Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izuku stood at the edge of the roof looking down. He had a bottle of Vodka in his hands, his brain fuzzy from his intoxication, giggling as he burped. He swayed at the edge, letting himself get closer and closer to the edge, enjoying the exhilarating feeling of feeling the wind rush by.

“Stop where you are”

Izuku looked around, to where the voice came from. His eyes met the dark figure on the roof opposite.

“Oh Eraserhead! Strange seeing you here tonight” Izuku waved sloppily, giggling.

“Hey Spirit” the pro answered sheepishly, fingers rubbing the bridge of his nose, in hope that they would stop the headache the teen was about to give him.

The teenager was well known in the underground hero scene, due to the fact that almost all of them had tried to catch him at some point. He was slippery though, and nobody had had success so-far.

Detective Tsukauchi had asked all of the underground pros to keep an eye out for the cause of his chronic migraines in hope of him being identified, or even caught.

The boy acted reckless, took on fights that seemed to be impossible to win and was an absolute nightmare to talk to because of his sassy nature. On top of those points the child had access to alcoholic beverages, so they didn’t just have a teen who thought he could take law into his own hands, they had a DRUNK TEEN who thought he could take on everyone, everything and their mothers.

“What are you gonna tell me tonight mr fancy hero man?” Izuku called, still giggling, as he let himself sway towards the edge of the roof, keeping the hero tense and on guard. “Do I need to put on my big boy pyjamas and go to bed?” He waved towards the sky.

The hero sighed, already raising his capture weapon. He didn’t trust the kid to not accidentally fall from the roof, especially when he was acting the way he was.

Izuku grinned slyly, taking the last swig from his bottle, before throwing it to the pro. “CATCH”

Using the distraction, he slid down some piping at the edge of the building, and by the time Eraserhead had noticed the trick, the boy as already gone.

“Fuck” the pro hero muttered under his breath, embarrassed, that he had fallen for such a cheap trick.

Chapter Text

Izuku rubbed his head. He had a terrible hangover and the last thing he wanted to do, was get up and get ready for school.

He was still dressed in his vigilante clothes, which consisted of a pair of black cargo pants, a black rain coat, a black beanie and his pair of bright red trainers.

He threw his clothes in the corner of the room, walking around the flat naked in hope that he would find his school clothes, that he had dumped somewhere, when he had gotten back home from school, the previous day.

His mom was at work, so he had no worries of running in to her, it wasn’t like he ever ran in to her. The last time he had seen her was over a year ago, however “pocket money” appeared on the kitchen table every now and then, when she came back for five minutes, usually in the dead of night when Izuku was asleep or out straying the red light district.

He found his clothes on the kitchen floor, which he promptly put on, wincing ever so slightly as he pulled the clothes over his newest cuts and scrapes.

Walking in to the bathroom, he opened the medicine cabinet, fishing out a couple of paracetamol tablets, which he downed with a mouthful of water.

Hopefully that would help his raging hangover and future headache he was going to get from his blond classmate and his comrades.

Arriving at school half an hour later, he hung his head low, in hope, that if he didn’t make eye contact with Bakugo, then he MIGHT not see him.

Wrong. Katsuki Bakugo came at him with full force, knocking him to the floor, before he even managed to make it into the building.

Izuku lay there, on the stone path, unmoving, letting the blond teen release all his pent up anger on him.

Blow after blow hit him. He could feel his nose crunch under the fist of his attacker. Blood splattered everywhere.

He knew if he were to fight back, that he would just irritate him more, so he preferred to just take the beatings as they were. It wasn’t like he had faced worse, when he spent the nights patrolling, but at least then he was drunk.

The school day passed like a blur. He managed to hide away behind his green curls, pretending he didn’t exist. He also managed to get a closed eye in English class. The teacher was incredibly quirkist and rather ignore him, which he could usually use to take a small nap.

Walking home from school, the teen stopped at the corner shop. The owner knew both him and his mum, and let the boy buy everything he needed. “My mom is working so I’m getting the stuff for her” Izuku would say.

He left the shop, with his backpack making clinking noises, as the glass bottles moved around.

At home, he took his trousers off, walking around the house in his boxers. He put music on loud, as he sat at his desk, completing his assignments for the day.

His head was bopping to the beat as he grabbed the mug on his desk. A big swig revealed that the liquid was not tea, like he had expected, but a liquor, that he had poured in to “hide” it from his mother.

He doubted that his mom ever entered his room, when she did decide to show up, but he also knew that she would not be pleased, if she came home, and found her 13yr old son drunk out of his mind on hard liquor.

He pulled his laptop out of his drawer, placing it on his desk. From there he fell in a couple hour long hyper-fixation on various gadgets to fight crime, as well as ways to handcuff and subdue people.

Various cables and zip ties had been useful so-far to restrain villains, however in the boys opinion, they needed a well deserved upgrade.

A couple of hours later Izuku had plotted down some prototypes. Most of them were basic handcuff style restraints, however one idea involved cuffs, that played a song or phrase, once closed around the wrists of the aggressor. He thought that to be extraordinarily funny.

It was dark outside, when the boy got up from his desk to make himself the first meal of the day.

He had never learned to cook, so he relied entirely on the microwave to warm up meals and noodles that he bought at the store.

Most of the time, he couldn’t be bothered to make warm food, and bread with chocolate spread was enough.

With a piece of bread in his mouth, he walked back into his bedroom. He opened his backpack, looking inside at his findings at the store today.

Findings was a weird way to say it, when he had just asked for the items, but the word findings is awesome.

Izuku scrunched his nose, stuck in his thoughts, as he marvelled the bottle of liquor. He had probably racked up a huge bill on his mom’s card, but as long as she didn’t say anything, it couldn’t be THAT high, could it?

He pulled on his vigilante gear, grabbing one of the bottles of liquor. He needed it to function. He needed it to feel.

Sipping the liquid, he made his way towards the red light district, where he liked to be “a pain in the ass to villains”. In said area there were less heroes than in other areas of the well populated city, causing lots of crimes to fall in between the cracks. The boy was very pleased that he could help out somewhere.

The police who picked up the criminals he subdued were less than pleased on the vigilantes activities, as it meant a whole lot more paperwork.

A scream alerted him, that he was needed somewhere. He slipped the bottle in one of his large pockets, running towards the call for help.

He scanned the alleyways, until he spotted a taller man standing in front of a woman, who was screaming at him to stop touching her.

Izuku slowly and casually walked towards the two, in an angle, that he would be invisible to the aggressor, but visible to the woman. When she had spotted him, the boy placed a finger on his lips, signalling her to be quiet.

A split second later, the boy had jumped on the attackers back. The aggressor tried to shake the teen off, who instead climbed up, wrapping his hands around his face. One hand was holding the man’s nose closed, the other hand was shoving a cleaning rag in his mouth.

The woman moved towards the side, as the aggressor started swaying, slowly blacking out at the lack of oxygen. As the man hit the floor, Izuku jumped off, ensuring that he landed on his feet.

“You okay ma’am?” He asked, as he tied the mans wrists together, and then his legs as well.

The woman nodded. She seemed still shaken, but quickly dialled emergency services, after the boy asked her too. “Give him a kick in the head if he wakes up before the police comes” Izuku winked, before disappearing in the alleyway.

——

The boy continued to stray the streets aimlessly, drinking his liquor mindlessly, as he enjoyed the quiet night.

A rustle was to be heard. “Hello Eraserhead” the boy said, without turning around.

“How?” He heard the pro hiss. Izuku dramatically turned around, rolling his eyes.

“Well mister scary dark hero likes to sneak up on poor little boys at night”

Shouta Aizawa sighed, as he regretted even stopping the boy. “I have a deal for you kid” The pro said, ignoring the remark from the teen.

Izuku raised a brow.

“You stop fighting in the streets and being reckless, and I help you be a proper hero”

“Ha ha” Izuku laughed dryly, clapping his hands together. “I can’t be a hero”

He took a big swig of his drink, enjoying the burning feeling that filled him, as he gulped it down.

“Your young enough” the dark haired pro began “with some training you should be good to go, I’ve seen you take down villains, where 2nd year hero students would struggle. You have talent kid.” He sighed “even when your drunk” he waved towards the bottle, which the kid was now drinking faster and faster as if his life depended on it.

Eraserhead furrowed his brow, as he watched the boy down the bottle.

Taking a step forwards, he knocked the bottle out of the kids hand. It clattered on the floor, causing both to jump a little.

“What was that for?” Izuku asked angrily. “I paid good money-“

The pro interrupted him. “Were you even listening to me?”

“NO”

“Why?”

“Because I’ll never be a fucking hero” The boy answered.

The dark haired pro sighed, frustrated. “You have the talent kid, I’ve seen you take out guys three times your size, and that without quirk usage, to avoid the law. Your obviously clever enough.”

“You don't get it” the boy was slurring his words

‘Don’t get what?” The pro was getting increasingly frustrated at the teen.

“I’m fucking quirkless” the teen said. He was laughing as he said it, much to the pros surprise. “I’ll never be a fucking hero, because I'm a quirkless nobody, a quirkless nobody, that no one wants.”

He paused for a moment, before continuing. “Do you think civilians will feel safe if the hero that comes ain’t able to do shit?”

Izuku turned to the side, as his stomach seemed to shift. He did not want to vomit on the pro.

And with that he emptied the entire contents of his stomach on the side of the road.

“Don’t you get it? Im always going to be a useless nobody. So don’t even try me with your hero bullshit” the boy said, before he ran in the next alleyway, leaving the pro standing at the corner.

——

Shouta Aizawa was speechless for the first time in a while. The teen always had a go happy personality, one full of sarcasm and humor.

The vigilante joked with everyone he met, never letting a hint of self hatred show.

The conversation he had just had was a completely different story, laced with self loathing and anger.

The pro sighed. Did the kid really hate himself that much?

The alcohol problem should’ve been a dead giveaway that something was up, but the erasure hero couldn’t place his finger on what it was yet.

——

Izuku woke up with a raging hangover, he had been sick a couple of more times on his way back home, but at least he had been able to sleep well.

Now that he wasn’t intoxicated anymore he began to regret what he had told the pro.

So far when they had communicated, it had been jokes and Eraserhead telling him that he had to “leave the job to the pros” and “stop acting so recklessly.”

Never before had he revealed something about him, and at that something, that could narrow the search down, if he were to try and find him.

If the pro figured out where he lived, he may want to pay a home visit, and Izuku was clever enough to know that that would not end well.

The hero would probably also want to talk to a parental figure, to tell them to take better care, or something along those lines.

Worst case scenario was that the police thought he needed to be locked up in a juvenile prison or worse a mental hospital that would force him to sober up.

He never covered his face when he went out to do his vigilante antics, and combined with the fact that the hero now knew about his dumb quirk status, his chances of falling under the radar were slimming.

Most likely not too many other green eyed quirkless kids lived in Musutafu.

That was, if there even was another quirkless kid.

He sighed as he got up. It was Saturday, and the afternoon sun was shining through his window.

He reached into his school bag, grabbing the other bottle, that was inside it, unscrewing it, and taking a large sip.

There was no better way to cure a hangover with more alcohol.

He had to forget. He had to forget the interaction, that he had had with the pro, he had to forget that he was quirkless, and that he was never going to be able to achieve his dreams of becoming a pro.

Intoxicated, he walked towards the kitchen, checking his moms room, to see if, she was home.

She never was, but Izuku never gave up the hope, that one day, she would come back and be a stay at home mom or something.

On the kitchen table lay a note, which read “Hey honey, I’m working longer the next days, here is some extra money to treat yourself. I hope you don't miss me too much.”

Izuku sighed. How could he miss someone, who he didn’t know?

On paper she was his mother, but she had never been there to tuck him in. She had never been to any of his school plays, and never been there to help him patch his wounds, that his school bullies had given him.

She had never been a mother to him, and throwing money at him, would not change that fact. The sum of money that lay on the table however DID offer him the chance to go to the mall and splurge on his new hyper-fixations.

A couple of hour later, the boy was back at home. He had gone to the local mall and had bought a couple of new knives, a police baton, as well as a new 3Ds and some games to go with it.

He lay in his bed, his new 3Ds in his hands, it was green to match his hair, although it was a neon lime colour that he liked. He was playing a level game, quickly levelling up, as he completed the various mazes and puzzles.

After a couple of hours the game got boring, and he got up, stretching. He definitely needed a shower.

Grabbing his towel he headed towards the bathroom, his vision blurring.

He had been mindlessly sipping the liquor as he had been playing, and hadn’t noticed just how drunk he had gotten. At least now, he wouldn't be remembering shit anymore.

He sat down in the shower, curling himself up, as he pulled his knees to his chin, letting the water travel over his body. It felt nice.

The mixture of the hot water, empty stomach and a little to much to drink was not a good combination.

Izuku knew his tolerance well, and knew that the amount he had drunken was definitely not too much his body could handle, however the change of feeling unsettled him.

Chapter Text

It was dark outside, and Izuku had for the first time contemplated not going outside. He didn’t want to face the pro, not after their last encounter.

He knew it would be one of two options on how the pro would react. Either the pro would be disgusted and agree, that heroics was too unsafe for him and that he could never become a hero, or the hero would just ignore that he ever fucking mentioned that he was fucking useless.

He hoped it was the latter, seeing as Eraserhead was one of his favourites pros, due to his nature of fighting.

Izuku didn’t think he could handle the pro being disgusted at him, or rejecting him in some way. That may even be the the thing that tips me of the edge, the boy thought as he slowly walked through the streets to the red light district.

A mugging seemed to be taking place on the other side of the street.

With a swift movement, Izuku crossed the road, so he was behind the thief, and with a quick kick in the balls, and a whack on the head with his new baton, he rendered the man unconscious.

The victim bowed, seeming very thankful.

The vigilante reminded her to call the police, and then continued to make his way to the red light district.

——

After a couple of hours of mindless drinking and walking through the streets, Izuku noticed how hungry he actually was.

Most places seemed to be closed, however a pub, with loud music caught his attention.

He entered, and was immediately greeted by the smell of liquor and food; two things that he definitely needed right now.

He went and sat down at a table, before promptly ordering some Katsudon.

The food came quickly, and the boy sat in silence, munching his food happily. It was the first time in a while, that he was eating something warm, and it felt nice in his stomach.

He scanned the area. Nobody had seemed to take notice of him, allowing him to pull his hood down, and removing his jacket.

He was wearing a T-shirt underneath, that revealed the years worth of burn scars on his forearms, that his classmate had given him.

As he sat, he began pondering. All this silence, whilst patrolling, was deafening. He couldn’t use headphones, when he was out on “patrol”, just in case he didn’t hear victims calls, but sometimes he did wish he could listen to some music.

And with that, a new idea filled his head. Electric devices and programming wasn’t something, that he ever tried, but there was nothing a little research and a shit ton of prototypes couldn't fix

His mother threw enough money at him, that he theoretically could buy whatever he needed, however nothing on the market for “civilians” really fitted what he needed.

He could maybe learn how to hack into the hero’s servers and track down how the support weapons and tech was made, however if he did end up getting caught his punishment would definitely be a lot worse than it already was.

He began mapping out potential ideas on a napkin, with one of the pens he religiously carried around with him.

Izuku was so invested, that he didn’t notice he had a visitor.

“Spirit?”

Izuku jumped out of his skin, as he was so rudely interrupted from his thinking.

Black eyes met his own. Fucking Eraserhead was watching him intently, having sat himself in the chair opposite.

“I don't know who this Spirit is” Izuku said slowly, holding that he would sound convincing enough. He was becoming increasingly more aware that he was not wearing his jacket and his scars were on full display, as well as his green curls that poked out under his beanie.

Eraserhead stared at the boy. He looked like he was trying not to roll his eyes, his eye twitching ever so slightly. “I watched Spirit enter this pub, and Spirit sit down, and then Spirit take his jacket off”

Izuku pretended to look overly offended “stalker much?”

The pro continued staring at the teen “You have to be kidding right now.”

“What?” Izuku dramatically put his hand to his chest “ME? I could never be kidding” sarcasm lacing his voice.

The pro ignored him at that, his eye still twitching.

“If your good enough, then nobody will care about your quirk”

Nothing in the world had prepared Izuku for that statement; he was so sure, that the hero was going to react in one of the two ways, that people always did.

The boy raised an eyebrow, before he quietly said “but I’ll always be at a disadvantage”

The pro looked confident as he answered. “Do you know my quirk is mr smart pants?” A slight hint of sarcasm also noticeable in his voice.

Izuku nodded “It’s Erasure, asshole”

The other ignored the swearing, as he continued “It only works on some quirks. Especially when it comes to fighting mutant quirks, mine is rendered useless.”

Izuku had to stop his jaw from dropping, as he realised what the pro was telling him. How hadn’t he noticed that in his hero analysis yet?

“I fight Quirkless against a large amount of villains, and still graduated as one of the best in UA”

Izuku sighed a deep sigh of resignation and sadness. “No”

——

It was Sunday afternoon, the sun was shining between the curtains directly on to Izuku’s face. (Much to his dismay)

After his meeting with the hero he had immediately gone home. The pro had to break up a bar fight, knowing he would be forced to engage, Izuku used the chance to silently slip away.

He had sat on his windowsill, with his legs dangling down, as he poured more and more of that magical liquid inside of him. The liquid, that gave him a personality, the liquid, which allowed him to be funny, the liquid that allowed him to forget that he was completely useless.

With a groan he sat up, before immediately making his way towards the bathroom for some pain medication. He didn’t need a headache right now.

The conversation, which he had had with the pro echoed through his head. Although his memory was fuzzy, he remembered, that the pro had offered him what he had always wanted; the chance to be a hero.

In his mind, he could see the little Izuku, who was so desperate to have the chance to become a hero, eagerly eating up all the tips and strategies he got.

Little Izuku loved watching fights and pretending, that he was saving his plushies from criminals.

He wasn’t that little Izuku anymore now, was he? He was all grown up now, and much less naive.

In theory, what the hero had told him could work.

Realistically…. Not.

Even if it was possible, Izuku was too tired to care. He knew himself, that he was an alcoholic, and that was the thing keeping him alive.

No school would want a hungover teen, and later a drunk hero.

He couldn’t function without his escape.

Sighing, he pulled on some sneakers, before making his way down to the store. He needed more to drink; he needed to stop being able to think.

He enjoyed thinking and pondering about various inventions and prototypes, however when thinking was about how fucking useless he was, he wanted to slam his head against a door, and render himself unconscious.

The safer way was to drink.

——

Shouta Aizawa lay on the floor of his classroom, engulfed in his yellow sleeping bag that his best friend had given him.

Hizashi Yamada had originally given it to him as a joke, however much to the dismay of the loud hero, Shouta unironically used it daily to take naps.

He had given his class a task to work on, however the chatter that filled the room revealed to him that none of the students were on task, instead discussing the upcoming sports festival.

The pro was too tired to care, as he sipped a jelly packet.

He let the conversation with the vigilante go through his head.

He wanted to take him to the police station, and give the obviously really bright kid options for his future, however although the vigilante was loud, he was fairly closed off; the last thing he wanted was to spook the kid into never trusting him again.

The scars that covered the vigilante’s arms also worried him. A lot of them were obviously from various villain fights, like small scratches or punctures.

The big burn scars however, probably did not have that origin, there were just too many and all of various healing stages, some white, some pink, and some still raw.

The alcoholism was obviously also an issue, and the pro was worried that that was linked to various abuse he had to face at home.

——

After visiting the store, Izuku had a couple of bags filled with various beverages. He had also managed to convince the clerk, that his mom had started smoking, and managed to buy a pack of cigarettes.

He looked at the box in awe, as he sat on his bed. Kind of like a kid, when given a large amount of candy, which was kinda ironic, because he was still a child.

He carefully climbed on to his windowsill, before remembering, that to smoke, you need a fire source to light the fucking cigarette.

He climbed back inside his room, before turning the flat inside out to find a lighter.

Once successful, he climbed back out on to the windowsill.

He lit the cigarette, taking a deep breath.

Didn’t people cough when they first smoke a cigarette? Izuku almost giggled to himself as he remembered all the smoke he was forced to inhale from his classmate, before scrapping his original question.

——

After smoking, the boy sat down at his desk, switching on his headphones, and blasting music into his brain, as he pulled out his toolbox from under his bed.

He opened his various desk drawers with scraps he had found so far and broken tech, pulling out things that could be useful for his newest invention.

Bopping to the music, he pulled out the prototype he had drawn not too long ago.

Bending various pieces of metal, he managed to build his own pair of handcuffs, they were thicker than the generic ones that were on the market and were a whole lot sturdier.

Instead of a chain in the middle, they had a fixed metal plate, which he could build his circuit board on.

With a few quick modifications he had then added a speaker and a battery to the metal plate, as well as wiring, so when the cuffs were closed the circuit was complete and the electricity could flow through, activating the speaker.

A couple of additions, like a soft lining and a sturdy lock were necessary, so they were also added.

After a quick brainstorm, Izuku thought the most embarrassing thing to record for the future villains would be a fart noise that played at random intervals.

He was sitting on his desk chair giggling, as he kicked his feet, at the thought of restraining a burly guy with the cuffs.

If only he could make them easy to mass produce.

——

A couple of hours later Izuku found himself in the streets of the red light district of Musutafu.

He now had a couple of new additions to his pockets. Next to his bottle, he had the pack of cigarettes with a lighter and his new cuffs.

The boy rolled his eyes as he thought, of how the pro hero would start complaining, if he ever saw him smoke.

He walked around aimlessly, before he spotted a mugging take place. It was a very common occurrence here in this area.

In some way, Izuku felt bad, because he had too much money, which he couldn’t use for anything useful.

What he lacked, was a proper emotional relationship with a parental figure.

The people who committed the petty crimes were probably on the other side of the spectrum. They had the emotional relationships, and wanted to help their families quickly, and stealing a wallet was definitely a quick way to get to money, although statistically speaking, that definitely wasn’t the best way to go about it.

He walked towards the aggressor who hadn’t even done a good job at hiding his face. The emaciated man was attempting to grab a granny’s purse, although he didn’t seem to be all to strong, seeing as the older woman almost seemed to be winning this game of tug of war.

If the attacker wasn’t attempting to rob someone, Izuku would have almost felt sorry for him, and his pathetic arms.

With a swift kick in the groin, and then a knock to the head, the boy knocked the man unconscious, who crumpled like a sheet of paper.

The older woman bowed, as she offered the boy a treat from her handbag, which the he accepted.

The granny continued shuffling away, as she denied having a cellphone.

Well fuck, Izuku thought. He needed to get the guy to a police station in some way or another, and he didn’t want to use his regular cell phone. He stared at the man in front of him, before pulling a marker out of his pocket and writing on the front of the man’s shirt.

>>I tried to rob an old lady, and was stopped by Spirit<<

Izuku grinned sheepishly, as he looked at the message, before he attempted to pick the man up.

Izuku was incredibly short for his age, but to his absolute delight, the skinny man was not much larger than him. He swung the man over his shoulder, breathing heavily as he did so. The next police station was a bit away, so he was going to get a full workout in.

With one hand, he held the mans waist, so he wouldn't slip from his shoulders, with the other hand Izuku grabbed the bottle out of his pocket. He was already too sober for his liking.

He walked through the night.

He wasn’t too quick, the man was weighing him down, but he still managed to get to the nearest police station within half an hour, walking up to the counter where a tired policeman stood.

“Excuse me” the boy said.

The man looked up, his eyes widening, as he saw the small boy standing in front of him, a man slung over his shoulder.

“Wh-“ the man began.

“This guy was attempting to rob an elderly woman”

Izuku let the man fall from his shoulder on to the floor.

The policeman’s eyes were wide as he watched the child dump a full grown adult on the floor.

“Is he- um- dead?” The policeman asked.

“Oh, no, don’t worry, he is just taking a little nap,” the boy said in a voice that was way to cheerful for the situation.

Izuku waved, as he walked back out of the station, leaving the policeman confused. By the time the man called out for the teen to comeback, the vigilante was already too far away.

The adults eyes widened as he read the message on the front of the man’s shirt. His colleges were never going to believe him what had happened.

Chapter Text

It was Monday morning. In Izuku’s opinion, that was the worst time of day on the worst day of the week. He hauled himself out of bed, his headache feeling like his brain was absolutely fried from the consumption from the previous night.

To his absolute dismay he had heard a noise in the hallway, meaning that his mother was home for the first time in absolutely ages, and he was not yet dressed.

Yawning, he walked into the hallway, and was met by someone who was definitely not his mother. It was a woman, yes, however she was tall with long black hair.

Izuku froze, as did the other, as she made eye contact with the boy. “Are you robbing me?”

As soon as he had asked the question, he realised how utterly stupid he sounded, and looked. Obviously the woman was robbing him.

It was waaaaay to early in the morning for this.

The woman continued staring at the teen, who shrugged, before turning around, and returning with a bottle of alcoholic beverage, which he sipped, as they resumed their staring battle.

With a swift movement the woman moved towards Izuku, her arm raised.

If he had been any other teen, that may have been a good idea, however the boy had trained his instincts over the last months of street fighting, and returning the swift movements, Izuku swept her legs, causing the woman to loose her balance, and topple to the floor. He kicked her in the head for good measure, and to render her unconscious, before pulling her body outside, and down three flights of stairs.

Boy would she be in pain, when she woke up, however that definitely served her right for attempting to rob him on such a terrible day at such a terrible time. Maybe he would have been more lenient, if it hadn’t been a stupid fucking Monday morning.

Arriving downstairs, Izuku dumped her unconscious body in a bush at the front door. Only then did he notice that, he had indeed forgotten to get dressed before he went and dragged her body down. The buildings security would probably have a lot of questions if they reviewed the footage and saw a boy in his underwear dragging a body down a couple of flights of stairs .

Mondays were terrible, and the interaction that he was just forced to have, confirmed that yet again.

——

An hour later, he was in school, and sitting behind the cramped desk.

His classmates had been especially noisy today, causing him a whole other headache on top of his hangover headache. Izuku could feel the tension rising in the room, people were waiting for something to happen, and he could almost guess what it was going to be.

He sat, drawing more prototypes in his notebook, some updated versions of the cuffs that he had created as well as some grenades, trying to distract himself to some degree.

Eraserhead would kill him if he brought actual grenades to his fights, so ones used for distraction or humiliation seemed like a good idea.

Villains probably did not enjoy being covered in pink glitter, so he could definitely make some kind of distraction using the huge amount of glitter he still had left over from a different project.

“DEKUUUUUUUUU”

Izuku jumped, as the blond slammed his hands on his desk, before lunging towards his face. He tried to dodge the attack, however the blonds hand still grazed his cheek, as he let an explosion go directly next to his ear.

Izuku’s ears were ringing, as he slid to the floor next to his desk, trying to escape the attacks of his classmates, his arms held like a protective shield over his head. His teachers were looking away, and Katsuki seemed to be even more angry than usual.

Deep inside of him, the green haired boy knew his teachers had seen the blonds outburst, they just didn’t want to do anything to help him, because he was a nobody, right?

“Please stop”

Izuku regretted ever saying those words immediately after they left his mouth. They would just fuel the boys anger more, and indeed it did just that.

The attacks got stronger and stronger, hot explosions searing his body. Pain was shooting through his body, as every new hit came.

His clothes were beginning to burn and tear. He could smell the smell of his burning hair, as well as his burnt flesh. It was a pungent smell, which the boy knew he would not forget that easily.

What the fuck was causing the blond to be that aggressive today? He swallowed, forcing himself to dissociate.

If he tried hard enough, he could disappear into his head and barely register what was going on.

The outbreaks from Katsuki were too brutal. Every time the boy let an explosion hit Izuku, it forced him back to reality. It forced him to feel the pain he was enduring.

He didn’t have to continue allowing the boy to cause him suffering, did he?

His vision was blurry, not from alcohol, but from the immense pain that was pulsating through his body.

Biting on his lip, so he wouldn’t scream in pain, Izuku got up, grabbing his school bag and pushing himself past the gang of boys, who had collected to watch their blond classmate hurt the green haired quirkless boy.

Why did they even enjoy watching him be beat up?

Maybe they fed off seeing people, who in their eyes were weaker or less worthy, be hurt for their own superiority.

He had had enough, however Katsuki didn’t agree with that, trying to follow Izuku, as his anger rose. The blond continued screaming insults and firing explosions at his classmate. As he, however tried to jump over a chair, the angry teen tripped, falling to the floor.

“Go jump off a roof you quirkless freak” the blond said, as he got up, a smirk painted on his face.

Izuku turned to face the other. That had hurt for some reason, maybe because he was already in so much pain, vulnerable, after all the burns he was forced to endure.

Katsuki grinned, obviously devouring the pain in the green haired boys face. “And pray that you are born with a quirk in your next life”

With that Izuku turned and left the room, vowing to never ever come back.

——

Izuku lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Everything was spinning.

After getting home from school he decided that he needed to rest, however he never closed his eyes to nap, instead drinking, till he couldn’t think anymore.

He drank, till he could barely open his eyes, and more importantly, not form a coherent thought.

He didn’t want to think. He had to forget.

Izuku had never properly had suicidal ideation, however it had always sat in the back of his mind. An emergency exit of sorts, if things became unbearable

The words echoed through his head, which his blond classmate had called to him.

Maybe it was better to actually jump.

It would end all this raging pain.

His eyes fluttered closed as he tried to push the ideation away.

——

A couple of hours later Izuku woke up in pain. Before he opened his eyes, a pungent smell hit him, and he knew he had been sick on himself.

Slowly he sat up, rubbing his eyes. A bad headache made it painful to even move.

He had managed to puke, on not just himself but also his bed and on the floor. Gross.

He got up, holding on to furniture around him, to keep him stable. The world was still spinning around him, but he knew that had to get himself cleaned up, as well as probably tending for the wounds that he had been given.

Looking in the bathroom mirror he made the gut wrenching discovery, that his blond classmate had burned off most of his hair on the left one side of his head. The ear, or what was left of the ear on that side did not look good. It probably hadn’t bled due to being instantly cauterised.

Large burn wounds covered the area around it, almost reaching his left eye and cheek. The burn went down his neck, spreading out on to his shoulder. In addition he had large burns on his right upper arms and both legs, from when he had curled up on the floor.

It felt like he was full of pressure, about to burst from emotions, overflowing inside of him.

What emotions were they even?

Stripping himself of his dirty clothes, Izuku hopped into a cold shower, scrubbing he pungent liquid off him. He brushed his teeth and got into more comfy clothes, before cleaning his room and changing the sheets.

——

It was dark, when Izuku entered the red light district. Although he was wearing his gear, tonight he wasn’t going to patrol.

He needed time to think, time to let the day sink into his head, and where was a better place to do that, than on the roof of a 12 story building in the middle of the worst part of the city of Musutafu.

Izuku grinned, as he let his legs dangle down. He loved the nauseating yet free feeling he got, when sitting up so high. It was better than feeling the emotions trapped inside of him.

He had his headphones on, and had music up on full, head nodding to the beat. With one hand he opened the bottle of liquor that he had bought to his rooftop picnic, taking a big sip.

He felt so full, yet so empty at the same time.

He felt so free yet so caged up at the same time.

His mind was racing, his body acheing, yet still he was calm. Why?

Izuku placed the bottle next to him, only for a second to be able to light a cigarette; they seemed like a good addition to the midnight picnic.

He was not paying attention to his surroundings, so it was no wonder, that he jumped when he heard a very familiar voice behind him

“Spirit?”

Izuku spun around, slipping in the process. He tried to grab the ledge of the roof, but it was too late.

He closed his eyes as he fell, the impact however never came, instead a lot of swearing from the grumpy pro, as he pulled Izuku up by the capture weapon that was now wrapped around the vigilantes waist.

The erasure hero had a displeased look on his face for a short moment, before he seemed to register what the side of the teens head looked like.

The pro’s eyes widened.

“Oh, my my Eraserhead” The teen said sheepishly, ignoring the hero’s expression. “What brings us here this lovely Monday evening?”

The pro looked at him as if he was telling a bad joke, before answering sarcastically “if we are being that exact” He mocked looking at a watch “It’s three in the fucking morning on a Tuesday, and someone here probably needs to be in school in five hours”

Izuku’s face visibly darkened, at that statement, however it didn’t stop him from answering in his usual playful voice “Oh don't worry mr hero man, I will be in bed in just a wink”

The pro looked like he didn’t buy any of it, however he dropped the topic, sitting himself down at the edge of the roof, where Izuku had sat moments ago. The boy raised an eyebrow, however he joined him. He had long dropped the idea, that the hero was going to catch him, to turn him in. It just didn’t seem like he had the interest in doing so.

The two sat there in silence for a couple of minutes, looking down. The only interruption came from the clinking, every time Izuku set the bottle down.

“Your going to need some more hobbies, that don't involve chasing a drunk teenager, people are going to think your a creep soon”.

The pro stared daggers at the boy. “Quit the act Spirit”

The teen mimicked a dramatically offended face, raising his hand to his chest as he sarcastically said “act, what act? This is my personality you are offending”

The hero looked at Izuku with an expression, that he couldn’t quite pinpoint. It almost looked like the hero was… sad.

“What happened to your head” Eraserhead asked, waving in the general direction of the injuries.

Izuku took another deep swig out of the bottle, choosing to remain silent.

What even would he say? That he kicks criminals ass every evening, but let’s himself be beat up the next morning?

He looked down the building, watching the empty streets below.

“It looks like it hurts” the hero stated, trying to get an answer out of the other.

Izuku tilted his head, speaking more to the roads beneath him “It doesn’t hurt at all”

The pro sighed “that’s even worse, your nerves have been destroyed.”

Izuku took his headphones off, placing the on his lap. A small gasp was to be heard from the hero, as his cauterised ear was now on full display.

“I KNOWWWWW” Izuku said sarcastically “Now I have to start finding new jokes about only having one ear”

The hero rolled his eyes. “You need to get that checked out”

“Nah, I’m good”

Shouta resisted the urge to shake the boy, instead opting for a more… acceptable answer. “Burns can get infected incredibly quickly, you know”

“I know, I’ve been burnt before” the teen hissed. He clamped his hand in front of his mouth, as if he regretted what he said. He lifted the bottle to his lips yet again.

He knew the pro had seen his arms in the pub, but he wanted to avoid the topic more than anything. He didn’t want the pro to have to play his fucking therapist because he was a crybaby.

“Can you- stop drinking for one second. I don’t need a shit faced teen who doesn’t care for his wellbeing”

Izuku pulled a face, however then placed the bottle in between him and the other.

The pro lowered his voice, as he continued speaking “Do you want to elaborate on the fact that you have been burned before?”

“Oh forget it”

“I can’t just drop it kid”

“Why? Im just a fucking quirkless kid” The teens voice began to crack, as he raised it. Anger vibrating through his body.

The hero stared at the boy, before leaning over, and pulling him in a tight embrace.

Izuku didn’t know what to say or even do, his usually sarcastic persona was gone in an instant. He hadn’t had a hug in years, and the sudden human contact was overwhelming. Guilt filled him, he didn’t deserve it.

Why was the hero hugging him?

He slowly returned the embrace, wrapping his arms around the hero as he had done with him.

A sob heaved out of his lungs, and for the first time in months all the pent up sadness flowed out of him.

How could he be so fucking useless that he started fucking crying when hugged?

The pro only pulled him in tighter as he began sobbing.

“I- “ Izuku tried talking between the tears. “I deserved it”

The pro moved his hand in circles across the kid’s back, in an attempt to calm him down. “Nothing in the world could ever justify what was done to you”

“But I’m quirkless”

“That doesn’t justify it”

“But I’m a burden”

“That still doesn’t justify it”

“Im useless though”

“Still doesn’t”

The teen slowly pulled out of the embrace, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

“Why you even here?”

“I’m not allowed to check in on my favourite little vigilante?” The hero grinned, trying to lighten the mood.

Izuku smiled slightly, tears still dripping down his face.

“Kid, listen to me. You need to get the burns treated.”

Izuku shook his head, tears running down his face again. “The hospitals don’t treat me well”

“Then at least come to my place and let me bandage you up” the hero pleaded.

Izuku looked down the building, and then over to the pro before nodding “okay”

——

Izuku was quiet as he sat on the bathroom floor of the pro hero’s apartment.

He didn’t know, why he had even accepted the offer from the pro hero, maybe he was just to drunk to even register what he was doing, maybe he didn’t want to be alone. How was he supposed to know?

He definitely didn’t want to go to hospital, so at least this way it was better.

The hero’s flat was surprisingly nice, with lots of dark grey and black accents on the furniture.

The bathroom was fairly small, however the two of them fit in it well.

Izuku had taken his T-shirt and pants off, and sat in his underwear, shivering. If he wasn’t so drunk, then maybe he would’ve cared about his current appearance.

If he wasn’t so drunk, he would’ve never even gone out, never even talked to the hero, and never even let himself be helped.

Was this what trust was?

The pro was slowly bandaging all his wounds, that were shaped like large explosions, streaks coming out of the main injuries.

A cream was also applied, “to help with the healing” the pro had said.

After wrapping him up and turning Izuku into half a mummy, the pro asked the question he had been both expecting and dreading.

“Did your parents do this?”

“no”

The two sat in silence for a moment before Izuku spoke up.

“My classmate hates me, because I’m fucking quirkless, and for some reason he was especially angry today”

Izuku smiled ever so slightly, pretending to be brave as he continued.

“He told me, that I should take a swan dive off a roof and pray that I wake up with a quirk in my next life.”

The pro stared at the teen.

The erasure hero wasn’t one, who was big on emotions, however utter horror was painted on his face

“He said what?”

“Yea” Izuku laughed dryly “he always said things like that, but today kinda stung”

The pro raised an eyebrow.

Izuku got up, putting his gear on again. He bowed in front of the hero. “Thank you” smirking again in his usual fashion “the mean old hero can be nice after all”

Chapter Text

Izuku lay in bed, his mind racing. The evening with the hero had seemed unreal.

For the first time someone had let him let go of the pent up emotions, which he struggled with from the abuse from his classmate, and the pro had not blamed him for it.

He knew (in theory) that it wasn’t his fault, that “Kaccan” decided that he was worthless, and he knew that it wasn’t his fault, that he was discriminated against because of his quirk status.

Deep down, it felt like it was his fault though.

Everybody had apologised “Kaccan’s” behaviour so-far, till tonight, till he talked with Eraserhead.

It felt weird, when someone actually stayed to listen. It was a nice feeling.

He wished that someone else would do that, without it being their job.

Eraserhead was paid to help.

——

Shouta Aizawa lay in his sleeping bag on a sofa in the teacher’s lounge. He had a couple of free hours, till his next class.

Since bandaging the little vigilante up, so many questions had arisen. His gut feeling was screaming at him to do something, and his brain was telling him, he had to take it slow when it came to the kid, as to not spook him.

It just didn’t sit right for him, that the kids parents were letting their son get hurt like that, and not do anything. The burns should have been dressed and bandaged at a minimum.

The mangled piece of flesh, that was the remains of the kids ear should also be desperately checked out, however he knew the teen had the self preservation skills of a rock and that would never happen.

When the pro had bandaged the vigilante, his body had looked so small and frail. That wasn’t the body of a 16 year old, and Shouta knew that the vigilante had lied to him.

The teen may not even be a teen, as he looked more to be 12.

A sixteen year old shouldn’t be drinking liquor, and if the kid was younger like he presumed, that would be even more worrying.

Either way the pro knew he needed a way to help the child, a way to check in on the kid. He knew the teen had potential, however a big brick wall of emotions stood between the child and their dreams.

He wasn’t necessar-

“SHOUUUUUUUU”

The erasure hero jumped, and fell off the sofa in the process.

He was to tired to even care, so he just continued to lay there, wrapped in his obnoxious sleeping bag.

“SHOUTTAAAAAA”

He closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.

Hizashi Yamada picked up his best friend in his sleeping bag, before shaking him. “What’s up with you today Shou?”

Shouta stared at the other.

“ ‘m tired” he mumbled

The other squinted as he stared at his dark haired friend.

“Don’t close up on me again, not like when Oboro died” Hizashi said quietly.

Shouta sighed.

——

A week had gone by since Izuku had had the conversation with the pro hero. He had kept to himself the whole week, preferring to work on prototypes than to risk having to face the hero.

After sobering up the next morning, he was incredibly embarrassed and uncomfortable by the fact that the pro had seen him both crying and in his underwear.

Various prototypes scattered his room with blueprints and empty bottles.

Izuku had been in various states of intoxication over the past days. He had hoped if he drank, he would forget the hug he had gotten.

It was such a strange feeling, but now he craved physical touch, he wanted to be hugged again; at the same time, he wanted to curl up in a ball and never be touched again.

Being given a hug showed him what he was missing, he couldn’t miss being hugged, when he didn’t remember what it was like, when he didn’t remember the warm feeling.

He let his head fall on his desk, sighing as he let all emotions and memories rush through his head.

After a while of sitting there, he got up, staring at the chaos that covered his room.

He would have to clean it up, however first, he would have to go take a shower. The smell of his own pungent sweat filled his nose.

He went to the bathroom, to go and rid himself of his dirty clothes.

Looking in the mirror, he barely recognised the person who stared back at him. He was still covered in the bandages the pro had wrapped him in, that were now a light shade of yellow and orange, as the wounds seeped.

Large eye-bags were under his eyes, his face pale and colourless. He looked like he was half a breath away from death, and that’s how he felt.

He felt ill, his body heavy and his bones aching. His body looked almost skeletal. He had not managed to eat very much in the last week and the boy knew that probably contributed to his condition.

He unwrapped the bandages slowly, taking great care not to rip off layers of skin. A year ago, when the blond teen had burnt him, he had removed the bandage, and had accidentally pulled his skin off in the process, which had been a fairly painful experience as well as adding a couple of extra months to the healing process.

The nerves that had been in that part of his thigh, had never regrown, causing total loss of sensation.

It wouldn’t necessarily have mattered if he hadn’t later been injured in battle on the same spot on his thigh and not noticing it until he got dressed a day later. The wound wasn’t that big, but it definitely would’ve needed stitches. (Not like he would’ve gone to hospital anyway)

His new wounds didn’t look good, but thankfully not yet infected. What was left of his ear also was less than optimal, and the boy was scared, that infection could take the rest of it.

At least he could still get one or two lobe piercings on that ear, if he did decide to later on.

Once in the shower he carefully washed himself, making sure not to rub off his skin, whilst still trying to wash the dirt and old vomit off his wounds.

Quarter of an hour later and a lot of soap later he was squeaky clean. Much to his dismay, he didn’t have any bandages, but a soft hoodie and jogging bottoms should also do the trick.

——

An hour later Izuku found himself on his favourite roof of the red light district. He had cleaned his room, and then gone out.

He almost felt claustrophobic in his room, and couldn’t spend more time indoors, even if it meant potentially facing the erasure hero.

He sat there for hours, staring down, watching less and less people walk through the streets, as it slowly got dark.

He felt a hot tear roll down his face. Why was he crying?

He could feel all the pent up emotions inside of him. Was this because he was too sober? He had only drunken a little bit today, completely distracted by his blueprints and inventions.

He pulled the bottle out of his pocket, staring at it, as he turned it in his hands, hating that that was what he needed to function, to stop having to feel all these emotions.

He took a large sip, letting the burning sensation fill his mouth, reminiscing the days, where he used to be grossed out by the feeling. Nowadays it filled him with a sort of joy, knowing that his self medication would help him feel better soon.

He placed the bottle down for a moment, to light a cigarette, taking a long drag of it. It filled him with a weird bliss.

The cigarette didn’t stay on for long; as he heard a scream, the boy instinctively pushed it out, getting up to go run to the noise. He hadn’t planned on getting into a fight, however the scream was so close by, and so penetrating, that he knew he had to do something.

As he sprinted along the rooftops, he cautiously looked down, hoping to exactly pinpoint, where the sound came from. He had luckily put on his vigilante gear when going out, so at least he would have all his tools, as well as being able to test out some new gear.

In a dark alleyway underneath him, he spotted a teen boy, who was standing over a younger boy. The kid was crying, curled in on himself, as the teen walked closer.

The teen stuck out his tongue, which seemed to be his quirk, as it grew longer an longer, slithering its way towards the kid.

Izuku snuck to the edge, using piping and various balconies and windowsills to climb down. He landed quietly on his feet, sneaking towards the teen.

He signalled to the kid that he should be quiet, by placing a finger on his lips, however the child mimicked his movement, alerting the attacker, that they were not alone anymore. The vigilante wanted to start swearing at that, but he had to remember, that that was a small child, who didn’t know better.

The teen whipped around, extending his tongue towards Izuku, wrapping it around his neck, as he lifted him up.

The boy cursed to himself, that he had engaged in this fight, although he was obviously not in good enough shape.

He was both incredibly weak and injured, two things which were not giving him the best cards for an attack.

What else should he have done though, he couldn’t have left the child alone.

His legs were kicking in the air, and his vision was starting to go blurry. The boy had wrapped his tongue tight, and Izuku could barely breath.

In a last attempt, before he blacked out, Izuku reached in his pocket, pulling out one of the grenades, that he had built.

Pulling the pin, he threw it as best as he could, towards the boy. Pink smoke erupted, filling the alleyway. The boy slightly released his tongue, allowing Izuku to escape from the grasp; he pulled the tongue over his head, running towards where the teen now stood, coughing, as the smoke started fading.

Izuku tackled the boy, and pushed him to the floor, using the momentum and distraction. He pulled out his new cuffs, that he had made, wrapping them around the boys wrists and then shoving a cloth in his mouth, rendering his tongue useless.

He knew on any other day, the fight would’ve been easier, however at least, he could try out his new grenades.

The aggressor struggled, as he lay on his belly, trying to kick Izuku, who instead left him lying on the floor, as he giggled ever so slightly at the soundtrack that the cuffs were playing.

The kid, who was still crouched on the floor, his back pressed against a wall, also giggled, as he heard the track and at the teen lying on the floor.

Izuku helped the child up, and pointed to the flailing aggressor.

“Do you wanna kick him?” He asked.

The small boy nodded, taking a step back, before kicking the attacker as hard as he could.

Izuku grinned, before holding his hand up “high five!”

The kid gave him a high five, and the vigilante crouched down next to him.

“How old are you?”

“I’m four”

Izuku looked at his phone. It was 9:30PM, way too late for such a kid.

“Do you know him?” He pointed to the attacker.

The kid nodded, and Izuku’s heart dropped.

“Thats my brother”

“Can I bring you home?” Izuku asked instead, not wanting to immediately go into depth on the kid’s obviously difficult relationship to his brother. He would have to ask some questions about it later on, but that didn’t need to be rushed.

The child nodded, as Izuku stood up. “Do you know the way kid?”

The child nodded again.

Izuku grabbed the kid’s brother, throwing him over his shoulder, and then stretching his hand out for the kid to take.

The child gladly accepted, as he slipped his hand in the vigilantes.

The kid cheered up fairly quickly, as they walked, and soon he was telling jokes and babbling along, telling the vigilante about various things that he had done.

Izuku felt his heart clench, as he thought about little Izuku, who had also been as happy and cheerful, like the kid whose hand he was holding.

He didn’t want to upset the child again, however he did have to ask a slightly difficult question.

“Do your parents know that he hurts you?”

The child looked up at the vigilante, as tears filled his eyes. He shook his head. “He told me they would be angry if I told them” pointing at his brother.

Izuku sighed. “Then you won’t have to tell them, I will”

The child looked up at Izuku, his eyes wide. “But-“

The child suddenly fell silent, staring at something behind Izuku. The vigilante turned to follow the child’s line of vision.

“Oh, fucking Eraserhead”

“That’s a nice way to greet me ”

Izuku rolled his eyes, sighing dramatically.

“What you got there Spirit?”

Izuku sighed again, explaining what happened, and why he had a cuffed and gagged teen thrown over his shoulder, who was kicking aggressively.

The pro nodded, “why don’t I take the teen and you take the kid and we can bring them home. It will look better if a pro hero brings them.”

The child’s eyes widened “your a hero?”, he asked in disbelief.

Eraserhead nodded, showing him his ID.

The kid stared at the ID for a moment, eyes even wider, before looking back at the pro. “I can’t read, I’m four.” He deadpanned.

Izuku snickered, looking away, so he didn’t make eye contact with the pro who looked both amused and disgruntled.

“Well that’s my ID” the pro said, shoving it back in his pocket, a slightly unimpressed expression still painted on his face.

The pro lifted the writhing teen off Izuku’s shoulder, placing him on his own.

Eraserhead turned to Izuku, with an even more unimpressed face. “Are these your restraints?”

Izuku nodded as he grinned, “you like them?”

The hero rolled his eyes but said nothing.

The group walked in silence, the only noises to be heard, was the occasional muffled noise from the restrained teen and chatter from his younger brother who was talking all about heroes that he liked.

Arriving at the flat of the two boys, the pro knocked.

A woman opened the door, surprise painting her face as she saw her kids being accompanied by two darkly dressed people.

“What’s going on?” the woman exclaimed. “What are you doing to my son?”

She looked at the pro, who still had the writhing teen thrown over his shoulder.

“Ma’am, I am the pro hero Eraserhead” he pulled his ID out of his pocket, flashing it at the woman. “My intern here”, he pointed to Izuku, who raised an eyebrow, “caught your teenage son attacking your younger son”

The woman gasped, as she looked at her kids. The pro placed the teen on the floor.

“Do you have the keys to your-“ the pro raised an eyebrow. “Handcuffs?”

Izuku grinned, passing the keys over, as he tried to repress a small giggle.

The pro ( to Izuku’s surprise ) looked almost amused as he uncuffed the teen, and pulled the cloth out of his mouth.

“Was it really necessary to shove such a rag in my sons mouth” the woman asked, a hint of irritation was to be heard.

“Well ma’am” Izuku said “your son tried to attack me, even after restraint, so that measure was necessary”

The woman sighed, as she pulled her sons inside the flat. “They will be dealt with accordingly” she said, shutting the door.

“Have a nice evening” the pro said to the door, rolling his eyes ever so slightly.

The two turned to leave, however just as they were about to go down the stairs, the door opened again, and the younger of the two boys ran out.

He ran up to the pro hero, holding his notebook out. “Can I have a signature sir?”

The pro nodded, taking the notebook and signing the page, before passing it back to the child.

The two were about to go again, but then Izuku felt a tug on his shirt, as the boy attempted to stop him leaving. “You too” poking the notebook in Izuku’s ribs.

Izuku smiled, taking the notebook “I’m not a proper hero though”

The child smiled a toothy grin. “You will be the bestest hero ever when your grown up”

Izuku’s smile widened as he handed the notebook back, “Sure thing kid.”

The child ran back to his flat, closing the door, leaving the other two standing.

Eraserhead looked over to the teen, “then you have to become a hero now”

Izuku rolled his eyes, turning away, as he walked down the stairs, hoping that the pro would not see the singular tear, that rolled down his face.

——

The two walked in silence towards the street, where they had sat on the roof the previous week.

The only thing, which broke the silence was the pro hero asking Izuku to wait, as he went to a supermarket that was still open.

Eraserhead returned shortly, a bag in his hand.

“Don’t you have better shit to do, than to hang out with me?” Izuku asked.

The pro thought for a moment, before answering, “it’s a quiet night, I’ve done my routine protocol already”

The teen nodded.

They continues their journey in silence. It wasn’t an awkward or uncomfortable silence.

The only thing which was uncomfortable, were the feelings inside Izuku. He couldn’t quite pinpoint yet what it was. Shame from the last time, where Izuku saw the pro? Embarrassment, from when he had cried? Sadness that he would never become a hero, like the little kid had said?

The two, climbed up the building, before sitting at the edge, in their respective places.

The pro was the one to break the silence,“How are your injuries doing?”

“Fine”

“May I see?”

Izuku pulled his hood down, taking great care not to pull any charred skin off.

Eraserhead inspected the injuries, “what about bandaging the wounds?”

The other sighed “didn’t have anything at home”

The pro hero hummed in response, pulling out a handful of bandages out of the plastic bag, along with gauzes and some sort of cream.

Izuku raised a brow, but repressed a sarcastic comment. His lips slightly twitching.

“You wanna take your coat off?”

Izuku nodded, pulling off his jacket

The pro let out a small gasp “doesn’t that hurt?”

Izuku looked at his arm, seeing a new injury that he had sustained, probably from the fight with the teen.

The burnt skin, that covered his arm, had ripped. Obviously too fragile, for it to handle, after being that badly burned.

The two stared at the wound, before the pro slightly sarcastically said “you still don't want to go to hospital?”

Izuku stared daggers at the other, not daring to speak.

He would go to the hospital if the wound was bad enough, but seeing as he didn’t even feel pain at the site of the injury and he wasn’t actively bleeding, he didn’t need to, right?

A couple of moments later the pro continued to talk, breaking the silence yet again. “I will join you, then your not alone”

Everything rushed through Izuku, with a new wave of emotions. “They will see that I'm a quirkless nobody” he whispered, barely audible.

Would he even go to hospital, if the injuries were “bad enough”?

“If they treat you any differently because of that, then they will have an issue with me’ the hero whispered back.

Izuku pulled the bottle out of his pocket, he was already too sober for his liking, and the hangover headache was starting to set in.

The dark haired pro stared in disbelief, but chose to say nothing.

It was only when Izuku pulled the box of cigarettes out of his pocket, did the pro say something “Kid, you are already harming yourself with the alcohol, you don’t need to add cigarettes to the mix as well”

Izuku flipped the other off, as he grinned, lighting the cigarette provocatively.

The hero sighed. “You gonna decide or not?”

“Im not going to go to hospital” a slight sadness was to be seen on the face of the teen, but it was gone, before Shouta could even register it properly.

The pro unwrapped one of the bandages, placing gauzes on the wound and wrapping it around, to hold the padding in place.

With a pair of trauma shears, that he kept in his hero pants, Eraserhead cut out some plasters, so he could best cover the burns that covered the vigilantes head and the remains of his ear.

“The burns are giving me a pretty cool side cut, right?” Izuku asked, grinning.

The pro looked unimpressed, and said nothing, instead leaning over to best cover the head wounds.

The pro passed over a few bandages “for your leg” he said.

Izuku nodded, placing the bandages in his pocket.

He stared down the stories of the building, not knowing what to say any more.

He had dreaded having to see the pro again, however it definitely wasn’t as bad as he had anticipated.

The two sat in silence for a while, the only thing to be heard was the occasional noise from the young vigilante, as he smoked and drank.

It was peaceful up there, and the pro hero wasn’t making him feel awkward, for not saying anything.

The pro stuck out a hand towards the teen. “Can I have a cig?”

Izuku stared at the hero, disbelieving filling his face. “Wait” His mouth was agape. “You?”

Eraserhead sighed. “I’m not about to become a smoker, so close your mouth, before you start catching flies.”

The teen closed his mouth, still staring.

“Well then not” the pro said, placing his hand back on the roof.

Izuku took a couple of more moments to compose himself, before passing both a cigarette and the lighter over to the pro.

The two sat in silence, smoking.

“We will never speak of this again” the pro said, breaking the silence.

Izuku nodded.

Chapter Text

Izuku woke up, late afternoon again, with a raging hangover. He hadn’t been so drunk, that he couldn’t remember the previous evening, however drunk enough to have a bad headache.

It hadn’t been very long, since he had decided not to go back to school, however for some reason he was already missing it. He wasn’t missing the bullying, or the endless tormenting, he was missing the ability to earn, and gain knowledge.

He sat up, before grabbing his laptop, and then snuggling deeper into the blankets on his bed.

He opened the browser, scrolling through various online schools. It seemed like the best next step, as online classmates couldn’t bully you like “Kaccan” did.

One school caught his eye, it was based in Musutafu. All the lessons were pre-recorded, and then sorted into various courses. At the end of a course, you had to go to an “in person exam”, where you would receive a certificate of completion afterwards, along with a grade.

Once you had all the necessary certificates, and good enough grades, you could complete a school year, and then move up to the next year.

What was (in Izuku’s opinion) especially cool, was that you could work at your own pace, and email the school when you wanted to take the exams.

Izuku downloaded the form and printed it out. He slowly filled all of it out, before signing for both himself and his mother. He had put his own mobile number down as the parents or guardians number, seeing as his new school would have a better chance reaching him than his mother, in addition, he didn’t want his mother knowing that he had switched schools.

He didn’t want to have to start explaining himself, and why him and kaccan were not friends any more.

He photocopied his ID, as well as printing out a photo of his moms ID. He had taken it a long time ago, so he could use it for all official forms, and for also buying things, that usually needed an adult to buy.

He slipped all the paperwork in an envelope, and got dressed, putting on the nicest clothes that he had, that were clean.

He also brushed his hair, so that it mostly fell over the large plaster on his head, that covered the burn.

——

An hour later, Izuku arrived at the school building. It was very modern. He walked towards the front desk, towards a young woman.

“How may I help you dear?”

“I would like to enroll here”

“How old are you?”

“13”

“Okay, so for middle school, you need to take the elevator to the left, to the second floor, and there will be another desk. Talk to my college, and she will help you further.”

Izuku nodded, bowing, as he thanked her.

He took the elevator up two floors as instructed, before stepping out.

Another woman sat behind the desk, when Izuku stepped out of the elevator.

“How can I help you dear?”

“I- Uh” Izuku stuttered. Why was he stuttering now, like a useless fucking asshole. “I would like to enroll myself.”

“Middle school?”

Izuku nodded.

“You’ve got the correct floor then, dear” The woman smiled. “Have you already filled out the paperwork, or do you need some”

“I filled it out at home, and got my mum to sign.”

The woman nodded, as Izuku passed the envelope towards her. She opened it, pulling out the paperwork.

Izuku fidgeted on the spot, as he hoped, that she would not comment or discriminate on his quirk status, that was written at the top of his form.

The elderly woman smiled at the boy, noticing his uneasy face “I’m quirkless to deary, you don't need to worry about me discriminating you for it”

Izuku’s eyes widened, before he smiled. “Thanks”

The woman typed various things in her computer. “Do you want to start school here immediately, or do you have a date when your old school stops?”

“Can I start immediately?”

The woman nodded, as she wrote something on a sheet of paper. She slipped the note towards the boy, on it was a date, that was two days later and a time. “Can you show up then?”

The boy nodded again.

“That’s when you can come pick your books up. You are now officially enrolled, and I will make sure my colleges prepare all you need for school, for the date I wrote down.

Izuku nodded again, as he smiled

“Thank you so much” he said, bowing.

The woman smiled back, as she pulled a sweet out of a small bowl that stood next to her. “Us quirkless people need to stick together”

Izuku smiled yet again, as he accepted the sweet, before exiting the building, and taking the bus home.

——

It was dark, when Shouta Aizawa stumbled across the drunk vigilante, although he didn’t seem to be as intoxicated as usual.

The teen was sitting in an alleyway, in a way, that the pro almost would’ve missed him, if his eye hadn’t been caught by the small kitten, that the teen was petting.

The cat was a small ball of orange fur, with green eyes, and seemed to be greatly enjoying the scratches the teen was giving it.

“Hello Spirit” The pro said

“Hey there Eraser”

The two fell silent, both watching the cat, who was now scratching the trash can next to where Izuku was crouching.

“I named him” the vigilante said.

The pro raised an eyebrow.

“Katsudon”

“Why Katsudon?”

“Because I love Katsudon”

“You obviously liquor too” the pro waved his hand towards the bottle, that the teen was clutching.

“But he is just a kitten” the teen wined

“And?”

“He is too young to be named after an alcoholic beverage”

“And your too young to be drinking alcohol, yet here we are,” the pro said sheepishly

“Fuck you” the boy paused “I mean that in the nicest way possible.”

“How can >fuck you< be meant nice?”

Izuku pulled a face, but stayed silent.

The pro hero crouched down on the opposite side of the alleyway.

The two sat in silence for about five minutes, before the pro hero started talking. “Can we make a deal?”

“If it’s a good deal, then a deal might be made”

“I am still an adult, and a pro hero” Eraserhead began.

Izuku sighed, as he rolled his eyes, which the pro ignored.

“You are still a child, and therefore I need to keep some sort of eye on you, and as I obviously can’t stop you from doing your vigilante antics, I would at least like it, if you can check in with me at a specific spot once every night”

“ONCE EVERY NIGHT” Izuku said way louder than he had expected. He lowered his voice before he continued “isn’t that a little overkill?”

“Once every other day?”

“Twice a week?”

The pro sighed. “Fine, twice a week.”

The teen grinned, as he stood up. “When, where and what time?”

“Monday and Thursday, at the roof, where we smoked, at one in the morning”

The teen nodded, “I thought we would never speak again about the fact, that you smoked”

The pro narrowed his eyes, however said nothing.

The vigilante grinned, before running out of the alleyway “cya then old man” the boy called.

The pro didn’t bother to follow the teen, instead giving the kitten, who was now using his legs as a scratching post, a head scratch.

——

Izuku woke up on the morning of his appointment in his new school, feeling like shit. It was the kind of feeling, where he would rather rot in bed and forget he ever existed, however he knew he had to get up.

Showering was an absolute nightmare, the burns had stuck to the bandages and gauzes, so he had to get in the shower, with the bandages, to pull them off, using the water to dampen the crusts to make sure he didn’t also remove his skin in the process.

Everything was so fucking exhausting. After showering, Izuku put on some nice clothes again. If he was already quirkless, then he should at least be well dressed. He didn’t want to leave a bad first impression. Before the boy left for his appointment, he first went to the corner store, where he usually got his alcohol, however this time, he got a can of energy drink. He would need it. He would’ve rather drunken alcohol, however showing up, smelling like booze would probably not be a good idea.

He took the train to his new school, and took the elevator up two floors.

The same woman as last time greeted him, a smile in her face. “Im glad you could make it, my dear”

Izuku smiled back. “Where do I need to go?”

The woman pointed him in direction of an office. “Don’t worry, she doesn’t know your quirkless, she is just going to give you your books and an overview of all the exam dates”

Izuku smiled again, incredibly thankful, for the reassurement. Most of the time, when people found out about his diagnosis, they reacted with disgust, however to have someone, who didn’t see him as less, was refreshing.

——

The appointment went easier than expected, and the boy was out within five minutes, seven new books in his bag, as well as a specific calendar for all middle schoolers, which had their exam dates in.

There were exams for all subjects once a week. The woman, who had given him his books, had explained that Izuku was to finish a module on his pc, which would probably take a couple of weeks for each subject, and then when he was done with said module, he had to send an email to the school telling them, that he was ready to take the exam, and then he could come in, to the next exam for each subject, to collect credits, which he needed, to be able to graduate to the next school year.

It all sounded so complicated, however Izuku hoped it would make sense, when he had gotten a feel for the lessons and the modules.

On his way home, he stopped at the mall, buying new notebooks, pencils and pens. He also saw a grey scarf in a shop window, which he impulsively bought. It looked nothing like the scarf that the erasure hero used, however the colour was the same, and Izuku knew he could get a couple laughs, mimicking the stoic hero.

At home, he started making plans on how to most effectively study, hungry to learn more.

——

Thursday evening came quicker than expected, and the boy strayed the streets.

It was close to one in the morning, and he started making his way towards the roof.

He had stopped only one small crime, and had helped way too many grannies cross the road.

He climbed on to the roof, where the hero had planned their meet up, letting his feet dangle down, as he sat on the edge. A slight breeze ruffled through his hair.

He pulled out his bottle, taking a sip, enjoying the quiet, before the pro berated him on one thing or another.

A soft rustle, alerted the teen, that he was not alone anymore.

“Hello Eraserhead”

“Good evening Spirit”

“ACTUALLY, it’s good morning, because it’s one in the fucking morning.”

“What’s up with you kiddo?”

“Nothing” Izuku whispered, burying his face in his new scarf.

The pro raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, as he sat down next to the teen. “How was your week?”

“Fine”

The two sat in silence for a moment, before the pro started talking again. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No”

“Kid?”

“Mhm?”

“I’m worried about you”

Izuku narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

The erasure hero sighed, before he spoke. “You’re not usually this quiet”

The teen pulled the scarf up, staring at the pro “that’s because I’m a stoic erasure hero”

The hero pulled a slight face. “Are you serious?”

“Yes I am serious” the teen grinned, “I’m a very serious man”

The pro rolled his eyes.“Is everything alright though?”

“I’m doing great” the teen smirked

——

Izuku pulled his covers over his head, wanting to fall back asleep.

A pile of schoolwork lay on his desk, which he eyed from in between the covers.

He didn’t need to do the schoolwork today. That was one of the things, that he had been told. He could take everything at his own pace and decide on his own what he wanted to do next.

Today was the day, where he decided to call it an early weekend. It was Friday, anyways.

He flopped out of bed, wrapped in his blanket, and crawled like a caterpillar towards the bathroom. He had left his bottle of alcohol in the shower, from the previous night.

As he crawled along the hallway, the smell of his mothers perfume filled his nose.

“Fuck” Izuku muttered, as he stood up, still wrapped in his blanket, as he quickly dashed towards the bathroom. He grabbed the bottle of alcohol, before running back into his room, where he kicked everything suspicious looking under the bed.

When done, he walked to his bedroom door, and dramatically yawned. “Good morning mom” he called.

Silence

“Mom?”

Izuku sighed, and walked towards the kitchen. He looked at the kitchen table, and his suspicions were confirmed. A note was on the table, with a small amount of money.

Izuku stared at the sum of money. It wasn’t the amount of money, that he usually got, however he knew he was very spoiled when it came to the unlimited cash flow.

He took the cash, quickly reading the note, that read, that his mom was again working long shifts, because money was tight.

Rummaging around the cupboards, the boy discovered, that food was running low. He didn’t usually eat much more than toast with butter and chocolate spread, and the occasional packet of strawberries, however there was no bread to be seen.

Izuku sighed, as he lay down on the kitchen floor. He had no motivation to stand, or go to the store.

He lay there for an hour, before his back started hurting, and he got up again.

A couple of minutes later, he found himself in the corner store, not too far away. He stood at the checkout, watching the clerk scan way too many glass bottles, and then his one loaf of bread, and a jar of chocolate spread.

He stared at his shoes, it was much less awkward for him that way. The person scanning his items was new, and Izuku hoped, that the store owner had told him, that the teen had permission to buy alcoholic beverages.

“May I see some ID”

“I-“ Izukus face reddened.

“Oh, he buys that for his mom” The store owner walked out from behind a shelf.

Never had Izuku been as embarrassed, as in that moment.

The newer clerk pulled a face, that looked like a mixture of worry and judging.

Izuku smiled slightly, as he continued profusely sweating. The situation was way too uncomfortable for him.

The cashier let him know the price, and Izuku asked to pay with card, pulling out his mothers debit card.

He stuck it in the machine, which beeped a couple of times, and then denied the transaction, because of insignificant funds.

Izuku wanted to die on the spot.

“I will pay in cash” he squeaked, pulling out the cash his mother had given to him.

After he got his change, the boy grabbed his bag, exiting the store as fast as he could. He didn’t want to have to enter the store again in the next week. He needed a couple of days to emotionally recover from the embarrassment.

——

It was not yet dark on Monday evening, however Izuku still found himself on the roof of the building, where he usually met with the pro hero. The roof gave him a weird sense of security, that he couldn’t really make out why, but it was the way it was.

He was sipping a drink, as he always did. He hadn’t engaged in fights so far in the evening, as the red light district was surprisingly quiet.

His moms card had declined a couple of more times in various stores, and that worried him. He didn’t know, when the funds would be updated, and the cash would only last him another week. He didn’t spend that much money on food, however his alcoholism robbed him of a worrying amount of cash.

He knew his mom was still alive, seeing as she had left him a note on the table, but something was different. In all the years, where Izuku had used her debit card, it had never declined. He knew his mom only had one account, and for that account, she had two cards. One of them was in her possession, and the other in Izuku’s.

The teen sighed, as he let various scenarios mull through his head, on what could be up.

Maybe he had spent more money than usual, and that had used up the funds, or maybe his mother had made a bigger purchase.

It didn’t make sense though, so early in the month, that the bank account was now empty.

For some reason, he didn’t have a good gut feeling. It was telling him, that something was gravely wrong, and Izuku couldn’t place a finger on, what the issue was. There were no noticeable inconsistencies this month, in comparison to the last, so nothing he could logically identify.

Before he even noticed, it was one in the morning, and the pro hero landed silently next to him.

——

Shouta Aizawa was pissed. His class had made him want to expel the whole lot, and then the detective had given him a whole stack of paperwork, once he had signed in for his nightly shift.

He stopped various crimes, before making his way to meet up with the young vigilante as planned.

He landed on the roof, behind the boy, who was already waiting.

“Hey Spirit”

The teen turned around, an unreadable expression on his face.

“Hey” he said quietly.

“What’s up?” the pro asked.

“Everything’s fine”

Something about the expression in the teens face, read that everything was not fine, and Shouta knew it.

He was pleased about the progress, that he had made so far, with the child, being able to talk a bit about his life outside of being a self pronounced menace to society, and he hoped, that he would be trusted enough for the teen to share what obviously seemed to be bothering him.

He sat down next to the boy, pulling out one of his jelly pouches. The teen looked over curiously.

Shouta pulled a second one out, passing it to the boy.

The two sat in silence, drinking the jelly.

“I don't believe you, that nothing up”

The teen stared down towards the road, but stayed silent.

“You can tell me what’s up”

The boy shook his head, and Shouta sighed, but fell silent. The only noise to be heard now was the occasional clink of the glass bottle that the teen was drinking from, as he set it down next to him, to light a cigarette. The pro could shout at the vigilante every time he took a sip of the liquor or lit a cigarette. He wanted to tell the kid, that he was too young, that he had his whole life in front of him, and that he shouldn’t be destroying his body in that way, but he knew that all progress made so-far between them, would be thrown out of the window.

The teen would most likely flip him off, and then leave.

The two sat in silence for almost an hour, till Shouta started talking again. “You know, you can tell me anything”

The teen nodded.

——

Izuku was sat on his bed. He had just gotten home from meeting up with the pro hero. A hot tear rolled down his face.

Why was he crying?

“You can tell me anything” the pro had said. Izuku had really wanted to say something, but he couldn’t.

It had felt, as if he physically couldn’t say anything. His emotions had been stuck in his throat, along with the verbal vomit, that he wanted to dump on the hero.

He lifted the bottle to his lips, that was sat on his lap. He drank, gulp after gulp, he pressed his eyes closed, as he downed the bottle as fast as he could.

If he was that fucking useless, that he couldn’t even talk about his emotions, his worries and his situation, then he had to forget it.

The bottle was now empty, and Izuku was too sober.

“WHY” he shouted.

Why was he so fucking useless?

He stood up, gripping the bottle. He had to forget. A surge of energy rushed through his body. Anger. Why was he angry?

Anger was throbbing through his body. It felt uncomfortable. He had to get rid of the emotion; it was too much.

“FUCK” he screamed, throwing the now empty bottle at the wall, which shattered on impact.

What was this anger? Who was he angry at? Himself? His situation? Eraserhead? His mother?

He was angry at himself, that he was to useless to say anything.

He was angry at his mom, for not being there, for not being a parent, for not caring.

He was angry, that he didn’t know what would happen next, when he would have access to money again, when he might have the only support he ever got from his mother: financial support.

It wasn’t even a big deal, but after all that had happened: the last years of Katsuki’s violence and his mothers neglect, he had reached his breaking point.

Izuku opened another bottle, closing his eyes, as he drank the liquor, gulp after gulp.

He paused a moment, as he let himself take a deep breath. He needed to calm down. Getting angry wouldn't help the situation.

He could feel the alcohol churn in his stomach, and his vision go fuzzy. Slight regret filled him. Did he take it too far this time?

He placed the bottle down, as he staggered towards his bedroom door. The world was spinning around him, and then he felt pain.

He looked down. Blood was spreading on his floor. Where was this blood coming from?

He felt his stomach shift. He placed his hand on the wall to keep himself steady.

Vomit splattered on the floor. Izuku was too drunk to even register, that he was throwing up, his brain wasn’t working anymore.

The teen tried taking a step back, before his vision went black, and he passed out.

——

It was late afternoon, when Izuku finally woke up. He was completely covered in vomit. A throbbing pain was in his leg.

He propped himself up, taking a moment to become aware of his surroundings.

He had passed out in his doorway, next to a shattered glass bottle, covered in blood and puke.

What the fuck had even happened? No amount of effort was enough to get his memories of the previous evening back.

The pro hero had talked to him, but the rest of the night was a blur.

Izuku tried standing up, however a sharp pain in his foot made it impossible.

He pulled himself across the floor, military style, thanking the builders of the apartment complex, that they had put in a wooden flooring, that would make cleaning easier later.

A couple of hours and a lot of swearing later, Izuku had cleaned the vomit and blood away. He had done all of it, whilst crawling on the floor, to not disrupt his painful foot. Now he only had to clean himself.

He grabbed fresh clothes, and then crawled to the bathroom.

Removing his socks was especially painful on the one foot. Once the sock was off, Izuku found the reason for the throbbing pain. He had stepped in a big shard from the bottle that he had thrown against the wall.

Cursing himself out, he crawled into the shower.

He sat on the floor of the shower, hot water washing over him, as he carefully cleaned his skin and burns.

An aching tiredness filled his bones.

He stared at his foot, the shard was still inside his foot, and based on the amount of blood, that he had cleaned up earlier, he knew he shouldn’t be the one who pulled out the shard.

He cursed himself out again, as he climbed out of the shower.

Getting dressed was a hassle, so much so, that he fell asleep on the bathroom floor, shortly after putting his clothes on, with no energy to crawl back into bed.

——

Izuku woke up a couple of hours later, the throbbing pain too uncomfortable to stay asleep.

His foot had continued to bleed, even with the shard still lodged inside, and had created a small puddle.

Denial seemed good in this situation, and the boy contemplated that now may be a good time to sit down and do school work.

As much as he hated it, he knew he had to go to hospital, because if he DIYed the shard removal he may never be able to walk again, and that was (for the first time in a while) a risk, that he was not willing to take.

He propped himself up, and pulled himself towards his bedroom, if he drank something, he may make the situation better. Izuku knew that realistically, alcohol would not help the situation, however it definitely was easier to face the situation drunk, than sober.

At least, if he was drunk, he wouldn't have to remember how shitty he was treated in hospital.

He shoved a bottle in his coat pocket, and pulled on one of his shoes. The other shoe, he shoved in his backpack.

He stood up, pulling himself up, to stand on his good foot, before hopping towards the apartment door.

He knew how utterly stupid he looked, hopping like that, but it wasn’t like there were very many other options on what to do.

——

An hour and a lot of cursing later, Izuku made it to the hospital.

He flopped himself in one of the waiting room chairs, and a worried nurse rushed up to him, asking, how he was doing.

The boy stared at the floor, and only then did he notice, that he had covered it in blood.

“I- “

“I’m sorry” the boy stuttered.

“No need to be sorry, you hang tight and I'm going to get a wheelchair”

Izuku’s eyes widened, he couldn’t think properly. Why would he need a wheelchair, was he doing that bad?

His eye fluttered closed, and before he knew it, he was being rushed into a different room.

Colours were blurring around him.

He could feel himself be picked up, but he couldn’t register who was even doing it.

His vision was darkening, but he tried to stay awake. Was he passing out, now that the adrenaline was wearing off from getting to hospital?

“We have an unaccompanied minor, who is badly injured”

Izuku’s eyes fluttered open. Where was the poor kid?

Realisation hit him, he was the unaccompanied minor.

A nurse was bent over him, and was measuring his blood pressure. She went pale, and rushed out.

Izuku’s eyes fluttered closed again. Why wasn’t his body working properly any more? Had he lost too much blood? Was he too drunk? Why were they even caring for him?

Wait, they didn’t know he was quirkless. Yet.

He felt slight poke in his arm, and then a warm relief, as he drifted into unconsciousness.

He didn’t even try to fight it this time.

——

Harsh lights hit him, as Izuku opened his eyes.

A hand was rubbing on his shoulder. The teen looked over, the hand was connected to a person, and that person was a doctor. Was that a doctor?

He couldn’t think properly yet, his brain mushy.

His foot felt funny.

The doctor smiled at him. “Good morning”

“Wait, good morning?”

“Yes, its 8 in the morning on Wednesday”

Izuku’s eyes widened.

“You came here yesterday, with a glass shard lodged in your foot. We operated you, and gave you a blood transfusion, to help with the blood loss.”

“Was it that bad”

The doctor looked shocked for a moment, before composing herself “yes, it was that bad, the shard was lodged in your foot muscle and bone, hence your new cast”

“Oh” was all that the boy could say

“I hope you like the colour purple”

Izuku nodded.

“Do you want matching purple crutches?” The doctor asked.

Izuku nodded again. He would’ve preferred green, but he wasn’t going to complain.

The doctor left the room, shortly returning with a pair of crutches, adjusted to Izuku’s smaller size.

“We tried to call your parents, but nobody answered. Due to the severity of the wound, we were forced to operate anyway, so we sent your mother an email with the details. If she has any questions, she can contact me.

It was all too much for him to comprehend. He had just woken up from surgery, and now the woman was talking all these words.

——

An hour later Izuku left the building, after assuring all the doctors, nurses and surgeons, that he would be fine taking the bus home.

He hobbled towards the bus stop, where he sat down on the bench.

He pulled his cigarettes out of his coat pockets, which got him a lot of weird stares from the other people who were also waiting, but Izuku couldn’t have given less of a fuck.

Arriving at home, Izuku planted himself in bed, with his school work. That is where he stayed for the next couple of days, missing the next appointment with the pro hero. It wasn’t like he had the hero’s number, and could tell him, that he couldn’t be bothered to get out of bed

Monday evening came quicker, than he knew, and all the staying in bed, was starting to annoy him, so the teen decided, that it would be better to go and meet with the hero, before the hero came and found him.

It was weird, that someone cared enough, to want to see Izuku, to check in on him.

>its because its his job< the penetrating voice in the back of his head said.

Izuku wished the voice wasn’t right, but he knew it probably was.

He got into his vigilante clothes and used his crutches to quickly move through the red light district half an hour later.

Once at the building, Izuku stared up. It was way too high. Usually he would scale it, without a problem, using the various pipes and cables that ran up the building, but seeing as the cast would probably not grip on the wall as his trainers did, he just stood awkwardly in the streets, hoping the pro hero would see him.

Indeed, half an hour later he saw the erasure hero standing at the edge of the roof, looking down.

By then, Izuku had already sat down, on the floor, at the edge of the road

He waved at the pro, who nodded back at him.

Eraserhead let himself fall off the edge of the building, using his scarf to propel himself towards the teen.

“Hey Spirit” he said quietly.

“Hey Eraserhead” the teen grinned, waving again at the pro, who was now standing a meter in front of him.

The hero looked at the teen, an unreadable expression on his face.

“How are you doing?”

The teen stared at the pro, his face changing in an instant.

“I-“

The pro was staring at his cast, and the crutches, that the boy had in his one hand.

Tears filled Izuku’s eyes. This was all too much.

He wiped the tears away, hoping the pro hadn’t seen them, but when he looked over to the hero, he was staring directly at his face.

Fuck. Why did the hero have to be there when he was so weak? Why did he even let himself be weak in front of the pro?

The pro crouched down next to Izuku.

“I’m doing good” Izuku smiled. It was an obvious lie, but what would he even say?

He didn’t even have a proper reason to feel bad.

The pro ignored his statement, instead asking “what happened?”

“I-“

Izuku took a deep breath “I stepped in glass”

The pro narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.

The two sat in silence, the only noise to be heard was Izuku’s lighter as he lit a cigarette.

A couple of moments later Izuku started talking. “Y’know I haven’t seen my mom in ages, and now I don’t even have any money left”

“It’s not even something that bad, but“ he fell silent for a moment “but for some reason it emotionally fucked me the last week cause I don’t know what to do”

The pro looked over, making eye contact with the boy, the same unreadable expression on his face. “When did you last see your mom, kid?”

Izuku looked down, staring at the asphalt underneath him. “Like face to face or when she last dropped off money?”

“Face to face”

“Uuuh-“ the boy thought for a moment “about one and a half years ago, she needed to pick something up, and I managed to catch her as she was leaving”

“Kid?”

“Yea?”

“It is bad, no wonder your not doing well”

Tears dripped down Izuku’s face, faster than he could wipe away. Something inside of him had broken, something, that he couldn’t close up and pretend didn’t exist.

He was in pain, so much pain. Why did it all hurt so fucking much?

Biting on his lips did not stop the sobs that escaped his body.

“I-“ he managed between the heaving of his lungs “I’m sorry”

In that moment, Izuku realised what the expression on the pro’s face was. It was worry.

Why was he worried?

He was weak. Nobody should be worried about something useless.

Izuku pulled his knees towards him, as he curled in a ball, thick hot tears still running down his face.

“I’m so sorry” he repeated again and again. What was he sorry for?

“I’m sorry for being a burden”

He felt a hand touch his knee.

“Kiddo?”

“Kiddo, look at me”

Izuku raised his head, his tear filled eyes meeting the dark ones of the erasure hero.

“Your not a burden”

The pro passed a tissue to the teen, who wiped away some of the tears.

Deep sadness was etched on the teens face.

Again the two fell silent, Izuku’s head resting on his knees.

After a while the teen turned back towards the pro hero. “Thank you”

“For what?”

“For listening” the boy said, slowly getting up.

He had to go now. He had let himself be vulnerable enough in front of the hero.

He had the feeling that he would never stop crying, and didn’t want the hero to see him fully break down.

Once standing he grabbed his crutches, starting to hobble away from the pro.

He had to get away.

“Wait” the erasure hero called, but the vigilante ignored him.

Izuku bit on his lip. He hated ignoring people, he didn’t want to ignore the pro, but he had to.

“Wait, Midoriya”

Izuku turned around, staring at the pro, his eyes wide.

“How- I never told you my name”

“I-“ now the pro was stuttering.

“I was worried and started looking into who you could be”

“Why?” A scared expression, painting the teens face.

“So I could help you and make sure you are safe”

“I don’t need help though” Izuku said quietly, staring at his feet. “I’ve been fine enough alone.”

The pro took slow steps toward the teen, speaking softly. “You need help kiddo”

The last thing the hero wanted to do was to spook the child.

“I’m going to ask you, to come with me kiddo”

Izuku stared up at the hero in front of him. “Why?”

“We are going to the station”

“No!” Panic filled the young vigilante, but it wasn’t like he could run away. His brain filled with static, as he started swaying, a dizzy feeling consuming him.

The pro took a quick step forward, steadying him.

“Don’t arrest me” Izuku whispered

The pro bent down, so he could look the teen in the eye, while holding his shoulder.

“Your not in trouble kid, I’m just going to make sure you’re safe”

Everything began to spin, panic pulsing through his body.

Izuku’s knees buckled, but before he could hit the floor the pro hero caught him.

“I’m going to pick you up, okay kid?”

Izuku barely nodded, his body numb. It was enough confirmation for the hero, who picked the child up, using his capture scarf to keep the kid secure on his back, as he walked the streets, towards his office.

Tears streamed down Izuku’s face, which dripped onto the hero’s shoulder.

“You washing my shoulder” the hero joked

Izuku sniffled, a small laugh escaping him between the sobs.

Chapter Text

Half an hour later the two arrived at a building, where the pro swiped his card.

Izuku had nodded off ever so slightly, but when the bright light of an office hit him, he woke up.

He peaked over the shoulder of the hero, still in the capture scarf sling. The teen felt a small sliver of embarrassment that he was so old, yet still being carried, however it was definitely nicer than awkwardly walking along with the uncomfortable crutches, so he wasn’t going to say shit.

The pro walked through a group office, various faces turned to him, but Izuku ignored it, instead covering his face ever so slightly with a loose end of the scarf.

The pro walked through various doors, till he arrived in an office, which he knocked the door of, before entering.

“Detective Tsukauchi” the hero greeted

“Aizawa”

The detective smiled, curiously looking over to the figure on the hero’s back, who was completely encased in the pro’s scarf.

“This is Spirit” the hero said, gesturing to the kid on his back.

“I had my bets placed on you, that you would be the one to bring him in.” The detective deadpanned. “At least now I can ask the chronic cause of paperwork to stop”

Shouta raised an eyebrow, which the detective ignored.

“So, what’s the plan Eraser?”

“I want to emergency foster him”

A small gasp was to be heard from inside the capture scarf sling.

Why did he want to foster him?

Izuku’s head was spinning. Did he even want to be fostered? Did he have a choice in that decision?

It was better than going into the foster system, which he thought he would probably have to go in, after telling the hero about the harsh reality, when it came to his mom taking care of him.

The detective stared at the pro, slight disbelieving was visible on his face as well, but he quickly composed himself.

“What about the kids parents?”

“Father is out of the picture, the kid last saw his mom over a year ago.” The pro took a deep breath. “Midoriya here is thirteen”

The detectives mouth opened, before he nodded. “Thats enough to get an emergency foster. I will hand in the paperwork for you.”

The hero nodded.

Izuku poked his head up, looking over the hero’s shoulder at the detective.

The detectives mouth opened wide yet again. “Are you telling me, that half of the office here struggled with catching such a small kid”

Izuku stared daggers at the man behind the desk. “I’m not small” he hissed.

The detective smirked, pleased that he could get slight revenge against the chronic headache, but said nothing, pushing some paperwork towards the erasure hero instead.

The pro signed the form, before nodding to the other, and leaving the office

“Good luck as a new dad” Tsukauchi joked, as the pro walked out.

The hero rolled his eyes, but said nothing.

——

Shouta Aizawa left the office, with the vigilante still wrapped in his capture scarf on his back. The teen had nodded off, as they had walked back outside into the dark streets.

He had thought the kid might have tried to fight back more when it came to the foster, however he had been almost worrying quiet, tucked away in the back of his capture weapon.

A weird feeling had filled the pro. He had bonded with the kid over the last months. At the beginning with jokes and fun, and in the last weeks the darker part of the child’s life had been revealed.

Shouta sighed. For some reason the connection to the child was nothing like he had ever had before when rescuing a kid. Maybe it was because they had spent so much time together.

He didn’t know what it was, however he did know, that he wanted to give this child the world, and make sure he was as safe and nurtured as he could be.

Fuck, was this parental instincts?

——

Izuku rubbed his eyes. The pro had stopped walking. He peaked over the hero’s shoulder. He felt exhaustion hit him like a brick; the evening had been confusing. Eraserhead was standing in front of his apartment door, which he was in the process of unlocking.

Izuku was carefully lifted up by the scarf and placed on the floor inside of the flat. He pulled his shoe off, and stared at the pro, who then passed him his crutches.

“Where should I go?” the teen mumbled.

“Kitchen please. It’s that way” the pro pointed to a door, which Izuku entered, sitting himself down at the kitchen table.

The pro followed, grabbing things out of his fridge, as he began cooking.

Izuku rest his head on the table, as he let the evening pan out in his head. He couldn’t even properly process what had happened. Why had the hero even wanted to foster such a useless deku, a failure of a child, a drunk thirteen year old. His mom escaped to get away from him, and the hero was doing exactly the opposite.

A small hot tear formed in the corner of his eye, which he quickly blinked away.

Half an hour later, a steaming bowl was placed in front of the teen.

He lifted his head, to peak the contents.

“It’s your favourite”

“Katsudon” the teen whispered. “How did you know?”

The hero rolled his eyes ever so slightly. “You told me “

“Oh”

The pro sat down next to the teen, as they sat and ate in silence.

After eating, the teen rest his head back on the table, falling asleep quicker than he could comprehend.

The pro silently stood up, picking the small boy up, and placing him on the sofa in the living room. He put a blanket over the teen, and propped his injured leg up on a pillow.

Grabbing his yellow sleeping bag, he joined the boy, he himself curled up on the armchair, as to not invade the boys comfort zone, without being too far away.

He didn’t want the boy to make a run for it, just after he had managed to get him to a safer place.

——

Sunlight hit Izuku’s face. He rubbed his eyes, before looking around.

He was obviously not at home, but where was he?

After a couple of moments, he remembered the evening, he remembered crying, and then being carried by the pro.

He pressed his face back in the pillow in embarrassment.

“Kid?”

Izuku turned around, to face the voice.

“Eraserhead?”

The pro passed the boy a steaming hot cup of coffee, which he gladly accepted.

“You can call me Shouta”

The boy nodded. “You can call me Izuku”

The two sat, each with their respective cups of coffee.

“Kiddo?”

The teen nodded.

“I know its probably not, what you really want, but I am going to be fostering you for the moment.”

Izuku nodded. He didn’t know how to feel with the situation yet. He didn’t know what he wanted, however he did know that he had desperately wished for someone to help him over the years.

“Should we go and get some of your belongings, so you can make yourself comfortable for the moment?”

The teen nodded again at the suggestion, forcing a small smile.

The pro continued “I have a guest room, that Hizashi usually uses, but it will become your room. If Hizashi wants to come over annoy me, then he can start using the sofa to sleep on.”

“Maybe then he wont stay so long” the pro muttered, however a small smile was to be seen on his face.

“Who is Hizashi?”

“My best friend”

the teen nodded

“He is annoying” the pro added, and Izuku let a small smile slip on his face.

The two drank their cups up, before putting their shoes and coats on.

Shouta attempted to help the teen get down the stairs with his crutches, however the teen did not appreciate the help and instead thought it was better to flip the pro off, who was carrying his crutches.

——

The two arrived at Izuku’s home, half an hour later.

The teen quickly hobbled to his room, and the pro slowly followed.

The flat was slightly messy, clothes thrown into piles on the floor, across the apartment. It didn’t surprise the pro, the teen had been forced to live alone, without any support on how to stay tidy and clean.

The flat itself was slowly falling apart, most likely due to the fact that it was in a more lower class part of town. It was a cheaper flat with most likely owners who didn’t care about the state of the apartments that they rented out. Yellowing wallpaper was peeling on nearly every wall, and the air was thick and musty.

The bedroom of the teen was an organised chaos. Various tech items had been thrown into a drawer that had been pulled out of the desk. The room was by far the cleanest of all the rooms the pro had seen so far. The walls had seemed to be patched up by the teen himself and were painted in a nice shade of light green.

Posters and posters of hero’s covered most of the walls, as well as shelves of various figurines.

For some reason it was nice for the underground hero to see the posters and figurines. It gave off a feeling, that the vigilante did have something that gave him the chance to be a kid.

Bottles of alcohol were peaking out from underneath the bed. A small glance to properly see underneath the mattress revealed that there were indeed rows and rows full of empty bottles, lined neatly up.

The teens room smelled of smoke with a slight pungent smell of cleaning liquid and vomit.

Shouta could feel his heart clench as he thought of the evenings the teen must’ve spent alone in his room, smoking and drinking all his bad thoughts away. It was no secret to him by now that the teen did have an addiction problem and mental issues, but seeing the bottles all rowed up made it seem even more real.

Izuku was standing at his desk, and shoving various notebooks, as well as a laptop in a backpack. When the boy thought the hero wasn’t watching, he shoved a couple of bottles of the alcoholic beverages in his front bag pocket for later.

Shouta stood in the doorway, as he watched the teen pack. The two were silent as Izuku grabbed his things, both in deep thought. The teen was spiralling about what the future was to hold, whilst the hero thought about how he could get the kid, he had become so fond of help. Help to fight his own demons, that he drowned out with addiction.

A couple of bags later, Izuku was done, and the duo left the flat, packing the bags into the boot of the pro’s sleek black car.

——

It was evening, and Izuku had unpacked all his things in his new room. It felt weird. He didn’t know how long he would be staying, and what would happen after his stay was over. A little part of him hoped he could permanently stay at the hero’s place.

He sat on the black sofa, his notebook on his lap, and the pro was back on the same armchair, as he had been on in the morning.

“Izuku”

The teen hummed in response.

“We haven’t been able to reach your mother, she kept sending us to answerphone.”

Izuku nodded. It didn’t surprise him, due to the fact, that his mom did that to everyone, who attempted to contact her.

“You will stay at my place for the moment. The judge granted the emergency foster, as I have a licence for that.”

Izuku nodded “sure” he said quietly. He didn't want to talk or even think about his mom. He didn't know what would happen if he ever was to see her face to face again. Would she pretend to care?

Silence filled he room for a while, before the boy opened his notebook.

“Can I ask you a question Erase- um Shouta?”

The pro nodded.

“How does your capture scarf work, it moves like it knows what you are thinking, and raises like your hair, when your quirk is activated and-“ The teen stopped. “Sorry, I didn’t want to ramble”

“No worries” the pro responded “I am actually not exactly sure how it works, however i can say, that the scarf is controlled with the signals my brain sends out, a bit like if I was given an extra limb”

“Do you feel pain, if the scarf is cut then?”

“No, actually I have a couple scarves, as they get damaged more often than I had originally expected”

The teen nodded, as he scribbled some notes down.

“What are you writing down there kiddo?”

Izuku blushed in slight embarrassment. “I do hero analysis for fun, and I wanted to take some notes on your capture weapon”

“Im sorry, its weird” he added

“May I see?” The pro extended a hand, as he reached for the notebook, which Izuku passed over. >Hero analysis part 17< was to be read on the front.

Shouta flipped through the notebook. “Thats impressive, and also a very important thing for heroics and fighting.”

The teen rolled his eyes. “It’s not fucking impressive”

——

Izuku lay curled up in the guest- no, his bed.

He hadn’t had very much alcohol through out the day, as he had spent a lot of time with the hero, and in some way didn’t want disappoint the pro. Every now and then he had excused himself into his room, to take a couple of sips, and then pretended like nothing ever happened, when he went back to the living room where they had been sitting.

He couldn't quite place his finger on what was different now, seeing as less than a day ago, he couldn't care less if the hero saw him drinking.

Maybe it was because he was now staying at the pros place, or maybe because he was embarrassed about the amount that he drank.

He had never before been embarrassed, however, he also had never spent enough time with Eraserhead in one go, for the pro to see.

Maybe it was the fact, that he felt so weak. He didn't want the hero to know how dependent he actually was.

When unpacking, he had put the bottles he had snuck with him, under his bed.

Reaching under his bed, he pulled out one of his favourite liquors. He let the bottle sit in his hand, as he stared at it.

Was it rude to drink, when the hero had taken him in?

He couldn't not drink though, he had to drink, he had to bury back the wave of emotions, that had been building up throughout the day.

The whole situation didn’t sit right with him, regarding his mother. Yes, she rarely picked up, and yes, she was home even less, however with the amount of times the hero claimed both he and the detective had called, she should’ve picked up.

Her card still didn’t have any money on it, and although the hero was obviously currently feeding him, it bothered the teen. Something just wasn’t right.

Izuku opened the bottle, taking a sip. The familiar burning sensation, and then warmth spread inside him.

He was eager to drink, after staying way too sober over the day. He took big gulps, forcing the liquid inside of him.

He put on his headphones, letting the music blast in his ears, as he fell into a deep slumber.

——

Shouta’s phone buzzed. It was way too late into the night, however when he saw the name Tsukauchi flash up on the screen, he knew that something had to be up.

He sat up in bed, rubbing through his hair. The detective must be working a night shift, seeing as he wouldn't be awake otherwise at this terrible time.

Tsukauchi: I have updates on Izuku’s Mom

The message was short, and unrevealing, so the hero called his college.

“Hey Aizawa” the detective greeted

“Tsukauchi”

“I have news on Izuku’s mom. It isn’t that important that you had to call me at this time though.”

The pro grumbled “you could’ve mentioned that when you sent me the ominous message at 3 in the morning”

The detective apologised.

“Now that I'm here, what’s going on?”

“I have found the hospital that Mrs. Midoriya works at. Her boss told me, that she was fired for reasons a while back, but didn't want to reveal why on the phone, so we have no way of knowing if she even is here in Japan or Musutafu anymore, seeing as she was last seen over a month ago and according to Izuku, never came home after being fired.” He paused for a moment. “Does Izuku even know she was fired?”

The hero was silent for a moment. “I don’t think so”

The detective sighed deeply. “I don’t know if that makes the situation better or worse.”

The pro sighed. “Are you going to launch an investigation on what the reason of firing was?”

“I’ve arraigned a meeting with her work college and I hope to get more information soon.”

“You will be able to track her down though?”

“I will try my best Aizawa”

“Thanks Tsukauchi.”

“Pleasure, now get some sleep”

The detective hung up, and Shouta lay back down, his thoughts spiralling. He tossed and turned a bit, before getting up; he needed to check if his kid was okay.

Silently he got up, tiptoeing into the teens room, and quietly opening the door.

The teen lay, sprawled out in his bed, headphones on, with music so loud the pro could here it from the other side of the room. The hero smiled slightly, relief washing over him, to see the child safe and sound.

He saw the bottle of alcohol clutched in the kids hand and sighed. As much as he wanted to throw it out, and drain the contents, he knew that, that was not the way to go. One could never force an addict out of addiction, the addict would want to have to stop on their own accord to ever have a chance of becoming sober.

He closed the door silently, before making his way back into his room, and snuggling under the covers.

——

Izuku woke up, to a knocking on his new bedroom door. he was still clutching the glass bottle in his hand from the night before, which he hastily hid, before calling, that the pro was allowed to enter.

The hero walked in, looking exactly as shitty as Izuku felt, in his hand, two cups of coffee, one of which he passed to the boy.

“Do you go to school at all?” The hero asked.

“Good morning to you too Shouta” the boy grumbled back

the pro rolled his eyes “good morning spir- I mean Izuku.”

“I have online school,” the teen said “I get to take the exams, whenever I'm ready”

The hero nodded.

“I’ve taken some time off work, so we can hang out here and work remotely”

This time Izuku nodded.

A ring at the doorbell caused both of them to jump, Izuku spilling some coffee on himself.

The pro turned, to get the door, and Izuku used the moment of distraction, to pour some liquor in his coffee. It wouldn't taste good, but who cares, alcohol was alcohol.

“SHOUUUUUUUUUTA” was to be heard from the hallway.

Izuku jumped again, this time managing to not spill his coffee all over him.

“use your fucking indoor voice Hizashi”

“But Shouuuta, I was worried. You never call in sick, and then two days in a row.”

The erasure hero sighed “I’m fine”

Izuku sat in bed, unmoving, he did not want to disturb the two, but at the same time, he did want to see who exactly the best friend of the erasure hero would be. If he remembered correctly the best friend had been called Hizashi, just like the man who now stood in the hallway.

“Im fostering a child at the moment” the pro smiled ever so slightly, much to his best friends surprise. “It’s the little vigilante, spirit”

“OH MY, LET ME SEE HIM SHOUUUUU”

Aizawa sighed “Hizashi, I'm not sure if the kid is even up for visitors”

Izuku got up, peaking around the door, curiosity getting the better of him.

“SHOUU, HE IS ADORABLE”

The erasure hero followed the others line of vision, to the small teen, who was standing in the doorway.

“Hey kiddo” Shouta said

Izuku stared at the visitor, who smiled. “Hey little listener, I'm-“

“Presentmicyesiknow I am such a fan, I loved your radio show as a kid, I would always tune in, and-“ Izuku stopped, his face flushing in embarrassment. “I’m sorry”

“What you sorry for kiddo?” The dark haired pro asked.

“I didn’t want to ramble like that”

“Thats nothing to apologise for little listener, I’m always happy to meet fans”

Izuku awkwardly hopped over to the desk in the room that he had been sleeping in, returning with his notebook.

“Can you sign my notebook?”

——

Izuku was sat on the floor, in front of the sofa table, and Shouta was sitting on the sofa. Both of them had laptops in front of them, and were working on their respective tasks.

“Ughhhhhhh” Izuku sighed loudly, letting his head fall on the table. “I need a break”

The hero looked up, nodding “sure thing kiddo, you hungry?”

The teen shook his head, stretching as he got up.

He slowly walked into the guest room, reaching under his bed, and pulling out a bottle, trying to be as silent as possible. He took a couple of sips, relief filling him. He needed that.

He walked back into the living room, bringing some of his blueprints with him, to distract himself of the pile of schoolwork, that he COULD be doing.

——

Evening had hit, and the pro hero had just wished the vigilante a good night.

Izuku was sitting at the desk table in the guest room. Thoughts were swirling inside of him, emotions filling him.

He didn’t know how to feel, now that the pro had emergency fostered him.

He liked the pro, but he didn’t like the feeling of being stuck here. He always was able to decide what he did and when he did it, even if it ment doing schoolwork or running around outside at ungodly times.

Izuku pulled his box of cigarettes out from his bag, opening the window. He looked out and around.

The pro lived in the fourth floor, and the windowsill wasn’t big enough to properly sit on it, when pulling the window closed behind him.

There was however some piping close to his window, which Izuku eyed. It should be strong enough to hold him.

The flat roof of the apartment complex should be ideal to sit on, so that was what Izuku did. His liquor in one pocket, his cigarettes in the other, he climbed up the piping, taking extra care to be especially silent. He knew the hero would hear anything and he wanted to avoid that embarrassment.

Izuku sat quietly, with his headphones on. He drank one bottle up and soon one became two, the liquor burning his stomach. He let the tears inside of him roll down his cheeks, not bothering to wipe them away.

He had reached a point that no amount of alcohol could get rid of the emotions he felt. If anything, they made them even worse.

So many emotions had filled him, that he couldn't even determine, what all the feelings were.

“Hey” a voice whispered next to him.

Izuku jumped, pulling his headphones down, as he turned to the side, only to be met by Eraserh- no Shouta.

He hurriedly wiped away his tears, before nodding to the hero, who was now sitting himself down next to him.

“Hey Shouta”

The hero smiled slightly. “Can I ask you something kiddo?”

The teen nodded.

“Why do you drink?”

Izuku sighed. It was a deep sigh, filled with both sorrow and tiredness.

“You don't need to answer, if you don't feel comfortable” the pro said.

“It started when I was four.” Izuku started. “My parents took me to the doctor to see, why my quirk had not manifested yet”

The teen took a big gulp of alcohol. “The doctor told my parents I was fucking quirkless.”

“My dad didn’t like that I was quirkless, and he tried every single thing or way to force a quirk out of me. He pushed me out of the window, he pushed my head under water, till I passed out. That wasn’t even the bad things.” He paused for a moment “My dad heard that near death experiences sometimes triggered quirks, and-“ he broke off.

Shouta’s eyes widened. He knew that quirkless people were treated bad, and he knew that the little vigilante had to have faced some sort of abuse, after all, he was drinking hard liquor at such a young age.

“After my dad realised that I would never show a quirk, he left one day, and never came back. I must’ve been like six or so. My mom was forced to take long hours at the clinic where she worked at, to be able to get by, although-“ Izuku took a deep death before continuing “I think she also wanted to get away from me. I think that I reminded her of the fact that I was the reason her husband left”

“That wasn’t the only reason I began to drink though” he laughed a bitter laugh, full of anger. “Katsuki Bakugo, my only friend, turned on me when I was diagnosed as quirkless”

“was he that kid who burned you?”

Izuku nodded. “He hated me just as much for being quirkless. Maybe, because we wanted to be heroes together.”

“He burned you for being quirkless?” The pro asked, slight anger filling his voice.

“I guess so. My worthless presence annoyed him”

“And your mom never did anything?”

“How was she supposed to do shit if she was never there?” Izuku snapped back.

Both fell silent, watching the street underneath them.

“I drank to forget. I had to forget I was worthless.” The boy whispered.

The pro sighed. “Im sorry Izuku”

“Why?”

“Nobody should have to go through something like hat. Both the neglect from your mother, and the physical abuse from your father and that kid.” The hero turned to face the boy again. “And for the record, your not worthless”

Izuku stared down, not knowing what to say. For years, he felt like the abuse was deserved, justified, because he was as useless as he was told he was. The fact that he had no quirk was enough proof that he was a >deku<, just like Kaccan called him.

The two sat in silence for a couple of minutes. The only thing to be heard was the sound of cars rushing by on the street below, and a sniffle from Izuku every now and then.

The small vigilante wiped the tears out of his eyes, lighting a cigarette. He held the box over to the pro. “You also want one?”

the pro nodded.

The two sat in silence again, silently smoking.

Shouta was the one to again break the silence. “Do you want to stop drinking?”

Izuku was silent for another moment, long enough, for the pro to wonder if he had even heard him, before he answered.

“Im scared if I stop drinking, I will lose who I am. I will lose the funny kid that everyone gets to meet. The kid who doesn’t remember how fucking useless he is, the kid who forgets his emotions”

“If you stop drinking, you won’t loose yourself, you will find yourself. Alcohol is your facade, the brick wall you built to try to protect yourself.”

Izuku hummed a response.

“Kid, I want to help you stop drinking”

“What if I don't want to meet the real me, what if I want to drink till my death”

Shouta inhaled sharply. “You will end up dying soon, and that of liver failure, if you continue the way you are”

“Why do you even care?”

“I care because your important to me. I enjoy spending time with you, and I want to best support you-“ the hero paused

“Support me? Your not my fucking dad”

Izuku caught a hint of sadness on the hero’s face for a moment. Why was he sad? the expression was gone before he could even properly recognise it.

“Obviously I'm not your dad. Im not even biologically related to you.” Shouta took a deep breath, inhaling the smoke of his still lit cigarette deep into his lungs, before pushing it out on the tiles next to him. “You wont be able to go back to your biological parents. No judge would rule in favour of an abusive after and absent mother.”

Izuku sighed.

“You have the choice, Either you go into the system, or you can live with me.”

“You would adopt me?”

“Yes of course kiddo” the pro reached his hand out, ruffling his hand through Izuku’s hair. The teen leaned in, enjoying the touch.

“Can we get cats?”

The pro looked amused. “Sure thing”

Izuku let himself flop back onto the roof “ughhhhhhhh” he groaned. It was all to much. The deep talking with the hero was both such a freeing and trapping feeling. Freeing, because he could share some of the things he never dared to say, some of the things that never left his mind, but at the same time, saying this thoughts, that left him so captivated made him feel even more trapped.

“You okay kiddo?”

“Just tired.”

“Im gonna carry you back down, okay?”

“Why? Im not five”

“Yea, I know, but someone forgot to bring his crutches”

Izuku pretended to sulk, as the pro picked him up, carrying him down the stairs that led up to the roof. “You didn’t take the stairs, did you?”

“I didn’t know they existed”

This time the hero groaned.

Shouta placed the little vigilante on the sofa. “You want to watch a movie, or head to bed?

“Movieeee” Izuku squealed

The pro grinned, passing the remote over to the teen.

The two sat there, watching. By the time the movie had ended, both of them had fallen asleep, leaning against each other.

Chapter Text

Izuku woke up the next morning with (like every morning) a headache.

He opened his eyes, and realised he was lying on top of the erasure hero, who was still snoring. His head had been on his chest, and the pros hand was resting on his back. It felt comforting in a way, and the teen noticed how he had rarely felt as safe as he currently did. It was weird, seeing as he didn't know the hero for very long, however the pro had offered him nothing but support and an open ear the whole time they had been communicating.

Izuku closed his eyes again, laying his head back down enjoying the comfort. Maybe he could get some more closed eye.

He was wrong. He was now wide awake. He tried not to move, as to not wake the hero, who always looked like he desperately needed a nap.

When he inevitably had to go to the toilet half an hour later, he tried to move without waking the other up, however managed to spectacularly fail, as he fell of the sofa.

The loud thumping of him ungracefully hitting the floor awoke the pro, who quickly sat up, snickering, as he saw the teen on the floor.

“are you okay kiddo?”

Izuku flipped the other off, before crawling towards the bathroom. It seemed safer than awkwardly hopping.

When he finally crawled back out of the bathroom, the pro stood there waiting.

“Don’t you dare laugh” The teen hissed.

The pro smirked ever so slightly, before asking him to follow to the kitchen.

Izuku followed him, and was met with a cup of coffee, which he gladly accepted.

The two sat at the table drinking their caffeinated beverage.

“Do you have a primary physician?” Shouta asked

“A what now?”

“A doctor”

“No”

“Well, we need to probably get your leg checked out, to see if its healing well, so I will take you to mine”

Izuku nodded.

“You going to try and sober up?”

Izuku pulled a face “If you can still bare the Izuku behind the facade, then yes”

The hero nodded. “I will be there for you, I will support all your emotions. I can’t wait to meet the sober Izuku”

Izuku pulled another face “Does Present Mic know your this sentimental?”

The pro resisted the urge to flip the other off, instead opting for a better alternative “My doctor can help with the withdrawal, and check on your leg, when we go there”

——

Two hours, and a lot of coaxing later the pro had finally managed to get Izuku and his crutches into the car.

Although he had said yes to going to the doctor, he still was incredibly nervous when it came to ACTUALLY visiting the practitioner. Shouta had eventually bribed him with being able to get a cat afterwards, and that had definitely speeded up the process of getting him in the car.

The two drove in silence for ten minutes, before they arrived. The pro helped the kid out of the car, and they silently walked up to the reception, where Izuku was given a form.

The teen filled out the form, and the doctor quickly called them in. The hero had been sneakily looking over his shoulder what the teen had written down and was extremely worried when he saw how little checkups had been done over the years. Little checkups, to be more specific, was only one, and that had been at age four, most likely the mandatory quirk checkup.

Izuku’s cast was removed, and the stitches were checked up on. Due to no signs of infection, another cast was applied, this time in a dark green, to match his hair.

He next had to step on a scale, and be weighed, which Izuku obediently did. The frown on the doctors face revealed to Shouta, that the kid was underweight, as he had expected.

The doctor had a long chat with the pro about the withdrawal. After about five minutes, Izuku began dissociating. It was all too much for him. He was so fucking scared of seeing the kid behind the facade. He didn’t even know if he wanted to meet the real him, but he knew he had to sober up, because it wouldn't be to long until the alcoholism did kill him.

A part of him was unsure, if this was the best thing to do. He had spent countless years using alcohol as his way to cope, and then not even three days into living with the pro hero he was going to sober up. Would the support from the hero even be enough to balance out the support the alcohol gave him. At the same time, Izuku felt safer with the pro hero, than with anyone he had ever felt, and he knew, that if anyone would be able to help him when it came to sobering up, then it would be the grumpy dark haired man who took him in, even if they didn't know each other for that long. They had spent a lot of time, and had a lot of night time talks together.

A little nagging voice in his brain told him that he had to sober up, before the alcohol would destroy the relationship he had to the pro.

Blood-work was done afterwards, and the hero was told, that he would receive a call if anything was wrong.

——

After the painstakingly long doctors appointment, Izuku sat in the car again with the pro, he was already tired and wanted to head back to bed.

They had to stop at a specific pharmacy to pick up some medical equipment, as the pro had told the doctor, that they wanted to do the withdrawal at home.

Shouta knew, if Izuku was hospitalised for sobering up, it would bring even more issues to the already stressful situation, and seeing as the hero had various medical training, the doctor had deemed him okay enough to help support the teen, although if any of Izuku’s stats dropped, he would have to go to hospital and let professionals take over.

The hero left the pharmacy with various equipment, to measure heartbeat, blood pressure and blood sugar. A knot was in his own stomach, at the thought of the next days that lay ahead of them. He didn't want to see the kid in pain, however he knew, that the withdrawal would help him feel better in the long run, seeing as alcohol dependencies were incredibly deadly.

Dumping the equipment on the back seat, the hero got in the front, to be met with Izuku’s excited face. “Catssss” the teen almost squealed.

Shouta sighed. “Let’s go then. They can be your emotional support animals, for when you sober up.”

The teen nodded happily, a grin still plastered to his face.

They arrived the local animal shelter not long after, where Izuku hopped around, looking at all the cats and kittens, who curiously watched him, some slinking around the teen’s ankles, awaiting scratches and attention.

Shouta wandered behind him, smiling to himself, as he saw the joy in the kid’s face.

After half an hour of the teen giving all the cats head scratches, he had finally narrowed his decision down to two cats, who were playing with each other.

“Just look at them” he said excitedly.

Shouta smiled. “They are cute”

“I just can’t decide which one”

The pro crouched down, so he was closer to the boy, who had sat himself on the floor.

“We can take both, then they won’t be alone”

Izuku looked at the other, his eyes wide, as he quickly nodded, before the hero changed his mind.

——

An hour later, the two arrived at the pro’s apartment again, with new litter boxes, scratching posts, and the two cats, who explored the new flat, whilst Izuku watched them.

The pro spent the rest of the morning building the scratching posts together, and reading all the instructions manual of the medical equipment.

The afternoon was spent with the pro watching the kid play with the cats, until the teen started shaking at around 3PM.

Izuku was pale, and his skin clammy.

The pro got up, crouching down next to the boy, who was now curled up in the corner.

“Im starting to rethink all this sobering up” Izuku muttered

“Please don’t kid. Your doing so well”

Izuku nodded but said nothing.

He stayed silent, as the pro hero started measuring his vitals. His heart rate was elevated slightly, and his blood pressure a little low, however other than that he was medically stable.

“Can we go outside?” Izuku asked “I need some fresh air”

The pro nodded, grabbing their jackets and helping Izuku into his.

Shouta passed the teen his crutches, and the two made their way downstairs. “You got a place in mind where you want to go?”

Izuku shook his head

“You want to grab a coffee or a drink and then we go and sit down in the park?” Shouta asked. It may have been a little selfish of him, suggesting that, seeing as the pro really wanted a coffee right now, however when Izuku nodded, he didn’t feel as selfish any more.

The two walked down the street to a close cafe, where the pro ordered black coffee.

“And what would you like young man” the barista asked.

Izuku stared blankly at her. The hero was suddenly filled with worry as this was very unlike the teen, who usually had an answer on his lips.

The little vigilante was completely dissociating, as he stood there shaking.

“He will have a hot chocolate” the pro said. “and one of those cookies over there.”

Izuku could barely register what was going on. He wanted nothing more, than to curl up in bed, a bottle of liquor to drink and to rot away.

That wouldn't be possible. He had to sober up, didn’t he?

He barely felt the pro nudge him towards the exit, a drink in each hand, and Izuku’s cookie in his pocket.

Izuku awkward hobbled over to the exit, letting the hero guide him.

They walked for what felt like hours. In reality, that couldn’t have been more than five minutes, when they reached the nearby park. The two sat down, and Izuku was passed his hot beverage and his cookie, which had been wrapped in napkins.

Izuku stared at the things in his hand. Why wasn’t his brain working? Was this the effect of the alcohol withdrawal? Was this his brain trying to pull the old Izuku back to life?

The pro ruffled through his hair, saying something, however he couldn't make out what was being said.

Only then did he start to realise how much he had actually consumed over the years, and how rough, the next half of a week would be.

He took a sip of the hot chocolate, trying to fight back the trance like state that was consuming him. Beads of sweat were forming, slowly dribbling down, making him feel really uncomfortable in his own skin.

——

The pro looked over to Izuku, who was sitting next to him on the bench. The kid seemed to be staring into the void, and barely reacted to any outside stimuli.

Worry set deep in Shouta’s stomach, as he watched the teen sip the drink. The kid was incredibly pale, his skin almost a colourless shade of grey.

After watching Izuku for a little bit the hero decided that they should go back to his place, into a safer environment. “Hey kiddo, should we go back?”

The teen didn’t react.

The pro tapped on his shoulder, and finally the kid reacted. “Yea Shou” he whispered

“You wanna go home kiddo?”

Izuku nodded. The teen looked like he was about to start sobbing, sadness etched deep into his face.

Shouta watched the kid try to stand up, but he was shaking too much, so the pro scooped him up. Attaching the crutches to a hook on his utility pants.

The kid didn’t argue, instead leaning his head against Shouta’s chest.

The pro carefully walked back home.

——

Once back at home, the pro placed the teen on the sofa, making sure to prop his leg up. The greenette barely reacted at all.

Shouta measured Izuku’s vitals again. They were all less than optimal, however not yet bad enough, that they had to visit the emergency room.

One of the new cats, wove its way around his legs, making the pro almost trip.

Looking over to the teen, Shouta saw, that he had his eyes closed, presumably sleeping, so the hero quietly made his way over to the kitchen to make himself some coffee. He had vowed to himself to stay awake for the next 24 hours at least, most likely the next 48 hours, so he could make sure the teen was safe, while the symptoms peaked. The doctor had warned him, that the withdrawal could take up to three weeks. For his kids sake he hoped it would be a milder version, lasting only a couple of days.

The coffee machine was up and running, when Shouta heard a cry. It sounded like a mixture of sobbing and a gutted scream.

He rushed to the living room, to see the kid sitting up, his breathing was fast and shaky.

“Im here kiddo”

Izuku didn’t react to the pro’s presence, instead pointing towards the corner of the room “G- g- g- get away d- dad” he stuttered.

Shouta looked to the corner of the room, which stood empty. He had been warned by the doctor, that delusions, and hallucinations may become an issue, but he had never really mentally prepared himself on what to do.

“Kiddo” the pro said, touching the kids arm to try and get his attention.

Izuku looked over at the pro, his eyes wide with fear. “Eraser”

“Your safe here, I'm here, okay?”

The teen nodded, his eyes flicking between Shouta, and what the hero presumed to be the hallucination of his father.

The fear never left Izuku’s eyes, and tears were streaming down the face of the shaking boy.

“You w- wo- won’t let him h- h- hurt me?” The boy stuttered.

“No, your safe with me” the hero reassured.

Shouta crouched down next to the sofa, ruffling his hand through the green curls that covered Izuku’s head.

The little vigilante reached out his arms, as if he wanted a hug.

“You want a hug?” The pro asked, not wanting to overstep a boundary, when the teen was obviously in such a vulnerable state.

Izuku nodded, and the pro answered with an embrace, pulling the kid close.

They held the hug for a while, till Izuku’s breathing seemed to get shallower. He seemed to have fallen asleep again.

The pro scooped the kid up again, walking back towards the kitchen to grab his coffee. He held the small figure close to his chest.

He didn’t want to leave the kid alone, so he was going to take him where ever he went (apart from the toilet of course)

With his coffee in one hand, and the sleeping kid in the other arm, he walked back to the living room, watching the sky darken as he sipped his coffee.

The child was still shaking, even when asleep, but at least his breathing was stable. When asleep, he looked even younger than he actually was.

Every now and then the kid would mutter things about not wanting to be hurt and flinch.

Anger rose in the pro. How could anyone ever hurt such a small and loveable kid?

——

After 9 long hours the kid finally opened his eyes. He was still pale, and didn’t seem to be fully there yet.

Shouta ruffled through his hair “Good morning little one”

Izuku scrunched his nose, and didn’t answer.

Instead pointing to his mouth. “Full”

The pro looked confused for a moment, until he realised what the boy meant, but by then it already was to late, and the boy had vomited all over the floor.

The cat, who had been sitting in front of the sofa hissed, and Shouta tried his best not to curse. He would now, not just have to clean the floor, but also himself, the boy, and the poor cat who seemed thoroughly unimpressed.

The other cat who was wedged between some cushions, jumped up. Thankfully still clean though.

Shouta picked the boy up, carrying him towards the bathroom, where he helped him out of his T-shirt. Using a flannel to wipe away the vomit on the child’s face and neck.

Izuku was staring off in the distance as the pro did so, barely seeming to register what was going on.

The vomit covered cat walked in a moment later, hissing at the pro, who grabbed her, and washed her in the shower. The cat refused to be blow dried, so he wrapped her in a towel, before he also grabbed himself a new T-shirt, leaving the teen propped up in the bathroom.

Not even a minute later he heard the kid cry out again. He rushed over, pulling his T-shirt on.

The kid motioned to be picked up, so that was what Shouta did.

The pro stood in the bathroom, with the kid on one arm, a cloth in the other, which he was wetting, to wipe the puke up of the floor in the living room.

It was especially tedious to do it with the kid one one arm, however he wasn’t about to let go of the child who obviously really needed him right now.

Half an hour later, he was back on the sofa, the floor and everyone else was now clean. The teen lay curled up, on top of him, and was snoring slightly.

Shouta placed one hand on the back of the kids head, carefully playing with the green locks that covered it.

Izuku was mumbling quietly in his sleep, nothing the hero could decipher however.

The hero lay there for hours, every now and then checking if the teens vitals were okay, watching the sun reach the top of the sky, and then slowly set again.

The cats were pawing his arm in frustration and hunger, so reluctantly Shouta stood up, clutching the kid in his arms, as he went over to feed the cats, who were acting like they hadn’t been fed in years.

While in the kitchen, the hero also put on a pot of coffee, in hope that that would fuel him enough to stay awake for the next night, that was about to come.

A couple of minutes later Shouta was back on the sofa, the kid on the same spot on top of him, curled up, but now very awake.

“I want to smoke” Izuku stated in a very matter of fact tone.

The pro sighed. “That’s not a good idea in your state right now”

“I’m going t-to smoke”

“Kiddo-“ Shouta started, however his words fell on deaf ears as the teen started awkwardly getting up, and crawling across the floor.

The hero sighed in defeat. “I will join you kiddo, but just let me help you, okay?”

Izuku nodded, as the pro picked him up, helping the green haired boy to his feet, and pressing his crutches in his hands.

Shouta rubbed the bridge of his nose, and the followed the kid out of the room. Izuku was pulling on his jacket.

The teen did not look as if he was fully there, still pale and clammy, his eyes darting around, however he was determined, much to the pros frustration.

The hero put on his own jacket, before helping Izuku, who was already making his way downstairs.

After exiting the main door, the teen lent against the wall lighting a cigarette, as the hero watched with an anxious expression.

The teen took a couple of deep drags, before he, if it was even possible, paled even more. He let the cigarette fall to the floor. Izuku felt as if his throat had closed up, his heart beating out of his chest, dizziness overwhelmingly filling every inch of him.

He could feel bile raising in his throat. The liquid sitting uncomfortably in his stomach.

The hero anxiously watched the teen who was now shaking badly.

“Kiddo, I really don’t think it’s a good idea-“

The pro cut off, as Izuku bent over, vomiting all over the pavement in front of them. It was a foul smelling liquid.

As soon as the teen began swaying, the hero ignored all half assed protests, picking the teen up yet again, carrying him up the stairs back to their flat. The coat as well as the teens shoe got the stomach acid on them, so Shouta dumped them in the bath as a problem for later, placing the teen back on the sofa, pressing a bowl in Izuku’s shaking hands.

“I’m sorry” the teen whispered, barely audible.

The hero crouched down next to him. He wanted to reprimand the teen a little bit, however being sick, and in such a vulnerable state, the pro bit back a snarky comment. “Don’t worry kiddo” he ruffled through Izuku’s hair. How could he even be mad at such a cute kid.

“Can you stay with me?”

“I’m not leaving you”

The hero sat down on the sofa, and the teen snuggled up next to him, burying his face in the pros chest.

Before long the kid seemed to be fast asleep again. The hero wished he could also get a bit of shut eye, the exhaustion catching up with him.

He wanted to stay awake, for the kid. He had promised to take care of the little green haired boy, that he had let into both his home and his heart.

The pro stared out of the window again, watching the night sky, and the stars. The cats kept him company, as well as some bullshit TV series that the hero had put on to run in the background, to keep him both mildly entertained and awake.

He couldn’t help his mind, that was running in useless circles. The fact that mrs Midoriya had been fired, and then vanished without an obvious trace was worrying in his opinion.

He was very thankful, that the teen had trusted him enough to talk about the fact that he didn't have any money left, because he hero was scared to think about what could’ve happened, if the kid had never reached out. A homeless teen, or a teen, that needs to resort to stealing, to be able to survive was never good, although the pro was pretty sure, that the teen had already committed petty crimes like that.

In his opinion, it was incredibly selfish of the child’s mother to leave her kid like that. If she didn't want him that much, she could at least give him up to the state, and give Izuku a chance at a family, rather than abandoning him both emotionally and physically and ignoring his mere existence, although the hero had to admit it would have been very difficult for the teen in the foster system, due to his quirk status.

The sun was slowly on the rise again, and the hero knew, for the sake of his own mental health, that he had to go to sleep soon.

Shouta fished his phone out of his pocket, to message the one person who he trusted more than anything: Hizashi

Shouta: Hey zashi, the kiddo is doing a withdrawal, and I need to get some sleep, can you watch him?

Hizashi: sure thing, my lessons stop in six hours, I will be on my way then.

——

Seven painstakingly long hours later Hizashi showed up, sending the other a quick message, so he didn’t need to ring the doorbell and potentially wake the sleeping teen.

The blond crept inside, with him two bags. “I brought some school work for me to do, and some snacks for you, and also-“ he reached inside the bag “some new coffee for you when you wake up.”

Hizashi looked over at the teen, who was in Shouta’s arms.

“He doesn’t look like he is in good shape”

The dark haired pro nodded. “I’ve been really worried, but i need some sleep.”

The blond nodded. “Should I take him?”

“I don't know how he will react to being touched by someone else, so I would just let him sleep in my arms again, and you sit on the armchair, and keep an eye on if he is breathing.

The other nodded. “Sure thing”

Shouta placed the kid on the sofa.

“I’m gonna go get changed quickly”

He walked over to his own bedroom, grabbing himself a new pair of jogging bottoms.

He then went and stationed himself back on the sofa, picking the small vigilante up, so he was laying on top of him again, in a little curled up ball.

The blond stared at the two, before grinning. “Sho, you’ve become a real softie for him”

The other grumbled, as he closed his eyes, falling into a deep slumber.

——

Shouta woke up to Hizashi poking him.

“What are you doing?”

“The little listener is awake”

Izuku still looked incredibly pale and sweaty, however he was smiling.

A cat lay wedged on the sofa between Shouta and the cushions, who was receiving copious head scratches from the teen.

“Hey Eras- Shouta”

“Hey kiddo”

“M hungry” he mumbled.

The darker haired pro nodded, and Hizashi stood up. “I’ll make you something. You stay cuddled up with your cats and new dad” he winked, and Izuku pressed his face back in Shouta’s shirt to hide his embarrassed face.

The pro ruffled through Izuku’s hair. “How are you doing kiddo?”

“I’ve s- seen better days”

The hero smiled.

“You’ve survived the worst of it, now you just stay sober”

Izuku nodded, returning the smile.

Chapter Text

Half an hour later, steaming bowls of soup were served. Hizashi had gone all out, putting various veg and noodles on top.

Shouta had to admit that Hizashi was definitely the better cook, when it came to them.

The three sat in the living room slurping their soup.

Izuku was the one to break the silence. “We need to get rid of some bottles”

Shouta nodded. “How about we replace the bottles with some new decorations?”

The vigilante nodded. “C- c- can we go shopping today? T-to mark the end of my drinking and the beginning of being here?”

“If you feel well enough to, then sure thing kiddo”

——

An hour later Shouta and Izuku had collected the bottles, placing them in a big black bin bag, which they threw out on their way down to the car.

They sat themselves down in the vehicle, and drove to the nearest mall.

Izuku seemed to still be unsteady on his feet, so he pro helped support him, as they made their way through the mall.

The teen picked out a new desk, cupboards, and a hammock, which was directly shipped to the pro’s place. It had taken a lot of coaxing from the hero’s part, seeing as the kid seemed very reluctant to spend any money at all, not wanting to spend more than the hero had. Shouta had given the teen a rundown on how well paid both his jobs had left him, as well as the night shifts bonuses he got when doing patrol.

The clothing store was more of a chore, but Shouta had promised him a visit to the hero merch store after.

The two walked through the racks of clothing. Most of Izuku’s clothes had holes and scuff marks, so the pro had said that they had to be replaced.

Shouta pulled out an outfit from the rack, with a kitten on the front. “Thats cute”

The teen rolled his eyes, “I’m not five” he deadpanned.

The pro pouted a little at that, then smirking when the Izuku rolled his eyes yet again.

Shouta had to keep reminding the boy, that he couldn’t just wear jogging bottoms and t-shirts, regardless of how comfortable they were.

“What about this pair of pants, they have nice pockets and are a plain black” the hero said, trying to sell the trousers to the boy who was slowly starting to get a little frustrated at Shouta’s pitiful attempts to get him pick day to day clothes.

In the end, the two left the store with four bags filled with new clothes. It was a mixture of hoodies, T-shirts, trousers and jogging bottoms, as well as socks and underwear.

The hero had laughed when Izuku had picked out the socks and underwear, seeing as most of them had animal prints or were very colourful in comparison to the teens mainly monotone clothing.

The teen had scoffed and answered that nobody would see them anyway, so he couldn’t give a shit.

In the hero merch store, the boys tired eyes lit up, as he browsed through various things.

The pro had said he could pick out what ever he wanted, so that’s what the teen did. Shouta didn’t even have to coax the kid again to not look at prices, maybe because the child was now in his element.

“There is no Eraserhead merchandise” the teen wined, after they had walked through the store for the fifth time.

“Thats because I’m an underground hero. Nobody is supposed to really know about me and my work. It would be a tire if I got recognised kiddo”

“I know” Izuku muttered, as he looked at the Endeavour merchandise in front of him.

He pointed to a figurine of the fire hero. “I don’t like him”

Shouta smirked, he didn’t like him too. Curious he asked “why don’t you like him”

“He doesn’t respect the less needy, instead stepping on them to get his own way, in an uptight and downgrading way. That’s not what a hero does.” the teen stated. He dropped his voice a little. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he abuses his family.”

Shouta laughed, ruffeling through the teens hair. “Wouldn't surprise me either.”

With a handful of figurines, posters and other merch the two left the store.

Izuku looked dead on his feet, so the pro suggested to go back home, which the teen gladly accepted, slowly hobbling behind the hero who was carrying the bags.

As they were walking back to the car, they heard a shout. “DEKUUUU”

The pro didn’t think anything of it, and continued walking. Izuku however fell to the floor, panic to be seen in his face, his crutches clattering next to him. It almost seemed like a reflex to the shouting. The pro dropped the bags that he was carrying, going over to aid the boy and make sure he wasn't hurt. All the bravery and confidence that the hero had seen the vigilante show was gone. Maybe because of the true Izuku behind the facade, or maybe because Deku ment something.

He looked over to where the shout came, and he saw a teen boy, who was a little taller than his kid rush over. Sparks flew out of his fists, and the pro was almost certain, that this was the “Katsuki’ or “kaccan” that the vigilante had told him about.

The pro moved, so he was standing in front of his child, shielding him from the blond. He was certain that the tyrant had caused Izuku to sink to the floor in a dissociative state.

“DEKUUUUUU” the boy shouted again, and Shouta heard the boy flinch, as he knocked his crutches.

The pro activated his quirk, stopping the sparks flying out of the fists of the boy who was now stood a metre in front of him. “Quirk usage in a public space is illegal.” The hero said, his voice laced in spite.

“The fuck did you do to my quirk old man?” The blond shouted, moving himself into a fighting stance, trying to intimidate Shouta.

If the situation hadn’t been as serious, the pro would’ve laughed at the teen, who was over a head shorter than him, and trying to take him, Shouta Aizawa, an underground pro hero with a high reputation down.

“Move away, and don’t threaten me or Izuku.”

“Who the fuck are you?” The blond snarled in his annoying agitating voice.

The pro pulled his ID out of his pocket, flashing it at the teen. “Pro hero Eraserhead here, you will turn around immediately and walk away, or else your behaviour will have consequences.”

“What the fuck are you going to do old man? Arrest me?” Katsuki’s voice sounded like he was almost teasing the other.

“Yes” the pro deadpanned.

The blonds eyes widened, but he didn’t seem to believe the pro, as he instead decided to start even more verbal attacks.

“What even are you doing with that stupid Deku, why are you protecting that weakling?” He lunged forwards, his eyes filled with rage, as he mimicked an attack.

Izuku had tears in his eyes, cursing to himself, that he was being so vulnerable. He hated how weak he was, how regardless of how many villains he had taken down, Katsuki could always bring fear inside of him.

The Pro heard a sniff behind him, and that was when his own patience snapped.

The scarf which lay on his shoulders, as usual, raised into the air, wrapping itself around the teen, and lifting him up in the air, with both his hands and feet restrained.

Shouta’s red eyes met the blonds.

The blond teen was now screaming various insults, trying to poke around at the new found weak spot on the pro hero, Izuku.

Shouta lifted the teen up, so he was now over a metre in the air, before making a phone call.

“Sansa, can you pick a kid up that I arrested, I will be in the station in an hour to process him.”

The cat officer miaowed a confirming noise.

“Im at the mall, can you be there in ten?”

Another confirmation was to be heard, and then the pro hung up, turning his head to Izuku for a moment, who was sat on the floor with his jaw open wide.

“You wanna come with me in a sec, and tell me all he has done for a more-“ the pro paused for a moment, trying to find words that weren’t completely rude towards the blond, who was still shouting and screaming in his scarf.

“- um extensive case?”

Izuku froze.

“DONT YOU DARE STUPID DEK-“

“If I hear one more word from you, then I will also make sure to tape your mouth closed” Shouta angrily barked at the blond, before turning back to his kid, smiling at the green haired boy.

Izuku smiled for a moment. “Remind me to never get on your bad side”

The blond fell silent, knowing that the pro would indeed most likely follow through with his threat.

Izuku was sat on the floor dissociating for a moment. “I need to think about it”

In that moment, Sansa’s car drove up to the pro, blue lights flashing. “He is a real piece of work,” the dark haired hero said.

The cat officer raised an eyebrow, applying handcuffs to the teen, who the pro then unrestrained.

Shouta exchanged some smalltalk with the officer, and before Izuku had even properly noticed, the police car containing Katsuki was gone.

Izuku sat there, feeling like a puddle of stupid, curled up in a ball, his knees pulled up close to his chin.

The pro crouched down next to him “Is everything all right kiddo?“

“Y-yea. N-n-normally I wouldn't mind it that much, but I already wasn't doing well.” A small sob escaped his lungs, as the boy buried his face in his knees, his face flushing red in embarrassment.

“You should always mind that behaviour, because it’s not okay, and if its okay for you, I would like to press charges, and have you to be there when I do it.”

“Isn’t it mean to press charges, I don’t want to ruin his life, and I mean I kind of deserved the beatings..”

“No” the pro paused trying to find the best words. “Kid, can I hug you?”

The teen nodded, and the hero pulled him into an embrace. “You never deserve that kind of behaviour. You deserve to be treated with kindness, respect and love”

The hug was incredibly grounding and comforting for the green haired boy. Some weird emotion filled him, tears welling in his eyes, but this time, not in panic or fear.

The pro hugged him tighter “Don’t worry Kiddo, I’m not leaving you.”

Those words, that short sentence broke something inside of Izuku. It broke him in a good way.

It was unfair, that his mother had never been there for him, like the hero now was, however if his mom never bothered to give him attention, then he would just learn to appreciate the love and the attention from the pro even more.

He just knew it was something that you couldn't take for granted.

“Thank-you” Izuku whispered between sobs “thank you so much for not leaving me”

“Kid, you never gave me a reason too”

“Thank you for never beating me up”

“Oh kiddo.” The hero scooped him up, as well as the shopping bags and Izuku’s child sized crutches, trying very hard to not drop the boy.

After he placed the boy in the front of the car, dumping the bags in the back, he turned to the boy. “You are a kid, a hurt kid. I could never hurt you”

The teen smiled ever so slightly, tears slowly drying on his face.

The hero ruffled through Izuku’s green mess of hair, “Do you want to go home, or bring justice to the whole…” he paused for a while “Katsuki thing”

“Can I get home, to get changed, and then we go to the police station?”

The other nodded, and with that they made themselves on the way back home.

——

After an hour, they finally arrived at the police station. The car rides had both been relatively short, but Izuku wanted to wear the most ridiculous outfit for when he legally beat the blond teens ass, by giving a statement and evidence.

He was now sat in the car, wearing a pink unicorn shirt, with the words “Alpha male” on the front, as well as a pair of grey jogging bottoms, and his hair tied up in a scruffy bun, to show off his burn and the remains of his ear, so everybody would see how much of a monster Katsuki was.

A little part of him, was scared of going to the police station to give his statement, due to the fact, that all the police from the station, had searched or heard of the vigilante Spirit, and he was scared they would give him shit for it, although he knew, that if Aizawa ever got wind of prejudice, the pro would personally get them fired.

After arriving at the police station, Izuku piped up. “Im really sorry Eraserhead”

“What’s up kid?”

“We should’ve gone past my old home” the kid stated “My old burned school uniforms are there, that” he paused for a moment “Katsuki destroyed”

The hero patted the teen on the shoulder. “That is a very good idea lil one.”

The dark haired pro looked around, and when he took note that they hadn’t been spotted yet by Sansa who would most likely ask about the processing of the explosive teen. “Let’s make our-“

“Hey Shouta” the hero spun around to look, where the voice had came from. The green haired boy was already bowing.

“Good afternoon Detective Tsukauchi”

The detective bowed back “Likewise Midoriya”

“You on your way back out?” The detective then asked.

The other two exchanged glances, and the underground pro spoke up “We were going to go to Midoriya’s old home to grab the school uniform the Bakugo kid broke and burned as evidence”

The Detective nodded. “I would join you guys, if you don't mind, I would like to take some photos, for your court case, if that’s possible Midoriya?”

The teen nodded, although everything inside of him, was screaming at him to get away, and not let the detective inside, although he knew if photos were taken, then he was more likely to be adopted by the pro hero, which is ultimately what he wanted.

Was he embarrassed at the state of the flat?

It was a very quiet car ride, with the detective trying to make small talk with the other two every now and then, but he had an extraordinarily hard crowd with him in that moment.

Shouta wasn’t the small talk guy, and Izuku was buried way too deep in his thoughts, to even fully be aware of what the detective was saying.

Arriving at Izuku’s apartment, the group got out, climbing the stairs and opening the flat door.

The teen was the first to step inside, as he flicked the light on. He quickly scurried into his bedroom, grabbing years worth of torn up and charred school uniforms, that had all been dumped in the corner of his bedroom.

The hero took the clothes out of the teens arm, shoving them in a bag of his own, so the boy would still be able to use his crutches.

Izuku nervously fidgeted around, not knowing what to do with himself, as he watched the detective take photos of his flat.

The hero was watching him closely, obviously noticing how agitated he was.

The hero placed a finger on his lips, before scribbling on a note “You can go downstairs and smoke, if it helps you clear your head, I will keep the detective busy for ten more minutes.”

Izuku nodded, grinning, before giving his foster parent a thumbs up, and then hobbling away and out of the flat. He had left the key stuck in the door, so the hero would be able to lock up afterwards.

Aizawa suddenly became very interested in the photographs, that Tsukauchi was taking, and immediately asked a couple of questions.

The detective was ever so slightly confused, however he never noticed what had happened, not even, when they went down to the car a quarter of an hour later and the green haired teen was already in the car, scrolling on his phone.

——

Not too long after, Shouta, and Izuku were alone again, this time in the office, that belonged to the detective.

The hero had pinned a set of Izukus burned clothes to a case wall that the detective had set up for evidence. It was a little moveable whiteboard wall that had wheels on the bottom. A bag with the rest of the uniforms had been placed in front.

“Photos” the hero said quietly.

Izuku knew exactly what he ment with that, as they had already discussed, that photos would be have to taken of all his burns for evidence.

The green haired teen nodded, and the pro beckoned him into a specific room, which was next to the detectives office.

It had a lot of cameras in it, as well as various devices, that looked very threatening. Izuku was eyeing them, when the pro interrupted his train of thought. “Do you want me to explain everything in here?”

Izuku nodded shyly, thankful of the offer.

The hero pointed to a holder with various rulers of sorts. “Thats our wall for measuring the victims and their injuries”

Pointing to a bed he said “Thats for victims that can’t stand, or need to have rape kits performed”

Izuku shuddered at the thought, but he didn’t let it show how uncomfortable he felt in this room. It wasn’t that he didn’t support this kind of policing work, it was because he had never felt as much as a victim, till entering this room.

The pro showed everything else, before crouching down in front of the teen. “Would you strip everything your wearing, which covers burn tissue?”

The teen started taking of his jogging bottoms, then the hero added “Don’t need to remove your underwear either way”

Izuku stood, almost naked, apart from his underwear and a singular sock in the room, shuddering. He didn’t like the feeling in this blacked out room, with all these cameras, and panic was rising in him.

The pro spoke softly with the boy “I’m going to take a photo of your arm, and chest, okay?”

The teen nodded, biting on his lip. He didn’t know why he suddenly felt so humiliated. Maybe that was something, the true Izuku felt. Spirit was never humiliated, but he did always drink.

“Wait” the boy said. “Only this one on my chest is from Katsuki”, he pointed to a specific burn that was still pink.

The hero nodded, but was still staring at Izuku’s abdomen, and the large scarring which covered it.

“And these ones on my legs are from Katsuki” he pointed again, specifying what was from the blond.

The hero nodded again, “I’m going to take the photos now, okay?”

The flashing of the camera blinded the teen for a moment, and he jumped. Panic surging through him, as he tried to stay calm.

In his mind, Katsuki was coming to get him, sparks erupting from his hands already.

Pain,

Pain,

Pain,

Where was the pain?

He jumped again, as he felt a soft touch on his shoulder.

“Kiddo?”

Izuku didn’t even manage to make a noise, instead nodding.

He sank to the floor, his face pale. The pro placed the camera to the side.

Shouta crouched down next to the teen, “you don't need to do it now kiddo, I can process the case now without the evidence. We only need that for the trial later on.”

“N-no f- f- flash” Izuku managed to stutter.

The hero nodded. “You want to try again?”

Izuku nodded, forcing himself to stand up again.

The hero slowly took the photos, letting the teen know every part of what he was doing.

Every now and then he would let the shaking boy know, that he was doing well, as he knew, how stressful such situations were for victims.

When they were finally done half an hour later, and the boy had gotten dressed, the two left the horrific room, and the pro picked the photos out of the detectives printer, and placed them in a file, which he also pinned to the wall of evidence.

“Well done kiddo” the pro held out his hand, for the teen to high five, however the kid instinctively shifted away, flinching backwards.

When he saw that it was only a high five, he gave the pro a high five back, and they sat in their respective seats, waiting for the detective to come back from his interview with Bakugo.

The two sat in silence for a moment, before Shouta turned to the other “Tell me about Katsuki”

The teen raised an eyebrow “Well me and Kaccan were going to be heroes together.”

The teen laughed dryly at the pros surprised face, before continuing “I reality checked my dream when I was diagnosed as fucking quirkless,” his voice became a little quieter, staring at the floor as he continued “but he still really wants to be one.”

He paused for another moment. “I think, that he thinks, that I look down on him”

The detective entered the room, and the pro quickly whispered, “we can talk more later about it if you want.”

Izuku pulled a face “no need” he said grimly

“SO” Detective Tsukauchi announced, letting the files drop loudly onto his desk, causing the other two in the room to jump. “That boy is-“ he looked like he would continue for a moment, and then he just sat down on his chair, a defeated expression on his face.

The three just stared at each other for a while, not saying anything, all looking for the others to start the very uncomfortable conversation, that was to come.

“Well the boy is not going to make it out of the trial very well” the detective said. “We are probably looking at some sort of institution, like juvie, as well as a permanent record.”

The dark haired pro was grinning. “Can the permanent record, be that he can’t become a hero and attend any hero schools?”

Izuku’s eyes widened. “You’re evil Eraserhead” he said in a joking voice. “No, but seriously, that will destroy him, I don’t think you can do something that mean.”

The pro rolled his eyes. It was almost like old times, the teen noted, when he was Spirit, and the two of them sassed around at the crack of dawn. It felt comforting in a way.

“He burned your body, and face” the hero said, with a sigh.

Izuku pulled a face, and suddenly his emotions did a 180, and he couldn't keep the jokes upright. He stared at the floor. “Yea, I guess he did burn me” he said defeated.

The hero placed his hand on the teens shoulder. “I chose the punishment, but I will only let the detective put it on the court suggestions, if you are okay with it.”

The detective nodded, giving a thumbs up, to confirm the statement.

Izuku also nodded, showing the men, in that way, that he had taken in the information.

He had been given a week to think about what the detective should write in the protocol, for the court date. The blond teen was going to be picked up from the station by his parents, and then placed on hour arrest for the week, till the court date, in a way, to prevent conflict, if Izuku ever crossed paths with Katsuki when out and about.

“Let’s get out of here, before the tyrants parents pick him up” the dark haired pro whispered. “I can’t guarantee not starting a fight if I see the people who put that piece of work in the world”

Izuku nodded, and the two left, leaving the detective doing extra hours in his office.

——

The next morning, Izuku’s woke up somewhat refreshed for the first time in years. He didn’t have the raging hangover, that usually plagued his head.

He was curled up in his own bed, at the hero’s place, his two cats, lying next to him. He had to think of names for them, but right now it was was to early for that.

As if the hero had read the kids mind, he knocked on the door “Can I come in, kiddo?”

Izuku nodded, than hastily said “yes”, when he remembered that Shouta wouldn't see him nodding behind a closed door.

The pro pushed the door open with his knee, carrying a coffee cup in each hand. “Here” he said, as he passed Izuku one.

The kid smiled, and gladly accepted the cup. He took a sip, and then thanked the pro. The little morning ritual of being brought a coffee to his bed meant a lot to him.

“What can we name the cats?” he asked the pro sleepily.

Shouta smiled back, equally as sleepy.

“Well you named the last one you saw Katsudon, because you like it, so why not name them after something you like?”

“Then that one is Katsudon 2.0” Izuku said, pointing to the orange cat, who was wedged next to the wall and bed. “Aaaaaand that one is coffee then” he said, pointing to the brown tortoise shell cat.

Shouta nodded, “Welcome to the family Katsudon and coffee”

“It’s Katsudon 2.0 actually” Izuku said, with a shit eating grin on his face.

The pro tiredly flipped him off, before leaving the room, to refill his own coffee.

——

The two sat in the living room, all day, working on their various tasks.

When dinner time slowly rolled around, the hero placed his laptop down. “Izuku“ he began.

The teen looked up. “yea”

“I can’t always be home here with you, because I still need to financially support us two. I have enough savings, if something happens to one of us, so you don't need to worry about that, but I would go back to patrol every other night, if that’s okay.”

Izuku nodded.

“I applied for temporary leave at UA, because underground heroics is my preferred job, and if I ever want to go back, then I can do that. I get on well with the head teacher there, so he has no issue with that arrangement”

The teen nodded again.

‘I would start patrolling tomorrow, okay? I will ask Hizashi to take care of you, while I'm away”

The teen nodded yet again, “sure thing”

———

The next evening came quicker than expected. The blond voice hero rang the doorbell to Aizawa (and also now Midoriya’s) household.

Although their last interactions had been good, Izuku was slightly worried, about being left alone with the man, seeing as they hadn’t had time to build a proper relationship. He knew that Present mic was an amazing hero, and if he was friends with Shouta, then he must be good.

The blond walked in, grinning from ear to ear “hello little listener!”

“Hey Present Mic” the boy said shyly.

“Call me Hizashi,” the pro said like he had said every time when they had met in the past.

Shouta was pulling on his boots, his gear already on, his capture scarf laying comfortably on his shoulders.

“Be good kid” he said, ruffling through Izuku’s green curls.

The teen smiled as he waved, and the underground hero left.

Hizashi closed the door, the smile still plastered on his face. “You want to watch a movie? You hungry?” He asked.

Izuku nodded “can we watch a movie?”

The voice hero nodded, excited, as he bounced into the living room.

The teen followed. He was trying to analyse the hero in some way or other, because nobody on earth could be that fucking happy at all times.

Izuku shrugged, plopping himself on the sofa, staring at the TV, where the blond was flicking through the library of movies. Every now and then he would ask the teen about his preferences, till after painstakingly long quarter of an hour, the blond had finally found a movie, where the green haired kid, was also okay with it.

The movie was as expected. The teen had seen it multiple times, and never lost most of the thrill, when it came to watching his childhood favourite hero as a cartoon. >All-Might’s Adventures<

The voice hero fell asleep after an hour of the movie, leaving Izuku twiddling his thumbs on the sofa, when the film was done.

He also missed going on patrol, and to be honest, he was a little bit jealous of the erasure hero, who could go out and fight crime, while he was stuck here.

Hizashi was snoring incredibly loud, making it way too easy for Izuku to hobble back to his bedroom, without being heard.

He placed his crutches to the side, testing, if he could put weight on his foot.

Although still painful, he could place a bit of weight on the foot. He could’ve celebrated loudly, if he weren’t so worried to wake the hero up in the other room.

He pulled on his vigilante gear, and pulled on a trainer on his good foot. For a short moment he questioned if this even was a good idea, but his wish to go outside and feel the freedom again was too overwhelming.

The other trainer wouldn't fit over his cast, so instead, he used a sock, with rubber stopper beads on the bottom along with duck tape as a makeshift shoe. As long as it gripped to the wall then it would be okay.

Izuku wasn’t planning on taking the door like a normal person. He had to feel the excitement he got, when scaling a building.

Anyways, it would be safer if he moved along the roofed, although he would run the risk of walking into the erasure hero.

The green haired teen could still hear the blond snoring, so he quietly opened the window, slowly climbing out, and onto the roof, using his arms to pull him up, as well as the minimal grip, that he had in his feet.

As he got on the roof, he breathed in the fresh air, spreading his arms out, as he enjoyed the feeling of being high up again.

He sat down at the edge, lighting a cigarette, which he smoked, whilst listening to music. He had to plan his route that he was going to take so he wouldn't run into the Eraserhead whilst out and about.

The erasure hero followed a protocol, that varied every day, but Izuku didn’t know if the protocol had changed since he was now only working part time.

——

Shouta Aizawa dialled the number of his best friend.

The phone rang for a couple of minutes, until the automated voice told the erasure hero to leave a message. The pro hung up, before whispering “Oh, that dumb blond is useless”

——

Izuku yawned, as he sat up in bed. Sunlight was shining through the curtains, and Shouta was calling him. “Kiddo, do you want breakfast?”

Izuku pulled on some socks. His vigilante clothes had been neatly folded and hidden away, after his little nightly trip.

Katsudon 2.0 hissed, as Izuku accidentally knocked him off the bed, when shaking his blanket out.

The teen hopped towards the kitchen, where both the blond and the dark haired hero were sat.

“How was your evenings?” The dark haired pro asked, as he passed his kid a cup of steaming hot coffee

“The little listener and me watched a movie, and then we fell asleep.”

Shouta nodded. “That sounds good” he sipped his coffee slowly, as he watched Izuku carefully. “Everything okay kid?” He asked.

Izuku nodded. “Im just tired”

“Didn’t you sleep well?”

“I slept fine”

“You couldn't have slept very much though” the pro said, a small smirk in his face, as he stared at the green haired child.

Both the blond and the greenette stared at the erasure hero, as he pulled out a stack of papers from behind him.

“You weren’t very subtle on your nightly outing, were you?”

Both Izuku and Hizashi at least had the audacity to look ashamed.

Ten various photos printed out on A4 paper, and in colour showed Izuku scaling various buildings, and smoking. The pro had even written down at what times he had snapped the photos, so Izuku couldn't deny anything.

Silence filled the room as Shouta stared at the others, in hope that someone would start explaining.

“Im sorry Shou, I was tired, and the little listener must’ve snuck away-“

“What about the times I called you, wanting to ask you, if you know where my kid is”

Hizashi stared down at the table. He looked like he wanted to sink in the wall behind him, and disappear forever.

“I needed to get out-“ Izuku began.

“What about at 10 in the morning like any usual person when they decide to go for a walk.”

The dark haired hero sighed deeply. “Hizashi, next time, when you look after my child, please stay awake, and keep an eye on him. And Izuku, next time you want to go out at ungodly times, just ask me. If your going to go out anyways, just let me take you with me” he sighed again. “I'm not mad at you guys, I'm just worried about Izuku, and his wellbeing”

Chapter Text

Once the voice hero had left to go to work at UA, the dark haired pro sat down in the living room with Izuku, whilst the teen did his school work.

The boy sighed loudly, before announcing “I finished my maths tasks for this year, I need to send in an Email for school so I can take the exam”

The other nodded “Should I come with you, and wait, while. You take the exam?”

“You would do that?”

The erasure hero nodded “Sure thing kiddo”

Izuku nodded. “The next appointment for a maths exam is in two days at 10 in the morning.”

The erasure hero nodded. “I will make sure, to wake you up, so we can go to the appointment together”

Izuku smiled.

Silence filled the room again, till an hour later, the pro hero interrupted it.

“Im going to ask the detective if you can be my intern, so you can spend the evenings out patrolling with me, since your school hours are flexible”

He paused. “But only if you want to, and we would have to set some ground rules”

The teen nodded excitedly. “Yes”

The two resumed working, till two hours later the pro got up, to phone the detective, who had managed the Spirit case so far.

The pro came back in shortly after, sighing.

Izuku was worried, that the detective had denied, the hero’s request, but instead the pro then grinned.

“You can join me out on patrol, as long as we get you some new gear, and different weapons.”

The teen nodded excitedly.

“You are not to be recognisable as the vigilante spirit any more. In addition, you are to follow all rules I set.”

The teen grumbled slightly at that, but he was still filled with excitement.

“You probably won’t allow me out with my cast either?” He asked

The erasure hero sighed at that, shaking his head.

——

The maths exam came quicker than expected, and Izuku stood nervously in front of the exam hall, fidgeting, as various kids stood waiting next to him.

The teens and kids were all called in, one after the other, and took their designated spaces.

“Good luck” the hero wished him.

Izuku nodded, as he walked in.

He finished the exam an hour before the others, and walked outside, and straight into the arms of the erasure hero, who pulled him in tight for a hug.

“Im proud of you kiddo”

Izuku smiled, as he buried his face in the T-shirt that the pro was wearing, breathing the smell of coffee deep into his nose. It was comforting.

A bit like how his moms perfume brought him comfort as a little kid, however there were more positive feelings attached to the hero.

“Im going to take you to the doctors, and then I’ve got a surprise for you” the hero whispered.

Izuku grinned.

The two walked out of the building, and Izuku waved to the nice receptionist, as he left.

——

The doctor looked at Izuku’s foot. “Looks good” he stated. “I don't think you shall need another cast. A brace should be sufficient, and you can start bearing weight on your foot now.

And with that, Izuku left the building, with an orthopaedic boot, and without crutches.

He was already grinning from ear to ear, at being able to get rid of his cast.

“Want to go shopping for some new hero gear”

If it was possible, his grin widened even more.

——

The two had walked inside the mall, and Izuku was immediately overwhelmed, with all the impressions. Usually things like this didn’t mind him, but he guessed being sober made a bigger difference than he thought.

The pro noticed how anxious the teen was, and held his hand out. “You want to take my hand?” he asked.

“Sure dad” the teen rolled his eyes, grinning as he said it sarcastically. Behind his facade, he was indeed very thankful, gripping onto the hero’s hand like a lifeline.

They walked from store to store, the hero making sure that the teen didn’t walk too quickly, as not to hurt his foot.

The green haired boy spotted a store, that sold tech-wear, which caught his eye: specifically cargo pants in a neon green colour.

The pro followed the teens line of vision “No” he said tiredly.

“Whyyyyy” the boy wined.

“Im an underground hero, if you go around looking like a highlighter, we will have no chance in surprising the villains”

Izuku rolled his eyes, but the pro did have a fair point, so he couldn't really argue it.

“We can go to the store where I get my hero stuff”

“You don’t get it tailored for you?”

“Why bother?” The hero paused. “If I walked around wearing expensive hero gear, then I would be less inconspicuous.”

Izuku hummed a response. It seemed very like the grumpy hero, to just go to a store to buy an outfit, rather than to get a custom one made.

“I get it at a specific store, that specialises in all weather clothes, so they are as durable as I need them.”

The hero led Izuku to a camping / outdoors store, at the edge of the mall. It was so far back, in the last corner, that Izuku would’ve never looked for it, even if he tried.

The store seemed to be fairly empty, which was good, because at this point he was incredibly overstimulated. It was weird for the teen, because overstimulation wasn’t anything he had felt in a long time.

The pro let go of the teens hand, as soon as a pair of pants caught the boy’s eyes, and he rushed over to inspect them.

They were a similar cut, to the ones that the pro hero wore, however in a dark camouflage green.

Izuku pointed to them “What about them?”

“They are subtle, and different to your current ones, so I would say yes”

Izuku grinned, as he pulled out his size.

He already had an idea of what he wanted to wear.

He wanted to wear a bullet, and cut proof vest, which went on top of a skintight long sleeved fleece top, to make sure he was warm enough in the chilly evenings.

He also planned to wear an utility belt, to be able to add knives, as well as first aid kits, and snacks to it.

The next thing to catch his eyes, were a pair of boots, which had a thick rubber sole, and steel toes.

They had thick shoelaces, which were black, like the shoe itself.

He would switch the laces out, for green ones, that would look cooler.

He glanced over to the pro hero, who himself was looking at accessories.

The pro gave him a thumbs up, and smiled slightly, reassuring the boy.

The bulletproof vest was easier to find, than the teen had expected. The range on display, was worryingly large. He shrugged, picking out one in his own size. The fleece he picked, was also easy, he found a sleek black one, to match the shoes and vest.

He went to present his findings to the pro hero.

“You done kiddo?”

Izuku nodded, as they walked to the checkout.

“I got you some accessories, and extras, I will show you the extent, when we get home, okay?”

Izuku nodded again, grinning.

As the two left the store, Izuku quietly asked “Can we go to a building store thing?”

The hero looked confused

“Like the stores, where you can get hammers, and screwdrivers”

The hero nodded, not questioning it, and the two made their way to the car

——

Ten minutes later, the two were at the specific store Izuku had wanted.

“I used to get some components here for my inventions” he said quietly.

The hero nodded, and followed the teen, he beelined his way through the isles. He grabbed some chains and spikes.

The two went to the checkout and payed, the pro not questioning the purchase.

——

An hour later, the two were back at home, and spread out in the living room.

Izuku had gotten scissors, as well as a needle and thread, and was modifying his new pants. He had already added spikes to the knees, and to the front of his boots.

The hero was sat on the sofa with both cats, watching the teen doing his crafts, and bopping his head to the chaotic music that was playing in the background.

The hero stood up, to grab the second bag from their visit, that contained the extras he had bought for the teen.

Izuku’s eyes went wide, as he recognised the bag.

“You want to see what I got you now, or when your done with your pants?”

“Now” the teen squealed.

Shouta pulled out a handful of different things.

Izuku leaned in closer to see, what the hero was placing on the table.

“Can’t you see well?” The hero joked, and Izuku blushed in embarrassment, as he nodded.

The hero made a mental note, that he had to later ask he teen if he was being serious, because then they would have to go to an eye doctor. It would just add to the list of to do’s, which they had to do, when it came to the health issues, that the teen had.

The pro, was just glad, that the alcoholism was not an issue, or not that much of an issue, since he had sobered up.

Shouta pulled out a small first aid kit, as well as a set of windproof lighters.

In addition he had some cuffs, and some small pocket knives.

When passing the knives over to the teen he made sure to add “don't use them for anything stupid.”

Izuku opened one of the foldable knives and mimicked slitting his wrists, and the pro sighed

“Do I need to take the knives away, before you have even had a proper chance to try them out?”

Izuku dramatically clutched the knife to his chest “Don’t you dare take my new baby away”

The hero sighed “your just as dramatic as Hizashi sometimes”

“Maybe that’s why you want to adopt me”

The hero rolled his eyes, before planting himself back on the sofa, with the two cats, who were greatly pleased to have a lap they could sit on.

The two sat in a comfortable silence for the next couple of hours, whilst Izuku finished crafting around on his new pants.

It was dark, when Shouta saw the boy nodding off, in a sitting position on the living room floor.

“Hey kiddo, do you want to head to bed?”

Izuku rubbed his eyes and shook his head.

The hero sighed exasperatedly, as he watched the teen nod off in the same spot that he was, in the short span of ten minutes.

He shooed the cats of his lap, slowly walking over to his kid. He smiled ever so slightly, as he looked at the child, taking in every single freckle that covered his pale face.

Shouta didn’t understand the attachment that he had formed with the child, either way, for one thing he was certain, he would protect this kid till the end of his days, with everything he had.

He picked the kid up, under his arms, and lifted him towards his bedroom, and placing him in bed.

The kid hadn’t eaten dinner, but Shouta would make some anyway, in case the kid did end up waking up hungry in a couple of hours.

The pro ruffled through the kids hair, before leaving the room slowly, making sure to not disturb the sleeping child.

He walked in to the kitchen, looking in the cupboard, what things he could possibly make.

He had been craving a curry, after making Katsudon almost every day since the teen had arrived.

Throwing the chopped onion in the pan, the pro contemplated the veg options, as he heard a cry.

For a moment he thought the cats were play fighting again, till he was able to make out some words.

He quickly switched the stove off, rushing towards the teens room.

The teen seemed to still be sleeping, however tears were streaming down his face.

He seemed to be muttering something which the pro couldn't really make out. Shouta crouched down next to Izuku’s bed, watching him, as he tossed and turned.

The hero didn't want to scare the teen by watching him. A the same time, he didn't want to leave his kid alone, whilst he was obviously going through a nightmare.

The hero grabbed his sleeping bag, that was in the living room, and layed down on Izuku’s floor, waiting, till the teens nightmare stopped or he woke up. He wouldn't leave the child, till he was peacefully sleeping again.

After ten painful minutes of Shouta listening to the boys crying, he couldn't take it anymore. He climbed out of his sleeping bag, crouching down next to Izuku’s bed once again.

He rubbed the teens shoulder “Hey kiddo, wake up”

The teen screamed in his sleep, not yet awake, but now he was thrashing.

Well fuck, the hero thought. He continued to shake the boy slightly. “Kid?”

“DON’T TOUCH ME” the teen screamed, and Shouta quickly drew his hand back.

The teen still seemed to be asleep, much to Shouta’s dismay.

Katsudon 2.0 was circling his feet, and the hero contemplated placing the cat on the kid, in hope, that the cat wouldn't be mistaken for whoever was tormenting him in his sleep, however he didn't want to see the cat being thrown across the room as Izuku tried to fend for himself.

Before the pro had to put more thought into the whole situation, the teen shot up, panting, as thick beads of tears fell from his face. The hero stared at the teen, as if he would detonate any moment, waiting to catch his breath.

“Kid?” He whispered.

Izuku jumped more than he would’ve liked to admit.

“Eraser”

“Im here kiddo, I wont leave you”

The teen nodded.

Emotions were rushing through Izuku. He had just seen the memories he tried so hard to forget, right in front of his eyes, forced to relive every moment.

“Hug?” The hero asked.

The teen nodded again, gladly accepting the hug.

The pro wrapped his arms around the small figure of the boy, pulling him in a tight embrace.

With his one hand, he combed softly through Izuku’s curls.

The hero was going to pull away from the hug a couple of minutes later, but the teen just hugged him closer.

“Don’t go” Izuku whispered.

“I won’t”

They continued the embrace for another moment, before Izuku seemed to flinch in his own skin.

“Eraser?”

“Yea”

“Im sorry, I’m so sorry” the boy was mumbling apologies so fast one after the other, that Shouta could barely interrupt his train of thought.

“Kid?”

The teen jumped again, flinching again.

The hero pulled out of the embrace, using one hand to cup the cheek of the boy

“What’s wrong?”

“I-“ the boy was resolved to a stuttering mess again, as he started shaking.

“I promise I woke be mad”

“Promise?”

Promise.”

“I- I-“ although he had received reassurance, the teen still seemed to be on edge.

The hero waited, till the boy had composed himself.

“I wet the bed”

The hero nodded. “Thank you for telling me kiddo” he ruffled his hand through Izuku’s hair.

“Your not mad?”

“Why should I be?”

Izuku fidgeted with his hands, falling silent.

“It happens sometimes, when people have lived through trauma, and are having nightmares, so don’t worry your little head off” Shouta reassured him, as he stood up, to get fresh bedding.

The teen also got up, to get changed.

When Shouta returned five minutes later, the teen was changed already, now curled up on the floor.

“The floor can’t be that comfy, can it?” The pro asked, a slight hint of sarcasm to be heard in his voice, as he tried to lighten the mood.

“You always lie on the floor, in your obnoxious sleeping bag” the teen deadpanned.

“Touché”

The hero silently changed the bedding, before picking the teen off the floor, to place him on his bed, but as he began lowering him back onto his bed, the teen started crying.

“Don’t leave me”

“I wont leave you kiddo”

The hero picked the teen up in a way, so he was sitting on his left hip, the way you may carry a toddler. Izuku rested his head on his shoulder, snuggling into the pros neck.

“You hungry?”

The pro could feel the teen nodding into his neck

Shouta walked back towards the kitchen to resume his cooking session, but instead of making his planned curry, he made Katsudon yet again.

Izuku watched the hero work with his one free arm, the other still wrapped around the boys waist, as he held him.

“Smells nice” The teen commented more to Shouta’s neck than to the pro himself.

The hero nodded, and the two fell silent for a moment, before the pro asked “You want to talk about your nightmare?”

“It was about my mom and dad” Izuku began. He seemed to pause, not knowing what to say next.

“If you don't feel comfortable talking, then you don't need to.”

The teen nodded, and then continued taking. “It was about when I didn't get my quirk.-“

He fell silent for a moment. “My dad didn't like that I didn't have a quirk, and I had a nightmare one of the times, where he hurt me”

The pro breathed in sharply, anger filling him. Anger that someone hurt this innocent little kid. His kid.

Izuku laughed dryly. “You’ve seen the burn on my stomach?”

The hero nodded. “I was wondering where it came from, if it didn’t come from the blond brat”

“My dad had a fire breathing quirk” Izuku whispered, and it dawned on Shouta, what the teen was probably going to tell him next.

“He tied me up, chained me to a metal bed frame, stretching my limbs as far away as he could, so I couldn't escape.”

The teen stared at the food that the pro was now frying.

“My mom has a small telekinesis quirk, and he thought if I had that too, I could free myself anyways, and if I had a fire quirk, I wouldn't be damaged.”

The hero bit on his tongue, to not say a colourful mix of swear words directed at the man, who gave his sperm to the creation of the green haired boy he was holding.

“My mom stood in the corner of the room, watching” the boy whispered “she was crying”

“All the time, that he was burning my stomach and chest, I stared at my mom, tears were running down both our faces, but still she stood there, just watching me get burned.”

Izuku paused “I tried so hard, I promise. I wanted to develop. A quirk, I tried my best…”

Shouta’s brows furrowed in worry “Thats nothing that you can control or change kiddo. Especially not, when your being that blatantly tourtured.”

“That wasn’t tourture though”

“It was”

Izuku nestled his face in the hero’s neck again, breathing in the smell of his musky perfume. It was comforting.

For a little moment he felt embarrassed that he was thirteen, and still being held like a small child, but the hero gave him no reason to feel that way, so he quickly swallowed down any feelings he had.

“I’m done with the food” Shouta commented.

“Mhm”

The pro placed food on two plates, passing one to Izuku who was still clutched to him like a little monkey.

Shouta sat down on the table, passing Izuku his plate, and the two ate quietly, still cuddled close up to each other.

“Bed?” The hero asked when they were done

Izuku stared at the floor. Tears were welling up in his eyes again.

Why was he so fucking weak?

“You want to sleep in my bed?” The hero whispered

The kid nodded, and that was all the confirmation the hero needed.

Shouta walked to his bedroom, the kid still attached to his hip, and carefully placed the boy next to the spot where he usually napped, before crawling into bed next to him, pulling the covers over them.

“Can I snuggle up to you?” Izuku whispered.

“Sure thing kiddo” Shouta whispered back, ruffling through his messy green hair.

The cats also joined the two, so they all four lay in bed, cuddled up against one another

——

Izuku woke up to the pro ruffling through his hair.

“Wake up sleepy head”

The teen groaned and turned around, burying his face deeper into his pillow.

He pulled his hand out from under the covers to flip the older of the two off, before pulling Katsudon 2.0 over to him and pretending to fall back asleep.

“Your a little menace” the pro muttered, then after a short moment of thinking, “guess I will drink my coffee alone”

Izuku shot up “coffee” he said way louder than he had expected.

“Come with me then, kiddo”

Izuku followed the hero, who was rolling his eyes, whilst a shit eating grin covered the teens face.

The two were sat at the kitchen table in a comfortable silence, when the hero broke started talking.

“I was going through your file again and I saw that it’s your birthday next week”

Izuku was suddenly wide awake, and it looked like he was in pain for a short moment.

The teen nodded.

“Do you wish for anything?”

The teen shook his head this time. “Can we just pretend that it’s not my birthday?”

The hero’s eyes widened before he lowered his voice slightly, speaking softly “why kiddo?”

“I hate my birthday” the teen muttered

Shouta nodded, dropping the conversation. This was probably something to discuss at a different point in time.

——

The two sat in the living room room later on, when Izuku sat up straighter from his spot on the floor, grinning at the hero yet again.

“Shouuuuu”

The other nodded, looking over to the teen.

Izuku blushed in embarrassment “I’ve finished all my schoolwork for this school year”

Shouta’s eyes widened “that was quick” he paused “how long did that take for you?”

“I- it took me a- about three months”

“I’m impressed kiddo” the hero ruffled through the teens hair. “You need to take any exams?”

The boy nodded.

——

Shouta stood in the training grounds of UA, his kid in one of the school provided uniforms, his clothes lying messily on a bench at the side.

“Okay, so I’m going to evaluate how far along you are when it comes to your fighting skills”

The teen nodded. “I’m not that good, I tend to rely way too much on surprise attacks to areas that will hurt a lot” he continued mumbling to himself in a way that the hero couldn’t really understand.

“Oh sorry” Izuku seemed to come back to reality, standing up straighter, as he stopped mumbling.

“Attack me” the hero said.

The boys eyes widened. “Where, how?”

“Imagine I’m one of the villains in the street that you would take down, how do you usually start?”

The boy darted forwards way too quickly, giving the dark haired pro a swift kick to the nuts.

The hero doubled down, groaning in pain, as he reevaluated all his life choices in that moment. The teen did have a reputation on the streets and he shouldn’t have underestimated him as much as he had done.

A loud laughter was to be heard from the other side of the training hall, and both whipped their heads around to see the tall figure of Hizashi Yamada standing in the doorway of the back exit, laughing so much that he was doubling down, like his darker haired friend also was.

After a moment, where Shouta recomposed himself, the voice hero came skipping over, raising his hand to give the teen a high five.

Izuku flinched back and Present Mic looked like he had just witnessed a puppy be kicked. “I’m not going to hit you, little listener, I just want to give you a high five for managing to kick Shouta in the nuts”

Izuku then had a shit eating grin on his face, and high fived the hero.

“Well done little listener”

“Oh you two are terrible” the dark haired pro muttered, but a small smile was to be seen on his face as well.

“You told me to attack you like I would usually attack people on the streets” Izuku said indignantly

The dark haired pro sighed and nodded “I did, indeed.” He paused for a moment, “I just wasn’t expecting a kick to the balls”

Izuku grinned at him with the sweetest smile the hero had ever seen on the teens face “shall we continue?”

“Can I join you guys?” The voice hero asked.

“Go correct your fucking English tests” Shouta grumbled.

The voice hero flipped the other off, before sauntering out of the training hall.

“Okay, so” the hero began “how about we train kicks and types of kicks. That seems to be something you rely on a lot”

The teen nodded, and Shouta began showing him different ways on how to kick opponents.

Not even ten minutes later the voice hero came back into the training hall, with a huge stack of paperwork in his arms, a pen balancing behind his ear.

“Oh fuck off Zashi” the dark haired pro muttered.

“I can’t hear you, I’m hearing impaired”

Shouta flipped his best friend off, who grinned “I love you to Shou”

“Anyways” the pro said, turning back to his kid, “do you want to try the kick?”

Izuku nodded, he saw the loud blond give him a thumbs up, from where he was sitting at the benches from the edge of the hall.

He successfully did the kick, which earned him a ruffle through his hair. Izuku grinned a pure smile, and the dark haired pro smiled back.

“I’m going to go to work tonight again” the pro mentioned to Izuku. “Hizashi will join us when I drive you home, okay kiddo?”

Izuku nodded.

“We will train for another couple of hours, don’t worry” the hero smiled again.

——

Two hours later, Izuku was totally and utterly drenched in sweat.

Hizashi sauntered over to the two again. “You look tired little listener”

The teen nodded

“Let’s get home then kiddo”

The three packed up their things, and walked out of the training hall. Shouta quickly waved to a camera that was in the corner.

The camera whirred back, which confirmed the pros suspicion that Nezu had been indeed watching the two train.

The drive was quiet, as Hizashi scrolled on his phone and Shouta’s eyes were on the road.

The dark haired pro cleared his throat. “Can we not go on any nightly adventures kiddo?”

Izuku nodded

“I will make sure the little listener doesn’t escape”

“Thanks Zashi”

The three entered the flat, and the voice hero immediately began making food, whilst the dark haired pro got changed into his hero gear.

Shouta said his goodbyes to the other two, and Coffee, who followed him to the door, miaowing intently.

Izuku grabbed his hero analysis, and sat down at the dinner table, watching the voice hero cook, whilst he took his newest notes

“What are you doing there little listener?”

“I’m taking notes on some hero fights I watched on the news” he paused for a moment “I like analysing their quirks”

“That’s a really good skill to work on”

Izuku blushed in embarrassment “thanks”

“Who is your favourite hero?”

“When I was a little kid, my favourite hero was All Might, but when I got into- um- vigilante activities, I started liking Eraserhead the most” he stared at the blond “I also really like Rock Lock, but mostly because I met him once and he was super chill to me, and closed an eye to my antics.”

“I also really enjoyed listening to your radio show as a kid, I would always tune in, every Friday and call every now and then to ask questions or wish for songs”

Hizashi raised his eyebrows “oh how cool, I’m glad you enjoy my radio show!”

Izuku blushed in embarrassment again.

The two worked in a comfortable silence after that, Hizashi cooking, and Izuku taking notes.

After they ate dinner together, the hero grabbed his paperwork and they ended up working in a comfortable silence, till Hizashi was the one to start talking. “I need a break little listener”

Izuku nodded, not even looking up.

“How about we grab some ice cream and I show you where my radio show is recorded”

Izuku’s head snapped up and his mouth fell open. “Really?”

“You said you enjoyed my radio show, and I need to pick up some paperwork from there”

“You would really take me there?”

“Why not?”

Izuku fell into a mess of excited mumbling, as Hizashi grinned, pleased that the teen seemed to be enjoying the proposal.

“Let’s get going then Izuku”

The teen hurriedly put on his shoe, limping as quick as he could behind the hero.

They walked for a little bit, when the hero leaned over to the teen. “Let’s take the bus, I don’t want to trash Shouta’s car”

The teen giggled

“Your laughing, but I’ve already trashed one of his cars”

Izuku raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

“I was drunk tho” the voice hero muttered, but the teen still heard him.

“I’ve done a lot of stupid things when drunk” Izuku giggled again. “At the beginning of my vigilante era when I first met Shouta, I thought he was homeless, although I knew who Eraserhead was”

The voice hero laughed loudly. “He does look scruffy in his stupid costume, doesn’t he?”

“I was going to offer him money” Izuku said indignantly and the voice hero began clutching his stomach as he laughed harder.

The two joked for a couple more minutes, till they arrived at the bus stop, where they patiently waited. The teen heard a small rustle, instinctively turning around.

“Eraserhead” the teen greeted, and Hizashi jumped, letting out a small yelp of shock when he saw his best friend.

“At least your not letting my kid out alone” the erasure hero muttered to the other pro, before playfully punching the blond.

Hizashi opened his mouth to say something, when the bus halted in front of them. He took a step towards the bus, and when he turned to say good bye to his friend, the darker haired man had already disappeared into the night.

——

The blond and green haired duo arrived at the radio station not long after. It was a large office, which had a lot of different people sitting in it.

“Why are there so many people here, if your radio show isn’t on at the moment?”

“Well, you see, little listener, the radio is always streaming something or other, and it’s all coordinated here. I have my own office and streaming area, as I run my own show”

Izuku’s eyes sparkled as he bounced around, taking note of all the posters on the walls. A lot were of present mic, and he contemplated asking if he could take any home for his new room.

He followed the tall blond through the office and into a large office space with a window into a recording studio.

If it was possible, Izuku’s eyes widened even further, as he looked around, bouncing around to look at all the decorations that covered the room.

In the corner was a desk of various present mic merch, which he looked at.

“Oh that’s what I give out to fans after recording, you can help yourself out to it”

Izuku grinned. “Really?”

“Take as much as you like, family bonus”

Izuku raised an eyebrow.

“Shouta is basically my brother, and you’re his kid, so as your cool uncle I will allow you to take as much merch as you want”

Izuku’s grin widened, as he whispered “may I also steal a poster of you?”

“Which one do you want little listener?”

“The one in the hallway”

“Sure thing” the voice hero winked, leaving the room to go get the poster, and Izuku grabbed a mini figurine, as well as some postcards and stickers of the voice hero.

The hero returned with the poster, and Izuku blushed in embarrassment as he asked “can you sign it”

The voice hero nodded, sighing the poster, before he continued showing Izuku where everything was recorded.

Izuku’s eyes were wide in excitement and joy when they left the office two hours later.

He had also met a pro hero, who was recording an introduction for his future independent debut.

Izuku already knew the hero from smaller crimes he had fought, but couldn’t wait for the wooden hero Kamui Woods to make his official debut in a years time.

The teen had gotten a signature and a high five from the hero, who was as laid back as he had imagined he would be outside of his hero life.

——

Izuku lay in bed that evening, everything going through his head that he had done so far that day.

The new posters of Present Mic were now on his wall next to the postcards of the voice hero.

He grinned to himself, pleased on how good life was working out for him at the moment. Sure, there was the whole Katsuki thing, and the whole, his mum wasn’t to be found, but at the same time he had the coolest Shouta and Hizashi in his life, two cats and he was sober. If he went back half a year to tell past Izuku about it, he would’ve never believed future Izuku.

Sober Izuku wasn’t too bad.

——

Shouta Aizawa knocked on the boys door, slowly pushing it open after getting confirmation that it was okay to come in from Izuku.

He passed a cup of coffee over to the boy, who’s hair was even wilder than usual, sticking out in all directions.

The imprint of his pillow still visible on his freckled cheek.

“Good morning kiddo”. Shouta greeted.

“Hey Dad” Izuku mumbled sleepily, before pressing his free hand on his mouth. “I’m sorry Shouta” the teen squealed, blushing red.

“Don’t worry kid.” The pro said. Although he would never admit it, being called dad made him happier than ever. It filled something inside of him, and after all, it was his kid, and he was going to be the best dad he could be.

“You can call me dad if you want to kiddo” the pro said softly. He paused for a moment. “Your not my biological kid, but I will do anything in my power to make you my official kid”

Izuku was fiddling around with his duvet, his hand not clamped over his mouth anymore, but his face still red.

“Don’t worry kid” the hero smiled, before ruffling his hand through the wild mess of green curls.

“When your dressed in a sec, we need to head down to the police station, so we can discuss, what is going to happen to that blond asshole.” The voice that been soft not even a minute ago, now laced with what Izuku recognised as anger.

The boy quickly drank his coffee up, pressing the now empty cup in Shouta’s hands before shooing him out of the room, so he could go and get dressed. This time, he dressed a little more formal.

He shuffled out of the room towards the kitchen, where the hero was feeding the cats. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and walked towards the hero, slipping in front of him, and wrapping his arms around him.

“Oh hey kiddo” the hero said, surprised about the sudden hug.

The pro wrapped his arms around the boy, pulling him even tighter.

“Thank you for being my dad, even if your not my biological dad, or my official dad yet” Izuku mumbled into the hero’s chest.

Shouta could feel himself well up, his eyes filling with tears. “I’m happy to have you as a kid too” he sniffed slightly. “Thats nothing to thank me for parents show their kids unconditional love, even if that’s not what you have received in the past, it’s what you should have received.”

Izuku nuzzled his face into the hero’s T-shirt. “Your a cool parent Shouta”

The hero carefully kissed the mess of green curls, before releasing the embrace. “I need to go get dressed, before we head out, okay kiddo?”

Izuku nodded, and instead crept over to Katsudon 2.0, who was busy eating breakfast. “Katsudon my babyyyy” the boy mumbled, as he gave the cat head scratches.

Shouta smiled, quickly wiping away his tears, before he got dressed.

——

The car ride was quiet, Izuku was dozing off, and the pro was busy concentrating on the road.

Once they arrived at the destination, the police station, Izuku seemed very hesitant to enter the building.

“I don't want to” he whispered, barely audible. There was a buzzing in his ears, as his head started dissociating. He began fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.

The pro rubbed across the teens back “You can do this kid”

The two walked towards the station, where Sansa stood outside, already waiting for them.

“That kid is bound to end up in prison” the man hissed.

Shouta raised an eyebrow. “Katsuki Bakugo?”

“While you were in the office with Tsukauchi the other day, he managed to threaten all officers who he saw in the three hours he spent in this building. He even managed to illegally use his quirk multiple times, and spit a death threat”

The pro sighed. “At least he is making our case a lot easier with that behaviour.”

The policeman nodded. “Did you hear, the kid want to become a hero?”

“I have heard of that” Shouta said monotonously. “I’m going to put my foot in the way of that dream in any way that I can”

“With that kind of quirk it would be dangerous if he decided to start a life of crime instead, if he can’t be a hero.”

Shouta pinched the bridge of his eyebrows. “We definitely need to get DNA from the kid in our system, seeing as this will probably not be his last encounter with the police, then we at least can run him through the system every time we collect evidence.”

“Of course” Sansa hissed. “Should we go inside? Tsukauchi is probably waiting for you guys already”

The hero nodded, and the two followed the cat officer.

Detective Tsukauchi was indeed already waiting for the two. He sat behind his desk, his arms crossed.

“Sit down, please” the man said, a grim look on his face.

“So I’ve reviewed all of the evidence, that was collected, and sadly I can’t punish Bakugo as much as I would like too, seeing as he. was too young to receive any kind of legal issues for the most part. The burns, and assault that happens towards Midoriya here in the last year can be brought to trial, which is in a couple of days. His parents will also be receiving some form of punishment.”

“Do I need to be there during the trial?” Izuku said quietly.

The detective turned to the boy “You do not need to be at the trial, if I can record a statement from you now. Due to the nature of the case, you are considered a victim that doesn’t need to show up to trial, because of the violent nature of the attacks, that Bakugo has done against you.”

Izuku sighed in relief.

The rest of the appointment went surprisingly smooth. Izuku did had one panic attack during the statement, however with Shouta by his side, he managed to calm himself down easily.

By the time the two had left the building, both of them were emotionally drained, Shouta due to having heard all the gruesome things that his kid had been through, and Izuku due to the fact that he had to recall all the memories.

Chapter Text

Izuku got up, rubbing his eyes. The past week, he had spent most days training with the underground pro, seeing as he was now done with all his school work. He had planned all his finals for next week and couldn’t wait to officially have completed the school year.

The voice hero had watched the two training, whilst marking his own school work most of the days.

It was his birthday today, and he hoped so badly that the dark haired pro had forgotten about it.

He pulled Katsudon 2.0 closer to him, who hissed, instead jumping off his bed, and stalking out of the room, tail raised in the air.

Izuku buried his head deeper into his pillow, when he heard a knock on his door.

The teen groaned loudly, as the erasure hero entered, a cup of coffee in both hands.

“Here you go kiddo”

Izuku gladly accepted the cup, sipping the hot beverage.

“You want to eat breakfast?”

Izuku nodded, it seemed like the hero had forgotten that he turned 14 today and relief washed through him.

He didn’t hate his birthday necessarily, he was just reminded every year that he was indeed alone and an alcoholic teenager.

This year he wasn’t alone though, so maybe it would be different.

He followed the hero slowly into the kitchen, where Hizashi stood “SURPRISE”

Izuku jumped.

A birthday cake as well as a small pile of presents lay on the table.

He hadn’t been expecting that. He didn’t know what he even had expected, but that wasn’t it.

Izuku sat down at his spot at the table. The candles on his cake were lit.

“You do need to blow them out” Shouta deadpanned.

Izuku’s lip began to tremble and a tear rolled down his face, yet he still blew the candles out before a wave of tears hit him.

“Why you crying kiddo” Shouta asked softly, placing his coffee to the side, so he could hug the kid.

“You got me a cake”

“Actually I baked it” Hizashi interrupted it

“You baked me a cake” Izuku sobbed.

“Is that bad?” Shouta asked cautiously

“You care about me enough, to make a cake?” Izuku asked through sobs

“I care so much about you kiddo” the hero said softly, pulling the teen in closer, as he rubbed the back of Izuku’s head.

“Thank you” Izuku managed through sobs.

“Thats nothing you should thank us for little listener, we care about you because your family”

Izuku’s sobbing intensified. “Your the best family I could wish for”

The two pro hero’s exchanged sad smiles, which the teen didn’t see, as his face was still buried in Shouta’s chest.

When the dark haired pro released the embrace and Izuku had dried his eyes, the voice hero pushed the stack of presents towards the teen.

He picked the smallest one from the top of it, opening it up he saw a set of pens. The exact ones he used to write his analysis. His eyes widened, and he thanked the erasure hero.

The next present he grabbed, the voice hero eagerly mentioned that it was from him. Inside were two books, and an envelope. The books were one on all might and his fighting through the years, and the other was a book that UA had planned to publish but was never released on the training of future heroes. Izuku’s eyes filled with tears yet again, as he thanked the hero. Opening the thick envelope he found a pile of photos and signature cards of a various amount of heroes, including the current top ten country wide hero’s, all signed. Happy tears flowed down his cheeks, as he began profusely thanking the hero.

Two more presents lay on the table. The first one was the pair of neon green trousers he had eyed when out with the pro to buy his vigilante outfit. Izuku grinned, as he turned to the dark haired pro “I won’t wear them on patrol”

“Good, because your starting patrol tomorrow if you want” the erasure hero answered, and Izuku’s jaw dropped, as he jumped up.

“I called the doctor this morning and he said we can take your boot off today”

Izuku jumped up, removing the boot, as he excitedly sprang around the kitchen, hugging the hero.

“Thank you so much” he grinned

Shouta ruffled through the teens curls “why don’t you open the last present?”

Izuku opened the box cautiously. Inside the box was another box, on the front was a large writing which said “Support items from heroes: for heroes”

Izuku’s jaw dropped, and he squealed, glancing over to Shouta who was standing there, his hand in one pocket, coffee in the other, a smile on his face.

The boy carefully opened the box, and was met by a scarf, that looked exactly like the one that the erasure wore on patrol. The only difference was, that it was made of a dark green material.

Shouta hugged him from behind. “Your going to be a great hero Izuku”

Izuku’s eyes widened, and the waterworks inside of him broke, as he began sobbing again.

That was all he had wished to hear for years.

Hizashi flashed him a smile, and Izuku grinned back through tears.

His knees buckled as the tears continued flowing down his face.

The erasure hero picked him up, whispering in his ear “how about we have cake for breakfast?”

It was a bad distraction from the tears, but it worked.

Izuku wiped his eyes, and the three tucked in to chocolate cake for breakfast.

——

Shouta stood in the training hall of UA. His kid was wrapped up in his new scarf, his eyes glimmering with happiness.

“So, getting your scarf to-“ Shouta began, but he was cut off, as the teen rushed over to his blond friend who was yet again marking tests.

“I am the big bad Eraserhead” Izuku said loudly to the blond and Shouta rolled his eyes as the other two began laughing.

“I only drink coffee” the teen muttered between giggles and the two bent over laughing again.

Once they had contained themselves, the blond followed the green haired boy back to his parental figure.

“Can I join in the trainingggggggg Shouuuu?” The voice hero wined.

The dark haired pro looked over to the teen. “It’s your call kiddo, seeing as it’s your birthday”

Izuku nodded excitedly.

“So- as I was beginning to tell you, the scarf-“ the hero began explaining, but Izuku was barely listening, excitement throbbing through his body, as he managed to make the corner of his new scarf twitch.

At the end of Shouta’s ramble, the kid tried to get the scarf to move again.

“Don’t worry if you don’t manage immediately, it took me 6 years to master it the way I do now, and even now I still learn new things” he paused “but to be fair I didn’t have a teacher to show me how my support weapon works”

Izuku scrunched his nose, as he tried to mentally connect to the scarf, but nothing happened. He sighed, as he looked over to the voice hero, who gave him a thumbs up.

“Maybe Zashi could try attacking you carefully, and your instincts will help you move the scarf”

Izuku nodded excitedly, as the darker haired pro gave him a pair of noise cancelling headphones, as he put his own on.

Shouta nodded to his best friend who also gave him a thumbs up, before fiddling around with the supports speaker that was around his neck.

The voice hero opened his mouth, and even through the noise cancelling headphones, Izuku could hear the loud “yeah” that the blond yelled.

He jumped, and then when the blond aimed a swift kick to his torso, the dark green scarf that had been resting peacefully on the teens shoulders raised up, looking like they would do something, before slowly sinking down on to the teens shoulders not even a moment later.

Izuku was a little disappointed that it didn’t work the first try, however the waves of excitement that filled him were even better.

He grinned as he high-fived both of the other heroes.

By the time evening had set, Izuku had gotten the hang of how to activate the scarf, making it raise for a couple of moments before falling softly back down a minute later.

The group chattered softly to one another, as they left the training hall.

Hizashi gave Izuku a pat on the back, and wished him a happy birthday, before leaving in the other direction to tune into his radio show shift that he still had in an hour.

The other two stood outside the training hall for a moment, breathing in the fresh evening air.

“Thank you” Izuku whispered, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket, which he lit, sitting down on the stairs in front of the building.

“Thank you for what, kiddo?” The erasure hero said softly. He extended his hand out to the kid, who grinned, and placed a cigarette in the pros rough hands, throwing a lighter over as well.

The hero lit the cigarette, taking a deep breath.

“Thank you for making my birthday awesome”

“That’s nothing to thank me for kiddo, I will do it again and again, just to see you as happy as I did this morning”

The two looked at each-other for a short moment, exchanging a smile, before continuing to smoke.

A comfortable silence filled the two and they enjoyed the company for a moment, till they eventually went home.

——

Shouta Aizawa was woken up at five in the morning by a call from his college. The detective had found updates on Izuku’s moms case.

The newest information seemed to be that she was fired due to stealing various drugs from the hospital safe.

“Do you think she took the drugs, or sold them?” The hero whispered. It frustrated him, that they were not any closer to finding the kids mom.

Either way, the was she had been ignoring the calls from the police station, as well as hero’s and detective, gave them a solid enough case, to get Izuku adopted by the pro, however something inside Shouta wanted this case solved.

He wanted closure for him, and more importantly the little green haired boy he so happily welcomed into his home and arms.

——

Izuku woke up filled with excitement. He wouldn’t be able to go to patrol till the evening, however the excitement to get out onto the streets was so big that he woke up full of energy.

Bouncing into the kitchen he found Shouta slumped in a chair, a cup of coffee in front of him, and Katsudon pawing at his hair.

Izuku grinned to himself, as he grabbed himself a cup of the caffeinated beverage as well, before planting himself at the table.

“Goodmorningshouta” the boy squealed all in one go.

The pro looked up in confusion, his eyes blinking like a frog, as he tried to process what the teen was squealing about.

“I’m pleased you’ve got so much energy this morning kiddo” the hero mumbled, letting his head fall back down on the table. Guilt filled the hero. He had to tell the kid about his mom, and keep him updated, but at the same time, the teen was so full of energy and happiness that he didn’t want to destroy.

“I can’t wait to go on patrol with you this evening” the teen said excitedly.

“Thats awesome kiddo” the hero said, the smile not making his eyes much to the teens disappointment.

Izuku suddenly had a weird expression on his face, and he scampered back to his room. He lay back down in bed, as his thoughts began spiralling. Something about the pros behaviour this morning seemed off, and it intimidated him more than he wished to admit.

The excitement wore off quickly, and soon thick tears were rolling down the boys face. He could feel that something was up, he just couldn't place his finger on what it was. Did the hero have bad news for him? Did he not want to adopt him anymore? Had he done something wrong?

The little Izuku inside of him was scared. Scared that his new found dad didn't want him anymore, now that he had realised just how useless he truly was.

“Kid?”

The teen pulled the covers over his head before he answered “Yes”

He didn't want the hero to see that he had cried when he entered his room.

Izuku felt the bed sag a little at the end, as the hero sat down.

“Whats up kid?” The hero asked cautiously.

“I don't know” Izuku sobbed. “Something was different this morning, in the way you behaved and it triggered the little Izuku inside of me who’s parents didn't want him, and I was scared you didn't want me anymore”

“Oh kiddo” the hero said, his voice sounding defeated. “I still want you, there is just something that I need to talk to you about.”

“Did I do something wrong?” Izuku sniffed, slowly pulling the covers down, so that he could look at the hero.

“No you didn't kid” the hero said softly. “It’s about your mom”

“Oh” was all that Izuku could say. Now he understood, why the hero had sounded so defeated. “Whats has happened to her?”

“That we don't know. She was fired from the hospital she worked at due to stealing drugs, and she hasn’t been sighted since. We don't know where your mom is kid”

Izuku nodded. “If she is found, will you get rid of me, and dump me back with her?” He paused a moment. “Don’t send me back to her”

Shouta wiped a tear out of the boys face. It said a lot, that although the kids mom was missing, that his main worry was, if Shouta would still want to adopt him. “We have enough against your mother. If you still want me to adopt you, when she is found, then that is what I will do kiddo”

Izuku nodded, as he stretched his arms out “hug?”

“Hug” the hero replied reassuringly, leaning in to embrace the teen.

The two sat there for a while, holding each-other close.

“Don’t worry kiddo, I’m not leaving you, okay?”

Izuku sniffled into the hero’s chest.

“If you ever notice something is up, then just ask me, okay? If I can I will best answer it for you.”

The teen nodded into his chest.

“Good” the pro whispered.

The two released their embrace, and the pro beckoned his kid to follow. “I’ve got a cup of coffee waiting for you”

Izuku jumped up, following the hero into the kitchen. The cats were seated at the table, on a chair together. Coffee was intensely cleaning the others coat of fur, which Izuku immediately praised. “You’re doing a good job cleaning your new bro”

The cats miaowed in response, and Izuku smiled through his dried tears.

Shouta passed the kid a cup of coffee, before placing a bowl of rice at each of their respective places. A small bowl of soup was served as well.

“You need to be full of energy, when you go on patrol with me later”

The teen smiled, as he tucked in, shoving the food inside of himself.

The two had a relaxed morning till Izuku received an email.

“DAAAAAADDDDD” the teen squealed. Shouta jumped up in the spot he had been sitting, knocking the papers over.

“Jesus kid, you don't need to scare me like that. Whats up?”

“I passed the school year, and I can move on to the next one. I can pick up my report tomorrow”

Shouta’s eyes widened. “I’m so proud kiddo, well done”

The man stood up, walking over to where Izuku sat, his laptop in front of him, pulling the boy into a big hug.

The two embraced for a moment, till the hero sat back down.

——

It was evening, when the two got ready for their first patrol.

Izuku was wearing his new capture weapon, and although he didn't have control over it yet, the hero had said, that in field training was a good idea.

The two left the flat all kitted out, before Shouta beckoned the boy to follow him up to the roof.

“I need to run down all the specific things that you are allowed to do, and not do as my intern.” The pro said sternly.

Izuku nodded eagerly, excited to be able to go on patrol again.

“You shall follow my orders at all times, and not engage in any fights, unless I am unconscious, or you are in immediate danger. In addition, you should not take over fights, unless I tell you to, as I deem the arrest easy enough for you to handle.”

Izuku nodded. “That should be easy”

The hero rolled his eyes. “There are more rules, you know. You will need to pick out a Codename or a future hero name so that if you are asked what you are called you can give them said alias.”

“You need to introduce yourself as my intern always, and I give you full permission now, for all future fights to place the cuffs on the villains and make the arrests. The arrests will be under my name, so you will not receive any credit as my intern.”

Izuku nodded yet again.

“Make me proud kiddo” the hero whispered ruffling his hand through the teens hair.

“I will Eraserhead”

The pro laughed, “you always do”

The two set of into the night, the pro leading the way across the rooftops, glancing back every so often, when it was Izuku’s turn to jump from building to the next, making sure he didn’t have to catch the boy with his scarf.

After half an hour of running over rooftops Shouta spotted a mugging taking place.

“I will use my scarf to drop down, but I would like you to climb down the piping, seeing as we haven’t practiced dropping with your scarf yet”

Izuku nodded, as he started climbing down the various cables and pipes attached to the building.

By the time he reached the ground, Eraserhead was already placing cuffs on the villain, and talking to the victim.

“I was too slow” Izuku huffed, a little disappointed.

The pro flashed him a small smirk, before helping the victim up off the floor, where they had fallen.

Not even ten minutes later, the alleyway filled with blue lights, as the police rolled up, taking the villain into custody.

The hero turned to Izuku. “One last thing that I hadn’t mentioned yet, is that after every arrest you need to do a self reflection with me, so you know what you did well, and what you need to improve on.”

The teen nodded. “Well seeing as by the time I even made it down, you had already taken the guy down, I assume I need to work on speed.“

The hero nodded. “Good job”

The two continued on into the night.

——

Izuku woke up, his body aching, however no headache, which was a win on his part.

He heard a knock on his bedroom door, and then the pro stuck his head through the door, Coffee slinking around his feet for a moment, before jumping onto the teens bed, where the hero joined him.

“Good morning kiddo” the hero greeted, passing the kid a cup of coffee.

The two drank their warm beverages for a moment before the hero began talking. “Can you remember what you reflected at the first arrest that we made yesterday?”

Izuku nodded, still half asleep.

“Shall we head to the UA campus, and do some training on speed, climbing and drop attacks? We can bring your scarf with you, and then we can practice falling together, and using the capture weapon to pick you up?”

“Yes” the teen mumbled. “Just let me get another hour of sleep dad”

“Sure thing” Shouta got up to leave.

“Stay here” The teen mumbled. “Hugs”

The pro finished his cup of coffee, placing it on his desk. “Your bed is to small for us and the cats to fit, lets go to mine, and then I can give you proper hugs as you continue napping”

The teen nodded, raising his arms like a little kid that wanted to be picked up.

The hero smiled ever so slightly, picking the teen up, and carrying him over to his bedroom, where he got into bed. The teen snuggled up next to him, and not long after, the cats joined them too, and the small family was sleeping peacefully.

——

It was late afternoon, when Shouta and Izuku finally made their way over to the training halls of UA.

Hizashi was waiting at the car park for them.

“HEYYYY SHOUUUUUU” the man screamed.

Izuku jumped, and the darker haired pro just flipped his best friend off.

“Can I watch you guys again, whilst I do my paperwork?”

The hero nodded tiredly, as he turned to his kid. “Is it okay for you too Izuku?”

Izuku nodded, giving the blond hero a fist pump. He had really started to enjoy the company of the loud blond, although he was still slightly suspicious of the always cheerful behaviour the man had.

The three walked into the training halls, and Izuku put on his hero gear, letting his capture weapon rest easily on his shoulders, just like his parental figure did.

The hero pointed to a climbing wall that stood at the edge of the hall. “I want you to climb up that as quick as you can”

The teen almost flew up the wall much to the hero’s surprise. The small figure of the child was good for speed and agile things like that.

Izuku stood at the top.

“Yea” he shouted, raising his arms.

The hero placed a thick mat underneath the wall.

“Jump” he called up to the teen.

“It’s too high to safely jump” Izuku called down

“Since when have you been interested in your own safety” Shouta deadpanned back.

Hizashi began to laugh loudly from the back of the training hall.

Izuku looked unsure for a moment, before jumping.

His capture weapon instinctively shot out to brace the fall, but not enough, so the hero wrapped his own around the torso of the boy to brace the fall.

The hero unwrapped his scarf when Izuku was safely on two feet again. “You did good kid”

“Woah” the teen said, his eyes wide. “Did you see the scarf shoot down, I tried really hard to get it to brace my entire fall, but I guess I need more practice.”

“Climb the wall again” the hero instructed, “But this time only use the red and orange grips, I need to start challenging you little one”

Izuku nodded, speeding up the wall again, with surprising agility.

The hero and the teen continued practicing for a while till Shouta got a call.

“Tsukauchi is calling, do you mind if I go and take it?” The hero asked.

Izuku shook his head, as he climbed the wall again, this time jumping off without the hero at the bottom to catch him.

When he successfully managed to get the capture scarf to catch him he jumped in excitement.

“Did you see that Uncle Hizashi?”

The blond nodded. “Well done little listener.”

The teen sat himself down on the bench next to the voice hero, taking a sip from his water bottle.

Shouta walked back into the training hall with a dark expression on his face.

“Tsukauchi needs me to go in tonight, and work most nights for the next week, while we try to break down an organised crime ring.”

“Can I join you?” Izuku asked cautiously.

“When I'm in the office then it would be better if you didn't join, because as an intern your not allowed to handle potentially confidential paperwork, however when I go on steak outs it should be okay to join me.”

Izuku nodded. Paperwork was boring anyways, so he didn't have the need to join the hero when it came to that.

The duo continued training, and Izuku proudly showed off his new move of being able to catch himself.

——

Izuku sat on the roof next to his dad. The teen had a cigarette in his hand and was quietly smoking and the hero was busy scoping a building that lay on the other side of the road.

“Thats where the organised crimes headquarters is” the man said quietly, pointing to an inconspicuous building, that had all the lights dimmed, apart from one on the third floor.

‘What even is the organised crime?” The green haired boy asked. “I’ve heard organised crime so much, but I don't even know what you mean with that”

“This specific organisation traffics people. They probably do other things like stealing, and selling drugs as well, seeing as the crimes usually seem to go hand in hand, but our main concern is that of trafficked people.”

Izuku nodded.

“I had a rough childhood, but at least I wasn't trafficked” he mumbled.

The pro raised an eyebrow, shooting the boy a weird glance.

“We believe the traffickers are doing a kind of get together in a week, where they transfer the victims from here to the next cartel of choice, and that’s when I plan to go in undercover with various other heroes”

“Can I join?” Izuku asked, but he already knew the chances were slim.

“You may be able to join, but you obviously won’t be allowed to take a bigger role in the whole mission due to the dangerous nature, and not having enough experience.”

The boy nodded.

“I shall ask Tsukauchi about it”

The two continued to sit on the roof scoping the area out for a while.

Izuku and Shouta both taking notes of what was going on inside the building, from what they could see through the windows.

It wasn't much, but at least by the end of the stakeout they had multiple descriptions of people, and could hopefully identify some.

——

Two nights later, Izuku sat on the roof again, with Shouta.

“Have you thought of a hero name so far?”

The teen shook his head.

“Usually its good to find a hero name based on what your good at, and something short is always good, because it stays in peoples head better.”

“If I want to be an underground hero like you, then people don't need to remember my name.”

“Fair point”

“Im not good at anything though”

The hero softly flicked the others shoulders. “Hey, don't be mean to yourself.” He paused. “Your good at so many different things, when it comes to skills in heroics”

“Your good at climbing, being agile, and quirk analysis of the villains. Since your sober, you have been a lot better at being quiet, when it comes to moving around”

“What do you mean?” The teen said. “Wasn’t I quiet when drunk?”

The hero sighed exasperatedly. “You didn't realise how fucking loud you were?”

Izuku pulled a face. “No” he muttered

“When you used to go out on patrol, I was legitimately surprised you managed to do surprise attacks, seeing as you scuffed your shoes on the floor in an annoying way when you walked.”

The boy looked surprised. “I didn't even know that”

“See, that’s another positive of being sober. Thats also something that your doing a great job at”

“What?”

“Being sober”

Izuku smiled.

“Do you remember the little kid that we brought home a month or so again?”

The teen nodded in response.

“He told you, that you would become a great hero. Look where you are now, your sober, and an intern of a pretty okay hero. If that isn’t a good step in the right direction of being a hero, then I don't know what is”

“The kid was indeed cute” Izuku responded. “I remember joking with you, after we left the building, but I had my head turned away from you, so you wouldn't see me crying.”

“The kid was the first person who believed in me, and that means the world to me, if I’m being honest.”

Shouta smiled a little. “You know that I will and do believe in you, and I will do so till the end of my days” the man leaned over to the teen. “And by the way, I saw you crying, I just pretended not to notice so you wouldn't be embarrassed.”

Izuku stared down at the pavement, that was many stories underneath the two. “Thank you so much dad”

“You don't need to thank me kiddo, that’s what dads do. It’s kinda in the job description.”

The two sat in a comfortable silence, till Shouta spotted a group of people exiting the building that they had been watching the last days.

“I’m gonna pick you up kiddo, and we are going to take a better look at them.”

The pro stood up, not even waiting for a response from Izuku, picking him up with the one end of his capture scarf, and using the other to jump from the ledge of the building, on to a balcony on the other side of the road, that was on the first floor.

The pro crouched on the edge of the railing on the balcony while Izuku stood on the floor of the balcony, catching his breath.

“Woah, that gave me a shit ton of adrenaline” Izuku whispered. “Was definitely not expecting that.”

The hero grinned, and then began taking notes intensely.

Izuku looked to where he was looking and also began taking notes on the group of people there.

The group was heatedly discussing something, and then a man in the group began throwing hands.

Izuku prepared himself to jump off the balcony, but the hero held on to him.

“If they catch any whiff of police or heroes, then the transfer will probably be moved, so we just need to let them fight this one out this time.”

Izuku nodded, giving the other a thumbs up.

The two sat on the balcony for a moment, Shouta on the railing and Izuku on the floor.

“If it look like someone might commit a murder, then I will need to jump down” the hero muttered.

he looked over to Izuku, who was busy scribbling notes, and smiled.

Being coworkers in a sense as intern and pro hero was working better than he expected.

——

Izuku sat at the lunch table with Shouta, who was busy serving curry. For the first time in weeks, the hero was making something other than Katsudon for lunch, and although Izuku still loved Katsudon more than everything, it was nice to finally have a change.

The two had brought their notes to the table from the stakeout the night before, to discuss them over food.

When the pro finally sat down, Izuku was the first to speak. He started talking about the fight, which had lead him to figuring out, which quirks all the people had.

Five hours later the detective had a detailed report of some people who worked in the trafficking ring, with information more useful than he had ever seen from a steak out like the one the pro and his intern had done.

——

“I’ve talked with the detective, and he was, that you could be useful for the quirk analysis part of the infiltration” the hero began. “Your allowed to take part in hope to identify quirks, although in the heat of the moment, it probably won’t be possible”

Izuku nodded, as he blushed ever so slightly, pleased that he could be useful in some way or another.

The two were sat on the roof again, where they had done their stakeout for the last week.

“Tomorrow we are going to be taking the place down from the inside out.” The pro said. “I want you to stick behind me at all times, and when I have cuffed or disarmed the villains you can be the one to take them out to Tsukauchi who will be waiting outside, like he does with all big raids.”

The hero turned, so he was facing Izuku better. “Kid, this is the first bigger villain take down, that we are doing, and I'm not sure how I would react if you ended up getting hurt, so please, take your safety as the first priority, and if you need out, then let me know. After all you are a kid, and if you weren’t insistent on fighting crime, then I would prefer you to be safe at home, but I know that would be a useless boundary to set for you, because you would go out anyway”

“You sound like your doing harm reduction” Izuku muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Thats because I am.” The pro said indignantly

Izuku sighed.

“Sometimes I think your too good at being a dad.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment”

——

It was four in the afternoon, when Izuku was woken up by a knock on his door.

“Hey kiddo” Shouta pushed the door open, passing the teen his usual cup of coffee.

Izuku sipped at it, as the hero began talking.

“I let you sleep in for a little bit longer, so you can be well rested for the raid today”

The teen nodded.

“You need to get dressed pretty quickly now though, because we are meeting Tsukauchi in an hour at the police station. I need to discuss some paperwork with him, and I think he wants to give you a pep talk, as well as a bunch of cuffs, before we head out.”

Izuku sighed.

Chapter Text

Izuku stared up at the building. From down below it looked a lot taller than from up on the roof when he had been on the stakeout with Shouta. Upon closer inspection in the evening light he could see how rundown the building actually was. The paint was peeling at every moss covered windowsill. The tiles on the stairs that were leading up to the front door were cracked and crumbling. The whole building looked like it was a strong wind away from falling to pieces.

“We know the transfer is happening out back, so we have heroes at both the front and back exit. The heroes out back are hidden though, to plan a surprise attack, once we have stormed the front door.” Shouta said, leaning over to the boy.

Izuku nodded, biting on his lip ever so slightly. He was nervous for the raid, seeing as in the past he had only ever stopped smaller petty crimes. He had the slight urge to light up a cigarette, but seeing as he doubted that the other heroes would be as relaxed as Shouta when it came to that, he didn’t.

A lot of heroes stood around the two, chatting quietly among each other, as the larger police vans all began taking their positions in a semicircle around the entrance to the building.

The teen recognised most of the heroes from videos he had seen on the internet, and knew he had analysed some of their quirks.

It was a honour for him to work with so many cool people and part of his nervousness stemmed from the fear of letting them down.

“Why aren’t we being sneaky and doing the raid as a surprise attack?” The boy whispered over to the dark haired pro.

“Well seeing as the villains are mostly out back and are currently peacefully starting the transfer according to my colleges out back, it will be a surprise attack.” The hero leaned in. “If they had spotted us, then they wouldn’t be doing the transfer as relaxed as they are”

The green haired boy nodded, as he began nervously bouncing on his feet, hopping from his left onto his right.

Tsukauchi walked to the edge of the group of heroes, beckoning the few who were further from him, including Eraserhead and Izuku to come closer, so they could hear him talking.

“You know the game plan guys. Stay safe out there!” And with that the detective raised his hand in the air, signalling to all, that it was go time.

Eraserhead was the one to kick the door down, before backing away for his colleges to enter the ground floor. Izuku stood at the door next to the hero, until his colleges had all passed. There were two heroes per floor, and four plus Izuku for the ground floor seeing as the transfer was happening in the car park at the back of the ground floor.

The door to the car park was at the end of the hallway and stood open. Izuku could see people pushing and shoving as they tried to escape via the back.

He had been told to ignore those who did so, as they would be caught by the police and heroes outside.

Chaos ensued, as Eraserhead kicked down the first door to his right. Izuku had been expecting a kind of warehouse style room, like in the movies, where illegal crimes went down, however the room they stormed into looked more like a messy office, the only difference was a small stack of parcels in the corner that obviously carried drugs.

Eraserheads hair raised up in the air and a small spark of red was to be seen from his goggles as his quirk activated. Izuku turned around with his back to his parental figure, facing the door, to make sure nobody would enter unnoticed.

Izuku glanced behind him to see Eraserhead in full fighting glory. The dark haired pro was taking on all three men who had been sat in the room, dealing kicks quickly and efficiently then using his scarf to hold them in place.

Izuku turned the door again, but all he could see were pro heroes bringing villains down and out.

“Kid”

Izuku whipped around, pulling the cuffs out of his pocket as he turned. He scampered over to the men who were in various stages of unconscious, and restrained them.

The pro quickly ruffled through the green mess of hair before he said. “You clear the room”

Izuku nodded and the pro ran out of the room, his heavy boots moving surprisingly quiet on the stone floor.

The teen pulled the first restrained man out of the door and towards the exit. The man was the most awake out of the three that the pro had taken out and was stumbling behind the teen, not even trying to fight the restraints.

Tsukauchi stood in front of the building as discussed. The detective took the villain from the boy, with a quick nod. “Well done Midoriya”

Izuku blushed quickly, before running back in. One of the men that Eraserhead had taken down was trying to stand up, when the teen entered the room. The cuffs which held his hands behind his back making it difficult, if Izuku had seen correctly before the fight, the villain had a mild hardening quirk which would not be helpful for his own escape.

Izuku delivered a swift kick to the man’s nuts, before roughly dragging him towards the exit. While in the hallway the man managed to pull a hand out of his cuffs, delivering a swing to the back of Izuku’s head, his quirk activated in his fist.

The teen flew forwards, hitting the wall next them. Blood splattered against the wall, and a crunch was to be heard when the teens nose broke on impact. Instinctively he raised his hands up, dashing forwards and punching the man back, however to no avail, the quirk rendering Izuku’s attacks as pretty useless.

The boy let his capture weapon raise as practiced, attempting the capture move that his dad had showed him. The man was slow and staggering, which the teen used to his advantage.

With a swift movement the teen used his capture scarf to restrain the villain. Izuku was taken aback for a moment at how naturally the scarf had wrapped the man up. He pushed the villain against the wall, and put the cuffs back on, keeping the scarf on as a restraint, as he carried the man out. Blood dripping down the teens face, splattering on the cracked stairs on his way out.

Tsukauchi didn’t say anything, when he saw the blood, merely raising an eyebrow.

The third man followed the teen without putting up a fight, maybe intimidated by the blood on his face, his mouth also filling with the red liquid, as Izuku grinned through the pain. It hadn’t been the first, and probably wouldn’t be the last broken nose.

Izuku walked through the tall hallways. At the end of the hallway he could see the back door, where heroes seemed to have initiated the back attack. A lot of screaming was to be heard, most likely from the women and children who were victims of the traffickers. Izuku followed the protocol from Eraserhead going into the next room to the right.

He had been informed that everyone would be taken into custody in cuffs, who was still in the building, where at the police station it would be determined if they were an aggressor or a victim.

In the next room Eraserhead had obviously already done his work taking down people. It was a bigger room than the last, boxes stacked high to the ceiling.

Izuku’s vision darted through the room quickly to asses the unconscious people, when his gaze stopped at a head of green hair. It was a shade of green that let his heart stop for a moment as he recognised the person. Green eyes met his own, as his mother looked over to him. Izuku bit on his lip to not start crying. He couldn’t; not now. He was working at the moment, on a raid.

He picked up the half unconscious man who lay closest to the door pulling him up as he started bringing the man to the exit. On his way out he made sure to cuff the man again correctly, who wasn’t putting up a fight. The cuffs that the hero had applied had broken open for some reason.

The villain looked almost drugged, his pupils pinpoint, and expression vacant.

“Have you consumed anything?” Izuku asked cautiously, with a hint of anger laced in his voice. It came out harsher than expected.

The man nodded, as he stared to his feet. “Boss gave us a reward”

The teens eyes widened. Drugs as a reward? Or as a payment?

A clatter was to be heared as the cuffs that Izuku had just placed on the man’s wrists fell to the floor, confirming the minor suspicion he had that he could have a quirk which involved unlocking items.

The zip ties that he kept in his pocket came to use, as he re-restrained the man, making sure to attack the zip ties to each other and to the man’s clothes.

Quirk cancelling cuffs were used in the police cars so it wouldn’t matter later.

Due to laws, Izuku was not allowed to apply quirk cancelling cuffs, seeing as he was not yet a hero or policeman.

When out and about with Shouta, when the man gave him the permission to, he could, but seeing as he was currently working semi independently, transporting villains from scene to police cars, he wasn't allowed to.

Once outside Izuku pushed the man towards the detective. “He’s on drugs. According to him it was a reward from boss”

Tsukauchi nodded quickly, before assigning the man to a police car, directing everyone to continue.

Izuku stood still for a moment too long, watching the detective.

“What’s up Midoriya?”

The man who he had just brought out whipped his head around as he recognised the name. Probably connecting the dots between the green haired boy and the green haired woman who lay in the room he had just been taken from.

“Everything’s fine”

“You need medical attention for your nose?” Tsukauchi asked.

Izuku shook his head, not saying anything.

The teen turned around running back inside the building. He stood at the doorway of the room he had just been in, looking at his mother, who had an unreadable expression on her face.

It surprised him, that she wasn't trying to escape, seeing as she was the only one in the room who wasn’t cuffed.

Although to be fair the cuffs of the last villain hat been reopened quickly, with help of his quirk.

Dread filled him; he didn’t want to have to be the one who placed the metal bracelets on her.

Izuku hadn’t seen her in over a year, however he couldn’t forget her face. He saw her face every time he looked in the mirror, a splitting image of his mother.
He pulled a different woman out of the room his mom was sitting in, avoiding eye contact with her as he dragged the woman out, handing her over to the detective.

His steps were slower as he approached the room for the third time. His mother was the last to bring out.

Some louder shouting was to be heard from out back, and then from the corner of his eye, he saw the erasure hero sprint out to help his colleges, but he could barely register what was happening.

He stood in the doorway, watching his mother.

“Ma’am I need to cuff you” Izuku said.

Inko’s eyes widened as her son ordered her to do so, and then rage flashed over her face.

“You ungrateful brat” she hissed. “Are you pretending to be hero or what?”

Izuku was taken aback for a moment by the lashing out. He knew his mother as a peaceful yet overworked woman. She had been distant, but never outright angry and mean.

She stared daggers at her son for a moment, standing up of the floor. She seemed unsure on her feet.

“Ma’am, are you on drugs?” Izuku asked, trying to stay professional but his voice was wavering.

“Are you going to arrest me or what?”

“Either way I will be placing a citizen arrest in order from my teacher and mentor: the pro hero Eraserhead”

“You really think you can play a hero?” Inko spluttered, laughing. “You can’t be fucking serious?”

Izuku’s breath stopped for a moment as he sharply inhaled. Swearing had never been anything he had seen his mother do, but to be fair he hadn’t seen his mother very much at all. Who knows what she had been like at work or outside of home.

“Ma’am please pass me your wrists.”

“Call me mother, brat. I birthed you” she paused for a moment, “I am your mother, don’t you pretend you don’t know me now that you can play hero, now that you have someone who can feed into your delusions, that your worth something”

Izuku could feel his throat closing up. His mother seemed to be high out of her mind, verbally vomiting on him as she degraded him.

“I did so much to support you, and now you want to lock me away?”

“Ma’am” frustration rose in him, as the teen tried to de-escalate Inko who was getting increasingly more worked up.

“I gave you money, I gave you love-“

“SHUT UP” Izuku shouted, his capture scarf raising as as did his voice. She hadn’t given him love. He hadn’t known true parental love, till he met Shouta.

The scarf shot forwards knocking the woman off her feet, who seemed shocked at the fact, gaping at the teen whilst she tried to splutter insults.

Izuku kicked his mother in the back before applying cuffs, tears streaming down his face.

He roughly pulled her up, angrily shoving her out the door in front of him.

“I gave you eve-“

“Shut up” Izuku hissed, tightening her cuffs.

“I wished I had let your dad kill you when you didn’t develop your quirk” the woman snarled back, as they left the building.

Tsukauchi had seemed to hear what the woman had said to her son, and as she turned to face the detective, the man’s jaw dropped in realisation.

“Inko Midoriya?” He asked.

Izuku nodded. “Correct”

Silent tears were streaming down his face as he let the detective take his mother to a police car. He watched her head be pushed inside the car as she tried to fight the detective.

Anger and sadness both consumed him.

It felt like his legs would buckle underneath him, at the same time he wanted to disappear, run away till he couldn’t feel anything any more. The detective still had his back turned to the boy, still fighting Inko.

Izuku took a deep breath, and without a word or hesitation he began to run, down the street, and then along the roads, not bothering to turn back.

By the time Tsukauchi turned around, he saw the small green haired boy turn the exit onto the main road.

The detective pulled out his mobile phone, dialling Eraserhead’s number.

The hero picked up almost instantly.

“Tsukauchi, what’s up?” In the background, a thump was to be heard, as the hero kicked a villain into the wall.

“Izuku found his mother”

Shouta froze, his heart dropping “and?”

“I think he panicked, because now he ran away”

The villain in the room used the moment of panic in the hero, sprinting forwards towards the hero, a knife raised, as he swiped the hero’s abdomen.

Usually Shouta could have easily been able to easily avoid such a lame attack, however the shock had left him slow to react.

He dropped his phone for a moment, rushing forwards, to punch the man in the face. The villain dropped his knife on impact, collapsing to the floor.

The hero glanced around the room checking to see if the coast was clear, before picking the phone up.

“We lost my kid?” The hero asked, horrified.

“Mhm”

The hero hung up. Anger throbbing through him, as he kicked the guy on the floor in front of him for good measure. He had to be quick.

Shouta wasn’t one to let personal feelings out on villains, and the extra kick to the villain had been unnecessary, however the slash to his abdomen had also been very unnecessary in his opinion.

He roughly picked the man up, throwing his unconscious body over his shoulder, as he ran out of the building.

He let the unmoving villain fall to the floor in front of the detective. “Can I go after my kid?”

The detective was staring at his stomach. “Aizawa” Tsukauchi said slowly. “You need to go to hospital”

“I-“ the underground pro raised his voice, anger rushing through him. “I AM NOT GOING TO HOSPITAL. I AM GOING AFTER MY KID”

“Aizawa” the detective said again calmly, reaching to place his hand on the hero’s shoulder, which Shouta slapped away.

“NO”

“AIZAWA, YOU ARE GOING TO HOSPITAL. THIS IS A DIRECT ORDER.”

Shouta’s eyes widened in shock, rage still consuming him, as the detective waved over some medics, who took him by the shoulders, guiding him to an ambulance.

——

Izuku could feel his heart thumping in his head. The voice of his mother replaying over and over again in his mind, like a broken cassette.

“I wished I had let your dad kill you when you didn’t develop your quirk”

Why?

If she really hated him so much, then why had she given him the money each month?

At the same time, she had been avoiding him the whole time.

Had she always thought of him that way? Why had she only now lashed out?

Was it the drugs in her making her more aggressive or truthful?

Had the money been to keep her own mind clear of fault, that she was neglecting him?

Izuku pressed his eyes closed, for a moment, attempting to get rid of the thoughts that uncontrollably swirled through his brain.

The streets around him speeding by, as he ran, away from his mother, away from the raid. His heartbeat was thumping loudly in his chest, and his breath quick as he attempted to outrun the situation.

He wasn’t thinking about where he was going, and almost through instinct he found himself in the shop where he had bought the alcohol “for his mother” the past years.

He pulled out the last of the money his mother had given him back then, almost throwing it at the cashier, as he bought the cheapest vodka there was.

Adrenaline was still rushing through him, and his pulse was quick.

He was barely thinking, when he unscrewed the lid of the bottle, as he left the store, forgetting about the withdrawal, that he had done. Forgetting that there actually was someone out there who loved him.

All that filled his brain were the words “I wish he had killed you”

Izuku stepped onto the street, walking slowly towards where he used to live.

He stood in front of the house, where he and his mom had their flat. Clenching his eyes shut, as he drank the liquor, letting the burning liquid flow down his throat.

For a moment it almost brought him out of his dissociative fit of rage.

He pushed the house door open, walking up the stairs, before kicking the door open to where he used to live.

The hinges weren’t secure, and the door flew open, clattering loudly to the floor as the screws broke off.

He felt like he could laugh, cry and shout at the same time.

Was he angry? Was he sad? Was it both at once, jumbled into a big mess?

Izuku stared at the flat, that he used to call his home.

“I wish he had killed you” he mumbled to himself.

The bottle in his hand was too small for his liking. He closed his eyes, as he bit back the feeling of vomit in his throat, as he chugged the rest of the liquid.

With a scream, he threw the now empty bottle at the wall, which shattered on impact, shards clattering to the floor.

Stomping into the flat, he kicked everything in his sight, punching the paper thin walls, as gut wrenching sobs escaped his lungs.

“I wish he had killed you” he sobbed to himself.

He felt so useless, why was this interaction making him break in such a way?

Was it his deepest fears being confirmed?

Why did he care so much about his mother when she obviously didn’t do the same when it came to him?

Although somewhere inside of him, he had known that she had been avoiding him due to his quirkless status, however to hear such disgust from her, and even a death wish…

It was the one thing to have an assumption, but to have it confirmed, and it to be even worse than expected really stung.

His lungs were aching from the sobbing. His thoughts spiralling down and down, quicker than he could follow or control.

He could feel the contents of his stomach preparing to exit his body again, but he just swallowed it down again, instead kicking in the door to his mothers room.

He stood in the doorway, looking at her bed, and the night table, with the candles that stood on the windowsill.

Her room looked peaceful, too peaceful.

Pulling out a lighter from his pocket, he flicked it on, staring at the flame for a moment. He picked out a cigarette from a different pocket, lighting it, and smoking it slowly, as he watched the flame dance in the lighter.

Izuku took a deep breath from his cigarette, and without much thinking he threw the lighter in his mothers room, on her bed, watching the flames shoot up in the air.

A sick satisfaction consumed him.

Smoke filled the room quicker than he could realise, but he was too angry to care. He instead turned around, slowly walking towards what used to be his bedroom.

If he was going to burn the place to shreds, then at least he had to grab some items.

Pulling a bottle from underneath his bed, he unscrewed it, taking a big gulp.

The gulp seemed to be the turning point for his stomach, and before he had even properly registered it, he began hurling vomit on himself and the floor in front of him.

The smell of both the liquid and the smoke felt like they were burning his nose.

Once done with emptying his stomach, he took another drag of the cigarette, and another gulp of the liquor, the burning sensation feeling good.

He smelled the smoke beginning to drift in his room.

He pulled the last of his things out of drawers that he even wanted to keep, shoving them in a backpack. The most important things he owned, were already at the pro hero’s place.

His brain was fuzzy, the alcohol already taking a toll on his thinking abilities.

He kicked his door closed, so the smoke wouldn’t completely fill his room, opening the window, to get a breath of fresh air. The lit cigarette in his hand, was thrown on the floor, where it started burning the small carpet, that was in front of his bed.

Izuku grinned manically, as he threw the backpack over his shoulder.

He pulled open his desk drawer pulling out a mask that he had made, that would protect him a little from smoke inhalation.

With the liquor bottle still in his one hand, he stepped out into the hallway.

Flames were licking at the wallpaper, and the fire alarms in the apartment were beeping.

Izuku’s smile widened, as he walked towards the flames, placing his hand in the fire that was consuming the wall. It was almost like he was in a trance as he did so.

He could feel a burning sensation on his fingers. Pain shot through his arm, as his fingers began to burn, charring at contact.

The mask wasn’t sufficient against all the smoke that filled the place and Izuku could barely see, but the pain felt good, it felt so good. It was as if he physically could feel the pain of the emotions that burdened him.

“I wish he had killed you” he shouted into the smoke, his voice sounding as manic as the expression that painted his face.

He could feel himself get lightheaded and smiled. This was the place he would die? Wasn’t it?

What about dad? A small voice in the back of his head asked. It was enough however to snap him out of his dissociative state.

Shouta loved him, didn’t he? He didn’t need his mother if he had Shouta, did he?

The ceiling in his mothers room began crashing down, sparks flying through the air, as the door was blown out of its hinges.

Izuku’s clothes were on fire, flames licking up his arm, the burning becoming almost unbearable.

With a last burst of anger Izuku threw the bottle of alcohol against the door frame of where the door to his mothers room used to be.

He almost sluggishly walked towards his bedroom, using the wall to guide himself towards his bedroom window.

He had to get out. He had to go back to his dad. The dad who actually loved him, the dad, who hadn’t been mad, when he had wet the bed, when he had made mistakes.

The dad who had held him, when he had sobered up, the dad, who brought him a cup of coffee to his bed every morning, the dad who made sure that he was safe, and the dad who allowed him to accompany him to missions.

He couldn't properly see out of the window, the smoke overwhelming. He climbed onto the windowsill jumping forwards. The capture weapon that lay comfortably on his shoulders shooting out in front of him to brace his fall.

The scarf braced his impact, and once Izuku was safely on the floor, he let the dizziness that overwhelmed him, completely consume him, as he let himself fall into the grass, rolling around to extinguish the last of the flames.

He could hear sirens faintly approaching but could barely react.

Black filled his vision, as the boy passed out.

——

Shouta Aizawa had spent the entire ambulance ride angrily screaming at people, firstly at the medics, and then at recovery girl over the phone, and then at the medics again.

Instead of being transported to the nearest general hospital, he was being transported to UA.

Hizashi was already waiting at the car park, as the ambulance pulled in.

The blonds face went pale, as he saw the slash in his best friends abdomen.

“Shouuu, what happened”

Shouta angrily stomped out of the ambulance, not accepting the help from the paramedics, instead walking directly towards the main building in the UA campus.

“We found the kid’s mother and he ran away” the man shouted angrily.

Hizashi, who had been following the dark haired hero, stood still for a second, shocked, before he ran to catch his best friend up, who was moving too quickly for the blonds liking.

“Where is he now?”

“I don't know” Shouta huffed. “I need to find him”

“You need to go to recovery girl first Shou”

The underground hero nodded angrily as he continued stomping towards the medical office.

“Where could the kid be?” Hizashi carefully asked. “I could start looking for him”

Shouta began mumbling the address to where Izuku used to live, and the rooftop, on which they had spent their evenings chatting and smoking.

The blond pro hero took notes, looking over to his friend every so often to see if the adrenaline was wearing off on his end.

Although he wished so much to help his friend walk, who’s abdominal wall was on full display, the verbal abuse, that he may or may not throw back could risk making the injury worse.

The dark haired pro pushed open the door to the recovery room, and made eye contact, with recovery girl. The woman let her jaw fall to the ground as she stared at the gaping wound in Shouta’s stomach cavity.

“Aren’t you in any pain dear?”

“I NEED TO FIND MY KID”

The dark haired pro grimaced as he answered, his voice still laced with unbearable anger.

He couldn’t feel the pain of his wound, and quite frankly, it couldn't be as bad as people were making it out to be, seeing as he could still walk and talk.

The adrenaline started to wear off for a moment, and the hero stumbled forwards, his vision blurring as he started blacking out.

The blond hero nodded over to recovery girl “Don’t let him leave, till he is medically cleared, I will do everything in my power to find his kid.”

The older hero nodded in confirmation, taking the arm of Shouta Aizawa, as she led him to a bed.

Hizashi Yamada turned around, not even glancing back a second time, as he left the room. He had to find the kid, that both he and his best friend had let into both their hearts and their lives.

The little green haired boy was traumatised, yes, but at the same time gave of such a warm and loving energy, filled with jokes and youth.

Hizashi cursed out his leather pants for a moment, before rushing onto the car park, where the ambulance was currently pulling out of, the blue lights flashing as they made their way over to a new emergency.

The blond got into his car, rolling down the windows, so that police would recognise him, when he inevitably broke all the speed limits.

He had phoned with his hero agency on the way out, to let them know that he would be clocking in to find a missing kid, seeing that when he worked different traffic laws applied, meaning he would be able to ignore red lights as well if needed.

His first stop was to the Midoriya-Aizawa household. The flat stood empty, apart from the two cats who came, greeting the voice hero happily, as he unlocked the door.

The pro gave them head scratches for a moment, before locking up, and quickly driving to the next place, the flat, where Izuku had grown up in.

The man hadn’t even driven into the car park, that was in front of the apartment block, when he was greeted by a couple of firemen.

Shock filled his body, as he saw the trucks that stood there, various kitted out fire people were in the process of putting a fire out.

The flames were licking the windowsills and smoke was rising up the entire building.

Hizashi jumped up out of the car, and over to a woman, who seemed to be the boss of the whole operation. “Who lives in the flat that’s burning?”

“I believe it belongs to the Midoriya family” The woman said.

Hizashi heart dropped. “Was there anyone inside?”

“No, not that we know of” she paused for a moment. “We will need to fully extinguish the fire to be able to tell if there are any victims. For now it’s too unsafe to enter, as there is a risk of the building collapsing.”

The blond hero crossed his fingers as he hoped that the teen was not inside. He anxiously stood next to a fire truck, till he decided he couldn’t wait.

Did he risk running inside? There was no way of telling if Izuku was even in there or if he was long gone, running away from the situation.

Had the teen been the cause of the fire?

Hizashi walked around the building, and once out back, he could feel a bit of weight slip of his chest, as he spotted the small figure of Izuku Midoriya, his best friends kid lying on the ground, breathing.

The pro pressed his fingers against the boys neck, counting both his raggedy breaths and heartbeats, before pulling the unconscious boys body close to his and into a hug, as he picked him up.

Izuku didn’t look to be in good shape, he had obviously been stuck in the fire at some point, his clothes and hair black from soot.

Part of his sleeve had been burned, revealing widespread skin damage from deep burns.

Other smaller areas had also been burned. The sight made Hizashi sick.

The boy mumbled something incomprehensible, and hadn’t even opened his eyes yet, so the voice hero lent over, whispering in his ear. “It’s me, Hizashi, little listener, I'm going to take you to your dad, I'm so pleased that you are safe.”

Izuku nodded, sleepily, as he buried his face into the hero’s neck, just like he did with his dad.

It felt nice to be held by someone who he also considered to be family, although all he wanted in that moment was to be held by Shouta.

Izuku whispered incomprehensible words again, and the blond just smiled, pleased to have found the kid alive.

The hero kept the teen clutched close to his chest, as he sat himself back in his car, breaking every traffic law that he could, pulling up to UA.

The state of the boy worried him, at the moment. He was still breathing heavily, but he hoped it was something that recovery girl could fix.

He lifted the teen up, adjusting him better, as he began carrying him like a monkey, up through the halls, not even bothering to knock when he reached the recovery bay.

Shouta lay passed out in one of the beds, however when the door was so abruptly ripped open he began to stir, taking. Look over to the blond.

“You have my kid” the hero said, his voice sounding defeated, as he looked over to the blond. “Thank you”

He stretched his shaking arms out, picking the kid out of the blonds arms.

He pulled the kid close to him, ruffling his hands through his darkened hair.

It was only then, when he notices the sour burnt smell, that the teen had. It wasn’t the usual slight whiff of cigarettes, it smelled like the kid had been next to a campfire. He could curse himself out, for recovery girls quirk making him so sluggish and unaware.

He stopped breathing for a moment. Izuku’s hand was a blackish red, and very deformed.

The recovery hero had obviously also seen it, and looked just as shocked as Shouta.

“He isn’t sleeping, is he” the pro stated, as panic began rising in his chest.
“He is unconscious”

Recovery girl and Hizashi exchanged looks, and Shouta began climbing up and out of bed, ignoring the protests of the two, as he lay the teen down where he had been a minute ago.

“Help him” Shouta urged.

The older lady nodded, placing an IV on the boys arm, and beginning a transfer of liquids.

She began checking Izuku’s vitals, and applied an oxygen mask, instead of the one he had been wearing.

“When I arrived at the place where he and his mom had lived, their apartment had burned down” Hizashi admitted. “He was responsive back then.”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN HIS FLAT BURNED-DOWN” Shouta shouted, getting worked up.

He looked like he was about to punch his best friend, and the blond took a cautionary step back.

Izuku began stirring, as he began to cough into the oxygen mask, that recovery girl had attached to his head.

He began propping himself up, taking no regard to the protests of the others in the room.

Ripping off the mask, he began projectile vomiting all over the floor. The puke was a worrying colour of black, but considering the amount of soot that he had probably inhaled, and that had gotten into his system, it was no surprise.

The adults watched him, all worried, and Shouta became increasingly more and more frustrated at the, (in his eyes) inadequate care that was happening to his son.

“Hey Zuzu, hey kiddo” the pro said, crouching next to the boy, rubbing the back of his head, as he continued emptying his stomach on the floor.

It was surprising, how much could actually come out of such a small boy.

“I love you dad” the teen mumbled groggily, when the puking finally came to a stop.

The teen let himself fall back into bed, where he promptly fell back asleep.

Shouta could feel his heart warm at those four words. He smiled softly at the boy, who was now snoring, the exhaustion finally having gotten the better of him.

“Im going to ask you to leave the room Shouta, as I try and take care of your boy”

“NO” Shouta answered, staring daggers at recovery girl for even suggesting that.

“I know you don't want to Shouta, but he is safe here, and I don't think I can give him my full attention, if you are hovering over him. We always say in the medical field, that if you have to work on the paediatric unit, the worst thing there is to deal with are the overprotective parents, and seeing as you belong to that sort I am going to ask you to step out.”

“Shou, lets go to the roof, if recovery girl has anything, or if he wakes up, we can get her to call you.” Hizashi said carefully, helping his friend stand up, and guiding him by the shoulders over to the exit of the room.

Before the two left the room, Shouta quickly dashed back to his son, giving him a kiss on the head, and sneakily pulling the cigarettes, he knew he kept in his left pocket out.

When he leant over the kid, he noticed the smell of alcohol, penetrating.

He had smelled it before whilst Izuku had been busy puking, but had barely taken note of it.

“Make sure to do a blood alcohol test” he muttered, as he left the room with the blond, a shocked expression on recovery girls face, as they left.

The two walked up to the roof. Hizashi had his arm wrapped around the dark haired pros shoulders.

The two silently sat on the roof, and Shouta pulled out a cigarette, offering one to Hizashi.

Shouta was the one to break the silence, when the two of them had lit their cigarettes.

“Thank you for bringing my kid back”

“I always would, I know how much the little listener means to you”

The two smoked in silence for a moment, till Shouta broke the silence again. “I’m worried about the kid. Both about his mental and physical state.”

“I know, and I also know that recovery girl is an amazing healer”

“When I adopt the kid, will you do the honour of becoming his godparent? If anything happens to me, I want to know he is in the best hands possible, and I know there is nobody better on this earth for this job like you”

Hizashi smiled softly.“I would love to be Izuku’s godparent”

The blonds eyes widened, as his best friend leaned over, and embraced him, pulling him close. “Thank you Zashi”

The voice hero wrapped his arms around the other, pulling him close. “I would do anything for you and the little listener”

The two released the embrace and continued smoking for a moment.

“I haven seen you this fulfilled and happy since Obero, y’know” Hizashi paused, before whispering “Before he died”

The darker haired pro silently stared off to the distances, and much to the surprise of the blond, a tear rolled out of Shouta’s eyes. “I miss him”

“I miss him too, it just doesn’t stop hurting”

“Im scared that something like that will happen to Izuku. And I don't even know if I would rather be there or not if he has an accident, when becoming a hero”

“You will never be able to stop fate, if it ever does happen Shou, but you can teach him to the best to your abilities, to prevent stupid mistakes taking his life”

Shouta nodded. “I think maybe I see Obero in Izuku, I don’t even know why”

“Maybe that’s why you ended up taking him in, you saw the same free spirit that you saw in Obero, and wanted to give the kid a better ending, than our friend had.”

The darker haired man nodded, as tears began flowing down his face.

“Just remember Shouta, you won’t always be able to keep the kid safe.”

“I know” he sniffed, as he wiped the cascade of tears that were flowing down his face away.

The ring of the dark haired pros phone caused both of the men to jump.

“It’s recovery girl” the man muttered.

“Hey Shouta, can you come down now, I have something to discuss”

“Sure” the other muttered back, before hanging up.

He pulled Hizashi to his feet, and ran, whilst still holding the others hand, down the hallways, pulling the blond behind him, who followed with big steps.

He hurriedly pushed the door to the recovery bay open, and immediately ran over to his kid, who now was a lot cleaner. He had been changed into hospital gowns, and his face had been washed, however his hair was still black with soot.

He sat next to the boy who seemed to be sleeping, and stared at recovery girl.

“Why does the kid have such a high blood alcohol level, I thought you would teach your kids better than to drink.”

“When I began fostering him, he was an alcoholic, and I helped him through withdrawal. I think the trauma of tonight may have caused him to relapse” Shouta sighed.

“What on earth happened, that caused him to relapse like this?”

“I only know that he saw his mom for the first time in years again. I don't know any of the details, but I believe he was the one who arrested her.” The hero muttered, as he began stroking through Izuku’s hair.

Recovery girl shrugged, as she began changing the liquid IV that was going into the boys arm. A bandage covered most of his left arm, all the way up, to above his elbows.

“I had to cut his shirt off to assess the damage, and I need to inform you, that his pinky finger is damaged beyond repair. Thankfully only the pinky finger is beyond repair, the other fingers should be able to be saved. The reason why I need you, if because I believe you have the legal right to make the decision on how we continue.”

Shouta’s eyes widened in horror. “What are the options?” He muttered.

“So either way, I have ordered a helicopter to transfer you guys to a bigger hospital. I can’t heal Izuku in the current state that he is in, because there is just too much widespread damage.”

“To the options on his hand, he won’t be able to move his pinky any more, due to the deeper damage to the fingers. The chance of it healing to scar tissue are slim, seeing as bone is visible in some parts, and lots of soot which are stuck on. If you decide to keep the finger, then infection that would most likely start at the pinky could take his whole hand.”

“In my opinion, you should get the finger amputated, to reduce risk of infection to the other fingers, therefore saving his hand” Recovery girl sighed, the bad news obviously taking an emotional toll on her too.

The darker haired pro wanted to roll in a ball, and curl up and cry. He was just so fucking overwhelmed with the whole situation.

“The rest of the burns are between first and third degree, and should be able to be healed by me, when the other damage to his lungs is treated, and the boy is in a generally better shape. I have cleaned them, and applied ointment to them, which is also what the doctors will do in the other hospital, until he can be transferred back here”

The recovery hero began unplugging all the medical devices as a knocking as to be heard on the door, and two paramedics entered.

“You will have 48 hours to decide what happens to the child’s hand, because he will need to have a low blood alcohol level for the surgery.”

Shouta nodded, his brain not working, as he tried processing all the new information.

The paramedics transferred the boy on to their own bed, and began attaching him to their own portable machines.

The hero could feel his heart beating hard in his chest, as he watched the motionless figure of his child be wheeled out. Just as the paramedics were about to leave the room, Shouta managed to find his words again. “Can I fly with you guys? He is my foster kid.” the paramedics nodded.

Hizashi promised to follow by car, and before the heroes knew it, Shouta was in the helicopter, and Hizashi in his car, both speeding over to the trauma hospital, that Izuku was to be introduced to.

Shouta could feel his throat close.

Was this his fault? He could’ve guessed that the kids mother could’ve been there. But realistically, how could he have known, when the mother had been flying under the radar for so long?

He shouldn’t be beating himself up over that, he had to focus on what was important now, didn’t he? Izuku had to be his main priority. What happened, had happened, and even if he didn’t yet know what had gone down, he would support the boy all the way back through his recovery.

Shouta stared down at the houses below for a moment, before turning to his son, who was currently in the process of getting another oxygen mask applied. He gripped Izuku’s good hand, holding on to it, as if it were a lifeline, letting his thumb trace over the scars that covered it.

What the hell had even gone down in the burning flat for him to sustain such injuries?

A sinking feeling hit the pro, when he realised, that the teen had most likely been the one to set the place ablaze, and although it was a crime, the pro hero could understand the emotions that must’ve led to such behaviour.

His mother had most likely said something that had triggered the boy, or else there wouldn’t have been such a strong reaction, seeing as the kid had been almost nonchalant, when finding out that his mother had been missing for a while.

Izuku was then wheeled into the hospital, and then into a specific burn unit, where he was given his own room, seeing as he was the only minor there.

The hero sat at the edge of his bed, watching the nurses bustle around the boy. He could feel himself dissociate, almost in a trance, as the nurses assessed the situation.