’s Hitoshi who answers for him, wide grin and bright eyes. “How about you die?” 

-

Shouta gets the call to turn on the TV mid day, and he does, confused as to why Nedzu sounds so out of his depth. And Shouta learns fast, because despite not wanting to, he does. Shigaraki is on the TV, talking on the phone and Shouta doesn’t quite understand what he’s watching until he hears his son through the phone, through the TV. He half chokes when he registers his sons words.

“I’ll fucking kill you for this.” 

It’s so far from the boy Izuku had been when he first stayed in their home, when he’d awkwardly shuffled around the living room and let Shouta clean his bloodied snout with a wet washcloth. But yet it's so undeniably Izuku, undeniably his son, that his chest heaves with relief at knowing his kid is alive, and apparently well enough to hand out death threats. But Shouta knows that Izuku is serious, hero status be damned, especially when Hitoshi was involved. So he lifts the phone back to his ear, and he listens to what Nedzu has to say. He grits his teeth, and he agrees with Nedzu.

-

Izuku drags Hitoshi and Shoto out of the building by their collars, the side of his head bleeding, a parting gift from one of the cowards' little friends. A girl who reeked of blood had cut him, her price . Izuku’s only regret is that he didn’t get to kill Shigaraki, easily protected and moved by Kurogiri at the slightest hint of trouble. Well, when Izuku lunged forward with the intent to murder Shigaraki, but it's all the same to Izuku. As he drags his pack across the ground, Izuku can smell his dad, but he doesn’t falter, not until his dad stands in front of him and checks on his pack. 

“Izuku, they’re okay, are you alright?” he feels his dad hold his shoulders, staring at him. Izuku stares back, smiling softly, but eyes hollow. 

“They’re okay? Is Kota okay? Its been a few days-”

“Izuku, its been twelve days.”

He doesn't believe him at first, because that’s not right, he got out this time. But he knows his father is not a liar. He nods, and he leaves it be. He doesn’t say anything, just lets his dad fuss over him, pausing at his ear. “What happened?”

Izuku lets himself be helped into the ambulance, watching how the paramedics uneasily shift around him. It reminds him of the nurse who drugged him, and he cant help but flinch at the memory. “Got cut when i was in there, doesn’t hurt.”

They don’t take him to the hospital thanks to his demands, refusing to go back to that hellhole again. He wont let them touch him, not the paramedics, not his dad, not Shoto and not Hitoshi. Its not that he feels guilty or ashamed this time, he just.. Wants to go home. 

So he waits. He brushes off doctors and worried friends, and he waits. His papa should be at UA now, and he’s proven right when his dad swings the door open and he gets to walk into the living room. He sits, because he already knows his dad will check on him every five minutes if he goes to bed now. He curls up, dozing off, only to be woken not long after by a familiar scent, one that he lets slide under him, holding him close. 

He figures Hitoshi’s mother will be calling to say he can stay again some time soon.

That’s okay. They’re home now.

Chapter Text

Izuku and Hitoshi stay in the living room until papa comes home. He’s half asleep when papa walks through the door, and the contact of a grown man landing roughly on him makes him cough. The weight is quickly removed, and he can see that his dad is holding papa off him, sighing softly. Izuku laughs, ignoring the way his bones groan and protest to the effort, because he’s so happy to be around his family again that he doesn’t even mind the pains. He knows he should be careful, he’s taken quite a beating from the league of villains and the attack at the camp, his body broken and bones cracked, but the adrenaline to keep surviving had kept him going, and he’s not exactly sure when it’s going to wear off. His papa is crying, looking him up and down to see his injuries, and when Izuku stands on wobbly feet, he lets his papa and dad check him properly. He hadn’t wanted to be touched before, but with the scent of his pack surrounding him, he can’t help but relax, letting them tug off his ratty shirt to get a good look at him. Apparently he doesn’t look so good, because his papa has to leave, returning to his bedroom, and his dad makes a call. Izuku can’t hear who he’s talking too, too focused on the soft cries his papa is making down the hall. But it’s okay. Izuku is home now. 

They let him sleep, but he keeps waking every so often, phantom pains kissing his skin. The worst is the one on his arm, the smell of his own burning skin haunting him in his light sleep. Hitoshi hums softly in an attempt to soothe him, and his dad finds Izuku’s capture scarf, placing it around his shoulders as he sits on the coffee table that is parallel with the couch, carding his fingers through Izuku’s hair as Hitoshi presses soft kisses to his temples, whispering softly between each kiss that “it’s alright Izuku.” And “we’ve got you love.” And Izuku holds tight to them both, letting them comfort him until he falls into another one of his nightmares. 

When he wakes properly, his papa is cooking. He lays on the couch alone, Hitoshi and his dad in the kitchen talking softly with papa. It gives Izuku a moment to reflect, to think on everything that has happened. The first thing he realises, is that he’s left Kota behind. Kota is pack now, and he’s not here. Izuku will have to find him. He stands, the strain of getting his legs under him exhausts him, but Kota is pack, and he can’t rest until he knows all of his pack is safe. He awkwardly shuffles to the door, but Hitoshi gently touches his bare back, shaking his head. He whispers so softly that if Izuku didn’t have his wolf hearing, he wouldn’t have heard him at all. “Your parents can’t take you leaving so soon. Whatever it is, it can wait until you’re better.”

Izuku stares dumbly, but he lets Hitoshi guide him away from the door, and Izuku stumbles into the kitchen, taking comfort from the pack he can get. His dad ruffles his hair and his papa smiles, and he just blinks owlishly up at them, his brain too unfocused to keep up with what is happening right now. He’s fed a big meal that he picks at, quietly excusing himself and heading to his room as Hitoshi follows him. His sleep is continuously interrupted, but he smells recovery girl after his third nightmare, and he smiles tiredly at her, Hitoshi’s fingers scratching at his scalp making him purr and pulling him towards sleep. She laughs softly as she kisses his forehead, and Izuku doesn’t need Hitoshi’s help to succumb to sleep this time, but the attention is appreciated all the same, his deep rumble continuing on even in his deep sleep. 

A look at Hitoshi’s phone when he wakes, tells him he’s been asleep more than 24 hours. He doesn’t know where his own phone is, probably destroyed by Shigaraki after he’d called for Izuku on live Tv, and Izuku feels the guilt at wasting money pool in his stomach as he stands, his bed empty. Hitoshi’s scent still lingers, so either he must be talking to his dad or papa, but Izuku has to leave today. He needs to check on Kota. he grabs for a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, tugging them on over his head, glad that the searing pain has been replaced by a dull ache. He steps into the livingroom barefoot, eyes landing on Hitoshi before they skip to his dad. “You’re looking better. How… are you?”

“Better than I should be. I have to go out today.”

His dad frowns, shaking his head. “No, you have to rest, Recovery girl said-”

Izuku stares at his dad, it’s probably the first time in his life he hasn’t backed down to his fathers demands. “I wasn’t asking. I’m telling you, I have to go out today.”

His dad stops, staring right back, unused to his defiance. “Where?”

“The camp.”

His papa appears in the doorway, eyes flicking between Izuku and his dad, eyebrow raised. It’s strange, normally Izuku is so willing to listen to his dad, loyal and unquestioning, but this time, he’s straight faced and unwavering, shoulders squared. Everyone can see he’s nothing but a shell right now, that he needs to take time, but he’s willing to die on this hill, and Hizashi watches his husband crumble, looking away. “Then I’ll take you.”

“It’s faster if I go alone.”

Shouta’s eyes flick to his son, and he tries not to let it show how upset and frustrated he is. “This is non-negotiable Izuku. Either we take you, or you don’t go at all.” He watches the shift in his son, watches him deflate and grow tired, nodding as he shuffles off to find socks and shoes. His eyes track to Hitoshi, recalling what they’d talked about when Izuku had been asleep.

“So uh- old man? I gotta tell you somethin’. When Izuku was having those nightmares on the couch, he was mumbling about his pack, and then when I went to get him for dinner, he was almost half way to the front door. I think there’s someone else that he’s added to his pack.”

Shouta will be damned before he lets his kid disappear again, so he grabs his car keys, watching Izuku shuffle timidly to the front door with Hitoshi behind him, Hizashi locking up behind them after grabbing his coat.

Izuku taps his knee for the whole journey, his other hand clasped with Hitoshi’s. He tracks everything with his eyes, and when they start to approach familiar dirt roads, Izuku rolls his window down so he can smell better. It’s been more than two weeks, but he can still smell the smoke and ash, and when they’re close enough that Izuku can’t stand being confined anymore, he begs his dad to let him run the rest of the way. 

After all, he can’t even wear his seatbelt anymore, it’s probably safer for him to run. 

“You tell me why you can’t wear your seatbelt, i’ll let you run.”

“They strapped me to a chair when they beat me. Can I run now?”

Izuku hears the choked inhale from his dad, the soft gasp from his papa. He sees the guilt on Hitoshi’s face. He doesn’t know why they’re so upset, he’s home now after all. But his dad pulls over and Izuku happily barrels out of the car, small smile in place. He hops from foot to foot, happy to have this small slice of freedom. He shifts easily, stretching out his lanky body and shaking his fur, pushing his wet nose to his dads window as a thank you before taking off, bounding as hard as his aching body can take. He skids to a stop, yipping at the car he’d been a passenger in, and it takes a moment, and Hitoshi leaning his head out the window to ask a question, for his dad to understand what Izuku wants. 

Izuku races his pack to the camp building, tail wagging when he wins. He can hear Hitoshi laughing, and his tail only wags harder. Even his dad and papa look a little happier now, Izuku’s preserved childish nature still being intact seems to soothe them. Izuku leaves them at the car to speak to the approaching heroes, and he sticks his nose down to try and track the reason he’s here. He trots through the forest, stumbling slightly when he realises he’s heading to where he killed muscular. He slows down when he sees Kota, the boy doesn’t sense him at all, and Izuku is scared he’ll scare him. He huffs softly, wincing when Kota jumps, but the boy turns, hands raised like he’s ready to use his quirk, and Izuku is so proud. He huffs again, and Kota stares wide eyed, quickly scrambling to his feet to run over, slamming into Izuku’s legs. “You’re alive! I saw the bad man on Tv! I heard you, did you get him? You came back to see me!” Izuku ducks his head down to mimic a hug, rumbling softly. Its a lot of statements so Izuku shifts back, smiling softly at Kota. 

“Of course I came back. You’re pack.” He grins as Kota’s eyes light up, his face splitting into a large smile. Izuku sits with him and they talk, and he tugs nervously at his fingers as he tells Kota what happened after he left. He leaves out the part where he was beaten, but he tells the boy of his escape, and Kota tells him about how he’d seen Shigaraki on the Tv, and he’d heard Izuku’s promise to kill him. Izuku had smiled sheepishly at that, apologising for being unheroic, but Kota had grinned, so wide and fearless, and told Izuku that he was a real hero. Izuku had quickly wiped his eyes with the back of his hands at that one.

Izuku trotted through the forest again, this time with Kota on his back, ear flicking or yipping softly when Kota’s conversation called for it. The adults had moved inside, leaving a door open for Izuku to squeeze through, so he crouched a little to protect Kota’s head, walking into the building. They’re sitting around a table, and Izuku crouches to let Kota down, then shifts back when he’s safely off. He approaches his dad, smiling softly when Hitoshi approaches him and presses a kiss to his hairline, taking his hand as they sit at the table. Izuku smiles up at his dad, who smiles back, tilting his head. “You came for Kota.”

“He’s pack.”

His dads smile grows, and he nods softly, a soft look in his eyes that reminds Izuku of the beginning, offered up ham and using his dads lap as a pillow. He’s not paying attention to the heroes conversation, happy to let the words wash over him, eyes dropping to where Hitoshi is holding his hand, his thumb rubbing soft circles in the back of Izuku’s hand. 

Izuku doesn’t mind when papa says they have to go, happy to follow Hitoshi to the car. He hears Kota before he sees him, but he lets the boy smack into his back, wrapping his arms around Izuku’s middle. Izuku smiles at how careful he is with the hug despite how hard he’d ran into him. “You’ll come visit again, right big bro?” Izuku stills slightly, eyes widening, and even his parents and the other heroes have stopped, swivelling around to watch them. Izuku carefully turns in Kota’s grip, patting Kota’s head to make him look up. Kota’s eyes are watery, like he’s afraid of rejection, and it makes Izuku feel so soft and vulnerable, so he hugs Kota tight, nodding. 

“Of course I will, Kota.”

When Izuku gets in the car, Kota isn’t just pack. He’s his brother. Izuku wouldn’t have it any other way.

–

Izuku stands in front of the mirror, and the familiarity makes him shudder. He holds the scissors in his hands, and before he can even grasp the first strand of hair, his dad is taking the scissors gently, running his hands through messy curls and starting to cut off the long hair, smiling softly at Izuku every time their eyes meet in the mirror. Papa joins them halfway through, his small chuckle making both father and son look over at him, and Izuku only smiles when he sees that papa has taken a picture of them. He looks back to the mirror, letting his dad finish up, and when papa turns to leave, Izuku stops him by gently grabbing his wrist. He feels childish for his request, but as he mumbles it out softly, his papa only kisses his freshly cut curls and whispers, “I’d love to baby.” So Izuku smiles, stripping down to his boxers and climbing awkwardly into the tub, his papa running the warm water to wet his hair. Izuku rumbles a loud purr while his papa washes his curls, and he doesn’t even mind when Hitoshi comes to sit on the edge of the tub, laughing softly at his too loud purr and closed eyes.

His papa is rinsing his hair when he takes a soft breath, watching the dirty water slip down the drain. He’s thinking of the time they’d talked on the roof, and everything that has happened since then. “Papa?”

“Yeah baby?”

“I’ll do it.”

“Do what Izuku?”

“See the quirk specialist to help me.”

Papa presses a kiss to his soaked head, nodding softly. “Thank you Izuku.”

Izuku shifts to sleep that night, but only so he can be big enough to touch his whole pack at once, their scents clinging to his fur as he drifts to sleep, this time, the nightmares don’t come to get him. Afterall, he’s finally home.

Chapter Text

The quirk specialist is strange in a way that Izuku can’t explain, even the headphones and Hitoshi can’t soothe his nerves. He fidgets and rubs his palms over his trousers, clicking his tongue softly to distract himself as one hand reaches up to twirl his curls and pull gently. They’re shorter now, his dad’s cutting skills not as good as papa’s, but Izuku doesn’t mind. The specialist looks closely at him, reads over the police and hero reports of everything that has happened to him, how he reacted and responded to each situation. Then he sighs softly, looking at his dads. “I need to see the quirk.” 

Izuku doesn’t like that he’s being ignored, and by the way Hitoshi squeezes his hand softly, he agrees. Izuku pulls his lips back in frustration, but shakes it off quickly, tilting his head. “Why?”

The doctor looks at him, eyes a little wide. “For your reaction to circumstances, it’s surprising you speak to me.”

“I killed people. That doesn’t mean I forgot how to carry a civil conversation.” 

The doctor smiles a little, nodding as he pushes his hair back out of his eyes that are already framed with too thick glasses for someone so young. Izuku thinks they look slightly ridiculous. He sets down the files, smile pure and honest. Izuku likes it. He figures he can trust this doctor. “Alright then. Izuku, would you allow me to see your quirk? I’d like to run a few reaction tests of my own. However, my findings will be available for the police to access in the event you.. have an episode again. They will know if you truly cannot help it, or if you are acting maliciously.”

Izuku pulls harshly at his thumbs, and his dad gently takes his hands. He doesn’t want to take this test and have them tell him that he’s a monster, that he’s been doing it for some sort of sick satisfaction this whole time. He knows he’s doing it for his pack, but he’s afraid. What if they take him? He can’t leave his pack behind. His dad squeezes his hands, and Izuku looks at him, looks closely like it might be the last time and he has to remember everything before he nods, looking at the doctor. After all, they’d come all this way, he may as well let himself be tested. He’s led into a room, and when they stick little stickers to his head he grumbles unhappily, but he lets them anyway. He sighs softly and he’s only waiting a minute before he hears the doctor's voice over the speaker in the room. “Alright Izuku. I want to see the difference in reaction between you with the quirk active and when it’s not okay? So don’t shift this time okay?”

Izuku nods as he waits, staring at the door. He can’t hear anything, the rooms and hallways soundproofed and it makes his head feel like it’s full of cotton, but the sound proofing doesn’t dull the smell. He knows the test hasn’t even started yet, but he can smell the copper that hangs in the air, and he knows it belongs to his papa. He growls low as he puffs up his chest, the human growl is broken and not very deep, but it rumbles in his chest as he stares at the door. The next is Hitoshi, the smell of his blood makes Izuku feel ill, and he can’t help it when he shifts, growling loudly and barking. He can hear the doctor, confused and asking why Izuku is a wolf when he confirmed he wouldn’t shift. 

His dad’s blood is the scent that throws him over the edge. He snaps his teeth as rushes forward, head ramming into the door. The door rattles loudly, and Izuku tries to ram it down again. It’s his sixth try before the door caves down around him, and he snarls as he watches the workers stumble away in fear. His pack stand with their hands up, and Izuku realises his mistake immediately. He shifts back, taking his parents hands as he looks at Hitoshi’s. It’s just one drop. One pin prick of blood. “Shit. Shit, shit, shit.” He’s worse than he thought he was, dangerous. He looks up when he hears the doctor approaching, a nervous look on his face. Izuku let’s go of his pack, refusing to look them in the eye. “Whatever I have to do. I’ll do it. I’m sorry.”

“Izuku. That’s animal instinct. We can help you lessen it a little, but.. we can’t cure you.” 

Izuku nods slowly. “I see.”

-

Izuku watches his pack tread on eggshells until he can’t take it anymore. He’s not allowed back to school, he’s not allowed out of the house and he's not allowed to go on patrol with his dad anymore. He feels guilty as he swings himself out of the bathroom window, but he wants to see the only member of his pack that doesn’t know what to do with him. 

Kota’s happiness is contagious, refreshing. They race each other, Izuku bouncing around on four lanky legs as he lets Kota win every time, and Kota is so pleased that Izuku is here that he doesn’t even care that he’s winning the races. Kota says he wants to try a theory, and Izuku cocks his head to the side and huffs, sitting down as his tail beats the ground steadily. 

Kota picks up a stick the size of his arm. 

He tosses it as far as he can, which isn’t all that far, but it’s still a good throw for a child so small. 

Izuku doesn’t even realise why Kota is laughing until he puts the stick in Kota’s hands, tail wagging back and forth so hard his back his wiggling. He blinks, turning around, to see that he’d retrieved the stick. Kota made him play fetch. 

He thinks he should be embarrassed by it, but Kota throws the stick again, and Izuku barrels after it like a puppy that still isn’t sure how its legs work. 

It’s nightfall by the time his dad appears, and Kota, as young as he is, takes his cue to leave, but more before he hugs Izuku, fists grasping at his fur childishly. It makes Izuku rumble softly as he nudges Kota’s head with his damp nose, ushering him on like a mother would. Kota doesn’t speak to his dad, and Izuku thinks that’s okay. He stays a wolf until Kota is gone, and his day just sits quietly by him. Even then, it takes a moment before he’s willing to leave the wolf’s skin, but he does, and he sits on the dirt beside his dad, fingers picking at a bundle of hairs he’d left as a wolf. It was time for his shed, he’d forgotten about it. 

“Why didn’t you say you were leaving?”

Izuku shrugs. His pack know that he’ll never leave them again, not really, so they don’t worry that he’s leaving to the street anymore. Izuku thinks that they just worry he’s gone off and got himself killed, or killed someone else. “Needed a day.”

“You needed an outsider who wasn’t an outsider.”

Izuku looks over at his dad then, and he doesn’t see any ill intent, any anger, so he nods. Because that had been exactly what he needed. Kota, who knew he’d gone to Shigaraki to kill him, knew he’d killed before, watched him kill before, but still looked at him like he hung the moon and stars himself. The rest of his pack didn’t look at him like that, not anymore. Not since they knew he couldn’t be cured.

“Izuku. I need you to look at me. Really look at me. What do you see?”

Izuku does what he’s told. He always does what he’s told. So he looks, he looks as much as he can, no matter how scared he is of what he’ll see when he really looks. His dad looks tired. It’s the first thing he sees. But not no sleep tired, life tired. Like he’s shouldered a burden one too many, and it’s starting to make his knees buckle under the pressure. His face is straight, almost emotionless. But it often is, especially when he teaches. Izuku looks harder. He looks at his eyes, sees the way his dad is looking at him, and Izuku can see the relief and love there, the contentment at what he has. Izuku can see how his dad is relaxed now, but in a way that shows he’s probably been strung tight all day, probably since they realised Izuku had slipped out the window. It’s all too much and not enough, and Izuku doesn’t know what to do. 

“I see my dad.”

-

Shouta had been scared. The window had been wide open, Izuku was gone, and no one had heard him leave. Hitoshi had been called home for the day, and Izuku had been practically silent since he left, so Shouta had left him be, and when he checked him last, he’d been fast asleep curled up in his bed. 

He’d gone to Hitoshi first, banging on the door and impatiently waiting on someone to answer, but when Hitoshi himself answered the door, he knew Izuku wasn’t here. There was nowhere else for him to go, and Shouta was getting nervous, twitchy. 

“You check the rest of the pack yet?”

“The rest?”

“Dude. You’re so bad at this.” 

Shouta winced at that, the thought that Hitoshi could take better care of Izuku than he could, Shouta had understood Izuku, but clearly not like Hitoshi had. 

“Sorry old man, I didn’t mean it like that. Look, he’s probably with Kota. The kid looks at him like he’s god and Izuku needs that right now. We remind him of the things he’s done to others. Kota only knows him as a hero, the hero who nearly died to save him. Just.. collect him at night. He needs the day.”

So Shouta does. He goes to the camp as the sun sets, and he treks up the path to the mountain he knows Izuku and Kota have claimed as their little base. He knows his son is here, he can see the paw prints in the dirt, so he keeps moving, and when he arrives he sees Izuku curled around Kota like he’d done so often with Hitoshi. It’s.. relieving to see Izuku act like this. To see him more intact than he has been. Kota seems to soothe him in a way that the rest of them can’t understand, or compete with. But Shouta knows that Izuku holds him higher than everyone else, higher than Hizashi or Hitoshi, and even little Kota. It’s confirmed when Izuku noses the small boy away like a doting mother, and it is confirmed again with four words that make Shouta almost choke on his relief. 

“I see my dad.” 

-

Izuku let’s himself be childish. He takes his dads hand as they walk to the car, staring at the ground. “I want to go back to school.”

“Okay Izuku. Okay.”

The ride home is quiet. So is their arrival in the apartment. Everything is quiet, and it feels wrong, but Izuku can’t help but be thankful for the silence. He sleeps in the livingroom that night, and his dad lets him. He can smell the blanket that’s draped over him, he’d know it a mile away. It still retains the scent of the dirty streets he’d called his home. 

It’s the blanket that his dad threw over him the first night he slept here. Izuku huffs quietly, curling tight into a ball. He doesn’t sleep well, but he’s home, and that’s okay.

-

Izuku stands awkwardly by the door when he returns to UA. He’s not really sure what he’s supposed to do, what the appropriate reaction is. He smells Hitoshi before he sees him, and his boyfriends fingers slide to tangle with his own, and Izuku smiles softly, nodding before he opens the door.

The excitement around his return is deafening, so much so that his dad has to stand behind him, one hand on the back of his neck to ground him. He smiles awkwardly at everyone, assuring them that he’s okay, and “no, I wouldn’t really have killed Shigaraki.” Both his dad and mate flinch then, they know he’s lying. But his classmates are happier like this, to believe he’s innocent, kind. So Izuku keeps letting them think that it’s true. He’s called outside at the end of homeroom, and Izuku blinks slowly as he approaches his dad, trying to figure out what he did wrong. 

“Izuku. Nezu is implementing class dorms. The students and all homeroom teachers will live here, on U.A. grounds.” 

Izuku doesn’t want to leave home. He suspects his face says as much, because his dad looks slightly panicked. “I can have Nezu make an apartment for us on the teachers floor. You can keep living with us, you won’t have to have your own room. You can have one of you want-“

Izuku shakes his head, eyes wide as he shuffled closer to his dad, needing the comfort. “I want to stay with you and papa. I don’t want my own room.” 

“Of course Izuku.”

Izuku reenters the room with his dads capture scarf on his shoulders and his hair ruffled and sticking up. He’s smiling softly, and his papa smiles at him as he takes his seat, continuing the lesson. 

-

The dorms are large, looming. Izuku hates them. They smell too new, unloved, never lived in. Izuku hates the smell, it seeps into his bones and he longs to go home. His dad drops Izuku’s own capture scarf over his head, and Izuku clutches a strand tightly as if the single strand of fabric will ground him. He walks around on auto pilot, but he only lasts a minute before he has to open a window, the new smell too sharp on his nose. He’s given a card to the elevator, one that will let him access the teachers floor, his floor, and he stares at the picture of himself on the card. It’s the ID photo he’d taken when he arrived at UA, his face hollow but bright, big smile on his face that shows off his pronounced canine teeth. He taps the card to the reader in the elevator, watching the numbers change as it rises to his floor. He follows the scent of his dad to their apartment, and he smiles softly when he swings their front door open after scanning his card again. 

The apartment smells like home. 

Izuku finds that he doesn’t mind this change so much as he pins up his Eraserhead posters and sets his figures out on the shelves. Hitoshi comes in then, big grin as he waves his own special ID around, grabbing the last figure in the box to hand to Izuku.

Izuku smiles. Wide and happy, bright like he had smiled in his ID photo. 

The last figure is him, green tipped ears pulled back and fierce, strong. 

Powerful. 

Izuku puts that one in the middle, and he hops down from the chair he’s been balancing on. His room is almost complete, missing only one thing, and his papa walks into the room holding what is left. 

His massive dog bed. 

Izuku grins as he laughs a little, and his papa ruffles his hair before he kisses the short curls. They look at him the same way they had now, and Izuku rumbles softly as he hugs his papa, his dad appearing to hug them both. 

Izuku drags Hitoshi in by his shirt, adding him to the pack hug.

This change isn’t so bad. 

Chapter Text

They’re laying in bed when Hitoshi finally realises what being Izuku’s mate, his partner, means. How it differs from if Izuku hadn’t had an animal quirk. Hitoshi would never give this up, give Izuku up, but he never stopped to question how Izuku saw him until Izuku told him with his own tongue. They’d been curled around each other as they often were. Hitoshi petting Izuku’s short curls as they spoke about heroes and villains. It was silly really, just words to fill the silence. Izuku had said that he felt bad for the villains, most of them being told they had evil quirks and not getting the same opportunities that kids with heroic quirks got. Hitoshi had stilled a little then. 

“I may be a hero in training Toshi, but I’d burn the world to the ground, tear flesh between my teeth and turn my back on heroics if anything happened to you.”

Hitoshi wants to push, to know more. He also doesn’t. Curiosity always wins out though, doesn’t it? “What about your dad?”

“I’d kill them. I’d kill them all Hitoshi. Hero or villain. There’s nothing in this world that could keep them safe.” Izuku is smiling. It’s small and accompanied by a distant look in his eye but Hitoshi knows his boyfriend is telling the truth.

“What if it’s an illness?”

Izuku looks different then. He looks the way he does when he finally comes home after running off on one of his madness missions. When he disappears for hours, days, weeks, months. He always comes home with that look in his eye that shows that he’s seen too much, that no teenager should ever have. 

“I’d find a way to kill that too.”

And Hitoshi understands. Not completely, he’ll never understand completely. But he understands slightly better. He doesn’t speak after that. He doesn’t tell Aizawa. He supposes he doesn’t have to, if the look Aizawa shares with him is any indication, Aizawa heard them. Hitoshi wonders if Aizawa is just as scared for Izuku as he is. 

Shouta wonders the same thing about Hitoshi.

-

The dorms are suffocating, and Izuku spends 90% of their time outside of classes sitting with his head out a window just to be able to smell something that isn’t his classmates and their lives. He tries to mind his own business the best he can, but they really aren’t good at keeping secrets. The smell of his old childhood friend lingers on Kirishima, the smell of Jirou and Denki linger on each other. Iida reeks of Uraraka. Everyone reeks of someone, and Izuku has to pretend he can't smell it off them, or hear them whispering to each other when they think no one is listening. Izuku just hopes they’ll all hurry up and announce it so he can stop throwing his head out a window when the reek of multiple people come off half the amount of people he can see. Eventually he gives up, if he’s not in the apartment or in class he’s outside where the smells are duller. It’s Shoto that realises the problem, and Izuku laughs when he shows up after classes one day with a massive board filled with the class relationships. Izuku wheezes when he sees that Shoto has got them all right, Katsuki and Kirishima included. 

Shoto spends the rest of the day sitting with Izuku, and although Izuku spends a good portion of the first half hour giggling, he’s thankful for the company, and the familiar smell.

“Izuku?”

“Yeah Sho?

“What do I smell like?”

“…Mint Ice pops.”

Izuku laughs himself into tears at Shoto’s face. 

-

Izuku takes up patrols. It’s more instinct than want as he walks around the building on padded paws, silent and alert. His ears flick and move at any noise as he trots along the perimeter of the UA dorms, and it’s clear he’s finally eating enough, training the right amount, because Izuku feels strong, and he knows he’s not thin and wiry anymore. His chest is broad, his body lean and his muscles finally filling out how they should. He’s been training for his provisional hero exams, both as a human and a wolf, but mostly with the capture scarf. He knows how to be a wolf. He’s relied heavily on it for a long time, he knows how to shift while he walks, or even runs. The only thing he doesn’t know about the wolf is the other half, the half that was active when he killed Inko. he doesn’t try to train that half, fear of leaving his family to clean up his mess looms over his head, and he doesn't want to ‘poke the bear’. He trains alone in the beginning, but eventually he turns to his dad with an awkward smile, holding his scarf like it's some secret treasure, and he asks for help. 

His dads movements are fluid and always connect, no thought behind them, his muscle memory and experience leads him, and Izuku finds it difficult to replicate. They’re a week in before his dad sits him down, smiling softly. 

“Izuku. You’re trying to replicate everything as I do it.”

Izuku tilts his head, similar to how he does as a wolf, slightly too far for it to be a human mannerism. He can’t help it exactly, he doesn’t understand where his dad is coming from. Of course he’s trying. He’s been trying this whole time. He can’t keep up, no matter how hard he tries. His dad is Eraserhead. He wants to be just like him, just as good, just as much of a hero. 

“Pup, you can’t be me. You have to make it your own. You may be my son pup, but you are your own hero.”

Izuku smiles, because his dad is right. Izuku isn’t Eraserhead. Izuku is Orthrus. The canine hero, named after a greek hound, a guardian. Izuku would never be his father, but he could be himself.

The training improves after that, Izuku finds that he can manage better with jerky movements that seem unpracticed and uncertain. In reality, they work exactly how he wants them to, the scarf bending to his will under his fingers. His dad says that his movements are good, it will make people underestimate his skill, and Izuku soaks up the praise with a grin that tugs at the old scars across his face. With the provisional exams fast approaching, he’s glad to finally have this one thing going his way. 

- 

Izuku approaches the bus to the provisional exams slowly, counting his fingers as he walks to soothe himself. It does nothing, and Izuku refuses to step on the bus. He’s trained for this, yes, but there’s no guarantee he passes. His worry is pointless when Nezu approaches him, and Izuku hates how defeated he looks. He’s holding an envelope, and it looks so large in his paw. Izuku takes it from him, his name noted on the front in fancy script. 

It’s a rejection letter.

Izuku feels hollow and stupid at his childish belief that they’d ever let him take the hero exams with multiple murders under his belt. Yes, he may be in one of the top hero schools in Japan, he may be the son of two pro heroes, but he’s a murderer, plain and simple. 

The hero commision do not give third, fourth and fifth chances. Izuku would have needed more than that anyway. He’s been warned before, of course he has. Specifically after Inko, but Izuku never learns. He runs, hides, nearly kills himself with how often he decides to give up, but he never learns. He’s been running in circles, never changing his path no matter how many times he promises to. 

Izuku nods to Nezu, and he hands the letter to his dad, who is standing on the steps of the bus, watching him to see what’s taking him so long. His face twists as he reads the letter, and he shakes his head. “No. You haven’t done anything wrong, they can’t just-”

“Do you know how many people i’ve attacked? Alive and dead? The hero commision don’t give second chances.”

He watches as his father accepts the defeat, but tries to usher him onto the bus anyway. Izuku shakes his head, quietly walking away. Hitoshi and his dad don’t follow him, and he’s thankful for it. He walks until he comes across a river, shallow and thin. He recognises it from when he was young, from his days following Katsuki around like he was god. He sits, and he’s not sure what he’s more surprised by. The fact he’s come here for comfort, or the face that Katsuki is already here, fingers dipped in the stream. He doesn’t look up when Izuku sits, but he hums, flicking the water from his fingertips. “What? Heroics getting too boring for you?”

“They don’t let murderers become heroes, Katsuki.” 

Neither of them move after that, and Izuku imagines that they’ve been here long enough that his class are now almost at the exams. He longs to be there with him, but he knows he won’t get another chance.

“I can feel your self loathing from here Deku, what the hell is your problem?”

“How did you do it? Change I mean.”

He watches the surprise flicker over Katsuki’s face, followed by doubt and offence, like Izuku is making fun of him. Finally, it settles on an understanding that Izuku didn’t even know Katsuki possessed. “How many?”

Izuku picked at his nails, not looking up. “Seven.”

“How many did you kill?”

“Three. Four if you add All Might.”

“I changed because I needed to. Being a hero is all I’ve ever wanted Deku. I know it’s the same for you. Can you put being a hero above everything Izuku?”

Izuku sits silently, staring at the water as he tries to think. He doesn’t know why he’s even pretending to think it over. Of course he can’t put his desire to be a hero above his family.

“No.”

“Your family right?”

Katsuki smirks, proud to be right. He may be changed, but he’s still Katsuki.

“Then don’t be a hero. Sure, train to be one, but fight Izuku, fight harder than you ever had to, to get your foot in the fucking door. You hear me? You are Aizawa Izuku, you are a god damn wolf. Why are you controlling yourself? You are the most dangerous person when you walk in any room. It’s about time you start acting like it.”

Izuku chokes on his surprised laugh, slightly mortified when he starts cackling against his will. 

He doesn’t think Katsuki has ever been so straight up with him, and he startles when he sees him smiling right at him. “Izuku. Fight for what you want. I’ve never seen you do anything less.”

Izuku stops laughing, staring at the person who tortured him as a child, but this isn’t  the person who tortured him. This is someone different. Izuku smiles as he nods, standing.

“Thank you, Kacchan.”

-

Izuku barely breaks a sweat as he holds the steady sprint to the exam centre. He makes it just in time to see his class approaching the doors, staring at a student with blood running down his forehead. Izuku trots towards where his dad is standing, pausing when he hears a female voice talking to his dad. “Lets get married!”

Izuku stalks up behind the woman, growling deeply. His chest vibrates with how loud he is, and the woman has the sense to jump away from Izuku, putting her away from his dad. She doesn’t however take the cue, instead sliding up to his dad again, sliding annoyed, awkward glances to Izuku. “If we get married, we can create a family-” Izuku snaps his teeth before he shifts back, still growling. He doesn’t offer his hand, or his usual polite smile. His dad ruffles his hair as Izuku stands in front of him, and only then does the woman stop. “Hi! I’m-”

“Ms. Joke. I know who you are. I’m Aizawa Izuku. Take at least five steps back, or I will bite you.”

Joke seems to decide that she likes not being used as a chew toy, and she takes a few step back before dismissing herself, looking embarrassed and out of place, before heading inside. Izuku turns to his dad, shrugging. 

“I’m here to take the exam.”

Chapter Text

Izuku enters the building proudly, unashamed when he sees the staff recognise him. He is the most dangerous person in this building, and he will not apologise for it. Katsuki had been right. 

Izuku is a monster. It’s about time he acts as such. 

He ignores the stares, the staff asking him to leave. He may not put heroics above his family, but he will still sacrifice his life to save people. He deserves to be here. Of course, he doesn’t expect to scare his way in, but he won’t be taking no as an answer. He states as much to the nervous looking man who tries very politely to escort him away from the premises. Izuku just smiles, tilting his head. 

“I will be taking this exam. It's non-negotiable.”

He gives the guy points, after all, he just… droops his head and nods, shuffling off awkwardly. He squares off his shoulders as he waits, and although he knows he’s too short for that to have any meaning and he likely looks ridiculous, it works. He’s met with the sight of a man walking towards him, and Izuku can practically smell how the tiredness clings to him. He’s exhausted, and Izuku almost feels bad for causing more problems for the man.

Almost.

The man squints at him, staring hard as if having trouble placing his face. His eyes flick to his dad, then back to him, once more to his dad before they finally settle on Izuku. “Aizawa Izuku”

Izuku grins. “The one and only.”

The man looks so tired of him already, that Izuku is actually impressed. He didn’t know someone could look as tired as this. 

“You can take the exam. If you wear a muzzle.”

“No.”

“Doubted it. I really want to line the arena with heroes. One foot out of line? You’re done.”

Izuku offers his hand and the man shakes it. 

“Deal.”

Izuku notices that his dad looks slightly afraid, like Izuku will actually step out of line, and he’ll be captured or killed by heroes. But he’s already sealed the deal, already confirmed that he’s okay with it, and he’s never backed down before. 

Why should he start now?

He heads off to prepare, noticing Hitoshi awkwardly stepping up beside him and Shoto standing watching them a little further back. He smiles at Hitoshi, glad to be joining them. 

“Izuku.. have you noticed your dad isn’t happy about this?”

He shrugs, tilting his head. “Yeah. But I need to do this.” 

“Izuku. There was probably a hundred other things you could have done to get the same result. You just took the fastest and most dangerous route.” 

He stares, not quite sure what angle Hitoshi is trying to work. “I’m sorry?”

“Why do you always choose the option that hurts your family? You know Aizawa is terrified to see you slip up and be sent away, but you agree anyways? We have stood by your side because that’s what family do, and yes, you’ve protected your pack, but when the hell are you going to start thinking about how we feel?”

Izuku isn’t sure how he hadn’t noticed the world falling around him, but oh so suddenly the last piece falls away, and Izuku sees himself. 

He sees that black shaggy wolf staring back at him in the mirror the night he ran away, the nervous hero that had been his favourite awkwardly offering him some ham. He sees how he had been given a home, how he didn;t have to tell them who he was, and they had given him sanctuary willingly anyway.

Thumping his tail and jumping fences twice his height, protecting them through anything, just like they had protected him. The first time he had cried dad. 

Izuku sees it all, and suddenly he doesn’t feel all powerful anymore. He needs to find a middle ground so desperately, to appease his family, to keep himself together, to actually become a hero, but the weight of his own shame threatens to crush him. He hadn’t even stopped to talk to his parents, or Hitoshi. Not even Shoto, who stands staring at him, something close to mild sympathy on his face. Izuku clenches his teeth as he turns his head away, trying to hide his watering eyes. He’s thrown his family aside for what? A childhood dream?

He feels stupid. 

He has an idea, a way to make things right, but it means he’ll disappoint everyone even further.

That’s okay. 

Izuku’s been disappointing them the whole time anyway.

–

Three targets on your body. You get hit, you're out. Eliminate two people. 

Izuku can do that.

He’s on his own from the beginning, and he can see the heroes filing in around the stadium, their eyes locked on him. He’s not really focused on them though. He’s listening to his dad argue with some of them. “This is too much. He’s just a kid, there doesn’t need to be this many of you.”

Izuku looks around, counting the heroes. Theres about fifteen that he can see right now. His dad looks desperate, and he looks over at Izuku as if to tell him to explain because there’s no way you need this many heroes you’re only 16, but Izuku shakes his head slowly. 

Because they haven’t got enough heroes.

Izuku is silent as they wait, the roof falling open and the walls falling flat to show them the arena fully, not just what they could see from inside. It’s huge, and Izuku can use and abuse it all to win. He sticks all three sensors to his stomach, shifts into the wolf, and he takes off. He can hear Joke and his dad talking, and he keeps having to shake off the desire to drag her through the stands and into the arena. He snaps his teeth a few times, but he keeps running, trying to figure out what he’s going to do.

He’s almost out of earshot when he realises what is really going to happen with every kid from UA. 

It’s a goddamn shakedown. They’ve watched everything UA can do, taken notes. They’ll be heading straight for them. 

Izuku keeps to the edges of the arena, trying to figure out how the hell he’s supposed to do this when a ball hits him in the side of the head. It’s some kid he doesn’t know, and with such shit aim, izuku doesn’t even feel bad when he shifts back to pin the kid, pressing a single ball to each sensor. He gets up, stalking away on two legs. All he has to do it get another person, then he’s done.

He almost laughs when he sees members from Jokes class approach him, looking proud of themselves for catching a stray. Izuku drops onto four paws, growling. He can hear one of the heroes shifting above him, but he makes sure to telegraph his movements, allowing him to stay in the game. 

It doesn’t save the boy closest to him, Izuku leaping forward and shifting all at once confusing them, and Izuku has two of his sensors lit up already. Izuku steps back, looking down at the single sensor of his own that shines mockingly at him. He growls between clenched teeth, snapping them to scare him as he lunges forward, too lazy to bother with a real fight when he can just scuffle and win.

Izuku is glad that he touches the boys last sensor a second before he’s able to put out both of Izuku’s. The touch doesn’t register, and Izuku is through to the next round. He nods to the boy out of respect for the fight he put up, and shifts to trot back to the waiting room. 

Shoto is already there, and Hitoshi arrives not long after him. Izuku curls into a corner, amd although they’re all in an awkward place and on the outs, Izuku can smell the scent of coffee and cats, and it’s closely followed by the smell of mint ice pops. His boyfriend and his friend take their usual places, curled up in his coat, and Izuku feels himself relax, his body finally giving itself a break. He’d missed this closeness,and he cursed himself silently for ever putting it aside.

–

The next task is rescue missions. This is easy, something that Izuku won’t even struggle with. His pack surround him, and he’s almost confused. He’s been cruel, selfish and yet here they stand, talking softly about how they can use their skills to save people.

Izuku is to detect survivors. 

Shoto is to reinforce structures with his ice,

And Hitoshi is working on keeping them calm. 

They work as a team flawlessly, Izuku almost feels like a dog, but he’s just happy to be useful. He’ll do anything to keep this.. Fragile peace they have. 

The explosion that blows from their left rattles Izuku’s bones, his hackles rising as he digs his claws into the dirt to settle his panic. It doesn’t help. And in his peripheral vision he can see Hitoshi staring at him, wide eyed and nervous. He can’t see how Shoto is mirroring his reaction, just like his dad across the stadium.

He can’t see them all, but he knows they’re all watching, waiting for him to fall into his selfishness, to run away and destroy the threat. He growls between clenched teeth and looks at Hitoshi for direction, who looks both in awe and terrified. 

“We aren't done rescuing people. Shoto, watch our asses. Zuzu, lets go.”

And Izuku allows it, his hackles raised and teeth clenched, but he trots ahead of them, sniffing out whoever he can find.

–

They all pass. Izuku just nods as the man who had called for the heroes to watch over him rambles about how he had thought Izuku was a great beast, but really turned out to be a rather large dog, and Izuku lets it go, taking his hero licence and walking straight to his dad. He snaps the card in half, handing the broken pieces over to his dad who’s gaping at him like a fish out of water. It takes him a moment to speak, and by the time he does Hitoshi and Shoto have already caught up, and seen his shattered licence. 

“ Izuku you can’t just-” 

“I don’t want to be a hero if it means my family watch me almost kill myself every time I leave the house. You don’t deserve that.”

His dad just stares, and Izuku feels like this wasn’t right, not the perfect way to show just how much his family mean to him, but then his dad dips his head and Izuku hears a soft sniffle. 

His dad is crying.

Izuku feels his dad grip his shoulder, and he’s pulled forward into a tight hug surrounded by his entire class and 1-B, plus the other schools that attended. Even Ms Joke is watching, and Izuku isn’t sure what’s happening. His dad never cries in public, barely ever at home. Only when Izuku does something stupid, something that nearly kills him, but his dad is crying softly into his dirty, rubble covered hair and all Izuku can do is grip him tightly and hope he doesn't get him too dirty.

“Izuku. I will never ask you to give up being a hero. You’re my son, and one day you’ll patrol these streets with me. I love you kid, I just want you to talk to us.”

And Izuku nods his head harshly, his own tears streaming down his face as he promises to start sharing things again. He can do that. 

For the first time, Izuku allows himself to believe that maybe he really can have it all.

Chapter Text

“Sometimes, when I close my eyes at night, and I'm trying to sleep, I can feel them looming over me, while I'm bound to the chair. The smell of something burning makes my nose feel all stuffy, but I can’t get rid of the smell no matter how hard I try.” Izuku pauses for a moment before he raises his hand to the deep, waxy scar that takes up most of his forearm. “It always takes me a second to remember it’s me, I'm the one burning, the smell is my skin being burned by something I can’t see.” He closes his watery eyes, sucking in a ragged breath. “I hear them laugh sometimes, when I’m at home or out on the street, or I can feel Dabi’s hot fingers closed around the nape of my neck. Don’t move, and you live. Eat what you’re given, you live. Be quiet, you live.” 

Izuku opens his eyes, looking up at the woman who sits before him. She’s part of the same practice as his previous quirk doctor, and Izuku likes her a little. He’d promised to start coming to therapy often, as long as his dad was close by. He’d been sitting outside for most of his sessions, but today, Izuku had wanted him in the room. His dad had no idea what had happened to him every time he disappeared, and it was time Izuku started telling him. Izuku could see his dad breathing hard, could see the way his fingers dug into the material of the trousers he wore. He looked… Izuku didn’t actually know how to describe him. He looked like he was grieving. Like this was consuming him from the inside, devouring him. Izuku almost wanted to beg whatever god was out there to let him take it back, to let him start the day over, to not disappoint his dad. 

He stops talking, stops sharing, and the woman, Dr. Kurusu, notices. She smiles softly, and Izuku can start to feel her quirk working. It’s an emotional based quirk, and Izuku can feel his nerves calm as he starts to relax. 

“Izuku, are you afraid?”

“No.”

“Is something the matter?”

“I don’t want to be a disappointment. I shouldn’t need help. I’m training to be a hero.”

Izuku watches his dad stiffen, eyes flicking up to meet his own, staring at each other. Izuku looks away first, eyes falling on his scuffed shoes. They’re worn down, probably need to be replaced. Just another thing he’s doing to be a disappointment. The doctor smiles softly at him, like he’s a wounded dog. “Izuku. You are a hero. Do I need to list the things you have already accomplished?”

Izuku shakes his head. He doesn’t want to hear about the people he’s killed and injured.

When the session is over, he walks to the car silently, before he stops in the car park. He doesn’t want to be restrained to a seat right now, and his dad seems to understand, because he ruffles Izuku’s untamed curls and nods. They walk down the street together, and Izuku shifts easily. He can feel the pull of his scars when he shifts now, but the doctor had told him to think positively, think of them of a reminder of everything he’s survived. It doesn’t help. 

His dad’s hand rests on his fur as they walk, and Izuku can see people taking pictures from the corner of his eye. He ignores them, until they come across a young boy. Izuku remembers him from the morning of the USJ, when he had been with his friend, who poked him in the head when he was sleeping. The boy was still quiet, holding on to a woman's hand that easily dwarfed his own. He gave Izuku that same small smile he had that morning, and Izuku huffed back as the boys smile grew and he waved, just the same as before. Izuku approached him softly, tail gently wagging behind him. He sat in front of the boy, watching as he gently lifted his hand up, watching Izuku. 

Izuku closed his eyes as he gently touched his scarred snout to the boys hand, listening to him giggle as his damp nose wet his hand. He opened his eyes, tilting his head at the boy gently pet his chest. 

“Do you remember me? I remember you, I didn’t know you were a hero then, but I seen you on the tv!” the boys childish talking makes Izuku’s heart swell, and he nods. He does remember. The rude boy that had reminded him of Katsuki had called him Aki. Izuku wonders if the boys are still friends. “Can I take a picture with you Izuku?” He stumbles over izuku’s name, and it makes Izuku’s tail wag as he nods. The woman takes a photo as the boy stands with him, and she’s about to put her phone away when the boy shakes his hands. “Wait! I wanna get one with you the other way!” Izuku doesn’t understand, so he tilts his head and chirps, trying to get him to explain. “Like a boy! You’re even cooler as a boy!” Izuku ducks his head, taking a soft breath. His dad is trying to explain that it’s not possible right now, trying to find a way to avoid telling the boy that Izuku’s face is scarred beyond repair, and so is his arms and body, that he’s not a pretty sight anymore. 

Izuku hesitates as his scuffed shoes meet the cement, and he steps out from behind his dad. Aki looks at him with awe, like he really is cooler as a boy, and he launches forward to hug him tightly, nearly knocking Izuku off his feet. His mum is taking pictures of the entire thing, and Izuku laughs softly as he hugs the boy back. Aki reminds him of Kota, he thinks they’d be good friends. The boys chin digs gently into his chest as he looks up at Izuku’s face, Aki’s own face still round with his childish weight. It makes Izuku smile. They’re close enough that Izuku can see the green that streaks through the boys brown hair, and sat perfectly hidden by his messy hair is a pair of ears. 

Dog ears.

“I’m just like you, Izuku. You’re my favourite hero. Thank you.”

Izuku’s eyes water, and he closes he eyes and focuses, feeling his wolf ears shift onto his head. When he opens his eyes again, Aki looks delighted, and Izuku feels like he’s finally done something right. It’s a strange feeling, the genuine excitement that bubbles through his entire being, but he wants to be this great hero that Aki thinks he is. He wants the animal types to have someone on their side, and he wants to be that person. 

He thinks he needs it just as much as they do.

So when he pulls away, he’s happily sporting his tail, grinning as it swishes softly, the soft breeze making his ears flick. Aki looks so excited, and Izuku knows it’s worth it, the only man who had ever shamed his animal quirk was dead, and he doesn’t have to hide. He looks up to see his dad, who’s smiling wide and proud, and it makes Izuku’s tail swing back and forth violently. Aki uncovers his ears with the help of his mother, and his hidden tail. He tells Izuku he can’t shift, cant make them go away, so he hides, and Izuku just smiles sadly at him.

“I’m not going to hide anymore Izuku! I’m just like you, and you’re so cool!”

Izuku thinks Aki is pretty damn cool. He’s happy to be like Aki.

Izuku trades number switch Aki with his mothers permission, after many more photos of them and their uncovered ears and tails. Before they leave, Aki’s mother smiles softly at him, eyes full of kindness. “Thank you Izuku. I’ve never seen him so happy.”

Izuku smiles back, all teeth. “No. Thank you. ” 

They wave bye with big grins as they walk away, Izuku relieved to finally be feeling better. He doesn’t shift back, his ears and tail remaining as he walks the rest of the way home.

After all, he’s not going to hide anymore either.