Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izuku opened the door Bakugou was pounding on with a sigh.

“Kacchan what are you doing?”

Bakugou grinned widely, showing all his teeth. “Deku, guess the fuck what?”

“What?” Izuku asked without a hint of emotion. He was curious as to why his friend was trying to break down his door with no prior warning, but that’s life with Kacchan he supposed. 

Bakugou was unphased, which clued Izuku in that something was actually going on. Normally at this point Kacchan would start yelling about Izuku thinking he was better than him or something.

“I won the sports festival,” He started.

“Yes.” Izuku obviously knew that.

“Shut up and let me finish! Because of that I just got tickets to go to I-Island for the Expo!”

Izuku immediately banished all pretenses of being uninterested. “WHAT? I-Expo?!!!” He bounced up and down with excitement. “Kacchan, that's amazing! You’re gonna see I-Island, wow! The Island itself is so cool but the Expo is incredible!”

“I know that, you nerd. And I have an extra ticket, so forget any plans you have because you’re coming with me.”

Izuku’s bouncing slowed, and he stared at Bakugou in shock. “What? You, you mean you want to take me with you? To I-Island?”

“That’s what I fucking said isn’t it?”

“Kacchan!” Izuku threw himself forward and hugged his friend as best he could while said friend was trying to fight him off. 

“Ugh get off me! You love that stupid island of course I’m bringing you, I’d never hear the end of it otherwise!” Bakugou finally succeeded in pushing Izuku away and crossed his arms with a growl. “But if you’re going to be weird about it I can bring someone else…”

“NO!” Izuku yelled. “I’ll come! Thank you Kacchan!” 

“Don’t you forget this.” He threatened, and Izuku nodded easily. 

But in the end, Kacchan’s generosity was unnecessary. And when Izuku had to tell him that, it was one of the scariest things he’d had to admit. 

“So, um, you see, the thing is-” He stuttered, trying to find a way to explain himself without making Kacchan mad at him. 

“Deku just spit it the fuck out already!” He was clearly already failing.

“Ok!” Izuku squeaked. “So you know how you gave me your extra ticket to I-Island and it was super nice and thoughtful of you and I’m so grateful and thankful and you’re a great friend and it meant a lot and I’ll never forget it?”

Bakugou immediately knew something was up. “Deku…” He growled warningly.

“So! Um, about that, I don’t actually need your ticket anymore because I have my own?” It wasn’t a question but Izuku phrased it as such with a wince. 

“You what.”

“I, uh, me and Tenya are going to be representing the Iida family. The others couldn’t come because they’re so busy and Tensei’s still recovering so they wanted me to go because Tenya can be there but also they said I’m part of the family now so I should start putting myself out there in that light? So yeah I have my own invitation and you can use yours to take somebody else! And it’ll be super fun because then there’ll be more of us!”

“You’re telling me,” Kacchan’s voice was raising and Izuku knew things were going to get interesting. “That I won the sports festival, but you’re the one who gets a better prize?!”

“I-it’s not that big of a deal! I’ll pretty much be doing the same as you except there are a few parties I have to go to but you wouldn’t want to do those anyway so really it all works out!”

“Oh Deku I’m going to fucking kill you.”

Izuku ran. But he laughed as he did, because Kacchan was laughing too. So he didn’t sprint at his fullest speed and let himself get bowled over and kept laughing as he and Kacchan fought it out. 

“K-Kacchan!” He wheezed, partly from laughter and mostly from getting elbowed in the stomach. “You should know that Tenya is totally freaking out right now.”

“That Four Eye’d bastard is fucking lucky I can’t fight him too.” Was Bakugou’s response.

Izuku snorted. “He really isn’t a fan of your language.”

“Fucking good.”

——

Izuku smushed his face against the window as the island came into view. 

“Oh wow!” He exclaimed. “There it is! Guys look!”

He tugged on Todoroki’s arm and his friend looked over his shoulder. “There it is.” He repeated with little emotion. 

“This is gonna be super cool!” Kirishima said with a grin, and Bakugou rolled his eyes like he wasn't also excited. 

The four of them were flying in on Todoroki’s jet. Izuku was planning on going with Todoroki since they found out they’d be headed to the island. Bakugou was obviously included since at first Izuku was going with him, and then when things changed they weren’t just going to kick him out. So now their group included Kirishima, who Bakugou gave his second ticket to. 

Izuku rambled on about the Island even after they landed - especially once they landed - and while Bakugou scoffed and ignored him, Todoroki paid close attention. That was nice.

“There’s so much to do, where should we go first?” Izuku was overwhelmed.

They ended up going to check out the inventions that were being displayed for the Expo. It wasn’t completely set up yet since the real thing wouldn’t start for a few days, but they all had special tickets that got them in earlier. 

“This is truly a remarkable piece of work.” Tenya said about a support item. “Support technicians really are an underappreciated group.”

“That’s true.” Izuku agreed. “I wish I’d heard more about them growing up, instead of them just being overshadowed by heroes. Though I’m guessing most technicians don’t get into it for the fame, but for the work itself.”

Tenya shuddered. “Like Hatsume.”

Izuku laughed. But before he could respond, somebody else started talking.

“Hey there! What do you think of this piece? I saw you talking to yourself, was that your quirk?”

A blonde girl, just a bit older than Izuku, popped up beside him. Izuku was caught off guard and flailed backwards, into Todoroki who had been looking at something else. 

“Oh I’m sorry!” The girl apologized. “I got a bit too curious I guess! I’m Melissa, I’ve been helping set things up. A few of my designs are around here but this was actually my friend’s so I was wondering what you thought! And then I got interested in why you were talking to yourself!”

Was this what people felt like when Izuku started rambling? The girl was also reminding Izuku of Hastume, since they were just talking about her. 

“I-it’s fine! Um, the design is super cool and useful, I can totally see it being used sometime soon! And um yeah, it was because of my quirk.”

“Cool!” Melissa smiled. “What is it then? And what’s your name? And you too back there!” She ended, pointing to Todoroki.

“Well,” Izuku wasn’t sure how to easily explain his quirk to strangers, but he might as well get used to it. “I can see ghosts and I have a friend with me right now, that’s who I was talking to. And my name’s Midoriya Izuku.”

“Woah, nice to meet you Midoriya! That’s a really cool quirk! Are you a hero student? How do you use your quirk in that line of work?” Todoroki gratefully slunk away before she remembered he was there. 

Izuku and Melissa got along immediately. She answered just as many questions as she asked, with both her and Izuku practically interrogating each other on their lives and studies. She lived on I-Island, Izuku wasn’t going to not be curious! And then it turned out her father was David Shield, All Might’s former sidekick! 

They talked for what felt like hours, but was really more like just half an hour since they talked so fast. They probably would have kept going too, but were interrupted by the arrival of Uraraka.

“Hey Midoriya! You didn’t tell me you were here!” 

Izuku turned away from Melissa to greet his friend. “Ah, sorry Uraraka! I got so excited to be here I totally forgot to say we landed! How’ve you been enjoying it so far?”

“Well we haven’t done much but our rooms are incredible!” She gushed. “But who’s your friend here?”

“This is Melissa Shield!”

They met up with Yaoyorozu and Jirou, then the rest of Izuku’s group and toured around the room a bit more with Melissa’s added insights, but soon decided to do something else. 

“There’s a challenge course you could try!” Melissa suggested. They were all intrigued, so she led them over to it. “You all seem like a lot of fun, since I’ve set up my own stuff already do you mind if I tag along? I could use the break.”

Nobody had any complaints so off they went. Bakugou, Kirishima, Todoroki, Uraraka, and Tenya tried the course while the others stayed behind and cheered them on. 

Then they went to a cafe for refreshments, and bumped into more of the class.

“Oh right, you guys decided to work here!”

Mineta smirked. “We’re gonna make money and serve all the ladies, they’ll be falling at our feet soon enough.”

Kaminari laughed. “Yeah you can handle that. Who needs ladies when I can look at this handsome fellow right here all day?”

He swung his arm over a scowling Shinsou. 

Somewhere along the conversation the night’s party got mentioned, and Melissa said she’d get invitations for those who didn’t have them already like Izuku and Todoroki did. They were all going to meet up beforehand so they could head in together. 

Of course that’s when everything went wrong. The tower went on lockdown and when they snuck their way to the party it was taken over by villains. Even the relief following Melissa’s assurance that All Might was there was short lived, as he was just as captured as the other heroes. 

“We have to do something.” Tenya stated.

People were in danger. They were the only ones who could save them. 

“Tenya, take the body. I’ll go down and tell All Might that we’re here, and try and see what he knows.”

“How can you do that?” Melissa asked.

“I don’t just see ghosts. Tenya, switch.”

“Now.”

Leaving Tenya to explain the situation to Melissa, Izuku jumped down and crouched next to All Might. He Manifested only what was necessary to be heard, keeping himself hidden from the villains.

“All Might.” He whispered. 

The man jumped, as well as he could while being bound, and searched for the owner of the voice. 

“It’s Midoriya. There’s a group of us upstairs that haven’t been captured. Can you tell us the situation?”

All Might relaxed slightly once he heard Izuku’s name. He told him what he knew, then requested for them to stay hidden.

“Thank you All Might. But we’ve already started to develop a plan. Don’t worry.”

Izuku ignored the man’s protests and made his way back to the group. When they got far enough away to talk comfortably, they started to plan in earnest. None of them liked putting Melissa in danger, but she was essential to the plan and she had her own personal motivations for helping. They couldn’t say no, they could only vow to do their best to keep her safe. 

Izuku was also worried about Kacchan and Kirishima, who weren’t with the group when the attack started. 

They were managing pretty well, but then they were backed into a corner and trapped by emergency walls and Izuku had to go on alone. He could phase through the walls no problem as a spirit, so he had Melissa give him instructions and went on ahead. 

In the end it was a team effort, with Izuku handling the control room and the others fighting the villains. Shinsou ended up being an essential player, and although none of them made it out unscathed there were no casualties. All Might even came to help and praised their work! Though he also scolded them for putting themselves in danger. Izuku shuddered to think of what Sir Nighteye would say. 

But Izuku couldn’t feel too bad about it, because it had worked. And he’d made a new friend! And Todoroki was using his flames! 

Even if it wasn’t what he’d expected, Izuku was glad he’d come to I-Island.

Chapter Text

School progressed as normal and Izuku spent more time with his friends thanks to the dorms, the class setting up study groups and other activities that helped them grow closer. Izuku could spend as much time as he wanted with Shouto, and he felt the dorms couldn’t have come at a better time.  

In class Izuku adapted to the addition of Oboro. He was thankful he’d grown up with someone as loud as Kacchan, because if he hadn’t had practice it would have been a bigger challenge trying to focus on his school work now. 

It wasn’t exactly Oboro’s fault, he wasn’t actively participating in the class like Tenya and he was still readjusting to being himself, he was bound to be energetic. And every time he remembered something it was a significant achievement. Being in school again, in a year he’d already done, of course his memory would be jolted and of course he’d be excited. 

Neither Izuku or Tenya had the heart to tell him to quiet down. That, and it was honestly entertaining. Oboro had some good stories. Especially when it came to Aizawa and Present Mic.

“Oh!” Oboro exclaimed one English class. “Oh, oh! I remember this lesson!”

Present Mic had just explained their task, they were supposed to write a letter using the vocabulary and tenses they’d learned. The topic was up to them. 

Izuku walked over to the corner of the room next to the teacher’s desk where his beanbag was. This was where he could leave his body when he worked while Manifested. As he walked back, Oboro continued his recounting.

“Hizashi wrote Shou a love letter!”

Izuku stopped short just as he reached his desk and stared at Oboro. Tenya was similarly stunned. “No way.” Izuku challenged under his breath, taking his seat.

“He did!”

“Why would he submit something as personal as that?” Tenya asked before Izuku Manifested him.

Oboro started laughing and struggled to get the explanation out. “He- He didn’t realize we had to turn it in! That’s probably why he was so clear about it with you!”

Izuku fought back his own laughter. 

“And this was before he and Shouta were dating, you know, so when our teacher asked for our papers he freaked out, like so badly.” Oboro’s laughter somehow grew, and it was getting harder for Izuku to act like nothing was going on. He could see Tenya’s face twitching with the effort as well.

“So- So! He, oh my god, he couldn’t let anyone see his paper, right? So he ate it.”

Izuku couldn’t help it. He let out a loud snort, then slapped his hand over his mouth but couldn’t stop the giggles from breaking through. Beside him, Tenya’s mask of professionalism had broken and his shoulders were shaking with silent laughter. 

“What are you two laughing about over there?” Present Mic called them out. But considering he was the reason they were laughing, that only served to make it worse.

“Hey! What’s so funny? Is Oboro distracting-” Then, at the mention of his friend’s name, Mic’s face blanched. “No.” He realized. “Oboro you better not be telling them what I think you’re telling them.”

“Sorry sir.” Tenya confessed. “It’s a bit too late for him to take it back now.”

Present Mic looked a second away from screaming. “Oboro! Midoriya, manifest him so I can shake him!”

Oboro crossed his arms smugly. “Tell him that if you do, I’ll just tell the story to the rest of the class too.” 

Izuku tried to calm down enough to reply, but only managed to relay the message between giggles. Present Mic looked incredibly affronted. 

“I can’t believe you’d betray my trust like that.” He muttered. “I forgot how chaotic you were.”

There was a lull where Mic mulled over the best way to get back at Oboro, and Izuku and Tenya got their laughter under control. That made it clearer that the rest of the class were on the edges of their seats watching the situation unfold and were trying to figure out the details.

“Hey hey!” Mic snapped out of his thoughts. “Come on Listeners, back to work!”

Izuku didn’t know how he’d ever take his teacher seriously ever again.

Chapter Text

“Guys!” Ashido called, getting the attention of everyone in the common area. “We came up with a great idea!”
‘We’ seemed to include her, Kaminari, Sero, and Shinsou. Izuku was a little afraid. Kacchan was there too but from his look Izuku assumed he wasn’t a part of their plan.

Suddenly the group was right in front of Izuku.

“Um… hi?” He said cautiously, sinking further into Shouto’s side for the safety he offered. 

“Midoriya!” Kaminari beamed. “How would you like to play a game?”

Izuku looked around for support from his friends, but none of them were helpful. 

“Sure? What kind of game?”

Sero clapped his hands. “I’m glad you asked! Listen up folks, we’re going to play Guess Who!”

“But not just any Guess Who!” Ashido chimed back in. “We’re playing real life ghost edition!”

Everyone was listening intently now. They really knew how to draw an audience, didn't they? 

Shinsou was the one who finally explained their idea. “Basically the goal is to guess who’s in Midoriya’s body; him, Iida, or Shirakumo.”

Huh. That could be kind of interesting actually. 

“Won’t it be kind of obvious though?” Jirou remarked.

“Nuh uh!” Kaminari protested. “Well, when it’s Iida yeah, but Midoriya and Shirakumo are pretty similar!”

“And they can try and trick us!” Sero added.

That convinced them all to give it a try, so Izuku ran up to his room for his spare goggles. When he came back down those participating sat around him and the game began.

“Let's start out easier for them.” Mina decided. “No talking yet, we’ll try and guess who it is based on how you’re sitting.”

Everyone agreed with the rules and Izuku Projected to plan with Tenya and Oboro. 

“I should go first!” Oboro volunteered. “They’ll think it’s you Izuku and that you’re trying to trick them by not switching!”

“That sounds like a good plan!” Tenya agreed. 

Izuku let Oboro take over, and he watched curiously as the class scrutinized him.

‘Not Iida’ seemed to be the general consensus, but they were torn between him and Oboro. Shouto thought it wasn’t Izuku, but nobody else was sure. Bakugou wasn’t playing. 

Finally they settled on Oboro because they didn’t think Izuku could sit still that long. Izuku didn’t know how to feel about that. 

They played a few more rounds that way. The first time Tenya took control everyone knew immediately, but then they managed to trick them by having him stay but change his position. It wasn’t perfect by far, but nobody expected it so it played out. Tenya was very proud about it. 

Then came the speaking rounds. 

“We’re gonna give you prompts to talk about and then we’ll guess based on how you speak!” Kaminari explained. 

Definitely a bit harder. This time Izuku and Oboro knew Tenya wouldn’t be able to pass as one of them, so they had to be the tricksters. They tried to pretend to be each other, and then to be one of them pretending to be someone else, and it all got a bit more complicated than expected. But it was fun.

Shouto always knew when it was Izuku so he ended up being forced not to participate until the others got stuck. It made Izuku feel all nice that his boyfriend knew him so well. Shouto was also just good at reading people since he preferred to observe rather than actively join in group hangouts most of the time. Though he didn’t always reach the right conclusions with the data he gathered, Izuku had to put a stop to a few too many conspiracy theories before Shouto went to those involved. God he loved him.

Chapter Text

“Hey Izuku- woahh…” Oboro started then broke off as he entered the room. 

Izuku whipped around, his hair getting caught in Shouto’s hand at the unexpected action. 

“Get out!” Was the only thing he could think of to say. Oboro didn’t flinch as the notebook Izuku sent his way sailed through him harmlessly, bouncing off the door instead.

Beneath him, Shouto followed the movement with amusement. He tugged his shirt down from where it had ridden up thanks to Izuku’s exploratory hands. “Who’s there?” He asked Izuku, not nearly as affected as his boyfriend since he couldn’t see the intruders.

“Both of them.” Izuku seethed. “Again.” 

“Hey hey, no need to get embarrassed!” Oboro teased. “It’s good you’re getting the full high school experience.”

Izuku ignored him. “You always do this, have you never heard of privacy?!”

Oboro laughed. “Well you can’t really blame us for walking in on you making out with your boyfriend when that’s what you’re always doing. I swear, even Zashi and Shouta were never this bad.”

Izuku scowled. “Well maybe that’s because they were actually able to keep you out.”

“Oh no, they were so bad at that. I remember this one really bad time I walked in on them-”

“Oh ew!” Izuku cut him off. There were stories where it was fun to hear about his teachers, and stories where ew, those are his teachers. 

“Oboro is correct though,” Tenya brought back the point, recovering from his shock to join the conversation. "It's not like we intend to, er, interrupt you, however you and Todoroki engage in inappropriate behaviours quite often.”

“Inapro-” Izuku spluttered. “We’re in my room! We’re not breaking any PDA rules or anything! You know why? Because we respect our classmates and value our privacy.”

“I… I suppose you are right.”

Oboro started to look apologetic. “I guess you have a point.” He cringed. “But what do you want us to do? It’s not like we can knock.”

“I don’t know, just say ‘knock knock’ instead or something!”

The two ghosts paused. 

“Oh.”

“That could actually work.”

Izuku sighed. “Great.” He wanted this conversation to be over. Shouto was rubbing soothing circles on his thigh and it was just reminding him that he had other things than arguing with ghosts to be doing. “Can you get out now?”

“Of course! Apologies for invading your personal space, we will be more considerate from now on!”

“Well hallelujah.” Izuku muttered.

There was a moment of silence, then Shouto asked, “Did they leave?”

Izuku leaned back into him by way of response, intending to pick up where they left off, when something caught his eye. “You have GOT to be kidding me!” He yelled “Tenya I can see you!”

His friend was hiding in the door, and sheepishly stepped back into the room. “I apologize Izuku. I merely wanted to see if you were truly mad at us.”

Izuku took a deep breath for strength. “I’m not mad, just really, really, annoyed. I’ll be mad if you don’t actually leave in the next five seconds.”

“Understood.” he sped away.

This time when they were left alone, Izuku just let his head thump down against Shouto’s chest. Shouto’s hand carded through his hair gently. 

“You okay?” He sounded more like he was trying to repress his amusement than anything, but Izuku gave him props for effort.

“They’re just… a lot.” He summarized.

“Yeah I can see that. I guess it must be hard being the only one to see them all the time.”

“You have no idea.”

They were a lot. But as annoyed as Izuku got, he wouldn’t have it any other way. Nestled in his boyfriend’s arms, Izuku liked where he’d ended up. And the people he’d found along the way.

Chapter Text

Izuku hoped that one day he’d see Shouto on the news and it would be a good thing. Maybe they’d be Pros and he’d be saving someone or giving an interview. Maybe he’d slip one of his conspiracy theories and cause a scandal. Maybe one day Izuku would see Shouto on tv without having his body fill with dread. 

But so far he’d had no such luck.

Izuku felt frozen in place, staring at the screen with uncomprehending eyes. Wanted… for mass murder?

It didn’t make sense. The reporter was talking but Izuku couldn’t process it, not that it mattered. Whatever information they had was wrong. There was no way, there was no way. How had things come to this?

Class 1-A was scattered across the globe to aid the Pros against the terrorist organization Humerise. Izuku himself remained in Japan, as Nighteye’s agency was working on the case in more of an information gathering and advisory sense. He was happy with his role, he knew actively fighting wasn’t the only way to be a hero, but at the same time wondered what it would be like to travel to another country and help in such a big task. 

Izuku was hearing about it from all his friends, but since they were all so busy he had learned the most from Shouto, who prioritized their daily talks. Shouto and Kacchan were in Otheon with Endeavor, and Izuku thought it sounded like an incredible place. He hoped to visit one day. 

Kacchan had been his usual self about it, rubbing it in Izuku’s face that he got to travel while Izuku had never left Japan. The fact that Izuku had been to I-Island didn’t count since it wasn’t actually a country. 

Shouto thought Endeavor had originally offered Bakugou a place as a work study student because he thought Shouto would balk when entering the field again. He thought having a classmate by his side would help, and Bakugou had come first in the Sports Festival, so Endeavor didn’t mind taking on such a powerful student. Now that they’d worked together for some time, Bakugou had found his place there. Though Izuku feared the clash of the two explosive personalities.

So two of his closest people were working together, and Izuku was happy about that because he knew they would look out for each other. They were so strong, they’d both be fine.

So how did this happen?

Oboro was the first to speak. “That’s… not right.”

Tenya chopped his arm nervously. “I know through experience that we’re all capable of straying from the heroic path, but Todoroki would never do the things he’s accused of! He must have been framed!” 

Izuku’s mind was buffering, panic tightening in his chest. What had happened? Was Shouto okay? What about Kacchan?

Izuku was in the common area of the Nighteye Agency residential building, and luckily no one else was around. Sir was finishing his work and Amajiki, who was also assisting in Japan, had come by to visit Mirio so the two of them were in Mirio’s room. A few other sidekicks had passed through, but nobody had stayed. 

Izuku shut the tv off and bolted to his room. He tried calling Shouto but there was no reply. He checked for his location but there was no signal. That, more than anything, told Izuku that this was serious. 

Shouto had removed his location from the Class A sharing app. The app he had pushed for so they could find each other when they were in need. And Shouto clearly was in need, so why? Did he think any of them would believe what the news was saying?

“We wouldn’t.” Oboro said grimly. “But others would. He can’t risk anyone else following the connection.”

 Right. That sounded right. Other people could track him through his phone. But…

Izuku raised a shaky hand to his pendant. Shouto had used Endeavor’s money. He’d bought them the best, the most secure and protected option out there. The chance of the signal being traced was almost zero, even factoring in quirks. Shouto wouldn’t remove it, he wouldn’t.

Not when Izuku was on the other side. 

Taking a deep breath to steel himself, Izuku pressed the button that activated the hologram. He collapsed on the bed in relief as Shouto’s location presented itself. He wasn’t lost. Shouto had used this to find Izuku when things got bad once before, now it was Izuku’s turn. Shouto wouldn’t be alone this time. 

With hardly the essence of a plan, Izuku flew around the room in a frenzy, packing his backpack with as many essentials as it could carry. 

“Izuku what are you doing?” Tenya asked warily.

“It’s obvious isn’t it?” Oboro answered for him. “He’s going to save his boyfriend.”

“But you can’t just fly to a different country like this! We don’t even know what happened! Izuku, slow down, we need to make a plan!”

“That’s right, we’re on your side here, but we can’t just jump in head first!”

Izuku paused his packing as his friends’ words sank in. They were right, but what could Izuku do? He was in a unique position right now.

At this time, he was the only person who knew where Shouto was. He was the only one who could be trusted without a doubt to help him. Not that Izuku didn’t believe his other friends or teachers would help, but there were laws and rules and Izuku couldn’t put them in the position where they’d have to go against them. And he couldn’t risk the fact that he knew spreading to anyone else. He didn’t know why Shouto had been accused of such a crime but it was obviously a cover up and given the current case it was potentially related to Humerise. Izuku needed to get to Shouto quickly and discreetly. Could he even do much? He didn’t know. But there was no universe where Izuku left Shouto to handle it on his own. 

That’s what the trackers were for, that’s what they promised each other, that’s what they did. They were there for each other, no matter what. Izuku would try his best to get to the bottom of this and help Shouto clear his name, but if all he could do was go on the run with him then that was that. He’d do it with a smile.

He’d need to turn his own location off on the app, but he’d have to do it strategically. His classmates would probably check it like he had, and if they saw his was gone too they’d get suspicious. He had to give them enough time to check and move on, but he couldn’t waste time sitting around. When he got closer to the airport he’d do it. 

“Izuku you can’t just go to the airport without a plan!” Tenya protested. “You don’t even know if there’s a flight to Otheon!”

Izuku couldn’t think like that. There’d be a flight, there had to be. 

Oboro gave him a knowing look. “Izuku, have you ever actually been to an airport before? Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”

Izuku wilted. “...no.”

Tenya looked at him with shock. “What?”

Izuku threw up his hands. “I’ve never really travelled before, okay! The first and only time I’ve ever even been on a plane was when we went to I-Island but that was on Shouto’s jet so that doesn’t exactly translate to everyday life!”

Oboro muttered something about having a rich boyfriend that Izuku chose to ignore. Getting a flight had sounded so simple in Izuku’s head, but now that his friends had pointed out the flaws in his half baked idea Izuku was losing steam. 

“Wait, that’s it!” Tenya exclaimed. “A private jet! That would ensure we reach our destination quickly and avoid getting caught!”

“But I don’t just have a jet lying around!” Izuku countered. 

“You don’t.” Tenya agreed. “But Iidaten does.”

And huh. How about that?

“Tenya you’re the best. How can we get to it?”

“Tensei will help us, he can get us in.”

“Wait wait wait!” Oboro interrupted. “As much as I love this idea, I still think we need to find out what happened first. We need more details.”

Izuku frowned. This was urgent, every second they spent talking was another second Shouto was out on his own in danger. “Yeah well it’s not like the news is going to tell us the truth.”

“Bakugou might know.” Tenya suggested.

Izuku paused. Kacchan could know, but could Izuku risk calling him? Paranoia was creeping in. 

Oboro sensed Izuku’s hesitation, and prompted him to action. “Bakugou already knows about the tracker. And after his reaction to it, I don’t think he’ll have forgotten.”

Right, right, Izuku needed to calm down and think. He was missing so many obvious things. Kacchan knew about his and Shouto’s pendants because they’d told him about it after the attack on the training camp. But that meant the other heroes involved would know about them as well. Unless they’d assumed it was a one time thing or just forgot. How many of them would even know where the information came from? Izuku couldn’t imagine Mr. Aizawa explaining to a group of Pro Heroes that they knew the location of the villains’ base because two of his students were so traumatized by their friend’s death that they had to know where each other were at all times. So maybe it was just Aizawa, and Izuku knew he would never sell Shouto out. And even if anyone did know about the trackers, they still couldn’t use it to find Shouto unless they got their hands on Izuku’s.

But he’d be gone before they could try. 

Kacchan picked up immediately. “Deku you’ve seen-”

“Yes.” Izuku interrupted. “Tell me what happened, quickly and quietly please.”

“You’re about to do something totally stupid aren’t you.” Bakugou grumbled. “Whatever. I’m not even sure myself. We were just stopping a robbery and got separated. One of the criminals got away so your shitty boyfriend left me to deal with the rest and chased after him. That’s the last I saw of him, and the next thing I know he’s fucking wanted.”

So Kacchan didn’t know what happened either. Was the person Shouto had been chasing related to this or had the chase just led him into it? Was it related to Humerise or something completely different?  There were so many questions, but Izuku couldn’t work it out now. 

“Thanks Kacchan. I have to go.”

He could practically hear his friend roll his eyes. “Yeah yeah. I expect to see you soon, you shitty nerd.”

Izuku hung up with a gulp. That meant Kacchan knew he was coming, right? He wanted to help Shouto too. But Izuku couldn’t risk stopping to get him and being followed. They’d have to reconnect with Kacchan later.

“Should we call Tensei or just show up in person?” He asked. They were always tracing calls in detective movies, and while Izuku didn’t know how accurate that was he didn’t want to discount the threat. They decided to talk to Tensei in person, and started their exit.

“Oboro.” Izuku requested, “Take the body and float down on a cloud so we don’t make any noise.”

“You got it! Now.”

Oboro slung the backpack over his shoulders and hopped on a cloud, moving silently out into the hall. It was late, so there weren’t too many people wandering around. If they were still awake they were likely to be in one of the rooms instead of walking about. There were also cameras, but they knew where those were and could avoid them. They just had to get down to the entrance and once they were outside make a break for it. If only the windows in the building opened, they could just jump out and float down. 

Izuku thought they’d done it when they got outside without a hitch. He should have known it was too easy.

“There you are! Come on Shirakumo, hop in!” 

“M-Mirio?!” Izuku yelped. In the real world, Oboro froze.

“Ummm…”

“Come on!” Mirio leaned out the car window and waved them closer. “We’re wasting time here!”

Oboro glanced at Izuku who could only shrug. He didn’t know how to deal with this turn of event either, so it seemed like the best option was to go along with it and see what was happening. 

Oboro slid into the backseat and switched with Izuku. 

“So!” Mirio asked cheerfully. “Where to? I hope you have a plan, because if you don’t we’re going right back inside and thinking this through with Sir! And I don’t think you’ll want to see him right now!”

Izuku paled. “UM-”

In the driver’s seat, Amijiki pulled the hood of his hoodie- actually was that Mirio’s?- down. “This is already bad enough, please don’t make me do anything else.”

Mirio laughed, but the look he leveled Izuku with made him straighten up with a wince. 

“Look Midoriya, Sir saw the news about Todoroki. And it’s obvious to anyone who knows you that you’d want to do something to help. And given it’s your boyfriend that’s the one in trouble, and we all know how attached you two are, it wasn’t hard to figure out that you’d try and get to him as soon as possible.”

Izuku winced again. Was he really so easy to read? 

Tenya sighed. “Well he isn’t wrong. Your affection for Todoroki is impossible to miss, the two of you are attached at the hip anytime you’re together. And with all your talk about protecting each other, it’s hardly a leap to assume you’d rush after him.”

Oboro nodded. “You two are pretty sickening to be around.”

Now Izuku was burning from embarrassment as well as worry at being caught. “Sh-Shut up! So Sir sent you to stop me, Mirio?”

Mirio raised an eyebrow. “Does it look like we’re here to stop you?” He gestured to the car. “Sir knows none of us could do that. He can’t leave the agency right now, so he’s sending me to keep an eye on you. We can’t have you getting yourself in trouble because you’re too worried to think straight now can we?”

Izuku’s shoulders slumped. “You’re… coming with me?”

“Yep! So out with the plan! We’re not just going to the airport are we? No way there’s a flight right now.”

“No no! Um, we were going to Tenya’s house to find Tensei and then hopefully get one of the Iidaten jets.” There was no use lying now. 

“Wow! Okay, let’s go! Tell Tamaki the directions.”

As they drove, they continued to plan. Izuku was honestly a little relieved to have Mirio with him. And to know that Sir was looking out for him… even if he was probably really mad at how reckless Izuku was being, rushing in with barely a plan. 

“Amajiki, you’re not coming too, are you?” 

Amajiki mumbled something and curled his shoulders. 

“No, Tamaki’s just the driver.” Mirio answered instead. “Since he was with me he was already a part of this, so we can trust him to get us wherever we need to go. And then he can return the car.”

They were pulling up to the Iida residence in record time. Tenya took the body and the three teammates left Mirio and Amajiki in the car while they crept into the house. When they got to Tensei’s room Izuku took Oboro’s hand and manifested the two of them. 

“So how should we do this?” He whispered. “We’re kind of asking a big favour here, and I feel kind of bad waking him up this late. Will he get in trouble?”

Tenya frowned. “We are not technically doing anything wrong. He may be a bit annoyed, but he will help us. It will be fine.” He knocked on the door and waited for a response.

Oboro wasn’t so patient. He swung open the door and yelled cheerfully, “Hey Tensei wake up!”

“Wha- Oboro?” The poor man heaved himself upright and squinted at the three teenagers in his doorway. “Izuku? Tenya? What are you doing here?”

“Brother!” Now that Oboro had broken the quiet atmosphere Tenya’s voice raised as well. “We have a favour to ask of you!”

Tensei closed his eyes and passed his hand over his face. “Oh this is gonna be good.”

Oboro grinned. “Now Tensei, do you remember how we always used to talk about taking a trip in one of your family’s jets?”

——

Tensei agreed as soon as they’d explained the situation. Izuku loved having an older brother. 

They had to switch cars so they could drive the Iida’s vehicle that was adapted to easily accommodate Tensei’s wheelchair. Amajiki glued himself to Mirio’s side as they walked over. Once they all got settled they were off. Izuku kept himself and Oboro manifested so they could continue to plan things out. 

“Hey wait a minute.” Mirio started. “If we’re trying to keep this quiet then who’s flying the plane?”

There was a beat of silence. Izuku hadn’t really thought of that. 

“I can do it!” Oboro volunteered. “I’ve always been a fan of flying and I was getting my license!"

Immediately Izuku and Tenya protested. Oboro hadn’t even had his license, and it was a long time ago, and he still had trouble with his memory. 

“Actually,” Tensei spoke over the argument. “Oboro probably is the best option.”

Everyone, including Oboro, fell silent in surprise.

“Wait really?” 

“The plane is almost entirely automated, the pilot is really just there to keep an eye on things. Take off and landing are the most hands on part. I’d say you should handle that, Oboro, but trade with Mirio during the main flight so Izuku can get some sleep. I bet you’ll be able to teach him the basics.”

And, well, they couldn’t really argue with Tensei now could they. Izuku was starting to regret this already. Now their ‘we’re technically not doing anything wrong’ excuse was a bust. This was totally illegal. 

Izuku was freaking out a bit. The others were infuriatingly calm about breaking the law, except for Amajiki but he was always panicked so it didn’t make Izuku feel better. Izuku supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. After all, Tenya had died committing illegal acts of vigilantism, Tensei was a ride or die type person who had strong morals but viewed the law as suggestions, and Oboro was Oboro. And Mirio…

“We’re even now.” He stated firmly. “Though if we get caught, you owe me. Fair?”

“Huh?” Izuku didn’t really know what Mirio was talking about. “Why do you owe me? Please don’t feel you have to come with me, I can do this on my own!”

“Midoriya. You literally risked your life and your entire future so I could keep my quirk. I’m going to help you when you need it, don’t ever think otherwise.”

“Mirio…” Izuku sniffed. “That was ages ago! But I really do appreciate your help, thank you.”

The trip progressed without incident, and they soon arrived at their destination. They left Amajiki with the car, and Izuku made sure to thank him profusely for his aid, though that only made him nervous. Mirio spoke to him in a voice too low for Izuku to hear, and he felt bad for breaking up their time together. 

“Aw these two are so cute!” Oboro observed.

“Oboro!” Izuku hissed. “Don’t eavesdrop!"

“Agreed! Let Mirio and Amajiki have their privacy!”

“Also, weren’t you just getting on my case about being too ‘gross’ with Shouto? I see your double standard.”

Oboro shrugged. “Eh, that’s different.”

Izuku didn’t have it in him to argue further. 

When they got to the plane, Tensei held out his hand to Izuku. “Give me your phone." He requested. "That way it'll look like you're still in Japan. Do you have Tenya's phone on you? You can contact me through that if you run into trouble."

“Right!” Izuku scrambled to switch the phones. Tensei was really smart for thinking of that. “Thank you Tensei, really. For everything.”

Tensei smiled and reached up to ruffle Izuku’s hair. “No problem little bro. Just stay safe, okay?”

Izuku gave him a quick hug, and then the most terrifying journey of his life began. 

Izuku trusted Oboro, he really did, but flying a plane was really testing the limits of Izuku’s faith. Luckily, or unluckily, he was able to distract himself from the current situation by thinking of Shouto. It was worth it, to get to him. 

Izuku checked Shouto’s location and held the pendant tightly. He’d be there soon. 

——

When they finally got to Otheon it was very early morning. The time difference was not agreeing with Izuku, but he filled himself with worried energy and carried on. Shouto had stopped moving for the night at least, so they had time to catch up with him. 

Landing the plane was somehow even worse than the rest of the flight, especially with the added fear of getting caught. Luckily Tensei had sent word ahead so they could land without being stopped, and then they just had to act confident and natural enough that nobody questioned why the plane only held two teenagers and no pilot. Izuku wished they could just bolt away, but there was the issue of actually getting to Shouto’s location. They needed some sort of transportation, and at the time they landed there was no way they could find anything anywhere else. 

Mirio took charge and talked to one of the few people at the landing area (Finally a plus to landing so early, the place was almost deserted,) and got their money exchanged so they could rent one of the provided vehicles. Private airports were great, according to the others a normal airport would never let them through this easily. Izuku was starting to get used to the private jet life, he wondered what it would be like to travel in a normal plane.

So Mirio dealt with the important things and got them a car, and the second phase of the journey commenced. 

As soon as they got out into the open road they pressed the gas and took off. They had to catch up. But as they got closer the sun began to rise and soon enough Shouto was on the move again. Izuku knew it probably wasn’t safe for him to stay in one spot, and he didn’t know the situation so maybe he was trying to get somewhere, but he also really wished Shouto would just sit still and wait for them. 

They passed by a few roadside vendors and bought enough for breakfast and lunch, not daring to stop for long. Izuku had his driver’s license but had never really had many opportunities to drive, so he was more than happy to hand that responsibility over to the others. They were moving faster than Shouto and had already made good distance during the night so they were closing in, and then in the afternoon Shouto stopped.

“He must have checked and saw we’re here!”

Mirio sighed. “I fear that when we catch sight of him you’re going to jump out while the vehicle’s still moving. Do you think you can restrain yourself?”

Izuku thought about it, and decided it would be wrong to lie. 

Mirio sighed. “Just try not to hurt yourself.”

And then they were there. 

A truck came into view and Mirio was just rolling to a stop as Izuku threw open the door and raced forward. “Shouto!” He yelled. “Shouto! It’s Izuku!”

At the first shout the door of the truck flung open, and before Izuku even finished saying his name Shouto was wrapping him in a hug. Izuku sank into the embrace and clutched onto Shouto tightly. He buried his face in that favorite spot of his, the crook of Shouto’s neck, and took shuddery breaths. 

They stayed that way for a beat, then Shouto’s hands moved to either side of Izuku’s head and gently shifted him so they could look at each other. 

“You’re here.” Shouto breathed, then kissed the scarred bridge of Izuku’s nose before claiming his mouth.

“Of course I’m here.” Izuku said once they parted. And Shouto looked at him so lovingly, with that soft smile that was only ever for him, and Izuku promptly burst into tears. 

“Ah, Izuku-” Shouto floundered, and pulled Izuku back into a tight and comforting hug. “I'm okay.”

But Izuku could feel the shape of bandages under Shouto’s shirt. “You’re hurt.” 

“Just a little bit.”

It was all hitting Izuku now. The whole thing had seemed so crazy and impossible that, while he had been worried, the full reality hadn’t him. He could push it aside. But now Izuku couldn’t hold in the anxious energy that had been building for over half a day, so he clung to Shouto and let himself take in the fact that he was there. 

Shouto kissed the top of Izuku’s head and made comforting motions with his hands, and slowly Izuku’s tears calmed down. He was incredibly annoyed at himself. He wasn’t the one who should be being comforted, he wasn’t the one in trouble. 

“Are you alright?” 

“Sorry.” Izuku hiccuped. “I’m the one who should be asking you that, I shouldn’t be- I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Shouto’s calm voice was firm. “You’re a part of this too.”

Suddenly, somebody cleared their throat. But it didn’t come from behind Izuku, it came from behind Shouto. 

Izuku immediately went on alert, but Shouto kept hold of him. “Right. This is Rody.”

A young man with a bird on his shoulder was leaning against the side of the truck. The bird seemed to be rolling its eyes, which Izuku didn’t even know a bird could do but the more you know.

“Wow.” Rody said flatly. “I think that’s the most emotional I’ve seen you.”

“Oh he’s in for a rude awakening.” Oboro commented. “Todoroki’s a whole other person when he’s with you, Izuku.”

Shouto ignored Rody’s comment and glanced towards the car Izuku had been travelling in. “Mirio’s here too?” He asked.

“Yeah! Apparently Sir wants him to keep an eye on me.”

“That’s right!” Mirio exclaimed as he walked up to them. “Clearly I need to step up my game if I can’t even get you to stay in a moving vehicle!”

Izuku ducked his head. “Sorry.”

Mirio looked at Rody. “Who’s this then?”

The group ended up moving to sit in the bed of the truck so they could share their stories. They weren’t very hidden, but they’d see if anybody was coming. Shouto went first, and they learned that Rody was the criminal he had been chasing, but that his briefcase had gotten switched with one containing information relating to Humerise. 

“So you’re a thief?” Mirio confirmed.

“...Yeah…” Rody answered warily. “I’m hoping the ability to look past that is common to all you Japanese heroes.”

Izuku snuggled closer into Shouto’s side. He was just glad Shouto hadn’t been alone. “I’m sure you had a reason to do what you did. If Shouto’s been fine with travelling with you, I’m sure you’re a good person! And, well, considering we’ve all been doing illegal things in this situation, maybe we should just forgive and forget.”

“Illegal things? Like what?” Shouto questioned.

Rody scoffed. “You mean other than aiding and abetting and running from the law?”

“Oh.” Shouto nodded. “Right. Is that what you meant, Izuku?”

Izuku winced. “Um… yes, but not entirely.”

“Oh?” Rody perked up. “What else have you been up to?”

So it was Izuku’s turn to share his experience. “Hold on, let me Manifest Oboro and Tenya. They can help tell the story, especially since it has more to do with them than me.”

Rody looked extremely confused, but Shouto understood.

“Hold me?” Izuku requested.

“Of course.” Shouto’s arm tightened around Izuku and held him more firmly, keeping him in place. Izuku let his head rest on his shoulder, then Projected.

“Woah, what happened?” Rody yelled.

Izuku moved over to where Tenya was sitting and took his hand, then held Oboro’s ankle as it dangled over the cloud he was floating on. Rody’s shriek when the three of them appeared caused them all to burst into laughter.

Rody quickly schooled his features, but his pet bird hid behind him and peaked out cautiously. Izuku felt a bit bad for scaring the poor creature. 

“Sorry.” He giggled. “My quirk, Medium, lets me see and interact with ghosts. This is Tenya, and Oboro.” He tilted his head towards the person he introduced. 

“Greetings!”

“Hey there!” Oboro turned to Shouto. “Thanks for letting us finally catch up to you. Man I thought Izuku was going to combust, he was freaking out so badly.”

“Hey!”

“It’s true! You should have seen him when he heard the news!”

Shouto leaned his head against the one on his shoulder and Izuku focused on the contact through the connection in the back of his mind. 

“I expected as much.” Shouto said. “I would do the same if our roles were switched. I knew you would check your pendant and try to get here once Bakugou alerted you, though I wasn’t expecting you so quickly.”

An air of dread settled around Izuku. Shouto didn’t know…

“What is it?” Shouto could see the change in Izuku’s posture. “Did I say something wrong?”

Izuku gulped. “Shouto… I didn’t- It wasn’t because of Kacchan that I knew something was wrong. You were on the news.”

Shouto stiffened, showing just the slightest bit of surprise. 

“I’m sure word has reached the others by now as well, but for those of us in Japan… Shouto, it’s big. After everything with Touya- They’re saying this is Endeavor’s legacy. They really think you did it.”

There was a moment of silence as Shouto absorbed the information. Izuku’s heart ached for him. 

The moment was broken by Rody. “Sorry, but who’s Touya? Endeavor’s your dad, right? And a hero, so shouldn’t that make people less likely to believe you’re a murderer?”

“Maybe before.” Shouto agreed. “But not after Touya, my brother. He was a villain.”

“Oh.”

Another awkward moment passed. Izuku wanted to hug Shouto, but settled for stretching out his foot and nudging his leg instead.

“So you saw on the news. But how did you get here so fast?”

Tenya straightened up. “We flew on one of Iidaten’s jets!”

“And this is where the illegal part comes into play,” Izuku sighed.

“I got to fly it!” Oboro revealed, still excited by the experience.

Rody suddenly seemed more alert. “Woah, really? That’s so cool! I always wanted to be a pilot!”

“Yeah, it was awesome! You should totally be a pilot if that’s what you want to do, I’m sure you’d be great!”

Oboro and Rody quickly became lost in their conversation, so the rest of them continued on without them. 

“I flew a bit too!” Mirio added. “Then we got that car and started chasing after you.”

“And here we are!”

“Here you are.” Shouto echoed fondly. “Thank you, truly.”

“Of course man!”

“We would never leave you to handle this on your own!”

“I’m always going to be here for you Shouto.” Izuku looked him in the eyes with a smile. “Together we can get through anything. So let’s get going, and save the day!”

“Right.” Shouto smiled. “Let’s do it.”