Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A lone figure sat atop an unassuming apartment complex in one of the more run down districts of Mustafu. They were on their knees, gripping their head with scarred hands, sobs wracking their body from head to toe. A puddle of tears pooled under their knees, soaking their ripped uniform to the skin.

Their pale face was reddened to an angry rash, and their curly viridian hair was wildly disheveled. Their emerald eyes, which had twinkled with such reverence only an hour ago, were empty.

A scream broke from their lips, it stretched on for an eternity. The pain which had so carefully been kept under lock and key, broke to the surface violently, with a vengeance.

After what could've been hours or minutes, the screams and sobs stopped, and the rooftop was silent. The boy slowly rose to his feet, and gazed out at the sunset.

It was beautiful. Pink and orange hues danced across the fluffy clouds, framing the vibrant orange sun on the edge of the horizon. The stars and dark sky had appeared further away from the sunset, gradually chasing the daylight into the next hemisphere.

He smiled, slightly and shakily. Even though this world was not made for him, he wanted to appreciate the beauty of it one last time. He gazed at the sky until the sun slipped away, and the night was in full swing. His eyes flicked to the edge of the building. He didn't want to delay any longer.

He shrugged off his patch-work backpack, not bothering to open it up to write a note. Why should he? No one would miss him. He slipped his scuffed sneakers off, and he crept towards the edge. He peered down at the sidewalk below. It looked far away enough to be deadly, and there were no pedestrians in sight. He took a deep breath, and took one of his last steps closer.

Maybe if he had gotten someone, anyone on his side, his story wouldn't have ended...

"Wait! Please don't jump!"

He froze at the sound of the feminine voice. They wouldn't care if they knew, no one had.

"I'm Quirkless." He yelled, spitting out the words as if they were dirt. Now he could jump in peace-

"I don't care! I don't care if you don't have a Quirk, you still deserve to live! Please, just talk to me!" They shouted desperately.

He whirled around in a heartbeat. He had to make sure he didn't hallucinate that voice.  He had dreamed of hearing those words for so long, the words that he'd do anything for. His gaze snapped to the person in front of him. They were tall and looked a bit underweight. She wore a "She/they" pronoun pin on their black tank top. They had baggy black sweatpants on, and a stained gray hoodie tied around her waist. Their bright pink hair was in large locks, and was tied up in a loose ponytail. Her face was stained with grease, and screwed in a mixture of determination and fear.

Their most striking feature was their yellow eyes with cross-hairs for pupils. Did she have a vision quirk? Maybe it had something to do with zooming or amplification? How were their eyes mutated? They had to be to look like that-

"Wow, you're a genius! My Quirk is called Zoom, it lets me see up to 5 kilometers away! I could tell you more about it if you'd like?" They exclaimed, a bright smile that didn't quite reach her eyes adorning their face.

He felt his cheeks heat up as he looked down bashfully, his goal forgotten from the shock of someone not rejecting him, "Uhm, I'd love to h-hear about your quirk! But, you're-really don't think my mumbling is creepy? Everyone else says that m-my analysis and mumbles are weird and invasive..."

"Nonsense!" She cheered, "Your mumbling isn't creepy, it's just how you organize your thoughts! How about you come over to my apartment, and then I'll tell you about my Quirk?"

He mulled it over for a few seconds. Going to a stranger's apartment was risky, but it's not like he had anything to lose, so he put on a small smile and replied, "Sounds alright to m-me. I guess I s-should introduce myself, I'm Izuku Midoriya. Oh, and he/him pronouns please."

Her eyes widened a bit, "Oh! I forgot all about names. I'm Mei Hatsume, you can call me Mei, and I go by she/they pronouns. Now, let's get going!" They skipped up to Izuku, and snatched his still trembling hand before pulling him back from the edge. He stumbled along after her, almost tripping but keeping up with her quick footwork until they reached the roof entrance.

Mei ushered Izuku through the dinghy roof door, and down the creaky steps until they reached a cramped hallway. It was in bad shape compared to Izuku's apartment corridors. The carpet was peeling, as was the paint. Several ceiling tiles were missing, and there was a strong stench of mildew and cigarettes.

They only passed a few doors before Mei pulled out a key from one of her many pockets and unlocked one of the cleaner doors in the hallway. She swung the door open, announcing with pride, "Welcome to the humble beginnings of the greatest support company in the world, Hatsume Industries!"

There was a kitchenette and a connected dining room, along with one door on each of the other three walls. The floor was all wood, and the stains and smells from the hallway were still apparent, if less pronounced. The walls had various holes in them, and the ceiling had a suspicious amount of holes in it as well.

Each hole was accompanied by scorch marks, which was doubly suspicious. Just what did Hatsume get up to in here?

The dining room had a few trinkets on an unvarnished wood table with three lawn chairs around it. Besides those items, the space was almost completely bare.

Well, bare in the sense of furniture. There was plenty of clutter in the form of unwashed dishes, scribbled on papers, empty cans, and assorted stuff that most people would keep in a junk drawer.

Izuku was starting to wonder if Mei was in a similar situation as him when she sat him down on one of the lawn chairs across from her and began speaking animatedly, "Okay! You can ask me as many questions as you want about my Quirk! I brought your backpack down too, so you can write about it in that notebook you had! Your analysis was amazing, and I only got a glance, so I'm thrilled to hear about what you have to say about my Quirk!"

Mei had opened the floodgates. Izuku promptly located his notebook and pen and went on a long analysis spree deconstructing everything about Mei's quirk. They were enthusiastic about answering until Izuku got to her parentage.

Izuku paused his scribbling and asked Mei, "Do you know about your family's Quirks?" Mei frowned and clenched her fist, "They.. I know my mom had a zoom quirk like me, but it could only go a few kilometers out. My dad, I think it had something to do with making him able to see things up to a few meters away from him in extreme detail. I don't remember any more."

"Uhm..is- is there a reason you talk about your parents in the past tense?" Izuku hesitantly questioned.

Mei clenched her teeth together and her volume increased, "Because they left me! I mean, they were never really here for me, but at least they left me money and food. But it's been 3 weeks, and rent's due soon, and I don't know what to do!" She collapsed back in their seat, before their eyes gained a determined gleam; 

“I'm going to get through this, and I'll make my support company a reality! But I don't know where to start.."

Izuku started fidgeting with his pencil nervously, "Oh, I think im i-in the same boat as you... My mom's a-also been gone for 3 weeks, and s-she's never really interacted with m-m," Izuku started to tear up, "We could.. s-sleep first, and in the morning we could c-consider our options? If that works with you-u..." His voice broke and Izuku bit his lip, did he overstep?

Mei brightened and sat up straighter, "Sure! If you don't mind, there's a bed in my parents' room you can use"

"That sounds g-good, I guess we can talk more t-tomorrow?"  Did he do that right? He wasn't exactly sure how to talk with people, it had been years since anyone had willingly and amiably interacted with him.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan!" Mei shot back, grinning wildly. Once again, they led Izuku along to another door, this one was apparently to her parents' room. He opened the door hesitantly, where he found a room even plainer than the dining room. The room only included a stained and ripped comforter and a bare queen sized mattress atop a heavily dented bed frame.

Izuku didn't want to upset her, so he hesitantly stepped up. He climbed into the old bed, and pulled the comforter over his small frame. He clutched it to his chest in a tight, yet soothing, hug.

Mei started to leave the bedroom, pausing to turn back towards the door, "It's not much, but it's just for the night, eh? Well, see ya tomorrow, Izuku!" They promptly bounced past the doorway and shut it with a small thud.

Izuku was reeling from Mei's use of his given name, but he didn't dislike it. She was the first person to ever accept him for his Quirklessness, and he had felt so... comfortable around her. Maybe it was their carefree aura, or something more. Either way, Izuku was exhausted, and he drifted away the moment he closed his eyes.

For the first time in 9 years, Izuku fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Chapter Text

Izuku awoke to a loud yelp. He shot up in his bed, and snapped open his eyes, only to find that he was not in his bed. Before he could process his environment, the memories of last night rushed to him. He bit his lip as he started to reprocess how he had gotten to the point of... jumping.

He didn't notice his breathing quickening to short gasps, or how tears began to flow down his cheeks. All he could think of was how All Might said he couldn't be a hero. How could he continue on like this, when his biggest hero had told him he was useless ? He'd even implied that Izuku was better off dead. He started to sob, hugging himself so hard that his nails dug into his arms.

He was pathetic. How had he ever thought he could do anything, much less be a Hero?! Everyone had let him know he was such a useless Deku, but he never listened. They were right all along, he really would amount to nothing-

Out of what seemed like nowhere, he felt something squeeze his hand, then release it, and squeeze again. He tried his hardest to focus on the sensation through the onslaught of negative thoughts.  

After a while, he started breathing in sync with the pattern. The ringing in his ears faded (when had his ears started ringing?), and he felt okay enough to pry his eyes open.

In front of him was Mei, smiling in a way that made Izuku's heart flutter for a moment. Even though she was clearly out of her element, they looked so determined to help, they looked so kind. Her brilliant yellow eyes crinkled at the corners, and her cross-hairs bore into him with concern.

After another minute of silence , Izuku raised his own haphazard smile  in return, and whispered, "I'm s-sorry, I'll b-be okay-y soo-o-n." before relaxing into Mei's newly open arms.

They sat together, Mei rubbing slow circles into Izuku's back, while he hugged them like she would disappear at any moment. His sobs and negative thoughts slowed, and he raised a quivering hand to dry his damp face. He spoke up, this time at his regular volume, "I-I'm alright now, Mei-"

He paused, he was already using Mei's first name? It felt so good , he really hoped that he hadn't made her uncomfortable.

Mei smiled her signature blinding smile, "You finally came around, yes! I'd love it if you'd use my given name all the time, Izu-kun. Actually, scratch that, how about you give me a nickname. Do you mind if I call you Izu-kun?" They gave him a confident smirk, "Personally, I think I'm great at naming things! I name all my babies myself, you know!"

"B-Babies?!" He squeaked out, but then he thought it through, considering the context," Do you mean-n inventions? I saw y-you had blueprints-s, but you b-build what's in them too?" Izuku could feel the excitement leaking into his voice. He'd always had a passing interest in support items, but it was usually overshadowed by his love of analysis and programming.

Mei's grin gained a semi-manic gleam, and her leg started bouncing, "Yeah! I make them from scrap metal and the like! It's kinda a pain to dumpster dive every time I need a new part, but I can't afford to just buy things from the electronics store..." She paused, but continued after a moment, "Anyways! Yes, I make a lot of babies! But sometimes they explode, so I only have around half of the babies I've ever made. Do you want to see them?"

"I-I'd love to!", Izuku stood up quickly, eager for more distractions from his earlier panic attack.

If Mei's grin from before was semi-manic, their grin was now positively feral, the type of crazed smile that promised that its maker was up to no good. "Great! Let's go, oooh I'm SO excited, I've never gotten to show my inventions off before, come on, hurry up," Mei bounded out of the room, dragging Izuku along with them.

Mei slammed open the door to her bedroom, causing Izuku to flinch back, pulling his hand away from them. She turned to him, "Oh shit, sorry! I'll try to be a little less..." She pursed her lips in thought, " Over enthusiastic! Yes, a bit less overenthusiastic."

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck bashfully, "Y-you don't-t have to change-e for m-me.."

Mei rolled her eyes playfully, "I'm not changing for you, I'm just toning myself down to make you more comfortable."

"But, I'm n-not importa-"

Mei held their finger up to his lips, "Ah-ah-ah, no self deprecating, them's the breaks," Her gaze softened as Izuku tried to apologize, "Just try not to make those sorts of comments, and know that you're worth whatever you need. Now let's go!"

They held open the door for Izuku, and he hesitatingly followed. The two of them made their way across the cluttered floor, and before he knew it Izuku was in front of her door. Mei opened it slightly slower, and he peered in. 

Izuku felt his mouth fall open at the chaos of Mei's room. Strewn across the floor, chairs, dresser, bed, and even windowsill there were blueprints, half finished designs, lumps of scrap metal, and loose wires. On their desk was a variety of tools, all in some state of disrepair. Among the tools, there was a large, half finished cylindrical contraption with wires and computer chips poking through the unfinished exterior.

"This is my very own workshop!" She exclaimed, spinning to face him, and then doing jazz hands towards her makeshift workbench.

"Okay.. Can-n I see y-your inventions?" He questioned quietly, eager to see what they had created

Mei was shaking with excitement, "Of course, come here, I'll grab some of my newer babies for you!" After a moment, Izuku slunk over to their desk. By the time he'd cautiously stepped around all the clutter on the floor, Mei had three of her inventions piled over the mess on their desk.

"Here they are! These, " she pointed to a pair of black gloves with toxic green palms and accents, along with unusually bulky wrist pieces, " Are my Kinetic Energy Air Pressure Gloves, codename "Typhoeus". They're named after the spirits of violent windstorms from Greek mythos."

Mei turned them over so Izuku could get a better look, "These babies turn kinetic energy from the flick of your finger into air pressure with the help of a very illegal battery system I spiced up with some really cool Quirk-made material! It was so easy to salvage, I'm telling you, they kept a MASTERLOCK on proprietary technology, and they must've forgotten about it because they tossed it in a garbage dump despite it being in a safe!" They threw their hands up in the air dramatically, "Like who uses MASTERLOCKS anymore?!"

Izuku was taken aback, Mei had illegal items in her collection!? Well... it's not like he had much room to argue, he had broken into the Mustuafu Police Department to test how good his code was, and if they both weren't hurting anyone it'd be fine-

Mei gasped, and shrieked, "YOU BROKE INTO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WITH YOUR CODE?!"

Izuku slapped his hand over his mouth, he had said that all out loud?! Oh god, Mei would never be friends with him now-

"THAT'S. SO. COOL!!!" They were bouncing up and down like Christmas came early, "That means you're an ace at coding, oh this works out splendidly! I just so happen to be terrible at coding, so you can help me. With your help, we'll be UNSTOPPABLE!" They devolved into manic cackling, leaving Izuku frozen with wide eyes.

He raised his eyebrow questioningly, "You-u really think y-you'll want MY help-p?" He couldn't believe that they'd want someone as useless as him to code her beautiful inventions.

Mei let out an exasperated sigh, "Of course I want your coding! You broke through professionally assembled stuff and you clearly didn't get caught! That's amazing!"

Izuku ducked his head, "If you r-really want-t me to, I'll h-help you." He muttered.

She cheered, "Yes! We should start now!" Before she could drag him towards her scrap pile, he held up his hands, "Aren't w-we forgetting-g someth-h-ing?" He asked.

Mei scrunched her face in thought, before her eyes widened, "OH, we were supposed to talk about our living situation... but can I keep showing you my babies for a bit longer? I really think you'll love the next one!"

Izuku wrung his hands, "Uhm, I-I, maybe-e, w-we could-d talk a-about t-the future-e f-first?" his words rushed out quickly and hurriedly, like someone would interrupt him at any moment. It was so hard for him to object to the simplest of things, how could he when all his life his opinions were worse than worthless? When him opposing anything from a punishment to an insult just made whatever was coming to him worse?

She huffed a small laugh, making him hunch over. Great, he just had to go and mess everything up-

"Yeah, you're probably right... It's just that when I start talking about my babies, it's hard to stop!" They admitted, "How about I show off the rest of these babies," They gestured to the two remaining finished inventions on the workbench, "and then we can talk about living arrangements? I'll try to keep the explanations a bit shorter, but no promises!" She leaned her head forward toward Izuku, "Sounds good?"

He straightened up, excited to hear more about their inventions, "Yeah, sounds-s great."

"Okay!" She snatched the closest machine. It looked to be a sleek black taser with three bright green prongs, "This baby is a taser, codename "Cyclopes"! It can shoot out fairly low powered shocks from short range," They clicked one of the protruding buttons, and small arcs of electricity sparked from its ends, "But it can ALSO be an auto-aiming, non piercing, flying taser!" Mei let out another feral cackle as she snapped her wrist to aim the taser at the wall, and at the press of another button, three wires launched out, instantly attaching themselves to the wall.

Mei hit the button again, and just as fast as they ejected, the cables shot back into their compact casing. She cheered, and energetically spun around on one foot. They stopped in front of Izuku before leaning her whole body towards him, "I know, it's amazing! But wait, there's more!" they whirled again to face the wall, before pressing a third button on the base of the taser. The majority of the contraption sprang forward in a spiderweb pattern, and while it fully unfurled sparks of electricity danced along it. Before Izuku could blink, the stun gun had transformed into an electrified net.

Mei swung her arms, smiling widely, "Isn't it so awesome! I could go on forever on why I named it, and how I made the battery, or on the components of the net!" They fixed their spacey gaze to Izuku, "So, do you like Cyclopes?! It's so cool, I can't wait to see it in action someday!" She yelled.

He gave them a round of applause, before replying at a less ear-piercing volume, "Y-yeah, it's really awesome-e, can you tell me more about-t it?"

Mei was positively vibrating, "Well, let's start with the battery pack, I had to get extra creative so I-

An hour later...

"-so the circuitry was pretty hard, but I found an ancient WikiHow on how to solder using a souped up glue gun- it exploded a couple of times, but my stuff always explodes anyways."

"Uhm-m, wh-what t-time is-s it?" He asked timidly, fidgeting with his fingers idly.

Mei stuck her hand in one of her many pockets, fishing around for something before snatching it out, "Ah, I found my phone, let's see..." They opened a decimated and most definitely modified flip phone that looked old enough to be pre-quirk, "It's... already 16:37?! Wow, time really flies!" She chuckled before looking up from their phone, "Want to hear about my next baby?"

Izuku tugged at his uniform's cuffs, clutching them tightly, "C-can we-e ta-talk about-t the-e f-future now pl-please?"

Mei deflated down to the floor dramatically, "I hate that you're right!" She flopped her arms out on the dirty hardwood, "I KNOW we should talk about our next steps, but it's so much easier to talk about babies, and it's been forever since I've had friends, or anyone to talk to about my inventions in-person!"

Izuku nodded slightly, "Y-yeah, it's really ni-nice to be able to talk with you." Izuku can't remember the last time he had a conversation this long. Well, he can remember that it was before he turned four.

She pulled themself up into a seated position in a snap, "I feel the same way! No one really wants to be friends with me."

Izuku sniffed, "They-y all say I-I'm a "freak" f-for being quirkless-s, you're the fi-first person who-o treats me normally."

Mei frowned, brows furrowing, "They were wrong! You're really cool, Izu-kunl!"

Izuku blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, "I-I'm not s-so sure a-about that-t, but thanks. Now, I think I-I know a few-w options for our n-next step?" His latter sentence came out like a hushed question.

Mei bobbed their head in a quick nod, "Mhm, I'm all ears!"

He pursed his lips, "The mo-most obvious option is f-foster care, but because I-I'm Quirkless it'll be difficult to-o find  a place that accepts me-e. We'll also not-t be able to go to a g-good school until w-we get to university."

Mei shook her head, "I'm set on going into UA, are there any options that'll allow us to go?"

Izuku started to focus on the issue at hand intently. They couldn't go into foster care, which meant living on the streets, but if the Quirkless forums were anything to go by, that was a pretty bad option, so where else could they stay? They could get a job and rent some place, but they wouldn't be able to save enough money for UA that way. Where else could they live? An abandoned building? Too high of a risk of others finding them and mold. A homeless encampment? Still not very safe for two kids.

Izuku refocused his thoughts. The place they needed was somewhere isolated so as to not be discovered, near UA as to realistically commute there,  and near a source of income as to afford UA. He eyed a stray pile of scrap next to Mei's workbench, and he startled with a solution, "I'I have an i-idea, but it's kind of-f weird.."

Mei let out a bubbly giggle, "Silly Izu-kun," she wagged her finger, "I love thinking outside the box, and unique solutions, so trust me of all people to listen!"

Izuku  twiddled his thumbs, and stuttered, "Well-l, we-e could maybe-e try-y to live-e at Dagobah-h B-Beach? I k-know it sounds-s impossible, b-but if we-e use-e your engineering-g kn-knowledge, we could bu-build a shelter of-f some s-sort, and we'd be s-set. It's close e-enough to UA, a-and there's jobs-s nearby, but nothing t-too close as to t-tip people o-off that we'd live there-e-"

Mei surged to their feet, and spun around in a quick circle, "Oh Izu-kun, that's perfect! We could make a secret base there, that's so cool sounding! Plus, there are all the materials I need for my babies there, I wouldn't need to lug parts there and back anymore! I agree 1000%, let's do it!"

Izuku let out a shy smile, "O-Okay, we'll need to g-get moving in the next two days-s to start-t building-g, so you should p-pack what you want-t up, then we-e can drop w-whatever you h-have off at t-the beach. Then we can-n stop at m-my house to get m-my things. I have alot of All M-Might merch I could se-sell, so we'd have at-t least some hundreds of t-thousands in Yen to start us of-f."

"Sounds great! I have a bunch of babies to bring, so come over here and help me pack them up!" She tugged Izuku towards another pile of inventions, and they got to work. Mei tearfully said goodbye to some of her machines that were too far gone to be useful. At the end of their massive sorting session, they had four duffle bags full of Mei's inventions, tools, and blueprints that they couldn't part with.

Mei grinned and side hugged Izuku tightly, "I'm so glad you pointed out that old closet! I had no idea there were extra bags in there!"

Izuku's ears tinged pink, and his pupils dilated while he stammered, "I-it was no-o big d-deal Mei-Mei!"

Mei cheered and let out a victorious fist pump, "YAY! I've gotten a nickname from you! MeiMei, huh? I LOVE it! Thank you so much, Izu-kun!" She leaned in close to hug Izuku again, and he opened his arms, "T-Thanks MeiMei," he squeaked out, their hug squeezing him tightly.

Mei pulled away after a minute and tipped her head to the side,"I believe I'm forgetting something... Oh! The time, we need to know the time!" Again, they pulled out their patch worked abomination one could technically consider a phone, "It's 18:12, so let's get going!" They bounded forward, snatching up two of the bags before hiking them up on her shoulders, before turning to the apartment's door.

They skipped out of the dingy apartment, and Izuku couldn't help but pause and admire how they were so lively, energetic and positive. Even though he was still pretty worthless, at least MeiMei believed in him.

He realized that Mei was making her way down the halls with a jolt and scrambled after them to keep up.

Chapter Text

Izuku panted and sagged down to the grimy carpet as he and Mei finally reached the entrance to his home. Mei had insisted on running the whole way there in a "race" after they had hidden her inventions in a far corner of Dagobah, and Izuku had never been very fit. Meanwhile, they wiped the sweat off their forehead and took a few deep breaths before looking just as bright as ever, "Wow, that was great, Izu-kun! You should run more though, but we can work on that," Her smile gained a manic glint, "I'll make some lovely babies to help!"

Izuku ducked his head as he felt a blush creep along his cheeks, "Ah-h, sorry I'm not g-good at it-t." His brows furrowed, "Wait, why would I need to-o be good at r-running?"

"Because you want to be a Hero!" She exclaimed, "Your notebook said as much on the inside cover!"

Izuku curled in on himself, wrapping his arms around his knees, "I-I do want t-to be a Hero, b-but I can't do it-t, even he said that I can't..." He trailed off, face set in a resigned frown.

They shook her head violently, "I don't care who "he" is, I know you'll be the best Hero that ever was! You're smart, kind, and all around awesome," Izuku looked away, as his blush began to bloom further. She was probably just trying to make him feel better, after all no one else saw anything in him.

"Anyways, let's get your stuff!" She started bouncing in place, practically vibrating, "I can't wait to see your house!" He picked himself off the ground, dusting the slight layer of dirt that he gathered from the floor off his shirt, "O-Okay, I'll get my key."

He reached in his front pocket and pulled out a key ring.  As he lifted it to the door, Izuku just now noticed how his key ring was 10% key, 90% All Might keychains. He frowned and averted his gaze from the merchandise while he inserted the key into the lock. As he nudged the door open, he re-pocketed the key and gaudy toys.

"This-s is my-y home." He stammered out as he entered. He slipped his sneakers off, and Mei continued to chat while she bent down to untie her own shoes, "I haven't been over to anyone's home in a few years, I wonder how it'll be! I won't mind if your house is bland though," Mei straightened up, and looped their arm loosely around Izuku's neck and pulled him closer, "It'll be fun as long as you're here!"

Izuku froze, light blush turning into a furious red, "I-I don't know a-about that-t."  He mumbled, ducking his head away, but Mei just laughed, "Well I do! So c'mon, let's go!" She unlatched themself from him and skipped into the dingy apartment.

Izuku followed them, minding the creaky floorboards as he trudged in. His gaze flicked to one of the dusty picture frames. It held a photo of Izuku when he was a toddler, with his mom smiling beside him. His heart panged with a familiar sadness, it was his fault that she became so distant, that she would leave him with Hero merchandise in lieu of love and attention. That she left for good.

He followed Mei, trudging through the empty house with tired steps. Before long, they reached his room. They swung open the door, revealing his room full of All Might merchandise.

He frowned again, and steeled himself to see that now painfully bright smile of his former favorite hero. They both walked in, Izuku determined not to break down again.

She turned to Izuku, and smiled wide, "Wow, you must really be a big fan of All Might, huh?"

He cringed, "Uhm-m not really... c-can we not talk a-about it?"

Mei looked slightly miffed, and Izuku panicked. Did he upset her? But just as soon as the look crossed their face, it was replaced by a smile, "Sure, we don't have to talk about it! I don't mind!"

He doubted that she was as unbothered by his reply as she seemed, but he didn't want to push it if she said it was alright. He also didn't want to trigger himself by talking about him, "O-Okay, t-thanks."

They let their gaze bounce around the room, zooming in and out rapidly, "Well, if you don't like All Might, do you still like other heroes?"

A shy, yet blinding smile graced his lips, "Of course I do! I-I mean, they're-e HEROS! Icantimagineagreaterprofessionimeantheyhelpsomanypeopleandtheyresuchgreatpublic figurestheyinspiresomanypeopleandeventhoughtheyrenotallgoodI-"

Mei interrupted his mumbling spree with a manic cackle, "You sound just like my thoughts when I get excited about support gear, y'know?"

Izuku flinched, and spoke up again without excitement in his voice, "I'm-m sorry, I-I didn't mean to-o mumble like that."

They grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly, "NO! You SHOULD mumble! If it helps you think right, then you've gotta do it."

He squeezed her hand back, and reminded himself that Mei was different from his classmates, his teachers, and everyone else he knew. They had already done so much for him, so he had to try to trust them, "A-Alright, I'll try-y."

Mei grinned, "That's the spirit!"

Izuku let off his own smile again, "Th-thanks MeiMei, now-w can we please get-t my s-stuff?"

"Yep," as she walked further into his room, her eyes kept whirling around the room. Their gaze eventually settled on a Powerloader figurine nestled on Izuku's bookshelf.

Mei gasped, "A Powerloader figure?! Are you a fan too?"

He bobbed his head, "Yeah! He's s-super talented, and he's-s a trailblazer! Hes thefirstherotoalsohaveasupportlicence-andhe’sknownformakingfreeorlowcostssupportitemsforstrugglingcivilianstohelpthemmanagetheirquirk!HisworkinconstructionisntaspopularbutitsstillsupervitaltonotonlyUAbutalsovariousotherheroagencies-" Izuku gasped in a couple of deep breaths, he wasn't used to speaking his rantings at a listenable volume.

As he gulped in air, he noticed that Mei was vibrating with excitement, "I know! I LOVE the support items he's created, I'm especially a fan of the guns he made for Snipe, the bullet chambers are ingenious!"

Izuku walked towards the closet, "W-we can definitely t-talk about-t them!" He suggested with soft excitement as he opened the door and began sorting through the piles of brightly colored cardboard and plastic containers. 

Mei once again bounded over to him, and also started digging through the closet, "They're awesome! The internal structure is classified, but I know from the rest of the design that they have to have something super special going on inside of them. I've tried to figure out what's going on with them, but nothing I can think of makes any sense!"

She dug through the closet with increased fervor, and with less cation, "Do you know what that means, Izu-kun?!" He didn't get in even a breath before they started up again, "It means that Powerloader must've come up with some sort of new technology just for Snipe!"

 Izuku turned his head towards her, pausing his work, "Ye-yeah, I also think-k its proprietary. I have m-many theories, but I wish-h that I could see the blueprints-s for myself to confirm t-them."

Mei gained a thoughtful expression, head tilted. Then, a cheshire grin spread unnaturally wide across her face, "Why can't you see the blueprints, Izuku?!" 

He tilted his head, this time in confusion, "What d-do you mean-n?"

Mei's eyes snapped to Izuku, "You hacked into the police department, yeah? So what's stopping you from hacking into Powerloader's schematics!? We can easily discover how to create the most powerful support items!" They devolved into manic cackling.

He froze, "B-But MeiMei, I can't-t just s-steal his d-designs!" He whisper shouted.

Mei paused their laughing, "Well, of course we won't STEAL the designs, we'll just take some inspiration, and learn some new techniques!"

Izuku shook his head violently, "P-Powerloader is an-n employee-e of Nedzu-sama, and they have a much stronger s-security system than-n anything I c-could hack into-o!

"Well, can we please give it a shot sometime?" She gave him a wide smile, "I REALLY want to see them!" 

Izuku bit his lip, and mumbled, "F-for you, I'll t-try."

Mei cheered, "Yay! I just know you'll do amazingly, Izu-kun." She rushed to give him a hug, but they jolted still just short of reaching him, "Are you alright with a hug? I know that sometimes you get startled by sudden things, so i'll try not to surprise you, okay?"

He nodded his head, a smile creeping onto his face, "T-thanks for asking-g, MeiMei. I'd love-e one."

She sprung forward, enveloping Izuku in a tight embrace. After a comfortable pause, Izuku paled, "S-shouldn't we be packing-g?"

They snapped their fingers, "Ah, that's what I was forgetting! Yes, let's continue!"

The two teens repackaged the Hero merchandise with Izuku instructing Mei on how to properly containerize and sort the different kinds. 

Mei clapped her hands together excitedly, "Finally! Now we can get your things to the beach, so let's hurry!"

Before they could rush through the door, Izuku spoke up, "Wait-t! I've been thinking a bit-t more about-t o-our plans, and I r-really think we-e should live out of m-my house while we're setting up o-our home in Dagobah-h. It'lltakeawhiletobuildahomeandinthemeantimeweneedaplacetostaysowhynotstayherefornowIt'llbemuchsaferthanbeingintheopenandweneedtokeepthemerchsafeuntillitsellsand thelandlordsprobablywontkickusoutforanothermonthortwo-"

Again, Izuku had to pause for a breath. As soon as he did, Mei nodded vigorously, "That makes total sense! After we go build at the beach, we can come back here and rest. We can store the inventions over there though, I want to be able to build with easy access to parts," She started for the door, "Anyways, let's get building!"

They ran out of the room, giggling, "I'll race you again!" 

Izuku's eyes widened, "W-wait!" He yelled, but Mei was already on their way. He took another deep breath before starting after her.