Chapter 1: Origins Mark II
Summary:
The timeline shifts.
Notes:
Hello beautiful person reading this!
Should I be posting another story when I have 2 more I’m working on and school? Probably not. Am I going to anyway? Very much yes. Welcome, to the physical manifestation of me loving massive found families tropes with a dash of shipping mixed in.This has little to no update schedule, chapters will be posted at least once a week but probably more (most of them are longer than this one too). I have a backlog of 20 chapters and still haven’t gotten close to UA, so buckle up buttercups this is going to be a LONG story. Any ideas or suggestions at any point of this are welcome and comments are valued like they’re gold in the 1800’s :D! Feel free to ask questions! I love you guys and have a good day/night!
12/2/24 edit: Hey guys! After quite literally 5 years I finally rewrote some of this chapter for clarity! Mainly on Izuku's quirk situation and bringing how Hisashi acts slightly up to date, I realized it was weird for them to not at least occasionally call with how they act the rest of the story. Hope you guys enjoy <3
And to everyone who may be new and just starting this story: welcome! I had no idea this thing would become the behemoth it now is when I began writing it. Any links (my tumblr, discord server, etc.) are in the end notes on the latest chapter. And yes I know most of the art is broken, I will eventually get around to fixing it but for now it's all on my discord server still. Enjoy :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Not all men are created equal. Izuku Midoriya learned that when he was only four.
He was four, nearly five, when a quick doctor’s appointment told them what they needed to know. Izuku would not have a quirk like his parents—it would have appeared already. Nor would he have a strong wildcard quirk, it would have already manifested. The doctor asked more questions, and Izuku was happy to answer them, though he didn’t really listen to the conversation between the doctor and his mom. The model skeleton in the room was much more interesting to poke at.
At four-almost-five, Izuku was excited at the prospect of having a smartness quirk like his Momma said he had. Analysis was a pretty cool name! And it was like his grandma’s quirk! Izuku had never met his grandma, since she had died before he was born, but he liked that he was like her.
But children can be cruel; another lesson learned far too young for him. Preschoolers were not known for their understanding of nuance. No amount of protests (Momma says I have a quirk, I just can’t show you ‘cause it’s in my brain! Kacchan please listen- ) deterred his classmates. None of it dissuaded his friends from turning against him, parroting what they had heard their parents say. It didn’t stop the teachers from believing the rumors that he may not have a quirk at all.
Izuku was four when he learned how the world treated those seen as weak.
He carried the lesson with him as his mother cried, apologizing and crushing his dreams in one fell swoop. When she told him it would be nearly impossible for him to be a hero without a strong quirk. He held it in his mind when Kacchan became a bully instead of a friend. He would still be an amazing hero, even if he beat down the little Deku near the playground slide. Izuku thought only villains did that.
He came home that day with starburst burns and purple bruises. There weren’t many tears, an odd thing for him.
Kacchan had tried to bully another kid, and Izuku stopped him. He didn’t regret it. Not even when he was pushed to the ground and kicked when he was down. Not when Tsubasa had whacked him with his wings. Not even when Kacchan dragged him to his feet to blast his arms with firecracker pops. Not when he had saved someone for once. That was all he needed.
The one thing he did regret was letting his mom see him like that. The instant he walked into the kitchen she was on him, fussing and demanding to know what had happened. Only then did he cry, nestled in her arms on the floor. He didn’t cry because of the pain. No, he cried because of who had caused it.
“Oh baby, what happened?” Inko murmured softly as she held him tight.
He told her everything. Kacchan and his bullying, everyone ignoring him, and even the negligent teachers. He told her how he always hid the bruises and burns to stop her from worrying.
How her words had hurt him even more than the fire on his skin had.
His mom treated his burns and bruises while he spoke. They weren’t too bad, since Kacchan’s explosions weren’t very powerful yet. Izuku could tell she was mad though. Not at him, but at the school. The Bakugou’s too, even if Aunt Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru were her friends. At least that’s what he hoped.
“Izuku, you know this isn’t alright, don’t you?”
He nodded mutely, knowing she was referring to Kacchan’s burns. She sighed, and gently ran her fingers through his fluffy hair.
“You were so brave, Izuku. Even if…even if you aren’t strong like Katsuki, you still stood up to him. I’m so proud of you, my baby boy, but you still got hurt.”
Softer than a mouse, Izuku finally spoke up. “I wanna be a hero, Momma. Heroes save people.”
“I know, baby, but they get hurt a lot. You don’t have a quirk that can stop that.”
“But I’m smart!” He insisted. “Smart can stop the hurt from happening in the first place.”
“I- I guess that’s true, Izuku, but it’s still dangerous. Let’s focus on getting these burns treated for now, ok?”
“…alright Momma.”
He didn’t go to school the next day, or the day after that, since his burns were still healing. The bruises didn’t hurt too much after two days, but the burns itched a lot.
On his second day home from school, Izuku heard his mom talking quietly to someone over the phone. He got close enough to know it was his dad, Hisashi, before Momma caught him. He scampered from the room with many questions.
Izuku may not remember his dad well, but he called every week or so to talk to them, so he knew a little bit. He knew that his dad was across an ocean for work. He mostly knew what his dad looked like, even if Momma said the pictures on their wall weren’t very accurate anymore, since they were all from before Izuku. He also knew his mom missed his dad a lot.
It was that night that Momma told him the news. He was being moved to a different school, and his dad was coming back. Coming home. Izuku didn’t know what it meant for them, but he was equal parts excited and nervous. He asked question after question over dinner that night. Momma answered all of them with a smile and a laugh.
Dad coming home was…odd. They both went to pick him up at the airport, even though Izuku didn’t really know what he looked like now. Not until he came out of the exit gate and near instantly ran over to swoop Momma off her feet to twirl her around. She was laughing, and that alone made Izuku like the man he didn’t remember.
His dad was tall, but nothing compared to All Might. He had black hair that was curly like Izuku’s, and freckles too. His eyes, filled with happiness as he stared at Inko, were yellow like a fire. Flecks of black like ash too. He looked kind.
When he finally put Momma down, smiling just like Izuku did when he was happy, he knelt down to be at eye level with the four year old. He carefully, almost gingerly, held out his hand. Izuku took it in his own tiny hand, fingers only able to wrap around two or three of his dad’s fingers.
“Hey there buddy. I know you don’t remember me much,” he said softly. “But I’m staying from now on, ok? No leaving ever again.”
“Ever?”
“Never ever,” Hisashi laughed. It was deep and loud, but happy. “As long as your Mom can handle my terrible cooking skills being back in the house.”
Izuku giggled, and knew his Momma was too. She was an amazing cook, but she had told him stories. His favorite was when Dad lit a kitchen towel on fire when he tried to use his quirk to boil water faster. Momma said he hadn’t done that since they were in college, but still! It was funny. Izuku was grateful Momma had already started teaching him how to cook, and that so far nothing had been set ablaze.
“Come on then, you two,” Momma laughed, rolling her eyes. “Let’s get home.”
Time passed. Days then weeks, eventually a month then two. Having Dad back was nice, but weird. The house was livelier, and there was more laughing and giggling than ever. Certainly more fire. He caught a cold a few days after coming home (probably from the airport, Momma said) and Izuku watched as he sneezed out sparks and embers. It was cool. Dad stayed near the fireplace though, just incase.
Going to a new school was even weirder. He didn’t know anyone, but they didn’t know him either. No one called him Deku, only Midoriya. The teachers were nice and didn’t treat him differently because he didn’t have a flashy quirk.
All in all, he liked his new school. Even if he was only going to be there a few weeks before going to kindergarten. Kacchan wasn’t there, but he was starting to realize the blond hadn’t been his friend, not really. Friends didn’t turn against you for something you couldn’t control.
The break between school years was short, but it was fun. Izuku’s whole family even went on a trip to the beach! He got to bury his dad in sand and chase seagulls! Everything a little kid would want to do in a day. They even had a picnic there. The sunset was really pretty, in Izuku’s opinion. He got to watch Dad splash Momma in the waves. They were laughing, Izuku giggling right alongside them in the ocean. Dad made Momma happy. It made Izuku happy too.
Izuku came to the conclusion that defending someone else that day was the best decision he had ever made. Even if he originally got hurt, everything good had happened because of it. He switched schools, stopped getting bullied, and got his dad back. His mom was smiling again. For once, everything was looking like it was going to be ok.
None of them were going to be left alone again. Not if Izuku could help it. Never again.
No one left behind.
Notes:
I might be able to have chapter 2 posted by Monday, but we'll have to see. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! If you're procrastinating on homework take this as a sign to go do it! Have a good day/night everyone!
EDIT: hello hello just an update to links. If you like Podfics there are 2 linked at the end of this fic in the inspired by section! Any links related to myself (tumblr, discord, etc) are also on whatever the latest chapter is. Have fun reading, don't forget to drink water <3
Chapter 2: An Actual Friend
Summary:
My boy! My son! The lavender boy is here!
Notes:
Hello amazing person reading this!
Guess who was so excited about finally having this posted that I wrote an entire chapter in a day? Me. I did. Read my thing.
Tags are fixed by the way! For anyone who saw the absolute clusterfuck that was, I am so sorry. They’re in order now.
I hope you enjoy the chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Kindergarten was…alright. Not much different than preschool if Izuku was being honest. More homework and no nap time, but that was about it. There were different kids too.
He started getting picked on again because they had to share their Quirks. Not that every person in that class had a useful Quirk, or had even gotten one yet, but they saw him as a target anyway. At least he never went home with burns or bruises at this school.
But he wasn’t the only one this time. There was another kid in the school, not in his class though, that got picked on too. Well, more ignored than bullied from what Izuku saw. He always sat beneath the same tree at recess and ate lunch out of the same worn out lunchbox. No one ever sat near him, sort of like they did with Izuku.
Izuku overheard that his name was Shinsou. He had lavender hair and eyes to match, just like Izuku did! Well, his were green, but they were still alike. Which was why Izuku was determined to be his friend. Outcasts had to stick together. No one should be left by themselves. Besides, Shinsou looked sad always sitting by himself.
But Izuku couldn’t work up the nerve to do it. What if he turned out like Kacchan? What if he teased Izuku for not having a strong Quirk, just like everyone else did?
So he hesitated, and kept his distance. Izuku glanced at the tree at least once every recess, just to see if anything was different, but it never was. Shinsou stayed in the same place and stuck to the same silence every day.
For the time being, Izuku was content to watch. He wasn’t being pushed around like a punching bag, so why change what wasn’t broken?
(Looking back, Izuku regretted waiting to meet his brother)
Nothing changed, until a recess in the third month of school. Izuku grabbed his lunch and went outside like any other school day. He glanced over to the tree and saw Shinsou already there, just like he always was. The other kids avoided the two of them, but that hasn't changed since the first week. Nothing was out of the ordinary.
Izuku ate the lunch his mom had lovingly made him. It had bunny rice balls! Everything his mom made was delicious, in his humble little opinion.
Then he heard the yelling. Izuku immediately froze. It- it sounded like Kacchan and his buddies. Their jeers and insults that they threw around nearly every day. Almost always aimed at the little, useless Deku that went home with hidden bruises those days.
Izuku shook himself out of his daze. He wasn’t at his old school, Kacchan wasn’t here. No more popping firecrackers or wings to hit him. There was still yelling, but not at him.
It wasn’t at him . The realization hit the five year old in the form of him whipping around to face the tree he glanced at every day.
There were now four people under the tree that hadn’t had more than one for most of the year. Three kids were surrounding Shinsou, all of them obviously older than kindergarten. The one in the middle was doing the yelling. Shinsou had his back pressed against tree. He looked…scared.
Izuku’s feet were moving before he could think.
He raced up to the tree, catching himself when he stumbled. The bullies took no notice of him, but Shinsou did. His wide eyes landing on the green-haired kid streaking towards the bully yelling at him.
Izuku dove under the middle kid’s arm. The other two let out squawks of surprise at the sudden appearance of the tiny kid. Shinsou didn’t move, didn’t say a word, but his expression was enough to cement Izuku’s determination.
He put himself between the bullies and Shinsou, just like he had done with Kacchan. But this time he wasn’t going to lose. He wasn’t going to go home with burns like last time. He couldn’t lose any friends this time. After all, you can’t lose what you don’t have.
“Eh?! Who are you, you brat!” The middle one bellowed. Izuku saw his fingernails shift into something sharper. Metal, maybe.
Izuku didn’t say anything. Only put his fists up in a guard his dad had taught him. The three in front of him tensed.
“Kugi, maybe we should leave,” one of his lackeys urged, glancing around now. They didn’t know Izuku, so they didn’t know how dangerous he was.
“Y-yeah,” the other one stuttered. “We don’t know his teacher.”
The middle bully, Kugi apparently, scoffed. Not taking his eyes off Izuku. “No way. These brats need to be taught a lesson.”
Izuku didn’t move, even as memories rose. Memories of Kacchan saying the same thing. He wasn’t going to let someone get hurt like that again. Not like he had.
“L-leave him alone!” Izuku stuttered, but stayed put.
“Hah! It speaks! I’ll give you one chance kid, move. The brainwasher deserves it.”
Izuku blinked, but didn’t budge. Brainwasher? Was that Shinsou’s Quirk? If it was, it sounded like a cool one.
One of the other kids glanced back, and turned to Kugi in a panic. “A teacher’s coming out!”
“Ugh, they’re not worth getting in trouble for,” Kugi growled, before turning and walking off. His lackeys at his heels.
Izuku let out the breath he had been holding, and put his fists down. No one had gotten hurt. Good. He turned towards Shinsou, seeing the boy on the ground with his back to the tree.
“Are you ok?” Izuku asked quietly, sitting on the ground near Shinsou.
He got a nod in response. Izuku grinned at Shinsou, hoping it would help him feel better.
“Why did,” Shinsou’d voice cracked. It was hoard and croaky, especially for a five year old. “Why did you do that.”
“Because it’s what a hero would do,” Izuku said confidently. “And I wanna be a hero, so I have to act like one.”
“Heard things. You’re picked on too.”
“Well, yeah.” Izuku pulled a piece of grass to distract himself, but kept talking. “But I still wanna be a hero. Bullies can’t tell me what to do, that’s what Momma says.”
“But they hurt.”
“I know. Why were they picking on you? It’s ok if you don’t want to tell me though.”
Shinsou stared at the ground for a minute, thinking about whether to share or not. “Quirk. Brainwashing.”
Izuku perked up a bit. So his Quirk really was brainwashing? That was so cool! And interesting. It would be good for hero work. Bad guys would just turn themselves in! Not to mention hostage situations and held up robberies. His Quirk could make it so the villains get taken in and no civilians get hurt. Then there’s the fact that it would be really useful for underground work, especially if he had a capture weapon like Eraserhead. Or a voice changer! If his Quirk even worked through a speaker. If it did, did that mean he could brainwash people from outside a room? Did he have to see the person? Did it have a range? Could he-
“You have analysis Quirk?” Shinsou asked.
“I…said that out loud, didn’t I.”
Shinsou nodded, but looked amused. Definitely better than him being creeped out like some of the other kids were at Izuku’s muttering. He couldn’t help it. There were just so many thoughts that they didn’t all want to stay inside his head.
“You don’t…you don’t think my Quirk is bad?”
“No!” Izuku shook his head violently. Shinsou seemed a bit worried, but he stopped after a second. “You’re Quirk could be really useful! You could- wait, you already heard me muttering. Everything I said during that then!”
“No lie?”
“Nope! Do you wanna be a hero, Shinsou?”
“Yes,” he whispered. “Like Eraserhead.”
“I love Eraserhead! Even though he’s a new hero he’s still a really good one. Underground heroes are hard to track since they don’t like media but my Momma found the video of his third year sports festival! He’s really cool and even fought against Present Mic and won ! She told me he did that his second year too but couldn’t find a tape of it. All Might’s my favorite, but Eraserhead is my second favorite and then it’s Present Mic.”
Izuku babbled on for a while. Shinsou listened the whole time, slowly uncurling from his shell. He didn’t speak much, but that was ok. Izuku could talk enough for the both of them.
The topic of heroes turned to questions about favorite activities, and then what subject was their favorite. Most of it was just Izuku asking yes or no questions, but Shinsou slowly started to talk more.
Recess had to come to an end though. Izuku was happy that he had gotten to talk to someone during it, and that his fears were proven wrong. Shinsou was the farthest from Kacchan as anyone could be. He was quiet and reminded Izuku of dark colors, while Kacchan was loud and bright in everything he did.
The two boys parted with a wave and promise to see each other tomorrow.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hitoshi really didn’t want to go home today, if he could even call it that. Foster homes never kept him for long. Not after learning his Quirk. One way or another, he was always forced to leave. Most of the time it was when kids blamed him for things they did, or adults kicking him out when he asked a question.
He wasn’t allowed to talk in his foster homes, and never ever any questions. It was similar at school, but at least there no one asked him anything in the first place. He still had to change schools because a kid said he controlled them at his last one.
It had been going great so far. No one talked to him, so they couldn’t blame him for anything. The teachers didn’t call on him, but that was ok. He didn’t really like answering what two plus two was anyway.
Then some of the older kids decided to pick on him. He couldn’t do anything. Fighting back meant he was kicked out. The teachers would never believe a kindergartener over a third grader. Telling them to stop or outright controlling them had the same result. So he stayed near his tree and prepared to go home with bruises. Not like anyone would care anyway.
But then someone appeared. He knew the kid’s name was Midoriya, and that he got picked on too. All for having a weak Quirk. The opposite problem as Hitoshi’s. Yet…he still appeared, ducking under the bully’s arm and putting himself between them and Hitoshi.
They had never met, being in different classrooms. Only knowing the others name from whispers in the hallways. But he was still here, looking like some sort of small guardian angel. His green hair looked enough like a halo to be one.
The bullies left, and Midoriya stayed. They talked for a while after that. Well, Midoriya talked and Shinsou nodded or shook his head. It was honestly the best thing that had happened to him in a while. Someone was actually talking to him, and they knew his Quirk . He was mildly confused, but happy.
It’s also why he didn’t want to go home. There was no Midoriya to defend him from bullies there. He trudged back all the same.
The house wasn’t expensive or well kept. He’s never seen a live plant in the yard, which is almost always littered with some sort of toys. Inside isn’t much better. The walls are faded and stained in some places. The floor dented and scratched beyond repair. Every piece of furniture doesn’t match the other.
Hitoshi thought it fit well with the people who lived in it. His foster parents weren’t the worst ones he’s had though. They make him do chores and stay quiet, but that was it for once. It’s the other foster kids that are the problem. Three of them, two of which seem to exist only to make his life worse. The third is younger than him, and can’t cause much trouble other than running around and making a mess like toddlers usually do.
He managed to sneak in unnoticed. Maybe he got back before the other two this time? Either way, he retreated to his room as fast as his little legs can go without making a sound. He shared the room with the youngest, who plays downstairs most of the time.
With the door shut, he let himself relax. One less bad thing for today. He put his bag down and flopped onto his bed, his hand brushing the photos inside his pillowcase. There were only two, but they were important to him. One of his favorite hero, Eraserhead, and the other of his mom and dad. He doesn’t remember them much, since they died when he was three.
“Someone helped me today, Mama,” he whispered into his pillow. It was the only time he could talk without repercussions. Photos can’t tell on you, after all. “His name’s Midoriya. He stood up to bad people for me. You and Papa would like him, he’s nice. Mrs. Toko no talk to me today, but it’s ok. Midoriya talks to me. He has brain Quirk, like me, but it makes him smart instead.”
Hitoshi smiled at no one. Something he hadn’t done for a long while. “He thinks I can be a hero. Like Eraserhead. I think I wanna save people so they don’t lose their mommies and daddies like me. Can I, Mama, Papa?”
Hitoshi heard the front door open. He would be called down to do chores soon. The pictures stayed safely hidden in his pillowcase. For just a moment, he stayed where he was. Thinking back on the day.
“I think I have a new favorite hero, Mama. He’s even cooler than Eraserhead. Maybe he’ll be the one that saves me.”
Notes:
Kids have the funniest ways of making friends. I was an assistant teacher in kindergarten for 3 years, and the highlight was probably these two boys that stuck together the entire year because their favorite color of lego was the same.
If you can't tell, I love Shinsou. I love him a lot.
Thank you for reading! Next one will either be during the week or the weekend, depending on school. Have a good day/night everyone!
Chapter 3: He's Not Dead, I Promise
Summary:
No ones dies in this story, it's forbidden
*edit* It has been brought to my attention that this needs an addendum, so *ahem*
No major characters will die
Notes:
Hello beautiful person reading this!
Bit of a shorter chapter, but hopefully the next few will be longer! And you guys. GUYS. This is already at over 800 Hits and 100 Kudos??? How??? I freaking love all of you so so much. I REALLY wanted this to be a double or even early update, but school and anxiety decided to hit me over the head with a baseball bat. Anyway, I hope you like the chapter! All of your comments were so sweet and thank you for taking the time for that :D!!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Izuku actually enjoys school now. He was eager to leave the house just to get there early and wait for his friend.
That was something he wasn’t entirely used to yet, having an actual friend . One that didn’t pick on him and call him useless. Shinsou might be really quiet, but that was ok. Izuku could tell he was listening, even if he didn’t say anything. It was nice to have someone who listened for once (Momma and Dad didn’t count).
They met under the same tree every day at recess. Izuku discovered Shinsou’s favorite animal was a cat, and that he always stopped to pet the strays on his way home. He also learned his first name was Hitoshi.
Izuku asked if he could call him Toshi. Shinsou blinked at him with wide eyes before nodding, and very quietly asking if he could call him Zu. Izuku’s smile rivaled the brightness of the sun. It didn’t budge for the rest of the day.
That’s how it went for a week, then a month, then three months. They were content with their time under the tree. Kids didn’t pick on them often, not since they became friends. Whispers followed the two kindergarteners down hallways, though that wasn’t unusual. People say to leave them alone for fear of the other seeking revenge. Izuku had proven to be a fierce fighter despite being so small. His dad had taught him well, and every new move he showed Izuku was practiced until it was perfect.
Izuku briefly wondered how his dad knew how to fight so good. He just shrugged and kept working. He’d probably just taken a lot of classes, since Dad couldn’t sit still for long just like Izuku.
School ended for the time-being as winter break started. There wasn’t much snow on the ground, but there was enough for Izuku and his dad to have a mini-snowball fight. Momma watched from the window of their apartment with a smile on her face.
The two left for a nearby park after having lunch. To get out their energy before it got too cold again, Dad said. Momma stayed to clean up the house and get some of her paperwork done. Izuku thinks that what she was doing anyway. Most things lawyers did was confusing to the five year-old.
Izuku gleefully ran almost the entire way, doubling back to check on his dad every once in a while. Hisashi laughed each time, making sure to at least keep Izuku in his sight. It reminded him of an overexcited puppy.
Once actually at the park, Izuku dragged his dad off to go exploring with him. Sure, he had been to this forest before, but not in winter . Not when all the trees were bare and snow dusted everything. A few of the bushes still had leaves, but most of them were twigs.
It was beautiful . Mystical. Absolutely perfect for an adventure.
Izuku decided they were on a mission. Two knights that were searching for an enchanted item to melt the forest that had been frozen for forever now. Braving snow and wind, all for the glory of their queen. (They were looking for a pretty rock to bring back to Inko)
He told his dad as much, and Dad immediately fell into character. He grabbed a stick to act as a sword. Izuku giggled and did the same thing.
They ventured into the woods, swords held high and shoes crunching on the frozen ground. It was everything Izuku had hoped he’d do with his dad.
“And now, as the knights creep through the frozen forest, still searching for the magic item to melt the ice,” Dad narrated, creeping exaggeratedly over the snow. A bush rustled, one that still had leaves. It was probably a rabbit. “And as they travel, they come upon a fearsome beast. Sword up, little knight.”
Izuku giggled quietly and held up his stick. Closer he crept, his dad in front of him. Slowly, Dad moved away the leaves, expecting a rabbit to leap out the other end and run away.
Instead, he froze. Izuku tilted his head, and moved closer. His dad didn’t stop him.
He was hoping to see a rabbit, maybe a nest of them had made Dad stop. That would’ve been cool. But…that’s not what he saw. He saw something purple.
“Toshi?”
Dad didn’t move as Izuku crept closer. He moved aside more of the leaves, and saw his friend laying under the snow covered bush. Curled into a ball and shivering so bad he might as well be in the middle of an earthquake.
Hitoshi cracked open one eye when Izuku spoke, and opened his mouth. All that came out was a small whine.
It seemed to snap his dad back to reality, at least. He dove forward and scooped up Izuku’s friend. Izuku watched as he unzipped his jacket and wrapped it around Hitoshi, then held Toshi close to his chest. He looked…panicked. Izuku had never seen that look on his dad.
“Ok, it’s ok. It’s ok, it’s ok, it’s ok,” he repeated quietly. “We’ll get you somewhere warm, buddy, alright? Izuku, come on, we have to hurry. Get on my back and hang on tight.”
Izuku nodded and set his jaw in determination. As much as a five year-old could at least. His dad knelt down, letting Izuku clamber on and wrap his little arms around his neck. Once he was back on his feet, Dad started outright sprinting back through the forest. Izuku clung on for dear life.
Questions swirled around the boy’s head. Why was Toshi out here? Why was he under a bush? Would he be ok? Why didn’t he have a jacket on? Where were they going? Was Toshi going to be ok?
Izuku didn’t make a peep as his dad ran. People gave them weird looks on the streets, but he didn’t care. He just wanted his friend to be ok.
He did eventually realize they were running back home. For a moment Izuku wondered why they weren’t going to a doctor, but let it go. His dad was smart, he always had a reason for things. Well, almost always. This seemed like something he would have a plan for though.
Izuku bounced up and down as his dad took the stairs two at a time. He heard neighbors yelling behind them, but his dad didn’t seem to hear. Hitoshi still hadn’t made a sound. The three flew inside the apartment, door slamming against the wall. It probably startled Momma.
“INKO! We have a problem! ” Dad hollered, crouching to let Izuku slide onto the floor. Hitoshi was still being held close.
Momma came running from the kitchen, questions already on her tongue. She took one look at Izuku, and then to Hitoshi, before rushing off somewhere. Dad took Toshi and set him on the couch, still wrapped in his winter coat.
“Izuku, can you grab me some more blankets? We need to keep your friend warm”
“Ok Dad.”
Izuku quickly pattered off to get more blankets from the hall closet. He remembered Momma saying something about the warmer ones being in there.
Dad obviously didn’t expect him to come back with a mountain of blankets as big as him. When he could finally see again, Izuku saw that Hitoshi was asleep. He was curled into a ball in a cocoon of blankets that were on Dad’s lap. The two were on the floor in front of the fireplace, which was on. Momma, done arranging the blankets, went off to the kitchen for something.
Izuku carefully sat himself by his friend’s side, leaning his head against his dad’s arm.
“Is he gonna be ok?” Izuku asked quietly.
“We’ll see, bud. He was really, really cold, so we have to warm him up. Your Momma and I think he might have hypothermia.”
“When someone is too cold, right?”
“Yeah. Do you know why he was out there, Izuku?”
Izuku shook his head, gently patting Hitoshi’s head. Momma came back in a minute later carrying three mugs of hot chocolate. Izuku said thank you (he had been taught manners, thank you very much) and blew on it. There were just enough whipped cream and sprinkles on it. Too many in his dad’s opinion, but he loved it. Dad had a mug too, and Momma took the third. Izuku spotted an empty fourth mug sitting on the counter.
All they could do was wait for Hitoshi to wake up. It drove Izuku up a wall, not knowing if Toshi was going to be ok or not. But he trusted his parents. They thought he was going to wake up soon, so he had to stay calm. He had to be patient. For Toshi.
( For his new brother )
Notes:
Note that I don't know much about hypothermia, so take this chapter with a grain of salt. I can't wait for the next one to be posted though! It's pure fluff
I love all of you! Thank you to the people leaving comments and Kudos :D <3!! See you next time!
Chapter 4: This Is My Family. It Is Little and Broken, But Still Good
Summary:
Hitoshi has people that love him now, and Izuku and him are adorable
Notes:
Hello everyone!
Wow, there's a lot of you. We're already at 200 Kudos!!! I love all of you!!
Song for this whole story is Runaway by Felix Cartel. Go listen to it, it's amazing
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Izuku didn’t move from Hitoshi’s side even once while he slept. Momma and Dad asked what he knew about Hitoshi’s house, which wasn’t much. He knew Toshi was in the foster system, and his foster-siblings weren’t the nicest, but that was it. He wished he knew more.
Hitoshi woke up a couple hours later. Izuku blinked at him as his friend groggily sat up. He called for his parents, and made sure Hitoshi knew he was there for him. Toshi leaned into Izuku, though he was still in the middle of Mt. Blankets.
Izuku’s parents were there almost instantly. One helped unwrap a few layers from Hitoshi, while the other went to get hot chocolate. Izuku waited until they were both back to ask his friend anything.
“You ok now, Toshi?”
His friend nodded, eyeing Izuku’s parents. He had met them before, but Izuku knew he was wary of adults. He also didn’t like sharing his Quirk.
“You can talk to them,” Izuku whispered so only Hitoshi could hear. “They won’t hurt you, I pinky promise.”
Hitoshi glanced over at Izuku’s parents again, before nodding. Izuku smiled, and sent a thumbs up to his parents.
“Hey there little guy, you feeling better now?” Dad said, kneeling on the floor. Hitoshi nodded again. “That’s good. Do you know why you were out in the park?”
He hesitated, but Izuku nudged him to tell him it was ok. Hitoshi started speaking, though it was almost too quiet to hear.
“Foster-brother was, was being m-mean, t-told to stop. T-talked in, um, in h-house. N-not allow- allowed to. Ch-chase-ed me out- outside. Said door was, um, door was locked. No let me in.”
The living room was quiet as Hitoshi finished talking. Izuku wrapped him in a tight hug, doing what he did best to comfort his friend. The two of them missed the looks of fiery anger and cold calculation sent between the two adults.
“Shinsou, sweetie, does this happen a lot?” Momma asked.
“Not m-much. Only when, only when talk.”
“They don’t let you speak in the house?”
Izuku hugged his friend tighter. Hitoshi burrowed deeper into the blankets, but squeaked out a “yes.”
When Izuku looked up, he blinked in confusion. He had never seen his mom angry. When he saw her glaring at the ground, with a mini tornado of small object spinning around her, to say he was surprised would be an understatement. Even his dad was leaning away from her, and he was the one that could breathe fire.
“Momma?” Izuku drew her attention. The dangerous mobile of objects slowly went back to their places. “Can we keep him?”
“Can we…keep him?”
“Yeah!” Izuku chirped, still hugging Hitoshi. “I’m not gonna let him go back, can he stay here? Please, pleasepleasepleaseplease!”
“Izuku, he’s not a stray cat,” Dad said, though it sounded like he was trying not to laugh.
“But I don’t want him to leave! Can we please, please keep him?”
Izuku turned on his puppy eyes. He knew his parents were weak to it. He was five, and had learned how to weaponize his cuteness by now. Toshi wasn’t going anywhere if he could help it.
“Well, he’s not going back,” Momma started hesitantly, the anger gone now. “But…”
“We know how bad the foster system can be,” Dad said softly. It was the meekest Izuku had ever heard him. “Especially to those with dangerous Quirks.”
“So…can Toshi stay?”
The small matching grins were all the confirmation he needed. Izuku smiled so bright the room might as well of had a new star in it. Before he knew it, Hitoshi was wiggling out of the blankets and was clinging to Izuku. He heard his parents laughing behind the two of them.
“You two will have to share a room though.”
Izuku just giggled. He would gladly share a room if it meant Toshi could stay.
~~~~~
Shinsou slept in Izuku’s bed until they could get him his own. Neither seemed upset by this arrangement, and if anything the two of them slept better than before. Shinsou almost fit into Izuku’s clothes too, so he had nice pajamas to sleep in.
The next morning was odd for all of them, but it was strangely nice. Izuku and Shinsou stumbled into the kitchen, both with one arm draped over the other person. Inko sipped her coffee with a small grin. Her husband was still asleep, but that wasn’t unusual for a weekend. He would wake up once he smelled the coffee. That or the two boys would go jump on the bed until he got up.
Inko helped get the two kindergarteners a bowl of cereal before they spilled the milk. She went ahead and poured one for Hisashi, since she could hear him coming down the hall. He slumped over the kitchen table for a minute before beginning to drink his coffee. He had stayed up late again, which was why he had slept in.
“How do you two feel about going to the store today?” She asked cheerfully.
“Store! Store! I wanna go!” Izuku cheered. He had always taken after her early bird tendencies. “Toshi getting clothes?”
“Yes, we’re going to get Shinsou some new clothes and look at beds for him. We’ll leave as soon as you two get dressed.”
Izuku practically buzzed out of his seat and raced off to his room. Shinsou followed, albeit slower. Poor thing looked like he never slept. Could be insomnia, she mused. Though it didn’t usually show up in children so young, it was still a possibility.
Maybe this was the kid that took after Hisashi more than her. The thought made her smile again.
They left a few minutes later, once Inko made sure the clothes Shinsou would be wearing weren’t too big. Hisashi was staying to work on getting an engineering job in the city, or at least nearby. She was already a lawyer, but having the extra income would be good for their family.
Maybe they could finally move to an actual house, especially now that they had Shinsou. A yard would be nice for them too. Though maybe not the same neighborhood as the Bakugous.
The trip to the store was uneventful. Inko was honestly a bit surprised at how well-behaved the two were being. They both held one of her hands as they walked in through the automatic doors. Once inside she let them walk within her eyesight though.
Their first stop was to get sheets for Shinsou’s new bed, which would be the same size as Izuku’s, and then decorations. He needed at least a few things to make his side of the room his own. She was just lucky Izuku didn’t have enough hero merchandise to make it too hard yet. Maybe a poster of a hero would be good?
Izuku pulled the two of them to look at something every few minutes. Shinsou followed after him closely, which Inko found adorable. He didn’t pull her to look at anything himself, but he always seemed interested in what Izuku spotted. That ranged from books to an interesting plastic plant.
They did eventually reach where they needed to be. Inko let them wander the aisle while she watched. She wondered what color Shinsou liked.
A tug on her shirt brought her attention to her son. The green one. “Momma, can Toshi get space sheets?”
“Sure sweetie, did he find one he likes?”
“Uh huh.” Izuku grabbed her arm and pulled her down the aisle. “Come on! Wanna show you.”
Inko chuckled and let herself be tugged to where Shinsou was standing. A set of purple and blue sheets were cradles in his little arms. They looked like they were galaxy print, which Inko found fitting considering his hair and eyes were purple. It was a decent price too.
“Is that the one you want?”
Shinsou nodded, holding the package out to her. She put it in their cart and lead the two of them to the decoration aisles. Izuku almost immediately raced over to the All Might section, just as she expected. Shinsou followed, actually smiling.
Inko almost wanted to take out her phone and snap a picture. Whoever had hurt this adorable little boy would have hell to pay. She wasn’t well known in her field for nothing.
Inko grabbed a few things from the shelves and stuck them in the cart. The boys were excitedly chattering, mostly Izuku, about the different hero merchandise they saw. They made a stop in the toy aisles, where Inko discretely snuck in matching stuffed All Might and Sir Nighteye stuffies. The boys didn’t ask for many toys anyway. Though Izuku took the liberty of pointing out ones Shinsou wanted to her. A few were promptly put into their cart.
Last on their list were the groceries. Izuku always loved to help pick out what they got, and it turned into a game between him and Shinsou. Whoever could find the most things on Inko’s list won. It was amusing to watch.
Around an hour later and they were finally checking out. The two boys dutifully placed things on the checkout belt, even if they couldn’t reach sometimes. Inko made sure to get to the toys and things before they did though.
Soon enough they were carrying the bags out to the car. Izuku and Shinsou both insisted on carrying a bag. Inko snapped a picture of them and sent it to Hisashi.
Shinsou’s bed would arrive in a few days. For now they shared Izuku’s, which neither seemed to mind. It was adorable really. Inko found herself quickly growing attached to the little boy that had crashed into their lives. She had always wanted more kids, Hisashi did too, so Shinsou was like a blessing to them.
(Inko had no clue how many kids she was going to end up with a few years down the road, mostly due to Izuku)
The rest of the day was spent watching movies and drinking hot chocolate. Shinsou was enamored with the concept of marshmallows. Inko made a mental note to get more at the store, since they’d be out at this rate.
Hisashi got back a while later. The interview had gone well, and now he just needed to wait to hear back from the company. He gasped when he saw the kids watching Disney movies and raced off to change into comfy clothes. Inko walked back in five minutes later to see him curled on the couch under a blanket with one kid on each side. She snapped another picture, and joined in too.
Shinsou’s favorite turned out to be The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The two boys jumped around singing the songs, and hid under the blanket with Hisashi at the scary parts. Inko watched it all with a fond smile. These were her boys, she decided, all three of them. She would protect them.
And in that moment, Inko Midoriya couldn’t have been happier with her little family.
Notes:
In my house, shopping literally takes 2-3 hours. Depending on how many of my siblings go with my mom, where they go, and if it’s ONLY grocery shopping. Any other places and an hour or more is added. Anyone who’s been shopping with people under 10 can understand why I stay home to babysit a lot.
Next one should be out in a week! We get to see Mamamidoriya give people hell! Have a good day/night!
Chapter 5: Don’t Mess With Mama-Bear Inko and her Cubs
Summary:
Hitoshi learns he's staying, Hisashi is a Good Dad, and EraserMic is a tad bit oblivious while 5 year-olds are not
Notes:
Hello lovely people!
While I like the villain/vigilante/etc. Hisashi Midoriya, I LOVE goofball Hisashi that adores his family and is the type of dad to wear a neon tutu to a tea party for his five year-old.
I also have no idea how Japanese foster and adopt systems work. I am basing this on my family’s own experiences with the one our city uses (two of my siblings are adopted. I love them even if they’re annoying little buggers sometimes)
Hope you like the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Inko was on a warpath. Hisashi didn’t know whether to be scared or cheer her on. Probably the latter. He had pompoms somewhere, maybe he could use those.
His wife had gathered enough evidence against Shinsou’s foster-parents to fill a thick folder, and enough on all the ones before that to fill an entire binder. He didn’t know how she did it, and he might not want to. She had her ways. Some of which might be slightly less legal than others.
His wife was a badass. Hisashi loved her so much.
Shinsou had been living with them for a few days, and he already adored the kid. Hisashi absolutely loved kids. When he was little he had dreamed of having a big family, and that hadn’t really changed much. Shinsou was also the cutest little thing with his fluffy lilac hair and quiet voice that was slowly becoming louder.
Izuku loved his new brother. It made Hisashi feel all fuzzy when he saw the two of them playing. Shinsou’s favorite hero was an underground one called Eraserhead. Hisashi felt a bit bad he couldn’t get Shinsou any merchandise of his favorite hero, since none really existed. He had looked. A lot. The most that had popped up were forum threads on a person that people saw leaping over rooftops and liked to debate if they were a cryptid. Those were funny, but not what he needed.
There might also be a package arriving next week from an artist who commissioned custom print clothes and plushies, but that was unrelated. Completely unconnected in any way. Not like Hisashi had bought his two boys matching Eraserhead pajamas and stuffed toys. Nope, not him. Never.
It’s not like Inko would be mad anyway. He had seen her looking at the same thing.
The winter break would end soon, which meant the last semester of kindergarten for the boys. Not much would change for them actually. Shinsou’s foster-parents couldn’t legally do anything once Inko opened the case. As soon as she did they were, in the simplest wording possible, absolutely screwed .
Speaking of opening the case, he had to watch the boys so Inko could go to a meeting with her boss about it. Not that it was hard to watch them, the two were absolute angels. Maybe he could bake some cookies with them? How bad could that turn out?
Bad, was apparently the answer. The boys had been all for making cookies. Hisashi, however, had not foreseen the absolute mess the three of them would make in the kitchen.
He thought he could handle cookies, they were simple. The last time he had made them nothing went wrong. Adding two little kids to the mix apparently tripled the chance for having to spend an hour cleaning the kitchen. At least they helped a bit.
The kitchen was thankfully clean by the time the cookies were done. They were set on the stove to cool while Hisashi rinsed off the two boys. They had gotten coated in flour, and Hitoshi had somehow gotten chocolate chips in his hair. Hisashi also found a marshmallow in there? They hadn’t even been using those to bake??
Both kids were bouncing up and down while waiting for Hisashi to get them a cookie. The man chuckled, handing them one each. He was honestly impressed with how fast they disappeared.
Inko returned home to a clean kitchen and slightly messy cookies. Hisashi was just glad nothing had to be scraped off the ceiling this time.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hitoshi decided he liked Zu’s family. His mom was nice to him, and his dad was funny. They even got to make cookies! His favorite food was marshmallows though. He had never had them before, but he loved them now.
He got to sleep in Izuku’s bed until his own got there. When Zu’s mom told him he was getting his own bed he hadn’t really believed her. Then they went shopping and he got to choose whatever sheets he wanted! Hitoshi even found ones that were made of space ! Izuku’s mom said she liked them too.
She came back after they made cookies, which Hitoshi hadn’t done before either. They were delicious. Then Zu’s mom asked if she could talk with him, which confused Hitoshi. Speak with him? About what? He remembered that he hadn’t told her about his Quirk. It didn’t help his nerves.
Then, then she told him about the court case. He didn’t know what it meant, but she explained it to him. His foster-parents were getting in trouble for what they did, all of them. The bad ones, at least. All the people that had put a muzzle on him or didn’t let him talk.
He…Hitoshi didn’t really know how to react. He was happy that no one else would have to go through what he did. He was happy that the bad people were gonna get in trouble.
But he was also worried. Where was he going to go? Would they be just as bad? Mrs. Midoriya probably couldn’t stop every bad person in the world, and why would she? As soon as he was gone she wouldn’t be worrying about him.
His train of thought was stopped when she pulled him into a hug. It was warm. Hitoshi realized the only people to hug him had been Midoriyas. He clung to the woman’s shirt, only now realizing he was crying.
“It’s ok, Shinsou, it’s ok. Why are you crying?” Mrs. Midoriya said gently.
“D-don’t make me- make me l-leave. Please don’t, don’t m-make me leave. D-don’t wanna go.”
“Oh sweetie, it’s alright. I’m not making you leave, ok?”
“Don’t- Don’t wanna go. I don’t wanna leave Zu and Mr. Shi and you. Don’t m-make me go.”
“Shh, shh, it’s ok. We’re staying here, and you are too, alright? None of us are going anywhere without each other.”
“N-no leave?”
“I pinky promise, no leaving. We stick together, ok? No one left behind, you included.”
Hitoshi nodded, face still buried in Mrs. Midoriya’s shirt. No one left behind. It had a nice ring to it.
Mrs. Midoriya told him everything she was planning to do, even if he didn’t understand most of it. There were names he recognized and words he knew.
He understood something very well though. The Midoriyas wanted to adopt him. They wanted to keep him.
A sinking pit opened in his stomach. They…they didn’t know his Quirk. The nice family didn’t know he had a villain’s Quirk. They- they deserved to know. Might as well get it over with.
“M-my Quirk. It, it, it’s-“
“Oh, your Quirk?” Mrs. Midoriya laughed, surprising Hitoshi. “You wouldn’t believe how many times Izuku has told us about how amazing it is. For a while we thought there was a new hero, but then he told us it was his friend. He told me you wanted to be a hero too, right?”
“Y-yes, but, but-“
“Sweetie, it’s ok,” she said kindly, kneeling on the floor again. “A Quirk isn’t a villain’s unless the person is one. Your Quirk can be used for whatever you want it to.”
Hitoshi stood there in shock. He had never been told that by anyone but Zu. Definitely not by any adults. And oh, he was crying again. Maybe he really did belong in the Midoriya family.
The thought made him smile.
~~~~~~~~~~
Inko was a tad bit overwhelmed. She had never thought that the foster and adoption process would involve so much homework . Then again, she also had the court paperwork and more research into Shinsou’s past foster families to do. It was a lot. She had never been so thankful for Hisashi being so willing to play with the boys. They would go back to school soon, but until then they were home 24/7.
She had put together a solid case. A thick binder was filled to the brim with charges and evidence against every horrible foster family Shinsou had ever had.
Inko would rather not go into the specifics of exactly how she had gotten all of this information. If the court asked, she did have legitimate methods that could explain it. Not to say those were the methods she used, but they were different methods nonetheless.
What threw her for a loop was that the two of them had to attend classes. Only three, but they were each four hours long. Their old babysitter was Mitsuki, which was no longer an option for obvious reason. That left…well, two people really.
Their neighbors were a nice young man who constantly looked like he needed a nap and his roommate who was the personification of an exclamation point painted yellow. They had taken a liking to Izuku. Shinsou too, the few times they had seen him. The blonde one (Yamada was his name, she remembered) had offered to babysit if she ever needed it. Hopefully they would still be ok with it.
One trip down the hall later and they had a babysitter. Two, actually. The scruffy one, Aizawa, answered the door. His roommate had bounced up as soon as she mentioned the boys, readily agreeing to babysit once he learned it was on his day off. It took a weigh off Inko’s mind.
The babysitters arrived right on time when they needed to. The boys, excluding Hisashi, were playing heroes in the other room. They were playing as All Might and Eraserhead this time. Those were their favorites, so it was what they played as the most often.
“The boys will need lunch, but we should be back by dinner. They can play by themselves but might want you to join. The game is usually heroes or hide-and-seek. Feel free to use the TV. Oh! And as few marshmallows as you can for Shinsou. Goodness knows if he’s already gotten some today.”
“Ok! Have a good time Mrs. Midoriya!”
Inko left feeling like her boys were in good hands. Now they just had to get through these classes.
~~~~~~~~~~
Izuku liked their neighbors. Mr. Yamada was bright and happy, just like him! Mr. Aizawa was nice, even if he looked a bit grumpy. Hitoshi liked Mr. Aizawa because he was quieter.
Him and Hitoshi were playing heroes when Momma and Dad left. They were rescuing their stuffed animals from villains. Izuku was All Might and Toshi was Eraserhead, their favorite heroes! He hoped Mr. Yamada and Mr. Aizawa liked their costumes.
The two came barreling down the hallway with all the grace of baby giraffes. They didn’t trip this time though! Mr. Yamada and Mr. Aizawa were sitting on the couch, but turned to look at the two boys when they came crashing in.
Mr. Yamada made a wheezing sound. Izuku and Toshi immediately ran closer and looked over the back of the couch.
“Mr. Yamada, you ok?” Izuku asked worriedly.
“I’m” -wheeze- “I’m fine, listeners.”
“Hizashi, stop,” Mr. Aizawa grumbled, hiding his face in the big scarf they always saw him wearing.
“But they’re” -wheeze- “dressed as Eraserhead! ”
“You know Eraserhead?!” Toshi exclaimed. Izuku was proud, it was the first time had spoken to a stranger that wasn’t a Midoriya.
“Yeah! He’s a super cool hero, isn’t he?”
“Yes! Yes! Favorite hero!”
Mr. Aizawa pulled his obscenely long scarf up to wrap around his whole face. Izuku was confused and mildly worried for the man, but dismissed it in favor of watching his new brother and Mr. Yamada talk about Eraserhead.
“And he jump like whoosh ! And then fly! And then- and then he kick the bad guy!”
“Yes he does, little listener! You know my favorite part about Eraserhead?”
“ Hizashi ,” Mr. Aizawa growled in a warning tone. Izuku look at him curiously.
“What! I was going to say how he can take down villains with his scarf , Shouta . And didn’t you hear? He jump like whoosh , isn’t that so cool Sho?”
“You like him too, right Mr. Aizawa?” Izuku asked, tilting his head like a puppy. Momma said it made him more persuasive.
“Uh, yeah, I like him too.” Then Mr. Aizawa smirked. “But you know who I like better?”
“Who?”
“Present Mic.”
“Oh! Oh! I like Mic! He cool too!” Hitoshi cheered. “Zu, Mic clothes! Mic clothes!”
Izuku gasped dramatically, and raced back to their room with Toshi on his heels. The two adults looked between one another, very confused.
The two ran in a minute later. Hitoshi still had on his Eraserhead costume, but Izuku wasn’t All Might anymore. Now he was dressed as Present Mic. Complete with the leather jacket, sunglasses, and speaker on his neck.
“Tada!” The two chorused.
Both Mr. Yamada and Mr. Aizawa promptly fell off the couch, much to the utter confusion of the two kindergarteners.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Bye boys! Be good for Mr. Yamada and Mr. Aizawa!” Momma yelled before closing the door.
Izuku was happy their babysitters were coming back again. The last time they had played heroes a lot, which was really fun! Even if Mr. Yamada and Mr. Aizawa kept sounding like dying cats whenever they saw him or Toshi in their hero costumes. Dad did the same thing sometimes, and he always said it was just because they were really cute, so Izuku figured their babysitters thought the same.
Today, they were going to make cupcakes! Mr. Yamada really liked American food, and Mr. Aizawa apparently burned most things, so Mr. Yamada was helping them make treats! Izuku was so excited!
Toshi kept asking if they could put marshmallows on them. When Mr. Yamada said yes, he lit up brighter than the sun. Mr. Aizawa asked if they could put jelly on them. Mr. Yamada stared at him disapprovingly. Izuku giggled, and snuck a few more chocolate chips.
“Alrighty little listeners! Next is the flour!”
“How many?” Toshi asked, holding the measuring cup.
“3 many.”
Hitoshi poured in three cups of flour with a very serious face. Izuku carried over the milk from the fridge Mr. Yamada said to get.
“Milk! How much milk!” Izuku scrambled up onto the chair stationed by the counter.
“We need one cup of milk, little listener!”
Mr. Yamada poured the milk, but Izuku put it in the bowl.
They followed that pattern until the cupcakes were in the oven. The frosting was easy, even if Mr. Aizawa kept trying to put different stuff in it. Toshi was told marshmallows came after the frosting, and the two of them were given the job of keeping it safe from Mr. Aizawa. Their job was being taken very seriously.
They decorated the cupcakes once they cooled, after Mr. Yamada explained why they had to wait (It was so the frosting didn’t melt. Izuku was proud of remembering). Marshmallows were added to most of them. Izuku looked at Mr. Aizawa weird when he added what looked like applesauce on top of his.
All in all, that day was fun. Izuku hoped they came back for the last class Momma and Dad had to take.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hitoshi was so excited! Mr. Aizawa and Mr. Yamada were bringing them to the park! He didn’t really know how to feel about the woods next to the park. On one hand, it was where he had almost frozen after his foster-siblings chased him out. But on the other, it was when he found his family. Mr. Shi and Mrs. Ink and Zu were a better family than he could have ever asked for.
The first thing they did was ask Mr. Yamada and Mr. Aizawa to push them on the swings. The adults happily agreed, and not a minute later the two boys were shrieking with delight at going so high.
It took awhile for them to get tired of flinging themselves off the swings, but once they did their babysitters had a bit of trouble keeping up. Izuku and Hitoshi loved playing tag at the park. That meant the two adults were fighting a losing battle of keeping the two in sight. Mr. Aizawa disappeared at one point, and they found him sleeping in a tree. Hitoshi found it funny, especially when Mr. Yamada tried to get him down.
Hitoshi eventually got a bit tired of running around. He retreated to the sandbox while Mr. Yamada pushed Zu on the swings again. Mr. Aizawa sat with him to build a sand volcano.
“Mr. Aizawa,” Hitoshi spoke up. He was still getting used to that, “Are Mrs. Ink and Mr. Shi at school to adopt me?”
Mr. Aizawa chuckled, shoveling more sand onto the volcano. “Yes, I suppose they are. It’s a very short school.”
“Do all mommys and daddys have to take school?”
“No, not usually. Mine didn’t.”
“My old foster-parents should take school. They were mean.”
Hitoshi didn’t notice when Mr. Aizawa looked more interested, but worried. “Did they hurt you?”
“Yeah, that why Mr. Shi and Mrs. Ink adoptin’ me. Zu my first friend, now he’s my brother. I like having a brother.” Hitoshi looked up at Mr. Aizawa, tilting his head much like a cat would. “Is Mr. Yama like that for you, Mr. Zawa?”
Mr. Aizawa momentarily choked on air. “N-no, Hizashi is definitely not my brother.”
“What’s he then? He look at you like Mr. Shi looks at Mrs. Ink.”
“He…does what?”
“Look at you like Mr. Shi looks at Mrs. Ink,” Hitoshi repeated, adding sticks to his volcano. “Like he love you a big lot. Mr. Shi said it was like Mrs. Ink was moon, and she said he like sun. Zu like Earth, and me like Neptune! ‘Cause of my hair!”
“Uh, y-yeah, kid. Yeah, you’re like Neptune.”
Hitoshi failed to notice that his babysitter was now bright red.
Notes:
I have no idea how to cook cupcakes and didn’t want to look up a recipe. I burn most things. Not even kidding, I once burnt soup. Don’t trust my cooking skills if it includes a stove or an oven.
Have a good day/night :D!!
Chapter 6: Ohana Means Family
Summary:
And family means no one's left behind
Notes:
Hello spectacular people!
So this story has already reached 2,500 Hits and over 300 Kudos...you guys. Guys I love you all. This was literally my DREAM as a kid, having my stories read and people actually liking it. So thank you all so much.
Also, did you guys see that we found out Hawks’ name!!? It’s Keigo Takami, which is very different from what I had planned. The name I made up was Sora Kaze (Sky Wind I think), but I like both! I can't wait to write him
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Going back to school was…normal, actually. The only difference was that Izuku and Hitoshi now arrived and left together. The teachers were alerted of the change. No one called them out or bullied them. The two ate beneath the same tree.
Not much was different, but at the same time, everything felt that way. Hitoshi was happy . He was getting better at letting people help and he’d never gotten more sleep than he did now. For once, life was looking up for him.
Everyone noticed one difference though: Hitoshi was speaking now. Not to people, exactly, but he was talking. Students listened to him muttering things in the halls. Teachers heard him working on math problems out loud, albeit quietly. It unnerved a few of them. He knew that, but he didn’t stop.
Zu chased away anyone that tried to be mean to him. It was nice having someone that wanted to protect him. Hitoshi was too happy to pay attention to them anyway. Mrs. Ink was filing (whatever that meant) to foster then adopt him. It meant they were going to go get his things today! His pictures of Mama and Papa and Eraserhead were hopefully still hidden in his pillowcase. The other things (the more important things) he had were hidden in the backpack under a loose board in the closet. No one could find it there.
They left school and headed straight home today. Izuku was going to stay home with Mr. Shi, so it was just Hitoshi and Mrs. Ink going.
Hitoshi clung to her hand when they got out of the car. The house hadn’t changed, not physically at least. It felt…colder, now. He had been at the Midoriya’s house, he knew what a normal family was supposed to be like now. It took him seeing true kindness to realize just how bad his previous foster-parents had been, and just how warm his new family was.
He hid behind Mrs. Ink’s legs when she knocked on the door. It was flung open a second later, making Hitoshi flinch. He didn’t need to look up to recognize his foster-father’s voice.
“Who’re you,” he growled.
“I am Inko Midoriya, a pleasure to meet you. I’m here to collect Shinsou’s things.”
“Eh? The brainwash brat?”
“No, Hitoshi Shinsou, a lovely little boy who I am adopting. May we come in to collect his things?”
The man grunted, moving aside. “Don’t know how much ya gonna find left. Knock yourself out, lady.”
Hitoshi stuck as close to Mrs. Ink as he could. He guided her to his room, avoiding the looks from his former foster-siblings. The room looked just the same as he had left it. Mrs. Ink went to the dresser, but Hitoshi knew she wouldn’t find much. He never had a lot to begin with, even if they hadn’t already thrown out his clothes.
He made a B-line for his pillow. It didn’t look like it had been moved thankfully, but he wouldn’t know until he checked.
Hitoshi let out the breath he’d been holding when he pulled out the two pictures. They were untouched by anything other than time. It was the happiest he had been all day.
“Are those your parents?” Mrs. Ink asked quietly.
“Mama and Papa, and Eraserhead.”
“Do you want to put them in the bag, or do you want to carry them?”
“Backpack. Let me get.”
He retrieved the backpack without any problems either. His foster-brother, the oldest one, poked his head in. Probably to try and say something mean to Hitoshi, but Mrs. Ink made him leave. They got the backpack from under the closet floor, which Hitoshi thinks surprised Mrs. Ink.
They were done before long. Hitoshi had his backpack, what few clothes were left, and his pictures. He was happy. Mrs. Ink didn’t look happy, but hardly anyone was when they came into this house. Today, Hitoshi was the exception.
It was nerve wracking, but he did it. The door closed to his old house with a note of finality. He wasn’t going back there, no matter what anyone said. Especially if Mrs. Ink was on his side.
Hitoshi was decently sure that she was the reason no one in the house had tried to talk to them either. Her glares were scary.
They returned home happily. Hitoshi carefully took the bag and raced to Izuku and his room. He wanted to show Zu what his parents had looked like. It would be the first time he trusted someone enough to show them his precious things.
The pictures were put in frames and set on the dresser. Hitoshi knew they were safe there. He liked being able to see them without worrying about them being destroyed.
For the first time since his parents had died, Hitoshi felt like he had a real family.
~~~~~
There was not a dry eye in the courtroom the day Hitoshi Shinsou was officially adopted. It had been hard. The foster system had put up a fight, but Inko Midoriya prevailed. She held her head high, tears dripping down her cheeks, when her new son was announced to finally be theirs.
They had won.
(In the future, her nickname became Mother Lawyer. Anyone who didn’t know why was directed to the many, many pictures of her family, hardly any of which looked like her, that sat proudly on her desk)
Hisashi Midoriya had started sobbing and gathered his little family, now legally bigger by one, and wrapped them all in a hug. He was trying really hard to not accidentally cough out soot. Getting kicked out of a courthouse would not look good.
He had a feeling they might be back, but he had no idea what for. A weird feeling he dismissed as excitement at finally adopting Shinsou.
(They would, in fact, be back soon)
Izuku Midoriya squealed and laughed and cried when his best friend officially became his brother. His mouth moved a mile a minute, half of it nonsense. He squeezed his new brother with all the strength a five year-old could muster.
He had a brother now . It was one of the best things to ever happen to him. Izuku briefly wondered if he would ever have any more siblings.
(He most definitely would)
When the gavel hit the stand, Hitoshi Shinsou almost immediately started crying. A sign he was meant for this family, maybe. The thought made him smile even more than he already was. Tears streaming from his eyes, but he was smiling just as bright as Zu.
He was just so happy . He had a family, a real life family. It was almost too much to believe.
But it was real. It was real and he now had two parents and a brother. He kept his last name, since it was one of the last things left from his late parents. He was wrapped in a massive hug hardly five second after the judge spoke. Hitoshi smiled, and melted into his new family.
Bonus :
“Shinsou, what’s that in your bag?”
Hitoshi looked up from the floor to see his teacher, Mrs. Toko, standing near him. It was recess time, and he really wanted to go see Zu. Especially considering this was their first school day together as official brothers.
“In my bag?” He asked, scrunching his eyebrows. Then he remembered just what Mrs. Ink let him bring to school today.
Hitoshi smiled brightly, staring up at his mildly shocked teacher. “Marshmallows!”
“…Marshmallows.”
“Yeah! My new momma let me bring them! Zu wanted to share, so I’ma go see him. Bye-bye Mrs. Toko!”
His teacher watched him race out the door. Wondering what in the world had just happened.
Notes:
Next chapter: New children! Smart Izuku! And things almost get set on fire!
Chapter 7: Runaways
Summary:
More children! Izuku is smart! I love this family
Notes:
Hello my lovely readers!
Sorry this is later than usual! This week has been busy for me. But here's the chapter! I'm really excited for these next few ones :DAlso! So I know that Inko’s Quirk is small object attraction, but I head canon that it works on fire too. Fire’s a plasma (I think) so I have no idea how in the world the physics would work with that, but we’re going with it anyway. It makes the narrative for the prequel better too :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Toshi had been with them for almost five months now. His side of the room was slowly amassing more and more knick-knacks that he had found. Izuku was happy to help him decorate with stickers and posters too. They even had glowing stars on their ceiling now!
Both of them absolutely adored it. Hitoshi didn’t have a lot of things to begin with, but that number was steadily growing. Izuku was ecstatic about helping with it.
He fit right in with them, like he had belonged there all along. Momma and Dad started calling him Hitoshi once he said it was ok. Toshi hadn’t called them mom or dad yet, but that was ok. He was still Izuku’s brother, and that’s all that mattered.
Mr. Yamada and Mr. Aizawa moved out a while ago. Izuku and Hitoshi gave them cards to say goodbye. They would miss their favorite babysitters.
It was May now, and both were getting really excited. Both of their birthdays would be here soon! They just had to wait through June and then half of July and then they’d both be six!
While they did like the rain, summer also meant more time to play outside. The two of them missed running outside without getting caked in mud.
Rain also meant they got to have soup for dinner! Izuku liked katsudon more, but soup was good too. Toshi liked soup. He was adamant marshmallows were still better though.
They had to go to the store to get things for the soup though. It was raining again, but that was ok. Izuku and Toshi could race and jump in puddles. Momma stayed back so she didn’t get splashed.
The two boys were in raincoats (both All Might themed) while Momma had an umbrella. Dad had the car for his new job, so that meant they had to walk to the store nearby. Izuku was just happy to be outside honestly.
Though they did have to take a different route than usual. There had been a villain attack a few days before that had damaged the street. It wasn’t a big deal, a minor inconvenience at best. Izuku and Hitoshi had fun looking at all the new things anyway.
The trip there was full of jumping and singing in the rain. Once inside Momma guided them to what they needed. They stopped in the toys section, as all little kids are apt to do. Everything was paid for like normal. They double checked the list before they walked back out into the rain. There was nothing unusual.
So why did Izuku feel like something was off?
They walked out of the store, Izuku still feeling like something was wrong. Toshi and him got to carry some of the bags and be helpful. The rain was still falling steadily onto the concrete. It was peaceful, as far as most people were concerned.
Izuku pattered along with the rain. They passed more stores and alleys.
Then he heard a sound. Not notable in itself, just a harsh cough. People were bound to get sick in this weather. Izuku heard people in his class sniffling for weeks now.
But Izuku saw something else too. A flash of something lit up the shadows in one of the alleyways. It was blue, like the fire that came out of the stove, but a lot brighter. Not naturally caused.
He stopped, staring down the alley it had come from. Momma and Toshi glanced back after a minute, but he didn’t really notice. Too focused on listening and watching.
Someone coughed again, and the blue light followed. Izuku didn’t hesitate to drop his bag and race down the alley. He knew Momma said not to do that, but he couldn’t ignore it if someone was in trouble! Heroes didn’t do that, so he wouldn’t either.
Izuku skidded around a corner. The light, whenever it actually appeared, was brighter now. He heard Momma calling him, but he kept running. Someone needed help. Izuku didn’t know how he knew that, just that he knew.
The alley ended abruptly. There were three brick walls, and then the entrance Izuku had just ran in from. He tripped over his own feet before coming to a stop. When he finally looked up, he saw that he had been right.
Tucked into the very back of the alley, where there was the least rain, were four people. Three boys and a girl, all but one of them looked older than Izuku. And Izuku…he recognized them.
It was the missing Todoroki children. The ones he’d seen on the news.
One of them coughed, and blue flames erupted from his arms and throat like he was breathing fire. Dad did almost the same thing when he was sick. Izuku could feel the fire’s heat, even from where he was standing.
“Are you ok?” Izuku asked, lacking much of a filter due to being five, even if he was very smart for his age.
The four jumped, spinning to face him. Well, three of them did. The sick one stayed where he was, laying still on tattered and singed blankets. He lifted his head to look at Izuku though, and his bright blue eyes widened when he saw him.
The oldest, at least they looked like it to Izuku, stepped in front of her brothers. She was shaking.
“Who are you,” she demanded calmly.
“I’m Izuku! Who are you?”
The girl wavered, glancing back at her brothers. It was then that Momma and Toshi ran in behind Izuku. He could see the four tense again.
“Oh, hello there,” Momma said, putting a protective hand on Izuku’s shoulder. Toshi was hiding behind her.
Izuku saw the exact moment when she realized who they were too. The girl took a step back, an arm out in front of her brothers. Izuku wished he knew their names.
The sick boy slowly pushed himself to his feet. His siblings didn’t notice him until he was pushing past them. The two brothers tried to tug him back, but it didn’t work. Izuku watched him closely.
He could see burns when the boy stood up. They were an angry red that laced up his arms. Not quit bad enough to need skin grafts, but close. It would probably scar a bit. He was swaying on uneven legs as he walked forward. Momma looked a lot more determined now.
The boy’s hand lit up a wavering blue. The flames hovered in the air above his skin.
“You will leave, and forget you saw us,” he croaked, managing to put himself between his family and Izuku’s. The boy coughed harshly, and the fire extinguished.
“You’re sick,” Momma said quietly, taking a step closer.
“ Leave .”
Izuku looked between his mom and the Todorokis. Toshi was hanging back, still shy of people. No one else was moving.
So Izuku walked forward with a determined expression on his little face. No one moved an inch as he padded forward. The closest Todoroki, the one that was sick, stumbled back a step as Izuku got closer.
“Stay back.”
“Izuku, what are you doing,” Momma asked quietly.
He didn’t take his eyes off the Todorokis. Izuku stopped a few paces from the oldest, staring up at his blue eyes with wide green ones. His outstretched hand wavered.
Before anyone in the alley knew what was happening, Izuku reached forward. The Todoroki boy didn’t move, letting Izuku snatch his hand from the air. No fire appeared.
Izuku looked at the hand he now held. It was burned, and way bigger than his. It was scarred. Even at five, Izuku understood these weren’t normal scars. These weren’t all accidental.
“He hurt you, didn’t he,” Izuku said quietly. He got no answer, but he wasn’t expecting one. “You’re running from him.”
“You’re…” his voice faded for a moment, already hoarse and quiet as it was. “You’re a smart kid.”
“Momma says I am. She also says it’s not smart to be outside when I’m sick.”
The eldest Todoroki croaked a laugh. “And where would you suggest we go, kid?”
Green met blue again. Izuku was determined, and he wasn’t about to take no for an answer. The Todorokis suddenly felt like something inevitable was settling over them. Izuku turned to his mom, still holding the oldest Todoroki’s hand.
“Momma, can we take them home with us?”
The alleyway was silent. None of the Todorokis dared to say a word. Izuku waited for an answer while Toshi peaked out at the new people. Momma looked contemplative.
Then the boy coughed again, jerking himself away from Izuku to contain the flames he was choking on. He wheezed, and began falling. Izuku was in no way big enough to catch a teenager. Not to say he wouldn’t try to, but he would get squished in the process.
Momma lunged forward and caught him before he hit the ground. She held him upright, and he leaned on her heavily. Izuku glanced over and saw the other Todorokis tense, like Momma was going to hurt their oldest brother.
“Alright then, come along. An alley is no place for children, let alone sick ones.”
All four Todorokis jolted. Toshi walked towards them now, giving them a shaky smile. He gently took the girl Todoroki’s hand, pulling her forward a bit. Their other two brothers followed cautiously.
“Zu adopted-ed me too. You’re sister now,” Hitoshi declared with utter confidence. “What’s your name?”
“Uh, m-my name?” The girl glanced to her brother, still being held carefully by Inko. He nodded, so small Izuku almost missed it. “Fuyumi. My- my name is Fuyumi.”
Toshi nodded, smiling at her now. He looked to the other two brothers then, tilting his head like a curious kitten. “What your names?”
“I’m Natsuo!” The second smallest exclaimed, happy despite what was happening. “And our big brother is Touya!”
“Shouto.”
Izuku and Hitoshi both nodded in satisfaction, happy to know the Todoroki’s names. Toshi didn’t let go of Fuyumi’s hand though.
“My name is Inko Midoriya. These are my sons Izuku and Hitoshi. As nice as it is knowing your names, we really should get Touya some help.”
“No hospitals,” Touya rasped, barely standing by himself.
“No hospitals,” Fuyumi repeated firmly, loud enough so everyone else could actually hear it. “I don’t care how else you help him, but no hospitals.”
“Alright then, no hospitals. Are you alright with coming to our apartment? It isn’t too far.”
“If…if it can help Touya.”
“Home! Home!” Hitoshi crowed happily. “Shi be happy.”
“Who’s Shi?” Natsuo asked curiously.
“Shi my new dad. He nice and light food on fire when he try to cook.”
“Dad like a dragon,” Izuku added, grabbing Natsuo and Shouto’s hands and pulling them towards the alley entrance. “He lights the fireplace and he’s warm. No cooking though. He lights the towels on fire.”
That managed to make the three laugh, an in turn made Izuku smile even brighter. The sun might as well not have been behind clouds. Touya didn’t laugh, but Izuku didn’t expect him to. Not when he was currently wheezing as Momma scooped him up. She held him like she did with Toshi and him when they had to be carried to bed.
Izuku and Hitoshi distracted the three siblings on their way home. The rain had mostly dissipated by the time they left the alley, so they didn’t worry much about getting soaked. Touya kept coughing and accidentally setting his arms on fire. Izuku wasn’t worried though, Momma was good at dealing with fire. Touya’s clothes would probably be singed though.
They made it home quicker than they usually did. Probably because Izuku and Hitoshi weren’t stopping every few minutes to look at something. They were both carrying grocery bags too, since Momma couldn’t, so they had their hands full. Izuku held Shouto’s hand and Toshi hadn’t let go of Fuyumi’s. Natsuo held Fuyumi’s other hand, and entertained them with jokes along their way.
Izuku couldn’t help but think that they were already acting sort of like a family.
~~~~~
Fuyumi was…worried. Extremely so. Touya was sick, and he wasn’t getting better. So far Natsuo and Shouto had managed to avoid it, but Fuyumi could feel herself coming down with whatever Touya had. She remembered reading somewhere about twins always being sick at the same time. It wasn’t until now that she considered whether it might be true or not.
They had taken shelter in a dead-end alleyway. No one would go down there willingly, so they’d be safe. The three walls prevented most of the rain from getting in too. Touya’s coughs echoed, but they could only hope no one noticed. In this world, they probably wouldn’t.
Then a little boy appeared. A tiny little thing with a fluffy bush for hair and massive green eyes. He looked like the personification of innocent and friendly. He asked if they were ok.
Fuyumi wanted to be nice to the kid, she really did, but where a little kid was parents usually followed. She needed to get him away before that happened.
Too late, she thought as a woman who was obviously his mother ran over. Another little boy, with purple hair this time, was hiding behind her.
They were doomed. Almost three weeks of successfully hiding from Endeavor only to be dragged back. Touya was in no shape to fight. Natsuo and Shouto were too young, and Fuyumi’s Quirk wasn’t good for much in this situation. Especially in the rain. Snow would just melt with it.
Touya tried to defend them. Tried to intimidate the woman and children into leaving. It didn’t work.
Then…then the little green kid walked up to Touya without a trace of fear. Despite seeing his hand on fire not a minute earlier. He…he knew about Endeavor. Or guessed. Fuyumi didn’t know which was worse. This tiny little child had just dismantled every defense Touya and Fuyumi had with a few sentences.
The purple-haired kid came and grabbed Fuyumi’s hand after Touya collapsed. They went with the woman and the two children. She listened to them when they protested against hospitals. Hospitals meant calling emergency contacts, and that meant being found. They couldn’t be found. Not after everything. All they needed was Touya to get better then they’d be gone again…no matter what the two children said. Fuyumi couldn’t afford to get her hopes up. Not when they had come crashing down so many times before.
They arrived at a small apartment complex after a few minutes of walking. Natsuo and Shouto seemed to like the two little boys that chattered excitedly the whole way. Fuyumi…found her walls start to crumble. Just a few cracks and fractures, but it was enough to shake her. She couldn’t hope. She wouldn’t. Too much could be broken if she did.
The woman (Inko Midoriya, that was her name) put Touya on her couch and went to get something in another room. Her two sons dragged Shouto and Natsuo, and by extension Fuyumi, to the kitchen table, then ran off to get things to play with.
Fuyumi took the opportunity to look around the apartment. It was small, but homey. The door stayed unlocked. Something that had Fuyumi was wondering whether it was intentional or not.
The two boys, Izuku and Hitoshi she remembered, came back in with armfuls of things. Coloring books, crayons, stuffed toys, action figures, puzzles, and a few other random things. Shouto just stared at it. He hadn’t been allowed to play with a lot of these things. Fuyumi was happy he had the opportunity to now, it made running worth it.
Natsuo immediately dove for the crayons and paper. He paused to make sure it was ok he used them first. Fuyumi swore Izuku’s smile was brighter than the sun itself.
Shouto gingerly reached into the pile and pulled out an All Might doll. It looked soft, and he held it like it was the most fragile thing in the world. Fuyumi glanced over the pile, and didn’t find anything Endeavor. Huh, guess the kid really was smart.
“Do you wanna color too, Yumi?” Natsuo asked happily. He had already drawn grass over the bottom of his page.
“Yeah, yeah I’ll color too. Pass some paper.”
They would just have to see how all this turned out. For now, Fuyumi would hold her family together. Just like she always did.
Notes:
I hope you enjoyed the chapter! More Todo Children adventures in the next few chapters :D And my favorite bird boy gets introduced soon too! (I still can't believe we got a name as soon as I was planning to introduce him with a fake one I made. At least I don't have to go in and change it!)
Chapter 8: Learning to Heal
Summary:
Touya is sick, Fuyumi is trying to keep up crumbling walls, and Hisashi realized his phone died a bit too late
Notes:
Hello my beautiful readers!
I am the Fluff-guardian, guardian of fluff! Angst quivers before her!
*ahem*
Anyway, I don’t know how good I am at developing romance, but I know I’m good at established couples being adorable. Have some Hisashi and Inko cuteness.
Also, I know next to nothing about Japanese food. I know katsudon is some sort of pork-bowl thing, sake can be alcoholic (?), and soba is like a cold pasta thing with sauce. I sorta just substituted american food if I could, like breakfast waffles in a toaster. My excuse is that Hisashi was in America and likes their food
ALSO this story has reached 100 Bookmarks, almost 500 Kudos, and nearly 4,000 Hits. Just, THANK YOU! Thank you so, so much. I love all of you (also make sure to check the end notes :D)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hisashi came home, and immediately did a double take.
There was a redheaded teen asleep on the couch, and three children he didn’t know playing in the kitchen with his sons. One girl and two more boys. All of them had some variant of white or red hair. He watched as the asleep redhead coughed, and one of his hands flickered with blue fire.
In short, Hisashi was extremely confused . He sorta just…stood in the doorway. None of the new kids noticed him. Izuku did though, which caused Hitoshi to notice, and then the other three children to finally look up.
“Dad! You’re home!” Izuku cheered, scrambling off his chair to run over. Hisashi couldn’t help but smile.
“Shi! Shi!”
“Hey there Beansprout and Mr. Blueberry,” he laughed, kneeling down to catch them in a hug. “I see we have some friends over. Where’s Momma?”
“Momma’s putting away the bandages.”
“Ink fix his owies.”
“Alrighty then. Why don’t you two go play, and I’ll be back in a minute.”
Hisashi kept smiling as he watched all five kids continue whatever game they had been playing. After a moment he went to find Inko. Maybe ask for an explanation as to why they now had four more kids. He was sure he would have remembered if…oh.
Right. His phone was dead and had been for most of the day. Inko had probably tried to call and warn him. Yeah, that was very much his fault.
A look in their bathroom showed that, yes, Inko was putting away the first-aid kit they kept under the sink. He took a moment to A: think of what to say to apologize for his phone being dead, B: ask what happened, and C: admire how beautiful his wife was.
“I’m home,” he said quietly, just loud enough to catch Inko’s attention.
She looked up sharply, but smiled at him all the same. “I’m guessing your phone died again?”
“Y-yeah, I am so sorry, Inko. Guess I really should have charged it last night.” Inko laughed, and just like that Hisashi was grinning again.
“No kidding, Hisashi. Come on, I’ll explain what happened before the kids come looking for us.”
“That’d be nice, yes. Starting with why the one asleep on our couch coughed and lit his hand on fire?”
Inko snorted, and pecked him on the cheek. “You’re a bit clueless sometimes, love.”
“Then I’m lucky you love me.”
“That I do. Now, explanation before the door gets knocked off the hinges by our sons.”
Hisashi laughed, listening as the tale unfolded. His smile slipped away within the first minute. Inko explained everything quickly and precisely, just as she did when she was lawyering. The story was…unsettling. And that was sugarcoating it.
At the end of it, Hisashi couldn’t help but wonder if Inko would let him either burn down a building, or adopt four more kids. Knowing his wife, she already had plans for both.
~~~~~~~~~~
Fuyumi watched the new man closely. His Quirk was apparently fire breathing, but he acted nothing like their father. This man was all smiles and laughter and jokes. It was…different. Definitely not something she was used to, but she took it in stride.
Touya was passed out on their couch, coughing every once in a while. Mrs. Midoriya had treated and wrapped all his burns and gave him medicine. Fuyumi would have questioned why the woman was being so nice, but then Fuyumi talked more with her sons. Izuku and Hitoshi were like sunshine incarnate and so, so very kind. Maybe- maybe that was just how this family was. Either way, Touya was getting treated, so everything would be ok for now.
Natsuo loved playing heroes with Izuku and Hitoshi. Shouto did too, but he wasn’t as vocal about it. He was still way to quiet for a kid his age, and meeting the two brothers just confirmed it. Fuyumi had to admit though, she hadn’t seen Shouto smile like that since…since before Mother went away.
Fuyumi just watched for the most part. Izuku and Hitoshi enthusiastically told the three of them about a hero named Eraserhead. Their family was generally wary of heroes, but the way they were explaining the man made it sound…nice. Certainly nicer than Father.
There were a few things that Fuyumi had thought were absolute. They were rules that had never been broken in her fourteen years of life. It was almost ridiculous how many of those the Midoriya family had already undermined.
Izuku and Hitoshi gave a very enthusiastic demonstration of Eraserhead’s capture weapon. Their version was a fuzzy scarf made of yarn that could probably stretch all the way across the room. It was adorable though, and her brothers were laughing . She hadn’t heard them laugh in a long, long time.
And Fuyumi…she found another wall around her heart cracking.
Mrs. Midoriya made sure Touya was comfortable before checking on the rest of them. She stood next to Fuyumi, watching the other four. Mr. Midoriya was calling someone in the other room. Right now, Natsuo and Shouto were smiling and chasing the squealing Midoriya brothers around the kitchen and sitting room. The massive gray scarf was wrapped around Hitoshi’s shoulders now.
“How old are your brothers?” Mrs. Midoriya asked, grabbing Fuyumi’s attention.
Fuyumi hesitated a second, but answered quietly. “Shouto is six, Natsuo is ten, and Touya and me are both fourteen.”
“Twins?”
“Yes. We’re sort of like yin and yang, I guess. His fire is too hot for him, and my ice too cold for me. That’s why he has those burns.”
“Hm, and your other brothers? I don’t mean to pry, I just want to make sure they don’t light anything on fire.”
“Um, Natsuo’s Quirk is…weird. He can create water from around his hands, but if he tries hard enough he can create ice crystals. They explode sometimes though. And Shouto…Shouto has both ice and- and fire.”
“That’s an interesting Quirk,” Mrs. Midoriya hummed. “Mine is only small object attraction. My husband has fire breathing, as my sons told you already.”
Mrs. Midoriya laughed, and Fuyumi smiled to herself. A thought occurred to her, but…
“You can ask me anything, you know,” Mrs. Midoriya told her softly. Just like- like Mother used to.
“Wh-what are your- your sons’ Quirks, if you don’t mind me asking.”
“Hitoshi’s is brainwashing.” Fuyumi blinked, but didn’t react otherwise. “It’s not the most powerful yet, considering he’s only five. We adopted him from an abusive situation.”
“Oh.”
“And Izuku, he has an analysis Quirk. Probably how he picked up on you four in the alley in the first place.”
“He’s your real son?”
“Both are my real sons.” Mrs. Midoriya suddenly sounded fiercely protective. Fuyumi prayed for whoever got in her way with that voice. “Izuku is my biological son, but Hitoshi is just as much my child.”
Fuyumi took a while to digest that. Their father had…he hadn’t had a good stance on kids, let alone ones not related by blood. All they were to him were tools. This family continued to surprise her with how different they were.
And for just a moment, Fuyumi wondered if the Midoriyas would ever consider them family.
The notion was gone as fast as it had come. Shaken from her mind with every other hope trying to claw its way to the forefront of her thoughts.
But it remained there, just below the surface, like a ghost haunting her. Fuyumi was fourteen , she wanted a family. A real one. One where she didn’t have to be the mother figure to her little brothers. Where her twin didn’t have to continually burn himself just to keep them safe. Where they didn’t have to run and had an actual home .
“I’m going to go make dinner, if you would like to help. My husband will be in to watch them in a minute.”
Fuyumi looked away from her brothers and over at Mrs. Midoriya. It had been…around three weeks now, since she’d been able to cook for real. She wouldn’t go back there for anything, but cooking had been nice. Ever since Mother had been hospitalized, Fuyumi had been the one helping feed everyone. Of course Touya had helped sometimes, but he kept trying to heat food with his fire instead of the stove.
But it did sound nice, being able to make food again.
“If- if you’ll let me.”
Fuyumi was pretty sure that smile was genetic, because it was almost identically blinding as Izuku’s.
~~~~~~~~~~
Natsuo was having a blast. They got to play heroes here! He was never allowed to play that before! Shouto even joined in!
Izuku and Hitoshi were really cool. They loved heroes and coloring, just like Natsuo! The two of them knew their stuff too. Natsuo hadn’t even heard of Eraserhead before, but he sounded like a good hero. His costume was a but boring, though Natsuo loved the really long scarf he apparently had.
It had been a while since he had gotten to play like this. He knew they all had to be serious while living on the streets, so he was. He missed coloring and playing sports though. It was still better than living with him , but he did miss it.
Being pulled off the streets, even if it was only for a day or two, was really nice. They got a roof over their heads for once. Natsuo forgot how much he missed talking with people that weren’t his siblings.
The Midoriyas were really kind too. Natsuo didn’t know how much he really trusted it, but for now it was ok. They were healing Touya, so they must be good. Izuku, the green-haired one, was really smart. Natsuo had met people Father deemed smart, and he was nothing like them. Both of the brothers were really nice, actually.
They got dinner, which was a good surprise. It was soup, and it was the best dang soup Natsuo had had in a long time. They even got Touya to eat some! Fuyumi had helped make it. Natsuo…he honestly hadn’t heard her sound that happy in a long time. He- he almost wished they could stay like this forever, but he knew it wouldn’t last. Nothing good ever seemed to.
They ended up staying the night. Mr. and Mrs. Midoriya dragged out some extra futons and blankets for them. Touya hadn’t moved since they got there, so he stayed where he was on the couch. Fuyumi slept near him on the floor. Natsuo knew she was getting sick too; she had been sniffling today. It was only a matter of time with how close his twin siblings were.
Natsuo and Shouto slept on mats in the Midoriya brothers’ room. It was worlds more comfy than alley floors or shelter blankets. Izuku and Hitoshi shared a room, which was decorated with hero posters, action figures, and random knick knacks. Natsuo had never been allowed that, so to him the room was amazing.
He wondered if he would ever have his own room. Maybe he could finally keep the pretty rocks he found outside! Or he could have his own soccer ball! They needed to save enough for an apartment first, but they’d get there one day. One day soon hopefully.
Sometime during the night, Izuku and Hitoshi joined them on the mats. Natsuo had no idea when it happened. He went to sleep with everyone neatly in their own bed, and woke up with Shouto’s elbow in his face and Izuku’s foot under his leg. Hitoshi was curled up on top of Shouto’s left side like a cat. It was actually sorta like how Natsuo and his siblings had been sleeping since they left.
Natsuo dragged himself out of bed to go check on his brother and sister. Also because he smelled something cooking.
He found Touya still asleep on the couch. Fuyumi was holding his hand, also still asleep on the floor. Natsuo relaxed at seeing them safe. He walked to the kitchen on silent feet, a skill all of the Todorokis had learned out of necessity.
Both of the adult Midoriyas were in the kitchen. Natsuo watched, half hidden behind a wall. Mr. Midoriya put a waffle in the toaster as Mrs. Midoriya finished what appeared to be a mountain of toast. It looked sort of like dancing. Mr. Midoriya getting coffee and Mrs. Midoriya getting more food. Natsuo wondered if they always did this. His parents sure as heck never did.
“Oh, good morning, Natsuo,” Mrs. Midoriya greeted. Natsuo jumped, thinking he had been hidden. “Is it alright that I call you Natsuo instead of Todoroki? I can still call you Todoroki if you want me to.”
“ No - no, Natsuo is fine.”
“Alright then, Natsuo,” Mr. Midoriya said. “Do you want to go wake up everyone else? Inko’s food will be ready soon and I have to go to work.”
Natsuo watched in awe as Mr. Midoriya snatched his waffle mid-air as it leapt out of the toaster, put it in his mouth, and grabbed something from the counter all in one fluid motion. Mrs. Midoriya rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.
This house was weird. Natsuo liked it.
“Bye, love. Stay safe,” Mrs. Midoriya said, kissing her husband’s cheek. He probably said something similar, but it was muffled by the waffle in his mouth.
Natsuo stayed a second longer to watch Mrs. Midoriya cook. He knew he really should follow an order immediately, but Mr. and Mrs. Midoriya weren’t Endeavor. That much had become clear over the day Natsuo had been around them.
Mr. Midoriya left the kitchen, passing by Natsuo on his way. He reached out and ruffled his hair before walking out of the front door. It was such a simple and small thing, but it made Natsuo grin. He hadn’t seen anyone do that since before Mom was taken away, and certainly not to him.
“Breakfast will be ready in a minute, Natsuo. Could you please go get Izuku, Hitoshi, and Shouto? Tell them to be quiet though, Touya and Fuyumi should sleep a bit longer.”
Natsuo nodded, and finally retreated from the kitchen. The sound of humming and things popping out from a toaster followed him. He wondered if this was what a normal home was like.
He wondered if they could ever have that for themselves.
~~~~~~~~~~
Shouto didn’t like waking up. It was always too bright and cereal had gotten boring a long time ago. Waking up meant father yelling and dragging him out for training. Mornings used to be nicer, but then Mother got taken away. The bandages had come off not too long ago. It had been a few weeks since then, nearly four months since the incident itself now.
Even after they ran away, waking up wasn’t fun. It meant scrounging for food and trying to find a place to take a shower. Mornings were always too cold and too many people were outside. The four of them got up with the sun to try and avoid as many people as they could, but sometimes it didn’t work. Especially after Touya started getting sick.
However, this morning was different. He woke up warm and comfy. It was quiet, and his mind wasn’t screaming at him to look out for danger. There were two other people near him, but that was normal.
Then he remembered yesterday. People finding them, Touya collapsing, going to someone’s home, and…having fun. He had played for the first time in forever. Shouto couldn’t remember when he had been able to do that. Father had always dragged him away before.
Opening his eyes, he saw that the two people sleeping near him were not his siblings. Natsuo had already gotten up apparently, because he was nowhere in sight. Izuku, the one with green hair, was flopped on his side. He was using Shouto’s right leg as a pillow. Hitoshi, the one with purple hair, was curled up like a kitty almost on top of Shouto.
This was not how he expected to wake up, that was for sure. It…it wasn’t bad, though. Shouto actually felt like going back to sleep.
Natsuo peaked in through the door a minute later. Shouto only knew because he heard his brother doing a bad job at hiding his laughter.
“Need some help there, Shou?”
“ Please .”
Natsuo walked over, finally entering Shouto’s field of vision. He crouched down and poked Izuku first. The boy eventually woke up, looking surprisingly happy despite being prodded awake. He in turn woke up Hitoshi, who acted more like a zombie. Shouto found it amusing.
“Come on, Mrs. Midoriya said breakfast was almost done. But be quiet, Fuyumi and Touya are still sleeping and she said to leave them alone for now.”
Izuku and Hitoshi leapt to their feet and raced to the kitchen, leaving the other two to follow. Shouto was a bit confused. Breakfast wasn’t all that exciting, was it?
Apparently, he was wrong. Izuku and Hitoshi were standing at Mrs. Midoriya’s feet, waiting more-or-less patiently while she finished whatever she was cooking. Shouto could already see toast, bacon, and eggs. Was…was it all for them?
“There you boys are. Go sit at the table and I’ll bring everything over, ok?”
Shouto openly stared as the food was put on the table in front of them. Izuku and Hitoshi started grabbing things as soon as Mrs. Midoriya put it down. Natsuo copied them, but Shouto hesitated. Were they really allowed to take whatever they wanted?
“Are you gonna eat, Shouto?” Izuku asked, his mouth half-full.
Shouto tentatively reached for some of the toast. No one stopped him. Izuku and Hitoshi were too busy eating to really notice. Natsuo smiled at him encouragingly.
Shouto wondered if this is what a normal family was like.
“Hey Shouto, why is your hair like that?” Izuku asked, clearing his plate of eggs faster than Shouto thought was possible.
The Todorokis at the table froze. Shouto’s Quirk was a bad subject, especially after they left. Touya hadn’t been able to get them hair dye yet, so all of them were still very recognizable. He had been saving up for it, but then he got sick.
“My…my Quirk,” he answered quietly.
“Ooh, that’s so cool! Toshi and mine’s’ are just this color.”
“Yeah! We’re the,” Hitoshi paused, remembering the words, “secondary color brothers!”
“Awww,” Izuku suddenly whined. “When you’re our siblings we can’t call ourselves that anymore! You guys have red and white hair!”
“When we’re…what?”
“Our siblings!”
“No go back to bad man,” Hitoshi said wisely. “Zu adopted you already, Ink just need to do lawyer things.”
“She’s not…taking us back?” Natsuo asked warily.
“We’ll keep you safe, and then Momma will make sure he’ll never hurt you again. She’s good at that.”
It- it sounded surreal. Father never being able to hurt them again? Someone that was willing to make sure of that? Shouto pinched himself under the table, just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.
It was real.
“We don’t- we don’t have to see Father ever again?” Shouto asked softly.
“Nope! Momma make sure. If he comes here then Momma will protect us!”
“She fight him.”
“Yeah! Momma and Dad will make him go away. Even if Dad can’t light him on fire, he already does that himself.”
Shouto sat there, in a house he had only just arrived in, with people he had just met. And for the first time in a long time, he felt like he was home.
Notes:
‘Secondary color brothers’ was inspired by the fic Secondary Colors by NaoNazo. Go read it if you haven’t yet because it’s so freaking good and has three of my favorite children.
Congratulations! You have reached the exciting announcement! In honor of the milestones, I have a link to my Discord! I'm on there a lot, so come talk to me!
Edit: Here's the link! Please tell me if it doesn't work so I can fix it! DISCORD
Chapter 9: A Story To Tell
Summary:
Touya wakes up, discovers he's living with angels, and tells their story
Notes:
Hello my lovely readers!
Listen, the Todoroki’s know their manners, they have to being children of a famous pro. Shouto just chooses to be rude in canon. Like, he was literally about to throw hands with the CHIEF OF POLICE over the LAW.
Also DISCLAIMER: I know next to nothing about legal systems. I know that Inko being the lawyer for most of this story is a conflict of interest thing, but it makes the narrative better. We’re going to pretend this is how things work in this universe.Chapter brought to you by listening to Thank You for the Poison by MCR on repeat.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Touya woke up feeling cooler than he had in the last few days. And cozier. He didn’t really want to move actually. The sounds of traffic were extremely quiet, and he could still hear his siblings nearby. He felt safe for once.
Then reality decided to crash onto him with the force of a tsunami. He sat up sharply, looking around where he was.
It was an apartment. A small one, but it looked nice enough. Shouto and Natsuo were somewhere he couldn’t see, but Touya could hear them. It- it sounded like they were playing. He hadn’t heard his brothers do that since…ever. Father had hardly let them see Shouto, let alone “contaminate” him.
A quiet snore told Touya where his twin was. He leaned over the edge of the couch, and sure enough, Fuyumi was asleep on a mat. Good. She deserved rest, especially with how he passed out earlier. He probably scared her when that happened.
Touya glanced around again, finally finding a clock on one of the walls. Geez, he slept late. It was already early afternoon. Explained why Shouto and Natsuo were up though; Those two had internal clocks more precise than some birds.
He didn’t know why Fuyumi was still asleep though. She was usually woken up by their brothers, if she wasn’t already up to begin with. That is, unless she’s sick too. Which…was unfortunately what it probably was. She was good at hiding things like this, no matter how much Touya hated it. At least they weren’t in a soggy alley right now.
A creaking floorboard caught his attention. Touya looked behind him, seeing a green-haired woman standing in a doorway. Mrs. Midoriya, that was her name, right? He had woken up after getting here, but he had been half delirious for that, so hopefully he was remembering her name correctly.
“How are you feeling, sweetie?” She asked quietly, coming closer but keeping her distance.
“Better. Th-thank you, ma’am, for taking care of us.”
Mrs. Midoriya smiled at him kindly. It reminded Touya of his own mother. “It was no trouble. Your brothers are playing with my sons in their room. Would you like anything to eat?”
“No thank you, ma’am. Can, can I have…”
Her gaze softened. “I’ll be right back.”
She returned a minute later with a glass of water. Touya did his best not to drink it too quickly. Goodness knows the last thing he needed right now was to get a stomach ache.
“Your sister woke up earlier,” Mrs. Midoriya said. “Apparently she caught the cold you had. Refused to move though.”
Touya cracked a small smile. Yep, that definitely sounded like Fuyumi. They had been thicker than thieves since they were born. Over the years that hadn’t changed. Not one bit.
“I’m…I’m sorry. About all of this, ma’am.”
“No, no it’s alright. You have nothing to apologize for. You needed help, and all I did was give you a place to stay out of the rain. If anything you should be thanking Izuku for noticing you four in that alley.”
Touya stayed quiet. He…he was honestly still wary. Most adults he had met didn’t notice anything was wrong with them. A perfect, happy family that was powerful by virtue of being Enji Todoroki’s children.
But this woman and her sons, who couldn’t be older than Shouto, figured it out almost immediately. He noticed how she hadn’t called him Todoroki, not even once. She spoke quietly and moved slowly. Almost like she knew how he would react. It was…weird.
Touya had never met an adult so kind. Not since their mother, at least.
“When do- when do you want us to leave?” He asked quietly.
“Certainly not now, not with your sister sick. Seeing as you four are technically missing children-” Touya’s blood ran cold. They were trapped, trapped, trapped here “-you will need somewhere to stay hidden and safe while the court case goes through.”
“…what?”
“I heard what Izuku said, back in the alley. Your father hurt you, didn’t he?”
“And If he did?” They couldn’t go back. They wouldn’t. He would rather burn himself to the ground before taking his siblings back there.
“Then I have evidence to keep you four away from him. I’m a lawyer, and child abuse from the Number Two hero is a serious accusation.”
“Even with evidence he’d get away with it,” Touya growled, knowing it was true. He still had his license after so much damage, after all. “The Hero Commission would cover it up. At very best he’d get his hero license suspended. We show our faces in public and we go back to him.”
“They won’t, Touya.” Mrs. Midoriya set a gentle hand on his shoulder. When had he started shaking? “Even if he keeps his license I’ll make sure you four never go back to him.”
“How?” He croaked.
“I have my ways.” Suddenly, Touya realized he knew next to nothing about this woman. Just who was she? “I’ll wait for your sister to get better before we talk about it, ok? You four are welcome here either way. I’m going to go check on the boys. Just think about it, alright?”
Touya was left sitting on the couch, his mind reeling. Fuyumi was still sleeping peacefully, oblivious to the turmoil Touya was feeling. Their brothers were still playing in the other room. The noise of Mrs. Midoriya soft voice drifted into the room, but not the words.
Touya’s world felt like it had been knocked off its axis. He stared at the wall for a minute, just thinking.
Were they…were they actually being given a chance at getting away from their father? They had gotten lucky- so very lucky- with who had found them in that alley. A lawyer. And of all things a kind one . From what Touya knew, those were extremely few and far between.
Mrs. Midoriya believed she could bring Endeavor to court. She hadn’t said if she could, but phrased it more like when she did. This woman was tiny, but apparently had more guts than most of the world.
Touya wondered if the Midoriyas were angels. (the green kid’s hair did sort of look like a halo. At least that’s what Touya had thought so when he first saw the kid)
Fuyumi took another day of resting before she could stay awake for more than a few minutes. Mrs. Midoriya was patient. Touya was healthy now, so he moved Fuyumi to the couch. Despite her protests, he did not in fact move from the floor. It was comfier than concrete anyway.
Touya watched as Shouto and Natsuo came out of their shells. He saw them almost constantly playing in the small time they’d been here.
He was also told the story of how Hitoshi came to live with them. Izuku really was a type of angel.
When they weren’t playing, the four boys liked to watch All Might movies. Touya was dragged into watching them too, since he refused to leave Fuyumi, who was stuck on the couch. The films were interesting. None of them had ever been allowed to watch anything like them. Even if Endeavor had essentially disowned three out of the four of them, nothing All Might was ever allowed in the house.
Despite his hesitancy, Touya…Touya found himself getting used to the little routine they had. He would wake up on the floor, Fuyumi still asleep, and go to check on the other four. Shouto would usually be awake under the two Midoriya brothers. It was a fifty-fifty chance if Natsuo was awake and quietly snickering or asleep in the same pile.
Touya was a a tad bit confused the first time he walked in there and saw all four of them on the floor. Especially since they were all in a pile of tangled limbs. They had two perfectly good beds, and yet they were all on the floor.
Touya just shrugged and walked back out to try and help with breakfast. He was, however, banned from trying to cook bacon on his arms. Mrs. Midoriya had kindly told him not to, so there was no way he was about to disobey that. Not to mention Fuyumi had already scolded him for it before.
It was on the fourth day there that the twins finally decided to tell the Midoriyas about what had happened to them. Mrs. Midoriya, at least. Mr. Midoriya was taking Shouto and Natsuo to the park while Izuku and Hitoshi went to school. The two had been having fun playing teacher for their brothers. It was adorable seeing the Midoriya brothers telling the other two what they had learned that day. Touya smiled at the memory, calming down from the anxiety of what they were about to do.
The three of them sat at the kitchen table. It didn’t feel like any of the investigations Touya and Fuyumi had seen before. The kitchen was homey, and Mrs. Midoriya had a kind look on her face. They felt more like they were talking to a parent than to an actual lawyer.
“Do you mind if I record this?” Mrs. Midoriya asked. The twins sent a glance to one another, before nodding. The woman set her phone on the table. “Alright then. Is there a beginning to this?”
“Yes. Have…have you ever heard of Quirk Marriages?”
The story took an hour to tell. Starting from their father marrying their mother to leaving. They talked about being cast away until Shouto was born. Then the abuse, and Touya almost burning himself out completely. The two spoke about their mother’s down-spiral, ending in her burning Shouto. They had stayed another two weeks after he was healed before running.
Their tale ended with Touya getting sick and the Midoriyas finding them. By the end of it the twins were exhausted. Mrs. Midoriya stopped the recording, looking just as emotionally worn.
“Why don’t you two go rest, I’ll get you some water. Once Hisashi and your brothers get back we can have lunch.”
Touya nodded, leaning against Fuyumi as they stood. Both of them collapsed onto the couch in a heap.
Mrs. Midoriya came in a minute later, handing them each a glass.
“Thank you, Mrs. Midoriya,” Fuyumi said in her croaky voice.
“You’re welcome, dear. And please, call me Inko.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Inko,” Touya said, setting down his now empty glass. “What…what happens now?”
“Hopefully I can get a case opened against Endeavor. We’ll go to court, and do whatever it takes to keep you four away from him.”
“But, where will we go?” Fuyumi asked quietly. “We can’t be split up. We- we can’t .”
“You don’t have to go anywhere, if you don’t want to.”
Touya stopped, looking up at Mrs. Inko. “You mean…you mean we can stay here?”
“Of course,” she smiled. He still couldn’t help thinking it looked like Mother’s. “We’ll have to do some rearranging, but it can work. Hisashi just got a job, so money isn’t a major problem. You two need beds, but the other four seem to like sleeping together well enough.”
“No kidding,” Touya snorted.
“What?” Fuyumi asked, wiping away the tears that had started to form in her eyes.
“They’ve been sleeping in a pile. Izuku and Hitoshi have been laying on our brothers like cats. Natsuo used Shouto’s legs as a pillow yesterday too.”
Fuyumi giggled, and Touya smiled.
Maybe…maybe things would actually be alright for once.
Notes:
Hope you liked the chapter! We get more Touya reacting to being in the family later, I promise!
Next chapter: A dumpster is on fire
Chapter 10: Garbage at the Door
Summary:
As a lot of you seemed excited about, the Flaming Dumpster shows up. Also cuteness, but not related to the Trash Can on Fire
Notes:
Hello everyone!
So Fun Fact: I am writing from experience on getting little kids out the door. The Midoriyas currently have one more person than my family does, and let me tell you, it takes MINIMUM ten to fifteen minutes for us to get out to door. Even more if we have to pack things into the car, which unfortunately includes backpacks. Silver lining to having early classes is I don’t have to wait for everyone to be awake before we leave.EDIT: previously had (untrue) name meanings here, for the actual ones please look down in the comments! I was using an unreliable translator and the kanji got messed up, sorry for that
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Inko woke up to what was becoming her new normal.
Hisashi pulled her from sleep with a kiss to her forehead, then left for work. He was taking on more hours to make sure they had enough income. Inko wished he could stay home, but knew that it wasn’t logical.
They had gone from one kid to two, and then jumped to six. Money wasn’t a massive problem, not with both of them working and her being a lawyer. They did need to start thinking of moving though. Having a cushion of money would definitely help with that.
Once she actually got out of bed, Inko got dressed and went to see which kids were awake. Usually the answer was none, but sometimes Touya or Fuyumi were already up. Those were the days she taught them how to cook things, making sure to keep their shaking hands away from fire and nightmare shadowed eyes focused on something else.
If the twins weren’t awake, and she still had time, Inko made breakfast. Izuku and Hitoshi had school most of the week, and goodness knows how easy getting two five year-olds out the door was (It was nothing short of trying to get a cat to willingly go out in the rain). The four Todoroki children couldn’t go yet; Not with their father still hunting them. Inko noticed the missing alerts and posters more often now that it actually applied to her.
The four kids stayed home while Inko ran the other two to school. It wasn’t long, so she didn’t worry. Touya and Fuyumi were already fourteen anyway. Natsuo was (usually) well behaved, and Shouto could be occupied by coloring or with food and TV. They were ridiculously easy compared to how Izuku was as a newborn.
Once back at home Inko juggled paperwork, emails, work calls, and helping the four Todorokis with homework. They were mostly on track learning-wise, but if they didn’t practice they could fall behind. Since they couldn’t go to school yet, Inko showed them how to use online textbooks and worksheets. It was better than a private tutor, they told her, since this way they didn’t have someone always looking over their shoulders.
It was stressful, but Inko knew they would all figure it out eventually. Meals were something to get used to, but that was ok. They didn’t have a lot of leftovers anymore, if any. Shopping was even more fun for the little ones now. They actually filled a cart with how many people they had to feed. Inko was just thankful Touya and Fuyumi helped corral the kids while she shopped.
Today, Inko was doing more paperwork. It was necessary for her to wrap up a few of her other cases before the Endeavor one went through. Any day now it would become official, and all of her attention would be focused on it. She already had a lot of evidence against the man. (Hisashi called it her Pride Murdering Binder this time)
The four Todorokis were quietly working nearby, careful to not get papers mixed up. Shouto had already finished his simple math and was coloring now. Natsuo was getting help from Fuyumi with his history. Inko didn’t know what Touya was doing, since he seemed to just be staring out the window.
“Touya, sweetie, are you ok?” Inko asked gently, careful to not scare him.
He shook himself, turning to look at her. Panic flashed in his eyes for a second, and it only reinforced Inko’s desire to utterly destroy the man that dared to call himself their father.
“I-I’m fine, Mrs. Inko. Just…just thinking.”
“Do you want to talk about it? I think I’d be more interesting to tell than the clouds.”
Touya cracked a grin. It fell, and he grew somber. “It’s just…our old man is a hero. He, he raised Shouto and me to- to be heroes. Even if I was thrown out the minute Shouto’s Quirk came in, I…I still sort of want to be one. If only to- to show him I can . Does that- does that make me a bad person?”
“Oh sweetie, that doesn’t make you bad. If you want to be a hero then you can be a hero, parentage doesn’t matter. I already know you would make a wonderful one.”
“B-but I just want to prove, prove I’m b-better than him. A hero shouldn’t- shouldn’t be a hero because of that.”
“Do you want to save people?” Inko asked, sharper than normal. It made Touya look up, at least.
“Y-yeah, I guess. I don’t- I don’t want anyone to- to go through this like, like us.”
“Then you can be a great hero. And if you want to prove to your father you can be a hero without him, then do it. Pass him in the ranks and show everyone who he really is.” Inko reached across the table and took Touya’s hand. It was rough with old burns. “Whatever you choose to do, we’ll be here. Whether you want to a social worker, a hero, a police officer, or something else, all of us will be behind you. No matter what.”
Inko remembered when she first found out about Izuku being bullied. She remembered she had never gave him a solid answer to his question.
She had an answer now. It had never been a real question to begin with, was it? The answer had been the same from the beginning, even if she hadn’t wanted to accept it.
Touya smiled shakily, but smiled all the same. “Th-thank you, Ms. Inko.”
“There’s no need to thank me, Touya. We're a family now, and family sticks together.”
~~~~~~~~~
The case got assigned a court date within the next few days. Inko was busy compiling the evidence and witnesses and well, everything. Hisashi didn’t understand some of it, but that was ok. His very smart wife was the lawyer, not him. Thank goodness. He couldn’t argue without almost crying or making a joke. That or cursing out the other lawyer. Honestly, he had no idea how Inko did it. Not that he had ever seen her be an actual lawyer, only heard about it, but from what he had heard, she hadn’t lost her intimidating presence.
The four Todoroki kids were honestly super well behaved. Izuku, Hitoshi, and Shouto were immediate buddies. Hisashi probably had well over a hundred pictures of them playing and being adorable already.
Natsuo was a good kid too, he just had lots of energy. Hisashi made sure to take him outside to play if they had time. He was actually really good at soccer.
Touya and Fuyumi were quiet. He got to watch as they slowly came out of their shells, laughing and joking with them more as time went on. Touya turned out to be very sarcastic. One of the biggest surprises was that Fuyumi liked dad jokes. Hisashi stood there gaping like a fish the first time she said “Bye-Sashi” as he left the room.
In short, Hisashi loved his new kids. And yes, they were his. Screw what the government said, they were his now. All the sad children were going to be adopted whether the law liked it or not.
(He didn’t know how true that statement was going to become for them)
It was stressful though. Inko was throwing herself into the case, gathering evidence and compiling it into separate sections. This one was even worse than Hitoshi’s foster-parent case. She had to take more breaks when she got to civilian casualties. Saying it was horrific would be putting it extremely mildly.
The Todorokis gave Inko whatever she needed. Whether that be a glass of water or more questions answered. Hisashi couldn’t be more grateful to them.
As the date grew closer, the apartment got more tense. Mostly the older kids, since they actually understood what was happening.
The four would be testifying in court. Shouto and Natsuo didn’t quite grasp what that meant other than it would help punish Endeavor. It was good enough for them either way. Touya and Fuyumi were more nervous about it, but they were resolute in their decision.
Hisashi did his best to help out too. He took the week of the case off so he could be there. If only to be with the Todoroki children while Inko was doing her thing. Izuku and Hitoshi still had school, but it was easy enough to go and get up.
He could only wait and do what he could to lessen the burden that was on his family’s shoulders.
~~~~~~~~~~
The date was two days away, and Inko was putting the finishing touches on the case. All six children were watching a movie. It had become a tradition of sorts for them to do that once Izuku and Hitoshi got back from school. Doing that let Hitoshi and Izuku recharge from school and for all of them to bond. Inko found it sweet. Hisashi did too evidently, since he had taken pictures of them doing it almost every day.
The movie also meant the apartment was actually quiet. It was something that seemed to be getting less common. Not that Inko was going to complain, a silent house had always been eerie for her.
It also meant she could very clearly hear the heavy knock on the door. Inko ignored it for the moment. They weren’t expecting anyone to visit, so the door went unanswered.
Then the person knocked again. Louder this time. Inko continued ignoring them. If they knew Inko they would’ve texted, and the police would have called who they were through the door by now.
Inko finally got up when it sounded like the door was shaking on its hinges. Her work could apparently wait. The noise attracted the attention of the twins, but Inko waved them off. An angry person likely at the wrong apartment was nothing she couldn’t handle.
She looked through the peephole first, and promptly recoiled away from the door.
Because Endeavor was standing in the hallway. His stupid beard wasn’t on fire. Only to keep the fire alarms from going off probably. But this was bad. Very, very bad. Endeavor was here and so were his children. The children that would likely panic if they saw him.
Inko wouldn’t let him touch them. Not in a million years or beyond. No harm would come to her kids as long as she was alive.
Perhaps it was her past self talking, but Inko immediately walked back into the kitchen to retrieve her phone. Calmly, so none of the kids took notice that something was off. She hit record, and set the phone in her jean pocket. For once, and only once, she was grateful that her phone stuck out of the pocket.
Inko steeled herself, putting on a mask of politeness, and opened the door.
Even without his flames up, she felt an instant rush of heat. The tall man glared down at her. Though he faltered for a split second, likely not expecting her small size. Inko met his blue eyes unflinchingly. She had faced down men bigger and badder than him. A demon is nothing compared to the devil, especially in the face of an archangel.
“Endeavor. To what do I owe the pleasure of having such a high ranking hero show up at my small doorstep?” Inko asked sweetly. It was meant to throw the man off, and it seemed to work.
“Are you Inko Midoriya,” he demanded, looming over her. She hardly batted an eye at the display.
“I am. Do you need something sir?”
“You will drop your case against me.”
Inko stared up at him, blinking once. “No.”
“Excuse me?”
“Are you perhaps going deaf, Mr. Endeavor? All that fire around your ears must not be healthy.” Inko raised her voice like the hero was an especially stupid pet. “I said, I will not be dropping the case. Have a good day sir.”
Inko moved the shut the door, only to find Endeavor’s hand holding it open. He was almost asking to be put into jail, wasn’t he.
“I am not asking, woman. Drop your case, or there will be consequences.”
“Are you threatening property damage and assault, Endeavor?” Inko asked, tone sickeningly sweet and loud enough for her phone to pick up.
“Only if you do not meet my demands,” he growled, forcing the door open. Inko took a small step back. It gave the camera a better angle. “I don’t know what you think you’ve found, but I can assure you you have nothing . My trail is clean.”
“A clean trail doesn’t mean clean hands. And from what I’ve found, yours are stained very red, Endeavor. So it would be beneficial for you to leave my home and not add to the blood you’ve amassed, hm?”
The man had obviously never had his intimidation tactic not work like this before, just judging by the look on his face. Inko had momentarily dropped into what her colleagues nicknames as her Lawyer Voice. It worked in unsettling the “hero” on her doorstep though.
“This…this isn’t over,” he growled.
The great Endeavor turned tail and speed-walked back down the hallway.
Inko finally let out the breath she’d been holding. Of all the days and times, it had to be when all the kids were home and Hisashi wasn’t. For all her talk, Inko wasn’t the best fighter. She was a lawyer, someone who worked with information and words, not fists. That being said, if Endeavor had decided to try and actually break in he would have found his shoes in the air and costume too tight. Small object attraction was good for such things.
She went back inside, mentally smoothing her ruffled feathers. Hisashi was right, she really was a mother hen.
The six kids were still watching their movie. Touya looked up for a moment when she walked in.
“Who was that, Mrs. Inko?”
“Oh, no one special,” she hummed, waving a hand. “Reminded me of a dumpster fire though.”
The children's laughter was all she needed to hear for a smile to appear on her face once again.
~~~~~~~~~
The courthouse was unusually busy. Not that Hisashi could tell any difference, since he’d only been in one a few times.
Inko was in front of him, dressed in business clothes and eyeliner sharp enough to kill a man (God he loved his wife). The four Todoroki children were by their sides, all dressed to the nines. Court was a very formal setting. That did not, however, stop Hisashi from packing snacks and things for his children.
Endeavor wasn’t here yet. At least, if he was, then he wasn’t in sight. Good. Inko had told him what happened with the man. He was seriously considering asking Inko if they should speed up their plans to move. No way was he letting the flame-head anywhere near his kids, legally adopted or otherwise.
They sat in the hall for a while before being let in. Hisashi took Fuyumi, Natsuo, and Shouto to seats, while Touya followed Inko. He would be the one to represent his siblings. Hisashi was so proud of him for doing this.
Endeavor came in a few minutes later. He sat at the other table with his own lawyer, glaring daggers at Inko. He didn’t seem to notice Touya yet. Hisashi hoped that could stay true for a while longer.
The judge stood up on her podium, hitting her gavel once. “We are here for the case against Endeavor, Todoroki Enji, on multiple charges of assault, battery, property damage, and…abuse. The charges and evidence will be presented by the accuser’s lawyer, Mrs. Midoriya. Counter evidence can be provided by the defendant’s lawyer, Mr. Itachi. There will be no Quirk usage in this room from anyone . Failure to comply with that will result in permanent removal from the case. Now, Mrs. Midoriya, your first point.”
And just like that, it had started.
Notes:
Did I make Endeavor’s lawyer name Mr. Weasel? yes, yes I did. I don't know a lot about law, so take the next few chapters with a grain of salt.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Have a good day/night!
Chapter 11: Bonfire
Summary:
Mr. Flaming Dumpster gets punished, though maybe not to the extent we wish
Notes:
Hello my amazing readers!
Aniki means big brother, and I thought that would be a really cute nickname the boys have for Touya. Same goes for Aneki and Fuyumi. I discovered (after writing the entire chapter) that those names can also be used in gangs, so I mean, it still fits, considering they’re going to be vigilantes.
ALSO, Warning: Specific talks of abuse in this chapter
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
They didn’t make much progress on day number one. Mrs. Inko presented some of the evidence, and
Dad Father
Endeavor’s lawyer tried to refute some of it. Touya was surprised how vicious the woman could be sometimes. She tore everything Mr. Itachi said to absolute shreds until he was left speechless.
Touya never would’ve thought this small woman could stand up to the giant hero and his sniveling lawyer without flinching. It just made him think she was even more amazing.
The case went on for a few hours, even if not much happened. Touya glanced at his siblings a few times. Shouto was usually playing on Mr. Hisashi’s phone or munching on a quiet snack. Natsuo looked extremely bored, but hid behind Mr. Hisashi from their father’s view. Fuyumi was the only one paying attention out of the three. She refused to look over at Endeavor.
They went home feeling exhausted, both physically and emotionally, even though the four siblings hadn’t done anything. Mr. Hisashi left to go get Izuku and Hitoshi from school.
Touya flopped himself on the couch. Fuyumi and him would eventually get real beds, but they hadn’t had time to get them yet. The couch and futon were fine in the meantime. They felt especially comfy after today’s events.
Touya didn’t realize he’d fallen asleep until he woke up to purple, green, blue, and gray eyes staring down at him. He blinked up at the three small kids for a minute. Mainly just trying to understand why they were standing over him like curious monkeys.
“You guys need something?” He asked, voice still raspy from sleep.
“Play with us, Aniki,” Shouto chirped, poking his shoulder from the top of the couch. “We’re gonna play heroes. Play with us.”
“Alright, alright,” Touya chuckled, sitting up. The three immediately cheered. “Who’s who and what am I?”
“I’m Present Mic!”
“I Eraserhead!”
“I’m All Might, Aniki!”
Touya felt like his heart was going to burst. These three had downright illegal levels of cuteness. Of all the things he regretted, running away would never be one of them. Shouto would have never gotten to do something like this before.
“Ok then, who am I playing?”
“Hero! Hero BlueFire!” Hitoshi squeaked, jumping and clinging onto Touya’s arm.
“Alright, who’s the villain?”
Izuku leaned in close, whispering in a way only a five year-old can think is quiet. “Natsuo’s the villain, but he doesn’t know.”
Touya stifled his laughter. Oh this was going to be good. He grinned sharply, gathering the three in a huddle. “So what’s the plan?”
If, five minutes later, Natsuo was jumped by three little kids while Touya cackled in the background, then Inko certainly didn’t have it on tape. Natsuo definitely didn’t shriek and shoot ice crystal out of his palms. And those crystals obviously didn’t spark and explode, causing the three kids to stop and stare at it.
And Hisashi most certainly didn’t come home and congratulate the four.
~~~~~~~~~~
Day two of the case was the day of witnesses and more evidence. Touya felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest, but it would be ok. Everything would be fine. Mrs. Inko and Mr. Hisashi would protect them. He didn’t know how, but they told him they wouldn’t let Endeavor get near them. They told the four that right before they walked into the courtroom. Touya couldn’t help but feel like they were telling the truth, even if he had no idea how they would keep that promise.
Mr. Itachi was a good lawyer, but Mrs. Inko was better. As soon as she stepped to the front of the room, she stopped being the gentle mother he knew, and turned into a steel hardened lawyer whose only goal was to protect her charge. Sort of like a warrior from fairytales, Touya found himself thinking.
None of his siblings nor Touya were called up to the stand that day. Multiple others were though. People who Endeavor had hurt somehow, whether that be property damage, burns, or killing a family member. There was even one person, a brother to a criminal Endeavor had roasted, that came to testify. It was obvious how much the man was trying not to cry. The “villain” had only been trying to steal a loaf of bread.
Touya’s stomach protested to listening to all of it. A glance backwards told him Fuyumi felt the same. Shouto had on headphones, listening to a video on Mr. Hisashi’s phone. Natsuo was asleep. He hadn’t been able to sleep the night before. Touya only knew because he hadn’t either.
It went on for hours, again. And once again, they returned home and crashed onto whatever soft surface was nearest. That included Touya this time, apparently. He woke up to three five year-olds and Natsuo using him as a pillow. Hitoshi was just outright curled on top of his chest. The kid acted more cat than human sometimes.
Touya went back to sleep shortly after.
~~~~~~~~~~
At least one of the siblings was supposed to give their testimony on day three, but that got derailed. Mr. Itachi had tried to convince the court that Endeavor had not in fact used excessive force on villains. That sparked a nearly hour long rant (read: scolding) from Mrs. Inko. By the end of it they had more important points to cover.
Day four was when Fuyumi got called to the stand. She was shaking, but kept a brave face. Touya wished he had a phone. The face Endeavor made when he finally realized his own children were behind this case was something he wanted to cherish forever.
Fuyumi’s voice shook as she answered questions. Mrs. Inko did her best to speak gently to his twin, and they both appreciated it. She didn’t meet Endeavor’s eyes once.
Natsuo came next. He was mostly more angry than scared. Touya knew he was still terrified though. It was evident in the way he talked and flinched at fast moment. He was brave though. Once he was done Touya saw Mr. Hisashi sneak him a cookie. Both twins couldn’t help but grin.
Shouto spoke on day five. He was young for a witness, but handled it well. Even if he didn’t look up from his lap once and whispered his answers. No one said a thing when he crawled into Touya’s lap instead of going back to Hisashi. A six year-old throwing a fit would be the last thing they needed anyway.
Everything was going well. Touya himself didn’t have to give him testimony, since it would just be repeating what his siblings had all said. Maybe a bit worse, considering the “training” father had given him.
Mrs. Inko was confident they would win. Touya was too. How could they not, when Mrs. Inko literally left their opponents speechless? She had done it more than once too. Things were being uncovered that Endeavor thought had been long since buried. Honestly, Touya was curious as to how Mrs. Inko found half of this. He also wasn’t going to ask. Ignorance is bliss, plausible deniability, and all that.
Then…
“I would like to call Touya Todoroki to the stand.”
Touya froze like a deer in the headlights. Mrs. Midoriya looked like she wanted to rip Mr. Itachi’s head off. Said man was smiling smugly. Endeavor looked a bit confused, so this was obviously not planned.
Touya got to his feet and shakily made his way over to the stand. He forced himself to stay calm as he said the oath. Panic meant fire, and fire meant forfeiting this. It also meant potentially burning others or himself.
“Now, would you say your father cared for you?”
“Emotionally or physically?” Touya deadpanned. “Because the answer for both is none at all .”
Mr. Itachi’s eye twitched. Touya felt a bit better. “But he gave you a roof over your head? Food readily available and a space of your own?”
“No,” Touya growled, staring at the wood of the stand instead of Mr. Itachi. “If we misbehaved he threw us outside. If we didn’t do exactly as he wanted we weren’t given a meal. Our rooms had no locks and he came in whenever he wanted.”
“Well, if you were doing something so bad, then perhaps it was a just punishment.”
Touya’s vision flashed red. It took everything in him not to incinerate the man right where he stood. How dare he. How dare he .
Touya got to his feet, glaring at the opposing lawyer with as much malice as he could muster. It was a lot. “Fuyumi was once given no dinner because she left shoes in the wrong place. I was locked outside in winter for not using a Quirk that burned my own skin . Natsuo got hit because he dared mention All Might in the presence of Endeavor. Shouto, my six year-old baby brother , was punched repeatedly by a grown man in the name is so-called ‘training.’ So don’t you dare say it was justified, Mr. Itachi , because you don’t know us or what that man put us through. All you want is a big check at the end of this.”
Done with his snarled rant, Touya retreated back to his seat next to Mrs. Inko. He kept a tight lid on his fire. Even with the mental cap on it, he felt his skin heating beneath his fingertips. Not enough for actual flames, but definitely warmer than a normal person.
Touya spent the rest of that trial day staring at the table. He knew things were being said around him, but he didn’t hear it. His heartbeat was too loud in his ears.
He felt like he blinked and they were back home. Shouto refused to let go of his hand. Fuyumi dragged him to the couch to lay down.
Within a few minutes all four of them were asleep. Touya’s final thought before that was that maybe, just maybe, this really was home.
~~~~~~~~~
“Guilty!”
Fuyumi and Touya immediately started sobbing. Natsuo cheered loudly, hugging his two siblings. Shouto began crying while clinging to Inko. Hisashi was lifting the three into the air to squeeze them in a hug before even two seconds had passed.
Inko half listened as the verdict was given. Endeavor was still getting away without prison time, but the children were free from him. As was his wife, who was in a mental hospital. The Midoriyas had custody over them now.
Endeavor’s license would be suspended, as would his pay. It would go on his record. His agency was to compensate the victims of those he killed, if they hadn’t been already. All custody over his family was gone.
It wasn’t a fair sentence, and they all knew it. Endeavor was a powerful hero. He was essentially getting off with a slap on the wrist, but at least his family was away from him. Inko wished she could have thrown the bastard into a prison cell, but the Hero Commission wouldn’t allow that. Not when he was the Number Two hero.
Inko could still wish.
He was also paying the Midoriyas a substantial amount to not release anything to the media. Inko didn’t react outwardly at the amount, not past looking like it would do. Internally she was shrieking and already thinking of when they could go look at actual houses. She knew Hisashi was thinking the same thing.
The four children were given the option of changing their names alongside the switch in custody. Touya and Fuyumi shared a look, before declaring their last name would be changing. The four of them would now be the Hisame children. It was their mother’s maiden name, they told Inko and Hisashi quietly.
From that day on, the Midoriyas were eight people strong. Even if their last names weren’t the same, they were still family. And none of them would ever be left behind again.
~~~~~~~~~~
A knock sounded outside the door. The woman, who had been reading a book, looked up. Strange, that didn’t sound like her usual nurse. Not exactly a bad change, if she was being honest.
“Come in,” she called.
The door creaked open, revealing a woman she had never seen before. Not a nurse here, judging by her lack of scrubs. Her hair was green and tied up in a bun. She was small, but looked like a gentle person.
“Hello, are you Ms. Rei?”
Rei nodded, curious about this new person. Everyone always called her ‘Mrs. Todoroki.’ It hurt like shards of glass being called his , but there was no way to change that. Not while she was stuck here.
The woman smiled, shutting the door behind her. “My name is Inko Midoriya, and I’ve come to see you with some good news.”
Rei instantly gave her undivided attention. Even if it was something about Enji, it was better than nothing. Maybe this woman could tell her some of the things she’d missed in the outside world…it had been almost half a year now, hadn’t it.
“W-what is it? Are my children ok?”
“They’re perfectly fine, Ms. Rei. In fact, this is about them. You see, they ran away some time ago.”
Rei felt her blood turn cold. Quite literally, as she began to accidentally freeze over her chair. Her children. They ran. They ran and no one told her anything .
“It’s ok, Ms. Rei! They’re ok now. They’re safe. They’re not with him.”
And that…that caught her attention, more than anything had in a long time if she was being honest. Her children weren’t with Enji. But, how did this woman know to say that?
“…why?”
“I found them in an alley. Touya was sick, and my son heard him on our way home from shopping. We took them home.” The woman looked out the window, likely smiling at a memory. “Natsuo and Shouto stayed with my two sons, Izuku and Hitoshi. I found they like sleeping in a pile. Touya and Fuyumi refused to leave each others sides when they were sick.”
“They…you took them in? Why?”
“It was the right thing to do. They told me what happened with Endeavor. I’m a lawyer, you see.”
Rei connected the dots faster than she should have. There had been rumors floating around the hospital of Endeavor being taken to court. Nothing past that, but she had heard it all the same.
“You, you took him to- to court?”
“I did, and we won, Ms. Rei. The children are free from him,” Inko stepped closer, taking Rei’s hands. “And so are you.”
Her mind was reeling. After so long she was…free? Out from under Enji’s thumb? No promises from well-meaning nurses that she’d get to go back to him. No more wondering if her babies were being starved or beaten. No more hits or scars were going to be added to her skin because of that man.
Then she remembered what she did the last time she saw Shouto. Her baby boy. She had snapped. Poured boiling water over his face. All because for a single split second, she had seen a tiny Enji. It was all a chance that it had been Shouto instead of one of the other three.
That didn’t change what she did though.
Rei was still terrified. Of Enji. Of hurting her children. Of snapping just as she had before. As much as she hated this place, she still needed to get better. Maybe…maybe now she had motivation to try.
“Thank you, Mrs. Inko,” she said softly, “but I can’t leave. I can’t- I can’t hurt them again.”
“That’s ok.” Inko smiled, like she hadn’t just been turned down. Rei wondered if she was speaking with an angel instead of a human. “You can stay and get better, Ms. Rei. Until then, my husband and I will keep them safe.”
Rei took in a shaky breath, still holding Inko’s hands. It was nice, having human contact again.
“Would you…would you mind telling me what’s, what’s happening outside? I haven’t- I haven’t been out in so long.”
“Of course. How about I tell you about my sons first? Here, I have pictures. So the other day, Hitoshi called Fuyumi ‘Aneki’ and I thought she was going to freeze something solid,” Inko laughed.
Rei found herself smiling for the first time in a long, long while.
Notes:
Before you come after my head, remember that Endeavor IS a high ranking pro. If he's been getting away with this for years then the commission would definitely cover up the trial and let him stay out of jail. Losing his family is the second worst outcome Endeavor could imagine because he's losing access to his creation.
Also I’ve been debating about this for a while and I can’t decide so I need your guys’ opinions. Should I make this TodoDeku? Rei does get out of the hospital and the Todo-Kids don’t think of Inko as a mom, and the ship won’t set sail for a WHILE, but should I? Please help I can’t decide on anything for the life of me. If you have a different ship you think would fit then please tell me!
EDIT: Alright so I've decided what to do ship-wise now! It is NOT TodoDeku. Figured I'd put this here so I don't get another dozen comments on it. Have a good day/night!
Chapter 12: Forge Your Own Path
Summary:
The former Todoroki children are introduced to the concept of school!
Notes:
Hello my beautiful readers!
I, like Natsuo, forget information as soon as I don’t need it anymore. I literally don’t remember half the stuff we learned last year. On the other hand, I know there’s a paperclip under the right side of my desk that I just never picked up. Thanks brain.
I might’ve gotten the timing wrong on some of this (age wise at least) so we’re just going to pretend Natsuo is in sixth and the twins are in ninth (last year of elementary and middle school respectively in Japan)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Shouto had never been to real school before. Plenty of tutors and private teachers of course, but never a public school. So today understandably felt terrifying to him. Who knew that school could be scarier than the boogeyman named Endeavor.
At least Izuku and Hitoshi would be there too. Shouto hadn’t expected to come out of this with two more brothers, but he wouldn’t trade them for the world. They were both in the same class this year. He was too now.
Inko (who had finally convinced the four to drop the honorific) was talking with the principal before he was allowed to go in. Something about making sure he wasn’t bullied. Shouto didn’t really understand it, but that was ok. He trusted all of the Midoriyas.
(He guessed he and his siblings were included under that name now, huh)
She left him in the hands of an older kid that walked him to class. Shouto didn’t speak a word, clutching his backpack tightly. All of this was foreign to him. The hallways, the upperclassmen, the many classrooms. Everything. He didn’t like that nothing made sense here yet. Maybe he could get Izuku to explain it. Everything was easy to understand when he said it.
The door was opened, allowing him to step inside his new classroom. It was brighter than he expected. Neon crayon drawings were hung everywhere, and there were so many decorations. Father Endeavor never let them have anything like this. The carpet was even brightly colored!
“Ah, Hisame, there you are,” the teacher said cheerily, beckoning him to the front of the room. “Everyone, this is your new classmate Shouto Hisame. Treat him well.”
There was a chorus of “ok!”s and “hello”s from almost everyone. Shouto flinching slightly, holding his bag even tighter. The teacher set a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“Why don’t you go put your bag in the cubby, then I can show you to your seat.”
Shouto nodded, doing as he was told. The teacher showed him to his seat, which was at a round table with three other people. None of them were his brothers. Izuku was on the other side of the room. Hitoshi was directly behind his seat though, which made him feel a bit better.
“Hello! My name’s Hashiru!” One of the kids greeted excitedly. “I like tag! What do you like?”
“And I’m Tammi! I like coloring!”
“I’m Hiyaku, nice to meet you.”
Shouto blinked at his new classmates. They were certainly louder than he was used to. Not even Izuku was normally that loud.
“I- I like playing heroes,” Shouto said quietly.
“Cool!” Tammi yelled. “I like playing heroes too! My favorite’s All Might, ‘cause he’s so strong.”
“Yeah! I like Ms. Joke!”
“My favorite hero is Ingenium.”
Shouto nodded along. He knew who those heroes were thanks to Izuku and Hitoshi. So far, his favorite is Ryukyu. He said as much to his table-mates. They gave similar reactions of enthusiasm.
Maybe school wouldn’t be so bad.
Lunchtime was new. Shouto had never had a lunchtime that was outside. Before it had been schoolwork and only schoolwork until he was finished, but this school was fun. He even got to color something! It was him and everyone in his (now significantly bigger) family. The teacher told him he did a good job.
At lunch they all took their lunch boxes outside to eat. Shouto hung back for a minute to avoid the crowd. He was one of the last out the door.
Shouto immediately spotted his new brothers under a tree. They had told him to meet there if he got put at a different table in class. He was just happy he could talk with them now.
“Hey Hisame!”
Shouto turned, seeing his table-mates standing a few feet from him. They all looked on some variation of disgust or fear.
“Why’re you going over there? That’s where the freaks sit.”
Shouto scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. “Freaks?”
“Yeah,” Tammi said, scrunching her nose like something smelled bad. “The purple one can control you like a puppet. He’s creepy. The other one always hangs out with him and punches people. No one hangs out with them because they’re weird.”
“And you don’t wanna be weird,” Hiyaku added. “Come on, we’re all sitting over here. You can tell us more about Ryukyu.”
Shouto looked at each of them, his anger growing. These were his brothers they were talking about. The nicest, smartest, and most caring people he had ever met. Izuku rescued them from that alley. He had saved them . Just like a hero.
“No,” he growled. “I don’t care. They’re not freaks.”
“Yeah, they sorta are,” Tammi snorted. “They’re weird.”
“ They’re my brothers . Izuku and Hitoshi are some of the best people I’ve ever met, so leave them alone.”
The three stood there, staring at him. Shouto glared them down. No one insulted his family, not without consequences. Hashiru scoffed.
“Come on guys. Leave the freaks to themselves.”
The three turned and walked away. Shouto felt nothing at all for them. Not when he already had Izuku and Hitoshi waiting for him. That was already two more friends than he had ever expected to have. The former number being one, it was a step up.
He ate lunch with his brothers, laughing and smiling. The rest of the class mostly avoided him after that. A bully learned not to mess with him the hard way. Izuku punched him before Shouto could freeze him to the ground.
Shouto decided school might actually be fun after all.
~~~~~~~~~
Natsuo was so excited . He finally got to go to a real school! Touya and Fuyumi were the only ones who had gone to an actual one before, even if it was only for a little while, but they had told him what to expect. It sounded fun! Especially PE. Natsuo couldn’t wait for PE. Getting an entire hour just to run around? Sign him up!
His class was nice too. He didn’t know anyone yet, but that would change soon. His family said he was good at making friends.
It was weird, not having any of his siblings around to help him with things. More than once he had turned in his seat to ask Fuyumi for help, only to find she wasn’t there. Right, her and Touya were at their own school. Not a big deal. It was ok. There were other people that could help with it. Until he got home, at least.
Everything was sorta easy too. He learned it a while ago from their private teachers and Inko. Natsuo still had a bit of trouble though. He was the type of person to throw something out of his mind as soon as he didn’t need it anymore. In this case, it included math. At least it wasn’t too-too hard.
Lunch came soon enough. He didn’t get to see Shouto, Hitoshi, or Izuku, since they weren’t sixth graders like him. Natsuo didn’t see any scorch marks or chunks of ice though, so he guessed their own lunch went alright.
Natsuo was bored though. He didn’t have anyone to sit with, and he was already done eating anyway. Staring at the sky was boring too.
Then he remembered the soccer balls that he saw somewhere when he first walked out. He immediately raced back to find them. Maybe he could practice the move Hisashi had showed him!
The sports equipment was just sitting by the door, so Natsuo scooped up a ball and ran back to the small field where he’d been sitting. There weren’t many people over here. At least this way he wouldn’t hit someone in the face with his playing. Again.
He started trying to copy the moves Hisashi had showed him. Stuff like picking the ball up with your feet and bouncing it on your knee. Natsuo tuned everything else out as he focused on what he was doing.
Only when he heard cheering did he notice there were people watching. He stopped, whipping around to the small crowd that had gathered to watch. Well, five people, but that was still a small crowd.
“That was awesome dude!” One of them yelled, running over. “Can you show me how to do that?”
“Uh, y-yeah, sure! There’s some more soccer balls by the door if you guys want to grab one.”
Natsuo smiled as all five returned, eagerly waiting for him to teach them. It was really cool. School was turning out to be really fun after all.
~~~~~~~~~~
Fuyumi hated school. She hated it with a burning passion. It was ironic, considering her twin’s Quirk. The place was always too loud though. Full of too many people only wanting to be friends because of their dad. Homework sucked and boys were too rowdy.
But that was before. Maybe this one would be better. It was smaller, less prestigious. No snobby rich kids around every corner. Probably. Fuyumi hadn’t actually been in class yet. Hisashi was finishing up signing everything with the principal.
Touya and her were sitting in the hall for the time being. His hand was cold in hers, a side effect of being built for an ice Quirk. Hers was no doubt warm in his.
“Think we’ll be in the same class?” He asked quietly, so it didn’t echo down the empty hallway.
“Hopefully. If we aren’t then we’ll just see each other at lunch.”
“Yeah. One class probably couldn’t handle both of us anyway.”
Fuyumi chuckled at her twin’s antics. They’d be ok. She knew that.
So why did it feel like they were being shoved into the lion's den?
Hisashi came out a minute later, the principal behind him. The man smiled at them comfortingly. “You two ready?”
Both of them nodded and wordlessly got to their feet, letting go of the other’s hand. Hisashi stepped closer to envelope the two of them in a hug. He was warm. Not overpowering like Endeavor. No, Hisashi was more like a blanket than a forest-fire.
“You’re going to do fine, ok? You know the way home, just be back before it gets dark.” Hisashi lowered his voice, enough so the principal couldn’t hear. “If anyone mentions You Know Who you have my full permission to punch them in the face. No Quirks though, understand? You can’t get in as much legal trouble if you only use fists.”
Fuyumi giggled while Touya snorted. It was just like Hisashi to tell them that. Knowing Inko though, she would’ve told them the same thing.
“Thanks, Hisashi. See you at home.”
With that, the twins followed their new principal down the hall.
They were in different classes. Fuyumi’s came first. Touya wished her good luck and promised burns to anyone who looked at her wrong. She laughed it off, and went in, holding her backpack straps like they were a lifeline. Neither them ever liked to be separated.
Fuyumi was introduced by the teacher. She instantly felt happier when the name “Todoroki” didn’t come out of their mouth. Hisame was much, much better.
Her class seemed nice enough. History was the first subject they covered, which Fuyumi was good at. She had already learned the topic a while ago from a tutor. Unlike some people, she actually retained what she learned. That class period she mainly helped other people. At least she knew the names of a few classmates now.
The other periods went similarly. Fuyumi already knew some of it. Math was still confusing, but she managed. The other people at her table looked just as confused sometimes.
When lunchtime rolled around, Fuyumi already had people asking if they wanted her to sit with them. She politely declined, telling them she would be sitting with her brother. All of them shrugged and went on their way. Probably assuming her brother was an underclassmen or something.
She found Touya sitting by himself under a tree. His back resting against the wood with his eyes closed, lunch in his lap. Fuyumi grinned, walking over. It was hard not to notice the other people glancing his way. She only hoped it wasn’t because he did something bad, since it was their first day here .
Fuyumi sat herself down besides him, taking out her own lunch. Touya opened his eyes just enough to look at her.
“So, what’d you do to make people stare at you?”
Touya smirked, closing his eyes again. “Nothing.”
“Yeah, and my hair’s orange. Touya, what did you do .”
“No, I’m serious. I didn’t actually do anything this time, twin’s promise.”
Well, at least she knew he hadn’t done anything against the rules. When they said ‘twin’s promise’ they were telling the truth on their mother’s name. It was something they come up with when they were younger. Neither of them would ever go against Mother, especially after she was taken away.
It didn’t exactly take long for Fuyumi to figure out why people were staring at Touya. Either they somehow knew he was a Todoroki Endeavor’s son, or they thought he was cute. Most likely the latter. Her twin had always been handsome, what with his red hair, pretty face, and piercing he was wearing again thanks to Inko. He was a complete bad boy, albeit one that wouldn’t break a rule unless he knew for a fact he could get away with it.
They ate lunch together, happily discussing what had happened in the other’s class. Touya told her about a student that asked where the French Revolution was. In turn she told him how one of the people in her class very confidently told her two plus five was eight until she made him count on his hands.
In short, school was decently easy. Fuyumi liked it a lot better than private tutors in their stifling mansion. Maybe she’d finally make some real friends.
The thought made her smile.
Bonus:
Shouto didn’t like his table-mates anymore. They ignored him and acted like he didn’t exist now. It was ok though, Hitoshi was right behind him. They’d talk while the teacher wasn’t looking. The other kids wouldn’t tell on them either, since they were too scared of Hitoshi.
But as much as Shouto told himself it didn’t matter, it still made him sad. The other kids had seemed decent. Not that he would take back what he said, but why couldn’t he have been sat with nicer people?
Hitoshi must have noticed. Shouto felt a tap on his arm while everyone else was doing a math worksheet. He turned around in his seat, since they were technically allowed to talk right now.
He was met with the sight of Hitoshi discreetly handing him an entire full-sized bag of marshmallows. The big ones too. His brother was smiling brightly.
“Shh, teacher thinks I stopped-ed bringing them,” Hitoshi whispered, putting a finger to his lips. “Make me happy, so make you happy.”
Shouto grinned down at the treat. Who knew he’d one day have a brother smuggling him marshmallows in the middle of class. “Thank you, Hitoshi.”
~~~~~~~~~~
* Ring Ring *
“Is this Inko Midoriya?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“My name is Mrs. Tsukareta.”
“Ah, you’re my sons’ teacher.” Inko paused. “What did they do?”
Mrs. Tsukareta sighed loudly. “Your son, Shouto Hisame, was found with a half empty bag of marshmallows. I suspect Hitoshi gave them to him, but neither are saying anything. Izuku apparently doesn’t know anything. Could you please stop them? This was enough of a problem last year with Mrs. Toko.”
Inko stifled her laughter away from the speaker. Because of course Hitoshi would bring marshmallows to give to Shouto. Whenever he noticed anyone feeling bad his immediate reaction was to give them something that made him happy. Given, a child giving you a marshmallow with a very serious face makes it extremely hard to be sad.
She normally would have wondered why the teacher sounded so tired, but Inko knew why. Her boys were a handful. Mrs. Tsukareta’s Quirk was also something sleep related, if she remembers Izuku’s ramblings correctly.
“Yes, I will make sure they don’t do that again this year. Apologies for my sons,” she said, still trying her best not to laugh.
“Thank you, Mrs. Midoriya. Have a nice day.”
The call disconnected, allowing Inko to laugh freely.
If her boys were then limited to doing that only once per school year, then the teachers probably wouldn’t connect the dots.
Notes:
I hope you liked the chapter! All of your guys' comments make me smile and give me so many ideas, so thank you to everyone who has taken the time to do that! Have a good day/night :D!!
Next chapter!: Character development! A hero exam! (and maybe a birb)
Chapter 13: It Was Never His, and Neither Were You
Summary:
A wild Mr. Birb appears! Also hero exams and other cuteness
Notes:
Hello my amazing readers!
Rapid-fire character development, go!
Also brought to you by listening to Finish Line by Skillet on repeat.
Miruko. Miruko do you know how annoying your last name is to write? Why does Japanese have such a long word for Rabbit? Why.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Izuku was confused.
It had started with him asking Shouto why he only used his ice. Izuku knew he had fire too, so why didn’t he use it? The answer was silence and clipped words about it not being his, but his father’s. Izuku didn’t like it.
So he went and asked Touya too. The answer he received was that their fire was Endeavor’s, so Shouto swore never to use it. It had hurt too many people. Touya only used his because he had nothing else, and it was different enough to not make his skin crawl too much.
Izuku did not like that. His family was free from that man, and had been for months now. They shouldn’t have to deal with his shadow still hanging over them. Genetics were just genetics, it didn’t dictate who they were. Their Quirks weren’t their parents, All Might had said so on TV. If All Might said it then it must be true.
That was his line of logic as he cornered the two in the kitchen. Fuyumi was out with some new friends, Natsuo was playing soccer with Dad outside, and Hitoshi was sleeping. Momma was busy with her job in the other room. It was just the three of them, and Izuku was determined to change their mind.
“Why do you not use fire?” Izuku asked bluntly, but kindly. His voice was soft in the quiet room.
Shouto looked mad, but Izuku knew he was scared too. Touya was closed off. Izuku didn’t like when his brothers looked like this.
“Because it’s his ,” Shouto growled, staring at the tile floor. “I told you Zuku, it hurts people.”
“We told you already, Izuku, we won’t let him shadow us with his fire. Shouto will use Mother’s ice, and I can’t use my flames much anyway. We’ll surpass him without using the power he made us for. We won’t let him win.”
“But…but he wins anyway,” Izuku whispered, staring at the floor. Tears were gathering in his eyes. “He made you to- to surp-pass him. He won’t care how, Aniki.”
“But it’s his-“
“No!” Izuku yelled, tears streaming down his face as he stared down his shell-shocked brothers. “It’s yours! Your Quirk, not his! You aren’t his anymore!”
The kitchen was quiet, save for Izuku’s sniffling. The two Hisames stared at Izuku with awestruck expressions.
“You’re not his,” Izuku said quietly, staring at the floor again. “You’re your own persons. It’s not his fire. Please, don’t let him keep hurting you when he’s already gone.”
Izuku’s head whipped up when he saw the glow of yellow light. The sight that met him was almost ethereal, if it wasn’t taking place in the kitchen. Shouto was standing with his mouth open, his entire left side on fire. It twisted and danced along the arm he raised to look at.
One look at Touya and he ignited his hand. He was smiling softly, watching his fire spark off his skin. The blue was beautiful, and so, so different than the red of Endeavor.
Izuku beamed. He knew it would still take time until they were fully better, but he had helped. They would be ok, Izuku knew they would be.
He threw his arms up and jumped around, cheering for Touya and Shouto. For his brothers. Izuku was so happy and proud of them.
Then three things happened all at once.
One: the fire alarms went off. Thankfully their building didn’t have sprinklers, or everything would be getting soaked. The alarm was a loud and piercing wail that hurt their ears though. The two Hisames instantly covered their ears, fire extinguishing immediately.
Two: Izuku slammed his hands down, also to cover his ears. Problem was, the counter was in the way. The three heard a crack , and two of Izuku’s fingers were suddenly bending wrong.
Three: “Momma!” “ Inko! ”
She came rushing in to see Izuku clutching a broken hand, Shouto with embers on his half-melted-off clothes, and Touya trying to swat at the fire alarm above their heads. Oh boy.
One trip to the hospital with five out of six kids later, and Izuku had a cool new finger cast thing. It was blue. He liked blue. It also hurt, but he was told it’d go away soon.
They had a long, long talk when they got home. Mostly between Shouto, Touya, and Momma, but Izuku was still there for moral support.
The four were gonna start going to therapy. Izuku was happy when Momma said it would help them with their fire. Knowing it was ok to use it, at least.
Izuku was just happy he could help them. It was what heroes did, and he was going to be a hero.
~~~~~~~~~~
It had been almost a year now. A year since Izuku had found them in that alley. A year since Inko and Hisashi had taken them in and gave them a home. Mother was still in the hospital, but she was getting better. Inko estimated she would be out by the time another year passed, maybe two. Touya hoped that was accurate.
It had also been maybe nine months since Shouto had started using his fire. Touya was proud of him, and of Izuku. Who knew this little green bean could make them change their mindset.
They hadn’t moved to a real house yet. Between Inko getting a lot more cases and Hisashi getting promoted at his work, they haven’t had time. In the meantime the four other boys shared a room, while Touya and Fuyumi had a big futon couch in the living room.
It was leagues better than before, so not a single one of them complained. The three six year-olds still slept in a pile, while Natsuo took one of the other beds. Despite attempts to stop them, it never worked.
Celebrating Hitoshi and Natsuo’s birthdays were fun. They were on the same day, after all. Izuku’s was two weeks later. Touya remembered very clearly Izuku’s face when Touya gave him his birthday present, a nice notebook he’d been saving to buy. Hitoshi had gotten a scarf Fuyumi and him worked on together. Natsuo received a new soccer ball, which he loved.
Touya decided he loved birthdays now. They had never been a big thing for them before, just a date saying they had lived another year in hell. But with the Midoriyas? Birthdays were a lot better.
Months passed, and school kept going. Touya didn’t really have friends, but most people on campus knew him. Fuyumi had friends though, so they were both happy. Izuku, Shouto, and Hitoshi apparently stuck close in their own classes. Natsuo already had a group he was playing sports with on the weekends.
Then came the time for hero school entrance exams. Touya knew for a fact he didn’t want to go to UA, so they did some research on the schools nearby. The small, prestigious ones they couldn’t afford, but Touya didn’t want to be stuck with snobs for all of high school anyway. Instead, they decided on Ketsubutsu. It was a single train ride away, and the entrance exam was soon.
Unlike UA, Ketsubutsu wasn’t as bias towards physical Quirks. Their entrance exam was an obstacle course that was also like an easter egg hunt. That was all he knew though. Hopefully it would be enough to prepare.
Hisashi had been helping him with his fire, which had already been a million times more useful than any “training” he got from Endeavor. In the months they’d been living with the Midoriyas he had already learned so much. One thing he’d learned was that short, controlled bursts were just as potent, if not more, than Endeavor’s fire. It also left no burns on his hands, so he would use those until he learned more.
All of that lead up to now.
Touya was nervous, extremely so. The gates loomed a few feet in front of him. Past those gates might lay his future school. If he can only pass their entrance exam, then he’d be accomplishing his dream. Not
his father’s
Endeavor’s dream, but his and only his.
His family was behind him. Literally. Inko, Hisashi, Izuku, Hitoshi, Shouto, Natsuo, and Fuyumi were all standing around him. The smaller four were staring at him with stars in their eyes. The two adults looked like they were on the verge of tears. Fuyumi was already crying.
So here he was, standing in front of the school he could be going to in a few months. His family beside him. He really had come so far since they’d been taken in. It made him smile.
“Are you ready, Touya?” Inko asked worriedly.
“Yeah, I’m ready. Have everything I need.” Touya lit a fist on fire for a moment. It got everyone to laugh, so he considered that a win.
“Ok, ok. Go on,” Hisashi laughed. “We’ll come get you when you’re done.”
“Alright, bye you guys.”
Touya waved, walking onto the school grounds. Other prospective students were walking in with him.
“Good luck, Aniki!” Came three yells from behind him.
Touya turned, sending one last smile to his family, before walking through the doors. He would get in, and he would do it for them. Heroes needed something to drive them, right? His family would be his motivator, not vengeance. Not entirely, at least.
One upping Endeavor would just be a bonus.
The written test was decently easy. Touya knew most of it, and hoped his answers were close enough on the rest. They were moving onto the physical now. The race and hunt.
Everyone was split up into different groups of thirty to forty. A lot of people for an easter egg hunt, Touya thought. They would be released into an obstacle course that more-or-less mimicked the real world. There was a fake city, forest, fields, and multiple little obstacles scattered everywhere. Their goal was to find eggs and reach the finish line as fast as you could. Each of them were also given a drawstring bag to keep the eggs in.
Touya had listened to Izuku pick apart the points system. He was very, very proud of his new little brother, and amazed that someone so little could do something like that. Then he remembered Izuku had an analysis Quirk, so it came natural to him. Still, he was five (almost six, he could practically hear him say indignantly) and Touya had paraded him around the apartment cheering about his smartness. He was pretty sure Inko had taken pictures.
The short version of what Izuku had rattled off was that were were two, maybe three, ways to gain points. Getting over the finish line quicker than other people, and the eggs. It catered towards both rescue heroes and fighting ones.
Izuku also theorized there was something called “cooperation points,” which was when you put aside rivalries and helped out another person. Touya guessed it made sense. The points weren’t a sure thing though, so Touya chose not to rely on the idea of it. If someone needed help he’d help them, but not for points. That was something Endeavor would do, and he wasn’t Endeavor.
Touya shook his head to clear it, crouching in a sprinter's stance at the starting line. They would be starting any minute now. He had to focus. He had to get in, and he’d do it for his family.
A voice yelled for them to go, and Touya was off like a shot. He was by no means the fastest or strongest, but having a smaller frame had its advantages. Training with Hisashi had done wonders for his speed too.
Touya didn’t look back, but heard the announcer tell the attendees that real life had no countdown. He briefly noted that only a few others had taken off immediately like him. Quite literally, in the case of a boy with wings. He focused back on the task at hand, keeping his pace. There were no eggs in the first few yards.
The city came first. All twisting streets, alleys, and pipes. Touya wasn’t about to climb a building without a way down, so he stuck to the ground. There were plenty of eggs hidden there anyway. Once he realized they were nestled in a lot of niches, he snatched them up. His competition had spread out, so there was no one he could see at the moment. It felt too quiet for an exam with over thirty people.
He kept moving forward. The exit was somewhere nearby, he just had to find it.
A couple turns later, and Touya found himself in a forest. There were already a few brightly colored eggs that he could see. Whoever hid these must’ve had fun. The things were everywhere, including in trees and under rocks. Geez, how many eggs were there?
The forest was dense, with no obvious path. It was probably meant to test their navigation skills or something, but Touya just found it annoying. Since the whole thing was flammable he couldn’t use his fire to light the way.
Then he heard a screech over his head, and a red thing hurtling towards earth. The sound was almost like a bird of prey, but…scared. Whatever it was, it crashed through the canopy somewhere behind him. Touya hardly hesitated before racing back.
He pushed his way through a bush to see the student with wings lying on the ground, red feathers scattered everywhere. Touya very carefully made his way over, gently shaking bird-boy’s shoulder.
“Hey, hey, you ok?”
The person responded by groaning and lifting his head. At least he wasn’t missing any teeth. His nose didn’t look broken either, which was good.
They then tried to scramble away from Touya. Which, nope, was not happening. Especially if he was hurt.
“Hey, chill, I’m just trying to help. Your wings aren’t broken, are they?”
They eyed him skeptically, red feathers puffing up just like a real bird. “What’s it to you? Want to take out the competition?”
“What? Why on earth would I do that?” Touya sighed, getting back to his feet. He offered a hand to the bird-boy. “Come on. If your wings aren’t broken then you’re at least bruised from falling.”
“Why…why are you helping me?”
“Because I want to be a hero that helps, not one that leaves people behind. Come on Birdie, there’s still a lot of race left.”
The boy took his hand hesitantly, but it was better than nothing. Touya pulled him to his feet, making note that he was holding an arm to his chest. The wing on that side was probably hurt too.
“So, how’d you fall?”
“Someone shot me down. Don’t know if it’s part of the exam or not, but I went down. Can’t get in the air with all these leaves anyway.”
Touya hummed, setting their pace at a jog. Both of them snatched up eggs on the way. By the time they were out of the forest Touya was laughing as the boy tripped trying to get an egg and fell into mud.
Next was a massive ice blockade that spanned wall to wall. No way around, so either over or under. Touya knew what he was going to do. A smile lit his face as he stared up at the obstacle.
“So, can you take off or are your wings too hurt?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Not an answer. Are you wings hurt?”
The boy faltered. “Th-they hurt a bit, but I’ll be ok.”
“Nope, not happening. Get on my back, I’ll carry you over.”
The boy squawked, wings flaring again. Touya caught his wince though. “F-fine, but how do you plan to do that?”
“You’ll see,” Touya smirked. “Just trust me. We’re already near the front, so how bad could it go?”
“Very badly. But ok.”
The boy climbed onto Touya’s back just like Shouto, Izuku, and Hitoshi did a lot. Natsuo did it too sometimes, but it was usually accompanied by whining about school or his feet hurting.
Touya smiled as he broke into a sprint directly towards the wall. The boy with wings yelped, clinging tighter and tucking his wings close. He felt his hands and feet heating up. Good thing he wore the fireproof shoes Hisashi had got him.
He leapt at the wall when he got close, blue flames hovering above the skin on his hands and feet. The fire instantly melted hand and footholds. Bird-boy shrieked in his ear as they hit the wall, not seeing what Touya was doing. Thankfully he had practice on not wavering with loud noises.
Touya skittered up the wall like a squirrel, melting the holds behind him. No one behind him could use them then. The boy on his back clung even tighter as they reached the top.
“There, see?” Touya panted, letting the boy down when they finally stopped at the top. “Can you glide from here?”
The boy was staring out at the last leg of the race, which was an open field. Probably had some sort of trap. Maybe a minefield of flash-bombs or shifting dirt. For all Touya knew, it would turn into a game of the floor is lava. He had experience in that at least. There were already a few people down there, and they looked to be stepping cautiously.
“Hey, Birdie, you ok?”
“Yeah, just thinking. That floor’s probably trapped, right?”
“Most likely. Go on, I can handle it.”
Touya sat down, going to slide down the other side of the wall. With enough momentum he could get a speed boost, just in case there were people behind them.
A hand caught his arm before he slid down. He looked up, seeing bird-boy standing there.
“I’m…I’m probably not supposed to do this,” he muttered, ”But let me help you too. I can carry you across the field.”
“You…are you sure?”
“Yeah. My trainers might get mad, but you helped me. The least I can do is help you back.”
Touya shrugged, standing again. His shoes were still warm, so his own footprints stopped him from sliding away. “Alright then, as long as you think you can handle both our weights.”
“I can,” he insisted. “Try not to scream.”
Touya was about to ask what he meant, when his feet left the ground. He did not, in fact, scream. Instead he held very, very still. He knew the basic physics how things flew. Him moving could send them into a wall or something.
They were flying (well, gliding) well above the very likely trapped ground. Touya smiled wildly, enjoying the height. He had always wanted to be able to fly. Most kids did, but not many ever really got to.
“Whoooooooo!”
Touya heard the bird-boy laugh, flapping his wings to get more air. The grass below them blurred as they went even faster. Other people looked up in amazement at the two people flying clear over the obstacle.
Touya’s feet hit the ground, bird-boy landing a second later. They were both smiling, Touya giggling from the adrenaline rush. His bag was still attached to him, and the other boy had his.
“Oh man, that was awesome!” Touya cheered breathlessly. “My name’s Touya Hisame, by the way.”
“I’m Hawks,” he said immediately. It was mechanical, like he’d said it a billion times before. It made Touya pause.
“I mean your real name.”
“Oh, that is my real name. Hawks.”
“Well, then it’s nice to meet you, Hawks. Thanks for flying me here.”
“Thanks for helping me ,” Hawks laughed, his red wings resting against his back now. “I hope we both get in.”
“Yeah, me too. My little brothers would be sad if I didn’t.”
“You have a little brother?”
“Four of ‘em, and one sister. You would not believe how long it takes to get everyone ready in the morning.”
“Wow. I’ve always wanted siblings, but maybe not that many.”
Touya barked a laugh, grinning at Hawks. “They grow on you, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Anyway, we should go turn our eggs in.”
Hawks immediately smiled, but waited for Touya before he started walking. They talked on the way. Aimless chatter about their likes and dislikes mostly. Funny stories, mainly told by Touya about his siblings.
The boy with wings was nice, but still mysterious. He left Touya to wonder why he didn’t have a real name, and why.
He hoped his theory was wrong.
They both got a lot of eggs. Touya didn’t know how many points it added up to, but he hoped it was enough. Hawks had just as many, and also hadn’t been counting apparently. Both just shrugged and went to leave the school grounds.
They were stopped by a shout. Well, Touya was, since it was his name someone was yelling.
“Hisame! Hey Hisame!”
Touya turned around, wondering who he knew here. What he saw was a girl leaping over everyone’s heads until she was standing in front of Hawks and him. She looked a bit like a rabbit. He did recognize her though. She was from their middle school, but neither of them had ever spoken.
“You’re twin is Fuyumi Hisame, right?” She asked, smiling brightly.
“Yeah…why?”
“I knew it!” She jumped up, and flew up at least four feet off the ground. “Sorry, just excited.”
“Well, you know my name, what’s yours?”
“Rumi Usagiyama, at your service.”
Touya was still skeptical, but he did remember her now. “Touya Hisame, that’s Hawks. My sister’s mentioned you before, actually. You need a lot of help with history.”
He swore he saw her face start turning pink. “Uh, I guess so. History’s never really been my thing, ya know? Anyhow, think you did good?”
“Probably.”
“I think we did great!” Hawks exclaimed, smiling happily. “How about you, Usagiyama?”
“Eh, I hope I got enough eggs.” She shrugged, turning towards the gates again. “Mind if I walk with you guys?”
Touya shrugged right as Hawks yelled “Sure!”
He listened as the two talked on the way out of the gates. It was nice, having people like that around him. You know, ones that were his age.
They all split ways as soon as they reached the gates. Hawks went one way while Usagiyama went the other. Touya waved them goodbye, knowing his family was going to meet him near the gates anyway. He wondered if they bought any mochi at the store.
His thoughts were interrupted by a trio of tiny people sprinting into his legs. Three yells of “Aniki!” accompanied him trying not to fall on his butt. Touya laughed, wrapping his arms around his three smallest brothers.
“Aniki! Aniki! You do good?” Hitoshi asked first.
“‘Course he did!” Shouto crowed. “He’s Touya!”
“You did good, Aniki? Got lots of eggs?” Izuku question last, smiling that million watt smile of his.
“Yeah, I did good,” Touya laughed, ruffling their hair. Shouto and Hitoshi attached themselves to his legs, while Izuku scampered onto his back and held on tight. “Did you guys miss me?”
“Miss-ded Aniki! Shopping boring today,” Hitoshi declared.
“I’m sure it was.”
Touya smiled, walking a few steps with the added weights. Natsuo barreled into him a minute later, thankfully not knocking anyone over.
“So how’d you do Touya? Did you win? Did you get a lot of eggs? Did you-“
“Natsuo, slow down, he can’t answer anything if he can’t hear the question.” And there was Fuyumi. Inko was standing off to the side, a proud smile on her face. Touya didn’t know if he’d ever get used to having it directed at him.
“I did good, Natsu,” Touya assured. “Even met some new people.”
“Really!” Izuku exclaimed from his back. “What were they like? What are their Quirks? Were they nice?”
“Yeah, Izuku, they were nice,” he chuckled. “One had wings, and one had a rabbit mutation or something.”
“Wow! That’s so cool! I wanna meet them!”
“Of course you do.”
Touya couldn’t help his grin as they all walked down the street. Shouto and Hitoshi were each holding one of his hands now, since waddling down the street with two grade schoolers attached to ones legs is a bit hard. Izuku refused to budge though. It wasn’t a problem since he was so small.
They headed home, all of them smiling and laughing at something another said or did. It was…it felt like home to Touya. It felt like he’d finally found his family.
And he’d be damned to hell before he let them go.
~~~~~~~~~~
Inko hummed to herself as she finished washing the dishes. The ones that wouldn’t fit in the dishwasher, at least. Dinner had been eventful, with Touya telling them all about the exam. It sounded interesting.
Izuku had been acting odd though. Inko noticed it, and she guessed most of the other kids had too. Hitoshi and Shouto had practically glued themselves to his side. She watched him closely, but couldn’t figure out what was bothering him.
Inko hoped he would at least tell his brothers what was wrong. She just wanted her son to be ok, even if she didn’t know what was troubling him. That applied to all of her children, really.
So she went through the motions of cleaning up after dinner. Hisashi had taken most of the kids outside to play before it got dark, so the apartment was quiet. It was something that was slowly becoming more odd as time went on. Inko wondered if there really was a time, before all the kids, that this was the default of their home. The thought felt weird now after everything.
With it being so quiet though, it allowed her to hear little feet pattering into the kitchen. She calmly dried the last dish and put it away. The footsteps stopped in the kitchen doorway. Inko turned slightly, seeing Izuku hesitating on the threshold.
“Izuku? Is there something you need, bug?”
Her son wavered, but walked up to Inko regardless. He rested his head of curly hair against her side, his face angled towards the floor.
Inko brushed a hand through his curls, kneeling on the floor to be on his level. Izuku didn’t look up from the floor, making Inko more worried.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong?”
It took a second, but Izuku opened his mouth to speak. His voice was small. Inko hadn’t heard it sound like that in a while.
“A-Aniki is g-going to be a- a hero. Even th-though he doesn’t like his- like his Quirk yet.”
Inko nodded, not quite knowing where he was going with this yet. Izuku was very close to crying. She kept a hand on his arm in comfort.
“Momma c-can I- can I be a hero? I k-know I don’t have a strong Quirk l-like Aniki or Toshi or- or Sho, but I still wanna be a- a hero.”
Inko almost instantly pulled her son into a hug. He clung to her, the tears beginning to fall now. She rubbed circles on his back, softly hushing him and holding his tight.
“I never gave you an answer last time you asked, did I?” Inko said quietly. “I’m sorry for that, Izuku. You deserve an answer, sweetie.”
“Momma?”
“You can be a hero, Izuku. I know you can, and you’re going to be an amazing one. Ever since the day you were born I knew you would do great things. As long as you have that brain of yours, you’ll be just fine.”
Izuku was sobbing now, but he was smiling. He held onto Inko with a strong grip. She smiled softly as she held her son on the kitchen floor. She meant every word she said.
“Never doubt that you can be a hero, ok Izuku? No one can ever tell you what you can and can’t be.”
“O-ok Momma.”
Inko kissed the top of her son’s head, knowing without a doubt he was going to do something amazing in the world. Call it mothers’ instinct or intuition, but she knew he would go down in history.
Her children, all of them, were going to change the world
Notes:
*Looks at word count of this chapter* Uhhh, yeah, so this is the longest one yet? Clocking in at just over 4,500 words. I technically could have split it up, but it made more sense to put it in one, so here we are!
ALSO: Yes, I know their ages are different, but the opportunity for the twins, Hawks, and Miruko to be friends (or more) was too good to pass up.EDIT (9/15/21): Yes hello I keep getting questions about this so here we go! Answer time! When Izuku says he doesn't have a strong quirk like Touya or Shouto, he just meant that a mental quirk like Analysis isn't offensive, and generally considered a "weak" quirk. I know I didn't do the best job of clarifying that, sorry :(
Also when Inko said that she didn't answer him last time, there's a scene in chapter one where she avoids the question instead of giving him an answer, not the canon scene of sobbing because he's quirkless. I hope that cleared some things up for those of you still confused!
Chapter 14: First Days
Summary:
AKA how many sibling shenanigans can I cram into one chapter before the angst train hits the station
Notes:
Hello amazing person reading this!
Not much to say here, but:
Countdown to next kid: Next chapter mothergruckers
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Touya’s letter arrived just over a week later.
He had been nervously pacing holes in the carpet for days now. Fuyumi had already thrown a pillow at him from their bed today (which was the futon couch for now, since they didn’t have enough space for actual beds in the apartment. Neither of them minded) and told him to knock it off. He didn’t stop, if only to spite her now.
Fuyumi wasn’t stressing, since she was going to a normal high school. She would even know a few people there that had gone to their middle school. Natsuo would be going to the middle school they were leaving. Izuku, Hitoshi, and Shouto were only going to the second grade, so they didn’t have to worry about going to a new school yet.
Hopefully their next teacher knew better than to separate them. Last time they had been put at different ends of the classroom, well…Touya didn’t really know. The three came home giggling, muddy, and with orange juice in their hair. How they managed that, he didn’t know. It was fall, there was no mud outside, and none of them had brought juice that day. Apparently the others got off worse.
Touya didn’t ask for details, plausible deniability and all that. Not that he thought his siblings did something illegal. But if any little kids were going to, then it would be those three.
Anyway, he was still pacing. The mail would be here any minute now. Everyone else was out of the house, besides Fuyumi of course. She was reading a book while the TV droned on in the background. Touya was probably watching it at one point, but he couldn’t focus on anything right now. Not when his future hinged on a letter arriving today.
“If you’re so worried, just go check downstairs,” Fuyumi grumbled, obviously fed up with his pacing. “Maybe the mail came already.”
Touya stopped, considering the idea. Well, it couldn’t hurt to at least check. Worst case scenario it wasn’t there and he check again later. Best case, it was there and he opened it and got in.
“Be back in a minute!”
He heard Fuyumi sigh before the door closed. As soon as it was he sprinted down the hallway. The downstairs neighbors were probably grumbling about it, since this was the fourth time he had done that this week. At least he remembered shoes this time.
Touya skidded around the final corner, having forgone the elevator in favor of leaping the stairs two or three at a time. He was pretty sure everyone in the building could hear him, but he really didn’t care at the moment. All he knew was that he wanted to see if his letter was here yet.
There were three people on the ground floor that Touya could see. All of them shot him annoyed looks as he made a B-line for the mailboxes. He pretended not to see them. It took a few tries for him to get the key out of his pocket, but he managed it.
Touya probably burst people’s eardrums when he saw the letter. It was in a big envelope, and took up most of the mailbox. He snatched it up, along with the rest of the mail, and darted back upstairs.
He flung open the door so hard it hit the wall. Fuyumi jolted at the sudden bang, glaring at him over the top of her book. She stopped when she saw the envelope he was waving. Words decided to abandon his vocal cords, so Touya was left wheezing and squawking excitedly.
“Well don’t just stand there, open it!”
Touya hesitated. He wanted to open the letter. He wanted to open it really badly, but…but he wanted everyone to be there. They had been there for him through this whole thing, they deserve to see the results with him.
“Wh-when are they all getting- getting home?” He panted, still out of breath since he ran up three flights of stairs.
“Inko should be back soon with the boys. Hisashi gets home in like-” she glanced at the clock hanging on the wall “-fifteen minutes. Do you want to wait for them?”
“Yes.”
“Ok then. Can you at least stop pacing please ?”
“Mayhaps.”
Fuyumi groaned as Touya laughed. He just had to wait a little longer. It would be worth it.
~~~~~~~~~
Hisashi returned home to…well, not chaos , per say, but…ok yeah, it was chaos. Pure and utter chaos. Touya was leaping over the couch, Fuyumi chasing him with a pillow in one hand and a novel of hers in the other. Izuku was smacking Hitoshi with a pillow while Shouto was aggressively launching another at Natsuo, who was trying to scramble away from Fuyumi’s warpath.
He found Inko sitting in the kitchen, peacefully sipping coffee while she read over paperwork. An island of calm in the chaos that was their living room. To say Hisashi was confused would be an understatement.
“Inko, love, what happened?”
“Oh, the kids? I believe Touya tried to take Fuyumi’s book before I got back. She grabbed it and started hitting him with a pillow as revenge. Izuku and Hitoshi found it funny, as did Shouto. Natsuo knocked Izuku over and Shouto is taking revenge for that, last I checked.” Inko put down her coffee, smiling at Hisashi. “So how was your day?”
“Uh, good. The Urarakas invited the two of us out for dinner sometime.”
“That sounds lovely, dear. Certainly the best bosses you’ve had in a while.”
Hisashi chuckled, sitting at the table as well. “Since you, my love.”
“Oh please, I wasn’t your boss.”
“And who saved my butt all those times? Certainly wasn’t Mitsuki, and definitely not Masaru.”
They both smiled sadly at the mention of their old friends. They had all been so close, once upon a time. Masaru being Inko’s best friend and Mitsuki Hisashi’s. As soon as they were introduced, the two pairs had gotten along like a bonfire. It ended with both couples being married, having kids, and…and having to separate those kids. Hisashi had never thought their different views would separate them like that. But it did, and they couldn't go back. Not if Izuku was at risk. Any of their kids really.
It had been around two years now. They occasionally saw the Bakugous around town, or in the neighborhood since they lived nearby, but made an effort to avoid them if Katsuki was with them. Inko was still friends with the two on whatever social media she had, at least.
“Anyway,” he started again, “think they’ll calm down enough so Touya can open the letter sitting on the counter?”
“I sure hope so. He waited for us to be here, you know. Such a sweet boy.”
Hisashi got up to pour himself a cup of coffee. Unlike his wife, he added enough cream and sugar to probably give him cavities.
The two sat at the table quietly. Inko’s pen occasionally scratching on paper, while Hisashi tapped at something on his phone. Their own calm untouched by the chaos that was their living room.
But as with all things, it didn’t last long. They didn’t really notice when the living room had fallen silent. Not until six pairs of footsteps were thundering towards the kitchen. First came Touya, who slid on the floor to snatch his letter before anyone else could. Second was Natsuo, who nearly tackled his brother.
The others came in just as excitedly, but thankfully didn’t run into anything. Hisashi and Inko moved their coffee away from the edge of the table just incase.
“Open it, Aniki! Open it!” The three six year-olds crowed.
“Yeah! Come on, I wanna see if you got in!” Natsuo added.
“Alright, alright! Calm down!” Touya laughed, holding the letter above his head and away from grabby hands. “Stop trying to grab it and I can open it!”
The four boys almost immediately plopped themselves on the floor. Fuyumi took the chair between Hisashi and Inko. Touya blinked, but began nervously opening the letter. Hisashi leaned forward, anticipation taking over the room.
Touya pulled the papers out of the envelope. The front one had a lot of writing on it.
His eyes flicked over the words. Slowly, his expression changed to shock.
“I…” Touya looked up at them, tears shining in his eyes. He smiled. “I got in. I did it.”
You would’ve thought they had been told he won the lottery, with how much they all cheered. Half of the family was crying.
It was one of the best moments of their lives.
~~~~~~~~~~
Touya was freaking out. Mildly.
Why? Because Ketsubutsu started today. He started school today. Hero school. By himself . Fuyumi was going to a normal high school, so for the first time in almost all his life, he would be separated from her. It was terrifying, even more than going to a new school.
He was already walking down the hallway to his classroom, glancing at the map he had taken a picture of thanks to his new phone.Inko and Hisashi gave it to him as a gift for getting into Ketsubutsu. Fuyumi got one too. Their fourth little brothers had whined for a week about not having phones too, despite them being six and eleven respectively.
Touya shook his head fondly at the memory. Izuku had stolen his phone more than once to look up something. Hitoshi and Shouto had been found hiding under a blanket watching cat videos. So far, all of Natsuo’s plans to steal either phone had been foiled.
The door to his new classroom appeared quicker than he would’ve liked. Touya took a deep breath, steeling himself, and walked inside.
And immediately had to duck to avoid a sharp, red feather.
“Hisame! You got in too!”
Touya looked back up to see Usagiyama literally leaping over desks. Hawks was standing farther back, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. The feather that had almost hit Touya came zooming back in, albeit more carefully than when it had gone out.
“Yeah, I did. Both of you are in 1-B too?”
“Yep!”
“Yeah! Hey Hisame, is your sister here too?”
“Why, still need ‘help’ with history?”
“No.”
Touya laughed, explaining Fuyumi wanted to be a teacher, not a hero. Usagiyama understood, asking if they could exchange numbers. Hawks happily agreed to give his too. Maybe, Touya thought, this year wouldn’t be so bad.
~~~~~~~~~~
Izuku was so excited for school! He could finally learn more new things! And Hitoshi and Shouto were at his table this time too! Which was good, because they would’ve found a way to sit together regardless of what the teacher said. Momma’s rule of one marshmallows per year was sticking. Mostly. If Izuku snuck out a small bag of them, then his brothers certainly weren’t going to say anything.
There were some interesting people in second grade. Like one kid, who could turn into a water monster! Izuku took it in hungrily. All the information and new things being soaked up like a sponge.
Hitoshi nudged him when he started to mutter. Right, not supposed to do that, it could get people hurt. Information was a valuable and dangerous thing. It should stay in his brain or on paper.
Their class was relatively normal, just like first grade had been. Izuku was bored by the time lunch rolled around. He already knew all this math! So did Hitoshi and Shouto! Dad and Momma had taught it to them over the break.
When they were allowed to leave, the three made a b-line out the door, lunches in hand. They immediately sat down under their tree. It was peaceful, and normal.
Then something new happened. Someone walked up to the tree too. Someone that wasn’t one of Izuku’s siblings.
“Hello!” A happy voice chirped, coming from floating clothes. Izuku was immediately intrigued.
“Hi! Are you invisible? Can you see yourself? Are you blind then? Wow, you’re so cool. Wanna sit with us?”
“Zu, rambling,” Hitoshi reminded, still munching on the sandwich Momma had packed for him.
“Oh yeah, sorry!” Izuku apologized, smiling brightly at the invisible person. “Wanna sit with us? I know people say we’re weird, but they’re just boring.”
“That’s what I said!” The person gasped. They sat down, opening their lunchbox, which had cats on it. Izuku could tell Hitoshi immediately liked her more. “My name’s Tooru Hagakure! What’s yours?”
“Izuku Midoriya!”
“Hitoshi Shinsou.”
“Shouto Todo- er, Hisame.”
“Cool! And yeah, I am invisible! I ref- refract light instead of just being invisible, which is how I see still! And I can’t see myself, but I wish I could.”
“That’s awesome! Do you sparkle if it’s bright out?”
“Uh huh, my mommy says I’m like a little star!”
Izuku and Hagakure talked for most of lunch. Hitoshi and Shouto ate quietly, enjoying watching the two talk. They could see Hagakure’s sleeves moving just as enthusiastically as Izuku’s arms were.
It was only when Shouto reached over to hold Izuku’s hand that Hagakure stopped talking. Izuku kept going, used to it by now. It was just something his brother did sometimes. Momma said it was something about being touch-starved.
Suddenly, their new friend gasped. “Are you two,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, leaning closer to the three boys, “ dating? ”
“No?” Izuku answered. “I don’t think so. Are we dating, Shouto?”
“I dunno.”
“Oooooooh, you two should get married!”
“Isn’t marry something moms and dads do?”
“Well yeah, but anyone can get married! I can marry you two!”
“How do we get married?” Izuku asked, tilting his head slightly. He knew Momma and Dad were married, but being six, didn’t fully grasp the concept.
“Ok, so you have to hold hands,” Hagakure instructed. The two listened, holding hands. “Do you promise to still be married when you’re sick and old and to make each other happy until forever?”
“Yes!”
“I promise.”
“Then I now pronounce you married! Oh! That was the lunch bell! See you guys later!”
And with that, their new friend ran off. Izuku, still happily holding hands with Shouto, packed up his lunch. It had been a good day so far.
~~~~~~~~~~
Touya nearly had a heart attack when Izuku burst through the door, holding hands with Shouto, and loudly declared they were husbands now. What even went on in second grade now?!
Notes:
Hagakure was not planned. Neither was the wedding thing. I swear I blink and suddenly a new character introduced themselves and two more are hitched.
(Note: Hagakure does not in fact realize these three are brothers. She doesn't even realize until later in the story, so to her, her line of thinking is completely reasonable. Anyone who has been around little kids for a while can attest to childrens weirdness sometimes)
Addressing this now: TODODEKU WILL NOT BE CANON HERE. I tend to just let the characters go where they want, but currently it’s just going to be Izuku being aggressively affectionate with all of his siblings. So NO romantic TodoDeku, but they will be siblings for the entire story now instead of me following another thread. Also lets me write out a plot point I thought about a while ago :D
Chapter 15: Lost Friends
Summary:
Angst time!
Warning for mentions of death
Notes:
Hello my amazingly patient readers!
Let me first say THANK YOU for being so patient with the slower updates. Finals are cranking my stress levels up to 11, but writing is a nice escape. If I'm lucky I might be able to post a Christmas chapter, but I don't know how likely that is to happen.
Anyway, we're back to angst! I am (sort of) sorry. Also Inko has a Mom Van and nothing can convince me otherwise. (I know them having 2 cars is a bit unrealistic but they have A LOT of kids)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Inko Midoriya was expecting a lot of things today. Paperwork of course, maybe another case assigned to her, and perhaps a call from that one client she needed to speak to. If it was a good day she’d get a text from Touya or Fuyumi saying they’d be out with friends for a while. She was always so happy when they went out and had fun. They deserved it.
What she wasn’t expecting, was a call from a police officer after dropping off her three youngest kids.
“Hello, is this Inko Midoriya?”
“Yes, and who am I speaking to?”
The person on the other end sighed, like they had a heavy weight on their shoulders. “My name is officer Sansa, at station 4. I…I need you to come down here.”
“Why? What happened?” Inko’s mind was running so fast she swore it would start smoking. All she could think of was that Hisashi had been hurt, but even then, he wouldn’t be at a police station. It certainly wasn’t anything else, she had wiped their history herself.
“Ma’am, there’s really no easy way to say this but…”
He paused. Inko leaned forward in her seat. The car was still off, but the keys were in the ignition. She still had no idea why a police officer would be calling her, so she waited for them to tell her.
And then Inko’s world splintered.
“Mitsuki and Masaru Bakugou were the victims of a villain attack last night. They…they’re dead.”
Inko immediately choked back a sob. They…they were dead? Just like that? Her friends that had stuck by her since high school. All in an instant. Just, gone.
“And, I’m sorry to add more Ma’am, but they…they left their son to you. Katsuki Bakugou. He’s here with us, that’s why you need to come down to the station.”
Inko froze. They hadn’t changed it. Neither of them had.
When they first had their kids, the four of them agreed to something. Their children would be left to the other couple should they die. In a world of villains, it was a necessary precaution. None of their parents were either alive or trustworthy, so it made sense. It was written in their wills and everything. Inko thought Mitsuki and Masaru would have changed it after their fall out.
But they didn’t, and now Inko and Hisashi were left with two dead friends and custody their son, who had bullied Izuku.
This wasn’t how she imagined today going.
“Ma’am? Ma’am, I need an answer. We can put him into the foster system-“
“No!” Inko said immediately. She took a steadying breath, trying to calm her racing heart. “No, we’ll take him. Just- just give me half an hour, and I’ll be at the station. Th-thank you, for telling us, officer Sansa.”
“It’s no problem, ma’am. I’m sorry for your loss, and we’ll see you in a bit.”
Inko heard the call go silent. The phone was lowered to her lap, tears beginning to dot the screen.
Dead. Her two friends were dead. She- she didn’t quite know why she was so sad. Maybe she had hoped that somehow, someday, they would reconcile. That Katsuki would learn to be better and they would all be friends again. Maybe they could all go to school together and play in the yard while Inko could talk and laugh with Mitsuki and Masaru like they used to. One day everything would go back to what it used to be.
And now that day would never come.
Inko was in no condition to drive, so she called Hisashi. He needed to know too.
The phone rang all of twice before he picked up, thank goodness. Inko was afraid he’d be working already.
“Inko? Are you ok? You never call me at work, what happened?”
She choked on a sob before any words could get out. Hisashi was immediately tripping over himself to ask what was wrong. It sounded like he was running through a hallway.
“Inko, are you ok? Take a deep breath, love, it’s ok. It’s ok. -Mr. Uraraka! Sorry for the short notice but I have to leave- Where are you, Inko? I’m on my way right now. -There’s been an emergency sir. I’ll tell you when I get back- Are you still there?”
“Th-the boys’ sch-school. Parki-ing lot.”
“Alright. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes, eight if I’m willing to ignore traffic laws.”
“D-don’t get are-arrested again, Hisashi.”
“Ah, don’t worry about me, love. I’m staying on the phone. If I get pulled over just say you went into labor or something.”
That got Inko laughing weakly. They had actually done that, twice. Both times Hisashi had gotten out of having a ticket. Both were also because he was speeding home for something. Though the third time hadn’t been a lie.
“So, what happened? You don’t panic often anymore, love.”
“I-I’ll tell you when we g-get there. I n-need you to drive us s-somewhere.”
“Ok. Ok, that’s ok. You’re not good to drive, right? That’s why you called me?”
“Y-yes.”
“It’s alright, my love, I’ll be there soon,” Hisashi said softly. The next second he was yelling at some other driver. “STAY IN YOUR LANE, BUDDY! I SWEAR I CAN AND WILL RUN YOU OFF THE ROAD!”
“Hisashi, you’re- you’re in a commer-ercial car.”
“Well, I can try to run them off the road. Maybe I should just get a motorcycle.”
“We b-both know it would last m-maybe a month before you- before you blow it up s-somehow.”
“Ok but that time with the gas tank was not my fault. Nor was that time with the train…or the cop car.”
“S-sure, darling. Whatever you- you want to th-think.” Inko smiled, decidedly not thinking about the previous phone call. Hisashi always made her feel better. That was something that would never change.
“I’m here! And hah , no speeding tickets!”
Inko shook her head fondly, looking out the window to see Hisashi’s car pull up. He leapt out of the driver’s side the moment his engine was off. She unlocked the doors, stepping onto the pavement too.
Hisashi didn’t hesitate to wrap her in his arms. She buried her face in his shoulder, crying once again. He smelled like a campfire and citrus, like he always did when he was trying to cover the smell of his Quirk. It was something Inko had come to associate with him and the feeling of being safe.
“Hey, hey, it’s ok, love. Come on, you said we had somewhere to go? Get in and you can tell me where, ok?”
Inko nodded, getting into Hisashi’s smaller car. He near sprinted to the other side again, before throwing himself in.
“Alright, where to?”
“Police station,” she whispered, seeing Hisashi jolt next to her. “Number 4. I’ll tell you once we get there.”
“…alright, I trust you. Do you want me to tell you about Natsuo’s latest soccer practice on the way?”
Inko nodded, wiping away tears before more could take their place. All they had to do was get to the police station. That’s all she had to focus on right now, alongside her husband’s voice. It would be ok.
~~~~~~~~~~
It was stupid. All of this was stupid and annoying and- and…
And his parents were dead. Katsuki just seemed to keep cycling around to that. Mom was dead. Dad was dead. He knew what death was, and he knew they weren’t going to come back. They weren’t ever going to come back.
Katsuki didn’t know where he’d be going now, since he didn’t have grandparents. None he was allowed to see at least. Foster system was what he’d been told, but Katsuki hardly knew what that was.
All he wanted was for these morons to leave him alone. Everyone kept trying to say “I’m sorry” and “It’s ok” as if everything was fine and his world wasn’t falling apart . Mr. Sansa, the first police officer he’d met that had a cat head, was the only one not saying that. So he was the only one Katsuki let close to him. Anyone else was yelled at until they left. It always worked.
He waited in Mr. Sansa’s office with him. The police officer had just been reading things and letting Katsuki sit in a chair. He’d stepped out for a moment, but came back soon enough. Katsuki didn’t know why he started to panic when the man left.
Mr. Sansa told him just a bit longer, then he could leave. Katsuki still didn’t know where he was going.
Then there was a knock on Sansa’s door a while later. The man opened it, and…
And Auntie Inko and Uncle Sashi stepped in.
Katsuki didn’t think he would ever see them again, not after what happened with Deku. Izuku. All Mom had said to him was that Izuku was going to a different school. When asked (demanded) why, all she would tell him was that Auntie and Uncle didn’t like that Izuku was getting pushed around.
For a while, Katsuki was convinced he had done nothing wrong. That Deku was just too weak to play around them anymore.
Then he started questioning himself. He was the only one he’d seen, besides his two lackeys, that would push Izuku around. No one else did, so…was it his fault? Was it Katsuki’s own fault that one of his only real friends had left, all because he teased him for having a Quirk he couldn’t show?
Mom was no help when he asked. They got into another shouting match, so he asked Dad. Dad told him the truth, he always did. He always did.
( He said they’d come back home )
Now they were gone, and Auntie Inko and Uncle Sashi were standing in the doorway. Katsuki didn’t know why he felt like crying.
“Auntie Inko? Uncle Sashi? What’re you doing here?” He asked, still curled into a ball on Sansa’s chair. For a moment he wondered if they were there to yell at him for crying.
Auntie Inko came closer, kneeling down to his height. Katsuki saw tears in her eyes when he looked up at her. He wondered if she had been crying before she walked in.
“We’re here to take you with us, if that’s ok,” she whispered.
With…them? But, didn’t he hurt Izuku? Wasn’t he the reason they changed schools in the first place? He repeated his thoughts out loud.
“Your parents…they- they left you to us. To- to take care of. O-only if you’re ok with i-it, Katsuki.”
He- he didn’t know what to think. If he went with them, he’d get to see Izuku again. Maybe…maybe he could apologize. It was what Dad had wanted him to do, before he…before they died. But if he didn’t then…nothing. He would move away and never see them again. Katsuki didn’t know if one was better than the other, but he knew which one he preferred.
“You,” he croaked. “I wanna go with you.”
“Alright then,” Uncle Sashi said softly, sitting in the chair next to him. “Do you want to go now, or wait a little bit?”
“Now,” was his almost immediate answer. He didn’t want to be at the police station, as nice as Sansa was. The rest were fucking idiots who didn’t understand anything.
“Ok. Is there some sort of paperwork we have to fill out?”
“Yes,” Mr. Sansa said. He handed Uncle Sashi a few pieces of papers. “It shouldn’t take long. You can go get his things in the morning, if you wish. Their estate was left to you as well.”
“Ah, alright.”
Katsuki slowly uncurled from his ball. Auntie Inko was sat in the chair on his other side, signing whatever Uncle Sashi passed to her. It was…quiet. Katsuki wasn’t used to quiet.
(He wouldn’t have to be for long)
They finished relatively quickly. Katsuki didn’t know if it was five minutes or five hours; time had started losing meaning inside the police station a long time ago. Soon enough Auntie and Uncle were guiding him outside.
There were actually two carseats in the car, which confused Katsuki a bit. Why were there two? Izuku only needed one. He didn’t ask though, his voice not wanting to work right now. Katsuki got buckled without saying a word.
It was on the way to Auntie and Uncle’s house (his now too, he thought) that Auntie Inko started talking. Her voice was still hoarse from crying, but that was ok. Katsuki’s was too.
“We don’t have very much space, Katsuki, so you’re going to have to share a room. Is that ok?”
He would get to share a room with Izuku? Katsuki had never shared a room before. Maybe if it was Izuku it would be ok though. “Y-yeah, that’s ok, Auntie Inko.”
“That’s good. I don’t know how much Mitsuki told you, but, um, the house is a lot louder now.”
“Oh, ok.”
Katsuki had no idea what she meant.
They pulled into the parking lot in front of a building Katsuki recognized well. It hadn’t changed much. He saw it almost every day anyway, since school was this way. That brought up another question. Where would he go to school now?
“Katsuki, just how much did your mom tell you?”
Katsuki raised his eyes to meet his Uncle’s. “About wh-what?”
“Oh dear,” Uncle Sashi said. It sounded like he was…trying not to laugh? Or was it crying? Maybe both. “Katsuki, did your mom or dad tell you anything about us in the past, uh, two years?”
“N-not much,” he admitted. His voice still sounded small. He didn’t like it.
“Ok then, let’s go inside. The kids don’t get out for another few hours.”
Katsuki was a bit confused, but crawled out of the car nonetheless. He trailed behind his aunt and uncle up to their apartment that he still remembered. The door looked a bit more scuffed then before, but other than that it was the same.
Inside, at first glance, wasn’t much different either. Katsuki went to take off his shoes, and noticed a lot more pairs than normal there. He scrunched his eyebrows, but didn’t comment.
Auntie and Uncle lead him out to the kitchen and living room. This time, Katsuki immediately noticed things were different. There were pillows and blankets on the couch, and toys and books were scattered everywhere. Action figures Katsuki hadn’t seen before were on the floor.
Maybe they had guests, and hadn’t cleaned up yet. Katsuki shook his head, wandering into Izuku’s room. He expected hero posters plastering the walls and action figures on every shelf. He expected All Might to be everywhere. That’s how he remembered it.
Instead, there was another bed and sleeping mats on the floor. There were maybe three All Might posters, with the rest of the walls coated in heroes Katsuki had heard of and some he hadn’t. Pictures of space were tacked over some of them. Geodes and actions figures and other little knick knacks were scattered over the two dressers. A tall bookshelf sat in the corner, filled to the brim with journals and big books.
It wasn’t the room he remembered. Why was there another bed? Why were there mats? Why did Izuku’s room not look like his anymore?
Katsuki stood frozen in the doorway. Auntie Inko came up behind him, but he only knew she was there when she put a hand on his head.
“Auntie, this isn’t Izuku’s room,” he said urgently. What had happened to it?
“It’s not just his anymore, Katsuki. Come here, Hisashi and I can explain, ok?”
He nodded, and let himself be guided to the couch. The three of them sat down, Katsuki still reeling from…everything.
“Katsuki, you ok, buddy?” Uncle Sashi asked.
“What happened to Izuku’s room?”
Auntie sighed, but started to explain. “We have more kids than Izuku now. Would you like to hear about them?”
Katsuki nodded again, and listened as his aunt and uncle told the story.
He learned about Hitoshi Shinsou. Izuku’s friend. His first friend since Katsuki, if he could even admit to them being that. He’d been so bad to Izuku. Auntie and Uncle didn’t tell him where he had come from, only that he was here now because he was in a bad place before.
Then he learned about the four Todorokis, now Hisames. Shouto, their age, burned because his father pushed their mother past her limit. Natsuo, who liked sports and the outdoors. Touya and Fuyumi, twins. One in hero school and one studying to be a school teacher.
They were why Izuku’s room was different. Four of them shared that room, with the twins out on the futon couch. It’s why there were more shoes by the door and more things in the living room.
And Katsuki hadn’t learn about them until now. Izuku had brothers and a sister now. He had friends . Katsuki didn’t know whether he was feeling jealous or something, but it wasn’t a nice feeling. He wished he knew what it was. Dad wasn’t here to ask anymore.
So Katsuki did what he usually did. He covered it with anger and pride. Izuku had friends now, he left Katsuki behind. He must think he’s so much better for having what Katsuki didn’t. For rising above what his place was supposed to be.
But you chased him away in the first place , his mind whispered to him. He felt- he felt sad . Katsuki wanted to scream and cry and beg the world to bring his parents back. To have real friends again. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t fair, it wasn’t fair!
“Hey hey, it’s ok Katsuki,” Uncle Sashi said. Katsuki didn’t realize he was crying until he reached up and felt the tears. “Do you want to try and tell us what’s wrong?”
“ Everything !” He shrieked, withdrawing into himself. “Everything is wrong and all people are saying is sorry ! Why did that villain have to attack Mom and Dad?! Why did they have to go to that stupid fashion show?! Why did- why did they leave me?”
Auntie Inko immediately pulled him into a hug. He clung to her shirt, sobbing his eyes out. He hadn’t cried in so long. Uncle Sashi joined their hug a moment later. It was the warmest Katsuki had felt in a while.
“They went because it was their job,” Auntie whispered quietly. “And that villain is in prison now, alright? No one knows why these things happen, they just do. Your parents didn’t want to leave you.”
“But- but why them .”
“I don’t know, sweetie. I don’t know.”
Katsuki sat there, sobbing onto his aunt and uncle, and wished things were different.
Notes:
Katsuki in canon obviously doesn’t have a good grasp of emotions, so I reflected that on baby-Katsuki who doesn’t really know what to make of what he’s feeling
Next chapter should (hopefully) be back to a normal schedule next week! Join me next time in more angst that begins to evolve into fluff. Also Katsuki threatens to fight Touya
Chapter 16: And One Found Again
Summary:
We get more feels and the kids show up! As promised, Katsuki does threaten to fight Touya
Notes:
Hello my amazing readers!
Uh, sorry about last chapter? We're still on the Angst Train but it stops in Fluffville at the end of this chapter and then it's on to more fluff!
I’m trying to show Hitoshi as slowly getting better at talking and getting a better understanding of grammar, and I think I’m doing an ok job so far? Also if you want the chapter title to make a tad bit more sense, look at the last chapter’s title :D
Pssst. Hey I added a few more tags if anyone noticed
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Izuku felt like something was wrong today. There was a heavy feeling in his chest, like something big was going to happen, but he didn’t know what it was or why the feeling was there. Shouto and Hitoshi didn’t seem to feel anything though, so he brushed it off. Maybe he was just excited about watching the new All Might movie when they got home.
School was good. Normal, but good. Hagakure still came over to eat with them! She was very funny and nice to them. Izuku liked to talk with her.
Dad came to get them from school today, which was different. Dad almost never came to pick them up. Izuku just shrugged, hugging his dad before running to the car.
They grabbed Natsuo when he was released too, since they still went to the same school. He wouldn’t next year since he would be in seventh grade. Izuku wondered about Touya and Fuyumi, but Dad said they would take the trains home like normal, which Izuku thought was very cool. Momma said he could too, but only when he was bigger.
Dad was quiet though. He was hardly ever quiet. Izuku was getting worried, and the bad feeling was only getting heavier. Still, he didn’t ask. If Dad wanted to tell them, he would. Izuku knew he was still too small to understand some things.
It was only when they were walking up to their front door that Dad said anything. The key was in his hand, but the door remained locked for a moment.
“Before we go in, you kids need to know something. Some of- some of my old friends they…”
“Are you ok, Hisashi?” Natsuo asked worriedly.
“N-not really, buddy. Inko and I, our- our friends got attacked by- by a villain last night. They didn’t…they didn’t make it out.”
Izuku felt his heart plummet. The bad feeling only increased, making his stomach churn. His mind kicked into overdrive, thinking of the who and what and why.
“They- they left their son t-to us to take c-care of. He’ll be…he’ll be staying with us from now on. Is that ok?”
Natsuo and Shouto nodded immediately. Izuku saw Hitoshi do the same, but he wasn’t paying much attention. His thoughts had screeched to a halt. The words around him went in one ear and out the other. Simply aimless chatter now.
Momma and Dad never had many friends. The closest ones had been Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru. They had a kid: Kacchan.
And Izuku had overheard them once, talking about what would happen to him and Kacchan if they were to- to leave. It was after they adopted Hitoshi. They had been talking about a will and maybe changing it soon. He hadn’t heard more on it after that.
Until today, that is. Izuku felt like his soul had been dragged down to his feet.
He didn’t wait for Dad to open the door all the way. Izuku barreled passed him, deaf to his squawk of surprise. In that moment, it didn’t matter.
Izuku raced into the living room. No one was there, but he spun around when something hit the kitchen tiles.
And standing there, was Kacchan. His old friend. His old bully.
Kacchan’s eyes were red from crying. His spiky hair was flattened in places, and looked longer than Izuku remembered. The thing to hit the floor was a plastic cup he had been holding.
It had been so long since he’d last seen Kacchan.
But Izuku hesitated. The last time they had met, Kacchan had burned him. He had burned him before that too. All because Izuku couldn’t show Kacchan some flashy Quirk “worthy” enough for a friend of his. His friend had never apologized for any of it.
Hitoshi and Shouto came up behind him. They knew about Kacchan, or at least Hitoshi did. Shouto had probably been told too. Izuku wondered how they would react to his old bully.
“Dek- Izuku.”
“Kacchan,” Izuku said softly, wondering whether he should hug him or take a step backwards.
“This is Kacchan?” Hitoshi whispered to Izuku, who nodded.
“Kacchan that bullied you?” Shouto asked. Another nod.
The two didn’t hesitate to put themselves between Izuku and Kacchan. It made him smile a bit, knowing they would protect him. Even if he didn’t need it. Kacchan wouldn’t dare try something in front of Momma and Dad.
“The heck are you two doing?” Kacchan demanded, glaring at Shouto and Hitoshi. The fire that was usually behind it was nothing but embers and smoke. “I just wanna talk to the nerd.”
“No. You hurt Zu before I was here,” Hitoshi said, and Izuku couldn’t help but compare him to a puffed up cat right now. “I won’t let you do it again.”
“Yeah!” Shouto added. “Izuku doesn’t deserve to be bullied.”
“I just- I just want to talk to him, you idiots!”
“Anything said to Zu can be said with us here.”
Kacchan hesitated. Izuku had never seen him hesitate.
It didn’t last long though. The prickliness and scowl Izuku had come to associate with Kacchan took over his expression again. The fire was sparking, even if his hands stayed dark.
“ Fine ,” he spat. “I’m, I’m-“
Kacchan broke off into mumbling too quiet to hear. Izuku cocked his head to the side. “Kacchan, I can’t hear you.”
“I’m…I’m sorry , alright? For bullying you or whatever. Dad wanted- wanted me to say that.” Kacchan reached up to angrily wipe at something on his face. “So you can fuck off now. Take your lousy guard dogs with you.”
Izuku’s gaze softened. He understood what Kacchan was doing, even if he himself didn’t. His old friend was still standing in the kitchen, head bowed so they couldn’t see his eyes or the tears gathering in them.
He gently pushed past Hitoshi and Shouto. They looked at him in confusion, but didn’t try to stop him. Kacchan didn’t move as Izuku quietly walked closer.
Izuku stopped directly in front of Kacchan, who still hadn’t look up. He carefully reached out and took one of his hands. It sparked in surprise, but quickly faded once his friend looked up. That was then that Izuku knew he meant it when he said sorry.
“You don’t have to act strong Kacchan,” Izuku said softly, holding the explosive hand in his own. “Not here. Not with us. You don’t have to pretend.”
Kacchan…Kacchan crumbled . He fell to his knees, sobbing so hard Izuku hoped he could still breath. Izuku settled on the floor in front of him, hugging his friend close. Kacchan held onto him like he might disappear.
“ I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry- “
“It’s ok, Kacchan. It’s ok.”
“It hurts , Izuchan. Why does it hurt?” he sobbed. “I want Mom and Dad.”
Izuku curled tighter around his friend.
(His brother )
“I know, Kacchan.”
Izuku was grieving too. His Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru had been his favorite aunt and uncle (not that he had any others). Hearing they were dead made him want to cry too, but Kacchan needed him. Crying could wait until Kacchan wasn’t holding him in a vice grip.
“Zu?”
Izuku looked behind them, seeing Hitoshi and Shouto looking unsure of what to do. He grinned sadly, beckoning them over. Once they were close enough he pulled them into the hug too.
That was how Momma and Dad found them. All in a huddle on the floor, two with tear stained faces and two more cuddling their brother.
Momma convinced them to move to the couch to watch a movie. Kacchan still hadn’t let go of Izuku’s hand, but that was ok. Hitoshi and Shouto cuddled close enough for them to share a big blanket.
They all fell asleep watching an All Might movie, Momma and Dad’s quiet chatter in the background.
~~~~~~~~~~
Katsuki woke up feeling disoriented. He wasn’t at home, but it was really warm and nice. His pillow was somehow softer than it usually was. Maybe he could sleep for just a bit longer. Someone would wake him up if they needed him anyway.
Then his pillow moved. Katsuki’s eyes snapped open, and he scrambled to sit up.
Somehow, he hadn’t woken Izuku up, who he had been using as a pillow. There were two other people too. Their names are Hitoshi and Shouto, he remembered. His…his siblings now. The word felt weird, even if it was only in his thoughts.
He wasn’t at home. He couldn’t go home. There was no Mom or Dad to go back to.
A noise caught his attention. Just footsteps, but they didn’t sound like Auntie or Uncle’s. Katsuki looked up, and was met with a redheaded teenager. Right, they had even more kids.
How the fuck was Katsuki going to handle having six siblings now? He had barely handled just being with Mom.
“Hey, you awake there?”
Katsuki looked up again, not realizing he’d looked down at the blanket he was under. The redhead was tall, he realized, but definitely not All Might tall. He had an ear piercing too, which he thought was cool. If he looked closely, he could see that the teen’s arms look a bit red, like Katsuki’s did if he accidentally set off an explosion too close to his skin.
He nodded, cautious of what the person wanted. He couldn’t be too bad if Auntie and Uncle let him live here, at the very least.
“Cool. Dinner should be done soon. I think we’re having some sort of American food Hisashi wanted to try making. If he burns it again, we have leftovers in the fridge."
Katsuki raised an eyebrow, but otherwise did nothing. The teen (Touya. Right, this one was Touya) moved to sit in one of the chairs. He had a book in his hands. It looked big and boring to Katsuki.
“You can stop staring, kid. I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I could take you.”
“Sure you could,” Touya snorted, not even looking up from his book. “Go back to sleep, you look like you need it.”
“Says you.”
“Yeah, says I, who gets a decent amount of sleep.”
“You live with this many people, how do you sleep?” Katsuki asked, genuinely curious. The only context he had were a few sleepovers, and he hardly ever slept at those.
“Everyone just…sleeps, I guess? It’s not like we’re up all night. Fuyumi might stay up a bit late reading, but she’s not loud anyway. Pretty sure Hitoshi is the only one I can find awake at night, but he has insomnia, so.”
“Oh…ok.”
“Go to sleep, kid. We’ll wake you up when dinner’s done.”
Katsuki nodded, laying back down. He was warm here, and it felt safe. Touya was watching over them. Izuku was here with him again. It felt nice to have his friend back. To have someone he could let be close and not want to blast them away.
Katsuki wondered if this was what having siblings was actually like.
Notes:
Blasty Boy is back! And he’s saying sorry to the green child, who knew that was possible. Sorta smaller chapter but all of my finals were this week so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (ironically I had more time to write this week than the last two because of projects :p )
Chapter 17: Adjustment
Summary:
Katsuki adjusts to having a big family, and they need more space with how many children there are
Notes:
Hello my beautiful readers!
So I’m a touchy-feely person. I show affection by putting my head on your shoulder and willingly spending time around a person, also giving presents. I've been told I’m like a human house cat, but I wasn’t always like that, so writing Katsuki was a bit like writing a younger me, but with more swearing. It has been extremely weird. He has less anxiety than I did, at least
With that said, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Breakfast was…weird. Really fucking weird. Katsuki was used to grabbing a granola bar from the pantry, maybe Dad making something if he had time. He was used to Mom already being awake and maybe out of the house.
He was not used to having pancakes with eight other people. All at the same time.
He had gotten to sleep in what was apparently Hitoshi’s bed. Natsuo slept in what Katsuki assumed was supposed to be Izuku’s bed. It had All Might sheets, so it was probably his. The three that were his age all piled onto the mats that took up most of the floor. Katsuki found it weird. Why would anyone willingly be that touchy feely?
Katsuki woke up to Izuku gently shaking him awake. His immediate reaction was to tell him to fuck off and let him sleep, but then he remembered all of what had happened.
Izuchan had forgiven him. Katsuki had said sorry, and Izuku had forgiven him. They had cried, on the floor, then fallen asleep watching an All Might movie. Auntie Inko had let them eat on the couch to watch another movie too. He was also wearing some of Shouto’s pajamas right now, since all of Katsuki’s were still back at home.
He couldn’t tell Izuku to fuck off. Not when he was trying to be better. To- to be an actual friend. That’s not what friends did…probably.
“Breakfast, Kacchan. We’re having pancakes!” Izuchan exclaimed, pulling on Katsuki’s hand to get him out of bed. The other three were nowhere in sight.
“Pancakes?”
“Yeah! Dad can make them without burning anything! Momma’s still trying to teaching him how to make other things. He’s getting better though!”
Katsuki nodded groggily, getting out of the bed. The purple bedding was really confirmable. Made him wonder why the three squished themselves onto the floor of all places.
The small apartment was more alive than Katsuki had ever seen it in his own house. Touya was shoving books in a backpack, while Fuyumi called out a list to him. Natsuo was in the corner fishing his soccer ball out from under the side-table. Hitoshi and Shouto were in the kitchen with Auntie Inko and Uncle Sashi, who were…cooking? It looked more like an odd dance to Katsuki. One with papers and food.
Izuku pulled him over to the big table they definitely didn’t have last time Katsuki was here with his parents. He sat down, unsure of what to do. Uncle Sashi noticed him a second later, and his face split into a grin. Albeit more sad than Katsuki remembered him being.
“Mornin’ Katsuki. I have to go to work today, but Inko is going to take you to go get your things from your house. Izuku, Hitoshi, and Shouto are taking the day off of school to stay with you. The other three still have school, but they should be back before it’s late.”
“Is Hawks allowed to come for dinner? He wants to meet Katsuki,” Touya yelled from the living room.
“Of course!” Auntie called back. “See if Usagiyama wants to come over too!”
Katsuki watched, silent for once as he watched everyone hustle and bustle about. There was a veritable mountain of pancakes that Uncle Sashi was finishing off. Auntie was gathering papers in the other room now.
“Breakfast’s ready!”
Katsuki was instantly overwhelmed as everyone invaded the kitchen. Touya and Natsuo were racing, shoving the other to get to the table first. Fuyumi speed-walked over to the pancake pile, right before Uncle snatched up from the counter and moved it to the table. Plates were already out. The family swarmed the food like a pack of hungry piranhas.
Two pancakes were somehow passed over to him. Katsuki didn’t know how exactly it happened. He wasn’t going to question it right now though. Instead, he snatched the syrup before anyone else could in order to properly drown his pancakes.
It was loud. Everyone was talking to someone else. Yet it was still quieter than some times when Mom yelled. This was more like chatter, sometimes indistinct and quiet, other times loud and for everyone to hear.
It was really freaking weird.
“Momma! Are we gonna get a real house now?” Izuku exclaimed excitedly. “Kacchan needs room!”
Auntie Inko smiled, the rest of the table quieting down. Even Katsuki was paying attention now.
“Yes, I suppose it’s time to start seriously looking for one. We have enough money for one now.”
“Yay! New house! New house!” Hitoshi cheered, thankfully with no food in his mouth. “Bigger bed, right?”
“We’ll be sure to get you kids bigger beds,” Uncle Sashi chuckled. “And Touya and Fuyumi get their own room. Maybe you four could share one room too and have bunk beds.”
“No,” Katsuki said suddenly, surprising everyone else. He shrunk, just a bit, under all of their gazes. “I don’t want to share a room. I want my own room, like at home.”
Auntie and Uncle shared a look, one Katsuki couldn’t decipher. It certainly wasn’t one his parents shared. He gulped, hoping it wasn’t bad.
“Ok then,” Uncle said. “Your own room it is. We’ll just have to find a house big enough.”
“Oh, oh! Let us help pick it out!” Izuku crowed.
“Yeah! We can help find one we all like!” Hitoshi added.
“Can we have a backyard?” Shouto asked.
“Yeah! And a bigger kitchen!”
“Can we please have a bigger living room?”
“I want a big yard so I can play soccer at home!”
“Can I have bookshelves?”
“If she gets bookshelves I need a beanbag.”
“Beanbag! Beanbag! One big enough for all of us!”
Katsuki stayed quiet, watching with wide eyes as Uncle brought out a notepad from nowhere to write everything down. Auntie was repeating some things to him that he missed. It was…organized chaos, was what came to his mind. Something his Dad said before.
“Anything you want to add, Katsuki?”
“Um…no.”
“Alright then. Guess we’ll start house shopping later this week. In the meantime, Touya, Fuyumi, Natsuo, there’s ten minutes before we have to leave,” Uncle Sashi said, prompting the three to get up and scramble for their things.
“Have a good day at work, honey,” Auntie said, kissing Uncle on his cheek before he got up.
“I’ll try, love. Have fun boys!”
Uncle Sashi flew out of the kitchen, snagging a bag on the way out. Katsuki could see Natsuo kicking a soccer ball across the floor while his hands were full. Touya was snagging another book that had somehow got wedged in the couch cushions.
The kitchen was a tad bit quieter after the front door shut. Hitoshi and Katsuki were both happily munching on their pancakes. Shouto and Izuku were excitedly sharing ideas for their new room, with Auntie Inko listening intently.
It was still weird, Katsuki decided, but…but this was maybe something he could get used to.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hitoshi didn’t quite know what to make of Katsuki. He had heard of the boy from Zu, who called him Kacchan. Hitoshi didn’t like what he heard. To him, Katsuki just sounded like a bully with a strong Quirk that had never been told no.
Then he actually met Katsuki. At first he seemed to just confirm all of what Hitoshi thought. His apology was stiff and like he wanted to be somewhere else.
Zu knew better. He always did. He had taken Katsuki’s hand and told him he didn’t have to be strong in front of them. That he didn’t have to pretend.
Hitoshi was shocked into silence when Katsuki started crying . This wasn’t the same person he had heard about. That person burned his brother, this one was clinging to his shirt and sobbing out his feelings. Whatever had happened between Izuku leaving his old school and now, it had obviously changed the boy.
They all hugged, and curled up on the couch to watch All Might movies. Hitoshi fell asleep, only waking up when dinner was done. Touya told them what funny stuff Hawks and Usagiyama had done today, since they couldn’t come over for dinner after all. Hitoshi was still curious as to why Hawks didn’t have a real name, but Touya said it was rude to ask about, so he kept his questions to himself.
Hitoshi slept on the floor mats with Zu and Shouto so Katsuki could have his bed. Natsuo slept in Izuku’s bed though, so they had space. Shouto was warm as ever, and Hitoshi found himself sleeping again.
He got up early though. Insomnia wasn’t fun, he had already learned, but it was better when he slept next to his brothers. They had tried sleeping separate a few times. Those hadn’t been good nights for any of them. Hitoshi got no sleep, Izuku kicked and thrashed until he landed on the floor, and Shouto had a bad nightmare. From then on they always slept near each other.
Katsuki wasn’t used to that, apparently. He slept just fine in Hitoshi’s bed all by himself. Maybe it was just the three of them and their collective trauma that made them sleep in a pile, but Hitoshi wasn’t about to copy Katsuki.
Breakfast was normal. Katsuki looked a bit confused and not used to it at all. Hitoshi found it mildly funny, but refrained from saying or doing anything. He had already gone through enough with losing his parents. That, at least, Hitoshi could relate to.
The topic of a house was brought up, and Hitoshi immediately jumped on it. An actual house? Bigger room? Yes! They might even have a backyard! They could play tag without having to ask someone to watch them!
It was no surprise to him that Katsuki wanted his own room. He didn’t seem like the type of person to share well. Hitoshi knew it would also remind him of his home from before, so he didn’t say anything on that either.
Hitoshi was glad they didn’t have to go to school today. Zu was still really sad, and the teachers might be mean if he didn’t pay attention. Not that Zu needed to for long, since his analysis Quirk made him super-duper smart.
They went to go and get Katsuki’s things from his old house instead. Most of it would be in boxes until they all moved to an actual house, but his clothes could probably be shoved in the dresser somehow. Maybe the closet.
Hitoshi hummed a song he’d heard on the radio as they drove there. It was close enough to walk, but boxes weren’t easy things to carry that far. So they were going in the car!
The house looked nice enough from the outside. Hitoshi was eager to just get out of the car. The four of them tumbled out and up to the door. Momma Ink unlocked it with a key she found under a rock. It was weird, but adults were weird and Hitoshi wasn’t going to question it.
Momma Ink grabbed some of the empty boxes from the car while the three brothers trailed after Katsuki. He was quiet. What was that word Izuku taught him? Oh, sullen. Katsuki looked sullen. He was staring at everything like he was going to start crying soon, an expression Hitoshi was very familiar with. Zu made it a lot. The latest time being when he saw a fuzzy caterpillar outside yesterday. But Katsuki’s was because he was sad, that much was obvious.
Hitoshi cautiously peeked into each room they passed. It was…weird. He knew no one was living here now, but it still looked like they did. There were unmade beds, scattered toys, and cups still on the counter, just like at home. Like Katsuki wasn’t actually living with them now and his parents weren’t gone.
They reached Katsuki’s room, which hadn’t been touched either. It almost looked like Zu’s used to. All Might action figures lines the shelves and posters covered walls. His sheets were even All Might too.
“How…how much do you think Auntie will- will let me take?” Katsuki asked, trying and failing to sound unaffected by all of this.
“Momma said as much as you want,” Izuku said, looking around. He hadn’t seen it in maybe two years, so it had changed, at least a little bit.
Katsuki nodded, retreating to go grab boxes. Zu followed him, leaving Shouto and Hitoshi by themselves in the room.
“Is this was Zuku’s room used to look like? He told me he used to have a lot more All Might stuff out.”
“Yeah,” Hitoshi answered, cracking a small smile. “Zu had lots. Put it away so I could have Eraserhead and space.”
“I like the posters we have. Do you- do you think Aunt Inko would let me have some of my own?”
“Momma Ink would let you have a lot. Dad-Shi get you ones of Pokemon.”
“He’d get me a pokeball,” Shouto laughed. “Touya said it looks like my hair.”
“He’s right.”
Katsuki and Zu returned with boxes, Momma Ink in tow. Hitoshi went to help unfold a few more.
“Katsuki, why don’t you start bringing me things you want to pack, and I can put it in some of the boxes. The boys can help you.”
Katsuki scoffed, but nodded. “Only Izuchan can touch my All Might action figures.”
“Fair enough. Alright then, let’s get started.”
Hitoshi was exhausted by the time they filled all the boxes. Katsuki’s room had been the first to get finished, and from there they’d packed up anything else Momma Ink thought they needed to take. She told them the furniture would either come with them when they found a house, or it would be sold. Katsuki was adamant about keeping his bed.
His room felt empty now. All his figurines and posters were packed up neatly, most were already in the car. Hitoshi came back in to see if he could get another box to bring downstairs.
He found Katsuki standing in the doorway, staring at his empty walls. Everyone else was outside, so it was just the two of them. Hitoshi carefully edged up to the blonde boy.
“You ok?”
“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Just, just leave me alone, you extra.”
Hitoshi got the distinct feeling Katsuki meant the exact opposite, so he stayed. He looked around, seeing how truly barren everything felt now.
“Are you scared?”
Hitoshi felt Katsuki jolt beside him. He didn’t look over, but saw him stare incredulously from the corner of his eye.
“I’m not scared!”
“It’s ok to be scared, you know,” Hitoshi said quietly, remembering. “I was too, when Momma Ink and Dad-Shi brought me home. Zu tell you how they adopted me?”
“No. Why would I care?”
“Zu found me in winter, in a park. Bad foster-kids chased me out, locked the door. They saved me, but I was scared. I think you’re scared too.”
Katsuki was quiet, not looking at Hitoshi. He didn’t have to say anything. Hitoshi understood that he had hit the nail on the head.
“Are you worried they will be mean?”
“No!” Katsuki snapped. “Auntie and Uncle and Izuchan are the- the nicest people in the world.”
“Then why are you scared?”
“Because I don’t want them to leave me too, alright,” he said hoarsely. “I don’t- I don’t want to be left behind. They’re all I have now.”
Hitoshi paused, then wrapped an arm around Katsuki. The boy was crying again. Hitoshi wondered if he had cried a lot before now. The answer was probably no.
“No one left behind.”
“…what?”
“No one left behind,” Hitoshi quoted seriously. “Zu says it a lot. It means that no matter what, we won’t leave you. You’re part of our family now, and we protect each other. No matter what.”
“But what if- what if you die too?”
“Then I fight Death until she lets me come back.”
That got Katsuki to crack a grin, and Hitoshi felt proud of himself. He hoped Katsuki would start smiling more.
“Come on, Momma Ink said she’d make us lunch when we get home. If we don’t hurry Sho will try and make her leave without us.”
Katsuki’s small grin didn’t leave, and Hitoshi copied him. They went back outside, ready to leave the old house behind and go home.
Notes:
So just gonna address this super quick. Inko and Hisashi are still grieving, but none of this is in their pov. They’re putting on happy faces for the kids, only one of which knew the Bakugous and is grieving with them. Katsuki is another matter entirely.
Also, no, Deku will not be Izuku’s nickname here. Katsuki has already acknowledged that it wasn’t a good/well-meaning nickname before his parents died, so they are now Kacchan and Izuchan! Adorable spiky dandelion and curly green bush boys
COUNTDOWN TO NEXT CHILD: 2 chapters :D (Anyone wanna take a guess at who it is?)
Chapter 18: Moving With Children = Chaos
Summary:
Have you ever had to move houses with kids? If the answer is no, you are very lucky
Notes:
Hello everyone!
300 PEOPLE HAVE BOOKMARKED THIS STORY NOW AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Seriously, thank you guys so much. I love all of you. Have a good day/night!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“We’re going house hunting today!” Uncle Sashi declared while they were all eating breakfast.
Hitoshi’s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. “What eats houses?”
“Uh, what do you mean, Hitoshi?”
“You said we’re going house hunting. Are we hunting houses like lions?”
Katsuki couldn’t help but snort and smile. He didn’t blame Hitoshi, not since Katsuki himself only knew the term thanks to his parents talking about it.
He had been here a bit longer than a week, and Katsuki was slowly getting used to the chaos that was his new family. His…brothers (he still wasn’t used to that part) still insisted on sleeping in a pile on the floor. Natsuo ended up with them sometimes, but he never seemed to mind. Katsuki had even woken up one day and found all four of them piled on top of Touya and Fuyumi.
This house was odd, but it was growing on Katsuki.
It was the weekend now. One that Uncle Sashi didn’t have to work and Auntie was home. No one had school either, since it was a weekend and all that, which was probably why they were going house hunting today.
“Means we’re lookin’ at new houses, dumbass,” Katsuki answered fondly, not looking up from his breakfast.
“Language, Kacchan.”
Katsuki grumbled with a mouth full of cereal. Right, less swearing. He could only swear if it was important, like stubbing his toe. Like Auntie did.
Katsuki hadn’t known his mom got that particular curse from Auntie Inko.
“Where’re we looking?” Touya asked, also shoveling cereal in his mouth.
“Near here actually,” Uncle answered. “But hopefully closer to my work and the boys’ school.”
“Hope it’s not one of the bad neighborhoods,” Fuyumi muttered.
“Where isn’t,” Touya scoffed. “Seriously, this city needs more heroes. Once I become one I promise my first patrol will be here.”
“Good.”
“Momma, when are we leaving?”
“As soon as everyone’s ready,” Auntie answered.
Anyone with food left immediately started shoving more in their mouths, Katsuki included. He wouldn’t say it out loud, but he was excited to look at new houses. Maybe he’d finally be allowed to help with something in a new house. Mom hadn’t let him touch anything in their old one.
With empty bowls in the sink, all the kids rushed off to get ready. Katsuki heard Auntie laugh. He wondered if there would be a day where he laughed and smiled as much as she did.
Katsuki rode in the car with Auntie Inko, Izuku, Hitoshi, and Shouto. Natsuo, Touya, and Fuyumi all rode with Uncle Sashi. They didn’t all fit in one car, not with four of them still needing a carseat of some kind. Especially Izuchan, with how short he was. (He was only two inches shorter, but none of them were going to let it go anytime soon)
They got to the first one quickly. It looked small, but at least it wasn’t bright yellow like the one they had passed on the way here. There was a person in front of the house too. A real-estate agent, Auntie told him. Katsuki didn’t know what that was, but the lady’s face when all seven kids walked up with Auntie and Uncle was priceless. She didn’t ask about it, and talked to Auntie and Uncle about the house.
Katsuki tuned everyone out until it was time to go inside. Auntie reminded them all to be on their best behavior. Much to the real-estate agents relief, they did in fact behave. There wasn’t much to break inside the house anyway.
It was too small though. Not enough rooms and the yard was tiny. Natsuo quietly complained about it, obviously not intending for anyone to hear, but the adults did anyway. The first house was immediately crossed off the list.
The next one was bigger, but had too much to fix. Katsuki nearly tripped over the uneven floorboards. The ceiling had as many cracks in it as the sidewalk did and Hitoshi almost cut himself on a splintering cabinet. That house was quickly crossed off the list too, with Natsuo was mourning the loss of its big yard on the way to the next one.
By the end of the fourth house, Katsuki was getting tired. Mostly of looking at damn houses. There was something wrong with all of them. Too small, too expensive, too broken, rooms too small. Katsuki sort of just wanted to go back home now. It was going to get dark soon anyway.
The fifth house was their last one for the day. Katsuki immediately liked it better than some of the others. It was closer to their school, and the center of the city. A train station was nearby too, so Touya and Fuyumi could get to their respective high schools easier.
The outside wasn’t falling apart, at the very least. Izuku pulled him over to look at the small garden in the front yard. They went inside a minute later, the kids trailing in behind Auntie and Uncle.
There was a lot of space inside, and Katsuki could see the kitchen was bigger than the one they had right now. Maybe Auntie Inko would let him help with cooking again.
The house also had two stories too. All the kids almost immediately raced up the stairs, stopping at the top to see where rooms were. There was a big one, obviously for Auntie and Uncle. There was one slight problem though.
There were only three other rooms. Two smaller ones next to Auntie and Uncle’s room, and then a big one at the other end of the house. But with only three other rooms, it meant Katsuki wouldn’t get his own.
Touya and Fuyumi were sharing one room, that was non-negotiable. Natsuo was fine with whatever he got. Katsuki could technically share with him, but there was no way he was being far from Izuku. Besides, Natsuo was too messy for Katsuki to share a small space with.
They explored the smaller rooms (and the one for Auntie and Uncle. They deemed it satisfactory for them) before moving down the hall to the bigger one. Katsuki poked his head in to see just how big it was. It was essentially divided in two, the door being in the middle. There were two big windows facing the side of the house, but no closet. A massive tree was close to the left window like some sort of love story bullshit.
It was…fuck it, Katsuki thought it was perfect. If he took one end then the others could take the other until Katsuki got used to sharing. Natsuo could have the other free room next to Touya and Fuyumi. Everyone would get what they wanted, and no murder over different opinions on cleanliness would be attempted.
“I love it!” Hitoshi declared. “This is our room.”
“Yeah,” Shouto agreed. “All of our posters can fit.”
“And we can get a big bed so no one has to sleep on the floor!” Izuku exclaimed, rushing into the middle of the room to get a good look at everything for all of three seconds. “Let’s go tell Momma!”
Katsuki followed behind the stampede of people thundering down the stairs. The sound was no doubt giving the real-estate agent a heart-attack.
Auntie Inko and Uncle Sashi were looking around the living room while they all barreled back down to the first floor. The two of them stopped once they heard everyone coming downstairs. The real-estate agent’s smile was strained.
“Momma! Dad! We found the perfect room and all of us can fit and there’s a big tree out the window and it’s perfect!”
“Slow down, Izuku,” Auntie laughed. “What’s this about a room?”
“It’s so big, Momma! Sho and Toshi and even Kacchan can fit with me! Aniki and Aneki can have their own room and so can Natsu!”
“Well then, why don’t you show us this amazing room?”
Izuku grabbed Auntie and Uncle’s hands, tugging them to the stairs. He rambled on about how everything could finally fit on the walls, and how Katsuki could sleep with them too.
Everyone was upstairs looking at the different rooms again. Auntie Inko was standing in the middle of the big room, listening to Izuchan’s rambling and Hitoshi’s questions. Katsuki stood in the doorway, just watching for now. He didn’t realize Uncle Sashi was there until he spoke.
“Didn’t you want your own room, Katsuki?” He asked.
“I…I don’t mind,” he mumbled, staring at the floor. “Izuchan said I can have half if I share my All Might posters.”
Uncle Sashi laughed, ruffling his spiky hair. “That’s good to hear, Katsuki. Come on then, I think Hitoshi is trying to convince Inko to paint the ceiling blue and purple.”
Katsuki snorted, and watched his new family explore and make plans.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hisashi had moved plenty of times. He’d moved out for college. He’d moved from college to apartments. Heck, he’d moved overseas for a while!
But none of that had prepared him for the utter chaos that was moving houses with children. Especially multiple children. It was crazier than any villain attack. Seriously, how did a shoe end up on top of the cabinets?
Katsuki was actually the easiest. Most of his stuff was already in boxes, so all they had to do was repack what had been taken out and put them to the side for now. Some of Mitsuki and Masaru’s furniture would be coming with them too, but they had yet to decide specifically what was going.
Touya and Fuyumi weren’t especially hard to pack up, but they kept finding things. Fuyumi found a missing book in the couch. Touya somehow pulled a pair of pants out from under the entertainment center. Hisashi was just confused on how half the things got where they were. They even found Natsuo’s missing homework in their dresser (which was what the tv was on top of. All their DVD’s were stacked on the floor).
Hisashi didn’t want to think about packing up the boys’ room quite yet.
The kitchen was more-or-less easy. Lots of dishes and pans, but they got rid of anything they wouldn’t use. Some of the utensils may have ended up being support gear for the latest game of heroes vs villains. No one got hurt though, so Hisashi considered it a successful day.
Packing up the boys’ room turning out to be a nightmare and a half. Nothing was organized. A third of the time they got distracted by things they found that had been missing. It was a constant game of “whose clothes are these?” and “who put this here?”
Nonetheless, everything was in boxes by the end of the week. It marked two weeks since they’d gone seen the house, and one since being told they got it. They went to get the keys later today. Once they did, it was moving time.
Hisashi had no idea how they were going to get everything down two flights of stairs.
No one got injured!
Ok, Natsuo tripped down a few stairs, but he was fine. Maybe a bruise from landing, but other than that he was alright.
All the boxes had successfully been moved from the now empty apartment to the truck. Most of the furniture was coming with them, and oh boy had that been fun to bring down. Hisashi never wanted to be squished in an elevator with a mattress again. He was seriously debating whether they should’ve just pushed it over the balcony and caught it at the bottom, despite the fact that Inko had said no.
Hisashi got to drive the truck to their new home. All of their kids (and God, his heart was full at calling all of them his ) were eager to help unload. Boxes were placed in piles depending on which room they went in. The four youngest boys hiked up and down the stairs with their things.
It took all day, but the truck was eventually emptied. They hadn’t set up any beds, so everyone was sleeping on mattresses in the living room. All of them had been pushed together to form the Ultra Mattress™. Hisashi smiled as everyone grabbed the blankets they had uncovered from a box somewhere.
Izuku, Hitoshi, and Shouto immediately cuddled up together. It was adorable, and Hisashi took pictures. Touya and Fuyumi laid down near each other, with Natsuo using their legs as pillows. Katsuki eventually settled in the space between the two groups. Inko and Hisashi took the place that had been left for them.
They were one big, happy family. All sleeping on mattresses on the floor in their new home. He couldn’t help the beaming smile that was on his face.
Hisashi didn’t know how, but he woke up to having seven children piled on top of him and Inko.
And you know what? He wouldn’t trade it for anything.
~~~~~~~~~~
Katsuki was tired of living out of boxes. That was why the instant his furniture was put together, he started unpacking. The others were all doing something else, but it let Katsuki focus. Clothes, posters, and everything else all found a place as he slowly made his way through boxes.
He had his own bed and All Might sheets back. The posters of his hero hung above him with tape and thumbtacks. The figurines all had a place on his dresser and shelves.
Katsuki observed his work so far, nodding in approval. It looked decent. Only a few boxes were left now, and they were mostly clothes and books. They were set near the left window, the one with the tree outside of it, which was his window.
(It wasn’t going to be only his window for long, but he didn’t know that yet)
Katsuki moved to grab one of the full boxes to drag it over. He glanced out the window, where the street was barely visible. His mind did a double take at seeing what was out there.
The street was lined with trees, one thing Katsuki liked about the place. A little old lady was standing at the base of one, staring up into the leaves. After a bit of searching, Katsuki saw why. A bright orange cat was sitting on a branch, too high for the lady to reach and apparently too high for the cat to climb down.
Katsuki was about to run outside to see if he could help, or at least tell an adult so they could reach the cat, when he saw another person. A kid like him from the looks of it. They were also bright pink.
The person spoke with the old lady for a second, before scaling the tree. Katsuki blinked as the pink person skittered into the branches like a damn squirrel. The cat was quickly retrieved and given to the owner.
Huh, they must’ve had practice with tree climbing. And not many kids their age would stop and help some random person with their cat either. It sounded like something Izuku would do.
They were going to be good heroes, he just knew it. Izuku was already halfway there, with how he had saved his sibling and all that. That person would make a good one too, just like Izuchan.
Katsuki hoped he would be worthy of standing beside them when they became heroes.
Notes:
Countdown to next child: Next chapter! All of your guesses were awesome, but no one got it right :)
Chapter 19: Abandoned Stray
Summary:
Two new people!! Only one gets adopted, but have these two adorable beans :D
Notes:
Hello to the absolutely amazing person reading this!
Guess who’s heeeerrrreeee! Well, two new people, but only one gets adopted
Chapter brought to you by Would You Be Impressed by Streetlight Manifesto being put on repeat while I try and plot out this thing.Warning as always for Katsuki's language as half this chapter is in his pov. Have fun :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
If packing took forever, un packing was going to take an eternity. Somehow things had teleported from one box to another. Touya’s things were in Izuku’s boxes and Izuku’s hero merch was with Natsuo’s sports gear. It didn’t make any sense to Inko.
The end of June had come and gone. They celebrated Hitoshi and Natsuo’s birthday in a maze of cardboard. Quite literally, since they made a maze downstairs out of boxes as a party game. They all spent the afternoon giggling and trying to find the backdoor. Touya thankfully did not try and set the boxes on fire.
Shouto, however, did. Izuku stopped him before anything went up in flames though. Extra fire extinguishers were added to the shopping list.
Inko made them both a cake, and took pictures of them blowing the candles out. Hitoshi’s untamable lavender hair and Natsuo’s pointy white were shadowed by the yellow flames. Hisashi’s party trick of lighting them with his Quirk never failed to make the kids ooh and aw.
Katsuki got transferred to the three’s school. He took it with grumbling, but no explosions. Inko made sure he knew it wasn’t because they were trying to uproot him from everything he knew. This school was just closer, and the other boys were there, so he would already have friends.
Inko was almost one hundred percent sure that Hitoshi had smuggled in a bag of marshmallows for Katsuki on his first day. He wasn’t in the same class as them, but they all had lunch together.
Within a week Inko had already been called to the school because of an incident. One of them had used their Quirk on another student. Surprisingly, it wasn’t Katsuki. It was Hitoshi.
She had to go to the school and get him. The poor principal really hadn’t been expecting the hurricane that is an angry Mamadoriya sweeping through the door.
“So you’re telling me you just, what? Took the word of another kid and didn’t even ask for both sides? Didn’t even wonder why my son threatened Quirk use? That it maybe didn’t occur to you that the other child was picking on my other sons?”
“Um, Ma’am, I assure you-“
“And I assure you that Hitoshi wouldn’t take action unless he deemed it absolutely necessary. You know what Quirk discrimination is, sir, and I should hope you don’t think that way when you work with children.”
“N-now-“
Inko turned, voice gentle once more. “Hitoshi, can you tell me what happened?”
Hitoshi nodded, sending a glare up at the principal, even though he had tears in his eyes. Inko was proud. Even a year ago he wouldn’t have been brave enough to do that.
“Bullies said Kat was a- was a villain,” Hitoshi said, trying hard not to cry. “Z-Zu told them to, to stop, but they- but they didn’t! Kure w-wanted to push them down the- the hill, but I- but I made them go away. I didn’t w-want Kure to get in- in trouble.”
“And you told the bullies to walk away, nothing else?”
“Uh huh, used my- my Quirk. I’m so-sorry, Momma Ink.”
“Oh sweetie, it’s ok. You just wanted to make sure your brother and friend were ok. You aren’t in the wrong, right principal?”
The man nodded hastily. He had heard of Inko, both in the courtroom and outside of it. There was no way he would willingly put himself between an angry bear and her cubs.
“Good. Why don’t we go get everyone else for the day. We can even pick the twins up from their school.”
Hitoshi’s tears were near instantly dry. He leapt up from his seat, bouncing by the door as Inko got up to leave too. She sent one last glare to the principal before closing the door behind them.
If they went to get ice cream after that, then the kids weren’t about to say anything. And if Hagakure got some mochi as a thank you from Inko…well, no one was about to confront her about it.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hisashi loved their new house. There were still boxes in every room, but it already felt like home. The four boys loved sharing a room. Their beds were finally up, which was nice. Katsuki had one side of the room to himself, while the other three slept on their own bed on the opposite side. Hisashi and Inko had finally just decided to get them a big bed they could share instead of the three ending up on the ground every night. They didn’t sleep well without each other anyway.
His bosses, the Urarakas, were very understanding of the whole situation. They were his favorite bosses yet, excluding Inko. Given, she was the reason he wasn’t buried six feet under, no matter what she said to deny it. She was his wife though, so he was perhaps a bit bias. The two couples actually had gone out for dinner a few times. Hisashi found himself becoming their friend, which was not what he expected when he originally applied for the job.
And as friends, the Urarakas said it was their duty to bring over a housewarming gift. Inko had tried to tell them it wasn’t needed, but once the Urarakas set their mind to something they weren’t going to budge. A trait that had been passed onto their daughter, who Hisashi had seen on-site quite a bit.
Cue the family trying to clean up as much as possible before their guests arrived. The boys were excited, and tried to helped clean too. Emphasis on tried. Seven year-olds aren’t the best at cleaning, but at least they were enthusiastic about it. The three older ones were a bit more help.
It wasn’t much longer until there was a knock at the door. There was an instant stampede of footsteps thundering down the stairs, along with a cacophony of excited little voices. Hisashi slid up to the door before one of the kids could get it. Goodness knows how that would go. Knowing his sons, they’d probably open the door and ask what their favorite color is.
Hisashi opened the door, smiling brightly.
“Korobu! Uki! Come on in. Uh, mind the slight mess. The boys tried ‘helping.’”
The two laughed, coming inside. Their small daughter, Ochako, trailing behind them. She was holding onto her mother’s pant leg, but grinned up at Hisashi.
Inko came in a second later, giving the two a hug. She knelt down, offering a hand to shake to Ochako. The little girl took it, gently shaking Inko’s hand with a pinky raised.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Ochako. I have sons your age, you know. Would you like to meet them?”
Ochako glanced up at her parents, before nodded. Inko smiled, taking the little girl’s hand to guide her out of the room. Hisashi could hear his kids waiting just around the corner, and no doubt Inko could too.
“Oh, do think she’ll be ok?” Uki said, obviously worried about her daughter.
“My kids will probably want to adopt her by the end of the day,” Hisashi laughed. “She’s a sweet girl, Uki, if anything they’ll be calling her their queen when you go home.”
The two laughed, tension leaving them. Hisashi was glad. He meant every word he said too. If anything, he wouldn’t be surprised if the four came marching in carrying Ochako on their shoulders and demanding they bow to the princess.
The adults got to talk in the living room (mattress free now), while all the kids stayed upstairs and played. Touya and Fuyumi were working on homework, but they checked on the five every few minutes. Natsuo had left to play soccer with some of his friends.
It was maybe an hour later that five pairs of little feet barreled down the stairs again. Hisashi looked up, seeing Izuku leading the charge while holding Ochako’s hand. Katsuki was being dragged along with Ochako’s other hand. He didn’t look opposed to it though.
“Momma! Dad! Can we keep her?” Izuku asked excitedly, jumping up and down with his brothers behind him.
“I think her parents would miss her,” Inko laughed.
“But she knows how to play Ryukyu when we play heroes! She can even fly like her!”
“How about you guys be friends instead of adopting her,” Hisashi suggested, barely restraining his giggling. “Maybe if you ask Mr. and Mrs. Uraraka very nicely they’ll let you play together again.”
Izuku’s big green eyes instantly turned to the Urarakas. “Can Ochako pleeeeeeeease come over and play again? She’s really nice and can fly and makes Kacchan happy. I really wanna be her friend so can you please bring her over to play more?”
Hisashi almost immediately know the Urarakas would agree. He swore his son’s puppy-eyes could soften steel beams. Combined with both Hitoshi’s puppy-eyes and Shouto and Katsuki’s pleading gazes, they were goners.
“There’s a park a few streets over, maybe you could have a play-date there,” Korobu suggested.
“There’s a park?!” Hitoshi exclaimed. “Where? Can we go?”
“It’s a few blocks down the neighborhood,” Korobu said. “If it’s ok with your dad, maybe I can bring Ochako there next week and all five of you can play there for a while.”
“Dad-Shi, please?”
“Aw, how can I say no to that face.” Hisashi smiled. “Why don’t you guys go play for a while longer. We can talk about the park later.”
There was a chorus of “ok!”s, and then the five ran back upstairs.
“You were right,” Uki laughed, covering her mouth with a hand. “They actually asked to adopt her.”
“Yeah, Izuku’s the reason we have, um,” Hisashi paused, mentally going over their kids. “Five out of six of them. Technically.”
“Wow. When you said you adopted, I never thought it would be so many.”
“Yeah.” Hisashi smiled, remembering the hundreds of pictures he had of each child. “But I wouldn’t have anything different.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Katsuki was bored, and he wanted to explore. Thankfully, there happened to be a park they just learned about not too far away. He also happened to have a new brother and his pigeon friend that were willing to go with him.
Uncle Sashi had gotten hurt. Nothing too bad, but he had to stay still for a day or two, and Katsuki was already restless from being stuck inside. He couldn’t go outside without an adult to watch him. Auntie needed to stay and make sure Uncle Sashi got better, so she couldn’t do it. Izuku, Hitoshi, and Shouto didn’t want to go out right now either, so Katsuki went to find someone else willing to take him exploring.
Touya said he was ok with supervising Katsuki’s trip to the new park, as long as Hawks could come. Katsuki grumbled, but let the stupid pigeon come along. Their first meeting had been…interesting. Hawks had introduced himself, tried to hug Katsuki, and gotten singed feathers. Katsuki was still confused on why he didn’t have an actual fucking name, but it wasn’t his place to pry.
The red bird landed on their roof while Touya and Katsuki were waiting outside. Hawks had swooped down, snatched up Touya and flown him into the air. Katsuki watched in amusement as his older brother (which was still really weird to think about) squawked and clung to his friend.
Katsuki wondered when the lovesick idiots would confess already. It was annoying having to hear Touya lay face-down on the couch mumbling about how cute his friend was. It was even more annoying when Fuyumi did the same thing, but with Usagiyama. He had yet to meet the friend who apparently looked like a jackrabbit. Or was it jacked rabbit? Katsuki had fled the room after hearing Fuyumi grumble something about that.
Once Touya was on the ground again, they started walking to the park. Hawks led the way, saying he saw where it was when he flew to their house. Katsuki didn’t quite trust his directions, but followed anyway.
They did eventually make it. After Hawks misdirected them five times and Touya finally demanded the bird fly him into the air to see. Touya was much better at giving directions than Hawks was.
The park was small. It had a play-set and swings, but nothing else. Well, there were picnic tables, but he couldn’t play on those. What Katsuki was really interesting in though, were the woods. It looked bigger than the ones at their old park; the one they played at when they were tiny and didn’t have Quirks. Now Katsuki had a Quirk, and a much bigger area to explore.
“Just don’t go too far,” Touya told him. “Hawks and I will be over here doing homework.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just don’t be kissing when I come back.”
Katsuki turned and walked away, smirking at the sound of the two teens sputtering. Maybe they’d finally get their act together now.
He took a deep breath when he couldn’t see anything but the trees. If he didn’t already have an explosion Quirk, people might think he had one that was related to nature. Katsuki loved outdoors way more than indoors. Except mosquitos. Mosquitos could die a fiery death if they tried to bite him.
Katsuki pushed his way farther into the trees. He knew there were houses on the other side, so it wasn’t like he’d be especially lost if he couldn’t find the park. There also weren’t many dangerous wild things, which is why Auntie and Uncle even let him go.
The forest felt like a second home to Katsuki. It was peaceful, far from the loudness he was finally getting used to. Though he had to admit, peace and quiet felt just a bit weird now. There was never a quiet moment in the Midoriya’s house. Even at night, since Hitoshi had insomnia and all that.
A squirrel skittering overhead. Rabbits and lizards rustled the bushes. It didn’t scare Katsuki though, he wasn’t scared of some tiny fucking reptile. Rabbits though, rabbits could be vicious. He liked rabbits.
The next sound he heard was most definitely not a rabbit. There was a loud yelp, and then a crash. Katsuki stopped, listening for any other sounds. There was one: crying. High pitched and not from an adult or animal.
Katsuki quietly made his way towards the sound. He didn’t want to scare whoever it was, so he made sure to watch where he was stepping.
He pushed aside one more bush, and saw a tree with things hanging in it. Specifically clothes and bags of things that were probably food. So from what Katsuki could gather, someone lived here.
The second thing he saw was the person themselves. They were scrunched up at the bottom of the tree, nestled between the roots. They were also bright pink. And small, really fucking small. Like, Izuku sized small, maybe a tad bit bigger.
It was also the person he'd seen save that old lady’s cat a few weeks ago. The pink hero.
They were crying, that much was obvious. Not especially loud, but they were shaking and Katsuki could hear the sobs.
He carefully walked closer, stopping when they shifted. They didn’t look up though.
Katsuki sat himself on the dirt next to the person. Their head shot up to stare at him, and he stared back. They looked away first. The person looked like a girl, but he couldn’t be sure since Quirks were really fucking weird sometimes.
Silently, Katsuki offered them a tissue. He carried them everywhere now since moving in with the Midoriyas. All of them were prone to crying a lot. Happy tears, sad tears, that-thing-is-too-cute tears, you name it and it seemed like they cried at it.
The person took it, but watched him suspiciously. It was once they looked up that Katsuki actually focused on their eyes. They were black and gold, and only that. The part that’s usually white was just as black as their pupil. He thought it looked cool.
“Are you hurt?” He asked, trying to not sound too grumbly. It was something Uncle and Izuku said he needed to work on.
“N-no,” they stuttered. Katsuki shot them a glare, and they glared right back. He wasn’t used to anyone doing that. “I’m fine. Y-you can l-leave. I don't need p-pity.”
“Ain’t pity if you can’t walk, you idiot.”
“I can walk just fine, thanks.”
“Then show me.”
That made the person pause. “What?”
“Show me you can walk, and I’ll leave you alone. I wouldn’t be a very good hero if I left a homeless person injured in the woods.”
“I’m not homeless,” they said, rolling their eyes. “This is just my…treehouse.”
“A treehouse with clothes and food.” Katsuki stared at them, unimpressed. “Sure.”
“Fine. I’ll show you I can walk, and then you can go back to whatever you were doing.”
Katsuki huffed, but didn’t say anything. He got to his feet, just in case he needed to catch them. The pink person shot him a glare, but used the tree roots to push themselves up.
Now that they were standing, Katsuki could get a better guess that they were a girl. She also had horns. They looked sort of like hooked pieces of coral more than actual horns though. Maybe there was some sort of water aspect to their Quirk.
They stood up on both feet, and promptly fell into Katsuki. He grunted under the sudden weight and person yelling in his ear. Katsuki didn’t fall though.
He set the person back on the ground, hoping it was gentle enough. The girl pouted, curling into a ball again. Katsuki sighed, sitting himself next to them once again.
“So, how come you live in a stupid tree?”
“No house, you already guessed that,” she said. Katsuki glanced over at her, it sounded like she was trying not to cry again.
“Where are your shitty parents then?”
“Haven’t unlocked that part of my backstory yet,” they joked, shooting Katsuki a smug grin with watery eyes. “But you’re right about the shitty part.”
Katsuki blinked, looking over again. They were most definitely crying now. He thanked the Midoriyas for his newfound want to stop the person from crying. Even if he just…didn’t know how to.
“Hmph, don’t you tell anyone I said this, but I know what having shitty fucking parents is like.”
“R-really?”
“Mom yelled. A lot. Usually at me. Dad did nothing to stop it.” Katsuki paused, decidedly not looking over at the pink girl. “Didn’t realize that wasn’t normal ’til Auntie and Uncle took me in.”
“You don’t…live with your mom and dad?”
“They’re dead.” Katsuki said it with no emotion. He was finally coming to terms with it, but it wasn’t easy to say. He wondered why he was telling this to a homeless person that couldn’t be older than him. “I have so many fuckin’ siblings now.”
“You have siblings?” Good, she didn’t sound like she was crying now. Definitely curious though.
“One sister, five brothers. Live in a house near here now. Touya brought me here with his real fucking obvious crush. They’re both dumber than a bag of bricks.”
That got the girl to giggle. Katsuki smirked to himself, peered over again. She was sitting cross legged like him now.
“So, what’s your name?” He asked.
“Mina. What’s yours?”
“Katsuki Bakugou.”
The two sat there for a minute. Just listening to the sounds of the woods and taking in the sight. Katsuki played with the grass, wondering how Auntie would react to this.
“Your leg bleeding or is it just sprained?”
“Sp-sprained, I think. You don’t have to stay around me, you know.”
“Like hell. You’re more interesting than my siblings are right now anyway. Especially with flame-head having a flirt off with the pigeon.”
For some reason, that made Mina start giggling. He raised an eyebrow, or as much as a seven year-old can.
“Is your brother crushing on a bird?”
“Ha, no. His nickname is pigeon because he’s stupid like one, and has wings.”
“Woah, cool. Do they have feathers?”
“Yeah, they’re red. He can control ‘em if he wants to.”
“If he had bat wings then together we’d make a whole demon.”
Katsuki stopped picking at the grass and looked up at Mina. She was staring at the ground, almost unconsciously running a hand over her face and horns. Well, that explained some things.
“Nah,” Katsuki said nonchalantly, going back to playing with grass. “Hawks would give it away by laughing. Guess he fits the ugliness for a demon though.”
“And I don’t? I have black eyes and horns.”
“Yeah, and you’re pink. Demons also don’t sit and have conversations like a normal-ass person.”
Mina was gawking at him with her mouth open, like she’d never heard something like that before. Maybe she hadn’t, Katsuki found himself thinking. Maybe that was why she was out here in the first place.
She looked away when she saw Katsuki staring back. Her cheeks were turning purple, which was cool. Izuku could probably come up with a bunch of reasons why that happened, but Katsuki wasn’t worried about that right now.
“You know, you could come back with me.”
Mina’s head shot up once again, black and gold eyes wide as saucers. Katsuki knew he wasn’t good with words, so he hoped that was enough to show what he meant. Feelings were hard.
“You, you w-want to- you’re not- but I’m-“
“You’re living in the woods behind a park,” he deadpanned. “I wanna be a hero, one my brother can be proud of. If I’m going to be a hero I can’t just leave you here.”
“But I- but I look- I’m a demon.”
Katsuki felt like he wanted to punch whoever told her that. Like he should just wrap this person he barely knew in a blanket and scream at anyone who dared tell them they were anything but amazing.
He grabbed Mina’s shoulder, staring directly in her eyes. She blinked first, which was when Katsuki started to speak.
“You are not a demon. You are a person. If one of us were a demon it would be me. You’re hurt, homeless, and my Auntie and Uncle adopt a lot of people. I’m taking you home to let Auntie look at your ankle. If you want to leave after that you can, but you’re coming with me to least let her see it.”
Mina blinked back tears. Oh fuck, he’d made her cry. Katsuki let go of her shoulders, scrambling back a few feet. Shit, feelings were hard and he sucked at words, why did he think this was a good idea?!
Then Mina flung herself towards him, using her one good leg. She buried her face in his side and hugged him. It was…weird. Katsuki was getting used to hugs, but this was different. It was…nice. He patted her head, not knowing what else to do.
“Th- thank you,” she sobbed. “Thank y-you.”
“For what? All I said was that you’re a person, and that’s sort of fucking obvious.”
“No one’s t-told me th-that in a- in a while.”
And oh, Katsuki very much wanted to punch someone. Specifically the people that had hurt Mina. Is this what Izuku felt when they took in Hitoshi? And the Hisames?
“And w-would it really be ok? If you b-brought me w-with you?”
“You kidding? Pretty sure Fuyumi and Auntie are gonna want to take you shopping or some shit. Izuku’s probably going to drag you into their cuddle pile or something. And there’s,” Katsuki hesitated, knowing the important meaning connected to what he was about to say. “There’s a saying we have; No one left behind. We don’t leave anyone by themselves if we can help it. I’m not leaving you here.”
“No one left behind,” Mina repeated, like she was trying out the words. She smiled, tears mostly gone now. “I like it.”
“Yeah yeah. Come on, the pigeon can fly us home.”
Katsuki knelt down, gesturing for Mina to get on his back. She hopped over and jumped on, clinging tightly. He remembered the way back, mostly, but Mina probably knew how to get out if they got lost.
He grinned as they started moving. It was time to go home.
Notes:
I realized while editing that I FORGOT IZUKU’S BIRTHDAY! Just assume it happened and they all had fun eating All Might ice cream and Shouto almost setting the cake on fire again
Next chapter!: Inko is a badass lawyer and Katsuki's inner monologue is basically "I've only had Mina for a few hours but if anything were to happen to her I would kill everyone in this room and then myself"
Chapter 20: Cracks
Summary:
The pink bean child is brought home :D
Notes:
Hello my spectacular readers!
Seeing how many of you were so excited for Mina made my week, so thank you everyone! I don’t THINK her arc is as sad as Katsuki’s, but it turned out angstier than I originally intended. Whoops
Anyway, enjoy the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hawks gently dropped the two children on the lawn. Touya was sprinting after them, mentally cursing how fast his best friend is. And no matter how many times Katsuki hints at it he will not be confessing anytime soon thank you very much. Anyway, Hawks was way too fast.
Though if the squeals from the two kids were anything to go by, they were having fun. The pink one was cradled in his arms with Katsuki clinging to his back. Touya smiled, remembering the exam where Hawks had flown him over the last stretch. How his red wings had made him look like an angel and- and cutting off that train of thought before he tasted cement.
Touya took a second to try and breathe again once they were in the front yard. The pink kid, Mina, was gently set on the grass. Katsuki practically threw himself off Hawks’ back to help her stand. It was sweet, seeing the kid care about someone so much. The most affection Touya had seen from the explodo-kid was the occasional and slightly hesitant hug.
Though he had to admit, this was not how he imagined today going. Who knew they’d be getting another kid so soon after the last one.
Katsuki hoisted Mina onto his own back, and kicked the door open. Touya mentally resigned himself to whatever the kid was going to do next. Hawks followed in after them, tucking his wings close so he didn’t knock anything over.
“Inko, we’re back! And we have a…a guest.”
“In the kitchen!” She yelled back.
Katsuki immediately walked in that direction. Touya and Hawks followed close behind, if only to see how this went.
Inko turned and saw Katsuki with a pink child on his back. She blinked a few times, before setting the knife she had been using aside. It looked like she was cutting up vegetables for soup. Izuku, Hitoshi, and Shouto were all sitting at the table, staring at the new arrivals.
“Kacchan, where did you find an angel!” Izuku exclaimed, reinforcing Touya’s theory that the kid was an angel himself.
Mina squeaked, and hid her face behind Katsuki’s spiky hair. Touya snorted, moving to take over the food from Inko. She nodded gratefully before hanging up her apron.
Touya remembered the things he had overheard when the children first walked up at the park. Something about the pink child being told she looked like a demon and therefore she was one. He almost considered asking for the name of who to punch. Judging from how protective Katsuki was being, he would join in.
Mina was reluctantly set down so she could sit on an actual chair. Inko handed Touya the knife, and went to see what she could do. He kept an ear on what was being said behind him, and one on the doorway to make sure no one would come barging in.
“Hello dear, my name is Inko Midoriya. What’s your name?”
“Mina. Are you his Auntie? He said you’re nice.”
“Yes, I am Katsuki’s aunt. Since he was carrying you, I’m guessing you’re hurt?”
“N-not much.”
“Hurt her ankle,” Katsuki said for her. “And she has no house. Can we keep her, Auntie?”
“Hurt your ankle? Oh dear, let me see,” Inko said, ignoring the last half of Katsuki’s statement for the moment. “It doesn’t look broken. Shouto, can you grab me an icepack? No, not your ice, one of the squishy icepacks in the freezer. Thank you.”
Touya finished chopping the vegetables, allowing him to actually turn around and watch what was happening. Mina was sitting on a chair, holding an icepack to her ankle that was pulled up onto another chair. Izuku was almost laying on top of the table to get a look, Shouto and Hitoshi both making sure he wouldn’t fall and also watching. Katsuki was standing directly besides Mina like a tiny, spiky guard dog.
It was adorable.
“Why don’t you four go play outside so I can talk to Mina,” Inko suggested.
“No. I’m staying with her,” Katsuki insisted, grabbing Mina’s hand and refusing to let go.
“He stays.” Mina repeated, clinging to his hand in kind.
“Ok then. Touya, why don’t you and Hawks play with the other three in the backyard.”
“Sure thing. Come on tiny people, lets see if we can find any soccer balls Natsu hasn’t squirreled away to who-knows-where.”
The three leapt off their chairs and raced to the backdoor. Hawks followed with just as much enthusiasm. Touya turned back before he left the room though.
“Want me to get out the extra mattress? I’m sure Fuyumi would love to share the room with another girl.”
“In a while, dear. Go have fun.”
Touya smiled at Inko, and ducked out of the room. Maybe there was a ball somewhere in the bushes that Natsuo hadn’t found yet. His brother lost those things like they grew legs and ran away.
~~~~~~~~~~
Mina didn’t quite like this. The instant they landed in that yard she hadn’t felt especially safe.
Because it was her old house. The one she had…survived in. Not really lived. You can only survive, not live, in a place that demands you stay out of sight.
But she had Bakugou. Mina was tempted to call him Katsuki or a nickname, but she didn’t. She hadn’t called someone a name, let alone nickname, in so long.
He was safe though; he was like her. They both had had bad parents that were gone now. Only, he lived with his aunt and uncle, whereas Mina had no one. She wished her Grammy and Grampy were still alive, but that was a can of feelings she wasn’t particular on opening right now. It would bring nothing good.
The house had changed so much in the time she’d been away. All the old furniture was gone, and the walls were a different color. Even the floor was different. No more stained carpet and rugs hiding a mountain of dust, replaced with wood.
Bakugou led her to the kitchen, which was different too. There was a big table and newly painted cabinets. The room had always been a bit dangerous for Mina, but now it felt…bright. Like all the shadows were finally gone from it.
The whole house felt like that, actually.
She was surprised by the sheer number of people she was meeting today. First Bakugou, then his red-head brother and apparent crush. Hawks’ wings were really pretty, and he was nice. Flying was fun. Mina wanted to ask why his name was just Hawks, but didn’t. She only used her first name too.
Then she met Mrs. Midoriya and three more boys. One had curly green hair that looked sorta like a bush. The other had wavy purple hair that defied gravity, and the third had red and white hair split down the middle. They were cute. The green-haired one reminded her of a bunny, or a puppy.
Mina was given an icepack for her ankle, which she was thankful for. Being flown here was really really cool, but it still hurt to walk. Honestly she was just super lucky Bakugou had found her. Having a hurt leg while living in the woods was not a good idea. Especially when getting money for food and water relied on her doing chores for people in the neighborhood.
The boys, other than Bakugou, all went outside to play. Mrs. Midoriya took the seat next to Mina, Bakugou on her other side. The atmosphere felt slightly heavier now.
“Mina, was Katsuki right when he said you don’t have a home?” Mrs. Midoriya asked quietly.
She nodded, staring at her leg that was pulled onto a chair. The icepack was suddenly a lot more interesting than looking up.
“Are you willing to tell us why? You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
Mina nodded to let Mrs. Midoriya know it was ok. She knew this person wasn’t like Mother. She knew that. But her grandparents could only undo so much of what had been done. Mina was still extremely wary of adults, even after months of being away from her parents.
“Would it be ok if I recorded it then?”
Mina was officially confused. She finally glanced up, seeing Mrs. Midoriya watching her with an expression Mina had never seen on a grown up. “I…I guess so?”
Mrs. Midoriya nodded, taking out her phone and setting it to record. Bakugou was smirking now, and Mina was still very confused. Bakugou must’ve caught her look, because he leaned closer and whispered in her ear.
“Auntie’s gonna fuck ‘em up. She’s a lawyer.”
That didn’t explain anything, but Mina shrugged and went along with it. She made sure to speak clearly and towards the phone recording nothing but the ceiling and their words.
“Mother and Father left me,” she said, shoving down the instinct to stay quiet and not speak. She was fine here. They could know. “They said I was a demon, and didn’t treat me well. Grammy and Grampy died a while ago, so I don’t- I don’t have a family.”
Bakugou squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back. It was nice, having someone like her to be here. Someone that wasn’t scared of her.
“And how long have you been living by yourself?”
“A few months now. Maybe…three? I do chores for some of the neighbors, and they give me money for food and water. Bakugou found me in the woods where I’m living right now.”
Mina felt…numb, in all honesty. She thought she would at least be sad at reliving the memories, but she wasn’t. Bakugou was here, and Mrs. Midoriya was the kindest adult Mina had met so far. While she had no idea what a lawyer did, the way Bakugou said it made her think they had power.
Maybe someone would finally help her.
“Where did you live before? And where did your parents go?”
“I…I used to- used to live here. In this house. Mother and Father wouldn’t tell me where they were moving. I thought I was going with them, so I didn’t ask more.”
The kitchen was quiet, and Mina still refused to look up. She heard Mrs. Midoriya tap her phone, probably turning off the recording if Mina had to guess. Bakugou’s grip on her hand was so tight now that it almost hurt. She didn’t dare let go though. Not when it was grounding her.
Mina jolted when she felt arms wrap around her. She finally looked up, just in time for Mrs. Midoriya to pull her into a hug.
For as long as she could remember, no one hugged Mina. They were too afraid of her, both at home and at school. She looked evil, they said. Not someone to touch. Especially with her Quirk. A cursed Quirk for a cursed child.
And yet here she is, being hugged by a woman she had just met today and holding hands with another boy she’d just met. She felt the first tears drip down her face.
Mina cried. She cried for all the things she’d been missing since her grandparents passed away. For all the horrible things her own mom and dad had done, the things she knew were wrong. She cried for finally having someone not afraid to touch her.
“You’re alright now, sweetheart,” Mrs. Midoriya said gently. “You’re safe now. We won’t leave you.”
“No one left behind,” Mina and Katsuki whispered together.
And Mina knew. She knew they really meant it.
~~~~~~~~~~
Katsuki carried Mina to the couch when Auntie Inko was done. He was wiping tears from his eyes, which he would vehemently deny to anyone who asked about it. Mina didn’t ask though. She was crying too, but she was also smiling. A small but happy thing. It was bright like Izuku’s smile.
He was still in a bit of shock. Mina had lived here, in this house. Her room had been upstairs. She knew this place better than they did. It was a really fucking weird thing to think about.
Izuku, Hitoshi, and Shouto were outside playing soccer with Touya and Hawks. Natsuo was still at practice, so they didn’t have to worry about him beating them all. Fuyumi was still upstairs. Katsuki should probably go tell her about Mina.
Eh, she’d come down eventually. Katsuki wasn’t about to move far anyway, not with Mina still gripping his hand.
“You weren’t kidding about having a lot of siblings,” was the first thing she said.
“That’s not even all of them. Natsuo isn’t here right now and Fuyumi is upstairs.”
“Woah.”
He shrugged, glancing outside through the glass door. Maybe…maybe Mina would do better with Izuku here. Katsuki sure would.
“Do you want to meet them?” He asked.
Mina smiled and nodded enthusiastically. Katsuki grunted, getting up and opening the door. The game didn’t stop, so he made them listen to him.
“MINA WANTS TO MEET YOU IDIOTS, SO GET IN HERE!”
Well, it got their attention. Katsuki retreated from the door to reluctantly go get Fuyumi at Touya’s request. He began running up the stairs right as Izuku barreled through the doorway.
He came back downstairs not a minute later, Fuyumi bounding past him. Everyone was sitting around Mina, either on the couch or the floor. Izuku was excitedly rattling off facts on something or other. Katsuki claimed the spot directly next to Mina.
“And maybe you can eat metal since you made acid and maybe that means your stomach acid is stronger so you can eat different things and it could also mean you need to eat more food but I don’t know about that-“
Mina turned to Katsuki, silently asking what the fuck was going on.
“Muttering, Zu,” Hitoshi said, tapping Izuku’s arm.
“Oh, sorry Mina! I just get really excited about Quirks.”
“No shit,” Katsuki said. “Especially thanks to your own Quirk.”
“Ooh what Quirk do you have?” Mina asked, leaning forward in anticipation.
“Um, my Quirk is Analysis. I’m really smart and-“
“Smart’s not big enough word,” Shouto interjected.
“Zu’s like a computer.”
“-and I can guess things really good.”
“So…you’re like a human-Google?”
“Uh, I guess?”
Katsuki snorted. He wasn’t going to let that name go anytime soon.
(Far in the future, fans theorize over why the explosive hero called the analytic hero Google. Others wonder why the retaliation was the nickname Pop-Rocks)
The topic of heroes eventually came up in the form of Izuku asking who Mina’s favorite was. Her answer was…not what Katsuki expected.
“I don’t have one.”
“You…don’t?” Izuku said, tilting his head like he always did when he was confused.
“No. None of them stopped my parents, even after I asked nicely, so I don’t have a favorite.”
“Oh. But why- aren’t heroes supposed to save people? Why didn’t they help you?”
Izuchan’s voice was cracking with the telltale sign of tears. Katsuki sort of wanted to too. No hero helped Mina? Not even when she told them what was happening?
Katsuki’s desire to explode something increased.
“Heroes aren’t always good people,” Touya said quietly. They all heard it in the silent room. “We know that better than most. But, they’re not all bad.”
“I know,” Mina whispered.
“Zu’s my hero.”
“Zuku’s mine too.”
“Gotta admit, Izuku’s my favorite hero too,” Touya laughed, seemingly blind to Hawks’ pout.
“Same,” Fuyumi added, ruffling his already messy green hair.
All eyes turned to Katsuki. He groaned, staring at the floor. “ Fine. The nerd’s my second favorite hero.”
“Awwwwww, Kacchan!”
“My favorite’s still All Might.”
“No one can beat All Might,” Izuku agreed solemnly.
The living room burst into laughter, a welcome sound after that afternoon’s tears. Katsuki found himself smiling as Mina talked enthusiastically with Hitoshi about cats. Maybe he finally had a friend that he had found all on his own. Even if he had brought her home like people normally did with stray animals.
Katsuki found that he liked having a friend.
( A sister )
The Midoriya children’s faith in heroes started to crack that day. Not splinter or break, no, just a crack. But cracks can grow into chasms. Something was wrong with the world, and they didn’t know how to fix it yet.
They would one day. In time, they would be amazing. They were going to do great things, the universe whispered in the ears of many.
These children saw something broken. And they were going to fix it, no matter what.
Notes:
GUYS
GUYS GUESS WHAT
THERE'S ANOTHER ART FOR THIS STORY NOW LOOKLOOKLOOKLOOK IT'S AMAZING
The two soft beans!!
THANK YOU TO KAYA YOU'RE AMAZING THANK YOU FOR ART
Chapter 21: A New Day
Summary:
First night and morning with the pink bean in the Midoriya house :D
Notes:
Hello everyone!!
You guys ever have those chapter that you literally plan around a title, but then have other ones where you can’t think of a title until it smacks you in the face with a hammer? Or you can’t think of one and come up with something last minute? Yeah, this was in the last category
Also this will not be a BakuMina story (I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those actually), Mina’s just a cuddly person. Mina + Touch starved Katsuki = lots of cuddles. I hope you enjoy the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Katsuki went through the motions of getting ready for bed, even though it really wasn’t that late. He liked getting up early though. Also meant no one could bother him with the latest Hero Watch episode, which he could hear playing downstairs. Izuku was probably writing in his notebook, everyone else scattered around the room. Mina was down there too, likely curled in a blanket to watch along with the rest of the family.
They had all loved Mina, and Katsuki was happy about that. He…he was. It wasn’t like he was jealous or anything. She was a person that could choose what she wanted to do, and had no obligation to hang out with him. Dad had tried to teach him that before…before he died. It had stuck. A lot of things had, once they weren’t there to tell him anything else.
Katsuki grumbled, treading back down the stairs to go get a cup of water. He glanced into the living room, seeing exactly what he expected to. Shouto was almost asleep, and Natsuo was on the floor sprawled out like a starfish. Izuku was furiously scribbling in his notebook while Hitoshi watched the tv from beside him.
Mina was sandwiched between Hitoshi and Auntie Inko. She was almost drowning in one of their extra fluffy blankets, eyes glued to the screen in front of them. She looked entranced with the show. Katsuki was happy for her, he really was.
He quietly padded into the kitchen to get water, then retreated back up the stairs. No one noticed him. Katsuki sighed once he was back in the silence of his room. It was late, and he needed sleep.
It was maybe fifteen minutes later, when he had almost fallen asleep, that he heard something. A door squeaked down the hall, but that wasn’t the only noise. As Katsuki listened, feinting sleep, he heard the sound of something being dragged over the carpet.
He held still as the door to his room slowly swung open. The thing being dragged was moved closer to him, and then dropped on the floor. It landed heavily, but not loudly. Katsuki had no idea what had just been brought into his room.
He heard shuffling, and what was definitely a blanket being thrown over something. Was it a mattress that had been dragged in here? Who the fuck had brought a fucking mattress into their room? Mina was sleeping in Fuyumi and Touya’s room. There were already a lot of them in here, and Fuyumi was the only girl besides Auntie so it made sense.
Katsuki cracked open his eyes, and saw the aforementioned pink person standing there. Her back was to him, and she was currently throwing a blanket in the air. It looked like she was trying to put sheets on their spare mattress. Ones that had been messed up by being dragged down the hallway.
“The fuck ‘re you doin’ in here?” He said, slurred from being half asleep.
Mina froze, turning her head to look at him like a deer in the headlights. Katsuki yawned, and sat up to stare at her. She looked away first.
“…you’re awake.”
“No shit. What’re you doing.”
“Uh…getting ready for bed?”
“I got that, Pinky. Why in here? Thought you were sleepin’ with Fuyu or somethin.’”
“Wanna sleep in here instead.”
“Why?”
“‘Cause you’re in here.”
That made Katsuki pause. Why the ever-loving fuck would Mina want to be in here because of him? He wasn’t exactly known for being friendly.
“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“You saved me,” she said, shrugging like it was the simplest thing in the world. “And you’re like me. I feel safer with you than your sister anyway.”
With that, Mina crawled under the blanket she had thrown over the bed. Katsuki watched her for a second, mostly just confused, before sighing. He wasn’t going to make her go away. Both because he didn’t particularly want to and also didn’t believe he physically could. This person had tried to walk on a badly sprained ankle just to prove a point. If she didn’t want to move, she wasn’t going to.
He was too tired to try and fully understand the meaning from what she’d said either. On some level he did, but sleep was currently more important in his mind. It was quiet in the room again, and exhaustion tugged at his limbs. Katsuki pulled his blanket up more, and closed his eyes.
A door slammed somewhere in the house. Probably a cabinet from the sound of it, but it was still loud. Just Natsuo closing it too hard again.
Mina didn’t know that though. Katsuki’s eyes shot open when he heard her hit his bed-frame. He leaned over, seeing her pressed as far from the door as she could physically get.
“It’s just a cabinet, Pinky,” Katsuki whispered, voice gruff but kind. “No one’s here to get you.”
“R-right. J-just someone getting- someone getting water or, or something.”
“Natsuo closes the damn things too hard,” he grumbled, hoping it was enough of an explanation.
“Y-yeah. Ok. It’s- it’s ok.”
Mina stayed where she was, curled in a ball at the corner of her bed. Katsuki wracked his brain for what to do. He wasn’t good at this. Fuck, he was good at everything but this.
“Oh for fucks sake.” Katsuki said, drawing Mina’s attention. He got out from under his blankets and slid down next to her.
Katsuki opened one arm, still not entirely sure if this was the right thing to do. Mina blinked, but shuffled closer all the same. She put her head on his shoulder, clinging to his arm like it was a teddy bear.
He still had no idea what the fuck he was doing. Maybe it was the influence from spending so much time around Izuchan now, but Katsuki started talking.
“I used to think Auntie and Uncle were going to yell at me,” he said bluntly, really wishing he was good with feelings like Izuku was.
“You…what?”
“Mom used to yell at me a lot, I told you that already. Whenever I did something bad. Something she didn’t like. Maybe she was just angry one day and decided to take it out by yelling. Dad never did anything, she would just start yelling at him too.”
Mina listened quietly. Katsuki stared at Hitoshi’s Eraserhead poster Uncle Sashi had made, since it was on the wall across from them. He had heard about the hero from Izuku’s ramblings, but Katsuki still liked All Might better. He was a hero that could defend himself from anything. All Might wasn’t scared of loud voices and being left alone again.
“When Auntie and Uncle first took me in, I thought they would too. I kept waiting for it. One of those days they would snap and yell at each other or someone else. They’re really fucking nice people, but that didn’t stop me from thinking shitty things.”
Katsuki took a deep breath. He didn’t like digging up these memories, but if it would help Mina, then he would do it. He would do it a hundred times over if it made her feel safer.
“Right before we moved, they had an argument. I was in the kitchen with them, and I almost hid under the table. They ended up talking for a few minutes, and never raised their voices. They made a- a compromise before it could become a fight. I was so fucking confused.”
“Why?” Mina asked quietly, still listening.
“My parents never did that. Everything was too damn loud and explosive with them. But then Auntie and Uncle solved things without yelling and I was so damn confused. I asked them why, why they weren’t yelling. They told me, but they’d tell it better than I could. They said they’d never yell at me like Mom did, and they haven’t.”
“They…they’re nice to you, right?”
“They never yell or hit, if that’s what you’re asking. This is the kindest fucking family you’re ever going to find.”
“Guess I chose the right day to get hurt then,” Mina laughed quietly.
“Hmph, would’a brought you here anyway. No one should be homeless.”
“No one left behind, right?”
Katsuki looked over to see Mina smiling at him. There were still tear tracks staining her cheeks, but she was grinning all the same. Maybe…maybe he was semi-decent at this feelings and comforting thing.
He smiled back in the dark, echoing her words. “No one left behind.”
Katsuki woke up at fuck o’clock in the morning to Natsuo nearly flinging their door off its hinges. He screamed that they were having french toast, before racing right back out again.
Hitoshi was almost instantly out the door, Izuku and Shouto following close behind. None of them bothered to be quiet or check if they had put on a shirt last night. It was summer, so it was normal. They all stole Touya and Fuyumi’s shirts for pajamas more often than not anyway.
That was, however, also when Katsuki found out he couldn’t move. Well, he could, it was just that someone was draped over him like a damned cat.
He remembered falling asleep in his own bed. He remembered Mina falling asleep in her bed. So why the fuck was she flopped over his stomach with her feet hanging off the side of his mattress?
(He wasn’t about to admit he felt better rested than he had in weeks)
Katsuki tried wriggling out from under his sheets and sister-friend-person with little success. He just wanted to go have some of Uncle Sashi’s french toast dangit.
He resorted to poking Mina’s side until she woke up. Her reaction was immediate, at least. She flung herself to the other side of the bed, giggling like mad. Huh, so she was ticklish.
“Don’t- hahahah -don’t do that!”
“Then don’t hold me prisoner from french toast.”
Katsuki leapt out of bed and raced to the door. He paused, looking back to make sure Mina was following. She was, even if she looked really confused. Eh, he’d explain downstairs. No one misses Uncle Sashi’s french toast. No one.
Katsuki almost considered using his explosions to get down the stairs quicker, but Auntie had a ‘no voluntary Quirk use in the house’ rule. He jumped them two at a time anyway. Mina followed a bit slower. Hopefully there was still toast left.
The kitchen was busy as usual. Uncle was finishing up breakfast, with Auntie getting the plates out. Touya was holding the syrup bottle above Natsuo’s head, who looked like he was contemplating if scaling the counter to reach was worth it. Fuyumi was muttering about summer homework while only being half awake. Everyone else was eagerly waiting at the table.
So it was a normal morning.
~~~~~~~~~
It was chaos. Utter chaos that kinda looked graceful. Mina was so, so very confused.
She had woken up to Katsuki tickling her awake. He said something about french toast, a food Mina had never heard of, before speed-walking out the door. Though he did pause to make sure she was coming too.
Mina felt like she’d walked into a different world when she entered the kitchen. It had never been like this before. Before it had always quiet and almost eerie, but now? Now it felt alive. In a good way too.
Mr. Midoriya was standing at the stove. Next to him was a stack of…it just looked like weird toast to Mina. Literally just toast on the stove. It only made her more confused. Why did Katsuki look so eager to get downstairs for toast ?
Izuku, Hitoshi, and Shouto were sitting at the table, looking like they were bouncing in their seats. Mrs. Midoriya was grabbing plates from a cupboard. Natsuo was tackling Touya, who was holding a container of maple syrup as high as he could. Mina saw Fuyumi trudge passed, looking like she should still be asleep.
Katsuki made a b-line for the table, so Mina followed. She hesitated, but took the seat next to him. Izuku was across from her. He almost seemed to physically brighten when he saw her.
“Mina! I forgot to ask yesterday but what’s your Quirk?” He asked so quickly it took Mina a second to understand what he was saying.
“Oh, um, acid. I c-can made acid.”
The table was quiet for a second. This was it, Mina thought while staring down at the table. This was when she was forced to leave, or called a demon. Or a villain. Maybe they’d let her grab some food before she left.
“That’s so cool!”
…what?
“That’s an awesome Quirk!” Izuku exclaimed, leaning across the table. Mina looked up at him, eyes wide. No one had reacted like that before. “Can you only make acids? Can you make them turn off? Do you sweat it like Kacchan or fire and ice like Shouto? Can you dissolve stuff? What about-“
“Izuku, give the girl a chance to breathe,” Touya chuckled, gently patting Izuku’s green curls.
“Right! Mina, can you dissolve things?”
“Um, y-yes? I was- I was never a-allowed to try.”
“Well,” Mr. Midoriya said behind Mina, startling her. “We can’t have that, now can we.”
Hitoshi almost immediately sat up straighter. “Quirk day?”
“Yeah, why not,” Mr. Midoriya laughed. “Breakfast first, then we can have a Quirk day. Might as well learn something since you’re not in school right now.”
Mina blinked as every kid in the room started cheering. Even the teens. That was a major surprise. From what Mina had seen, teenagers didn’t really think they needed help with Quirks.
“What’s a Quirk day?” She asked quietly.
“Uncle Sashi and Izuchan help us with our Quirks,” Katsuki explained. “We have different training days for Quirks, fighting, and whatever else we want to work on. They’re fun as fuck.”
“Huh, cool.”
That was honestly not what Mina had expected. Especially the part about Izuku helping. She knew he had an analysis Quirk, but was he really smart enough to help an adult with Quirk analysis? And was Mr. Midoriya really good at it to be helping all of them at once?
So many questions whirled around Mina’s mind, and none of them wanted to come out as words. She listened as they talked instead.
Plates of the fancy toast were put on the table, and everyone immediately dove for them. Mina recoiled away from the grabbing hands. Too much movement. Too fast. Too many people.
Somehow, a plate with food already on it was put to her. It still just looked like weird toast to her. She looked around the table, and saw everyone adding different things to it. Touya was spreading on jam, Katsuki’s were drowning in syrup, and Hitoshi’s plate looked more like it had been snowed on than cooked.
Mina cautiously put a bit of maple syrup on it. She took a bite, and instantly decided this was now one of her favorite foods.
“Quirk day” turned out to be Mr. Midoriya (who insisted she call him Hisashi) supervising everyone in the yard while they used their Quirks. There were multiple dummies set up that they could use Quirks on too. They looked like they had been made from empty milk jugs and fabric scraps.
Katsuki was working on controlling the size of his explosions. He was mostly just doing it in open air, but he occasionally used his sparks on the dummies. Scorch marks were left behind. It was awesome. They were seven (three of them at least. Mina was still six until the end of the month) and he was already great with his Quirk.
Shouto was busy trying to make something out of ice, but apparently he kept messing up, because he melted all of them with fire. It was cool to watch actually. He was sitting on the porch steps, Fuyumi perched next to him. She was creating piles of snow at their feet. From the look of it, she was trying to control where it went and how much she made.
Natsuo was sitting in one corner of the yard with Touya nearby. He was squinting from focusing so hard, and was staring down at his hands for some reason. Mina really wished she knew all of their Quirks.
Touya was near Natsuo, making small blue flames that hovered over his skin. He willed them as far from his arms and hands as he could before they disappeared. It was beautiful. Mina knew he was in hero school, which was super cool in itself, but seeing his Quirk work was amazing.
Finally, there were Izuku and Hitoshi. Izuku looked blank-faced, a jarring difference from this morning, as he jumped on one foot and flapped his arms like a chicken…for some reason. Hitoshi didn’t look too strained from…whatever he was doing, but his eyebrows were scrunched in concentration.
That left Mina. She…had no idea what to do. Logically, she knew how to use her Quirk. She knew it was acid and was dangerous around literally everything not acid-proofed. She did not, however, know what to do with it. Did she just…shoot it at the grass?
“You having some trouble, Mina?” Mr. Midoriya asked, walking over.
“Yeah.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
“Just…what do I do? I don’t- I don’t know anything about my acid, Mr. Mid- Hisashi.”
“Let’s try this. You shoot at much acid as you can at that dummy.” Mr. Hisashi pointed to the one closest to her, maybe six feet away. “And we’ll go from there.”
“Alright.”
Mina lifted her hands, aiming for the thing that looked like it was made from a broken filing cabinet. She could technically make acid from almost anywhere, but her hands were easiest to aim with. For now, she only focused on creating as much as she could.
A second later, and the dummy was a sizzling pile of mush. Huh. That was a lot more power than she thought she had.
“Whoa,” was all Mr. Hisashi said.
Everyone in the yard stopped to look over. Mina took a step towards the porch, just incase she had to run. She wasn’t going to stand being yelled at again. She wasn’t going to stand by if she could leave again.
But none of that happened. Izuku ran up, looking different than he had a few minutes ago. Mina tensed, ready to dodge him if he tried to jump at her or something. Instead, he took her hand without fear. Well, her arm, but that was probably just so he didn’t get any acid on himself.
“Wow! That’s so cool! It looks like you can make it from your hands like Kacchan but I saw some of it on your other wrist too but then thats means you can probably make it in other places. I wonder what else you can do with it. Can you control the acidity? Can you make it more slippery or like water? Can you really shoot it out of any part of your body? Are you like a snail? Does it hurt you too? Can it-“
“Izuku, breathing is a thing, buddy,” Mr. Hisashi reminded his son. “Mina, would you mind if I asked you a few questions about your Quirk? Izuku too, since he needs to practice his analysis more. Slower analysis, really.”
“Y-yeah, sure.” Mina had never been asked about her Quirk before. Not past what is was and demands to keep her from using it. This was new, and it felt…it felt nice .
“Ok, let’s start with this. Can you control how much you make and where?”
Mina smiled, and thought that maybe having a family again wouldn’t be so bad.
Notes:
Well apparently I’m on a roll of not writing what people want to see because I completely forgot to write Hisashi’s reaction to Mina. I am so sorry guys :((
SO what happened was Hisashi came home, saw a tiny pink child, and had to do a double take because his immediate thought was “ah yes, that’s completely normal.” One conversation with Inko later and he is willing to die for this small acidic bean.
Once again, I am SO sorry for forgetting to write that. Life hasn’t let me focus a lot lately. Not a good excuse, but it happened and I can’t change it without spending a lot more time on this chapter rearranging it so I’m going to move on. I hope you liked the chapter though! Have a good day/night!Next chapter: Cuteness! Water sports! Inko remembers Hisashi throwing water balloons as neighbors!
Chapter 22: Play Ball!
Summary:
Backyard chaos
That's it, that's the chapter
Notes:
Hello everyone! I hope you're having a good day/night!
So small disclaimer, I have no idea how construction worker schedules work, so pretend this is how it works in this universe.
With that being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter :D!!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Inko had dealt with hundreds upon hundreds of cases. Not a surprise, seeing how long she had been in this field now. And yet, somehow, not many of them had made her as angry as this one. She didn’t usually get too worked up, being a calm and patient person by both nature and practice.
But with this case? Oh, she was furious. The last time she had been this angry was on behalf of her kids, during their trials. It had been more than a year since the last one now. Yet here she was, practically boiling over little Mina and her own impending court case.
What parents left their child?! Just in the streets! Not even at a relative's house, or a foster home, or something better than the damned woods!
So yes, Inko was positively fuming. And she was pretty sure it was unsettling her children. They didn’t see her like this often, if at all, so of course it was. Though she did her best to tamp it down until they weren’t there. Goodness knows none of them needed an angry adult around, especially when literally all of them had had some form of abuse in their life.
It still make Inko’s heart hurt to think about that, but she couldn’t do anything to the past. She could make their future better though. And by god, she was going to make sure these kids never had to worry about being mistreated again.
If there was any consolation, it was that the anger helped her gather evidence faster than normal. Security footage, neighbor testimonies, paper trails, all of it. Every bit was meticulously checked and ordered neatly in what Hisashi was starting to call her Adoption Binder. It wasn’t far from the truth, if she was being honest. The only child she hadn’t used it for was Izuku, and that was only because she didn’t quite want to sue Mitsuki and Masaru.
The kids’ summer break had around one month left now. Mina would be enrolled in the same school as the others once she was legally theirs. In the meantime, Fuyumi was tutoring her. She was a natural at it actually. Inko praised them both for their work and accomplishments, and meant every word of it.
Summer also meant it was hot though. With Hisashi at work, the heat, and Inko pulling together the case, the kids had to entertain themselves indoors. Not exactly hard, considering how many of them there were. Inko had never thought she would have this big of a family, but she wouldn’t trade it for the world. Having older ones definitely made it easier though.
There were multiple times when the five little ones would storm between the two floors while playing heroes and villains. Inko took a video of Touya racing down the stairs laughing like one of the cheesy villains in a cartoon. The gaggle of children tumbled after him, yelling their different hero names.
Mina was a hero named Persevere. They apparently had black clothes (Mina was wearing one of Fuyumi’s long black shirts, so Inko assumed that’s what it was), a white cape, and yellow gloves. The gloves had been stolen from the garage, probably by one of the boys, because they were Inko’s yellow gardening gloves.
She was just happy Mina was having fun. The poor thing had been through enough.
It was on one of those days that every child, teens included, came rushing downstairs, looking like they were about to implode from excitement. They all started talking at the same time. Inko chuckled, and gently hushed them.
“One at a time, I can’t hear you all at once, ok?”
They all had a silent conversation, which ended with Izuku stepping forward. He took a deep breath, making sure to say his words as more than one singular one.
“Can we play a water game in the yard, Momma?”
“What kind of game?” Inko had very vivid memories of her husband pelting both the neighbors and her with water balloons. She wracked her mind to remember if Hisashi had taught the kids that particular war game.
“Kickball but with waterslides!” Hitoshi chirped. “We’ll make it ourselves and put it in the yard!”
“Hm, if you can clean it up when you’re done, then I don’t see why not.”
Cheers rang out from the kids, Mina included. Inko smiled, telling them where the slippery plastic tarps were. The children stampeded out into the garage with their marching orders.
Inko shook her head fondly, and got back to work on the case. At least the house would be quiet for a bit now.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Ok, so here’s how this is going to work,” Touya started, tossing the ball between his hands. “Fuyumi and I will be team leaders. One team will be trying to kick to ball and fill the bases to get points, while the other is serving the ball and trying to get people out. Understand so far?”
There were six nods in response. Fuyumi helped make the game, so she already knew what he was going to say. Probably better than Touya did if he was being honest.
“Ok, so someone will roll this ball at whoever is kicking. If they kick it and someone catches it midair then they’re out. If a ball touches the base before a person then they’re also out. You get points for your team by a person sliding back to home base after landing on the other three bases first. Any questions?”
Shouto’s hand went up like they were still in school. “Can we use Quirks to make us go faster?”
“No Quirks. We don’t want to melt the slides or freeze the water. Anyone else?”
“What if the ball goes into the neighbor's yard?” Mina asked.
“Then we climb the fence and deny we did anything. Any more questions?” No one spoke. “Alright then. Fuyumi, you pick first.”
“Natsuo.”
“Damni- I mean, dang it. I choose…Izuku.”
“Betrayal,” Shouto whispered, making the others laugh.
The teams ended up being Touya, Izuku, Hitoshi, and Katsuki on one and Fuyumi, Natsuo, Shouto, and Mina on the other. It was an equation for chaos, but by god would the result be hilarious.
~~~~~~~~~~
“No explosion, Kat!”
“Fuck you!”
“Stop overthinking, Zuku! Just kick the ball!”
“Woo- ohshit, fuck!”
“Touya! Language! There’s little kids here.”
“Sorry, Fumi.”
“Natsuo! No trying to surf! We all saw how that turned out for Touya.”
“Hey!”
“Shouto, you can’t freeze the ball.”
“But it makes it harder to kick!”
“Exactly. No cheating.”
“Izuchan, stop muttering and catch the damned ball!”
“So he can swear but I can’t?”
“Touya, shut up.”
“If you put snow in the water one more time, Fuyumi, so help me.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Hisashi came home to a quiet house, and immediately felt deeply unsettled. A house being silent when little kids were there was almost never a good thing. Especially with his kids.
He set his things down and walked into the kitchen, listening for any threats. In a world of villains, one could never know what would happen. Better to be alert, even if they lived in a relatively safe neighborhood.
Inko was peacefully doing work at the kitchen table. Hisashi relaxed a bit. If Inko was working calmly then they were around here somewhere. He was curious as to where though, since the house was never this quiet. Hisashi just shrugged, walking in and placing a kiss on the top of his wife’s head.
“Oh! Hisashi, you’re home,” Inko squeaked, putting her pen down.
“Yeah, the Urarakas let me off a bit early,” Hisashi hummed, enjoying it being just the two of them for a moment. He was still curious though. “Honey, where are the kids?”
“They’re playing a game in the backyard. Something about waterslides and kickball. Honestly, I’m just happy they aren’t throwing water balloons at the neighbors like a certain someone.”
“That was one time, Inko!”
“Twice. Not including the time you used them as weapons against a few villains.”
“Hmph. Can I use them on your paperwork so we can go check outside?”
“Let me put this away, then we can go check on our kids,” she laughed, a sound that never failed to make Hisashi smile.
He set his chin on her head, something he had done for as long as they could remember. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of calling them all ‘our kids’. That does remind me though. When did you say Rei could possibly get out of the hospital again?”
“A few more months is what the doctor said. The kids can go visit her soon though.”
“Hm, maybe we can do that this weekend, I have a day off. Though maybe not all of them at once. Don’t want to overwhelm the poor woman.”
“Yes, and there. Now we can go see what the kids are doing.”
Hisashi chuckled, and let her get up from the chair. He offered an arm and a cheeky grin. Inko took it with a loving eye-roll.
They could see the…game, as soon as they got near the door. Hisashi blinked upon actually stepping out of the house. Somehow, someway, their backyard had been turned into a watery war zone with slides.
Fuyumi was sprinting after Touya and Natsuo, carrying a bucket she had found goodness knows where, and yelling something about revenge. Katsuki and Mina were play-wrestling on the grass. They were laughing and squealing, so Hisashi guessed it was ok. Hitoshi’s feet were frozen to the ground; he was pouting. Izuku was in the middle of a tickle attack on Shouto, demanding he unfreeze Hitoshi.
So yes, a bit of chaos. Whatever game they had been playing before had dissolved into…whatever this was. Hisashi couldn’t help but laugh.
It caught the attention of the kids. Eight pairs of eyes shot up to stare at Hisashi, who was almost wheezing from laughter on the porch. Leave it to his kids to turn a simple game into a wrestling match and hostage situation.
“Uh…Uncle Hisashi?” Shouto said, still pinned beneath Izuku but not being tickled.
“What in the world are you kids doing?” He asked. Inko was giggling beside him.
“Er…kickball but with waterslides?” Natsuo answered, though more a question than a statement.
“And…wrestling?”
“These two tripped me and flung me down the water slide!” Fuyumi yelled indignantly. Well, that answered one question.
“Hitoshi teased Izuku!”
“Shouto froze Toshi to the grass!”
“I touched the base first!” Both Mina and Katsuki shrieked playfully, before continuing with their impromptu wrestling match.
Hisashi was trying very hard not to fall over laughing. At this point, most of the kids had continued with whatever they were doing before. Hitoshi was still frozen to the ground though.
Inko went back inside to get the camera while Hisashi defrosted Hitoshi’s feet. His purple-haired son thanked him, right before leaping into the fray between Izuku and Shouto. Hisashi shook his head fondly.
It was chaos, but it was his chaos. And that was the best kind.
Everyone got a popsicle while they dried off, Hisashi included. Fuyumi had accidentally dumped her bucket on him. The ensuing water war was now immortalized in pictures Inko wanted to print and hang up. Natsuo won by spraying water from his hands. Hisashi was too proud of him to be annoyed at getting drenched.
Inko lovingly called them all water-logged cats. Hisashi retaliated by hugging her and giving her kisses while his shirt was dripping wet.
All in all, it was a good summer day. Mina was smiling, Katsuki was willingly letting someone touch him, and none of their tarps got ruined beyond repair. That last one was the biggest surprise. Hisashi had honestly expected at least one to be melted, frozen, burned, or ripped. A small victory, but a victory nonetheless.
He was proud. So, so proud of his kids. They had learned and improved and grown so much in the time he’d had all of them. Both mentally and physically.
He couldn’t wait to see the amazing things they’ll do.
Notes:
Can you guess what hero Mina was playing? Can ya? And come join my discord, because that’s MY chaos (Love you guys <3). You will be adopted by all of us, especially if you have pet pictures
Guys
Guys I can't believe this
THERE'S MORE ART!! TWO!First is this one: A trio of best friends! (By Dragonpyre)
And then we have this: THE ENTIRE FAMILY (By Kaya)
You guys are amazing. Thank you so much to you two for making me art this week, and to everyone else for reading this. I love you <3
Chapter 23: Nicknames, Nightmares, and New Things Oh My
Summary:
Alternate chapter title: Pink bean and return of the bad dreams
Notes:
Hello to the wonderful person reading this!
Reminder that I have no idea how the legal system in Japan works, and I’m basing this off of my local government and my understanding of how it works. And even then this is absolutely a conflict of interest thing and there would be at least one more court date between termination of rights and adoption, but this is fiction so I can do whatever I want! Woo!
Also a random thing, do you guys ever have those things you just innately DO and feel weird for being different, only to find out years later that one of your parents does the same thing and you want to yell “So that’s where I get it from!” Like, I’ve always had this weird thing where I HATE not being able to see the door or most of a room. I always thought I was just weirdly paranoid, only to find out today that my dad does THE EXACT SAME THING
So yeah discovery made, hope you enjoy the chapter!!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Inko didn’t know whether she should be grateful or absolutely furious.
She had brought the case to court. All of her evidence was neatly compiled and organized. A solid case she would fight for with everything she had.
Only for Mina’s parents (the Kaibutsus, apparently) to surrender their custody of her. Inko knew she should be at least a little bit grateful. It meant no lengthy court hearings or arguments that made her want to scream. No having to call security because someone didn’t like her use of evidence against them.
But what parent just surrendered custody the moment they heard their daughter was with someone? Yes, it did make things a lot easier, and logically Inko knew they weren’t good people, but still. Nothing made her blood boil more than this situation. So much so that if she thought about it too hard, she accidentally floated things towards her. She hadn’t noticed until a bowl had nudged her arm.
Inko thanked every god she could think of that Hisashi was not only her husband, but her best friend. He listened intently as she ranted about the whole thing. It was a lot, but he helped her calm down once she stopped pacing and adding to her tangent. She couldn’t be more thankful for him.
The termination of rights, and technically the adoption day, would be in a month. A blessing in disguise, since it would give Inko time to rein in her anger. Enough to not explode at the Kaibutsus at least. Make their ties too tight and shoes get caught on nothing though? Well, no one would be able to prove it was her anyway.
In the meantime, they really needed to get Mina a bed and clothes of her own. She already insisted on sleeping next to Katsuki instead of with Fuyumi, so the two would just share his dresser. Mina was already wearing his clothes anyway.
If Inko was being honest, her kids had long since abandoned the idea of having clothes that were only theirs. Izuku wore one of Touya’s shirts to bed last night, and Shouto came downstairs dressed in what were (probably) Hitoshi’s shorts. It had gotten to the point that the younger ones just had a bin of socks and chose two at random. Sometimes they matched, most of the time they very did not.
That being said, Mina had asked (very quietly and looking like she was ready to bolt) if she could have some girlier clothes. The boys’ were fine, but her favorite colors were orange and yellow. None of them had many shirts like that. Especially considering their favorite colors were red, green, also green, and brown or black depending on the day. Shouto also had an atrocious fashion sense, even for a seven year-old. No attempts to improve it ever stuck.
There was also the fact that Inko needed to see what Mina liked so she could get her a birthday gift. There were only a few days left, and she’d sooner move to Alaska than not give one of her kids a birthday gift. Or cake, for that matter.
So that all lead to Inko driving to the mall with Mina, Izuku, and Fuyumi. The rest stayed home, mostly because clothes shopping wasn’t the most interesting thing to them. Some of them still had summer homework to work on too.
Touya had volunteered to stay and babysit. Both Fuyumi and him had done so much for the little ones lately. Inko planned on getting them each a gift, since they had already outright denied any money she tried to give them. Maybe those earrings she knew Touya wanted but would never outright ask for.
Gifts aside, the furniture store was first. Mina got to choose her own sheets and some new decorations for the room, which she was nervous about at first. Izuku and her were running up and down the aisles before long though. Inko and Fuyumi took a while longer, if only to look at birthday presents for Mina.
Next were the clothes stores! Multiple of them. What, did you think they would just go to one? No, Inko was going to spoil her new child. She had done this with all of her kids at one point anyway.
Mina was hesitant, and that was understandable. She hadn’t gone into the details of what her birth parents had done, but Inko had heard enough to guess. They had probably made the poor girl feel guilty for needing anything.
She watched with a proud smile as Izuku and Fuyumi picked out clothes for Mina, despite her sputtering about prices and such. Inko joined in after a while, then showed the kids where the dressing rooms were. Anything that didn’t fit went back on the rack.
They came out of the first store with two bags of brightly colored clothes that spanned the entire rainbow. Mina kept thanking them, but Inko gently told her it wasn’t needed. This is what parents were supposed to do. What hers should have done.
Store number two was a favorite of Inko’s. It had something for almost every age. Certainly made shopping for more than a few people easier.
Fuyumi immediately made a b-line for her section, leaving Inko to help the two younger ones find what they wanted. Not too hard, if she was being honest. Izuku liked almost anything to do with heroes, and shirts that had words written on them like “t-shirt” and “flannel shirt” for some reason. Hisashi had found it funny.
Inko also remembered there being a lot of colorfully patterned shirts here. She gently guided Mina in that direction, knowing the displays were slightly too tall for the girl to see over. They rounded a corner, and Inko could pinpoint the moment Mina saw the racks of neon shirts and leggings.
“Mrs. Inko, can I look at those?” She asked in quiet awe.
“Of course we can, sweetie. Come on, I think I remember a leopard print one you might like.”
Inko smiled at the stars in Mina’s eyes as she looked over the clothes. There was a note of sadness to it too. No child should ever be hesitant about asking for something, especially clothes or food. It wasn’t right.
Inko made a silent promise to make sure her new daughter never went back to that, and that she would always know what love meant.
~~~~~~~~~
Mina loved her new things. She got a bed and new clothes and even toys! Everything was so exciting and new.
She had been surprised when Mrs. Inko actually took them to stores with new clothes and things. Any time Mother took her shopping it was to secondhand places. But Mrs. Inko got her all new things! Her favorite was the neon yellow shirt she got. It had stripes! Fuyumi said it made her look like a brightly colored tiger.
She got a new bed too! It wouldn’t be here for a few days, but once it did Mina was going to get to sleep in her new kitty sheets. Hitoshi said she picked the best ones. Honestly, she was surprised he hadn’t brought home a stray with how much he liked cats.
(He had, but they couldn’t keep it because the apartment hadn’t allowed pets. Unbeknownst to them, their future ally and teacher had adopted it and named her Olive)
Mina was slowly getting more used to the Midoriya house. Breakfasts were a bit chaotic, but that wasn’t about to change. Lunch was…odd. Everyone sorta just got their own food around the middle of the day.
At least dinner was peaceful. Inko usually made dinner since Hisashi made breakfast, but everyone lent a hand if they had the time. Touya or Fuyumi helped a lot, and Mina tried to. She still felt like she owed them something, no matter how many times they told her she didn’t. If that meant helping out with dinner then that’s what she’d do.
She actually learned a lot while helping. Mrs. Inko made sure she wasn’t bored or given something she couldn’t do. There were a few rules in the kitchen, but they were sort of obvious ones like no running, no one can use a knife if they were ten or under, and you have to wash your hands. Simple!
Mina was surprised with how much she learned while living with the Midoriyas. Not just about cooking, but everything in general. Mr. Hisashi taught her about math, Izuku helped with her Quirk, and Katsuki taught her swear words. Hitoshi taught her how to make the treats Mrs. Inko showed him how to make. Shouto even helped her read! Natsuo showed her soccer, Touya how not to cook an egg, and Fuyumi helped teach her how to write.
There was so much she hadn’t even known she was missing, and not just knowledge wise. She had forgotten how a normal family worked. Mina loved her grandparents, but even they couldn’t give her this. They had tried so, so hard to show her what a normal life was like, but they could only do so much. She loved them so much for it though.
They would’ve liked the Midoriyas too.
She wondered if they would be proud of her.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hitoshi had insomnia, it was just a fact that he lived with. Dad-Shi said it was probably because of his Quirk being mental based, or that he got it from his parents. He had been too small when they died to remember what their Quirks were. Momma Ink said they had paperwork that told them, and that they’d look at it soon.
Right now though, their main focus was adopting Mina. Hitoshi was so excited to have a sister their age! He loved Fuyumi a lot and Hitoshi already loved Mina a lot too. Neither would replace the other though. His family was just getting bigger, that’s all!
It was weird to think about when he had started kindergarten now. Back then, he had no real family, no friends, and was constantly bullied or ignored. Now he had a massive family that loved him, he had friends and his siblings, and no one dared to bully him. Not when Izuku was completely willing to beat them up. Kids and teachers still didn’t like talking to him, but that was alright. It was way better than it had been before.
Hitoshi knew Mina was like him, discriminated (a big word Dad-Shi taught him that he couldn’t fully pronounce yet) against because of her quirk, and he silently vowed to stick close to her. He would do the same thing Zu did for him.
He learned a lot about Mina in the short time she’d been with them. She liked bright colors, climbing trees, and dancing. She didn’t have a favorite hero, but did like Persevere. And Mina liked to be near Katsuki the most, but Hitoshi was second.
One night, he also learned that she had nightmares.
Hitoshi was awake again, and it was very late. No one else was up this time, not even Touya doing homework. The house was quiet. It was a bit eerie with it usually being loud, but it wasn’t too bad. There was only one light on, and it was because he turned it on so he could see inside the kitchen. He was just getting some water before trying to go to sleep again.
Then that one specific floorboard near the stairs creaked, letting Hitoshi know someone was coming. He hummed quietly and waited.
Mina’s pink head poked into the kitchen. She squeaked when she saw Hitoshi, and quickly ducked back out.
“You can come out,” Hitoshi whispered, though in the silence it was heard loud and clear.
Mina slowly crept into the room, looking ready to dart out if she needed to. Hitoshi gave her a small grin, and went about getting another cup of water for her. She watched silently and still as a statue.
“You can’t sleep too?” He asked quietly.
“Y-yeah, nightm-mare.”
“Oh. I don’t like those. Nightmares are icky.”
“Yeah.”
The kitchen was silent once again. Hitoshi hummed to fill it, just a simple song stuck in his head from a movie. Mina hesitantly hummed along while he got her water.
He handed the cup to her, and gently grabbed her hand. She didn’t pull away or flinch, so he smiled at her like Zu always does. It made him feel better, so he hoped it did the same for her. Hitoshi tugged her over to the couch.
“You wanna sit? I tell you about my nightmares if you tell me yours?”
Mina blinked her eyes that blended in with the shadows, the gold in them almost glowing (which Hitoshi found extremely cool), and nodded. Hitoshi kept smiling, nestling himself into the couch cushions. He grabbed a pillow to hold like a teddy bear.
“What are your nightmares about?” She asked, voice a bit croaky.
“Mine are about my Mama and Papa leaving. Sometimes though, they come back and take me away. They aren’t nice in those dreams.”
“But…don’t you call Mrs. Inko and Mr. Hisashi ‘Momma Ink’ and ‘Dad-Shi?’”
“I mean my mom and dad that made me. Momma Ink and Dad-Shi adopted me, so they’re my new mom and dad.”
“Oh. Do you…do you have any other nightmares?”
“Mmhm. Sometimes it’s about Zu saying he doesn't wanna be my friend. Other times they put me back with foster-parents. I don’t get them a lot anymore. They’re not nice though.” Hitoshi took a sip of his water. He had talked about these nightmares with Momma Ink and Dad-Shi before. They weren’t as scary anymore. “What are your nightmares about?”
“They aren’t…they probably aren’t as bad as yours.”
“Not a competition. A bad thing is still a bad thing. A broken leg doesn’t make my broken arm hurt less, Dad-Shi told me that.”
“But…”
“No buts, Momma Ink says talking about dreams is good. What are yours like?”
“My…my mom and dad take me back too, in my nightmares. They take me away from Mrs. Inko and Mr. Hisashi and you and Katsuki and everyone else,” Mina said, tears beginning to drip from her eyes. Hitoshi scooted over, letting her grab his arm for comfort. “They’re mean and horrible and Grammy and Grampy aren’t there to save me and everyone leaves me but I don’t want to be left behind.”
Hitoshi wrapped the sobbing Mina in his arms. She clung to him, crying surprisingly quietly. People weren’t supposed to be that quiet when they cried. Hitoshi knew, since it’s what he used to do.
“We won’t leave you,” he whispered. “Never ever.”
“P-promise?”
“I promise. Do you feel better now?”
Mina paused, shifting so she wasn’t burying her head in his shoulder. “I…I do. Th-thank you, Hitoshi.”
“You can call me Toshi if you want. That’s what Zu calls me. Sho sometimes calls me cat though.”
“What’s Katsuki call you?”
“Either Hitoshi or Raccoon. Sometimes he calls me Eyebags though, because I don’t sleep sometimes and it makes under my eyes dark.”
“Well then what do you call him?” Mina giggled, tears fully gone.
“Sometimes I call him Kat, but Sho keeps calling him Sparkler. It makes him angry, but it’s funny.”
“Well…what about Kitty? Because his name is Kat-suki?”
“It’s perfect,” Hitoshi laughed. “Oh, oh, what about Dandelion?”
“Oooh can we give Shouto the nickname Panda? He has two colors and blinks real sleepily like one!”
“Yeah! Raccoon, Panda, Kitty, and…uh.”
“Izuku can be a puppy!”
“Yes! And I learned about a cool animal yesterday! It’s an axolotl, and guess what?”
“What?”
“It’s pink like you! And it even has gills that look like horns!”
“Woah.”
“I know, right? I can show you a picture in the morning, but I wanna make more nicknames. We can annoy Kitty with them in the morning.”
Mina smiled, and Hitoshi knew he had acted like a hero tonight. Just like Zu.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hisashi enjoyed mornings, unlike his night owl wife. He loved that time between night and day when the sunlight was golden and soft. Mornings were peaceful, and the time for him to make breakfast for all his kids.
Mornings mostly followed the same sequence every day. He woke up, got things out for breakfast, and the kids would slowly trickle down the stairs. Sometimes they helped cook if they were awake enough. Other times they fell asleep again on the couch. It was normal and routine.
What he wasn’t really expecting was to find all of the younger kids already awake and sitting in a row on the couch. Mina stood in front of them like some sort of military commander, but a lot less serious.
He stood at the bottom of the stairs and watched for a minute. She walked up to Izuku first, and nodded about something or other.
He heard her quietly proclaim “Zuzu” before moving on to Shouto.
“Panda,” she said for Shouto.
Hitoshi got the name Toto, and then she stopped in front of Katsuki. Slowly, ever so slowly, she reached out, and booped his nose.
“Kitty,” she said, before absolutely booking it out of the room with Hitoshi on her tail. Katsuki leapt up, yelling in outrage, but Hisashi could tell it was all play.
He had to stifle laughter. It looked like Mina was giving nicknames to everyone, and Katsuki got Kitty . Hisashi was reminded of the old Disney movies they had somewhere. Maybe they needed another movie night.
Leave it to his kids to come up with the cutest nicknames though.
Notes:
That one phrase (their broken leg doesn’t make my broken arm hurt any less) was told to me by someone I went to school with. They helped me quite a bit when I was a baby-ace just learning what sexuality is. They actually helped me realize how bad my anxiety was, which helped me get better! Still an anxious mess, but less of an anxious mess than before!
(Also yes I know Katsuki’s name isn’t actually pronounced cat-suki but I wanted Mina to call him kitty)
AND Hey that sock basket thing? Credit to Pat for that! It was a really cute idea and I couldn't help adding it in :D
Have a good day/night you guys! See you next week! Hope you don't catch the flu like my siblings did :P
If there's no chapter next week it's because of them and their germs knocking me out
Chapter 24: Raspberry
Summary:
Mina gets adopted, and an explanation to her last name NOT being Ashido when they met her
Notes:
Hello everyone!
Sorry this is a week late! I caught the flu, which basically knocked me out for most of a week. But I'm good now!! And I'm here with a chapter!
Also the normal disclaimer that I don’t know the actual laws proceedings part of this chapter and I’m winging it from vague previous knowledge
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
They were on their way to the courthouse, and Mina sort wished she didn’t have to go. She was excited! But also terrified. Why? Because her parents would be there, her biological ones. If she was being honest though, she’d starting seeing Mrs. Inko and Mr. Hisashi as a mom and dad weeks ago.
(She had to try really hard not to actually call them Mom and Dad now)
Everyone else was with them too though, so she felt a bit better. Katsuki had started holding her hand in the car and hadn’t really let go since. Hisashi had already offered to give her a piggyback ride too! Izuku, Shouto, and Hitoshi were acting as very serious but tiny bodyguards, while Touya, Fuyumi, and Natsuo looked like actual ones.
Inko led them down the tiled halls, heels clicking in a way that was similar to an execution bell for her enemies. Walking in the middle of a ring of family, Mina had never felt safer. It helped curb her nervousness a bit, even if it was definitely still there. Maybe more bat sized instead of bear though.
They had to wait in the hallway for a bit. There weren’t many people there, since it was morning and no one liked to be up early. Mina’s parents hadn’t arrived yet, which was nice. It gave them all some time to relax before going into the courtroom.
Hisashi brought snacks. Fuyumi started giggling, and told her about how he had brought what was essentially a Mom Bag to the courtroom to keep her and her brothers entertained during their own trial. Mina found herself smiling a bit more.
Time passed slowly, like they were submerged in honey. Mina listened to people walking up and down hallways while her family spoke in quiet whispers. She listened to Izuku nervously tap a pattern onto the chair. To Katsuki’s palms crackling unconsciously. It was comforting. It meant they were there for her.
Mina’s parents had to show up at one point though. She had honestly expected them to start yelling at her or something. Instead, both Hisashi and Touya moved to block her from view. Being the two tallest right now, they did a good job of making a living wall that hid her from the other adults.
She could see Izuku glancing between the two and Mina, looking curious. Probably about why they looked so normal while she…didn’t. He would’ve had a field day with Grammy and Grampy, Mina found herself thinking, since she looked more like them than her actual parents.
Someone eventually came out to show them in. Only then did Mother and Father seem to notice her and her new family. Mina got the instant feeling that something bad was going to happen. She clung to Katsuki’s hand just a bit tighter, and stuck close to Inko’s side.
It didn’t stop the two from walking over and blocking the entrance for a second.
“Are you the Midoriyas?” Mother asked in her cold, cold voice. Mina felt the bone-deep urge to hide.
“Perhaps, and who might you be?” Inko asked in a tone that Mina could only describe as deadly sweet.
“That demon’s… parents. So you’re really going to try and take a cursed thing into your family?”
Mina ducked her head and stared at the floor. She didn’t know if it was better or worse that she’d been expecting this.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know who you’re talking about. We are here to adopt Mina, a lovely child whom my son brought home with a hurt ankle saying she had no one at all to care for it. I do hope you understand the implications of that.”
“That it’s clumsy and can be hurt.”
“Child endangerment,” Inko said bluntly. Mina had never heard her talk like that, but…it didn’t scare her. It was to protect her, so why would she be scared?
The two were left sputtering in the doorway. Hisashi stepped forward, still shielding Mina. “If you would kindly move, we have somewhere to be.”
Mina watches as her parents stumbled out of the way. Hisashi and Inko herded them all into the courtroom and to their seats. It was a decently big room with no windows, and the judge was already sitting at their raised stand. The room was quiet except for the footsteps of people entering.
Mina’s parents eventually came in too. They had a lawyer with them now. She didn’t recognize him, but she hadn’t really expected to. Also, the man didn’t exactly look thrilled to be there. She hoped that was a good thing.
“We are here for the termination of parental rights for the parents of Mina Kaibutsu. Is there anything either side would like to say before we proceed?”
Mother stepped forward, and Mina felt Toto reach over and grab her other hand. She turned towards the family, glaring at them.
“You do know nothing good will come of housing a demon, correct?”
Inko very calmly stood up, her voice even and mostly free of emotion. “I am giving a home to Mina, a very kind child who has already made our family happier. She is smart, caring, and wants to be a hero, but you wouldn’t know that, would you?”
“Villains can’t be heroes.”
Hitoshi flinched at Mina’s side, the words familiar to him. Katsuki glared at the floor like it had wronged him, but Mina felt his shaking. Touya winced. Even Hisashi tensed, barely noticeable, but there all the same.
And just like that, Mina wasn’t as scared anymore. Because they had bullied and abused her, and she had come to terms with it. She was safe from it now, so their words didn’t bother her. But the second they touched her friends ( her family ) they had crossed a line.
Mina got up, letting go of Katsuki and Hitoshi’s hands. She stood up on the bench they were all sitting on, now standing as tall as the adults in the room were. Everyone was utterly silent, but she wasn’t going to back down.
“I’m not a demon,” she said confidently, and after living with the Midoriyas, she finally believed it. “Maybe I look like one, but you’re the ones that act like it. I won’t let you hurt them. There’s no such thing as a villain because of their quirk.”
You could hear a pin drop in the room at that moment. Mina stared down her parents, knowing they found her eyes unsettling. The judge didn’t say anything, waiting to see how it would play out. Inko cleared her throat in the silence.
“May we continue with the hearing, your honor?” Inko asked, though her words were laced with frost.
“Yes, we will proceed with signing away the rights. Kaibutsus, you consent to having no rights whatsoever over Mina Kaibutsu?”
Mina tuned out the rest of the trial, her nerves a bit too shot to pay attention. She sat back down quietly. Katsuki immediately took her hand again and wrapped his other arm around her shoulders. For someone that said he didn’t like touchy-feely things, he sure liked to have physical contact with her. It was heartwarming, that of all the people he could have chosen, he chose her to be affectionate with.
She didn’t really start listening again until the judge raised his gavel. Then he had her full attention, as well as everyone else in the family.
“I now pronounce all parental rights of the Kaibutsu parents to be terminated. Guardianship is now transferred to Inko and Hisashi Midoriya.”
The gavel hit the stand and oh, she was crying now. Tears streamed down her face as every person in the family turned to hug her and cheer. Mina couldn’t hear anything over the excited chatter. She smiled brighter than she ever had, even through the tears.
She was finally free.
~~~~~~~~~~
Inko was sobbing right alongside the rest of her family. Even Katsuki was crying, which she hadn’t seen him do since the first week he was with them. The Kaibutsus retreated from the courtroom to sign the paperwork, and Inko would have to go with them in a minute. But for now, she reveled in having yet another kid, and a daughter at that.
All of them eventually dried their tears. For the most part anyway. It was just a Midoriya thing to cry, and it was apparently contagious to adopted kids. Inko just smiled, wiping away the last of her tears and being thankful she was wearing waterproof makeup.
“Well then, I’ll go finalize everything. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Inko pried herself away from the family hug, knowing people were waiting for her.
She was walking towards the door when someone tugged on her shirt. She looked down, seeing a still-crying Mina staring up at her. Mina hesitated, but spoke after a second.
“Can I…can I change my name?”
Inko blinked, but didn’t show any other signs of surprise. Honestly, she wasn’t that shocked. Especially since she had met Mina’s bio parents now. “Of course, sweetie. Do you mean just your last name, or both?”
“L-last name. Can it be- can it be changed to…Ashido?” Mina took in a shaky breath, looking at the floor now. “It was my grandparents' family name.”
Inko understood immediately, and swept her new daughter into a quick hug. She heard everyone else coming closer, so she stepped back, and put one hand out.
“Well then it’s very nice to meet you, Mina Ashido.” Mina sent her a beaming smile, and took the offered hand. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, alright? Stay with Hisashi until then.”
Mina, still smiling, nodded. She turned and scampered back to the family, instantly being swallowed back into the massive hug. Inko couldn’t help but grin as she went to finalize the adoption.
~~~~~~~~~~
They saw the Kaibutsus on their way out of the parking lot. The two different families were in their cars and already driving away.
But every kid (and Hisashi) couldn’t pass up the opportunity to stick their tongues out at them. They weren’t even all in the same car, but they all did it.
The Kaibutsu’s incredulous faces would be something everyone would remember fondly for years to come. Hisashi only wished he had gotten a picture.
~~~~~~~~~~
Mina hadn’t been to school in…forever. That’s what it felt like at least. She had gone to school at one point, but had been “homeschooled” after that. What really happened was that school books were shoved under her nose and she was ordered to read and understand them. It wasn’t very effective.
And now she was going back. With her new brothers no less. She still couldn’t get over that she had brothers now, and even a sister too! Honestly, she was still reeling over having a mom and dad that actually loved her. A mom and dad that were now called Momma Inko and Dad-Sashi.
Touya had gotten pictures of their faces when she first called them that. They were something Mina treasured.
School was a lot bigger and more intimidating than Mina remembered. Yeah, she did have Katsuki and Hitoshi and Izuku and Shouto, but it was still scary. There were just so many people! A lot of them were taller than her too.
She was told to stand in front of the classroom to introduce herself before they started their day. The teacher was nice, or at least looked like it. She let Mina sit in the seat closest to her brother's table. There were only four chairs though, so she settled for leaning back to talk to Katsuki.
Some of the other kids were nice. Most of them avoided her after lunch for some reason. Katsuki told her it was because they were lame and “fucking annoying extras who can’t tell a rock from a bug.” Hitoshi said it was because they were considered the “weird” group that was generally avoided.
Mina suddenly didn’t like the other kids anymore. She hummed, smiled at her brothers, and mentally went over every fighting move Dad-Sashi had shown her so far.
Apparently they had another friend, but she had moved a few weeks ago, before they met Mina. She pouted a bit, but perked back up once she saw the lunch Momma Inko made for her. It had cute little snails as strawberries!
Learning was…well, it wasn’t easy, but Mina would go back to the woods before she gave up. Izuku helped her with it anyway. Whenever he explained it, things just made sense. Maybe it was because of his analysis quirk. Maybe he had a secondary teaching quirk.
School was still sorta fun though. Mina got to spend a couple hours with her brothers and learn new things. So hah! Natsuo was wrong! School wasn’t boring (yet) and she was learning things! She would be sure to tell him this once they got home. Repeatedly.
Her new life was good though. She had a loving family and was learning something new every day. There were things that were hers and no one else’s. It was perfect.
And Mina never wanted it to change.
Notes:
Did I perhaps name the chapter after the smallest section of this? Yes. And I have zero regrets.
Who’s ready for some HotWings? (And some explanations about Hawks but shh). And Hagakure will return, I promise :D
Also guys. Guys I am so freaking excited for next weekend. BECAUSE IT’S MY BABY SISTER’S ADOPTION DAY!!! She’ll legally be a part of my family!! We’re having a party the day after it so everyone can see her (since the courtroom can only hold so many and it's on a Friday when people are working) and there’s over a 100 people that are going to show up at our house Help Me
Chapter 25: New Names, Same Flames
Summary:
Hero names and something gets burned
Notes:
Hello beautiful people!
Welcome to the next few chapters which I have affectionately nicknamed: the Gay Hallmark Movie Arc :D
(Seriously though, why isn't there at least one gay Hallmark movie? Give me cheesy plot twists where the Token Best Friend turns into the love interest in a small christmas town and they kiss when it starts to snow. Do it cowards)
(This is why I don't own any movie companies)
(I would make them all inclusive)
(and most old people don't like that very much)I hope you like the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Touya didn’t like his hair. Hadn’t ever since he could remember. It was red, just like him. Shouto’s was only half red, but Touya’s was his spitting image. And he hated it.
So he changed it. With permission, of course.
Well, more like Aunt Inko had seen him lingering a bit too long by the hair dye aisle, and asked if he wanted a color. Touya had jumped at the chance.
So that’s what led to him sitting in the bathtub while Fuyumi sat outside of it to rub black dye into his hair. She was wearing gloves, and they chatted about anything they wanted to while red slowly turned to onyx.
“So then Rumi jumped onto Hawks’ back, and the two of them crashed into the dirt. Our teacher couldn’t decide if she should scold them or laugh.”
Fuyumi was giggling at the story. It had happened the other day during sparring practice, as most of the funny stories Touya told came from. Inevitable, considering who his friends were.
“Wait wait wait, since when did you start calling Usagiyama by her first name?”
“When she demanded we did under penalty of getting kicked into the ground. For a rabbit, she is terrifying.”
“Har har, so…does she call you Touya?”
“Yeah, and stop that train of thought right now, Fuyu. We’re just friends. Besides, I think she has a crush on a specific someone.”
Touya felt his twin sister sag a bit with the news. He smirked, since she couldn’t see his face. Rumi did in fact have a crush on someone. That someone also happened to be his sister. Hopefully the two would get their act together soon and ask the other out.
“Oh I know you two are just friends,” she said, picking herself back up. “But does Hawks call you Touya?”
Aaaaaaand that’s where she was going with this. Touya felt his face heat up. He immediately slammed a mental lid on his fire, the flames bubbling to the surface with his emotions. Boiling hair dye was not something they needed right now.
“Yes, he does, why?”
“Oh, no reason. You two just seem especially close.”
“He’s my best friend.”
“I know,” Fuyumi hummed. “But that doesn’t mean you don’t want him to be more.”
“…maybe.”
They dropped the topic. Touya knew he had feelings for his best friend, but he wasn’t going to act on them. Hawks was…well, a bit clueless. For some reason, he didn’t really know how normal friendships worked. Romance was probably an alien concept to the winged boy.
If Touya had to wait, then he would. If nothing ever happened, then that’d be ok too. As long as he had Hawks around then it would be fine. Yeah, it would turn out perfectly fine. Hopefully.
They finished dyeing his hair relatively quickly. The bathtub didn’t look like they’d dumped a bucket of coal in it, so Touya figured they hadn’t done too bad of a job.
He looked in the mirror at his new hair, and smiled. It was different. A good different.
“I like it,” he finally said.
“It’ll take some getting used to, that’s for sure. It’s a bit weird seeing you with black hair. Not bad though, if I do say so myself.”
Touya laughed, then sobered for a moment. “Do you…do you think Mom’ll like it?”
“Touya, as long as you’re happy, she won’t care,” Fuyumi said softly. “You aren’t- you aren’t him. You never were and never will be.”
“I look too much like him,” Touya whispered, staring at his hands. There were still burn scars there, and always would be. A reminder of what the four of them had survived through. A reminder of what they had escaped.
“Well you look like Touya to me. Come on, you know Aunt Inko wanted to see your hair once it was done.”
Touya nodded, turning his back on the mirror holding his reflection. He was different now. He knew how to use his Quirk so he didn’t burn himself as bad, and he had friends. He had a family that loved him.
He wasn’t his father. He was Touya. A true hero and older brother to a still growing family. Touya had actual friends where Endeavor had none. He would reject his bloodline.
Touya was going to prove Endeavor wrong, and he’d have people backing him up to do it.
Going to school on Monday was…interesting. Half of his class didn’t recognize him. The other half made some comment along the lines of “cool hair, did you do the homework?” Rumi had the same reaction. Hawks however…
“Awwwww it doesn’t match my wings anymore!”
Touya thought his brain was short-circuiting. He hardly registered Rumi’s laughing in the background.
“It…doesn’t match your wings. And you’re…upset about that?”
“Yeah! I liked it when they matched. We were like the red friends!”
“Rumi’s not red though.”
“She is whenever I ask her about your twin sister.”
Touya snorted. He knew Rumi liked his sister, and boy was it fun to watch his normally unshakable friend get flustered. It usually got him kicked onto a wall, but it was totally worth it.
He was going to turn around and tease Rumi, but the teacher walked in right as he was about to. They all scrambled to their seats. Teasing could wait.
“I’m going to get right to the point. Today you all will be choosing your hero names.”
There was an instant uproar from the class, Touya cheering right alongside them. Hero names were a big deal, after all.
“Yes yes, very exciting. Ketsubutsu has a reputation of having graduates with good names. We have an approval process for choosing them that assures a new hero won’t make a fool of themselves.”
The “like UA” went unsaid. Touya was honestly glad Ketsubutsu had this as part of their hero program. UA was a good school, but they were sorta known for letting students choose whatever they wanted for their hero names. Honestly, they’d probably let a person just use their given name without batting an eye.
“You will write down your first three choices of a hero name, which will be reviewed by me and one other hero. She should be here-“
The door was flung open, a person who had no right to be that happy this early in the morning appearing in its place. “Hello little students!”
“Right about now. Everyone, this is Ms. Joke. She will be reviewing your names with me. Now, take out a paper and get to work.”
Touya was surprised at the appearance of the heroine, but got to work quickly. Maybe there’d be enough time for him to ask for her autograph. He wasn’t an especially big fan of hers, but his little siblings were. Hitoshi in particular liked Ms. Joke, and having her autograph would make his year.
He already had his name picked out, along with two backups, so it didn’t take a lot of time for him to complete the assignment. One name was more of a joke, but that was ok. His first choice was probably good enough.
Touya was one of the first to turn in his paper. He went back to his desk, quietly sketching out a costume. If he maybe doodled wings in the margins of his paper, then none of his classmates saw it anyway.
His paper was set in front of him again, causing Touya to look up. Ms. Joke stood there, smiling down at him excitedly. A quick look proved that his first choice had been accepted.
“That’s a good name you have there, kid.”
“Thank you, Ms. Joke. Would, uh, would you mind signing something for my little brother? You’re one of his favorite heroes.”
The heroine seemed surprised for a moment, probably because she was still a decently new hero. She smiled brightly though, taking the pen and paper Touya offered her.
“How old is your brother?” She asked before she signed the paper.
“Hitoshi is seven. He likes you because your Quirk is sort of like his, combat wise at least. Well, that and you’re a good hero.”
“Huh, well your little brother sounds like a very interesting little dude. Maybe I’ll meet him one day.”
“I think Izuku and him would both faint.”
“HAHA well there ya go, kid. You picked a great name.”
“Thank you, Ms. Joke. It was nice meeting you.”
“It was nice meeting you too, Dabi.”
Touya didn’t get a chance to talk to Hawks and Rumi until lunch. They took their usual seats, digging into their food before talking. Or in Hawks’ case, talking while food was still in his mouth.
“So, Dabi?”
“It uh, it’s a bit sappy.”
“Spill,” Rumi demanded, though she was smiling.
“It has the kanji for cremation, like my fire. But it, uh, it also means ‘dearly loved,’ and I figured it fit for my family.”
“Awww, that’s so sweet. Mine’s just Hawks.”
“…you mean like your name?”
“Yeah. Commission decided on it, so I didn’t have to think too hard on it or anything.”
“Huh. Well my hero name is Miruko.”
“That’s a cool one. Thought you’d go with something that has to do with kicking your enemies in the butt.”
“Miruko was my second option.”
“Noted.”
“I still can’t believe you dyed your hair,” Hawks suddenly whined, red wings stretching out with no one around to knock over. “I liked the red.”
“You’re still stuck on that?”
“But why did you dye it?”
“Dude, maybe he just wanted to dye his hair,” Rumi snorted. “There doesn’t have to be some big reason behind it.”
“There…doesn’t?”
“Not usually,” Touya answered, shrugging as he ate more of the food Aunt Inko had made for him. It was delicious as always. “I didn’t like mine red. Too much like my sperm donor.”
“Your…dad? You don’t mention him a lot,” Rumi hummed, only half focusing on him.
“Yeah, ‘cause he was a piece of shit. We’re away from him now, but I didn’t like how much I looked like him, so I dyed it.”
“He had red hair? Cool, Endeavor has red hair. It looks sorta like my feathers too.”
Touya went stiff, but forced himself to relax again. Right, Hawks didn’t know. He didn’t know the horrible things Endeavor had done behind closed doors. No one did, actually. His last name was different and he hardly ever talked about his father. It would be hard to connect the dots. And that’s besides the fact that most of the trial’s details weren’t public information.
It didn’t help that Endeavor was one of Hawks’ favorite heroes though.
“Hey Touya, you ok there?”
“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Just don’t like the dude much.”
“Really? I think he’s really cool, figuratively of course. Did you know he has one of the highest victory rates of heroes? He’s also really good at bringing in criminals. All Might’s the only one that has him beat. Endeavor also-“
“Hawks, stop. Please.” Touya grit his teeth, staring at the table with hunched shoulders. He could feel his skin heating up, almost like a defense mechanism against a foe that didn’t exist anymore.
“Why? Touya, are you ok?”
“Just, stop. Stop talking about that ba- Endeavor, like he hung the stars. Please.”
“But, he’s a really cool hero. Don’t you like heroes?”
“Not him. He’s a piece of shit and doesn’t deserve the title of ‘hero.’”
Hawks gasped, and Touya felt Rumi throw an incredulous look at him. Well, having friends was nice while it lasted. Feelings weren’t going to save him now.
“Touya…what did Endeavor do to you? You usually talk about heroes your little siblings mention on, like, a daily basis,” Hawks said, sounding thoroughly confused.
“Wait wait wait. Fire Quirk…red hair…mom not in the picture…You’re his son, aren’t you?” Rumi said lowly, so no one else would hear.
Touya sighed, not looking at Rumi or Hawks. He figured they deserved an explanation. Good thing that their eating area was relatively clear of other people.
“Yes, I’m his son by blood, but that bastard is everything but a father to me.”
He almost expected Hawks to send his feathers after him. Touya kept his eyes locked on the food in front of him, not wanting to see what expressions his friends were wearing. They were silent, but he knew that wouldn’t last long. It never did with them.
“N-no. It can’t- you always- but he’s a-“
“A hero?” Touya almost snarled, but tamped it down a bit. “Yeah, he has a license, but that’s the only way in which he’s a hero.”
“He- he saves people. He stops villains. They told me he’s a- a good hero.”
Touya knew he was shaking Hawks’ world down to its foundation. He knew this was a major shock. But- but he still meant what he said. His friends needed to know. It had been eating him alive.
“When we had our trial against him,” Touya started. His voice was quiet, barely a whisper, and yet he knew his friends were hanging on to every word. “Do you know how many people showed up? Do you know how many of those knew or were related to people he’d hurt? There was a so-called villain he killed. His crime was stealing a loaf of bread.”
Rumi’s breath hitched, and it finally made Touya look up. Her hands were covering her mouth, and her ears were drooping down the sides of her face. Hawks was still, and silent. He was staring at his hands like they held answers.
“He kept his license because he has power, but he didn’t keep us. Aunt Inko and Uncle Hisashi are taking care of us until Mom can get out of the hospital.”
“Oh Touya.”
“We’re ok now. Aunt Inko had all of us in therapy for a while. Endeavor can’t touch us. Pretty sure Auntie’d rip him a new one if he came within a hundred feet of us.”
At least that got Rumi to laugh a bit.
Hawks was still silent.
“…Hawks?”
“I’m…I n-need some air. Don’t wait up for me.”
With a few flaps of his wings, Hawks was gone. Flown out the door faster than some people with speed Quirks. Touya watched him go, a sinking weight settling in his stomach.
“Hey, he’ll be ok,” Rumi said, uncharacteristically quiet. “He just needs some time to process this. I mean, Endeavor was his favorite hero. Hearing he’s the same dude you hardly talk about? It obviously shook him up.”
“Yeah…yeah, he’ll be ok.”
Touya could only hope they were right.
Hawks didn’t come back for lunch. Touya didn’t actually see him again until class started, which meant they couldn’t talk.
Hawks was gone as soon as the bell rang. Touya turned around, bag on his shoulder and ready to talk to his friend, only to see a flash of red fly out the door. He blinked, and sighed wearily. Of course Hawks didn’t want to talk. It made sense. He- he needed time. Yeah, he’d be ok and they could text tomorrow since it was the weekend. Maybe he could come over and help take the little kids to the park or something.
Except that Touya didn’t hear from Hawks the next day. He worked on the homework they had, anxiously waiting by his phone. Every notification made him jump. None were from Hawks.
It stretched into Sunday. Rumi had already messaged him, saying Hawks would talk to him when he was ready. That Hawks just needed a bit more time. It made sense.
So Touya waited. He played heroes and villains with his little siblings. He finished most of his homework. He even cleaned his side of the room. Not that it was extremely messy in the first place, but Fuyumi’s was certainly more organized than his most of the time.
Still, nothing from Hawks. Touya laid on the couch as the sun sun lower, half listening to the cartoon Izuku and Hitoshi were watching. Aunt Inko and Uncle Hisashi were both out doing something for their work, so Fuyumi and him were watching everyone. Natsuo was helping too, since him, Katsuki, and Mina were in the backyard playing soccer. Shouto was with Fuyumi going over some homework problem.
Touya tuned out the show, and he just stared at nothing for a while. He hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep until something woke him up.
That something was his phone buzzing. He grabbed it, glancing over to make sure Hitoshi and Izuku were still watching the cartoon. They were, and nothing else looked out of place. It had probably only been a few minutes where he’d been asleep.
Touya flopped back onto the couch, opening his phone in one fluid move. There was one text message.
From Hawks.
He didn’t fling his phone, contrary to what his immediate impulse to do was. Instead he calmly opened the message. There was no caption, just a video that started out with a black screen. Well…if this was how Hawks said he didn’t want to be friends anymore, this was a very dramatic way of doing it.
But he might as well watch it.
Touya turned the volume up enough so only he could hear it. The other two hardly noticed, though Izuku probably knew anyway. It was extremely hard to hide anything from that kid. Probably because of his Quirk, if anything.
Touya pressed play on the video. It started with a black screen and the sound of concealed movement. Hawks’ muttered words let Touya know he was the one recording, at the very least.
The phone (since that’s what Touya assumed was filming this) finally steadied, seemingly set against something. Hawks stepped into the now light frame, taking up most of the view. It was daytime though, so it was either filmed yesterday or earlier today. Touya’s thoughts quieted as Hawks started talking.
“So Touya, I know that I probably…that I hurt you. By saying all that stuff about Endeavor. I just- I was…shaken, that he would do any of that. The Commission, they told me he was a good hero. One to look up to. So when you told me he was your dad…I guess I just didn’t want to believe it.”
Touya was watching with rapt attention. Hawks looked, well, he looked sad. His wings were drooping towards the ground, feathers probably getting dirty from it. That was one question Touya had though, why was Hawks outside? On what looked like a concrete sparring ring no less.
“I know it wasn’t the right thing to ghost you Friday and yesterday, so…I hope this makes it up to you.”
Touya silently raised an eyebrow as Hawks stepped back, revealing a pile of…orange and gray things?
Hawks picked up the camera, moving closer so Touya could see what the pile was.
Oh. Oh, it was Endeavor merch. Endeavor merch Touya had heard Hawks talk about sometimes. All in a pile, on concrete that already looked scorched for some reason.
“I think this can get my feelings across better than words can, so here goes nothing.”
Hawks set the phone down again, giving Touya a good view of the pile and his friend walking towards it. He reached out and dropped something on it, then rushed back to the camera.
Right as the mountain of Endeavor merch caught on fire. The real man was nearly fireproof, but his merch sure wasn’t. It went up in a yellow and orange blaze. The glow outlined Hawks, even in the sunlight.
He was beautiful.
“Touya, I’m sorry that I hurt you. I know this probably isn’t enough for you to forgive me just yet, but…can we still be friends? You mean more to me than any hero.”
The video stopped, and Touya had to pat out the flames sparking on his arms. Once that was done he grabbed a pillow, buried his face in it, and screamed. He knew for a fact that his cheeks were bright red too.
“Aniki? You ok?” Came Izuku’s small voice.
“Y-yeah, I’m ok,” Touya said, though his voice was high-pitched. “Just something Hawks sent me.”
“Is Hawks ok?” Hitoshi asked.
“Yeah, he’s fine.”
I just love him, is all,
Touya thought.
Notes:
Next chapter: Cuteness! Gayness! Maybe a tiny bit of trespassing!
Chapter 26: That Time None of Them Are Straight
Summary:
Fluff and Shenanigans, and the beginnings of Hotwings becoming canon :)
Notes:
Hello my awesome and spectacular readers!
Do you know how annoying it is to type Miruko’s family name? WHY IS IT SO LONG (I'm kidding I do know, it's just annoying to type out). Also somehow typing it so much has made it easier to spell than “electricity” for me. I literally needed autocorrect for that :p
Chapter dedicated to the people having Gay Panics over someone they like or think is pretty :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hawks kept coming over. For no reason at all. Fuyumi would be lying if she said it wasn’t welcome though, not with how happy it made her twin. The two had had a fight for some reason, but she knew it was resolved the instant she came downstairs to Touya hiding his red face in a pillow. It was endearing how close they were. If not mildly frustrating with how neither were willing to confess.
Fuyumi really didn’t mind though. Hawks was good at math, and a decent teacher, so he helped ease the burden of that subject’s homework. It was nice having him around honestly. And if the frequent visits meant Usagiyama came over more often too? Well that had nothing to do with how Fuyumi was suddenly more patient with the two idiot boys. Absolutely nothing.
It also meant that the five little kids had more people to play with. No one could deny them when they asked to play anyway. How could they? Their faces were too cute. Puppy eyes were powerful things.
Right now though, they were all doing homework upstairs. Fuyumi was sitting on her bed, reading through a textbook while trying to ignore Usagiyama, who was apparently attempting to do a backbend off the desk chair. Hawks was throwing paper at her. Touya was actually trying to do work. Probably.
Actually, Fuyumi was pretty sure he was just using homework as a decoy so he could stare at Hawks. His dopey lovey-dovey expression was a dead give away. When the two would get their act together was anyone’s guess. Both were just utterly oblivious for now it seemed.
If she didn’t know better though, Fuyumi would think Hawks had a crush on Usagiyama. Scratch that, he probably did. Fuyumi had no idea how he couldn’t. Not with how talented she was.
But she couldn’t dwell on that. Instead she shook her head and focused on her homework again. No use on getting stuck on feelings that weren’t reciprocated.
(If only it were that easy)
“Hey Rumi,” Hawks said in the quiet room, catching everyone’s attention. “Have you ever been on a date?”
Fuyumi felt her heart sink, but ignored it. Hawks was apparently smoother than she thought (he’s not).
“One or two. Don’t think the second counted though, since it was a dude that tried to kiss me after inviting me to a park.”
“Huh.”
“What, ya looking for dating advice?”
“…no.”
Fuyumi swore she heard her brother mutter “he better not be.” She shook her head, half-listening to the conversation and half still doing her homework. It wasn’t working out very well.
“‘Course you aren’t. Coward.”
“Alright, that’s it,” Touya said suddenly, getting to his feet. With a finger pointed at Hawks and Usagiyama, he said, “Do you two like each other or not?”
“We’re friends? I think we have to like each other?”
Fuyumi felt like face-palming. Hawks was clueless sometimes. Even if it was adorable on occasion, it led to some problems. She really wanted to ask why he didn’t know some things, but Touya had asked her not to. Fuyumi was smart enough to connect the dots after that.
“No, Hawks. Romantically. Do you like Rumi as in you want to take her on dates,” Touya said patiently.
“Oh.”
Usagiyama and Hawks shared a look. Fuyumi held her breath, even if she didn’t realize it.
“I’m gay.”
“I like girls, you fiery moron.”
Fuyumi blinked slowly. That…was not what she expected. Well, at least now she had confirmation that Hawks was probably interested in her brother.
“Yeah, I don’t want the bird,” Usagiyama snorted. “Feathers aren’t my type.”
Before she could think better of it, Fuyumi opened her mouth. “What is your type then?”
Usagiyama jumped, falling off of her chair in the process. She leapt back to her feet immediately, brushing it off like it was nothing. Touya and Hawks were both trying not to laugh.
“Type? Uh, I said I have a type? No. Nope, no type here. Definitely not pretty and cool girls that are smart. Nope.”
“Usagiyama, are you ok?”
“Y ep, I’m f ine!”
“Your voice is cracking, Rumi,” Touya pointed out, very obviously trying hard to keep a steady tone.
“Fuck you.”
“No thanks.”
“You’re both pretty girls, can we get back to homework now?” Fuyumi interrupted, knowing very well how long this could go on if she let it.
“Yeah! I need help on this one problem.”
Just as Fuyumi predicted, Touya immediately stopped arguing to help Hawks. Usagiyama grumbled, but actually grabbed her homework this time. Satisfied, Fuyumi went back to reading her textbook.
She hadn’t been doing it for long when her bed dipped. Fuyumi looked up, seeing Usagiyama sitting there, and she looked…sheepish?
“I uh, I’m not…great, at history. Could you help me?”
Fuyumi rolled her eyes playfully, but scooted over for her friend anyway. History was one of her favorites, so it was a welcome distraction.
“And um, you can- er- you can call me Rumi, if you want. My last name is a mouthful.”
“Ok, only if you call me Fuyumi then.”
“Deal.”
Fuyumi missed the soft smile Rumi had on her face.
~~~~~~~~~~
Touya had forgotten all about the Hawks Dating Incident by the time winter finally started to roll around. It hadn’t snowed yet, but it was cold. Allegedly. Touya was built for an ice Quirk, so the cold had never bothered him anyway.
Fuyumi, on the other hand, had piled on at least five more blankets to her bed the instant it got chilly outside. She could put her hand in fire, though maybe not Touya’s fire, and be fine. Then the instant there’s a chilly breeze she’s stealing every blanket and jacket they own.
Hitoshi wasn’t much better, actually. Touya had been told how the Midoriyas found him, so it made sense. Being half frozen out in winter had traumatized the poor kid. Thankfully it wasn’t too bad, he just didn’t like the cold.
Oddly enough, Shouto’s ice didn’t affect him much. If the squeals about ice sculptures made by his little brother were anything to go by. Mina enjoyed them a lot too apparently.
Shouto was also getting good at using his fire. That did not, however, mean that he could cook popcorn, as they had learned yesterday. The group of them had to clean the exploded bag of kernels and burnt popcorn out of the carpet. It wasn’t fun.
Anyway, it was the weekend again, thank all things holy. Hero school was fun and all, but Touya was tired. And they were still in their first year! Next year was when they got internships. Unlike UA, they didn’t have the short one-week ones after a televised festival. Instead, Touya would get offers from heroes that had access to his training results, which included a showcase video that would be his first semester final of second year.
As long as he got offers that weren’t from Endeavor, he’d be fine.
The weekend also meant Hawks would probably pop in at some point. Whether that meant flying up to Touya and Fuyumi’s window and asking to be let in, or actually going to the door, remained to be seen.
Rumi might come over too, but that was less likely than Hawks randomly appearing. Well, not really random anymore if they expected it now. It was more a matter of which kid would try and drag him over to play first.
Touya did homework while he waited, knowing it would be better if it was done before Hawks got there. He…couldn’t exactly focus for very long when he was in the room. It was entirely Hawks’ fault for being too damn gorgeous.
Yeah, he had it bad, but Touya wasn’t about to change anything. Not if it risked Hawks leaving. Rumi was a great friend, but with his grand total being two, Touya really didn’t want to lose one of them. Fuyumi could tease him all she wanted, but that wouldn’t change his mind.
Lost in thought, Touya nearly set his homework on fire when something slammed into his window. One look and he sighed, cooling his skin down again.
Hawks had ran into the glass again, and was now hanging onto the ledge like his life depended on it. All the while staring at Touya with the biggest puppy eyes in existence.
See, the window was open, and they had long since taken the screens out. Yet Hawks still managed to run into the glass side more often than not. He was like an actual bird.
“Tooouuuyaaa.”
“Really, Hawks?”
“Heeelp meeee.”
Touya snorted, getting up from his desk to look out the window. Lo and behold, Hawks was hanging off the windowsill with his wings drooping down. “So how’s the weather out there?”
“Fantastic, wanna join me?”
“Ha, come on, your arms are going to be tired for hero training on Monday.”
Touya reached outside the window to help haul his winged friend inside. Hawks dramatically flopped onto the floor like he’d been hanging there for days instead of seconds.
“My savior.”
“Yeah, and you’re the bird we have to scrape off the window once a week. What homework do you still need to do?”
“Oh! I finished most of it already!” He chirped, rolling back to his feet. “I actually came here to ask you something.”
Touya raised an eyebrow, sitting down at his desk again. “Ask me what?”
“Rumi gave me a scavenger hunt to keep me busy this weekend, and I was wondering if you were free to help me with it tomorrow?”
“I’ll have to ask Aunt Inko, but I think we’re not doing anything this weekend for once.”
“Awesome! I’m going to go say hi to your siblings and then we can work on math? It’s the one thing I left for later.”
“Sure. Tell Natsuo to pick up his damned soccer ball, I’ve tripped over one and Mina already melted another because it made her fall.”
“Gotcha,” Hawks laughed, finally setting his bag down. “See you in a minute!”
Touya smiled as red feathers disappeared down the hall. A scavenger hunt set up by Rumi either had a nasty surprise at the end, or a treat. Hopefully they wouldn’t get covered in glitter like last time.
Guess he’d find out tomorrow.
~~~~~~~~~~
Touya got a text at too-early-for-a-weekend o’clock asking if he’d be ready in ten minutes. What followed was him scrambling around his room to get clothes on that weren’t pajamas. Fuyumi had to tell him his shirt was on backwards. She, very groggily, wished him good luck on his date. She was asleep again before he could deny it was not in fact a date.
Hawks showed up almost exactly ten minutes later. This time he actually knocked on the door, which Uncle Hisashi answered. Touya heard the door open, and raced to the stairs.
He went down the mental checklist of things he needed. Phone, clothes on and facing the right direction, bandaids, and wallet. All check. Now if only an umbrella could fit in his pocket. Not that it was going to rain, but if Touya had learned anything from having little siblings, it was better to be safe than sorry.
“Touya! Come on! Rumi gave me the first clue!”
“Alright, alright! Don’t lose your feathers, Birdie.”
Touya jumped over the last two stairs, wide smile matching Hawks’. Hisashi chuckled, ruffling his black hair as he walked past him.
“Have fun you two. Try not to come home more glitter than person this time, ok?”
“Sure thing, Uncle Hisashi.”
“I’ll try to bring him back glitter-free!”
“Alright then, have fun!”
The door shut behind the two of them. The early morning neighborhood was quiet and peaceful. Frost clung to the grass and clouds made the light hazy. A cool breeze rustled the empty trees.
“So, what’s the first clue?”
“Oh yeah!” Hawks reached into his pocket and took out what looked like an index card folded in half. “It says, uh, something about eggs and crashing?”
Touya blinked, then snatched the card. The actual words were “Put your eggs in a basket, and go to where the bird first fell.”
“Oh, the exam grounds.”
“How in the world did you get “exam grounds” from that?”
“We put eggs in a basket for the exam, and you fell out of the sky, remember?”
“Of course I do,” Hawks said, quieter than Touya was expecting. He was loud and happy the next second. “But what would Rumi want us to go there?”
“No idea, but it’s where we’ll find out the next clue so…”
“To the exam grounds we go then!”
Touya rolled his eyes, grinning at his friend’s antics, and led the way to school.
“Uh…how do we get in?”
“You have wings, Birdie.”
“Yeah, but that’s technically breaking and entering.”
“Not if they don’t catch us.”
“…I mean, you’re not wrong.”
“Exactly.”
A hop, skip, and short flight later, and they were inside the school. The exam grounds were huge, so Hawks proposed they look in the forest area. It was where Hawks had fallen, per the clue, so it was as good a place to start as any.
Touya searched the trees for a few minutes, knowing it was just like Rumi to hide it up high. He didn’t find it, but Hawks did.
“You found it? Where?”
“It was in one of those plastic easter egg things on the ground! Come on, I want to read it!”
Touya dropped from the tree, landing without twisting an ankle thankfully. Hawks waited impatiently for him to walk over. As soon as he was close he tore into the egg like it was chocolate.
A small paper was nestled in the egg. Along with glitter, because of course there was. Hawks gingerly fished the note out of its pool of clinginess.
“Congratulations, you’ve found the first clue, now do you know what to do?” Touya read out loud. “Did Rumi just rhyme ‘clue’ and ‘do?’”
“Yeah, yeah, next line.”
“Ok. Find the place with both sweet and cold, where everything began to unfold.” Touya paused. “Rumi had help writing this.”
“Maybe Fuyumi helped her?”
“Maybe. Anyway, ‘sweet and cold?’ Any ideas?”
“Hm…obviously it’s something with sugar that’s cold. But ‘where everything started to unfold?’ Um…”
Unseen by Touya, Hawks suddenly turned bright pink, a realization striking him.
“Maybe ice-cream?” Touya proposed, still staring at the note.
“Y ep, ice cream! I was thinking the same thing alright let’s go.”
“Well yeah, but where? First Rumi makes us go to the place we first met, but ice cream?”
“…do you remember the first place we met outside of school?”
Touya blinked, then smacked his forehead. How could he have forgotten? “That sorbet and ice-cream store down the street. I forgot Rumi knew about that.”
“You didn’t forget we went there?”
“Of course I didn’t, I just forgot that Rumi knew about it. Come on then, it will probably open soon.”
“…Yeah.”
They walked down the quiet street, just listening to whatever sounds the morning held for them. Cars puttered along on their way to work. There were more people on the sidewalk now, most heading towards the station.
It took a few minutes to reach the shop. They arrive, only to find it closed. Right, it was winter. Most ice-cream shops weren’t open at all when it was cold out. Which, frankly, Touya found stupid.
“Maybe Rumi hid it outside?” Hawks suggested.
“I wouldn’t put it past Rumi to break in, but yeah, she probably hid it outside somewhere.”
Touya got to work on searching. It wasn’t in any obvious place, but he hadn’t expected it to be. Maybe somewhere only Hawks could reach this time?
No sooner than when he’d thought that was when he spotted the note. It was in another brightly colored egg. This time though, it was nestled up in the hanging sign. Somewhere Rumi could jump to and Hawks could fly to reach.
“I found it!”
“Yes! Can I read it?”
“We need to get it down first, Birdie.”
Hawks walked over, his eyebrows scrunched in a way that made Touya’s heart do somersaults in his chest.
“Where is it?”
“Uh, up in the-the sign. Can you fly up and get it?”
“I have a better idea.”
One of Hawks’ red feathers detached from his wings. It zoomed up to the sign, knocking the egg free without much effort. Touya deftly caught it before it hit the ground.
He popped it open easily, and a little slip of paper was sitting inside. This one wasn’t drowning in glitter thankfully. Instead, a bunch of sparkly tinsel fell out.
How Rumi had gotten her hands on tinsel was a mystery, and it would likely remain that way.
“Well…we got the paper.”
Touya snorted, handing the paper to Hawks to read. He cleared his throat before telling Touya what it said.
“You’ve found the beginning, and you’re near the end now. Now go to where a sister helped me rhyme these somehow.”
“Fuyumi.”
Hawks laughed at his loud affronted tone.
“That traitor! She knew I was coming with you and she didn’t tell me anything!”
“Maybe Rumi made her promise not to tell?”
“Probably, but still.”
“Hah, come on Touya. Fuyumi has our next clue!”
Touya rolled his eyes, and followed after Hawks. He sent one last glance to the closed shop. It was the first place he and Hawks had met up after meeting, besides school of course. They had had a lot of fun here. It was the most Touya had seen Hawks laugh, though that was becoming less rare.
But he could’ve sworn he never told Rumi about it. Let alone that she might remember if he had.
Either way, they were headed back to the Midoriya home. Maybe Touya could finally get some answers as to why Rumi was taking Hawks and him down memory lane.
And why did it feel like this was some cheesy romance film?
Notes:
HotWings! HotWings! Get your HotWings here!
I'm really sorry to say this, but there won't be an update next week. March is NUTS for my family, and next week is the worst it gets, so I'm going to need time to do things that aren't writing. After that it'll be back to once a week though! Love you guys, and see you in two weeks! I'll still be on Discord though, don't worry <3
ALSO HEY I GOT ANOTHER ART LOOK AT HOW AMAZING IT IS I LOVE IT THANK YOU
Mina coming home (By Nerdzeword)
Chapter 27: Knockoff Hallmark Movie
Summary:
Warning for so much sweetness you might get cavities :D
Notes:
Hello everyone!! I'm back!
With all the scariness out there right now, here’s a chapter that is pure 100% grade A fluff. I hope it makes your day better <3
Chapters are sticking to once a week, because teachers gave us work like we're still in school :p
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Touya and Hawks snuck in through an open window. If they had come in through the door, then they would probably be jumped by five little kids. An alternate route was needed if they wanted to leave quickly.
Hawks basically threw Touya into the house. He banged his head on the way in, and fell face down onto the floor like he had no bones. It wasn’t too bad, but it still hurt. Touya flipped off his friend with his head buried in the carpet.
Only when she snorted did he realize Fuyumi was actually sitting in the room. He lifted his head to glare at her, still not willing to peel himself off the floor. Hawks landed quietly next to him after gracefully flying in for once.
“You’re a traitor Fuyumi. A traitor.”
“Not guilty.”
“Yes you are.”
“Doesn’t mean I feel guilty though.”
“Can we have the next clue please?” Hawks interrupted, knowing this would go on for a while if he didn’t say anything.
“Oh yeah, here. All questions can be asked after the scavenger hunt.”
Hawks took the paper. Touya muttered words into the carpet that he would never use in front of his little siblings under penalty of Aunt Inko and Uncle Hisashi being disappointed.
“Come on Touya, we should keep going.”
A foot nudged his arm, making Touya flop over onto his back. He stared up at his friend-that-he-definitely-didn’t-think-of-as-only-a-friend. Hawks’ hair was like a blonde halo in the dimming light.
“Fine. You’re not flying me out the window though.”
Touya finally rolled back to his feet. Hawks smiled, then leapt back out and into the sky. Fuyumi watched him go before turning back to her twin. Touya paused, wondering if he could ask just one thing.
“Can you-“
“Ah ah ah, no questions until after the scavenger hunt,” she said in a sing-song voice, turning back to her work.
“More like a wild goose chase for finding my lack of affection for my best friend. Can’t find something that doesn’t exist, Fuyu.”
“Go.”
“You’re evil.”
“I’m a teacher.”
“Fair enough.”
With that said, and no answers gained, Touya swung his feet over the windowsill. He wasn’t about to get his head bonked again with Hawks. Besides, it was good hero practice for getting down a building. Without melting holes in the walls, that is, unlike a certain “hero.”
He got down without much trouble, finding Hawks waiting for him eagerly. Touya shook his head fondly, stopping to look at the paper over Hawks’ shoulder. There was thankfully no tinsel or glitter this time.
“To one final place you must go, through wind or rain or snow,” Touya read. “It’s where you’ve gone before, a place Katsuki does adore. Though this is different, just look for the…wow that’s a lot of crossed off words. Does that one say bug repellant?”
“We can laugh at Rumi’s rhyming skills later, what’s the final phrase say?”
“Uh, I think it says ‘though this is different, just look for the light of the reverent?”
“…”
“…I’m going to be honest, I have no clue what those two are saying with this one.”
“I guess we just go towards the park and figure it out once we get there?”
Touya raised an eyebrow, suddenly suspicious. “How did you know it was the park?”
“Because it’s one of Katsuki’s favorite places, right? The kid loves the outdoors. He also wouldn’t stop talking about it that one time so…”
Touya didn’t know whether to still be suspicious or pay attention to how his heart was currently trying to do the Macarena. Hawks remembered something like that? That one small detail about his family?
He was just thankful the cold could be blamed on why his cheeks were red. Mostly. Hopefully Hawks hadn’t figured out that the cold didn’t really affect him.
“To the park we go then.”
They were almost there when Hawks suddenly stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. Touya turned back, worried for his friend.
“You ok, Birdie?”
“Y-yeah, I’m ok! I just realized I left something at, uh- back at your house! I’ll be right back!” Hawks flapped his red wings and took to the sky, still yelling down to Touya. “Go ahead and look without me! I’ll be back soon!”
And with that, Hawks sped off down the way they’d come. Touya watched him go, admiring how the red feathers could look so soft yet be so powerful. Then he turned and kept walking. Hawks was extremely fast, so he’d be back in a few minutes. Maybe Touya could be the one to find the note this time.
In the meantime, he ignored the nagging suspicion that Hawks was lying. There was no reason for him to lie, so he shoved the thought away. Hawks wouldn’t outright lie to him if he was in danger anyway.
This was supposed to be the last destination on their hunt. At least it wasn’t a graveyard or something. Touya idly wondered where in the park he was supposed to look. “Light of the reverent” wasn’t especially descriptive. Reverent usually meant something to do with a church, right? There weren’t any of those in the park though.
Katsuki did like the woods though, so maybe it was around there. Hopefully Hawks could catch up, even under all the trees.
Touya started with wandering the edge. The play structure was still in sight, but he just stuck to the sidewalk for now. It would give Hawks some more time to get back with whatever he had left.
It was peaceful in the park. With the sun setting already, the shadows were growing and the light looked golden. The forest looked both scarier and cooler at the same time. No pun intended with how cold it was getting.
Touya hummed a Christmas song Hawks and Rumi had been obnoxiously singing the entire week. It wasn’t even November yet. Nonetheless, Touya had already endured last Christmas with the kids screeching Jingle Bells at way-too-early o’clock in the morning, so his two friends were nothing compared to that.
The clouds were blocking out any stars Touya could’ve seen on the winter night. He kept walking, the cold nothing more than a feeling on his skin. His mind wandered as his feet did.
Touya followed the sidewalk as it left the play area and wound into the woods. It didn’t go far, he knew, but maybe he could find the last piece of their treasure hunt. There was a gazebo at the end of the trail. It was small and the white paint was peeling, but it was nice. Sort of like one of those pretty places in the middle of nowhere that had become one with nature again.
If nothing else, it would be a good place to wait for Hawks, so Touya continued down the path.
Then he noticed the faint glow from behind the trees in the dying light. It was coming from the gazebo, or the direction of it at least. Touya suddenly really hoped nothing was on fire.
He walked just a tad bit faster.
The trees opened up, revealing the gazebo, but it looked different now. The paint was still peeling, the vines still curled around the posts, but there was more. Candles were lined along the railing. All of them lit up and emitting soft light. Fairy lights were hung along the roof, making it even brighter. There were even candles along the rest of the path leading to the gazebo.
And standing in the center of the gazebo, was Hawks. He was staring at Touya now, wings puffed up like they always did when he was especially nervous. The light from the setting sun and burning candles made him look like a true angel. His eyes almost seemed to glow, and the red feathers looked like dripping ink in the low light.
“…Hawks?”
Touya walked closer, taking in every detail. Every candle and light and carefully moved ivy. It was all so, so beautiful.
“What…what is all of this?”
“The- the end of our, well, your scavenger hunt. Do you- do you like it?”
“It’s beautiful, Hawks, but what’s it for?”
“Well I don’t- I don’t really have a lot of…exposure to people. You already k-know that though. Anyway, I never really- never really had a lot of lovey-dovey people around me growing up, or at all really. The closest I have is when- is when my caretaker leaves out a romance book, so I don’t really know how it all works.”
Touya stepped under the gazebo roof. He had extreme suspicions of where this was going, but he couldn’t get his hopes up. He couldn’t. No matter how much he really wanted to gently kiss Hawks right now in the soft light. But he couldn’t, not when he literally just said he doesn’t know how romance works.
(God how he just wanted to say screw it and kiss him anyway)
“But I know- I know that I, um, that I like you, Touya. More than a friend, I think. The Commission- the Commission said I shouldn’t have a significant other. But- but fuck what the Commission thinks. I like you Touya. I really, really like you. D-do you l-like me back?”
Touya stood there, in a gazebo lit by candles and fairy lights on a cold winter dusk, with his crush telling him he liked him back. It was like a tale from a storybook.
“You…you like…me?” Touya pointed to himself while the literal angel stared at him. “You, the amazing person at the top of our class. The one that’s faster than people with speed Quirks and can kick our asses while fighting Quirkless , likes me. Me, the one that has black hair, piercings, a Quirk like a villain, and a few burn scars to match. I’m not…”
Touya would’ve thought Hawks was the one with a fire Quirk by how his eyes blazed. He couldn’t tell if it was with anger or something else. “Touya, I don’t care. You have blue eyes that match your fire, which is the prettiest Quirk I’ve ever seen. You love your family so, so much. Whenever you’re around them it’s like every wall you have during school falls away, and it’s beautiful. It’s beautiful that I get to see you like that. You…you’re beautiful.”
“Says the literal angel.”
“To the fallen one. And you know what they say, the fallen ones were the most gorgeous.”
And now Touya was on fire. Literally. His sleeves were burning off.
Touya and Hawks both yelped, trying to pat out the blue flames dancing over Touya’s arms. He spun, making sure Hawks did not in fact touch the flames that were already making his skin tingle. Lovely.
Once the fire was out, the two were quiet for a moment. Sort of just processing everything that had happened in the last few minutes.
“So you like me, and you…what? You didn’t get that far and this looked like a proposal without a ring.”
“Oh! Oh. I, uh, I was going to ask you if- if you wanted to go get lunch with me? We can go to- to that new cat cafe that opened?”
Touya smiled softly, double checking that all the fire was gone. His sleeves were a bit melted now, but that did nothing to dampen his mood.
“Yeah. Yeah that- that sounds good, Hawks.”
“YES!” Hawks leapt into the air, fluttering back down with the biggest smile Touya had ever seen on him. “Wow, I can’t believe that worked.”
“It does look more like a proposal than asking me on a date,” Touya laughed.
“It…does?”
“Yes, Hawks, but it’s amazing. I think the only way it could be cheesier is if-“
Touya was interrupted by something colder than the surrounding air hitting his cheek. He blinked, reaching up to touch it. Then he looked outside of the gazebo, only to see snowflakes gently floating down around them.
The two of them looked at each other, then broke down laughing.
“This really can’t get any cheesier now, can it?” Touya wheezed, leaning on Hawks to stay standing.
“I didn’t plan this part, I swear! Rumi told me this was how people did romantic things!”
“Well she didn’t lie, but Hawks, this is literally something pulled from those movies my family watches at Christmas.”
“Oh. Well…you still agreed, so point for me?”
“Yeah, Birdie, I did. Come on, let’s go back to my house before we get snowed in at a park.”
“Well aren’t you forward. At least let me take you on that date first.”
Touya turned, staring at Hawks without blinking. “Alright, who taught you dirty jokes.”
“Rumi.”
“Looks like we’re having rabbit soup then. Seriously though, you’re probably freezing in this. I’m not letting you fly your way back to whoever you live with in this weather.”
“I can fly in snow, Touya.”
“Nope. Come on, back to my house.”
Touya stepped out from under the gazebo, waiting for Hawks to follow him. His friend leapt onto the sidewalk beside him, wings tucked over his jacket sleeves to keep him warm. He was shivering, and Touya wasn’t about to let that keep happening.
So he did something he’d been wanting to do for a long time now. Touya reached out, and took Hawks’ hand. While Touya was ice-proof, he still had a fire Quirk. Even if his skin was naturally cold, he could heat it up. It was something Uncle Hisashi had taught him recently. Came in handy right now to help warm up his new boyfriend.
Hawks jolted, but didn’t pull away. Instead, he squeezed Touya’s hand and smiled brighter than a full moon. Touya’s heart decided it was a good time to grow hummingbird wings.
Hawks laid his head on Touya’s shoulder as they walked back. The sun had fully set now, and the streetlights had started to turn on. Snow glided down around them peacefully. It was like a dream to Touya.
This was one dream he never wanted to wake up from.
Notes:
Don’t worry, nothing caught fire because of the candles! Rumi (Miruko) arrived after they left, originally wanting to spy, but instead became the clean up crew. She now has a heck ton of candles and a few strings of fairy lights!
EDIT: the art previously here seems to have been removed, but I still wanted to thank Secretsuperhero for making it in the first place, so thank you <3
Countdown to next kid: 3 chapters! I accidentally made their arc a long one, so I hope you like it!
Chapter 28: Better Than Twilight
Summary:
Cuteness and secrets (which weren't actually so secret) are revealed
Notes:
Hello everyone! I hope you're having a good day/night! And if you aren't then may tomorrow be better for you
aaaaaaaaaaaaa ok so I felt this chapter was awkward and needed rewriting, then my brain decided to just, fly out the window yesterday. Literally couldn't focus to save my life. Almost went sprinting around the house because I had energy I didn't know what to do with. I didn't end up doing that thankfully, but you get the point. Hope you enjoy the chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Touya was so in love it wasn’t even funny. Seriously. Rumi had started making gagging sounds every time he and Hawks so much as held hands around her.
And they had gone on their date less than a week ago.
Honestly, he didn’t care how much Rumi teased them. Mainly because he knew she was only joking around. The first time she saw them holding hands, she had broken the concrete with her jumping and squealing about them “finally getting it through their thick skulls and out their dumb mouths that they loved each other.”
Yeah, she was proud of them. In her own, special, Rumi way.
Since coming back from the park, the two girls had been acting very smug. Fuyumi had apparently been behind most of the clues, while Rumi had hidden them. Hawks had given them the idea. Past that, he had had no involvement. It was a surprisingly elaborate plan for just asking him out.
Touya was happy though. Even teasing and smug siblings couldn’t bring him down from that high. Especially after their first date went better than he could’ve ever hoped for.
They had gone to a new cat cafe that had opened in the city, and Touya got to see the adorableness that was Hawks playing with kittens. He used one of his feathers as a toy. Kittens kept swatting at him, before curling up in his lap to sleep.
Touya was pretty sure his heart was going to burst out of his chest from how cute it was.
They did get food, eventually. Touya was reminded that Hawks enjoyed literally anything with chicken in it. Also that he adored spicy things. Ironic, since Touya absolutely despised anything hotter than mild salsa. Fuyumi and Hawks could eat all the peppers they wanted, but Touya never got brain-freezes so hah.
So yeah, their date was awesome. Touya got to hold Hawks’ hand and walk in the park with him after. It was- it was amazing. There weren’t really words to describe it. Touya was just so overwhelmingly happy . Not much could dampen his mood.
They encountered a tiny hiccup when they came home and Uncle Hisashi was waiting for them. It was that exact moment that Touya remembered he’d never told them he wasn’t quite straight. He wasn’t worried though. Over the years, Inko and Hisashi had made it clear they both supported the community.
It was still nerve wracking though.
Their fears were thrown out the window the second Uncle Hisashi started happily yelling congratulations. He pulled the two boys into a hug, almost crying as he asked how the scavenger hunt went.
His siblings were excited too. None of them cared about the two of them being boyfriends. There were a few questions from the littler ones, obviously. Mostly centered around “have you kissed yet?” and “if one of you isn’t a girl then who gives who flowers?” Stuff like that. It was adorable.
Natsuo couldn’t care less. Touya was wondering if his sexuality was “sports.” Or demi, which was entirely possible. And Fuyumi wasn’t an issue either. Touya had to listen to her rant about which girls were cute and why it was a problem. She was rooting for him more than anyone, if anything.
School was…well, it was a lot more interesting now. Hawks would randomly give him notes, usually ferried over by feathers when the teacher wasn’t looking. Apparently their class had collectively decided to not rat them out. Most of them said some sort of congratulations. It was not helping that the entire “this feels more like a wedding than a date” thing.
Touya was, however, getting a tad bit annoyed with some of the questions.
“Soooo, have you kissed yet?”
“Is Hawks a good kisser?”
“If I see a hickey Kai owes me ten bucks.”
Yeah, it was getting on his nerves. They hadn’t kissed, and Touya had no intention of pushing that boundary. He knew Hawks didn’t have real parents, that the Commission had decided to fuck up his life somehow, and because of that Hawks was a tad bit clueless on social things.
Touya wondered if Aunt Inko could do anything about the Commission, because his current options were burning it to the ground or technically kidnapping his boyfriend. They had let Endeavor get away with so much, and then Hawks.
Hawks, who was too cute for this world and froze like a deer in the headlights when a door locked. Hawks, who didn’t know that gifts weren’t favors that needed to be returned until Touya and Rumi explained it. Hawks, who didn’t choose the hero path, but had it forced on him.
Touya swore that if the Commission touched any of his family, he would gladly be labeled a villain if it meant protecting them. Hawks was a part of that now, and Touya’d be damned before he let his boyfriend get hurt by them too. More than he had already been, at least.
Which is why he insisted Hawks stay over more. Touya wanted to keep him close and away from the Commission. They also had a bunch of math homework assigned for that particular weekend, and it helped that Hawks was really good at it.
“Ok, explain this one again please?”
“So you have to set it up like this, see how they cancel out? Then you plug that in here.”
“Then you put that…here?”
“Yeah! Good job, Touya. Just four more problems.”
“Uuuuugh. Why do we have to do math? We’re going to be heroes, not astrophysicists.”
“Because math is important. Come on, do the rest.”
“Fine,” Touya grumbled, going back to his work. He was fine in almost every other subject, but math was the bane of his existence.
They continued in the quiet of the house. Well, “quiet,” which included the background noise of the kids either playing outside or running around the sitting room. Fuyumi was somewhere downstairs, probably having a snack. Natsuo was doing homework in his room. Touya could hear him yelling about English verbs every once and awhile.
Touya and Hawks were sitting on his bed doing their math. It was comfier than sitting at a desk, and they could face each other while they worked. Asking questions was easier that way. They also randomly bonked heads if they got too focused on a problem. It was both cute and helpful for not getting tunnel vision on one thing.
“Hey, Touya?”
Touya glanced up, and saw Hawks staring at him. He raised an eyebrow, silently asking if he needed something. Hawks looked…nervous, actually.
“So you know how everyone in class has been talk- talking about us getting together?” Touya nodded, stopping himself from asking if he needed to murder someone. “Well, Kai asked me y-yesterday if I’d kissed you yet? And I, uh, I realized I didn’t really…know, how that worked.”
“I thought you read romance books and all that though?”
“I know what a kiss is, you idiot,” Hawks grumbled, bringing his wings up to cover his head in a curtain of feathers. “But I don’t know how to do it, and I’m not about to ask Rumi.”
Touya blinked, processing that information. Then he grinned, and moved their homework out of the way. He shuffled forward, gently lifting one wing from his boyfriend’s self-made dome. Hawks stared at him with a bright red face, the other wing still hanging over his head.
“Birdie, are you embarrassed over not knowing how to kiss?”
“…maybe.”
Touya chuckled, scooting even closer to Hawks. “You don’t need to be. Pretty sure Rumi doesn’t know how to kiss anyway.”
“She’s been on dates though,” Hawks pointed out, still hiding in his feathers.
“Doesn’t mean she’s kissed someone. We’re teenagers. We’re stupid and don’t know things.”
“Do…you know how to kiss?”
Touya’s mind immediately flashed back to all those hero galas he snuck away from. He thought of the hero's kids and rich people kids, all looking for some sort of rebellion against their parents. If Endeavor knew half the things he did at those, then he would’ve been buried six feet under for a long time now.
“…yeah.”
Hawks lowered his other wing, letting both of them rest on his back again. He was staring straight at Touya now, his face still tomato red.
“Can you show me?”
Touya thought he was going to burst into flames. The question was asked so innocently, and yet it made Touya’s feel like he was burning up. He had lost count of the different strangers he had kissed in dark corridors, all for stupid reasons. Yet the thought of doing that with Hawks felt…different. It felt more meaningful.
Hawks was still waiting for an answer though.
“Y-yeah, I can. If you’re ok with that.”
“We are boyfriends.”
Touya grabbed Hawks’ face, squishing his cheeks together sternly. “And that doesn’t mean anything if you’re uncomfortable. I’ve waited this long, I can wait a bit longer.”
Hawks' gaze flicked around his face, searching for some sort of lie. He was good at that, but he wasn’t going to find anything. Touya meant every word he said. His gaze softened, letting Hawks’ face go.
A hand quickly covered one of his own, bringing it back to Hawks’ cheek. Touya blinked, then gently ran his thumb over Hawks’ soft skin.
“Thank you, Touya, but I want to, ok?”
Touya paused, then leaned forward.
It was their first kiss, and Touya swore it felt like electricity. Overused as he thought that comparison was, it was right. It was like sparks were bouncing off of them. Touya didn’t go farther than a close-mouthed kiss.
Hawks’ lips were covered in the chapstick he constantly used. They were smooth, and tasted like mint. Somehow, it fit Hawks perfectly. This was perfect. It was so much gentler and softer than what he’d had before. This, this had meaning to him.
Touya reached out and ran a hand over Hawks’ feathers. The down feathers were fuzzy, while the longer flight feathers were rougher. Like a real bird, he found himself thinking.
Hawks suddenly made a noise that almost sounded like chirp-purr. It surprised Touya so much, that he literally caused sparks. The blue embers clung to his sleeves and hovered in the air. Touya flung himself off the bed and onto the floor, not wanting to burn Hawks.
One look told him that, yep, his sleeves were now singed. He mentally apologized to Aunt Inko, and looked back up to Hawks. Touya almost started laughing when he did.
Hawks looked slightly dazed, one hand raised to brush his lips. His wings were also poofed out to be double their normal size. He looked like a bright red, disgruntled pigeon.
“You ok, Birdie?”
“Y-yeah. I’m fine. S-sorry.”
Touya crawled back onto his bed, sitting across from his boyfriend again. “It’s alright. I didn’t hurt you when I touched your wings, did I?”
“No. It- it actually felt nice. I just wasn’t expecting to make that noise.”
“You didn’t mean to do that?”
“Nope.”
“Huh.”
They sat quietly for a moment. Touya took Hawks’ hand, running his thumb over his knuckles. He had always found his secondary mutations fascinating, and Izuku did too. His talons especially. They were just sharper black fingernails, but they were still really cool.
“Touya?” Touya looked up again, taking in how Hawks was staring at him. He looked really nervous about something again. Oh no. “Couples are supposed to be honest, right? Not have any secrets?”
“Well,” he said carefully, “some secrets are fine, but ones that can hurt if they’re kept a secret aren’t so great. Like…like Endeavor being my sperm donor. But I know you have your secrets Hawks. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I know how…horrible the Commission can be.”
“No, it’s- it’s just, I-“
“Breathe, Birdie.”
“I don’t want to keep this one,” he blurted out, recoiling immediately after saying it. “I don’t, want to keep this to myself. It’s not anything bad, I guess. Just, it’s a secret I don’t want to keep to myself anymore.”
“Alright then, what is it?”
“I don’t…have parents anymore. For all I know they’re alive, but…”
“The Commission houses you, don’t they.”
It wasn’t a question. Touya had guessed at that a while ago. Not many would have gotten it right, but he knew the Commission. He knew how bad they could be. It was nice though, knowing Hawks trusted him with that information.
“Yeah, they do. I- I guess it’s sorta like they’re fostering me? A person takes care of me, but they don’t- they don’t care for me. I’m a job to them. Honestly, your aunt and uncle have been more like parents to me than I’ve ever had before.”
“Hawks-“
“N-no, I need to- to get this off my chest. Please.” Touya shut his mouth, and held his boyfriend’s hand in a gentle grip. “I don’t remember too much about my b-birth parents. The Commission took me in when I was small, after I s-saved a family with my feathers I think, and they were never home anyway. The new housing was nice for a while, but I…I don’t know. I never wanted to go back, but I kept wishing for something better. Something like an actual family.”
Touya squeezed Hawks’ hand, reminding him that he was there. He didn’t say a word, just listened. It’s what his boyfriend needed, so he listened to every word.
“But, then you showed up. And you…you were nice to me. My handlers said that the real world was cruel and I needed to suck it up. That nothing was fair and I needed to rely on myself and them, and that’s it. You sorta broke that the second you opened your mouth.”
They both chuckled for a second, memories flashing behind their eyelids.
“And you never questioned things. Well no, I know you do, but you never asked me about it. You were just, there for me. It’s something I’ve never had. All of this- All of this is new to me. I feel like I don’t deserve-“
“Nope, stopping you there,” Touya interrupted. “You deserve this, Hawks. You deserve all of this. You might not have had a choice in being a hero, but you’re a damned good one. You throw yourself into everything you do. Whether that’s a test or saving someone on our internships.”
“But, I’m not like you and our class. Touya, I don’t even have a real name.”
Hawks’ voice sounded so broken in that moment. Touya immediately swept him into his arms, holding him tight. His voice was soft when he spoke.
“Real name or not, you’re my best friend. You’re my boyfriend. You deserve love, Birdie. You deserve all of it.” Touya buried his face in Hawks’ blonde hair, breathing in the scent of his shampoo and whatever he caught in the wind. “We’re getting you out one day. You won’t have to answer to them anymore. You can have a real name. A real life. We can live together in a little apartment, with lots of plants we’ll try not to kill. Maybe we can get a cat. Or a fish or something. That’s probably the better option, since the whole cats eat birds thing. Can’t have my boyfriend getting attacked by our pet.”
Hawks choked out a laugh, his forehead pressed into Touya’s shoulder. “I’d like a fish. And a name. They…they sound surreal, almost. At one point I never thought I would have anything close to this.”
“Then let’s make the best of it, alright? I’m going to show you the best life I can.”
“For how long though? It can’t last forever…you know what they say about high school relationships…”
“Yeah well screw that honestly. I’m staying for as long as you’ll tolerate me for, and nothing’s going to make me leave. Forever and always, Birdie. It’ll take more than some snobby gossips and villains to make me leave you.”
Hawks laughed again, sounding less like he was going to cry now. Touya pulled back slightly, enough to set his forehead against his boyfriend’s. Blue eyes stared into golden ones.
“You promise?” Hawks whispered.
“I promise.” Touya smiled, knowing his expression was a lovesick one. “As long as I’m alive, and let’s be honest, even if I’m dead, you’re always going to have me to watch your back. Always.”
“And…you’ll show me how real life things work if I don’t know what they are? Because I still don’t understand some things…”
“Of course.”
“Can we start with kissing again, then?”
Touya snorted, forehead still resting against Hawks’. He smirked, eyes half closed as he stared at the beautiful person in front of him. “As you wish, love.”
Notes:
Serious talk for a moment, if any of you are going through things, you do NOT deserve it. I may not know you but I can say with certainty that you don't deserve pain. You are loved, you are amazing, and I love you <3
On to more lighthearted things. Such as catch me dodging every chance to describe a kiss because I’ve only ever read about it and oh boy I didn’t know how weird that would be to write.
AND ART
Y'ALL THERE'S MORE ART
FIRST: The Children! (by Big Sad)ALSO not quite fan art but I wanted to show it anyway because it's AMAZING. So last chapter brought this story to a word count of exactly 70,600, which I shared with my server.
and then
This amazing person
MADE ME ART!! I legit started crying when I got it. I've already said it a lot, but thank you again Ko <3
Look at the amazing thing
Chapter 29: Fishies
Summary:
100% grade A fluff
Notes:
Hi everyone!! This is one of the longest (I think THE longest) chapter of this story so far!
Welcome to Pure Fluff. Intermission chapter before kid number *checks list of children* 6, technically 9. This is literally just cuteness, so try not to get cavities :D
Anyone else call Blue Tangs and Clownfish, Nemos and Dorys as kids?
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“So, we’ve been thinking,” Dad said.
Izuku looked up from his bowl of cereal. His dad was standing near the counter, a cup of tea in his hands. Everyone was milling around the kitchen somewhere. Most of them were sitting at the table, eating whatever they had gotten their hands on for breakfast. They all had to leave for school soon, but food was almost non-negotiable for the Midoriya house, so it was the perfect time to talk to them all.
“And Inko and I figured it was about time we took you all someplace.” That instantly caught everyone’s attention. It was rare for all of them to go somewhere, mostly in part to how expensive it was. Izuku excitedly waited for his dad to go on. “So, who wants to go to the aquarium?”
The kitchen was immediately filled with cheers and yells of excitement. They all loved the aquarium! Well, Mina had never been, but that just meant that they got to show her everything!
“Ok,” Dad laughed, “seems like we all agree on going there. How about this weekend?”
“I wanna see the octopus!”
“No way, the sharks are way better, Eyebags.”
“The Dorys are the best.”
“Do you think they have Nemos?”
“Of course they have Nemos!” Natsuo yelled, diving over the table to snatch a piece of toast before Fuyumi could grab it. “Probably have some cool anemones and those prickly things too.”
“Sea urchins,” Momma told Natsuo.
“Can I invite Hawks?”
“What, so you can kiss while fish stare at you?”
“No, you brat, he likes the dolphins and reef fish.”
“If he has time, then of course he can,” Dad answered. “We have fifteen minutes before everyone has to leave for school though. We can talk about fish and things on the way.”
Izuku scarfed down the rest of his food, practically buzzing with excitement about the aquarium. He raced up the stairs once he was done, Mina on his heels. They had to brush their teeth, grab homework, and find a matching pair of shoes before they could leave for school.
Izuku was brushing his teeth when he had an amazing idea, since that’s the place most good ideas seemed to come into existence. Izuku spat out his toothpaste (washing out his mouth first, since he had ran out with suds in his mouth one too many times) and then bounded back downstairs. He quickly found who he was looking for.
“Dad! DadcanwepleaseinviteOchabecauseIreallywannatakeherwithustoseethefishand-“
“Izuku. Izuku, remember to breathe, buddy. More than one big word per sentence, alright?”
Izuku took a deep breath, puffing out his cheeks to make Dad laugh. He smiled and let it out, speaking slower now.
“Can we please bring Ocha with us? I wanna show her some of the fish! She said she likes them too when I showed her my ocean book.”
“Uh, well…”
“Pleeeeease, Dad?” Izuku stared up with pleading puppy eyes. He knew his parents were weak to them.
“Mmmmm fine. I’ll ask the Urarakas if she can tag along.”
“Yay!”
Izuku flew back upstairs to grab his things, looking forward to the weekend even more now. They were going to have so much fun! Maybe they could even have a sleepover after!
The weekend couldn’t come soon enough. Izuku was too jittery to sleep the night before. Toshi was up too, so they talked about their favorite fish until they passed out on their bed.
Hawks and Ochako were coming with them too! Neither could spend the night, but they were all even more excited after hearing the two would join them. Especially Izuku. Ocha was one of their best friends, so of course he was! And they all loved Hawks. With how much he randomly appeared and stayed over, he was already like another brother to them.
They invited Rumi too, but she couldn’t go. Something about not being good around that much glass. Touya muttered something about her just not being good around Fuyumi, whatever that meant.
The morning was a rush to get ready and pile into the car on-time. They had to pick up Ochako, so they couldn’t afford to be late. Snacks and waters were shoved in the back before leaving. They still had to take two different cars because of how many people were going, but they managed to get everyone out the door falling behind schedule.
Izuku was with everyone but Dad, Touya, Fuyumi, and Hawks, who were in the smaller car. Ochako was next to him in the van, and Kacchan kept accidentally kicking his chair. Momma put on music for them, and everyone in the backseat sang along for the entirety of the half-hour drive.
“I’d rather be shiny!”
“Like treasure from a sunken pirate wreck!”
“Scrub the deck and make it look-“
“Shiny!”
“I will sparkle like a wealthy woman’s neck, just a sec.”
“I am a girl who loves my island, and a girl who loves the sea.”
“It calllllls mee!”
“Wooo, go Ochako!”
“We finish each others-“
The entire car screeched, “ Sandwiches!”
“Sit down at my table, put your mind at ease.”
“Relax, it will enable me to do, anything I please.”
“I can tell your future, change it ‘round some too. Look deep into your heart and soul, make your wildest dreams come true!”
“I’ve got voodoo, I’ve got hoodoo, I got things I ain’t even tried!”
“I’ve got friends on the other side!”
~~~~~~~~~~
Half an hour later, and they had finally arrived. Inko opened the door for her children, plus one extra, to jump out like the van was a clown car. Natsuo had already hopped out and zipped off towards where Hisashi was parked.
They successfully herded all ten children to the ticket window somehow. Inko felt a bit bad for the poor teenager working there. The first thing they saw when they looked up was a mass of children, which probably looked like a school field trip chaperoned by only two parents.
“Uh, how…many tickets do you need, Ma’am?”
Inko smiled at them, hopefully conveying that she was sorry for making the teen give them this many tickets.
“Twelve please. Two adults-“
“Five adults, love. Touya, Hawks, and Fuyumi are over thirteen.”
“Five adults, and seven kids.”
“Al-alright. Give me one minute.”
Inko handed over the money and waited patiently for the tickets. The seven kids were clustered near the counter waiting. A few of them were trying to peek over the top of it, to varying levels of success. Inko reminded Ochako that she couldn’t use her Quirk to float people in public, herself included.
“Here you go, Ma’am. Uh, have a nice day?”
Inko smiled brightly, gathering her children to bring them inside. They jumped and squealed excitedly as they followed her. Hisashi took up the rear to make sure none of them wandered away.
The doors to the aquarium flew open, letting their family pour in. Inko made sure to keep each child in her sight. Not too hard, considering they all immediately made a b-line for the sardine tank. The fish were swimming in circles, and it was mesmerizing for the small kids.
“Maybe we need those kid leashes, the ones that look like fuzzy backpacks.”
Inko laughed quietly, glancing at her husband. He was watching the kids follow the fish in a circle with a happy smile on his face.
“Think they’ll realize a hero’s in the next room before we get there?” Hisashi asked.
“Hm, I don’t know. Probably not, considering how they’re locked in on the fish right now.”
Hisashi chuckled, watching the kids while Inko scanned the room. There was a model whale shark above their heads, and three separate halls that branched off to different exhibits. A wall of windows with doors sat on the back wall.
One hall was the main aquarium, which was the closest to the kids right now. There was a massive tank somewhere in there, as well as a hero guest speaking, which is why they decided to bring the kids here in the first place.
The second hall was for children to learn about smaller sea animals. There were seahorses and shark eggs in there. The third led outside to the eating area. Inko was more interested in the doors that lead outside. There were little touch pools out there, which the kids would undoubtedly want to see.
“Momma! Dad! Can we go see the fish now?”
Inko smiled down at Izuku, seeing the others watching them from the corner of her eye. Hisashi was beaming as he scooped a squealing Izuku off his feet.
“Of course we can! Onwards, to the fish!”
Hisashi put Izuku on his shoulders, pointing dramatically as he led the charge into the first hallway. Ochako ran up laughing, dragging a giggling Mina and trying-not-to-smile Katsuki by their wrists. Hitoshi had climbed onto Hawks’ back at some point. He was idly playing with the red feathers while glancing back up every few seconds. Shouto was clinging to Touya’s black hair from atop his older brother’s shoulders. Fuyumi very calmly walked behind the gaggle of children while holding Natsuo’s hand.
Touya stuck to Inko’s side as they followed Hisashi. The tunnel was dark, though they could see the glow of light through water up ahead. Not many people were around right now, which Inko was grateful for. There were quite a few tanks before the big one and the hero. The lack of people meant they could take their time getting there.
The first tank came up a few seconds later. Touya let Shouto off his shoulders, the two of them running to catch up with the rest of the family. Inko silently took out her camera.
It was a magical sight. Mina was in the very front, staring at the tank with stars in her eyes. Colorful reef fish were swimming around the corals. Izuku was still on Hisashi’s shoulders, pointing out and naming some of the fish. The others parroted a few of them. The four Hisame children looked just as starstruck, especially Shouto. Hawks almost had his face pressed to the glass too.
At the click of the camera, Fuyumi turned and glanced back. She sent Inko a smile, still watching Natsuo excitedly whisper-yell that one of the fish looked like a soccer ball.
As their first family trip with Mina, Inko thought it was going pretty well.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Hey, Blasty! Come here, I wanna show you something!”
Mina waited semi-patiently while Katsuki walked down the hall to her. She stood in front of a big tank, one that had a lot of pretty coral that looked sorta like her horns. The fish were really, really pretty too.
Mina adored the aquarium. All the fish, and the plants, and the beautiful colors. All of it was amazing. She had never seen fish like this. Not unless she counted the ones in the pet store window, but those were boring fish. These were awesome fish that lived in the ocean.
Katsuki stopped next to her, staring into the tank with his usual bored face. Mina knew for a fact he was excited to be here though. He had been smiling and laughing just a few minutes ago when she said the anemone looked a bit like Zuzu’s hair.
“What is it, Pinky?”
“Look!” Mina pointed inside the tank to a medium sized yellow fish. “It’s you.”
It was a pufferfish. Albeit one that wasn’t puffed up, but still a fish that turned into a spiky ball that resembled Katsuki’s hair. Said blond brother was staring at her with a deadpan expression, trying very hard not to smile and failing miserably at it.
“Well…if I’m a pufferfish, then your ass is….” Katsuki looked around, and pointed to a different tank across the hall. “That.”
Mina looked over, and saw a small tank that contained what looked like a weird lizard in it. Were there underwater lizards? She walked closer, and squealed.
It was an axolotl! A pink one with whitish gills that looked like her horns! Mina beamed and pressed her face to the glass. It almost looked like it was smiling at her!
“Awww, thanks Katsuki.”
“They eat worms.”
“Meh, I like worms.”
“Mina, what the fuck.”
“I don’t eat them,” she laughed, gently elbowing him. “But they’re cool.”
“Yeah yeah, come on. I think there’s jellyfish somewhere.”
Mina smiled, taking Katsuki’s hand as she followed after him. He took it, just like he always did. She hummed one of the songs they had sang in the car as they looked at more cool fish. It had been a great day so far.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Hey. Hey Touya.”
“Yes, Hawks?”
“Do fish have eyelids?”
Touya blinked slowly, staring at his boyfriend. He couldn’t tell if he was feeling incredulity or amusement. Maybe both.
“I don’t think so,” he finally answered
“Huh, cool.”
Touya sighed, slinging an arm around Hawks. His boyfriend laughed, leaning into him as he stared up at the fish swimming by. Both were beautiful.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Hey Mina, where did- uh…what are you doing?”
“Staring contest. Shush.”
Hitoshi tilted his head, following Mina’s unbroken gaze to inside a tank. An octopus was staring back. Neither moved. Hitoshi watched in fascination, wondering if octopi even could blink.
They stayed like that for another few minutes.
Mina won.
~~~~~~~~~~
Katsuki loved the aquarium. He loved the sharks. He loved the puffy fish, and he fricking loved the way it made his family smile.
It still felt…weird, calling them his family. Really fucking weird and it made Katsuki feel like shit that it was weird. He wasn’t used to smiling this much and it felt wrong to when less than a year ago he was still with his parents.
But he felt…he felt better here. It was nice to have a family that didn’t yell at him. It was even better that he had siblings. Not that Katsuki would ever dare say it out loud, but he was extremely grateful for them, especially Mina. They had healed together and come out better than before.
It was cool to see how Mina reacted to the fish too. She had never been to an aquarium, so all of this was new to her. Katsuki couldn’t imagine how the day could be better.
And then it got fucking better.
Right around the corner was apparently a massive tank. The glass was supposed to be taller than they were and had massive as hell fish swimming around. And sharks . Katsuki loved sharks.
Mina was in the front, leading them all. She hadn’t let go of Katsuki’s hand since sometime in the first hallway, but he didn’t mind. Honestly, he never did with Mina. That was still weird to think about too.
He almost ran into her when she suddenly stopped though.
“Geez Pinky, what the h-“
Katsuki looked around her, and stopped talking. His jaw fell open. Hitoshi hit his back and rebounded.
“Holy shit.”
“Language, Katsuki,” Auntie reminded.
“Kacchan? What is it?” Izuku then stopped beside Katsuki, his eyes practically bugging out of his head.
Because standing in the room, with the absolutely massive fish tank taking up an entire wall behind him, was Gang Freaking Orca .
“Oh.”
See, Katsuki loved heroes. Most of their family did. But they only liked good heroes. And Gang Orca was a pretty awesome hero, despite looking a bit scary. Katsuki couldn’t give less of a shit about that part though.
The lot of them flooded the room, racing up to the hero who had finally noticed them. They slowed before they got to him, standing a few feet away. Katsuki hadn’t realized just how tall he was.
“Oh, hello children. Are you here to learn about marine life?”
The six of them stared at Gang Orca. None of them moved. They weren’t scared of how he looked- they already knew what Natsuo looked like in the morning- but he was still an adult they didn’t know.
Mina was the first to move forward.
She raced up, bouncing on her toes with stars in her eyes, and asked if he could tell them about the fish. That seemed to break the ice, and everyone else darted up to the hero too, asking questions of their own. Katsuki included. He wanted to know about that massive ass fish he saw swim by a second ago.
The man seemed overwhelmed for a moment, but the next second he was smiling brightly. He knelt down, asking what they knew about sea life. Katsuki proudly proclaimed he knew a lot about sharks. Especially nurse sharks, he liked those because one day he could maybe pet one.
Auntie and Uncle stood off to the side. Natsuo ran up, letting go of Fuyumi’s hand. She joined Auntie and Uncle too, and so did Touya and Hawks. They still listened, but from a distance.
“What’s the big-ass fish right there?” Katsuki asked, pointing to the fish that looked like it could swallow him whole.
“Ah, that’s the Goliath Grouper.”
“Cool.”
Katsuki decided he still liked sharks better, but any fish that could be that big was pretty fucking awesome too.
~~~~~~~~~~
Kugo Sakamata loved kids. It was a scarcely known fact about him, but a fact all the same. However, kids didn’t usually like him. He looked scary, and being extremely tall on top of that did not help. There weren’t many children brave enough to talk to him, but the ones that did were usually good kids. Mostly ones that had “scary” mutations like he did.
He still adored kids though. It was why he agreed to come speak at aquariums sometimes. There were usually at least one or two people that would listen to him talk about the fish and ocean environments.
But when he saw a bright pink child skid to a halt in the doorway, closely followed by another, he assumed they would avoid him. These children were small, obviously still in elementary school. So Kugo turned back to the tank to try and spot the flounder again.
Then the small pink one ran up, bouncing on her toes looking excited and not scared of him. She happily asked if he could tell her about the fish. That seemed to let the others (was a small school visiting?) know it was ok, because Kugo suddenly found himself surrounded by small children. He had never had this many willing to talk to him at once before.
Kugo smiled happily, and knelt down. He asked what they know about the ocean. The spiky blonde one loudly proclaimed he knew a lot about sharks. The green one started listing facts about the fish from the old Disney films. It was the most excited he had seen kids about fish in a while, and frankly it was the cutest thing he’d seen in a while.
They asked about specific fish too. The blonde one asked about the Goliath Grouper. The quiet purple one asked Kugo what the flounder was and why it looked like a pancake with a tail. That made Kugo laugh, and he explained why their eyes were only on one side of their head.
It was better than he could have ever asked for.
So of course something had to end that.
“GANG ORCA!”
Kugo immediately tensed, his hero reflexes kicking in as he surveyed the room. Almost everyone was behind him, barring two of the children. The green one and the brown-haired one, and they were both staring at the man now standing in the doorway. The parents were off to the side, though still positioned behind Kugo.
He became all too aware how dangerous this could turn very, very quickly.
Kugo looked the probable-villain over. The man seemed to be wearing some sort of scuba suit. He had on oversized goggles, and a respirator? Either way, his tone was one Kugo recognized. It was one of a villain that thought they had the upper hand.
“Surrender now, and maybe I’ll let the civilians go!”
Kugo narrowed his eyes, edging forward and towards the two children frozen in front of him.
“Why are you here?” He asked calmly, mentally urging the kids to move away.
“I am here to show you there can only be one master of the waters!”
Ah. It’s one of the delusional ones. The type of villain that thinks they can control an element or something, and that that makes them a powerful person. Every hero had one of these at some point. Though it was particularly annoying when they just wanted to cause destruction to get a fleeting minute of fame.
Kugo saw one of the parents pull out their phone from the corner of his eye. Good, they were being smart and calling for police backup. All he had to do was stall and keep the civilians safe. He had only known these children for maybe fifteen minutes, but he was already protective of them.
The green one started whispering to the brown-haired one. She nodded with what looked like determination shining through her fear. Kugo edged closer, finally standing just behind the kids. He hoped he didn’t scare them by trying to move them back. That was the opposite of what he wanted to do.
Without warning, the villain thrust his hand forward. The glass on the tank shuddered, warping inwards. Kugo suddenly had a good idea of what the man’s Quirk was, and he didn’t want to find out just how strong it was.
He went to put a hand out in front of the kids, only to look down and only see one of them. Kugo came very close to swearing in front of the other children.
The green one had moved off to the side, using Kugo to shield himself from the villain’s sight. Normally that would be good. In this instance, the boy was pulling out what looked like a…bunch of small balloons? And some bouncy balls?
“Hey Aquaman!” The girl yelled.
Oh no. Oh nononononono. Kugo tried to stop them one second too late. The green-haired kid, the villain’s attention now away from him and on his friend, threw one of the balloons as hard as he could. It hit the villain right on their head, and it promptly exploded .
It didn’t explode in a ball of fire though, instead, it was followed by a cloud of glitter. Fine silver sparkles that now covered the top half of the villain and refused to move. The rest of the children cheered. Kugo watched as the green-haired child then took two handfuls of bouncy balls and threw them at the disoriented man.
The villain was hit with a dozen things he probably thought were a Quirk. He yelped, and tried to run the other way.
Only to slip and fall.
Kugo was on him in an instant. The man was handcuffed and disarmed before he could use his Quirk again. He couldn’t now, not with the suppressant cuffs on.
The children were huddled around their friend in a group hug. The parents ran forward, scooping him and the brown-haired girl into their arms. It must have been nerve wracking for them. Kugo would have to praise all of them for staying so calm.
The police showed up not two minutes later. They collected the man still coated and blinded by glitter, leaving Kugo free to go and talk to the people who had been in the room.
“Gang Orca! Are you ok, sir?” Was the first thing he heard from the green child.
He paused, before chuckling. “Why not worry about yourself first, little one. That was very brave of you, but I have to ask, why did you have those things in your backpack?”
The last thing Kugo expected was for the child to smile brightly and point to his parents. “Momma and Dad say to be prepared for anything, so I was! I made a glitter bomb and brought it with me! Toshi wanted to bring the bouncy balls so I had them in my backpack.”
“…Young man, how do you know how to make a glitter bomb?”
“Kacchan makes explosions, so I wanted to make my own! And I made it from water balloons and glue!”
“Huh. Well, good job. Though try not to make this a habit, yes?”
“Alright Mr. Gang Orca! Thank you for taking away the bad man!”
“You’re welcome, little one. Have a good day.”
Kugo walked out of the aquarium, seeing the police move in to escort the small class out. He went to give his statement, wondering how on earth a child had known how to take down a villain.
Well, hopefully it didn’t happen again.
~~~~~~~~~~
They were back in the cars before long. Hisashi was driving the little ones this time, while Inko had the others. Well, Fuyumi had switched with Natsuo, so Hisashi had the littles plus one of the teenagers.
None of them spoke until they were a few minutes away from the aquarium. Hisashi had turned on quiet music in the meantime. Inko was a saint for having Disney on the entire way, but they needed a bit of calm right now. He knew all of them were shaken, even Izuku. A villain attack was no laughing matter. The fact that Izuku had been clear headed enough to fight back was a miracle.
“Dad?” His first son spoke up from the backseat. Hisashi glanced in the mirror, seeing him staring down at his hands. “Are you mad?”
“Mad? Izuku, buddy, I’m not mad. I was scared that you were going to get hurt, but I’m so, so proud of you for protecting Ochako, alright? You used what you had to make a plan, and it worked. You’re so smart, Izuku, just try not to put yourself in danger, ok?”
“Ok, Dad.” Izuku sounded much happier now, and an unsaid tension in the car dissipated. “Did…did I do good with the glitter bomb?”
“Of course you did!” Hisashi laughed, Fuyumi giggling quietly in the passenger seat. “Your aim was right on too! Just…try not to make that a normal thing, yeah? We don’t need heroes questioning why a kid is going around glitter bombing villains.”
The entire car started laughing, the image of more villains coated in glitter and glue hilarious to them. It was hilarious to Hisashi too to be honest. Leave it to his son to do something like this. He wouldn’t be surprised if the police knew them by name if Izuku kept getting involved.
Hisashi hoped Izuku didn’t do that though. He had already been through enough villain fights to know his son wasn’t ready yet. Today had been a lucky break since the guy was focused on Gang Orca, but next time Izuku might not get away so cleanly.
Hisashi could hope and pray all he wanted that there wasn’t a next time, but knowing his children, there would be. All Inko and he could do was prepare them. Prepare them the best they could to face the world and the dangers it came with. It’s all any parent can do really.
Though, most probably weren’t retired vigilantes making sure their kids were ready for a world of villains.
Notes:
Me: I’m going to write an entire chapter of fluff and cuteness!
My brain while writing this at midnight: Add angst. And foreshadowing. Cuteness but don’t forget the AngstAlso slight manga spoilers, but everyone is getting a happy ending in this story even the villains because Fuck You Canon
ART I GOT ANOTHER ARTS LOOK WHAT THEY MADE
Both by DaWaeKnower
Badass Lawyer Inko
Toshi FoundNext chapter: Kid number 6! I hope you like them :D
Chapter 30: Thrift Store
Summary:
A new child appears! And someone knows her :)
Notes:
KID #6 TIME
I might have made her arc a long one. And you might be getting more information on the parent vigilantes later. And Ice Mom MAYBE makes an appearance semi-soon
Anyway, I hope you like the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Graduating second grade was exciting for Izuku. They were almost halfway done with elementary school now! Third grade would hopefully be a bit better than second had been. Too many people got big heads and tried to pick on Izuku and his siblings.
He would be fine if it was just him, he could deal with it, but when they went after his siblings? Well, not many of those bullies ever tried things twice.
Izuku had been sad that Tooru had to move, but at least he had his sister now! Mina slotted into their group like she had been there all along. Second grade had been nice with her around. Their teacher was kind to all five of them, even if she always looked tired for some reason.
The small break between years was really fun too! Ochako came over to play more since they weren’t in school for a while. She had a swearing competition with Kacchan in the backyard after he challenged her.
Kacchan lost.
The first day of third grade brought a terrible twist of fate. They were in different classes. Not all of them, but they were being split apart for the first time in forever. Another year meant the school thought it was finally time to separate them.
Toshi and Mina were in one class, and Kacchan and Sho were in another. Izuku…Izuku was by himself. He hadn’t been by himself for years now. It was scary.
His teacher was nice, at least. She didn’t let other kids bully him when she was there. Izuku didn’t chance what would happen when she left, so the second the lunch bell rang he was already halfway out the door.
His family was beneath the same tree as they always were. Izuku smiled, and knew he could get through the year. He would be ok. If he had them by his side, then he would always be fine.
Months passed by. School went as it always did, some days better than others. They all improved with their quirks and fighting skills. Momma had more work and so did Dad. Spring changed to summer and summer to autumn. Izuku filled his brain with more and more knowledge. He was way ahead of his classmates, though his siblings were far from falling behind.
The principal suggested he move up a grade. But that involved leaving his siblings, and he would rather die than do that. Izuku stayed in the class he was in, learning at his own pace outside of school.
Touya was in his second year at Ketsubutsu with Hawks and Rumi now. Hawks liked to randomly pop in. Sometimes Touya wasn’t even there, but they welcomed him anyway. He was a part of the family. Especially after the things Izuku had noticed. Puzzle pieces were easier to connect when you could see the picture they possibly made.
It was nice to know Aniki had a special person though. The two of them reminded Izuku of his Momma and Dad. Hawks liked to give Touya random gifts, just like they did too. He did sometimes snatch Touya and fly off with him, but he wasn’t a roasted bird yet so Izuku figured Aniki was ok with it. They probably went on surprise dates before coming home.
Summer break passed quickly too. Dad got a barbecue that he had yet to use. Izuku wondered how the outcome of that was going to be. He loved his dad, but he wasn’t the best at cooking. Hopefully the gas tank attached wouldn’t get blown up.
They also got to visit Ms. Hisame over summer! All of them had gone a few times before, but summer was when she was allowed to see more people. She would get out in another few months, something everyone was excited about. Izuku really liked Ms. Hisame, especially when she made them ice flowers to play with.
As summer ended, fall took hold. The leaves changed colors and fell off. Izuku liked to crunch them under his feet. They even made a game out of it. Whoever crunched the most leaves got to help Momma scan things. It was something they liked to play when they walked to stores.
Such as right now, when all five of them and Momma were walking to a shopping district to get some clothes. Mina was skipping over the cracks in the sidewalk, Hitoshi doing his best to try and copy her. Shouto had attempted earlier. He was normal walking now.
Their first stop was a thrift store Momma liked. Sometimes they had really cool clothes, and they were less expensive than new ones. With colder weather they all needed at least one thing. Dad said they were growing like weeds, which was usually followed by ruffling their hair and jokingly demand they stop getting taller.
Izuku smiled at the memory, leaping over a crack like Mina had done a second earlier. Shouto eyed them warily, before stepping over it. The shop was just up ahead.
The door chimed merrily as they all filed in. Shouto made a b-line for the brightest color he could see. Mina followed him, the two disappearing into the racks taller than them. Toshi wandered over to the jackets, Kacchan dragging his feet behind him as he walked to the shoes.
Izuku hummed to himself, making his way to the shirts. Maybe he could find one with a hero on it! His Present Mic one from last year was getting small. At least his Eraserhead hoodie still fits.
He sifted through the clothes, grabbing a few to show Momma. Maybe some for his siblings too. Ooh, Kacchan would like that shirt.
Izuku, not paying much attention to his surroundings, accidentally bumped into someone. They were sent reeling away from him and fell to the ground. He yelped, immediately offering a hand to help them up.
“I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going and I didn’t see you and I didn’t think I hit you that hard but are you ok?”
The girl, because now Izuku could see it was a girl maybe his age, blinked up at him. She hesitantly reached out to take his hand, letting Izuku pull her to her feet. She was…lighter than he expected. Even Mina was heavier, and Mina was tiny.
Now that she was standing, Izuku could make out more of her features too. She had long black hair, tied in a ponytail, that looked messy. She had on decent clothes, but they were too big and definitely not suited for the current weather. The girl was also tall, but really scrawny. More than someone their age should be.
Izuku analyzed more details by the second. The dust on her arms. The smudge of blood on her cheek, probably from a bloody nose at some point. The money she was clutching in her hand like it was a lifeline. It could just be that she was poor, but…but Izuku had a feeling that wasn’t true. She held herself different. Like a person expected to hold their head high no matter what.
He didn’t like what it implied.
“Are you ok?” He asked softly. He didn’t want to scare her, especially if she was like Toshi and Ashi.
“Yes, I’m fine.” The girl dusted herself off, smiling shakily. “I just didn’t expect anyone to run into me, that’s all.”
Her voice was smooth, but small. It didn’t help Izuku’s suspicions. Maybe- maybe he could try and help. If only a little bit.
“I’m really sorry about that! Sure you’re ok?”
“I’m alright, thank you.” She glanced at his armful of clothes, currently balanced on one arm, and raised an eyebrow. Somehow she made it look fancy. “How many people are you shopping for?”
“Oh! Well there’s me, and Toshi likes to take my shirts. So does Kacchan, but Mina likes to take from both of us to use as pajamas. Sho steals our bright colors so I found some for him. I wanted to see if I could find something for Natsu too, since he gets a lot of stains. Dad grumbled about them being hard to get out so I wanted to find him more shirts so less stains! What are you getting?”
The girl shook herself from a daze, staring at the ground in front of her. “I need a, um, a new jacket. It’s getting cold, and I need a new one.”
“That’s cool! These are mostly shirts, but I can show you where the jackets are if you want?”
“Um, s-sure.”
Izuku smiled at her, offering his free hand again. She gingerly took it, letting him tug her along the aisle. He knew Toshi was near the jackets, and Shouto had maybe gone over there after looking at other things. Kacchan wouldn’t be, which was…unfortunately probably for the better. If Izuku’s suspicions were correct, it would be better if his brother was warned to be quiet first.
They got to the jacket aisle, and Izuku showed the girl which ones would probably fit her. He looked for his siblings out of the corner of his eye. None of them were there, but he could see Momma’s hair over the top of the racks. She would probably tell them they had to leave soon.
Izuku did actually look for jackets, since he did need a new one. Mostly because Kacchan kept stealing his. Not many of Kacchan’s clothes lasted very long. Or Mina’s…or any of theirs really. They played a lot and came back with holes in their clothes. None of them knew when or how it happened most of the time.
“Izuku?” He looked up, beaming at his mom as she appeared. “Have you found anything you like?”
“I found some shirts! And I’m looking at jackets now.” Izuku saw the girl glanced at Momma, and tense at the sight of her. “And I found a person too! This is, um, I…I didn’t ask you your name.”
“Yaoy- Momo. My name is- is Momo.”
Izuku caught her slip up. Only people with something to hide would stutter on their name. The chances of his theory being wrong shrunk again.
“Momma, this is Momo! She needs new clothes like we do!”
Izuku caught the moment Momma noticed some of the things he did. How Momo was dusty and how her clothes looked too big and herself too skinny.
“Are your parents here, sweetie?”
“Um…n-no. They’re…uh, shopping. In, another store.”
“Ok then. Would you like some help while you wait for them?”
“If…if it wouldn’t be too much t-trouble, ma’am. I can’t…I don’t know what would be best.”
Momma hummed, turning to the racks. Momo glanced at Izuku, and he nodded encouragingly. He felt warm when she moved closer to Momma to look at some of the coats.
Izuku didn’t quite know how to help her yet. Maybe her parents really were nearby and Momo just needed some new clothes. Maybe he wasn’t seeing the signs correctly and she was just someone that played outside a lot. He could only hope that Momma could help if he couldn’t.
“Aunt Inkooooo , Katsuki insulted the clothes I want again. Mina is trying to-“
Shouto stopped when he got close to them. Izuku smiled, about to introduce the person he found. He saw Momo go rigid beside him, and closed his mouth as Shouto opened his.
“Mochan? Is that you?”
“Sh…Shochan?”
And just like that, they were running down the aisle towards the other. When they collided the two of them stumbled, but clung to each other like their lives depended on it. Izuku blinked. The pieces began to stitch themselves together.
Shouto had gone to hero things before getting away from Endeavor. He hardly ever talked about things from that time, but he had mentioned something a few times. Something about the only friend he had was at the otherwise boring events. They hardly ever saw each other, but it was the closest to a friend Shouto had had. He mentioned how he hoped she was doing ok, never saying her name.
This was probably her. Shouto hardly ever hugged people like that.
But why was she here, a likely rich person, in a thrift store looking for second hand clothes?
Momo very abruptly backed up, looking Shouto over critically. “You don’t have any bruises? I thought…”
Shouto grabbed Momo’s hand again, a small smile on his face. She looked at him in surprise. Izuku forgot how rare his smiles were before they took the Hisames in.
“I’m safe now. All four of us are, Mochan. We got- we got away. We ran away and- and Izuku found us. Aunt Inko and Uncle Hisashi made sure he can’t touch us again. We’re safe now, Mochan.”
“Oh. Oh that’s wonderful, Shochan. I was- I was so worried. Your father never told us anything about where any of you went. Mommy and Papa w-wouldn’t tell me anything ei-either. I thought- I thought you were d-dead or something.”
“Not dead,” Shouto chuckled, turning to Izuku to wave him closer. “Did Izuku find you too?”
“I found her looking for shirts!” Izuku happily chirped, walking over to stand near Shouto. “Is she like you, Sho?”
“Does he…”
“He’s safe, Mochan. Are…are you ok?”
Momo faltered. Her expression switched between emotions so fast that Izuku couldn’t read them. The hand not in Shouto’s started shaking, before she clenched it into a fist. She grit her teeth, staring at the floor.
“I…I’m…I don’t know, Shochan. My parents never did- did anything like E-Endeavor.”
“But you ran, didn’t you? That’s why you’re here,” Izuku said quietly, inching closer to Momo. “Not all abuse is physical, Momo. Even if it only hurts your mind, it still hurts.”
Momo, still staring at the ground, wrapped an arm around her stomach. Izuku could see just how small she was. People weren’t supposed to be that skinny, especially kids.
“I…I can’t tell you. N-not here at- at least.”
Izuku felt a spark of hope, and spun on his heel. He almost ran into Momma, who was watching curiously from a distance. Shouto was looking in their direction with determination lighting his gray and blue eyes.
“Momma,” Izuku whispered, silently asking her to lean down so he could whisper in her ear. “Momma, she’s like Sho. She- she ran away too, and they were friends. Can we take her home? Please?”
Momma glanced up at Momo and Shouto, expression never shifting from curious and neutral. “Of course we can, as long as Ms. Momo is ok with it. Any idea where your other siblings are?”
“Kacchan is probably still looking at shoes. Sho said something about Mina, and Toshi was supposed to be over here but he’s not.”
“Ok then. You go find them, and I’ll talk to Momo and Shouto, alright?”
“Alright, Momma. I’ll be back super fast!”
Izuku ran off, skidding around corners to try and find his siblings quickly. He found Hitoshi first, since he was actually just an aisle down still looking at sweaters. One sibling collected, Izuku just followed the sound of yelling.
Kacchan and Mina were swiftly corralled and herded back to Momma. Izuku told them to not be too loud, which obviously confused them, but they listened anyway.
They hesitated for all of a second when they saw Momo and Shouto holding hands. Seeing as Shouto only held hands with people in their family, they instantly knew this was someone Shouto trusted. If he trusted her then they could too.
Kacchan turned to Izuku, a blank look on his face. “Are you sure your Quirk isn’t fucking Sad People Finder instead of Analysis or some shit? Because this is the third time you’ve found a sad person we’re going to take home like a stray cat or something.”
Izuku sputtered as Katsuki calmly walked down the aisle to Momma. Mina smiled, dragging him along behind her. Toshi followed, hardly batting an eye at his siblings’ antics.
~~~~~~~~~~
Shouto remembered Momo.
He remembered how she was the only kid his age at one of the rich people galas. He remembered that she had been actually nice to him, and seemed determined to crack through his shy, icy shell. She had succeeded too.
He remembered how they were each other’s only friend. How they actually started looking forward to fancy events just to see each other. Shouto remembered how worried she was when the bruises started appearing.
He remembered being thankful she didn’t have to go through the same thing.
Now here he was, more than a year later, finding out that wasn’t entirely true.
Shouto wanted to scream. He wanted to cry and freeze something solid and curse the world for hurting the one person outside his siblings that had been nice to him. Of all the people. Out of every person in the world, why did it have to be Mochan that got hurt?
She looked so…small. Smaller than anyone Shouto knew should be. Momo was always so bright too. Now? Now she looked weary. Like something was dragging her down.
Shouto wanted to help her. He wondered if this is how Zuku felt when he saw them. If it was, then it wasn’t a mystery why he insisted on taking them home from that alley. Why he had forgiven Katsuki so quickly and embraced the others with open arms.
The rest of the siblings appeared at the end of the aisle. They were all gathered by Izuku for now. Katsuki and Mina weren’t jumping around, so Izuku had definitely warned them about Momo. A bit, at least.
“Shouto, who are they?” Mochan whispered, shuffling closer to him.
“They’re my brothers and sister. That’s Katsuki, Mina is dragging Izuku, and that’s Hitoshi. They won’t hurt you.”
“Ok.”
“Alright then,” Aunt Inko caught their attention, “let’s go pay for what we have, and then we can head home, ok?”
There was a chorus of agreements. Shouto didn’t let go of Momo’s hand.
They walked out with fewer bags than they expected, ready to head home instead of doing more shopping. Shouto knew Izuku was keeping an eye on them, but was keeping his distance. He appreciated it. He did also want him to be nearby though, because Shouto had absolutely no idea what he was doing.
Momo squeezed his hand tightly as they left the store and headed down the street. She was nervous. Shouto was too, but mostly because he was worried about her. Just what had happened since he left?
It didn’t matter, he decided. The only important thing is that she was safe now. They could keep her safe. It was like Izuku always said.
No one left behind.
Notes:
My daughter is here!! Momo!! I Love Her!!! Poor baby doesn't deserve what I put her through in the next few chapters :(
Uraraka appears again soon too!! Gremlin wildfire drags Momo into some shenanigans that I'm looking forward toI hope you all have a good day/night!! I love you <3
Chapter 31: Chamomile
Summary:
Momo!!
You're gonna want to punch her parents even more now
Notes:
Helloooo amazing people I love you
School has decided it is a LOVELY idea to pile on a ton of work before it's even finals month, so after next week update schedule might space out a tiny bit, depending on how much work I have. We'll see how that goes
Also just a tiny note, I don’t actually know if Japanese houses usually have coffee tables?? So please ignore that if that's not true and pretend Hisashi wanted one because he saw them in America and liked them
WARNING: Very heavily implied emotion abuse and denial that it is in fact abuse.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Momo didn’t know what to make of the Midoriyas.
The green one, Izuku, seemed kind. He was nice, if smarter than she expected him to be. The purple-haired one was quiet. The pink (literally, she was pink. Momo was still thinking on that) one was…nice. She was excitable, but seemed to be restraining herself in front of Momo. Same with the blonde one that swore a lot. So far Momo had heard more swears from him in a few minutes than she had in her whole life.
Then there was Shouto. Her best friend that had disappeared off the face of the earth. No one ever told her anything about what had happened to him. They refused to, saying it wasn’t her concern and that it was handled. She had been naive to believe them.
He was ok though. Both him and his siblings. The Midoriyas had taken them in and given them a home. A good one. It was- it was good. She was happy for him. They had gone through so much abuse. After everything, the four of them deserved a good family.
She wondered if she could have that one day too.
Momo shook her head subtly, hoping no one noticed. She couldn’t wish. She had never been as bad off as Shouto. Nothing had happened to give her bruises and near broken limbs.
( But you are still hurt , her mind hissed, your mind has been scarred, not your skin )
(She ignored it)
Shouto squeezed her hand again. He had been doing that since they’d started walking away from the store. Just squeezing her hand every once in a while. Momo squeezed back. It was strangely comforting.
They travelled a few blocks to the neighborhoods. Momo didn’t recognize anything, but she hadn’t expected to. The others ran ahead, making a sharp turn to sprint up to a specific house. She watched as they flung the door open and barreled inside.
Momo hung back behind Mrs. Midoriya, not knowing what was allowed here. Evidently more than her home had, but she would rather not risk stepping out of line.
Shouto still hadn’t let go of her hand. He led her to the house, taking off his shoes at the door and neatly putting them on the rack that was nearby. Momo followed his example, finally letting his hand go.
Shouto walked into the living room, heading straight for the couch and flopping onto it. Momo glanced around, seeing people scattered…just about everywhere. There were two going outside, another jumping up the stairs, one more in the kitchen, and yet another walking down the hallway.
It was…lively. Momo had never seen a house so busy. Except for places where a gala was held, but those were mansions, and this was just one family.
She carefully sat on the couch near Shouto. He sat up, sinking into the back cushions, and sighed contently. Momo watched him curiously. This Shouto was so different from the one she had known. It meant he was getting better though, and she was proud of him.
Mrs. Midoriya came in a moment later. She was a kind looking woman. Nothing like Momo’s own mom. Her mother was colder than some people, but she still loved Momo. She knew she did. She- she did, even if she was nothing like Mrs. Midoriya or Mrs. Todoroki.
“Would you two like some tea?”
Momo tilted her head. She had never been allowed to have the tea her parents bought. They said it didn’t have enough good things in it for her quirk to work. It was also expensive. They shouldn’t waste it on her.
But…if Mrs. Midoriya was offering…maybe it was ok?
“Um, if it- if it wouldn’t b-be too much trouble.”
Mrs. Midoriya smiled, something Momo wasn’t expecting. “Of course it isn’t, dear. I’ll be right back.”
She left the room. Momo could hear her shuffling around the kitchen, the noise muffled. Shouto was still becoming one with the couch. Momo turned to him, confusion painted on her face.
“Are they…?”
“They’re normally like this, yes,” Shouto answered without hearing her full question. He was smiling though. Momo still wasn’t used to it, but it was a good change from before. “And they aren’t lying or hiding or anything. I’ve been living with them for two years now, Mochan, and they’re really nice. They aren’t like the people your parents warned us about.”
Momo remembered the lectures her parents had given the two of them. Though sometimes it was only her. They all followed the same script. People were after their wealth and power, and would try to hurt them. They couldn’t trust people because they were greedy, and would take advantage of them. That had been a lesson repeated since they were tiny.
“Shochan how did- why did, um, h-how-“
“Mochan, breathe.”
Momo didn’t realize how shallow her breathing had gotten. She took a deep breath, staring down at her lap again. When had her vision become blurry?
Mrs. Midoriya’s voice snapped her back into focus.
“I don’t know what kind of tea you like, sweetie, so I got you some chamomile.”
Momo took the mug being offered to her, cradling it in her hands. It was warm. Shochan was handed a cup too, though it looked different than hers. His tea looked more pink than hers too. She wondered what made it look that way.
Mrs. Midoriya knelt at the coffee table across from them, a mug of her own in front of her. Momo watched her cautiously, but took a sip of her tea anyway.
It was delicious. Momo smiled, the first time she had in awhile, and drank more. Then she heard Shochan laugh, and jumped. She quickly made sure none of her tea had spilled, before turning to halfheartedly glare at him.
“It’s ok, Mochan, you just look really happy about the tea.”
“Well…it’s very good tea.”
“Thank you, dear,” Mrs. Midoriya hummed, smiling into her cup.
The sitting room was quiet. Momo kept sipping her tea, staring down and not at the two other people in the room. She…she needed to say something. She had to. Shouto deserved to know, and the silence felt bad.
Mrs. Midoriya beat her to it though.
“Momo, why are you not with your parents?”
She winced, despite her efforts not to. Her parents weren’t as bad as Shochan’s were. They never had been, but they were still…not good. Momo had ran because she couldn’t take it anymore. Hurting on the streets would be less painful than hurting with her family.
“I…I ran away. Like Shochan.”
“Mochan, why did you run away? Did- did your parents get worse?”
“They didn’t hit me.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
They both stared the other down. Momo looked away first, gaze returning to her lap.
“They…they made me m-make things. Jewels s-sometimes, but they wanted me to m-make money. It h- it hurt if I didn’t eat before they asked.”
“And that’s why you left?”
Momo felt paralyzed at those words. Bad memories bubbled to the surface like boiling oil. She didn’t realize her eyes were watering until Shouto grabbed her hand again.
“That’s…that’s not the only reason why I- why I left.”
“Mochan?”
“They tried- they wanted to arrange a quirk- a quirk m-marriage. Not with yo- you but with a- with another p-person.”
“Your parents tried to force you into a quirk marriage?” Mrs. Midoriya’s tone was sharp. It was cold and hard as diamond, but just as breakable as one too. “Momo, are you the same age as Shouto?”
“I’m- I’m younger by a f-few months, but yes.”
Mrs. Midoriya was glaring at the table, then sighed. Her shoulders slumped as she took a deep breath.
“Your family name wouldn’t happen to be Yaoyorozu, would it?”
Momo went rigid. She knew her parents had a lot of fame attached to their name, but she didn’t. They kept her out of the public eye. No one should know who she was.
“It is,” Shouto answered for her.
“Oh dear. Well isn’t this a coincidence then.”
Momo looked up, curious and confused. Mrs. Midoriya’s gaze softened when she looked at Momo. Shouto grabbed her hand again.
“I never told Shouto or his siblings this, but I got a call from who I believe is your mother after their custody was given to us. They asked- they asked if I would be interested in a-“ Mrs. Midoriya seemed to choke on the words. “A quirk marriage, between you and Shouto. I hung up before they could say anything else.”
Oh. Oh, of course they had done that. Even without being rich, Shouto still had an amazing Quirk. The perfect heir to their wealth alongside her.
Momo would have been fine if it was Shouto. They were best friends, so it wouldn’t have been as bad. Marrying your best friend was what people were supposed to do, right? Even if it was forced on them. At least then it would’ve been with someone she knew.
Then he ran away. She didn’t blame him, never could and never will. But when Mrs. Midoriya told her parents no, they found someone else. Someone Momo had never met a day in her life.
It had terrified her. So she ran away too, not knowing where Shouto had gone or where she herself would go. All she knew was that she had to get away. That she couldn’t be married to someone and not know who they were.
So she ran.
It had somehow led to here. Momo crying on a stranger’s couch, her best friend at her side once more. He was safe, this family seemed nice, and she wasn’t with her parents. Even if she had to go back to sleeping in parks then she’d be fine. At least she knew he was safe.
She would be fine.
“Mochan’s staying.”
Momo looked over at Shochan, vision still blurry with tears. Mrs. Midoriya made a noise of agreement.
“Well she’s certainly not going back to the streets.” Mrs. Midoriya got to her feet, slowly moving to sit beside Momo. A gentle hand rested itself on her shoulder. “As long as you want to stay, sweetie, you can. All of us would love to have you.”
Momo felt even more tears drop from her eyes, and she was moving before she could stop herself. She buried her face in Mrs. Midoriya’s shirt, body shaking with sobs. Arms wrapped around her securely. Momo realized she couldn’t remember feeling this safe around someone for a while now.
“I- I can t-tell you-“
“Shh, shh, it’s ok. You don’t have to tell us. As long as you’re safe, then it doesn’t matter if we know everything.”
Momo nodded, blindly grabbing for Shouto and pulling him into the hug too. His sides were two different temperatures, just like she remembered. It was comforting.
Momo wondered how she had gotten so lucky. Even after everything, she had found her best friend. She was in a house with a family that was apparently letting her stay. It felt too good to be true.
“You’re ok now, Mochan. You’re safe now.”
She nodded, for once believing it was true.
Notes:
Some of you got close to guessing what happens to Momo's parents for the Midoriyas to gain custody, but no one was entirely correct :)
THERE'S! AN! ART! Look at it it's so cute
Can we keep her?! (By Pipinloco)
Chapter 32: Dos
Summary:
Momo gets used to being around so many people, stressed but badass Inko, and Hisashi being a badass bean too
Notes:
Hello fellow people in quarantine!
Just wanna make this super clear from last chapter, but they weren’t marrying Momo off at how young she is, just arranging it. Still horrible people doing a vile thing, but even they aren’t that level of bad.
ANYWAY, switching to finals update schedule because school is drowning me in work. Next chapter will be posted in two weeks!
Also is the chapter title a joke on the sequel to Uno as well as other references in the chapter? Yes, yes it is
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Inko was angry. Not at the children, of course not. No, it was directed at herself.
She should have listened. The Yaoyorozu’s call had enraged her, made her see red, but she should have listened. Of course a quirk marriage meant another child. A child whose rich parents were willing to marry her off once she was old enough, not taking her feelings into consideration. Inko should have guessed and done research. She could have done something .
Being angry wouldn’t help right now though. Momo was here, and she wasn’t going anywhere. Not unless she wanted to. Inko had no idea what her parents had done to her, but she knew it wasn’t good. The girl had emphasized that they never hit her, but that didn’t mean they weren’t abusive. Hopefully Momo knew that. If she didn’t, then maybe they could show her. A good example could go a long way.
Inko really hoped her anger wasn’t showing through though. At least the kids weren’t around to see it at the moment. Shouto had taken Momo on a tour of the house. The other kids were probably following after them in a little pack, or playing games in their room so Shouto could have more time with his friend.
Inko sighed, running a hand through her green hair. She grabbed her phone, calling a number on autopilot. It rang three times. She was fully prepared to leave a message, expecting Hisashi to not have his phone on him.
Except that he picked up. She could question him later, but for now she just felt relieved.
“Hello my love, what did our kids do this time?”
Inko laughed, a knot in her chest loosening at just hearing Hisashi’s voice. They had been married for nearly ten years now, and he has never lost the ability to calm her down with a few words.
“Did a teacher call about them smuggling in sweets again? I thought they already used their limit for this year. Then again I wouldn’t put it past Hitoshi to bring chocolate or something if one of them was feeling bad. Or was it-“
“Hisashi, darling, you’re mumbling again.”
“Ah! Whoops, sorry love. Anyway, what happened? You hardly ever call me at work.”
“I can ask why you have your phone later, but we have another one.”
“Hitoshi brought home another cat? Or is it a raccoon this time?”
“Not an animal,” Inko laughed, remembering the few times her children had come home with cats, dogs, and things that looked like a mix of both. “A child.”
The other line was silent for a moment. “So you…found another…kid?”
“Izuku did. She’s…she’s Shouto’s old friend. The- the one whose parents called me.”
Hisashi went silent again. He knew about the call, how could he not? Inko had kept plenty of secrets before, but not from him. Besides the fact that keeping one like this would have driven her mad. He was happy to listen to her rant, calming her from tears when words became too much.
“How soon can we adopt her?”
“That’s the problem Hisashi, we can’t.” Inko spat the words like they tasted especially bitter. Saying it out loud felt like admitting defeat. “The Yaoyorozu’s have too much influence, not to mention money.”
“But you took down Endeavor,” he pointed out. “Why are they different?”
“Because this family has a relatively clean trail. Even with evidence, they have enough money to pay off the judge without a hassle. Endeavor didn’t because he had the Commission and some of the public watching him, but the Yaoyorozu’s don’t. It would be easy for them to take their daughter back, especially since most of the world doesn’t know she exists yet.”
“Soooooo…what now?”
“I don’t- I don’t know. We can’t keep her under her family name or else the authorities will find her, but I’m not letting her go back. Hisashi, they made her create things. I have no idea what that means for her but she said it hurt sometimes. I won’t force her to stay with us, but she can’t go back to them.”
“Alright then, love, how will we do this? We can…well, we can cash in a favor we have with Niseru?”
Inko very nearly swore out loud. Right, they still had…two. Two favors from their old contact. Now would probably be a good time to use one. Inko hoped they would never need the second, but knowing their family, they would one day.
“…How long would it take?”
“Two weeks, possibly three with how long filing things and hacking that level of security takes,” Hisashi answered, rustling around with something on his end.
“Alright. Yes. We’ll call Niseru, see how fast he can forge the documents. We need- we need to ask Momo first though. Maybe tonight after you get home.”
“She’ll be ok, love. Whatever she chooses to do, we’ll make sure she’s ok.”
“I- I know.” Inko croaked a laugh, a sudden thought striking her. It made her smile wistfully into the speaker. “You know, I never thought this would be our life. I thought maybe two or three kids and a nice small house.”
“Yeah,” Hisashi chuckled. “And now we have eight kids, maybe nine by the end of the month….is that…is that a bad thing?”
“Never. I love our kids and everything we’ve done, I just never expected to have all of this. It’s more than I could have ever wished for.”
“I know what you mean,” Hisashi said in a way that Inko just knew he was smiling softly too. “I have to go, love, but I should be home on time. Make sure the kids don’t scare Natsuo into making another exploding crystal ball.”
“I will. Stay safe, darling.”
“Always.”
Inko put the phone down when Hisashi hung up, already feeling better. They would be ok. They would protect Momo, even if she couldn’t legally be theirs. By legitimate means at least. Even if it took forging documents and changing her name, they would make sure Momo was safe.
Inko sighed, shaking her head sharply. The children’s laughter drifted down from upstairs, making Inko smile once again. With renewed determination, she sat down at her computer to do some research. After all, you have to know your enemy to fight them.
And Inko was going to dredge up every last dirty scrap she could get her hands on.
~~~~~~~~~~
Momo was…a tad bit confused. Just a little bit.
Maybe a lot.
Shouto was different, but she was happy about that. He was more open and was actually smiling. Momo hadn’t seen his other siblings yet, the blood related ones, but she hoped they were healing too.
No, what confused her were the other kids.
They weren’t especially loud, which she was thankful for, but they were…weird. Not a bad weird, per say, but still odd. They were always touching in some way. She hadn’t been around them long, but she had noticed some things between the thrift store and Shouto giving her a tour of their house.
Mina, the pink one that looked a bit like she had been dunked in a vat of dye, clung onto one of the boys’ arms a lot. Izuku was either leaning his head on someone or tapping a rhythm on their arms. The blonde one looked like he was begrudgingly accepting all of the attention, but Momo saw through him the second he draped himself over Mina like an oversized cat. Then there was the purple one. He was just outright leaning onto whoever was closest, nearly falling asleep from the looks of it.
It was all confusing. Momo had never seen people be so touchy-feely. She had never been allowed that with anyone, besides maybe Shochan. But that was only on the occasion they could escape their parents for a few minutes, so it was an odd thing to witness as an outsider.
Though it did make a bit more sense after Shouto had showed her around the house. He had started with downstairs, and that was easy to remember. Upstairs was next, and that was…interesting.
Momo had been expecting quite a few rooms. There were a lot of kids, so probably multiple rooms with at least two of them in each one.
Then she discovered that wasn’t true. There was Mrs. and Mr. Midoriya’s room, which was normal. Then the twins had a room, and Natsuo had his own one. That was a bit of a surprise, but not an especially large one when Momo remembered his snoring and the twins’ closeness.
What was a shock though, was Shouto’s room. Or, well, his lack of one. He apparently shared it with the other five their age. It was the biggest room, but still. Momo had never had to share a room. She couldn’t imagine what it was like sharing with one person, let alone this many.
It did explain why they were all so close though. Momo only saw two, maybe three, beds. One was a big one, and the other looked like two pushed together but she wasn’t completely sure. That did mean most of them shared though. She wondered what it was like. Probably uncomfortable, seeing how many heat sources there would be in one place. But...she couldn't deny that it did sound nice, if only on cold nights.
None of the others had tagged along to show Momo around, instead all staying in their room to give the two space. The scene she walked in on though was…odd. Katsuki was laying on what Momo assumed was his bed while reading a book. Mina was laying on top of him while reading her own. She was squinting at it, likely stuck on a word she didn’t understand.
Izuku was sitting on the other bed. Across from him was Hitoshi, the two seemingly debating about something. A notebook was sitting between them. Momo could just barely make out a drawing surrounded by lines of writing.
Shouto gently pulled Momo towards Izuku and Hitoshi. The two looked up, already smiling at them. Momo wondered if that was just their default expression.
“Hi Momo! Hi Sho! Do you two want to play a game with me and Toshi?” Izuku asked, putting away his journal.
“No battleships,” Shochan said immediately.
“No battleships,” Hitoshi agreed.
“Fine, no battleships. How about…Uno?”
Momo felt herself brighten. That was one of the few games she had played before. One of her old babysitters had brought the cards a few times. She hoped she still remembered how to play.
“Kacchan! Mina! Wanna play Uno?”
Momo blinked, and suddenly there was a pink person sitting beside Hitoshi. She blinked a few more times, just to be sure she hadn’t imagined it. Katsuki got up and took a place slower than his sister. Shouto tugged on Momo’s arm gently, reminding her she was still standing.
The two sat on the bed in the places that had been left for them. The six of them formed a circle, the deck balancing precariously on a book in the center. Izuku started to deal out the starting cards.
“We’re using the same rules as last time. No exploding, melting, freezing, or burning the cards. No brainwashing people into taking more cards. Also no tackling another person to try and see their cards.” Izuku sent pointed looks at every person in turn. Momo guessed it had something to do with their Quirks. “We go until someone has no cards. Winner gets to choose their dessert first. Ready?”
Momo raised an eyebrow at the terms, but stayed silent. She took her cards, keeping the people next to her from looking at them.
She had a feeling this game was going to be extremely interesting
“Kacchan, we said no exploding the cards!”
“I’m not!”
“Mina, you can’t swap the card because you don’t like it.”
“Izuchan, no peeking.”
“I’m not, Kacchan.”
“Liar.”
“Zu, you said no tackling people!”
“ How did I get another card?! I swore I only had three!”
Momo pursed her lips to stop herself from smiling.
“Pinky if you do that one more time I swear to fuck-“
“Stop cursing, Kat.”
“Fuck you, Eyebags.”
“Mochan, how many cards do you have?”
“Two.”
“How the fuck, Ponytail.”
“My name is Momo?”
“Kacchan likes to give nicknames,” Izuku explained, holding his cards out of Mina’s reach, but into Hitoshi’s eyesight on accident. “You have a ponytail, so I guess he chose that to base the name off of.”
“Oh…alright.”
“UNO!”
“Ashi, we can see the cards you’re sitting on.”
“Crap.”
“Uno.”
“FUCK!”
“Shit.”
“Mina!”
“I’m sorry! I learned it from Kitty, blame him.”
“Mochan wins.”
“Good job, Momo!”
Momo flushed, ducking her head. She had apparently won by a lot. Well, on everyone but Izuku. He had three cards left. Katsuki had five, Mina somewhere between ten and fifteen, and Shouto had half the deck.
All of them were smiling and congratulating her. Shouto threw his cards at Katsuki after he made a comment on how many he had. Mina squealed and threw her own at Shouto. Izuku was laughing, shielding his face with his arms.
Truly, what an odd family. Did all siblings argue like this? She was a bit confused on that. Momo had never been around people that acted like this, after all. Maybe normal families were like this? Rich ones weren’t, at the very least.
Then Momo was hit with a small stack of flying cards. Everyone in the room froze simultaneously.
Well…maybe, maybe she could have a bit of fun while she was here.
She scooped up a handful of cards, and in one fluid motion, threw them at everyone.
The squeals echoed downstairs. Laughter and joy lit up the halls. In the kitchen, unseen by anyone, Inko smiled. She silently repeated a vow she had made to them all a long time ago; that she would protect them no matter what.
Momo didn’t know it yet, but later she would decide Izuku finding her in that thrift store was the best decisions of her life. It could only be tied with running away. Families stuck together, she would learn.
And she was part of the Midoriya family now, whether she knew it yet or not.
~~~~~~~~~~
Inko was standing a bit down the hall when she saw Momo. The girl was hovering in the doorway to the kids’ room, looking hesitant and unsure. The little ones were already dressed for bed, even Momo. She was wearing a pair of Mina’s very bright but very fuzzy pajamas.
It took a moment for Inko to realize that no one had told Momo where she would be sleeping. She sighed softly, walking down the hall with footsteps just loud enough to be heard.
Momo looked over at her, expression screaming that she was lost on what to do. She stared at Inko like a deer in the headlights. It took her a second, but she managed to get out the words she wanted to say.
“I don’t- Where d-do you want me to sleep, Mrs. Midoriya?”
Inko’s gaze softened as she looked down at the girl too small for her age. “You can sleep on a futon if you would like to, but you can also share one of the beds if you want. Shouto sleeps with Izuku and Hitoshi in the bigger bed on the right. I can ask Touya to bring in the futon if you want that too, it’s no trouble.”
Momo’s eyes flitted between the room and Inko. She shifted her weight from foot to foot, looking hesitant.
“Can I…is that really alright? I-If I share a bed w-with Shochan, I mean.”
“Of course, sweetie. I know how comforting it is to have someone close after just getting them back. Just make sure it’s ok with the other two, then go to sleep. You look like you need some rest.”
She really did. The poor girl looked almost dead on her feet. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if Momo hadn’t been sleeping well. On top of whatever dietary issues she had, sleeping on the streets didn’t exactly let a person feel rested. Maybe her sons could help her get a good night’s rest. Cuddling was proven to help people sleep, after all.
“Al-alright. Thank you, Mrs. Midoriya.”
“It’s no trouble, Momo. Go get some sleep.”
Momo walked into the room, a new purpose in her step. Inko smiled, and went to get ready for the night as well. Looks like they would need more help with breakfast tomorrow.
Inko woke up alongside Hisashi. He practically skipped downstairs, ever the morning bird and excited to make food for their newest addition. Momo had met him the night before, though they hadn’t yet brought up the change in custody. Better to let her settle in a bit first.
She went to check on the kids before following her husband, yawning as she silently made her way down the hall. Touya and Fuyumi were already up, albeit groggy. Natsuo was still sleeping like a log.
Inko very quietly peaked into the small kids’ room, and smiled softly at the scene. All of the kids had migrated to one bed at some point in the night. Probably Mina sleepily dragging a too-tired-to-explode Katsuki over to the other bed.
Momo was at the bottom of a cuddle pile. Shouto was curled up at her side, an arm thrown over her shoulders. Izuku was using her back as a pillow, and Hitoshi was just outright laying across her legs. Mina was on Momo’s other side, sleeping in a ball like a kitten. Katsuki was being used as a pillow for Hitoshi and a blanket for Mina. All of the actual sheets had been discarded into the floor.
Inko took a few pictures, and then went downstairs. She showed Hisashi what she had seen, causing him to smile.
“The first of many,” he said, laying his head on top of Inko’s.
Inko couldn’t help believing that would be true.
Notes:
Seeing how many of you love Hisashi is so heartwarming, so I hope you all liked this chapter with him too!
Remember that the next chapter is in two weeks instead of one
THERE'S ANOTHER ADORABLE ART LOOK
Family Cuddle Pile! (by GracefulRavenFeathers42)
Chapter 33: Crepes Are Not Pancakes, Izuku
Summary:
Fluff. Literally just so much fluff. And the customary first breakfast where the kid is Very Confused but it's adorable
Notes:
Hello to all you amazing people! Happy Mothers Day!
This chapter and the next two I think are mostly fluff because we all some cuteness. I hope you like it!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Izuku woke up like he always did. It was warm, and peaceful. There was a weight settled over his back, though he couldn’t really tell if it was a blanket or one of his siblings, since he wasn’t fully awake yet. His consciousness was floating somewhere between wakefulness and dreamland.
The weight on top of Izuku shifted, telling him it was a person and not a blanket. Whoever it was grumbled, rolling off of Izuku. He heard a yelp and a thump a second later.
Izuku shot up, nothing holding him down now. He hurriedly looked over the edge of their bed, which felt a bit cramped right now with six people, to see who had fallen off.
Katsuki had been the one to fall. He sort of just laid there for a minute, staring up at the ceiling. Izuku blinked down at him.
“Kacchan? You ok?” Izuku whispered, mindful of his other siblings still sleeping soundly.
“‘M fine. Stupid fuckin’ bed’s too small.”
Izuku giggled quietly, navigating his way through the maze of limbs. They really were going to need more room to sleep once they adopted Momo. And he knew they would adopt her. He didn’t know how he knew, he just did.
His feet hit the ground, muffled by his socks. Izuku offered a hand to Katsuki, who didn’t hesitate to take it. He pulled his brother to his feet, beckoning for him to follow. The two walked downstairs with hardly a sound.
“Think Momo will want pancakes?” Izuku asked as they quietly jumped down the stairs.
“She probably hasn’t had ‘em before. Being rich means fancy fucking food.”
“But pancakes are fancy!”
“The skinny ones with berries are crepes, Izuchan, not pancakes. Those are what fancy people eat.”
“They’re still pancakes.”
“You have a whole-ass analysis Quirk and you still can’t tell the difference between similar foods.”
Their banter dissolved into poking the other’s sides in an attempt to get them to laugh. It continued until they were practically sprinting into the kitchen, the sound of someone already awake drifting over to them.
“Dad!” Izuku quietly yelled. “Can we please have pancakes?”
“Sure thing, buddy,” Dad laughed, reaching down to ruffle Izuku’s hair. Katsuki begrudgingly allowed his hair to be touched too. “No one else up yet?”
“Nope! Kacchan fell off the bed.”
“Did he now?”
Katsuki trudged his way over to the table, mumbling a halfhearted “fuck you.” Dad laughed, getting started on the pancake batter. Izuku peeked over the counter as much as his little self could.
“Hey Dad?”
“Yeah, buddy?”
“How are we all gonna fit in our room now? We all tried to sleep in one bed and Kacchan fell off. I was laying on Momo and so was Toshi.”
“Hm…well, I guess we’ll work that out eventually. We could always just put a bunch of mattresses on the floor like when we first moved here.”
“Ok,” Izuku hummed. “Can I help with pancakes?”
“Sure thing, bud. Katsuki, you want to help too?”
Kacchan hopped off his seat and rocketed himself onto the counter. He almost fell off, but proudly stuck the landing. Gliding was something he had been practicing. Izuku was so proud of his brother. He was proud of all his siblings really.
They were all so amazing, and Izuku was really excited about their improvement. He was improving too, though there was only so much his quirk could be improved. His analysis was getting faster and more accurate though. It was helpful that Dad trained with him. He even said that Izuku would be better than him soon!
One day, he was going to be a hero. A hero that saved everyone , not just the people caught in villain attacks. He would get stronger, and smarter, and faster until he could save everyone. There can’t be villains if you help the people who turn into them.
Until then, he would protect what he had. No one messed with his family, not without him having a say in it. Izuku would protect them. No matter what.
~~~~~~~~~~
Mina woke up clinging to someone. That in itself was normal, but it was the person she was clinging to that was different. Katsuki ran warm because of his Quirk, but this person didn’t.
She shifted, carefully moving just enough so she could open her eyes and see who it was. A leg was flung over her back, so she couldn’t go especially far. Mina cracked open her eyes, squinting against the morning sunlight. It was then that she remembered yesterday.
Right, Zuzu had found another person. Her name was Momo and she had been Shouto’s friend before he ran away. Touya and Fuyumi had very nearly started crying when they first saw her yesterday. Natsuo almost hugged the air out of her too. Shouto refused to let go of her hand most of the day.
Mina had dragged Katsuki over to the other bed to cuddle with everyone. She was a very touchy-feely person, and Momo looked like she needed cuddles. It had been dark, but they all fit somehow. Right now though, it looked like they were missing Katsuki. Izuku too.
She wiggled out from under Hitoshi’s leg and onto the floor. Even after living with the Midoriyas for so long, she still walked silently. It was a hard habit to break. Perfect for sneaking up on her brothers though.
Mina crept out of the room, not wanting to wake anyone else up. Some of them could sleep through a train thundering past, but others woke up at their door creaking open, so she made sure to be careful.
She heard people on her way downstairs. One sounded like Dad-Sashi, joined by Katsuki’s muffled yelling. Ooh they were probably making breakfast!
Worry about noise was immediately abandoned as Mina, still relatively quietly, ran down the stairs. Laughter met her when she reached the ground floor. Momma Inko was sitting on the couch, calmly sipping her coffee as she read through a paper. She looked up when Mina came down the stairs with a smile.
“Good morning, Momma Inko,” Mina chirped, jumping onto the couch beside her mom.
“Morning to you too, Mina,” Momma Inko laughed, sipping her coffee again. “The boys are making pancakes if you want to help them.”
“Ooh, yeah! I’m gonna go help.”
“Make sure they don’t get batter on the ceiling again.”
Mina giggled, tiptoeing into the kitchen. Dad-Sashi was awesome, but he couldn’t cook. Well, he sorta could, but not too well. Pancakes were one of the only things he never seemed to burn. A hard earned skill, she had been told.
She turned the corner and saw a tiny bit of chaos. Dad-Sashi was at the counter flipping a pancake while still mixing another bowl. Izuku seemed to be more flour than person. He was sitting on the counter, pouring milk into the bowl that was being mixed. Katsuki was laughing maniacally at the table, his hands coated in flour and burnt batter.
Izuku was the first to notice her. He finished what he was doing, beaming in her direction. Mina returned it, moving farther into the kitchen. Katsuki stopped laughing long enough to ask why she was awake.
“‘Cause you guys are loud,” was her answer. Blasty snorted.
“You were dead to the world when I fell off the fucking bed.”
“Don’t be mean, Kacchan,” Izuku called, not looking up from dumping something in the bowl. “You wanna help, Ashi?”
Mina felt warm and fuzzy like she always did when someone called her a nickname. Her last name was something she loved now. She loved both her names. They made her happy, and nicknames were something she loved even more.
“Sure! Pancakes?”
“Yep!” Dad-Sashi answered, lifting his spatula as if to show her. “Why don’t you come and stir this. Katsuki got a bit too…enthusiastic with the flour, so that job can be yours.”
“Alright.”
Mina jumped onto the counter, smiling at Dad-Sashi’s praise about her agility. Her tumbling practice was really helping. She might be small, but she could reach things her brothers couldn’t just because she could jump to get them now. Although Izuku wanted to learn parkour, so that might not be true for long.
Breakfast was finished quickly with them working together (and Katsuki not trying to throw blueberries in whenever Dad-Sashi turned his back). Mina was given the very important job of waking everyone else up for food. They did have school today, so they had to get up whether they liked it or not. Food was a good incentive though.
The twins were already awake. Mostly. Touya was awake and Fuyumi looked sorta like a zombie. They went downstairs after she told them about the pancakes.
Natsuo was already up, and raced out his door the moment food was mentioned. Mina left her and everyone else’s room for last. All of them were still fast asleep when she peeked in.
Momo was right where Mina had left her, Shouto curled up against her side like a cat seeking warmth. Hitoshi was sprawled out on top the two of them. She giggled quietly, tiptoeing over to them. Now, who to wake up first…
Mina decided to wake Hitoshi up first. She leaned over the edge of the bed, and attacked him with tickles.
Hitoshi squawked and thrashed away from Mina, who was laughing and stumbling away from the bed before he could retaliate. One of his hands smacked Shouto in the face, who yelped, swinging an arm and whacking Momo in the process.
The end result was Mina cackling on the floor while her three siblings blinked sleepily, confused on what had happened.
“Min, why’re we awake?” Hitoshi asked, rubbing his eyes sleepily.
“Dad-Sashi made pancakes! He wanted me to wake you guys up.”
And just like that, the two boys were scrambling out of bed, Mina’s preferred method of waking up her brothers forgiven in the face of food. Momo hesitated, leaving enough time for the two to disappear out the door. Mina watched Momo mentally debate what she should do.
“Dad-Sashi can make something else if you don’t like pancakes,” Mina offered. Momo jumped at her voice, eyes flicking over to stare at her.
“N-no, it’s ok. I just…I haven’t had them before.”
Well that was a crime against humanity. She had never had pancakes? Mina walked up and grabbed Momo’s hand, gently tugging her out of the room.
“You’ll love them. Dad-Sashi makes really good ones, and we even helped him this time!”
“Your dad…made them? Don’t other people do that?”
“Uh, no?” Mina glanced back at Momo, tilting her head in confusion. “Oh yeah, you were a rich person. Normal people don’t have cooks or whatever you call them. Dad-Sashi usually makes breakfast and Momma Inko makes dinner.”
“Oh, I- that makes sense. What do you do for lunch then?”
“We usually find something for ourselves and whoever’s home helps us make it. Aniki’s banned from cooking things though, he tries to use his fire and burns stuff instead of cooking it.”
That got Momo to laugh, and Mina felt accomplished. The two of them steadily padded down the stairs. Mina let go of Momo’s hand when they got to the kitchen, immediately launching herself into a chair to snatch some food. Hopefully Katsuki wouldn’t hoard the syrup this time.
There was already the perpetual chatter that accompanied these meals. Izuku was rambling about another hero, Hitoshi sleepily adding in things he forgot to say. Katsuki was asking Momma Inko if she was staying home today. Shouto and Natsuo were already shoveling food into their mouths. It was normal.
It took Mina a minute to realize this was their normal, and that Momo had no idea what to do.
Taking a break from drowning her pancakes, Mina slid off her chair. She grabbed the only empty plate left on her way. Momo was looking between the table, the people, and the counter. She looked so unsure.
It reminded Mina of herself. What she had been like before.
Mina walked up to her, holding the plate out with a kind smile on her face. “There’s still a bunch at the table. You can sit and grab however many you want, and we have things to go on top of them. I like maple syrup the best, but Fuyumi likes jam. Natsuo puts so much powdered sugar on his that I think it’s more sugar than pancake.”
Her words got Momo to smile, and Mina brightened. Momo took the plate, following Mina back to the table. She was immediately included in whatever conversation was going on at the moment. Mina passed over the syrup to Momo.
Watching her new sister’s eyes light up was a wonderful feeling. Mina would happily give up maple syrup if it meant Momo would be happy. The girl reminded Mina of herself, and she made a promise right then. She would protect Momo. That’s what siblings did, after all. That’s what this family did. Now and forever.
Notes:
Adorable beans throw flour at each other and confuse a new child with their chaos, more at 11
Next chapter should be up in two weeks! After that it should be back to every weekend! My finals are almost done I'm so close I Want Summer Already
I hope you all have a good day/night!! Good luck with the rest of school, you can do it!
Chapter 34: We Are Here!
Summary:
This is literally just Momo fluff. A dash of Erasermic added in too!
Notes:
Hello you amazing and patient people that I love very much
I'm back with another chapter! I'm not kidding when I say this is fluff, just 100% fluff. Not a speck of angst until next chapter I think. Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Natsuo loved breakfast. Especially if it was Uncle Hisashi’s pancakes they were having. Any food Auntie Inko and Uncle Hisashi make really, but especially pancakes.
Breakfast was a tad bit different with another person added to the mix, but it wasn’t too far from normal. Momo was nervous, but that was something he expected. She would probably get used to it soon like they did. Natsuo was honestly just happy that she was safe.
Mina seemed to like her too. Well, they all did, but Mina and Shouto seemed to stick closer to her than the others. It wasn’t unusual for her to be holding one of their hands. Natsuo thought it was adorable.
Momo fit right in with them too. Once she actually joined them at the table, she was talking with everyone like a natural. Even Natsuo hadn’t been that good at holding more than one table conversation for a while.
Aunt Inko and Uncle Hisashi joined them at the table after all the pancake batter was cooked. The chatter surrounded them all like a familiar blanket. It made Natsuo smile as he scarfed down his breakfast, knowing they had to leave for school soon.
“Auntie Inko,” Shouto said loudly, getting everyone’s attention. “When are you taking Mochan’s parents to jail?”
Natsuo choked on air, thankfully not having food in his mouth at the moment. Fuyumi patted his back for a moment to make sure he was ok.
“Shouto, buddy, please explain a bit more,” Uncle Hisashi said, looking like he was trying very hard not to laugh.
“Auntie Inko brought Endeavor and Mina’s parents to jail.”
“Uh, court. She brought them to court, Shouto, not jail.”
“Oh.” Shouto paused, then hummed. “Can she still put them in jail?”
Uncle Hisashi and Aunt Inko shared a look. One that said they were having a silent conversation. Natsuo wondered if most couples did that or just them.
“We… can’t put them in jail, Shouto,” Aunt Inko said gently. “But we won’t let them get Momo, don’t worry.”
“Oh, ok then.”
Everyone went back to eating, mulling over that conversation. Natsuo wondered if anyone else noticed how neither had said anything about bringing the Yaoyorozus to court. He just mentally shrugged, trusting Aunt Inko and Uncle Hisashi would handle it. Besides, he was twelve, what could he do against the Yaoyorozus that the Midoriyas couldn’t?
“We have to leave in fifteen minutes for school kiddos, so finish up your food and grab your things,” Uncle Hisashi announced, getting up to wash his plate.
Natsuo nodded with a mouth full of pancakes. Touya and Fuyumi, the latter finally starting to wake up after drinking coffee, got up too. All the small little kids however, started protesting.
“Can’t we just stay home?” Mina whined, going limp against the table.
“Yeah, can’t we stay home with Mochan today?” Shouto asked, immune to Mina’s antics by now.
“I wanna stay home too!”
“No school! No school!”
“We already know most of the shit anyway.”
“Hmm,” Aunt Inko hummed.
Uncle Hisashi leaned over her shoulder, looking at the kids sitting still in their chairs. “I suppose you don’t have to go today.”
There were instantly cheers and celebrations echoing through the kitchen. Natsuo laughed, getting up to put his plate in the sink. It was like there had never been pancakes there in the first place.
“Do you wanna stay home too, Natsu?” Izuku asked, suddenly materializing at Natsuo’s side and giving him a heart attack geez .
“Nah, I have a math test today.”
“Awwww,” came the many whines from the general direction of the table.
“Yeah, but hey! You can show Momo some of the games you guys like to play. Something tells me she hasn’t played a lot of them.”
“Ok,” Izuku said, still pouting slightly.
Natsuo grinned, leaning close to whisper to Izuku. “I don’t think she’s listened to Present Mic’s radio show before, why don’t you guys listen to that later?”
Izuku instantly brightened, nodding in determination and running back to his siblings. Natsuo smiled and shook his head fondly. Then he glanced at the clock, and nearly slipped on the floor from how fast he tried to run upstairs.
~~~~~~~~~~
“What game should we play first?”
“Uno!”
“Battleship!”
“Monopoly.”
“No Monopoly.”
“Fine, how about Sorry?”
“Just choose one, fuckers, we don’t have all day.”
“Yes we do.”
“Fuck you too.”
Momo looked between all the siblings. They were so…well, not loud. There were just a lot of them. She wasn’t used to this many people being in the same place that weren’t adults. Especially when they were squabbling. It was odd.
She also knew only two of the games they had named.
“Mochan, what do you think?”
Suddenly all eyes were on her. Momo blinked, wondering what the question had been. She had zoned out again; just wondering how all of this had happened.
“Um…I- I like Monopoly?”
“Thank fuck.”
“Language, Kacchan. You already corrupted Ashi.”
“And Mochan doesn’t need to know your colorful vocabulary yet.”
Mina leaned over to whisper to her, something that made Momo feel conspiratorial. “I like Monopoly because the boys suck at it. Ten bucks Panda is out first and Kitty explodes the board again.”
“Explodes…the board?”
“Yeah! His quirk makes explosions in his hands, and he gets annoyed when he gets a lot of money taken. Mostly by Zuzu. Dad-Sashi had to get a board that was fireproof.”
“Huh.”
“I’m not very good at the game, but it’s funny to watch. We usually stop because it gets late or Katsuki flipped the board.”
Momo covered her mouth as she laughed. She had played the game once or twice, but none of those times had someone flipped the game board. This was looking like it was going to be interesting.
It was. Just as Mina had predicted, Katsuki had flipped the board. And attempted to blow it up. She was a bit surprised when there was hardly a scuff mark left, and wondered just what it was made of.
Izuku had won, which was less of a surprise. Shouto told her that he had an analysis quirk, so it was no surprise that he was extremely smart. Mina was out within a few rounds, and so was Shochan. Momo got close to winning, but Izuku bankrupted her on boardwalk. Katsuki was the last victim.
It was afternoon already by the time they were done, so the six of them invaded the kitchen. Quietly, of course, since Mrs. Midoriya was doing work in the other room. Once they ate they retreated back upstairs.
Hitoshi was the one to suggest their next game. Not a board game this time thankfully. Instead they would be “playing heroes.” Momo had never played that, but she guessed it couldn’t be too bad. Not when all of them were so excited about it.
Izuku let her choose which hero she wanted to be. He was pretending to be All Might, so she didn’t want to choose that. Mina said that she could borrow her Persevere costume, a hero Momo had never heard of. It was a relatively simple outfit, but Momo liked it.
When she came back she saw what everyone else was dressed as. Izuku told her what they were, since she didn’t know every hero. Hitoshi was Eraserhead, Katsuki was playing Present Mic, and Shouto was the civilian. Momo liked their costumes, even if she had never heard of a few of the heroes. Mina was playing the villain, dressed in neon pants and one of Touya’s jackets that went down to her shins and had sleeves that were way past her hands.
“Surrender heroes! For I am the villain Sizzle Hands!”
“Help me!” Shochan pleaded, his hands tied behind his back with a jump rope one of them had found.
Izuku took the lead, throwing open the door to their room. The four of them fanned out in a line, striking overly dramatic hero poses.
All together, they said, “Do not fear! Because we are here!”
Momo giggled, a wide smile on her face. The six of them dissolved into laughter at their imitations. It- it was honestly the most fun she had had in forever. The mansion and all its workers was nice, but it was…empty. The Midoriya home was big, but it was alive . It was happy. It made her happy.
Momo felt like a puzzle piece had finally clicked into place.
~~~~~~~~~~
It was getting late, which meant Present Mic’s radio show was going to start soon! Izuku was so excited to show Momo. It was him and his siblings’ favorite thing to do in the evenings! The show went way past their bedtime though, so they never got to listen to the whole thing. They caught the very beginning though, and Izuku loved it.
There was the slight problem of where they would listen to it though. They could fit on the bigger mattress, but then there would be the problem of them falling asleep and someone almost falling off again.
Touya had a good solution. He helped them drag both mattresses onto the floor to make a super bed! Izuku rolled from one end to the other and didn’t even fall off! They all piled blankets and pillows onto the super bed, and settled in to listen to the radio.
“Good evening listeners!” Sounded the voice of Present Mic.
The siblings cheered quietly, snuggling under blankets to listen and do whatever they wanted. Izuku chose to color, his homework already done, and grabbed yellow crayons to color All Might’s hair while Present Mic started talking again.
“Tonight we will have some time for callers! Remember to keep it PG, my friends. We don’t need to get a call from angry parents with more threats to get sued, after all!”
The kids laughed, remembering when one person had gone on an angry rant on a topic none of them had understood. They had understood the swears though. Present Mic had gotten more adamant about censoring cuss words since then.
“Our first song will be a fan favorite: The Resistance, by Skillet! An older one, but a great song nonetheless!”
The music began to play, and all of them hummed along. It was one of their favorites too.
As the evening went on, they eventually moved on from coloring and homework. Kacchan was already nodding off. It was nearing call time though, and Izuku had already gotten permission to surprise his siblings by using Dad’s phone.
“Alright listeners! It’s getting to be that special hour: calling time! So call in your questions, queries, and anything else you can think of!”
Izuku quietly took out the phone, making sure it was in sight as he did so. Almost instantly eyes were on him.
“Izuchan, did you…”
“I asked, don’t worry! Dad and Momma said it was ok.” Izuku turned to Momo with a smile. “What should we ask him, Momo?”
She stared for a second, then looked down with a thoughtful face. Everyone was quiet as they waited.
“Can we ask…can we ask what his favorite Disney movie is?” She said quietly.
“Sure!”
“Of course!”
“I wanna know that too!”
“Good question, Ponytail.”
“I like that one, Mochan.”
With Momo smiling and blushing faintly from the praise, Izuku typed in the number. It rang, then started playing waiting music. They all excitedly chattered until it went through.
“Hello listener! You are on the air right now!” The voice echoed through the radio and the phone. Katsuki turned off the radio for now.
“Hi!” Izuku squeaked.
There was a pause, then Present Mic’s voice continued. “Hello little listener! Would you like to say something about yourself before you ask a question?”
“Sure!” He chirped, glancing at his siblings. “My name is Izuku and my brothers and sisters are listening too! Guys, say hi.”
There was a chorus of everyone saying hello, all of them smiling and giggling after. There was a muffled sound on the other end, but they were too distracted to really notice.
“Well little listeners, what question do you have?”
“Oh, Mo wants to know what your favorite Disney movie is!”
There was another pause, what sounded like muffled squealing, and then Present Mic answered. “Well little listeners, my favorite Disney movie is Tangled! My favorite animated movie is Road to El Dorado though, because both remind me of my Kitten at home!”
“They remind you of your cat?”
“Ah, no. The person who I’m married to, I call them my Kitten! They love cats and sleep like one too, so it fits very well!”
All of them started giggling, imagining Present Mic married to…anyone really. It wasn’t especially common for pros to start a family. Alongside the image of the loud hero being married to someone who sleeps all the time, it was hilarious to them.
“Well then listeners, have a good night! Uh, don’t stay up past your bedtime!”
“We won’t sir!” Hitoshi squeaked, beaming at getting to talk to one of his favorite heroes. “Goodbye!”
They hung up, and spent the next few minutes squealing about talking on the radio. Present Mic was so cool! And he was super nice too!
Momma came in to tell them it was bedtime soon. Momo borrowed more pajamas, since they hadn’t been able to go shopping for her yet. All of them laid on the super bed, no one at risk of falling off this time.
They all fell asleep quickly, feeling happy and safe.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Shooouuuuttaaaaaaaa.”
“Does this have to do with the children that called into your show a few minutes ago?”
“Shouta they were so cute! And innocent! Shouta, they asked me my favorite Disney movie.”
“And don’t think I didn’t hear you muffling your squealing.”
“I couldn’t help it! They were just so pure!”
Hizashi could almost hear his husband’s smile over the phone. “Yes, I guess they were. Would you also happen to be draped dramatically over your desk while making your employees wonder who you’re calling?”
“…Noooooo.”
“Get back to work, Sunshine. I’ll see you when you get home, and you can squeal about adorable children all you want.”
“Have I told you that I love you?” Hizashi sighed happily, still very much laying across his desk.
“Hm, not recently, no.”
“I love you, my Kitten.”
“Love you too, Sunshine, now get back to work before an intern is sent in to yell at you.”
“Yeah yeah, I’m getting back to work. See you when I get home. Make sure Olive doesn’t bring a beetle in from the balcony again please, I want to sleep .”
He heard Shouta chuckle on the other side, and then an indignant meow as he picked up their cat. “She won’t be bringing in any dead things today. Go on then, the song ends in a few seconds.”
“Sh- Alright! Bye Kitten!”
“See you when you get home, Sunshine.”
Notes:
I’ve heard that the written version of Road to El Dorado has very heavily implied gayness, hence why it’s Mic’s favorite!
(Psst: Tangled AU. Aizawa is Rapunzel and knocks Mic out with a frying pan with zero regrets. He has a lot of animals in his tower, mainly cats. And now I want to write a Tangled AU with Erasermic but have no time. If someone ends up doing that please tell me because the idea is adorable)I should be back with the next chapter next week since my finals are over now!!
THERE ANOTHER ART LOOK LOOK LOOK THANK YOU FEATHERS
Breakfast Making Chaos! (By GracefulRavenFeathers42 !!)
Chapter 35: Lorikeet
Summary:
Lorikeets travel in groups and hardly ever separate into individuals
Chapter title also because of a certain bird man in this chapter :D
Notes:
Hello!
This chapter is mostly fluff and I hope you all like it!
Also I meant to put this on my other story too, but next week’s update might be delayed (or early, we’ll see) because my grandparents are taking us to see our aunt and uncle’s farm for two days, which happens to fall right into update time. So we'll see how that goes! Worst case scenario is the updates get out Sunday or Monday
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It had been a week now, and Momo found herself getting used to the Midoriya house. She got used to Katsuki’s swearing and Mina’s shows of affection. To Izuku with his questions and Hitoshi being up at midnight sometimes. It was different, but she was adapting.
She got used to being around the Todo- the Hisames, too. Shouto with his small smiles that were more common now. Natsuo always moving in some way, whether it be outside or tapping on the table. And then Touya and Fuyumi, still attached at the hip and just as protective as Momo remembered.
Then there were Mrs. Midoriya and Mr. Midoriya. They told her to call them Inko and Hisashi though. Momo found it easier and easier to relax the honorifics the more time she spent with them. The two of them were kind, extremely so, and Momo…Momo found herself growing attached.
The thing is, she felt safe in the Midoriya home. She felt warm and loved in the chaotic house that had so many people it could be called a clown car. She loved the siblings and how they acted, even though she was confused about it at first. She loved the squabbles they got into, how silly they were, and how they never had any true heat behind them.
Before, arguments were underhanded and exchanged in snapped words that had more than one meaning. Her parents didn’t playfully bicker about an inside joke. But the Midoriyas never had any arguments like her parents did. They solved things upfront and became closer because of it. Momo had never had that before.
She wondered if they would ever consider her a part of it. Of their family.
But she had to think logically. She could long and hope all she wanted, but it did nothing. Absolutely nothing against the fact that she had to keep moving. Avoiding her parents was the only goal she had pursued for weeks, and it couldn’t change. Even if she had Shochan back. Even if…even if these people felt more like a family than her original one.
Momo didn’t want it to change, but it had to. It had to. For their safety. She had to keep them safe, especially after their kindness towards her. Her goal couldn’t just change like that.
So in the middle of the night, when even Hitoshi was sleeping, she packed what few things she had gotten in the time she had been with the Midoriyas. There wasn’t much. Just a few small trinkets, like a small coin purse and a rock Hitoshi had given her. Even if she was leaving, she wanted something to remember the Midoriyas by. So she took a backpack that no one used, and grabbed what she needed.
Down the stairs she crept, grateful for there not being many creaky boards. She reached the bottom, avoiding the plank she knew made noise. Just some food, and then she could go. Just enough so she wouldn’t starve on her way to…somewhere.
Momo quietly opened the cabinets and snatched some food that wouldn’t expire soon. She would have to go back to surviving on an empty stomach once she left. At least she had enough fat stores to make money without pain this time.
A light flicked on above her. Momo froze, paralyzed by ice-cold fear running through her veins. They found her.
“Momo? Darling, what are you doing?”
Inko. It was Inko. Momo hardly dared to breathe.
“Are you…taking food?”
Momo finally blinked, breaking the spell. Her hand dropped back to her side. She slowly turned around, eyes locked on the floor. She couldn’t bear to look up at Inko’s face and see the betrayal that was undoubtedly there.
A hand was gently set on her shoulder. Momo winced.
“Momo, what are you doing?”
Against her better judgement, Momo started talking. “L-leav-leaving. I can’t- I can’t stay here w-with my parents looking for m- for me. I c-can’t put you in-n danger.”
Momo might be young, but she was smart. She knew her parents had a lot of power, and could hurt people if they wanted. They had done it before. Not that they had told her, but she had pieced it together by whispers she wasn’t supposed to hear. If the Midoriyas were to get hurt like that, she would never forgive herself.
“Oh darling,” Inko said softly.
And suddenly, Momo was enveloped in a hug. It was warm, and comforting. Her mom had hugged her before, but it was nothing like this. Those were cold, distant, like a requirement instead of a voluntary action.
Momo found herself melting into Inko’s arms, letting the feeling of warmth and safety cover her.
“You don’t need to run,” Inko said quietly. “They won’t hurt us, darling. You won’t ever have to go back to them, I promise. I don’t know what they did and I don’t need to, as long as you’re safe.”
Momo clung to Inko’s shirt, still not looking her in the eyes. A hand carded through her long black hair. She leaned into it, craving positive attention like a cat.
“Hisashi and I can handle whatever they try and throw at us, ok? You don’t need to leave. All of us love having you here, Shouto especially. He told me the other day how happy he is to have his friend back, and that he was worried about you when they ran away.”
Momo had wondered about that. She didn’t know whether it was better or worse that he didn’t forget her.
“You don’t need to run, Momo,” Inko repeated. “Let Hisashi and I handle the legal things, and you focus on being a kid. We can protect ourselves from whatever your parents try to do. This isn’t a weight that you should have on your shoulders.”
Momo considered it. She…she didn’t want to run again. She wanted to stay. She wanted to have a place in this family. She wanted to be a part of this beautiful chaos and stay with her friend. Her friends .
( Her family )
“Ok,” she whispered. “Ok, I’ll- I’ll stay.”
“Alright. Come on then, let’s get you back to bed before Hitoshi drags you back.”
Momo silently smiled, and let Inko guide her back upstairs. Back to her room with everyone else and their tangled pile of limbs. Back to the random knick knacks on every surface and posters covering the walls.
Momo went back to sleep, feeling like she had made the right choice.
~~~~~~~~~~
The doorbell rang, a sound Momo was still getting used to. They didn’t have a normal doorbell back in the mansion. She was also still adjusting to the near instant flurry of footsteps that sounded from all around the house in a race to get to the door first. At least this time they knew who it was.
The Uraraka were coming over. Some of the family’s friends apparently. From the stories Izuku had told her, they sounded nice. Ochako was their age. She could make things float with her Quirk, which sounded really cool.
Momo still hadn’t shown her Quirk to the Midoriyas. She didn’t want to quite yet.
The door got flung open with the force of a tornado. Momo was standing at the top of the stairs when the thing nearly got thrown off its hinges. She watched from above as a brown blur darted inside, and immediately tackled Izuku and Mina.
Momo rushed downstairs, worried her friends were hurt, only to hear giggling. Mina and Izuku were laying on the rug with whom Momo could only assume was Ochako sprawled on top of them. Katsuki was off to the side, rolling his eyes. Hitoshi and Shouto were helping the three up, laughing along with them. Two more adults stood outside the door. Inko was talking with them, a smile on her face.
Momo inched away from the stairs towards Shochan and Izuku. She was closer to them than some of the others, and felt safe around the two. They were the ones that had found her, after all.
She could pinpoint the exact second Ochako noticed she was there. The girl’s eyes widened, and her smile grew brighter. She also dashed forward and nearly glomped Momo in a hug.
“Hi! I’m Ochako! Dad said you’re the Midoriyas new kid and said I could come meet you! What’s your name?”
“Um, my name is Momo.”
“Nice to meet you Momo! Wanna help me and Mina beat their asses at heroes versus villains?”
Momo choked out a surprised laugh at the language. Honestly, she really shouldn’t have been surprised. Izuku had even told her Ochako talked more like Katsuki than Mina did sometimes.
“Sure- sure, I’ll help,” she answered.
“Awesome!” Ochako beamed, then turned back to the boys with a voice suddenly ten times more intimidating. “ Who’s ready to lose?!”
Momo blinked, watching as this new person marched up to
her brothers
her friends and declared they were playing a game. Not asked, just told them so. And…they went along with it? Momo wondered if she would ever have the confidence to do that.
Her hand was grabbed by Mina, who dragged her back up the stairs. Ochako seemed to have grabbed two others at random to pull them along too. Momo laughed, and let herself be tugged up the staircase.
Momo was left a giggling mess as she watched Ochako hogtie Hitoshi with a jump rope. Izuku was on the floor beside him, pretending to be dead, but doing a bad job since he was still quietly laughing. Shouto was standing on the bed, trying not to fall off while Mina batted at his ankles with a foam sword.
Ochako was fun to play with. She had a mouth like Katsuki, but she was kind. Excitable like Izuku too. Momo liked her, even if she and Katsuki combined had said more swears in an hour than she had ever heard in her old home.
She looked up again as something hit the floor. Shouto was now on the ground, Mina proudly sitting on his back. He wheezed out a surrender.
“We win!” She crowed.
“Hell yeah!” Ochako yelled, stepping away from the tied up Hitoshi.
“Hooray!” Momo cheered, still giggling at Hitoshi tied up on the floor.
“Kids! Lunch time!”
Everyone stopped, then made a mad dash for the door. Momo only remembered Hitoshi being immobile when he yelled for someone to untie him. Izuku was quick to race back and untie his brother.
Momo crashed down the stairs alongside Ochako, racing to the bottom. She hit the ground running. The two shoved each other as they barreled through the living room and into the kitchen.
“Ha! I win!” Momo cheered, smiling brightly.
Ochako laughed, playfully bumping into her before claiming one of the chairs. The boys ran in behind them. None noticed the adults off to the side, Inko looking like she was going to burst with happiness.
Food was set on the table, a pile of veggies and sandwiches the adults had made for everyone to grab. Momo didn’t hesitate to grab some. No one else did either, surging towards the food with excitement akin to hungry piranhas.
“Hey Momo, I have a que’tion,” Ochako asked through a mouthful of food. Her mom told her not to do that before she started talking again. “Why don’t you cuss?”
Momo blinked, then shrugged. “I was taught it’s bad. I only knew one bad word before I met Katsuki anyway.”
“Well, then why don’t you do it now? I’ve heard a lot’a bad words so I can teach you some.”
“Uh, n-no thank you.”
“Ok! If I get you to swear Katsuki said he’d give me five dollars.”
“ Round Face. ”
“You never said I couldn’t tell her, bitch.”
“Fuck you.”
“And to you too.”
Momo laughed, and kept eating her lunch. This family truly was odd, but she was growing to adore it. The Urarakas weren’t even a part of the family and Momo liked them. Everything she had experienced here had been new, but Momo wouldn’t trade it for the world.
She wondered what else would happen, now that she wasn’t planning on leaving soon.
~~~~~~~~~~
Momo’s head whipped up from the board game she was winning when something crashed into Touya and Fuyumi’s room. She heard Touya yelp in surprise, and the crackling of fire.
Almost instantly all of them were rushing to the room. Momo threw open the door, expecting the worst. A villain, a meteorite, maybe a tree.
Instead, the gaggle of children burst into the room to see Touya pulling a bird-man to his feet from the floor. There were a few books on the floor, so Momo assumed his wing had knocked into Fuyumi’s shelf. Wait, did he come in through the window? They had a perfectly good front door.
“Uhh, hi there,” Bird-man said. He got to his feet, brushing off his clothes from dust Momo couldn’t see. She did, however, see a squished bug on his shoulder. “Guessing you’re the new one?”
Momo blinked, then bowed politely. “My name is Momo, who are you?”
“I’m Hawks! It’s nice to meet you Momo.”
She stopped. That name. She recognized that name. It was one her parents whispered a few times, when they didn’t think she was listening.
It was the name of a person the Hero Commission was training. The name of a person they had taken to mold into the perfect hero. Momo had never understood it. Her parents had though. They knew some people in the Commission apparently.
And now that person was standing in the room, staring back at her. She never thought people could escape the Commission. That’s what her parents had said. It was near impossible. And yet, here he was.
“Escape who, Mochan?”
Momo jolted, turning to look at her friend with wide eyes. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud. A glance at Hawks showed he hadn’t expected that either.
“The…the Hero Commission. My parents talked about a Hawks. I didn’t know people could escape them.”
“Oh,” Touya breathed, shoulders slumping low. “He…he hasn’t, yet. But we’re working on it.”
Hawks knelt down, staring at Momo with eyes softer than she expected. He was nothing like the few Commission people she had met before.
“I haven’t gotten away yet,” he said softly, “but I’m trying. I will be one day though. Until then, it’s a pleasure to meet you Momo. I hope you don’t mind me hanging around the house a bit.”
Momo nodded, making Hawks smile. She wondered why he was saying he hadn’t escaped though. Maybe he hadn’t physically, but emotionally and mentally? It looked like he had been far from the Commission for a while now. Hawks was warmer and kinder than any of the stuffy adults Momo had seen around her parents.
Maybe it was because of the Midoriyas. It probably was. This family seemed to have that effect on a lot of people.
“Just stop stealing my books,” Izuku said suddenly. It made the whole room break into laughter.
He shared a look with Momo. A meaningful one. A promise.
They were going to save her too. They would keep her safe. It was inevitable, really.
Momo found that she was ok with letting someone else protect her this time.
Notes:
Kids have a skewed sense of justice sometimes, and Momo is smart for her age, so she made some jumps in logic to reach her conclusion. Hope that I showed that alright though!
ALSO THERE ARE TWO AMAZING ART PIECES THIS WEEK LOOK AT THIS AWESOMENESS
We're Siblings! (By Midnightsong)
Gang Orca and the Gaggle (By Amethysthope7)
Chapter 36: Snowflakes and Ash
Summary:
Snow mom! Snow mom! Snow mom!
But also
EXPLOSION
Notes:
Sorry this is a day late!! Life threw me out a window this weekend, but I'm good now!
And guess whhhhaaaattttt
Snow Lady is back! Everyone’s favorite Ice Mom! The next small arc (1-2 chapters, more like an interlude) will be about her! And after that she’ll be a recurring character in this story :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Shouto was…well, a bit nervous, but also really excited. How could he not be? They were going to see Mom to tell her some good news!
Well, two good newses. The first was that Mochan was living with them. Mom would see that for herself when the two of them and Aunt Inko arrived at her room. For now though, they were stuck walking through the hospital halls. Shouto really wanted to just grab Momo’s hand and sprint to his mother’s room, but that was bad manners. If the two of them were nothing else, they were polite. Mostly.
Aunt Inko saw how eager they were though. As soon as they reached Mom’s hall, and she checked that there were no nurses in sight, she let them run ahead. Shouto didn’t need to be told twice. He immediately grabbed Momo’s hand and raced up to the familiar door.
The two of them skidded to a stop, catching their breath before Shouto knocked on the door.
The person inside told them to come in. Shouto, wanting to keep his friend a surprise for another moment, only opened the door enough to let himself be seen.
The smile on Mom’s face made everything worth it. It made the extra time she had spent here all worth it. He couldn’t wait to tell her their news.
“Oh, Shouto! I wasn’t expecting you today,” Mom said, smiling softly in a way Shouto knew was reserved for him and his siblings. It was different from her other ones, because this one was always tinged with a little ‘I’m sorry.’ “Is Inko in the hall?”
“Aunt Inko’ll be here in a minute,” he said, glancing to Momo. She nodded eagerly, excited to see Shouto’s mom again. “But we have a surprise! Well, two surprises. I have one of them and Aunt Inko has the other.”
“Ooh, would they happen to be more of those chocolates?”
“No, it’s even better!”
“Well I wonder what it could be then.”
Shouto laughed at Mom’s dramatic thinking face. He slowly pushed open the door, revealing Momo.
“Is that… Momo Yaoyorozu?”
“Hi- hi, Ms. Rei.”
Shouto looked back to his mom. Her eyes were wide and hands raised as if to check that this was real, and she had on her actual thinking face. Then Mom grinned again, this time soft and surprised but happy, and got to her feet.
“Well I didn’t think I would see you anytime soon, little one. Come here, I haven’t had a Momo Hug in a long time.”
Mochan’s face lit up. She rushed inside the room, tackling Mom in a hug and snuggling into her side. Shouto smiled, wiggling himself into his mom’s arms too. It was really nice, and was something he had missed.
Aunt Inko entered a moment later. Shouto only knew because he heard her try, and fail, to cover her happy laughter. He lifted his head enough to playfully stick his tongue out at his aunt.
“Would you want to join our hug on the floor, Inko?” Mom asked, a mischievous note to her words that Shouto hadn’t heard in a while.
“Why not.”
Shouto soon found Mochan and him squished between the two mothers. He went limp, accepting his fate. Death by hugs, his obituary would read. Quite literally loved to death.
The moms released them a second later. Shouto slumped onto the floor like the dramatic person he was. Momo just giggled, jumping onto the nearby chair to look out the window. The adults eventually stood up too.
“Are you ok, Shouto?”
“‘M fine, Mom. Just dead.”
“Alright then. Inko, he said you have another surprise?”
“Yes!” Aunt Inko dug into her purse. Shouto dragged himself up to join Momo in the chair.
Inko took out the folder that was poking out of her bag. The two kids waited with baited breath, doing their best not to bounce with excitement. The folder was handed to Shouto’s mom, who took it with a raised brow and curious look.
“What’s this?”
“Your release papers.”
A drop of water would have rang as loud as a trumpet in that moment. Shouto and Momo watched anxiously, half-knowing what the pieces of paper meant. Aunt Inko’s smile was kind, and hadn’t faltered since handing over the folder.
Shouto watched as his mom held the folder like it was glass, but also like it was one of the most important things in the world. Her hands were shaking.
“You- you mean…?”
“Once these are signed and processed, you’re free, Rei. You can leave.”
Her shoulders started shaking too. Shouto got up, worried about his mom. He grabbed one of her hands in both of his, the cold matching one of his sides.
“Thank you,” she said, voice heavy and hoarse. Shouto saw tears begin to stain her cheeks. “ Thank you. ”
Aunt Inko stepped forward, enveloping Mom in a hug. Shouto stood to the side and watched, knowing they were happy tears being shed. His mom was finally going to be free. She was going to be ok.
Mom was finally coming home.
“Wait but, where will I go?”
“With us of course,” Aunt Inko said. “We have a guest room downstairs, though Natsuo and the twins said they would be willing to shuffle rooms if you wanted one upstairs.”
“Oh, I couldn’t-“
“You aren’t imposing, Rei. Your children are already living with us, so it only makes sense.”
“Well, I suppose…”
The adults talked about details, while Shouto retreated to the chair Momo was sitting in again. She was biting her lip, obviously having something on her mind. Shouto clambered up beside her, making her glance over at him.
“Mom won’t be mad if you ask her something, you know,” he said.
“Oh, I couldn’t- it’s not-“
Shouto held eye contact with her. Momo hesitated, then sighed, sliding off the chair and onto the floor. She gently tugged on Mom’s hand to get her attention.
“Ms. Rei?” Mochan said nervously. “Can I- can I ask you something?”
Mom knelt down, now eye level with Momo. “Of course, dear. What is it?”
“You knew my parents, right?”
“I did.”
“Did they…do you think they meant to hurt me?”
The room’s temperature plummeted, both metaphorically and literally. Momo didn’t seem to notice, eyes locked on her shoes. Shouto reached out a hand…but held back. This isn’t something he knew how to help with.
“I…I’m going to be honest, ok little one?” Mochan nodded at Mom’s words, still looking down. “They probably didn’t mean to hurt you, but that doesn’t make it ok. It is never ok to hurt someone, physically or emotionally, for their own gain, understand? They were not good people.”
“But…but they weren’t villains.”
“They don’t have to be. Sometimes- sometimes bad people aren’t villains and good people aren’t heroes. I- I know that better than most. But you have the Midoriyas now. They are some of the kindest people I have ever met. You’re going to be ok now, because you have them.”
Momo finally looked up, and threw herself at Mom in another hug. She was crying. Shouto edged forward, and got pulled in too. He wrapped his arms around his family, and knew things were getting better for all of them.
~~~~~~~~~~
“There are numbers on the fridge-“
“Ok.”
“-and there’s fruit on the counter if anyone gets hungry after dinner-“
“Ok, Aunt Inko.”
“-and remember all the young ones in bed by nine-“
“Aunt Inko,” Touya sighed in exasperation, finally catching her attention. “We live here. I think we know this by now.”
“Of course you do,” Uncle Hisashi interjected, attempting to tie his tie as he walked, and not doing especially well. “But a reminder never hurts.”
“We’ll be ok,” Fuyumi said. “You two go enjoy your date. The house will be perfectly fine when you get back.”
“Yeah, I promise it’ll still be standing.”
“The house and everyone in it will be fine,” Fuyumi insisted, gently kicking Touya’s ankle. “Go on, have fun!”
“Oh, ok. We’ll be back in a few hours!”
The door clicked shut behind the two, and the twins breathed a sigh of relief. It was just the kids tonight. The two adults were taking a much needed night out to go on a date. Probably going window-shopping too, without a bunch of children to corral this time. They deserved a date night, so the twins had offered to babysit.
Everything was relatively quiet right now. It wasn’t late, almost time to start dinner actually, so everyone was still awake. For now, they went to make sure no one was getting into trouble before they started dinner.
The two split up, one going to check on everyone upstairs and the other staying downstairs. Fuyumi took the former, walking on quiet feet to peek into the rooms. It was all relatively quiet. Momo was sitting on the massive bed on the floor, reading a Greek mythology book to an enraptured Hitoshi. Izuku was laying on his stomach, reading a different book on Japanese mythology.
Katsuki and Shouto were downstairs with Mina then. Fuyumi hummed, double checking that Natsuo was in fact doing his homework. With everyone upstairs doing fine, she headed downstairs to help get dinner started.
What she walked in on made her sincerely wish she had stayed upstairs.
Touya was sitting on the kitchen floor without a shirt, blue flickering above his skin. Shouto was sitting on the floor too, also shirtless and also on fire. Katsuki and Mina were off to the side. The former was glaring an uncooked piece of bacon like it had wronged him, and the latter staring at the flames with fascination.
Fuyumi blinked, just now noticing the bacon sizzling on Touya’s arms. There was also an egg on Shouto’s left arm, which was on fire. The arm, not the egg, thankfully.
“For goodness sakes Touya, we talked about this.”
“But it’s faster!”
“I don’t care if it’s faster, you’re going to burn yourself on bacon grease again. Shouto, turn off your flames, you’re going to set off the fire alarms. Katsuki, no exploding the bacon or you’re cleaning up the mess.”
“Yes Fuyumi.”
“Fine.”
“I wasn’t gonna explode it.”
“He was going to try and heat it up as quirk practice!” Mina chirped, bouncing over to watch Fuyumi move the eggs out of reach from little hands. “Dad-Sashi said he should try heating up his hands instead of making them explode.”
“Mina, we can’t eat bacon that has nitroglycerin on it.”
“Can I-“
“Or acid. That would dissolve it, not cook it.”
“Aww, ok.”
“Touya, go wash yourself and Shouto off. I’ll make some actual dinner.”
She watched the two of them go, Shouto asking why he was all slippery now. Fuyumi sighed, then went to grab things for dinner that wasn’t hand cooked in a literal sense. Mina dragged over a kitchen chair to watch.
More little people entered the kitchen a few minutes later, quietly pattering in through the doorway. Fuyumi made sure they wouldn’t get into trouble before she continued cooking. It was calming for her. A rhythmic thing that gave a result she sometimes liked. Aunt Inko and Uncle Hisashi had taught them well.
She tuned back in to the little kids conversations when it got louder. Worried, Fuyumi looked away from the food for a second to check on them.
“You can’t possibly believe that,” Katsuki scoffed. Oh dear.
“I mean…she has a point, Kacchan.”
“No the fuck she does not.”
“She sorta does, Blasty.”
Fuyumi checked the food, then tuned back in once again. She was confused, but listened to see if she could find out what was wrong.
“You can’t deny it, Katsuki,” Momo said, the most confident Fuyumi had heard her be all week.
“PONYTAIL, I AM NOT LIKE A DAMN GOOSE!”
Fuyumi couldn’t help it. She dissolved into laughter, drawing all of the kids’ attention. Of all the things to compare Katsuki to, Momo chose a goose . One of the animals most renowned for their bad temper and tendency to hiss at people who got too close.
It was perfect .
“Fuyumi?”
“Are you ok, Aneki?”
“Why are you laughing?”
Fuyumi stifled her giggling before anything burnt, dialing it down to a smile shining with amusement.
“No reason,” she said, barely stopping herself from laughing again. You kids go play, I’ve got dinner. Maybe go make sure Shouto is cleaned from bacon grease now.”
There were a chorus of agreements, and a small army of footsteps leaving the kitchen. Fuyumi sighed, still smiling, and wondered if the nickname of “goose” would ever come up again.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Do you think we should stop at that convenience store on the way home?” Inko hummed.
“Hm, probably. Did we need something other than to borrow their bathroom?”
“We ran out of marshmallows the other day, and Izuku asked for granola bars. We also need to buy some more chocolate for Fuyumi.”
“Alright then!” Hisashi chirped, hitting his boot on the ground to get rid of anything stuck to it. “Our normal route, my love?”
“Of course,” Inko laughed, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Shall we go?”
Hisashi did an exaggerated bow, offering an arm to Inko. “Of course, my lady.”
Inko laughed lightly, and grabbed his arm. Together the two of them walked away.
Footprints of ash soon faded in their wake, the glow of embers lighting their backs.
~~~~~~~~~~
Fuyumi looked up from where she was sprawled on the couch, blinking tiredly at the opening door. Inko and Hisashi walked in, shutting it behind them again quietly. A good thing too, since everyone but Fuyumi was already asleep in their rooms.
“You’re back,” she whispered, rolling to her feet. “Did you have a nice night?”
“We had a lovely time, dear,” Aunt Inko said softly, taking off her shoes. “Thank you so much for watching after everyone with Touya. Are they all asleep?”
“Out and tucked in bed on time. What-“ A yawn interrupted her statement, making Uncle Hisashi chuckle.
“Why don’t you go to bed too, Fuyumi,” he said. “You deserve it.”
She yawned before she could answer again, rubbing at her suddenly heavy eyes. “Yeah, yeah I’ll do that. Night.”
“Goodnight,” they both said, hanging up coats.
Fuyumi dragged herself up the stairs to bed, happy her aunt and uncle had fun on their date. Whatever they ended up doing must have been fun. She had a new respect for them though. Watching that many kids, even with Touya’s help, had been hard.
Maybe it was because she was so tired, but Fuyumi didn’t notice the extra bags the two had. It wasn’t until the next morning she realized, and it was because one had her name on it. The thing was filled with chocolate.
She made sure to thank her aunt and uncle before promptly eating an entire bar and hiding the rest where no one else could reach.
~~~~~~~~~~
“And it has been reported that a disaster has struck one of the famous Yaoyorozu Estates. It was called in around eleven last night, and the first reports were that there had been an explosion. Heroes, police, and firefighters were already on the scene when our camera crew managed to get some footage.”
“As you can see,” another voice chimed in. “There was nothing left of the mansion. It was completely leveled by the explosion of what is assumed to have been a gas leak. Only ash and rubble remain now. Thankfully there were no casualties, as the house staff had all been given the night off, the remaining grounds keepers on the other side of the estate, and the Yaoyorozus themselves on a different property at the time.”
“It is odd, however, since there was no mention or noticed odd smell in the house before it exploded. Was it truly a gas leak? Was this a premeditated attack? Or…was it the return of the dragon vigilante, Flamethrower, and his rumored partner, the all-knowing informant, Lady Omniscient, to Japan? Though the two, especially Lady Omniscient, have not been active for nearly a decade now, this does follow their previous pattern of razing buildings to nothing but ash and dust that no other vigilantes have followed before. But that does bring up the question, why?”
“For the adults out there that remember the run of these two, there have only been a few documented cases of them attacking buildings like this. In the past there was always a reason behind it. Not to say vigilantes are good-“
“Because they are most definitely very illegal.”
“-but these two never seemed to act without good reason. And with the case of the Yaoyorozu’s missing daughter, who almost no one had heard of before the missing persons report and subsequent leak to the media was made, the questions are piling up. Did these vigilantes truly destroy the house? Is the vigilante Flamethrower back from America? Are the well known and wealthy Yaoyorozus doing something they don’t want the public to find out? Is this a threat, or just a gas leak as reported? And just where did their daughter go, now that we know she exists?”
“Now to-“
The tv clicked off, leaving the room to be lit only by the early morning light. The black screen reflected two sharp grins. A husband and wife, a powerful duo, a force to be reckoned with, went to start on breakfast for their nine children.
Notes:
That thing with the chocolate? Me. I hide all my sugary things because if I don’t my family will steal it
So it’s not exactly a secret of what Inko and Hisashi are, since it is in the tags, but it’s not known just how big of a deal they were. Guess you’ll just have to keep reading to find out :)
(Pssst. Pssssssttt. Hey. Hey you. If I were to ever write a prequel with Inko and Hisashi (and their vigilante adventures) would you read it?)
Chapter 37: Transfer
Summary:
More! Parent! Vigilantes!
And more cuteness! Props to 3amShadyTimes for figuring out the last scene based on a request I had
Notes:
Hello lovely people whom I adore! I'm back with an on time chapter
THIS STORY REACHED 50K HITS AND 3K KUDOS!! I love you guys. So much. Thank you for everything <3
Notes!
So Inko and Hisashi both know sign, and I realized I probably should have brought that up in Hitoshi’s arc. Then again, he was a tiny kid who had been bounced from foster homes that probably wouldn’t bother to teach him. Anyway, from now on bold will mean signing!Also the response to the idea of a prequel blew me away. So! After this fic is done, the prequel will be posted! I estimate that it’ll be around 20 chapters, so nowhere near as big as this story will be, but I’m really excited for when I eventually get to write it! Which may have resulted in me already gathering music to go with it
Hope you like the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Breakfast was normal.
That is, until a phone started ringing. It was coming from Hisashi’s pocket as he made scrambled eggs. He grabbed it with one hand, still making sure nothing burned with the other.
“Hello, who am I speaking to?”
“Aw, I didn’t think you’d forget me so fast, Flamethrower.”
Hisashi nearly dropped both the phone and the spatula. He fumbled with them instead, somehow managing to not break or spill anything.
“Ah, sorry. But to be fair, you have your number as Unknown.” Hisashi quieted, glancing at his family. He beckoned Inko over without saying anything. “Could you give me one minute to get to a quieter location?”
“Of course. Take your time.”
Hisashi nodded, covering the speaker for a moment. Inko set a hand on his arm. He let out the breath he had been holding, signing out a quick message meant for her and not the kids.
“Niseru,” he signed. “I will be back in a minute.”
“Ok,” Inko said out loud. “I can handle the rest of breakfast.”
Hisashi nodded, quickly leaving the kitchen for the guest room that would soon be Rei’s. He shut the door before talking again.
“Alright, I’m here. What did you want to talk about?”
“That favor you called it.”
“And?”
“The papers are almost done. I need your signature along with Lady Omniscient’s to transfer custody. I forged the other one already, so all I need is you two to sign and then the girl is all yours. Won’t be infallible, but it should keep the authorities off your backs.”
Hisashi let himself relax, breathing a sigh of relief. Momo would be safe as soon as Inko and him signed a paper. They could do that. “That’s great, Niseru, thank you.”
“No problem, kid. You have one favor left.”
“I- we know. I hope we don’t have to use it soon. Where should we meet?”
“Old place at…hmm, what time can you get a sitter to stay to?”
“Time isn’t a problem.” Hisashi paused for a moment, thinking. “We can meet around one if that works for you.”
“Yeah, that works fine. Try not to take out any baddies on your way, yeah?”
“Nah, those days are behind us.”
“Plans never survive contact with the enemy.”
“We’re coming to sign some things, Niseru, not drop-kick villains. Omniscient and I are retired from that.”
There was a deep laugh on the other line, making Hisashi shake his head and roll his eyes. “Eh, see you then, Flamethrower. Don’t get arrested again. Heaven knows how annoyed the Lady would be if she had to break you out. Again.”
“Yeah, yeah, see you then.”
Hisashi hung up, sitting heavily on the bed. Of all the ways to be involved in illegal happenings again, transferring custody of a kid wasn’t how he expected that to happen. He wouldn’t change it though.
He walked out of the room, two parts excited and one part nervous. Hisashi popped his head into the kitchen for a moment. Inko was done with the food, turning off the stove. All the kids were at the table eating. It was a sight he would never get tired of.
Hisashi waved an arm to catch her attention, then started signing. “Old place at one after kids are asleep. Is that ok?”
“Yes, that works, dear. Why don’t you get food before you have to leave.”
“Ok.”
It was only after he was sitting at the table that one of the kids asked him anything.
“Dad-Shi, how do you talk with your hands?” Hitoshi asked.
“Uh, do you mean sign, buddy?”
“Yeah, talking with your hands.”
Hisashi snorted, smiling at his son. “Well, that’s called signing. We make pictures and movements with our hands to make words instead of talking. There’s different versions for different languages. Your mom and I use JSL, Japanese Sign Language.”
“Can you show us?”
“Sure, why not. So to say hello-“
“School time,” Inko gently reminded them. “We can teach all of you a few signs after school, but it’s time to go.”
The nine children nodded, all but one getting up to get ready for school. Momo stayed at the table to finish her food. Hisashi and Inko exchange a look, silently agreeing they should tell her now while the other kids are upstairs.
“Hey Momo, can we tell you something real quick?” Inko asked kindly.
“What is it?”
Hisashi grabbed the last dishes, going to rinse them off in the sink. Inko could phrase it better than he could. She always did have a way with words.
“Do you remember how we promised to keep you away from your parents?”
“Y-yes.”
“We found a way to do that, for good, if you’re ok with staying here.”
“Staying…staying here? What d- what do you mean?”
“Hisashi and I found a way to make sure you’re hidden from them. Law-wise, that is. They won’t be able to take you easily. But, you would have to stay here. We can find another way if-“
Hisashi turned just in time to see Momo jumping from her chair to tackle his wife in a hug. She was crying, they both were actually, and he could hear Momo repeatedly saying “thank you.” He grinned softly, and came over to join at Inko’s beckoning.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you-“
“Shh, it’s ok, Momo,” Inko said softly. “Is that a yes? You want to stay here?”
“Y-yes ple-please.”
“Ok then. We’ll get everything done soon, alright?”
“Thank you, thank you-“
“It’s ok, kid,” Hisashi whispered. “No one left behind, right? We’re a family now; we stick together.”
“Family,” Momo whispered, almost in reverence. “Does- does that mean I can change my name? Like Shouto did.”
The two parents glanced at one another, only partly surprised. It would certainly make things even easier. Without the Yaoyorozu title, Momo was just a normal name. Niseru knew what he was doing too, no one would be able to tell the documents were forgeries unless they were trained to spot it.
“I don’t see why not.” Hisashi smiled.
“Any idea what you want it to be changed to?” Inko asked.
“…Can- would it be- can-“ Momo faltered, but took a second to steady herself. “Can I change my name to Midoriya too?”
“Oh sweetie,” Inko said, pulling her close with tears in her eyes. “Of course you can.”
Momo smiled, burying her head in Inko’s shoulder. Hisashi closed his eyes, arms wrapping around his wife and new daughter. All they had to do now was get the paperwork.
~~~~~~~~~~
They signed the papers without any problems. Well, digging out their old costumes from the attic was a problem, but no villain problems.
Ok that was also a lie. Inko stopped a mugging with her quirk, but they were gone before the police arrived anyway. No one saw them, so it was ok.
They got to the place on time. A bar that was popular with villains, vigilantes, and underground heroes alike. The two of them had frequented this place a lot in their younger years. Not to mention this is where the two of them had first met. In costume, at least. Out of costume was a completely different story.
The two of them swung in through the window, an entrance that was used more than the actual door. Inko glanced around, noticing how everything had gone quiet. Ah, right, they had technically been missing in action for almost ten years now. Not to mention they were being suspected of burning down that Yaoyorozu estate.
“Well, if it isn’t the infamous duo,” a brave man at the bar said. “Would’a thought the two of you were dead and gone.”
“Not quite,” Hisashi chuckled, voice sounding odd thanks to his retractable mask. Even with it, Inko could see her husband’s razor sharp grin. She saw half the bar shiver. “We have some matters to attend to, if you’ll excuse us.”
Inko held her head high and regally, just like she used to. She stayed silent as they walked to the back of the bar where they knew Niseru would be. An air of royalty and knowledge trailed behind her like an invisible veil. Oh how she had missed this feeling. The knowledge that she knew things others didn’t. That they couldn’t touch her, and if they did they would be ruined .
Inko’s smile matched Hisashi’s as they made their way through the bar, though hers was covered by her own blank nebula of a mask. The bartender was still the same as all those years ago, though a bit more grayed. His eyes were wide with recognition. Inko saw him go through the motions of making a drink for them.
“Hmm, I believe he still remembers our drinks,” Inko hummed, voice different thanks to her distorter.
“If he does then he deserves a big tip.”
Inko only smiled, spotting Niseru sitting in the booth Hisashi and her had claimed all those years ago. She wouldn’t be surprised if it was always vacant still. Old stories were powerful things.
The two of them slid into the seats opposite Niseru. For all the time that had passed, it was like nothing had changed.
“There’s going to be rumors, you know,” was the first thing the man said. “Especially with that burned house. Was that really you?”
“Hm, perhaps,” Inko answered.
“Very clarifying, thanks.”
“Rumors aside, you have the paperwork?” Hisashi asked, fidgeting in his seat. He never liked staying in places like this for too long. Not when they had seen a hero or two on the way in.
“Of course I do. Here, two places for both of you to sign.”
The papers and a pen were passed over for them to read and sign. Inko took them, reading through the wording carefully. She wasn’t a lawyer for nothing.
“These are some well-forged signatures,” Inko hummed. “And good wording too. Thank you, Niseru. This will definitely do in keeping her safe.”
“I keep my promises and do my favors well, Lady Omniscient. You know that.”
“Of course. Still, thank you, Niseru.”
“Eh, no problem. Keep the little one safe, yeah?”
Their smiles softened then. They would protect their children, and always would. Even when they went out into the world, they would still do their best to protect them. Always.
“We will.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Izuku was curious. He’s always curious, but especially about this thing. He knew Momma and Dad weren’t like other moms and dads, but there was something more they weren’t telling him this time.
They had said that Momo was safe now. Maybe not all the way safe, but safer. But Izuku knew just keeping Momo with them wasn’t enough to keep her hidden. They had done something, he knew they had. He just didn’t know what it was they had done.
So he resolved to ask. He wouldn't sneak around, wouldn’t beat around the bush. Momma and Dad couldn’t be mad at him for asking a question. They never had before, so he saw no reason that wouldn’t stay true. If they said it wasn’t for him to know, then he wouldn’t ask again. Simple as that.
He was smart though. He knew that some of his siblings couldn’t keep secrets, so Izuku waited until they were asleep to ask. Even Hitoshi was sleeping. It was dark out, past their bedtime already. Almost all the lights were off as Izuku snuck down the stairs.
Momma and Dad were sitting on the couch, quietly talking with the tv droning on in the background. Izuku intentionally stepped on the squeaky board he knew was there. His parents fell silent.
“Ok, come on out.”
Izuku went the rest of the way down the stairs, smiling sheepishly at his parents. He didn’t say anything until he was sitting on the couch, nestled between them.
“How do you know Momo will be safer now?” He asked.
Quiet met his question. Izuku blinked his wide eyes, waiting for their answer.
“You really are a smart cookie, aren’t you, Izuku,” Dad sighed. “You understand how important it is that you never tell anyone who Momo’s real parents are, right?
“Yes.”
“Good. Momo…we made sure her parents have no custody over her. Do you know what that means?”
“That Momo’s parents can’t take her back?”
“Uh, yeah, essentially. We did some…paperwork. Now she is Momo Midoriya, your sister.”
“She’s already my sister though.”
“Well, yes, but the government thinks she’s your blood related sister now. With that, her parents can’t take her back. Even if they tried, we’d be here to stop them.”
“Would you take them to court like Mina’s parents?”
“Probably,” Momma hummed. “It’s late though, Izuku. Why don’t you go back up to bed.”
“Ok. Night night Momma, night night Dad.”
“Night sweetheart.”
“Goodnight, Izuku.”
Izuku nodded, quietly tiptoeing up the stairs again. He settled into bed with his siblings none the wiser. They were safe. He would be like Momma and Dad if he had to, and he would keep them safe. No matter what it took.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Um, Inko, can I- can I ask you something?”
“Of course, Momo. What is it?”
Momo hesitated. Was she really going to ask this?
Yes. She was- she was going to do it. All she had to do was say a few words. One sentence, that’s all.
So why was it so nerve wracking?
“CanIpleasecutmyhair?”
“Momo, darling, more than one word please.”
“Um, c-can I please cut my- my hair?”
Inko’s eyes softened, and she put away her work. “I don’t see why not. Let’s go to the garage and we can do it now.”
Momo nodded, following after Inko and into the garage. She brought out a chair for Momo to sit on, then went to find something. Inko returned a minute later with what looked like a shiny briefcase. She opened it to reveal scissors, a hair razor, and a lot of combs. It had been a long time since she had had her hair cut, but the tools weren’t especially new to her.
“Ok Momo, how short do you want me to cut it?”
“Um, I…”
“We can only trim it if you want, or we can cut it shorter. Maybe around your shoulders. Any ideas?”
“I…can I have it cut to- to just above my shoulders?”
“Of course.”
Momo held very still on her chair. Inko worked quickly but carefully, never nicking Momo with the scissors or getting water in her eyes. It was nice, actually. The garage was filled with Inko’s humming and a peaceful quiet.
“There, all done. Why don’t you go look in a mirror while I sweep up.”
“Ok.”
Momo jumped off the chair, quickly running to the bathroom to look.
Her jaw fell open at the sight. Her hair was cut a lot shorter than before, coming to between her shoulders and her chin. It was still straight and sorta spiky, but now it was evenly cut and hung around her face. Her head felt a lot lighter too.
The sight would take some getting used to, but Momo absolutely adored it. It was just so different. It wasn’t anything like she’d had before, and that was what she wanted. Tears gathered in her eyes as she stared at her new hairstyle.
“Oh Momo, are you ok? Do you not like it?”
Momo turned, hugging Inko with all the strength an eight year-old could. She knew she was getting Inko’s shirt wet with her tears, but she…she didn’t care. That was new. Momo wasn’t used to not being worried.
“Th-thank you. Thank you.”
“So, you do like it?” Inko asked gently.
“I love it. Thank you Mom.”
Momo froze. She had messed up. Of all the ways she could have done something wrong why was it that? Why couldn’t she just keep her mouth shut and-
Inko laughed. It- it sounded like she was crying too. Momo looked up, and saw that she was. They were both crying.
“Why- why are you crying?”
“Because I’m happy, sweetie. I didn’t think you would be comfortable enough to call us Mom or Dad.”
“Oh.” Momo paused, thinking for a second. “Can I…can I keep calling you that then?”
“Of course you can Momo.”
“Thank you. Mom.”
Inko’s smile was just like Izuku’s. It made Momo smile too. She was happy here, and it didn’t look like that would be changing.
This was her home now. Momo had a real home. She had brothers, sisters, and two parents that all loved her. They didn’t even know her quirk, and they still loved her.
Momo had found a rose in a thorn bush, and she wasn’t about to let it wither and die. This was her family now. She would protect them in any way she could.
And if that meant changing her appearance? So be it. Besides, it was pretty.
Notes:
So quick note: No, that was not Kurogiri. At this point he’s already babysitting Shigaraki I believe
Also funny story, my mom cuts my family’s hair, and as a little kid I thought that was just the default, and that salons were for ONLY adults. Mostly because the only time I had ever been in one was accompanying my mom or grandma to get their hair cut. And I figured Inko would be the type to know how to cut hair well since it saves money so there’s the explanation for that scene
ONE MORE THING, sorry, BUT figured I would outline some of the arcs because we are getting close to the kids finally becoming vigilantes! Rough timeline: rest of Momo’s arc (1 chapter after this), Rei’s small arc, Kid 7, Kid 8, another small arc of pure cuteness, and then start of the first vigilante arc! Like I said, rough timeline, vigilante stuff comes up a heck of a lot more often after Rei's arc. Still a ways to go, sorry about that, but it’ll be worth it I promise :D
It was important to me that it wasn't a one week decision that they would be vigilantes, and that they actually thought hard on what they would be doing. They'd be going against all that they've idolized their entire lives. So, TL;DR, vigilantes coming soonish, next few arcs lay the groundwork for it, and lots of cuteness and angst up ahead \o/
Chapter 38: Quirky Problems
Summary:
Quirk shenanigans, Momo says a bad word, and Katsuki is proud of her
Notes:
HELLO
HEY GUESS WHAT
THIS CHAPTER MARKS 100K WORDS FOR THIS FIC WOOOOOOOO
There's still a long ways to go for this story, and I hope you all stick with me through it!! Thank you so much to everyone that's encouraged me and said how much they love this fic. You all mean the world to me <3 <3Also small disclaimer that I don’t know much about propane tanks so take this with a grain of salt and the knowledge that I still refuse to touch a grill
I hope you enjoy the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Despite it being the middle of November now, Hisashi wanted to try barbecuing. Food was not restricted to summer! And he wanted American burgers but no one made them right, so he would just have to try himself. It used fire, part of his quirk! So how bad could it really go?
Not good, was apparently the answer. Nothing had exploded or caught fire at least, so that was good! Mostly. He sort of had the opposite problem really.
The propane tank was empty. Meaning he had nothing to fuel the barbecue fire. Wonderful. Hisashi sighed, trying to remember the nearest store he could go get more from. He would just use his quirk and coal or something, but Inko would spray him with a fire extinguisher again if he did that. The food would also most likely get burned too.
Hisashi muttered curses as he checked the other two tanks he had. Both empty too. Of course this happened the second he decided to actually use the thing he got. No wonder this thing was cheap, the tanks it came with had no fuel.
He sighed, and resigned himself to a drive to a store.
“Um, Hisashi?”
Hisashi stopped, looking up from where he was crouched. Momo stood on the porch. He smiled, shaking off his annoyance. It could wait. His kids came first.
“What are you doing?” She asked curiously.
“Trying to get the barbecue up and running. Doesn’t look like I have fuel though, so I’m probably going to run to the store in a minute here.”
“Oh.” Momo paused. She stared at her hands, looking like she was trying to figure out a complicated problem. “I…I think…I think I can help. If you’re- if you’ll let me.”
Hisashi blinked, raising an eyebrow. He honestly had no idea what she was talking about. Momo must have realized this, but she didn’t say anything.
Instead, she walked over to the tank. The valve was open like he had left it. Momo put the palm of her hand to the opening, effectively sealing it for the moment, and closed her eyes. If Hisashi looked closely, he could see her hand glowing pink and blue.
When she pulled her hand away, the tank hissed with what was presumably propane. Hisashi scrambled to close the valve again.
“Th-there,” she said, sounding both nervous and happy with what she had done.
“How did- how did you do that?” Hisashi breathed, looking between the now full tank and his daughter.
“My…it’s my quirk. I can make things.”
Hisashi’s brain immediately kicked into analysis mode. The possibilities ran through his mind, more and more ideas piling on top of each other. He may have also started mentally squealing at how versatile it was.
“Are…are you ok, Hisashi?”
Hisashi shook himself, snapping out of his mental rabbit hole. He beamed at Momo.
“I’m perfectly fine! Did you really just fill up the propane tank?”
“Um, y-yes. Is…is that ok?”
“Momo, that’s amazing. Your quirk is so cool!” Hisashi paused, his smile softening. “I’m glad you’re comfortable sharing this with us. Would you like help training it?”
“Training…my quirk?”
“Yeah. Izuku likes to help me, but we have days where all of the kids work on their quirks in the yard. Mina didn’t know how to use hers before, so we’re helping her figure it out. Stuff like that, and only if you want to.”
“Oh. I don’t…I don’t have to?”
“Not if you don’t want to. How about this? I'll try and make some food on the barbecue, and then I’ll ask everyone else if they want to do quirk training tomorrow. If you want to join you can, but just watching is fine too. Same thing if you want to stay inside and have nothing to do with it. How’s that sound?”
Momo nodded, returning Hisashi’s smile. She retreated back inside a moment later, leaving him alone on the porch. Alone to think.
Hisashi let out a heavy sigh, smile dropping as he picked up the newly filled propane container. He hummed, mind still racing as he went to go get the meat he wanted to cook.
Momo’s quirk was incredibly versatile. Hisashi wondered what its limits were. She likely couldn’t make anything too big, but how precise could it be? What materials could she make? Judging from the propane, she could make gases at the very least. How did she do that? Did she have to know every part of it to make it? Could she make solids and liquids too?
Then he was hit with a realization. This is the reason why Momo had run away, wasn’t it? Other than the quirk marriage, which already gave him goosebumps. If she could possibly make jewels…Hisashi could see why she ran. She would have been treated more like a pet than a daughter to the Yaoyorozus.
But she wasn’t there anymore. She was here. Hisashi kept humming, making a quiet promise. They had already vowed to protect Momo, and it seemed that meant from more than just her parents. People were greedy. Hisashi and Inko knew that firsthand.
They would protect her though. Hisashi would sooner die than let any of his kids be used for their talents.
He kept humming to himself, an old tune he and Inko loved, and carefully made sure he didn’t accidentally sneeze and level their porch.
~~~~~~~~~~
Momo didn’t quite know what to make of the training day. Not yet, at least.
Like almost everything this family did, it was a bit chaotic. Quirks were going off everywhere she looked. Mina was melting a target made of plastic bottles and Shochan was attempting to skate on his own mini ice rink. Katsuki was…fighting? Sparring? He was doing something with Izuku and Hitoshi that looked like a game of keep away.
None of the older kids were practicing with them, since they had a lot of homework this week apparently. Momo didn’t mind, it meant less people for her to keep track of in the yard.
Hisashi stood next to her. He was watching everyone too, keen eyes picking apart their movements and coming up with ways to improve. Every once in a while he yelled out tips or adjustments to one of them. Momo’s eyes flickered around at all the movement.
“So Momo, what do you think so far?”
“It’s, um…a lot.”
“Yeah,” Hisashi laughed. “Even worse when they’re all doing separate things.”
“What are- what are they doing, exactly?”
“Oh, well Mina’s working on accuracy, since her acid can be dangerous it’s important that she’s careful where it hits. Shouto wanted to try skating on his own ice, without actual skates. And those three…I don’t actually know what they’re doing, but they’re doing a good job at whatever it is.”
Momo laughed, watching Katsuki go tumbling as Izuku tackled him to the ground. It…it honestly looked fun. Nothing like the training her birth parents had put her through.
“Can I…can I try?” She asked quietly.
“Of course! Let’s start with a few questions, alright? First: what makes the materials?”
“The…le-lipids in my body.”
“Ooh ok then. Are there limits that you know of?”
“Um, I can only make non-living things. I don’t- I don’t know what that means specifically, but that’s what I was told. And if I try and make something when I don’t have enough lipids I start…it hurts. I think it tries to draw on other things if I don’t have enough.”
“Hm, ok then. Can you make solids too?”
“Yes. As long as- as long as it’s not a living thing.”
“Alright! Last one: how do you make them?”
Momo blinked, still a bit surprised by the slew of questions. “I have to know the molecular structure of the thing I make. I sorta just image the pieces, then assemble the pieces, and then it comes out when it’s done.”
“Wait, the molecular structure?”
“Yes?”
“Momo, darling, how many things can you make right now?”
“Um, a few? Matryoshka dolls are easiest because I practice those a lot. And…and gems.”
“Well that’s a really good start. And you just have them memorized?”
“Y-yes.”
“Wow. You, are one smart kid. How about this, if you think you’ve eaten enough, then try making the most detailed thing you can.”
“You don’t…want me to work on more?”
His eyes softened, and Hisashi knelt down on the deck beside her. “No. I want you to work on quality, not quantity. Your limits seem like ones that won’t change without hurting yourself right now. That’s not something you should worry about while you’re a kid. Focus on getting the details down, Momo, and you can improve from there, ok?”
“…ok.”
“Good. You can practice here if you want, or you can go sit in the yard somewhere.”
Momo nodded, heading over to practice in a corner of the grass. She paused though, standing at the bottom of their porch.
“Do you…do you think I could learn how to- how to fight?”
Hisashi blinked, then smiled brightly. Momo couldn’t help comparing it to Izuku’s.
“Of course! How about I start teaching you tomorrow? Izuku can help then and improve more with his own quirk.”
“Can…you do that? Don’t you need something that says it’s alright? Like, a- um, a license? I think that’s the word.”
“I am a licensed sensei, actually,” he said with a sharp grin.
Momo returned his smile, though more sincere than his mischievous grin. “Thank you…D-Dad.”
His gaze softened once again. “Anytime, Momo. You’re a part of our family now. We’ll do anything for you.”
Momo retreated to a corner to practice. Her smile stubbornly refused to move for the rest of the day.
~~~~~~~~~~
They didn’t notice it at first. None of them did.
It started small. Katsuki wouldn’t hear them if they talked too quietly, or it took him a second more than normal to respond. Nothing too bad, so they hardly batted an eye at it.
Then it got slightly worse. Katsuki would miss conversations if he was too far away, which was still closer than his other siblings. He missed when people called them from another floor. In class he didn’t catch everything the teacher said, and he looked confused when they talked about the subject.
They had begun to realize at that point. It didn’t affect him too much, but it was a noticeable difference from the rest of them. Momo was worried for him. She had just gotten him as a brother; she didn’t want him to be hurt.
Then it went even farther downhill. It was the day after more quirk training, and Katsuki was already awake when Momo got up. He was sitting on the couch, scowling at the tv.
“Katsuki?” She called.
Katsuki didn’t react.
Louder, Momo said, “Katsuki?”
Still, her brother didn’t move. He was rubbing at his ears while glaring at the tv that sounded a bit too loud to Momo. Something was wrong.
Momo walked closer, doing nothing to conceal her footsteps. Katsuki still didn’t look up. She crept even closer, staying just out of sight.
Katsuki only looked up when Momo tapped his shoulder. He jolted, whipping around to stare at her like she had grown another head. Small explosions popped in his hands.
When Katsuki spoke, it was in a voice too loud for indoors. Like…like he couldn’t hear himself speak.
“MOMO?”
“Katsuki? You’re yelling.”
“WHAT?”
“I said, you’re yelling.”
“MOMO, I CAN’T FUCKING HEAR YOU, SPEAK UP.”
Oh. Oh this was- this was bad. Momo blinked, then signed “wait” to her brother. It was one of the few signs they knew so far, and it came in extremely useful at the moment.
Momo ran into the kitchen. Hisashi was already in there, but he’s not what she was looking for. Instead she snatched the pad of paper from its drawer.
“Momo? Whatcha doing?”
“Katsuki can’t hear me.”
“He can’t…hear you?”
“Mmhm. He’s yelling and I think his ears are hurt.”
There was a beat of quiet as Momo dug around for a pencil. She knew there was one in there somewhere.
“I’ll come check him over in a minute, alright?” Dad said.
Momo nodded, then ran back to Katsuki, who was still sitting on the couch. He was glaring at the still too loud tv like it had offended him. She set the pad of paper down, writing on it a few words.
Are your ears hurt? It read.
“No,” Katsuki grumbled at a normal volume probably meant to be quiet.
Momo pointed to it, staring sternly at Katsuki.
“I said no, fuck off,” he repeated.
“Bullshit.”
Katsuki sat there blinking for a full minute, dumbfounded. Honestly she was too, but Momo rolled with it. Not like she could play it off as another word anyway. It was pretty obvious which curse she had said.
With a raised voice, she shouted at Katsuki. “You’re obviously hurting! I won’t let you stay hurt!”
Katsuki, still shell shocked it seemed, didn’t say anything. Momo nodded, satisfied that he wouldn’t try and push her away again, and tugged him off the couch. He stumbled, but followed along to the kitchen.
Katsuki would be going to an audiologist tomorrow. In the meantime, he would use the writing pad to talk. Unless he wanted to yell, which he had no problem with. Momo just laughed with him about it, happy he was accepting help.
~~~~~~~~~~
Katsuki didn’t quite know what to make of his new hearing aids. He could finally hear again, which was really fucking weird at first. In the week they had waited he had almost gotten used to not hearing very well. Everything was weird and muffled though, so he would take the hearing aids any day over that.
He liked them though. Mostly. It would take a lot of getting used to, but at least they looked cool. Neon orange and less bulky than he thought they’d be. Auntie Inko and Uncle Sashi had asked if he wanted them to blend in better.
But fuck that. He wasn’t weak because he had these. If anything he was closer to being a hero. Maybe when he was older he could make them even better and then he’d have super-hearing instead of the opposite.
Even though he had hearing aids now though, he was learning sign. It was a good failsafe if his aids got broken, but besides that it was useful as fuck. Especially since he was going to be a hero. Talking without speaking would be helpful in stealth missions.
The whole family was learning it too, which was fun. They all got to fumble with it together.
But it also gave him an excuse to turn off the hearing aids sometimes. Like when Izuku went on a muttering spree while Katsuki was trying to focus on reading. Or when Mina started screeching at the tv downstairs.
It also helped everyone practice more. Katsuki was determined to be the best at sign. Out of the siblings at least. He had challenged Uncle Sashi once, and understood maybe two of the signs he used. The next week was spent with him stubbornly refusing to use anything but sign.
Izuku, the smart little shit, caught up quickly. They had fun making up sign names together though. They would use the actual names around people, but that was no fun when it was just them, so the two of them made up some names on their own. Mostly just one word things, but it was fun.
The best part about his hearing aids though, is that since it was caused by his quirk, he got the cool thing where it blocked his explosions from being so loud now. Katsuki put them to the test by chasing his siblings around the yard while trying to fly. For once, his ears weren’t ringing when he stopped.
All in all, it turned out decent. At least he could hear shit again, and his sister was getting braver. That is what he considered the best out of all this. Momo was speaking up more, and he was proud of her.
Ochako owed him five bucks now too, so all’s well that ends well.
Notes:
I have no idea if someone does have to be licensed to be a sensei but they do in this universe because of quirks. It’s probably decently easy to obtain and Hisashi most likely got his through some hijinks that resemble a string of side quests in a game
WE HAVE AN ART!!
Parent Vigilantes!! (By Midnightsong)I’ll probably try and attempt to draw their vigilante costumes myself this week too, like a more detailed reference for the future because I forget things easily, but my art still isn’t very good so we’ll see how that goes. Thank you so much again for drawing them Na-chan <3 <3
Chapter 39: Homecoming
Summary:
Snow Mom!! Snow Mom is back!!
Also some side angst but shhhhhh
Notes:
Hello my lovelies!
It is currently 9pm, I have been driving for 2 hours, and I managed to mess up my shoulder doing that somehow. But I am getting this chapter out pain or no pain because I love you guys and this story I get to tell
Sorry if parts of this feel a tiny bit rushed. That's both because I couldn't think of between scenes and becauseI was trying to cram everything in because there’s still so much to do. I hope it turned out ok! Enjoy the chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Today was the day! And Shouto was so excited. Why? Because their Mom was coming home today!
They were going to go pick her up in the afternoon. She had a few things that she was bringing with her, but all of it fit in a few boxes so they didn’t need a truck. Her new room was the guest room downstairs, which already looked pretty, but Shouto wondered if she would let him help decorate.
The entire morning was full of last minute cleaning and preparations. Shouto attempted to help. Though after a while all of the younger kids were sent outside to play. They just shrugged and played a game of tag while the adults did the boring work.
It was only Aunt Inko and the twins going to pick Mom up, so they were given the job of getting the house ready! Shouto took it very seriously.
“Uncle Hisashi, where are the streamers?”
“…and why exactly do you need those?”
“Mom deserves a party. We need to hang streamers from the ceiling.”
“Ah. How about this, we put some streamers on the stairs and not use the ladder?”
“Ok. Where’s the streamers?”
Uncle Hisashi ruffled his hair, making Shouto squeak and duck away. “Let me go get them. Why don’t you tell your siblings so we can all decorate for Rei together.”
“Ok!”
Shouto ran off to gather his brothers and sisters while Hisashi went to grab the streamers. The house was going to look amazing for Mom. They would accept nothing less.
~~~~~~~~~
Hisashi watched as his kids had fun coating the stairs and hallway in streamers. They would definitely run out of tape at this rate, but that was ok. Mostly. At least Rei was getting the welcome party she deserved.
He had gone to see her a few times. Rei was a lovely woman. Very soft-spoken, but kind and a good mother. It would be nice to have her around the house, especially with how many children there were now. Hisashi idly wondered if she liked pancakes.
The sound of a car door closing let him know they were home, and let him give the kids a warning.
“They’re here!” He called happily. “Everyone hide!”
He watched as the seven kids scrambled to find places to hide. Three of them dove behind the couch. Izuku ran into the kitchen. Natsuo hid behind the door, which couldn’t possibly go wrong. Hisashi chuckled as he joined the kids behind the couch.
They all waited in silence as everyone outside got their things and walked to the door. The handle twisted, clicking as the door swung open. Hisashi peeked over the top of the couch, just to make sure Natsuo didn’t get smacked. He was fine. Squished in the corner, but fine.
“Ok, now!”
Children popped up from everywhere. Hisashi jumped up with them, yelling “surprise!” at the top of their lungs. The four in the doorway jumped, then started laughing.
“Oh dear, you really got us,” Rei said.
“Mom!”
Shouto barreled across the room, colliding with his mother like a little rocket. Hisashi walked back around the couch to help with whatever bags or boxes had been brought with them.
“Shouto! It feels like forever since I’ve seen you, my little dewdrop.”
“I saw you yesterday!” Shouto giggled.
“Auntie Rei! Auntie Rei!”
“Auntie Rei, you’re here!”
“We missed you!”
Rei was swarmed with children all clambering for her attention. Inko and the twins made no attempts to pry them off. Hisashi chuckled, coming over to give her a sideways hug. He made sure not to trip over any kids.
“Welcome home, Rei.”
~~~~~~~~~~
It was craft night in the Midoriya house, and Rei had…a few questions. Namely why Hisashi was teaching the children how to make low-volt tasers.
Eh. The kids were having fun and learning how to defend themselves at the same time. As long as they didn’t get hurt it seemed ok. Seeing as the tasers were more like static shockers, Rei figured it was fine. Inko didn’t seem worried at least.
She hadn’t lived with them for long, but it was long enough to see how loving of a family they were. Certainly chaotic and big, but a good family nonetheless. They had accepted her with open arms and the title of “Auntie Rei.” It would take a bit of getting used to, but Rei was just happy they were letting her stay for now.
That being said, she really didn’t want to be a burden on the Midoriyas. They had enough children to deal with anyway.
“I’ve been thinking,” she said to Inko and Hisashi, watching as Izuku hummed while putting his kid-taser together. “And I was wondering if you would help me look for a job and an apartment?”
All chatter stopped as most of the kids turned to Rei. She blinked, not expecting that reaction.
“Sure!” Hisashi agreed easily. “We can start- Hitoshi that piece goes there not there- we can start looking tomorrow if you want. What jobs are you interested in? I assume an apartment close to- Hitoshi one more over- wherever you get one?”
“If possible, yes. Anything close to here would be lovely, since the children are such good friends.”
“Of course! Inko’s better at the job stuff, but I can definitely help with finding an apartment. You have to be careful where you look around here. Don’t want to end up living under a villain or something.”
“We should probably have a balcony too,” Fuyumi piped up. “Or else Hawks’ll run into the windows trying to get in. Lord knows what he has against doors.”
Rei laughed, remembering just how many stories she had been told about her eldest son’s boyfriend. The day she found out about that had been an interesting one. Touya had been so nervous to tell her. She approved, of course. She would be half a hypocrite if she didn’t. Well, more like a third of a hypocrite. A fourth? Rei had long since known she liked people regardless of their gender, though that was before…everything.
She still remembered how Touya’s relieved laugh had sounded. Especially since he had been visiting with Fuyumi, and his question of whether any of his siblings would like girls was answered with a chirped yes from her. That had been a good day.
“A balcony it is,” she agreed with a soft grin. “Now, can you show me how you made that? It might be useful.”
Smiling faces met her query. Rei couldn’t help thinking she and her children had gotten very, very lucky.
~~~~~~~~~~
Getting used to living with the Midoriyas was…interesting. Rei was in no way used to living with so many people. After being mostly by herself for so long, it was certainly a shock.
Her children were well adjusted though. They got ready for school on time, dancing around one another and grabbing things without hesitation. Rei watched them go about their day with a mix of curiosity and happiness. They had a life outside of Enji, and had for a while now. She would forever be grateful to the Midoriyas for giving them a place to stay.
While it would take some time to get used to, Rei was confident they would be alright. She had applied for a few jobs, and they had money from the trial against Enji in her name. That had been a major surprise, learning that Inko and Hisashi had set aside most of the money for her when she got out of the hospital.
They had found a few apartments too. It would be a tight fit, but anything would be with four children. At least they told her sharing a room wouldn’t be a problem.
At the moment, she was reading a book on the couch. Shouto was leaning against her side, also reading a book of his own. The rest of the kids (teens included) were building what looked like a castle of soft things. Pillows and blankets were stacked higher than Izuku was tall, filling in gaps and acting as walls. Chairs were propping up the ceiling made of sheets. There was even a fan they had found somewhere to keep it from getting stuffy inside their fort.
Most of the children were inside the pillow castle. Rei could hear their chatter and squeals, though she wasn’t paying close attention to what they were saying. A few of them poked their heads out on occasion to check on who was in the room.
Rei still felt…odd though. She didn’t belong here with all of them. Perhaps her children did, but she did not. Maybe it was selfish, wanting to bring them with her anyway, but she was not a part of this family.
(Not yet)
It was a few days later that she received a call. She got the job! One that was high on her list too! A florist. Though perhaps not her strongest skill, she was still decent with plants. Keeping them alive in the hospital room had been a hobby of hers. Her quirk could be useful for some of the cooler climate plants as well.
She started in two weeks. Rei was honestly excited for it. She hadn’t had an actual job since she was a teenager (
before she was sold before she was hurt before she
broke
) and she was looking forward to having something to do. As fun as the children and their games were, Rei wanted something of her own to do.
In the meantime, she had found an apartment she wanted to go look at. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a sitting room. Rei could already see it. A place of their own. A place that could become home.
Rei went to look at the apartment on a day the children had school. She was a bit surprised that Momo was already enrolled, but figured she would be alright. Momo was a smart girl, and would adapt well.
The place looked as nice as the pictures. Rei was already mentally planning out everything as she walked through. It was perfect. It would be home.
“Inko! Hisashi!”
Rei smiled as she ran into the room, feeling like a little girl again. The two, her closest friends, were both in the sitting room. Most of the kids were upstairs.
“The offer on the apartment that we put in last week went through! We can move in once we get the keys!”
“That’s wonderful, Rei!”
“Congratulations!”
“Thank you, you two. You’ve given us so much.”
“Anytime, Rei,” Hisashi said, smiling all the while.
Rei returned the grin, excited to finally get her life on track.
~~~~~~~~~~
Shouto was honestly dreading moving out. He liked the new apartment! He really did, but…but it wasn’t home. Not yet at least. Maybe in a while it would be, but not right now.
The rest of the boxes were being moved in today, and then it would be done. They would be all moved in and live in their own apartment. Mom had a job, and had started a few days ago. They were starting a new chapter of their lives.
Shouto already missed the Midoriyas.
“What’s with the long face, Dewdrop?” Mom asked softly.
“I…I miss Izuku.”
“Oh don’t worry sweetie, we’ll be seeing them in a few days. Why don’t you help me unpack some of the kitchen while Touya brings in the last few things?”
“Ok, Mom.”
They put things on the walls to make it feel more homey. Shouto supposed he felt slightly better about the apartment once they were up. Most of them were pictures Aunt Inko and Uncle Hisashi had taken.
He caught the rest of their now-smaller family staring at the pictures more than once. The apartment wasn’t home yet to them either.
Nighttime was…interesting. They had never slept over here before. Shouto was sharing a room with Natsuo, so at least he wasn’t by himself. Dinner was nice. It still felt weird being here, but Shouto was overjoyed that Mom was finally with them again. He could bear the rest if this made her happy, and kept her with them.
Then they actually went to bed. All of the lights shut off and they crawled into their new beds. Cars drove by outside, the noise muffled by walls and windows.
Shouto laid there, thinking and making up stories like he usually did to fall asleep. But sleep never came.
He tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable, but he couldn’t. It was too cold. Which was weird, because physically he wasn’t cold. So why did he get the sense that he was cold? And his blankets were too light. Shouto was used to having at least one person using him as a pillow thanks to both of his sides. More often than not more siblings usually migrated to him over the night.
The sun was peeking over the horizon before he knew it. Shouto felt slow, and tired, but he couldn’t sleep. Natsuo had slept for a while, but he was awake now. Had been for a while. Neither of them had gotten much rest last night actually.
Shouto dragged himself out of bed and into the kitchen, only to find the twins already up and making food. One thing that hadn’t changed. At least they would still get eggs for breakfast.
He almost passed out on the kitchen table before a plate was put in front of him.
“Mom already went to work. She’ll be back later though, ok?” Fuyumi said softly. “Eat your breakfast, we can work on your homework after.”
Shouto nodded, and wished he was able to sleep.
He missed his brothers and sisters.
~~~~~~~~~~
Fuyumi felt unnerved. And the thing was, she didn’t know why.
All of them were either in the kitchen or sitting room working on homework. It was peaceful, something they hardly ever got in the Midoriya house. By all means it should be nice to get her work done without loud background noise for once.
But she felt off. Like something big was missing. Fuyumi grumbled as she tried to focus on her work again. From the corner of her eye, she saw Touya muttering to himself with furrowed brows.
Fuyumi put in headphones and turned on her music, hoping to drown out the heavy silence.
Notes:
So making Rei Pan was completely on accident but uhhhh it exists now. Pan Ice Mom for the win!
Also I based that last half after both my parents and the fact that I can’t sleep without some sort of weight. So I translated all that into Shouto “I’m always used as a pillow” Hisame not being able to sleep without his brothers and sisters.GUYS
GUYS WE GOT ANOTHER ART LOOK AT THIS AMAZINGNESS
Badass Lawyer Lady Inko!! (By Lorcan)
Chapter 40: Homecoming Part II
Summary:
Conclusion to the events of last chapter :D
Notes:
Hello! I love you!
I hope this chapter struck the chords I wanted. It wasn’t easy to write in the manner I wanted, so I hope you like it despite what I might have messed up! The time frame felt a bit rushed, but I wanted to get to the fun part of Rei becoming a true part of their family! And there’s also over a hundred chapters of this story I plan to write so…
I edited half of this while playing whack-a-mole with bad anxiety, so sorry if any errors slipped through ;v; Also the reason this is out Sunday instead of Saturday. I hope you like it though!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Izuku missed his other siblings. None of them had slept very well without Shouto there. They hadn't realized just how much they would miss the Hisames, even Auntie Rei. She had only been there a little while, but they still missed her.
It was quieter too. The twins weren’t playfully bickering. Natsuo wasn’t doing exercises in his room or kicking a soccer ball against the side of the house. No one was tripping over any stray soccer balls either. Shouto wasn’t trying to goad Katsuki into wrestling matches or lighting his food on fire in the name of cooking practice.
Hitoshi had barely slept. Izuku only knew because he hadn’t either. The two of them migrated downstairs sometime after the stars began to fade. Hopefully staring at the ceiling was enough rest for the day. They had school tomorrow, after all.
Everyone else filtered in at some point. Izuku couldn’t remember when he closed his eyes and started using Hitoshi as a pillow. The sun was up when he opened them again.
Dad made breakfast like normal. They all sat at the table like normal. None of them commented on the chairs left empty.
Izuku wondered if Hawks would be willing to fly them to go see their missing siblings.
~~~~~~~~~~
Touya didn’t like the new apartment yet. Mom assured him they would all get used to it, but he wasn’t so sure. By all means, it was a decent place. In one of the less dangerous neighborhoods too. But…it wasn’t home. Living there for a single day was enough for him to know that. His other siblings weren’t here.
He had actually slept ok. Fuyumi was nearby, so not much had changed on that front. But the second he laid eyes on Shouto, he knew his baby brother probably hadn’t closed his eyes since yesterday. Again. He looked dead on his feet just like he had the other day.
It took a few seconds for Touya to remember the last time Shouto had slept without at least two other people within arms reach. It…well, the last time had been for one night when they first came to the Midoriyas. Shouto had had a bad nightmare that night, and none of them had slept without one another since.
They all loved their mother, they really, truly did. But the Midoriya house was home, not here. Not yet. Maybe one day, but right now it was too quiet in the apartment without the extra little people.
They had school today though. Shouto would get to see everyone, even if it was only for a little while. He was still in the same class as Katsuki and Momo, and they all had lunch together.
Fuyumi would be dropping him off on her way, so lunch duty fell to Touya today. He made sure to pack an extra clementine in Shouto’s lunch. Mina usually forgot to bring one, and he liked to share.
Life was going to be crazy for a while, Touya just had to accept that. They had moved, he was starting an internship next semester, and Hawks was still stuck in the Commission despite their many nights of trying to find a loophole. Currently, it looked like the only way out was for him to be legally an adult and fully independent. Even then, the Commission could dock his pay once he was a pro. And that was only what they could legally do. No telling what limits they were willing to push to keep him in line.
Touya didn’t fully understand Hawks. Out of everyone in the world, he had the right to be angry and burn the Commission to the ground. Touya sure wanted to. Instead, he helped old ladies cross the street, and was determined to be a hero on his own terms, no matter what the Commission did. He was genuinely kind, despite the fact he had been forced into his career.
Hawks was stronger than Touya, but that just meant he had to work harder. He would push his limits and get stronger until the Commission couldn’t touch Hawks or anyone else.
But right now, Touya couldn’t quite do anything without being labeled a villain and possibly a lunatic. School was the priority right now. Of which he had to get to today. Thank god he had a boyfriend that doubled as sky transportation. Flying was faster than waiting for the train.
Which led to Touya walking out of the apartment building, waving goodbye to his siblings peeking out the window. He stood on the sidewalk for a moment, waiting. A flash of red was all the warning he got. His feet left the ground a moment later, people around him quickly becoming smaller as he rose. Touya stayed still, used to this by now. Hawks swooped him up enough for it to be normal to him.
(People on the street watched on in confusion as a person with red wings snatched someone off the sidewalk. Some wondered if they should call a hero as the two flew off into the distance)
“You good down there, Hot Stuff?” Hawks asked as they flew. Touya couldn’t see his face, but he already knew Hawks was smiling.
“I’m fine, Birdie.”
“Good! I would hate for my best customer to fall.”
“I’m your only customer,” Touya laughed, something in his chest loosening at the familiar voice. “And your boyfriend, so I’d sure hope you don’t drop me.”
“Of course I wouldn’t!”
Touya smiled, remembering all the times they had been flying. The feeling of wind and nothing beneath his feet was a welcome one. They had been together long enough for it to be etched in his bones.
Maybe it was a bit early, a bit too soon, but Touya already knew this wasn’t something that was going away. This was something he would fight to the death for. So what if it was a bit early? He knew Hawks would stand by him, and he would return it.
He was going to marry this boy, and he didn’t care what anyone else said.
Well, ok, maybe his mom, aunt, and uncle, but other than them he didn’t care.
They landed in front of the school gates without a problem. Touya smiled, automatically reaching for Hawks’ hand after he steadied himself. Together they walked through the gates and into the building.
“So, how’s the new apartment?”
“Eh, not settled in yet. None of us are used to it being so quiet,” Touya answered. “Natsuo keeps fidgeting, and Shouto hasn’t slept for the past two nights. I think even Mom is unsettled by it.”
“It was her idea to move though, right?”
“Yeah. I don’t think she realized how quickly she got used to having so many people around though.”
“Huh.”
Touya hummed as they walked. Rumi was probably already in the classroom, since she hadn’t glomped them in a “hug” yet. They would be graduating in a year and a half. Hawks already knew what he was going to do, despite what the Commission wanted him to. Rumi had an…idea, of what she wanted to do.
Touya just wanted to know what he was writing their next essay about.
He would figure his future out eventually, but they had time. Half their current year at the very least. Right now though, he wanted to let things calm down a little before making decisions.
Touya hoped his family would be ok. Both sides of it.
~~~~~~~~~~
Dinner was quiet, and Natsuo didn’t like it. Not that he would say anything about it. None of them would; they loved Mom too much. She wanted to move, so they agreed. It was only logical at the time. That was before Natsuo knew how weird it was to live without ten other people. They had been living with the Midoriyas for years now, and living without them wasn’t their normal anymore.
But they wouldn’t say anything. Mom meant too much to them. If that meant sucking it up and living here, then so be it. At least he was still close enough to play soccer with some of his friends.
Shouto somehow seemed both happier than this morning and more downcast. He had gotten to see their other siblings at school today, which was probably the happier part. Natsuo guessed the fact he would only see them at school, at least for a while, is what was bringing him down.
“So Mom, how was your day at work?” Fuyumi asked.
“Oh, it was lovely. Such nice people come into the store. One man wanted a bouquet for his wife.”
“Aww, that’s adorable.”
It continued like that for a few minutes. Natsuo picked at his food, listening. Shouto was adding in a comment or two. So was Touya.
“Natsuo? Are you ok?”
He looked up, blinked when he realized everyone was looking at him. Mom looked worried.
“Um, yeah, I’m fine,” he said, looking down at his only half eaten plate.
“Are you sure?” Fuyumi pressed.
“I’m good. I just…I miss the Midoriyas. It’s weird without them.”
He listened as each of his three siblings echoed agreements. Natsuo looked up at Mom again, wondering if she felt the same. She looked hesitant.
“I- I have to admit, I didn’t think it would feel so…out of place, either.”
“I miss them. Can we go see them soon?” Shouto asked bluntly.
“That might not-“
“Fuyumi, it’s ok,” Mom said softly. They all fell silent. “I’ll ask Inko when we can visit next. It’s only normal that we’re all still getting used to the apartment. Things will change.”
Natsuo nodded, not really believing the words.
He wanted to go home.
~~~~~~~~~~
The week went by. Not much changed. Rei didn’t know what to do.
Moving had been her idea. She felt like a burden on Inko and Hisashi, and wanted to avoid that at all costs. They were her only friends, and she couldn’t rely on them for everything. Not after Enji.
But she didn’t like being so far from them. In the few weeks, hardly more than three, that she had been with them, she had learned to love the big family. Rei hadn’t been expecting that. She hadn’t been expecting the move to hit them all this hard.
She had expected it to be difficult for the kids, but she knew they would adapt. They were strong and capable. As long as she had them with her, she would be fine. They would all be ok.
Then time passed. Shouto barely slept. He had been crawling into her bed more often than not. Natsuo hardly ever sat still, but he had always been like that. Only now, he kept accidentally destroying things. Like paper and biting at his nails and lip. The twins were better off, but even they were fidgety. Fuyumi always had headphones in.
Rei herself found herself listening for the warning of many pattering feet, even a week after the move. She found herself wondering how much food they would need and how many children would need her help with homework. It was…odd. She had never worried about these things before. And now? Now she couldn’t stop.
But she couldn’t just ask to move back in with the Midoriyas. Her feelings didn’t change the fact that she would be a burden on them. It didn’t change that they didn’t need her and all of her problems. Children with trauma were already enough. She didn’t need to add to it.
And yet…yet that didn’t change the fact that none of them were happy. Rei knew her children didn’t like living apart. She also knew none of them would say much, if anything, because they wanted to stay near her. Being kept away from them for so long, she wanted the same thing.
Rei couldn’t sacrifice her own comfort for them though. So, she called Inko. Asking if she could bring the kids over that weekend to play. Her friend readily agreed, saying how the children were missing them too.
They headed over on Saturday morning. Rei smiled as they walked up to the door, seeing how all of her kids were practically buzzing with excitement.
The door was flung open before they reached it. A green blur ran out, tackling her youngest son in a hug so fierce they both fell back into the grass. He was quickly followed by the other children. All of them piled on top of Shouto, somehow snagging the other three and pulling them in too.
It was like they hadn’t seen each other in years, not yesterday. Though judging by the way Shouto was clinging to them, he felt the same. Rei felt like her heart was constricting in her chest. This is what he had been afraid to tell her, just how much he missed them.
“Rei! Oh it’s so good to see you,” Inko said happily, coming out to give her a hug too, albeit gentler than the children’s dogpile. “I know we saw each other only last week, but it feels like it’s been forever.”
“Um, yes. It does, doesn’t it.”
“Well come in! I was showing some of the kids how to make onigiri. The results are…mixed, but still edible.”
Rei was pulled inside, and realized she felt happier than she had since they moved. There was a light that had returned. This family, her friends, created warmth in them.
Maybe…maybe this really was home.
~~~~~~~~~
“Shh, I think Auntie Rei is saying something,” Izuku whispering. His siblings fell quiet beside him, all of them hidden out of sight at the top of the stairs.
“Do you think she’s ok?” Shouto asked in worry. He had a right to be. His mom had just gotten out of a hospital, and now it sounded like she was having an important conversation with Izuku’s parents.
“Just listen,” Katsuki grumbled, turning up his hearing aids.
Izuku stopped talking, and listened to the adults downstairs.
“Is everything alright Rei?” Momma asked. “You don’t look your best. Is your job treating you well? Are your neighbors ok? Are-“
“Love, you need to give her a moment to speak,” Dad said, an amused note to his voice. “You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to Rei, but are you ok?”
“It’s ok, I’m…well, not exactly fine. My job is good though, and my neighbors are lovely.”
“What happened then? If you’re ok with telling us, that is.” Izuku couldn’t see his mom, but he could perfectly picture the worried expression she was probably wearing.
“It’s…” Auntie Rei started, then stopped.
“Rei?”
“I regret moving,” she said in one breath. “I…none of us are doing well, in the apartment. We’re not used to there only being us. Shouto…I’m pretty sure the amount of sleep he gets right now is far from healthy for his age.”
“Rei…”
“And I…I didn’t want to say anything. It was my idea to move. I feel like- like I would be a burden on your family.” Izuku could hear the tears bubbling up in her voice. “I have issues and you already have enough children who have been through trauma. Even with a job I would just- just drag you down.”
“Oh Rei, no,” Momma said gently. “No, you’re not a burden. You never were and you never will be. “
“We know you have trauma,” Dad said softly, almost too quiet for their six eavesdroppers to hear. “We know it’s hard for you, but we aren’t going to leave or make you do something you don’t want to. If you want to- to stay in the apartment then that’s perfectly fine, but can you please tell us something honestly? Do you want to stay there?”
Auntie Rei took a moment to answer. All of them leaned closer to the stairs when she did. “…no. It’s- it’s too quiet. I like the apartment but…it’s not home. I didn’t realize that until it was too late.”
“It’s not too late though. No one controls you anymore Rei, you can do whatever you want.”
“But it’s your home. I have no right-“
“Nope, stop,” Dad said firmly, though not unkindly. “You’re a part of this family, Rei. The kids call you ‘auntie,’ and you’re like a sister to Inko and I. Blood relation doesn’t matter, I think that’s obvious with how many children we’ve adopted. But Rei, we protect each other. That includes mentally.”
“This is your home too. We told you when you left that all of you would be welcome anytime. To be quite honest, we’ve missed you all. I know the kids haven’t been sleeping as well either.”
The adults started talking quieter. Izuku strained to hear, but he could only pick out a few words. They all shifted uneasily. What they had eavesdropped on probably wasn’t something they were supposed to hear, but they had to know. They had to find out for themselves if the Hisames were moving back in.
They all quieted when they heard Auntie Rei speak again. “Are…are you sure?”
“Of course.”
“Absolutely.” Dad paused for a moment. “Do you remember what Izuku’s always saying, Rei?”
“No one left behind, right?”
“It applies to you too,” Momma said. “We aren’t going to leave you behind, ok? Ever.”
“No one left behind,” Auntie Rei repeated quietly. “It fits well, you know. Especially for your family. When do…when do you think we can- we can…move back in?”
“Well we would need to get the boxes out again,” Momma said immediately.
“And rent a truck.”
“Maybe go shopping to add a few things to the kids’ room. I believe Natsuo wanted to paint it green. Good a time as any to do that.”
“Didn’t he want some of those wall stickers too?”
“Yes. Hm, maybe the twins would like another bookshelf or beanbag.”
They heard Auntie Rei laugh. A sound that rang up the stairs like a wind chime made of glass and steel. It was all they needed to hear.
The kids quietly back away, retreating to their room. Shouto curled up on the bed and sighed with contentment.
“So,” Mina started, “does this mean you get to move back in now?”
“I think so.”
“That’s good. It was boring without you,” Momo said.
“Hey!”
“It’s true, you can’t deny it.”
“Half n’ half wasn’t here to pick a fight with, so maybe it was a bit boring.”
“I’ll take what I can get, Dandelion.”
“Stop calling me that,” Kacchan said, doing nothing to hide his satisfied grin at the nickname.
Izuku smiled, sitting next to his returned brother. Everything was going to be ok. Auntie Rei would move back in and so would everyone else.
His siblings were coming back home.
Notes:
Sorry if that part about Hawks and the Commission seemed kinda shoehorned in. It was important that I said it but transitioning from serious topic to “ok gotta get to school now” was giving me a Lot of trouble, so I decided screw it I need to finish other parts
THERE IS YET ANOTHER ART PIECE
Feathers you are amazing and I love you <3
Family Pyramid! (By GracefulRavenFeathers42)
Chapter 41: Discoveries
Summary:
Cat Cafe! Time skip!
A wild Kid 7 appears
Notes:
Hello I love all of you, you're all amazing
So there isn’t a lot of dialogue in this one, BUT it’s also a very important chapter and it says a bunch of stuff since there’s been a relatively big time skip. Hope you like it!!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“What do you mean they’re not your real aunt and uncle?!”
“Exactly as it says on the fucking tin, Raccoon Eyes. And they are my aunt and uncle, just not by blood.”
“You have lived with us for how long now, Mina?”
“Well excuse me! No one ever told me that piece of information!”
“Mina dear, lower your voice please.”
“Sorry, Auntie Rei.”
Izuku laughed, not even trying to break up the playful bickering of his siblings. It was normal. Maybe not the topic, since Mina apparently hadn’t known that Momma and Dad weren’t Kacchan’s blood relatives. He didn’t blame her though. None of them had really specified that little fact, and it was a logical assumption with how he called them aunt and uncle.
It seemed like so much time had passed since they first took her in. Mina had been with them for two years now, and Momo just over one. She had kept her hair short, and really came out of her shell. Izuku was so proud of his sister. All of his siblings really.
It was also nice having someone else around that was just as interested in science as he was. The two of them could talk about chemistry and biology (what they knew about it at least) for hours. Dad fed their thirst for knowledge by letting them borrow as many books as they wanted from the library.
Momo had given most of them nicknames by now. Izuku was very happy with his being Izu. Hitoshi had been Hicchan for a while, and she called Katsuki Dandelion just to mess with him sometimes. She copied Izuku and called Mina Ashi, which their pink sister seemed overjoyed with.
Auntie Rei had settled in well too. She put up lots of pictures and decorations in her room, truly making it her own. Everyone else returned like nothing had happened. Izuku loved having his family all in one place again, and it didn’t hurt that Auntie Rei made very good cold soba. He was pretty sure Shouto almost cried when she made it the first time after they moved back.
It was chaos when they learned her birthday was only two days after Shouto’s. All of them insisted on making her something, which resulted in a bit of a scramble. Izuku and Momo might have worked together to make her her very own taser. Momma and Dad’s muffled laughing went ignored when she opened it. The other gifts included some clothes, a scrapbook made by the twins, and some very pretty fairy lights that were hung over her window now.
Everyones birthdays came and went. Dad gave them all semi-matching shirts, which made them go nuts as each birthday came and someone got a new one. They were all t-shirts that said something like “Bathing suit,” “Tuxedo,” and Izuku’s favorite: “Pants.” That one was his, and also one of the only things he refused to let the others steal.
The next school year meant they were in fourth grade now. All of them were separated again, but at least Izuku got to be with one of his siblings this time. He honestly felt a bit bad for the teacher. She had to deal with both him and Shouto in the same class. They were kinda known for fueling each other’s fire, especially if it came to defending their family.
Dad had been teaching all of them to fight for a while now. Over the years it had slowly gotten more advanced. Izuku took pride in the few times he had managed to beat his dad. It didn’t happen often, but the pride on his dad’s face when Izuku won was well worth it.
Touya and Fuyumi were also in their last year of high school. It would be fun to go to both their graduations in a few months. Izuku overheard them talking about college a few times. Fuyumi was set on being a teacher, but Touya wanted to be something else alongside being a hero. A social worker, he said, sparking a research spree from Izuku driven to know what that was.
That’s why they were out right now actually. Touya had gotten a really good letter of recommendation from the hero he’d been interning under. It probably would have been a sidekick offer, but Touya wanted to go to college before being a dedicated hero. So he got a great recommendation letter instead! And the entire family was going out to celebrate it.
Touya got to pick where they went, and he chose the cat cafe in the city. Everyone unanimously agreed it was the perfect choice. Cats were awesome and no one was going to convince them of anything different. So into town they marched, everyone paired with a buddy to make sure they all stayed together. With eleven people all walking together it was understandably a bit chaotic.
Momma or Dad called out buddy checks randomly. They all had to raise their held hands, and call back. The other people on the sidewalk seemed amused by it. Izuku listened to his siblings chatter as they walked, adding in his own thoughts now and then. He forgot how they got to the subject of Katsuki not being related to Momma and Dad. Trains of thought got derailed a lot with this many people.
Izuku swung his arm, the one holding Momo’s hand right now, as they got closer to the cafe. She had never been to one before! He was excited to show her all the cats, especially since she had never had a pet. They didn’t have one either. Not for lack of trying, but Momma said they couldn’t keep the stray animals. The nine of them were slowly convincing her though, he just knew it. Probably because Dad had started wanting a pet too.
The bell over the door rang cheerfully as they all filed in, dispersing from their buddies once they were inside.
“Make sure to wipe your boots,” Momma reminded them. “We don’t want to track mud in, especially with how rainy it’s been.”
Izuku nodded, wiping his shoes on the mat. His siblings all followed his example. With that done, the adults set them loose in the small area while they paid for things.
Izuku immediately pulled Momo over to the glass separating the eating area from the cat one. She pressed her face against it, looking at all the fuzzballs lounging around the room. They were called over a second later so that their family could be separated into two groups. Eleven people were a few too many to go in all at once.
The two of them ended up being in the first group together. Izuku jumped excitedly, waiting for whichever adult was coming in to supervise them. He darted inside the moment the door was open wide enough. Within a few seconds they were all scattered over the room, petting various cats. There were six of them in this group, Izuku included. Dad was in there with him, Momo, Shouto, Natsuo, and Touya.
Momo was hesitating in the doorway though. She took a minute to just stare around at all the cats, obviously in awe and slightly overwhelmed. It didn’t take long for Izuku to realize she had no idea what she was supposed to do.
“Watch what I do,” Izuku said quietly, tugging her over to a nearby cat.
He reached out to let the cat sniff his hand. It did, and then rubbed its cheek against his hand. Momo watched in fascination, Izuku giggling as the cat demanded attention. She quickly copied him with a different one, stars in her eyes as she pet its soft fur.
A few minutes had passed before Izuku noticed there was someone else in the room too. A boy like them…sort of. He was definitely taller, and looked a bit like a rock? A very nice rock. He was also talking to the cats. Like, actual meowing and body language with at least five cats that were sitting on or around him.
Izuku was curious by nature, so it was no surprise to anyone in his family that he wandered over to the boy. Instead of talking though, Izuku just silently sat himself on the ground nearby. He watched intently as the boy kept talking with the cats. It was very interesting, and he tried to analyze the situation to figure out just what was happening.
At some point, his siblings joined him. Well, Momo and Shouto did. All three of them sat on the ground as more and more cats formed a ring around the rock-boy. They meowed very loudly sometimes. Izuku wondered if the boy could not only talk to the cats, but understand them. If he could, then he had an amazing quirk.
It kept up for a while, until the boy looked up. His eyes widened when he saw them, and he scrambled backwards. The cats on his lap (and shoulders) jumped back onto the floor.
The boy brought his hands up, and began to sign.
“Sorry sorry didn’t see other people sorry,” he signed rapidly. “I’ll leave.”
Izuku jolted when the boy leapt to his feet. He ran out the door before Izuku could sign anything back.
“Well that was…odd,” Shouto said.
“Do you think he’s ok?” Momo asked quietly.
“I hope so.” Izuku shrugged, leaning over to pet another cat. “His parents are probably outside. He didn’t look muddy, and got in here so he must have at least some money, which means adults and a home. The heroes would help him if they found out he didn’t have that.”
Izuku paused, then sighed, not believing his own words. The heroes around their home weren’t the best. Touya and Hawks would be graduating soon at least, but until then, they had a lot of villains and too few heroes. The ones they did have were only out in the daylight where cameras were. Glory hogs. They weren’t there when they were really needed.
But they couldn’t do anything about it. Not yet. Izuku wished and hoped and prayed it got better, or he might be tempted to take things into his own hands. He knew his siblings felt the same. It was a topic they talked about a lot. Especially after they discovered what a vigilante was.
After discussing, he and his siblings had come to the conclusion that they were basically lawless heroes. Illegal and given harsh prison sentences, even though most of them just wanted to help. Izuku had spent hours researching them after a news station had done a report on a vigilante that had recently been arrested. His mind soaked it all up, and he had come to his own conclusions as well.
He wasn’t about to be a vigilante though. They were still in elementary school for one, and he was small. Dad had taught all of them how to fight, but that didn’t matter if he was tiny enough to just be swatted away.
But it was getting harder to ignore their city’s problems with every passing day. No one was doing anything to help. Izuku was getting sick of it. Yet he stayed still, out of action, and continued his research. It was all he could do for now.
“Izu!”
“Earth to Zuku.”
He blinked rapidly, looking up at his siblings. “Yeah?”
“You were muttering again,” Sho said, amusement obvious in his voice.
“And it’s time to let everyone else have a turn, come on!”
Izuku barked a laugh as a surprised Natsuo got bodily dragged out of the room by Momo. He gently nudged the kitty in his lap back onto the floor. The others were already waiting outside when he got there, rushing up to the treats display. Dad was at the counter asking what they all wanted.
Izuku got lemon bread that had frosting on it. The treat was delicious, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the boy, and he didn’t know why. He didn’t like not knowing, and it was bothering him. For being super smart, he really didn’t know why he couldn’t stop thinking about some random person.
Maybe it was his quirk that Izuku hadn’t been able to ask about. Or perhaps the fact that he had only used sign and meowed at the cats. It could’ve been some subtle thing he subconsciously noticed for all he knew.
Maybe it was the fact that he had ran away once he saw them.
Izuku didn’t know though, so he ate his treat as his mind rushed through possibilities. Some days he wished he could just turn his brain off. It was like he had ten different trains of thought, and had to make sure they didn’t crash into each other at all times. He was getting better at directing himself though.
Well there wasn’t much he could do anyway. Better to try and focus on something else for now.
Izuku glanced through the windows into the cat room, and broke down laughing when he saw Kacchan laying on the ground covered in no less than eight cats.
Notes:
MY SON HAS FINALLY APPEARED!! I love him
The shirts the kids got were: Izuku: white “pants.” Hitoshi: black “tuxedo.” Shouto: yellow and red plaid “bathing suit.” Katsuki: orange “halloween costume.” Mina: bright purple “ball gown.” and Momo: red “hat.” Hisashi and Inko also have matching ones that say “Husband/Wife Material” (green and gray respectively) because that’s just something Hisashi would buy them
I love all of you, hope you liked the chapter, and have a good day/night!!
Chapter 42: Alley Cat
Summary:
My quiet son is here!! I love him! And he doesn’t have a rabbit in this AU (Currently at least. Might change it in the future though) but he DOES have a cat with a name I am proud of :)
Enjoy the shenanigans of small children who have very little fear
Notes:
Helloooooo lovely people reading this
I planned to post this on Friday. Then life happened so it's Sunday now but this chapter is over 4.5 thousand words so have funI tried my best with the sign names. I researched JSL sign names but still don’t fully understand how they worked, so they use the ASL method of name signs to hopefully minimize my chances of messing it up. Please correct me if I do something wrong with them! My knowledge of sign in general is limited and I haven’t had time to research more.
Anyway, enjoy the long chapter this week!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Shopping was a bit chaotic in their family. By all means, Hitoshi enjoyed it, but going out with more than two people was overwhelming. He would rather stay home, but they weren’t old enough to be left by themselves yet. Fuyumi was out on a not-date with Rumi today, while Natsuo wasn’t old enough to babysit. Touya and Hawks were both working at their internships, and would be until tonight. Auntie Rei and Dad-Shi were at their works too. It left everyone else to be dragged out shopping with Momma Ink.
Hitoshi didn’t complain though. Momma Ink was always good about knowing who didn’t like shopping. As long as they stay in the store, or directly outside the windows of it, they could wander around as they pleased.
He took advantage of that and split off when he started getting bored. Hitoshi loved his mom, and he understood why their budget had to be more specific than most families, but there was only so much time he could stand debating what type of noodles to get. He wasn’t the only one, to be fair. Shouto strayed off towards the comic book section with Izuku on his tail. Mina had disappeared to look at stuffed animals at some point.
Hitoshi put his hands in his jacket pockets as he wandered around. It hadn’t rained yet today, but it looked like it would soon. Mina and Katsuki would need new shoes with how often they dared each other to jump in mud puddles. It was fun though, so Hitoshi joined them sometimes. He didn’t like the cold though. Hadn’t since he was small.
After meandering across half the store, Hitoshi remembered that there were televisions in the front window. Ones that tended to play hero news. He headed back to Momma Ink, letting her know where he was going so he didn’t worry her. Once that was done he weaved through the aisles to get outside, waving to his siblings if he saw them on the way.
A blast of chilly air met him at the door. Hitoshi shivered, hunching in his shoulders like it would help shield him. He looked around before spotting the TVs flickering in the dim winter daylight. It was playing a hero fight, a live one. Hitoshi grinned, and went to watch for a few minutes.
It was a relatively new hero, Best Jeanist, who had been quickly climbing the ranks since his debut as a pro. Hitoshi thought he was a good person. All the interviews they watched showed the man to be humble and determined. Though he was splitting his career between a fashion line and hero work, Best Jeanist didn’t seem money hungry. He usually focused on civilian safety before facing a villain. His quirk was cool too.
Hitoshi watched the fight, analyzing it in the back of his mind. Just small things that could be done slightly better. After being a part of the Midoriya family for so long, some of Zu’s intelligence had rubbed off on him. He was nowhere near as smart as his brother, but he was definitely ahead of their class in some subjects.
The villain, someone with some sort of energy quirk, was quickly taken down by Best Jeanist. A simple capture really. It had been complicated by the villain being able to create what were essentially flash bangs with their hands, but ultimately his own clothes are what took him down. Hitoshi wondered if Katsuki could make flash bangs with his explosions.
The villain broke out of his bonds for a moment before the police could cart them away. Hitoshi watched, but then heard a noise. One he could never ignore.
It was a cat meowing from the alleyway to his left. Hitoshi crept closer with near-silent steps, intent on at least getting a glimpse of the kitty. It might be hurt, after all. Momma Ink didn’t let them keep the cats they found, but she let them help whichever ones needed it.
He peeked down the alley, nothing immediately jumping out to him. Hitoshi paused before stepping into it. There was either a cat, or this was a trap. Meh, he could fight them off if it really was a trap. Or try to, at least. Make enough noise for one of his siblings or Momma Ink to hear him. They’d never let him get hurt.
“Here, kitty kitty kitty,” he said quietly. “Pspspspsp, here kitty.”
Hitoshi looked around, watching for a shift in any of his surroundings. There was nothing, so he moved slightly deeper into the alley. He was keenly aware of how Dad-Shi had told them that villains liked to hide in places like this.
A loud meow rang out down the alley. Not an injured noise, but loud nonetheless. Hitoshi paused, then moved closer. There was a dumpster and then a dead end. Kind of like where they found the Hisames, but without the twists and turns.
Hitoshi’s shoulder brushed the side of the alley as he peeked around the dumpster. He didn’t want to get too close, just in case it was a trap or it scared the cat. A frightened and cornered animal was not one to mess with.
He looked around the side of the dumpster, and froze.
That was definitely not just a cat.
Hitoshi hardly blinked, and stayed very, very still as the kid stared back at him. Both didn’t dare to move for a moment. What could they even do? Finding another child in an alleyway wasn’t exactly on the list of situations someone is prepared for on a daily basis.
“Uh, hi?” Hitoshi said, wincing at how the sound echoed off the alley walls. The kid flinched, pressing farther back against the wall.
Hitoshi shut his mouth again, wracking his brain for what to do. What he wouldn’t give for Zu to be here right now. He was better with this sorta thing. Maybe Min, she was…bright. Physically and metaphorically. She was like living sunshine, but she knew when to tone it down like Izuku.
But they weren’t here, so Hitoshi couldn’t rely on them right now. He had to deal with this on his own. Do something without their help. He could do this. Hopefully. All he had to do was what Izuku or Momma Ink would. How hard could it be?
Hitoshi looked the kid over for a minute, becoming increasingly aware of how long neither of them had said a word. They looked relatively clean, so probably not homeless. His clothes looked too small for him, but they weren’t outright rags. His shoes were worn from use but not entirely broken.
He also looked part rock…or something. Hitoshi wasn’t quite sure. The kid was bigger than he was though, that was for sure. They looked kind though.
There was also a cat in his lap. The cat that had meowed most likely. It was a brown tabby cat that looked better fed than some of the other strays. It was still dusty, but definitely healthier than the average cat found in an alleyway. The cat also looked proud of itself, if that was possible.
“Sorry if I scared you,” Hitoshi said quietly, hoping to not scare the kid or the cat. “I heard the cat meowing, and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t hurt.”
The kid watched him closely, but he almost seemed to relax slightly at that. Hitoshi very slowly sat down on the concrete. No sudden movements, he reminded himself. No loud noises. He could do this. Maybe if he kept talking the kid would respond and Hitoshi could ask if he was ok.
“Is that your cat? It looks better off than most of the strays around here. Unless it’s Tilly, she begs for scraps from everyone and has exactly zero fear of people. Momma Ink won’t let me take her home though, since she might actually belong to someone that lets her wander.”
Hitoshi didn’t know why he was rambling, but it's what Zu did so maybe it would help.
“There’s also Maggy, who only likes my brother because he has half a fire quirk. Well, my other brother is iffy on her like list because he’s also warm but he’s loud.”
Hitoshi paused, taking a second to look at the kid again. He hadn’t made a peep. Only then did it strike Hitoshi that maybe they couldn't hear him. That they were possibly deaf to some extent. Seeing as Hitoshi couldn’t spot any hearing aids on the kid, if that was the case it was no wonder the kid hadn’t responded.
Well, good thing he knew sign language.
“Your cat?” He signed, mouthing the words along with the signs.
“You sign?!” The kid signed rapidly, looking shocked.
“Yes, because of my quirk and family. Also useful for hero work.”
The kid paused, hands hesitating midair. The cat meowed, head butting his arm.
“Deaf?” Hitoshi asked.
“Selectively mute. You asked about the cat?”
Hitoshi nodded, processing that answer and the deflection. Being selectively mute was something he had heard of. It meant a person had the ability to speak, but something was stopping them from doing it. Mostly a mental problem, but it stemmed from physical things.
“Sort of my cat. Stays near me, but not allowed inside. Her name is P-E-E-V-E.”
“Peeve?” Hitoshi said out loud.
“Yes. She is my biggest pet, P-e-e-v-e.”
Hitoshi tried to cover his laughter, and failed. The kid looked amused and proud of himself.
“Well that’s the best thing I’ve heard all day,” Hitoshi said, wiping his eyes. “My name’s Hitoshi Shinsou. Your name?”
The kid hesitated, then signed back. “K-o-u-j-i K-o-u-d-a.”
“That’s a cool name. Do you have a name sign? I can show you the one I have, if you want.”
Kouda paused for a moment, before making the sign for K over his mouth. Hitoshi copied him, mouthing the name alongside it.
Hitoshi then did his own name sign. The fun one his siblings made and his actual one, which was the sign for H in front of his neck. Kouda looked both amused and skeptical of the first one.
“Sleep Cat?”
“Brother and sister’s fault. I-Z-U-K-U and M-I-N-A.”
“Family?”
“In the store.” Hitoshi pointed to behind them, which was the store he had come out of. Then he had an idea. “Want to meet them?”
Kouda faltered, obviously not expecting that. Hitoshi realized how that might have sounded, and then rushed to fix his mistake.
“They like cats and meeting new people, sorry if that sounded bad. Momma Ink won’t let us keep pets because we don’t know how to take care of them yet. You’re probably really good at taking care of Peeve though, so maybe you could tell us some things if that’s alright?”
“Won’t talk.”
“Oh, that’s ok. We all know sign. Some of it, at least. Our brother’s a bit deaf from his quirk, so we all wanted to learn sign, and sometimes I don’t want to talk at all so I use sign instead. It has tactical advantages too, since we want to be heroes.”
Kouda blinked for a minute, stupefied at the notion that an entire family would learn sign. Hitoshi gave him a second. He knew how world-shaking the Midoriyas could be. They had been his family for around five years now, and that was still a constant in his life.
“…ok.”
“Cool. They’ll probably be out soon if you want to stay here. Although Izuku will probably-“
“Hitoshi! Hitoshi, where did you go!”
“-be here right about now. Are you ok with meeting him?”
“Yes.”
“Alright then. Izuku! Down the alley and near the dumpster!”
“Hitoshi, why.”
“You’ll see!”
Hitoshi waited patiently for his brother to come into view. He did after a second, looking both confused and exasperated. “Toshi, did you find another cat?”
“Bit more than a cat this time. Don’t be loud.”
Izuku walked over, and jumped when he noticed Kouda. He exchanged a look with Hitoshi.
“Oh, who are you?”
Kouda hesitated, glancing at Hitoshi. He nodded in encouragement.
“K-O-U-D-A.”
“Oh! You sign! Wait, you might be deaf. You sign!”
“Yes. Not deaf though, mute.”
“Cool!” Hitoshi could pinpoint the exact moment Izuku noticed Peeve. “Your cat?”
“Yes.”
“Her name is Peeve,” Hitoshi said, stifling his laughter. Izuku didn’t though.
“That name is the best thing ever.”
“I thought so too. He’s Kouda’s sorta-cat. Think Momma Ink’ll let us get a cat if he tells us how to take care of one?”
“Maybe! Can you, K-O-U-D-A?”
“Maybe?” Kouda paused, looking between the two of them and his cat. “Feed and pet them. Give blankets to stay warm. Let inside when it rains.”
“Sounds easy enough!” Izuku chirped happily. “Are you ok with telling our mom? She won’t let us get a cat until we know how to take care of one, but we don’t know how to learn since no one we know has a cat.”
“I can do that.”
“Perfect!” Izuku both signed and said out loud. “Momma is almost done. Outside in a minute.”
“Everyone else helping with checking out?” Hitoshi asked, still sitting on the ground.
“Yeah. Not many bags, but it takes a bit to collect everyone.”
“Kat try to carry too many things again?”
“Of course he did.”
Kouda waved his hands to get their attention. They both turned to him, watching intently. “How many brothers and sisters? Sounds like a lot.”
“Three sisters and five brothers, three not here,” Izuku answered.
“That’s a lot.”
“It is.”
“Most of us share a room,” Hitoshi said. “Pretty sure none of us remember whose clothes are whose by this point. Momma Ink started a sock bin and we just grab from there instead of keeping them separate.”
“I think Kacchan is wearing my shirt.”
“No, that one was mine.”
“Is not.”
“Is too.”
“Are all brothers like this?”
“In general, or just this one?” Hitoshi asked. Izuku squawked in indignation.
“I am nice, thank you very much,” Izuku signed.
“Of course you are. You also kicked a kid in the shin yesterday.”
“He was being mean to Mina, what was I supposed to do?”
“Fair.”
The two bickered for another minute, knowing neither meant their jabs to be anything but playful. Kouda stayed silent, signing-wise and in general, just watching the two brothers. It was probably amusing. Or weird, but Hitoshi didn’t think too hard on it.
They heard their family come outside, and got to their feet. Kouda followed them, cradling Peeve in his arms. The cat didn’t protest in the slightest.
Hitoshi checked again that it was ok with Kouda for him to meet them all. The answer stayed the same. Together, the three of them rounded the corner out of the alley.
Izuku was promptly almost tackled by Katsuki, who then proceeded to put him in a headlock. The two made noises not unlike squabbling birds. Hitoshi just stepped around them, guiding Kouda back towards their mom. He stuck close and away from the two wrestling on the sidewalk. Momma Ink looked up when they got close, eyes immediately landing on Kouda.
“This is Kouda,” Hitoshi introduced, waving the other boy forward. “He has a cat.”
“I can see that.”
“And I thought that if he could teach us how to take care of her, then maybe we can get a cat too?”
Momma Ink paused, a small, slightly exasperated grin appearing on her face. “Hitoshi, it takes more than just telling someone how to take care of a cat for you to know how to keep one happy and healthy.”
“But how else are we supposed to learn then? We don’t know anyone that has a cat!”
“There’s other ways Hitoshi,” she said patiently. “But why don’t you tell me why you were in an alley first?”
“Um, I heard Peeve.”
“Peeve?”
“Kouda’s cat! Her name is Peeve.”
Mina took that moment to bounce up, staying a respectable distance away from Kouda instead of going to pet Peeve. “So you found both a kid and a cat this time!”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Hi Kouda!” Mina chirped. “My name’s Mina! I’m this dork’s sister.”
Kouda quickly looked over to Hitoshi, obviously slightly panicked about responding.
“She knows sign,” he signed to Kouda.
“I know sign!” Mina repeated, making her movements enthusiastic enough to look like the sign equivalent of yelling. “Your cat is pretty.”
“Thank you?” He signed with one hand, holding Peeve with the other, and still looking a bit baffled.
“Kouda,” Momma Ink said out loud, though she signed the words along with them. “Why are you out here by yourself?”
“Foster home lets me go where I want. More interesting in the city, and Peeve is here. They don’t care unless it’s after curfew.”
Momma Ink blinked, and got a look that Hitoshi recognized. He couldn’t help smiling after seeing it.
“Would you like us to walk you back then? The sun will be setting soon, and I wouldn’t want to leave you out here by yourself at night.”
“No thank you,” Kouda signed, still looking a bit shell shocked about all of them knowing sign. “And I’m not by myself. I have Peeve. She scares away the bad guys.”
“She does?” Hitoshi said.
Kouda nodded. He then grabbed Peeve’s attention, and made the sign for…ghost?
Peeve then turned into…well, a ghost. More like a wraith honestly. Mina yelped, jumping away. Hitoshi blinked a few times to make sure he wasn’t imagining it.
Peeve was now pitch black, almost seeming to flicker and twist like a candle flame. Her eyes were a glowing orange. If Hitoshi looked at her for more than two seconds, he swore she turned into a skeleton, and that he felt fear physically settle over his shoulders.
It was awesome.
Peeve turned back to normal after a moment. The whole family was staring. Kouda seemed oblivious to it, cooing at his cat in meows and chirps, the first noise Hitoshi had heard him make. She preened at the praise, purring in his arms.
“Well, I think he’s safe, Momma Ink.”
“Yes…I suppose so.”
Kouda looked back up then, remembering there were other people with him. He stopped patting his cat, using the hand to sign. “I am ok. Can go by myself. Thank you for offering.”
“It’s no trouble, Kouda,” Momma Ink said kindly. “Just be safe on your way, alright dear?”
“Ok. Thank you.”
“Can you still tell us how to take care of a cat?” Mina asked excitedly. “And is it ok if I pet Peeve?”
“Yes and yes.”
Hitoshi called the rest of his siblings over, breaking up the squabbling between Izuku and Katsuki in the process. They all gathered around Kouda, listening intently. Well, watching, since he was using sign. Izuku was taking notes. None of them knew where he got the notebook and pencil from.
Kouda explained about indoor and outdoor cats. About how they shed and didn’t need baths like dogs unless they got really dirty. Hitoshi was practically enraptured as he told them all he knew about cats.
“Don’t let them eat things like chocolate, tea, coffee, grapes, garlic, and milk stuff.”
Momo raised her hand like they were in school. Everyone turned to listen to her anyway. “Don’t cats like milk?”
“Like it, but not good for them. They’re allergic.”
“Most animals are lactose intolerant after they get big,” Izuku rattled off. “Humans are some of the only ones that don’t, even then there’s exceptions since milk allergies are a thing.”
“Yes,” Kouda signed, looking a lot more at ease than when Hitoshi had first found him. “ Peeve tried to eat everything. I taught her what to not eat.”
“That’s so cool!” Izuku gasped.
Kouda gave them a small smile, and Hitoshi couldn’t help smiling too. Izuku’s enthusiasm was infectious. It brought people out of their shells. He loved that his brother could do that.
“Alright kids,” Momma Ink said, catching all of their attention. “I think it’s time to go back home. Are you sure you don’t want us to walk you home, Kouda?”
“I am sure, thank you.”
“Ok then. I hope you have a safe trip home, Kouda.”
Hitoshi then saw the boy smile. Truly smile. It was like staring directly at pure sunshine in a pale meadow full of butterflies.
“Fuck, there’s another one,” Katsuki whispered.
Hitoshi stifled his laughter, waving goodbye to Kouda as he and his siblings buddied up to walk back home. All of them were chattering about Kouda and Peeve. Momma Ink might not let them get a cat immediately, but knowing Izuku, he would be making a plan for that tonight.
Hitoshi hummed as they walked down the slowly darkening streets. He glanced over to Momma Ink, and saw she still had that look from earlier.
“Are you going to find his foster home, Momma Ink?” Hitoshi asked, knowing full well it wasn’t really a question.
Momma Ink smiled in a way that Hitoshi couldn’t help thinking was sharp as a knife. “I think you know the answer.”
“Yeah.” Hitoshi said, idly wondering if she would let them have a cat if Kouda came with said cat. “I know.”
~~~~~~~~~~
“Hey Momma, is that Touya on TV?”
Oh dear. Inko took a steading breath, then made her way to the living room. One glance at the TV and she saw that it was indeed her adopted nephew.
Touya was in his hero costume, a black trench coat reinforced with carbon-fiber. He also had a white armored chest piece, and what looked like normal black pants, which were made of almost the same material of his coat. Orange tinted goggles protected his eyes. All of it was fireproof. A good thing too, since Touya was glowing like a cerulean bonfire in the falling night.
Inko thought her nephew looked almost like a solid ghost with the whispering flames haloing him. The footage was being taken from a helicopter over a wide and almost empty street. Touya was standing inside a ring of fire, a self made shield. A group of five villains were surrounding him. Along the bottom of the screen, text read that the hero Dabi had interviewed in an attempted bank robbery.
Inko noted that every child was in the room, watching intently. Rei was too. Their eyes all stayed glued to the television as Touya flung an arc of flames at the advancing villains.
Everyone held their breath as the ring of fire was snuffed out. Inko wondered if this was the day she would watch her nephew get injured on the news. She wondered if the kids should be watching this, but made no move to make them leave yet.
Touya fought back with all he had. The helicopter circled around, the reporter going on about how it was so bright at times that she could barely see. Inko noticed her nephew yelling at the villains. It was riling them up, and they were making mistakes.
It still wasn’t a fair fight though. Five against one were not odds leaning in Touya’s favor. Especially since one of the villains seemed to be fire resistant. Not fireproof, since he still shied away from the extremely hot flames, but resistant to it.
Inko found herself gripping the back of the couch, eyes glued to the screen as her nephew fought for his life.
There was a collective gasp when Touya was hit with something they couldn’t see. The fire seemed to almost jump out of the way from whatever it was. Inko wondered if it was an air pressure quirk that one of the villain’s had.
Touya flew backwards, landing on his side and skidding on cement a few feet. The family held their breath, waiting for him to move. Waiting for him to get up and tell them he was ok. He did thankfully, after a moment.
“Momma, will Aniki be ok?” Izuku asked in a small voice.
“I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“But…but that’s a lot of villains.”
“He’ll be alright, sweetie,” Inko said, hoping her fear didn’t show through her words.
Touya dragged himself to his feet, favoring one side. Maybe a broken or bruised rib. Definitely some burns from his quirk by now, and maybe cuts on his face from hitting concrete. Not life threatening yet, but not good.
Though the helicopter blocked out most other sounds, Touya’s yelling managed to reach the camera. Just enough that the words were barely audible. Inko covered her grin with a hand when she heard what he was saying.
“That all you got, you bastards?! My old man hit harder than you, and he’s a piece of shit!” Touya yelled at the villains. Inko heard the reporter choke on what she had been saying.
“Oh dear,” Rei laughed.
Then the five villains, all at once, charged at Touya. He looked to be bracing himself, thoughts visibly running through his head. Even from through a helicopter and TV, Inko could tell he was determined to leave the fight alive.
And then, a red blur shot into frame like a bullet. It splintered into smaller pieces, red fragments zooming off to grab the villains. They were all pinned to the ground hardly three seconds later. A person hit the ground, stumbling as they did, before racing over to Touya.
It was Hawks. Inko breathed a sigh of relief at the boy’s appearance. All five of the villains were nailed down to the ground, red feathers driven through their clothes and deep into the dirt. He was worried, and angry, that much was obvious even from so far away.
Hawks helped Touya steady himself, looking two seconds away from just scooping him up and flying away. Except for one slight problem. He had used all of his feathers on the villains. All of his feathers. It would take almost a week at least for them to grow back. Where they used to be attached now looked like a down-feathered skeleton, which wasn’t exactly wrong.
Police flooded the scene, cuffing the villains with varying levels of resistance. The feathers fell soft and limp. Even then, it was an obvious challenge to uproot them first. Inko smiled as everyone else cheered. The news cut off a second after the reporter signed off.
Not five minutes later, and Inko’s phone started ringing. She smiled, already knowing who it was and what it was for.
“Uhh, hey Aunt Inko. I was wondering-“
“He can stay here Touya, as long as things stay PG between you two inside the house.”
She heard sputtering from two people on the other end. Inko covered her laughter, still listening.
“Aunt Inko I’m not- we’re not- WE’D NEVER!”
“Of course, of course. We’ll set up the futon. Tell Hawks that we’re having chicken for dinner then.” Inko heard cheering through the phone.
“Thanks, Aunt Inko. We’ll be back soon. Gotta go to the hospital first and all that.”
“I understand. Good luck, Touya, and listen to the doctors.”
“I will, bye Aunt Inko!”
There was another muffled “Bye Mrs. Inko!” followed by Touya hanging up.
Inko went about making dinner, having two little helpers and Rei this time. She couldn’t help being so, so very grateful that her nephews were safe. The dangers in that line of work were great. At least they had the other though, that would make all the difference.
It was why both Hisashi and her were alive, after all. It would serve her family well too.
Notes:
Thing I learned this week: The hummingbirds in my area are aggressive little birbs and hate each other with a condensed burning passion
Next chapter!: Meeting up with Kouda again! Cuteness! Slight angst! Pretty sure this is the one I wrote at 3am but turned out ok
Chapter 43: Lucky Number Seven
Summary:
Fluffy babiesssss
Both literal and metaphorical
Notes:
Hello beautiful person beyond the screen
I wrote half of this at 3am but I think it turned out pretty good! Have some more of the soft boy and plot being slingshot into family territory
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Having a de-feathered Hawks around the house was…different. Mostly because he just didn’t leave for an entire week. Something that would undoubtedly make his caretaker annoyed, but it was under the guise of school so it’s not like they could get too mad.
Touya was honestly loving that his boyfriend chose to stay with them. They got to cuddle and be around the other constantly, how could he not?
Ok, there was the fact that there were peeping eyes around every damned corner, but it was still nice. Touya couldn’t help thinking it was good practice for when they moved into an apartment together. The two of them had talked about it before, mostly when they brought up their lives after graduation. Hawks wanted to start his own agency once they graduated, which they would need to be in the city for, and Touya wanted to go to the nearby college and get a degree.
So yeah, Touya loved it. He loved that he got to snuggle and talk with his boyfriend instead of text. He loved that he got to help Hawks sort out his new feathers, and that his boyfriend practically melted when he helped with preening. He especially loved the fact that he got to see Hawks play with his little siblings. It was one of the cutest things ever.
It made him wonder if they would ever adopt kids.
That thought was quickly shoved out of his head. They had school still, and their entire careers to carve out yet. Touya loved Hawks, but he wasn’t sure his boyfriend was ready for that kind of commitment. He had to be free first. Touya could worry about marriage and kids and whatnot after his boyfriend was out from under the Commission’s thumb.
Besides, Touya had enough small children to take care of right now. Currently he and Hawks were taking the six of them to the park. Aunt Inko needed quiet to get some work done, so they volunteered to get the small ones out of her hair. Mom was with them though, since it was usually a smart idea to have more than two people watching this many kids.
An even better idea since they were going to the big park in the city, not the one down the street. Touya wondered if Aunt Inko would consider getting one of those kindergarten rope things. It would certainly make keeping track of everyone easier. Even with the buddy system it was hard to keep them all on track sometimes.
Getting there was decently easy, all things considered. No villains interfered. None of the kids wandered off either. Hawks watched from overhead, relishing in the feeling of being able to fly again after a week of being quite literally grounded. Touya watched his boyfriend glide over the streets, just smiling softly.
As soon as they arrived, all six kids scattered. Touya panicked for a moment, worried about keeping an eye on all of them. Mom just set a hand on his arm and watched them go.
“They’ll be fine, Touya. Just watch from a distance.”
He nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly. Those were his siblings! He didn’t want them getting hurt. But…but they were getting bigger now, and smarter. They weren’t the small kids Touya had first met.
Didn’t mean he wasn’t going to keep an eye on them though. It would just be from a bit farther back now. And maybe from the sky, if his boyfriend was recovered enough to carry him.
Touya took a seat on a bench for now, just watching as his little siblings ran around. Katsuki was quite literally blasting himself off the swings. Mina was squealing from her own swing, but not launching herself off like him. Good.
Momo was on the monkey bars, hanging upside down. Shouto looked utterly confused on how she had done that. Izuku was…was he scaling the play structure? Yeah, he was. Hitoshi was standing at the base of it, watching in a mix of awe and worry.
Touya wondered when his siblings had become monkeys. Monkeys that were going to give him heart palpitations.
He didn’t intervene though. Izuku made it back to the ground safely. Shouto fell off the monkey bars, but he got right back up, so he was probably fine. Hitoshi migrated to the swings at one point. Mina had somehow gotten on top of the swing-set. How she got there was a mystery that Touya wasn’t going to question.
And then one of them gave Touya a freaking heart attack by screeching at the top of their lungs. Luckily it was a word other than “ow.”
“KOUDA!”
Touya whipped around, seeing it was Hitoshi who had yelled. Said purple fluff was racing over to another kid in the park. The name sounded familiar though.
“Oh, is that the boy Inko and the kids ran into last week?” Mom said.
Ah, that explained it. It was the boy Aunt Inko had run into, and began researching specific foster homes soon after. She claimed there was no connection. Touya recognized the binder she brought out.
“Kouda!” The rest of the kids echoed, now running from across the playground to see the boy that Touya thought looked a tad bit like a rock.
From where he was, Touya could just barely make out that the kid was signing instead of speaking. Right, Kouda was mute, Aunt Inko had mentioned that too. It was a good thing they all knew sign, if only some of the more common ones. Mom was learning too.
Touya watched as Hitoshi asked Kouda something, then grabbed his hand. His little brother then practically dragged the taller kid over to Mom and him. Hawks was currently doing corkscrews in the sky.
“Aniki! This is Kouda!” Hitoshi introduced enthusiastically. “We met him last week and he has a cat!”
“Cool!” Touya responded.
“Can we take him with us to ice cream after?”
Mom answered for him. “Of course, sweetie. As long as Kouda is ok with all of us going.”
The silent boy nodded, a small smile on his face. Mom returned it, a sight that was becoming more and more common.
“Thank you, Auntie! Come on Kouda, let’s go play! Are there any games you like?”
Hitoshi led the other boy away and onto the playground, the two signing back and forth. A gaggle of siblings followed after them. It was amusing, to say the least. Touya watched, glancing up every once in a while to make sure his boyfriend wouldn’t drop out of the sky.
He jolted when he felt something land in his lap. Touya looked down, and saw that the thing was a cat. A cute and fuzzy brown tabby that, despite Touya running cold, curled right up in his lap. It was adorable, and he couldn’t resist cooing at it.
“Hmm, do you think this is the cat Hitoshi was talking about?” Mom asked.
“Probably,” Touya hummed. “Think Aunt Inko will finally let them get a cat since it comes with a kid?”
“Can Inko really say no to their faces?”
“Nope.”
The two of them laughed, Touya petting Peeve. She purred in his lap, demanding attention from both of them. Happy shrieking sounded in the background.
He took a moment to feel bad for whatever ice cream place they visited after this.
~~~~~~~~~~
Inko was very happy the kids weren’t home right now. Why? Oh, just the fact that she was angrily baking five dozen cookies. It was that or hurl dishes at the wall, so cookies it was.
She had gotten off the phone with a social worker almost an hour ago, and Hisashi maybe half an hour later. Inko had just needed to vent about the situation before she did something she might regret. Like breaking their ceramic bowls or marching into the city to steal a specific child and their cat.
So yes, Inko was a tad bit livid. Just a little bit. Maybe a lot, but making cookies helped.
The conversation kept replaying in her head. The person over the phone’s words just repeating in an endless loop. “There’s nothing we can do,” they had said. “It’s the foster parents decision how to parent, and as long as the kid is safe with them we can’t interfere.”
“Nothing you can do, my butt,” Inko grumbled, mixing more chocolate chips into the batter. “He’s wandering around the city without an adult. There’s only so much a cat can do.”
It was ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. Inko would be tempted to call that person back to berate them on child safety if her hands weren’t covered in cookie dough. She was also tempted to just sue the foster home, but she had been told that wasn’t possible either since the house wasn’t technically doing anything illegal.
It was on the third batch of cookies, snickerdoodles this time, that Inko finally organized her thoughts enough to make a plan. A plan that consisted of the basic elements of “screw it, I’m adopting him myself then.”
After talking with Hisashi and Rei of course. And the kids, although Inko had a suspicion it wouldn’t take much convincing with them. Or the other adults for that matter. Once they got back from the park she would ask. After that it would be a lot of paperwork and more visits from social workers.
Inko hardened her resolve, and put more cookies in the oven.
~~~~~~~~~
Kouji liked his new friends. And that’s what they were, he realized. Friends. He hadn’t had a real friend in…forever. Peeve didn’t count. She was more like a mom, or an older sister that took care of him, despite the fact that she was a cat.
And they all knew sign language! That had been the biggest shock of his life, seeing an entire family that knew sign. Kouji had honestly been surprised when someone responded to Peeve’s yelling. More so that it was a kid his age, who had just walked down an alley after a cat’s meowing like their parents had never warned them what lurked there. It quickly became obvious that wasn’t the case, but still.
He was happy though! This was probably the happiest Kouji had ever been in a long time. He and his friends met up at the city park whenever they could, and Kouji had seen them a few times just out in the city. The whole family was really nice. A lot of people, but nice. Peeve liked them too, so that definitely counted for something. If she trusted them then so would Kouji.
His foster house was nice too. Better than his last one at least. The parents here were decent to him. They gave him food, shelter, and as long as he didn’t bring Peeve inside they didn’t really care what he did. These ones at least knew a bit of sign too. It was better than before, but…
But he was beginning to see where they lacked. Before the Midoriyas, he thought it was fine. He had freedom! Kouji could go where he wanted, when he wanted, as long as it wasn’t dark out.
Then he met the Midoriyas. They knew sign, so they could talk to him. Kouji hadn’t noticed how much he actually longed for that until he had it. And they cared for him. They gave him food, and hugs if he said it was ok, and they even liked Peeve! And the kids played with him. Kouji hadn’t had that in a long time. Since before…before…huh. He hadn’t had that since before he went mute.
It was really nice, having friends again. Ones that didn’t make him talk. Ones that didn’t steal his food and demanded he use his quirk to force animals to do things. People that didn’t ignore him until his voice blinked out like a burnt lightbulb.
Kouji liked his new friends so, so much. They were everything the people at his school weren’t. The Midoriyas were kind, and helpful, and smart. He had genuine friends for the first time in what felt like an eternity.
But then his world got shaken down to its foundation.
“Someone is adopting you.”
What.
“They asked for you specifically, for some reason.”
What.
“Your social worker will be here in an hour to pick you up. Go ahead and pack your stuff, kid. We have trash bags if you need them.”
His foster mother walked back towards the living room, probably to catch up on one of her shows. It left his room utterly silent. It felt sharp, stifling, like a thick fog was invading his lungs and his ears and his head.
He was…he was being adopted? By people he didn’t know. They would probably move away, and he would have to say goodbye to his friends. Would he get to say goodbye? Or would they just make him leave, giving the Midoriyas no answer on why he just disappeared.
Maybe…maybe there would be a trial period. He could convince them to let him come back to the foster home. Usually just his refusal to talk was enough for that. It had happened before. If he did it on purpose this time, surely it wouldn’t be too hard?
He would still have to pack though. How much could he bring? Kouji had been in this home for maybe two years now, so he had some actual things here. Hopefully it would all fit into his backpack instead of a trash bag. It was weird carrying that, even if it was only into the front yard.
On shaky legs, Kouji got to his feet to pack. He grabbed his clothes and the few trinkets he had collected. The stash of things from his past was already in his bag. It never left there, and maybe never would.
As he packed, his mind kept wandering. What would the people be like? Would they let him bring Peeve? She always seemed to find him anyway, but still, would they let her in the house? How far away would he be moving? What school would he go to? Would they make him homeschool because he didn’t speak?
So many questions circled his mind that Kouji was almost surprised there wasn’t a whirlwind in his room. His bag grew more full as he stuffed it to its limit. He really didn’t want to use a trash bag.
Before he knew it, the hour had almost passed. Kouji had everything that he needed, plus some granola bars he had stashed in the room. A knock on the door was all the warning he got before his foster mom was yelling for him to vacate his room.
Kouji hesitated in the doorway, looking back on the room he had had for over a year, and then went to see his social worker. The backpack hung heavy on his shoulders. He could hear voices echoing from the front room, voices he knew well. Was it too late to just run away? Maybe he could find the Midoriyas, explain, and then let himself be found. All he wanted to do was tell his friends that he hadn’t abandoned them. That was all he wanted.
“Kouji, there you are. Are you ready to go?” His social worker asked.
He nodded, knowing the women didn’t know a lot of sign. He didn’t need much to answer that question anyway.
“Well then we’ll be off. Have a nice day, Mrs. Chigaimasu.”
“You too. Goodbye, Kouji. It was nice having you here, kid.”
Kouji nodded, waving as he walked out the door. He wasn’t especially attached to his foster mom. She was a nice person, but mostly in it for the extra paycheck. At least she took care of him. Not like a real parent, but he couldn’t complain.
(Oh how he wanted to. He had seen what real caring was now. He knew what parents were supposed to be like)
“We’ll be going down to the agency where you will meet the adoptive parents. They’ve already signed paperwork to foster you, so you’ll be going with them after a small visit to make sure you fit with them. Alright?”
Kouji nodded, not able to do much else. He couldn’t sprint off right now. Not unless he wanted to be caught. Maybe between leaving the agency and whatever transportation the new people took. Yeah, that could work. That way he could at least see if they were decent.
He spotted Peeve in the bushes, and subtly waved her over. She sprinted to the car just as he opened the door, and leapt inside. Peeve knew better than to make noise in here. She stayed silent and hidden as the social worker started up the engine.
The drive was a decently short one. Hardly fifteen minutes to the agency, but it still felt like an eternity. More questions accumulated. Kouji couldn’t exactly ask what the people were like either. It was a simple set of signs, mostly, but the social worker was driving. He wouldn’t be able to ask until they were there, and by then it would be quicker to just meet them.
The two arrived, and Kouji got out before the social worker could open the door for him. Peeve raced off into the bushes, effectively invisible in her hiding place. She was a smart cat, and would find him afterwards.
The social worker didn’t notice a single thing amiss. She opened the agency door for Kouji, and lead him down a few hallways. The employees here were nice, at least. They waved as the two of them passed by.
“Alright, this is the room. Remember, nothing you wouldn’t do at your foster home, alright? I was told you don’t need an interpreter, so I’ll be right out here if you need me.”
Kouji nodded, curious now. Was this the type of person that actually knew sign? Or was it the type that insisted he could speak and thought taking away the interpreter would make him use his vocal cords? He loathed the latter.
Well, he wouldn’t know until he went in. With a deep breath, and death grip on his backpack straps, he opened the door.
“Kouji!”
He closed the door. Then opened it again. Then closed it again, and opened it one last time. Nope, not an illusion. Not a trick.
But- but it had to be.
Why else would the Midoriyas be standing in the room?
~~~~~~~~~~
Hitoshi was slightly confused when Kouji (which he had been told was ok to call him that last week) closed the door. Then he opened it again, but then closed it again.
When it opened again, it stayed open. Kouji stood in the doorway, staring at them with wide eyes. Hitoshi smiled brightly at his friend, and hopefully his new brother.
Momma Ink and Dad-Shi were here, of course, and so were Aneki and him! Just four though. It wasn’t often that they got to go out with so few of the kids. Hitoshi had leapt out of bed that morning and gotten ready in record time. How could he not? His friend was coming home today!
Kouji stepped into the room warily, like this was a big prank and someone was going to jump out and yell “Got you!”
“What?” Kouji signed, still looking shocked.
“Person did not tell you?”
“Said people are adopting me.”
“Yep!” Hitoshi chirped out loud. “As long as you’re ok with it.”
“I get to choose?”
“Yes! Only come if you want to.”
“We won’t make you do anything you don’t want to, Kouda,” Momma Ink said kindly, kneeling on the floor close to Kouji. “But, if you’re willing, we would like to give you a home. A permanent one.”
Hitoshi watched as tears gathered in his friend’s eyes. He wiped them away, and slowly nodded. A shaky smile broke through his tears.
“Can I hug you?” Hitoshi asked quietly.
The answer he got was Kouji launching himself forward. Hitoshi stumbled slightly, since Kouji was still bigger, but didn’t fall. He just giggled, wrapping his arms around his friend. His new brother.
“So, you want to come with us?” He asked, just to be sure.
“Yes yes yes yes yes-“
Hitoshi laughed again at Kouji’s repeated signs. They were both smiling and crying now.
Momma Ink came up behind Hitoshi, ruffling his wild purple hair. “Then let’s go home.”
Notes:
Touya’s Mom Moment™ is almost copy pasted from when we first got my two littlest siblings and I acted like a first time mother XD
ALSO WE HAVE AN ART!!
Everyone’s new favorite Dabi line (By Midnightsong)I hope you liked the chapter!! I'm gonna share the title of the next one simply because I also thought of it at 3am and find it hilarious: Bugs: Coding or Jumping Into a Bush?
Chapter 44: Bugs: Coding or Jumping Into a Bush?
Summary:
I am very proud of this chapter title
Cuteness! House tour! I finally describe what the children's room looks like! And facing a fear
Notes:
Hellooooo I hope you're having a good day/night!! And if you aren't then may your tomorrow be better than your today
Sorry if there are errors in this one or if it looks less up to par than usual. Today has been…bad. Very Bad. Pro tip: do not drink very caffeinated things when stuck in a mental down spiral
Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Fuyumi was quiet on the car ride home, mostly because she was preoccupied with the cat that had made a home in her lap. They had picked Peeve up on their way to the car. Well, Kouji had. He meowed and she had come running out of the bushes, jumping into the car with no hesitation.
Peeve had almost immediately curled up on Fuyumi’s lap. Not a massive surprise, since she ran warm. The side effect of being built for a fire quirk. It was good for attracting fuzzy animals though. Welcome or not.
(Touya still hadn’t let her live down the time she fell asleep outside and woke up to a bunch of squirrels sleeping on her)
Hitoshi and Kouji were quiet on the ride back too, but that’s because they were signing back and forth the entire time. Aunt Inko and Uncle Hisashi sat in the front seat. They were talking, not loudly but not trying to hide it. Probably about where Kouji would sleep. There weren’t exactly many options he had to choose from.
The rest of the drive was quick, since there thankfully wasn’t too much traffic. Fuyumi could see everyone else perched in the windows of their house as they drove up. The two smaller kids threw open their car door, and the ones inside disappeared. They were probably scrambling their way down the stairs now.
Hitoshi all but dragged Kouji up the walkway. Fuyumi followed with Peeve in her arms. The cat was remarkably calm, which she was thankful for. This would be infinitely harder if she was squirming to be let down in the front yard.
The door was flung open with all the grace a pack of drunk monkeys had. Fuyumi kept a firm hold on Peeve, just in case the noise scared her. She watched as all the small children basically dog-piled Kouji and Hitoshi. They were all giggling though, so no one was hurt.
“Alright buckaroos!” Uncle Hisashi called loudly. “Into the house with you! We have to show Kouji around and ask where he wants to sleep.”
There was a clamor to get up and back through the doorway. Fuyumi waited until there weren’t children shoving and squealing before she walked inside. She didn’t set Peeve down quite yet though. The cat seemed content in her arms anyway, but they did still need to ask if she was litter box trained. At least they had already cat-proofed the house.
Fuyumi took refuge on the couch as Kouji was dragged around on a house tour.
~~~~~~~~~
“And this is Aniki and Aneki’s room, and there’s Natsuo’s. He has a lot of sports stuff. And there’s the bathroom, and over here’s Momma and Dad’s room,” Izuku rattled off, pointing to each one in turn.
Kouji trailed behind the bush-haired boy. The house was big, but smaller than he thought it would be. There were only four bedrooms upstairs. And one downstairs, but that one was for Rei.
The house was nice though. He could hardly tell twelve people lived here. They either just cleaned or were good about not leaving things out. From what he knew about a few of them, it varied from person to person. They covered each other's weak points. It was almost mind boggling how close they all were.
Kouji was honestly still reeling from the fact that someone wanted to adopt him, and those people being the Midoriyas just doubled his bewilderment . Today had been a rollercoaster of emotions so far. Not necessarily a bad one though.
“And this one is our room!”
Kouji blinked as Izuku threw open the door. It was a big room, that was for sure. Pushed against the far right corner was…a bed? It was on the floor, and was probably made of a few mattresses pushed together. There were blankets and pillows scattered absolutely everywhere on it.
The wall opposite him had a bunch of dressers, some stacked to be two tall. It made sense with how many people slept in here. A closet took up the wall to his left, which was right next to the door. Bookshelves were scrunched in the space opposite the massive bed.
The walls were also plastered with posters and other tacked up things. Glowing stars were stuck wherever they could fit, spreading to the ceiling. Knick knacks were on any flat surface they wouldn’t fall off of. Stacks of books overflowed from their shelves.
“We all sleep here! Mina and Kacchan used to sleep over there, but now we all sleep on our Super Bed. And we don’t fall off now!”
Kouji nodded along, only half understanding what his new brother was saying. It was interesting though. He had never met a family so touchy feely, or willing to be that close. It was different, but fitting. That was just how the Midoriyas were, and it was less of a surprise than he thought it would be.
“Come on, Kouji! Downstairs next!”
His hang was gently grabbed, loose enough that he could pull away if he wanted to. He didn’t though, and Hitoshi led him back down the hallway and to the stairs.
Kouji smiled, and hoped he really did get to have this family as his own.
~~~~~~~~~~
Lunch was mac and cheese! Hitoshi loved mac and cheese! Kouji did too, which is why they were having it. The house tour had gone well in Hitoshi’s opinion.
“So Kouji, what did you think of the house?” Dad-Shi asked over the table.
“Nice. Lots of people in the big room.”
“Ah, yeah. Started with Izuku, Hitoshi, and Shouto not being able to sleep without one another, and it sorta grew from there. They all just sleep together now.”
“Ok.” Kouji paused, seeming to mull over his words. “Can I sleep there too?”
Hitoshi smiled, bouncing excitedly in his chair. Dad-Shi blinked, but mirrored his grin after a moment.
“Of course you can,” Dad-Shi signed. Then out loud he said, “Would you like a separate mattress, or are you ok with being added to the sleeping pile?”
“Sleep with others.”
“Alright then, that’s one problem solved. We were going to ask if you would like to share with Natsuo, but I guess the power of the cuddle pile is too strong to resist.”
Momma Ink gently whacked the back of Dad-Shi’s head. He laughed, before snagging her hand to pull her down for a kiss. There was a chorus of “ewww”s that followed it. Hitoshi giggled at Kouji’s confused face.
“Guess we’re going shopping later then,” Auntie Rei hummed.
“Oh yeah, the Urarakas called. Ochako wants to come over and play today, if that’s ok, love?”
“She’s welcome here anytime,” Momma Ink said.
“Perfect! I’ll tell Korobu that he can bring her by later.”
“Do you think Peeve will like her?” Mina asked.
As if the cat could hear her, Peeve was suddenly standing on the table. There were shrieks and shuffling of food. She snatched a noodle from the table before sprinting out of the room, children on her tail.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Kids! Ochako’s-“ A sound that was probably the front door slamming into the opposite wall echoed through the house. “-here, yep. Ok. They’re upstairs, Ochako.”
“Thanks, Uncle Sashi!”
“Anytime, kiddo. Try not to get anyone stuck on the roof this time, yeah?”
“Ok!”
Momo giggled, exchanging a quick glance with Izuku. Ochako’s quick steps made their way up the stairs. All of them were already staring at the door when she burst through it. Kouji looked a bit wary, Peeve curled in his lap, at the sudden appearance of the loud person.
“Ocha!” Izuku crowed happily, shooting to his feet.
“Zuzu!”
The two crashed in a hug, falling to the floor in a giggling mess. Momo shook her head fondly. This happened every time.
Ochako wiggled her way out from under Izuku. Then she saw Kouji, and presumably Peeve, and gasped dramatically. She ran over, excitedly using the bit of sign language they had taught her so far.
“Hello! My name is O-C-H-A-K-O! Your name is K-O-U-J-I?”
“Yes. Nice to meet you.”
“Is that P-E-E-V-E?”
“Yes. Want to pet her?”
“Uhh, what was that last part?” She asked, obviously sheepish at not understanding.
“He’s asking if you wanna pet Peeve,” Hitoshi translated.
“Oh! Yes please!”
Ochako plopped on the floor in front of Kouji, sticking her hand out for Peeve to sniff. Momo finished putting away her homework. Goodness knows she wouldn’t be getting any of it done if Ochako was over. She was an amazing friend, but they liked to go on adventures when she came over instead of sitting and doing boring things.
Well, Momo didn’t think their homework was boring, but the adventures were certainly more entertaining. More often than not someone ended up somewhere they weren’t supposed to be. Like the roof, the top of a tree, the ceiling. That one had been funny.
Today seemed to be no exception for adventures.
“Can we go explore the woods today? Dad and Mom have been busy lately, so I haven’t been in a while,” Ochako asked. Momo had been expecting it.
“Sure! As long as Dad and Momma are ok with it,” Izuku answered. “Maybe we can take Auntie Rei with us!”
“Ok!”
They all got up, Kouji gently and nervously setting Peeve on the floor, and headed down the stairs. The adults were all scattered around the kitchen. Mom was doing her work at the table, while Auntie Rei dug through the cabinets. Probably for the tea box Dad always put back in a different place than he’d found it.
“Momma! Can we go explore the woods with Ocha?” Izuku asked excitedly.
“Hm, who can you take to watch you?”
“Umm, hey Auntie Rei?”
“Yes dear?”
“Can you take us to the woods?”
Momo giggled at Auntie Rei’s face. It was one of theatrical contemplation, and it made them all laugh.
“Auntie Reiiii,” Hitoshi whined through his giggling.
“Please?” Mina begged, grabbing her hand while jumping up and down. “Can you please, please, please take us to the woods?”
“Hmm, I supposed I can.”
There was a chorus of cheering, and eight pairs of feet pattering towards the door. Momo raced ahead of them, snatching whichever jacket she could grab first. It was one of their Eraserhead ones that had been flung onto a high hook. Momo was tall enough to reach the highest ones now, and she had no qualms with using her newfound height to reach what she wanted.
“Aw, Momo! I wanted that one!”
“We have three others!” She protested, already slipping the jacket on.
“Yeah but I wanted that one!”
“Too bad!”
Momo laughed at Hitoshi’s affronted look, before darting out the door. Everyone else followed a moment later, wearing whatever jacket or hoodie they could reach. Auntie Rei calmly walked out to them all playfully wrestling on the lawn. Kouji was just watching, but Momo had expected that.
“Alright, are you all ready to go?” Auntie Rei asked, getting their attention even though she hadn’t spoken very loud.
And they were off. They paired up with a buddy, holding hands, and moved in a semi-organized group towards the park. Momo smiled at Kouji as he watched them all. He had never had something like this. She hadn’t either before the Midoriyas, so she would show him how it worked.
“I think you’ll like the woods,” Momo hummed, deftly dodging a stray swing of Katsuki’s arm. “There’s lots of animals. Katsuki caught a pigeon there once. I have no idea how he managed to do that.”
Kouji gave a small laugh, and Momo beamed.
They got there quickly, hastened by the pairs of excited children walking too fast for their small legs. Auntie Rei kept up well though.
They all ran off once they arrived at the park, letting go of hands and streaking off towards the trees. Momo went to let go of Kouji’s, but he kept holding hers. A glance, a sheepish look, and they were running off still holding hands. Momo knew how he felt. She would gladly hold her new brother’s hand as they explored.
Ochako and Izuku led the charge. They disappeared into the trees first, everyone else following in a loose line. Someone started humming a song that was echoed by the rest. It was a forest’s moving symphony, marching through the trees and bushes.
Momo grabbed a stick along the way, tapping the rhythm onto whatever solid thing they passed. Kouji’s grip on her hand didn’t loosen as they went. If anything, it almost seemed to get tighter.
They were well into the woods when Momo stopped to look at something. She let the others know before going to investigate. Not doing that had led to a few… incidents, in the past. Lesson learned, water under the bridge, Momo went to look at the thing.
It turned out to be a leaf bug, not a sentient leaf that was making a break for freedom. Momo brushed her short hair out of her eyes before getting closer.
A sharp tug on her hand pulled her away. She looked over at Kouji, a bit confused.
“It’s ok, it’s just a leaf bug. Those can’t hurt me,” she said.
“Bug. Bugs are bad bugs are scary I don’t like them.”
“Oh. Well…that’s ok then. Can I get closer to look though? You can stay over here if you want, I just want to see if it has veins like a real leaf.”
“You want to get closer?” Kouji signed, looking both confused and petrified. “Why?”
“Because I think they’re cool, and I know they can’t hurt me. Are you scared of all bugs?”
“Most. They’re bad and scary and creepy.”
“Ok then. Might want to tell Mina that, she likes to bring bugs into the house sometimes. I’m going to get a closer look now, ok? But you can stay right here.”
Kouji hesitantly nodded, letting go of Momo’s hand. She slowly edged closer to the leaf bug, who hadn’t moved much. It just went about its business as she looked closely at it. There were a few inches between her and the bug. From that distance she could tell it did have veins like a real leaf!
A rustling sound caught her attention. Momo didn’t move, but looked from the corner of her eye. Kouji was slowly and cautiously settling next to her, watching the bug like it might turn into a villain.
Momo grinned, going back to staring at the bug. Kouji inched closer beside her. Together they sat on the forest floor, watching a little leaf bug pitter patter its way up a stick.
She smiled, and knew that she wouldn’t have today go any other way.
Notes:
Ok I know Ochako is slightly out of character, but she’s a trash angel gremlin queen and nothing can take that from me.
Also that thing with a pigeon? Replace that with a chicken on my uncle’s farm and you’ve got my brother. At 4 years old he just, snatched up a chicken. My sister almost grabbed a squirrel once too, and would have if my mom hadn’t told her NOT to do that.
ALSO! ANOTHER ART!
Hisashi’s vigilante costume! (By Glasses)
Chapter 45: Floor is Lava!
Summary:
Shenanigans, Peeve is Peeve, and SnowRabbit still hasn't moved on from the pining stage
Notes:
Hello!! I love you, and you, and you, and you, and you-
Finally got around to editing the tags a bit. Added some new ones too! And fixed the spelling errors that kept mocking me every time I looked at them
Also! I know some of you start school this upcoming week, an I hope this brightens your day! Good luck!! You can do it!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Peeve. Peeve don’t you fucking dare.”
Katsuki glared at the cat sitting on the coffee table. She had one paw tapping his pencil, steadily moving it towards the edge. He usually liked the cat, but today she was intent on preventing him from working. And it was getting annoying.
It was probably because Kouji wasn’t home right now. He was out shopping with Auntie Inko. Katsuki had been surprised when the boy said he’d like to sleep in the same room as all of them. There were just so many people. Affection wasn’t…really his thing. He would cling to Mina in his sleep, but more often than not he scrunched himself away from the others.
Don’t get him wrong, Katsuki loved his siblings, but there were just so many of them.
Kouji was cool though. He signed to talk, so Katsuki found himself quickly improving in his own signing. It was nice, having someone to talk to when he turned his hearing aids off. Kouji actually paid attention to things too, so Katsuki didn’t have to wave his hands around like a fucking lunatic to get his attention. The two of them had taken to just sitting quietly while everyone else was doing stuff. Until one of them inevitably challenged Katsuki that is.
Kouji was nice to him, so Peeve normally was too. Today she was pissed though. Her anger was being taken out on Katsuki, who was doing his homework within her reach. Because how dare he apparently.
“Peeve, I swear to fuck.”
“Leave her alone, Kitty,” Mina laughed, waving another pencil in front of the cat’s face. “She just wants to play!”
“Just wants to be a brat is what she wants,” he huffed.
“Hey, be nice.”
“I’ll be nice when she stops fucking with my pencils.”
Mina snorted, gently removing the cat from the table to pet her. Peeve wiggled around, but settled into her lap after a minute. Katsuki stared at her.
“Traitor.”
It was then that the front door clicked open. Peeve instantly leapt from Mina’s lap. She had learned what the door opening meant, and was bolting towards it before Katsuki could even stand up.
“We’re home!” Aunt Inko called from the entryway. “Oh, hello Peeve.”
Loud meowing echoed over, probably Peeve berating Kouji for leaving her. That’s what Katsuki guessed at least. He and Mina got up to see what they had brought home with them. Kouji was already sitting on the floor, Peeve curled up in his lap and not looking to be moving anytime soon.
“What did you get?” Katsuki signed, sitting on the floor opposite Kouji.
“Lots of things for Peeve. A lamp, because we need one. And-“
“We got a Chia Pet!” Izuku chirped, proudly showing off the box. “He said it looked like me!”
Katsuki looked at the box. It was a weird pot that had green stuff growing out of it. It also resembled Izuchan’s hair near perfectly.
“It’s a bush like your hair, that’s for sure.”
“I know!” Izuku said, unperturbed. “I’m going to go put it in the kitchen, Kouji.”
“Ok.”
Izuku ran off with the box in tow. Mina chased after him, wanting to get a closer look.
“I’m going to name it Izuku.”
Katsuki raised an eyebrow, waiting for Kouji to sign something else. He didn’t.
“Why?” He asked instead.
“Because green and fluffy. And funny. He likes the plant.”
“He does,” Katsuki snorted.
They sat in the entryway for a while, just talking while Peeve refused to let Kouji move. Katsuki practiced more of his signs while Kouji told him about the time Peeve got stuck on a roof. He listened to his new brother, wondering what it was like to be able to talk to the brat cat.
~~~~~~~~~~
“-And we need volunteers to help set up the exam this year.”
Touya blinked back to attention. He usually zoned out during the class announcements, since most of them were boring. This one wasn’t though.
He remembered his own exam. It seemed forever ago now. Forever since Hawks and him had flown over that field, and Touya had run up that ice wall. The exam held good memories for him.
He almost asked why they needed volunteers, until he remembered the egg system. Right, those had to be hidden, not just dumped onto the ground. The third years did it most of the time, but they also asked them to find volunteers to help with it.
“So if you know anyone willing to help, then ask if they’re free next Thursday sometime between eight and two. They will have to sign a nondisclosure agreement so the exam details aren’t given out before it takes place, so make sure they’re alright with that.”
Touya wondered if his family would be able to help. He raised his hand, waiting patiently for the teacher to notice him.
“Ah, Hisame, you have a question?”
“Is there an age limit?”
They raised an eyebrow. “For people who can help set up the exam?”
“Yeah. I have a lot of little siblings that would probably like to help, so can they?”
“Well, I don’t see why not.”
Touya smiled, nodding and saying thank you. Hawks shot him an excited grin. He loved the Midoriya family and the chaos that followed wherever they went. Rumi’s head thunked against her desk, making Touya smirk. Fuyumi would be joining them, after all.
Now all he had to do was ask Aunt Inko.
One week later, Touya found himself leading his big family through the gates and onto school grounds. They had to meet with some of the teachers to get directions before anything, but then they’d be let loose to hide eggs.
Touya stifled laughter at the teachers’ faces. To be fair, there were a lot of people following behind him. At least the exam would get set up quickly.
“Uhh, are they… all with you, Hisame?” One of the teachers asked hesitantly.
“Yeah, this is my-“
“Aniki, can we go now?”
“Yeah!”
“When can we hide the eggs?”
“Are we allowed to hide them in small places?
“-my family. Which area should we cover?”
The teachers just blinked at him for a moment. Touya waited patiently, knowing it was slightly overwhelming to see a group this big. Especially since most of them were children. The kids picked up on their shock though, and started staring at them too. It was honestly a bit funny.
“Erm, the fields still need eggs, as well as the forest.”
“Thank you!”
Touya spun on his heel, a kid clinging to each arm as he walked. He led his family off to the side before he told them where to go. There were other people that needed assignments, after all.
“So we can either go to the field or the forest, which one do you guys wanna go to?”
“Forest!”
“Field!”
“Forest! I can climb the trees!”
“Which one can I hide more things in?”
“Alright, alright!” Uncle Hisashi laughed, quieting all the small ones. “We can split up too, right Touya?”
“Yep.”
“Perfect! I’ll take the forest group, and Inko can take whoever wants to go to the field. You guys ready to hide some eggs!?”
The kids cheered, quickly splitting into the two groups. Touya smiled, following after his aunt. He noticed maybe half the kids coming with them, as well as Fuyumi. Natsuo had already ran off, yelling something about racing to hide the most eggs. He had a small mob following him, so his challenge was successful to say the least.
In his group, Touya had Aunt Inko, Mom, Fuyumi, Momo, Hitoshi, and Kouji. The rest had gone with Uncle Hisashi. He hoped they didn’t get into too much trouble in the woods area.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Mina, you’re not a squirrel. Stop trying to leap from tree to tree. You haven’t had enough lessons for that.”
“But Dad-Sashi-!”
“No buts, you’ll get hurt. Natsuo! No making fake eggs with your exploding crystals! And Izuku, don’t think I don’t see you.”
“Sorry, Uncle Hisashi.”
“I’m just hiding them!”
“Izuku, buddy, no one’s going to be able to collect the eggs if you bury them or set traps. Where did you even get fishing line?”
“We always have to be prepared!” Izuku chirped. “You always say that, Dad!”
“I…guess I do.”
“Can I freeze them?” Shouto asked, holding an egg in his right hand.
“No.”
“Hey Melty the squirrel, catch!”
Hisashi sighed as Katsuki chucked an egg at Mina, who was sitting on a branch. She squeaked, but caught it, then stuck her tongue out at her brother. Izuku was finally sticking to just hiding the eggs inside bushes and logs.
Well, at least they hadn’t caught anything on fire yet.
“Daaaaaad!”
He spoke too soon. Hopefully Touya was having more luck on the not-fire front.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Hey Hot Stuff!”
Touya jumped, his arms sparking blue as he was tackled with all the force of a car. He went down hard, hitting the ground with a weight settled on top of him.
“Birdie, was that really necessary?” Touya wheezed.
“Yep! Needed a reason for Rumi not to kill me!” His boyfriend chirped, peeking over the tall grass.
“What did you do.”
“Nothing!”
Touya stared at Hawks, one eyebrow raised. It took all of five seconds for him to break.
“Alright, alright! I was carrying her, and might have ‘accidentally’ dropped her onto your twin sister.”
Touya snorted, peeking over the top of the grass too. He located his sister, quite easily too, since she was standing in a ring of snow. Rumi was bowing with apologies and probably promises to murder Hawks. Fuyumi’s face was bright red as she tried to wave Rumi off with flailing arms.
“Well, guess you’ll just have to stay over here then.”
“My brave knight.”
Touya chuckled, stealing a quick kiss before he went back to scattering eggs and setting traps. They had been given express permission to set traps, but only in the field. He couldn’t help thinking Izuku would’ve liked the field section. But knowing him, he was setting traps in the forest anyway. That would be a nasty little surprise for the incoming students, but also a test of heroic qualities.
“HAWKS!”
“Ah, seems I’ve been found.”
Touya sighed as a brown and white blur tackled his boyfriend. Red feathers got scattered over the grass as the two went tumbling. Touya hummed, and hid his last few eggs under one of the logs concealed by the grass.
“BECAUSE IT’S RUDE, YOU FEATHERY MOTHERFUCK!” sounded from somewhere in the grass.
“Hey Touya,” Fuyumi said, face still pink. “Uh, what’s happening over there?”
“No idea. Think Rumi might be having fried chicken tonight though.”
“Huh. Yeah, that’s about what it looks like.”
The two hummed in tune, ignoring the squawking and thumping in the background.
~~~~~~~~~~
Kouji wondered if he was technically allowed to do this. Using mice and ants to help hide the eggs might be slightly cheating. He wasn’t the one trying to find these eggs though, so he figured it was ok. They weren’t too hard to find anyway.
At one point a person with wings, who Kouji assumed to be the boyfriend Touya warned him about, dropped a person that looked half rabbit onto Fuyumi. An explosion of snow followed. So did a lot of blushing and stuttering.
The rabbit person—Kouji overheard that her name was Rumi—then wrestled with Hawks for a few minutes. It ended when Inko (as she had insisted he call her) told them to stop. He was honestly surprised with how quickly they just, stopped fighting. They must really respect her, Kouji mused.
The school was a nice one. Kouji didn’t quite know what he wanted to do the he got older, but after meeting this family? After being adopted? He knew what he was leaning towards.
He also knew what a vigilante was, and would be lying if he said it wasn’t at least a bit appealing. How could it not be in this city? He wouldn’t even consider it right now though, since he was still in elementary school. But Kouji wasn’t deaf to Izuku’s muttering, and being able to fix things? To finally take the danger into his own hands and make it go away? It was tempting. If he was able to do any of it.
Hisashi apparently taught them to fight. Kouji wasn’t ready for that, but Peeve wanted him to try. He needed to defend himself, she said. It was honestly a good point, with the world they lived in. Even though the idea of fighting was daunting to say the least.
Currently though, Kouji just wanted to settle into his new home and convince himself he was actually going to stay this time. It was hard to convince his mind, after moving so many times. Staying in one place had never been something he had the luxury of.
He had finally found a place to stay. He had finally found a home. And this time- this time he was staying.
Hitoshi called him over to see about a spot for hiding eggs. Kouji smiled, and jogged over.
Kouji decided that he really liked having a family.
~~~~~~~~~~
Mina was going to cause some chaos today. Not for no reason, of course not, she had learned that the best actions had a motive. This is what her siblings got when they don’t save her a cookie.
So, it was chaos time.
They were all scattered around the backyard right now. Half of them were playing tag, the other half sitting somewhere to do work or just relax. The weather was nice today, so they were taking advantage of it.
So was Mina.
With her siblings spread out across the yard, Mina stood on a deck chair, and cupped her hands around her mouth.
“THE FLOOR IS LAVA!” She yelled loud enough for all of them to hear. And probably a few of the neighbors.
It took a few seconds for them to react. The ones playing tag stopped, staring up at Mina on the porch. The ones doing work or reading blinked up at her in confusion.
It was taking too long, Mina decided, so she took matters into her own hands. A bit literally. She swung her hand down in an arc, flinging acid at their feet. It was hardly even acidic, not even potent enough to melt their clothes. Mina wanted chaos, not a hospital visit.
They all shrieked as the grass sizzled slightly. Katsuki launched himself towards the porch on his explosions. Izuku caught his ankle before he got very far, pulling him back to earth. Kouji silently sprinted over to the nearest chair and stood on top of it. Hitoshi ran at the porch and clung to the side of it, eyeing the floor like it might jump up and bite him.
Momo and Shouto were on top of the porch. They both squealed, the former standing on a nearby pillow. Shouto froze himself a platform a few inches off the ground.
Izuku and Katsuki were running to the porch, shoving each other as they went. Mina watched, flinging a bit more of her acid towards them. Within five seconds everyone was standing on top of something.
Then Momo pushed Shouto off his platform, and all hell broke loose.
Mina watched the ensuing chaos proudly. She joined in after another minute, wondering how loud they would get before Momma Inko came to call them inside.
The answer was “not very,” because she opened the door right as Izuku yelped and crashed into the side of the house. They all froze for a second, worried about what she might say.
“What’s going on out here?” She asked from the doorway.
“Uhh, a game?” Mina said.
“We were playing the floor is lava!” Momo giggled while standing on top of a chair.
“SHE TURNED THE FLOOR INTO ACTUAL LAVA!” Katsuki yelled.
“No I didn’t!”
“Yes the fuck you did! Look!”
Katsuki swept his arm out into the yard, only to turn and see absolutely nothing. It was a trick she had learned the other day. If she manipulated her quirk enough, it got absorbed by the ground within a few minutes without burning it too much. Mina smirked while Momma Inko wasn’t looking at her. Her brother whipped around to stare at her now innocent face.
“Katsuki, I don’t think Mina can create real lava, as fun as that would be for you kids.”
“But- but there was-“
“She’s right, I can’t make lava, Kitty,” Mina said with a wicked smirk.
“Anyway, I just wanted to let you kids know a social worker is stopping by tomorrow, so make sure your room is clean. I’ll let you get back to your game.”
And with that, Momma Inko retreated back inside. They all stared at each other for a moment. Then went right back to play wrestling and sparring on the grass.
Notes:
Next chapter: Angst! Borderline vigilantism! Feelings! InkSashi being adorable! Join me next time in a chapter I had a lot of fun writing
EDIT: Forgot this wasn't common knowledge, whoops ^^; Social workers do house visits once a month when a family is in the process of adopting a child. They check that conditions are still good for the child, and that they seem to be doing alright both physically and mentally. Sorry if any of you got confused! No social workers are coming to take away the kids!
ALSO LOOK LOOK LOOK
Myriad! Made! A thing! An amazing thing! That I am saying is canon because look at it, how can it not be
Touya’s hero costume!! (By Ozark_Kaya)
Chapter 46: Old Habits Die Hard
Summary:
To anyone who doesn't think Kouda can be terrifying: I present you with this chapter
Notes:
Hello!! I love you!!! And hope you have a good day/night!!!
School is starting up again for me this next week, so we'll see how that goes. Good luck to everyone else too!
Some people on my Discord might remember me staying up late and planning this chapter! It was literally just ten minutes of me writing exactly what my mind spat out with no filter whatsoever at 1am
ANYWAY
Warnings: Panic attack, fear of abandonment, and bugs in this chapter. Read responsibly darlings
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Kouji was still getting used to meals at the Midoriya house. They were hectic, and very loud. He didn’t have to speak though. Signing was enough to be heard, which surprised him. After going so long without being heard, it was different to have people actually pay attention to what he signed. It was a good different.
Chia Pet Izuku sat on the kitchen counter, sprouting green. Human Izuku found it funny that it was named Chia Pet Izuku. Katsuki found it hilarious that Human Izuku was called Human Izuku. Peeve was banned from nibbling on both.
Today was one of the rare days that almost everyone was home. Kouji had only seen them all home like this once, and that was the day after they took him home. So it was already a nice day.
“So I was thinking,” Hisashi said over his plate of eggs. “And I realized that it’s been a while since we’ve taken you kids to the park. What do you say to all of us going to the big one in the city today?”
The answer was a loud and enthusiastic yes. It had been a while since they had all gone into the city together. Kouji signed his agreement along with everyone, knowing it would be fun. He had been getting restless without being able to wander all day. It was for his safety, and he really did prefer staying with the Midoriyas, but it still felt odd. He would get used to it though. Staying in one place wasn’t so bad when he had so many people to play with.
“Perfect! Is there anyone that doesn’t want to go?”
“Me,” Touya spoke up. “I have to help Hawks with some agency paperwork stuff, and Rumi texted about some sort of media class she has to make up for that week she was sick.”
“Ok then, everyone else?”
The rest of the family wanted to go, as it turned out. Kouji mentally counted how many of them would be marching through the city, and tallied twelve. That was a lot of people. It was like he was going on a school field trip instead of a family outing to the park.
They all managed to get ready within an hour, and before long they were off. It was a nice day out, so they walked instead of driving there. Kouji almost expected something bad to happen along the way. Nothing happened though, and they made it to the park without too many unnecessary stops.
All of them had paired up like they usually did. Kouji held Izuku’s hand and listened to his half signed and half spoken rambles. It was nice to listen to. Izuku was so smart, and Kouji really did feel like he was learning something by listening, even if he didn’t catch all of the words.
It was ironic, how the boy with no words was so close with the one that had so many to share.
Izuku was a good brother. He had a lot of things, like hero merch, but he kept them organized. He thought out loud a lot, but since Kouji joined them he had started signing some of it. Izuku never forced him to speak, none of them did, and always made sure he was comfortable before doing something. It was better than anything Kouji had ever let himself hope for.
Kouji had never thought he would have this many siblings, let alone good ones. It was still a surprise, even after so many days with them. Old habits were hard to kill it seemed.
Kouji was knocked out of his thoughts by some of his siblings rushing past him. They had arrived at the park, and he hadn’t noticed, too absorbed in his own head. He sheepishly let go of Izuku’s hand. His brother just smiled though, grabbing it again to tug Kouji over to the playset.
Playing at the park was super fun! They ran around playing tag and hide and seek. Someone yelled that the floor was lava, and all of them immediately found high ground. They had learned better after Mina’s stunt. The rest of the kids on the playground followed their lead, giggling all the while. It was fun. Kouji realized he hadn’t smiled this much before the Midoriyas had taken him in.
They couldn’t stay there forever though. Errands still had to be run, and there were only so many games they could play before getting bored. Not that they had reached that limit, but they did still have to leave.
Everyone paired up again as they headed back. Inko said something about stopping at a store on the way, since they needed stuff for dinner. No one had any protests. It was a detour that would take maybe fifteen minutes. Probably more, since there were so many of them, but still a shorter trip in the long run.
It was supposed to be, at least.
Once inside, Kouji and Izuku went to look at some of the books. Fuyumi followed after them, watching as the two browsed through the aisles. Mina and Hitoshi had gone to look at toys nearby, so Fuyumi kept an eye on them too. She stayed closer to those two though, since Kouji and Izuku were generally calmer and less likely to cause a mess.
“I’m going to go look at the bigger books,” Izuku said to Kouji, who nodded. “I’ll be back in a few minutes!”
Kouji didn’t like being left alone, but he hummed a song to himself and bore it. Izuku wasn’t far, and neither was Fuyumi. They weren’t leaving him. Instead he focused on finding a book he could read while they waited for Inko to be done.
That’s when everything went to hell.
There was a loud bang that echoed across the store. Kouji couldn’t see where it had come from, but if he had to hazard a guess, it was probably near the front doors. That wasn’t good.
Then voices began yelling through the building. Audible words probably spoken by a voice enhancing quirk. That or a bullhorn, but Kouji figured it might be the latter because of how it sounded.
“ATTENTION ALL SHOP GOERS,” the voice said, booming off the walls and shelves. Kouji was glad he wasn’t directly next to whoever was speaking. “THIS IS A ROBBERY! STAY WHERE YOU ARE, AND NO ONE GETS HURT. DON’T BOTHER TRYING TO CALL THE HEROES, AS YOUR DEVICES WON’T WORK RIGHT NOW.”
Kouji felt his heart speed up. Villains. He had seen them before, since he used to be in alleys a lot, but Peeve had always been there to protect him. He had always had someone there.
And now? He didn’t see a single person near him.
Kouji ignored the loud person, and moved. He kept his steps light and forced himself not to hyperventilate. No reason to panic. Izuku and Fuyumi were nearby. If he could find them then he’d be fine. Everything would be fine.
He ran up and down the aisles, searching for someone. Anyone.
But there was no one there.
Izuku wasn’t anywhere in the books section, and neither was Fuyumi. Kouji stopped, forcibly took a deep breath to stave off the panic, and moved into searching the toy aisles. Mina and Hitoshi were there, so Fuyumi probably was too. It made sense that she would go to whoever she was nearer to.
But there was no one.
In a slight daze, Kouji crept to the side of the store. There was absolutely no one there. No other customers. No one in his family.
Had…had they left him? Villains were at the front of the store, so had they run? It would make sense. They were safer that way. Kouji had only been with them for a bit anyway, the other kids would be a priority.
But he didn’t want to be left behind. He had been left alone so many times now. Weren’t the Midoriyas different? Weren’t they the ones that were supposed to stay?
Kouji didn’t notice when he had curled in on himself, hunched in the corner of the store with his back to a wall. He wasn’t truly seeing anything. Not that he could, even if he was thinking straight. The silent tears made everything too blurry.
Time was gone, as far as Kouji was concerned. There was no sound, no movement. There was no one there. No adults and no kids. No friends and no parents. Hardly any light reached his corner. Maybe the villain was gone by now. Maybe the store was closed and no one was coming for him.
Maybe he was alone again. Having a family had been nice while it lasted.
“Kouji?”
He was still in a haze. It was like a heavy fog had settled over his mind. Words were garbled and far away. All he could see was the tile floor and his legs pulled up to his chest.
“Kouji!”
Something broke through. Just a voice, but it was something. It meant there was someone there.
It meant he wasn’t alone.
“Kouj- oh. Oh Ji-ji.”
Kouji didn’t move, but pink entered his vision. It hesitated, hovering over his skin. He shifted the smallest bit. Just enough to look up and see Mina’s worried face.
When was the last time he had seen someone look that worried for him?
“Are you ok?”
Kouji very slowly shook his head. Mina paused, then sat on the floor next to him. She extended a hand to him, not grabbing his by force.
“I don’t know if you’re ok with touching, but we can hold hands if you want. It helps me a lot when I’m super scared.”
Kouji hesitated, but then reached out. Mina’s hand was smaller than his. She squeezed his all the same, scooting close so their shoulders were touching.
“You thought we left, didn’t you,” she said quietly, hardly even a whisper.
Kouji bobbed his head, still staring at the pattern in the tiles. Static screamed in his mind. The fog was still there. Though, it almost seemed thinner since Mina had appeared.
“It’s ok, Ji-ji. There’s a villain, and we all went to see them. Fuyumi chased us down the aisle. Toto wanted to try and control them, but it’s too dangerous. We didn’t mean to leave you, I promise.”
Kouji unlatched his other hand from his arm, putting it far enough forward to sign. His hands were shaking badly, but he signed anyway. “Not…leaving?”
“Not leaving,” she signed back. “Never.”
Kouji faltered. People had told him that. Foster parents and friends and animals too. They said they wouldn’t leave, but in the end, they did. They left him alone.
“You don’t believe me, do you,” Mina said quietly. It wasn’t a question. Kouji nodded anyway. “That’s ok.”
“It is?”
“Yeah. It takes a while to believe it, but we aren’t going anywhere. No one left behind.”
“No one…left behind?”
“No one left behind,” she repeated, a small smile on her face. “It means that no matter what, we won’t leave or forget you. Ever.”
“Ever?”
“Never ever. Are you feeling better now?”
Kouji paused. He…he actually did feel better. He could think and move, and it wasn’t covered by screeching static. The fear was still there, but it was quieter. Simmering instead of boiling over.
“Yes. A lot better. Thank you, Mina.”
“I’m your sister now, it’s my job,” she giggled, getting to her feet. She pulled on Kouji’s hand too help him up too. “Let’s go find everyone else. Pretty sure the heroes will be here soon. That or Momma Inko’s already whacked ‘em with her purse.”
Kouji stifled a short laugh, finally moving again. They walked with muted steps and soft words. There was still danger, after all.
Then Kouji remembered something. Someone. He turned to Mina, frantically signing with still shaking hands.
“Izuku. Where?”
“Oh, he was with you, wasn’t he?” Mina’s eyebrows furrowed as she tried to remember. “I don’t know where he went. Probably to Momma Inko, but knowing him, he wanted to see the villain too. I hope he doesn’t throw a glitter balloon at this one.”
Kouji blinked, having not been told that particular story. “When did he do that?”
“When did he do that? Oh, it was hilarious. Sorta.” Mina laughed quietly, the hand not holding Kouji’s coming up to cover her mouth. “We were at the aquarium, and a villain tried to challenge Gang Orca. Zuzu threw a glitter balloon at him, making him not see anything, and then threw bouncy balls under his feet! He fell down and Gang Orca got him. He didn’t get into a lot of trouble, which was good.”
Kouji smiled, the story somehow not surprising to him. It sounded exactly like something Izuku would do. He hoped it wasn’t repeated though. The thought of his new brother getting hurt from a stunt like that put a heavy weight on his chest.
The two of them kept moving, walking in tandem towards the front of the store. Kouji heard some voices, though not the words. He couldn’t tell if it was the villain speaking or not.
Finally, they could see the front. The two of them peeked around a shelf, taking in the scene before them.
The villain was staring outside through the windows, standing near his hostages. A small crowd had gathered outside by now, police lights flashing through the glass. No heroes were coming in yet.
The hostages were all huddled together. Kouji saw Inko, Rei, and Hisashi there, looking more annoyed than anything. Some of the other kids were in the hostage huddle too. Katsuki looked ready to launch himself at the villain, and so did Shouto and Natsuo. Kouji watched as the villain paced closer, staring out the windows like a caged animal who could see freedom just beyond their grasp.
“What’s taking them so damned long,” he snarled, something sparking off of his hands. Well, that explained the no electronics working part. “The heroes should be here to bargain by now! Stupid idiotic morons.”
Kouji felt Mina squeeze his hand tighter. He honestly didn’t care at the moment, too focused on keeping his breathing even in the face of this danger. Villain attacks were downright normal in this city, but he had never been this close to one. Never been in the potential line of fire.
Then the situation got even worse.
“Hey!” Someone yelled. A very familiar someone. Kouji thought Mina’s neck would hurt from how fast she whipped around. “Don’t talk about heroes like that!”
The villain jumped, spinning around. He faced Izuku, who was standing on top of a checkout counter. In his hands were two cans.
Kouji didn’t like where this was going.
The villain smirked, walking away from the hostages and the windows to get closer to Izuku. “And what are you going to do about it, little guy? You’re a tiny little th-“
The sound of a can hitting skin echoed throughout the store. There were multiple gasps. Kouji couldn’t tell if one was his own or not. He had to keep hold of Mina’s hand to stop her from running out. In the background, Katsuki and Shouto were being restrained too.
“Why you,” the villain snarled.
Izuku dove off of the counter, the other can raised to aim.
He didn’t get far enough to throw it.
Electricity arched from the villain’s fingertips, a glowing, ominous orange, and struck the metal can Izuku was holding. It spread from the metal to the green boy.
He went flying. His back hit a shelf, and he didn’t get up. He didn’t move.
Kouji felt like time was slowing down again. But this time, he could move. This time, something other than fear boiled beneath his skin. It was something almost foreign to him. It burned and writhed in his stomach like an angry, molten metal snake.
Kouji let go of Mina’s hand, and rushed forward with anger painted clear on his face. Maybe he hadn’t been with the Midoriyas long. Maybe he didn’t fully trust them to stay yet, but they were above all his friends. And Kouji wasn’t going to let them get hurt. He would take it himself if it meant they were safe.
In this case, it meant throwing away his fear.
He stomped out from his hiding place, his shirt slipping through Mina’s grasping hand. Kouji glared at the villain, who noticed him a second later. The man’s smirk stayed in place.
“Well well well, another child tryin’ to challenge me and my power? Do yourself a favor kid, stop playing hero and go sit with the other hostages.”
Kouji stopped, drawing himself up to his full height. Which still wasn’t much compared to adults, but it made him feel bigger. Stronger.
He took a deep breath, and didn’t sign. No, Kouji screamed.
“NO!”
Something shifted. Attention was on him. Attention that wasn’t human. Kouji hardly batted an eye. This was a familiar feeling. He practically snarled his orders to the army awaiting his command.
“Make him go away!”
All at once, things moved.
They were everywhere. Bugs crawled from the vents and floor and under the shelves. They swarmed first, poking and pinching the man threatening Kouji’s family.
More critters came out of the woodworks. Rats and mice rushed out from their hiding places to crawl up the man’s legs. A few birds flew in from somewhere, and began pecking at him. They advanced on the villain with no fear.
Kouji watched in satisfaction as the man started jumping around yelling. He deserved it. He hurt Kouji’s brother.
The villain, shrieking like a toddler, raced out of the store. He apparently didn’t care that there were police officers waiting with handcuffs. The man was dragged away with his hands behind his back.
Kouji released his hold on the animals, and watched as they all skittered and flew away. Within minutes every one of them had disappeared again. He quietly whispered his thanks to them.
Kouji swayed. His limbs were distant and felt so, so heavy. He felt his eyes unfocus and close for a few seconds. When they opened again Inko was kneeling in front of him, the rest of the family behind her.
“Kouji, dear, can you hear me?”
He nodded, the movement sluggish. His hands didn’t want to raise to sign, and his throat was already aching.
“Alright then. Can you walk, or do you need someone to carry you?”
Kouji was too tired to be embarrassed as he nodded. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, and when he opened them again he was being held by Hisashi. Inko and Rei were talking with some police officers, the rest of the kids with one of the adults.
The rest of the day went by similarly. Kouji woke up for a minute or two, then closed his eyes, and when he opened them again it was maybe an hour later. Everything passed quickly. One second he was being driven home in a police car, and the next they were walking inside the house.
He finally got a grip on consciousness a few hours later. It was probably late afternoon, since it wasn’t dark outside yet.
Kouji took in his surroundings groggily. He was in their room, everyone gathered around him in a pile. Peeve was curled in a ball on his chest. Hitoshi and Izuku were flatout draped across him. The others were scattered around, forming a loose ring with Kouji in the center. It was quiet in the house. There was muted noise from downstairs, but that was it.
Peeve lifted her head, looking around before her eyes landed on him. She lit up, immediately purring and shifting around to rub her face on his.
“Are you hurt?” She asked, sniffing his face quickly.
Kouji shook his head, smiling at his cat. He glanced around, seeing everyone else was still fast asleep. With no one to hear him, he spoke in cat-tongue.
“Used my quirk,” he meowed back to her. “I got really tired.”
“Really? It has been forever since you used it.”
“I know. Why I got tired.”
“But you are safe nyow?”
“Yeah. Saved Izuku.”
“I like the green one. You did well, Kouji.”
Peeve purred louder, settling herself under his chin. He laughed quietly, running and hand through her soft fur.
“Sleep, kitten. I will protect you.”
“I know, Peeve.”
Kouji’s eyes slipped shut once more, the feeling of warmth and safety and family surrounding him.
~~~~~~~~~~
Inko sighed as she laid back against the couch. Normal villain attacks were draining in themselves, but today had been especially tiring. Kouji had overused his quirk. The first time any of them had seen him use it, and it was to protect Izuku from a villain.
Inko wished the circumstances were different, but she was so grateful to Kouji for saving Izuku and everyone else that was being held hostage. He had been so brave.
Though with the overuse came exhaustion. Kouji had passed out barely five minutes after using his quirk. They had been driven home by one of the kind officers, and Kouji hadn’t really stirred the entire time. Inko put him upstairs, knowing for a fact that the rest of the small ones weren’t going to leave his side.
She had sat down on the couch, and closed her eyes for a few minutes.
When Inko woke up again, she honestly wasn’t too surprised with what she saw. Rei was on the other side of the couch, knitting peacefully. Hisashi was flopping across the rest of the couch, using Inko’s legs as a pillow. Both Touya and Hawks had come down at one point to watch a show. They were cuddling on the floor, one of Hawks’ wings draped across Touya’s shoulders.
Inko sat up slightly, careful to not dislodge her husband. Rei noticed her first, sending her a small smile.
“The little ones are still asleep,” Rei said quietly. “I’ll handle dinner tonight. You and Hisashi need to rest.”
“Rei you-“
“I’ve dealt with worse. I trusted you to protect me, and you did. Let me handle this tonight. It’s the least I can do.” A mischievous twinkle lit in her eyes. “Besides, I don’t think your husband is going to let you get up anytime soon.”
Inko rolled her eyes playfully, a grin lighting her face. She mumbled something along the lines of “yeah, fine,” and closed her eyes again. Might as well get more rest while she could.
She fell asleep again to the sound of Rei’s humming and Hawks’ commentary on the show they were watching.
Notes:
HEY GUESS WHAT
This fic has reached a thousand bookmarks and over eighty thousand hits! I've been squealing about this since I realized it. And! Next month this story turns a year old! And no sign of this being over in sight XDNext chapter: Big kids being idiots! Small kids being gremlins! Izuku is a perfectionist and Hisashi doesn't want to know why his kids are yelling about a pizza pan
Chapter 47: Duality
Summary:
Finals are brain numbing, Touya forgot something, and children are tiny terrors. Spot the vine reference!
Notes:
Hello! You are amazing! I hope you're having a good day/night!
Just wanted to say this super quick, but I do have the order of kids already planned! And! First vigilante arc (small one, since it’s just the very beginning of it all) starts after kid 8! There’s a small fluff arc between the two but I can’t wait for it!! Y’all won’t believe how excited I am to finally show off what I’ve been planning forever now, even if it’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Anyway! Enjoy the chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
As the months had passed by, Touya was being repeatedly hit over the head with a realization. Their graduation. It felt so far away at the beginning of the year, but now?
Now it was in two weeks. Two weeks. It didn’t feel real. After three years at Ketsubutsu, he would be done. Graduated. Moving onto college so he could be both a social worker and a pro hero. Rumi already had sidekick offers from across Japan. Hawks would be setting up his agency, which was being subtly funded by the Commission. None of them liked it, but money was money, and buildings were expensive.
Finals were almost done. Just the academic ones left. The trio of them already had their pro licenses, but they wouldn’t be valid until they got their diploma. Two weeks, and they would be official pros.
Finals were brutal though, even with the hero test behind them. Rumi had suggested they visit the cafe near school to relax a bit. The other two readily agreed, their brains feeling like mush after all the tests.
Rumi had already consumed more coffee this week than she probably should have. Touya didn’t know whether he should be impressed or concerned. He was perfectly fine with tea, thank you very much.
They had all ordered, probably disturbing the poor barista with how much caffeine they wanted, and went to wait for their drinks. Once those were done the three of them retreated outside. Rumi chose their table, leaving Touya the chair in direct sunlight like he always chose. The two of them sat down, continuing their conversation from inside.
Hawks was… honestly Touya didn’t know what the fuck Hawks was doing.
Instead of sitting, Hawks dramatically flopped face down onto the concrete, thankfully stopping his fall so he didn’t actually hurt himself. His wings were tucked onto his back to keep them out of the way. People sent him odd looks, but otherwise ignored him since he really wasn’t blocking anything.
Touya eyed his boyfriend, keeping Hawks’ bubble tea safe from Rumi’s grabby hands.
They left him alone though, figuring he would join them at the table eventually. Touya asked Rumi if there were any agencies she was seriously considering. She was happy to name the pros and cons of which ones were at the top of her list. Also how likely they were to have a training room that would hold up against her. While she did want to eventually go solo, being a sidekick for a bit was helpful until she had the resources for being a one-rabbit team.
Conversation circled back around to the exams. Rumi laid her head against the back of her chair, muttering something about hoping her essay was long enough. Touya nodded, knowing what she meant.
Hawks decided to pipe up from the floor.
“I think I failed that test,” he said, making the two look down. “But at least the pigeons accept me.”
Touya blinked. Then blinked again. Then wiped at his eyes to triple check he wasn’t hallucinating. Because Hawks, still laying flat on the floor, had five birds perched on him. Only two were pigeons. One was a small sparrow…probably, Touya didn’t know a lot of birds. The fourth was a duck of some sort.
And the other, was a fucking falcon. Just a falcon, sitting on his back. The bird looked at Touya innocently, like it didn’t have inches long talons.
“Uhh, Hawks, buddy, dude, what the fuck,” Rumi swore.
“Birdie, only two of those are pigeons.”
“Yeah, I know,” he mumbled.
Touya closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and decided to not question it. Questioning things like that just made his head hurt. He had gone through this enough with his siblings seeming to take the laws of the universe as a personal challenge.
“Well, you can join us at the table when you want, Birdie,” Touya said, calmly going back to his tea.
Five minutes and a flurry of feather later, and Hawks plopped himself into the chair to Touya’s left. He paused long enough to give Hawks a kiss on the cheek, before continuing his conversation with Rumi. His boyfriend slump to the side, using Touya’s shoulder as a pillow. He just raised a hand to comb through Hawks’ hair and kept talking.
“And I got into this one school,” he said. “It’s close to where that building we looked at was, the one you put an offer on Hawks. Their program is good, but I don’t know if it’s really close to any apartments. I’m not walking miles and Hawks isn’t flying that far to the agency every day, so-“
“Wait wait wait,” Rumi said, holding up a hand. “You two are sharing an apartment?”
“Well, yeah? I was thinking somewhere between the agency and whatever college I end up going to, so neither of us have long commutes. God, I sound old. Commuting wasn’t a problem when I was little. Anyway-“
“Uhh, Touya?” Hawks said.
Rumi reached over and tapped his nose, which made Hawks close his mouth. “Hey Touya, whatcha looking for in an apartment?”
“I was hoping we could get a decent kitchen in it, because god knows you aren’t going to eat anything but ramen if I let you Hawks. Pretty sure we won’t be able to paint the walls, but we can put up pictures. You have some you like with everyone too, right?”
“I- I uh, yes?”
“Cool. Pretty sure Aunt Inko would let us use some of the extra frames she has in the garage. We need to find a place first. We can go looking whenever though. Rumi, do you know any places?”
“Touya, stop,” Hawks trilled in distress. Touya immediately shut up. “Since- since when are we moving in together? I don’t think you ever asked me?”
Touya scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, wracking his brain. He came up empty handed, and with a glowing face. Quite literally, his skin glowed slightly with how hot it became.
Touya buried his face in both his hands, forehead thunking onto the table. Rumi was unabashedly laughing. Hawks was quiet, but set a wing over Touya’s back. He was probably snickering too.
“HAHAHA Did you just HAHA skip asking him to move in with you?” Rumi cackled. “Just jumped straight to ‘hey we’re roommates now!’”
“I FORGOT, I’M SORRY!”
Rumi almost tumbled out of her chair. Touya groaned, moving to hide his face under his arms. Hawks’ wing trembled a bit, telling Touya he was holding back laughter of his own.
“I really thought I had asked already. Had a script and everything,” Touya said quietly, just loud enough for Hawks to hear.
“Yeah, I figured,” Hawks laughed. “But…you really want to move in together? Have an apartment and all that domestic stuff?”
Touya raised his head, ignoring everything else in the world. In that moment, nothing but Hawks mattered.
“”Course I do. I love you, Hawks, and doing ‘all that domestic stuff’ is just the next step up, right? Besides, pretty sure Aunt Inko isn’t going to let you live with a Commission person for a single day after we graduate.”
“Ha, yeah. Your aunt is awesome like that.”
Hawks grabbed his bubble tea, sipping it while Rumi collected herself. It probably wasn’t as funny as she found it, Touya mentally grumbled. A mix of stress, sleep deprivation, and being all around drained after exams probably. It was like the high school, legal, version of being drunk.
The three sat quietly for a few minutes, just taking in what was around them. People bustled about on the sidewalk. Birds hopped between empty chairs and empty tables. Clouds blocked the sun every few minutes, casting their cool shadows over the city.
It was peaceful. A wonderful feeling, and a much needed break. Touya felt like this was the first time he’d gotten to just sit and breathe for weeks.
“Hey Touya?” Hawks asked quietly.
“Yeah?”
“When we move into an apartment together, can we get a cat?”
Touya barked a laugh, more surprised than anything. “Let’s wait until we know we can pay for everything, alright Birdie? Then we can get a cat.”
Rumi, not falling off her chair anymore, used actual words to communicate. “Oh my gosh, you two are idiots.”
“Says the one that’s been pining for three years,” Touya hummed.
Hawks choked on his tea. Rumi squeaked, covering her face with her hands for a minute. Touya smirked in victory.
“I haven’t- I haven’t been pining for three years!”
“Mmm that’s a lie. You never lasted more than a month with anyone, Rumi, and at least half of those were because they saw you liked my twin more. When will you just, I don’t know, tell her?”
“Because she’d never like me.” Rumi flopped across the table, taking up most of it with her arms. “She’s soft and- and calm and cool, and I’m not any of those things.”
Touya snorted, then fended off the hand that moved to smack him. “Rumi, we love you, but you’re a tad bit oblivious.”
“She likes you too,” Hawks said. “Even I can see that.”
“She…does?”
“Has for a while now,” Touya hummed. “Probably as long as you have. We wanted to wait and see how this would unfold by itself, but she’s leaving for college soon. Didn’t want you two dorks to leave thinking the other never liked them back.”
Rumi was silent, processing for a minute. “So if I asked…she’d probably go on a date with me?”
“Oh, absolutely.”
Rumi perked up then, comforted by the notion that she likely wouldn’t get turned down. Touya sipped his tea, hiding his smirk as he did so.
“Also, she can probably beat you in a sparring match, but that’s none of my business.”
Touya laughed as Rumi immediately froze and turned bright red. Hawks joined in, obviously finding this amusing too. She stared off into the distance for a second, then downed the rest of her coffee while looking slightly annoyed at the two of them. They had no regrets.
Rumi, obviously wanting to change the subject, asked Hawks about some plans for his agency. Despite where the money was coming from, Hawks was genuinely excited about the entire thing. The Commission could ultimately only control so much of it.
As Hawks talked, he kept a wing over Touya’s shoulders. It was a comforting weight. Touya drank his tea, savoring the peace and quiet while it lasted.
~~~~~~~~~~
Shouto stalked his prey, footsteps light and breathing quiet. He tiptoed over the wood floor, careful of the spots that creaked. The house buzzed with background noise that covered his tracks.
When he was close enough, Shouto leapt. He landed right behind his target, his hands curled to mimic claws. Without a second of hesitation he grabbed onto the shoulders of the person in front of him.
“AAAAA!” Hitoshi shrieked, already spinning and swinging a fist. Shouto jumped back with a grin. “SHOUTO!”
“Three for me, two for you!”
“No fair! I wasn’t paying attention!”
“That’s the point, Hitoshi. We’re seeing who can surprise the other more, not who can dodge the best.”
Hitoshi grumbled under his breath, mostly just sore about not having a winning score anymore. Shouto laid his head on his brother’s shoulder for a moment, making sure there were no hard feelings, before running off to hunt for some actual food in the kitchen.
~~~~~~~~~~
It had been going on for a week now. Hisashi couldn’t tell who had started it, but he was pretty sure Inko was ready to finish it.
The kids had begun scaring each other. Didn’t matter who or when, but they were scaring each other. Jumping from behind corners, furniture, or even other people. For a week Hisashi had heard some sort of shriek or explosion echo throughout the house. Usually multiple times a day.
Honestly though, he found it entertaining. Hisashi was getting some practice with his poker face watching the kids sneak up on one another. Apparently they had been keeping score on a board in their room, which was updated after every scare. Izuku was winning, if only because he usually noticed the other person before they got him.
It had been escalating though, which was why Hisashi noticed Inko getting more annoyed with it. Katsuki had singed a handprint into their table the other day. Mina had melted a hole in the porch railing. Kouji kept hissing when people scared him and Peeve had apparently threatened to scratch whoever kept jumping at him.
One thing they found out was that Katsuki had an almost comically high shriek, especially when he didn’t have his hearing aids in. He had weaponized it to scare more people, which was working so far. Hisashi found it amusing.
Up until it had startled Rei into freezing their tv remote and part of the couch that is.
Hisashi wondered how long this would keep going before someone stopped it.
~~~~~~~~~~
Izuku liked cooking, and American food was some of his favorite. It was usually Dad that showed him how to make it, and it was almost always fried or had a lot of calories. It was awesome.
Today Dad was showing him how to make pizza. “Real pizza” he said, because apparently there was a wrong type of pizza? It made no sense to Izuku, but he was getting food out of this, so he didn’t question it much.
Dad asked him to grab half the things they needed while he got the other half. That included a pizza pan, which they apparently owned. Izuku was set loose with the instructions that it was like a round cookie sheet with holes in it.
It took a few minutes of digging—and almost being swallowed by a cabinet so he could actually get to the thing—but he eventually found it. Izuku crawled out, going to set the pan on the counter.
Then someone yelled in his ear, making him startle.
On pure instinct, Izuku swung a fist. After years of training, sparring, and a week of siblings jump-scaring him, it was second nature at this point. They usually moved out of the way fast enough anyway.
Problem was, he swung the hand that was holding the pizza pan.
Smack
Izuku yelped, leaping away. He blinked, staring down at his blonde-haired brother, who was now laying on the kitchen floor. Katsuki groaned about his sore nose.
“What was that for!” Kacchan yelled.
“You scared me!”
“And you smacked me with a fucking pan!”
“Then don’t scare me when I’m holding one!”
~~~~~~~~~~
Hisashi walked back into the kitchen, having finished helping Natsuo with a homework problem, ready to finally show Izuku how to make proper pizza.
He stopped in the doorway. Two of his sons were on the floor, tumbling over the other and screeching something about a pan.
Hisashi turned and walked back out of the kitchen.
~~~~~~~~~~
Mina loved this game. It let her work on her sneak attacks, and also scare her siblings into getting faster reflexes! Win-win in her mind. She made sure to not be malicious about her scaring though. Only when they weren’t going to hurt someone else or themselves ( Katsuki ).
Right now was prime scaring time. They were all taking a break from homework, just listening to Present Mic’s show from last night and relaxing for a bit. Mina was laying flat on the floor, staring at the ceiling. She was testing herself today. By using only her ears and what she could feel through the floor, she would definitely surprise whoever her target was.
Whoever they turned out to be, that is. Since she couldn’t see them right now. Although it definitely wasn’t Katsuki. He was loudly tutoring Shouto on some science subject on the other side of the room.
There was someone almost right next to her though. Mina was pretty sure it was Momo, but she couldn’t be entirely sure. Well, guess she’d find out in a minute.
With no warning, Mina rolled over and leapt at the closest person in one fluid move. It was in fact Momo, so she had even guessed right!
Mina landed on her sister, yelling as she did so. Momo jumped, yelping in surprise. Mina had time to blink before something was exploding. It wasn’t Katsuki though. Nope, this was way brighter than his explosions.
Mina rolled back onto the floor, blinking away the spots in her vision. She could hear Momo fussing and apologizing repeatedly, but couldn’t fully see her. There were a lot of bright spots blocking her vision.
“Momo, what was that?” Mina asked, still not completely able to see.
“Was that one of the exploding egg dolls?” She heard Shouto say somewhere in the background.
“Egg…dolls?”
“Oh for goodness sakes,” Momo muttered. “ Matroshikya doll, Shouto. They’re not eggs.”
“But they look like eggs.”
“They’re not eggs!”
“Hey fucknuts, why the hell is Melty on the floor.”
“…there may have been a mild flash-bang in the Matroshikya.”
“Ponytail, what the fuck.”
“I didn’t mean to! She just scared me!”
“‘M fine,” Mina said to no one, finally able to see some things again. “You still surprise us sometimes Momo.”
“Try all the time. You’re a damned wildcard, Ponytail.” Mina couldn’t see it, but she knew Katsuki was using his ‘frightening and I accept your challenge’ grin. “Guess the training’s paying off.”
Mina blinked away the last spots to see Momo hovering over her, Shouto deadpan calling Matroshikyas egg dolls just to annoy her, and Izuku rattling off questions about the flash bang. Katsuki was also hovering. She smiled up at them, thankful their sister only knew how to make weak flash-bangs for now.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Truce?”
“Truce.”
“Truce!”
“Truce.”
“Truce.”
“Truce.”
“Truce!”
Izuku nodded, satisfied that his siblings would keep to their word. With that done he marched into the kitchen. Everyone else trailed behind him, a clear goal in mind as they spread out across the kitchen.
They worked systematically to gather all the materials needed. Momo and Kouji, being the two tallest, got the things from high shelves. Everything else was in reach for the shorter siblings. Everything was put in a pile near the oven. Izuku was just thankful none of them needed a stool to see onto the counter anymore.
“Alright, are we forgetting anything?” He asked.
There were six shaking heads. With that out of the way, Izuku began giving directions. The seven of them worked like a well oiled machine, despite Kouji being so new to their family. It gave Izuku a feeling of pride that they all worked so well together.
Within an hour, they had multiple batches of cupcakes either ready to be iced or going in the oven. The icing was always the hard part in Izuku’s opinion. Both making it and then actually frosting the cupcakes. They had to perfect this before Dad’s birthday and the twins’ graduation party. It had to be perfect. Izuku refused to let them be anything less.
“Zuku, calm down a bit. You’re holding the icing bag like it’s going to escape,” Shouto said, dragging him out of his own head.
“But they have to be perfect,” Izuku insisted.
“No they don’t. Uncle Hisashi and the twins will love them even if the icing was puke green and bubbling.”
Izuku laughed in surprise, hearing his siblings giggle behind him too. He took a deep breath, trying to will his mind to stop moving so fast. He didn’t have to be perfect, just enough. That was all he had to do. Like Momma said, sometimes just getting it finished was enough.
“Yeah, ok.”
Shouto grinned, and went to get the next batch out of the oven.
“Ooh I wanna ice these ones yellow,” Mina commented. “How long until we can ice them again, Toto?”
“Just wait until they’re not hot. Tops’ll be a bit sticky but those are better anyway.”
“Hey, Toshi,” Izuku said, catching his attention. “Do you remember our old neighbors? The one with lots of yellow hair and the one that always looked two seconds away from sleeping?”
Hitoshi barked a laugh, a bright smile lighting his face. “I remember them! Not well, but I do. They taught us about the cupcake thing first when they babysat us, right?”
“Yeah! That’s why I remembered them!”
“Who are you talking about?” Mina asked curiously.
“When Momma Ink and Dad-Shi were taking adoption classes, they needed a babysitter. We had these neighbors that offered to. Pretty sure the only thing I remember doing with them was making cupcakes and going to the park, but we were only five so that’s not a big surprise. Pretty sure I said something about them acting like Momma Ink and Dad-Shi though.”
“Didn’t we show them our baby hero costumes too?” Izuku laughed.
“I forgot about that part.”
“Wait wait wait, baby hero costumes?” Momo asked. “That sounds adorable.”
Mina got a glint in her eyes a second later. Izuku didn’t like it. She calmly washed her hands from icing, before booking it out of the kitchen.
“MOMMA INKO I NEED TO ASK YOU SOMETHING!”
“Don’t you dare!” Hitoshi yelped, tearing after her.
Izuku just smiled at his siblings’ antics, going back to icing the cupcakes. He silently marveled at their ability to make him feel better no matter what.
“MINA DON’T YOU DARE GO LOOKING IN THE ATTIC!”
He hummed, smile still on his face, and thanked whatever deity had given him this family.
Notes:
That thing about “real” pizza? My dad. He got fed up with “fake pizza” and now makes it himself. Best pizza I’ve ever had 10/10 it’s the best he needs to open a pizza place
The following is NOT going into effect yet, but I landed myself a job! But, that means I might have to cut back on updates. Not yet though!! I’m determined to at least try and keep my once a week schedule. And I’m not dropping this fic, I promise! This is the biggest project I have ever, and probably WILL ever, work on, so I’m seeing it through to the end :D Worst that’ll happen is I switch to posting every other week like I do around finals time.
ALSO WE GOT AN ART I LOVE YOU AMY
Chapter 7 rainy day babies (By Amethysthope7)
Chapter 48: Chords of a Songbird
Summary:
Graduation time! Cuteness!
Countdown to next kid!: Next chapter :)
Notes:
Hello beautiful being reading this, I love you <3
Disclaimer that I don’t know much about Japanese high school graduations. This is hopefully close enough!
Chapter inspired a bit by Home by Phillip Phillips :D
Make sure to read the end notes please!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
At this rate, Touya was either going to set himself on fire or pick at the strings of his graduation gown until it unravelled. He really should have been prepared for the crowds, considering his family made up a good chunk of it, but he was still anxious as hell.
Not to mention the graduation was televised, so, more pressure. Hooray!
A hand grasped his own, not flinching back from the flames boiling beneath his skin. Touya looked up, seeing his boyfriend smiling at him. He was nervous too, seeing as he kept ruffling his wings and forcibly relaxing them, but he was still smiling.
“We’ll be ok,” Hawks said confidently. “We’re going to get our diplomas, watch Rumi almost break the stage by jumping, and hear your family deafen everyone else. Just focus on them. They’re all cheering for you, and so am I.”
Touya took a few deep breaths, his skin simmering down to its usual cold. He could do this. Just a few minutes on stage. He had taken down tons of villains, so he could do this. Hopefully.
The entire thing both passed in a blur and felt entirely too long. Touya swore at one moment he blinked and ten minutes had passed. Then later he was staring at the stage for half an hour, but the clock said it had only been two minutes. He still paid attention though, even if most of it was boring.
Hawks went first. He shook hands with their teachers, grabbed his diploma, posed for all of three seconds, then zipped right back to his seat. Touya couldn’t blame him. Especially since they both knew some people from the Commission were watching.
Touya glanced back into the crowd a few times, trying to spot his family. He glimpsed a few of them, but couldn’t pin down where they were sitting. It would be easier to tell from on stage. For now, he just had to wait. Hawks was beside him—and had started playing with Touya’s hand at some point—while Rumi was on the other side of their row. Time continued to jump between fast and slow with no pattern whatsoever.
Then his name was called, and suddenly everything was in crystal clear focus. Touya moved automatically, and found himself walking across the stage before he knew what was happening. He looked out over the mass of people, finally finding where his family was. It helped that Shouto had very unique hair.
He shook hands with all of his teachers, then received his diploma. A piece of fancy paper that said he had made it through high school. It was less of a ground shaking moment than he thought it would be.
Then he turned to face the crowd, and heard the applause before he could see the ones causing it. Touya smiled, spotting his family quickly after that. The little ones were standing and cheering. Natsuo had Izuku on his back, the two of them yelling Touya’s name. Mom was crying. Aunt Inko and Uncle Hisashi were too, to be fair.
He walked off the stage, smile stuck to his face. Hawks took his hand again as soon as he sat down, his own grin matching Touya’s.
They had done it. They had survived classes, internships, and villains. Most importantly, they had done it together. Standing by each other’s side, they felt invincible.
Rumi was farther down the line. She walked slowly on stage, making a show of looking confident and calm. Though Touya could see how her hands were shaking.
After going down the line and receiving her diploma, Rumi hopped off stage. Some of the wood cracked. She sat down before anyone could say a thing about it.
The rest of the ceremony dragged on, until it was finally done. They all flung their caps into the sky, cheering for themselves and all they had accomplished. Touya threw an arm over his boyfriend.
He looked over, and immediately pulled Hawks closer. His boyfriend had a faraway stare and wings pulled tight to his sides. It was an expression Touya knew well.
“Hey, you good, Birdie?” He asked, just loud enough to be heard over the din surrounding them.
“Yeah, yeah I’m…I’m ok.”
“Bullshit. Do I need to burn someone?”
Hawks cracked a small grin, looking up into the sky. “You know me too well.”
“Well I sure hope I do, since we’ve been together for two and a half years now.”
“Yeah. I guess it just…it feels like the Commission is winning, you know? They trained me specifically for being a hero, and here I am, playing right into their hands. I want to be a hero despite them, but it still…”
“Still feels like they have power over you,” Touya finished for him. “Hey, I promise you, you’ll be away soon. Remember that, ok? We’re in this together, no matter what the Commission says. We even have an apartment and everything now.”
Hawks chirped a laugh, leaning into Touya with a bigger, genuine smile now. “Yeah, we do. Thanks, Hot Stuff.”
“Anytime, love.”
“OI LOVEBIRDS!”
“Ah, and here comes the easter bunny.”
“Can it, cinders,” Rumi snipped, her bright grin undermining her statement. “I’ve gotta go with my family, since we’re eating out to celebrate. I’ll be over to help with the agency on Monday, yeah?”
“Sounds good, Rumi.”
“See you then!”
Rumi bounced away, leaping at her sister and aggressively ruffling her hair. The two roughhoused while following their parents off of school grounds. Touya couldn’t help fondly rolling his eyes at the sight. Maybe all Usagiyamas had the disposition to be violently affectionate.
A high-pitched squeal made Touya and Hawks turn around. They spotted the Midoriyas weaving their way through the crowd, adults attempting to keep the smaller kids in check. Despite their best attempts, the small ones were still trying to race ahead while dodging people.
“Come on,” Touya laughed, gently tugging his boyfriend forward. “Better go meet them halfway before they accidentally send someone flying.”
Hawks trilled a note, ducking under Touya’s arm to take to the air. He did a barrel roll, spreading his red wings wide for everyone below to see. All the kids that saw him squealed with delight. Touya smiled softly, and ran to catch up from the ground.
Dinner was a sight to behold. Every inch of the counter was covered with food, and there was still more on the table. Touya’s favorites were there, and so were Hawks’. A lot of other things too, all of which were delicious. They were made by his family, so of course they were.
The table was a tight fit for all of them, like it always was. Elbows bumped and food was accidentally dropped. Peeve occasionally snatched pieces from the floor. It was loud, but a good loud. The type of noise that was inherently happy, and echoed of smiles and laughter.
Stories were told over the voices of others. Sometimes the same story overlapped, following by cackling when the speakers realized they were saying the same thing. At some point Touya had started using Hawks as a pillow. A wing wrapped around his shoulders kept him nice and warm.
“ANIKI!” One of the kids yelled. It took Touya a second to realize it was Hitoshi. “When are you and Hawks gonna get married?”
Touya promptly choked on his drink. Hawks’ feathers fluffed up, making them look twice as big. He made an alarmed chirp, nearly toppling over in his chair from surprise.
“Hitoshi! You can’t just ask that!”
“I wasn’t the only one thinking it,” he grumbled, still staring intently at the two. “So?”
“Uhh, no plan for that yet, kiddo,” Hawks answered, Touya still hacking up a lung.
“But…you really love each other, don’t you?”
“Well, yeah. Of course we do.”
“Then why aren’t you getting married?”
“There’s other reasons behind it, Hitoshi,” Touya said, free from choking on his drink. “We’re not old yet anyways, there’s time.”
“But I want to be a ring bearer.”
“Maybe Peeve should be the ring bearer,” Mina suggested, grabbing more potatoes from across the table.
“No way! That’s my job. Peeve can be the mascot.”
“Weddings have mascots?” Shouto asked.
“Who would be the flower girl?” Izuku piped up.
“Mina! She’s pink like the petals.”
“No, I wanna be a bridesmaid.”
“There won’t be a bride though.”
“Oh yeah…would I get to throw the flowers?”
“As long as it’s not directly at people,” Uncle Hisashi hummed. “We are not having a repeat of our college festival.”
Aunt Inko dissolved into quiet laughter. Touya had no idea what they were talking about, but knowing his aunt and uncle, he probably didn’t want to.
“We’re not getting married yet!” Touya said, face red. “Maybe one day, but we have a lot on our plates right now, so no marriage yet.”
“Aww, ok.”
“Fair enough.”
“Sorry Aniki.”
Touya just shook his head, slumping into his boyfriend’s side again. Everyone went back to eating, conversation picking back up where they had left off. The speed that topics could change in their house was mind boggling sometimes.
Hawks nudged Touya’s leg with his own, silently grabbing his attention. No one else seemed to notice.
“Did you mean it?” He asked, just loud enough for Touya to hear.
“Mean what?”
“Getting married. Not now, obviously, but one day. Did you mean it?”
“Of course I did. You’re the end all be all for me, Birdie, as long as you’ll have me. I…I really would like to get married one day. I know it’ll be hard, since we’ll both be pros by then probably, but, I want to be able to call you my husband one day.”
“I…I think I would like that too,” Hawks said, so quietly it made Touya’s heart melt. Thankfully not his shirt. He had to be careful about setting off the fire alarms…again.
Touya didn’t realize his jaw had dropped a bit until Hitoshi called him out on it. He halfheartedly glared at his little brother, before kissing his boyfriend.
“Ewww, Momma Ink! Tell Touya not to do that at the table!”
Inko’s response was to lean over and kiss Hisashi. Hitoshi grumbled about “icky grownup affection,” but went back to eating his food. A few others snickered before picking their conversations up once more. It was peaceful, even if it was loud. Anyone could be heard though, as long as they weren’t whispering.
“Can you pass the potatoes please?”
Everyone stopped. Touya stared across the table at the one who had talked.
Because it was Kouji.
Touya had never heard the kid speak. He hadn’t been there when his little siblings were attacked by a villain, and god did he regret that, but Touya had heard about it. How a swarm of bugs and small animals drove the villain right into police hands. That they had quite literally come to Kouji’s call.
The kid’s voice was gravelly, ironic considering he looked a bit like a squishy rock. It was almost high pitched too. He was still a small child though, so that was understandable. Touya felt almost awed at hearing him speak. There was power held in words used so sparingly.
A second passed, and then Aunt Inko sniffled. A chain reaction of tears proceeded to sweep across the table. Touya was no exception to it.
“I think this calls for an ice cream and movie night!” Uncle Hisashi told everyone.
Cheers rang out after Hisashi’s voice, Kouji’s own alongside it. Touya watched as the little ones scarfed down the rest of their food, and then raced off to go choose a movie. It was adorable. And slightly vicious, since they were shoving each other to get there faster.
Touya turned to his boyfriend, smile still in place. “Well, guess you’re staying the night. How unfortunate you couldn’t escape the hoard of children.”
“Oh yes. A tragedy. Truly.”
The two dissolved into giggles as they cleared their plates. They could hear scuffling in the other room, and arguments over which movie to watch. Touya knew they’d end up watching both anyway. Uncle Hisashi went to go break it up a minute later though, just to be safe.
“Do you think Kouji will talk more now?” Touya asked.
“Maybe,” Aunt Inko answered. “We won’t push him to do anything. Speaking would certainly be useful for the future, but sign is enough most of the time.”
“Any idea what he wants to do when he’s older?” Mom asked.
“Hmm, no, but he’ll tell us in his own time. Children don’t usually know at this age anyway. I sure didn’t.”
Touya’s thoughts flashed back to their life…before. He had been bred to be a hero. Supposed to be, at least. He and Hawks were the same in that way. Specifically made for a job, and not given an option otherwise.
But they were becoming heroes on their own terms. Touya free from Endeavor, and Hawks from the Commission. They would prove their creators wrong and rise of their own merits and skill.
Touya had sworn once that his flames would be a sign of protection. That he would keep his family safe with them, no matter what. He still held himself to that. Even with a family bigger than he ever thought they would have, he would still protect them.
And if that meant going against the Commission itself?
Then so be it.
~~~~~~~~~~
It was move-in day!
Hawks couldn’t be more excited about it. He was finally getting out of that stuffy child’s room and into another place. And that place just so happened to be with his boyfriend.
They had found the apartment right before graduation. Not the fanciest thing, but neither expected to find something especially high end. Now it was the week after graduation, and they were finally moving in! Hawks kept finding himself subconsciously fluttering into the air and chirping happily. God, if the handlers saw him now.
But he wasn’t with them, and that’s what made him so happy. They couldn’t control him as much anymore, or force him to do as many things. He was still obligated to listen to them, but his life was his now. And nothing was going to take that from him. At least not without a fight.
He didn’t have much to pack in the first place, so moving went quickly on his end. Most of his belongings were things from his friends. There were some pictures he packed too. Some were of Touya and Rumi, others of the Midoriya family. A few drawings kids had given him were nestled in there too.
Hawks said goodbye to his caretaker. He had never had a particular affection for the woman, and she to him. It was different though, leaving and knowing he wasn’t coming back this time. She wished him luck. That was about as much as he had expected from her.
Touya, on the other hand, had a lot of boxes. He had a lot of stuff. Enough that his family had to take both cars to get it all over. The adults and some of the kids had come to help them move in, which Hawks couldn’t be more delighted with.
Sometime in the last three years, the Midoriyas had become his family. Touya’s siblings were like his siblings. Inko and Hisashi were almost like his mom and dad, and Rei another mom but Hawks wasn’t going to think too hard on the logistics of that. Even Peeve had (a bit reluctantly) adopted him into the fold!
Most of them were crying as the last boxes were moved into the flat. It was small, and relatively cheap, but close to both places they needed to go. Touya had gotten into the college he wanted, and Hawks’ new agency was around equal distance as that. But the most important part was that it was theirs .
Hawks had never really thought of relationships before high school, let alone marriage. But…he had maybe-sorta-definitely liked how Touya had called him his husband that one time. The Commission had…strict views on hero relationships. But screw what they thought. Hawks loved Touya, and if he was sure of one thing in this world, it was that Touya loved him too.
So here they were, standing in their very own apartment, surrounded by boxes that probably wouldn’t get fully unpacked for a few weeks. Hawks had never moved houses before. Not that he could clearly remember, anyway.
Not that he wanted to remember.
The two of them got to work on unpacking a bit. Clothes were put into their closet, dishes in cabinets, and a few miscellaneous things. There were still quite a few boxes by the time they took a break. The tv was working though, so the two of them curled up on the couch together.
It was halfway into bingeing a new series—and nearing when they should start thinking about what to do for dinner, because that was a thing they had to worry about now—that Touya broke their soft silence.
“I was thinking yesterday-“
“Oh no.”
“Shush,” he laughed, pulling him closer. “I was thinking, the Commission doesn’t have as much control over you now, since you don’t live with them.”
“Yeah, and?”
“And I was thinking…I was thinking it’s about time you had a name. A real one.”
Hawks immediately bolted upright, turning to stare at Touya. A name? It had been…years probably, since he had even though of having one. Wanting a real name wasn’t allowed with the Commission. He was Hawks. Hero Hawks. He needed to respond to it and nothing else, his handlers had said.
He didn’t even remember what name he had before they took him.
“How…how would I even get one?”
“A bunch of legal things, but you have to choose a name first. Aunt Inko can probably help with both though.”
“What…what would I even…name myself?”
“Hmm, well, there’s a lot of names. They can mean anything you want too, but you don’t have to decide now. We can get it changed as soon or as late as you want.”
Hawks nodded, still reeling. A name. A real name. Something so trivial to other people, yet it felt like the idea was shaking his entire world. It would probably take a while, and a lot of dodging his handlers, but it was possible.
Having a name would mean more to him than anything. It would mean he was his own person, not the Commission’s. It would show he had his own life. That “Hawks” was a hero name, but not the name of a hero. It would show he was finally free.
For now though, he cuddled on the couch with his boyfriend, watching some tv series neither of them had heard before. Hawks could wonder about dinner and what the morning would bring. He could sit there, and know that he was safe.
Notes:
Announcement!: I’m taking next week off! This upcoming week is going to be nuts for me and I don’t want the next chapter to be rushed, so I’ll be back in two weeks with the next one! I hope you have a good day/night <3
ALSO to whoever comments on every chapter/read and commented on every one: I love you so much. You guys don't know how excited I get to see someone commenting and looking forward to the next one. Every comment I get makes me smile, thank you to everyone who had ever commented on one of my fics, I love you <3 <3
Next chapter!: First day of school for Kouji! Momo does a thing! And kid #8 appears!
Chapter 49: Chrysanthemum
Summary:
Welcome to another Gay Disasters chapter
Notes:
Hello!
So
I lied
I fully intended to take a week off! I really did! And I'm happy I did, because we ran into more things this week than I was expecting, but I also have no self control when it comes to writing and realized I never wrote an entirely SnowRabbit chapter, so here we are!Anyway, I wrote this with no real plan or idea of where to end it. This also wasn’t a backlog chapter, meaning I wrote it this week and didn't have my buffer that usually helps me edit a little. Hope it turned out ok though!
ALSO Guess what! It's NOLB's birthday!! As of posting this, it is has been one year since I posted the first chapter. And Oh Boy did I not know what was in store for me. The community that's been built around this fic is something I never dreamed would happen, and I wouldn't trade it for anything <3 <3 <3 Enjoy the gift of a fluff chapter
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Rumi had never been known for her nerves. She was jumpy by nature, her mother had told her once, but also strong. Rabbits were not to be trifled with. It didn’t stop her from being anxious, but it certainly helped.
As a kid she learned to cover her fear. Put up an act of bravado and no one will know. No one will notice. Over the years she had become bolder, but there were still times when the act dropped.
A certain Fuyumi Hisame brought that out more than anyone else.
At first Rumi hadn’t understood it. Fuyumi was kind, and soft, and was her friend’s twin. She was pretty too, that much was obvious. Anyone could see that. Or, they should. Honestly Rumi didn’t know how Fuyumi wasn’t already taken when they met. Still, she didn’t know why her walls dropped so easily around her.
Even though they went to different schools, Rumi found them talking. A lot. Like, all the time. And it…was honestly the happiest she had been. She had had friends before Ketsubutsu obviously, but none of them had stuck around. Most of them left soon after seeing she wasn't meek and cute like a little bunny, instead having determination and bluntness in spades.
But Fuyumi stayed, and they never stopped talking. It took an embarrassingly long time for Rumi to realize the affection she felt wasn’t just platonic. Though Rumi didn’t act on her feelings. She knew Fuyumi liked girls—ironic, considering Touya liked boys. The two always joked they had gotten traits switched at birth—but there was no reason Rumi’s affection would be returned. Why would it? Fuyumi was everything she wasn’t. Soft, caring, patient, and probably brave enough to actually spit out what she wanted to say.
Time passed. They were still friends. Amazing friends, best friends… only friends. Rumi got together with others, but they never lasted long. More than one had said it was because she paid more attention to Fuyumi than them. Or Touya and Hawks, but they were quickly shut down by Rumi showing them a picture of Touya and Hawks on a date. Honestly, those two nerds were so sweet sometimes she swore they were going to give her cavities.
Fuyumi had dated others too, though they never seemed to last especially long either. Which was obviously for the best, since none of them were good enough for her anyway. Rumi would stay up late to talk with Fuyumi, one or the other listening to whatever had recently developed. It made her heart feel like it was withering to dust sometimes. Hearing Fuyumi happy was enough though. It was, really.
The end of third year rolled around. Finals were hell, but at least Rumi had her two dumbasses to suffer it with. Then they dropped a bombshell on her. Fuyumi apparently liked her too, and had for a while now.
Rumi had already felt like her brain was melting out her ears, but hearing that just made her go blank. Fuyumi…liked her? Her? It felt too good to be true.
Then Rumi did…exactly nothing about it. What if it messed up their friendship? What if Fuyumi had changed her mind since Touya asked? What if she didn’t want to date anyone now that she was going off to college in a few weeks?
It was ridiculous, and making Rumi nervous for no reason. But…she wanted to say something. Anything. Even if Fuyumi rejected her, Rumi wanted to tell her. Her college was a few cities away. Rumi didn’t want her to leave never knowing that her feelings (if they still existed) weren’t one-sided.
Which is how she found herself outside the Midoriya house after the sun had set, a few pebbles in her hand. Touya and Hawks had moved into their apartment two days ago, and Fuyumi left in two more. It was now or never. Rumi felt braver in the dark, so she steeled her nerves, and took aim.
The first pebble hit the wall. The second actually hit the window, but just barely. Rumi cursed her lack of night vision. She had three pebbles left, so she made extra sure to carefully aim the third one. That one, finally, hit the window square in the middle. Hopefully it was enough.
Pebble number four hit, and right after that, the window opened. It was then that Rumi wondered if this really was such a good idea.
Fuyumi leaned her head out, white and red hair in a messy bun and normal clothes still on. Her gray eyes landed on Rumi. The gaze was curious and light, if slightly sleepy. It took Rumi a second to register that Fuyumi was talking.
“Rumi? What are you doing?”
“Uh, I- um.” Rumi cleared her throat, gathering her thoughts. “Can I- can I come up?”
“I mean, sure? If you can jump high enough.”
Rumi let a small smirk play onto her lips. “If she could jump high enough,” like the second story was an issue. She was a hero now, and had been training for years! A second story window was a piece of cake for her. Well, the height was anyway. Her aim had improved a lot since the start of high school.
Fuyumi backed up as Rumi crouched. She launched herself into the air, flying for just a moment. There was always something so freeing in being airborne. It was almost enough to be envious of Hawks, but Rumi appreciated the ground just as much sometimes.
The landing was always harder than liftoff. Rumi dove through the window, and managed to tuck and roll onto the floor. She laid on her back for a second, getting her breath back. The room was remarkably empty without Touya’s things. Soon there would be nothing. That thought felt heavier than she expected it to be.
“Thanks for letting me in,” Rumi said quietly, knowing some of the little ones might be trying to sleep right about now. “Sorry it’s so late but I…”
“It’s fine, Rumi,” Fuyumi assured, sitting on her bed. “But why exactly are you here so late, throwing pebbles at my window?”
“I, uh, I had something to tell- to tell you, before you left for university.”
“Ok then. What is it?”
This was it. This is what nearly three years of pining had led up to, and where it would end. One way or another, this is where something ended. Rumi just hoped that something wasn’t their friendship.
“So Touya and Hawks said- told me the other d-day, that I was being…kinda stupid, and oblivious. And I…uh…”
Fuyumi looked concerned, eyebrows scrunched in the cutest way possible and leaning forward like she wanted to comfort Rumi. It was just, adorable. And sweet. And Rumi had been head over heels for this girl since way too long now.
“You’re stuttering and playing with your ear Rumi, are you alright?”
She jumped, not even realizing when she had tugged her ear down to essentially groom it. That was something she only did when she was really nervous. Which, she was, but that was a habit Rumi thought she had kicked back in middle school.
“Yeah, I’m- I’m good. Just, trying to find words.”
Fuyumi nodded with all the wisdom of a college student. “Words are hard.”
“No kidding,” Rumi laughed, before quieting. “Ok. Ok, think I- think I know how to say this.”
Fuyumi nodded, waiting patiently. Rumi moved to sit on the bed too, fidgeting with her hands. Now or never. Nothing to lose….ok everything to lose, but Rumi was willing to risk it.
“We’re super good friends, right? And kinda have been for a while but, erm, not the point. Kind of. And I think it was sometimes around first or second year I realized that you’re my best friend but it was more than that and oh god I’m starting to ramble, sorry.”
“No, it’s ok, Rumi,” Fuyumi laughed lightly, shaking her head. “What were you saying?”
Well how was she supposed to respond to that? Because Rumi was pretty sure her filter disintegrating was not the correct answer.
“I like you!” She blurted, and immediately slapped a hand over her mouth. Fuyumi just blinked slowly, tilting her head like a curious kitten.
“I like you too? We’re best friends, I would sure hope you liked me at least a bit.”
“…Fuyumi I meant in a gay way.”
“Oh. Oh, you mean…?”
Rumi grabbed a strand of her hair, curling it around her finger and keeping her eyes on her lap. “I didn’t- I didn’t want you to leave, without knowing. And Touya said you might like me back and I know you’re moving out in a few days but I- I wanted to tell you. Even if you don’t like me back I wanted you to know and I hope- I hope we-“
“Rumi, Rumi slow down, it’s ok.”
A gentle hand was set on her arm, dragging Rumi’s gaze back up to Fuyumi. She had moved closer at some point. The soft gray eyes Rumi knew well were sharper now, but still warm. Though now that warmth was akin to a hunter’s breath in a winter field.
“Are you trying to confess to me?”
Something in those gray eyes pulled the truth from Rumi’s lips, even if she hadn’t been about to deny it. “Yes.”
Fuyumi paused, then backed up again. Rumi very nearly jolted forward after her. She didn’t, but that didn’t stop her ears from dropping at the movement.
“I never…” Fuyumi was staring up at her ceiling. “I never thought anyone like you would like me that way, not in a million years.”
“Is there something not to like?”
“Plenty,” she snorted, before sobering a bit. “You…I’m leaving soon Rumi, why tell me now? Next week I’ll be in a completely different city.”
“I didn’t want you to leave without knowing. I’m still going to be here for a while before becoming an independent hero, but I figured I could at least see you some when you come to visit your family. Easy enough to avoid you if you want me to, too.”
“Avoid you? Rumi, why would I want that?”
Rumi averted her gaze once again, tapping her foot against the floor. She felt Fuyumi shift on the bed, probably staring at her. It was nerve wracking. All of this was. Why did feelings have to be so hard? Especially when she was telling them to a pretty girl.
“Because if- if you don’t feel the same, then I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I- I still want to be your friend! Of course I do, it’s just, I never want to do anything to hurt you. If that means staying away, then that’s what I’ll do.”
“Rumi, look at me.”
She complied, if only because Fuyumi was using her teacher voice. Rumi was met with a look that seemed to lay her soul bare. Almost cautiously, Fuyumi took Rumi’s hands in her own.
“I’m not…I’m not amazing and strong like heroes you’ve met before. I have my patience and memory, and that’s about it. The thought that someone like you would actually be interested in me was something I never let myself believe.” Fuyumi paused, collecting her thoughts. Rumi hardly dared to breathe. “But, I’ve liked you for a long time now. So…can I take you out for coffee tomorrow?”
Rumi could only stare dumbly with an open mouth. Coherent words refused to make it past her vocal cords, her mind being static. Fuyumi just waited, a knowing smile on her lips.
Well, Rumi had always believed actions spoke louder than words. Said action currently being a high-pitched whine and ears feeling like they were burning. She leaned forward, head hitting Fuyumi’s shoulder.
“I thought that was supposed to be my line,” she joked, face buried in Fuyumi’s shoulder.
“Hey I waited three years for this. I’m not about to let you go because I didn’t say something fast enough and you misunderstood me. We’re not a soap opera.”
“HA, your twin would beg to differ.”
“Him and Hawks don’t count. I swear they’re from some alternate universe where they’re soulmates.”
Rumi hummed, finally lifting her head and leaning back. Fuyumi was still holding her hand. They were warm, and smaller compared to Rumi’s. They were quiet for a minute, just thinking about what had happened.
“So, coffee? Does eleven work?” Fuyumi asked.
“Yeah. That cafe downtown with the good cookies?”
“You read my mind.”
“Nah, I just know you like their jam cookies.”
Fuyumi smiled, and Rumi felt light all over again. There was no other way to describe it. It was like the feeling of laying in the sun, or being wrapped in a blanket from the dryer, or the joy of listening to a favorite song. It was a nebulous feeling. One that seemed to encompass her entire being with overflowing happiness.
“I should probably go before one of the small ones comes to see what the noise was about.”
“Probably.”
Neither moved yet. Rumi didn’t want to go, and Fuyumi didn’t want her to leave. She couldn’t really spend the night though, as nice as that would be. Too many questions. Small children were like leeches when it came to gossip like that. Rumi would never forget the day Fuyumi broke it to her that kids actually enjoyed petty drama as much as some teenagers.
With a heavy sigh, Rumi gathered together the scraps of her will and stood up. Fuyumi followed her, walking her to the window. No one was outside below, so Rumi slung her feet back out into the open air. The drop would be a cinch for her.
She wavered for a second though, turning back inside. Fuyumi was still waiting there.
“Eleven?”
“Eleven,” Fuyumi confirmed, a soft smile on her face.
Rumi beamed, then jumped out the window. She landed with ease, springing back to her feet like she had enough energy to sprint home. Fuyumi was still in the window when she turned back.
Tonight couldn’t have gone better, Rumi decided.
~~~~~~~~~~
Fuyumi was still reeling from the night before. She had stayed awake for hours, just staring at the ceiling and trying to make sense of it all. Rumi actually liked her. She had asked her on a date. The entire situation just made her feel borderline giddy.
They were meeting for coffee and tea at eleven at a cafe Fuyumi liked. The fact that Rumi had even remembered that sent butterflies fluttering around her stomach. None of it had helped Fuyumi sleep, but that didn’t matter at the moment.
The morning brought nerves, and Fuyumi only slightly panicked while asking for advice on what she should wear. After emptying half her closet, she did find something to wear. No thanks to her traitor of a twin, who just started cackling the second she called him. Hawks was scolding him in the background, doing a bad job of covering his own laughter.
Everyone wished her luck as she rushed out the door. Fuyumi couldn't help feeling just a bit more confident after that. Kinda hard not to when a dozen people are cheering you on.
Time seemed to skip like a scratched CD, and before she knew it Fuyumi was standing outside the cafe. Rumi hadn’t arrived yet. Fuyumi was early though, so that wasn’t a surprise.
She went ahead and grabbed a table for the two of them. Ordering food and drinks could wait. For now, Fuyumi busied herself with a game on her phone. Anything to help distract from her anxiety.
Something hit the table in front of her. Fuyumi jumped, very nearly flinging her phone, before realizing the offending object was a drink. Her favorite, in fact. She looked up a bit higher, and saw Rumi standing there, two more things in hand.
“Ah, sorry, I just- you were really focused, and I know what you usually get, so…”
Fuyumi let herself relax again, expression hopefully soft. “Thank you Rumi, that’s really sweet of you. Sorry I didn’t notice you earlier.”
“Nah, it’s fine. I know how you get with some of your games.”
Fuyumi laughed, remembering the amount of times Rumi had snapped her out of focusing on something or other. Touya and Hawks had done it plenty too, but Rumi was usually the first to notice. Fuyumi wondered how many other small things Rumi noticed.
“Well sit down,” Fuyumi said. “What are those?”
“Oh! I, uh, got you your favorite cookie, and a- a flower. Here.”
Fuyumi gently took both, setting the cookie on their table. The flower was one she recognized: a white chrysanthemum. It was beautiful, and she instantly adored it.
“Thank you, Rumi,” she said, smiling softly at the flower. “Sorry again that I didn’t notice you get here.”
Rumi waved the apology off, taking a sip of her coffee. Fuyumi grabbed her tea, realizing it was one of her favorites too. She couldn’t help her smile from growing.
“So,” she said, trying to distract from the growing blush on her cheeks, “Have you gone to see Touya and Hawks’ new apartment yet?”
“No, did they burn it down already?”
“Oh shush, Touya’s cooking skills aren’t that bad.”
“I’m more worried about the overgrown chicken catching their kitchen on fire.”
Fuyumi couldn’t help her snort. She covered her mouth with her hand a second later, halfheartedly glaring at Rumi for making her do that. Though said rabbit-gremlin looked unrepentant.
Things carried on like that, their banter no different than usual. Well, slightly different. This time Fuyumi could reach across the table and hold Rumi’s hand.
Eventually the topic circulated around to…them. What they were going to do. A thought Fuyumi had been avoiding, and from the look of it, Rumi had been too.
“I want to try and make it work,” Fuyumi said, voice quieter than she intended. “As Touya so elegantly put it this morning, we’ve been dancing around each other for almost three years now. If I can- if there’s a chance that we can make it work, then I want to try.”
Rumi squeezed her hand, a silent agreement. “Like hell I’m giving you up after I word-vomited my feelings.”
“Pfft, yeah. We’ll call and text, and if your hero work brings you to where I am, you’ll always have a place with me.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Fuyumi closed her eyes for a moment, and revelled in how happy she felt. Two days ago, she was scared of what the future would bring. Scared that things were going to change too much. Things would never be the same after this, and she knew it.
But now, with certainty, Fuyumi could say she looked forward to what the future would bring them.
Notes:
Ok so I’m going to still ATTEMPT the once a week schedule, but I’m half convinced two of my classes are trying to drown me in homework. My other fic has priority for next week since this is being posted, and if I find I’m being overloaded by trying to get both out I’m switching to once every other week. Just figured I would warn you guys!
ALSO GUESS WHAT
FOR NOLB's BIRTHDAY THERE IS ART
An amazing piece of art that is just, amazing. I squealed about it for near half an hour when I first saw it. There are so many details and the artist is amazing. I love youuuuuu <3 <3 <3
LOOK AT THE AMAZINGNESS (By Ozark_Kaya)
Chapter 50: Scrappy Little Things
Summary:
Kid 8! Kid 8! I love them!
And Momo does a Thing™ I'm so proud of her and so are her siblings
Notes:
Hello wonderful people!
Here’s the chapter that was technically going to be posted as 49 but I added more fluff so it’s 50 now. Anyway, now at chapter 50, I can confidently say this story is going to be over 100 chapters! I don’t have this planned out chapter by chapter though so it’s entirely possible it might end closer to 200. I hope you guys stick with me that long <3
Warnings: Bullying and a school fight
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The beginning of fourth grade crashed in with a rush of forgotten alarms and chaos. Despite the hectic start, Kouji couldn’t help being just a bit excited. He had a feeling that this year would be better than before. With his siblings by his side, he felt invincible. Nothing bad could happen if they were nearby.
The teachers had been told about Kouji’s signing too, and he had been placed with a teacher that knew some of it. That alone made him look forward to school for once. It would be a fresh start, and hopefully a good one.
The first day revealed Kouji was in the same class as Hitoshi and Katsuki. They were arranged in groups of four at square tables. Katsuki was on his right, while Hitoshi sat across from them. The fourth seat was filled by a new kid. Kouji was a new kid too, so he waved and hoped his smile looked friendly instead of terrified.
Classes were actually interesting, which kinda surprised Kouji. It could have been because he actually knew some of it. Izuku liked to mutter about what he learned, and Kouji seemed to have absorbed a bit of the information. Being able to answer a teacher’s question was a new experience. Scary, but exhilarating when he was correct.
Lunchtime rolled around soon enough. Hitoshi instantly latched onto Kouji’s arm, guiding him outside and up a small hill. There was a tree at the summit, Izuku and Shouto already sitting beneath it. They waved happily as the three walked over.
“Damnit, you two got one of the early release teachers?” Katsuki grumbled, sitting on the ground.
“Yep!” Izuku chirped.
“That or they got tired of Izuku being the only one to answer questions,” Shouto hummed.
“Ok, maybe that too.”
Kouji waved a hand, getting the attention of Izuku. “Will Momo and Mina be out soon too?”
“Probably. Depends on if they got one of the super strict teachers or not.”
“Bet you they’ll-“
“WE’RE FREE!!”
Kouji jumped, turning to see where the noise had come from. Mina dashed outside like a neon cheetah, lunch in hand. Momo came running after her a moment later. They were both smiling as they collapsed onto the grass beside the others.
“Strict teacher?” Shouto asked.
“Nope!” Mina cheered. “Everyone else got out on time. We didn’t leave earlier because someone almost got into an argument with the teacher.”
“In my defense,” Momo huffed, “they were giving out misinformation.”
“On a dinosaur, Momo.”
“My favorite dinosaur.”
“Um, excuse me?”
Standing there, a few feet outside their circle, was someone Kouji recognized. It was the other new kid; the one Kouji had waved at that morning. He was fidgeting with his lunchbox under the weight of their gazes.
“Can I sit with you guys?”
Kouji blinked, then looked over to the rest of his siblings. Izuku was staring at the new person, keen eyes holding scrutiny. Hitoshi was edging closer to him, and Shouto was too. The girls looked a bit less wary though. Momo was smiling, already waving the kid over.
“Of course!” Momo said cheerily. “There’s always room for another person over here.”
“Thank you,” the boy said, taking a seat beside Kouji. “My name is Watanabe.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Watanabe,” Izuku said, his smile back in place.
Kouji knew something was wrong. That smile was not Izuku’s real one. It wasn’t brighter than the sun and so optimistic that it automatically encouraged others. No, this smile was the light of torches on a deep cavern wall. Still light, but not quite right.
It was unnerving, though Watanabe didn’t seem to notice. The others did though. Hitoshi had moved to sit touching Izuku, seemingly more relaxed than a minute before. Katsuki’s hands kept twitching. Shouto was eating calmly, but he kept sending glances between Izuku and Watanabe. They were on edge, and Kouji didn’t know why.
“Izuku,” Kouji signed. “What’s wrong?”
“What are you doing with your hands,” Watanabe asked brashly. “You were doing it in the classroom too. Can’t you talk?”
Kouji hesitated. He…he had dealt with this before, but it never got easier. At least he had his siblings behind him this time. So he shook his head.
“Oh. Are you…talking with your hands or something then? It looks weird.”
Kouji shrunk in on himself. It was something he had heard a thousand times before, and it usually ended the same.
“Oh, it’s not weird.” Izuku’s voice…it matched his smile. A grin of smoldering firelight and words of barbed wire.
Kouji had never thought of Izuku as intimidating. He was the small boy with hair like a tree and a smile that was comparable to sunlight. He was the first to offer help and last to leave a problem alone. But right now? He was downright frightening.
“Signing is pretty useful, you know?” He said, staring directly at Watanabe. “Especially for heroes. My brother just has a head start on all of us with it.”
“…ok.”
“Anyway, I’m Izuku Midoriya. These are my siblings. You’re new to the school, right? Did you just move here?”
“Uh, yeah. My mom got a new job in the city.”
“Do you like heroes?”
Kouji watched as Watanabe talked. He seemed reserved, hesitant. That could just be because he was new though. Izuku’s smile was a bit brighter now, less sharp. Everyone was eating and chattering away. His siblings made a point to include him. They always did.
Lunch ended far too quickly, but that was nothing new. Everyone retreated to their respective classrooms. Watanabe trailed behind them, disappearing at one point before they got to the class. He appeared again before class started though. Kouji waved to him again, though he didn’t wave back.
The day dragged on. By the time they got to leave, walking home by themselves since both parents were working, Kouji had so many things to tell his other siblings. It was one of the first times he had genuinely enjoyed a day at school.
They planned to all meet up in front of the school. It didn’t take long for the others to appear, Kouji excitedly signing out some of his day when Izuku asked. He was ecstatic just to have someone that would listen now.
It took probably too long for him to realize they had stopped. Kouji looked around in confusion, eyes landing on more kids. They were blocking the exit gate. There were five, and Watanabe was standing with them.
It had been fake, Kouji realized. The nervousness and hesitancy was part of an act, or because of how Watanabe was faking it. Dread settled in Kouji’s stomach, heavy as stones sitting on his chest. He should have known better.
“So, the weirdos are still weirdos.”
“Oh, fuck off,” Katsuki hissed.
“Leave us alone,” Izuku said, voice unwavering. He put himself between the other kids and his siblings. “I thought you outgrew this. Especially using spies. We’re kids, you moron, the average acting skills of our age sucks.”
“I thought I did pretty good,” Watanabe mumbled.
Kouji didn’t like this. He didn’t like it one bit. They were bullies, just judging by how they were sneering down at Izuku. Watanabe was one of them. He was a liar. A bad one apparently, according to Izuku.
Momo stepped forward, face a mask of calm and fists clenched at her sides. She radiated a silence aura of absolute fury. Kouji immediately knew he didn’t want to get in her way, and anyone who did was about to meet a very unfortunate fate.
“You know,” she said, walking up to Watanabe, “ladies don’t start fights.”
“Uh, yeah ‘cause-“
“But they can finish them.”
Then Momo sucker punched him.
Kouji didn’t know whether to laugh or be worried that Watanabe was now groaning on the floor with a bleeding nose. Katsuki was doubled over, cackling like a hyena. Mina congratulated Momo while wheezing right next to him. Izuku had a hand covering his mouth, but Kouji could tell he was smiling.
Momo shook out her hand, scowling at the other bullies. “I don’t like pretenders. Take your bullying away from my siblings and leave us alone.”
The group looked between each other and Momo, then collectively took a step towards her. One put his fists up in a mock fighting stance. Kouji only had one or two fighting lessons from Hisashi under his belt, but even he knew that stance was bad. Most kids didn’t get training like they did though.
“So that’s how we’re doing this?” Izuku sighed, catching everyone’s attention despite the low volume. “One last chance, leave us alone.”
“No way!”
One of the four still standing lunged at Izuku. He swung a punch, missing by miles. Izuku didn’t even flinch. It spurred the others into moving, but Kouji was frozen. He didn’t fight. He didn’t know how, but the others did and they were taking on the bullies.
Kouji could hardly keep track of them. Izuku took down the first one on his own, movements calculated and precise. The others fell soon after. No quirks were used on their side. The five, Watanabe up and moving now, ran away with tails between their legs.
Quiet overtook the schoolyard. Other kids went about their business, ignoring what had happened. Kouji’s siblings got to their feet and gathered their things.
“Sorry about that, Kouji,” Hitoshi apologized sincerely, dusting off his shirt after tumbling at some point. “They don’t usually bother us, but they wanted to haze the new kid I guess. Well, two of the new kids.”
“Are you ok though?” Mina asked, checking him over.
“I’m ok, didn’t fight,” he signed. “You ok?”
Katsuki scoffed, hiking his backpack onto his shoulder again. “Eh, those fuckers got nothin’ on us. Bunch of cowardly extras that don’t know how to fight for shit.”
“Let’s go home,” Izuku said. “Mo, don’t wipe your hand on your shirt. There’s blood on your knuckles.”
“Oh dear.” Momo faltered, staring down at her hand. “I…I’ve never fought someone like that. I’m…I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”
“You were mad,” Hitoshi shrugged. “You felt betrayed by Watanabe. Don’t do it again, but you had a reason. Come on, I have some marshmallows we can eat on the way home.”
“Marshmallows?”
“Yeah! Momma Ink only lets me bring them once a year because I used to eat them during class,” Hitoshi laughed. “Do you want some?”
“Yes please.”
They began walking home, chattering about different things. Everyone munched on marshmallows as they went. Kouji found himself cheering up, just a bit. He was still confused about one thing though.
He caught Izuku’s attention, hands in plain sight.
“Did you know they sent a spy?”
“Well, sort of? I didn’t know they would send one, but judging by how he acted, Watanabe wasn’t there to be our friend. It’s…it’s been a while, since anyone at school has had that intention towards us. We let him stay though, in case he changed his mind and wanted to stick around. Didn’t work very well.”
“How?”
“How did I know?” Kouji nodded. “Oh. Well I analyzed his expressions, body language, and how often the bullies kept looking at him. It became a bit obvious after that. Is…is that…that’s not normal, is it.”
“Your quirk,” Kouji signed calmly. “Not weird, a part of you. Just how you work.”
“Oh…th-thanks, Kouji.”
Mina appeared from nowhere and almost tackled Izuku, throwing her arm over his shoulders with a smile on her face. “He’s right, Zuzu. You warned some of us, so you helped a lot.”
“But I-“
“Nope!” She chirped. “You don’t need to know everything, even if your quirk says you need to. Now onto more important things, like are we sparring tomorrow?”
“Can we invite Ochako over?” Momo asked from behind them.
“I’m not fighting her,” Shouto muttered. “Last time she bit me.”
“That’s what you get for putting her in a headlock,” Izuku said wisely.
“She’s scrappy as fuck and’s already better than some of you.”
“Not my fault she can fling us into the sky.”
“Then avoid her hands, dumbass.”
Kouji smiled, listening as they all dissolved into playful bickering. He even added his own opinions every once in awhile.The school day hadn’t exactly ended how he wanted, but they had each other. That’s all they needed.
Kouji made a silent promise to protect them, just as they had to him. He would learn, and grow stronger, and be able to keep them safe. One day. For now, he smiled as his siblings chattered, anxiously awaiting his next fighting lesson with Hisashi.
~~~~~3 month time skip~~~~~
Even with his agency not fully set up yet, Hawks took it upon himself to patrol the surrounding area. He could cover a lot of ground in a short time thanks to his wings. Besides, his patrol route usually took some…detours. Ones that normal heroes didn’t take. Namely to some of the crime heavy areas.
He didn’t exactly have a set route either. Not yet at least. A manager had been sent over from the Commission, but Hawks didn’t like them. One of the former management students from Ketsubutsu had contacted him, offering her services by kindly explaining everything he could currently be doing better.
She started next week.
He only had small details to figure out yet, to be fair, but there were a lot of them. Like deciding if he wanted couches in the office or those massive beanbags Touya loved. Or both, both were good. There were a number of paperwork things to figure out too. Also a coffee maker, they needed that. Basically a grocery list, but with things slightly bigger than veggies.
All of the employees started next week. A week after that would be the grand opening, which the Commission insisted on. It was already on the news. Hawks honestly couldn’t care less about that part, just happy everything was finally coming together. It had taken longer than expected, but still quick since he refused Commission help.
Touya had acted as a soundboard and common sense filter through most of it. He listened to Hawks between homework assignments and gave him feedback. More than once Touya made phone calls on behalf of the agency. How he was balancing all of this amazed Hawks.
College was going…well, it was going for Touya. Not bad, but not especially good. His boyfriend had pulled a few all nighters for some classes, determined to do well in them. The madman was trying to graduate in three years instead of four. And that was after Hawks had managed to convince him that doing it in two was unreasonable and Touya no that was not a challenge.
Summer was so close. Only a month away, and Hawks couldn’t wait. Summer meant Touya would be around more. He wasn’t going to do any pro work for a while, because he couldn’t do it consistently while still attending university, but that just meant he would hang around the agency instead of patrolling. The sidekicks had better get used to seeing them flirt over school breaks.
That wasn’t for another month though. For now, Hawks patrolled alone, the hero dispatch channel buzzing quietly in his ear. The streets below looked clear. It was still morning, so everyone was either at work, school, or sleeping in. There was no trouble that he could see.
Hawks veered off his straight course. His sharp eyes, covered by tinted goggles, scanned the streets below. The roads became increasingly dark, though only metaphorically. They looked more cracked than anything, having less funding to fix them. He was flying into the worse part of the city. A place where more villains crawled and fewer heroes patrolled.
A noise sounded in his ear, letting Hawks know someone was trying to contact him from the hero dispatch. He tapped the earpiece, answering whoever it was.
“Hey Hawks, are you busy right now?” They asked.
“Not particularly. Need me to do somethin’?”
“If it isn’t too much trouble. You go into the…less patrolled areas, right?”
Hawks glided along, pace even and voice steady. “I’m there right now actually. Whatcha need?”
“Oh, perfect then! People have been reporting…uh, something? I don’t know, none of the reports line up except for the place. There’s a warehouse outside the Kyper district that’s had reports of weird noise and suspicious activity. Mind doing some scouting? Just the outside, see if there’s any evidence for an actual investigation.”
“Aye aye cap’n.”
The call disconnected, leaving Hawks alone with the sound of rushing wind once again. He received the location a moment later. It wasn’t too far, and a bank to the right had him well on his way.
The building looked like every other one surrounding it. The streets were empty except for parked vehicles. Hawks landed on the roof, not wanting to risk being spotted from the street. Everything was normal at first glance.
Until he spotted that the roof access door was both wide open and had…wires? Were those wires strung across it?
Hawks moved a bit closer, curiously looking at the wires. They looked like fishing line, and seemed to run along the wall and into the building. From a glance he couldn’t see much inside. Some old and probably broken equipment, but nothing else.
With the roof access door obviously trapped, Hawks glided down to the alley behind the building. The windows seemed fine, if rusted shut. A look inside didn’t reveal too much. Most of the floor was hidden behind machinery though. Hawks couldn’t tell what any of it used to be for, only that it was there and probably made a lot of good hiding spots.
There was no sound, just Hawks’ own light footsteps and the occasional gust of wind. It was eerie, especially since this place seemed so remote. A city lacking the sounds of one.
The door was closed, and the padlock in place. The chain was untouched. Looked like just a spare bit someone had used, since it seemed a bit big for the door. No adult could fit through the gap it made though.
Hawks moved the door anyway, sliding it as far as it could go to glance inside.
Only for the chain to drop, a single link being broken enough to let the other slip out while still looking perfectly fine. The door opened enough for Hawks to walk in. The metal screeched in protest, but moved all the same.
“Huh,” he said, staring into the dark building. “That’s not supposed to happen.”
Hawks, having the self-preservation of a pinecone, entered the weird warehouse. It was extremely dusty. What little light filtered through the windows showed beams of visible air. The various machines were unmoving and likely dangerous. They could provide ambush spots just as easily as they gave Hawks cover.
He crept through the building, listening and watching for even the slightest movement. A puff of dust went airborne with every footstep. The farther he got into the building, the more he felt like he was being watched.
Hawks turned a corner around one of the machines, and stopped at what he saw. It was out of sight from any point of entry. There were mechanical parts scattered around, as well as blankets. Some folded clothes were set off to the side. A few bags sat near them, some filled with spare parts or tools, others remaining empty.
What amazed Hawks the most, were the inventions. They looked more like Rube Goldberg machines, but machines nonetheless. Most were strung up by fishing line or electrical wire. They decorated the small space like christmas ornaments, the lines stretching out over the rest of the building.
Only then did Hawks realize he had stepped on a lot of those lines on his way in, probably tugging at quite a few and warning the inhabitants that he was here. That theory was proven correct when he heard something scrape on metal.
He whipped around, intent on at least trying to see who had made all this, only to be met with a baseball bat swinging towards his face.
Hawks squawked in alarm, dropping to the ground like a sack of potatoes. He snapped his wings closed, feathers sharpening on instinct. The baseball bat swung harmlessly over his head. A string attached it to the catwalk of the building.
Hawks mentally face-palmed. He forgot to check the catwalk. Of course there was someone hiding up there.
A minute passed. The baseball bat swung over a few more times like a pendulum, then stopped. No other noises reached his ears. Hawks breathed in, then leapt straight into the air. His wings beat powerfully to rocket him to the catwalk. Someone yelped as he ascended.
Hawks landed, detaching some of his feathers before his feet even hit the metal. They zipped over to cut off the person’s escape route. He let out his breath before looking up, and almost stumbled backwards when he did.
In front of Hawks was no villain. Instead, standing there was a kid. Small, too skinny, and looking like they were ready to fight a pro hero. Their fists were up, and teeth bared almost like an animal, even though they were very obviously shaking.
Had they made all of this? Were they behind the reports? It was almost unbelievable, if Hawks didn’t know some of the things his sibling-in-laws could do. But even then, they couldn’t quite do something like this. Not on this scale.
Hawks relaxed his stance, folding his wings again. The feathers stayed where they were though. Only to make sure the kid didn’t run off. No one this young should be on the streets, let alone in the bad part of town.
“Who are you,” they demanded, fists still up and voice still shaking.
Hawks paused, taking another moment to look the kid over. They looked like a little girl, maybe around his little siblings-in-law’s age, but she was so small he couldn’t really tell. Her pink hair was pulled up and tied with a strip of cloth. It…actually looked decently brushed, which was surprising. Her clothes were oil stained though, consisting of long sleeves, pants, and gloves. They appeared to have been patched a few times.
“My name is Hawks,” he said gently.
The kid reacted to that. Their eyes widened, and their fists dropped. Hawks almost leapt forward when he saw tears in her eyes.
“I- I know you. You- you’re the reason I’m here.”
Hawks felt a shiver go down his spine. He racked his brain for something, anything, that could explain that. What had he done? When had he done it? Why was this his fault?
He almost jumped out of his skin when the girl rushed forward. She wrapped her (far too scrawny) arms around his torso, and hugged him. Hawks, thoroughly confused, started rubbing her back like he did when Izuku started crying.
“I…I don’t know what I did, but I’m sorry-“
“No!” She suddenly yelled, staring up at him with big yellow eyes. The sound echoed around them in the otherwise silent building. “N-no, you- you got them. You arrested them and took them away and I got away. You saved me.”
Hawks was even more confused now. He carefully extracted himself from her arms, kneeling down to her height. “Kid, were your parents villains?”
“No.”
“Then…some other relative?”
“My- my aunt and uncle. My parents left me with them.”
“And I arrested them, which is why you’re here in an empty warehouse?”
“Yes.”
Ah.
Well shit.
Notes:
Small gremlin child! Baby inventor!! I love her!!! I hope you guys enjoy how I write her too :D
Please ignore the abrupt timeskip. This should have been out earlier but my week was...not great, and I had trouble figuring out how I could subtly mention that 3 months had gone by without spending two hours on it. So I decided "screw it, I'm just flat-out saying there's a timeskip here." And now we're here.
Update on where in the plot we are!: Kid 8’s arc technically starts this chapter, the very very beginning of the first vigilante arc is directly after them, a short not-small-kid centric arc after that, kid 9, then the full blown vigilante arc!! I’m so so excited to finally get to write it and show you guys what I’ve been planning. Thanks for reading this far and being patient <3 <3
Also! Kouji has not officially been adopted yet! It happens in this arc though, so that's going to be fun.
Have a good day/night! Good luck to whoever has school!!
Chapter 51: Quatervois
Summary:
Quatervois: a crossroads. A critical decision or turning point in one’s life
AKA more fluff
Notes:
Hello! Please make sure to read the end notes of this chapter!
Random thing, but the song Name by Armors seems to really fit Hawks and Mei in this fic. I added it to the Spotify playlist if you want to listen to it! (Link will always be on the latest chapter in the very end notes)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“And I arrested them, which is why you’re here in an empty warehouse?”
“Yes.”
Hawks blinked slowly, closing his eyes for a moment to take a deep breath. This was…a small problem. Maybe a big one, depending on who her relatives actually were. He had apparently been the one to arrest them though, so that narrowed it down slightly.
“Ok. Ok then. Can you tell me your name, kid?”
“I don’t have one.”
A thought flashed through his mind, wondering if she had been “taken in” by the Commission. The idea was gone as fast as it had come. The Commission never let anyone escape. Not for long, at least. If any of their “projects” escaped then they were swiftly tracked down. There were twisted bedtime stories he had been told about it.
But this child was still free. She had apparently boobytrapped the building to kingdom come too. No name, relatives in jail, and could make traps worthy of Kevin in Home Alone. Hawks was…honestly curious. Very curious.
“What about you,” she asked, watching him with sharp yellow eyes.
“Oh, I don’t have a real name. Not yet,” he answered. “I will in a little while though. The paperwork is almost done.”
“You can…do that?”
“Yep! There’s a buncha stuff you have to sign, but almost anyone can change their name.”
“Even…even if you’ve never had one?”
“Absolutely,” he said softly, memories appearing in his mind. “But kid, you know I can’t let you stay here, right?”
“Why not?”
“Er, you’re what, eight? Kids are supposed to have homes, not warehouses.”
“But I’ve been living here for months now. I have everything a house does.” She reached out, grabbing his hand in an insistent grip. “Come on, I wanna show you.”
Hawks was dragged across the catwalk and down to the ground floor by a surprisingly strong child. He quickly recalled his feathers, not wanting the girl to try and move them herself. Poke them wrong, and they were like knives. Better safe than sorry.
She pulled him over to the nest of blankets and knick-knacks. Hawks hesitantly stepped around everything, not wanting to test the kid by breaking something. He watched as she darted over to one of the broken machines, pointing to things hidden in the gaps of it.
“This is where I organize my things. I put the extra in my bag and scrap pile.” She moved to what looked like a sideways wooden crate, but with wood panels torn off the back and used to make shelves. “And here’s where I put my food! I don’t have a place to keep them cold, so not exactly like a house, but I don’t take cold food anyway. I put my water here too.”
Hawks watched and listened as she described what each thing in the little area was for. It was half organized and half the system he used, that being “I know where it is so it belongs there.” The kid explained some of her traps too. Apparently a few too many people had tried to steal her food, so she made what was basically a handcuff trap. If the door wasn’t already enough of a deterrent, that is.
It was impressive, doubly so with how small she was. Hawks had to wonder how she knew all of this though. A kid’s normal priorities weren’t to immediately find food and an empty building when they were left alone. That shouldn’t even be on a child’s radar, let alone have one be so good at it.
Hawks quietly sighed again, running and hand through his hair. This was a slight problem. He couldn’t leave the little inventor here, not in a million years. He also really didn’t want to leave her in a foster home. She would be put through hell if any of her history was found out.
“Kid, this is super interesting, but, just where did you get all this stuff?”
She stopped, eyes gravitating to the ground and away from Hawks. Her voice was heavy with nerves when she spoke. “I…stole it. Will- do you have to take me to jail now?”
“What? No, kid, you aren’t going to jail. You’re too small for that.” Hawks stepped forward, kneeling in front of the girl again. He extended a hand to her, letting her have the option of taking it. “But as a hero, I have to make sure you have a home.”
“This is- this is my home.”
“A real home, kid. Not a warehouse, impressive as you’ve made it. Your aunt and uncle were arrested, right? Do you have any other family members, any whatsoever, that could take you in?”
“No,” she said quietly. “They were all villains, or dead.”
“I still can’t leave you here,” he sighed. “But, I also don’t want to dump you in the foster system, so…would you like to stay with me and my boyfriend?”
It was a logical jump in Hawks’ mind. This kid needed a home, and he just happened to have a home. He also happened to have a lot of little sibling-in-laws for playmates. He could think about other details laters. Right now, all that mattered was getting this child out of the dusty warehouse.
Hawks almost panicked when the girl sniffled and started to cry. She dove forward, clinging to his shirt just like the other kids did sometimes. He hesitated, but wrapped his arms around the tiny child.
“You don’t have to if that’s not what you want,” he said quickly, knowing he would have loved to have that option as a kid.
“N-no I want to- to go with you.”
“Alright then. Why don’t you pack up your stuff and, uh, we’ll go I guess. You ok with that, kid?”
“Yeah.”
Hawks stood off to the side, watching the girl pack up her things. She was efficient at it, to say the least. He told her she could bring whatever tools and inventions she wanted too. They might not have a workshop in the apartment, but a desk would do for now. Probably? Hawks knew practically nothing about invention and tools.
When she finished, her backpack filled to the brim. The thing looked worn, but still holding together. Hawks wondered if it was heavy with all the tools she had crammed in there.
He got his answer when he leaned down to pick her up in a princess carry. It was heavy. Still altogether lighter than some things he had lifted before, but heavy all the same. Geez, how was this literal child carrying all that?
“Ready to fly, kiddo?”
She nodded, glancing warily at the ground. Hawks unfurled his wings, checking the air before he flew. One too many collisions with pigeons had made that a habit.
Using his deepest and most theatrical voice, Hawks said, “Blast off in three, two, one!”
Hawks kicked off into the air, rapidly beating his wings to shoot them into the sky. He held tight to the girl as they climbed higher. She was silent, but holding his arm in a death grip.
Once they got high enough, Hawks leveled out, letting them glide. The wind kept them aloft up here. It wasn’t exactly quiet, since they were above the city, but it was peaceful. Nothing could beat the feeling of wind beneath his wings and the chill biting at his nose.
“You can look now, kid!” He called over the wind. “We won’t be landing for a bit!”
Hawks risked looking down at the girl held close to his chest. She was looking at the ground with wide, cross-haired eyes. The buildings became blurry as Hawks flew, zooming back home.
“You know,” he yelled so she could hear, “we need a name to call you.”
“I can choose?” She said, just loud enough for the wind to not rip it away.
“Of course! Any names in mind?”
There was a minute of quiet. Hawks looked forward, making sure he didn’t accidentally run into a skyscraper. He mentally went down the list of girl names he had made, just in case.
“I think I have one!” She suddenly yelled, sounding proud. “Mei Hatsume!”
Hawks trilled a happy note, the noise just loud enough to reach the kid’s—Mei’s—ears. “Sounds perfect, little gadget bird!”
He smiled, continuing on their flight home.
~~~~~~~~~~
Touya loved surprising his boyfriend. Today the surprise was food. Well, it would be food, he had to cook it first. Hopefully he didn’t burn it. No quirk fire either, he had finally (mostly) learned not to do that.
Hawks wouldn’t be back for a few hours. Just enough time to cook dinner and have it ready for when he got home. Touya went out to buy everything, in the process debating whether he should get flowers or not.
In the end he bought a few red carnations, because those flowers were hardy as heck and wouldn’t die after a day. Hawks loved them. Touya liked them too, though gladiolus and foxgloves flowers were his personal favorites. Either way, they would have pretty flowers and food. Hawks deserved all of it and more.
The apartment was silent when he arrived, as it should be. Touya hummed as he unloaded groceries. It morphed into a one man opera by the time he actually started cooking. All off key notes were heard by no one but the walls.
That is, until the front door was nearly swung off its hinges. “TOUYA GUESS WHAT.”
He jumped, cursing quietly as his head hit a cabinet. Why was Hawks home early?
“In the kitchen!” He called, rubbing his head.
A second later he heard his boyfriend pattering into the room. He kept stirring what he had in the pan, making sure it didn’t burn.
“GUESS WHAT,” Hawks yelled again.
“What?”
“We have a kid now!”
Touya choked on air, spinning around so fast he thought he might get whiplash. He nearly hit his head on the cabinet again. His eyes quickly focused on the new arrivals.
His boyfriend was standing on the threshold of the kitchen, holding an actual child up like he was reenacting The Lion King. She looked confused. And messy. Why did she have grease stains on everything she was wearing?
“Hawks…Birdie…why do you have a child.”
“My name is now Mei Hatsume,” she proudly proclaimed.
Hawks set her on the ground, looking at Touya a bit sheepishly now. He didn’t look like he regretted anything though. Did he seriously adopt a kid when Touya wasn’t looking?
“Alright then, Hatsume. Nice to meet you. Why does my boyfriend have you?”
“He said I couldn’t live in a warehouse.”
“O…k. Ok. We have extra food tonight in any case. Why don’t you show her the guest room, Birdie, then you can explain all of this.”
Touya sighed, letting his shoulders drop as he turned back to the food. His mind was reeling, but he took it in stride. They could deal with this. It happened enough with his family, but it was still a shock every time. He was just surprised Hawks had brought a child—whom he had quite literally scooped off the streets—to their apartment.
He was turning off the stove when arms snaked around his torso. Hawks hooked his chin over Touya’s shoulder, wings brushing his arms.
“I should’ve warned you. I’m sorry,” Hawks mumbled quietly. “But she…she can’t go into the foster system.”
“It’s ok, Birdie. I just wasn’t expecting it. How Uncle Hisashi and Aunt Inko deal with these things so well is beyond me.”
“They have a bit of experience,” Hawks laughed.
“Yep. Dinner should be done in a minute. How about you explain whatever happened once the kid goes to bed.”
“Sounds good. Also smells good, what’d you make?”
“Something with chicken.”
“Yes, I love you.”
“Love you too, you raptor. You go get the kid, I’ll dish it up.”
Hawks fluttered off, leaving Touya to grab an extra dish. Today hadn’t exactly gone how he expected it to, but that was ok. A kid was safe and off the streets because of his boyfriend. Everything else could be decided later.
~~~~~~~~~
There was a name someone had given her once. Someone long dead and gone and forgotten. A grandparent maybe. It was buried beneath memory after memory, yet still shone through all the darkness. She dredged it up, and remembered. She remembered the name she had once had. Once loved.
“Mei Hatsume,” she had said. A name. Her name.
The hero was a nice man. He had taken her aunt and uncle away, so he was an actual hero. Not like the ones she saw parade around and not actually care. No, Hawks was a good hero. And he didn’t have a real name yet! Just like her!
He brought her to his home. It was smaller than the warehouse by a lot, but it was still nice. There was something inherently warm about it. Then he brought her to the kitchen, and she swore she recognized the other man there. He had black hair, earrings, and was making something that smelled really really good.
Hawks brought her to their guest room. He told her to put her stuff down, and that he would come get her for dinner in a minute. So she listened, and waited. The room was nice. The bed was big. The desk had some papers on it, but was overall clean. It had lots of drawers, and Mei wondered what was in them.
He came to get her a few minutes later, smiling and announcing they were having one of his favorite foods. She followed him closely, glancing at the walls and seeing glimpses of faces she didn’t know.
Dinner was already on the table. Mei paused, staring at the first fresh meal she had seen in weeks. She wasn’t dreaming. A quick pinch to her arm proved that.
She sat down, waiting to know what to do. Hawks was a hero, and he was a nice person, but she didn’t know what manners a normal house had. In the warehouse she just scarfed down whatever she had available before going back to her inventions. It was the only thing keeping her alive, so she didn’t stop much for actual food.
Apparently the manners weren’t strict, because as soon as he sat down Hawks started digging in. Mei gleefully copied him. The food really was good, and the two adults chattered away between bites. Mei didn’t remember a time she had ever eaten like this. It was…happier. Safer.
As soon as they were done, Hawks asked if there was something she wanted to watch. Mei had no idea what to say. The warehouse had no tv, and before that she had never gotten to decide. It had all been the news or weird shows with jokes she didn’t understand.
Hawks must’ve realized that. He showed her over to the couch (it was really soft. She loved it) and pressed a few buttons on the remote. Mei was more interested in how that worked than whatever was flashing over the screen.
Until she looked up, and saw a man wearing an odd lab coat and a bowtie. He said something about electricity, before a song began to play. Hawks sang along to it.
“Bill Nye the science guy. Bill bill bill bill bill-”
Mei found herself drawn to the show. It seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. She hesitated when it ended, before turning to Hawks.
“Can…is there another one?”
“Of course! Here, we’ll watch from the first one since I picked a random episode. I think you might like Steve Irwin too, but we’ll watch that after.”
Mei stared at the screen, enraptured by the science man and what he taught. She knew things, but not this many things. All she had been taught was how to fix machines and stay away from people. But this man was showing her more. Her mind soaked it up like a sponge.
She didn’t miss the smile Hawks sent her. Mei couldn’t help returning it.
~~~~~~~~~~
Touya woke up slowly, finally opening his eyes after a few minutes of debating if it was worth it. Hawks had somehow gotten to the opposite side of the bed in his sleep. The sun was just beginning to shine through the window, and the apartment was quiet.
Touya rolled off the bed, yawning as he made his way to the kitchen. He passed by the living room, and paused.
Hatsume was awake, and sitting on the floor with something. That something looked suspiciously like the old remote that had been buried in the guest room desk drawer. It had broken a few weeks ago, and they had never thrown it out. Apparently Hatsume had found it. Along with a wire coat hanger she had managed to dismantle.
She looked to be making them into something. Touya had no clue what it was though.
“Kid, whatcha doing?”
“Tinkering,” she said without looking up from the mess of parts.
“Well Tinkerbell, we have some more old stuff to mess with and rubber gloves, let me get those before you shock yourself.”
“But I don’t need gloves.”
“Yes you do, kid. You don’t want to be shocked by anything, even if it’s just a battery. I’ll go grab them and an old phone we have somewhere. You can mess with the circuits if you’re wearing gloves.”
“…ok.”
Touya hummed as he went to grab the things buried somewhere in a closet. Hatsume had sounded almost shocked, no pun intended. It wasn’t too much of a surprise, considering the story Touya had been told last night. Poor kid probably wasn’t used to someone caring about her wellbeing.
He fished around for the two items, finding the gloves easily. The old phone was probably buried somewhere in the kitchen junk drawer. Hawks had broken it after dropping it off a building. Apparently “it was fine,” so he stuck it in the drawer.
The conversation last night had been productive. His boyfriend had conceded that they wouldn’t be the best parents yet, and that Hatsume would do better living with the Midoriyas. As much as Hawks wanted to keep her, she would be better off there. Neither of them were home for most of the day. They were still young anyway, and his aunt and uncle would do a better job of taking care of her.
She would also have siblings there. Izuku would make friends with her no doubt, even if she didn’t like any of them at first. Touya swore his little brother could make friends with a tree and it would turn sentient to understand the concept.
Steering his morning brain back to non-sentient trees, he finally dug the phone out from the depths of the junk drawer. Hatsume was still sitting right where he’d left her. Touya handed her both things, a yawn interrupting any words he was going to say.
Her eyes lit up. She faltered before grabbing them though. Touya softened, pressing the items into her hands. Hatsume gave him a hesitant smile, before returning to making…whatever that was.
“Th-thank you,” she whispered.
“No problem, kid. I know you’re used to taking care of yourself, but that means you have to keep yourself safe, ok?”
“Ok.” Hatsume paused, then looked up at him. “Are you a hero?”
“Technically. I’m not a fulltime pro yet, since I’m in college, but I was there when Hawks took down your relatives. My hero name is Dabi.”
She nodded, turning back to her amalgamation of parts. “You’re a good hero too. You can call me Mei, I like it better.”
“Alright then, Mei. I’m going to make some eggs for breakfast, do you want some?”
She hummed an affirmation, not looking up from her project. Touya just ruffled her hair before retreating to the kitchen. He found that he was already growing attached to the pink-haired child.
Notes:
Hawks: I have only known this child for ten minutes but if anything were to happen to her I would kill everyone in Japan and then myself
I don’t know how long name changes take in Japan, so we’re gonna say the lengthy time is because they didn’t get to go to the courthouse to change it for a while because of setting up Hawks’ agency. And because he put off choosing a name. ALSO I know Mei is Really out of character here, but she also has circumstances that change her attitude and is currently 9, so she will become more like canon later!
ANNOUNCEMENT: I hate that I'm actually doing this, but I'm switching to an every other week schedule. Classes are just going to get busier as well as my job, and I need time for both that I don't have currently. I want to give you guys the best chapters I can, so the new update schedule will be Every Other Weekend. Although I'll probably start it off with a NOLB chapter so it won't take effect for another week. After writing near 8 thousand words a week for over a year, I think slowing down for a bit isn't the worst thing for me.
See you guys next week! I love you!
Chapter 52: Lacuna
Summary:
Lacuna: A missing piece
Aka Mei is a gremlin and Izuku is sunshine incarnate (but what's new?)
Notes:
Hello lovely person reading this
Reminder that next update will be in two weeks now! But y'all the backlog chapter I write was the longest of any of my fics. Once I reach the end of my current backlog chapters will most likely just be getting longer.
Editing today felt like putting my brain in a blender but it's done so here we go!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Alright little gadget bird, are you almost ready to go?”
“No. I don’t wanna go. You said I could stay with you, not your…adopted family or whatever they are.”
Hawks sighed, knowing this would happen. They had told Mei in the morning, saying they would take her to at least meet the Midoriyas in the afternoon. She would be staying with them instead of Hawks and Touya, since they had no clue how to care for kids, let alone ones with trauma.
Mei, however, absolutely despised this idea.
“I’m not going.”
“You aren’t staying there today, just meeting them, ok?” Hawks tried to reason with the child hiding in their bathroom cupboard. “They mean a lot to Touya and me, and they can take care of you better than we can.”
“No they can’t.”
“Yeah they can. Inko, Hisashi, and Rei are the most kind and caring people I know. And I think you’ll get along great with Izuku. He has an analysis quirk, which makes him super smart, and he likes to design things sometimes. I think he would really like your inventions.”
“…you promise you won’t leave me there today?”
“Pinky promise.”
“What’s that?”
Hawks blinked, remembering this kid hadn’t been around other children, so probably had no idea what normal kids knew. “How about I explain it on the way, yeah? Touya’s already over there, but that means we can fly.”
Mei finally emerged from under the sink, begrudgingly taking his offered hand. She crawled onto his back without more words being said. Hawks adjusted where she was holding, just to be sure she wouldn’t fall off.
Standing on the balcony, he turned his head to look at her. Mei was staring out at the open sky.
“You really, gadget bird?”
“Probably.”
“Alright then. Off we go!”
Hawks leapt off the balcony and into the air. He let them fall for a second, just enjoying the wind pulling at his limbs. Mei clung to him tightly. A reminder that he wasn’t Icarus and couldn’t fall.
He snapped his wings out, leveling out their descent. Mei giggled as they glided, commenting how people looked so tiny from the sky. Hawks remembered some of Touya’s little siblings saying the exact same thing.
They landed on the Midoriya’s lawn a few minutes later. Their flight had been smooth, the biggest issue being a flock of birds Hawks had almost ran into. Mei refused to let go of him once they arrived though, so Hawks opened the door with a little inventor gremlin hanging off his back.
“We’re here!” He called upon throwing the door open.
Not two seconds later and it sounded like a herd of elephants were stampeding upstairs. Hawks quickly moved to the living room to give them more space. Goodness knows Mei probably wouldn’t do too well with a crowd, let alone a crowd of other kids.
Rei appeared from down the hall, smiling brightly when she saw the two of them. “It’s lovely to see you Hawks, and who is this?”
“This is Mei Hatsume! Mei, this is Rei, Touya’s mom.You wanna say hi?”
“No.”
“Alrighty then. Are Inko and Hisashi somewhere?”
“Inko was doing work at the kitchen table last I checked. Hisashi is still attempting to organize the shed with his creations.”
“Anything else catch fire this time?” Hawks joked, Mei peeking over his shoulder at Rei.
“No, but Inko is very close to buying more fire extinguishers, if only to spray her husband with them,” Rei laughed. “Most of the things are in the shed now, so the garage is free of haywire machines. Though Hisashi is still saying they would be better in the attic.”
“Machines?” Mei asked.
“Hisashi likes to try and make things sometimes!” Hawks chirped, hearing the footsteps rattle the stairs now. “They don’t work most of the time, but it’s fun to watch how they explode. And if they do work then they’re very useful things.”
And then the stampede arrived. With a battlecry of “HAWKS!” they leapt at him. He had time to be grateful that he wasn’t in the middle of a sentence before being tackled-hugged by children.
“Hawks! We haven’t seen you in forever!” Mina complained, clinging to his arm.
“Yeah!” Hitoshi added, shaking his other hand like a ragdoll. “We missed you!”
“Ok, ok! I missed you guys too! Back up for a minute, ok?”
They all listened, grumbling under their breath. Hawks craned his head back to look at Mei.
“Can I put you down now? They won’t touch without asking, but I’d like for you to be standing to meet them.”
Mei eyed the others suspiciously, before unlatching herself from his shoulders. She slid down to the floor, grabbing his wing to hide behind it like tiny kids did with their parents’ legs. Hawks just pat her head in reassurance.
The rest of the kids were staring at her curiously. Rei left for a moment, returning a minute later with the other adults in tow. Inko looked like she wanted to immediately get the kid some new clothes and food. Hisashi had an electrical wire sticking out of his hair for some reason.
“Is this her, Hawks?” Inko asked.
“Yep! Wanna introduce yourself?”
Mei hissed at them. Like a cat. She retreated behind his wings after hissing at the family.
Hawks took it in stride, not quite knowing what else to do. “Well, this is Mei Hatsume. She likes Bill Nye and making things, like traps and taking apart electronics.”
Mei only peeked out to glare at them. Hawks set a hand on her head, sighing at her hostility towards them. She really would do better with the Midoriyas, but she didn’t want to leave him and Touya. He understood why, he really really did, but that didn’t change the fact that they weren’t ready to raise a kid. She deserved better than they could give her right now.
Hisashi moved closer, kneeling on the floor in front of Hawks, but with his yellow gaze steadily locked on Mei. She narrowed her cross-haired eyes at him.
“You like making things, right?” He asked. Mei didn’t respond, so Hawks nodded for her. “Well we have a shed in the yard where I put all of my inventions, even if they don’t work. Wanna see? Hawks can come too if he wants.”
Mei stared at Hisashi with wide and curious eyes now. Hawks couldn’t help thinking she was like a kitten. A pink-haired, feisty kitten he had found on the streets.
“You have inventions too?”
“Yep! Not many of them work, but do you want to come look at them?”
Hisashi extended his hand. Mei hesitated, before gingerly taking it in her small one. She grabbed Hawks’ other one to drag him along too. The rest watched on as the chaotic gremlins disappeared outside.
~~~~~~~~~~
Touya watched the three disappear outside, not quite knowing if that had gone well or not. He wondered if his standard of “no one got injured” was slightly too low.
His mom was the first one to speak. “So, where exactly did Hawks find a child that looks at him like he hung the stars?”
“A warehouse apparently?” Touya sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Long story. Short version: those villains we took down a few months ago? The ones he defeathered himself to immobilize? Apparently her bio relatives, and some friends or something. She saw the news report, and it’s the only reason she trusts us. They…they weren’t good to her.”
“And she’s been by herself since then?”
“Yeah. She’s been living alone in a warehouse with traps she made herself. Hawks says she’s quite the tinker and I believe it. She took apart some of our old electronics and tried to make a taser. Might’ve turned into a dangerous flashlight. The point is she almost did it though.”
“And her name?” Inko interjected. “Will her last name be recognizable?”
“Apparently she named herself? So, no, most likely not.”
“…what?”
“Mei didn’t have a name, like Hawks. So she gave herself one.”
“Well, Mei Hatsume is a lovely name,” Mom said. “How is Hawks coming along with his?”
“Paperwork should be ready soon. He said he’ll tell you guys what he chose once it’s approved, the silly bird.”
“Good. And will she…”
“She’ll get along fine with them, Aunt Inko,” Touya laughed. “If anyone can gain her trust, it’s those little spitfires.”
“Can we go see her then?”
Touya jumped, not expecting Izuku to be right behind him. He saw his mom and aunt stifle their laughter. Izuku just kept staring up with puppy eyes.
“Sure, kid. Just don’t scare her and give her space.”
Izuku lit up like a christmas tree. “Ok!”
He ran off, the others coming out of hiding to chase after him. They all raced outside to the shed. Hopefully they didn’t overwhelm the poor girl. Touya was less worried about them being mean and more that Mei would try and drive them away.
But he hadn’t been lying. If anyone could befriend her, it would be those kids.
~~~~~~~~~~
Mei held tight onto Hawks’ hand. She knew he wouldn’t just abandon her here, but she wanted him nearby anyway. Hisashi seemed nice, but she still didn’t know him. She trusted Hawks and Touya. They were the only one that had proved they could be trusted.
Hisashi led them out into the backyard. It had grass and a porch. Mei didn’t really know what a normal yard was supposed to look like though. She was pretty sure some had sheds, but not positive if they were all like the Midoriyas one. It was big and on the side of their house, out of sight from the other neighbors. She wondered just what was inside.
Hisashi let go of her hand, opening the surprisingly not squeaky door. He clicked on a light, illuminating what was inside.
Mei stared inside the shed, stars in her eyes. She let go of Hawks’ hand to step farther in. There were tools and tables and shelves all along the walls. It was more the size of a small garage than a real shed.
But that wasn’t what she was in awe of. On the shelves and the tables, anywhere they could sit really, were inventions. Scraps and half finished ones, some singed and melted, even ones strung up from the ceiling. Some of those ones looked like they had wings.
“Did you make all of this?” She asked in awe.
“Yep! Not a lot of it works,” Hisashi laughed, picking up one of the smaller failed ones. “Just be careful what you touch, but go ahead and look around, kiddo.”
Mei felt like she’d been handed the keys to a candy store, and immediately walked deeper into the shed. Hisashi trailed after, probably to make sure she didn’t break anything. He didn’t have to worry though. Mei could fix anything she broke. She had a lot of practice with that.
Hawks called in that he was going to go ask Touya something. Mei felt a surge of fear, but it was small enough to brush away. She had inventions to look at. Hawks would have to come back at some point anyway.
Something caught her eyes. Mei inched closer, hesitating for a moment, before activating her quirk. Her eyes zoomed in on the invention. It was like a mouth guard that covered the entire lower half of a person’s face. The gadget glinted in the low light, looking like one of the most finished pieces and least likely to catch fire.
“What’s this?” She asked, pointing to the piece.
Hisashi came up behind her, looking to see what she was asking about. Mei carefully watched his expression. He blinked down at the mouth guard, smile wavering for a millisecond.
“Ah, that. One of my old inventions. I dug it up to see if I could make a better version.”
“What’s it do?”
“Well, I can breathe fire.” Hisashi picked up the mask, turning it over and showing it to Mei. “And this can contain it. I tend to accidentally breathe fire when I sneeze or cough, so being sick is…a problem. This can make sure I don’t set the fire alarms off.”
“Can you show me how it works?”
“Oh, sure.”
Hisashi took the half-mask, holding it a few inches from his face. Mei watched as he took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. Fire followed where air should have been. The metal didn’t melt, didn’t even glow. Without fuel, the fire quickly fizzled out.
Hisashi stopped, closing his mouth and cutting off the narrow blaze. Mei stared in awe. She had never seen a mask that didn’t at least glow or warp with the heat from a direct flame. It was amazing!
“How does it do that?!”
“A special compound I made. Makes things fireproof! And almost blast proof. Working on acid proof too. Taking a while to do that though.”
“Woah.”
“Cool, right? I need to make it stronger though. My own fire hasn’t gotten stronger, but Shouto needs it to not burn through some clothes. He wants to be a hero too, so it would be useful for his future costume. Also for when he gets sick again. Both Shouto and Touya tend to burn things when they have fevers so some fireproof blankets would be nice.”
“You speak fast.”
Hisashi barked a surprised laugh, putting the mask down again. “Yeah, I do that sometimes. Something Izuku inherited from me.”
“Does he breathe fire too?”
“Nah, he has an analysis quirk.”
“But…I don’t think Inko has an analysis quirk?”
“No, Inko has an object attraction quirk. Her mother did have an intelligence quirk though, and Izuku takes after her.”
“Oh. I can see things far away like they’re close.”
“Useful for a little inventor like you,” he chuckled. “I have to go inside for a second, but I’ll be right back. Want to come in too or keep looking at things?”
“Stay out here.”
“Alright then. I’ll be right back.
Hisashi patted her head, something Mei didn’t quite know what to make of yet. She watched him go, wondering if this was why Hawks and Touya liked these people so much. They really were nice…
She went back to looking at the inventions. The shed was bigger than it looked, that was for sure. There were parts of things all over the place. Almost like Hisashi had started a lot of things, but then lost the motivation to finish.
Then a head popped into the shed. Mei eyed them warily. It was the green kid, the one that looked a bit like the half-dead plant on the kitchen counter. He was…brighter though. Very bright. Did he have a light quirk or something?
More people appeared. They didn’t enter the shed, merely watched from outside. Mei wondered what they were like, but shook the thought away. She only trusted Hawks and Touya because they were real heroes. But other kids brought nothing but pain. They were cruel and mean and Mei didn’t want to deal with more bullies.
The green one was the first brave enough to come closer. He had freckles and a smile of sunshine. Mei almost felt like she should be squinting, even though the shed was still darker than outside.
“Hello,” he said, surprisingly calm for how he looked to be nearly buzzing with energy. “My name is Izuku Midoriya, what’s yours?”
“…Mei Hatsume.”
“It’s nice to meet you Mei! These are my brothers and sisters.”
“You have a lot of them.”
“Yep! And there’s more, they just aren’t here right now.”
“Oh.”
“Wanna meet them?”
Mei hesitated. She didn’t know how the boy would react to her saying no. He looked nice, so maybe…maybe it would be ok. The others didn’t look so bad either, so maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing.
“Ok.”
“Yay! Follow me then! Dad won’t let some of us in the workshop because there are breakable and flammable things.”
Mei nodded, noting how he almost seemed to reach for her hand, but thought better of it. What an odd person.
She screwed her eyes shut against the sudden light. Outside was too bright compared to inside the darker shed. The ring of kids around her waited for her eyes to adjust before introducing themselves though. Mei knew she would probably forget their names, but it was a nice gesture. She wondered what some of their quirks were, since guesses could only go so far.
At some point they all sat down on the grass. Mei was thankful for her long pants. The others chattered about random things, and she listened. It was…nice. It wasn’t like before, where she had no choice but to overhear. Instead here, out in the open, she felt she could leave if she wanted to.
It was weird. Mei wasn’t used to it. These were weird people and weird scenarios, but they- they weren’t necessarily bad or unwelcome. Just different. Not what she was used to. Well, hopefully this didn’t backfire in her face.
“And then Google-“
“Why are we back to that nickname.”
“-spent almost two hours talking to Hawks about how Mr. Rogers should be an example of how a good hero should act.”
“I’m right though.”
“Oh yeah, you definitely are, but then you went on to talk about the other old before-quirks shows.”
“They’re good!”
“Yeah but you didn’t stop talking to Hawks for over three hours.”
“He didn’t try and- oh hey! Mei, did Hawks show you Bill Nye?”
Mei sat up straighter, staring at Izuku now. “Yes. I like the science man.”
“Me too! Have you watched Bob Ross and The Crocodile Hunter yet?”
“No.” Mei tilted her head, wondering who those people were. “Are they good?”
“Definitely!”
“Even I like ‘em,” said Kit- Kati- Katsuki, that’s right. Katsuki.
“They’re like Disney,” the purple one drawled. “But better because no crappy remakes.”
“What’s Disney?” Mei asked.
The reaction was immediate. The other kids gasped, and all eyes were instantly on her. Mei shrunk back. Eyes meant watching and watching was bad she made mistakes it was bad. She prepared to run if she had to.
“You really don’t know what Disney is?”
Mei shook her head, watching them all warily.
“Then we have-“
“Mei, time to go!” Hawks called from the porch.
She spun around, glancing back before she ran to him. Putting your back to people was dangerous. Even if they were only other kids.
“When you come back,” the green one said. “We’ll watch a bunch of Disney movies. I promise.”
Mei nodded, still wondering what that meant, before racing back to Hawks. This place had yet to become her home, but…it wasn’t bad.
Notes:
I hope you enjoyed the chapter!! Have a good day/night!
WE HAVE TWO ART PIECES LOOK LOOK LOOK
Mei!! (By Midnightsong)
Of course we’re siblings! (By Ejaramor)
Chapter 53: Swearing up a Storm
Summary:
Mei moves in, and Katsuki has an interesting way of bonding
Notes:
HELLO AMAZING PERSON
It’s late while I’m editing this so any errors remaining are because I’ve spent the last five hours around 25 of my relatives and I am Tired. Anyway, enjoy the chapter! Hope I did alright with it
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Mei stared up at the Midoriya house once again. The adrenaline from flying here was wearing off, giving way to nerves. She smothered them for the moment, hands gripping tighter around her backpack straps.
“Do you really have to leave me here?” She asked.
“You’re going to be fine, little gadget chick, ok? They’ll love you.”
“But-“
“You know why you can’t stay with us, Mei,” Hawks said quietly. “They can take care of you, and we’ll still get to see you all the time. I promise.”
“…cross your heart and hope to die?”
“Cross my heart and hope to die,” he laughed, patting her pink hair. “Come on then, I see Hitoshi making faces in the window.”
Mei grumbled, but followed him up to the door. Hawks was carrying her bag, a duffle bag they had given her, while she held onto her battered backpack. It had been sewn up so many times now that it was probably more stolen thread than actual fabric.
She had only been living with Hawks and Touya for a week, but their apartment was already more of a home than anywhere else had been. Her relatives had never cared for her. Not her parents, not her aunt and uncle, and whatever other family a person was supposed to have. But these two heroes cared more for her than anyone ever had.
It’s what made leaving them so hard.
Logically, it made sense to Mei. They were both still young, one just starting to run an agency and one in college, and that meant they weren’t home a lot. She could take care of herself, but they wanted someone there for her. It made sense. That didn’t make it hurt any less though.
At least the Midoriyas were nice people. Hawks and Touya would come back to see her, since she would still be family. She didn’t know how legal stuff worked—like, at all—but apparently she would be enrolled in school soon because the law said so. Mei had never been to school. She already didn’t like it, just from hearing how many children were there.
She stuck close to Hawks’ side. He smiled at her, wing moving to rest lightly around her shoulders. It was like a red, feathery cape. His quirk was just so interesting, especially since he could harden the feathers. They were warm too. And fuzzy. Mei liked them.
He knocked on the door, not barging in this time. Mei grabbed his hand before the door opened. She hardly ever touched people, it had never meant good things before, but she wanted to this time. Hawks was a comfort to her.
The door opened, revealing Inko waiting for them. Mei edged behind Hawks, just a bit. She wasn’t scared, just…cautious.
“It’s good to see you two,” Inko said kindly, smiling. “Come on in, I think Rei said she was making lunch for everyone today.”
“Ah, I would love to, but I have a meeting with some Commission people about my agency. Touya and I will be here tomorrow for dinner though!”
“Alright then. Remember to watch your words at the meeting.”
“I will, have fun!”
Mei tugged on his hand before he could fly away. Hawks stopped, kneeling down to her height. She faltered, but squared her shoulders and looked him in the eye. Emotions were not her thing. But…she could try. Just a little bit.
“When you get back we’re watching more Bill Nye, and Bob Ross, and Mr. Rogers, and the crocodile man.”
“We will,” Hawks promised. “Maybe we can rope Touya into it again, how about that?”
Mei nodded, letting her grip on his hand go slack. He smiled again, stepping back onto the lawn. His wings stretched out wide, casting a shadow on the ground below. With a few rapid beats he was already in the air and flying away.
Mei watched as Hawks’ silhouette grew smaller and smaller. Eventually his red feathers faded from view entirely, a red speck indistinguishable from the blue. Something in her eyes began to burn.
Inko lightly set a hand on Mei’s back, giving her the option to move away if she wanted to. She didn’t. Instead she turned, moving into the house that was her new home now. The duffle bag was heavy, but she grabbed it anyway. Even though it was almost the size of her.
She knew where she would be staying. In theory, at least. It was apparently Touya and Fuyumi’s old room. “Up the stairs and to the left, away from the shrieking, and not the room with the sports stuff everywhere” was what Touya had said. Mei figured she could gauge the other children’s reactions to tell if she was going the wrong way.
“Do you want help with that?”
Mei looked up, seeing…the two colored one. She eyed him warily, putting herself between him and her bag. “No…thank you.”
“Ok. Do you know where to go?”
“I can handle myself.”
“Not what he asked,” chirped a voice from behind him. Mei jumped as another person appeared. The pink one. She was small enough to hide behind him. “Do you know where your room is? We can show you if you want.”
“I can handle it myself,” Mei repeated.
She dragged the big bag to the stairs, staring up at the top. It…really was a long ways, especially with her backpack pulling her down more. But she could do it. She didn’t need help.
Mei growled to herself as she lugged the duffel bag up the first few stairs. She refused to turn back and give up. People did stuff by themselves, that’s what she had drilled into her head. No help no help no help no one would help her she had to do it herself.
Her foot slipped. For a single second, Mei thought she was going to fall to her death. She forgot how many stairs she had climbed. How far was it to the ground? How many stairs would she hit on the way down? Her heartbeat skyrocketed in the millisecond she knew her footing was gone, and Mei screwed her eyes shut against the coming pain.
And then she stopped. Someone was pushing her back to her feet before she even fully left the stair.
“You ok?”
Mei turned, seeing Hisashi standing a few steps down. The other two kids were behind him, watching her. Maybe out of worry. She couldn’t tell.
“I’m ok.”
“That’s good! Let me help you with that, here we go.”
Hisashi took her bag, though he didn’t rip it from her. Mei let him, heart still rabbiting around in her chest. She followed him up the rest of the stairs. More footsteps told her the other two kids were trailing behind as well.
The room was in fact to the left and then a right. Mei glanced into the one across from her, and realized Hawks hadn’t been kidding about it being covered in sports stuff. She decided to focus on her new room instead.
It was relatively empty. Blue walls and a bed with fluffy sheets like Hawks and Touya had. These ones had a swirly pattern on them though. There were some decorations hung on the walls, but no pictures. It was obvious there used to be though. A desk was pushed against the wall to the left of the door, a spinny chair accompanying it.
Mei took a moment to look around the room, investigating whatever she could see on the surface. Hisashi left the room after putting her bag down. Mei glanced down the hall, seeing curious eyes watching from outside the room. Just like before though, they did not enter. Had she moved in with a family of vampires or something?
Mei closed the door, cutting off the pricking feeling of being watched. She turned back to the room and her bags.
In the quiet of her new room, she muttered to no one but herself. “Welcome home.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Izuku liked Mei so far. She reminded him of Kacchan, but quieter and more jumpy. She had said to not bother with calling her Hatsume either, which was interesting. He wasn’t about to question it though.
Mei didn’t trust them yet. Izuku understood why and made sure his sibling knew to not press anything. She had bonded with Hawks and Touya, that much was obvious, but she had wanted to stay with them. It would take some time before she warmed up to them. Until then, Izuku would do his best to make sure their new sister felt safe.
She hadn’t come downstairs for lunch yet though, and Izuku knew she needed food. So he marched upstairs and gently knocked on her door so he wouldn’t scare her.
“Um, Mei? There’s food for lunch downstairs if you want any. Auntie Rei made it.”
Izuku waited, and the door began to creak open a moment later. He smiled warmly at the yellow eyes peeking out.
“If you don’t like the food Auntie Rei said she can make you something else, but Auntie Rei’s food is really good so will you try it?”
Mei didn’t say anything for a moment, just blinked at him. Then she slowly opened the door more. “You talk fast, like Hisashi.”
“I know,” Izuku giggled. “My thoughts just go super fast, so my words have to go fast to try and keep up.”
Mei nodded, accepting the answer. Izuku backed up then, waiting for her to follow him. On the way downstairs he chattered about one of the new heroes who had debuted last week. He didn’t know if Mei was listening, but it was better than awkward silence. She didn’t pull away either, so he hoped that was a good sign.
The kitchen was bursting with noise. Izuku glanced over at Mei, making sure she wasn’t getting overwhelmed with it. She kinda just looked more confused than anything. Everyone else was already at the table or counter, chattering in half a dozen different conversations. Auntie Rei was dishing up the soba she had made.
Izuku tugged Mei over to the table, letting go of her hand to sit in his chair. Mei took the chair to his left, Shouto already in the one to his right. He grabbed Izuku’s hand for a moment without stopping his conversation with Toshi. It was routine for him to do that with them sometimes.
Bowls of soba were put on the table. They passed it to the farthest first, making their way up as more bowls were set down. Mei watched with a growing look of bafflement. Izuku just shrugged. This was their normal, even if it wasn’t shared by everyone.
They all said thank you to Auntie Rei, then dug in. Shouto attacked his favorite food like he always did. The conversations from before picked up again, albeit slightly more subdued. Izuku watched Mei from the corner of his eye. She poked at the soba before taking a bite, pausing for a moment. Then she lit up, and Izuku couldn’t help smiling too.
Mei almost beat Shouto for how fast her food disappeared. Izuku put a hand over his brother’s mouth before he could challenge Mei to an eating competition. They didn’t need a repeat of the Soup Incident.
With her food gone—and oblivious to Shouto prying Izuku’s hand off his face—Mei turned to the rest of them. She had the same look his other siblings had when they wanted to ask something.
“You can ask us anything if you want,” Izuku said, unintentionally catching everyone’s attention. Whoops.
“How do you know I have a question?” Mei asked, looking more curious than anything.
“Your expression,” Hitoshi hummed, putting down his chopsticks. “Izuku’s good at those.”
“Oh…so, questions are allowed?”
“Yep!” Izuku chirped.
“Then why is he-“ Mei pointed to Shouto, who was in the middle of getting a second bowl of soba- “two different colors. He looks like that chimera cat.”
“What’s a chimera?” Shouto asked, sitting down again.
“Something like you, like, split in half colors,” Izuku explained. “And it’s because-“
“His dad was a piece of shit, that’s why. Genetics and crap,” Katsuki said, waving his chopsticks around dramatically. “Auntie almost beat him up.”
“Kacchan, be nice.”
“I’m right though.”
“It’s rude to interrupt,” Mei grumbled quietly, but it was still loud enough to hear.
Katsuki wore his challenge smile. “Yeah? You wanna go, gadget girl?”
“I could take you, Baka.”
“My name is Bakug-“
“Baka.”
Izuku snorted, covering his mouth with a hand a moment too late. Katsuki looked surprised, sitting there blankly for a moment. That is, before he got the mildly insane look on his face that never promised anything good.
“Alright then. Backyard-“
“No physical fighting, Katsuki,” Auntie Rei said. “She doesn’t have training like you.”
“I can take him.”
“I’m sure you can, dear, that’s not what I’m worried about. Hisashi needs to make sure you know how to fight safely before you spar with Katsuki. Verbal fights are fine though.”
“Swearing contest?” Mina asked hopefully.
“Swearing contest,” Katsuki said, manic grin still in place. “You up for it, Tinkerbell?”
Mei stood up from her chair, crosshair eyes locked on Katsuki. Izuku felt torn between smacking his forehead on the table and laughing. Because of course this is how Katsuki began bonding with Mei.
“Backyard. Ten minutes.”
With that, Katsuki put his bowl in the sink and walked off. Izuku guessed he was going to warn Momma about the cursing that would be coming from their yard. He honestly didn’t know how this would go.
Bad was not the answer, but neither was good. It ended in a tie. Both of them were left smiling like lunatics and laughing until they fell onto the grass. Mina was in stitches, Momo’s face was pink. She still wasn’t used to the entirety of Katsuki’s colorful vocabulary.
“Damn, where did you learn to do that?” Mei asked.
Katsuki grinned, pointing towards the house from his place on the grass. “Auntie Inko stubs her toes and cusses out the furniture, and my mom got angry at a lot of things. How about you?”
“Family and friends.”
“Cool.”
Izuku smiled from where he was watching on the porch, happy Mei was at least beginning to warm up to them. Hopefully one day she would call them siblings too. Until then, Izuku would make it his mission to make sure she was happy here.
Notes:
Not shown: A neighbor calling Hisashi asking why his kids are yelling curses at each other in the backyard. Hisashi comes home, asks why they were doing it, and then asks who won. He high fives them
I am but a small bean who has said 5 swears out loud in my LIFE, the latest time just calling my dog a dumbass. I do not know how to curse like a sailor. Until writing Katsuki I censored myself even in my writing a LOT. Tends to happen when I’m around small kids 24/7. My main curses are Heck and Crap, so I would not be able to do a cursing competition justice. What they said is up for all of your creative interpretations!
ALSO THERE'S MORE ART LOOK AT THIS AMAZING THING
Momo being a badass, Hawks, and Vigilante Parents! (By Beeistired)
Chapter 54: All Fun and Games
Summary:
AKA the nostalgia chapter because Mei needs a childhood and I used the games I played as a kid. Except for Keep Away, because me and my siblings almost gave each other concussions and plenty of bruises playing that so adding quirks would NOT be a good combination.
Fluff, angst, and then more fluff!
WARNINGS: fear of thunderstorms and the panic that comes with that, and a lot of feelings and some crying after that (not related to the thunderstorm) Starts at the first break (this: ~~~~~~~~~~ )
Notes:
HELLO EVERYONE YOU ARE ALL AMAZING AND I LOVE YOU
It is late Sunday I am posting this now instead of earlier because this week has been Nuts. I had a nearly 5 hour test yesterday, homework all week, and today got my hours uped at work. Add all of that to the weekly What Even Is My Brain and you get a nearly late chapter that probably isn’t edited very well. Anyway! Hope it still turned out ok, enjoy!! I love you!!
Also! Random note! Most of Mei’s arc is something I experimented with, so a lot of her trauma is implied instead of explicitly stated. Enjoy the chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Mei was getting used to the Midoriyas and their odd home. No one came into her room without asking. There was always food apparently, so she didn’t have to save any in her room. Though that wasn’t to say she didn’t have a stash of granola bars hidden in her dresser. No one raised their voice in anger or annoyance.
It was…different. Not bad, just different. She had gotten used to the near complete absence of people, and now she had to adjust to constantly being around them again. At least they were kinder and less invasive than her aunt, uncle, and their little villain group had been. Mei could build things without someone looking over her shoulder.
Her desk was quickly turned into a workbench. Parts and half-finished inventions littered the flat surface, tools finding a home wherever they could. Everything had a place, even if that place had no obvious rhyme or reason. It all made sense to Mei though. Machines and their parts always seemed to make sense to her.
Hisashi understood though. He let her wander around his shed and poke at his inventions. She threw a billion questions at him, and he answered them all. Most of them at least. Even Hisashi didn’t seem to know about how some things worked, like actual flamethrowers. Mei just shrugged when he asked how she knew how they worked. They were interesting and it was something she had been allowed to experiment with. Instead of normal kid toys she had gotten propane tanks and fire extinguishers.
When she wasn’t tinkering, the other kids liked to try and drag her out of her room. Well, not literally, but they tried to rope her into games and meals a lot. Did normal families all eat together? Or was this one just weird? Mei didn’t exactly have a baseline to compare it to.
They never forced her to do anything. It was something she was still getting used to. The nagging feeling in the back of her mind whispered that they would just take the choice away when they didn’t like the answer, but they never did. Though the bolder ones weren’t afraid to badger and wait to bring her into whatever they were doing, but she could leave if she wanted to.
The games were ones she had never played before. Their names were foreign, same as the rules. Apparently the one that could create things hadn’t known a lot of them before either. Mei didn’t know why that made her feel better.
Right now she was taking a break from another invention. Food sounded good, and her loud stomach agreed. With a peek outside her doorway first, she crept down the stairs. Taking food was apparently alright here, but it was still nerve wracking. Especially when her adrenaline had yet to learn that she wasn’t pickpocketing anymore.
The living room was full of people. They were all focused on something else though, allowing Mei slip into the kitchen unnoticed. She went straight for where she knew the granola bars were stashed. If she was fast enough she could grab more than one and replace what she had eaten yesterday.
Mei shut the cabinet without a sound, her prize in her hand. There was only one left, so no more for her food cache, but enough to eat for lunch. She scarfed it down before throwing the wrapper away. No evidence that could trace back to her.
She glanced around the corner from the kitchen, seeing the other seven kids still distracted. Mei quietly and calmly walked back towards the stairs, making no sudden movements. Quick movement drew attention. Slow and calm let her fly under the radar.
It didn’t quite work this time.
“MEI!”
She jumped, whipping around like a startle cat to face who had yelled. It was bush-hair, Izuku, who was smiling brightly. He was holding a…balloon? A red one that Mei had seen come in bags at convenience stores.
“We’re gonna play keepie-uppie! Do you want to play too?”
“I’ve never heard of that game.”
“Oh. We’ll show you then! Remember guys, these are normal balloons, so no quirks at all in this game. Momma said if we keep popping them then she’s putting glitter in the next one and we have to clean it up.”
There was a mumbled round of agreements. Mei watched from the side for now, resolving to at least see what the game was before retreating upstairs. It started with Izuku standing on the couch, balloon in hand. Then he threw it into the air.
All of them rushed forward to be the first to touch the balloon. It ended up being Hitoshi, who smacked it to the other side of the room. Then they all scrambled to reach it again before it touched the floor.
This went on for a few minutes, Mei just observing as everyone tripped over themselves to make sure this balloon didn’t reach the ground. It was interesting, and definitely amusing to watch.
Izuku broke off from the mob for a moment, running over to her with a competitive glint in his eyes.
“So? Do you wanna play?”
“I can…try.”
Izuku cheered, racing back over to smack the balloon again. Mei edged closer, looking for the opportunity to join in too. The game looked fun. Nothing would go wrong from having a bit of fun here.
“Whatcha kids doing?”
Mei squeaked, spinning around to face who had spoken. Hisashi stood in the doorway, gaze flickering between each kid. His eyes paused on the balloon slowly floating closer to the floor. One of them dove for it again amidst cries of “Dad!” and “Uncle Hisashi!” and more variants that Mei didn’t catch.
“We’re playing keepie-uppie!” One of them chirped.
“Help us Dad-Shi!”
“Oh really?” Hisashi laughed. “Well then, guess I shouldn’t do something like this.”
Hisashi scooped up the nearest kid, which was Shouto. He squealed, flailing as his feet left the ground. The balloon drifted towards the ground. Mei, seeing her chance, darted forward to save it. The other kids cheered as it went up again, and Mei felt a warm feeling take over her chest.
“Oh my lovely nephew, you’re growing up too fast,” Hisashi said, holding Shouto to his chest.
“Uncle Hisashi! Let me go!”
“Such a cuddly child.”
“Uncle Hisashi!”
The balloon was batted around, falling near Mei more than once. Shouto struggled against Hisashi like a particularly disgruntled cat. The actual cat watched the chaotic events unfold from atop a shelf.
Izuku eventually broke off to help Shouto escape. In the meantime, the balloon somehow made its way to the kitchen. Hitoshi nearly careened into the fridge. They all jostled to be the one that got to the balloon first. It eventually got batted back into the sitting room.
At one point Hisashi turned on a fan to blow the balloon into the backyard. Together they all managed to get it back indoors before it popped on the grass. Mei found herself lost in the competitiveness and adrenaline of it all. The laughter surrounded her like a summer breeze.
Their game only stopped when Katsuki smacked the balloon, and the hit was enough to ignite his palm. They all stared at the popped balloon for a moment, before dissolving into fits of laughter. It was ridiculous, but so, so happy. Mei couldn’t help joining in.
Maybe she really would enjoy living here.
~~~~~~~~~~
BANG
Mei jolted out of bed, hitting the floor with a thud and not having the mind to care.
Something flashed outside her window. It was nighttime, so why was there light outside? Her eyes zeroed in on it, waiting without breathing to see if it came back. Just waiting to see what would leap out and send her heart jackrabbiting again.
BANG
Mei flinched hard, curling in on herself on the floor. A thunderstorm, that was the only explanation. She hated them. They were terrifying, and only reminded her of horrible times. She hated them she hated them she hated them.
Another flash, and she steeled herself against the following rumbling. It didn’t help much. Chills still ran down her arms and her eyes screwed shut against the loud loud loud noise.
The window rattled following another flash. Mei yelped, clapping a hand over her mouth as soon as it was out. Idiot idiot idiot. No noise no noise they’ll find you. Being scared wasn’t allowed.
BANG
Mei stifled another whimper. It was quiet for a moment, and would be until the next flash. The storm was right above them. Hardly three seconds passed between the lightning and thunder. She- she had to get up. At least move.
She wasn’t there, she reminded herself, as she did every time something like this happened. It wasn’t always storms. Sometimes all it took was the wind slamming the warehouse door. Or someone yelling when she was out.
Some of it never mattered. Her relatives still haunted her dreams. Biting words and sharp strikes still echoing in her ears when she woke up. Taunts and threats and punishments. Screeching metal the only thing that could drown out the voices of lower pitch.
But she wasn’t there. She was with the Midoriyas, who had a lot of children and hearts too big for their own good. Mei was in the house, her own room with a door and window and bed and lamp and a bench. It was cold, the flooring felt odd on her face, her hair was scratchy and her arms felt prickly from fear. The wind was howling outside, though there was no thunder, and it was still dark for now. No lightning. Mei took a deep breath, smelling the dust on the floor and the scent of her sheets, which were hanging off the bed. She could almost taste her own fear. It was unreasonably salty.
Mei shakily pulled herself off the ground, pausing to see if there would be another flash. At least with these storms she got some warning. When nothing happened, she booked it out of the room. Quietly, but quickly. She ran to the stairs, seeing a flash illuminate the lower floor. An expected thunderclap followed a few seconds later, and Mei screwed her eyes shut against it.
When the noise passed, she tiptoed her way downstairs. Another flash lit up everything like a black and white film. She froze, steeling herself for the following bang.
“Are you scared of the thunder too?”
Mei nearly leapt a foot off the ground. She hit the wall behind her, eyes zooming in and out in a panic. Her gaze landed on a smaller figure on the couch. Without light she couldn’t tell much, but it sounded like…she still couldn’t remember his name. The half red and half white one.
“You can come sit with me, if you want.”
Mei broke from her momentary paralysis, blinking slowly at the offer. She edged over, eyeing the windows for the next flash of lightning. All the while the boy didn’t move an inch.
The couch was cushy and soft as she crawled onto it. Unlike the old one she used to sit on, this one wasn’t scratched and patched to hell and back. She remembered the boy’s name while sitting next to him. Shouto glanced over at her, but made no move to get closer.
“Has anyone told you how we all got here?” He asked softly.
Mei shook her head, tensing when another lightning strike flashed outside the windows. The thunder rumbled in a few seconds later. She brought her knees to her chest, finding some comfort in holding something close.
“Izuku saved most of us,” he said quietly, staring at the grayscale shadows on the wall. “Hitoshi was first. Zuku and Uncle Hisashi found him in the snow. They adopted him from a bad foster house.”
Mei nodded, filing the information away for later. It partially explained why Hitoshi, who she figured was the purple one, wore jackets more than the others. Not liking the cold was probably a result of that.
“Zuku found us in an alleyway.” Wow he was blunt. Mei liked him a bit more now. “We had run away from home, Touya, Fuyumi, Natsuo, and me. Our…our father is Endeavor. Our mom was in a hospital for a long time. Aunt Inko legally got us away from him.”
Mei listened with wide eyes. She knew Endeavor, of course she did. He liked to wreck their old bases a lot. He made a lot of property damage and had a lot of casualties to his name. There had been rumors when she was smaller. Rumors about him getting challenged in courts, but nothing went past that. Apparently something had happened though. He kept his rank, even though a lot of people suspected that was Commission meddling, but he lost power over his family.
Mei felt her respect for Inko grow.
“Katsuki’s parents used to be Aunt Inko and Uncle Hisashi’s friends. But they died, and Katsuki came to live with us. I wanted to punch him at first, because he was mean to Izuku when they were smaller.”
Mei raised an eyebrow. Those two were at odds with each other a lot, but it was more playful banter than full out arguing. She knew angry arguing, and that wasn’t it. It was almost hard to imagine one of the brothers bullying the other.
“Then he found Mina in the woods, and we brought her home. Her parents…weren’t good. At all. Aunt Inko and Uncle Hisashi adopted her pretty easily. Then Zuku found Momo. She was my friend before we ran away. I don’t know how, but they said we’d keep her safe and away from her parents, and we have.”
Mei felt like there was something there. Some dots that could theoretically connect, if she only had more pieces.
“And Hitoshi found Kouji in an alley.” Mei was wondering if this family had either been cursed, blessed, or somehow had a shared secondary quirk for finding sad and lonely people. “He and Peeve were in the foster system. We adopted them because Aunt Inko didn’t like how he was allowed to wander around without someone keeping him safe. She said it was dangerous and they needed a family, so we adopted them. And then Hawks found you.”
Mei looked over at Shouto. He was still watching the wall. Another roll of thunder shook the windows. She found that, against the odds, she felt less scared now.
“He’s worried about you, you know,” Shouto whispered. In the quiet of the house though, it was heard loud and clear. “He and Touya felt really bad about you having to live here, but they think it’s better than them never being home to take care of you. I know you don’t like us yet, but that’s ok. We’ll wait as long as we have to, because you’re our sister now, and we’re never going to leave you alone again.”
Mei didn’t know when tears had sprung to her eyes. It had…it had been a while since she had cried. The only recent time was when Hawks found her. Before that, she hadn’t been allowed the luxury of tears.
Yet here she was, water dripping down her face after a few words. The most she had heard from Shouto actually. That didn’t change how utterly sincere he sounded, like he was speaking without a single word deviating from some divine truth. Even Hawks had never promised something like that. It was better than lying to her though.
“Our family says something a lot,” Shouto said softly. “No one left behind.”
Mei heard the weight to those words. Shouto meant them with every drop of his soul. It felt like he was imparting some ancient knowledge upon her. She knew it was something to be remembered.
“It means that no matter what, we aren’t leaving you again. You won’t be alone.”
Mei felt more than heard the sob that shook her frame. She nodded, blind to the world from her tears. A hand tapped her own. Mei grabbed it without hesitation, taking comfort in the contact, even if it made her hyperconscious of what she was doing with her limbs.
“Thank you,” she croaked.
Shouto hummed quietly, another flash of lightning illuminating the room. The thunder still scared Mei, that wasn’t going to go away in one night, but it was certainly better with someone beside her.
“Is it ok if I go get Izuku?”
Mei looked up again, asking without speaking.
“He’s good at calming people down. I like having him with me during bad storms, and I think he can help you better than me.”
“Oh. Y-yeah. I’m fine, go get him.”
“I’ll be super fast.”
Shouto let go of her hand, near-silent steps pattering up the stairs. Mei stayed curled in a ball on the couch, looking outside at the howling wind. There wasn’t much to see. Not with how dark it was. Lightning lit up the sky once more.
Shouto appeared again a few minutes later. He not only had Izuku in tow, but the rest of his siblings too. Almost all of them were toting around pillows and blankets.
“Blanket nest time,” Izuku declared quietly, getting to work at arranging the pillows he had dropped on the floor.
“Blanket nest time,” Shouto agreed, dropping his own armful of pillows.
“What’s blanket nest time?”
“We put a bunch of pillows on the floor,” Momo explained, setting blankets on the couch beside Mei. “And then we all cuddle together with blankets and watch Disney movies. Did we ever show you those?”
“I don’t…think so?”
“Perfect!” Mina chirped, albeit muffled. “I call watching Princess and the Frog first.”
“No fair, we watched that first last time,” Hitoshi mumbled.
“And before that you chose Lion King”
“Touche.”
“How about Princess and the Frog now, and then Meet the Robinsons in the morning?” Izuku suggested.
There was a round of agreements. Mei watched as they turned the living room floor into a massive pillow bed. None of them hesitated to flop onto it and on top of each other. Mei moved to get up, but faltered.
“You don’t have to cuddle with us if you don’t wanna,” Mina assured her groggily from the cushy floor. “Still comfy down here though.”
“…ok.”
Mei grabbed a blanket, wrapping it over her shoulders. She did always sleep better in a nest than a bed. Touya liked to joke that she must have absorbed it from Hawks. Sometimes she wished that was true.
Surrounded by warmth, the tv flickered to life. It was almost enough to drown out the thunder. Mei found her gaze drawn to the screen, and her eyes growing heavy.
She fell asleep surrounded by warmth and the feeling of peace.
Notes:
So some of you may have recognized it, but when Mei was panicking she used the 54321 grounding exercise. It’s where, to ground oneself, you name 5 things you see, 4 you can touch, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell, and 1 for taste. Hopefully I wrote it ok, but if you didn’t know about it I hope it might help some of you guys in the future!
Next chapter!: Movies! Singing! Happy news for the family! Also Hisashi does a Regret
Chapter 55: Movies and Madness
Summary:
Fluff! Fluff! Did you expect anything different? :D
Also Hisashi has one (1) regret at the end
Notes:
HELLO BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE
It's November! Hooray! My family is already decorating for Christmas and it's actually cold outside for once :D
Enjoy the chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Izuku woke up abruptly by getting kicked in the face. On accident, but still. He was awake now. Whoever kicked him grumbled, then yelped as he shoved them to the side. Nicely. He shoved them nicely off of him so he could sit up.
The room was still dark, nearly pitch-black thanks to the blanket of clouds still swarming the sky. Izuku could just barely make out Shouto’s silhouette. His brother was slowly sitting up, blinking with unfocused eyes and sleepy confusion.
Izuku quietly sighed, tugging on Shouto’s shirt to pull him closer again. “Bad dream?”
“Mmhm, but not the normal ones,” he mumbled back, using Izuku’s shoulder as a pillow now. “Don’t remember well. Think- I think you were hurt. Bad. We were in an alley, like where you found us.”
“Huh. Well I don’t plan on getting hurt soon.”
“Better not be.”
Izuku giggled quietly, patting his half-asleep brother’s head. It was still early he guessed, but it was hard to tell with clouds still swarming the sky. They were the only two up in any case. Well, Izuku was up. Shouto was two second away from sleeping again.
While his brother drifted off to dreamland again, Izuku looked around the family room. Everyone was sprawled out over the pillows and blankets, tangled together in some way. Mina was holding Katsuki’s arm like a teddy bear. Momo was next to her, an arm slung over Mina’s back. Hitoshi was using Momo’s leg as a pillow holder. Kouji was near Izuku, curled up with Hitoshi’s hand in his and Peeve sleeping soundly on his chest. Izuku seemed to have been using Kouji’s stomach as his own pillow. Mei was even sprawled out near them, using Katsuki as a footrest it seemed.
Izuku groggily looked over the room for another minute. The tv was off, the last movie having finished after they all passed out. He wondered if it had shut off by itself or if one of the adults had woken up at some point.
He must’ve dozed for another while after that, because his third awakening of the day was to the unholily loud noise of their metal spatula banging against a steel pan. All of them—barring Katsuki, who had taken his hearing aids out to sleep—bolted upright and scrambled to find the noise. This resulted in a few things happening in quick succession.
1: Katsuki nearly got trampled because he hadn’t woken up to the noise, but by Mina leaping over him and missing by several inches.
2: Peeve yowled almost as loud as the improved cymbals and took off down the hallway, probably shrieking to Kouji, who was most definitely awake now.
And 3: Hitoshi jumped and accidentally landed on Mei, who proceeded to grab his ankle and yank the leg out from under him. Thankfully the pillows and blankets broke his fall, but Hitoshi let out a small wheeze upon landing.
The move was a surprise, and it sent all of them cackling. Mei just looked confused, before catching the laughter bug. Hitoshi was even giggling from his place on the floor.
“Good to know you can hold your own,” Dad laughed, still holding the cooking things that had been their morning alarm. “Well now that you’re all awake, what do you want for breakfast?”
They all yelled out answers, most of them different. It ranged from bacon (only bacon, really Kacchan?) to french toast to cinnamon rolls. Momma came down the stairs at some point during it. She made a b-line for the kitchen and coffee maker.
Auntie Rei chose that moment to emerge into the room, Peeve in her arms. All eyes immediately snapped to her.
“Mom!” Shouto called, despite the fact they were in the same room. “We need a tie breaker!”
“On what exactly?”
“Breakfast.”
“Ah. I vote cinnamon rolls if we have any.”
“What’s a cinnamon roll?”
Mei was very suddenly the center of attention. She recoiled a bit, before Izuku was speaking a mile a minute.
“They’re like biscuits but super soft and sweet and has a lot of cinnamon and sugar and we have a lot of frosting with it! I like them a lot and one of our teachers called me a cinnamon roll once and I don’t know what that means but All Might says we are what we eat so I guess I eat a lot of them but anyway-“
“Zuzu, you’re turning red,” Mina stated. “Breathe.”
“Sorry!” He squeaked. “Can we have cinnamon rolls, Dad? Mei needs to know how good they taste.”
“Sure thing, kiddo,” he chuckled. “You guys turn on a movie, we can have a comfy breakfast since it’s Sunday.”
Arguments almost immediately broke out about what they should watch. It paused while Katsuki shot upstairs to put his hearing aids back in, then continued right where they had left off once he got back. Izuku grabbed the remote while no one was looking, and turned on Meet the Robinsons, which he guessed is something Mei would like.
His siblings quieted down when they saw the movie turn on. Izuku pulled a pillow into his lap, which was almost immediately occupied by Hitoshi. He began braiding his brother’s hair, which was getting long now, while everyone else settled around them. Mei cautiously edged closer to Izuku.
As the first scene began to play, Izuku felt a weight settle on his shoulder. He glanced over, smiling softly when he saw Mei’s eyes glued to the screen. She was like a skittish cat. A person craving affection but wary of being near people. Izuku felt honored that he was who she chose to be close to.
The movie played, and Izuku knew it was the right choice. They would probably watch a dozen movies today, but he had definitely chosen the perfect one to start with.
~~~~~~~~~~
Movie number two was Jungle Book. The original one, which was the best in Hitoshi’s opinion. They had their cinnamon rolls in their laps. Dad-Shi said they were old enough to not make a mess, so they were allowed to eat in their blanket nest while watching the movie.
Hitoshi had been a bit surprised to look up and see Mei leaning on Zu. Honestly though, if it were to be anyone, it would be either Izuku or Shouto. Because smart comforting person and endearingly awkward mobile air conditioning unit.
It was getting to one of Hitoshi’s favorite parts in the Jungle Book now though. The scene where Baloo sings to Mowgly! He loved that song the best.
The beginning notes played, and Dad-Shi seemed to materialize behind them with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Hitoshi realized what was going to happen a few seconds before it did.
Completely on beat with the movie, Dad-Shi began to sing too.
“Look for the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities-“
All of them began singing along, the pitches and volume wildly varying between them. Sometimes laughter overtook their words. Hitoshi got up to dance around the room, whirling between his siblings with a wild smile on his face. This happened more often than not when they watched movies, and it was always fun. Especially when Dad-Shi and Momma Ink did voices to match the characters.
Dad-Shi scooped up Izuku, sitting him on his shoulders, then grabbed Mina and swung her off the ground too. They were giggling as he twirled around the room still singing. Momo grabbed Shouto’s hands, and they went spiraling around in tight circles so fast they became a blur. Hitoshi snorted as they went careening into the blanket nest.
"I mean the bare necessities. That’s why a bear can rest at ease,” Dad-Shi sang the ending lines. “With just the bare necessities of life~!”
Izuku and Mina were put back on the ground. Shouto and Momo rolled back to their feet. Hitoshi glanced around, and stopped to take in the sight that was Mei laughing on the couch. She had avoided most of the whirlwind of chaos by taking refuge up there. But what was important is that she was laughing with them, smiling without a care in the world.
Hitoshi was proud of how far she had already come.
~~~~~~~~~~
The sun had started to set a while ago. Mei didn’t know how many movies they had watched, but she loved them. Especially the ones with tech. She wanted to try and build some of it, but first she would need some more materials.
Not right now though. Right now they were watching one more movie while the three adults worked on dinner. This one was called Bolt. Mei was currently more interested in what Mina was doing though. That being stacking things on top of a sleeping Katsuki. So far there were five books, a dozen pencils, three pillows, a chair, and a growing pyramid of plastic cups.
Katsuki still hadn’t stirred, and Mei was enjoying this game more and more. It was even more fun than beating everyone at Battleship.
Izuku was also
arguing
debating with Momo about how crepes and pancakes were different again. He was of the opinion they were the same, all while Momo was lecturing like a teacher about the discrepancy in the ingredients that made them different.
“They’re not the same-“
“They’re just flat pancakes, Momo.”
“No they are not. Crepes don’t have a rising agent!”
“Do you even know what that means?” Shouto muttered off to the side.
Mei snorted, still intently watching Mina and waiting for disaster to strike. She was up to four layers of cups. Hitoshi had gone to grab more books to give her more building room.
“They are the same and this is the hill I will die on,” Izuku stated resolutely.
“Weird hill to die on, but at least you’re dead,” Mei responded without thinking
The entire room stopped. Mei immediately felt regret, realizing she had let her tongue slip. She hadn’t watched her mouth and that never brought anything good oh no no no no.
Then…then they started laughing. Mei felt herself falter. That was the exact opposite of what she was expecting.
“Is…that not a normal thing to say?” She asked hesitantly.
“Not really, but it is now!” Izuku cackled.
Mei didn’t really know how to respond. Katsuki saved her from thinking of something though, because he woke up then. In an instant the room was filled with yelling and the sound of things tumbling to the floor. He leapt to his feet, somehow not tripping on the debris, and began to chase Mina around the room.
Mei couldn’t help smiling. She was doing a lot of that today.
It almost made her forget how easy it was to wipe away.
Inko ran in, tears streaming down her face even though she was beaming. The two racing around the couch froze. Everyone else in the room did too, giving Inko their undivided attention. Mei saw the others exchanging confused but hopeful looks. What was happening?
“We have a court date!” Inko exclaimed, holding a phone up like it was going to do something.
The room was engulfed in cheering. Mei looked between the kids, wondering what was so special. Even Hisashi and Rei were standing in the doorway too, smiling like something amazing had happened. She- she didn’t understand.
Everyone gathered around Kouji. They engulfed him in a hug, all squishing together. Mei stood off to the side, not understanding. Did…was the court date a good thing? Bad thing? Why were they hugging Kouji?
Izuku suddenly popped out of the circle and ran over to Mei. He offered a hand to her, smile still stubbornly stuck to his face. She shied away at first. Just what was happening?
“I can explain it in a minute, ok?” Izuku said kindly. “But you’re a part of our family now, and that means including you in family hugs.”
Mei blinked, then took Izuku’s hand. He didn’t hesitate to pull her into the group hug. It was…surprisingly warm and comforting. She hadn’t been given many hugs before. If this is what she had been missing though, she never wanted things to change. Well, they had changed already, but for the better. She had a family now. Even if she wasn’t touchy-feely like the rest of them, and still jumped at things, and was still getting used to feelings in general, they still accepted her. They still kept her around, despite what she had had been through.
She had a long way to go, but…but maybe she could get there now. One day.
No one left behind, right?
BONUS :
Hisashi was dozing on the couch, his kids surrounding him either on the floor or beside him. He honestly had no idea what movie was playing at the moment. Something with music, and princesses. Probably. He was three fourths asleep, processing things had been thrown out the window about fifteen minutes ago.
That is, until something crackled and the room was suddenly ten degrees cooler. His kids shrieked, and Hisashi was on his feet before he had even opened his eyes. When he did though, he was…not entirely shocked by what met him.
Shouto had frozen himself in a mini iceberg. His face was free thankfully, but he was frozen as a popsicle. One hand was raised, which had probably caused it. It just happened to mirror what was happening in the movie.
Right, Frozen. Not supposed to let Shouto do that. It never ended well.
“Shouto, buddy, you gotta stop turning yourself into a kid-sicle,” Hisashi sighed, lightly breathing on the ice with his fire to help melt it faster. Shouto slowly warmed it up from the inside.
“But I was trying to be Elsa.”
“You can be Elsa, but you have to refine your ice a bit more. Less glacier and more snow, yeah?”
“…ok Uncle Hisashi. Sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry for, kid. Just try not to freeze yourself next time and you’re good.”
Shouto nodded, drying the floor so he could sit down to finish the movie. Hisashi smiled softly at his not-so-little-anymore family. He loved them more than anything.
The kids chose Home Alone for the last movie of the night. Hisashi didn’t know why it gave him a feeling of dread. He brushed it off, settling in to half watch and half sleep. Izuku always loved this movie because of the traps, both physical and psychological.
The end credits were just starting to roll when someone else appeared.
“Bedtime,” Inko said from the room’s entrance.
Hisashi opened his eyes, automatically shushing his kids’ complaints against sleep. They were all tired and needed rest. He sleepily helped herd them all upstairs for the night.
Curled up in bed with way too many blankets for it to be summer, Hisashi felt his chest warm with love. He had truly never expected to be here, but now that he was, it was more than he could have ever wished for.
He fell asleep cuddling with his wife and knowing tomorrow would bring something good.
Hisashi took two steps outside their door before he slipped on toy cars.
He now regretted letting Mei and Izuku watch Home Alone.
Notes:
That pots and pans scene was inspired by the series Izuku Is The Law by FallingBackwards and BlueStaroftheSouth !! Go read it if you haven’t!! It’s amazing and deserves more attention. I love you guys <3 <3
Also Mei is me. I almost always win against my family at Battleship and now a few of them refuse to play with me because they know I’ll win. It’s been a while since I’ve played so I might not be as good anymore but I still find it hilarious since I suck at most other games
Next chapter!: Hawks gets an important thing and vigilantes are brought up :D
Chapter 56: Names Hold Power
Notes:
HELLO BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE
You know, I was wondering why editing this chapter seemed to be taking forever today. Then I did a final word count and realized I had added roughly 700 words during editing. New record woooo! Anyway if there are grammar errors blame it on the fact that happened and I’m posting this before I go get food
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Natsuo had been playing in the backyard, ignoring his homework and impending due dates, when he saw a red blur zip down into their front yard. Two seconds later he heard the front door burst open. He wondered how loud it was inside, since he had heard it with the backdoor closed.
Hawks’ red wings were obvious, even from where Natsuo was standing. Touya’s spiky black hair and grunge clothes were easy to see too. The former was being scolded for throwing the door open so violently. Natsuo gave it maybe two minutes before they were stormed by small children. With that in mind, he rushed inside to tackle-hug his brother.
“Touya! I haven’t seen you in forever!”
“You saw me a week ago, twerp,” Touya laughed, ruffling Natsuo’s messy hair. “Geez, what are they feeding you? You’re growing like a weed.”
“I’m going to be taller than you soon, just you wait! No holding things over my head anymore.”
“HAH, as if.”
Touya put him in a headlock, making Natsuo yelp and drop like he was boneless. The two of them went down like a sinking ship. It resulted in a wrestling match on the floor, Hawks doing nothing to stop them.
“Did you really ask me to come visit just so you two could roll around on the ground?”
The two froze, and looked up to see Fuyumi standing in the kitchen entrance with her arms crossed. She was smiling though, obviously amusing with the situation. Natsuo was quick to roll off of Touya so he could hug her too. It seemed like forever since Fuyumi had visited! He understood why, since she was going to university in another city and had a job. That didn’t mean he missed her any less though.
“When did you get here, Yumi?!”
“Right before Hawks and Touya. I figured it would be nice to talk with Aunt Inko and Uncle Hisashi before getting swarmed with small children.”
“I’m not a small children,” Natsuo protested, playfully headbutting Fuyumi.
“You’re as tall as me, of course you’re not.”
Hawks came up and laid his head on Fuyumi’s shoulder, staring at her with puppy eyes. “Do I not get any hugs?”
“Oi, I call dibs, she’s my twin.”
Natsuo wiggled away before he could get stuck in a group hug. He loved his siblings, but Touya and Hawks weren’t pros for nothing, and Fuyumi didn’t hold back with her arm strength either. It was weird that they were all home today though. Kouji’s adoption date wasn’t for another two weeks, so it wasn’t that. Maybe something else happened? Probably not an injury or sickness, but besides that he really had no clue what it could be.
A veritable stampede began to thunder down the stairs. Natsuo ducked away, not wanting to be swept away in the tide of kids. However Fuyumi, Touya, and Hawks were swiftly surrounded and promptly barraged with questions and affection.
“Ok ok!” Hawks squawked. “This is for the whole family, come on! Everyone to the couch!”
“I don’t think we’ll all fit,” Touya pointed out.
“Yeah but we’re standing, and I know these kids aren’t afraid to sit on the arms- Mei I love you too but please don’t do that, you’re pulling out my feathers.”
“Sorry.”
“No prob, Gadget Bird, just don’t use me as a feather duster and we’re all good.”
The family was eventually gathered in one place. Whoever didn’t fit on the couch was sitting around it. Natsuo somehow ended up with Mina behind him, draped across the back cushions and his shoulders so she could see. They all sat still though, eagerly waiting for whatever Hawks and Touya had to say. Maybe they were getting married or something.
Natsuo subtly looked at their hands. There were no rings, so probably not marriage yet.
“So what’s this about?” Uncle Hisashi asked.
Touya smiled, while Hawks grabbed some papers from a big envelope Natsuo hadn’t noticed him holding. They all waited with baited breath to see what it was.
Hawks finally pulled an official-looking paper out, and proudly showed it off to them. Natsuo scanned the page, eyes growing wide when he read what was on it. The room was almost immediately filled with cheering.
The paper was a new birth certificate, with a new name.
“Well Keigo Takami,” Mom said over the happy crowing, “I think this calls for a celebration! We have things for cake for whoever wants to help.”
Half the kids immediately scrambled towards the kitchen. Natsuo used the rush to dive forward and hug his not-yet-brother-in-law. He hadn’t had a name for so long. He hadn’t had a family for so long. If anyone deserved this, it was Keigo.
Natsuo backed up a step, releasing Keigo from his vice-grip. “Sooo, whose last name are you two taking when you get married?”
Touya choked on his own spit, and Hawks loudly squawked, wings flaring out. Natsuo started laughing as he ducked a hand swiping for his head. Fuyumi was smiling too, she couldn’t deny it. He saw right through her.
“We are not talking about this,” Touya coughed, then slyly smiled. “Not until Fuyu tells us about Rumi almost breaking into campus to take her on a date.”
Another round of blushing, stuttering, and getting whacked upside the head ensued. Touya was the one getting smacked though, not Natsuo. He just hid behind Hawks and threw out comments as the twins started aggressively noogying each other.
He had missed this. Their little siblings were nice and fun and all, but Mei was glaring at him more often than not, and they mostly stuck to themselves. Natsuo had his own friends of course. That made it a bit easier, but still, he missed his older brother and sister. They were here now though, at least for a while. That’s all that mattered.
~~~~~~~~~~
Mei was so excited for Keigo. The feeling was slightly foreign to her, but it wasn’t unpleasant. How could she not be happy for him? They both had names now!
Rei was making cake, something Mei had only had once. And it had been stolen. On accident, but still. Mei didn’t have the faintest inkling on how to make cake, so she watched while Rei, Katsuki, Momo, and Kouji gathered everything together.
Mei could make machines. She could mess with circuits and figure things out by taking them apart sometimes, but baking? Nope. It looked like they were throwing random things together to make a sticky thing that turned into a solid-ish squishy thing. It didn’t make much sense to her. Why were there specific measurements? Why did the number of eggs have to be specific? With machines stuff could be tacked on and maybe-hopefully not explode. With baking it seemed like the entire thing tasted bad if something was even slightly wrong.
Rei made it look easy though. She measured things, handing them to one of the two kids. Kouji was gently stirring something in the bowl. Peeve had been banned from the kitchen after the cookie incident, so she watched Kouji from right outside. Mei didn’t want to get in the way, so she sat beside the cat to observe the meshing together of things.
The rest of the family joined them after a bit, sitting at the table or standing nearby. Mei stayed where she was to watch and listen. Tea appeared at some point. She had no idea when, just that one second she was watching butter be mixed into batter and the next she was cradling a warm mug. Not that she was opposed to it—tea was always welcome.
Mei found herself watching as the cake went into the oven. Kouji had joined her on the floor, nursing his own cup of tea with Peeve in his lap. Chatter drifted around them in voices just out enough to be heard. It was peaceful—for there being fourteen people in one room, that is—and Mei idly wondered when she had begun to grow comfortable here.
“I still can’t believe how long it took the paperwork to go through,” Touya grumbled, standing behind the chair Fuyumi was sitting in. “I mean, I know they’re busy and Keigo shouldn’t get special treatment just because he’s a hero, but still.”
“I don’t mind,” Keigo hummed. “As long as it’s all official, then I’m happy. I’m actually surprised it didn’t take longer.”
“Still took forever.”
“Yeah, but it could have still taken even longer.”
“Maybe they realized you have Aunt Inko as an aunt-in-law,” Fuyumi joked, sipping her tea. “No one messes with Momma Bear Inko. One of the law professors used her as an example of a good lawyer.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet,” Inko cooed.
“He was terrified of you, Aunt Inko.”
“Ah, must have been someone I’ve faced in the courtroom.”
“Probably. But hey, maybe that’s what happened. Or someone hacked the system and moved yours up in the queue.”
“I don’t think any of my fans are quite that powerful,” Keigo laughed. “Either way, I have a name. I don’t care how I got it, just that I have it now.”
Touya nudged his arm, smiling softly. “You would have had a name anyway, silly bird. It’s just that this way it’s legally recognized.”
“I know."
“Speaking of,” Fuyumi piped up. “Aunt Inko, how’s the paperwork for Mei going? The stuff on, you know, making her legally exist.”
Mei sat up straighter, turning her gaze to Inko. The woman was smiling, setting her cup down. Hisashi took a sip from it before she gently smacked his arm.
“Oh, you know how it goes,” she hummed. “It’s challenging as any official paperwork is. Mostly waiting for things to be filed, but it’s coming along nicely.”
Logically, Mei knew Inko had been working on something to do with her and paperwork. It was different though, hearing it out loud. Hearing she was going to have an actual legal name was different. It wasn’t something she was used to.
“When-“ Mei spoke without thinking “-when will I have a name?”
Inko turned to her, eyes softening at the wide-eyed look Mei undoubtedly wore.
“You already have a name, sweetie. You are Mei Hatsume, and nothing will change that,” she said gently. “It’s just the people in the government need to know you have a name and…well, exist. Shouldn’t be too long though. A few months at most, but probably more around a few weeks yet.”
She nodded, satisfied. The conversations around her continued. Peeve crawled into her lap and began purring, somehow making Mei’s nerves melt away.
In a few weeks she would officially have her name, just like Keigo. She was almost free from her past.
Mei couldn’t help smiling at the thought.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Training day! Training day! Training day!”
That was what Inko woke up to one lovely Sunday morning. It could only mean her husband was already awake, and had agreed to teach the kids today. Probably more hand-to-hand fighting lessons, since they were yelling “training day” instead of “quirk day.”
Still, it was way too early. Inko knew there would be coffee downstairs though, so she begrudgingly rolled out of bed. How Hisashi got up this early without an alarm was beyond her.
Downstairs was in the normal state of organized chaos. Kouji was giving Izuku a piggyback ride, while Katsuki was giving Mina one and proclaiming they were going to win. Momo chimed in that they couldn’t play chicken because they weren’t in a pool. Shouto was looking outside, probably wondering if he could make a pool with his quirk.
Inko ignored what was happening in the living room for now, and made a b-line towards the smell of coffee. The kitchen was occupied by Hisashi, Mei, and Hitoshi. The two kids were sitting at the table and talking quietly. A short signing lesson, if Inko was seeing correctly. Hisashi was whistling, careful to not get embers on anything, and cooking bacon on the griddle.
Rei and Natsuo were noticeably absent from either room, but it wasn't a huge surprise. Natsuo hardly ever got up early on the weekends, and slept like a rock. Rei was likely awake and reading in her room before facing the chaos of their house. Inko personally needed caffeine before she stopped her kids from wrestling each other in the living room at seven-thirty in the morning, so that’s what she set out to acquire.
Hisashi knew that too, so it wasn’t a big surprise when he handed her a mug of coffee after chirping a good morning. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then went back to cooking bacon and eggs. It was their normal morning routine. Once Inko was more awake she would go deal with the rowdier kids and herd them to the table for breakfast.
As she sipped her coffee, Inko felt eyes watching her. She turned to see Mei hurriedly looking away. Hitoshi too, but he just smiled and said good morning. Inko sent them a smile before returning to her drink.
“Oh, Inko, I almost forgot,” Hisashi hummed. “Do you think Mei could learn a few of your old tricks?”
“You need to be a bit more specific there, love.”
“Coding, maybe hacking. It would probably help a lot with some of her inventions.”
Inko hummed an affirmation, trying to remember if they still had the junky computer that was easy to reset from coding mishaps. “Let me drink my coffee, then I’ll go look for something she can work with.”
Another kiss pecked at her cheek, drawing out a small smile from her. Hisashi went back to the food, beginning to enthusiastically tell Mei what she could do with coding added to her skill set. In the meantime, Inko went to check on the other kids. Memories replayed in her mind, of how she had used her skills. Of how she had gone through so much trial and error to obtain them.
Hopefully Mei could find a better use for them than she had. The underground didn’t need another Lady Omniscient right now.
~~~~~~~~~~
Training days were a dice roll between frustrating and fun. Katsuki had always leaned more towards the latter. There was just something exhilarating about being in a fight. Especially winning a fight. Katsuki had always thought that, even when he was small. Though it was certainly channeled into a better activity now.
Uncle Sashi put them through the ringer. He wasn’t mean about it, but he pushed them to be better. They were nine now, plenty big enough to learn how to fight better! Katsuki wanted to be able to throw people!
He had been stuck on one move though. Uncle had tried to give him advice more than once, but he just wasn’t getting it. And it was annoying. Katsuki wouldn’t give up though. He despised losing and everything related to it. Something as simple as a martial arts move wasn’t going to take him down.
That didn’t mean it wasn’t aggravating as fuck though.
“You ok, Kacchan?”
Katsuki scoffed, falling down again. He resisted the urge to yell, instead taking a deep, deep breath before answering Izuku.
“Can’t get this fucking move,” Katsuki grumbled.
“Oh, can you show me? Maybe I can figure out how to fix it.”
Katsuki nodded, knowing that if anyone could figure it out, it was Izuchan. Smartest motherfucker he had ever met. Besides Auntie and Uncle of course, but they were grownups so it didn’t count.
He went through the actions just like he had before, getting the same result as every other time. No matter what he did, his feet shifted and he fell. His fist didn’t go where he wanted it to. Nothing he changed did anything, and it was growing more and more annoying.
“Oh. Kacchan, you’re going too fast.”
“Hah?”
“You’re moving too fast. You have to go slower on this one, because you need to control your movements better. Going fast is making you fall over.”
“But I have to do it fast or it can be dodged.”
“Then practice it slow and eventually you’ll be fast.”
“That doesn’t make sense, Izuchan.”
“Yes it does.”
“He has a point!” Uncle Sashi yelled from across the yard, where he was showing Mei how to throw a punch that wouldn’t break her hand.
Katsuki scowled, but tried to listen to the advice. Izuku usually knew what he was talking about. If Uncle Sashi agreed too, then he had to at least try.
He was hyper-conscious of how slow he was going. It was still faster than moving normally, but it felt so slow compared to before. Izuku just watched from beside him.
Lo and behold, he didn’t fall over. Stumbled a bit, but didn’t fall on his face. Izuku cheered, high-fiving Katsuki with a smile on his face. Fuck it, speed could probably wait. At least he hadn’t eaten dirt again. Ugh, it was annoying, but Izuku was right.
“Break time!” Uncle Hisashi called. “I’ll grab some juice boxes or something for you kids, no fighting while I’m inside.”
Katsuki nodded, sitting on the porch steps. The rest of his siblings gathered around him. Some sat on the steps too, while others laid down in the grass nearby. It was what they did every time.
“So, why does your dad teach you to fight?” Mei asked, sounding confused but curious. “He’s good at it, but why?”
“We wanna be heroes,” Izuku said. “And if we change our minds, then we’ll still know how to defend ourselves.”
“You… all want to be heroes?”
“Yeah. Kacchan, Hitoshi, and I have always wanted to be heroes. Shouto was…was raised to be one, but he still wants to be one, just different. Mina and Momo said they wanted to be heroes with us, and Kouji too. We wanna save people, so we’ll be good people first and heroes second.”
“Oh. I don’t like heroes much, but you guys would be good ones, I think.”
“Why don’t you like heroes?” Izuku asked. He sounded less confused than Katsuki expected him to be.
“None of them ever helped,” Mei shrugged. “Heroes are in it for the glory and money a lot. They don’t go to the really bad places. Vigilantes do though, I like some of them.”
“You like vigilantes?” Mina leaned forward from her spot on the grass. She didn’t like many heroes either, even after living with the walking hero encyclopedia for years now. None of them could blame her. Especially since she was right, and they all knew it.
“A few of them. They save more people than some heroes, and they don’t usually do it for money.” Mei was looking at her hands, fidgeting with her fingers. “I’m not sorry and it’s true.”
“Oh, we know,” Shouto hummed.
“I may like heroes, and want to be one,” Hitoshi piped up. “But there are plenty of bad ones. There are still good heroes, but you’re right, vigilantes sometimes have better reasons than heroes for doing what they do.”
“You don’t disagree with me?”
“Fuck no,” Katsuki snorted, then pointed over at Izuku. “This fucker over here is already a borderline vigilante because he keeps throwing shit at villains to distract them. That or he ties ‘em up in something until actual heroes or police arrive.”
“Well I can’t exactly turn my quirk off.”
“You can turn off throwing soup cans at people trying to hold us hostage in a grocery store.”
“It was only twice!”
Mei leaned over to Hitoshi, who was sitting next to her. “Did he really do that?”
“Oh yes. There are a lot of villain attacks around here. Zu got tired of them and started helping the heroes take them out.”
“Huh. Cool.” She raised her voice, pulling Izuku and Katsuki’s attention back to her. “Do you ever- do you ever think about being actual vigilantes?”
“Yes,” Izuku answered almost immediately. The others echoed him, though less confident. “I…I want to help. Almost no one is helping right now, but we’re still small and young. Not to mention we don’t have the tech or skills for it yet.”
“You know how to fight though.”
“Not villains,” Izuku sighed, something else under his words suggesting he didn’t truly believe them. Like he was repeating something he had been told many times before. “They’re bigger and stronger than Dad. Without help, I- we would never stand a chance.”
Mei was still staring down at her hands, but wasn’t fidgeting as much anymore. Not nervously, at least. Her crosshair eyes flicked back and forth, seeing a plan and equations only she could think of. Katsuki wondered just what was going through her head.
“Bail money’s a bitch too.”
“Yeah, it really is,” Shouto snorted. “Ochako is against being one mainly because her parents would never be able to afford that, but she knows they wouldn’t leave her in jail.”
“It’s also illegal,” Hitoshi reminded them.
Uncle Sashi came back outside a minute later, armed to the teeth with juice boxes. They all scrambled for the one they liked best. The conversation wasn’t forgotten, Katsuki knew that much. They all shared the relatively same opinion about it after all. Illegal as vigilantism was, no one was helping. No one was taking care of people. Katsuki might’ve not cared before but he did now. He cared that people were hurting because some morons couldn’t suck up their pride and ego to be somewhere without cameras.
He couldn’t be a hero that always won if he did the same thing. Winning wasn’t picking and choosing his damn battles. It was taking them all and winning even if the odds were against him. That was victory.
They couldn’t do anything right now. Not legally, at least. But if he had to become a vigilante to make a difference and win? Then so fucking be it.
Notes:
Whoop whoop we have Katsuki’s opinion on future events :)
Countdown to the first vigilante chapter: 7 chapters! Mei’s arc finishes up, there’s a mini-ish arc of three chapters, then we FINALLY get to vigilante things! Kinda. Not all at once, but it starts. I’m working on the costume refs though! My motivation for it is as spotty as my internet is sometimes but I have 2 full-bodies done and two more sketches! Once they're all done they should be posted alongside the chapter with their costume reveals :D
Also just gonna address this before I get any comments on it: yes I know why baking uses specific measurements, that's Mei not me. I may burn things but I'm actually kinda better at baking than cooking dinners ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Helps that I've improved a bit over quarantine
Chapter 57: Two Paths
Summary:
Kouji's adoption day!! And a surprise :)
Mind the warnings of this chapter, just to be safe. They're nothing too bad, just emotional things and I want you guys to be safe
Notes:
HELLO SORRY THIS IS KINDA LATE SCHOOL IS TRYING TO KILL ME
Finals Suck, but in two weeks they're over. I'm hoping to go back to a once a week update schedule once the holidays hit, but apparently we might be going on an ill-advised road trip, so that's fun -__-Anyway! Experience in a courthouse is based off my own, which is not in Japan. Figured I would just give a disclaimer about that.
Also guys this chapter tried to FIGHT ME I had to rewrite three different parts five times before it actually sounded how I wanted it to
Warnings, just in case: Implied feelings of jealously and misplacement (I think that’s the word at least)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
IT WAS ADOPTION DAY!
Kouji could hardly believe it. He had lived with the Midoriyas for months now, and had grown to trust them. They were his family. They gave him courage and actually communicated with him. He didn’t speak much still, but he could. It no longer felt like his throat closed up every time he opened his mouth.
The Midoriyas were his family now, and Kouji couldn’t imagine being adopted by anybody else. He had come so far since meeting them. Peeve was very proud of him for that, and she made it no secret.
Right now though, she was sitting on the bathroom counter and making sure his tie didn’t look like a toddler who was let loose on a spool of thread.
“A little higher,” Peeve meowed.
Kouji nodded, moving the tie until it was deemed perfect. How Peeve knew how to tie these things was a mystery. Maybe she had learned by watching Hisashi and Inko when they had to use ties. They had tried to show Kouji too, but he had accidentally called Hisashi “dad” during the lesson and made an excuse to flee the room. Peeve still hadn’t stopped teasing him for how flustered he got.
It’s not like he regretted it though. If he was being honest, Hisashi and Inko had been Dad and Mom in his mind for a while now. Kouji just wasn’t used to calling someone his parents. Auntie Rei was Auntie Rei, and his siblings were his siblings. Simple. It was just the idea of having an actual mom and dad again that made him stutter over their names.
“Ji, hurry up! We need to get ready too!” Hitoshi called through the bathroom door.
Kouji smiled, checking himself in the mirror again. Inko would double check that he was ready, but he didn’t exactly take long to do his hair. It was more like feelers on the back and sides of his head. They were probably what let him hear bugs and other animals better if Izuku was right, which he almost always was.
He opened the door, narrowly lifting his arm over Hitoshi as his brother darted into the bathroom. The rest of the family was going through the motions of getting ready too. Most of them were trudging around with eyes half closed. Fair, considering they had to leave early and get up even earlier. Kouji had never had the particular problem of getting up early. Staying up late though? That was torture. He became borderline delirious if he stayed up past eleven.
Kouji hopped down the stairs, excitement in every step and Peeve at his heels. After today he would legally be a part of the Midoriya family! No more social workers coming to visit, no more waiting for court dates, and no more paranoid worrying about something happening to take him away again.
Upon entering the kitchen, he saw Inko sitting at the table while Auntie Rei did something fancy with her hair. Hisashi was off to the side, drinking a cup of coffee and staring in awe at the women. Kouji took a second to do the same, wondering how it was possible to braid someone’s hair that fancy and quickly.
“Mornin’, Kouji!” Hisashi greeted with a smile. “You look snazzy. Ready for today?”
“More than anything.”
“That’s the spirit! I still have to get my fancy pants on, but we should be good to leave on time. Everyone else upstairs getting ready too?”
“Yes. Shouto doesn’t want to be awake.”
“Yeah, figured that one. Is Fuyumi awake at least?”
“Not asleep yes. Awake, no.”
Hisashi chuckled, downing the rest of his coffee before setting the mug in the sink. “I’ll go make sure no one’s turning their ties into a capture weapon. I’ll be back in a minute, love!”
Hisashi blew an overly dramatic kiss towards Inko, making her grin. She didn’t move much, since Rei was still doing her hair, but Hisashi still left the room with a lovesick expression on his face. It made Kouji smile. He had never met anyone as in love as Inko and Hisashi, especially after being married for over ten years.
“And, there! Done.”
Kouji turned, seeing Inko’s hair done up in an elaborate braid-bun. She looked really pretty with it. He tapped the counter to get her attention, and told her so in sign.
“Aw, thank you, Kouji,” Inko cooed. “Would you mind finding Mina? Her hair will take the longest besides mine, what with how long it’s getting.”
“Does she want to grow it out?” Auntie Rei asked.
“Last she told me, yes. Long enough to put it in a ponytail again.”
Kouji left the room, hearing their idle chatter as he hiked back up the stairs. The smile still hadn’t left his face. How could it? After today, he would officially have two parents, one aunt, and ten siblings. Technically. Keigo counted as another sibling at this point.
Kouji couldn’t wait for this afternoon.
~~~~~~~~~~
Mina remembered her own adoption day like it was yesterday. Kouji’s wasn’t much different so far, with the exception of there being more people this time. Everyone was dressing up and waking up early just like last time. There wasn’t the added anxiety of seeing old parents this time though, which was good.
Having her hair done was cool too! It was getting longer, and was still very wavy. Auntie Rei made it look super pretty! Momma Inko’s was gorgeous though, and Mina made it no secret that she thought so.
It was a challenge getting that many people to leave on time though, as they all learned. Mina was already out in the minivan, most of her siblings having already joined her. Touya, Keigo, and Fuyumi would be taking a train there, so Mina wasn’t worried about them.
She was trying to be patient, she really was. But no one was going fast enough and they were going to be late. Dad-Sashi was in the driver's seat, Natsuo next to him. They were still missing Momma Inko, Auntie Rei, Izuku, Kouji, and Katsuki. Knowing them, Izuku and Katsuki had started tumbling around somewhere and had to get their hair and clothes fixed. That didn’t change the fact that they were going to be late if no one hurried up.
So Mina decided to take matters into her own hands.
“Dad-Sashi,” she asked carefully, bringing attention to herself. “Is it ok if I honk the car horn?”
“Why?”
“To make everyone inside go faster.”
Dad-Sashi seemed to think about it for a moment, before a mischievous smile took over his face. “Why not. Hop out and come honk it.”
Mina grinned wildly, leaping outside once the door was open and racing to the driver’s side door. Dad-Sashi scooted over to let her scramble into the seat. With a borderline manic grin on her face, she pressed down on the middle of the wheel.
Everyone jumped, but started giggling two seconds later. Mina leaned off the wheel, hoping it had worked. Dad-Sashi beeped it a few more times, yelling an apology to the neighbors over the noise.
The rest of their family came racing out a few minutes later. Mina buckled up again, and the adults double checked that they weren’t leaving anything (or anyone) behind.
With that, they were off towards the courthouse once again. Mina wondered if any of the people there would remember their names.
~~~~~~~~~~
Unlike some of his siblings, Izuku didn’t mind his fancy clothes, especially with how special today was. Kouji’s adoption day! He was still going to wear his red shoes though, because it was his favorite color and he refused to budge on that. Momma was ok with it so long as he didn’t go diving into bushes.
They learned that Mei didn’t like the type of fancy clothes Mina and Momo liked. Instead, she had on a pretty shirt and nice pants. Fuyumi even let her borrow a necklace! Izuku thought she looked plenty fancy, and made sure to tell her.
The car ride was loud, like it almost always was. Mei was quiet though. Izuku picked up on how she was fidgeting, and looked…sad, almost. Not quite sad really, and not jealous, just…something. A mix of emotions that he couldn’t untangle.
Getting into the courthouse itself was just like Izuku remembered, and so was waiting in the hall. The Urarakas came this time though! Ochako nearly tackled him in a hug. Instead of hitting the floor though, Izuku started floating, giggling as he clung to Ochako’s arms. He introduced her to Mei, which seemed to make her feel better for a bit.
She went back to not really talking though. Izuku was worried, but he didn’t know how to help. So he stuck by her side, silently giving her his support. Hopefully it was enough.
They were all eventually called into the courtroom. Izuku was excitedly watching from his seat, remembering the times they had been to this building for similar situations. All of his brothers and sisters meant so much to him.
Izuku started crying a few minutes in. Almost everyone else followed, to be fair. They all cried easily, especially on such a special day. Even Katsuki was sniffling. Momma and Dad were doing their best to keep their composure. They were succeeding too, for the most part at least.
When all was said and done, they all swarmed Kouji with tears in their eyes and smiles on their faces. Their giant family took up most of the room in a group hug. Izuku paused, a weird feeling settling in his chest, and turned to scan the room. Mei was there, standing off to the side. Her hands were pulled to her chest, and her expression kept shifting.
They swept out of the building before Izuku could say anything. The adults herded them towards the nearby restaurants, separating into groups based on who wanted to eat what. Izuku pitied the poor souls who watched their massive party split off and swarm almost every nearby eating place.
He followed Dad, Keigo, and Mei to a restaurant that smelled like chicken. Izuku knew he would just end up snacking off of everyone’s plates anyway, but he wanted chicken nuggets. The line wasn’t too long thankfully. Dad and Keigo were talking about a hero in America. That wasn’t what Izuku was focused on though. He kept glancing over at Mei. Keigo had taken her hand, a wing almost seeming to shield her from behind. She was in good hands if Keigo was with her. Some of Izuku’s worry fizzled away.
They moved up in the line, quiet chatter filling his ears. That was when Izuku saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned, and saw a tall man tapping Mei on the shoulder. She turned, and froze like a jackrabbit in torchlight. Izuku’s mind was screaming and thrashing that this man was bad bad bad and he saw so many details it nearly hurt.
The man was tall, towering over Mei. His hair was brown, nose crooked and obviously broken multiple times. He had some scars, burn ones from the look of it. Like Touya’s almost, but not from fire quite as hot. The man had a crazed look in his gray eyes. Just the way he held himself was making Izuku feel on edge, but he didn’t know why.
“HAHA I was right!” The man crowed, drawing attention to himself from the adults. “You’re that kid! The one that made gadgets for- uh, whatever their names were.”
“I- I don’t know who you’re talking about,” Mei stuttered, edging closer to Keigo and Dad. Izuku felt himself bristle and move forward. Mei didn’t act like this. She never did. Something was wrong.
“Can I help you?” Dad asked, using his intimidating voice.
“Ah, nah. Just recognized this kid here. Related to some of my old friends, you see,” the man answered smoothly. “Shame really. She abandoned them, ya know?”
“I didn’t-“ Mei’s voice cracked, as did Izuku’s heart. “I didn’t abandon anyone.”
“Then where are they, girlie? ‘Cause last I checked they were behind bars, with you still running around free.”
The man sneered down at Mei. She- she looked terrified. Izuku had never seen that look on her face. Not even when she had caught her shirt on fire because of an invention combusting. Not even when she had first met all of them.
Izuku moved without thinking.
“Leave her alone,” Izuku demanded, putting himself between them and glaring up at the man. “My sister doesn’t know you, so leave her alone.”
“Ah…sister? Maybe I was mistaken after all, but kid, just so you know?” The man paused, staring down at Mei and Izuku. “I hate liars.”
The man walked away, leaving the shop without food for some reason. Mei didn’t move until he was out of sight. Izuku noticed her subtle shaking, and how her hands were in fists so tight there would definitely be nail marks on her palms.
“Come on, let’s go meet up with the others,” Keigo grumbled, wings wrapping around the two of them like protective capes. “Hisashi can stay and get our food.”
Izuku nodded, hand brushing some of the red feathers. Keigo’s wings were fluffed up like a defensive bird. Together the three of them headed towards the next closest group, which had Momma, Touya, and Kouji. Keigo whispered to them what had happened. Mei’s gaze was locked on the floor.
They all ate in a big group instead of separately. Izuku sat next to Mei, waiting for her to say something. Keigo was on her other side, wing draped across the back of her chair. There wasn’t much they could do. In the meantime, they celebrated Kouji officially being a part of their family now.
Before long they were already headed home, chattering in the car once again. Half of them fell asleep on the way. Izuku didn’t though, and spent the time observing whoever was in the van this time.
Mei still hadn’t said a word.
The rest of the day went by quickly. They changed into comfy clothes, played some games, and watched TV. Keigo, Touya, and Fuyumi hung out for a while, but they eventually had to leave. Fuyumi had to get back to her job and university. Keigo had more hero things to work on, and Touya wanted to get a head start on one of his college projects.
They all had leftovers for dinner. Izuku snatched some of Katsuki’s fries, ducking around the table before he got a firecracker singeing his hair. The sun set in a blaze of blurry pinks and yellows. Clouds were rolling in, another thunderstorm probably. Izuku just hoped it didn’t hit until morning, so they could all be awake to comfort one another instead of a repeat of a few weeks ago.
Slowly, they all retreated to get ready for bed. Mei disappeared into her room, closing the door. Izuku was worried for her, but he let it go for now. He wouldn’t force her to talk. She would tell them if she wanted to.
They all curled up on their big bed. Katsuki and Mina were in their big cuddle pile tonight, all of them gathered around Kouji. The middle was the warmest and comfiest, so that’s the spot their new official brother got. Izuku settled in with his pillow and blanket, knowing he would wake up with his pillow across the room somehow and at least one sibling laying on him.
He closed his eyes, and found he couldn’t sleep. Everyone else was already asleep, even Hitoshi, but he just couldn’t. The soft breathing of his sibling usually calmed him, but tonight he was on edge. Tonight his ears were straining to hear something, anything, that was out of the ordinary.
The minutes ticked into hours. Probably, they only had one clock in the room and Shouto had moved enough to block it a while ago. Izuku still couldn’t sleep. Not even holding still and breathing deeply had kept him out for more than a few minutes.
Something is wrong, his mind screeched.
Izuku eventually got tired of it. He carefully extracted himself from the cuddle pile, quietly making his way downstairs. He glanced down the hall, more out of habit than anything, and saw Mei’s door was open. That made him pause. It had been closed when they went to bed, right?
More cautious than before, Izuku crept down the hall. He stayed light on his feet as he peered inside Mei’s room.
It was empty. There was practically nothing to light up the inside with it being so dark outside, but he could see enough.
Her bag was gone. The torn and tattered one that was held together by thread. It was usually right next to her bed, but it was gone now. So were some of Mei’s inventions, and almost all of her tools.
Mei was gone.
Izuku silently rushed down the stairs. Her shoes were gone too. The front door was locked, but a quick look told him the backdoor wasn’t. She had probably gotten over the fence somehow. Not hard to accomplish with some of her gadgets.
He had to do something. Izuku stood in the living room, eyes flickering between the front door and the stairs. He couldn’t leave Mei to wander around by herself for long, but he should tell his parents.
He should…
…but…
Izuku made his choice.
He threw on his shoes, and sprinted out the front door, turning in the direction of the city.
He would find his sister, and bring her home. No matter what it took.
Notes:
Catch me dodging writing dialogue for the adoption because I forgot what the judge said for my siblings because I was crying too much (so was everyone else to be fair)
I may have added that “toddler let loose on a spool of thread” metaphor out of spite because a little sibling of mine got into a spool of thread and unraveled half of it
Next chapter!: Mei's POV, a vigilante crumb, and after that (so ch 59) is a chapter of just pure chaos :D
Have a good day/night!! I love you!!
Chapter 58: Turning Gears
Summary:
Mei runs away, and Izuku finds her. And a little tidbit of information at the end that I've been patiently waiting to reveal :D
Mind the warnings for this chapter though
Notes:
HELLO MY FRIENDS
MY FINALS ARE OVER HALLELUJAH!! I’m going to try and get a chapter out next week too, but we’ll see how that goes. My family is attempting to drag me on a trip despite the horrid timing -__-
(also Mei’s song is Gasoline by Halsey and I listened to it while writing and editing this, have fun!)
Warnings: Feeling of worthlessness and abandonment in this chapter, as well as knocking someone out
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
They didn’t need her.
That sentence, those four words, ran on a whispered mantra in Mei’s head. Thoughts and phrases flashed through her stained-glass mind. They scared her, if she was being honest. But she deserved them. She was a villain’s kid. A betrayer. A runaway. That was all she would ever be.
She thought that might change, living with the Midoriyas. That she could become more than what she had been. That she could be safe for once, and have a home. That maybe her past could fade into oblivion. It had been too much to hope for.
Mei had recognized the man in the restaurant. It was someone her aunt and uncle had brought around a few times. He was a villain, one that stole and hurt and caused destruction for the fun of it. She didn’t know his backstory and didn’t particularly want to. Not when just being near him was dangerous.
He would be after her now, Mei knew. Even if he wasn’t the most talented at tracking people down, he probably knew someone who was. She could easily list his crimes to the police. She could easily turn him in, and that meant she was a liability to the villain. Liabilities hardly ever lasted long on the streets.
The man would be coming for her, and Mei…Mei couldn’t let anyone else get hurt. Especially because of her. The Midoriyas were a family. A family she wasn’t a part of. As much as she hoped and wished and prayed to a god she had never heard the name of, it wouldn’t change the fact none of them would think of her as family too. They had each other. She was a freeloader. A kid Keigo had dragged in then dumped on them.
They didn’t need her.
But she couldn’t let them get hurt. No matter what they thought or did, she couldn’t. The Midoriyas had been kind to her. They had shown her more care and kindness than Mei had ever experienced before. If nothing else, she wanted to keep them safe. She couldn’t let them be put in danger because of her.
So she left. In the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep, she left. Packed her tattered backpack and took off for her old base. There were traps there she could still use. It would take a while, but she might be able to make it out of Musutafu before anyone even saw her. Mei had avoided people for so long. She could do it again.
It was the middle of the night now. Hardly anyone was out because of that, and the ones that were had an eighty-twenty chance of being someone shady. Mei stumbled along, only aware of the concrete beneath her swiftly moving feet and the addresses passing in different shades of shadow. At least she had proper shoes this time. And clothes not covered in oil or patched so much that they looked like a badly made quilt.
She should have expected this. It always happened, didn’t it? People left. They always left her, no matter if they were good or bad. Mei hardly remembered the person who had given her an actual name, only that they were dead now.
The Midoriyas had seemed different, but they left her alone. In the face of Kouji’s adoption day, whether purposeful or not, they had swept her to the side. They still gave her attention, of course. Positive attention that she hadn’t had even at the best times before. They made sure she ate and had water and slept at least a bit. It was still better than when she had been with villains.
So then why did Mei feel…bad. She couldn’t place the exact emotion. It curled in her gut, writhing like a snake and burning until she couldn’t ignore it. And it didn’t go away. She hated it. She hated that she felt like this, especially when everyone was so happy. It felt wrong and Mei just wanted to be happy like everyone else.
Kouji’s adoption day had been great for everyone else. It was only her that felt this way, she was sure of it. This family, the wonderful Midoriyas, had grown by one. Only one. Kouji was a legal part of them now, and she wasn’t.
Mei wasn't jealous of him. He was happy, something she knew he deserved. It wasn’t his fault they were ignoring her. That they had been for a while now. It was no one’s fault but Mei’s own that she was quiet. That she isolated herself to prevent the pain she expected to come.
Clouds had already rolled in, blocking the moon and stars. Mei just hoped it didn’t start raining until she reached her base. Being soggy was no fun, and it slowed her down.
As her feet guided her, Mei’s mind wandered. She remembered what had happened over the last few weeks- no, months. It had really started when Hawks arrested her aunt and uncle.
She had ran after that. When her relatives other friends had been distracted. Her bag was something she had scrounged up weeks before, and kept with the excuse of needing it for her tools. It had been for most of her tools, to be fair, but its main purpose was for when she left. Every invention, every tool or part, was packed up and taken with her. Mei wouldn’t allow anyone to use them for bad things ever again.
That’s the only reason she was kept around: to make things. Traps and weapons and anything “useful.” Mei was given food, water, and shelter in exchange for her inventions. If they weren’t what was wanted…she didn’t want to dredge up those memories.
Loud voices and slamming metal still terrified her.
Escaping had let her make whatever she wanted, because she genuinely did enjoy crafting things, and living with the Midoriyas hadn’t changed that. It had been fun. Mei had seen herself improve a lot in a short amount of time. But it couldn’t stay the same. They were better off without her anyway.
Her pace didn’t slow, even as thunder rolled over and she felt like her limbs would freeze up. Mei kept going, ignoring it all. She just had to get back to her base, and she’d be fine. She’d be safe. She would…she’d be alone again.
That’s what it always came back to.
Mei didn’t let her steps falter, even as her eyes grew heavy and she remembered it was closer to sunrise than sunset. Her eyes refused to stop blurring, but she kept walking. No longer running, but still moving. She had to keep moving.
But sleeping for a bit didn’t sound so bad. Some rest would be nice. The streets were empty, and would be for a while. The alleyways were abandoned. Dangerous, but less risky than parents made them out to be. Mei would be fine for a bit. Just a small nap, until she was awake enough to pay better attention.
She slipped into an alley, stumbling as her pace slowed. Mei hid behind a dumpster, pulling her bag over herself like a makeshift blanket. Better than nothing. It wasn’t that cold out anyway.
Her eyes were closed before she could think anything else.
~~~~~~~~~~
Izuku really only had an idea of where Mei might be headed. He took off in the direction of where she had said her old base was. She had told them about it before, how some of the traps had looked and where it was. None of them had ever expected to use the information she had given them, and yet here he was.
His pace had hardly slowed the entire time. Izuku was used to it, so he focused everything he had on scanning his surroundings as he ran. Mei had to be somewhere. She could have only gone so far.
A crash down an alley drew his attention, and Izuku skidded to a stop. He crept to the mouth of the alley and looked into the darkness.
Izuku bit his tongue to stop himself from making a sound. Mei, he had found Mei. She was on her side, patchwork bag clutched to her chest. A man was standing over her. His hand was raised, metal scraps levitated up towards it.
Izuku’s mind kicked into overdrive, analyzing the situation. Probably a magnetic quirk, since it was only metal that lifted. Guided by hand movements most likely. The man was tall and obviously had at least some muscle. Izuku really wasn’t a match for him. A grown man with a magnetic quirk and lack of moral compass, against a kid who could think fast. It wouldn’t exactly be a fair fight.
He hadn’t noticed Izuku yet though. Eager for that to remain true, he ducked behind the dumpster a few feet away. It looked slightly crumbled, as did the wall above it. Izuku chose to ignore the implications of that for now, and turned back to the man and Mei.
“I knew I would find you,” he crowed triumphantly, kicking at the bag. Mei hardly moved, but the man cursed. Right, her tools were in there. “Nothing personal, ya know? You just know too much, girlie.”
The bag levitated from Mei’s grip. Well, it tried to. She clung to it with all her strength, and it ended up pulling her back to her feet. Mei stood on shaking legs, staring up in terror at the villain. Izuku saw regret in her eyes. Her gaze swept the alley, searching for anything that could get her out of this.
Mei’s eyes landed on Izuku. She froze, mouth half open as if to yell for him to leave. The villain prevented her from that. He shoved her off the bag and to the ground.
Izuku saw red, and he was moving before he knew what was happening.
He closed the distance with footsteps he didn’t bother to keep quiet. The villain turned, just in time to get a fist to his face. Izuku had to leap to reach, but he didn’t care. All he focused on right now was protecting Mei. Protecting his sister. He had been training and practicing for this.
“OW, FUCK.”
Izuku hit the ground, and immediately went to sweep the man’s feet out from under him. He stumbled back, but didn’t fall. Too big, Izuku realized. He miscalculated.
“Fuck off, kid!” The villain barked, lashing out at Izuku.
He leapt back, a look of concentration on his face. Everyone had weaknesses, he just had to find this villain’s. If he watched for long enough then he would find it. Mei was to the side, staring with wide eyes and holding her bag. She was ok though, and that was all that mattered.
The villain rolled his shoulders, moving his hand like he was controlling a marionette. Metal scraps rose to his command. Izuku didn’t move an inch.
“Look, you’re a shrimpy little kid,” he said. “Leave right now and nothing happens. I can’t go back to jail, and the greasy one can send me there. I’m not here for you.”
Izuku stared the villain in the eyes. “I know. And that’s why I won’t let you hurt her.”
(Mei watched Izuku face the villain, and couldn’t helping thinking the moonlight made his hair look like a halo)
The man growled, before swinging a punch at Izuku. It was sloppy. His hand was curled the wrong way. It was balanced wrong and the punch was easy to avoid.
The following stomp aimed at Izuku’s leg though, was not.
He yelped, stumbling away on a hopefully-not-broken leg. Probably just bruised, but it still hurt. A lot. Moving would be harder, but he didn’t care. Within another second he had his fists up again.
“So that’s how it’s going to be, huh?”
The villain flung both hands forward, curling them into claws. Izuku heard the screeching of metal, and turned to see the dumpster from before. It was sailing towards him at a speed guaranteed to break things. In the flash of a second, he was faced with his own mortality. He was faced with the idea that maybe- maybe he wouldn’t be going back home tonight.
And in the face of death, he refused.
Izuku snarled like a feral animal, donning an expression to match. His green eyes flashed as he dove forward towards the man. The dumpster’s path changed, zeroed in on him just like Izuku thought. There wasn’t much time.
He may be small, but Izuku knew he could move fast. He knew where to hit and how to win. In theory. But theory was better than nothing.
The dumpster followed him as he ran to the side. Izuku saw the villain smirk. It melted though, the second he realized where both Izuku and his weapon was headed.
A vicious right hook slammed under the villain’s jaw. He went down, Izuku falling with him. The dumpster flew over their heads, crashing into the opposite wall with enough force to nearly break through it. The dust began to settle as the alley fell silent once more.
Izuku scrambled off the now-unconscious man, and let himself breathe. He was ok. He wasn’t dead. His leg hurt like hell now that he wasn’t just focused on staying alive, but besides that he was ok.
Jesus christ he had just knocked a villain unconscious in an alleyway.
Izuku almost felt like laughing. He got to his feet, and near-instant regret flooded his system. His leg felt like it was burning, but he bit his tongue, and limped over to Mei. She still hadn’t gotten up off the floor.
He offered his hand to her, smiling through the pain. “Are you ok?”
Mei hesitated, hand halfway outstretched. “I…I abandoned you. Why- why did you…why did you come for me?”
“Because,” Izuku said softly, pulling her to her feet. “you’re a part of our family, and we don’t leave our family to fend for themselves.”
“But…I left. I left you all and I haven’t- I haven’t done anything to give back for what you’ve done and I-“
Izuku opened his arms, silently offering a hug. Mei paused, then dropped her bag and surged forward. Tears hit Izuku’s shoulder before any sound did. Tears of fear and relief and pain. She had been terrified, both for herself and him.
“No one left behind,” Izuku said, like he had many times before. “It’s a promise. We won’t leave you, Mei. If we did anything to make you think otherwise, tell us, and we’ll fix it. We want you with us, and we care about you.”
“But I- I haven’t- you haven’t-“
“Even if you never left your room, you would still be our sister. We don’t care about that, Mei. You are amazing, and nice, and we don’t want you to run away. Please, please stay.”
A second passed. Then Mei nodded into his shoulder, and Izuku smiled. He leaned down and grabbed her bag, only slightly hissing at the pain in his leg.
“Hey, no, you’re hurt,” Mei said, grabbing his arm and settling it over her shoulders. “If- if we’re going ho- home, then I’m not letting you collapse on the- on the way.”
Izuku blinked, and couldn’t help his smile from growing brighter. He let himself lean on Mei, taking weight off his leg. Together, they limped out of the alleyway. The streets were still empty. Mei’s bag was slung over Izuku’s back, her shoulders occupied by Izuku’s arm.
“Why- why did you run in like that?” Mei whispered, confusion lacing her words.
“Because you were in danger. I won’t run away when someone is hurting, especially if that person is my family.”
“But you could have gotten hurt too,” she pointed out. “The smart thing would’ve been to call for help.”
“Police and heroes are too slow,” Izuku hummed. “Also, I don’t have a phone. I was close, and had to do something. And…it was almost like I moved without meaning to. I don’t regret it though.”
Mei was staring at him again, this time with a hint of awe. Izuku focused on not falling, but his grin stayed softly in place.
“I think…I think you really are like a vigilante.”
Izuku jolted, head whipping to the side to look incredulously at Mei. She hardly batted an eye, watching where they were going. Something in his heart sparked at those words.
“…why not a hero?” He asked quietly.
“Heroes don’t care about the villains in back alleys,” she answered confidently. “They make their fights public with flashy moves and too much power. Popularity is most important to them, because that’s how they get more money. Getting money for the job is fine, but being a hero for only the money and fame isn’t being a real hero.”
“What about underground heroes?”
“They’re just vigilantes with a card that says police can’t arrest them. Most of them are better, but some are just as bad or worse.” Mei glanced back at him for a moment. “Would you ever consider being a vigilante?”
“I…I don’t know. Maybe. I want to be a hero, and I don’t want to be running from police all my life, but…someone needs to help. I want to be a hero like that.”
“Well, I think you’re already like a hero. By your definition at least. You ran in only trying to help, and you actually did. You’re a good one.”
“I couldn’t leave you to get hurt,” Izuku insisted.
“Exactly,” she laughed, the sound starkly loud in the quiet not-quite-dawn. “This isn’t the safest city. Nowhere is super safe, but there are tons more villains here than other places. We need someone like you, hero or otherwise.”
“Oh. And…you don’t want to be a hero?”
“No. Even if I wanted to save people like you, I like tech more.”
“It’s very good tech. You care about them a lot.”
“I know how to make things, and…and that’s one of the only things I’m good at, but they’re my babies.”
“You’re good at a lot of things though,” Izuku protested. “You can make machines, and sew, and are really good at getting onto the roof.”
“Wh-“
“You’re sneaky, but not that sneaky.”
“No, you’re just too smart.”
Izuku coughed out a laugh. He had seen Mei climbing the trellis outside her window a few times, usually with some sort of machine in hand. Momma or Dad had never stopped her, so he assumed it was ok.
They hobbled in silence for a while, Izuku guiding them home. He could tell Mei was thinking about something. She wasn’t scowling though, so hopefully it wasn’t something bad. Izuku didn’t want to break her concentration in any case.
The streets were lined with houses when she spoke up again. The sun was rising, haloing the world in golden light. The storm had passed by overhead. Birds sang their chirped notes into the dew. Izuku had always liked this time of day. Though not usually this early.
“Do you know what you want your hero name to be?” Mei asked softly, as if she was afraid to break the tentative morning quiet.
“I have a lot of All Might themed ones,” he chuckled. “But, I’ve always liked something like Schematic or Database.”
“Oh yeah, because of your analysis quirk, right?”
“Yep! Well, I think I would’ve liked them anyway. I…I don’t know how much my quirk affects me, but I’d like to think I’d still be smart without it.”
“Well what- what about…a vigilante name?”
Izuku hesitated, blinking over at Mei, and thought for a second.
“Hm, I think Kitsune is a good name. They’re strong and smart, and I want to be that, so I can protect my family.”
Izuku could’ve sworn he heard Mei whisper “I can work with that.”
Notes:
I kinda felt like some of what Mei thought and said didn't fully match up, so I figured I would explain it real quick. She's been raised to equate her participation in things (building, sometimes talking, etc) to her worth and how likely she is to be kept around. The Midoriya kids were giving her space, because that's what they thought she wanted, and Mei isolated herself more thinking they didn't want her. Bunch of miscommunication there, but they're kids. Izuku understands this after they talk, and goes on to explain it to his siblings.
Anyway! I hope you guys enjoy the holidays!! Christmas has always been one of my favorite holidays, and even with covid I'm excited for this year. No matter what holiday you celebrate, or if you don't celebrate one, then I hope you have a good week!! I love you!!
Next chapter!: Crack. It's mostly just crack. Two kids run from what's basically mall security. Touya becomes a cryptid. Izuku freaks a pro out and I use a social media format for the first time so we'll see how that goes
Chapter 59: We’re Going to Jail
Summary:
The family goes to a hero convention. It goes about as well as you would expect it to
Notes:
HELLO LOVELY PEOPLE HAPPY NEW YEAR
Sorry this wasn't up last week!! There's no real nice way to put it, but depression got the better of me for a while. I'm mostly good now though! Winter break definitely didn't go how I wanted it to, but at least 2020 is over :D
Please note that I have never been to a convention before. I’m taking guesses based on what I’ve seen and bending it to fit the story. So hopefully I got at least decently close! I had the time of my life writing this, so enjoy the chaos! Most of it is just me seeing how much crack I can cram into one chapter, which may have ended up being over 4 thousand words
Also please make sure to read the end notes of this chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Izuku couldn’t bring himself to regret his decision, even if he did get scolded as soon as they were back home. Momma and Dad had been standing in the living room arguing over what to do first. They stopped the second Mei and him walked in, instantly switching to both lecturing and crying over them being safe.
Dad called the police to tell them where the villain was. Hopefully he was still unconscious, since Izuku hadn’t had anything to tie him up with. He felt a kind of vindictive satisfaction at having knocked the man out in the first place.
For all their scolding, Momma and Dad weren’t as mad as he expected them to be. Izuku was still definitely grounded, but it could be worse. And he hadn’t missed the almost proud looks his parents shot him. Though it gave way to more worry when they saw how Izuku was limping.
Momma drove him to the hospital to make sure his leg wasn’t broken. Mei came along too, just to make sure she was ok after everything. Dad stayed home since everyone else was still asleep. Izuku could ignore the pain in his leg, which hopefully meant it wasn’t too bad. He would have bruises though, he knew that much.
A few hours later they were on their way back home again. Mei had snuck out some tongue depressors to mess with in the car. Good news was his leg wasn’t broken! And Mei hadn’t broken anything either! Bad news was that he was still very much grounded and told to not do anything strenuous for a week at least. Izuku was honestly just sad he wouldn’t get to practice his fighting and tumbling.
Once home, they were practically mobbed by family. Momma scooped Izuku up before he could get trampled though, holding him just out of reach despite his siblings’ protests.
“Mommaaaaa,” he whined. “Put me down please!”
“You were told to stay off that leg, mister. You can sit on the couch and then get smothered in hugs.”
Izuku sighed dramatically, grinning all the while, and let his mom set him on the couch without protest. His siblings surrounded him the moment he was within reach. Mei muscled her way into the seat next to him, glaring at anyone who got too close like a small body guard.
“Zu, what happened?” Hitoshi asked worriedly.
“We woke up and you were gone!” Mina cried.
The room fell quiet after a moment, letting Izuku speak. “I beat up a villain because he was going to hurt Meimei.”
“Meimei?” Said person asked.
“You’re a part of our family, so you get a nickname. I can call you something else if you like.”
“No, no it’s fine. I’ve never had a good nickname.”
“Ok then!” Izuku chirped, smiling brightly despite the story he was telling. “Mei ran away, because we met a villain that knew her the other day and a few other reasons that aren’t mine to share. I followed her into the city and found the villain with her, so I beat him up and we came home.”
“He kicked Izuku,” Mei added. “But then Izuku punched him.”
“Why does it sound like you’re downplaying this whole thing,” Natsuo said, still rubbing his eyes from sleep.
“He may have tried to throw a dumpster at me.”
“I should have bit him.”
“He would’a deserved it.”
“What the fuck is happening.”
Momma sighed, grabbing their attention. “You can all hear about it later. In the meantime, Izuku is grounded for not telling us he was going after Mei. We’re all staying home today. Any questions?”
Momo raised her hand like they were in class. Momma cracked a grin, nodding for her to go ahead. “Are we still going to the convention next week?”
“Yes, we are. Izuku will be ungrounded and able to walk by then.”
Momo nodded happily, settling on the floor near Izuku. The rest of them were nearby in some way. Mei was closest though, almost pressed against his side. She wasn’t shy about closeness now it seemed. Someone saving your life tended to have that effect, Izuku guessed.
Well, it could have been worse. At least they were still going to the hero convention for his birthday!
“Oh, Mei,” Dad said, catching all of their attention. “I almost forgot, but your room has been getting pretty banged up from your inventions, right?”
“Yes?”
“Alright. What would you say if I gave you the shed?”
Mei practically had stars in her eyes. She was nodding vigorously, babbling a mile a minute about all the things she would create with the extra room. Dad happily added to it with his own ideas. Izuku watched, beaming despite the fact that his leg still hurt.
They were a family, and real families stuck together. Blood didn’t matter. And it looked like Mei understood that now.
~~~~~~~~~~
Touya was standing out front of the convention center, waiting for his family to arrive. Any second all of them would get there, and Touya would be swarmed by kids. He was honestly looking forward to it. Fuyumi was the only one that wouldn’t be in the gaggle of people, since she had work she couldn’t get out of. Besides that, both cars were packed to the brim.
The hero convention was something Izuku had wanted to go to since he learned it existed. Touya and Keigo had been contacted by the organizers for this year, asking them to speak on a panel or two. They had both been surprised, Touya doubly so since he wasn’t an active hero at the moment, but agreed on the condition that their family got in free. The organizers had thankfully agreed. Apparently they had seen a slew of ridiculous requests before, and theirs was nowhere near the top of that list.
There was a lot to do at the convention, as Touya learned. Panels, information speeches, meet and greets, artist alley, and just generally a ton of people cosplaying. Some other heroes were wandering the floor too. They were having fun meeting fans that recognized them, and also doubled as backup security.
It was busy, but bearable for now. Keigo was occupied with talking to some fans inside. It was easy to recognize him, so Touya had been expecting it. Not exactly hard to spot bright red wings. He just hoped his boyfriend got a chance to actually relax and see the convention outside of their panel.
Keigo had been extremely busy lately. Something about a villain spike and the Commission breathing down his neck, still trying to control him. Touya didn’t know the specifics—it was a topic Keigo rarely kept with for more than a few minutes—but he knew enough.
He swore if the Commission tried to hurt his boyfriend more than they already had, there would be some very crispy buildings in the near future.
Touya’s phone buzzed, grabbing his attention. It was Natsuo, saying that they were parking. Also a plea for help because the smaller ones were already yelling and trying to unbuckle. Touya just laughed and started scanning the parking lot for his family. It wouldn’t exactly be hard to spot them once they were out of the cars.
And it wasn’t. Touya quickly spotted them walking towards him. Once they got close enough he had to cover his laughter, because he could finally see what was on their shirts.
Everyone, Hisashi included, had a shirt that said “If lost return to Inko.” Inko had one that said “I am Inko.” His mom had a normal t-shirt on, but that did nothing to dull the hilarity of it.
“Aniki!” Cheered at least three of the small kids.
Touya crouched down, catching the ones diving at him. Izuku skittered onto his back without hesitation. Mina and Shouto nearly tackled him, but he managed to stay on his feet. The rest of them practically mobbed Touya, cheering his name and sneaking in a hug or two.
“Ok, ok! Who’s ready to go inside!” He said, hyping up the already excited children. Touya mentally apologized to the three adults.
Loud cheering met his words. Touya led the way into the convention center with Izuku clinging to his back and a child hanging off of each arm. He knew the parents were taking pictures behind them. Nonetheless, the gaggle of children happily skipped after him.
Most of the kids stopped to stare once they walked through the doors. Touya chuckled at their awestruck expressions, especially Izuku’s. His head was whipping around to take in everything, stars in his eyes and thoughts probably going a mile a minute. Touya just hoped it wasn’t too overwhelming for him.
“Aniki, where are we going first?” Izuku asked almost reverently.
“Hm, what about we see what panels are when before mine, and then we can work from there?”
“Ok!”
Touya led the march, with what probably looked like a small field trip trailing behind him. They were buddied up, so he knew there was less of a chance for them to get lost. One of the other adults would notice if someone wandered away too.
Touya pulled up the schedule on his phone before handing it up to Izuku. They wandered the floor while he listed what was when, and the siblings all named what they wanted to see most. It was semi-organized. Izuku would probably remember what was being said. If he didn’t, then Touya saw Uncle Hisashi making notes on his phone.
Aunt Inko walked up beside him, looking over the schedule too. “Hm, seems there’s a bit of overlap. Would you be ok with splitting into groups?”
“Yeah, we can do that. Keigo will probably check on us at some point, but he’s busy getting mobbed by fans right now.”
“We should grab him and run,” Mei suggested.
“Touya, why don’t you take Mina and Katsuki,” Inko said calmly. “Rei and Natsuo can take Momo, Kouji, and Shouto. Hisashi and I will take Izuku, Hitoshi, and Mei.”
“Sound good, Aunt Inko. Alright squirt, off my head.”
Izuku giggled as he was put back on the ground. He immediately grabbed Inko’s hand, calling for the sibling going with him. For still being young, he was good at getting others to listen to him.
“Aniki! Where are we going first?” Mina chirped, skipping alongside him.
“Hm, I was thinking either some of the tables to meet people or try and find some heroes in costume.”
“Heroes,” Katsuki said, falling into step on Touya’s other side. “And then tables.”
“Sounds like a plan!”
Mina dodged to his other side, grabbing Katsuki’s hand as she looked around at everything. Touya made sure to keep an eye on them, but for the most part trusted they’d stay nearby. Compared to Izuku right now, the two honestly seemed slightly chill. Which was a first for them.
Touya wondered how many heroes Izuku would stop out of costume and ask for their autograph, and just how many of them would be freaked out because of it. He was looking forward to seeing the internet carnage of it.
~~~~~~~~~~
Everything was just. So. Cool!
Izuku was ecstatic! So many heroes. So many people who were dressed up as heroes. There was a lot of stuff even for people who didn’t particularly like heroes. He insisted they attend the support industry panel for that exact reason. It was only fair to Mei, since there was so much hero stuff around them.
They were supposed to head to artist alley, but Izuku may have gotten a bit sidetracked. What was he supposed to do? Just ignore the chance to ask for an autograph from Best Jeanist?
Izuku ran up, notebook and pen held tightly in hand, and tapped on the man’s arm. He turned and looked down to see Izuku’s near blinding smile. “Can you sign my notebook please?”
“…you recognize me?”
“Yeah!” Izuku exclaimed, but made sure to keep his voice low. “You don’t wear a mask in costume, your movements are almost the same, and you’re still wearing jeans even though it’s summer, Mr. Jeanist.”
“Huh, good job, kid. And thanks for not drawing too much attention to me. Here, let me sign that.”
Izuku jumped on his toes as Best Jeanist signed his notebook. Best Jeanist. He couldn’t believe it!
Momma stood a few feet away, waiting for him to come back. Dad was telling Mei and Hitoshi they could only take one map. Izuku thanked Best Jeanist, still beaming, and scurried back to his parents.
He wondered what his other siblings were doing right now.
~~~~~~~~~~
How the fuck did he manage to lose two children.
They were there two seconds ago. He swore they were there, and now they weren’t. How the hell did two kids just disappear into thin air? Yeah there were a lot of people, and a lot of heroes so they were at least decently safe, but how did they leave his sight so quickly?
So now Touya was running around like a chicken with his head cut off. People gave him slightly weird looks, but he really couldn’t care less. Not when he was going to be dead if he actually lost his little siblings.
~~~~~~~~~~
Mina didn’t know how Katsuki disappeared so quickly, she truly didn’t. Short as they may be still, he was loud. Really, really loud. Touya hadn’t noticed yet either. She had no idea when Katsuki had disappeared, just the one second he was walking beside her, and the next second he wasn’t.
She had to get him back before Touya noticed. If he did, then they probably wouldn’t ever be allowed to come back to the convention! Or go anywhere in the near future for that matter. So Mina snuck off after Katsuki, hoping she had picked the right direction.
Judging by the yelling she heard not a minute later, she had. Katsuki’s screeching was very distinct. Maybe it was just because he was her brother, but she would know it anywhere. Mina followed it like a bloodhound on a scent.
What she saw was Katsuki yelling angrily up at someone who…was perched up on a windowsill? How did they even get up there? They were actually dressed like All Might, and jeering down at Katsuki.
Oh no.
“I’ll show you ‘small,’ motherfucker!”
Mina watched as her brother took flight. He was getting better at it, even if he was still wobbly and prone to careening into the grass. There was no wind here though, so there wasn’t too much that should throw him off course. Both a good thing for his safety and a bad thing for the person sitting up on the windowsill, who looked like they were seeing the devil rise from hell.
Katsuki screeched insults as he flew. People were yelling below him, both in worry and fear. Mina was torn between sighing and cackling. Oh Izuku was going to love this when she told him later.
Katsuki didn’t make it up to the windowsill before his sweat ran out. He realized it though, and safely touched down instead of crashing a full story to the floor.
Security almost immediately swarmed him. Which was…less than ideal. Mina edged closer, watching her brother duck and weave between adults. One managed to snag him though, and held him like a potato sack. A very angry, very loud potato sack. Katsuki cursed and writhed but the grip didn’t loosen. He eventually went limp, resigned to their aunts and uncle knowing about this.
Mina quietly followed after the security people. She acted like she knew where she was going, and no one questioned her. The adults marched towards the back of the building, Katsuki in tow.
Mina was suddenly very happy for her stealth. She crept around corners and hid behind things to stay out of sight. They stopped at a desk-room thing. Katsuki was brought into it, and sat in a chair. At least it wasn’t a real jail. Picking locks was harder than sneaking past guards.
The security people left Katsuki alone, paying attention to someone else sitting at the big desk thing. Mina snuck in, keeping her footsteps light.
“Psst. Psst, Katsuki,” she whispered.
Katsuki’s head whipped around. He stared at her for a second, before glancing at the adults in the room. Mina waved for him to come over. He silently slid off the chair and tiptoed away.
“What the fuck are you doing here,” he hissed, doing a horrible job of covering how relieved he was.
“Breaking you out,” Mina replied happily. “Come on.”
Katsuki paused before nodding, his competitive murder grin taking over his face. Mina copied it, the two of them looking just slightly deranged, and led the way. Together they slunk out of the room.
“Act like you know where we’re going,” Mina whispered.
“What, why?”
“Because no one will question us that way.”
Katsuki begrudgingly nodded, squaring his shoulder and following Mina back to where she had last seen Touya. Just like Mina guessed, hardly anyone gave them second glances.
They nearly crashed into Touya, who was speed-walking down the floor. He looked like a puppet with his string cut when he saw them. Mina chirped his name, grabbing his hand with her other one to pull the two boys farther into the building. The farther they were from the security desk, the better. Aniki didn’t need to know why.
Her plan was going off without a hitch. Until someone yelled for them to stop, that is. A security person popped out from the room-desk-thing, pointing at them.
“Run!” Mina squealed.
Touya hardly hesitated, scooping the two of them up and holding them under his arms like unruly toddlers. He took off at a breakneck pace, not even questioning why and probably assuming they needed to run before consequences hit them all over the head. Mina just giggled maniacally as they easily outran the person. Katsuki flipped them the bird where Touya couldn’t see.
They ran across half the convention center. Touya sprinting like his life depended on it, a kid under each arm and security officers falling farther behind. Mina wouldn’t be surprised if more security was called on them, simply because they probably looked like lunatics.
In summary, the convention was awesome.
~~~~~~~~~~
Presentation Microwave @presentation_microwave
Yo was I the only one to see that emo looking dude running down the convention center with security after him?
— Y’all Might @Mightymightve
I saw him near the food court with kids evil cackling under his arms??
Pink is a good color @y’allarejustmean
convention cryptid Convention Cryptid CONVENTION CRIPTID
Best Jeanist ✓ @best_jeanist
Are children getting smarter or did I just meet an omniscient being who can see into my soul
— Presentation Microwave @presentation_microwave
Dude, mood
~~~~~~~~~~
Hisashi felt the hair on his neck stand up. He looked around, and wondered what stupid thing his other kids were doing now.
Oh well, that could wait. He had to stop Mei from “improving” one of the support representatives machines first. And stop Izuku and Hitoshi from helping her. Of all the times for Inko to go check on Rei in the artist alley, now was not a great one.
~~~~~~~~~~
They all met up at Touya and Keigo’s panel. The two of them shared it with other heroes of course, but Rei was mostly just there for them. It had been relatively easy to guide the three children with her. Natsuo was old enough to wander by himself for a bit if he wanted. Momo, Kouji, and Shouto were easy to keep an eye on though. They all wandered around as a group, checking out the different art. Each of them got something, and Shouto begged her to get an All Might action figure for Izuku.
The rest of the kids would get their turn to wander around there, but right now it was time to pay attention to the two older boys. Keigo’s red wings were easy to spot on stage. Touya was sitting next to him, idly chatting with whoever was nearby. They would begin in a moment.
“Um, hello?” Keigo began, and the room broke into cheering. They quieted a second later. “Uh, wow, ok. Hello, I’m the pro hero Hawks if you didn’t know! We’re all here to talk about everyday hero things and answer questions. Sound good?”
Cheering greeted his question, making him smile. Rei grinned softly, knowing he was holding Touya’s hand under the table.
“Alright! First thing, we all have to say who we are. I already did that. Start from the left— our left—and we’ll go from there.”
All of the heroes there, five in total, introduced themselves. Touya said his hero name, and mentioned that he wasn’t active because of going to college. That got a few cheers, which seemed to surprise him.
“Ok then! Dabi, the first question is one you can answer best,” Keigo said. “Why do some heroes go to college before becoming full-time heroes?”
“Oh. Well, I don’t want to be only a hero,” her son answered easily. Rei was so proud of him. “My goal is to be a social worker on top of a hero. Villains aren’t the only ones we need to help, sometimes it’s the kids being taken from bad situations. I’ll be graduating in roughly two years.”
“Because you’re a workaholic who wouldn’t know rest if it bit you on the nose,” Keigo grumbled, which was probably not meant to be picked up by the mic.
“Anyway. Some heroes want to be more educated. Hero schools are oftentimes focused only on being heroes. Getting more education isn’t a bad thing. It’s actually shown that heroes who go to college on top of hero schools are less violent and have lower rates in pretty much every unwanted aspect.”
“Stuck-up bastard,” one of the other heroes muttered.
“Sorry my education is better than your bigotry,” Touya said with a sharp smirk. “Next question, Hawks?”
Keigo blinked, putting up his public persona again after staring at Touya with hearts in his eyes, before saying the next question.
Rei couldn’t help smiling, already anticipating the media storm that was going to follow her son and not-yet-son-in-law’s stunt.
~~~~~~~~~~
It was evening by the time they were leaving, and Hisashi was tired. Who knew chasing children around a convention center would be so exhausting.
Izuku had kept running up to people and asking for autographs. Lo and behold, all of them were heroes out of costume. The ones in costume were also asked for autographs. His son clutched the notebook to his chest with the biggest grin, and Hisashi couldn’t help smiling too.
Mei had tried hijacking multiple support representatives inventions. All on claims that they were doing it wrong. Most of them had been offended, but one had listened. Mei somehow managed to get their machine working. It had been an example of how sometimes inventions failed despite trial and error.
Mei walked out of that particular room with a business card and a gleam in her eyes. Hisashi had a feeling the shed was going to get a lot of use once. An inspired inventor was a prolific one.
Hitoshi trailed after the two of them. Until artist alley, in which case he scoured the entire room for underground hero memorabilia. He went home with more Eraserhead merch, which Hisashi hadn’t even been expecting to see there. Apparently the creator knew him, and was a professional designer. The next fifteen minutes were spent discussing Eraserhead and how cool he was.
Hisashi and Inko managed to drag them out of there eventually. They met up with the other two groups back in the main hall. Keigo had escaped his fans to join Touya, attempting to hide his wings under one of Touya’s oversized hoodies. It worked for the most part.
By now most of the kids were dragging their feet, both from tiredness and not wanting to leave. Mina was already asleep on Hisashi’s back. Shouto was only half awake and clinging to Rei’s hand. Hitoshi was leaning more on Inko than his own feet. Even Mei was yawning, and Hisashi knew she didn’t get tired easily.
Everyone piled into the cars, for once not debating on who got to sit where. Half of them were passed out not five minutes after they were buckled in. Hisashi drove the smaller car again, Natsuo groggily sitting in the passenger seat with Izuku and Mina in the back.
The ride was quiet, the radio playing softly in the background. Izuku was still awake, looking around with tired eyes. Hisashi caught his eye in the rearview mirror.
“Did you have fun today, buddy?”
“Yeah,” Izuku answered softly, a content grin on his face. “Thank you, Dad.”
“Anything for you kids. Happy birthday, Izuku.”
Notes:
First time trying to do a social media format! More or less a test for later when I use it more, because some idiot will give the vigilantes verified accounts. Sorry if it looks a bit weird, I don't have much time to refine it at the moment
Anyway! Thank you for reading the notes and my story <3
Unfortunately though, there won't be a chapter for the next week or two. I have two major projects I've been putting off that need a lot of time and attention, so I'll be working on those instead of writing. Same goes for my other fic if you read that one too (a chapter should be up for it later today too)Have a good day/night! I love you guys <3
Chapter 60: Something Old, Something New
Summary:
Small arc time! 3 chapters in this one. We have some angst, some fluff, and pretty sure I added crack in one of the later chapters. Have fun :)
Notes:
HELLO FRIENDS
Thank you all for being so patient <3 I finish my projects and am now just hoping I don't get buried beneath a mountain of work. January is somehow already halfway over?? Where did it go??So small disclaimer, I stretched some legal concepts in this one, but this world is my tapestry and I’m weaving each plot-thread as it comes into existence so Meh. Also I’m kinda proud of how this turned out? Writing-wise at least. I’m trying to add more imagery into my writing and I think it turned out ok! Also brain Did Not want to edit this so it’s now Sunday night when I’m posting despite the chapter itself being done for a full day now :p
WARNINGS: usually warnings that come with the Commission, so manipulation, gas lighting, and threats.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Today was a lazy day. AKA Touya had dragged Keigo to their couch for cuddles and laughing over people apparently shipping them. Ever since the hero convention, things had been popping up based on their ship. It had been dubbed either DabiHawks or Hotwings, for whoever actually knew Touya’s quirk. He was half convinced Keigo himself had spread the latter.
It was amusing though, to say the least. Especially since they had been together for around three years now. Rumi had already sent them a video—probably filmed by Fuyumi on one of their dates—of herself rolling on the floor cackling after seeing fanart of them.
Currently they were snuggling, Keigo’s head resting on Touya’s shoulder, watching as he scrolled through their ship tag. A lot of the art was cute, and someone even had a work-in-progress comic of them. Some of it however, was decidedly not PG.
“Well I could’ve gone my whole life without knowing that was a thing,” Keigo commented, shivering against Touya for a moment.
“Yep. Onto the fanfictions?”
“Onto the fanfictions.”
They spent a few minutes laughing over those, filtering the ones they wanted to avoid. Some were heart wrenchingly well done. There were also surprisingly many for their ship just becoming a big thing a few weeks ago. A few of everything might’ve been saved to their phones.
“How much you wanna bet that Rumi or Fuyumi wrote one of these?” Touya mentioned idly.
“That’s a bet I’d lose and you know it,” Keigo laughed. “How is she doing, by the way?”
“She’s having fun at her job. Talks with Rumi nearly everyday, so they’re good too. Apparently Aunt Inko had Mei try and hack her phone for practice.”
“Pffft, yeah, that sounds like the little Gadget Bird. Inko told me the rest of the kids are hooked on Bill Nye, Bob Ross, Mr. Rogers, and Steve Irwin now because of her too. Also that Mei’s been holed up in her ‘lab’ a lot recently though. Something about having a burst of inspiration. Last person who tried going in got whacked with her homemade security system. Packs a nasty punch.”
“Speaking from experience?” Touya quipped.
“Nah, I ducked it before. Less space in a shed doorway though.”
“Mm.”
It was quiet for a minute. A comfortable silence that the two of them enjoyed just as much as talking. Touya ran a hand through Keigo’s feather, smiling at the coos his boyfriend made like always. He acted like a purring cat when his wings were being preened.
Keigo’s phone buzzed, and he begrudgingly picked it up. Only to freeze in place for a moment, before getting up and retreating to their room. The sound of a door closing hallway echoed down the hall. Touya didn’t move, knowing there wasn’t much he would’ve been able to do anyway. There was only one call that could make Keigo react like that.
The Hero Commission.
So Touya stayed on the couch, scrolling through his phone still. He idly wondered how long it would take people to realize he was liking fanart of himself. Probably never, unless something was leaked, since his normal account was meant for shitposting instead of anything remotely official. It was still amusing to mess with people though. Especially since it gave him something to focus on instead of the muffled phone call happening in the other room.
Keigo eventually emerged, face blank in the way a pane of glass was. He quietly set his phone on the table. Cracks began to spread through his expression.
“Kei?” Touya said softly. “What happened?”
“…Commission,” he eventually said, breath shuddering in his chest. “They’re…They’re sending me on more missions now. I need…extra training, they said.”
Touya got up, opening his arms. Keigo didn’t hesitate to fall into them. His wings rose up to wrap around Touya, forming a feathery cocoon around the two of them. They swayed back and forth for a while, like an invisible tide was pushing and pulling them towards an intangible shore. Touya hummed a song Keigo liked, tracing nonsense patterns onto his back and shoulders.
Keigo’s breathing eventually evened out, and his heart stopped beating like a panicked sparrow. He didn’t loosen his grip on Touya’s shirt, but he did lift his head.
“Missions?” Touya prompted gently.
“Underground ones, or something like it. Surveillance, breaking into hideouts. I’m not…I’m not trained for those. I’m a flashy hero. Pretty unavoidable with my wings, but I try to help. Am I…am I not doing enough?”
“Hey, hey, you’re a good hero, Birdie. Better than a lot of other ones. Stealth isn’t…really your thing, yeah, but you can learn. Did…is the Commission pissed at you for something?”
Keigo was silent.
“Keigo?”
“My name.”
“What?”
“My name,” he repeated, slightly more panic lacing his words this time. “They found out I changed it the other day. Something- something about them not signing off on it. That my name is supposed to be Hawks and only Hawks. They were- they didn’t like it.”
“Well too bad, it’s your name now,” Touya grumbled, pulling Keigo closer again. “Anything else?”
“My handlers never forgave me for not taking the apartment they had chosen, and living with you. Pretty sure most of them don’t believe we’re together.”
“And do you think these ‘lessons’ will be dangerous?”
“I don’t know. Probably. But I can handle it. I’ll do the missions, and get back on track soon.”
“There’s my Birdie,” Touya chuckled, pressing a kiss to Keigo’s forehead. His boyfriend chirped contently.
They would get through this. Touya already hated the Commission. He almost hoped they gave him more of a reason to burn them to the ground. But he knew the price for that would be greater than the reward.
As long as Keigo was ok. That was all he cared about. So long as his boyfriend remained alright, the flames of hell would stay locked away inside his veins.
~~~~~~~~~~
Izuku noticed it first. Well, first out of everyone who wasn’t Touya. And probably the adults, but still.
Keigo was acting different. He slept more, and his feathers were messy more often than not. Whenever Touya and him came over a few of them helped Keigo preen his feathers, which was fun and Keigo liked it.
That wasn’t it though. His shoulders slumped like he had the weight of the world on them. And he began coming over with marks. Not cuts, but bruises and burns. Like rope burns and cement scrapes. They were bandaged up a lot, but sometimes Izuku caught glimpses of how bad they really were. It made his stomach churn.
Was that the price of being a hero?
Touya didn’t leave his side for long. Keigo liked to flop on the floor and let the kids do what they wanted with him, which usually involved seeing how many pigtails could fit in his hair. Touya joined in sometimes, and other times he just sat to the side, gently holding Keigo’s hand or fixing his feathers.
Sometimes, Keigo didn’t come with Touya when he usually did. Those were the days Aniki talked with Auntie Rei a lot. None of them knew why he was acting like that, but they tried to make treats for him every time. Hitoshi usually gave him a small bag of marshmallows for Keigo.
Izuku didn’t know what was going on, but he didn’t like it. Not when Keigo was a part of their family. Not when something, or someone, was hurting him.
But he was barely ten. What could he really do? No adults would truly listen to him, even with how smart he was. No one would believe him if he found something.
He couldn’t help his thoughts flashing back to what Mei had said.
~~~~~~~~~~
Keigo was getting tired.
The lessons were harsh. They pushed him to his limits every day, and messing up meant more repetitions. The yelling and snapping was wearing on him. After being away from it for a while now, he realized just how bad it had been when he was a kid.
He was getting stronger though, the only good thing to come out of this. And some of the underground heroes he was sent to work with were genuinely nice. Most of them listened when he said he was only being sent here because of the Commission. They took time to make sure he actually had the skills to not get himself killed in his new missions.
It was…hard, though. The things he saw made him realize just how deep-seeded villainy was. The cycle of repetition that made villains instead of helping civilians. The bad part of town was mostly just people who couldn’t afford anywhere else. When a person couldn’t afford to buy anything, they resorted to stealing, and were labeled villains.
It wasn’t right, and Keigo was tearing himself up over not seeing it earlier. He wanted to help. He really wanted to be able to do something. The Commission would never approve of it though. One mention of it and the sneers he received were answer enough for that.
There wasn’t much he could do right now either. His paycheck wasn’t especially big, his fanbase had only started to grow, and the only reason he was as high in the rankings as he was was probably because of Commission manipulation.
Touya said he would be able to do more eventually. Until then, he could take cues from the underground heroes on how to help. He was already patrolling some of the “bad” areas, which was more than a lot of heroes could say. Keigo just, he wanted to do more. He may have been raised to be a hero, but he wanted to be a real one, not what the Commission defined as one.
They still controlled him though. Even if he was a legal adult, they still controlled him. His pay, his hero license, basically everything. They still had to sign off on things of his. They were his legal guardians and controllers. He still had no idea how he had gotten his name changed without their approval. Moving in with Touya instead of the Commission-paid apartment had already put him on thin ice. Since then, he had just grown bolder on demanding they treat him better.
It hadn’t worked much, obviously, but Keigo wasn’t about to give up. Even if they worked him into the ground, he would keep going. He just…he just didn’t know how long it would last. How long he could last. Keigo would just have to hold out, and hope they let up soon.
It had to get better. Nothing lasted forever. It had to end eventually.
Right?
~~~~~~~~~~
A single day, a single conversation, can change someone’s life. Forever.
~~~~~~~~~~
Touya had been working at the kitchen table, typing away at his computer with papers scattered around him haphazardly. Keigo was out “training.” Just the thought of it made his lip curl. The Commission’s “training” for Keigo sounded more like military punishment. He had to run drills for hours on end, learn to multitask an extreme amount, and more that Touya knew he wasn’t hearing. There hadn’t been any potentially life threatening things yet, but Keigo came home every day burnt out and overstimulated.
Today though, he came home early. Touya could see the door open, and his boyfriend stepped in. He closed it quietly.
Something was wrong, he knew that almost instantly. Keigo hardly ever shut the door quietly. His wings were drooping to the floor, feathers dragging on the ground. That was something Keigo only did to ground himself when he was mentally checking out.
Something was wrong.
Touya got to his feet, meeting Keigo halfway. His mind was a blaring mantra of something is wrong something is wrong, which was not helping him focus. He reached out for Keigo, who grabbed onto his arms with a vice grip. His head hung low and his eyes didn’t leave the pattern of their floors.
“Keigo? Come on, Birdie, talk to me. What happened?”
His nails were digging into Touya’s arms a bit, but that was the last worry on his mind. All he cared about was how he could help. Keigo sucked in a breath through gritted teeth, and Touya waited for him to say something.
“The Commission,” Keigo choked out. “Th-they-they threatened to- t-to-“
“Breathe, Kei. I’m here, I’m not going anywhere, you have all the time in the world.”
“I- I don’t. Touya that’s the problem.”
“I don’t think I understand. Come on, couch. You look like you’re about to keel over.”
Touya guided Keigo to their couch, gently making him sit down. He settled lightly on the cushions, like he was ready to bolt. His wings were draped over the back, feathers splayed on the fabric and a few still hitting the floor. Slowly, his breathing evened out. For the most part, at least. It was good enough for now.
Slowly, the grip on Touya’s arms loosened.
“Are you better, Birdie?”
“Yeah, yeah I think- I think I can talk now.”
“Not if-“
“No, Touya, I…this is really important. I have- I have to tell you.” Keigo faltered, moving to fold his hands in his lap. Whether intentional or not, he was hiding his talons from view. “The Commission they- they…you know they still have power over me. It doesn’t matter h-how old I am, they still control me.”
Touya didn’t like where this was going, but he bit his tongue. Keigo needed him to listen. He just had to listen. He could do that.
“They don’t like that I moved in with you instead. They don’t like the idea of me dating, even outright deny I’m with you. And they hate that I changed my name. But then…then I ‘got an attitude.’ It’s why they sent me on the underground missions and gave me more training. I- I asked about helping the- helping some of the poorer parts. Programs and things like that. Vil- crime prevention. They…they didn’t like that either.”
Keigo took a deep breath. Touya copied him, forcing down the urge to march down and burn every Commission building to ashes.
“And- and they said that, if I didn’t want to listen, if I wasn’t going to, then they’d make me.” Keigo choked on his own words, and Touya felt his heart splinter. “Touya, they threatened to cut me off completely. No paycheck, my license revoked, my agency closed. They would forcefully move me out.”
Keigo looked up, and his expression made Touya’s heart hurt. His boyfriend shouldn’t have to go through this. Of everyone in the world, Keigo deserved it less than anyone.
“Can…they still do that?”
“Yes. They have the power, and they don’t- they don’t care, Touya. I’m just a pawn to them.”
Touya made sure his skin was still cool before reaching out and pulling Keigo into his arms. His boyfriend clung to him, hands fisting the back of his shirt. Tears began to drip onto his shoulder, but Touya couldn’t care less.
“You are more than a pawn,” Touya said quietly, but his voice was unwavering and furious. “You are so much more than that, Kei. You’ve already saved a lot of people, and you mean so much to them. We’ll- we’ll find a way out of this. I won’t let them take you.”
“But what can we do?” Keigo sobbed. “Touya I’m so scared they’re going to take me away. I don’t want to go back there. Please- please don’t let me go back.”
“I won’t, Birdie, I won’t. I promise. We just, need to figure something out. A way to make sure they have no legal power…over you…”
“Touya?”
“I…have a crazy, stupid, and horrible idea. One that you might hate me for in a minute.” Touya’s heart felt like it was going to burst out of chest. His breathes were shaky and stuttered. Oh god, was he doing this? “I was going to wait until I was done with college at least, maybe until you were more established as a pro. God this is probably a bad idea.”
“Touya, what are you…”
Touya got off the couch, pulling Keigo up with him. Standing now, he still held onto his boyfriend’s hands. His legs were shaking. This was still probably a very, very bad idea, but it was the only thing he could think of that would get Keigo out from under the Commission’s thumb.
Touya fell to one knee, still holding Keigo’s hands in his.
“This…isn’t really the time or place I wanted, but if it can get you away from the Commission, then so be it. Keigo Takami, would you marry me?”
Keigo was staring with a gaping mouth. Touya could almost see the cogs turning in his mind. He waited patiently. He would wait for Keigo forever if he had to.
“…why?” His boyfriend managed to croak out.
“Because I’ve loved you for what feels like eternity. I don’t have a ring, and we don’t have money for a wedding, but that’s not the point. You’re it for me Keigo, if you’ll have me. I want to keep you safe so much it hurts. And…getting married would give the Commission almost no power over you. Not without getting investigated. I’m not going to force you to do this. You can leave me, right now if you want to, no questions asked. I don’t- I don’t want to be the one to hold you down. I just-“
Keigo fell to his knees, sharply pulling Touya to him. His wings covered the two of them in crimson feathers. Touya extracted his arms to tentatively rest them around Keigo.
“…yes.” Keigo whispered.
“Yes?” Touya knew hope laced his words, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.
“Yes, you flaming idiot, I want to marry you. I don’t- I don’t have a ring either, but Touya I love you more than anything. You’ve been the one since first year. I don’t think I’ll ever want to leave.”
“Good, ‘cause I’m not going anywhere.”
They stayed there on the floor for another while, just holding each other. Both felt overwhelmingly happy, though it held an undercurrent of sinking dread. An anchor attached to the back of their minds. Touya was keenly aware that this was one of the only outs for Keigo. He had wanted to wait, and make it more romantic, but if it kept Keigo safe then he didn’t care.
The Commission controlled him, that much was obvious. Always had been. But Keigo was dependent on them. Not just for pay either, he was legally dependent on them too. The Commission had somehow spun it so they were still his legal guardians, which reeked of corruption Touya didn’t know how to dig up yet. All he knew was that Keigo couldn’t do anything to get away from them, not if he still wanted to be a hero. Not if he wanted them to keep their home. And as strong as Aunt Inko was, even she couldn’t stop the Commission from taking Keigo back if they lost their apartment.
But if he was married, it would be null and void. Mostly. There were still smaller things, but it would work. It had to. Touya refused to let Keigo be under their thumb any longer. Being married meant they were dependent on each other, no one else. And if Keigo changed his mind, if he wanted to leave after all, then Touya would let him go. As long as he was safe. That was all that mattered.
For now though, they knelt together on their floor, Touya wondering if they should go ring shopping. Time floated around them in ribbons, not quite feeling real. It was quiet.
“…your family is going to flip,” Keigo muttered into Touya’s shoulder.
“Yeah,” he laughed. “Wanna call them?”
“Later. Let’s just…”
“Have it be us for a while?”
“Yeah.” Keigo paused, before nestling his face into Touya’s neck. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Touya hummed, knowing that no matter where things went from here, he had made one of the best decisions of his life.
He held his fiancé in his arm, and gently kissed the top of his head. He would keep Keigo safe, no matter what.
He loved him too much for any other possibility.
BONUS :
“Our fandom cannot know about this.”
“Oh yeah, they’d go nuts.”
“Absolutely feral.”
“The art is already more than enough.”
“…I kinda wanna-“
“No.”
If the two adults’ conversation devolved into a wrestling match on the floor, then no one was any the wiser. Except maybe their downstairs neighbors.
Notes:
How we feeling everyone? :)
Also! I want to make it clear super quick: I am not trying to glorify or romanticize any of the darker concepts here. I made it fluffier because I didn’t want to flat-out write how actually dark this is. They are both legal adults at this point, but as I said in the story, the Commission did corrupt shenanigans to still have control over Hawks. That mostly includes stuff like pay, medical care, prevents the police from actually doing anything about his situation, etc. Yeah. Not fun. Almost all of it is resolved in the coming chapters though
ALSO sorry if I didn’t answer your comment on the last chapter! I was super busy the last 2 weeks and kinda just…didn’t answer them. And stared on in growing anxiety as the number of comments in the my inbox grew to over a hundred. Y’all that takes me a solid 2 hours to answer, maybe more. I still have yet to answer them while I’m posting this. Help
(but I promise I see every comment and they make me really happy so thank you to everyone who leaves one)Anyway have a good day/night!
Chapter 61: Something Borrowed, Something Blue
Summary:
Almost wedding time :D
Notes:
HELLO FRIENDS
FLUFF TIME FLUFF TIME WEDDING TIME HAVE AT IT LOVELIES
Also small quick note: I’m in a weird mental zone right now where grammar makes no sense and I keep second guessing things. Sorry if anything sounds off because of that!! Might be minor dissociation or might be overstimulation from my day, I don’t know, ANYWAY chapter time I hope you like it :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The first thought of the day Keigo had, and subsequently said out loud thanks to his lack of filter in the morning, was:
“Holy shit, we’re getting married.”
Touya promptly rolled over, still half asleep, and flung an arm over Keigo’s chest. “‘Course we are. I proposed and everythin.’”
“Yeah you did babe.”
“Don’t have a ring.”
“Nope.”
“Sounds like a song. Ain’t got no ring-“
Keigo quietly snorted, patting his fiancé’s head. Touya couldn’t sing for shit when he was half asleep. His voice was nice when he was awake, but at however early it was, he sounded more like a drunken sailor than a singer.
“Alright Clingy, lemme up I want to make tea and coffee.”
“Mmm, I love ya,” Touya hummed, still not rolling off of Keigo.
“I love you too, but I have to get up if you want the bean juice.”
“Nah, you’re warm. And soft.”
“…maybe five more minutes.”
Keigo swore he only closed his eyes for two minutes, but the next thing he knew Touya was gone and the apartment smelled like coffee. He rolled off the bed, wings bedraggled and in need of preening before he did anything outside today. It was too early to think about that though. Instead Keigo trudged down the hallway, feathers hovering just above the floor. The sound of soft singing reached his ears at the end of the hall.
Touya was standing at the counter, humming and mumbling lyrics as he poured himself a cup of coffee. Keigo himself had never liked the stuff. It made him too jittery for his liking. Herbal tea was plenty enough for him thank you very much.
The two remained quiet as Keigo went through the motions of making his tea. Touya moved to their couch, turning the news on. He had classes later, but for the moment they were both free to relax.
Once he was settling on the couch, tucked next to Touya, Keigo brought up what had been on his mind since the day before.
“Do you think this will really get the Commission off my back?”
“I don’t know,” Touya answered truthfully. “But it’s worth a shot, right? It’ll hold up in court, at least, and Aunt Inko’s already willing to throw hands with them. You know she’d just as readily take them to court as she would knock their lights out.”
“Ha, yeah. I just…don’t know what I’d do if they took me from here.” Keigo glanced around the room, already knowing every detail. Their apartment had become his first real home. The thought of being forced to leave it made him feel nauseous. “Probably fight back for once, which would label me as a traitor. But…I don’t think I would mind that, if it meant being free from them. And I don’t know what to make of that.”
“I don’t blame you,” Touya laughed mirthlessly. “But it won’t come down to that, ok Birdie? I promise.”
Keigo nodded, leaning into Touya’s side. He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that his fiancé meant what he said. The Midoriyas were caring people. They would defend him tooth and nail if they had to. It was like a pack of wolves. Kind to their own, and vicious to those that hurt their family.
Honestly Keigo was still reeling over Touya having proposed before he could. Hm, maybe he could still get a ring for Touya…
Wait a second.
“Hey, Hot Stuff?”
“Yes?”
“When exactly are we getting married? And are we having a ceremony? I’ve never been to one, how do they work? Do I need a kimono? Are-“
“Keigo, slow down,” Touya chuckled. “We’ll get a marriage certificate from the courthouse. We can have a small ceremony if you want, and we can decide what we want to include in it once we get to that bridge. Sound good?”
“Can we invite Rumi?”
“Of course we can. Might be a bigger ceremony than what’s usually considered small, since my family is already…uh, hang on…thirteen? Thirteen people. Rumi and her family would make it seventeen. If we invite the Urarakas too then that makes it twenty.”
Keigo hummed, mulling over the ideas before him. His only exposure to anything wedding related were romance novels, tv shows, and offhanded mentions from his class over the years. He knew there was a ceremony with fancy clothes, then a reception with food, and you needed a piece of paper that legally said you were married.
Even with his subpar knowledge on marriage, Keigo couldn’t help glowing at the prospect. He just liked the idea that this would be their forever. That even with every option to leave, he and Touya would always be by each other’s sides.
He just wondered how it would go with half the audience being kids.
~~~~~~~~~~
Uki Uraraka always made sure to get the mail on time. They didn’t get very much, but that just made it more important to not leave letters sitting in their box. Today proved to be no different.
She flipped through some of it on the way back up to their apartment, knowing she was probably going to find her daughter on the ceiling again. Ochako had recently made a game of seeing how many times she could scare the two of them by dropping from there. Her and Korobu were learning to look up, at the very least.
Just as the door opened, a small body dropped to the ground. Ochako almost immediately leapt back to her feet, smile bright and excited.
“Did I getcha Mom? Did I?”
“You sure did honey,” Uki laughed, patting her daughter’s head. Ochako beamed and ran off, probably to find Korobu.
Uki set the mail on the table, the key going back to its place in the drawer. She then sorted through the letters. One in particular caught her eye. It was blue and gold, and looked handwritten, judging by the crossed off words at the bottom. It read:
You are invited to:
The Wedding of Touya Hisame and Keigo Takami
Where: Midoriyas’ Residence Backyard
When: Noon, November 20th
What to Bring:
Fire Extinguisher
A food of your choosing
Ah, so the two boys were finally getting married. Uki smiled, remembering Inko and her gossiping about the two over tea. They were young, but Hisashi kept insisting they’d probably get hitched sooner rather than later.
Hm, maybe they’d bring some mochi. She wasn’t blind to Keigo stealing some whenever she brought it over.
Arms wrapped around her torso, a head resting on her shoulder. “What do you have there?” Korobu asked.
“A wedding invitation for one of the twins. You know, the ones Hisashi and Inko adopted as their nephew. He’s marrying the winged boy.”
“Ah, the one that likes your mochi.”
“Mmhm. It’s on the twentieth. Think we can swing it so we can go?”
“I don’t see why not. Is that a day Hisashi has off too? We might need to leave Hagane in charge for a bit.”
“I think-“
“GOTCHA!” Ochako squealed, dropping onto their shoulders.
The two of them stumbled a bit under the sudden weight, but steadied themselves quickly. Ochako was giggling, and trying to read over their shoulders. Her pinkies were raised as she swatted at the mail.
“What’s that?” She asked.
“A wedding invitation,” Uki answered, holding it up so their daughter could see what it said. “Would that be something you’d like to go to?”
“It’s for Touya and Keigo!” She commented excitedly. “Can I go? Can I? I can wear my fancy dress!”
“Of course,” Korobu laughed, plucking their daughter from the air and setting her on the floor. “Just remember, your best behavior, understood?”
“Yes, Dad!”
“Good. Why don’t you go play for a bit, then we’ll call Hisashi and Inko to tell them we’ll be there.”
Ochako nodded, running off to her room. Uki smiled after her, mentally planning what the three of them would wear.
If nothing else, this wedding was certainly going to be interesting. Uki wondered how Inko was going to handle getting all of her children into nice clothes.
~~~~~~~~~~
Weddings, as Izuku learned, were nuts.
He didn’t know just how much preparation went into a wedding until they were having one in the backyard. There were chairs, and fancy trellis things, and a lot of flowers. Also food and clothes. Lots of fancy clothes.
There were nine of them that Momma, Dad, and Auntie Rei had to get ready. Izuku attempted to help, at least a little bit. He got his clothes on without complaining and helped everyone else button and zip theirs. They all look awesome, in his humble opinion.
What he didn’t understand though, was something he was having a small argument about with his dad.
“Why can’t I though? It still goes together.”
“Izuku, buddy, I know most colors go with white and black, but you can’t wear your red sneakers to a wedding.”
“But why not? I’m not the one getting married.”
“Well, yes, but you need to dress nicely. Sneakers generally aren’t considered nice clothes.”
“But the loafers make my feet hurt.”
“I know buddy, but we’ll be sitting most of the time! When we go dance you can take them off, deal?”
“…deal.”
Izuku begrudgingly took the shoes, determined to not put them on until they all went outside. Dad wandered off, muttering about where he’d put his fireproof handkerchief, and Izuku followed suit. They had a while until everything started, he could help his siblings in the meantime.
Upstairs was chaos, just as Izuku expected. He veered towards the semi-less chaotic side of the house to check on Mei. Her door was propped open. He knocked anyway, letting her know he was there. It looked like she was trying to wrestle on a bowtie, and wasn’t exactly winning.
“You need some help, Meimei?”
“Please,” she whined, letting her hands drop. “I like the no dresses required, but ties don’t like me. My babies love me, but fabric is a fickle thing.”
“Yeah, I know,” Izuku laughed.
Bow ties weren’t too hard. Izuku had learned how by watching his parents and practicing. It was easier said than done though, especially on oneself. He could help Mei easier than tying his own.
“There, perfect,” he said. “Auntie Rei can help with your hair if you need it too.”
“Thanks, Greenie.”
“Greenie?”
“Your hair is green, your eyes are green, and you wear a lot of green. So ergo: Greenie.”
Izuku giggled, remembering most of his green clothes were actually ones he had “borrowed” from his siblings. “You aren’t wrong.”
“Of course I’m not.”
Izuku retreated from the room, waving to Mei as he left. Just in time to hear Katsuki start yelling from their room down the hall. He headed that way to hopefully prevent another disaster.
After stepping through the doorway, the first thing Izuku saw was Katsuki cursing at Hitoshi. More accurately, cursing Hitoshi’s hair, which refused to stay down despite Kacchan’s aggressive brushing. There was one piece that kept sticking up like hair gel didn’t matter.
“Do you need some help, Kacchan?”
“Motherfucker won’t lay flat,” he cursed. “Shit’ll break the damn comb before it does, and I still have to find my fucking coat.”
“You go find your jacket, Kacchan, I can go ask Momma or Auntie Rei if they have something that’ll help Toshi’s hair.”
“Better than his idea of blowing it up,” Hitoshi hummed.
Katsuki grumbled, but stomped off to search for his missing clothes. Hitoshi ran a hand through his hair, messing it up slightly. Izuku thought it looked better that way anyway.
“Are Mo and Sho downstairs?” Hitoshi asked.
“I think so, why?”
“They said something about being hungry, and disappeared while Katsuki was trying to brush my hair down. I don’t know if they’re trying to steal food or not.”
Well that wasn’t good. “I’ll go check on them,” he said.
Downstairs was no less chaotic than upstairs. Adults were shuffling around, things were being carried, and some of Keigo’s feathers were transporting things above everyone’s heads. Izuku ducked a flying flower arrangement and made a b-line for the kitchen.
Sure enough, Momo and Shouto—who were already dressed and done thanks to knowing how these things worked—were trying to sneak some food.
“Momma said no touching the food until later.”
The two jumped, hands jolting away from the snacks they were about to steal. At least they had the sense to look ashamed.
“But we’re hungry,” Shouto complained.
“And Momma said no eating the wedding food until later,” Izuku scolded. “We have other snacks you can eat, but the wedding food has to be left alone.”
“Sorry, Izu,” Momo mumbled. Shouto nodded along with her.
“It’s ok, just don’t try to steal any again. Is Mina down here?”
“Mom’s making her hair look pretty,” Shouto told him.
“Thank you!”
Izuku left the kitchen, pausing in the family room. Kouji was sitting on the couch, Peeve in his lap. She had a bow attached to her collar.
“Is she watching too?”
“Yeah,” Kouji responded quietly, before switching to sign. “She likes the bow, and wanted to look nice.”
“She looks very pretty,” Izuku assured, patting Peeve’s head. She let out a satisfied meow. “I have to go find Auntie Rei, but if you’re not busy could you make sure Momo and Shouto don’t eat the wedding food yet?”
“I can do that.”
Izuku smiled, leaving the room. He then nearly ran into Mina, who was twirling down the hall with her hair in a short braid. She was beaming, jumping on her toes with excited energy.
“Look at my hair, Zuzu! Isn’t it pretty?”
“I love it!” He laughed, twirling around with her for a moment. “Is Auntie Rei in her room?”
“Yep,” Mina said, spinning her dress again. It flared out in a wide circle. “I’m gonna go watch for the Urarakas from our window.”
Izuku nodded, watching her skip away for a second. He quickly popped his head into Auntie Rei’s room.
“Auntie Rei?”
“Yes, Izuku? Do you need something?”
“You’re really good at hair, can you help Toshi?”
Her gaze softened a bit, and she nodded. “Of course I can. Let me finish this then I’ll come up and help him.”
“Thank you, Auntie!”
Izuku rushed to join Mina from there, not wanting to miss his best friend arriving. He ducked under flying ribbons as he went. Keigo was somewhere in the backyard, directing the last minute decorating. Quite literally, since his feathers were ferrying a lot of the things they needed.
Izuku just smiled, reveling in it all. Who knew weddings would cause so much chaos.
Notes:
This is actually hilarious timing, since I technically wrote this a while ago, but I’m going to my aunt’s wedding in a few weeks. So far I’ve only had to deal with a lot of babysitting as my mother tries to help her pick a dress. Also, instead of gifts Keigo and Touya asked the guests (which are just the Urarakas and Usagiyamas) to bring food, kinda like a potluck but fancier.
Same thing for the comments on last chapter applies to this one, except I finally caught up. I should be back to answering most of them this week now :D
Last thing: just a warning, and I’m going to avoid this to the best of my ability, but don’t be surprised if an update accidentally gets skipped. I am not dead, just dealing with some stuff that keeps me from writing some days. I’m really excited about the arc I’m currently writing though so it applies more to my other fic than this one :p
Anyway! Have a good day/night! I love you!!
Chapter 62: A Sixpence in your Shoe
Summary:
The actual wedding chapter :D
As well as some confrontation but there's a lot of fluffWarning: emotional manipulation at the end. If you want to skip it, it starts at “Keigo dreaded Commission meetings-“ and goes to the end, or at least up until the last few paragraphs. Be safe <3
Notes:
HELLO FRIENDS A CHAPTER IS FINALLY HERE
Sorry this late!…again. Ironically enough I couldn’t finish this last week because I was at my aunt’s wedding. She was beautiful and her and her new husband are adorable. And now I can say I went back to edit and made things lightly more accurate to a wedding! The western style elements at least
Also before said wedding last weekend I had only been to one before, and I was eight. So Izuku’s POV on the ceremony is basically what I thought at that one XDDisclaimer: this is a mix of some research on traditional Shinto weddings (I meant to do more :( but school and work kinda limited my time) and western style weddings, which is kinda becoming more common to my understanding? Anyway traditionally a bride would wear a kimono, and I believe the groom would too, but in this Keigo wears a white tux because of his wings and Touya wears a black one because they wanted to match.
Anyway! Enjoy the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Touya felt like he was going to faint. In three minutes he would walk down an aisle to Keigo, and be married in front of a small group of family and friends. They technically could have gone without the ceremony, but Keigo deserved the best, and they had both agreed an actual ceremony would be nice.
So there he stood, nervously wringing his hands and fiddling with his black tuxedo, now two minutes away from his mom walking him down to Keigo. He was insanely excited for today, but it was still nerve wracking. They would be tied together after this. Keigo could leave any time he wanted, Touya wouldn’t dream of stopping him, but it had finally set in that this could possibly lead to the rest of their lives.
It was surreal, and better than he had ever imagined his life would turn out to be. Ten year-old Touya would have never dared believe they could have something like this. And yet here they were, now two minutes away from getting married.
“Are you ready?” His mother asked softly, taking his arm.
Touya steeled himself. No crying, he reminded himself, or else his mom would cry too. And then the Midoriyas would cry. That would just lead to the entire yard crying, and the last thing they needed was Hisashi crying as he officiated the ceremony.
Who was he kidding. The second he saw Keigo, Touya knew he would immediately start crying. They probably both would, if he was being honest. Hopefully the yard didn’t get flooded with all the tears that were going to be shed.
“Yeah,” he whispered, a grin taking over his face. “I am.”
Mom took his arm, eyes already shining. She laid a gentle hand on his cheek for a moment. “Oh my baby boy, you’re all grown up now. I’m so proud of you.”
Ah, the waterworks came early. Touya wiped at his eyes, smile turning watery. He leaned into her hand, before the music began to play.
“Let’s get you out there.”
Touya nodded, wiping his eyes one more time. They would go through the side gate and into the back yard. Everyone else was already sitting in neat rows, just waiting for them to appear.
The two of them rounded the corner, finally entering the backyard. Touya took a moment to glance around and take it in. The kids were all sitting together, excitedly whispering and pointing at him. Some of the adults had misty eyes already. Even Rumi was trying not to cry.
And then his eyes landed on Keigo.
Touya didn’t even blink before tears were already gathering in his eyes. He barely even knew what he was feeling besides warmth. It was a soft feeling that spread out like flower petals to fully encompass him. Like pure sunlight beat through his heart instead of blood.
Judging by Keigo wiping at his eyes, he seemed to feel the same.
Mom walked him down the grass aisle, both of them doing their best to not start sobbing as everyone else got misty eyed. She handed him off to Keigo, who was making a valiant effort not to sniffle in front of everyone. His white and gold sleeveless tuxedo was beautiful.
Hisashi began talking, and Touya held Keigo’s hands in his. It felt like the world was bending around them, warping to give them their own bubble of time. There wasn’t a true way to describe it. The eyes on them all fell away. Touya took a deep breath, locking eyes with Keigo, and knew he was staring at his future.
~~~~~~~~~~
For all the chaos it had caused, Izuku thought the ceremony itself was…kinda boring actually. It was emotional and beautiful, but boring. Very sweet though. The amount of affection and happiness radiating off of Touya and Keigo was almost overwhelming to look at.
Izuku partially understood the vows. Some parts of it didn’t make sense to him though. Why did they have to promise not to leave? Wasn’t that just what a family was? People got mad, and fought, that was inevitable, but not leaving was why they were a family. Why should they have to swear on it?
Either way, the two of them were being sappy. Izuku found it adorable, and so did everyone else. He started crying not even halfway through.
The ceremony might have been western inspired, but they still kept the traditional sake drinking. Instead of Keigo’s parents, who none of them knew, Momma drank the sake in their place. Auntie Rei did the same for Touya. That part was especially boring, since it was watching four people drink from cups.
Izuku was happy when they were finally allowed to get up. He dashed ahead of his siblings, throwing himself at Keigo in a hug. They were officially brothers now! Ceremony aside, Keigo was now their family. Legally at least. As far as Izuku was concerned he had been a part of it since Touya brought him home the first time.
“Oof, hey there little man,” Keigo laughed, ruffling Izuku’s hair. “Dang, you’re getting strong. What muscle are you hiding in there, little bean.”
Izuku giggled as Keigo poked his sides. “Dad and Momma are letting me take a bunch of classes! Like rock climbing, parkour, and Mina shows me some of her dancing and gymnastics. I have to be strong if I want to be a hero.”
“That you do.”
Touya walked over, Shouto hanging off his arm like a money and Momo clinging to his other sleeve. Keigo trilled a happy note at the sight of them. Izuku stepped back from his hug. His siblings jumped away when the two adults kissed, making their disgust known.
“We just got married, you three can shush,” Aniki said, though he was still smiling.
“Can we eat the food now?” Momo asked.
“Once Aunt Inko says so and it’s brought out.”
The three nodded, and set off on their mission to help. The faster they got the food set out, the faster they could eat. Also Momma couldn’t carry that much by herself, even if Dad and Auntie Rei helped.
A few more of their siblings joined them, and together they transported the food outside. Auntie Rei made it look pretty after it was set down. When that was done they were given the go-ahead, and descended on the food like starving piranhas.
Izuku sat on the porch stairs, a plate in his lap and a lot of his siblings gathered around him. Hitoshi had dragged Rumi’s younger sister over to talk about how they dealt with their hair. His was getting quite long, and he’d told Izuku that he liked it that way. Even if he did gripe about how brushing it just made it fuzzier.
Ochako was on his left, telling the story of how she had scared one of the construction workers at the latest building site. Izuku was listening intently while eating. She really was smart with how she ambushed people.
“Do you still get nauseous when you float for a while?” He asked.
“Yeah. I’m getting better though! I can already stay in the air for longer and lift more weight than before.”
“That’s awesome, Ocha! You’re going to be even better in no time.”
“I sure hope so,” she laughed. “I…I want to be able to help Mom and Dad on their construction sites. The sooner I get more control over my quirk, the sooner I can help them.”
Izuku patted her shoulder, giving her a soft smile. “You’re going to be great, Ochako. Just keep working towards it and you’ll get there.”
“Thanks, Zuzu.”
“Anytime! You’re my best friend, it’s my job to encourage you.”
“Ha, yeah, I guess so. Oh! By the way, my mom said she’s bringing me next week for her and Aunt Ko’s tea day. Could we go to the park again? It’s been a while since we’ve gone.”
“Of course!” Izuku chirped, drawing his sibling’s attention. “We can bring one of Natsuo’s soccer balls and play too if you want.”
“As long as Mei and I can have a swearing competition.”
“You’re on, Elphaba!” Mei called from the other side of the porch.
“Bring it!”
The rest of them laughed, smiles on their faces. Izuku spotted Touya and Keigo moving towards the table with the big cake on it. He immediately got to his feet, tugging Ochako along with him.
“Cake time!” Aniki called to everyone in their yard.
There was an almost instant rush for the table the cake was on. They all gathered in a semi-circle, waiting for the new couple to cut it. Izuku saw what was going to happen a few seconds before Touya carried it out.
“Hey Keigo.”
“Yea-“
Keigo got cut off by Touya smashing a small piece of cake in his face. He sputtered for a second, wiping frosting out of his eyes. Touya was cackling. Right before Keigo flung a piece at him.
Izuku beamed, leaned over to grab a handful of cake, and threw it at the closest sibling. Which happened to be Mina. She shrieked, before lunging around Izuku to grab her own chunk of cake. Frosting soon smattered his face.
He just gave a feral grin, and took a deep breath to declare the new war, “Food fight!”
~~~~~~~~~~
Keigo borrowed the Midoriyas’ bathroom to rinse the cake out of his hair. He took the time to change into some more comfortable clothes while he was in there. The tuxedo was beautiful, and he loved it, but he didn’t exactly want to go flying over the city in it. Bug stains were hard to get out of white fabric.
Touya was saying goodbye to some of their guests. Probably the Urarakas, if he had to guess. Keigo honestly loved their family. Ochako was good friends with Izuku, all of the kids really, and was a ball of fire herself. Uki also made the best mochi he has ever tasted.
Keigo emerged with wet hair, but free of frosting and cake crumbs. He really couldn’t have asked for things to go better, even if it had devolved into a fight with the cake. They had been expecting it though. There was a reason they hadn’t bought an expensive wedding cake.
Touya’s voice drifted over as Keigo walked back down the hallway, and he couldn’t help smiling. It still didn’t feel entirely real. They were married now. Married! They weren’t going to have a honeymoon, being partially broke young adults, but Keigo still had plans to sweep his new husband off his feet. Quite literally.
He stopped to say goodbye to everyone first though. They all gathered on the lawn, hugging and making half-baked plans for next week. Mei didn’t leave his side for a minute, just clinging to him and burying herself in Keigo’s feathers. She eventually backed away again, making him promise to come visit more like she did every time. He just ruffled her hair and swore he would.
Everyone slowly trickled back inside. The Urarakas left with a sleepy Ochako, leaving Rumi and her family as the last ones outside. That was when Keigo decided to strike. He walked up behind Touya, and scooped his husband up in a princess carry.
“Sorry Rumi! Gotta get my man home.”
“HA, you two have fun,” she laughed, sounding like she had probably stolen a drink or two from the adult’s alcohol. “Still can’t believe my friends are finally married and shit.”
“It still feels surreal to me too,” Keigo laughed, holding Touya closer. His husband just relaxed into him, knowing struggling would just result in him falling to the floor or being held like a sack of flour. “But we should get going. I have a meeting with the Commission early tomorrow, and we’re both kinda tired. Love ya, Rumi!”
“Love you two too. Thanks for inviting us.”
“Wouldn’t of been the same without you,” Touya said honestly. “Thanks for coming.”
Rumi just smiled, then made her way back to her own family. Fuyumi stopped her before they left. Keigo couldn’t help smiling as they parted ways with a kiss and red faces.
“Think they’ll be next?” Touya asked, still just chilling in Keigo’s arms.
“Probably! Not for a while though. They did only get together this year.”
“True. Anyway, are we going home?”
Keigo just smiled, and spread his wings. It was harder getting airborne with another person, but he managed it. Practice made perfect after all. Touya and Rumi had been dumped in the dirt enough for him to be good at it now.
They left the ground behind, Touya still calm despite how high up they were. It didn’t take long to fly back to their apartment. Keigo landed on their balcony, the door almost always unlocked for this exact reason. Touya tried to get down, but Keigo didn’t let him. Not yet.
“Kei?”
“You said husbands usually carry wives over the threshold of their house, right? I want- I want to do that, even if we’re both husbands.”
Touya paused, before settling back into his arms. His blush was making his face borderline glow. Keigo just hummed happily, opening the door to bring his husband inside.
“Ok now I need down before I combust.”
Keigo laughed, letting Touya back onto the floor. Not without pulling him into a kiss though.
“You, are a dork.”
“Your dork,” Keigo said, smiling dopily.
Touya snorted, pulling him close. “You’ve been my dork since first year, you adorable idiot.”
Keigo cooed, nuzzling into his husband’s— husband’s — shirt. Today had been perfect. He couldn’t imagine how it could have gone better, and now? Now he was married. Something he never believed he would have or do. It had been drilled into his head since he was small. But the Commission had no control over him. He wouldn’t let them define him anymore, and there were so many people backing him up now.
Keigo was Keigo. He was not Hawks. Hawks was his hero name, but Keigo Takami was his real name. He was his own person.
And nothing could take that away from him now.
~~~~~~~~~~
Keigo dreaded Commission meetings, but dragged himself to them anyway. His handlers would have his head otherwise. Hopefully figuratively. Either way, he navigated the Commission hallways with practice ease. Hardly anyone spared him a glance. It was normal, and Keigo hated it.
The room was familiar. Just a normal, blank room with a conference table and windows to the outside. Keigo pushed away the usual unease that came with it. His handlers, three this time, were already there.
“Hawks,” the first one greeted. “You’re late.”
He was on time. But ‘on time’ to them was early to a normal person. “Traffic.”
“You flew here.”
“Air traffic is a thing.”
“Cut the attitude, Hawks,” the second growled lowly, fake talons for nails clicking harshly on the table.
“Apologies, I’ll keep it on a leash next time.”
“Hawks,” the third snarled. He shut his mouth, wings snapped to attention. That was never a good tone. “You need to get over this petty rebellious phase. That’s why you’re here today.”
Keigo just shifted his wings slightly, watching the clawed hands go tap tap tap. “Rebellion over what, my freedom? Isn’t that the same reason why kings used to be dethroned?”
“We made you who you are, Hawks,” the first crooned, sickeningly sweet. “We gave you everything and built you from nothing. You owe us for what we’ve done, don’t you? All of that work, just to get you to where you are as a hero. Why must you rebel and seek out petty rebellion from someone who won’t stay by you? You know we’ll always be here for you, but that boy…”
Keigo didn’t let himself falter. In the past he would have. God, he had questioned so much just because the Commission said things that got into his head, but it was different now. He knew they were wrong. A secret weapon has little effect if it’s not a secret anymore.
“We just want what’s best for you, Hawks-“
“That’s not my name anymore.”
Keigo lifted his eyes, staring each handler head on. They froze. He had never done that before. Not with that much intensity and conviction.
“It’s my hero name, but not my real name. Not anymore.”
“This is ridiculous,” one scoffed. “You are being childish, Hawks. And then we hear you’re thing of filing for a marriage license of all things-“
“I am.”
“…what?”
“I am. Married now, that is.” If a hint of smugness slipped into his voice, well, no one else was around to know. “You don’t control me. Maybe you did when I was a kid, but not anymore. I don’t- I don’t depend on the Commission.”
“Hawks I didn’t want it to come to this-“
“If you leak anything,” he borderline growled, wings fluffing up to make him look bigger. “I will not hesitate to tell the world what you put me through.”
“That’s just preposterous-“
“I’m not an ignorant child. I know what you did, I know it’s illegal on more than one front and that not even the almighty Commission can save all of you. So let me be. Let me live the life you stole from me, and just let me be a hero. One separate from you.”
The room itself almost seemed to darken, but Keigo refused to back down. He wouldn’t. Couldn’t. Not after all he’d said. There was no turning back for him now.
“Well then,” they said. “It would be a shame if the public were to discover who you were married to.”
“Yes. It would be a disaster if someone leaked information on it.”
“And a true tragedy if villains were the ones to find out about it.”
Keigo swallowed down his fear. He knew they would threaten this. He knew. That didn’t make it any easier to hear though. Touya was the most important person to him, and he would never put his new husband in danger. Thankfully, he had an ace up his sleeve.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said, smile on his face that radiated nothing but cold steel. “You see, my new aunt-in-law is Inko Midoriya, ever heard of her?”
Keigo could almost see the cogs turning in their heads. He knew Inko was well known in the world of law. Specifically for her utterly ruthless takedowns in the courtroom, as well as her damning and extremely detailed evidence reports. And that said evidence was suspected of being acquired by illegal means, but could never be proven as such.
She was a lovely woman, but by God did she inspire fear in her enemies. And right now, it was Keigo’s saving grace.
“…you’re bluffing.”
“I can show you pictures from yesterday I have of her. My family took some for me.” Which had technically been because Mei stole his phone and took some before Keigo noticed, but his handlers didn’t need to know that.
They were uneasy. Keigo took his smile of steel and threaded it through words of razor wire. “I would hate for someone to tell her everything, and have a case against the entire Commission brought up. Not all of you would lose your jobs of course, but that’s just how it goes, isn’t it? In the end you all turn against each other like the monsters you really are.”
The room was silent. Keigo still refused to back down, and held eye contact with one of the handlers. All of them were shifting in discomfort, maybe worry. They knew he wasn’t wrong. They knew Inko could destroy them if she had the means and motivation to.
“Fine,” they spat. “Leave. Ignore us and all we’ve done for you. Just don’t come crawling back expecting help when it all falls apart.”
“If it does then I know who to blame.”
Keigo turned on his heel, wings still fluffed and feathers sharpened on instinct. It made a shield of red as he turned his back on the Commission. As he turned his back on the ghosts that had been lurking over his shoulder for most of his life.
He stepped out of the front door, and smiled in the sunlight.
Keigo Takami was finally free.
Notes:
Fun fact: every time I use the phrase “ace up their sleeve” the only thing I can think of is me and all the aces I know tumbling out of someone’s sleeve
*wonders why editing is taking so long. again* *realizes I added 400 words while editing. Again*
Anyway, no idea when I’ll be able to finish the next chapter but here's hoping it’s in 2 weeks like I plan. Finally got some progress on mental stuff so yay! Work and school are still keeping me Busy but hopefully I should be able to have a bit more motivation now
I love you guys <3 Have a good day/night!
Chapter 63: Lynchpin
Summary:
GUESS WHAT TIME IT IS
Warnings! (and spoilers): implied alcohol, a drunk man, cornering someone in an alley, another person gets knocked out, mention of a gun and a robbery. Be careful if any of these are sensitive to you!! Nothing bad actually happens (besides a villain getting knocked out) but there are a few implied things
Notes:
I am so sorry this took forever to get out. Things at home have been…not the best if I’m being honest. And then I edited this chapter and realized I needed to add an entire scene and completely change another, so that delayed it again. Turns out I added a bit over 800 words in editing so that's fun. Chapter ended at around 4,600 words :D
Chapter brought to you by me listening to Shut Eye by Stealing Sheep on repeat while writing this. It's the entire vibe of this chapter
Anyway
WELCOME TO THE CHAPTER I’VE WAITED ABOUT A YEAR TO WRITE!! Bigger vigilante stuff comes slightly later, such as the costumes and tech, but OH BOY this was honestly one of the chapters I was the most excited to write, so I hope you like it :D!!(Also masks were common in some places with tons of people when a family member is sick to prevent spreading it even before covid. Figured I would say that just in case someone was confused about why I mention masks)
Last thing: If you have little siblings, you probably know the struggle of cold and flu season. The Midoriyas are no exception to the yearly sniffle plague
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Izuku was ten.
He had eleven siblings, two parents, and an Auntie Rei. He was in fifth grade, sharing a class with only Mei this year. They all slept in a pile on a super bed. Sometimes Mei joined them, sometimes not. Keigo and Touya came over for dinner on the weekends, and Fuyumi and Rumi occasionally did too.
Izuku was ten, and he already knew how to fight. He knew how to take a hit and how to roll with an impact. His fights with his dad were more evenly matched now. He could analyze things faster than a person could snap their fingers. Momma said he was on par with adult professionals. It made him happy to know how good he had gotten.
He was ten, and his city was still swarmed with villains. There was no one helping. There were no heroes that were doing anything. Keigo was trying, but he was only one person outnumbered by thousands on both sides.
The average person got caught in villain attacks every once in a while. Perhaps once a year, maybe less. Those were in the bigger cities. The safer areas.
Izuku alone had been caught in more than five this year, and there were at least two more his family had been involved in when he wasn’t there. It wasn’t normal—it wasn’t safe— and the time it took heroes to respond was abysmal. Izuku himself had taken out half of the villains before anyone even tried to intervene.
It had been years since he began to notice their city’s problem, and it was wearing on him. The weight of constantly looking out for threats was a heavy one. Izuku didn’t know how much longer he could last without doing something. He didn’t quite know what that something was, but it would probably include screaming. Maybe some well placed graffiti on a hero agency sign.
He was still young though. Still small. Even if taking down people twice his size seemed almost easy now, that meant nothing to the adults that only saw his age.
Not that he was practicing a lot right now anyway, since it was so cold out. Winter was never ideal for sparring, especially when the grass froze over. There wasn’t any snow, but it was still cold enough that none of them were very keen on going outside. Especially Hitoshi. Mei didn’t seem to have a problem with it, but she was also holed up in her workshop more often than not. Every day Izuku saw her make a mad dash from the porch to her shed door. It was kind of funny if he was being honest.
Though with the colder weather, came cold and flu season. Something Izuku despised with his entire being. Because no matter what they did, someone in their family always managed to get sick. And without fail, every year, the rest of them all fell within a week or two. It was usually only a cold, but Izuku still hated it. Both because he was forced to be separated from his sick siblings and because having a stuffy nose was horrible.
This year, the first to fall was Shouto. From there it was only a matter of time before they all got sick too. He was sleeping in Mei’s room for the time being, hopefully limiting how fast it spread. Mei happily joined the non-sick siblings' sleeping pile in the meantime.
Life didn’t slow down because one of them was sick though. Mina still had a dance lesson, Natsuo had a sleepover to be dropped off at, and Momo politely demanded they stop at the store for more protein bars on the way home. Katsuki tagged along, saying he just wanted to leave the house. Dad was driving all of them since Auntie Rei had a late shift to work.
It did mean that Momma was the only adult home with them for a while. Usually that wouldn’t be a problem—they were all well behaved, or at least enough that she didn’t have to constantly keep an eye on them anymore—but Shouto was sick, and needed to be checked on a lot. He tended to freeze things or set them on fire when he had a coughing fit. While his sheets were fireproof, the surrounding room was not.
She trusted them to keep an eye on him though, so she started dinner while the rest of them made sure the fire alarms didn’t go off.
It was sometime after Izuku decided homework was boring and researching ocean sponges was much more interesting that he was called downstairs.
Momma was standing at the counter when he walked in, but glanced up when he poked his head in. She calmly set down whatever she has been cutting up, going to dig through a drawer for a moment.
To Izuku’s mild surprise, he was promptly handed Momma’s taser and ten dollars.
“I forgot to buy more rice earlier,” she told him in a hurry. “And we need more for dinner, but there’s already food on the stove. Can you run to the store just outside the neighborhood and buy more? Take one of your siblings if they aren’t busy.”
Izuku palmed the money and taser, and grinned, borderline buzzing with excitement. “I can do that, Momma. I’ll be back super fast!”
Momma nodded, shoulders slumping a bit, and turned back to keep making dinner. Izuku raced out of the room and bolted to the front door. Hitoshi and Kouji were busy with homework and signing lessons, so Izuku didn’t want to bother them. Mei was still in her workshop. None of them liked the store much anyways, and he wasn’t about to ask Shouto to go with him.
Izuku was smart, and he was fast. He knew he could get to the store and back without taking too long. So armed with money, the taser, and a green medical mask, Izuku left the house by himself.
Getting to the store was the easy part, since he knew the way like the back of his hand. Practically the whole city was something he knew well. Maybe not the back alleys, since they weren’t really allowed back there, but the pattern was logical enough that maybe he could figure it out. Not right now though, since it was getting late. The sun was already setting.
Buying the groceries was easy too, since Izuku already knew where everything was. He waved goodbye to the cashier with a smile on his face, though his green mask blocked everything but his eyes.
Small as he may be, it made him happy to be treated like he was older. Momma and Dad agreed that he was mentally more like a teenager than ten. His siblings all said he was super smart. The only reason Izuku wasn’t a few grades ahead was because he refused to leave his siblings.
No one left behind. He intended to keep to that, no matter the cost.
It was dark on the way back. Izuku hummed behind his mask, hurrying home. The night was quiet like it always was, only interrupted by the occasional car speeding by. Winter made the streets freezing cold, but Izuku’s fluffy coat kept him warm, as well as his pace. His hood was pulled over his head to keep it that way. It was peaceful, especially since there were no other siblings with him. Izuku loved them to death, almost literally, but it was nice to have a moment to himself sometimes.
And then a scream pierced the air.
Izuku jumped, hand tightening around the taser in his pocket. His head whipped around in search of the sound, but there was no one else on the street. No one else to hear.
The alleys, he realized. They were out of sight but still open. Dangerous at any time of the day, but especially at night.
With a growing feeling of both white-hot dread and anticipation, Izuku crept down the street. He stayed silent as he glanced down the first alley. It was just dark. Nothing there.
The second one though- the second wasn’t barren. It held a scene he was both expecting and not at all prepared for.
A man, hulking and swaying, towered over a woman in the alley. His words were slurred (probably drunk, his mind supplied) and movements sharp. Whatever he was saying was just low enough to escape Izuku’s ears.
The woman he loomed over was backed into a wall. She was pressing herself as far away from the man as she could. Her purse, and what looked like pepper-spray, lay scattered over the floor behind them.
Izuku edged closer, just barely stepping into the alley. He listened, trying to pick out words. His heart was racing. Adrenaline was flooding his system. It made him shaky, but he could deal with it. He could- he could…what could he do?
Heroes and police would be too slow. Something bad could happen in the time it took them to get there, if they even believed him in the first place. No one else was on the street. No other witnesses.
For the first time since he was tiny, Izuku felt alone.
But he had to do something. He couldn’t just stand there while another criminal got away with this. He couldn’t do nothing. Not again.
Izuku steeled himself, and stepped into the open. His steps faltered at first. Neither of the adults in the alley noticed him though, which was good. Surprise was key…mostly. God he hoped this worked.
Izuku took a breath, and broke into a sprint. Somewhere in between he yelled “HEY!” at the top of his lungs. The man looked up, just in time to take Izuku’s flying punch to the face. He’d had to jump just to reach that high, but it was worth it.
It didn’t knock the man out unfortunately, but it did send him reeling away, swearing like a sailor. The woman just looked shell shocked. Understandable, considering Izuku probably looked like a shadow-gremlin-demon-thing that had come out of nowhere.
“Who the fuck ‘re you,” the man growled, getting back to his feet. Izuku stood between him and the woman. “You know what? I don’ think I fuckin’ care. Get out of the way, brat, this is my business.”
Izuku didn’t waver. Blood roared in his ears. Thoughts flashed through his mind so fast he could hardly process it all. The man had a limp on right side; wouldn’t put full weight on it. A car passed by. The woman was inching towards her purse.
“You know,” Izuku said, willing his voice not to shake. “I was taught to never start fights.”
“What does-“
Izuku let a predatory smile take over his face. Though he had a mask on, it still showed in his eyes. A burning intent to protect and take out the threat. He stepped closer, putting on an air of confidence he barely felt. The man eyed him warily now.
“But you can bet that I’ll finish them.”
Izuku struck like a viper. In the span of a single second, he had grabbed the taser from his pocket and shot the barbs at the man. Time almost seemed to slow as they missed, the drunk man somehow dodging. It didn’t seem to matter though, since he tripped over his own feet and went careening into the opposite wall. The man slumped down to the floor, breathing, but unconscious.
It wasn’t anything like heroes made arrests, but it worked. It worked, and he had done it. He had- he had done it. Izuku had taken on someone more than twice his size and won. They were out and he had won.
It was only then that his actions began to truly set in. This was vigilantism. Even if there was no evidence of quirk use, he could still be charged. He could still be caught. There was an unconscious man and a kid with a mask and hood up oh god he was going to jail.
Maybe- maybe he could run? The police wouldn’t be here for a few minutes. He had never been in the alleys around here but maybe they were simple enough to navigate? The last thing their family needed was paying bail on him. With that in mind, he snatched up the dropped bag of rice to make his escape.
“Wait!” The woman called. Izuku turned back to her, worry painted over his expression.
“Are you ok ma’am? I’m sorry I couldn’t get here earlier, is your phone working?”
“Y-yes, I’m- I’m ok, my phone is working. But I haven’t seen a hero here in- in forever. What- what’s your name?”
Izuku paused. The conversation he’d had with Mei drifted to the forefront of his mind. He couldn’t use his real name, he knew that, so maybe…
“Kitsune. My name is Kitsune.”
“Th-then thank you, Kitsune.”
He nodded, a small smile on his face, before turning and walking out of the alley with a calm facade. Izuku proceeded to glance up and down the street, before booking it in the direction of home. Police sirens wailed in the too-close distance. The pure adrenaline from knowing they might be after him was part terrifying and part exhilarating.
He turned into an alley, and made his best guess as to where it led. All roads led home. Just in this case, the roads were alleyways he needed to get through while avoiding the police and possibly nighttime heroes.
Izuku turned onto familiar streets a few minutes later, and put up a collected mask once again. A metaphorical one, since he still had his green medical one. His thoughts were jumbled, but one thing kept repeating like a scratched record.
“She called me a hero,” he giddily whispered to no one but the stars.
~~~~~~~~~~
Izuku was ten when he first became a vigilante.
~~~~~~~~~~
Izuku didn’t tell anyone what happened when he got home. He checked on Shouto, signed back and forth with Hitoshi and Kouji for a bit, and waited for Dad to get back with everyone else. The normal felt…off. Like all of them should already know what he did and be reacting to it.
But they didn’t. Dinner went by like it always did, and nothing else changed. The weight of Izuku’s new secret wasn’t a grain of sand to them compared to the glass weight on his shoulders. He could be arrested if the wrong person found out what he had done. He could be turned over to the heroes, taken away from home, and it would all be over. Everything would be for nought.
He shook his head to clear it, absentmindedly brushing his teeth before bed. Their city wasn’t quite corrupt enough to immediately throw an elementary schooler into juvie. It would be for the best if he didn’t do it again, but once wouldn’t hurt anyone. As long as his stunt stayed small then Izuku would be fine.
He curled up to sleep that night with his resolve set. No vigilantism unless it was a true emergency. Unless there was no one else around, he would leave it to the heroes.
Problem was, it kept happening.
A week later, Izuku stopped a mugging by swinging from a fire escape and drop-kicking the mugger before tying them up. He had a mask and hood again, because it was still cold and now Hitoshi and Mei were sick.
Three days after that he defended someone who was being threatened in the street. Something about money. He ran in with a haymaker and used the attacker’s momentum to throw them into a dumpster. The police were quick to get to that one, so Izuku hid in a corner store. He needed a new journal anyway.
Another week after that, he was sent on another grocery run, mask and jacket like before, and stopped a whole robbery by himself. The villains were tied up with jump ropes and packing tape. Izuku fled the store before any law enforcement appeared. His groceries were free as a thanks for saving the store. Izuku left the money he’d been given on the counter anyway.
All three times someone had asked his name, and he had answered Kitsune. He heard someone whispering in the school hallway, and listened in only to find they were whispering about him. About Kitsune. And they were speaking with admiration instead of their normal disgust. He had quickly sped back down the hall, but Izuku couldn’t wipe the smile off his face for the rest of the day.
The guilt was eating at him though. A growing pit of doubt that was burrowing itself in his chest. He liked helping people. He liked doing this, saving people when no one else was there. He liked being acknowledged for once. But…he couldn’t keep doing it. He couldn’t keep jumping in. He couldn’t keep hiding it from his siblings.
Izuku could count on one hand the number of lies he had told his family. He had forgotten how hard keeping a new secret was. But he couldn’t tell them. Not now, at least. It was his own actions that had dug the hole, it wasn’t their responsibility to help him cover it.
What he was doing was dangerous. He knew it was. It was foolish and reckless and something he shouldn’t have to question not doing again. It was illegal.
So why did his heart ache at the thought of stopping?
Izuku's actions did pause for a while, since he finally succumbed to the sickness circulating the Midoriya household. Izuku hated being sick. It made his mind fuzzy and fevers gave him the weirdest dreams. Even without the fever, the other symptoms were just as horrible. Though at least it was better than the stomach bug most of them caught two years ago.
Once he was better, and most of his siblings were too, Momma let a few of them go into the city instead of him alone. They were being given more freedom, since Izuku had done so well the first few times
He ignored the sting in his throat when Momma told them that.
The weather had warmed up a bit too. Winter was still clinging to the air, but the sun was out more.
That was how Izuku found himself walking to a grocery store, Shouto, Katsuki, and Mei keeping pace with him. All of them had already caught the cold and recovered from it. Izuku made sure they all had masks anyway. Just in case, since none of them wanted others to get sick because of them.
The four of them marched through the city, talking about whatever came to mind and switching topics at random. Katsuki and Shouto roughhoused while walking somehow. Mei chattered about her latest baby, which she had latched onto calling her inventions after Izuku said it would make people confused. He thought it was a perfect idea.
“Hey Zuku,” Shouto asked, surprising Izuku even though he didn’t jump. “Why are you wearing a jacket?”
“I was cold and it has pockets. Not everyone can wear shorts and a t-shirt in winter, Sho.”
“Told ya!” Katsuki barked in triumph. “I win, so we have to go look in the merch store before getting food.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Same here.”
“I’ll see if they have any knockoff things I can use for support gear bases.”
Izuku smiled, gently knocking Mei’s shoulder with his own. She might still not like heroes, which he understood
especially now
, but he was overjoyed that she was willing to come inside with them.
The four of them invaded the store, scattering over the small building. Izuku wandered off to the action figure aisle. There was a new All Might one he wanted to check the price on. It was their normal drill, something they had done a thousand times before.
Then the lights blinked out.
Izuku instantly tensed, eyes scanning for what could be wrong and mind kicking into overdrive. People were murmuring in worry across the darkened store. There was an employee on the aisle with him. They looked nervous, so the lights cutting out probably wasn’t a normal thing. Or it was a new employee, but Izuku was inclined to believe the former.
“EVERYONE STAY WHERE YOU ARE! THIS IS A ROBBERY!”
Oh boy. Here we go again.
Izuku lurched forward, instinct guiding him towards the threat—guiding him to protect —but he hesitated. His siblings were here. He couldn’t put them in danger with his secret. Coconspirators to vigilantism weren’t punished as harshly, but it was close. He couldn’t do that to them. Not when they had no idea what he was doing in the first place.
But he had to do something.
A plan formed in the back of his mind, something probably equal parts stupid and likely to work. Izuku turned to the nearest employee first, quietly urging them to rush to the back room. They could stay out of sight and call the heroes from there. They were quick to nod and rush off. With that done, Izuku crept towards the front.
There were only two robbers he could see, but they didn’t seem to have extremely powerful quirks. At first glance, that is. Izuku knew better than to underestimate an opponent, and took a moment to analyze them.
The first one had a mutant type quirk: big antlers growing out of their head. That wasn’t all though. The antlers seemed to be moving and growing rapidly, the person likely had some degree of control over manipulating them. It would be good for restraining hostages or using as a ranged weapon, depending on their sharpness. Something to avoid, but it could be worse.
The second one didn’t have an obvious quirk, but they did have a gun. Izuku stayed where he was watching a bit longer for something, anything, that could help him.
The handle of the gun was multicolored, a smeared rainbow from the robber’s hand. Izuku watched for a second longer, and saw beads of color run down their wrist. If he had to guess, it was probably paint. Not the weirdest quirk Izuku had seen, but certainly still dangerous depending on a few factors. He didn’t have time to unpack the unknowns though.
Izuku just hoped his family didn’t kill him for this. He had taken on a few villains trying to rob stores they were in before, but none of them had ever had guns. Society as a whole used quirks more, since they were generally seen as more dangerous in most scenarios. Even so, they weren’t something to mess with.
In the corner of his eye, Izuku caught a glimpse of Mei hiding behind a shelf. He waved a hand to catch her attention, and started signing.
“Where are Katsuki and Shouto?” He asked.
“Back of the store,” she signed back. “Checking civilians.”
Izuku nodded, glancing back up. The paint villain had their gun trained on the cashier. The till was being emptied.
Quickly, he signed to Mei one last thing. “No yelling. Keep siblings away.”
She looked confused, but nodded anyway. Izuku took a deep breath. He traded his blue medical mask for a green one, and pulled up his hood. In as loud and solid a voice he could manage, he yelled to the villains.
“HEY!” Izuku stepped into the open, voice intentionally deeper than before. “Get away from the cashier, and this doesn’t have to end ugly.”
“Who the hell are you, kid?” The paint villain growled, waving their partner forward.
“Have you not heard of me?” Izuku asked, stepping closer. Both villains eyed him. “Shame, really. And I thought my name was becoming known.”
“And just who are you?”
“Maybe you recognize the name Kitsune?”
The reaction was immediate, which Izuku wasn’t actually expecting. Mei for one jumped, staring with wide eyes in his peripheral vision. She stayed still and quiet though. That was enough to make his relax slightly.
Both villains leapt backwards, away from any civilians. The antlers on the first one’s head returned to a normal size. They backed away from Izuku, not fearful, but definitely wary.
“Yeah, I know that name,” the antler one grumbled. “Of all the fucking places we had to rob, it had to have Kitsune inside.”
“You saved my sister a while ago,” the paint one said, gun aimed at the floor. “Her piece of shit ex was stalking her for weeks. And you landed that gaslighting drug dealer in jail too.”
Well that was news to Izuku, but he brushed it off. Confidence was important here. One slip and they’d figure out just how scared he really was.
“We won’t attack you,” the second one said, surprising Izuku. “God knows we’d lose, even if you do seem like a shrimp. Come on, Elk, we can get money somewhere else.”
Izuku was…slightly shell shocked. The two villains moved towards the doors. “Wait! Wait, one second. Let me write something for you.”
The two would-be criminals paused while Izuku scribbled something on a piece of paper. He handed it to them, staying as far away as possible. When they saw what was on it, they both blinked up at him.
“Those are places that give out food, water, and clothes. As well as mental and drug help,” he explained. “It’s not much, but saves rent money if that’s why you’re here. And- and tell your sister I’m glad she’s safe.”
“…you’re not bad, Kitsune. Thank you.”
“I’m here to help people, side of the law be damned. Go, before the cops get here.”
They walked out of the building without a fuss. The employees peeked over their desks, staring at him in awe. Everyone inside seemed to physically slump with relief. Mei rushed over, stopping herself just short of touching him.
“That was amazing,” she breathed, stars in her crosshair eyes.
“Th-thank you. But I should probably go now.”
An employee tapped their till, getting his attention. “Go out the back. It leads to the alleys, but you can get through them and to the street. I don’t know you or your name, kid, but thanks. We owe you one.”
“Helping me escape is more than enough,” Izuku promised. “Now I really do have to go.”
Izuku caught Katsuki and Shouto’s eyes, right before he took off out of the building.
While racing through the alleys he took off his jacket, tying it around his waist. The mask was traded for the one he’d had on earlier. His hair was fluffed back up, and Izuku slowed his pace to a normal walk again. It would take a few minutes for his heart rate to calm down again.
He went straight to the store they had originally planned on going to. His siblings were waiting for him out front, just like he knew they would be. Izuku quickly considered just going home, but he didn’t. Mostly because his siblings would still find him wherever he hid. His good hiding spots had long since been limited to the roof and attic.
It was time to face the music.
Mei was the first to notice him. She ran up, crushing him in a hug that left him wheezing for a moment. Shouto and Katsuki did the same, though not quite as debilitating. They stepped away with questions halfway off their tongues.
“Wait until we’re home, ok?” Izuku pleaded, using his puppy eyes.
“Fine,” Katsuki grumbled.
Shouto nodded, and Mei looked him over critically. “You’re not hurt, are you?”
“Nope. Just used words.”
“Good. Because knowing our family, you’re getting beat up at home.”
Izuku let out a nervous laugh, trailing into the store behind his siblings. The impending conversation would be an interesting one, that was for sure.
Notes:
This and next chapter were originally supposed to be only one, but then it reached 7k so I split it, sorry if the ending is a tiny bit choppy because of that :/
Fun fact: I googled juvie to make sure I was spelling it correctly, and one of the first other questions that popped up was “can a 10 year old go to juvie?” It made me laugh since my mind immediately jumped to it being in-universe and it only being that popular of a question because of Izuku and his siblings frantically googling if he could go to jail
Also this chapter tried to FIGHT ME when I was trying to get it out. If you're on my discord you might know what I meant. Not even kidding I said I was going to finish this like 4 separate times, and every Single Time something stopped me. And it's still kinda late but I was getting this posted today no matter what
Mildly based on my brother and sister that routinely leap off of things, my sister that scales trees and stone walls like she's a squirrel, and my little neighbor that would probably tie a bad guy up with duct tape if she had the opportunity to. They helped characterize Izuku and his vigilantism :D
Anyway I hope you have a good day/night!! No idea when the next chapter will be done but I am 4 weeks away from freedom so we'll see how that goes. Maybe one more chapter before my finals, and then I'm hoping to resume a normal once a week or every other week schedule once summer hits :D
(one more thing: don't be afraid to ask me when the next chapter will be. I genuinely don't mind being asked, and it'll give you an explanation on why the chapter is taking a while)
Chapter 64: Theoretically
Summary:
Continuation of last chapter: the ensuing conversation that follows siblings finding out their brother is a vigilante :D
Notes:
Hello!! I have finished finals so I am now free!! Almost, still got some stuff to do and work, but I have more time to write now :D
Happy Mothers Day! I know some of you guys don't have good parents so I am your mom now. Mothers Day is now for me to tell you how much I love you and gather new kids that need love. You are amazing!! You are loved!!! It's ok to cry and be sad and you're allowed to want things to be better!! Just because it could be worse doesn't mean it shouldn't be better!!! I love you!!!!!
Enjoy the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Izuku very much wished to disappear right now, or maybe have the quirk of his second-grade friend, Tooru.
There were eyes drilling into the back of his head. Izuku could feel how close his siblings were watching him, like they thought he might run off again. Which, he was becoming more tempted to do with the staring. The eyes on him made his skin crawl and fight or flight reflexes kick in.
They finished shopping with minimal conversation and lots of speed-walking. Izuku was given most of the things to carry, but he wasn’t about to complain. He had enough strength to hold it all anyway. His siblings also did, but it gave him something to do besides panic about his current situation.
The walk home was the quietest Izuku thinks he’s ever heard his siblings. It was unnerving. The glass silence felt like it would shatter any minute, and shards of anger would follow it. He knew what he had done was wrong. He knew it was technically illegal, and that it would only hurt people in the end, but…
But he was finally doing something. No one else had stepped up, so he had. He defended those people on his evening grocery runs. He kept them from harm's way and a hospital bill. He called the cops to come take the perpetrator away so they wouldn’t hurt anyone else, at least for the moment. No hero had done it, so he took it upon himself. It was a heavy burden, but one Izuku was happy to have.
Honestly the fact that more vigilantes hadn’t moved in before was confusing to him. Maybe it was because the police of the area were hostile towards them, or the risks were too high in Musutafu. There was an over-saturation of villains compared to heroes, legal or otherwise.
Or maybe it was just because no one believed things could get better. It wouldn’t be the first time.
Either way, Izuku wasn’t going to stop, but…but he also couldn’t lose his siblings. He just couldn’t. They meant too much to him. It was a fine line he was walking. One that he was one misstep away from falling into oblivion, dramatic as that sounded, but it was true.
They got home quickly, shoes, masks, and jackets being discarded at the door. Izuku, who had a majority of the bags, set them in the kitchen. Momma yelled down the stairs to greet them. Katsuki and Shouto were still ignoring Izuku.
It almost hurt more than them being angry would have.
The second their groceries were put away, Izuku was dragged upstairs. Literally. Katsuki grabbed the front of his shirt and hauled him up to their room. Momma passed them on the way, raising an eyebrow but not interfering. Izuku just waved at her as he disappeared into their room.
Katsuki slammed the door behind them, drawing the attention of everyone scattered around their room. They were all in there for once. Izuku sent them a sheepish grin, Katsuki finally letting go of his shirt.
“Explain,” he demanded.
“Um, can I-“
“Katsuki, what is this about?” Momo asked, eyeing the two of them.
Their brother grimaced, sharply pointing to Izuku. “This idiot just stopped a robbery-”
“But hasn’t-“
“-by saying his name was Kitsune.”
“…oh.”
Izuku knew they had heard of Kitsune by now. At least the name, just whispered in school hallways and passed around as gossip. Someone who had taken down a villain or two and caused a stir with the police. A wildcard parents whispered about when they thought their kids weren’t listening.
In Izuku’s defense, he’d had no idea the villains he took out were ones with big crimes attached to their names. How was he supposed to know two of them had warrants out for their arrest? Not that that would help him now. Secrets were hard to keep in their family, and now he was being shoved through the curtain to face the music.
Izuku thought it was unfair that he was less scared of a person with a knife than telling his siblings the truth, but that wasn’t exactly a problem he could avoid at the moment.
He hunched in on himself, almost like curling into a ball would get rid of all the eyes on him. “Can- can I explain? Please?”
Katsuki grumbled, but took a seat on the floor. Shouto did too, albeit with a bit more grace. Izuku settled on their bed. Mei seemed to make it her mission to stick by his side as the rest of their siblings quietly gathered around.
“I, uh, guess I’ll start from the beginning?” Izuku paused, scraping together his thoughts. “It was when Momma sent me to get groceries by myself, when Sho was sick. I- I heard someone yell. There was no one else around, I couldn't just let something bad happen. I couldn’t. I had my hood up and a green mask on and knocked them out.”
“Was that the end of it?” Mina asked. “Katsuki, I don’t think…”
“No, it wasn’t,” Izuku sighed. “I didn’t go looking for people though! I just, kept going out, and people were in trouble. I couldn’t let them get hurt. But they- um, they might’ve been bigger villains than I thought? And then we went out today and villains attacked the store and one of them was a sister to someone I saved and they knew my name so they left without fighting and I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d all be worried and I can’t sit back and do nothing anymore. I just, I- I can’t.”
The room was silent, probably the quietest it’s ever been if he was being honest. Izuku stared down at his lap. Mei leaned against him, the weight comforting. He knew she was fine with his vigilante actions, but she was still worried. It showed in how protective she was being.
When it came down to it, they didn’t know how their siblings would react. All of them knew about vigilantes, that much was inevitable in their world. But Izuku didn’t know how opposed to it they were. Mei had made her opinion clear to him, everyone else was practically a wildcard.
Kouji was the first to speak, breaking the silence with his quiet words. “Do you regret it?”
Izuku shook his head. What he did…it was never something he could regret, even if he lost something because of it. He heard his siblings shift where they sat at his answer.
“Are you going to stop now that we know?” Hitoshi questioned, voice shaky but solid.
“I…” Izuku hesitated. He thought it over a few dozen times, and came up with the same answer. “…no. We all know how bad this city has gotten. I can’t- I can’t keep standing here while it gets worse.”
“We’re still kids, Zu.”
“I know, but Toshi-“
“You could get hurt! Or worse! These are adults, Izuku! Let them solve their own problems. There aren’t many heroes here but what do you think you can do by yourself? Do you really-“
“Don’t you think I know that?!” Izuku snapped. His head lifted, tears dripping from his cheeks. “I know I can’t do enough. I know I can’t fix it all. I know it’s dangerous but- but Toshi, I have to try! I can’t let people get hurt because I stayed home and did nothing! ”
“Zuku, we’re still small though,” Shouto said. “The villains are usually bigger than us.”
“And I’m smarter. I’ve already taken down some of them, and most weren’t paying attention so it was easier than a lot of people.”
“And what if they are paying attention? What then, Zu?”
“Then I fight back. Dad’s been teaching us since we- since we were tiny. I can do it.”
“Zu-“
“I know you don’t approve of it,” Izuku croaked. “I know- I know this is dangerous, and I’m not giving up on being a hero. But I’m not old enough yet, I’ve checked. You don’t need to approve of it, I guess, I just- I can’t- I don’t want you guys-“
Mei grabbed his arm, pulling him closer to her. He squeezed his eyes shut. No need to see the disappointment on his siblings’ faces.
Someone touched his other shoulder. Izuku hid a flinch, but cracked his eyes open. Hitoshi was there, worry painted over his face.
“I don’t…approve of it, but we aren’t going to be mad at you, Zu. I just, I don’t want you to be labeled a villain. We all know that’s the last thing you deserve, especially since we already have bullies.”
“Yeah,” Momo spoke up softly. “We won’t stop you Izu, heaven knows we probably can’t if we tried. We just don’t want you to get arrested.”
“I won’t. I swear I won’t. I’ll- I’m careful. I wear a mask and hood and leave before I even hear police sirens.”
“Not like there’re any heroes to stop him,” Kacchan grumbled.
There was a round of agreement. Izuku gazed around at all of them with wide eyes, before he started crying in earnest. Sobs wracked his body, shoulders shaking with the force of it. They all gathered around him in a hug without a second thought.
“Thank- thank you,” he sobbed.
“What did you think we were going to do, you idiot?” Katsuki said fondly. “Tell adults? We only trust Auntie Inko, Uncle Sashi, and Auntie Rei, and shit like this isn’t something you just walk up and say. Besides, you saved our asses, like hell we’d tattle on you.”
“You were pretty badass,” Shouto hummed.
A wave of laughter engulfed them, half their voices mixed with tears. Izuku, he couldn’t be happier. It was like relief and joy had nestled themselves in his chest and refused to stop glowing.
“How did you take down villains in a store anyway?”
Izuku lit up, and wiggled his way out of their group hug. “So I was minding my own business-“
“Bullshit.”
“I was!”
Izuku told them the story, which included how he had saved the would-be robber’s sister. They all listened with growing awe on their faces. It was nice, being able to tell someone what he had done. What he had been through already.
“You did all that, and didn’t tell us?” Mina gasped. “How dare you hold out on such good stories!”
“I’m just surprised we didn’t notice you making notes on it,” Shouto commented.
Kouji waved his hands, catching their attention. “Why Kitsune?”
“Oh, well, they’re smart, and sometimes guardians. I want to be like that. They also use fire, kinda like Dad.”
The rest of them nodded, making comments on how well it seemed to fit him. Izuku felt something akin to pride glowing in his chest. Mei muttered something beside him.
“Purely theoretically,” she said loudly, grabbing everyone’s attention. “I think my vigilante name would be Daedalus.”
“Ooh, like the greek inventor!” Izuku glanced at his other siblings, an idea flickering in his mind. “What about you guys?”
“Ares,” was Katsuki’s immediate answer. He had obviously thought about it before.
“I was going to say Athena,” Momo hummed, smiling. “Guess we’re two halves of a whole then.”
“Fuck yeah.”
“I’ve always liked Frostman,” Shouto said.
“Ah, what about Chimera?” Izuku suggested. “You know, like when something is split down the middle, but it’s also the name of the monster with a lion, goat, and snake head.”
“I like that better.”
Mina leapt to her feet, striking a pose. “Basilisk! The snake that spits acid!”
“Pan,” Kouji signed. “Greek god of nature. And means panic because he jumped out at people to scare them.”
“Are we really doing this?” Hitoshi asked. He received no answer except expectant stares. “Mm, fine. I like the name Gorgon.”
“These are all awesome,” Mei said, writing in a notebook she had gotten from who-knows-where. Izuku didn’t know whether they should be wary of the look in her eyes or not.
“So, what happens now?”
The room was quiet. None of them really knew the answer. Izuku had an idea, but no clue on how well it would be received.
Well, he had nothing to lose, really.
“You guys could always, um, come with me? If it makes you feel better about making sure I’m safe about it.”
“Really? You’d be ok with us tagging along?” Mina asked, looking hopeful.
“Well, yeah. It’s not like we’re unprepared for this, and I know you’ll be safe. Just…no telling Momma and Dad and Auntie Rei, deal?”
Slowly, they all said some variation of agreement. Hitoshi was still one of the most reluctant. Izuku understood why, and he couldn’t blame his brother. Out of all of them, he was most often labeled as having a villain’s quirk. The one adults and other kids alike purposefully ignored or picked on. Becoming a vigilante would just make that majority bigger.
He understood, and it’s why Izuku felt like his eyes would bug out of his head when Hitoshi said, “I call dibs on going first.”
“Toshi, are you sure?”
“Someone has to make sure you don’t get yourself in trouble,” he grumbled.
Izuku laughed, leaning against his brother. Relief blossomed in his chest. Nestled alongside it was happiness and excitement. He could finally share with his siblings what he’d been doing.
A knock caught their attention. Momo got up to open it, revealing Momma on the other side.
“Uki and Ochako are coming over for tea tomorrow, ok?” They all nodded, the mood immediately lightening. Any day Ochako came over was a good day.
Momma retreated again and gently closed the door behind her. The tension from before was discarded, and Izuku found that not much had actually changed. His siblings were curious, that much was obvious, but they didn’t hate him. They weren’t wary of him and they weren’t angry. Worried for his well-being, yes, but they weren’t going to leave him.
Izuku settled into their familiar routine, and felt like smiling wasn’t enough to express just how happy he was.
~~~~~~~~~~
Mei wiped sweat from her forehead, weighing the pros and cons of adding a second fan to the shed. Probably more leaning towards the pros, since she didn’t leave the place much at the moment, and it got stuffy even in winter. She would leave a window open, but that would blow in things she didn’t want to deal with cleaning up.
It had been a week since Izuku told them all he was technically a vigilante. The only reason “technically” was tacked on is because minors were persecuted differently, and it couldn’t be proven that he had used a quirk. Mei hadn’t been that surprised when the truth came out, even if she hadn’t expected it to go quite like that.
What he had done was brave, there was no denying it. Their siblings could say it was dangerous all they wanted, but their city wasn’t getting better on it’s own. Izuku was a hero in Mei’s eyes. A good, actual hero. It was the whole reason why she was holed up in her lab.
Izuku wasn’t going to stop. She knew that from the start. He was stubborn, most of all when someone else was in danger. It was really only a matter of time until he became a vigilante. Mei had known that since the first time seeing his talk about how many villains there were in the city. Even if he didn’t realize it himself, Izuku was a spring being coiled tighter and tighter, and it had only been a matter of time before the energy was released.
Nothing could stop him, so Mei figured she might as well help him. She knew some of the other siblings were thinking the same. Fieldwork wasn’t something Mei wanted to do, but working behind the scenes? Sign her the fuck up.
Mei wiped her forehead again, leaning back from her current project. It was coming along well so far. Her zooming helped with the finer details, just like Izuku had guessed. The thought of him spurred her to keep going. He had already done so much for her, this was the least she could do to pay him back.
A sewing machine that had been buried in the garage whirred to life again. Mei had used one before, but that one had been old as crap and half broken. Momma Inko’s old one was way better. It made everything go twice as fast as Mei had thought it would.
A knock on the door drew her attention. She called for them to come in, not looking away from her current seam. It was Momo, she knew it was. She was one of the only ones that was allowed inside right now. Everyone else knew better than to invade her workspace. Katsuki had learned that the hard way. Mei was down two prototype drones, but had gained one golden memory of Mr. Spiky himself running screaming across the yard as flying water guns chased him.
“How’s the suit coming?” Momo asked.
“Almost done with this piece. Did you eat?”
“Of course I did,” Momo borderline scoffed. “I know better after you refused to let me help for two days.”
Mei nodded, not regretting anything she had done. Momo needed more self-preservation. If Mei had to drill that into her head then so be it. Maybe it would work with Izuku at some point.
“Did you see the blueprint for the filter piece?”
“Mmhm,” Momo hummed. “Quite complicated, but I can do it.”
“Not today. Messed up a circuit for one of the emote pieces, can you make a new one?”
“Only if you let me take over sewing for a bit. I know you haven’t put that down for at least three hours.”
Mei looked up, sharing an unamused look with Momo. She stared right back with determination backing her gaze.
“Ugh, fine.”
Momo broke into a grin. Mei wondered when she had absorbed some of their siblings’ cheekier habits. She slumped off of her chair and onto the floor, not even bothering to stand up. Momo just stepped over her limp body and sat at the bench. The chip Mei needed was set on the table.
Mei found herself drifting off for a few minutes to the sound of Momo singing softly. It was some lullaby-ish song they heard on one of their shows. She hummed along, the tune lulling her into a half-nap.
Momo repeated the song, and Mei mumbled some of the lyrics along with her. “If I could, begin to be, half of what you think of me,” they sang quietly. “I could do about anything. I could even learn how to love.”
Mei didn’t know how much time passed, just that the floor was comfortable and the background noise of a sewing machine and singing was comforting. It was almost mind boggling how different her life was now. It was nice, being at peace enough to fall asleep uncaring of someone hurting her. Even if she still slept light as a mouse.
“When I see- the way you act, wondering when I’m coming back. I could do about anything. I could even learn how to love, like you.”
Mei vowed to protect this family. Her family. She wouldn’t take the front lines, but by god she would do her absolute best to keep them safe with what she knew. If that meant armor and masks, so be it.
“I always thought, I might be bad, now I know that it’s true. ‘Cause I think you’re so good, and I’m nothing like you. Look at you go, I just adore you, I wish that I knew. What makes, you think I’m so special.”
She had dragged Shouto into her lab the other day. He was sworn to secrecy. So was Momo, to be fair, though she was significantly less terrified of Mei’s babies. Mei had gone off on a side experiment with his fire. Fun fact she learned: it did in fact burn things like normal fire. That itself had sparked another few rounds of experiments. Most of which also freaked him out, just a bit.
Once she told him her motivation though, he agreed to any future experiments.
“If I could, begin to do, something that does right by you. I would do about anything. I would even learn how to love.”
Some of the tests had worked, other blew up in their faces. Literally. Mei made sure to do those ones outside behind the shed. Nothing had burned down though, so she considered that a win. Momo made her some extra fire extinguishers though, just to be safe.
“When I see, the way you look, shaken by how long it took, I could do about anything. I could even learn how to love, like you. Love, like you.”
Mei swore to protect her family. She swore to take care of them and keep them safe. Izuku was going to be a vigilante. It was an inevitability, so she was going to keep him safe while he did it. She would do everything she could to bring him home at the end of the night. Mei was going to give him what she heard him muttering about when he thought no one was listening. After everything he had done for her, it was only a dent in the mountain of things she wanted to give him.
“Love me, like you.”
Mei was going to give him another quirk. Even if it had to be an artificial one.
Bonus:
Uki sipped her tea, chatting with Inko and Rei. Days she could come over for tea were relatively few and far between, but they were always lovely. Ochako loved them too. The Midoriya children were her best friends, Izuku especially. It was just as much adorable as it was occasionally concerning.
Korobu was working right now. He had borderline demanded Uki take a break, since she may have been working herself ragged this week. Hisashi had overheard, and suggested she go have tea with Inko and Rei, since neither had work. With the two practically ushering her out the door, Uki begrudgingly admitted she could use some rest.
In her defense, villain attacks had spiked in an area their company was working in. Uki had been working overtime to try and make sure there weren’t people onsite at times of highest activity. She had tried working out when and where attacks were common. Korobu had found her asleep at her desk with numbers and marks on a city map under her arms.
Tea was nice. It was a break, and talking with Inko and Rei never failed to soothe her nerves. They talked about anything and everything they could think of. All the while their children either played upstairs, in the yard, or wandered off to the nearby park. This time there were shrill voices outside playing some game that included her daughter floating up to the rain gutter to grab a ball every once in a while.
With Peeve curled up in her lap purring like a train engine, and a mug of warm tea, Uki felt herself finally relax.
“And this one lovely old man comes in every Sunday,” Rei said, telling Uki about her job at a florist. “He always gets different flowers, and they’re all for his wife. Last week she came in to get flowers for him and it was adorable. She was so excited to give him flowers.”
“Aww, that does sound adorable. Korobu used to give me a flower every date we had, and still does, the charmer.”
“Hisashi did something similar,” Inko laughed. “Although-“
Inko’s phone buzzed, and she snatched it up like a cat on a fish. She set it down just as fast. Both Uki and Rei glanced at one another.
“Ah, sorry. I’m waiting for an old friend to call back,” Inko explained.
“Is it important?” Uki asked curiously.
“I suppose. Just asking an old friend if he’s willing to mentor Mei. He works in a field she enjoys, and I was hoping he might be able to teach her some things that I can’t.”
“Aw, that’s really sweet Inko.”
“Mmhm,” Uki agreed.
Inko’s phone actually rang this time, and she stood up from the couch with a polite, “Excuse me for a moment.”
Uki didn’t intentionally eavesdrop, but she did catch a few phrases. Namely something about a last favor and the name Niseru. Hm, well, not her business. The fact that whoever-it-was shared a name with the accountant they knew was probably just a coincidence.
Inko came back into the room looking satisfied. “He agreed! Mei gets to learn under him for a while.”
“That’s great Inko!” Uki gushed.
Rei clapped her hands. “I believe this calls for more tea and the cookies I know are squirreled away in a cabinet. Let me go grab them.”
Uki couldn’t help laughing. The Midoriyas, and Hisames, seemed to have that effect. It was one reason why they were such close friends.
Uki couldn’t be more grateful to have people like them in her life.
Notes:
Bonus points to whoever knows what song the two girls were singing! It’s one of my favorites, and works well to get small children to sleep. Same thing with Plant Life by Owl City
I hope you liked the vigilante names! I've had them planned out for probably close to a year now. I should probably finish the costume refs before the actual arc gets here...
Next chapter!: Kid 9 appears! Things happen! Most likely won't take a month again to post :D
Edit: No I don't have a twitter anymore, if the account still exists I haven't touched it in literal years lol, come see my tumblr instead where y'all get to see me be a nerd about animals occasionally in the tags
ANYWAY HAVE A GOOD DAY/NIGHT I LOVE YOU AND YOU ARE IMPORTANT
Chapter 65: Splinter
Summary:
To whoever remembers me mentioning chapters I know for a fact the comments are just going to be screaming and crying: hello :)
I would advise you have tissues nearby when reading this chapter
I’m sorryWARNINGS (and spoilers): Death, falling building, and lots of feelings
Please don't read if you think it'll take a toll on your mental health, take care of yourselves <3
Notes:
HELLO FRIENDS I AM BACK
This would have been out sooner but I haven't had a computer for the past week and a half. I don't regret it though, I got to see gators and go on a really fast boatAnyway welcome back to Cosmic forgets what the heck Hisashi specifically does in his job and not having time to research what actually happens in his field
ALSO please keep in mind when I say “godparents” I just mean adults who have been legally named as guardians should the kid’s actual parents unable to parent for whatever reason. There are no actual religious ties to it in this fic, just wanted to clarify that!
With that said, I hope you...uh...well, I hope I can accomplish making you feel things
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hisashi would never get tired of waking up to his life. He got to see his beautiful wife as soon as he opened his eyes. Then he would go downstairs, turn on the coffee maker, and watch as their many children eventually followed him down. Inko always trailed down around fifteen minutes after Hisashi. It was their routine, and he loved it.
The weekend brought any number of things. Rei and Inko had no work today, but he did. The kids had homework and projects to work on. Not that that stopped them from lamenting the fact he couldn’t spend most of the day with them.
“Where are you working today, Dad?” Izuku asked over the table, ever the curious one.
“Down off of Plum Street, so quite a ways today.”
“Be careful down there, dear,” Inko said, kissing his cheek as she passed by. “There’s been a spike in villain attacks in that area.”
“I promise I’ll be careful. The thought of never seeing you again would allow me to conquer death a thousand times, my love.”
Hitoshi made a face at their mushiness, and Katsuki pretended to gag. Hisashi just smiled. He knew they found Inko and him being sappy cute. Hisashi had heard it right from the roots of the grapevine, aka Mei, who for some reason liked to gossip with him.
“So long as you aren’t late for dinner,” Inko laughed.
Hisashi got up, knowing he had to leave soon. The kids were still whining about him having to leave. He just chuckled, ruffled their hair, and gave Inko a kiss before heading out the door.
Uki and Korobu would be onsite with him today, and maybe Ochako. That depended on if their babysitter showed up, and if they could get one in the first place. Hisashi knew money was tight with them. Running a business in a villain-prone area was risky enough, but a construction company just added more to that, especially since they treated their employees so well. If he snuck some extra grocery money into their pockets sometimes, well, no one had caught him yet.
The site was alive and busy as it always was when he got there. He spotted Korobu speaking with one of the other workers, and Uki was watching a wall be pulled into the air for one of the upper floors. This building was almost done. A few walls, mostly inside ones, had to be put up yet. All the main framework was in place though. The beams were always a bitch to deal with, so Hisashi was glad those were done.
“Uncle Sashi!”
Hisashi had enough time to look to his left before a small weight barreled into his side. He stumbled, but didn’t fall. The little girl attached to his side began giggling as he lifted her off the ground.
“Hello to you too, Ochako,” Hisashi laughed. “What are you doing here today?”
“Mom couldn’t get someone to watch me today, so she let me come with them!”
“Well you know the drill by now. Wanna help me manage people?”
“Heck yeah!”
Ochako paused, before tapping her arm. With no weight she was easy to set on his shoulders. She canceled it a moment later. Nausea was still a problem she struggled with, but it made Hisashi happy to see her wearing the motion sickness bracelet Izuku had given her.
“Ah, Hisashi, you’re here.” Uki was suddenly in front of him. Hisashi shot her a smile as her daughter sat on his shoulders.
“Of course I am. What’s being done today?”
“Finishing the last of the outside walls, putting up most of the inside framework, and hopefully finalizing flooring. Korobu and I have to go check with the furnishing warehouse later as well.”
“So I do normal manager things and act as a babysitter?” Hisashi said good-naturedly, ignoring how Ochako was putting his black hair in a unicorn horn.
“If- if it isn’t too much trouble. The last sitter canceled and we couldn’t find another on short notice-“
“Uki, you’re fine. You know I’m happy to watch my goddaughter.”
Uki grinned, weary and grateful. Hisashi truly was happy to watch Ochako for the day. She knew when to stay out of the way and not get in trouble. With no close relatives, the Midoriyas were the Urarakas closest friends. Hisashi had started crying when Uki and Korobu asked Inko and him if they’d be ok with being named godparents. Better safe than sorry in the world they lived in.
With how much those two had on their plate, Hisashi was happy to do anything to make their load easier. Ochako was a good kid too. She knew her stuff, and could navigate a construction site like a pro. It wasn’t too surprising, considering she had grown up around them.
“Thank you, Hisashi. Korobu and I are going to walk through the inside quickly, then we’ll be off.”
“You go do the important things, we’ve got this, right Ochako?”
“Yeah!”
“Alright then,” Uki laughed. “Be good for Hisashi, Ochako. We love you, little star.”
Ochako giggled, reaching out and patting her mother’s head. Uki smiled, waving one more time before jogging over to where her husband was. Hisashi turned back to the site, taking a moment to organize all of what he had to do today.
“Are we doing an inspection?” Ochako asked, still playing with his hair.
“We’ll probably look over everything to make sure it’s good, then help put up some more of the walls. Sound good?”
“Yep!”
Hisashi nodded, moving towards the building-in-progress. Ochako was still playing with his hair. Honestly Hisashi didn’t care if he walked around with twenty pigtails. It couldn’t be worse than the time he went to work with marker scrawled on his face thanks to falling asleep in the living room.
“You’re really strong, Uncle Sashi,” Ochako commented. “My dad can’t carry me on his shoulders anymore.”
“I guess I am,” he laughed. “I just like being able to lift my kids, and being strong helps with other stuff too.”
“I wanna be strong like you when I grow up. So I can be a hero and lift things and help my mom and dad.”
Hisashi chuckled, reaching up and patting her arm. “That’s a good goal, kiddo. Alright then, onwards!”
Most of the other workers waved to Ochako as they passed by, saying good morning to the two of them, then continuing whatever they had been doing. Hisashi set Ochako down at one point so she could walk. Strong as he was, carrying a ten year-old on his shoulders for an extended period of time was hard.
The two of them met up with Uki and Korobu again on one of the upper floors. It didn’t have anything besides the flooring and four walls, which would change soon if their plan for the day was correct. Hisashi walked up and heard them muttering something about floorings and paint.
Once he was close enough, Hisashi asked, “Are you two headed out soon?”
Korobu looked up, Uki still engrossed in her mutterings. “Oh, in a few minutes. We needed to check on something first.”
Ochako ran up, grabbing her dad’s hand in both of hers, pinkies raised of course. “Dad, Dad, Dad, can I go wander around? I want to see if Mr. Tateru needs help.”
“Sure honey. Just don’t bug him if he’s busy.”
Ochako pumped her fist in victory, before running off to one of the lower floors. She knew her way around. The stairwells were already secured, so she’d be fine going up and down them instead of the scaffolding. Hisashi also trusted that she wouldn’t get in the way, and her parents did too.
“Everything looking good this morning?” Korobu asked.
Hisashi nodded, “Everything is in place and right on schedule. Ochako still wants to help lift walls with her quirk though.”
“I know she does. She hasn’t quite grasped the concept of quirk use without a license of some sort being illegal.”
“My kids are the same,” Hisashi laughed. “The other day Mina-“
Hisashi’s phone sounded off an alarm, then Korobu’s, then Uki’s. Before they could blink he had his phone out.
Hisashi almost wished he hadn’t, but that wouldn’t change what he saw.
~~~~~~~~~~
Korobu watched as Hisashi’s face drained of color. His yellow eyes were wide, and Korobu could almost see his stomach drop.
“A villain attack is happening down the street,” he said. “And moving. Everyone needs to evacuate.”
Korobu glanced over at his wife, and knew they shared the same expression. Dread, fear, and the beginning edges of panic. They had to leave. They had to get out now.
“We’ll tell everyone over the radio,” Uki told them. “Hisashi, make sure everyone below gets out. And- and please get Ochako. Please keep her safe.”
Hisashi’s face hardened with determination, switching to something Korobu had seen a few times before. It was not an expression a normal man wore. It was one that was protective, and willing to face death if it meant keeping people safe. Inko had worn the same expression once, when one of the kids nearly fell down their stairs from the top step. Her face had shifted as she strained her quirk to keep them from falling. They had walked away from it with nothing more than a shock of adrenaline.
Hisashi wore that very expression now, and nodded before racing towards the stairs faster than Korobu or Uki could say another word.
Korobu grabbed his radio, speaking into it swiftly and clearly. Everyone was to evacuate as quickly as possible. They immediately got responses back. Within minutes only a few people remained below them. Most had already evacuated, save for the ones on their way. Korobu was so wrapped up in mentally tracking each person that he forgot they were still on one of the top floors.
Then the ground shook. Korobu’s gaze snapped up to meet Uki’s, and they both simultaneously seemed to realize where they were.
“Come on, we have to leave too.” Korobu led the way to the stairs, knowing they would be clear. All the others were likely using the ones on the other side of the building, since that side was the one being finished. Everyone else was below them anyway.
The ground shook again, making the building rock. Korobu steadied himself with the railing, taking the steps as quickly as he could. They were nearly there. Three more floors. Almost-
The earth lurched beneath them, making Korobu and Uki stop on a landing to steady themselves. The floor beneath them seemed to be rebelling against whatever rested on its surface. Metal and concrete shook like it had been thrown into a raging storm. For a moment it was like the floor itself had turned into the waves of an angry hurricane.
Korobu lost his grip on the railing. Uki reached out to grab him, but at the wrong time. They were sent stumbling to the side just to keep their feet under themselves. The stairway had yet to crack, but that did nothing to stop them from careening through the landing’s doorway.
The shaking lessened for a moment, enough to let them climb to their feet and not fall over. Korobu had the fleeting thought that he was thankful for the lower floors being finished. A hole would have sent the two of them at least a story down, and most likely have resulted in broken bones. He would much rather have some bruises than a hospital visit.
It fell deadly silent and still, just for a moment. Korobu had a moment to wonder what exactly was going on outside. A villain attack, no doubt, but was it the villain causing this? Or the hero?
Without warning, the building jolted violently. Cracks spiderwebbed over the concrete and the metal framework shuddered. Plaster rained down overhead. Dust flew in from the stairwell, making the air hazy and harder to breathe.
Korobu had a single second to realize something had just crashed into their building, and probably destroyed a good chunk of it.
That- that was ok. Buildings could be rebuilt. They were easy to replace, as long as everyone made it out ok. As long as everyone else was safe, then it would be ok. That’s all that mattered to them.
There was no more violent shaking, no more floor trying to topple them to the ground. It was almost eerie. Shafts of light streamed in from the windows still shadowed by scaffolding, the dust making them seem almost solid. All Korobu could hear was his own breathing.
A quiet roaring rose up, growing louder and louder, like an approaching chorus of something he couldn't name.
Something almost seemed to loom over them. Korobu couldn’t help thinking it felt like when Ochako was above him, planning to drop any second. He had gotten used to the feeling, but this was…heavier.
He looked up, and time seemed to both freeze and move far too quickly.
Korobu became all too aware of how mortal he was. Of how much he had wanted to do in life. Of how, now, he might not get to see that.
The ceiling was collapsing, and possibly the rest of the building with it. Too much for Uki’s quirk to hold. She could float things, though not herself. Korobu could make himself feather light. Neither were much help with what was approaching.
Everything felt slow as he watched the roof collapse much too fast for him and Uki to run from. He watched the metal beams cave in over their heads. The floor vibrated with the incoming collapse.
A yell caught his attention. Hisashi, in the stairwell. It was reinforced and built specially for this very reason, but it was too far away. They wouldn’t make it, but Hisashi and Ochako would be safe. Time still felt like it was plunged in honey.
Korobu took Uki’s hand, and closed his eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ochako was already outside when Hisashi got there. She was looking around, yelling for her mom and dad. The battle was getting closer, rocking the ground as everyone else fled to hide in the attack bunkers of nearby shops.
But Uki and Korobu hadn’t made it out yet. Too wrapped up in making sure everyone had left, that they themselves had forgotten to evacuate. Hisashi didn’t have to see himself to know the color had drained from his face.
“Uncle Sashi!” Ochako yelled. “Mom and Dad aren’t out yet I don’t know where they are, we have to find them!“
“Breathe, Ochako. You stay here-“
“NO!” Ochako was on the verge of tears, frantically glancing at the dust cloud of a hero and villain fight getting closer. Too close, Hisashi’s mind whispered. “I have to help them!”
Hisashi shifted on his feet, glancing between the building and incoming danger. There was no time to argue.
“Fine, but you are staying right next to me, understood?”
Ochako nodded, a glint of determination in her eyes. Hisashi choked down a sigh, then grabbed the little girl’s hand, begging to whatever god would listen that he could save her parents before it was too late.
They raced back into the building, taking the stairs two at a time. Ochako kept up the best she could. Hisashi found himself hoisting her over some of the bigger jumps. He glanced out a window as they passed one floor, and saw a human meteorite about to crash into the building.
Hisashi grabbed Ochako and the railing a millisecond before the floor shuddered beneath them. The building itself didn’t give, but it was definitely something nearby. They didn’t have long.
The two of them bounded farther up the stairs, quickly checking each floor from the stairwell. It was the safest place. Reinforced down to the framework to protect against villain attacks and possible explosions, and meant to separate from existing floors if the building fell. It was more like a freestanding fire escape if anything.
The building shook again, and Hisashi knew something—or someone—had hit it. Everything rocked on its foundation, causing him to stumble. He still managed to keep both him and Ochako from falling. They got their feet under themselves at the nearest landing, a doorway to their right. Hisashi opened his mouth to say they should go back. It was too dangerous.
Movement caught his eye. Hisashi looked to the side, and saw them. Korobu and Uki, and a ceiling collapsing in on itself. They wouldn’t make it in time, none of them would. Horror laced its way through his veins.
Uki noticed them, and sent Hisashi a sad smile for a single moment. Hand in hand with Korobu, the building came crashing down around them.
Hisashi screwed his eyes shut, and used his body to shield Ochako. He pulled the two of them a few steps down, and huddled in place. Dust swirled in a vengeful storm around them. Ochako clung to him, shaking and hiding her face from the carnage. Debris scraped against Hisashi and hit his back, but he refused to budge. He refused to let even a piece touch the child in his hold.
Then the world fell silent. The ground didn’t rock and the air went hazy but relatively still. Hisashi opened his eyes when he didn’t hear anything else. The stairwell was intact, but a glance above them showed the rest of the building hadn’t been so lucky. Hisashi could see the sky. Barely, but it was there when it shouldn’t be.
Ochako wiggled out of his grip, and shot up the stairs. The landing was still there, as were the stairs about another few stories up. The rest was gone. A twisted mass of metal or just plain not there. Hisashi wondered what had hit it to collapse something like that.
“Mom? Dad?”
Hisashi stepped up beside her. The entire floor was gone, and everything above it. There was so much debris, he couldn’t tell if the first floor was still standing. The sun glowed hazy over their heads. Sirens wailed down the street.
A little louder this time, Ochako called down into the ruins. “Mom? Dad?!”
Hisashi set a hand on her shoulder, gently pulling her away from the crumpled doorway. Ochako’s eyes stayed trained on the rubble below.
“Come- come on, kiddo,” Hisashi coughed, dust invading his lungs. “We should get out of here.”
Ochako was staring at everything and nothing. Shock, Hisashi figured. He knelt down, looking her in the eyes. He spoke past the grief trying to block his throat.
“There’s- there’s still a chance,” he said, not believing himself. He knew how much concrete and steel had come crashing down “But we need- we need to get out of here first. I’ll be right here, ok?”
Ochako looked up the tiniest bit, and nodded. Hisashi picked her up, ignoring the strain on his muscles and blood dripping down his arms. He bit back his tears for the moment. It could wait. He had to make sure the two of them could get down the rest of the stairs.
Hisashi had to protect her. He couldn’t protect the Bakugous. He couldn’t protect the Urarakas. But he could keep their kids safe.
It was the least he owed them for not being there in time.
Notes:
Please don’t kill me I’m sorry ;▿;
WE GOT ART LOOK AT THIS ADORABLE THING
Like Father Like Son (By benny.thesalmon on ig)Anyway, who thought it was gonna be Hisashi? :3
Ok on a more serious note. While writing this arc I seriously debated if I wanted to scrap it completely. I accidentally got attached to Uki and Korobu (not the first time I've done that), and went back and forth with myself whether I should swap Ochako out with someone else and she just stay a close family friend. But I decided to keep this arc. With the kids being older it allows me to show grief in a more developed way. I can show the whole family mourning, and touch on the adults this time. This arc reflects real life. One day you have someone, you’re laughing and smiling with them, and then they’re gone. This is how it was when I lost a family member, and I was around the age the kids here are when it happened. Maybe a tad bit older. I've had other experiences with death and grief, but that instance fits the closest. I don’t remember too much of it now since it was a long while ago and I’ve had other things affect my memory, but grief doesn’t go away after a set amount of time. It’s like a scar: always there, but it heals. Anyway, I wanted to have a chance to show that in this story. I hope it turned out ok
Have a good day/night! Take care of yourself!! <3
Chapter 66: Patchwork Sky
Summary:
Aftermath from the last chapter
WARNINGS: mention of injury/stitches, ambulance, a panic attack, and dissociation. The aftermath from last chapter basically. Be safe, I love you guys <3
Notes:
HELLO! HI! YOU ARE LOVED!!
I meant to post this yesterday but I may have forgotten it was 4th of July and that means I get dragged to an all day barbeque and babysitting. Which! Was worth it I got to hold a tiny baby she was Precious and held my finger and I also didn’t have to watch children in the pool so yay
Anyway! Disclaimer that I don’t know if this is how Japan deals with orphans in their hospitals. I’m making my best guess off the information I do have.
Enjoy the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Ambulances were crowded, Hisashi learned. There wasn’t much room, and he was the one on the stretcher. Ochako was sitting on the seat beside some of the emergency responders, eyes focused on nothing and both her little hands clutching Hisashi’s left one like a lifeline. A shock blanket was wrapped around her shoulders.
The drive was short. Hisashi was thankful for it, since the longer he had to process the more everything hurt. Most of the bleeding had stopped by now at least. He’d probably need a few stitches though. Some of the debris had definitely nailed him when coming down.
Hisashi was one of the only ones that had been injured thankfully. Some were worse off than him obviously, since there were people in other buildings who were closer to the attack epicenter. Then- then Korobu and Uki…
He mentally shook himself, refusing to think about it for now. It would wait. It could- it could wait until he didn’t have a little girl clinging to him.
They got to the hospital quickly. Ochako was supposed to go to a different wing to be checked over, which…didn’t go over very well. It was the first time Hisashi had seen her freak out like that. He assured the nurses that she would behave, and that it was better to not separate them at the moment. They seemed to agree, which was good. Their pitying looks were like needles digging into his back though. Hisashi just hugged Ochako closer as he was shuttled along to somewhere in the ER.
The two of them got looked over at the same time. Ochako had gotten away with only some bruises and inhaled dust. Hisashi, on the other hand, needed stitches along his right shoulder and arm, some of his back, and his left leg. She was sent to wait outside while he got stitched up. Only after he had assured Ochako that he would be ok, and that she could come right back in once they were done.
Hisashi zoned out while the stitches were put in place. None of his injuries were life threatening, just long cuts that needed to be held together. The rest hardly even broke the skin. He’d be fine, though his shirt was ruined. It felt like a bigger tragedy to him than it really was. The feeling was overwhelming.
Ochako was let back in a few minutes later. She immediately crawled onto the bed and clung to his unstitched arm. The doctor looked her over more thoroughly then, finding nothing more than a few scrapes. Lots of dirt and plaster dust, but otherwise fine. It took a weight off of Hisashi’s shoulders.
Someone told him that Inko had been called. He nodded, knowing she’d be there as soon as she could be. Rei would have to leave work. Or Keigo and Touya could go watch the rest of the kids, but Rei was usually closer.
The two of them were moved to a different room. Hisashi turned the tv on, avoiding anything news related. He zoned out a few minutes later. It had been a while since he’d dissociated this badly. Everything was just…numb. Not entirely there. The pain felt like it didn’t belong to him. His own body looked foreign to his eyes, like it wasn’t his.
Ochako was still holding onto him tightly, which did help keep him grounded. At least partially. She was staring at the tv, not really watching it. Hisashi rubbed soothing circles on her back. He hoped it would be enough for now.
Inko arrived sometime later. None of the other children were with her, which Hisashi guessed was for the best. She opened the door with a quiet click and closed it just the same. The noise still echoed in the silent room.
“Oh, honey,” Inko breathed, and just like that she was sweeping the two of them into a hug.
Hisashi didn’t hesitate to bury his face in his wife’s shoulder. She was his safe place, his comfort. Right now, he just needed something to quiet the raging voices in his head.
They stayed like that for a while. Hisashi didn’t quite know how long, but he could think clearer when Inko pulled away. His soul felt like it was attached to his body again. Ochako didn’t let go of either of them, so Inko just settled on the other side of her. Hisashi held her hand like he was starving for contact.
“Confirmed?” He whispered hoarsely.
“…confirmed.”
With one word, his ember of hope was smothered. Hisashi had desperately clung to the ideas that had kept it alive, but it was all for naught. Uki and Korobu were confirmed to be dead. There was some part of him that had hoped they were ok. That something had protected them. That they lived in a fairytale where good people got saved by miracles and the bad people changed their ways.
But their friends were dead, and nothing could save them now.
Hisashi’s face screwed up against his will, something he always did before crying out of grief or fear. Like a last ditch effort to keep the tears in. It never worked. A sob tore its way out of his throat, and he felt Ochako jump at his side.
“Uncle Sashi?”
“I-I’m- I’m s- sorry. S-So- so sorry I couldn’t s-sa-save them.”
“Hisashi,” Inko said softly, squeezing his hand.
She got up, pulling him to his feet as well. Ochako let go of his other hand. Hisashi let himself be pulled into Inko’s arms, his hands curling into fists on the back of her shirt. He clung to his wife and cried, broken words getting caught in his ragged throat. Inko simply held him just like she had a hundred times before. She absentmindedly snuffed any fire that escaped his mouth.
When Inko spoke, her voice was gentle and quiet. “You did everything you could, love. I know you did. Ochako is safe because of you. You’re still alive, and I’m- I’m sure Uki and Korobu would have- they would have wanted that.”
Hisashi felt like he was collapsing in on himself. His chest heaved with each shuddering breath. It felt like a snake had wound itself around his chest, constricting his lungs and emotions. Everything was too much and he just wanted to wake up like this was a dream. But it wasn’t, and he knew that. That’s what made it so hard. Because if he had had more time—if he had been faster—then maybe- maybe he could have saved them. Maybe-
“I can almost hear you thinking,” Inko said quietly. “Stop it. We can’t change what’s already happened. I- I know you wish we could, but we can’t. Try to focus on the now, ok? We have- we have to get you two home.”
Hisashi nodded, reluctantly detaching himself from Inko. He sat down on the hospital bed again without much protest. Ochako hadn’t moved, but she looked up when Inko knelt in front of her.
“I am so sorry, Ochako,” Inko said softly. “I’m-“
The door opening interrupted Inko. A nurse stepped inside, expression carefully neutral. She stopped just inside the doorway, taking in the sight of them. Ochako glanced up, and grabbed Hisashi’s arm in another vice grip. He almost snorted, knowing the three of them were a messy sight to see.
“Ochako Uraraka?”
Ochako nodded, not looking anywhere but the floor. Inko got up and turned to face the nurse. Hisashi stayed where he was, knowing that if he tried to talk his voice would just crack again.
“Are you Mr. and Mrs. Midoriya?”
“Yes, that’s us.”
“Ah, good, you’re listed as the Urarakas emergency contacts. I’m here to give you information on the situation.”
“Why don’t you take a seat,” Inko offered, sitting down beside Ochako once again.
The nurse sat down in a plastic chair, seeming to gather her thoughts for a moment. “Both Mr. Midoriya and Ms. Uraraka will be staying overnight for observation, just to make sure there aren’t any hidden complications that we missed. After that you will be discharged Mr. Midoriya, and Ms. Uraraka will be registered in the foster system.”
Hisashi felt like his lungs had frozen over. As it was, his throat heated up. He closed his eyes, slowly breathing away the embers. It wasn’t as simple as a social worker just taking Ochako. He didn’t need to panic.
“We’re the Urarakas emergency contacts,” Inko said. “Doesn’t that mean she can come with us?”
“Under certain circumstances, yes. But both of her parents are dead and have no living family in Japan. As procedure she will go into the foster system.”
“We’re in their will,” Hisashi croaked out. “Inko and I are Ochako’s godparents.”
“I’m afraid until that can be confirmed, it doesn’t change anything.” The nurse shot them both a sympathetic look. “I’m really sorry.”
“I want to go with them.”
Hisashi looked down, and felt his heart break all over again. Ochako was hunched in on herself, her voice wobbling and eyes locked on the floor. Her grip on him only tightened.
“I don’t- I don’t wanna go with anyone e-else. I want Uncle Sashi and- and Aunt Ko.”
“I’m sorry-“
Ochako sharply shook her head, burying her face in Hisashi’s side and hiding behind him. He reached up to pat her head.
“There really isn’t-“
“We’re licensed foster parents,” Inko said, perhaps a bit snappier than before. Hisashi didn’t blame her, the sight probably brought up some less than happy memories for his wife. After all, she had been like Ochako once. “We can take her with us, even if it takes time for their will to be analyzed.”
“…can you do that?”
“I don’t know. Ask your superior if you have to, but I’m not letting our best friend’s daughter just be sent to a random foster house when we’re right here.”
The nurse nodded, bowing to them for a moment, before retreating from the room. Inko let out a sigh, sinking into the hospital mattress. Ochako peeked out from behind Hisashi at the movement. The look on her face only served to set his resolve. Hisashi didn’t care what happened, he would fight someone if that’s what it took to keep her out of the foster system.
“…can we go home now?” Ochako asked quietly.
“Tomorrow,” Inko answered. “You and Hisashi have to stay here for the night, but he’ll be here with you the whole time, ok? We’ll plan everything else from there.”
Ochako nodded once again. Hisashi couldn’t help feeling that the action was hollow.
~~~~~~~~~~
It didn’t feel real.
Ochako felt like she was going to blink, and she would wake up. That this was all a nightmare that she could forget after breakfast.
But it wasn’t. It was real. Her parents were gone, and there was nothing anyone could do to bring them back. Maybe if she had been there, she could have floated the rubble. She could have- she could have-
But that isn’t true, was it. She was small, and- and weak. There was no way she could have floated anything to help. It was too heavy, there was too much of it, and she could only float what she was touching anyway.
But maybe if she hadn’t been on sight that day, they would’ve left sooner. All the workers would have gotten out and been safe. Her parents would be alive.
That wasn’t what happened though, and Ochako knew that. She knew it was irreversible now.
It had been hours, but it still didn’t feel real. Probably wouldn’t for a long while. The sun had set and fizzled out. Clouds had gathered over the sky with the moon. Stars shone like they always did, uncaring of Ochako’s world having come crashing down with that building.
She couldn’t sleep. Uncle Sashi was in the other bed, passed out. He had stitches and wounds, so he needed his rest. The doctor had said so. Aunt Ko had left a few hours before, saying she would be back in the morning to take them home.
Ochako wished Izuku was with her. He always knew what to say. He was good at making her feel better, even when she was sad.
As it was, the hospital was silent. The hallways had long since turned dark and bathed the room in gray and black. There was almost no moonlight, almost like the moon was mourning with her. Ochako had already counted how many ceiling tiles there were (54), how many lines there were in the floor tiles (208), and pretended to be asleep when a nurse came in to check on them.
In short, she was going insane and needed something to occupy her before she broke out of a hospital room three stories up.
So Ochako quietly shuffled out of her bed, and tiptoed her way to the window. She floated a chair over to sit in, crawling up without a sound. The moon was hidden, but the stars weren’t. Ochako stared up at them in wonder.
Time ticked on, and she tried to count the stars. Ochako was good at counting things. Maybe she would be the first one to count all the stars in the sky.
She wondered if maybe her mom and dad were two of the stars now, or watching her count them. It gave her a bit of comfort thinking that, but also a wave of grief. They really were gone.
Her mind grew fuzzy around star one thousand and thirteen, and by the time Ochako mumbled out one thousand and twenty, she was asleep at the windowsill.
~~~~~~~~~~
Izuku looked at the sky outside their window, unable to sleep. Most of his siblings couldn’t either. Some were asleep, but at least half of them were too restless to even think about it.
Momma had told them what she knew before she left, and then more when she got home. Uncle Korobu and Aunt Uki were dead. Caught in a villain attack and in a building at the wrong time. Katsuki listened with eyes growing wider, memories probably flashing behind his eyelids. Mina had grabbed his hand and held it for the rest of the day. Izuku knew they had fallen asleep like that too.
Dad had been hurt, but would be ok. Ochako would be coming home with him tomorrow. All of them immediately got to work on getting things ready for when she did. That had been hours ago.
Now Izuku stared up at the stars, sleepless, wondering if Ochako was doing the same.
Notes:
*Banging pots and pans* LET GROWN MEN CRY IN MEDIA, COWARDS. Seriously though, to EVERYONE reading this, it’s ok to cry. Screw whatever your family or friends have told you, crying is healthy and a part of being human.
Also question for whoever has a grasp of Japanese honorifics, when referring to a married couple (like in this chapter when I say “Are you Mr. and Mrs. Midoriya?”) how exactly would that be said? I want to try changing to at least semi-accurate honorifics but don’t know if that one would be “Midoriya-san and Midoriya-kun" or something else?? Idk it just feels a bit weird to me for me to not use the honorifics now that I have a bit more of an understanding of them, especially since I like using -sensei and generally -san. Ok sorry for the kinda-rant I’ll probably be switching to Japanese honorifics sooner or later
One last thing! If I were to do a QnA about my writing/this fic would that be something you guys would be interested in?? There's only so much I could give away of course but I figured it would be cool for everyone that isn't in my discord :D
Ok have a good day/night!! I love you <3
Chapter 67: Light and Dark
Summary:
Angst with a dash of Star Wars and a sprig of fluff
Notes:
I'M BAAAAACK
Sorry that took a month again, we had guests over for half the month so I didn't have time to write. But!! I actually have another chapter almost finished so there might be another update next week instead of in 2Also! All That You Are by Solid Audioworks is an amazing song and I highly recommend it. It’s peaceful and sings about the dark being kind and soft and I love it a lot. I listened to it writing most of this chapter
Enjoy :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hisashi found Ochako asleep with her forehead pressed against the window. It was honestly a miracle that she was still asleep, since the sun was already high in the sky. Although it did make him wonder just how much rest she had actually gotten.
There was still a pit in his chest. A yawning void of whispered thoughts that he had been powerless again. That he could have done something if he had only moved faster.
Hisashi did his best to shove those thoughts aside though. At least for now. Instead, he focused on gently lifting Ochako back into a bed so she could sleep until they left, and texting his wife good morning.
All the kids had been told what happened, including the ones not living at home. Fuyumi promised to come back for the funeral. Touya and Keigo were coming over later in the week. The Urarakas will and such would be confirmed within the week hopefully.
It was a while later that Inko arrived to take them home. Hisashi went to pick up Ochako, only to have his hands pinned to his sides by his wife’s quirk. He just laughed nervously as she lifted Ochako herself.
“No breaking those stitches,” Inko said firmly.
Hisashi nodded, and his arms were released. Ochako hardly stirred as they stepped into the hallway, ever the heavy sleeper. They left the room without a problem. Ochako only woke up once they got on the elevator, sleepily rubbing her eyes and looking around.
“Morning, Ochako,” Hisashi said quietly, patting her head.
She just hummed, wiggling onto the floor from Inko’s arms. Hisashi raised an arm for her to lean into his side. It felt weird, how quiet she was being. Ochako was always so talkative, but he didn’t have much room to talk. After what had happened to them, it would probably be weirder if they were to act normal.
The two of them sat in some nearby chairs while Inko filled out discharge paperwork. Ochako and Hisashi stayed quiet, listening to the music playing in the room. It was some song he would never have listened to otherwise. Judging from Ochako’s scrunched nose, she shared his opinion on it.
Both of them dozed off at some point. Inko woke them back up when it was time to leave, and showed them where the car was parked. The three of them piled in without another word.
The drive home was near silent. Music played quietly in the background, much better than whatever had been playing in the hospital waiting room, in Hisashi’s humble opinion. He hummed along to a song he knew as Inko drove. It was still quiet in the way a foggy field was unsettling with a muted sun.
As they pulled into the driveway, Hisashi caught a glimpse of someone in an upstairs window. They were gone half a second later, probably to tell everyone else the three were home. All of them would stay inside though. Their kids knew to wait, just in case they didn’t want to be overwhelmed right out of the car.
Which is why Inko softly asked, “Do you two want to wait before you come in?”
Hisashi glanced back at Ochako. She paused, then shook her head, undoing the seatbelt. Inko unlocked the doors before Hisashi accidentally shoulder-checked it again. He opened the door for Ochako, offering a hand to help her out.
Inko walked ahead of them, the front door already open. Hisashi could see a ring of kids gathered around her. They were whispering, glancing outside every few seconds to catch a glimpse of Hisashi and Ochako.
They gave the two room when they walked in. Hisashi stopped beside Inko, watching what was about to happen. Ochako stepped over the threshold, and Izuku was already there. He opened his arms for her, and she didn’t hesitate to lean into them.
Ochako buried her head in his shoulder, silently clinging to Izuku. He wrapped his arms around her in turn, comforting his friend. The rest of the kids slowly joined the hug. Hisashi nudged Inko out of the room with him. The kids deserved a moment to themselves. They deserved time to grieve.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ochako still felt…numb. Like everything was stuck in a fairytale, or just some big dream. A horrible one that she would wake up from to her dad smiling at her and mom sitting at the table with her cup of tea.
Instead she woke up to Aunt Ko holding her inside an elevator. Ochako hadn’t really been aware of things until sometime in the waiting room. Uncle Sashi let her use him as a pillow. They got in the car after that, driving…home. It was home now, wasn’t it? She had nothing else to go back to.
The Midoriya house had always felt welcoming. It was warm in the way you could tell good people lived there. Ochako had considered it a second home. It felt different now that it was her only one.
Izuku was the first person she saw upon walking through the door. He opened his arms, and Ochako didn’t hesitate for even a second to dive into the hug. She gripped his shirt like a lifeline. Emotions crashed down around her, finally breaking through the dam of shock and danger. With it came tears welling up in her eyes.
The rest of the siblings huddled around the two of them. Ochako had never felt so warm, yet so sad that it pulled at her lungs.
“It’s ok, it’s ok Ochako,” Izuku said, voice soft as a blanket. “We’re here for you.”
She nodded through her sobbing, vaguely noting that the rest of the siblings were saying their own encouragement. They all stayed like that for what felt like forever. Ochako’s tears eventually ran dry. Her breathing was halting in the aftermath. Izuku hadn’t strayed from her side since she walked through the door.
Aunt Ko appeared again, gently ushering them to the couch instead of the entryway. Hitoshi suggested they put on a movie. Sitting amidst eight other people, Ochako was suddenly struck with the feeling that it was too many. Too much.
She excused herself to grab a cup of water. Uncle Sashi was sitting at the kitchen table, head bowed as he stared down at his phone. Ochako quietly went about her task. She wondered why she was suddenly so tired.
A hand on her shoulder nearly made her jump out of her skin. Ochako whipped around, ready to lash out if she had to. Her guard dropped when she saw it was just Mei. She wasn’t as close to her as Izuku, but Mei was still nice and still her friend.
“You don’t have to stay in there to make them happy, you know,” she whispered bluntly.
Ochako blinked. Mei had hit the nail on the head. She nodded anyway, going back to getting some water from the fridge. “I know.”
“I know how… much, they can be sometimes. And you look tired. You can stay in my room, if you want to. It’s quiet.”
“I- I can?”
“If you want to.” Mei shrugged. “I made sure there were no explosive things in there before you got here.”
“O- ok. Thank you, Mei.”
She just shrugged, voice steady. “I know what it’s like to lose family, even though my situation was different. Sometimes you need rest and not being mobbed by people.”
“Yeah…I guess so. I- I do, kinda want to sleep.”
“I’ll go tell them for you.” Mei turned to go, but paused for a second. “Oh, if you need a place to hide out for a bit, you can stay in my workshop. As long as I’m in there and you don’t touch anything.”
Ochako stared at Mei with wide eyes. She usually guarded her workshop from everyone like a protective mama bear. Which was fair, because she had some stuff in there people shouldn’t touch. Being told she could hide in there felt like the ultimate sign of trust from Mei.
“Th-thank you, Mei. That means a lot.”
“Don’t sweat it, Elphaba.”
“What?”
“I’m making you listen to that musical when you’re feeling better.”
“O…k?”
Mei nodded with satisfaction, leaving the room. For a moment Ochako just watched where she had disappeared. The numbness in her chest was still there, but at least she had people around her understanding of it. At least she still had people that cared for her.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Did…did I do something wrong?”
Katsuki raised an eyebrow at Izuku, silently asking him to say more than the bare minimum.
“I- I wanted to make sure Ochako was ok, but she went upstairs. Did I- did I do something wrong?”
“You did nothing wrong, idiot.” Katsuki lightly smacked Izuku’s shoulder, more to keep his attention on Katsuki than anything. “She wants time to herself to grieve. There’s a shit-ton of us and one of her, probably felt overwhelmed. Just let her be for a while.”
“But what if she’s not ok? You didn’t do this when we were smaller.”
“Because I didn’t exactly have the fuckin option to hole up somewhere. We lived in a tiny apartment, and then moved here. Did you not notice how much I stayed in the yard or the park?”
“I…I did, I just…you always did that before, but with people.”
Katsuki took a deep breath, and Izuku was hit with guilt for bringing up the topic. It had been almost four years, but it still didn’t feel like that long ago they had lost Mitsuki and Masaru.
“Knock off that guilty shit, I can almost hear you thinking it. I wouldn’t have brought it up if I didn’t want to talk about it,” Katsuki scolded. “And give her time, Izuchan. She was closer to her parents than I was. Ochako isn’t going to be over this in a week, hell, probably a year. All we can do is make sure she knows she has people in her fucking corner, understand?”
“Yeah. I just- want to do something more.”
Hitoshi sat himself next to Izuku, patting his shoulder. “She’ll be ok, Zu. Chako is strong, and we’ll make sure she’s ok eventually.”
“I know. Sorry, I know, I just…I feel like I’m just watching instead of helping.”
“Nothing to help with,” Mei spoke up, grabbing their attention. “She’s grieving, Greenie. You can’t cure a person of that. You help like you always do, and it’ll be enough.”
Izuku nodded, staring down at his hands. He would just do what he could, and help where he was needed. It would be enough. It had to be. Ochako did nothing to deserve her world crumbling around her, the least Izuku could do was try to put some of the pieces back together.
And if that was his way of distracting himself from his own grief, then at least the admittance was contained to his thoughts.
~~~~~~~~~~
Lunch was quiet. They were all feeling the weight of what had happened. Ochako hardly said a word, groggily picking at her food. Dad-Shi had had to wake her up so she could eat.
Hitoshi knew Izuku was grieving right along with her. Dad-Shi and Momma Ink were too, though they were better at hiding it. Some of the others might not’ve noticed it. Hitoshi did though. He saw it in the way Izuku insisted on helping more than usual, never stopping for too long. Always moving and keeping his mind occupied. Distracting himself.
Hitoshi just hoped his brother didn’t burn himself out. He had meant what he said. Ochako was strong, and they would help where they could, but they had to give her space. She wasn’t like Katsuki, similar as they may be. This was different from when Mr. and Mrs. Bakugou had died. The Urarakas had been genuinely kind people, and closer to all of them.
They were all grieving, so Hitoshi did what he thought would help.
“Chako?” Hitoshi said from across the table. “Have you ever watched Star Wars?”
“Um, no, what is it?”
“Bunch of space stuff with lasers, swords, and laser swords. If you want to we can watch it and make a blanket nest on the floor.”
Ochako nodded slowly, glancing around. “That…sounds nice. Is it ok?”
“Just don’t stay up all night,” Momma Ink told them.
Hitoshi grinned, his plan coming together.
Once they were done eating, Hitoshi rushed off to get what he needed. He returned with the DVDs of Star Wars— all of them —then ran right back up the stairs. Kouji and Mei came up to help him carry blankets and pillows down. Even though it was only the afternoon, they wanted to be comfy. Dad-Shi would probably turn the AC up for them anyway.
The nest was being arranged when he got back. Hitoshi crept around the corner, stashing his surprise in a corner, before moving to help them finish it. The rest of his siblings were busy trying to get the DVD player to work. Dad-Shi was supervising from the kitchen
The beginning crawl started to play, and Hitoshi hunkered down beside Izuku. His brother was overwhelmed, that much was obvious. Too many feelings in too short a time. Grief, fear, protectiveness, helplessness, all of it would overwhelm anyone, but especially Izuku. His analysis wasn’t limited to outside information. Hitoshi didn’t know what it felt like, but he figured constantly taking in repeated information about his own thoughts and emotions wouldn’t be fun.
The first movie (number four, because they weren’t heathens) went way too quickly. So did the other two. Most of them made icky noises when anyone kissed, which Momma Ink found funny. The lightsaber fights were still the coolest part. Hitoshi had always loved the idea of making weapons from the kyber crystals, especially the cool light-whip one he had seen in one of the old comics.
Before long, the sun had set, and they were still watching movies. Auntie Rei got home and helped make dinner for everyone. Together they all gathered in the family room with their food to keep watching.
The third movie started past their bedtime. None of the kids mentioned it, hoping the adults wouldn’t notice (they did). But they had to finish the movies tonight, or they would forget in the morning. All of them were insistent on that.
Hitoshi knew what part was coming up. He quietly excused himself, tiptoeing out of the room. Momma Ink eyed him curiously. He put a finger to his smiling lips, grabbing his surprise and throwing one of Dad-Shi’s hoodies over his head. It was long enough to be a drooping cloak on him.
“It’s over, Anakin!” Obi-wan yelled. “I have the high ground!”
Hitoshi stepped back into the room, and turned on his toy lightsaber. All of his siblings jumped, turning to face him at the sudden red light. They stared for a second, and Hitoshi flipped his hood back, a wicked grin on his face. Dad-Shi silently paused the movie.
Intentionally making his voice deeper, Hitoshi said, “Face me Jedi. Any who are foolish enough to try and topple me shall perish MWAHAHAHAH!”
No one moved for a moment. Hitoshi took the initiative, and pointed his laser sword at Ochako. She blinked, before jumping to her feet. If Hitoshi could make her feel better, forget for at least a small bit, then he would do whatever it took. Which in this case probably included getting his shins smacked with a hologram. It wouldn’t hurt, but it did make his skin feel all buzzy for a while.
“Do you dare challenge me, Jedi?” Hitoshi said, swinging his arms wide. He was thankful that his lightsaber was a hologram, or else it would have knocked over the lamp.
“Bring it,” Ochako said.
Hitoshi handed her the other lightsaber he had hidden in the obscenely big hoodie pocket. It was a purple one. Ochako turned it on, wielding it like a pro. This wasn’t their first mock battle with the sabers after all.
They only had two lightsabers, and Dad-Shi had made one of them after taking apart an official one. One was purple and the other red, and Hitoshi adored them. They phased right through almost any object, but the best part was that they couldn’t phase through another lightsaber! Like the oobleck Momma Ink made for them once.
Hitoshi swung at Ochako, and her lightsaber blocked his. The part connecting them turned solid, and made the iconic buzzing noise. They both grinned at it, and jumped apart. The rest of the family started cheering them on.
Ochako jumped onto the chair, brandishing her saber with a battlecry. She jumped to the floor, forcing Hitoshi to tuck and roll away. He jumped over the swipe aimed at his feet. Izuku was telling him to duck. Hitoshi hit the deck without thinking, and watched purple zoom over his head.
The next second a lightsaber was hovering above his chest. It wouldn’t actually hurt him, but Hitoshi still didn’t exactly enjoy the feeling of a hologram phasing through his ribs. It made his bones feel all weird.
“Do you give up, Sith?” Ochako crowed, and she was smiling. Hitoshi couldn’t help returning it.
“Never!”
Ochako wasn’t all better by any means. She probably wouldn’t be for a while, but they could help ease her pain, if only for a bit. Grieving didn’t mean her other emotions didn’t exist. Hitoshi would do what he could to make her feel better, just like he did with every other kid they brought into the family.
Hitoshi got back to his feet, and hoped it would be enough.
Notes:
Did I write half this chapter just to fangirl about this universe having lightsabers? Maybe. Canon has holograms. They ABSOLUTELY have hologram lightsabers and scientists constantly trying to make an actual one that can cut stuff (yes I know there’s a “real” one that’s been made, but that’s pressurized propane. Which is still super cool!! But not what I mean in this chapter because small kids do not need it to actually be capable of setting things on fire inside a house)
Also! I'm moving into dorms in a few weeks so updates will definitely slow down at the end of the month...again. Blaming my anxiety around new people on that one. And classes. At least I'm not taking anatomy/physiology this semester though :D
Have a good day/night!! Remember that you are loved!!!
Chapter 68: At Least Let Me Clean My Room
Summary:
Grief is not fragile, though perhaps the person carrying that weight is
We have angst, we have fluff, we have an NF song, the perfect combination of course
Warning for grief and slight panic from Hisashi, but I think that's it.
Notes:
HEY! HEY YOU! YOU ARE A BEAUTIFUL PERSON
Hello again! Look at that, didn't take an entire month this time :D Although this was supposed to be up on the weekend but brain said Nope. Currently buzzing from caffeine but I've edited 2 entire chapters today so hooray for me!
Chapter title is taken from Redecorate by Twenty One Pilots! It’s one of my favorite songs, and that part always struck a chord for me. The entire song does really, but I think this line specifically highlights how things are left when people die. They leave things behind, be that a basket of dirty laundry or a glass that still has water in it. They can't come back for it, and sometimes that's the most heart wrenching part
Also please note I don’t know almost anything about wills, especially in Japan, but an executor is generally the person that carries out the will. Please correct me if this is the wrong term and I’ll fix it!
I hope you like the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Ochako opened her eyes, and immediately wondered where her pillow had gone. And her mattress, for that matter.
Oh. She was on the ceiling. They had all fallen asleep before she could ask if they had gloves for her to wear. Sunlight was shining in from the windows and glass door, letting Ochako know it was at least morning. That wasn’t what had woken her up though. Still groggy, Ochako twisted midair to try and see what had poked her awake.
Izuku, Hitoshi, and Momo were all standing underneath her, Momo holding what looked like a long shepherd’s hook. She was sheepishly smiling up at Ochako. Hitoshi just looked like he was trying not to laugh.
“What’re you doin’?” Ochako yawned, not bothering to release her quirk yet.
“You, uh, kinda started floating last night,” Momo said. “And we wanted to get you down before Dad and Mom woke up…”
“It didn’t really work,” Hitoshi snickered.
“I can see that.”
“Hang on, I just need to stand on the couch,” Momo said.
Ochako held still as Momo tried to fish her from the air. From her height Ochako could see the rest of the siblings asleep. Most of them were using one another as a pillow or heat source, just like they always did. She remembered falling asleep in the pile. It had been nice, until she woke up on the ceiling.
Momo got the hook close to her arm, near enough that Ochako could grab onto it. Izuku quietly cheered as she was pulled towards the floor again. Once close enough, Ochako canceled her quirk. She hit the floor, and put her arms up like a gymnast when she stuck the landing. The other three silently celebrated.
“You can borrow some of my clothes,” Momo told her, drawing Ochako’s attention. “We might have to do some digging to make sure they’re mine, but Mei still has most of hers separate if you think those would be better.”
“I’m ok with anything.”
Momo immediately brightened. She grabbed Ochako’s hand, pulling her out of the room and up the stairs before she could make a peep. The boys watched them go, making no effort to hide their knowing smiles. Ochako just rolled her eyes and made sure she didn’t trip on the way upstairs.
The heavy weight was back. Ochako did her best to ignore it, listening to Momo ramble about how Mina had accidentally melted a hole in her favorite pants and Mei had amazed them all with her sewing skills. It was a bit surprising, but Ochako guessed she shouldn’t be too shocked when it came to the Midoriyas. They were the people version of a curveball out of a shirt cannon.
It made the static in her mind just a bit easier to bear.
~~~~~~~~~
Breakfast was always— always —interesting in the Midoriya house. Especially for new kids. It had become a theme of theirs, and the most interesting parts were the morning debates. But this was far from the first time Ochako had spent the night, so she seemed most used to it. More quiet than she usually was, but she hardly batted an eye at the arguments happening over the table and pancakes.
“They are crepes, you uncultured swine.”
“Pancakes. There’s no difference!”
“I swear to god, I’m going to kick your ass the second we aren’t in the kitchen.”
Momma walked by, patting Katsuki’s spiky bedhead. Izuku stuck his tongue out at his brother. Everyone was picking sides in this argument, which had been going on for months now. Izuku was firm on his stance and wasn’t going to budge. Crepes were just thin pancakes and that was the hill he would die on.
“No matter what they are,” Mina chirped. “They taste good. Thanks Dad-Sashi!”
“No problem, kiddos. Izuku, are you sure you want to eat yours with sugar and lemon juice?”
“Yep!” Izuku basked in the light of his siblings giving him confused and slightly disgusted looks. “I heard someone say it was good, so I’m trying it.”
“Weirdo.”
“Jerk.”
“Nerd.”
“I know you are, but what am I?”
Ochako barked a laugh, the sound music to Izuku’s ears. That was what he had been aiming for. He knew he couldn’t make her feel all better, he knew it wasn’t going to go away in a day or even a week, but he could make her happy when he could, and be there when she didn’t want to be. Whether she needed a shoulder to cry on or a court jester, he was happy to fill that role.
“What does Ochako think?” Kouji asked.
Ochako still didn’t know as much sign as they did, but she was a fast learner. She was squinting at the signs, almost visibly trying to piece out what Kouji had been saying.
“Oh! You’re asking what I think about the pancakes versus crepes?” She asked. Kouji nodded. “Well…they’re kinda the same, aren’t they? I haven’t had the fancy pantsy crepes but thin pancakes seem the same, so.”
Katsuki banged his head on the table. Izuku just started cackling and high-fived his friend. Another point for him.
~~~~~~~~~
Inko stared ahead at the wall, honestly wanting to be anywhere else right now. Hisashi was sitting next to her, and she knew he shared the sentiment. They didn’t exactly have an option to avoid it though.
They had met with an executor to go over the Urarakas' will. It had taken a while, and Inko had enjoyed none of it. Not that she had expected to. Although the man they had met with did have the voice of a boring professor whose goal seemed to be putting students to sleep.
They knew the exact contents of the will now, at least. Technically they had already known some of it, but not everything. They did now though. Every word left by friends that were gone.
The two of them were Ochako’s official guardians, once the paperwork was processed. The apartment the Urarakas had been living in was a rental, but the contents of it were theirs. They would decide what to do with it all later. For now, they were left to think about what they had been told.
Inko shifted her vacant stare to the fish tank near them. The sound of running water had always been calming to her, and fish were generally nice to watch. It helped soothe some of her frayed nerves in the mahogany office.
“What are…” Hisashi started, voice hoarse. “What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know,” Inko whispered back.
They were the owners of the Urarakas company. For now, that is. It was left to Ochako, but Hisashi was left as acting owner until she was old enough. He knew how to run it, since he had been working with them for years now, but it was daunting. Very daunting. It meant some longer hours and more weight on Hisashi’s shoulders, though a slight pay upgrade.
Inko knew neither Uki or Korobu had any living family left. Grandparents long passed and parents dead. Two in large-scale villain attacks, one old age, and the other had been immune compromised and caught an illness. No living siblings for either of them. They had Ochako, and that was it.
And now, they were all Ochako had.
A family as big as theirs was almost unheard of. Her children ending up without a parent was a constant worry of Inko’s, but she trusted her own skills and Hisashi to keep the two of them safe. It wasn’t extremely rare to be a casualty of a villain attack in their world, but it also wasn’t as common as before with more heroes on the scene. Though their city wasn’t exactly a shining example of that statistic.
For now though, Inko would focus on one thing at a time. Just like she was used to. Solve one thing, move onto the next one. Everything would work out one way or another.
Ochako would be enrolled in school, the same one as the other kids. She would be given time off to grieve first, of course. Honestly Inko was just thankful the school was tolerant enough of their situation to take on another child. They were going to have to start thinking of middle school options eventually. Not right away, but sometime soon.
Hisashi took her hand, squeezing it tightly. She leaned into his shoulder, knowing he needed comfort too. He wasn’t taking any part of the situation well. Right now, they were in the middle of coming to terms with what had happened. They put on brave faces in front of the kids, not wanting to break down in front of them. It was Mitsuki and Masaru all over again.
Inko took a deep breath, watched a fish swim behind a plant, and steeled herself for what was still to come. She would handle this puzzle piece by piece if she had to. They would take care of Ochako and treat her like one of their own. It was the least they owed to their fallen friends.
Inko wondered how many of those she would have.
~~~~~~~~~
Hisashi looked up at the building in front of them, and seriously considered just waiting in the car.
Uki and Korobu’s apartment building seemed ominous, if only because he knew who had lived there. He knew what ghosts haunted the room that had laid empty for a few days now.
Hisashi sucked in a breath through gritted teeth, and followed Inko up the stairs. Ochako was clutching her hand. They followed a familiar path to a familiar door that looked the same but different.
He didn’t know if it was his mind playing tricks on him, but Hisashi felt that the apartment was almost colder, in a metaphorical sense, at least. Less welcoming. It was akin to the feeling of returning home after being away for a while. It felt dark, almost suffocatingly empty. Except this time, there was no one to come home to the apartment.
Ochako didn’t let go of Inko’s hand, tugging her down the hall and right to her room. Hisashi had folded boxes tucked under his arm, and set them down on the table. He busied himself with opening as many curtains as he could. The light helped.
They had already talked with Ochako. She would be bringing most of her things, and some of her parents’. A lot of the furniture would be sold or moved to their house. Having nine kids living at home, eight of which still had iffy control of their quirks sometimes, meant the furniture was bound to have some “accidents.” They had replaced the coffee table three times already. Although some of the Urarakas furniture didn’t seem much better off. Not a super big surprise with how Ochako tended to accidentally float things. Cheap couches just weren’t meant to be stress tested by gravity.
Hisashi trailed through the kitchen, noting it was clean, but definitely lived in. There were still leftovers in the fridge. A half-empty glass of water sat on the counter.
Ochako emerged from her room with an armful of stuffed animals. Inko followed after her, a few things delicately balanced in her arms. Those were the things from Uki and Korobu’s room probably. Right now they would just go through what Ochako wanted to keep. They could go more in depth later, maybe when Hisashi wasn’t counting by threes to stave off tears and panic.
“I forgot how many of those you have,” he commented.
“They’re important,” Ochako said, sounding like she needed to defend herself. “And- and I’m bringing them.”
“Sounds good to me. Just make sure to tell the others not to touch them. Don’t want to risk them getting mixed up.”
“I would know which ones are mine,” Ochako huffed, puffing out her cheeks. “There’s Pinky, and Spotty, and Strawberry, and Oreo, and Mochi, and Mochi the Second—that’s Mochi’s adopted son and heir to the throne of Mochi—and Tetsu, and Nova, and-“
Hisashi chuckled, listening to Ochako tell him about each and every stuffed animal she had brought out of her room. The two of them eventually sat on the floor. She told him about Mochi (her stuffed white and brown dog) ruling the kingdom of Mochis, and how she had adopted Mochi the Second as her son when her husband, Taiyaki (an orange cat), passed away.
(“But Taiyaki's still alive,” she whispered to him conspiratorially. “And I have to make sure they don’t see him when we move or Mochi and Mochi the Second might try and behead him.”)
A child’s imagination never failed to amaze Hisashi. Ochako went on about one storyline with her stuffed animals, before moving onto another. Meanwhile Inko sorted through some of Uki and Korobu’s things scattered around, putting aside what looked important and nostalgic. Some of it would probably be put in the attic, but a few things would be kept out for Ochako.
It couldn’t last forever though, Hisashi knew that. Inko appeared in the hallway, waving him over. He excused himself from Ochako and followed her to Uki and Korobu’s room.
He stopped at the threshold of their room. It almost felt wrong to go in there. Inko paused, before taking his hand.
“I just need your help for a minute, ok?” She said softly.
He nodded, following her inside. The room was eerie where it had previously been warm. There were a few boxes unfolded, holding some items that Inko had deemed important.
Hisashi took a second to wander the room, tracing the edges with his eyes. Nothing seemed disturbed in the slightest. The bed was still unmade, which somehow made it more unsettling than a clean one would. His fingertips hovered over the furniture, not daring to actually touch it.
The room was overwhelming, even in its simplicity. Hisashi felt his breathing speed up.
Inko grabbed his hand again, grounding him. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a few deep breaths. Ochako was still faintly talking in the background. He could smell the dust that had settled in the room.
“Are you ok?”
Hisashi nodded, shaking himself as if to get rid of the apprehension. He steeled himself. Inko needed help with something, so he would do his best.
“I just need your help with choosing some clothes to bring. I thought it would be nice to- to save some for Ochako, ones they wore a lot.”
“Ok.”
The two of them opened the closet, slowly going through what they wanted to pack away. Hisashi felt emotions swirl around him in broken ribbons. Grief layered over it all, but memories replayed behind his eyelids too.
He hadn’t realized tears were leaking from his eyes until Inko reached up to wipe them away.
“I think we have enough,” she said softly. “Why don’t you take this box out to the car, then you can take Ochako to go walk around. I can do this by myself for a bit.”
“But-“
“No buts, Hisashi. I know how hard this is hitting you.”
“I’m not the only one grieving,” he mumbled.
“I know you aren’t, love, but you also aren’t the least affected. Go outside, at least. I can handle this for a while.”
“…ok. We’ll go home when we get back?”
“Of course.”
Inko pressed a kiss to his cheek, standing on her tiptoes to do so. Hisashi smiled, laying his head on top of hers for a moment. She rolled her eyes fondly before shooing him towards the doorway.
Hisashi asked Ochako if she wanted to help him bring boxes down. She agreed happily, carrying one of the boxes down the stairs. Outside was better. Both of them felt that way, if the way Ochako relaxed once they were out of the building said anything.
“Let’s go walk around the block,” Hisashi suggested once the boxes were packed away. “Inko said we need some onions for tonight anyway. Can you show me where the store is?”
Ochako nodded, reaching for his hand to guide him. Hisashi let himself be tugged along, even though he already knew where the store was. It gave Ochako something to do though. He would gladly waste as much time as he needed to make her feel better.
They returned to a car full of boxes with a bag of groceries in hand. Inko just smiled and unlocked the doors before Ochako pulled them enough to set off the alarm.
~~~~~~~~~
Ochako was tired. She felt heavy and foggy and just wanted some rest, away from people. Which…was a challenge. The others understood her need to be alone for a bit, but that didn’t mean they were silent. She couldn’t blame them though. There were a few too many of them to be completely soundless.
But she still wanted some quiet. Just a bit of it. Everything was too much and they had only just gotten back home and Ochako was tired. Even Mei’s room was too loud and too much. There was only so much noise a door could muffle.
Ochako held Mochi to her chest—Mochi the Second guarding Mei’s bed for her—and crept down the stairs. She wasn’t used to something making so much noise when she walked. Even with all the times she had been over, it was hard to sneak around. It was just another reminder that this wasn’t home. Not her real one. Maybe in time, but not yet.
She scanned the living room, before darting to the backdoor. No one came to stop her. Just as soon as she had appeared, Ochako disappeared behind the wall and sat on the porch steps. It was quieter in the backyard.
A small sound caught her attention. Ochako looked up, the shiny metal walls of the shed catching her attention. Right, that was Mei’s workshop. She had said something about Ochako being allowed in there, right?
Ochako shrugged, and went to investigate anyway. She could always just sit somewhere else in the yard if it was too loud. Just somewhere peaceful would be enough. Just somewhere the exhaustion could ease for a bit, until it didn’t feel like her bones were filled with rocks instead of marrow.
Ever so carefully, she cracked the door open and peeked through it. Mei was sitting on a stool, her side to the door. The workbench in front of her was littered with pieces of metal and…fabric? A sewing machine sat to the side, not in use at the moment.
Ochako pushed the door open a bit more, and accidentally leaned too far. She crashed through the door and onto the floor. Mochi was unharmed and undusty thankfully, but Ochako was now laying on the floor. The sound of Mei tinkering had stopped.
“Ochako?”
“I’m sorry,” she squeaked, closing her eyes. “I don’t know if I’m allowed to be here I didn’t meant to interrupt-“
“NO- I mean, sorry, no, you can stay. It’s ok. If you don’t mind me working, you can stay in here.”
Ochako blinked her eyes open, watching Mei for a moment. Then she nodded, picking herself off the floor and closing the door. There were cushions over to the side, like flat beanbag chairs. Ochako plopped herself in one of them to…do something. She didn’t really know what.
“You work in here a lot, don’t you,” Ochako hummed, the sentence not really being a question. The sky was blue, grass was usually green, and Mei spent a lot of time in her workshop. “Is there something you’re working on?”
“Yes. I…don’t know if I should tell you though. I should ask Momo-“
“You should ask me what?”
Mei startled slightly, before adopting a sarcastic smile. “Speak of the she-devil and she will appear.”
“Haha, very funny.” Momo sat down with as much poise as a cat. Ochako had always been slightly jealous of how she was always so graceful. “Are you doing ok, Ochako?”
“I- I guess. ‘M tired. House is too loud.”
“No kidding,” Mei snorted, focusing on her work again. “I’ll be sewing more later, but for now it’s probably quieter in here than there.”
Ochako nodded, petting Mochi’s soft head. Quietness fell over the shed. Mei made metallic clinking sounds every few seconds, her muttered words far too quiet to hear. It was fun watching her though. Ochako understood almost none of what she was doing, but she could appreciate how much Mei cared for her work. How someone their age was as talented at machines as Mei was beyond her.
Momo hummed something beside Ochako, mumbling a tune just loud enough for her to make out. It was something fast. The song wasn’t something Ochako had ever heard, and she was curious.
“What are you singing?”
Momo stopped, not expecting to be asked. She thought for a second, before smiling. “Mei likes it when I sing sometimes, and I found some music I really like. It’s some music that Dad showed me: Paid My Dues by NF. I like his music.”
“Can-“ Ochako hesitated, but gathered her courage. “Can you show me some of it? I don’t know too much music…”
“Of course! Wait right here, I’m going to go borrow Dad’s phone.”
Momo rushed out of the shed, calling back an apology to Mei as the door slammed shut behind her. Mei just rolled her eyes and kept working. Ochako watched her, nervously waiting for Momo to come back. She was closer with Izuku, but all of them were nice. If she was living here now, she had to get to know them better.
The door was opened, more gently this time, and Momo excitedly brandished the phone. Mei mumbled something about making sure it wasn’t too loud. Ochako watched over her new sister’s shoulder as she tapped her way around the phone. Her own parents had never had touch phones, only flip ones. They did their job though, and were less expensive.
“Here, I’ll play the one I was listening to. I know a few of them you might like better too.”
Momo tapped something, and music began to play. Ochako listened with rapt attention. She held Mochi to her chest, eyes practically turning into stars.
When the song ended, Ochako turned her doe-eyed gaze to Momo. “Is there more?”
“Lots! Do you like it?”
Ochako nodded vigorously. Momo returned her enthusiasm with a smile, and pressed play on another. Mei hummed along to it this time.
The songs were nice. Momo played a few of them, then switched to a different artist. Ochako liked them all, and before long the sleepy feeling returned with a vengeance. She leaned her head on Momo’s shoulder, her eyes slipping closed of their own accord. Music never failed to help lull her to sleep.
Ochako let her consciousness slip away to Momo and Mei whispering along to the song, and hoped her sadness could be kept at bay for just a while longer.
Notes:
When I was ten (the kids' current age) I still brought my stuffed animals EVERYWHERE. I never had massive stories surrounding them, but Oh Boy did I have some drama going on when I played with the littles pet shop toys and those old small my little pony ones. Pretty sure at one point, when I was maybe 6 or 8, I staged a war between them. I was an odd kid but hey at least I've always been creative ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Also please note when I talk about Ochako feeling heavy or really tired, it's based off what I feel when my depression gets bad. I feel like literal rocks are sitting on my chest sometimes. Art copies the artist and all that
I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Have a good day/night!! You are loved :D
Chapter 69: Nepenthe
Summary:
Nepenthe: something that makes you forget grief or suffering
Notes:
HELLO! HI AWESOME PERSON! YOU ARE AMAZING!
I'm back! Probably won't be next week because I move this weekend, and OH BOY IS THAT STRESSING ME THE HECK OUT. I'll be fine but still, stressful. Time to go back to worrying about outing myself on accident because I keep wanting to make jokes about myself 〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜
Anyway, something I’ve always found funny are the small things that authors keeps as like, little constants in their stories. It’s even funnier when I look at my own writing and realize some of those constants are roombas with knives, cats, found family, and shopping trips gone wrong. Also vaguely eldritch/inhuman vibes from Izuku but we aren't there yet in this fic
Enjoy the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was deceptively sunny, the day of the Urarakas funeral service. Clouds blotted out the sun, but moved on just as fast as they appeared. Izuku wondered if that’s what they would have wanted. A sendoff with nice weather instead of gloomy skies.
Most of them made a valiant effort to hold their tears, but it was ultimately unsuccessful. Izuku knew he would start crying the second someone else did too. He was right.
It only seemed to truly sink in at that moment, that Ochako’s parents would never be coming back. Izuku would never hear his parents laughing with them in the kitchen. They would never bring over mochi again. He would never get to call his siblings downstairs by saying Auntie Uki and Uncle Korobu were there. The thoughts made his eyes burn with more tears.
Izuku had taken Ochako’s hand sometime during the priest's speech, and hadn’t let go since. She hadn’t either, instead just squeezing his hand tight. Both had tears dripping onto their clothes. The sun was still shining.
It was a while before they could go home, but eventually they were all piled back into the car. The ride home was silent. There was no rain, no gloom. Not in the sky anyway. Izuku felt like a heavy fog was clinging to his family though. It soaked them to the bone and weighed them down with grief.
The nine of them retreated to their room once they got home. Ochako stayed with them, which was a nice surprise. Izuku gave her a small smile, hoping it got across that he was happy she was there. Together they all gathered on their bed to listen to one of Present Mic’s radio shows.
Before long everyone but Izuku and Ochako were asleep. The two of them listened to the music, quiet. Ochako shuffled closer to Izuku, pressing their shoulders together. He leaned his head against hers with a hum. For a minute the two of them just enjoyed the quiet. Peeve was curled against Ochako’s leg, and Izuku could hear her purring. There were also three familiar stuffed animals in her lap.
Izuku figured Ochako could use a distraction, so, like he always did, he started talking. “Do Mochi and Mochi the Second know that Taiyaki’s alive now?”
“Mmhm,” Ochako hummed, staring out the window at their tree. “He came back, and they were mad, but they forgave him, and now they’re happy. Taiyaki took them ice skating. They’re- they’re all safe, and- and alive.”
“And so are you.”
Ochako made a questioning noise, glancing at Izuku from the corner of her eye.
“You’re alive, and safe. We aren’t going to leave you anytime soon.”
“How do you know?” Izuku heard the broken tears in her voice, like cracked droplets of glass. “You can’t- you can’t know that- that you’re n-not gonna get h- hurt. You can’t.”
“I know that all of us would rather beat up a thousand villains than not come back home. I can know that together we can do anything. If that means stopping death, then so be it. I’ll fight death herself if I have to just to make sure I don’t leave.”
Ochako’s shoulders shook with her stuttered breathing, her tears hastily wiped away before they could leave her face. Izuku just shuffled around to wrap her in a hug. She was strong, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t break. Izuku knew that better than anyone.
“I know we can’t always fight to save ourselves,” he said softly. “Your parents didn’t get that chance. But I can promise that we’ll try. We’ll try and we’ll try until we find a way to win and get back home. We won’t leave you, not if we can help it.”
“I know you won’t,” Ochako whispered, then choked on a sob. “I don’t want them to be gone.”
“I know,” Izuku said softly, patting her hair.
“They were good people. Why d-did- why did they have to die?”
“Life isn’t fair,” Izuku whispered, memories rising behind his eyelids. “And good people don’t always get what they should. People die and- and we can’t stop it. But we can make sure they aren’t forgotten. We can remember them, and make sure something like this never happens again.”
“…how?”
“I don’t know yet, but I’m going to find a way. One day I’ll- I’ll make sure no one has to worry about dying in villain attacks, or- or I’ll at least make it rarer.”
“I will too.”
“Hm?”
“I- I want to do that too. I want to make sure no other kids have to go through this.”
Ochako’s voice was stronger now. Determined. There was still pain and sadness, of course. Those emotions don’t just disappear with one conversation, but, Izuku could give her something else to focus on at least.
“I know you will,” he whispered. “We all will.”
The two of them drifted to sleep, the sound of Peeve’s purring and Present Mic acting as their lullaby.
~~~~~~~~~~
It had been a week since the funeral, or at least, Ochako thinks it had been that long. Time felt weird to her. Days blurred together and she kept forgetting the date. Aunt Ko and Uncle Sashi were giving her time before she moved schools, which Ochako was grateful for.
She could always tell when it was a Friday though, because that was the day Mei went to lessons. What they were for was never specified to Ochako. Mei always came back happy though, so she was obviously enjoying them. She rambled about things Ochako didn’t understand, hands flapping excitedly. More often than not a few siblings gathered to listen to her. Izuku seemed to know what she was talking about, but even he looked clueless sometimes. Mei enjoyed telling them though, so they all made sure to listen.
Although it might help if Ochako knew what exactly the general subject was. For all she knew Mei was speaking in tongues or rambling about astrophysics. Which…wouldn’t actually be too farfetched for Mei, now that she was thinking about it.
Today Ochako was sitting in the shed with Mei. She had a designated cushion now. The sewing machine and shuffling of tools and pieces had become a normal sound to Ochako. Sometimes she could pick out a pattern and hummed along to it. Momo joined them a lot, making things for Mei that Ochako still didn’t fully understand. They looked cool though.
At the moment, Mei was taking a break from whatever it was she had been building. Ochako sat in the corner, picking at a spare scrap of fabric Mei had given her. She had a needle and thread next to her, but had yet to use it.
Someone knocked at the door, making both of them jump. Mei immediately covered her table with a cloth. Whoever was outside decided to be smart and wait for Mei to say something before opening the door.
When everything was hidden, Mei told them to come in. A green head of hair poked through the doorway, warily looking around for flying machines and possible explosion sources.
“There are more scorch marks than last time,” Izuku commented.
“Probably. Whatcha need, Greenie?”
“Oh, just wanted to let you two know Hitoshi and I are being sent to the store if you want to come.”
“I can’t, gotta finish something,” Mei said, waving him off. “But bring Ochako, she hasn’t left the house in a few days.”
“Wh- hey!”
“I’m not wrong.”
“I- you’re not, but-“
“It’ll be fun, Ocha!” Izuku promised. “Just to the store and back to get things for dinner. We’ll be back super quick.”
“…fine.”
Izuku beamed his sunshine smile, and retreated back out of the workshop. Ochako stuck her tongue out at Mei. It was returned with a sarcastic smirk, making both of them laugh before Ochako ran outside. Hitoshi and Izuku were already waiting by the front door when she grabbed her shoes.
The air outside was nice and warm. Izuku was already chattering about something he had learned the other day in one of his research sprees. Ochako and Hitoshi happily listened, even if most of it went over their heads. Their brother seemed almost too smart sometimes. That was fine though, he was good at teaching them what he had learned so they understood too.
The streets were practically empty as they walked. Izuku had on a hoodie even though it was still plenty warm out, the sleeves pushed up to above his elbows. It looked like those super poofy sleeves people used to call fashionable. Hitoshi kept teasing Izuku about it.
The cashier hardly spared them a glance when the three walked into the store. Hitoshi nearly shoved Izuku into a shelf in the first five minutes. Ochako trailed after them, trying to commit the aisles to memory. It was the closest store, so they would obviously come back at some point, and she wanted to know where things were when they did.
All in all, it took them maybe fifteen minutes to gather everything. They only needed a few things, just whatever Aunt Ko had ran out of. It wasn’t long before they were back on the sidewalk and walking home. Ochako carried one of the two bags, not bothering to keep her pinky up. It only made the bag weightless anyway, not everything inside, so none of them had to watch for food floating into the sky.
The sun had disappeared by the time they got on their way. Ochako stuck close to Izuku and Hitoshi, scanning every alley and street corner out of habit. The two of them almost seemed to blend into the scenery with their dark clothes though. Izuku’s was one of their Eraserhead hoodies, and Hitoshi had on a short sleeve shirt about cats. Because of course. The yellow text read “I’m not unlucky, you are” with a cartoon black cat under it. Ochako wondered if she could steal it to wear one day.
A crash rang out from an alley behind them, echoing out onto the street and bouncing off the cement. The three of them froze. It was probably a cat, or some other stray. Just some animal knocking over a trashcan lid. Just-
Hitoshi grabbed the back of Izuku’s hoodie, yanking him back from rushing down the alley. He wiggled in Hitoshi’s grip, raising his hands to sign something with a scowl. Ochako didn’t understand most of the signs. Some of it didn’t even look like JSL.
“Mask, you idiot,” Hitoshi hissed. “Give me mine.”
“But Ochako…”
“It was going to happen sooner or later. We just can’t have normal shopping trips, it’s impossible.”
Ochako was growing tired of being out of the loop. There were things this family said and did that didn’t quite line up. They were wonderful—they were the Midoriyas, of course they were—but she wanted to know what they were whispering about. She stood between them and the alley, giving the two a pointed and unwavering look.
Hitoshi let go of Izuku, the two exchanging a glance. Izuku put his hood up and slipped on a green medical mask. Hitoshi did the same. Ochako refused to budge.
“Hitoshi.” Izuku’s tone was…different. Ochako couldn’t quite place why, but he sounded like a leader.
“I know,” Hitoshi said, quieter. “We’ll explain later, Chako, alright? Just, stay here for a second.”
Ochako opened her mouth to protest, to demand they explain now, but they were already running past her. She watched them go with wide eyes. Together Izuku and Hitoshi dove into the alleyway, for all the world looking like they were jumping in with no regard for their safety.
But that wasn’t quite right, was it. Izuku always had a plan. She knew they wouldn’t just throw themselves at danger if there wasn’t one. Still though, it was jarring, seeing her two oldest friends leap into the shadows.
There were the sounds of a scuffle. Hitoshi spoke, words sharp but phrased as a question, and it fell silent. Ochako felt like she was stuck in a daze. The buildings were blurred in her mind. She stepped closer to the alley, close enough to see into it.
There were two adults, one on the ground being zip-tied to a pipe and another standing stock still. They both had blank looks on their faces. Hitoshi stood still in the middle, staring at nothing in concentration. Izuku was carefully tying the man up so he wouldn’t get jostled back to control.
Ochako finally understood. Kind of. She had all the pieces to the puzzle, every edge put together, but there were still a few pieces she had yet to connect.
Her brothers were vigilantes. Or Izuku was, at least. That’s how it looked, and it would take some pretty damn good evidence to convince her otherwise. Judging by the expression on Izuku’s face, they weren’t going to try.
When Izuku was finished restraining the man, he backed up. He put a hand on Hitoshi’s shoulder—some sort of signal, Ochako assumed. Hitoshi nodded to the two of them, and stepped forward.
“You will forget what I look like and who I am,” Hitoshi commanded the adults in monotone.
Izuku grabbed the man’s phone, which had fallen on the ground. Intentionally making his voice deeper, he spoke to someone on the other end. Ochako assumed it was the police. He hung up quickly.
“So do I just, let them go?” Hitoshi asked.
“I didn’t, uh…think of that.”
“This is what I get for rushing in with you.”
“We’ll walk down the street a bit,” Izuku told them, grabbing both of their hands. “Then you can drop control and we keep going. Masks off.”
Hitoshi nodded, putting his mask in Izuku’s hand. Ochako still had a grip on the bag of groceries. She followed after her brothers, mind in a slight haze still. It was mostly a mantra of “what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck-”
The worst part, in her mind at least, was that it made sense. It explained how some of them acted. It explained some of the inventions in Mei’s workshop, even though Izuku might not know about them. It explained him volunteering to go out at night to get things for dinner. It explained some of the confidence Izuku had, and how he carried himself with a certain grace.
Vigilantes were illegal. Logically, Ochako knew that. In practice though? She couldn’t be against them. Not when hardly any heroes patrolled their city. Not when it was a licensed, daylight hero that had been the cause of her parents’ death. The villain was to blame as well, but they hadn’t been the one to choose getting thrown into a building.
And besides, the villain was dead. In a small part of Ochako’s mind, she wanted someone to blame. Someone she might have a small chance of running in to, just so she could…something. She didn’t know. Revenge maybe? Near impossible. Chewing them out? Sure, but she was a kid. No one would listen to her.
She supposed it made sense why the Midoriyas were vigilantes then. No one would ever believe that a couple of kids were taking on villains twice their size. It made sense, especially considering who they were.
But most of all, it made sense for Izuku specifically to be a vigilante. Less so Hitoshi and the others, but definitely Izuku. Izuku was the one who had always seemed the angriest at the state of their city. A righteous anger, but anger nonetheless. Ochako knew he could give speeches on the topic. On how heroes and police were slacking, and corrupt, and how it needed to change.
He was trying to be that change, if only the catalyst for it. Ochako saw it. His other siblings probably did too.
She wondered if Aunt Ko and Uncle Sashi knew about this. Probably not. Aunt Ko was forgiving, but protective. A mama bear. She would never let her children do this if she knew about it.
They were almost home before Ochako scraped together enough coherent thought to speak. Hitoshi had long since let the adults go. He looked strained, but not too bad off. Izuku just seemed contemplative.
“How long have you been doing this?”
The two boys paused, falling half a step behind Ochako. She continued walking, knowing they would catch up. If they could be vigilantes they could walk faster for two seconds.
“A few weeks,” Izuku admitted, catching back up again.
“It’s dangerous.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you doing it?” Ochako was genuinely curious, and maybe a bit protective. They were still kids— little kids in most adults’ eyes—so why were they willingly putting themselves in the line of fire?
“Why not?” Hitoshi answered. Izuku elbowed his side, making him wheeze.
“No one else is,” Izuku told her. “And I was tired of sitting by and watching. Dad’s been training all of us for a long time, and we know enough to stay safe against the small villains. So I kinda just, stepped in.”
Ochako raised an eyebrow, leveling her gaze at Hitoshi as they kept walking. “And you were all ok with this?”
“Oh hell no.”
“Language, Toshi.”
“You said the fuck word last week, you don’t get to scold me.”
Ochako let a laugh slip from her lips. Izuku smiled, the tenseness easing from him. Hitoshi snorted, bumping Izuku with his shoulder.
“Anyway, no, we weren’t ok with it. Not like we could stop him though. Knowing Zu he would just use the tree outside our window to slide down and get out anyway, or lose us on the way to someplace.”
“You aren’t wrong,” Ochako hummed.
“So we decided to at least make sure Izuku was safe about it. Mina and Katsuki went out with him the other night, and they did some parkour in an area they heard about. Idiot thinks he can clear the alleys.”
“Because I can.”
“Not without Momma Ink wrapping you in bubble wrap you can’t.”
“Dad says I can.”
Hitoshi stared at Izuku with the most deadpan expression Ochako had seen on someone their age. “Dad-Shi burnt fish the other day and tripped over Peeve trying to turn the stove off.”
“…ok but I can still do it.”
Ochako couldn’t help it. She started giggling, and couldn’t stop. It bubbled from her heart and rang like chimes down the street. Though maybe it sounded more like a barking seal. Izuku and Hitoshi were staring at her though, an expression of awe and happiness on their faces.
It was the first time Ochako had laughed so freely since the accident.
She took a moment to wipe away the happy tears. Izuku and Hitoshi were grinning softly, their pace even as they neared home.
Home.
That’s what it was now. It was home. Maybe not completely, not the way the apartment had been, but it was home. She had a family there. It was missing two, but it was still a family. Her family. Which seemed to be partially made up of reckless dumbasses, but still.
It was home. And maybe one day, she could fully accept it as that.
For now, Ochako carried the groceries inside, before aggressively noogying her idiot, green-haired brother.
BONUS:
“Wait,” Ochako said suddenly. “Hasn’t Uncle Sashi climbed up to the roof without a ladder before?”
“Yep.”
“And he taught all of you?”
“Yep.”
“So how does him burning fish mean Izuku can’t jump over alleys?”
“It doesn’t.” Hitoshi shrugged. “I just thought it was funny. Izuku’s actually the least likely to fall out of all of us, but I’m not about to tell him that.”
Ochako snorted, then turned her focus back onto practicing sign language with an amused Kouji.
Notes:
3 CHAPTERS UNTIL COSTUME REVEAL I’M SO EXCITED!! I have some of the refs done...ish. I'll probably share them as they are since I won't have my drawing tablet after I move unless I visit home. Mina's especially is giving me trouble, but that's what I get for never fully planning her mask and instead focusing on making her cloak look cool in my head. I'll try and least have a sketch for all of them since I know having a ref makes it easier for people to visualize, and also for artists if they ever want to maybe draw the characters in costume just perhaps one day maybe
Also that little part with Izuku saying Hisashi said he could do something and Hitoshi bringing up something unrelated? My family and I do that all the time. Something like:
“I can color inside the lines, just watch me.”
“No you can’t”
“Yes I can”
“You broke a glass by putting ice in it yesterday when it was still hot”
“...shut up”Ah, siblings
Next chapter!: DND chapter! One of the longest chapters so far somehow, but I got to write a Gnome named Anklebiter so I'm not complaining
Chapter 70: You are Level One Stop Trying to Fight Tiamat
Notes:
HELLO HELLO HELLO I AM ALIVE
Sorry this took...over a month this time, whoopsie daisy. School is kicking my butt, I had 2 exams last week and another 2 this week, so that's fun. But I really wanted to get a chapter up, and here we are :DAnyway! Chapter 70 and I can now confidently say this fic is probably going to get near 200 chapters. We're in this for the long haul, my guys, gals, and gremlins
Also small disclaimer, I have never actually played DnD. I have however listened to some DnD podcasts so I have a decent idea of how it goes! Most of this was improvised and I messed with spell levels so they aren’t actually attached to the level they’re supposed to be…I think. And I made up monsters so if they’re actually in DnD games please ignore the similarities, most of this was written in a haze of caffeine where I didn’t stop writing for literally three (almost four) hours straight. It’s over 5k words for anyone curious about that
Enjoy the chapter :D
(if you forget who's who there's a list in the end notes)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Kouji was an observer, always had been. As far as he could remember, anyway. Even before…even before he was put into foster care, he had been a relatively quiet kid. A listener. Adults had always said he was mature for his age, very shy but bright and intelligent.
Turns out that was because he had anxiety, but the point still stands, Kouji is quiet. He preferred to just watch and listen. Which was fine! His family liked him just the way he was, and thanks to them he was improving. Peeve liked to comment that he was getting better at speaking to people. Loudly. Right as he was speaking to said people.
Slightly embarrassing cat aside, being quiet and observant meant he noticed things. Little details, whether that be about his siblings or the world around them.
It was how he noticed Ochako slowly getting better. She wasn’t all better, and Kouji didn’t expect her to be, he knew healing took time. Grief was like a broken bone. It took time to get better, and patience, and no straining the bone, or else it would break again.
But it would still heal, and Ochako was getting there. She was slowly coming out of the shell she had grown around herself. More of her time was spent around them, and she spoke more. It was gradual, but they all noticed it.
With her getting slightly better each day, Ochako became louder and bolder. Kouji liked to watch it all unfold from the background. His new sister had taken to floating up to the ceiling and dropping down to scare people, which made Izuku start crying the first time. Not out of fright though. Apparently she had done it a lot before, and he was just really happy she was feeling well enough to do it again.
More chaos began to unfurl around them, and Kouji couldn’t be happier with it. The hazy muteness that had clung to them for weeks now had just been weird. They were all usually loud and rambunctious to a degree. They were kids, it was expected, but the lack of that had been downright unsettling at times.
There were still days where it felt like a fog was clinging to them all. Good days and bad days were normal, Kouji knew. He had his own. They gave space to whoever needed it and comforted those who wanted affection.
Today, though, seemed like it would land firmly in the “chaos day” category.
See, the Midoriyas had all sorts of games stashed in the house. There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to them, besides maybe “it looked cool.” Half the boxes looked older than Kouji was. Peeve asked if she could sleep in them every time they were brought out.
So the moment Kouji saw Dad emerge from the hallway, a triumphant grin on his face and a big cardboard box in his arms, he knew something was about to go down. Probably a good something, but still. There was no telling with their parents. None of his siblings seemed to recognize the box either, which was interesting. Izuku usually knew all of the ones they had.
“What’s that, Dad-Shi?” Hitoshi asked first.
Papers and trinkets were gently moved off the coffee table to make room for the box. Kouji tilted his head a bit to read the initials on the box, which read “DnD.”
“Dungeons and Dragons!” Dad chirped excitedly. “Inko and I used to play it back in college, and I remembered we had it this morning when I found it in the closet. Figured it would be something you kids would like playing!”
Kouji got up to peek inside the box. He spotted multiple boards, pieces that looked like fancy small figurines, and a big book at the bottom. There were a bunch of folders too, papers poking out from the edges. The entire box smelled like aged books and dusty wood.
Kouji gently removed one of the playing pieces, carefully cradling it in his hands. It looked like a big person that had tusks coming from their lower jaw. Almost like him, but more pronounced. Kouji immediately loved it.
“Oh, that’s an orc,” Dad said. “Do you want to be that one, Kouji?”
Figure in hand, he signed, “Yes please. Do I get to name him?”
“Of course!” Dad signed back. “Hang on, I’m going to go try and round everyone up. You guys go ahead and choose your pieces, we have a lot.”
He wasn’t wrong, Kouji discovered. There were a lot of pieces hidden inside the box. Izuku’s entire arm disappeared inside as rummaged around. He emerged with a figurine that looked like a tall cat-person dressed in dark clothes proudly clutched in his hand. Kouji didn’t know what it was, but Izuku seemed to like it.
The rest of them eventually converged on the box. Natsuo decided to sit out since he had homework to finish, despite their insistence. He settled for working on the couch and listening to them play.
A board was set up on the coffee table, and they all gathered around it. The adults sat on one side, Mom organizing things behind a mini wall with Dad sat beside her. Auntie Rei was on the couch behind them with a cup of tea. All three of them were whispering, and Kouji didn’t know whether that was a good or bad thing.
“Ok! First, characters!” Dad said, passing out papers. “Write down their stats, I’ll explain how to roll for those in a minute, and make up a backstory. Doesn’t have to be long, since we’re only doing one game for now. Yes you need all these dice.”
Kouji eyed the dice that were scattered over the table in small boxes. There were big ones, and small ones, and one shaped like a pyramid. A bunch of them were cool colors or designs. Though he did wonder why their mother had a box labeled “dice jail” off to the side.
He got to work on his character, their story unfolding before him. A half-orc druid named Fen that liked to work with the animals around them. They loved carrots (like Kouji did), and didn’t like bad guys, so he tied them up with vines. Fen was lawful good and Kouji loved his character.
Some of his siblings took slightly more…interesting routes.
Izuku was a Tabaxi, the cat-person Kouji saw him grab, and a rogue. He stole things apparently, but only from bad people. Kind of like Robin Hood. His name was Pumpkin (Kouji saw their dad try and hide his wheezing) and he was a black cat-person with orange eyes, hence the name. Apparently he used knives and had a cloak. The best part was—in Kouji’s opinion—that Izuku ran off, yelling something about getting into character, and came back wearing one of their dad’s hoodies, which was still massive on him.
Hitoshi was a Drow, a dark elf. They were a warlock who had made a pact with a demon so he could control people with his voice. Hitoshi seemed very smug about the fact that he had added his quirk to the game. The Drow’s nickname was Puppeteer, and when asked about it, Hitoshi said they would learn his real name in time. They were easily bribed with sweets. Kouji made a note of that in case it ever came up again.
Shouto was a Genasi, which was half fire and half ice. He shot Hitoshi a smirk when he said it. Their name was Yuki, and they were a cleric. Mostly because they didn’t have one in the party and Shouto volunteered before knowing what it was. He seemed happier once he learned about holy weapons, and declared he was going to have a mace to smack things with.
Katsuki had chosen to be a barbarian before seeing any of the pieces. Eventually he settled on a goliath, declaring he used a sword bigger than Katsuki was. Kouji signed that that wasn’t very much. He started giggling at Katsuki’s affront face and indecision in jumping over the table at him. It took him another few minutes to decide on the name Jawbreaker.
Mina was a Tiefling bard who could breakdance apparently. They were red—only because there was no pink one in the box—and named Mitsuri. In the middle of her explanation of the character, Mina sprinted upstairs to grab something. She thundered back down with a small plastic ring of theirs and set it on top of Mitsuri’s head. It was her crown, Mina said.
Momo chose to be an elf and a witch. Technically a wizard, but Momo liked witch more, and Dad let her have some healing spells to go along with it. Her character’s name was Genesis, and they were a runaway from their parents, who tried to use their witch powers for bad. Kouji saw Shouto lay his head on her shoulder for a moment in a show of affection and comfort.
Ochako was playing a human fighter named Ittei. They were a young runaway as well, looking for work and adventure. Chaotic good and having had a few infractions with law enforcement, she took the quest to get out of punishment. Ochako had found a plastic shield of theirs somewhere, and brandished it proudly for the rest of their game.
Then they got to the last player.
“…Mei you cannot name your Gnome ‘colon right parenthesis.’”
“But why.”
“Because they need an actual name?”
“That is an actual name.”
Dad sighed, putting his hand to his temple for a moment. “Ok, how about, uhhh, Anklebiter?”
Mei paused, before erasing and rewriting on her paper. And thus her gnome artificer was christened Anklebiter. Kouji somehow knew that name was going to become literal. It was Mei, of course it would.
“Ok, is that everyone?” Mom asked, looking up from behind her screen. She received nine nods of affirmation. “Good, and you understand the dice? And stats?”
Kouji waited patiently for them all to gather the last things they needed. Peeve sat in his lap, peeking over the edge of the table. Thankfully she knew not to jump up and knock everything over. Both of them were excited though, the game sounded like it would be lots of fun.
Mom’s voice changed, dropping a bit into the tone she used when reading a book to them. “In the world of Iadan, there was peace. That’s what most people believed, at least. But the city of Nathal knew better. They were plagued with monsters, and too few within the city that were willing to stop them. That, adventurers, is where you come in.”
Kouji was already enthralled with the story. He leaned forward, hanging onto every word. His siblings were doing the exact same.
“You nine have been hired to try and find the source of the monsters, or whoever is sending them, and put a stop to it. First, you all are meeting in the stables outside of town. What do you do?”
It was quiet for a moment. Kouji raised his hands to sign. “Are there horses?”
“There are. The people of the city are lending you two, and they’re the only ones in the stable right now.”
“I want to pet them and ask if they are ok with coming.”
“Can you do that?” Izuku asked.
“I cast speak with animals.”
“That makes more sense.”
“The horses are nervous,” Mom said. “But ready to take you where you need to go. Although they make it clear that you and Jawbreaker are too big for them to carry.”
“Ok. Are we ready to go?” Kouji signed, turning to his siblings.
“Fuck yeah, let’s go beat some monster butt!” Mina crowed, brandishing a stick she had gotten from who-knows-where.
“Language,” Hitoshi muttered. “And I call dibs on one of the horses.”
“I call dibs on his shoulders,” Mei piped up.
“…can she do that?”
“I’m tiny, you are now my steed. I climb up onto Puppeteer’s shoulders.”
“Alright, who gets the other horse?” Mom asked.
Shouto raised his hand. “Can I?”
“Sure!” Izuku chirped, buried in a hoodie six sizes too big for him. “The rest of us can walk.”
They all made some sort of noise in agreement. Kouji took a second to marvel at just how easily everyone fell into line behind Izuku. He was a good leader, an effortless one too. Even the kids that didn’t like them listened when he spoke. Group projects were automatically ten times more tolerable if he was there, since even their bullies begrudgingly listened to his directions. They got better grades when they did. Izuku wouldn’t tolerate them shoving all the work on him either. It helped that he could talk circles around them, and some of the teachers too.
“Alright then,” Mom continued. “The nine of you head off, technically three of you on horses. The journey will take another day, so you stop and camp for the night. Anything special you want to do or-“
“I start a fire,” Shouto said immediately.
“Did I bring marshmallows?” Hitoshi asked. “Momma Ink I need marshmallows.”
“I start playing my flute.”
“Why do you have a flute?”
“Why don’t you have a flute?”
Kouji giggled, petting Peeve absentmindedly. He watched as his siblings broke into their normal bickering, but as their characters. Mom and Dad just let them go, whispering behind the DM screen. Hopefully they weren’t planning anything too bad.
“Ok, I think it’s late,” Izuku said, making his voice sound different to play Pumpkin. “Everyone to bed.”
“I’ve been asleep for an hour,” Katsuki deadpanned.
“Mitsuri has been using him as a pillow for half an hour.”
“Ah yes, Dungeons and Dragons,” Dad hummed. “Where you can live out your dreams of fantasy, like having a full night of sleep.”
The table dissolved into wheezing laughter, Natsuo nearly falling off the couch. Mom waited for all of them to calm down before speaking again.
“The sun rises, and you all wake up to Genesis yelling. What do you do?”
There was a second of hesitation, but Katsuki spoke first. “I grab my sword and run outside.”
“He probably flings me in that general direction,” Mina hums. “I arm my flute.”
“What the hell is a flute going to do?”
“Watch Mitsuri be the one to blow something up,” Hitoshi whispered. Kouji couldn’t help quietly giggling.
“Are you all rushing outside?” Mom asked.
“I calmly walk outside,” Shouto said.
“Alright then. You all get outside, and see Genesis hanging upside-down, her ankles caught in a trap strung over the tree.”
“Can I cut her down? I have knives, and Kacchan- I mean, Jawbreaker, can you catch her?”
Katsuki nodded, and Mom got a conniving smile. Kouji wasn’t sure what she had planned, but knowing their mother, it would definitely be something interesting.
“As you go to climb the tree and cut her down, Pumpkin, something jumps at you.”
“Can I hit them with my knives instead?”
“Roll for it,” Dad reminded.
Izuku nodded, rolling a die after checking that it was the d20. He evidently passed some sort of test, because the adults nodded. The storytelling picked up once again.
“You swing your knives, and they do hit, but they hit what appears to be a scarf. Your hands are now tangled in it, and the thing attached to them jumps onto the ground.”
Dad picked up the acting, his entire demeanor changing. “Put down your weapons.”
“FUCK NO!”
“What the big guy said,” Mei parroted.
“I am not an enemy.”
Shouto stared at Dad, voice flat as the Canada plains. “You tied up our witch and are holding our rogue captive. In what way does that say ‘hey I’m friendly.’”
“Can I bite him?”
The table fell quiet for a moment at Mei’s words, before Mom spoke again. “If you roll high enough, I’ll let you bite him.”
Their sister’s grin turned wicked as she rolled. Lo and behold, it was nineteen. The adults glanced at one another.
“Well, Anklebiter, you run up to the thing, jump, and bite their arm. They drop Pumpkin because of it, though Genesis is still hanging from the tree.”
“Motherfucker,” Dad cursed, miming grabbing his arm.
“Hisashi!”
“What? They already know that word.”
“Fine,” Mom sighed. “Ok, the man, as you can now see it is a person, is jumping around with a gnome attached to his arm. What do you do?”
Kouji put his hands up again, signing. “Can I cast Charm Person to make him tell us why he’s here?”
“I have zone of truth,” Shouto commented. “I’ll use that so you can save your spells, Kouji. You’re the only one who can talk to animals.”
“Ok Yuki, you cast zone of truth. And the man starts speaking again.”
“I’m an ally!” Dad crowed, still pretending to jump around. “I was sent to give you advice on the one sending monsters! Get this gnome off my arm!”
The rest of the group blinked, before relaxing just a bit. Mei let her character release the arm of the man. Not before growling at him though, and climbing the tree to release Genesis. Kouji waited with baited breath for what would happen next.
“Momma, what’s the man look like?”
“He’s shorter than some of you, with long black hair and dressed like Izuku, so you assume he’s a rogue too. What appears to be a very long scarf is on his shoulders, hovering slightly. There are knives on his belt along with a scroll. His eyes are covered, but you get the feeling he’s staring at each of you in turn.”
“…Auntie Inko, did you put Eraserhead in our game?”
“Maybe,” Mom said, smiling over at Mina. “Now, what do you do next?”
It continued like that, Kouji mostly watching and signing—or speaking when he felt like it was necessary. Not-Eraserhead gave them a scroll before disappearing again. It gave them directions to a mountain, along with a warning to be vigilante. Kouji couldn’t help excitedly bouncing in place as they quietly planned their way forward. Amidst it all Katsuki commented that he hoped Tiamat was at the top of the mountain. Mina threw a pencil at him.
Their party kept walking, eventually coming to a bridge. Kouji was immediately suspicious of it. This was either a trap, or something their parents had put here to make them overthink. Either way, they should-
“It’s just a bridge,” Katsuki grumbled. “I run across.”
-be careful. Yep, that’s about as much as Kouji expected honestly.
“Why,” he stated more than asked Katsuki.
“What do you mean ‘why?’ It’s just a bridge-“
“Roll for initiative.”
“Well shit.”
“I told you so.”
Kouji rolled his dice, letting the malevolent number deities decide his fate, before passing it to Momo. Everyone rolled their numbers, Dad writing them all down in order. Before long they were waiting for the next move.
“Katsuki, you get jumped by a monster. They look like they’re an animated log pile, bark grinding together to make a gnarled growl. Before you can react it swipes at you, sending you flying back across the bridge. Puppeteer, you got the highest roll. What do you do?”
“Um, would it be able to respond to me?”
“I don’t know, you can roll to check though.”
“Fifteen.”
“You can hear it making noise, but no words, so you don’t think it will work.”
“Dang it.”
Shouto spoke next, staring at the blob Dad had plopped on the board as a stand in. “Can I light it on fire?”
“I don’t know, can you?” Hitoshi snickered.
Shouto stared at their brother, and raised his left hand. Fire danced between his fingers as he inched it closer to Hitoshi. Their purple-haired brother yelped, giggling all the while, before diving for cover. Which happened to be flopping over Momo’s lap to hide under the tabletop. She just took it in stride and kept muttering strategies under her breath.
They each took their turns, Kouji wondering how long the battle would take when it cycled past him. Only Shouto and Momo had done significant damage so far, both with fire. Slashing damage didn’t do much, but it did do more than Ochako trying to punch it. Kouji actually had success on his turn, being able to control some of the wood and bind it to the ground with the stat boost Mina gave him.
Katsuki’s turn was last, since he got surprise attacked. He also rolled a nat one, so he would’ve been last anyway. The dice somehow survived his furious glaring.
“Jawbreaker rushes towards the beast, sword held above his head,” Mom said, drawing them in with her words. “And the beast swipes him away again, pinning him down. But before it can get another hit, something else appears.”
They all stared with wide eyes, knowing they couldn’t take on another enemy. Kouji clenched his hands into fists on top of the table, not remembering the last time he had been so invested in a game. Peeve meowed in worry at his distress.
“And the limb holding Jawbreaker down is burned off, dropping so he can stand. Crouched on the bridge’s railing is a red Dragonborn, embers still drifting from their sharp-toothed grin.”
Dad did the voice for the character too, like he did for Not-Eraserhead. “Hello! Looks like you guys needed some help.”
“Oh thank god,” Mina breathed, flopping onto her back on the floor. “Dad-Sashi to the rescue.”
“Wh- hey! This isn’t me playing the game.”
“Of course, honey,” Mom hummed. “The Dragonborn jumps onto the beast’s back, breathing fire at its head. The wood burns to a crisp, and it falls limp.”
“Did…we do it?”
“More like the dragon did it.”
“Still a victory,” Katsuki said, grinning ferally. “I go up to the Dragonborn and pat them on the back. HA, nat twenty, take that fuckers.”
“You accidentally slap their back and they fall over.”
“Fuck.”
“Stop rolling for pointless things, Kacchan,” Izuku said, though there’s no bite behind his words. “Who are you then?”
“Ruby!” Dad crowed, voice squeakier than usual. “I live around here, heard there was a group coming by to help us deal the monster source and whatnot. So? You gonna do it?”
“Yeah!” Ochako cheered, hands hitting the table. Their board floated a few inches off the table before she released her quirk. “You wanna come?”
“Sure! Looks like you need some firepower!”
“Oh my god, she uses puns. We’re keeping her,” Hitoshi declared. None of them said a word of protest.
“Is your group continuing on then?” Mom asked.
“Yeah, let’s keep going!”
They bantered back and forth on the way up the mountain. Kouji thought the voice Dad did for Ruby was funny, but fitting. It wasn't long before Mom said they made it, standing at the mouth of a cave. Dad put down a new board layout for them. Some parts were covered by other papers, since they hadn’t explored those places yet.
They entered the cave, Izuku checking for traps. He disabled all of them, solving the puzzles their parents laid out with ease. Kouji could hardly keep up. His brother really did think faster than anyone else he knew.
The dungeon led them to a big cavern, stalactites and stalagmites clinging to the ceiling and floor. A forest of stone thorns. The group of them stayed close together.
Then Mom nudged Dad, and he gasped loudly. They were all confused, even more so after he spoke, using Ruby’s voice.
“Where- where am I? Wait, no. No no no no I’m so sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I didn’t mean to-“
“Ruby?” Katsuki said cautiously.
“I wasn’t in control, I’m so sorry.”
“What?”
“Gooooood,” a voice hisses. Every one of them jumped, not expecting Auntie Rei to speak from where she was sitting behind Mom and Dad, her mug of tea abandoned off to the side.
“What’s going on?!” Mina whisper-yelled.
“More fuel for my creaaaaaations,” Auntie Rei rasped again. “More to bring the end.”
“End of what?” Izuku asked, voice still strong somehow.
“Liiiiife on the surfaaaaaace. Shun me aaaaaand others. Their time is aaaaaat aaaaan end.”
Mom was finally the one to speak again. She spoke with heavy words and a tone of dread. Kouji couldn’t decide which part of the last two minutes was worse.
“You all turn to the center of the room, where something is beginning to emerge from the stone. It was there the whole time, you realize. Camouflaged so well you could have tripped over it. It’s tall, even taller than you, Jawbreaker, and covered in quills. Sharp and jagged, and rattling like a wind through a barren forest as it steps closer to you.”
“I am Tesval’iah, and I am humanity’s doom.”
Kouji wondered if they could even win this fight. The enemy sounded strong. Some sort of mind control if his guess about Ruby was correct, and the quills were an obvious problem. Maybe not as much of one if they were only for defense though. Being able to shoot the quills would triple their current danger level.
“Roll initiative.”
Two words had never sounded so close to “you’re doomed.”
Kouji rolled, breath hitching when he got a number below ten. Hopefully they could outnumber Tesval’iah. Power might not work. Or it might, they won’t know until they start the fight.
“Mitsuri, you’re first.”
“Um, I…I cast vicious mockery?”
“Ok. How do you mock him.”
“Oh. Hm.” Mina slowly broke into a grin, before raising her voice. “Hey porcupine! You know you aren’t special, right? Bet you don’t even know how to run with those stupid things on your back. And your face, I would say it’s a face only a mother could love, but…”
Kouji snorted, listening to the rest of the table make some sort of amused noise. At least they were less nervous now.
“Roll for damage, that was good,” Dad commented. “Next is Jawbreaker.”
“I rage and hit it with my sword.”
“You aren’t close enough to hit it, but you can get closer and hide behind a stalagmite until your next turn.”
“Ugh, fine.”
“Puppeteer?”
“Eldritch blast, I rolled a- fuck.”
“Fuck isn’t a number, Toshi.”
“Safe to say that doesn’t hit,” Mom hummed. “Tesval’iah’s turn.”
There was a collective held breath as the two adults rolled multiple dice. For what, they didn’t know. It took a minute of them whispering together to come to a decision.
“Tesval’iah puts his claw out, and casts fire bolt at Genesis. What’s your AC?”
“Uhh, 12?”
“It hits, but just barely. Your pants catch on fire.”
“I put it out! I put it out!”
“That’s your turn then. You took two damage. Yuki, your turn.”
“I get closer, I’m out of range for most of my spells.”
“Sounds good. Pumpkin?”
“I duck behind rocks and get closer, my knives in hand.”
Izuku reached over and moved his character, Mom nodded and glanced down at something. She rolled more dice. Kouji felt a jolt of apprehension at that.
“Anklebiter?”
“Can I shoot it?”
“Can you…what?”
“Can I shoot it, I have a mini cannon that shoots big cannon balls.”
“I…don’t remember giving you that, but sure, go ahead. Roll for hits and damage.”
Mei nodded, rolling dice with determination. Most of them rolled high. Kouji watched as she added them up, doing more damage than Mina had.
It continued on like that, taking a while since there were a lot of them. Most of them just got closer so they could actually attack. Kouji managed to do some damage with his spells, and it made him feel proud of his character. Tesval’iah’s turn came, and he hit Katsuki. Not a one hit death thankfully, but it definitely did some heavy damage.
“Ok, Yuki’s turn.”
“Oi, heal me,” Katsuki said gruffly.
Shouto blinked slowly. “Do I have to?”
“Wh- Icyhot I am at half health heal me already.”
“But why.”
“Hey Shochan?” Momo said, gaining their attention. “Did you ever tell us who your god was?”
“Oh. Midori, the god of protection and family.”
Izuku made a sound like a deflating balloon, slumping against the table. Mom and Dad just laughed. Shouto was completely serious, though he did crack a grin.
Kouji wondered if he could double class as a cleric that served Midori too. Or maybe a paladin, that sounded cool.
“Then heal me you asshole.”
“Ugh, fine. I cast cure wounds.”
The sound of dice continued another round. Ruby helped then, having recovered from her shock. The fire did something, and Kouji could almost see Shouto make a mental note of it. Slowly, they whittled away at Tesval’iah’s health.
It was the monster’s turn again. The sound of clicking dice in the otherwise silent room was unsettling. Kouji rock from side to side, Peeve having long since vacated his lap for Natsuo, who had also abandoned his homework by now.
The look on Mom and Dad’s face was more disturbing than the silence. Mom looked remorseful, while Dad looked interesting. That wasn’t a good combination.
“Tesval’iah reaches back, and pulls out one of his own quills. He casts mage hand faster than any of you can react, and throws it towards Ruby, using the mage hand to guide it.”
There was a moment of incomprehension. A moment of denial. A moment of shock. And then-
“I shove Ruby out of the way.”
Kouji looked over at Izuku like he was crazy, because he probably was. With the speed the missile was described, there was no way he would be able to move himself out of the way too. But…that was Izuku, wasn’t it.
“Sixteen,” he said, having rolled without anyone asking him to.
“It…works,” Dad said, almost gingerly. “But, you weren’t fast enough to get out of the way too. It…hits your side. Inko?”
“Let me roll.”
Izuku nodded, probably knowing that was going to happen. The rest of them sent frightened glances towards each other. Shouto’s turn wasn’t for another round, so he couldn’t be healed. Even if it was only a game, they didn’t want their brother to lose. They didn’t want him to die.
“Izuku, you take twelve points of damage.”
“I’m below zero.”
Hitoshi spoke quietly, hardly above a whisper. “Is he dead now?”
“No, not quite, make a death saving throw Izuku.”
The roll of a dice decided his fate.
“Eleven.”
“You’re alive, but barely. If Shouto heals you next turn you’ll be alright.”
They all let out a collective sigh of relief. The room was quiet for a moment, this time calm like a still lake instead of birds frozen stiff in a field. Mei was the first to speak.
“Can I shoot it again?”
“Roll for it.”
Whether out of chance-altering spite or simple chance, Mei rolled extremely high. She looked both relieved and slightly murderous. At least it was fictional, and their brother wasn’t actually dead. There were no saving throws in real life. Also no Mei with a cannonball gun. For now.
A few turns later, and hits more vicious than before, Mina asked how much health Tesval’iah had left.
“I’m not supposed to tell you,” Mom said. “But, I’d say two more hits and he’s down. Ruby is next though, so Hisashi, you roll.”
Tesval’iah got a flamethrower to the face. Kouji was next. Everyone turned to look at him, waiting for him to make his move. It would probably be the last one. Kouji just grinned, knowing what he wanted to do.
“I cast moonbeam,” Kouji said steadily.
Dad looked down at something, then whistled. “Yep, that’ll do it.”
Kouji smiled, and his siblings cheered. He had never felt so victorious.
“I like Dungeons and Dragons!” Mina cheered. “Can we play more?”
“Not tonight,” Dad chuckled. “It’s time to get ready for bed, actually. Come on, DnD isn’t going anywhere.”
Kouji glanced out the window, only now noticing how dark out it was. They had already eaten dinner, but he swore they hadn’t been playing that long.
Well, either way, he had had fun. And so had everyone else! Knowing them, the game would be out again, and be even more entertaining than this round.
Kouji couldn’t wait to see what was to come.
Notes:
Character list:
Izuku (Pumpkin) : Tabaxi, Rouge
Hitoshi (Puppeteer) : Dark elf, Warlock (pact w/demon to control people via voice)
Shouto (Yuki) : Genasi, Cleric. Deadpan cleric that begrudgingly heals. His god's name is Midori.
Katsuki (Jawbreaker) : Goliath, Barbarian. Screams a lot.
Mina (Mitsuri) : Tiefling, Bard. Breakdances out of problems
Momo (Genesis) : Elf, Witch/wizard
Kouji (Fen) : Half-orc, Druid
Mei (Anklebiter) : Gnome, Artificer. Keeps getting asked if they’re a goblin. Can and WILL bite you
Ochako (Ittei) : Human, Fighter.~~~
The most unrealistic part of this chapter is that everyone made their characters within a day. Also I forgot until halfway that there is a canonical medieval universe for BNHA but this is my universe so I’m throwing that out the window for the moment. I hope you liked it though :D
Have a good day/night!! I love you!! <3
Chapter 71: Defying Gravity
Summary:
Izuku and Ochako talk, and I accidentally carry over my other fic's philosophy of "Izuku can never have a normal shopping trip" but he got himself onto that roof.
Also the first scene of this? Yeah that's my siblings and I but with Hamilton
Notes:
YOU. YOU RIGHT THERE. YOU ARE AMAZING
Hello :D
I'm alive! Turns out having exams nearly every week really cuts back on writing time, but it's here now! Probably should have worked on IEHP first but eh, had more inspiration for this, so here we are! I hope you like it
Does Inko really need last minute groceries this much? No, but she sees how excited her kids are to be independent (while not knowing about them being vigilantes) so she “forgets” things and sends them on trips to get them. Enjoy
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The peaceful afternoon was like a calm lake; Surface unbroken and soft waves lapping gently at the shore. The sun shone overhead with the yellow light of a late summer day. Izuku was enjoying it. It was quiet…and kinda boring.
But nothing was ever boring for long in the Midoriya house, that was just a fact.
It started with a little hummed tune. Izuku recognized the song, as well as the voice creating it. Not that it was hard to pick out who was humming the notes, Izuku knew Hitoshi almost as well as he knew himself.
It wasn’t long before he started whispering the lyrics under his breath.
“Something has changed within me. Something is not the same,” Izuku quietly sang.
Hitoshi didn’t even pause, just kept humming the song. The rest of their siblings—only five of them upstairs at the moment—were beginning to look over.
"I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game. Too late for second-guessing. Too late to go back to sleep. It's time to trust my instincts, close my eyes, and leap.”
Momo decided to join too, her voice harmonizing with Izuku.
“It's time to try defying gravity. I think I'll try defying gravity, and you can't pull me down,” they sang together.
Momo took the next part, singing even louder now. “Can’t I make you understand? You’re having delusions of grandeur.”
They kept singing, the five of them trading off each line, or just seeing who could sing it the loudest without outright screaming. Izuku eventually caught the voice of someone singing from downstairs. He couldn’t help grinning at the sound of it.
“So if you care to find me, look to the Western sky! As someone told me lately, everyone deserves the chance to fly,” the five upstairs sang.
The others downstairs answered with glee obvious in their voices. “And if I'm flying solo, at least I'm flying free. To those who ground me, take a message back from me! Tell them how I am defying gravity. I’m flying high defying gravity, and soon I'll match them in renown.”
All nine of them, maybe eleven if Izuku was hearing Dad and Auntie Rei singing too, sang the next part together. Their voices grew even louder at the point where the music would usually swell. Along with it came the sound of footsteps running up the stairs. Izuku had to stop himself from laughing, knowing exactly what was about to happen.
“And nobody in all of Oz, no wizard that there is or was, is ever gonna-“
Their door burst open, a wildly grinning Ochako standing on the threshold. She took a deep breath and sang-
“BRIIIIIIING! MEEE! DOOOOOOOOOWWWN!”
None of them could keep singing through their laughter. Half of them fell to the floor, cackling like a pack of hyenas. Ochako was beaming through her laughter. Izuku stumbled to his feet to give her a high five. Well, high four, since he didn’t go floating towards the ceiling.
The rest of their siblings trickled upstairs, joining in on the giggling, smiling mess of limbs. Praises were passed around like halloween candy.
Natsuo poked his head in, smile barely restrained behind a facade of very fake annoyance. He pointed to Ochako and Izuku.
“You two, are absolute menaces,” Natsuo hissed, obvious amusement leaking through his voice. “Don’t think I don’t know who started this.”
Izuku just smiled innocently. “Who, us? Never.”
“Not in a million years,” Ochako added, hiding her grin by ducking her head behind Izuku.
“Demons, I say. Short demons. The chaos demon duo.”
The two little siblings shared a glance, and their smiles only grew.
“Oh, no no no, do not make that your new nickname,” Natsuo said, starting to laugh halfway through the sentence. “I mean, it’s true, but no.”
“Yes.”
“Ok, fine, demon duo-“
“Chaos demon duo,” Ochako insisted.
“Anway, Aunt Inko-“
Mina gasped, drowning out Natsuo. “Can we have a group name too?”
“Yeah, sure. You and Katsuki can be the, uhhhh, spicy duo. Sound good?”
“Yes!”
“Wait but-“
“Aunt Inko needs someone to go to the store,” Natsuo said, raising his voice to be louder than them. “Ok, that’s all, enjoying being menaces. Remember to go get water if you haven’t.”
There was a chorus of “ok, Natsuo”s before the room fell quiet once more. They all looked between one another, silently debating who should go. Or, more accurately, who would keep an eye on Izuku.
“I can go and take Ochako with me?” Izuku suggested, easing some worries and bringing up others. “We’ll be extra careful and not bring back bruised fruit this time.”
“Be careful with yourself too, idiot.”
“I know, I know! Do you want to go, Ochako? I know it’s-“
“Fuck yeah, let’s go.”
Ochako was already grabbing Izuku’s arm and hauling him out of the room. He saluted to their sibling on the way out, barely grabbing the extra masks they had stashed in their room. The two of them bound down the stairs with borderline giddiness.
Momma made them promise to be safe, trusting they knew her guidelines by now. She gave them the list and money, before sending them on their way. Ochako and Izuku very calmly slipped on their shoes, double checked they had everything, and walked out the door. Once outside they shared a glance—and then took off down the sidewalk, smiling all the while.
It wasn’t far to the store. The closest one, at least. Izuku and Ochako didn’t run into any trouble on their way, the masks staying safely tucked in Izuku’s pocket. A red one sat beside his green.
Getting the groceries was easy. They went through the familiar aisles, triple checking the list before they bought everything. The two of them were outside again before long, bags in hand. The sun had yet to fully set, just stretching the shadows and casting everything in orange light for now.
“That was quick,” Ochako hummed, bag swinging at her side as they walked. “So do we just, walk home?”
He couldn’t help giving her a grin. “I have a better idea.”
Izuku glanced down the street, which was mostly abandoned. He grabbed Ochako’s hand and pulled her along. She just went along with it, making sure not to drop a bag. Her trust made his heart warm.
The two of them ducked into an alley. Izuku stopped towards the end of it, seeing the dead end. That was exactly what he wanted though.
“Ok, I’ve been practicing this and I wanted to show you, but we can’t really do it in the yard without Momma telling us to stop, and the training yard we found doesn’t have a good place for it.”
They both set the bags down, hiding them in the cleanest looking box they could see. Izuku gestured for Ochako to stay where she was, and excitedly stepped deeper into the alleyway. He stared up at the roof to his right, taking a moment to think. It was maybe three stories up. There weren’t many windows, or any fire escapes to climb. Ochako could get up there no problem, obviously, but Izuku didn’t have a quirk to make jumping easier. Well, not physically at least. It certainly helped to know which things to jump on.
“Watch what I do, ok?”
“What are you doing?”
Izuku shot her a confident grin, bouncing on the balls of his feet, before taking a running leap at the wall.
His feet hit the bricks, and pushed upwards. He rebounded to the opposite wall of the narrow alley. Izuku didn’t allow himself to hesitate—didn’t let himself pause—as he ping-ponged up three stories.
He took another leap, and dove over the side of the roof. The air rushed back into his lungs, sweet and heavy in the summer air. Wispy clouds drifted overhead. Izuku pumped a fist in victory, rolling back to his feet.
“Did you see?!” He called down to Ochako, grinning from ear to ear.
“I did! How the hell did you do that?”
“Come up and I’ll tell you!”
Izuku watched from over the edge. Ochako’s eyes seemed to follow his route, before she shook her head and tapped her arm. Gravity released its hold on her, and Ochako jumped from the ground before her feet left it. The result was Izuku reaching out to stop his sister from rocketing herself into the stratosphere.
Ochako giggled as Izuku brought her back to solid ground. She canceled her quirk, feet touching down on the roof.
“Ok, spill,” she demanded good-naturedly.
“I’ve been practicing,” Izuku laughed. “We all have, kinda. Almost everyone else can use their quirk to physically help them in some way, but I can’t really do that, so I’ve been working on my parkour skills to make up for it. I don’t take the classes anymore, since Mo wanted to do that thing with chemistry, but I never stopped practicing. I can do that up to three stories now! Fire escapes make it easier too, since I can just jump from the railings like a weird ladder instead of ricocheting.”
“Woah. You looked like you were flying getting up here, you know. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else do that before.”
Izuku ducked his head, his cheeks beginning to warm at the praise. He still wasn’t used to the praise on his parkour skills. It was nice though, being told that he was good at it. Parkour was something he worked on, and his quirk wasn’t an excuse for his improvement. There was only so much that analysis could help with. When he was moving fast enough, his movements became instinct.
“We have some more time before Momma’s gonna expect us home,” Izuku hummed. “We can sit for a while and watch the sunset if you want, since we’re already up here.”
Ochako nodded, sitting on the edge of the roof, legs hanging off. Izuku copied her, looking up to the yellow sky. Stars would start appearing soon. Up in the sky, things were peaceful. The wind ruffled their hair and tugged at their clothes.
“I could get used to this,” Ochako said quietly.
“Mmhm. It’s nice up here.”
“No, I mean- well, it is, but…this. I could get used to being a hero. We didn’t do anything tonight, but still, knowing that we’re here. That if someone needs us we’ll be there. It’s…it’s really nice.”
Izuku smiled softly, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. Ochako had come so far since he had met her. “I know.”
“This is why you did it in the first place, right?”
“Wanting to be there to help and actually intervening are two different things,” Izuku hummed, watching a cloud blow overhead. “When it came down to it, my body moved on its own. I can’t be a hero if I stay on the sidelines.”
“Yeah. I think…” Ochako paused, pulling her legs back up onto the ledge. “I think I want to be a hero too. A licensed one, and- and a vigilante. I want to- I want to make sure what happened…”
“You don’t want anyone else to go through what happened to you.” Ochako nodded in confirmation. Izuku leaned his head on her shoulder. “I think that’s a perfect reason to be a hero, legal or not. I’d be happy to have you by my side any day.”
The two revelled in the moment, just enjoying the other’s company. The sun set lower and the yellow faded to gray. Their little piece of time remained calm, overlooking part of the city. All the big skyscrapers were towards the center, but their short building was perfectly fine for skygazing.
“What would you want your name to be?”
Ochako turned to Izuku, confusion written plain on her face. “What?”
“Your vigilante name. And a hero one, since you don’t want them to be the same. What name would you choose?”
“Oh, Mei asked me the same thing the other week.” Ochako turned back to the sky, a small smile of dandelion fluff on her face. “I said I like the name Harpy, like the bird ladies in Greek mythology, but I don’t know for a hero name.”
“That’s a good name.”
“Yours is too, it really fits you! We just need to get you fox ears and you have an even better costume.”
Izuku barked a laugh, gently shoving his sister’s shoulder. Ochako kept going on, describing how they should make him look more like a green fox. He couldn’t deny that having a solid costume would be nice though.
They were interrupted by something clattering on the roof behind them. The next building over, but still kind of odd. Cats hardly ever got to the rooftops, and even then, this noise was different. Like metal was scraping against something. The sound of a door dragging along the ground. Izuku glanced back curiously, and froze.
There was an adult there. One in costume. Judging by the brighter colors, they were a daylight hero. Izuku looked for a second more, and recognized them.
“Ochako,” Izuku whispered calmly. “I’m going to hand you a mask. Put it on, and follow my lead. There’s a hero behind us that we really don’t want to catch us up here.”
“…ok. I trust you, Kitsune.”
Izuku handed her the mask, hand shaking just a bit. The two of them slipped them on, one green and one red, before getting to their feet. Dropping three stories was out of the question. Neither of them wanted broken bones.
Izuku had a plan though. A partially reckless one, but a plan.
“Are you able to make both of us weightless?” He whispered, taking Ochako’s hand.
“For a bit, but not long. Tell me when.”
Izuku nodded, happiness blooming in his chest with how much faith she had in him. Ochako had never done anything illegal. Nothing that could be proven at least, and public quirk use wasn’t as big a problem since they were still “innocent little kids.” Izuku, however, had done something very much illegal. Something he did not want to be caught for.
Even if the hero didn’t suspect them of being vigilantes, he would still confront them. He would still try and scold them and probably demand he escort them home. Or worse, make them reveal their faces. An escape would avoid that. It was the lesser evil to holding still like sitting ducks.
Especially since the hero behind them seemed to have a grudge against vigilantes.
Slowly, carefully, Izuku edged the two of them towards the far corner of the building. Ochako’s hand was tightly gripping his, pinky raised for now. The timing had to be right, or else they would be noticed. Momma’s words rang in his head. “Be careful” she had said “don’t get hurt.” Izuku hoped they could still stick to that.
Izuku let himself relax just the tiniest bit when they reached the corner without being noticed. From there they could drop into the alley, retrieve the groceries, and head home. They were so close.
But that’s when things went wrong, because the universe had little favor towards Izuku Midoriya.
“Hey!” The hero barked from behind them. “What are you two doing up here?!”
Izuku jumped, eyes snapping to meet the man’s own across from them. He was scowling, normal hero mask gone. Ochako squeezed his hand tighter. The hero stepped closer, bristling at the lack of answer. Izuku moved without thinking.
When it came down to it, he couldn’t fight a grown adult without the element of surprise. Not when Izuku had someone to protect and get home, and no weapons to speak of. Not to mention their identities were something he would really rather not risk.
He linked his pinky with Ochako’s, and felt his feet leave the ground. She jolted at her quirk activating, and so did the hero. Izuku didn’t give them more time to process what was happening.
Without anything weighing him down, Izuku pushed himself off the building. He dragged Ochako with him, her yelp echoing in his ears. Without a second of hesitation Izuku grabbed the drain pipe, sliding down it like a fireman pole. Ochako clung to him, managing to grab her own arm before they hit the pavement. Their momentum carried over though, letting them continue to plummet.
Izuku slowed down their descent with the pipe. They hit the ground without any injuries. The two of them exchanged a bewildered look, before running back out of the alley. Grocery bags were snatched along the way.
Something shot past Izuku. A stinging pain burned down his side, making him stumble. He hissed, but straightened up. They couldn’t get caught. They couldn’t.
Izuku stopped Ochako before they left the alley, making them leave at a walking pace. It would be suspicious if they didn’t. Well, more suspicious, they were already two kids leaving an alleyway.
The masks were tucked back into his pocket. Izuku hefted the grocery bags, calmly walking with them swinging at his side. He was pretty sure his side shouldn’t be oddly warm and slightly wet, but that was a problem for later. For now he just kept walking. He made sure to keep that side facing away from Ochako.
They were already around the corner by the time the hero came rushing out. Izuku only knew because he could hear the man yelling. Ochako kept glancing back, so he tried to keep her distracted. It wasn’t long before they reached their neighborhood again. Izuku was acutely aware that he had been hit with something, but didn’t want to mention it. Not yet. No need to worry their parents when it probably just needed some bandages.
“Hey, can you take all of this inside for me?” Izuku asked evenly. “I need to go ask Mei something.”
“Oh, yeah, sure. Don’t be long, Aunt Ko might want help with dinner.”
Izuku nodded, plastering a smile on his face. Ochako grabbed the other bags and headed inside. He pause, just for a moment, before letting his face crumple. The next breath of air was sucked in between gritted teeth. The adrenaline was fading.
He climbed over the gate, not being tall enough to unlatch it yet. Izuku screwed his eyes shut and took a second to just breathe, then continued on his path. Mei had bandages in her shed. Going in there without permission was dangerous, but she would probably forgive him. None of his siblings liked seeing him injured. Shouto was still cautious about him getting excited while around tables and countertops.
Izuku quickly limped across the yard. He knocked on the door, just to be safe. Better to make sure Mei wasn’t actually in there.
She was, as it turned out, when she called for him to come in. Izuku steeled himself, then pushed the door open. He could see the moment she saw he was hurt.
Mei launched herself at Izuku, stopping just short of tackling him. The crosshairs in her eyes moved as she zoomed in on him. He just gave a sheepish grin, and let himself be dragged farther inside.
The shed hadn’t changed much since he had last been inside. Scorch marks littered the walls and ceiling, with inventions scattered across numerous tables and shelves. Momma’s old sewing machine sat at the main desk. Mei made Izuku sit on the stool she had, and snatched a first aid kit off a shelf.
“What happened,” she demanded, lifting his shirt away from his side.
“Hero. The one new to Musutafu, with a projectile porcupine quirk. I think his name was Quills? Ochako and I were on a roof and he saw us. I think one of his quills skimmed my side, and I might have landed wrong making sure Ochako didn’t.”
“Idiot,” Mei huffed, staring at the cut for a minute. “You’ve had worse, probably, it isn’t too deep. Doesn’t need stitches.”
Izuku opened his mouth, a question on his tongue.
“Shut it, Niseru showed me some first aid when we weren’t coding.”
Izuku closed his mouth.
“I’m going to wrap it, don’t you dare take this off until we change it. You probably twisted your ankle, but it’s not swelling so probably nothing broken besides skin. Why were you two even on a roof, Greenie?”
“I was showing Ochako how I could get up there,” Izuku mumbled, fidgeting with his hands and avoiding eye contact. “And the sunset was nice. I know she’s still hurting, so I wanted to try and make her feel better.”
“Good sentiment, stupid idea.”
“Meimeiiiiii,” Izuku whined, hunching his shoulders and pouting. “It isn’t my fault that hero is the kind to attack first, ask questions later.”
“It isn’t, but you need to be careful. Did you two at least have masks?”
“Of course. He didn’t see our faces, and we were down the street by the time he got there, since he couldn’t jump like we did.”
“Good.” Mei finished wrapping his side, the bandages hidden by his clothes for the most part. “Put some ice on it when we get inside. No, you cannot hide it. Just say you tripped climbing the fence.”
“How did you-“ he sputtered.
“Even Kouji can’t reach the latch yet.” Mei rolled her eyes, a fond grin on her face. “Just tell Momma Inko and Pop-Sashi that and you’ll be ok. You’ve climbed that thing enough that they won’t question it.”
Izuku opened his mouth, then closed it again, knowing that wasn’t an argument he could win. Instead he let Mei lead him inside. There was bustling in the kitchen, but it was almost dinnertime so that was expected.
Mei hesitated after shutting the backdoor. Izuku recognized the way she held herself, the body language of someone with something to say but gathering the courage to say it. He waited for her to gather her words.
“Can you…can you bring everyone out to the shed tomorrow night?”
Izuku tilted his head to the side like a curious green puppy. “Sure, but why?”
“I want to show you what I’ve been working on.”
Izuku paused, before a sunshine smile took over his face. Mei wanted to show them her inventions! None of them—except for Momo, Ochako, and sometimes Shouto—had been allowed in her workshop for months. Not that Izuku blamed her, since more than half the time whatever she was working on backfired in some way.
This was one of the biggest shows of trust Mei had ever made, and it made Izuku feel all soft and mushy. He swept his sister into a hug.
“What’s this for?” Mei asked, hugging him back. She had gotten used to his affection after living with them for so long now.
“You’re trusting us with this,” he said happily. “And I’m proud of you, so I wanted to give you a hug.”
Mei nodded into his shoulder, and Izuku pretended not to hear the quiet sniffle. He let her step away when she was ready, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Come on, Momma Inko said we’re having something with grilled fish tonight.”
Izuku just smiled, and followed his sister into the kitchen, wondering what tomorrow would bring.
Notes:
(For whoever was confused about the Shouto being cautious with Izuku around counters thing, remember that Izuku broke his fingers when Shouto and Touya started using their fire back in chapter 13 because of being excited and also because of a fire alarm)
I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THE NEXT CHAPTER ALMOST VIGILANTE TIMMEEEEE I have been waiting SO LONG to get to post it. Might still be a bit since I have finals in a few weeks but I am going to TRY MY BEST
Thank you to everyone that's stuck around this long. You're amazing, and I love you <3 <3 <3
Have a good day/night! :D
Chapter 72: Fire Rising
Summary:
COSTUME TIME LET'S GOOOO
Notes:
I HAVE BEEN WAITING OVER A YEAR TO WRITE THIS I AM SO EXCITED I HOPE YOU LIKE IT
List of names at the bottom if you forgot them! Read at least until the first break to not be spoiled for what I mean.
Also, this is now the longest chapter. Of any of my fics. Sitting at over 7k words, this was a MONSTER to edit since I usually do that in one or two sittings. I blame any mistakes on that and having to edit half of it while making sure a child didn’t poke her face with a pencil.Anyway LET'S GOOO
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The sun had already set, dusk settling in with a veil of blue and fading gold. The adults were inside watching one of their grown up shows, and Natsuo was busy with homework in his room. It hadn’t been hard for all of them to slip outside. The air was charged with anticipation, only one of them fully knowing what Mei had in store.
Izuku bounced on his toes, waiting outside the shed with his siblings. Mei was inside, apparently arranging everything for them to see. Momo hovered by the entrance to make sure none of them could peek in. It just made them all more excited. Whatever Mei was going to show them was big— big enough to warrant the strict secrecy. They all knew it had to be her hidden project, the one she had been working on for months now. Only Momo knew what it was, and she wasn’t about to spill the beans.
The excitement was almost a tangible thing between them. Izuku was just about shaking with eagerness, having a guess at what they were about to see. His siblings almost seemed to absorb his emotions too, and soon everyone was trying to contain their hyper nerves. The energy in their yard could probably charge a generator.
When a pink head of hair poked out the door, they all immediately leapt to attention. Mei blinked out at them for a moment, before silently waving them in. Momo was the first since she was closest. The rest of them jostled to be the second in through the door. Izuku won by virtue of being small and fast and not afraid to kick the back of Kacchan’s knee.
He stepped into the workshop, and his breathing hitched. It took him a minute to understand what was in front of him. By then, the rest of his siblings had arranged themselves in a way so everyone could see. Mei stood in front of her inventions proudly, Momo slightly off to the side.
Izuku rubbed his eyes, making sure the sight before them was real.
Because laying on tables in the workshop were costumes. Real life, actual vigilante costumes. Shiny with unscuffed metal and unknown gadgets sitting beside them. The fabric was unlike anything Izuku had seen, except maybe in hero uniforms. All of them had a dull glint to it, woven with some type of reinforcement. They were all colored and unique and amazing.
There was one for each of them—excluding Mei, it seemed. Izuku instantly knew whose was whose. He had seen Mei write down their vigilante name ideas, and he remembered them. But Izuku- he had already made a name for himself. His costume was tailored towards it, and it took his breath away.
The pieces were laid out so he could easily see all of them. The pants looked a bit like armored, black skinny jeans, but obviously more flexible than denim. They lacked pockets from the look of it, but that was made up by the dark gray utility belt. It had all sorts of pockets, and a really big one in the back. Izuku had no idea what that could be before, but he figured Mei would explain its purpose.
The shirt was a hoodie. It was dark green with a stripe of a much lighter shade running from his shoulders down to his wrists, resembling a stereotypical lightning strike, where a ring of it would loop around his wrists. It seemed to be made of the same material as the pants, but slightly thinner. Gloves were laying on top of the hoodie, black with the palms looking like some type of mesh.
Boots were placed behind the fabric pieces, black and obviously durable. The toes were painted to look like paws. Izuku grabbed one and twisted it around in his hand, and smiled at the sight of toe beans— four on the toes bit, one where the ball of his foot would be, and one on the heel. Knowing Mei, they would also help to absorb a lot of force. She knew how often he liked to jump off of high places. Izuku would be sure to put them to the test.
But the crown jewel was the mask. Izuku was almost hesitant to touch it because of how perfect it seemed. There were two pieces, one for the front of his face and one to wrap around the back. It was meant to disguise his hair, no doubt. It was a fox mask, blank white with light green stripes. The green markings stretched from the sharp nose to the eyes and up over the forehead. There were two curved ones on his cheeks, which traced around to the back of his head and back to the lines that connected to his nose. A slash of the green marked under each eye. Eyes that were a dark green and reflected like a dark camera lens.
It was beautiful, and obviously made of sturdy material. The muzzle stretched out like an actual fox instead of the squished kitsune masks sold in carts. There were almost imperceptibly small grooves on the top of the muzzle, and Izuku couldn’t tell their purpose. The ears resembled a real fox too, just made of metal instead of skin and fur. He could see a small antenna sitting in the shell of them.
There were also two metal rods and canisters of unknown contents sitting behind the clothes. Izuku resisted the urge to reach for them. Mei would tell them what everything did, but until then it was best to leave the mysterious thing alone. Just incase.
Izuku snapped out of his reverie at an excited squeal. That was when he finally took the time to look around the shed, taking in the seven other costumes. With his, that made eight. Eight entire costumes Mei had made for them—just her and Momo working together.
His sisters were so cool, and Izuku resolved to make sure they knew that. After everyone was done looking at their own costumes, of course.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hitoshi couldn’t believe his eyes. In front of him was a costume. His costume. He couldn’t say how he knew it was his, besides the vague memory of telling Mei a name. It almost seemed to call to him though.
His was laid out like everyone else’s; pants beside the top part, a mask laid on top, accessories sitting to the side, and boots behind it all.
The pants seemed to be like Izuku’s, whose costume was right next to Hitoshi’s. His brother seemed frozen in both shock and awe. His boots were black as well, though his lacked painted-on paws. But the mask—that was what caught his attention the most.
Hitoshi gingerly lifted it from the table, tracing the metal with a gentle touch. It was a smirking face, obviously modeled after his own and maybe Katsuki’s, but with features different enough to not be identifiable as one of them. The eyes were a light purple, though they were like a darkened screen at the moment. Snakes formed a writhing crown around the face, a back piece meant to snap onto the front to cover his unruly hair. It was silver, with the eyes of the snakes looking to be a lavender color similar to the mask’s ones, but more like gems than a screen. The color matched the marking on his jacket though, which was the most badass thing Hitoshi had ever seen.
There was a darker purple undershirt, which looked more like a piece of armor than anything. It was littered with markings and outlines that looked like scales. A few of them were speckled over the jacket too, which was a black leather jacket. Well, kind of leather. It seemed to be woven to resemble one but with more reinforcement. It was awesome. And that was before he turned it over. A gray snake—with lavender outlining, he noted—curled in a threatening pose.
He had a utility belt too. It didn’t have the odd back pocket that Izuku’s had, but he figured there was a reason for it. His was a lighter gray as well, matching the snake emblem and separating the chunks of black from the pants and jacket. Off to the side was a coil of what looked like metallic rope. Hitoshi reached for it, only for it to unfurl into a pullout whip.
“Holy shit,” he whispered, wide eyes just staring at it. All of it.
He hadn’t originally wanted to support being vigilantes. He hadn’t wanted his siblings to risk their lives fighting villains before they were old enough. But this?
Ohh boy, this changed things.
~~~~~~~~~~
Shouto blinked down at the pile of clothes and gadgets, half expecting the mask to blink back. How had Mei managed to make a lion mask that realistic using metal?
His entire costume was just…amazing. Shouto was drawn to it, and hadn’t even realized it might be his until he fit the mental pieces together. Once it had clicked, his jaw fell open.
He had a jumpsuit, unlike his other siblings. It was dark brown and soft but obviously armored. There were pockets sewn onto the sides too, since he didn’t have a belt like a few of his siblings seemed to have. Off to the side were two metal pieces that resembled big springs. Shouto looked closer, and realized they were snakes. A reference to the mythological Chimera having a snake for a tail, no doubt. They looked more like coiled arm guards, dark green with shining eyes on a head that would cover the top of his wrist. That wasn’t even the best part of his costume though—which was saying something, since Shouto adored not having to wear separate shirt and pants.
The best part, in his humble opinion, was the cape. It was almost like a burnt gold color, somewhere between the shade of his jumpsuit and the lion mask with added shininess. And it was fuzzy. Like very obviously fuzzy, resembling a lion’s mane. It looked long enough to go down to his knees. The thing had a hood too, and places to clip around his neck and onto the top of the mask.
The lion mask was also amazing, now that Shouto had torn his eyes from the holy grail of fuzz that was his new cape. It had places for the cape to connect, and also goat horns curling back from the forehead. Small little lion ears poked out from beside the horns. The subtle hints of Chimera and not just lion were amazing, the gray horns and boots being a reference to the goat part.
An innocent pair of gold-brown gloves sat beside the cape. Shouto pulled one on, not thinking about it. He curled his hand, and nearly leapt out of his skin when honest-to-goodness claws poked out from the fingertips.
He spent the next few minutes flexing his fingers to sheathe and unsheathe the claws. Shouto was enraptured with his entire costume. Mei had truly outdone herself.
He did wonder what those experiments she had done with him and his fire were for though.
~~~~~~~~~~
It took a lot to take Katsuki by surprise. But this? This had pulled the rug out from under him and thrown him outside. In a good way. His costume was badass, and he immediately loved it.
The mask was big and some sort of mix between a biker helmet and Roman crested helmet, which was awesome. Instead of an opening for his eyes and mouth, there was a blank screen. He knew Mei though, the screen had to do something. Something that probably included a cartoon face. It was so cool, and Katsuki fucking loved it. Especially the red crest on top.
He had a simple shirt at the bottom of the pile, which was the same color as the crest, and black pants below that. Then there was the armor. Actual, legit armor that looked like it had been lifted from history. Except better, because it was made by Mei so it was obviously more likely to keep him alive.
There were a few pieces, the biggest being the chest-plate. It was made from layers of overlapping metal and fabric instead of just one piece, which would make it harder to break and easier to move around in. There were parts that went over his shoulders too. Sitting beside them were arm bracers, looking like they stretched from his wrist to his elbow, ending in a semi-sharp point. Which, fuck yeah, meant Katsuki could kill people with his elbows now.
The other armor pieces were obviously meant for his legs. They avoided the areas that bent, which would make sure he could still move, but covered a majority of his thighs and shins. The inside was padded too from the look of it.
The last two objects—technically four—were a pair of black gloves and boots. Said boots were also armored to the teeth and went up to his knees with interlacing plates, all painted black. All of the armor was copper, but only in color. Katsuki could tell this shit wouldn’t bend as easily as actual copper. Little red swirl patterns dotted the edges too, making it look even more badass.
Katsuki held the helmet up, and gave a wild grin, looking forward to what exactly it meant for the future.
~~~~~~~~~~
Mina took a second to just stare. There were eight costumes, one for each of them. One for her. A whole vigilante costume for her to wear.
She remembered the name she had given Mei. Obviously, since it was the vigilante name she liked. Izuku wasn’t the only one who wanted to fix their fucked up streets, and the name had been rolling around in her head for a while now.
Mina’s hands hovered over the clothes and mask. They all looked so cool! Just, amazing. It was a lot to take in, but Mina drank in the sight like it was holy water.
Her eyes were first drawn to the mask. It resembled a lizard—the actual basilisk lizard, she knew—with the mouth. It had a crest too, a dark golden one that went from the middle of the nose to the back of the head. A near-invisible seam in the metal told her that at least part of it separated so she could slip it on.
Most of the mask was metal painted to be a dark green. The eyes were dim, but they were gold, and would probably glow knowing Mei. Mina’s favorite part though, was that it had head fins. Like an axolotl! There were three on each side, and were definitely less fuzzy looking than the real thing but still awesome. They were mostly green, but the edges faded to gold. While they could technically pass as the spiky crown-thing dragons had, but Mina knew they were axolotl fins. Mei had listened to her gush about the adorable little amphibians too many times for it to be a coincidence.
Under the mask were the actual clothes. Mei had given her normal underclothes, which consisted of a black long-sleeve shirt and something that looked like black jeans but woven with metal as well as cotton. Under them was a thick, bulletproof vest, colored green with golden accents. A belt, dark gold like her mask’s crest, sat next to the armored pants. Gloves and boots were also off to the side, both black. Mina wondered if Mei had really found a way to make them acid-proof. That experiment could wait though, there was still more in her little pile.
Then Mina lifted the clothes up to look at what was below them, and she couldn’t help her squeal. It drew the attention of everyone else, but she didn’t care.
Because Mei had made her a cloak. It was dark green, nearly black but not quite, and fully scaled. Like dragonhide or something. Upon closer inspection the “scales” were metal disks embedded in the fabric, which was still so cool. There were magnetic clasps in the front to keep it on—some around the shoulders too, Mina noticed—and then the hood. It covered most of her face, connecting to the crest to go around it and hook over the back of her head. The thing looked like it belonged in Assassin’s Creed. Mina had fallen in love with the hood design when Dad-Sashi had shown them the game, and Mei had obviously picked up on that.
Mina lifted it up, immediately slipping it over her shoulders and head. It fit perfectly, falling to just below her knees. She twisted around, looking at the back of the cloak. The scales just looked even cooler now that she was actually wearing the cloak.
Mina loved it, and one glance at her siblings proved that they felt the same about their own costumes as well.
~~~~~~~~~~
Momo, despite having helped Mei with design, materials, and assembly, didn’t actually know what her final costume looked like. Not until she entered the workshop with everyone else, that is. Mei had insisted on keeping it a secret to surprise her.
Momo was not disappointed.
She instantly knew which one was hers, only partly because Mei had asked what colors she wanted. The helmet was like Katsuki’s, though hers was silver instead of copper, and slightly more elegant-looking. The crest was dark gray and soft when Momo ran her hand over it. The screen looked smooth and ready to turn on, revealing what she knew would be bright white and gray eyes. Mei had told her they would resemble little moons. The mask was lightweight and beautiful, everything Momo had wanted.
Under the helmet were her clothes. They were plain—just a simple gray shirt and pants, albeit both armored. They wouldn’t be seen for the most part though. A chainmail chest plate would go over the shirt for extra protection, loose incase she had to create something from her stomach but strong enough to resist stabbing. Momo knew about those, she had made them herself, but what her eyes were drawn to were her actual costume. The part Mei hadn’t let her lay eyes on quite yet.
It looked like a dress, but Momo recognized the style. It was a toga, fitting for her name of Athena. Momo gently picked it up, noting the stitches that would make it easier to wear than a normal toga. The fabric was soft, but definitely woven with some kind of reinforcement, and looked like it had been dipped in silver moonlight. A gray cord was coiled off to the side. It had a snapping buckle though, so she wouldn’t have to worry about tying it. A sword sheath was on one side of it.
A closer inspection of the toga revealed pockets. A lot of pockets. Momo was already devising what to hide in them. Snacks, obviously, with how her quirk worked. Some capture tape of her own making would be good too—handcuffs were too heavy and unwieldy for jumping rooftops. Medical supplies as well. She knew well enough they would need simple bandaids in the field, if only for kids they might run into.
There was still more, which Momo moved to look at after setting down the toga. There were arm guards and greaves, both gunmetal gray with interlacing patterns etched into the steel. Her arm guards were more rounded than Katsuki’s. Thicker too, meant for blocking rather than swift attacking. That was what her sword would be for, once she created it. The greaves were thicker as well, which would allow for heavy hits with her shins. Mei had noticed her preferred style of fighting, and it brought an even brighter smile to Momo’s face.
There were also gloves and boots off to the side. The gloves seemed thin, but were easily replaceable. For all Mei had been trying to figure out the newest breakthrough in technology for skin-based quirks, which let the cloth work with their quirk without breaking, but she hadn’t been able to puzzle it out quite yet. The tech was new though, so it wasn’t a huge surprise. Honestly Momo was just amazed she hadn’t rambled about it with Izuku yet.
She grabbed one of the arm guards, easily snapping it into place. Momo waved her arm around to test the weight. The ecstatic grin on her face probably looked slightly manic with her waving her arm around, but Momo couldn’t help just how excited she was. Months of work had paid off well. Mei had done her best to make everything utterly perfect for them. Momo had made her pace herself, but everything had still been finished in record time.
Momo snapped on the other guard, reveling in the strength they held. With the costumes, the weapons, everything—now the fun could begin.
~~~~~~~~~~
Kouji couldn’t wait to show all of this to Peeve. She was going to be so proud of him. All of them, really.
He picked up the mask, the back piece still resting on the clothes beneath. It was a goat mask, gray with bright green eyes and ram horns that curled around to protect the sides of his head. Metal vines circled around the horns, some covering the metal fur of the mask as well. The pieces cleverly hid some of the seam that connected the two parts of the mask.
There were clothes beneath, which consisted of an almost-normal shirt and a pair of pants. “Almost," because anything Mei made was bound to be special—and Kouji could also see the way it glinted slightly, obviously reinforced with something. They were definitely nice though, a shade of gray that almost matched the mask. A utility belt like his siblings’ was beside them, though his was dark green. Good, it would prevent them from getting mixed up. Kouji already planned to put dog and cat treats in one of the pockets, and he’d rather not cause an accident by one of his siblings mistakenly eating one.
Gloves and boots were behind the clothes, both gray as well. Kouji giggled at the look of the boots. They were painted—somehow—to look like goat hooves. He shook his head in amusement at the sight.
Kouji moved the clothes aside, and softly gasped as what was beneath them. Armor! Specifically, a chest plate and arm guards. He gingerly lifted the chestplate—noting how light it actually was—to look at it closer. Mei had somehow made it resemble the bark of an old tree. Kouji traced a hand over it, marveling at how it was still definitely metal and not a chunk from an oak tree.
The arm guards were just as cool. They almost looked like chainmail, lined with leather and made of interlocking metal links. Both were dark green, and the metal was shaped to look like a network of interlocking vines. A thicker band of steel would circle his wrist, a little picture of pan flutes etched onto each one.
Kouji clutched the mask to his chest, and smiled. Even if he was scared, even if he probably wouldn’t go out as much as the others, Mei had still made him a costume. He still had the means of doing the same as his other siblings.
It meant the world to him. And, hopefully, their actions could mean something to the world.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ochako saw some of the others grabbing pieces of their new costumes. But she just- couldn’t bring herself to. It was perfect. Pristine. Not…not something she thought she would ever have.
Did she deserve it?
Ochako just stared, picking apart every detail without touching anything. With each second her eyes grew rounder and her shock elevated.
There was a bulletproof vest. Or what she assumed to be one. It was red, and fluffy with feathers. Fake ones, but they were still obviously feathers. A dark grey shirt was folded neatly on top of it. The pants were black like Izuku’s, but with pockets littering the legs like cargo pants. She had no belt though, so that was probably why.
The nicest pair of shoes she had ever had were sitting behind the clothes. Black combat boots, but with slits in the toe part that looked suspiciously close to what Shouto’s gloves had for claws. The tips of them were painted yellow, like bird feet.
Then there was the cape. Long, bright red, and also feathered. It wasn’t neatly folded like everything else though. Instead, it was hung on a hook behind everything else, the five utterly massive feathers on full display. There was one on each edge, one in the middle, and two between those. There was no denying it, those were five of Keigo’s feathers. The rest were most likely fake, but those five were different. How had Mei gotten those?
Actually, Ochako probably didn’t want to know. Either Mei had asked and Keigo had given her them, or she had somehow managed to sneak in and steal five of his biggest feathers. There was no in-between.
Nestled in the folded shirt was a bird (?) mask. Her mask. It was the same red as her cape, and feathered too, though less so. Just slightly fuzzy, with the sides being puffier. The beak was black, featherless, and looked kinda sharp. Sharp yellow eyes shined like citrine stones. But the most interesting part were the ears, which was what made Ochako question whether it really was a bird mask. They stuck straight up, were shaped like stretched out bat ears, and were probably more like antennae than actual ears.
Ochako loved it. Maybe she didn’t deserve it—maybe she had just been extremely lucky so far—but she was determined to help. She could make a difference with this, a change.
Deserving or not, Ochako would make sure the world saw them for what they were: Protectors.
~~~~~~~~~~
Mei was happy. She was happy because her siblings really liked her babies. They would be used well in their hands, she knew. With them, they could do amazing things.
Izuku was the first to turn to her, eyes bright and questions already on his tongue. Everyone else was inspecting their gear with reverence. Good. Mei expected nothing less, since she was so protective of her inventions.
“Mei, is all this really…?”
She couldn’t help the lopsided grin on her face. “Well they’re not for Peeve, Greenie.”
“Can- can I-“
“Izuku, just try it on,” Mei said, shaking her head fondly at his hesitance. “All of you try them on. I need to show you how the things work.”
Mei fiddled with her control board while her siblings changed. They had long since grown out of being uncomfortable about it. Besides, it was only a matter of time before one of them asked for help getting something on.
“Uh, hey Mei? How do-“
“Front piece of the mask first, Bedhead. But leave it off for now, you won’t be able to see well until it’s turned on.”
Mei adjusted the levels on her board, humming in satisfaction when her screen flickered to life. There was no input for now, but it would have some soon. She shuffled her headphones closer. Just a few more minutes.
“Oi Tinkerbell, how the fuck do I-“
“You just put it on over your head, Spiky, the plates move for a reason. It’s not that hard.”
“Shut up,” Katsuki grumbled, finally getting his chest plate on.
“Er, Mei?”
She looked up to see Momo slightly tangled in her toga. It was sewn to act like a dress instead of a sheet, but it could still be confusing. Mei just sighed quietly and got up to help.
It took what was probably too long for everyone to settle, but they were eventually all in their costumes—sans the masks. Mei looked them all over one by one, deeming them correct. Shouto’s cape was snapped in around his neck, easily removable thanks to the clasp she had used. Kouji had managed to get all of his armor on correctly the first try. Mina was excitedly spinning around in her cloak, the hood hanging slightly too big on her head without the mask.
There would obviously be improvements to install in the future, but Mei had made damn sure her babies would protect her siblings. She had used every scrap of skill she had to ensure that. Now, after months of work and literal blood, sweat, and tears, it was finished. Mei couldn't help her grin at the sight. It was only the start, but it was a good start.
“Alright, sit on the floor, this is going to take a while,” she told them, gesturing to the pillows she had off to the side. “And pay attention or you will regret it. I’m not bailing you out of jail for not remembering how to turn the glowing off.”
“Glowing?!” Mina immediately squeaked, excitedly bouncing in place.
Mei nodded, pulling out the blueprints she had. She pinned them up on her cork board wall so everyone could see them. A glance behind her showed that her siblings were indeed listening with rapt attention.
“Yes, glowing. All of your costumes have something that glows. The eyes do, and then whatever lighter markings are on the clothes. Whoever has loose clothes—capes, fur, or feathers—have lighting under them too, just for added effect. They’re all synced to a button on the underside of your mask. Pressing it one turns your mask on, another time turns on the glowing, once more turns the glowing off. Press and hold it to turn your mask off entirely. Here, Momo, hand me yours so I can show them.”
The mask was handed over, and Mei showed them where the button was. It was easy enough to press, but enough so that it wouldn’t accidentally turn on at a bad time. Hopefully. Mei had enough trouble syncing the whole costume’s glowing parts, at this point she was just happy the buttons worked at all.
“I’m just going to use Athena’s mask as an example.” Mei pointed to a black bar at the bottom of the mask’s screen, previously unnoticed. “This, is the speaker. You all have voice modulators, since police and heroes can and will try to trace you that way. Adjust it however you want. Some of you have them in visible places, like Athena and Ares, but some of you have them inside your mouth area.”
“So this button turns on the mask?” Izuku asked, looking at the inside of his.
“Yes, pressing the glow button- not yet, I’m not done.”
Izuku sheepishly lowered the mask again, listening once more. Mei nodded in satisfaction. They could test everything after she was done explaining.
“There’s a second button on the other side, this one turns the voice projection on or off. You can still talk, it just won’t put your voice through the speaker. There’s also a bump on this one so you don’t mix the buttons up.”
They all nodded, some of them tilting their masks to look at the buttons. Mei stifled a chuckle at seeing a few of her siblings mouthing the words attached to the buttons’ function.
“Anyway,” Mei continued, “Momo helped me make the fabric in all the costumes. It’s meant to make sure you don’t overheat or freeze, but it’s also woven with an alloy we made to reinforce it. Even the normal clothes should be slash and slab resistant. No, this does not make you invincible, it’s only resistant to it. Don’t you dare go testing this, I already did that for you.”
Hitoshi hesitantly raised his hand. Mei stared at him for a moment, before nodding for him to speak.
“How did you test that it’s sharp-things-proof?” He asked.
“I had to test your weapons somehow.”
“Fair.”
“Back to the point. Most of you have extra armor too, either obvious pieces or hidden ones. Like Izuku, your hoodie is more reinforced than normal because I didn’t give you a bulletproof vest. I still have one if you want it, but I know you like to jump around more so it’s stored away for now. The armor is made of the same alloy as your clothes, just more of it and without cloth. Same for your masks. It’ll take a lot to bend it, let alone break it.” Mei cast a glare around at all of them, “Test this on purpose and I’m siccing my drones on you.”
The look of fear that flashed across her siblings’ faces gave Mei the reassurance that they would avoid being stupid, at least purposefully. Good. She was confident in her babies. They would make sure her siblings stayed in one piece, and hopefully avoid situations like that in the first place. But it never hurt to make sure they’d steer clear of danger themselves.
“Speaking of the masks, the eyes are screens. Not as big or complicated as I wanted to make, but still. They give me your location and can give you a general map of the area, as well as some text that can pop up. You also all have coms to hear each other with inside the mask. I haven’t figured out buttons to toggle channels yet, but I can change them if you ask me to. The channels are secure as I can make them, which is a lot. Make sense?”
There were a chorus of confirmations, the eight of them still intensely focused on Mei. She noticed a few of them fiddling with their equipment. Kouji was absentmindedly tracing the pan flute on his right arm guard. Izuku kept glancing at the canisters of “mystery material” still sitting on the table.
“Good. Your masks can move to some extent too. Mostly lip syncing and some emoting. Izuku, Shouto, Mina, Ochako, Kouji—your animal masks will do the most right now. It was easier to do animal expressions since the moving pieces were easier to hide in a muzzle or beak. Katsuki, Momo—since yours are mostly screens they’ll have more expressions too. Hitoshi—yours was a pain in the ass.” That got a surprised snort out of her brother. Mei smirked in victory. “All the masks have an air filter, so no worrying about smoke or sleeping gasses. There’s also a transmitter that sends information back to me. Intake sound is controlled by code, but I can adjust it manually if you need it. Katsuki, I made sure yours work with hearing aids. No feedback screeching.”
“Oh hell yeah.”
“Oh, Izuku, Momo.” The two looked up at Mei, giving her their undivided attention. “Your guys’ costumes can change color.”
“…what.”
“Well white and silver kind of stick out like a sore thumb at night. So, you guys have an extra button. Izuku, your mask changes to dark grey. Momo, your entire costume changes to a similar color. Except your eyes, those stay the same. Got it?”
They both nodded, Momo looking down at her toga with a new glint of appreciation. Mei was damn proud of her work with her sister’s costume. The color-changing fabric wasn’t the hardest thing she had ever made, but it had certainly been a challenge. Now if she could just figure out how to let Momo’s quirk phase through it…
Mei was brought back to attention by Hitoshi making a confused noise as he opened his belt pocket. She sighed, albeit fondly, and kept explaining.
“Most of your utility belts already have basic things in them, like zipties and bandages. Momo, I added some snacks to yours already.” Mei took a deep breath, looking around to double check her siblings understood before moving on. "Ready to hear about the weapons?”
The answer was a resounding, but still quiet since it was late, yes. Mei nodded, determination still stoking her fire.
“Kouji, you have bigger arm guards. The modified chainmail makes it better for defending, since I know you don’t like fighting as much. It’s also good for whatever animals find their way onto your arms. Ochako, you see the two feathers you have? The edge ones. Those can detach and are already sharp like swords. There’s a reason they’re on the outside of the fabric. Your cape can work for steering midair too. They reattach easily enough.”
Ochako poked at the feathers, the cape hung over her shoulders. The clasp was loose enough to slip off if it got caught on something. She had five feathers—which were Keigo’s—attached to the collar. If asked, Mei was going to act cryptic on how she got the feathers, because it was funny. Especially since she had just asked Keigo for them the last time he was over and he agreed without asking questions. They had been ones that molted off anyway.
“Momo, you already know about the capture tape and making your own sword. Go nuts. Mina, you have a bunch of throwing knives and shuriken in your belt, since using your quirk might give you away. I’ll get back on that topic in a minute. No practicing with them in here, I know you and Pop-Sashi have been working with them though. Katsuki, you have arm guards too. Lighter than Kouji’s, but sharper. Easy enough.”
Mei paused for another moment. She had done more talking tonight than she had all week, but it was important. She had to make sure her family knew everything they had to. It was a lot, but it might save their lives. Every little detail was important.
“Shouto, you already saw your claws. Oh, Ochako, you have them on your boots, mostly to help you with climbing or clinging when you activate your quirk. Hitoshi, yes you have a whip. Have fun, practice in the backyard or our training ground before you use it on people. Izuku…you have two things.”
“Two?” He echoed, casting a glance to the canisters again.
“First, escrima sticks. I know you’ve been practicing with something like them, and figured you would like these. They’re heavier than I would have liked, but they extend and compress to fit in the loops on your belt. I made sure the folding wouldn’t hinder their damage too much though, they still pack a punch. As for the second…”
Mei retrieved the canisters, and everything that went along with them. Izuku’s gloves came with her too, since he hadn’t put them on. They were important to this. Mina and Katsuki’s technically worked the same.
“Momo, Shouto, and I worked on this,” she said, voice softer than before as she stared down at the efforts of their hard work. “You talk a lot about what it would be like, if you had a quirk. Mostly just in passing, but you do. More than once I’ve heard you muttering about it. So, I decided to make you one.”
Izuku’s eyes slowly grew wider. His mouth opened a bit, showing his shock. Yet he didn’t say a word. Mei took that as her cue to continue.
“These gloves are fire and acid proof. The canisters are full of methanol, boric acid, and pressurized air.” Mei saw Izuku mouth a few words, and she bit down a small smile. He knew what some of them did, then. “The air pushes the Trimethyl Borate down this tube, lights it on fire, and shoots it out of here, which will be between two layers of the gloves. The first will protect your hand, and the second will make it look like the fire is coming from your hand. Everything is insulated, fireproof, and I tested it a lot just to be sure. Best part is, it burns green.”
If Izuku’s jaw dropped any lower it would’ve hit the floor. Mei actually had to watch for a second to make sure he was still breathing. In that time he didn’t blink once. Though tears were gathering in his eyes, judging by how shiny they were getting.
“You…” he started, voice caught in his throat. “You- you made me- you made me…a fire quirk?”
“You don’t have to use it,” Mei rushed to add. “You already have Analysis and that’s overpowered as it is, but…I wanted to give you this. Just- a leg up. I know you would already do amazing without it. I can-“
“Mei.”
She stopped, looking up at Izuku’s face. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. But he was smiling, a bright and disbelieving thing. He laughed, croaky and slightly tinged with hysteria, but happy.
“You made me a fire quirk like Dad,” he whispered loudly. “You made me a fire quirk.”
Mei nodded, setting the things down. She was almost instantly pulled into a hug. It was what she had been expecting though, so she just wrapped her arms around Izuku in turn.
She knew how insecure he was. Analysis was something they all thought was amazing, but their classmates hardly thought so. It was the center of their teasing aimed at him.
Mei hated it. She hated it so much. Her brother deserved the world for all he had done. He deserved everything, and if she had the means to give him a piece of that, then she would do it in a heartbeat.
This wouldn’t help everything, she knew that. Izuku had a quirk—and a powerful one in her eyes, even if no one else could see it. He was strong. Stronger than she might ever be. If she could give him some confidence with a pseudo-quirk, then all the singe marks on the workshop walls were more than worth it.
If she could repay him some of the kindness he had shown her, Mei would do it without hesitation.
Izuku eventually pulled away, wiping away his tears. Everyone else was fiddling with their gear. He just smiled, something new sparkling in his eyes.
“So, think we can take these for a test run tonight?”
Notes:
Is Mei's explanation kinda scattered? Yep. But that's just how she is. Hopefully most of it made sense ^^;
HEY GUESS WHAT!! I made actual refs!! Link should hopefully be below, and then also in the very end notes from now on. But these are the designs for the current vigilante kids! Excluding Mei because she hasn’t made hers yet even though I have a design. Not the best since my art isn’t especially good, but enjoy! I’ve been doodling Izuku, Ochako, and kid 12’s masks on my lecture notes for months now so I at least know I’ve got those down lol. Honestly, I don’t have an explanation for Ochako’s bat ears besides the fact that they look cute and I started doodling them like that and just never stopped.
Ok last thing, but Izuku’s fire is slightly altered with physics. More or less. Green flamethrowers are actually possible, and I did research to try and make it as accurate as I could! But real ones leave a residue behind if enough fuel is used, and for the purpose of narrative I omitted that. Mostly because it keeps burning for a while (doesn’t go out immediately because of fuel left behind) and Mei wanted to be absolutely sure this came across as a real quirk, not a fake one. Also guys, look up green fire, it looks AWESOME and is legitimately green without editing.
Vigilante name list for whoever forgot! This will make some of the costumes make more sense probably:
1. Izuku = Kitsune
2. Hitoshi = Gorgon
3. Shouto = Chimera
4. Katsuki = Ares
5. Mina = Basilisk
6. Momo = Athena
7. Kouji = Pan
8. Mei = Daedalus
9. Ochako = Harpy
VIGILANTE REFS :D
Edit: I do not use this twitter account anymore and it might be broken? No idea, but for most recent refs check the LATEST CHAPTER end notes, the ones that change to whatever chapter is newest. That should (maybe) be fixed by the time I'm writing this edit
Chapter 73: Haunted Lullaby
Summary:
FIRST NIGHT OUT BEING VIGILANTES LET'S GO
Warnings: Third scene has some creepy imagery descriptions, slight violence, and characters being referred to as demons
Notes:
HELLOOOO You are so cool, you know that? Because you are <3
If y’all need a gauge for how excited I am about this arc, I wrote this entire chapter (over 3k words) in a day and a half, which is fast for me lol
ALSO small note: from now on if they’re out being vigilantes, entirely italicized text means they’re hearing that person through their coms! Non-italicized means they can hear them nearby. Sign language is still in bold. Hope that helps a little bit. Anyway, enjoy :D
(also-also the song used in this chapter is Blame it on the Kids by AVIVA if you want to listen to that when the second scene appears)
Ok ok enjoy :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The air was different on a roof five stories above the ground.
Izuku took a deep breath, giddy energy buzzing through his veins. His boots easily gripped the concrete beneath his feet, and his steps had been near-silent so far. Every article of clothing and piece of armor fit perfectly. The two escrima sticks rested at his sides, mechanical quirk an adrenaline-inducing weight on his waist. The hoodie was nice and cool instead of suffocatingly hot, just like Mei said it would be, and it was soft over his arms. The mildly armored shirt beneath it was just as comfortable.
His siblings stood with him, scattered over the nearby buildings. Mei was at home, but listening to them through their coms. And watching apparently, but she hadn’t disclosed how. Knowing Mei it probably included hacking the city cameras.
Izuku looked around himself, simply to take in the sight. The sun had long set. Stars had already blinked into existence overhead, the moon sitting somewhere on the horizon in a thin crescent. Nighttime air was colder, Izuku distantly noted. It was refreshing and full of possibilities.
A normal kid their age would be asleep right now, or pretending to be. A normal kid wouldn’t do half the things they did though. Izuku and his siblings were far from normal, and they embraced that fact. It was why the eight of them were standing on the rooftops, decked out in gear most children could only dream on—what some heroes dreamed of.
All of it felt so surreal, and yet, inevitable. Like everything had led to this moment, and it was the only logical conclusion for them.
If anything, it felt too easy. Escaping had been as simple as sneaking out the back door, Mei giving them their costumes for the first time—which Izuku didn’t think would fade from his memory anytime soon—then running over the fences until they got closer to the actual city.
Izuku couldn’t say he was surprised though. This is what every lesson, every word of advice, and every improvement had led up to. It would make sense that it was easy, because they had already done something more challenging in their own backyard.
The coms buzzed in his ear, low enough to not be distracting. Izuku could hear some of his siblings mumbling words to themselves—a habit some of them had picked up from him.
Izuku stared out over the city. Their city. They were so close to making an actual difference. Years of training, research, and worn down nerves had led them all here—had led Izuku here. He still loved heroes, of course he did, but…they weren’t doing enough. Being told to leave it to the heroes, and then having the heroes do nothing, had eroded their trust in the system.
They had a way to change things now, or at least make them better. If there were no heroes willing to defend their city, then they would do it themselves. The nighttime was alive around them. The set of the sun would signal their rise.
“Hey, Kitsune.”
Izuku looked to his right, seeing Hitoshi there. Gorgon. His mask was almost eerily blank, but it fit his look. The voice from his modulator was deeper than Hitoshi’s normal one. More hissed too, like the snakes curling around his mask. It was awesome.
“You ready?” Hitoshi—Gorgon—asked.
Izuku smiled, a fox’s grin mirroring it perfectly. “As I’ll ever be.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Shouto had never put as much effort into the whole “leaping off of tall things” as some of his other siblings did. He had his ice, so he figured there wasn’t much of a point.
But right now, leaping over the gap between two buildings, it was the most exhilarating thing he had ever felt. He understood why Izuku loved it so much, if this is what he felt every time. The giddy feeling of doing something under his own physical power was intoxicating. It was different than doing something with his quirk.
He soared over another gap, tucking and rolled onto the other roof. Shouto got right back to his feet to keep running. Katsuki was at his side, red-lit mask glowing in the dark. The two of them were learning and adjusting on the fly. Free-running over actual buildings was different from the indoor courses Uncle Hisashi brought them to, and different from the abandoned building Izuku had found for them to practice in.
It was a difference that made Shouto laugh giddily as he vaulted an air conditioning unit. It was like vaporized freedom had replaced the oxygen in his lungs. His siblings felt the same, if the happy yelling he could hear was any indication.
Izuku was probably the most excited though, and obviously downright gleeful at what they were doing. Shouto caught a glimpse of him every few seconds, a smile of pure, unadulterated joy lit up his masked face. He looked almost ethereal with his fox mask and glowing markings, like he truly was a kitsune from the legends. Like this was what his life was made for—leaping over rooftops, for all the world appearing to be a benevolent trickster god intent on protecting his people.
Izuku was also undeniably the best at- well, everything. Both the roof hopping, and keeping an eye out for danger.
They had been going for maybe ten minutes, most of them gradually finding a groove in their movements. The eight of them were fanned out over two streets—well within sight of one another, but still separated enough to not run into each other on accident. Shouto could spot flashes of glowing markings if he paid enough attention. As it was, he was slightly more focused on not stumbling and possibly cracking his mask on concrete.
Then Izuku suddenly took a sharp turn, jumping to the building in line with Shouto’s instead of where he had been. Without a moment to breathe, he had taken a flying leap off the edge and into the alleyway below.
Shouto felt like the air had been punched from his lungs. The rest of them seemed to feel the same, because without a word they all rushed over. Katsuki got there first. It evidently wasn’t too bad, because he started laughing instead of going after Izuku.
Shouto peeked over the edge himself, half expecting his brother to be hanging from the fire escape by his ankle. He was not. Instead, Izuku was ziptying a groaning man to a dumpster. Another person stood at the mouth of the alley, staring in shock at Izuku.
“Well, I think he has that one handled,” Shouto commented.
“Yeah, no shit, Chimera.”
It was still a bit odd to answer to a different name, but Shouto liked it. Chimera was someone he could build from scratch. There was nothing that said their vigilante personas had to be anything like their real personality. Nighttime was Chimera’s time, and daytime was for Shouto. He had also maybe watched too many double life movies, but he knew it would be fun either way.
Izuku scaled the building again, the villain secured below and the other one on their phone, probably calling the police. Katsuki clapped a hand onto Izuku’s shoulder and promised to get to the next one first. The rest of them congratulated him on spotting the first one, but their family was nothing if not competitive.
They picked up their pace again, the order shuffling somewhat. Shouto found himself running alongside Momo this time. She somehow made every movement seem graceful, even as they tucked and rolled over buildings and jogged over roofs. How she managed that was beyond him. Shouto was just focused on keeping his footing half the time.
There weren’t too many villains out tonight, which he was extremely grateful for. It meant they got more practice in bumbling along instead of fighting. Shouto was grateful for his endurance though, since he could clear farther without stopping.
Without villains though, and once he found a good rhythm where he wouldn’t trip into a stray pipe, it got…kinda boring, honestly. To Shouto at least. And Mina, evidently, since she started singing. Wanting to see if he could multitask while free-running, Shouto sang too.
“Home in bed or out at night,” echoed across the street, played through a modulated speaker. “Don’t think twice, just don’t think twice.”
“Make a choice, one you won’t regret,” Shouto sang back.
Momo shot him a curious look, before her mask changed to a smile, and she warbled the next line. “This is your life, this is still your life.”
From the next building came Ochako’s voice, different through the voice changer just as theirs were. “Never gon' get away, never gon' get away. Never gon' break their chains.”
“Watching me patiently, watching me patiently, watching me take the blame,” Hitoshi sang from across another street.
Their voices echoed around. It was a choir of kids racing across the rooftops, singing between breaths and as they went airborne. All of them joined in, since they all knew the song. It ignited a spark in Shouto’s spirit. He loved singing, and doing it so freely was thrilling. With a mask to hide him and his siblings surrounding him, Shouto— Chimera —felt invincible.
All together, the eight of them picked up the chorus. “Don’t blame it on the, kids! Don’t blame it on the kids~ kids!”
They passed an apartment building. Someone was holding their phone up, a look of both confusion and awe on their face. Shouto shot them a peace sign as he kept moving.
“Say their names, we won’t forget,” Ochako trilled.
“This is not your fight, not your fight.”
From across the street, Kouji picked it up again, quiet and shocking, but beautiful. “You played games, but we can forgive. Put down the knife, put down the knife.”
They continued the song, finishing when they had already crossed a good length of the city. It was quiet for a minute, before their coms buzzed to life. Shouto had almost forgotten he had one.
“That was awesome,” Mina whooped. “Can we do it again?”
Scattered cheers and agreements met her question. Shouto was smiling so wide it hurt.
“Wait wait wait, ” Izuku interrupted, and they all fell silent. “Meet up on the building two ahead of us, I want to talk without jumping over things.”
They all listened without hesitation. Once they landed, Shouto realized he recognized that grin. He didn’t know if he should be concerned for whoever the target of it was, or amazed that Mei had managed to capture it perfectly on a mask.
Though by the end of Izuku’s idea, Shouto shared the same expression.
~~~~~~~~~~
Rinshi regretted ever getting tangled in this nonsense.
He hadn’t fifteen minutes ago. No, he had been downright gleefully involved in one of the local gangs. Fifteen minutes can change a lot though, apparently.
Their boss had sent him and Mori to collect some debt. Or kill a man, their instructions were iffy. Always were when it came to this sorta thing. Rinshi would gladly take care of it though, especially if it meant rising in the ranks. Meant more money and maybe getting an apartment that didn’t have two dozen leaks and neighbors that ran an illegal lab that had broken his air conditioning again.
Mori had found the dude first and dragged him into an alley. Rinshi smirked at his expression—like a little mouse who had been cornered by the cats.
“I d-don’t kn-know-know what you’re-“
“I think ya do,” Rinshi purred, cracking his knuckles. “And I think you’re going to give us the money, or things are about to get ugly.”
“L-look I don’t kn- don’t know what g-gang you’re from b-but I’ll- I’ll have the money by next week.”
“Ah, so you have other debts?” Mori asked, still holding the dude’s collar. “Well isn’t that lucky. Whatcha do to get caught in this, huh?”
“J-just let me go p-please, please I just-“
“I don’t think so.”
Rinshi raised a fist, the man flinching against the brick wall. He felt the rush of adrenaline that came with a fight. It was a feeling he relished in.
And then a note rang out.
Rinshi stopped. Mori was looking around, and the other man had frozen. Another note rang out, and he realized why it sounded vaguely familiar. It was the sound of a music box, like one he had as a tiny kid. But here, in an alley in the pitch-black night, the notes were unsettling.
The stars were blocked out from the buildings. None of them could tell where the sound was coming from. Another plucked note echoed off the walls. They were getting louder—closer. Rinshi felt the first drops of fear drip through his veins.
It stopped for a moment. Rinshi thought it might’ve just been a fluke. Something that had drifted from someone’s windows, maybe. There were apartments a few streets over. It wouldn’t be impossible-
And then the voices started. Like the creaky voice of an old doll, voice box left unused until the wood began to splinter, they sang-
“Ring around the ro~sy.”
Rinshi jumped, spinning to try and see where the voice was coming from. There was nothing. Had the alley always been so dark? He could hardly see the fire escapes.
“They tried to dethrone me.”
That was a different voice. And that wasn’t the song he remembered- that wasn’t how it went. Somehow, that just made it even creepier. Mori had backed up to his side now. Their former target laid forgotten against the brick wall, scared stiff the same as them.
“Ashes, to ashes,” a third voice crooned, melodic, and still unseen.
A fourth joined the eerie notes, deeper this time. “They all fell down.”
The alley became quiet. Too quiet. Rinshi’s eyes were darting around, wondering if that was it. That was all the song had, right? Different lyrics, but that was the amount of lines it had.
Right?
A fifth voice sang, making Rinshi jump into Mori’s side.
“There’s something in the alley.”
Rinshi looked up, and went white as a sheet. There certainly was something. It was sitting on the highest fire escape platform. It was wreathed in a glowing haze of gold, stark against the blank canvas of black behind it. For a moment, it was almost like the thing had stolen the stars and turned them into scales.
“Something in the alley,” yet another voice hissed.
Another thing flickered to life. Bigger and even more terrifying. They glowed with curled patterns of purple and eyes, too many eyes. Small pinpricks of light crowning what Rinshi guessed was a head. What were these things?
“Look now.” Another, a level closer this time, appeared. Red lit up its eyes in cruel X’s and too long arms and a grin of blood.
Demons, Rinshi’s mind supplied.
“Look how~” Silver, as if born from the vengeful spirits of those he had harmed. Like they had stolen and condensed the daylight into one being.
“You all. Fall.”
More of the things blinked into existence. Gold and green and red they all appeared and stood over Rinshi and chanted their lines before falling still and silent. Their glowing eyes had no pupils. They bored into his soul, reading his atrocities like a picture-book. Some had too much hair or too many eyes or too-long limbs. Demons—all of them were demons. Demons who had risen from hell to drag him to the underworld for all he had done.
Rinshi had never been religious, but he found himself praying for mercy he didn’t know he deserved.
The line was unfinished, he realized. It could have been quiet for two seconds or two hours and wouldn’t have been able to tell. But just as the thought appeared, it was proven wrong.
Green. Light green appeared in swirls at the end of the alley, illuminating the figure it belonged to. Crouched on air (or on the escape ladder? Rinshi didn’t have enough mind left to tell) he could see what it was.
A kitsune of smiling white teeth and a glowing face of green and bone. Eyes deeper than the abyss but brighter than the moon. Fire, green as burning jade, sparked to life around it. The kitsune looked at him, and Rinshi felt like he was staring at his end.
“Down,” it whispered, yet rang louder than every word before.
Rinshi was running before he even registered the end of the song.
~~~~~~~~~~
Naomasa Tsukauchi had seen a lot of weird things in his life. Some notable ones being a drunk man who turned into a pig on a main street, someone who had managed to get stuck on top of a flagpole with no quirk involved, a child who had stopped a robbery with bugs, and the list went on. Being temporarily called to the city of Musutafu, he figured the list was going to grow.
This, however, was not what he expected.
Naomasa had been doing paperwork, idly listening to the quiet chatter of the other three officers on the graveyard shift with him. There had been two more, but they were out on a call at the moment. Stations were usually peaceful around this time, if slightly odd.
That is, it was peaceful, until the front doors were slammed open so loudly he heard them from his desk. Instantly on alert, he and the other officers made their way to the front.
A man was in the waiting area, obviously panicked and asking for the police. Naomasa edged out of the doors—hand near his taser, just in case.
“Is there a problem, sir?” He asked in the calmest voice he could manage.
The man’s eyes shot up, wide and filled to the brim with what could only be described as pure terror. He began speaking rapid-fire before Naomasa could get a word in edgewise.
“Please you have to take me in- I’ll admit to my crimes I don’t care please just arrest me.”
Well…that was…new.
“Why would we arrest you?” He asked, still calm. On the outside at least.
“I-I’m a part of the gang in the south of the city, I’ve beaten people up, I’m a villain, I’ve stolen and broken into places.”
True, his quirk told him. His concern and apprehension skyrocketed. Naomasa subtly motioned for the other officers to block the exits.
“And why are you telling us this?”
“Demons,” the man wheezed, genuine tears in his eyes. “Demons appeared and they surrounded me and Mori while we were, uh, collecting a debt. They were terrifying, man, terrifying. I don’t why but they let me go and I ran right here. I thought that- I thought that maybe if I- if I turned myself in that would be enough.”
Naomasa nodded slowly, processing all of it. His quirk registered it all as true. And the thing was, his quirk could tell an inebriated person’s ramblings from the truth. That meant this man had seen demons, or at the very least truly believed he did.
“Well, we’ll…we’ll make sure you get a trial, but we have cells and water in the meantime.”
The man nodded, going without resistance as he was led behind the doors. Naomasa let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head with disbelief.
This was going to be an interesting case to open, that was for certain.
Notes:
Music used: Blame it on the Kids by AVIVA, and a version of Ring Around the Rosy I came up with about two years ago and have been waiting to use! The lyrics to that being:
Ring around the rosie
They tried to dethrone me
Ashes to ashes
They all fell down
There’s something in the alley
Something in the alley
Look now, look how
They all fall downMei played the music box notes through their speakers and I have been WAITING to use that idea. The singing will also become relevant to the next chapter :)
My exams are starting to kick in this week, so the next chapter might take a while since I mostly write on the weekends I'm home. I'll do my best to get it out as quick as I can, but exams have to come first for me, sorry guys :(
On the bright side my first exam is in the class I'm good at so yay. See you guys next time, have a good day/night! <3
Chapter 74: Public Opinion
Summary:
Public opinion is a strong force. Good thing the vigilantes seem to already have a positive following on the internet.
Notes:
HEYO FRIENDS
Sorry this took another month, midterms took their toll, but I also got time to hang out with my irl friends so that was nice. And I got to hold a snake in one of my classes :D
Anyway onto the actual notesSo this wasn’t originally where I was going to put this name, but you have been one of the biggest supporters (and conspirators) of this story Alder, so I wanted your cameo to have a big role too. SO: Axryz belongs to Alder, though I wrote the characterization before they gave the name so the scenes with Axryz are not a reflection of xem or how xe act.
(also yes the post is based off of Tumblr, crossing my fingers the formatting worked)Enjoy the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Axryz
I’m an adult I swear
Posts Ask Me Things Likes Archive
So y’all know the new vigilante that’s been going around?
Well have I got some news, buckle down mothers and fuckers this is a long post.
SO for whoever hasn’t heard: Musutafu has a new vigilante! Yes, that Musutafu, the one with some of the highest crime rates in the country and “too few heroes.”
If you’ve been on this blog for any amount of time, you know my opinions on heroes and cops here. AND! You will also know how COOL I find vigilantes. And there’s a new one! Right in the middle of Musutafu! Well mostly along the edges right now but you get my point.
ANYWAY ON TO THE MAIN POINT-
This vigilante has been active for a few weeks, appearing out of nowhere and taking out a villain before disappearing just as fast. Apparently they took out a crime boss, which, awesome. You’re doing great sweetie!!
Now the information on this vigilante has been extremely scarce. Mostly because, like I said, they split the second they take out an attacker. All we’ve had to go off of for Weeks is that their name is Kitsune, they usually wear a hoodie, have a green mask, and know how to knock someone’s lights out. That’s it.
Until yesterday. and I’ll get to that in a second.
I’ve been a fan of Kitsune since they saved my dad a while ago. He’s a lousy fucker but I don’t want him dead, and it’s not like there are any heroes to make sure of that. But because of that I’ve kept tabs on Kitsune, and this news is super fucking exciting for me. I’m going to be dissecting all of what y’all’ve been hearing and add in some information I got.
* gasp * Me? Having insider information? More likely than you think. ONTO THE FIRST PART.
Kitsune got a gear upgrade! Like, serious gear upgrade. It looks like a professional hero outfit. I shit you not, at least half the picture I’ve seen have comments asking if they’re a new hero. Which is hilarious. Also we got a good look at Kitsune’s face! No mask. And get this, they really do look like a fox. I legit can’t tell if it’s another mask or if they can shift their features to look like a fox and were hiding it in human form before. Either way, it’s cool as hell.
TWO: Y’all there are so many video and pictures over the internet of them right now. So Many. Mostly because Kitsune was seen out in plain sight for the first time and they were already kinda known, but that’s not all! They were seen with SEVEN OTHER VIGILANTES. Seven. Seven wholeass other vigilantes. Most cities are lucky to see one, let alone eight! They all looked different and had the same level of gear. Still wondering where the heck they got that, since underground tech dealers have some seriously steep prices. Unless a millionaire has moved to Musutafu that I don’t know about…well I don’t actually know where they would have gotten it anyway. Any tech enthusiasts here feel free to chime in and educate my dumb ass.
THREE: In one night these eight took down four villains, and apparently a fifth turned himself into the police. Y’all. This is Musutafu. That never happens. I have lived here almost my entire life and have seen someone willing go with the police maybe half the time, and that’s as they’re already being arrested. The fact that one turned himself in speaks volumes about how skilled these eight are. Which is fitting considering kitsunes are said to know almost everything.
FOUR, oh boy: So I don’t like airing the details of my family’s dirty laundry on this blog much, but kinda inevitable without context so here we go. My dad, now divorced from my mom, lives in the middle of Musutafu. Got in some money trouble with a gang or two to keep his business going and food to eat. (EDIT: I’m not living with him anymore guys, don’t worry. I’m on the outskirts near my mom!) But he contacted me the other day with an olive branch. Information on the vigilantes!! They saved him the other night (again) and he’s currently the only one who has seen them up close. And and and, guess what? He got their names.
Welcome to the only current list of the new Musutafu vigilantes.
Kitsune! Looks like a humanoid fox, seems to be their leader, the first one to be seen and arguably the strongest, but we don’t know the power sets of the others yet. Quirk is green fire! Jeez that’s so cool.
And now the new ones. Gorgon! Medusa-esque mask, glowing purple eyes, voice sounds like it’s mixed with snake hissing. They have a leather jacket and look “fly” according to my dad.
Chimera! Looks like a lion with goat horns, but unlike Kitsune I am pretty sure theirs is a mask. Mostly. Super fuzzy looking though. They have a cape that looks kinda like a mane, and if you look at any pictures they were caught in the other night, they seem to have an affinity for peace signs. They just look like a big kitty-goat-kinda-snake and I want to pat.
Ares! Looks like the greek god of war, biker helmet thing with glowing red eyes and all. Badass dude. According to another witness they knocked someone out with their elbows. Don’t mess with them. But also if anyone draws a chiibe version of them I would die from the cuteness.
Basilisk! Holy shit they look so cool. Gold and green color scheme which is interesting, but they have an Assassin’s Creed cloak. No one has seen what their mask and/or face looks like but there are cool fin things coming off the side of the hood that kinda look like axolotl fins to me?? Anyone else??
Athena! Kinda convinced that her and some of the other vigilantes are just gods visiting our mortal plane. Seriously, she looks like a goddess. Silver toga and all. Also she apparently has a sword?? That’s just a whole aesthetic right there.
Pan! Another greek god (autocorrect wanted to say green god, which isn’t technically wrong). Goat head and really cool horns. His armor kinda looks like vines and wood bark. Didn’t speak but my dad said something about him still communicating? IDK he was vague as fuck with Pan, ONTO THE LAST ONE.
Harpy! Bird person. Another one where I can’t tell if they’re wearing a mask or actually look like a bird. They have bat-like ears on top of having a beak which I thought was rad. Apparently they have wings that look more like a cape, but they were actually flying for bits so physics are still out on that one. Some sort of bird quirk obviously.
Whew, think that’s all of them. But wait! I have one more thing!
There are snippets of videos people took of these eight singing. They were belting out songs from across two streets, and were actually pretty good?? If anyone with editing skills can stitch the pieces together that would be amazing. ANYWAY they did this for a while from what I’ve seen. And singing is how they saved my dad. Not kidding, they sang an eerie version of ring around the rosie and scared the two attackers shitless. After they were gone the eight of them checked on my dad, and even gave him advice on how to get out of the hole he had dug.
To everyone in Musutafu: these are our new heroes. No one here has given a shit about what’s legal for a while now, don’t start now and arrest these vigilantes. Kitsune has yet to do anything besides help. When was the last time a hero has done that? Especially here?? If these guys are going to protect us, we have to protect them. Don’t call the police if you see them just out and about.
I leave you with two things. One: spread this like wildfire, I want to make sure people see it, and maybe the vigilantes too.
Two: I propose a group name for them, because it fits and my brain won’t leave the idea alone. So drumroll please, I humbly suggest we call our new vigilantes-
~~~~~~~~~~
“The Sirens?”
Mei hummed an affirmation, scrolling back to the top of the screen. Her siblings were gathered around her like a flock of curious birds. They were excitedly whispering about their respective sections, reaching over Mei’s shoulder to swipe up and down every once in a while.
Mei had found the post while trying to figure out bugs in her experimental algorithm. It was supposed to gather information from media across the internet and organize it into a neat little app Mei had coded herself. The algorithm was meant to use keywords and filters to single out anything talking about her siblings, but it kept missing things. Either something didn’t get filtered out or Mei would double check and find that posts were missed. Pictures were still iffy at the moment, but at least she knew how to fix that one.
Buggy as it may be, the algorithm and app were still mostly functional. Mei planned to use it to keep tabs on their internet following, since that tended to be what would make or break their level of public support. Right now the numbers were growing. Rapidly. All thanks to a not-so-little post that described her siblings in an entertaining list.
“I like it,” she declared. “Especially when you all started singing. Fits with the mythos theme and the whole flying thing.”
“Flying thing?” Kouji asked.
“Sirens weren’t originally mermaids,” Izuku explained. “They were bird things, kinda like harpies, but they could draw people in with their voice.”
“Cool.”
“Anyway,” Mei said, catching their attention again. “The post already has enough attention that you don’t have to worry about the police giving you nonsense names. Might be too late to shake the name of Sirens but you can probably try if you don’t like it.”
The room was quiet as they all glanced between each other. Mei watched it all with amusement. It had only been a week of them going out, but the attention the new vigilante group had already received was…a lot. She had already deleted most posts made about Kitsune before their debut, since a few had a description attached. Being caught because of green hair would be stupid.
“I like the name,” Mina declared. “All in favor of calling ourselves the Sirens say aye!”
Seven voices echoed in agreement, and Mei found herself smiling. After months of work, the pieces were finally falling into place. There was still work to be done, but they were out there now. Her siblings were helping.
“Hey, Mei?”
She looked up, seeing Hitoshi looking at her instead of the computer. He had an unsaid curious glint to his eye.
“Is there a way we can respond so they know it’s us?”
“They said some really nice things,” Momo added eagerly. “I think we should thank them, if there’s a way so it can’t be traced to our location.”
Mei nodded, going through a mental catalog of what she would have to do. It was easy to conceal the location attached to her computer—as far as any networks were concerned, the thing had been in Canada for months now—and a fake account on whatever app the post had come from. But there was always a chance someone would notice the irregularity and try to look closer. In that case, it was always better to be extra prepared. Mei hadn’t figured out how to disconnect devices from registered names yet, thus turning the device into a burner, but she knew other methods.
Honestly the only reason she hadn’t put more thought into it was her preoccupation with building the costumes and gadgets for her siblings. And because Niseru hadn’t shown her how to yet. Her mentor absolutely knew what she would do with the knowledge, and was putting the lesson off. Not that that would deter Mei. All she needed was the structure and some more coding knowledge then she’d be golden. Hard as coding was, she liked it. Even with how infuriating it was when a bracket threw off the entire project.
“I can try,” she told her siblings. “I’ll work on it tonight while you’re out doing your vigilante thing, and when you get back maybe I’ll have something.”
An arm was thrown around her shoulders, a head gently bonked against her own in a show of grateful affection. “You’re the best, Meimei.”
“I’m not the one who has an increasingly popular internet post dedicated to them.”
“But you did make all of our costumes and gear,” Izuku pointed out. “So, technically, it’s about you too, since you made all of it. Just because they didn't use your name doesn’t mean you aren’t appreciated in it.”
“They’ll be saying it one day,” Katsuki scoffed, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “But until we’re even better, Daedalus has to stay a secret.”
Mei nodded, knowing the reasoning. She had come up with it, after all. The spotlight just wasn’t for her right now. Maybe one day, preferably with lots of weapons to back her up, but until then she would stay behind the scenes. Besides, her family needed someone to watch their backs from home. More eyes meant less chance of being caught off guard.
Mei was nothing if not fiercely protective of her idiot siblings. They had fought tooth and nail for her trust, it was only right that she would protect them with everything she had.
God help anyone that got her way.
~~~~~~~~~~
It was dark out, the sun having long since set. Momma and Dad were asleep. Natsuo too, which Izuku was sure of by the sound of faint snoring echoing down the hallway. Izuku, however, was very much not asleep.
It was midnight, judging by the clock and moon. School had been…well, as good as a school day of his could go. Kind of boring, jeers and taunts thrown around the hallway, dodging bullies on his way back from the bathroom; the usual. Izuku hadn’t been able to sit still. That also wasn’t new, but the reasoning was different than it had been a month ago.
In the dark and mildly unnerving silence of their home, Izuku glided down the stairs without a sound. Four shadows followed after him. Together the five of them carefully slipped outside and into Mei’s workshop, whispered words exchanged as they got dressed.
Izuku still couldn’t get over his costume. He assembled it with a sense of unbridled glee, the mask clicking into place like it was destined to be there. Excitement had been buzzing beneath his skin all day, and it was time to let the nerves turn into energy.
As the sun set and the moon took over the sky, four Sirens descended over the land. Kitsune ran over fences of sleepy houses towards the city, Gorgon, Athena, and Chimera on his tail. Daedalus took over her role as the center of their command.
Izuku had never felt so completely and utterly free.
The buildings grew in size as they ran. It hardly mattered to them. They had only gotten better with the nightly practice, and Izuku couldn’t help the pride that bubbled up in his chest. His siblings had already improved, and so had he.
Their voices chattered away in his ears, silly banter and song suggestions. It took them ten minutes to decide on what to sing. Izuku nearly tripped with laughter when Mei got tired of it and blasted All Star in their ears.
They breezed past the residential areas first, checking them over on the way. Some shops fell in their path as well. A would-be robber got the wits scared out of them by Kitsune. A sweep of green flames was enough to send the person running, much to Izuku’s delight. He reveled in the power he could now wield. It had turned into almost second nature to him. Mei even commented that she hadn’t expected him to take to it that fast, even with an analysis quirk.
Izuku just shrugged, staring in wonder as emerald fire freely danced in the air.
They continued on, tying up a late night mugger as the would-be victim called the cops. Athena made sure they were alright before the four of them disappeared. By the time police sirens got there, they were long gone.
It was towards the busier parts of the city that Mei’s voice buzzed to life in their comms.
“So, I did a thing.”
“Oh no,” Gorgon immediately said.
“Oh shush. The person who made that post earlier? They live near where you are.”
“Did you…?”
“I did not hack their location,” Mei answered. “They posted a picture of themself—not even a few minutes ago, they need to sleep—and I recognized the apartment view.”
Chimera hummed, leaping the gap between buildings without trouble. “Think we could pay them a visit? To thank them for getting the word out?”
“Why else would I have said it?”
Izuku just laughed, jogging to a stop on a roof. “Alright then, give us directions, Daedalus.”
The other three joined up with Izuku. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, antsy about staying in one place for long. Mei eventually relayed where to go, clear and concise. Izuku had no doubt a map was pulled up on her computer. As much of a genius as his sister was, she sucked at giving understandable directions. He still didn’t know what “left at the building with a cool door” meant.
“Hang a right and go five buildings, their apartment should be the building opposite the roof you land on. Have fun finding the floor, it’s at least the third but I can’t tell besides that.”
“We got it from here, Daedalus,” Athena assured her.
The four of them perched on a roof, wondering just how they were going to find the person and thank them. Especially from across a street. A narrow street, but still a street. They couldn’t exactly jump to a balcony and hope for the best.
As it turned out, they didn’t have to wonder for long. A door was flung open, revealing a person running out onto their balcony. Izuku instantly knew they were the person the four of them were looking for.
Kitsune smiled brightly, waving happily as the dumbfounded person stared at them. He saw them mouth “holy shit” before fumbling with their phone. Chimera automatically put up a peace sign. Gorgon was too busy laughing at him to face the camera. Izuku rolled his eyes, his smile reflecting onto his glowing mask.
“Cops are in the area,” Mei relayed to them, catching their attention. “Better split soon.”
“Copy that,” Gorgon said. Izuku stifled a snicker, knowing for a fact Hitoshi was just mimicking the spy movies they had watched last week.
The four of them turned to go. Izuku paused though, spinning back around for a moment. He saw the phone camera still fixed on them, and grinned. With slow and obvious movements he signed a phrase in JSL.
His piece said, Izuku waved again, and took off into the night with his siblings.
~~~~~~~~~~
Axryz
I’m an adult I swear
Posts Ask Me Things Likes Archive
ADFSDFSDSFGHDFGCVHBJN
AFGHOLYSHITSAFGHJ
GUESS WHO APPEARED OUTSIDE MY APARTMENT.
I don’t know if it was coincidence or if they recognized my area (don’t post pictures of where you live on the internet kids) ((I didn’t, but you can see buildings outside my windows. If these guys are as smart as I think they are I wouldn’t be surprised if they figured out the area)) BUT I JUST HAD FOUR OF THE SIRENS APPEAR OUTSIDE MY APARTMENT
Kitsune, Athena, Gorgon, and Chimera all just- fucking appeared on the roof opposite my balcony. They were glowing and holy shit they looked so cool. I took pictures and Chimera put up a peace sign, look at this funky lion-goat-snake-person go. They didn’t stay long but I took a video! Aaaaaaand I need help? Kinda? Kitsune did something before he left and I don’t know what it was. But I still got a video look at these cool motherfuckers.
Comments:
PresentMic’sLeftBoot
Yoooo dude that looks like JSL!
|
Herostan003
Chimera I love you now!!!!
|
AppliePes
Kitsune is signing “thank you,” Axryz!
> Axryz
Holy shit are they thanking me for the post???
>>C o r ru p t ed D a t a
Yes
~Signed, the Sirens
>>> Axryz
HOLY FUCKING SHIT THE SIRENS LIKE THE NAME I GAVE THEM I CAN DIE HAPPY NOW
Notes:
And now they have their group name :D
Oh boy is social media going to fun to mess with in the future. Especially once Mei figures out they can have an official vigilante account on everything, and that she can eventually hide their location enough to stream. It will be utter Chaos and I can't wait
I hope you guys liked the chapter! The responses to the last one amazed me, I'm so glad you guys enjoyed it!! I was really looking forward to that one so seeing the effort I put into it pay off was really nice <3WE GOT SOME ART LET'S GOOO (thank you)
Hovering Kitsune (by Arya_Saphira)Have a good day/night! I love you guys <3
Chapter 75: Something Strange
Summary:
Natsuo is observant, Shouto isn't the only one that's a conspiracy theorist, and the kids are at a police station. What fun
(Chapter title based off of "Something Changed" by Creep-P, since I listened to it while writing the chapter)
Notes:
HELLOOO I'm on spring break so for the moment I have FREEDOM which means a chapter :D
So originally this chapter wasn’t going to exist. It was going to be serious and emotional and cool. But plot said NOPE we need a transition so now we have half a chapter of Natsuo thinking the little kids are sus and Hisashi breaking speed limits. Next chapter is the emotional one!
Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Something was going on with his little siblings. Natsuo didn’t know what, but there was definitely something.
He didn’t have much evidence, but he did pick up on things. Despite the stereotype associated with his sport-inclined self; Natsuo did, in fact, have a brain. It’s just that his observation skills were mostly reserved for sports. And people, in this case. It was something he had needed, once upon a time, and had never really left him.
But it was because of that skill that he knew something was going on. His little siblings had been acting…not weird, per say, but just slightly off. Normal but a step to the left. Nothing major—nothing big— but once Natsuo noticed one thing he couldn’t stop spotting more.
The nine of them were whispering amongst themselves more. They also seemed more tired than usual, but almost like it switched between who it was that day and who wasn’t. Natsuo had the fleeting thought that maybe they were doing a psychology experiment. Then he realized he would have seen Izuku writing in a notebook if they were, and dismissed that idea.
Mei was letting them in her shed again too, which was honestly the most suspicious part. Natsuo wasn’t allowed in there. None of the adults were either, but the other kids were now.
Individually, the pieces didn’t seem too out of place. Little coincidences that could be ignored or excused. But added together they equaled some sort of secret, and Natsuo was determined to figure out what it was.
His first plan was, admittedly, not the best, and more spur of the moment than anything. Natsuo had been sitting on the counter when half his siblings had swarmed the kitchen. He had started staring at Shouto, thinking that maybe if he stared hard enough his brother would get too antsy to keep a secret and let something slip.
Shouto ended up staring right back, blinking slowly like a cat. No one else in the kitchen so much as paused at their display. Mina even joined in for a moment. Natsuo lost that staring contest.
He squinted at Shouto as his brother turned around to dig through the pantry. Maybe Shouto and his poker face wasn’t the best choice for him to try and learn their secrets. Actually, none of the nine were really a good choice. They were ridiculously good at lying for kids, which…was kinda concerning now that Natsuo thought about it. But it did make sense when he considered it.
Natsuo hopped off the counter to retrieve his can of peanuts from a cabinet. Shouto was gone by the time he turned around—which wasn’t a surprise in itself, Natsuo swore his siblings were more like cats than anything sometimes. Maybe Peeve had given them lessons. It wasn’t impossible, since Kouji could understand her and all.
Snacks in hand and brother gone to who-knows-where, Natsuo retreated back upstairs. He went over what he already knew in his head, idly wondering if he should get a cork board and red thread for organization. It would certainly make it more entertaining, and he remembered better with physical things anyway. Maybe Mom would let him get the necessary materials at the store…
Natsuo shook his head, getting his train of thought back on the intended rails. He quietly closed his door, then went to dig an empty notebook out of his desk drawer. A pencil and random pens joined it. Satisfied with what he had gathered, Natsuo sat at his desk, and began to compile all he had noticed.
Within minutes he had enough notes to build an essay off of. Mostly just small, miscellaneous things his siblings did that didn’t quite add up. But there were a lot. Like, a lot a lot. But almost none of them lined up in any obvious way. Hooray.
Natsuo munched on more peanuts as he thought. Aunt Inko had been letting the nine of them go out without an adult more often. They were obviously loving the freedom, and weren’t doing anything especially bad while out—the worst being the time Ochako “accidentally” tripped Katsuki into a puddle. Besides the normal sibling shenanigans, they were doing remarkably well. Not once had they forgotten anything on the shopping list. And every time they came back, every one of them that had gone was smiling and laughing, looking like they had had the time of their lives. It made Natsuo smile along too. He remembered when he had first been allowed to do that. The feeling of freedom and being trusted was a really nice one.
Natsuo scribbled more ideas on another page, connecting a few of the points together. Never all of them though. Nothing lined up just right. He knew they weren't doing drugs or something, since they were still ten or eleven and had been subjected to the “don’t do drugs” talk by all three adults. Aunt Inko’s had had pictures. Natsuo still shivered thinking about it.
It was almost frustrating how well the little gremlins were hiding whatever it was. Natsuo was actually impressed. They most likely weren’t doing anything bad, at least. Because if he knew one thing about his little siblings, it’s that they had a hero streak ten miles long, and would never put an innocent person in danger.
Whether they would put themselves in danger though, was up for debate. And that was what scared Natsuo more than anything.
A knock on his door spooked him out of his thoughts. He called for them to come in, quickly pulling over a notebook that had actual schoolwork in it. Aunt Inko poked her head inside with a look Natsuo couldn’t quite put a name to.
“Hisashi and I have to go pick up Katsuki, Kouji, Mina, and Ochako from the police station.”
Ah.
Well, that explained her expression at least.
“…what?” He said out loud, mind slowly catching up.
“They got caught in another villain attack,” Aunt Inko sighed. Natsuo felt his brows furrow in worry, she sounded like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. “We have to go get them, but Rei won’t be back for another two hours. Could you keep an ear on the other kids until we get back?”
Natsuo got to his feet, hugging his aunt without saying a word. He was taller than her now, but he still leaned his head on her shoulder like he did when he was shorter. “I got ‘em, Aunt Inko. Those four will be fine—you know them. I’ll play a game or something with the other five until you get back.”
He felt Aunt Inko nod, and he let her go a moment later. She playfully ruffled his hair—to which he squawked and tried to duck out of the way—before padding back down the stairs. Natsuo watched her go.
The adults would never admit it to them, he knew, but they were stressed. Money wasn’t too tight with all three of them working, but feeding this many mouths undoubtedly cost a lot, and there were also still bills to pay. Losing the Urarakas had hit Aunt Inko and Uncle Hisashi really hard, and Hisashi had to run their business now.
All of it sounded beyond tiring, but if keeping the smaller kids entertained is what helped, then Natsuo would absolutely do it.
He found them in their room, heads ducked close and talking quietly. Natsuo could see the varying expressions of worry they wore. Their conversation stopped when he knocked on their door frame.
“Hey guys,” he said, standing in the doorway. “Did Aunt Inko tell you what happened?”
He received five nods, all of them quiet and concerned. Natsuo just smiled, hoping it put them at ease.
“Mom doesn’t get back from work for another while, so I’ll be watching you for a bit. How about we play a game while we wait for everyone else to get back?”
The reaction was immediate. Natsuo didn’t play games with them much anymore, so they were really excited. It was nice though, knowing they still wanted to play with him, even if he was a teenager now and way busier.
“Ok, ok!” He laughed. “I heard soccer, tag, keep away, and something about food?”
“Heck yeah.”
“Food game!”
“Let’s do that!”
Natsuo had no idea what they were talking about, but went along with it. Two of them grabbed his hands and dragged him down to the kitchen. Together they raided the pantry and fridge, fishing out foods with no rhyme or reason. Quite honestly Natsuo had no idea what was going on as he was led outside and onto the grass.
The foods were arranged on the table they had outside, creating a rainbow of questionable combinations. The five seemed excited though, so Natsuo just shrugged and went along with it. How bad could it be?
Very bad, was apparently the answer. Natsuo had regrets. A lot of regrets. Letting Mei feed Hitoshi oatmeal and ketchup juice was currently very high on that list.
The kids found the game fun. Natsuo refused to participate after being fed some unholy mixture of blueberry yogurt, onion powder, and what was probably an uncooked macaroni noodle. Just watching suited him much better. It still made him gag occasionally, but that was better than actually eating the abominations his siblings came up with.
How none of the foods had come back up astounded him. Natsuo both respected and feared their power. It was keeping their mind off of their other siblings though, so he stayed on the sidelines and supervised.
At least they were getting rid of the leftovers in the house?
~~~~~~~~~~
Hisashi had maybe-kinda-sorta not fully abided by traffic laws on the way to the police station. It was nerve wracking, just knowing their kids had gotten involved somehow and were waiting under watch of the police. The two of them had nothing to hide—not anymore, at least—but it was still mildly terrifying.
He held Inko’s hand the entire way there. It was grounding for both of them, helping to keep their thoughts straight. There really wasn’t much to worry about, but that didn’t stop them from anxiously waiting at every red light and maybe cursing at the bad drivers in their way.
Once they parked and turned the engine off, neither moved for a moment. Hisashi breathed in slowly, focusing.
“You know,” he laughed quietly. “I never thought that the one thing I’d miss about the old apartment is that it was closer to the police station.”
That coaxed a laugh out of Inko, and he smiled. Mission accomplished.
“Come on, let’s go see what trouble those four have gotten into.”
They calmly walked in through the station doors, instantly zeroing in on their kids. They were sitting in plastic chairs off to the side, two adults standing nearby. Hisashi vaguely recognized one of them. They were…huh, they were signing with the four, movements sharp and excited.
It didn’t take long for the four to notice Hisashi and Inko. They immediately raced over, nearly tackling the two of them. Mina didn’t hesitate to start recounting the events that had led to them sitting in a police station.
“-and then Ocha threw the textbook! It went all whoosh and distracted the robber, and then Katsuki ran in with the soda rings-“
Her enthusiastic retelling was interrupted by the hero coughing out a surprised laugh. All six of them turned to look at the man, who smiled sheepishly.
“Ah, sorry! Didn’t mean to interrupt you there, kiddo. You just reminded me of someone I knew.”
Hisashi stood back up, snapping his fingers with a realization. “Hizashi Yamada?”
“Uh, yeah…how do- wait a second.”
Inko stood back up too, a smile on her face. Yamada—Hisashi remembered his hero name was Present Mic—beamed at the two of them. The kids just looked confused.
“Oh man, it’s been forever since we moved! How are you guys? We need to catch up!”
Kouji pulled on Hisashi’s sleeve, grabbing his attention. “You know Present Mic?”
“He was our neighbor,” Hisashi signed back. Kouji blinked, turning to the hero with an awestruck expression. Present Mic was evidently on the kids’ good list.
“I was,” Yamada laughed. “I babysat Izuku and Hitoshi for a bit.”
The kids raced back up to Yamada, demanding he tell them about their brothers when they were smaller. Hisashi took a moment to observe the man. He obviously still had a knack with kids, and probably was at the end of his shift when he assisted the robbery. His hero costume was one of the more sensible ones Hisashi had seen. More or less. It could use a bit of work in the flexibility category, but besides that it was a decent uniform.
Hisashi was also happy to note the ring on Yamada’s finger. Good, he and Aizawa had gotten their act together.
“We should probably rescue him from the kids,” Hisashi mused.
Inko nodded, but she was smiling. “You go talk with the officers to sign out the kids, and I’ll go make sure they don’t use Yamada as a jungle gym.”
The two of them exchanged grins, before they split up to divide and conquer.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hizashi had been expecting a few things today, but this took the cake. In a good way! The Midoriyas had been sweet neighbors, and Hizashi had always wondered what happened to them after. And now here they were! In a police station, but still.
He learned a lot of things after a few minutes of talking with Mrs. Midoriya, who insisted he call her Inko. The four kids were in fact theirs, by adoption of course. They had twelve kids now, nine of which were around the same age, and two who had already moved out. The family lived in a house now, and Kouji very excitedly signed about his cat, Peeve.
Hisashi and Inko were still close as ever, and it was adorable. Even if they were at a precinct finding out their kids had become involved in a villain fight. They were remarkably calm though, all things considered. Once they could see their kids weren’t injured a weight seemed to lift from them.
The four had actually been a big help. They had distracted the villain—nearly restrained them with improvised handcuffs too—and it had been enough to let Hizashi come in and take them down. None of them had been hurt, but the police onsite decided it was a good idea to bring them to the station. Mostly because there was no adult there to collect them, but also to check if they knew not to use their quirks.
The answer to that particular question had been a definitive “you can’t interrogate minors without a guardian present,” which Hizashi found hilarious. The officers, not quite so much. Finding out all four of the kids knew JSL gave him a wonderful means of telling them that he was proud of them. He thought the spiky blond one was going to faint from how red his face turned. His sister just laughed at him.
Reckless as it had been, something about the way the kids had acted struck a chord in Hizashi. He couldn’t quite place it, but it was there. They had moved without a word to one another. One second the brown-haired one was throwing a textbook like a fastball, and the next the pink one was tossing plastic rings from a pack of soda cans to the blond one. Before Hizashi knew it, the villain had been disarmed by children. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it was more than enough for Hizashi to race over and actually handcuff the man.
The five of them had signed back and forth until Hisashi and Inko arrived. Hizashi hadn’t recognized them at first, but as soon as they stood up he knew. They hadn’t changed much either. Still two parents who were willing to go miles for their kids.
Hisashi went to talk to the officers, while Inko stayed near the kids and Hizashi. The two of them talked, the kids listening or playing among themselves. Hizashi noticed how fidgety they were, more so than kids usually were. At least he thought so, but his frame of reference consisted of high schoolers. High schoolers who got more fidgety when called to the front of the class than they did presenting a villain case to a full bullpen.
Inko was kind as ever, and happy to chat with him about what they had both been up to. Hizashi hadn’t thought the couple knew about him being a pro, especially since he swore that he never mentioned it when they were neighbors. Either they had known before—which would make sense, since they let Shouta and him babysit those times—or Hisashi had somehow recognized him in costume as Hizashi Yamada instead of Present Mic. Both ideas were caught somewhere between surprise and amusement, because on one hand, of course his old neighbors had recognized him. But on the other, a vast majority of the population couldn’t tell who he was.
Before Hisashi walked back over Hizashi learned about some of the Midoriyas’ latest activities. Namely Mina’s dance classes, which she excitedly told him about with sharp movements and bright words, Izuku’s parkour lessons he had recently stopped (but had adored), and Katsuki’s fighting lessons. What style of fighting went unspecified, but the boy was fired up about whatever it was.
The kids eventually got absorbed into their own conversation, leaving Hizashi to talk with Inko. She slyly mentioned the wedding ring he had forgotten to put on its necklace chain this morning. Hizashi felt like his face was probably the color of a tomato as he stuttered out some nonsense. Inko just congratulated him, saying he should bring Shouta over for tea some time.
(Only later, back home, did he wonder how she knew his significant other was Shouta. Surely they hadn’t been that obvious…)
Hisashi joined them a few minutes later, telling Inko the kids were free to go with obvious relief painting his words. The two profusely thanked him for staying with their kids while they weren’t there. He just smiled and waved them off, saying it was a part of his job. Out of the way as it was that day. Not his fault that store was the only one with Shouta’s favorite jelly flavor in stock.
The family began to leave, two of the kids racing to the car in normal sibling fashion. That is to say Hizashi wondered if he should send the Midoriyas with a first aid kit, just in case.
It took him a second to notice Kouji had stayed behind. He was blinking up at Hizashi, then raised his hands to sign.
“You are a good hero.”
“Aww, thank you, little listener.”
Kouji tilted his head, and Hizashi felt something in the air change. Suddenly the child had too much knowledge in his eyes and seemed far older than he was. It sent a shiver down his spine, and Hizashi didn’t know why.
“I hope we see you on the right side next time too.”
With that, the kid scurried out the door to his parents’ side. Hisashi reached down and patted his head, not a trace of that… something that had been surrounding him a moment before.
“What the fuck,” Hizashi whispered, in English, to no one.
(Only once the Midoriyas had left did Hizashi wonder what that meant, and how a kid no older than eleven made his hair stand on end)
Notes:
Originally I was going to end Natsuo’s POV right after the “hey your siblings are at the police station” thing, but then he kinda just, kept going. I had little to no control over that, but I think his part turned out alright :D
WE GOT ART!! LOOK LOOK LOOK
Izuku and Kitsune (By Cupcakie)
Hitoshi and Gorgon (Also by Cupcakie)
Badass Touya/Dabi (By Calliburt5157 (tiktok))
Hoping to get another chapter out before I'm dragged back into school, but we'll see. I hope you liked the chapter! Have a good day/night <3
Chapter 76: Retired Secrets
Summary:
A bit of InkSashi’s backstory! Hooray! And Snow Mom being a quiet badass! But that’s not new
WARNING: implied suicidal thoughts and mentioned violence (guns and death) after it switches to Inko’s POV. Nothing overly explicit but still there, stay safe <3
Notes:
Hi! Hello! My goodness my week has been nuts, got just over a month of classes left then I’m FREE I can’t wait
The word count for this chapter snuck up on me, it's somehow over 5k words. Don't know how that happened but Hisashi's POV tried to Fight Me while editing it. Rewrote half of it twice until I was mostly happy with it.
I don't have much else to say this time, but I hope you like the chapter! :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Either their house was now haunted, or the kids were up to something. Hisashi honestly didn’t know which would be worse. Both had to do with Izuku though.
It had started a week ago—maybe two. There was nothing too out of place, nothing big to notice. Just simple things, like their backdoor curtains being open in the morning when Hisashi swore he had closed them, or the floorboards creaking sometimes when he was up in the middle of the night. The weird noises outside could just be raccoons that had found a home in the neighborhood, even if there were no signs of any critters when Hisashi looked out the window.
It was never anything concerning. All of it could easily be brushed off as the kids, or the cat, or his own occasionally faulty memory. It wasn’t a lot…and yet, it was enough for Hisashi to notice.
At first he thought he might just be going crazy. They were little things, insignificant in comparison to bigger issues. And what normal parent would be concerned over something so small?
But Hisashi had survived as a vigilante for a reason. His gut was hardly ever wrong, even outside of the underground. So he watched, and he cataloged every discrepancy—every missing detail—that he couldn’t place. Then, because he wasn’t stupid, he share it with his wife.
It was both gratifying and concerning that she confirmed everything he had seen. Although she was slightly more skeptical of the whole “a ghost might be haunting our house” idea.
Something was going on, and neither of them had any solid evidence. That being said, Hisashi was not about to stay up to three am just to try and catch whoever had been messing with their house. They weren’t as young as they used to be, and both of them needed sleep. Besides, they had kids with insomnia. It was most likely just them doing whatever kids did when they couldn’t sleep.
That was what Hisashi tried to tell himself, at least. But something in his gut told him that wasn’t the case. Hitoshi had said he’d been sleeping better, and insomnia didn’t explain the sounds outside. There was nothing to do though—not unless Hisashi wanted to stay awake trying to stake out his own home—so he left it alone.
Until one night. One remarkably unremarkable night. Normal in every way besides the fact that Hisashi had never actually fallen asleep.
It was nearly midnight. All attempts to sleep were fruitless, and Hisashi was thirsty, so he carefully slipped out of bed and down the stairs. He did his best to stay quiet on the way down. Everyone else was presumably asleep. The kids had school tomorrow, so he sure hoped they were asleep, and not telling each other ghost stories again.
Hisashi navigated the kitchen blindly, relying on muscle memory and the moonlight to see where he was going. The bright light would burn his eyes, and it was annoying to wait for his vision to adjust, so he just kept the light off. The kids had mostly outgrown leaving toys on the floor anyway. The kitchen floor, at least.
He took a minute to just enjoy the silence and his glass of water. Their house was never quiet, but nighttime was the closest it could get. There was no good-natured bickering, no questions yelled down the stairs, no-
Hisashi froze mid-thought, his glass halfway to the counter. It took him a second to realize why he had instinctively frozen.
Four of his kids were creeping down the stairs. There was nothing objectively wrong with it, but something about their movements had Hisashi holding his breath. He didn’t move a muscle as they tiptoed into the living room. None of them took notice of him, too busy whispering amongst themselves and watching where they put their feet.
Hisashi wanted to speak up. He wanted to ask what they thought they were doing—why they were sneaking through the house like they were in a spy movie—but he tamped down the impulse, and just watched from his spot in the kitchen.
The four were silent, he would give them that. They had obviously been working on their stealth. Without a sound they all slipped out the back door, closing it quietly. Only once it was shut, and his kids out of sight, did Hisashi dare to move.
It explained the door being unlocked that one time, at least, but not why his kids were leaving the house when it was pitch-black outside. Hisashi didn’t exactly want to go out there and confront them either. Knowing his kids, if it was something they didn’t want him knowing, then they wouldn’t admit to anything unless he caught them in the act. Hisashi trusted them to not being doing something illegal, but it was still concerning, and he would feel better knowing what his kids were up to.
Good thing they had a window in the kitchen.
Hisashi made his way to the glass, moving slowly just to be safe. The yard was dark, save for a muted glow coming from the side of the house…right where Mei’s shed was.
Huh.
Hisashi stayed still for a few more minutes. He watched the little light, shadows blocking its source occasionally. It confirmed that the kids were out there, but not why, so Hisashi watched until they emerged again. Except, they didn’t look like his kids anymore.
Hisashi generally didn’t keep up with social media much, but it was impossible to not hear at least something about the new vigilantes in Musutafu. The descriptive post on them had been interesting. The level of tech it alluded to was something that drew his attention, but nothing more than wondering if he could recreate it.
Knowing about the vigilantes was one thing. Seeing them standing in the backyard—sharing features of his children if he looked close enough—was an entirely different matter.
The glowing he had heard about wasn’t there, likely kept off until they reached the city. Hisashi watched as they spoke quietly, then clambered onto the fence. He had time to think “this is probably why I caught them balancing on the porch railing” before they were racing out of the neighborhood.
With his kids out of sight, Hisashi sank to the floor. His emotions were a mess. On one hand, holy hell his kids were getting internet famous and taking down villains. On the other, holy hell his kids were taking down villains as vigilantes.
His heart was soaring and sinking all at once. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew it had only been a matter of time. Especially for Izuku. Every time the matter of how villain saturated their city was, they all got the same look. One Hisashi had shared when he was younger. It was a look that was colored with righteous fury at injustice and a boiling need to do something about it. But this was dangerous. Being a vigilante was dangerous. There were villains who weren’t afraid to maim and even kill, though the latter were fewer and farther between than people gave them credit for.
But…but they were doing good. They were taking the lessons he and Inko had taught them, and putting them to use. To good use. Hisashi knew how good those kids could fight. He knew how smart they could be and knew they would take every precaution they could against injury.
Actually, they had been doing this for a while now, hadn’t they? Almost three weeks, if he had to guess. And they had hidden it from Inko and Hisashi the entire time. Not completely, but they were kids with two incredible sharp parents. Any normal person would look right over it and brush the oddities off as kids being kids.
Normal kids also wouldn’t be that good at lying and covering their tracks, so maybe they had been taught a little too well.
In the quietness of the kitchen, Hisashi softly chuckled. “Like father and mother, like sons and daughters, I suppose.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Izuku led the way downstairs, excitement turning him into a green ball of energy. Katsuki, Mina, and Ochako were coming with him tonight, which just made him more excited. Mei was awake too, despite his insistence that she needed to sleep some of the nights. She just fired back with the fact he had gone out almost every night too. They settled on the promise that she would teach Momo how to run the command center so she could rest sometimes.
They had been going out for two and a half weeks now, and Izuku could already tell he was getting better. All of them were. It was amazing to see, and even cooler to experience. Izuku was confident that they could already outmaneuver some hero students—maybe even some newly graduated heroes if they really tried!
They hadn’t had any major incidents either. Nothing bigger than some nicks and bruises, and no scenarios where one of them needed to bail another out. Maybe some hurt pride, mostly from ending up in silly-looking situations, but no actual injuries. And Izuku was proud to say he hadn’t broken any bones! It felt significant to him, for some reason.
A few people had even recognized them the other night! Izuku was ecstatic to know that their name was spreading. It was everything he had ever wanted—doing something important, and being known because of it. They were making a difference. Maybe not a big one yet, but it was something. Something was always better than nothing.
Izuku never wanted it to end. He saw it as something beautiful—like the breathtaking stillness of a forest after a snowstorm. It was the knowledge of change and suspended moments, all on display for him to see. It was the difference small pieces could make when stacked together.
But nothing lasts forever, and icicles are only pretty until they crash to the ground.
Izuku reached to open their backdoor. He undid the lock, quietly easing open the glass door. He could almost taste the freedom being Kitsune gave him-
The living room lights turned on.
Izuku yelped, squeezing his eyes shut against the sudden brightness. His siblings all made noises of surprise. A chill ran down Izuku’s spine, and he froze like a deer in the headlights. None of his siblings had been the one to flip the switch.
“You know, I was really hoping I had only dreamt what I saw last night.” Dad. That was Dad. He was awake- he was here. He saw them sneaking out in pajamas and unlocking the back door.
“Go get your siblings.” Momma. Momma was here too.
Izuku pried his eyes open, blinking rapidly to adjust to the light. His emotions teetered on a cliff’s edge. Their parents…they didn’t look angry. But he couldn’t tell what they were thinking either. They were just—blank.
“Go on,” Dad said, gesturing upstairs. “You all need to be here. Go get them.”
It felt like his lungs were cracking. Izuku nodded, heading back up the stairs without a word. Mina was clinging to Katsuki’s arm, shaking. Ochako stared at Momma and Dad for a minute, almost challenging them to say something, before she followed Izuku.
Izuku just felt numb. Like his chest was crystalizing into something fragile.
The others woke up quickly. Some of them had been awake to see the four off, and obviously hadn’t expected them to come back upstairs. Izuku kept his voice steady as he spoke, explaining what had happened. He could tell they felt the same way as he did—like a rug had been pulled out from under them, leaving them with nothing but each other to steady themselves with.
They marched downstairs with nervous steps and bowed heads. Izuku glanced up when they entered, seeing Auntie Rei had joined their parents on the couch. He kept his eyes fixed on the ground after that. Hitoshi grabbed his hand, pulling Izuku to sit on a chair beside him. The warmth was comforting.
All nine of them settled around the room, warily eyeing the adults. Izuku didn’t have the bravery to cover how scared he was. None of the others did either.
Dad spoke first. “So, you’re vigilantes.”
None of them answered. There was no use denying it. They had been caught, and judging from what Dad had said before, he had seen them go out the night before. Izuku scolded himself for being so careless. He should have noticed.
“All nine of you, I assume?” Momma asked evenly. “The Musutafu vigilantes. The Sirens?”
Izuku nodded jerkily, refusing to look up from his lap. Hitoshi’s hand was clutched in one of his. They both needed it, he knew, from how hard Hitoshi was gripping back. The room was quiet for another few minutes. None of them were willing to speak and spill their secrets. It felt like if they did, then it was all over. For all they knew, it might already be.
Momma sighed, weariness lacing the sound. “We know how you kids feel, but this isn’t the way to try and fix things.”
“Yeah,” Dad agreed. “We know-“
“You don’t.”
The room snapped silent. It took Izuku a second to realize those words had come from his own mouth. He…he had never spoken to his parents like that. His voice was cold and wreathed in freezing anger. None of them spoke back to Dad and Momma, not like that at least. Not when Izuku knew—he knew —that they were just worried.
But it couldn’t end. He couldn’t let it all end after they were just starting to make a difference. Izuku didn’t want any of it torn from him, not with the breathtaking view from a rooftop still clear in his mind. He couldn’t leave the memory to fade, not so soon.
“We…don’t?” Dad repeated.
Izuku took a deep breath and steeled himself. This would either go very good, or very bad. “You- you don’t understand. I- I know you didn’t grow up i-in Musutafu, you’ve told us that. I know it- I know it didn’t used to be this bad. B-but we’ve grown up with this and- and no one doing an-anything about it. I didn’t- we couldn’t just watch anymore. We couldn’t let people get hurt if we- if we could do something about it.”
Izuku lifted his eyes, looking at his parents unwaveringly. Information flooded his mind. The way they were glancing at one another, having a silent conversation. How Auntie Rei had hardly batted an eye at what was happening. The stressed faces of his siblings huddled with one another in some way. All of it pooled together in his brain, giving him a bigger picture than most saw.
Momma and Dad seemed to agree on something without words, then had another silent argument of facial expressions on who would talk first. Izuku just watched them, tilting his head curiously. Even he couldn’t decipher some of it. Though he saw enough to know his dad had lost the wordless argument.
“You’re right, we didn’t grow up in Musutafu,” Dad sighed. “But we did go to college near here. The place wasn’t as overrun with crime back then, but it was close. We do know what it’s like to want to fix this.”
“But-“
“We tried to fix some of it too, the same way as you,” Momma added softly, and the room fell wordless once more.
Izuku had always known there was something about his parents that was different. There was never too much evidence, but it was there. Everything they did hinted at something he didn’t know and probably wasn’t going to find out.
Well, they were finding out now.
Mei was the first to speak after that. “That explains…a lot. Like, a lot a lot…what were your vigilante names?”
“Flamethrower and Lady Omniscient,” Momma answered.
Oh. Oh Izuku knew those names. Not very much, but he had done research on vigilantes before. Their names had popped up a few times. A vigilante known for their bright takedowns, and another for being rumored to know everything. They had partnered up at some point, the exact time unknown to practically everyone, but had been inseparable ever since then.
They had disappeared off the map after a nasty run in with a gang of villains. A fight where Flamethrower had been gravely injured, and then somehow reappeared in America a few weeks later. Around…around the time Izuku was born. He had disappeared from there a while later—presumed dead, when he didn’t reappear for months—but then the two of them had resurfaced almost three years ago to burn down one of the Yaoyorozu estates, though that was only a rumor.
It had to be them though, there was no other explanation. They had been sending a warning to the Yaoyorozus to not search for Momo. Dad had left when Izuku was born, probably shortly after. Maybe to protect them. Izuku didn’t know, but those questions could wait. Right now, they were all just staring at Momma and Dad. Who had been vigilantes. Like them.
Izuku slowly processed the information. That wasn’t exactly something you learn every day.
“So we get what you want to do,” Momma continued. “But we were at least teenagers when we started. And you- none of you are even in middle school yet.”
She was scared. Izuku could tell by how her eyes were watery but she was biting her lip. Dad was too, but he was curious. Somehow though, they weren't angry. Worried? Absolutely. But not angry.
“But we’re strong,” Izuku protested. “We’re smart and strong and we’ve been preparing for this our whole lives. Dad’s been teaching us to fight since- since he came back. You showed us to be smart and pick our fights. Momma, we’re not weak anymore.”
“But you’re not as strong as some villains either.”
“That doesn’t matter if we’re smart!” Izuku took a shuddering breath, looking down at the floor again. “We can’t just sit by and watch anymore. I- I tried. We tried not to get involved, but nothing was getting better. And- and we haven’t done anything big but we’ve made a dent in it now.”
“People know our names,” Hitoshi said softly. “ They know our names. We got a villain to turn himself in. Momma Ink, you know how rare that is.”
“A villain backed down yesterday too, when they saw Izuku and I,” Shouto added.
Kouji was the next to speak, Peeve in his lap to give him some bravery. “The ones we don’t surprise and knock out either run away or don’t stay awake too long,” he whispered. “And we never go alone. Ever. Mei- Mei made us things to keep us safe, too.”
“And it’s- it’s kinda like training,” Mina squeaked. “Mei needs her inventions stress tested, and we’re getting practice. I can jump farther now, and we get to practice what Dad-Sashi taught us in the real world.”
The adults were quiet, just listening. Auntie Rei either had a very good poker face or simply wasn’t surprised by any of it. Momma was blinking at each of them, processing their words. Dad was fidgeting with his pajama pant strings, looking like he was thinking a mile a minute. But they still weren’t angry.
“We won’t give up,” Izuku said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “The heroes- we like the heroes that do something, but we don’t have a lot of those here. They aren’t real heroes.”
“Then what is a real hero?” Momma challenged.
“Someone who saves people. Someone who doesn’t do it just for the fame and money, but is kind and helps people even if they do get those. The- the real heroes are the ones that don’t wait until there are cameras to do something, or pick their patrols based on which sectors are easier. Bad parts of the city are ignored because they’re bad. They’re seen as a lost cause. Heroes refuse to go there because no one is watching.”
“You like All Might,” Dad pointed out. “He’s the most famous and arguably has the highest paycheck out of all heroes. Is he a real hero?”
“He never did it for fucking fame,” Katsuki spat. “And he’s said more than once that most of his fuck-off high paycheck always gets donated. Heroes need to get paid—they’re doing a job, that’s the whole reason it’s legal—they just shouldn’t do it only for that and hoard wealth like greedy motherfuckers.”
“Same thing for fame,” Momo spoke up. “Some of it is inevitable, but being a hero just so people can recognize you doesn’t make someone a real hero. Like Present Mic. He’s famous, has fame and money, but he uses that for good. His radio station donates money towards various trusted organizations, they have help lines and awareness segments, and he’s been running it since before he rose in the rankings. He is also a good hero who saves people no matter where he is.”
“Still can’t believe you got to meet him,” Hitoshi muttered.
Auntie Rei cleared her throat, grabbing all of their attention. “Why are the heroes in Musutafu necessarily bad ones then? They turn in villains and save civilians. What specifically makes them bad heroes?”
“They save people, but they do it posing for cameras. We’ve seen them wait until someone is filming before they take action. And it’s not hard to track patrols and see they only cover the areas with more reporters and less violent crime. Even going out at night, we’ve only seen one hero patrol the bad areas. One. There are obviously still good ones around, but they’re less common than the bad ones here. Heroes aren’t doing enough.”
“So you took it into your own hands,” Momma sighed. “But still…”
Mina spoke next, and her voice cut through the air like a falling sword.
“The heroes never saved me,” she said. “Never even tried. They didn’t save Hitoshi, and Shouto was hurt because of a ‘hero.’ None of them helped Momo or questioned why Kouji was always by himself. Heroes didn’t do anything to save Mei, except for Keigo. Katsuki and Ochako’s birth parents are dead because of heroes that didn’t stop property damage.”
A chord had been struck, and they all knew it. Mina cast an apologetic look to Katsuki and Ochako, who both gave small nods of reassurance. They all knew that was one of the reasons the two were ok with being vigilantes. Ochako had told Izuku before, and Katsuki had probably said something similar to Mina.
“There were almost never heroes there to help us,” Ochako added softly. “So we’ll make our own. We’ll be the heroes everyone else needs.”
“We don’t get anything done by just thinking about it getting better,” Izuku said. “We’re doing something about it. We’re taking it into our own hands, and we’re prepared. Momma, Dad, Auntie Rei, I promise we’re ready for this. We aren’t going in blind.”
“Izuku…”
“When I asked you if I could be a hero, you didn’t say anything at first. Then you told me I could be anything I put my mind to. This is what I want to be. For now, at least. We’re not giving up on being heroes, just waiting. And you…”
Izuku didn’t want to say it, didn’t want to force the words passed his lips, no matter how true they may be. It hung in the air though, the implied words feeling heavier than if they had been spoken. None of the adults could stop them. They knew that—all of them. Their parents had taught them too well for that.
They were going to be vigilantes and heroes, no matter what anyone said.
~~~~~~~~~~
Inko didn’t know what to do.
Once upon a time, she had promised that her child would never go through what she had. They wouldn’t be thrown into the foster system because their parents got sick or disappeared off to who-knows-where. They wouldn’t have to go hungry just to feed their (foster) siblings. And they wouldn’t…they wouldn’t have to resort to vigilantism.
Inko had never intended to become what she had. Quite honestly, she had once believed that she would never make it to twenty, let alone the thirty-six she was now. Vigilantism had started as a way to take out her anger on the world—a way to express her emotions while feeling like she was actually doing something that wouldn’t result in immediate backlash. It had morphed into a dangerous but well paying job for her.
Information had always been her strong suit. Some overheard conversation here, snippets of a deal there, and they all turned into pieces of a puzzle she could use to her advantage. Inko had found bartering the right words paid enough to not go homeless once the foster system kicked her out. There had been close calls, of course there had been, but at the time…at the time it hadn’t mattered. Masaru was the only one that would have missed her.
And then she had met Hisashi.
Well, she had met Flamethrower first technically. The relatively new vigilante seen as a wildcard, and a bit of a loose canon. He had no loyalties but to himself, and a reservoir of wit as obvious as the ocean was from its beach. Also guts, if the way he approached Inko was any indicator.
He was the first person in the neutral-ground bar to ever just—talk to her. No information wheedled out of her for free, no demands, just a simple conversation. Even though one of the first things Inko had said to him was a barely veiled insult to his naming skills.
They had met, actually met, a while later at university. Hisashi, the bright student grieving for dead parents and more secrets than seemed numerable. Inko was immediately intrigued by him. It had taken a while—a year, actually—for them to realize Inko and Hisashi were the same as Lady Omniscient and Flamethrower. Once they had though, they were inseparable. Even more so than before.
Neither of their lives were easy, God no. They had fought and clawed their way to where they were. But they had lived, despite the odds.
Until…until they almost hadn’t. Until Hisashi almost hadn’t. Enemies in the wrong places and some wrong moves had almost cost him his life. Inko still had nightmares of that night. She still saw the blood on her hands sometimes, the gunshot echoing in her ears. The bullet she had fired and the one cooling body there that could have been two.
Then Izuku had been born, some months after the entire incident. Inko disappeared off the underground’s map when Hisashi’s worry finally wore her down. But their enemies knew the two vigilantes were close—knew she protected Hisashi with information that could bring any of them down—so with her gone, they thought he was free game.
He left for America a mere week after Izuku had been born, promising to come back when it was safe. That time came almost four years later. A phonecall full of tears and he had been on a flight as soon as he could book one.
They had both poked around once he got home. The bounty on his head had been voided, many believing he was dead after disappearing from action in America a few months before. Many believed Lady Omniscient had died as well, or that she was waiting in the shadows. With the two of them seen as dead, they were safe. Hisashi was safe to stay.
Burning down the Yaoyorozu mansion had put them on the map again, but Inko knew how to cover their tracks well enough. Most of their enemies were long gone anyway. The business of villains wasn’t exactly conducive to staying alive in the long run.
Inko never thought she would have made it here. She had once silently promised to a crowded foster bedroom that her children would never have to go through what she had. Then she had whispered the same promise to a swelling belly, and finally to a little newborn with a tuft of green hair and green eyes so wide they seemed to belong to a faun. That same promise now spread to fourteen children.
(Keigo and Rumi were her children too, and nothing would ever convince her otherwise)
And now here she was, nine of those children sitting around them, all but one of those promises holding true.
They weren’t wrong. None of them were wrong, and she knew they were strong. Her kids were smart and resourceful—and Hisashi and her had drilled them in skills they needed to survive in this city since they were small. Inko knew they were well ahead of other kids their age.
But she was scared. God, she was so scared. Being a vigilante was dangerous, even if they stuck to small time villains in back alleys for now. Cops and heroes would be after them eventually. Inko never wanted them to get hurt. She never wanted them to face the reality of the world that clung to shadows and drunken power trips.
They already had though, she silently realized. They lived in Musutafu, and wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon—not with how pricy it would be to move somewhere else and keep everyone fed. Her kids had seen what their city had to offer, and instead of accepting it as their lives, they had decided to change it. Her wonderful kids had seen injustice and thought how can we fix this.
The Midoriya children were a strong bunch. They had to be, from what life had thrown at all of them. Inko had watched them learn, watched them grow, so she knew exactly how talented they were. All nine of them sitting before her could fight, and escape should they need to. Better than some hero students if she had to bet.
It was practically inevitable, it seemed. Inko…she had no way to stop or dissuade them. It was a hard pill to swallow, but it was true. Her babies weren’t tiny anymore. They were still kids, but kids that weren’t going to stop no matter what an adult said or did. Quite honestly it was a miracle half of them still trusted anyone enough to listen.
So Inko took a deep breath, and forced her thoughts into a straight line.
“If you’re going to do this,” she said, “then we will be establishing boundaries.”
It took a second for the implication to set in. Izuku was the first—of course he was—to realize, and broke into a grin.
“Of course, Momma!”
“Inko, you’re sure…?” Hisashi whispered to her.
She nodded. “We can’t stop them, lord knows we can’t, but we can make sure they know what they’re doing.”
“They’ll be ok.” Inko’s eyes snapped up to meet Rei’s. She was smiling softly. “I know they can do this. You two have taught them so well that it’s almost impossible for them to not excel at this. If they haven’t gotten hurt in three weeks, then they’ll be fine in the long run.”
“If you’re sure…”
“Um, Auntie Rei?” Izuku said hesitantly. “How do you know that we’ve been doing this for weeks? I thought you didn’t use social media…”
“Oh, I don’t. But I am a light sleeper, and you children are not always as quiet as you would like to believe.”
A pin would have rang as loud as a gong in the room. Rei was grinning like a cheshire cat. Everyone else was staring at her in shock, jaws going slack on a few of them. Inko was stuck between thinking “of course she knew” and the mental equivalent of laying facedown on the floor. Hisashi wasn’t much better off.
Shouto was the first to find his voice again. “So then why didn’t you…”
“You were all so happy, I couldn’t ruin that for you.” Rei shrugged. “I was never a vigilante, but quite honestly I don’t see it as much more dangerous than what you kids already deal with. I’ve seen you take down villains with nothing but a candle, two door knobs, and a papaya. I still don’t know where you got that, but judging by the inventions Mei makes, you’re all much more equipped to handle those situations now. I didn’t tell Inko and Hisashi because, one, I thought they already knew and just weren’t bringing it up. And two, it was not my secret to tell. Just because you’re all kids does not mean you aren’t entitled to your privacy.”
Inko nodded, knowing Rei was right. The kids really had been happier over the last while. She didn’t like them being vigilantes, but she knew they weren’t like some people she had seen in her time. Like she had been. The ones jumping in with nothing to keep them safe, no preparation and no measures in place. Her children were prepared.
Inko was scared, and likely would be no matter if they were vigilantes or heroes, but above all right now-
She was proud.
Notes:
InkSashi backstory woooo! As I mentioned in a much earlier chapter, the two of them will get their own prequel! It’ll flesh out what was in Inko’s POV through the two of them and give some more details, like how they discovered each other’s identities, how they became an infamous duo, and the incident that sent Hisashi to hide in America. If I ever improve my art skills enough to think its good enough to share then that’s definitely one scene I’m drawing. The amount of tiktok/instagram audios I have saved with mini stories in mind is a bit insane at this point lol
I hope you have a good day/night!! You are loved <3 <3 <3
Chapter 77: Plausible Deniability
Summary:
They make muffins, sign a contract, and awe their parents with their gear :D
Notes:
HEY HEY HEY HELLO BEAUTIFUL PERSON
It’s currently finals week so I am Tired, but wanted to try and get something out anyway. Hope you like it!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hisashi remembered the days when he could stay up until four am, sleep for two hours, drink some coffee and go to college classes, then do homework for a few hours until he went out vigilantying again. Rinse and repeat. He had done that for years, even if he traded the homework for more sleep after graduation. And sure, he practically became a zombie that one time his coffee machine broke, but besides that he had done fine!
Now it was nearing one am and he was half asleep, while his kids looked just about ready to go leaping over rooftops like flying squirrels. Inko was awake, but she had always been a night owl. Rei seemed to be some sort of deity that wasn’t affected by a mortal concept such as sleep.
The kids begrudgingly agreed to go back to sleep, or at least try to, so they could work out agreements in the morning. Hisashi was content to put this particular crisis on hold until the sun was out. Confusing feelings could wait until it was light out again.
Morning brought a few seconds of blissful peace—until Hisashi remembered the previous night’s events, that is. He promptly groaned and nestled further into the blankets. If it wasn’t for the fact that he could hear the kids already awake, he would have happily stayed right there for the rest of the day. Alas, he could hear them clattering around the kitchen.
Inko was already up too, judging by the unoccupied side of the bed. Hisashi rolled onto the floor, accidentally bringing the sheets with him. He contemplated just laying there for another few minutes. The smell of coffee encouraged him to get off the floor instead.
Hisashi trudged downstairs to see half his kids in the living room. The other half were in the kitchen. Izuku and Ochako were working on batter for something, with Hitoshi staring intently at the oven door. Mei was sitting at the table stitching something, Kouji and Peeve watching her curiously. Inko stood amidst it all calmly drinking her coffee.
It would have been a relatively normal weekend morning sight, but the atmosphere was off. The kids kept glancing at the adults, almost nervously. They kept their voices down and heads close to one another. Hisashi felt something in his heart crack at their caution. His kids had been hurt by adults before, some of them probably felt like this was the moment it happened again. That Inko and Hisashi and Rei would let them down again—just names on a long list of people who had left them weary and in pain.
Hisashi shook his head, and let air rattle into his lungs. They were going to have boundaries and precautions in place, but they weren’t going to shut their kids out. They weren’t going to ignore them or their words. His kids would be listened to, and trusted, like Hisashi had always wished he had been. He would rather lose a limb than hurt his kids.
With that settled in his mind, he walked into the kitchen and to Inko’s side. She wordlessly handed him a mug of coffee.
“Morning, Dad!” Izuku chirped. The other four echoed it, albeit quieter. “We’re making muffins.”
“I can see that. Blueberry?”
“Mmhm, and chocolate chip because Mina wanted those.”
“Good choice.”
Hisashi sipped his coffee, just leaning against the counter and trying to make sure he was fully awake. The kids puttered about. Izuku seemed to be the only one unaffected, but Hisashi wouldn’t put it past his green-haired son to be putting it on as a mask. A good one, but a mask nonetheless.
Rei appeared just as the oven beeped for the first batch of muffins. She ruffled Hitoshi’s hair as she passed him, grabbing a mug and heading for the electric kettle on the counter. She quickly made some tea while Ochako moved the second tray into the oven.
“I have a shift this morning,” Rei reminded them. “I trust you’ll make sure the kids agree to whatever keeps them safe. Make sure you remind them about sleep.”
“We will, Rei,” Inko agreed. “Have a good shift, we’ll save you some muffins.”
Hisashi hummed his own agreement. Rei nodded, waving as she quickly snagged a muffin and headed out the door. Hitoshi eyed her enviously and muttered something about wishing he could insta-cool a muffin too.
Natsuo’s voice drifted from the entryway as Rei left. He came stumbling into the kitchen a minute later, eyes still heavy from sleep. Hisashi caught him before he could zero in on the muffins and try to grab one. The last thing they needed was an exploding ice-crystal muffin when Natsuo burnt his tongue.
His groggy nephew stayed still long enough to be warned about the muffins, and ended up slumping over the table beside Kouji. Peeve decided his back made a lovely cushion, and curled into a ball across Natsuo’s slumped shoulders. Mei snickered while Kouji did nothing to remove his cat from the trapped Natsuo.
“Hey Izuku,” Hisashi said, catching his son’s attention. He subtly nodded for him to come closer, then in a whisper said, “Do you kids want Natsuo to know too?”
“Oh…yeah, yeah that’d be best. We’ll tell him.”
“Ok, just wanted to check, kiddo. He wanted to go hang out with friends this morning anyway, so we can wait until he leaves to talk.”
Izuku nodded, turning back to finish the last batch of muffins.
Inko and Hisashi both finished their morning caffeine before the muffins were done. They both retreated from the kitchen—Hisashi to the living room and Inko upstairs to finish getting ready for the day. The living room was no louder than the kitchen. It felt like the kids were tiptoeing around eggshells. Hisashi distracted himself with some work emails he could do from his phone. It put the kids slightly more at ease, at least.
It wasn’t too much longer before all three dozen muffins were done. The kitchen was swarmed, the mountain of muffins quickly diminishing. Natsuo, more awake now, snagged three before sprinting out the front door to go see his friends. Hisashi waved to him on his way to the kitchen.
The rest of them had an unspoken agreement to eat in the living room. It was easier to talk with food. The eleven of them settled around the room, quietly beginning to eat and think about what to say.
Hisashi munched on his own breakfast, ignoring how no one had said a word yet. He had thought the waiting silences would have been left in his past alongside college and professors fond of class participation. It wasn’t, apparently, but Hisashi also wasn’t going to be the first to start the conversation.
Izuku was, unsurprisingly, the first to break the silence. “Do we want to make a contract so we all know what rules to follow?”
“Contracts with minors aren’t legally binding,” at least three of the kids recited. Hisashi snorted, knowing Inko had drilled that into their heads.
“You know what I meant,” Izuku laughed.
Inko nodded, pulling out her laptop. Hisashi took the second to look around their living room. Izuku seemed to be the only one at ease, smiling and laughing like nothing was wrong. The closest the other kids got was a mask of calm. Some of them were anxiously rocking from side to side, gnawing on their shirt hems or fingernails. He wondered for a moment why Izuku was the only one not obviously nervous. Then he realized his son could probably guess the outcome just because of how he and Inko were acting.
“First,” Inko started, “no going out every night.”
“But-“
“No, Izuku. We are not budging on this one. You are not going out every single night, you kids need sleep. I trust you to regulate it beyond that, but absolutely no going out every night.”
Izuku grumbled, but accepted it. “Fine, but you have to promise you won’t pry into what we’re doing. We’ll tell you most of it, but please don’t get involved too much?”
“Plausible deniability,” Mei chimed in. “If they get arrested and our identities revealed, then you can’t be charged with being accomplices because we didn’t tell you what we were doing.”
Inko nodded, typing that into the document. Hisashi peeked over at the screen. She was adding in a clause about how if they were in direct danger then they did have to tell an adult. He hummed in agreement, setting his now empty plate off to the side.
“And no going off on your own,” Hisashi said, drawing the kids’ curious attention. “I know you kiddos have probably figured it out already, but being vigilantes is dangerous. Having even one person with you can be the difference between safety and injury. Promise you’ll never go out by yourself, ok?”
He got nine answering nods and agreements. They likely had been planning on that anyway, but it was nice knowing for sure.
It continued on like that for at least an hour. Slowly, the kids grew more relaxed, throwing around ideas and limitations. Kouji quietly proposed that they should always try to cuff a criminal first before attempting to fight or knock them out. The other kids readily accepted that one, and Hisashi nodded in approval. Then Hitoshi, in one of the most deadpan voices Hisashi had heard from him, said that Mei had to tell them before adding anything onto their costumes. That somehow sparked a mild argument about the ethics of Mei adding a low-voltage taser onto Hitoshi’s whip.
Hisashi sat there for a minute, wondering where his kid had gotten the materials to make his other kid a taser whip. Then he remembered that Momo could make literally anything she wanted—and the high-calorie granola bars that seemed to rapidly disappear—and realized it really wasn’t a mystery.
Eventually, the document was deemed almost complete. Hisashi stopped Inko before she printed it.
“You kids have to promise us something, ok?” He said softly. “No contract, no document, just your promise.”
“What is it, Dad?”
“Promise us you’ll always be careful, and come to us with anything you need, alright? Doesn’t matter if it’s the middle of the night or the help you need is getting out of hot water with a villain— tell us. We aren’t going to leave you to do this on your own like we were.”
The room was silent for a moment. Izuku was the first to move, getting up from his seat to nestle himself between Inko and Hisashi. He leaned his head on Hisashi’s arm, looking out at nothing and everything at the same time.
“We’re gonna be careful, Dad,” he said. “We know how dangerous this can be, and we know what to do to stay safe. Mei made us things to prevent us from getting hurt, not just for fighting. We aren’t tiny kids who just want to be heroes because they’re cool. We want to be vigilantes to save the people that heroes don’t try to reach. Everyone deserves the chance to get help.”
Hitoshi moved next, sitting on Hisashi’s other side to hug him. “No one left behind,” he murmured, but loud enough to be heard. “It doesn’t just mean our family, Dad-Shi.”
“No one left behind,” Shouto echoed, copying Hitoshi on Inko’s other side. “You didn’t leave us behind, so we won’t leave anyone else behind either.”
“We’ll be the heroes we needed,” Mina hummed, her and Katsuki settling on the floor closer to Inko and Hisashi.
“We’ll be careful,” Kouji promised quietly, leaning over the back of the couch.
“And always make sure we come home,” Momo added.
Mei, who was still a bit finicky with touch, wiggled herself between Hisashi and Izuku. He felt like he was about to cry from the show of trust and affection. “I’ll make sure they keep to their promises. And yell at them if they try to not.”
“No one left behind,” Ochako said confidently. “That means us and everyone else who we can help. We’ll keep each other safe, and save others. We promise we’ll be careful.”
Hisashi wiped at his eyes, immediately followed by a choked up sob. The kids all made some worried noise over him. He hiccuped, trying to wave them off while tears rolled down his cheeks.
“I’m ok, I’m ok,” he said, smiling through the tears. “I’m just- I’m just happy, I guess. You kids have each other. You have- you have what you need. You’re all going to be amazing, and I’m so proud of you. Even if this is dangerous, and we can’t really stop you, you still shared it with us.”
“You have each other’s backs,” Inko added, taking his hand across the two kids between them. “No matter what you have, that is going to be your most powerful weapon. Trust is a rarity out there, and you kids have it in spades for each other. Never doubt how far that can take you.”
There was a round of affirmations around the room. Hisashi took a minute to just revel in what had gotten them here. His kids were the best kids, in his humble opinion. He would hate that they were in danger, but that wasn’t going to change anytime soon, so at least they knew to keep themselves safe. They weren’t flying blind or doing something just because it sounded fun.
Hisashi was determined to give his kids everything he hadn’t been able to have, and that included parental support and resources. As long as they were safe, then he would trust them to make their own decisions.
As long as they had each other, Hisashi knew nothing could really hurt them.
~~~~~~~~~~
Izuku was honestly quite happy with the agreements they had come to. Some were harder compromises than others, but ultimately he knew it would keep them safe. Even if he grumbled about not being allowed to go out every night. That rule had been directed at him and he knew it.
The nine of them had signed the contract, knowing it was more so they could refer back to it than something legally binding. Momma had taught them that well. When that was done there was a moment of quiet, which Dad broke.
“So…mind filling me in on why Hitoshi has a whip? One that has a taser now, apparently.”
Izuku could’ve sworn Mei’s eyes lit up like beacons. She immediately grabbed Dad’s hand, speaking a mile a minute as she dragged him outside. The rest of them exchanged glances before following. There was only one place Mei would go outside. It had been forever since she allowed the adults in to the shed—which they had respected, something they were all thankful for—so they all rushed to follow, excited to see their parents’ reactions to how it looked now.
Mei let go of Dad’s hand to open the door, throwing it open to show off the inside with a flourish. Momma and Dad stood stunned in the doorway. Izuku quietly laughed, slipping by them and over to where his costume was kept.
“You…you made… all of this?” Dad breathed, stepping farther into the shed.
“Momo helped a ton, but yeah.” Mei grabbed Hitoshi’s whip from where it belonged, showing it off to their parents. “This is the whip Hitoshi mentioned. Don’t press the button.”
“What will it do?”
“Nothing, I took out the taser part and don’t want the button being messed with before I can fix the system.”
Dad nodded, setting the weapon down on a workbench. Mei grabbed Izuku’s mask next, proudly showing it off. Momma moved in closer to inspect it.
“That’s mine,” Izuku told them, taking it from Mei. “There’s a back piece that goes over the rest of my head, and the green parts light up if I press a button. It also changes my voice.”
“All of our masks do it!” Mina chirped, grabbing her own. “Watch this.”
Mina turned her mask on, the eyes beginning to glow. The rest of her costume did too, but it was still stored away. She fiddled with something before smiling at them. Izuku and Mei preemptively covered their ears.
Mina then proceeded to screech like a raptor from Jurassic Park. Momma jumped, hands clapping over her ears. Dad, on the other hand, gasped and stared at the mask with stars in his eyes. Mina took it off giggling.
“That’s amazing!” Dad praised, taking the mask when Mina offered it to look inside. “And you have these in every mask? Do they all change tone and pitch? How did you know how to make these?”
“Yes, yes, and you gave me a computer,” Mei said as an explanation.
“One that doesn’t connect to internet, Mei.”
“Bold of you to assume I am bound by what an internet company and metal casing tells me I can do.”
“…yeah ok.”
Izuku snorted, then grabbed his second favorite piece. Momma and Dad were watching him closely. Mei just nodded, like she knew he was going to show that one off.
“Izuku, what is that?” Momma asked.
“In short terms,” he said, “a compact flamethrower.”
“In long ones?”
“A mechanism that uses pressurized air, methanol, and boric acid to give Kitsune a green fire quirk.”
“Woah,” Dad breathed. “That’s- that’s almost like a green version of my quirk, isn’t it?”
Mei was the one to answer, always eager to go into the science of her babies. “Kitsune’s can only be used from his hands, as opposed to breathing it like a dragon. Which would have been a better vigilante name for you than Flamethrower, but that’s just my opinion.”
“Oh my god, not this again.”
“She’s right, dear,” Momma laughed. “I told you the same thing, didn’t I?”
“You did, but why is that what the kids inherited?”
“Drake would’ve been a cool one too,” Momo chimed in. “Since they’re like dragons with no wings.”
“Inko there’s more of them.”
“We’re not wrong and you know it, Dad.”
Izuku giggled, watching their dad squawk indignantly about his past vigilante name. He had always wondered before how their parents had met. Now that he knew, Izuku thought that there really wasn’t any other way that fit them.
He watched as they bickered, coming up with increasingly complicated names Dad could have used. He started retaliating by saying ridiculous ones they could have used. That particular part backfired, since he didn’t actually know all of their vigilante names.
Momma disappeared somewhere in the middle of it. Izuku just shrugged to himself, figuring she went to go do something. Dad kept asking about some of Mei’s inventions, ones for vigilanting and otherwise. She was happy to give him a full breakdown of everything.
Momma returned a few minutes later. She peeked in the doorway, waving to get Izuku’s attention. He quietly slipped out, closing the door behind him. It was calmer in the yard. There were a few clouds in the sky, a little wind but it was warm, since it was August.
“I have something for you,” Momma told him. She extended her hand, and Izuku put his own in it. With her other hand she dropped something into Izuku’s palm.
Izuku brought it closer, and blinked down at the thing in shock, because sitting in his hand was a phone. An old one from the look of it, but definitely still functional. He stared at it for a minute, wracking his brain for why she was giving it to him.
“It’s a burner phone,” Momma explained. “I know Mei hasn’t found out how to make them yet, and you kids need some way to directly contact us if you’re in trouble. Or the police, in the case of someone needing to be arrested. Especially if Mei ever gets out into the field too.”
Izuku’s gaze whipped up to his mom. “So this is really for me?”
“It’s for all of you to use, but I trust you to explain it to them and pass it to whoever can keep it safe at the moment.” Momma shrugged. “We don’t have enough money for all of you kids to have phones right now, so you’ll all have to share that one for now. Try not to break it either, ok Izuku?”
He just smiled, nodding as he leapt forward to hug his mom. Izuku wondered when he had gotten as tall as her shoulders.
“Thank you, Momma. For everything.”
“Hm?”
“You and Dad didn’t have to do everything you have,” he told her quietly. “But you’ve done everything to give us a good life, and try to keep us safe and happy. And now you’re letting us stay vigilantes, even if it’s dangerous. No one else would do that for us.”
“Not everyone has parents that were former vigilantes themselves,” Momma laughed lightly, patting his head. “And I’m not going to lie Izuku, this terrifies me. But I know that you and your siblings will be careful. Better to make sure of that than try to stop you and drive you to more danger.”
“We’ll be careful Momma, I promise.”
“I know.”
Izuku smiled, knowing they both meant every word.
BONUS :
“So…who wants to tell Aniki, Keigo, and Aneki?”
“…”
“NOT IT!”
“NOSE GOES!”
“FUCK NO!”
“Pussies,” Mei snickered.
“You’re just saying that because you have Keigo wrapped around your finger.”
“I VOLUNTEER HITOSHI!”
“Fuck off.”
“You can control them if they try and kill you!” Mina insisted from her place behind Katsuki. “Come on, it’s the safest option!”
“No the safest option is Shouto-“
“Aneki would murder me."
“Ok so maybe not Shouto.”
They fell silent, then collectively turned to their Aunt Rei. She gave them all an amused look.
“Auntie…do you think…”
She hummed, turning back to her book without a single ruffled blink. “Stop testing flammable weapons near my flowers and I’ll tell them for you.”
The vigilantes cheered, their deaths no longer imminent, and buried Rei in hugs.
Notes:
Woo the parents know now, and they have some rules in place!
WE HAVE ART THIS WEEK LET'S GOOOO
Hizashi and Kouji part 1 (By Calliburt5157 (tiktok))
Hizashi and Intimidating Child part 2 (Also by Calliburt5157 (tiktok))
Hey hey hey so next chapter? It’s MYSTERY ARC TIME. AKA part 3 I think of Chapters I Know People Are Gonna Scream At Me For.
And as a bonus, here’s a hint: it’s not Kid 10 :)
(and no one dies, don't worry)
Chapter 78: A Rose By Any Other Name
Summary:
[A new player has joined the game…]
WARNINGS: There is emotional manipulation, mention of alcohol in this chapter, implication of a minor (accidentally) drinking, and scratching at one's skin.
Notes:
Hello! I’m done with finals, thank goodness. Survived that school year! Updates will probably be every other week for a little bit! I have summer classes though so it might not last for too long, I’m going to do my best though!
I've been looking forward to this chapter for so long!! First part of the mini Mystery Arc, have fun :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Tomura was bored. So exceedingly bored that he had turned to Kurogiri for entertainment. What was the world coming to.
He was also extremely antsy. Tomura wasn’t allowed to see Sensei, not since the fight he had had. The Doctor said no, but Tomura wanted to see him! Sensei was ok, he knew that, but he just…wanted to be sure.
His games only held his attention for so long. He had already replayed half of them, and was wondering how many alternate endings he could unlock in some of the ones he hadn’t. Tomura was bored of looking at screens though. That wasn’t something he ever thought would pop into his head, but it did. And Kurogiri, the only other person currently in their “base,” had been doing his best to ignore Tomura for a majority of the day.
With the tv off and his handheld console charging, Tomura slunk out of his room to the kitchen. Their base was really just an apartment in the seedier part of Tokyo. He had a room and his games though, so Tomura was fine. Absolutely fine.
Really, he was.
Besides the boredom of course, and the itching under his skin. Scratching at it never helped though, and he really didn’t know what it was. Either way, the boredom wasn’t going away, so he padded into the kitchen and sat at one of the barstools. Kurogiri was doing…something. It looked like cooking, but there was alcohol on the counter too so it was iffy. Tomura had a run-in with mistaking vodka for water once, and vowed never to touch the stuff again. Probably.
Right now he was just watching. Kurogiri was an interesting man. Boring most of the time, but interesting to watch. He moved weird. Almost like his limbs were constantly stuttering or glitching, like in Tomura’s games.
There was also the fact that Kurogiri didn’t talk much. Tomura didn’t talk much either, but Kurogiri never talked like other adults Tomura had seen. There was no “small talk” or anything, just asking things like what Tomura wanted for dinner. Sometimes he did ask what Tomura was doing though. His voice sounded different in those times, but Tomura didn’t question it too much.
That was why he jumped when Kurogiri actually spoke.
“What are you doing, Tomura?”
He jumped, and definitely did not squeak. Absolutely not. Kurogiri was silent though, waiting for an answer.
“I’m bored.”
“I can see that, Tomura. Do you need something?”
He stared for another few moments, yellow eyes staring right back. “I want to see Sensei.”
“You know you cannot do that.”
“But why,” he whined, flopping over the counter. “I know Sensei is ok, the Doctor said so. Why can’t I see him?”
“Because the damage he took is still being healed,” Kurogiri answered patiently, stirring whatever was in the pot. Tomura vaguely realized this was the most he had spoken all week. “And Sensei does not wish for you to see it.”
“But I wanna talk to him!”
“Then we can work something out, but we will not be visiting Sensei until his scarring has healed over. An open skull is nothing for a child to see.”
“I’m not a kid,” Tomura huffed. “I’m already- I’m, um…sixteen.”
“Not a child, no, but still too young to see Sensei in such a condition.”
Tomura grumbled to himself, fingers already itching for something to do. Kurogiri turned back to whatever food he was making. The alcohol was looking more tempting by the minute.
Tomura lasted a total of five more minutes before he retreated back to his room, already planning on staying up to play whatever game he grabbed from the shelf first. Kurogiri didn’t move from the kitchen.
It was sometime between eating dinner—which ended up being pasta—and three am that Tomura heard Kurogiri open a portal. They had a very distinct sound, and something beyond that. Like the feeling of charged air right before a lightning strike. Or before…before something Tomura couldn’t remember, just a feeling of cold and emptiness. He never thought about it for long.
The sound of the portal was nothing to get excited about. The sound of something hitting the table, however, was different. It was heavier than groceries, but lighter than a tv. Tomura waited for a moment, listening for anything else. There was nothing. Kurogiri was either out of the apartment or being his silent self.
Tomura just shrugged, and decided to wait until morning. He was in the middle of his game anyway.
It was closer to the afternoon when he woke up again. And it was only that early because Kurogiri dropped a pot on the floor. The noise drew Tomura out of his room, his stomach angrily grumbling as he padded back into the kitchen.
Tomura paused in the doorway, seeing something new in the room. A new table and junky, old radio sat to the side. It looked over a majority of the tiny apartment. The thing looked like it belonged more in an antique shop than anything.
“What’s that?”
“Your new communication with Sensei,” Kurogiri told him. Tomura immediately walked closer like a curious cat. “He wished for a way to still speak with you, as the healing process is taking longer than expected. Thus we now have a radio that can connect to him.”
“Can he hear us now?”
The radio crackled to life, static popping from the ancient speakers. “Yes I can, Tomura.”
“Sensei!” He cheered, crowding closer to the old radio. “Where are you? Why can’t I come see you? Why am I not allowed to leave? Why-“
“Tomura,” Sensei said sternly, and Tomura promptly shut his mouth. “I expected something other than incessant questions, are you not grateful for what you have been given?”
“No, no Sensei that’s not-“
“Are you not appreciative of what I have done for you? I am hurt like this for you. So that one day you may succeed me, and become what I know you can be. I know how worried you were for me, so I made this small allowance so that we may speak.”
“Sensei, I…”
The tone changed, a harsher one Tomura recognized but didn’t fully remember. He flinched, but he didn’t know what from. “I suppose my time away has made you complacent. Perhaps you need something to show how much I have done for you.”
“But I-!”
“Quiet, Tomura. You brought this upon yourself.” Sensei paused, thinking. “Kurogiri, drop Tomura somewhere in Musutafu. Pick him up later tonight.”
“Are you sure, Sensei?”
Tomura blinked, glancing up at Kurogiri. He could count on one hand the times Kurogiri had questioned Sensei. There usually wasn’t anything to question.
“There have been reports of new vigilantes,” Kurogiri explained quickly. “I would not want Tomura to run into them with there being no knowledge of these ones’ values.”
“He’ll be fine,” Sensei scoffed. “If they find him then it’s more practice for him. I went through the same as a boy—surviving on the streets builds character and appreciation. Send him, Kurogiri. Now.”
Tomura had time to share a glance with Kurogiri, then his feet fell through the floor.
The thing about Kurogiri’s portals, was that they were cold. Stepping through one felt like being hit with a winter wind. Tomura had hated the portals at first, fast travel be damned. They were so cold and just felt wrong. Like something that shouldn’t exist. He had gotten used to them over time, but he still liked to avoid teleporting when he could.
Falling through the floor was a rude awakening. Tomura gasped, for a fleeting second feeling like he had just fallen through the ice of a frozen lake. His entire body was submerged in darkness for a moment. He flailed, wondering if there would be anything to pull him out of the inky nothingness.
Then his back hit the ground. Well, a garbage bag. The air was knocked from his lungs and Tomura laid there trying to remember how to breathe.
The voice of Sensei rang in his head unbidden, calling him a pathetic future villain. It was enough to force Tomura to get back to his feet. If Sensei wanted him to be on the streets for a day then fine, he’d do it. He would prove he was strong. That’s what it was, wasn’t it? Something to test how strong he was. Because Sensei thought he was getting weak staying in their base, so he had to prove the opposite. Yeah.
Tomura took a second to breathe, taking in his surroundings. Kurogiri had dropped him in an alley. Specifically in a dumpster, which explained the garbage bags that had broken his fall. Fun.
The sound of people drifted in from the alleyway’s mouth. Quite a lot of them, which meant this wasn’t an abandoned area.
“At least I don’t have to worry about being murdered yet,” Tomura grumbled, floundering his way out of the dumpster. “This is fine. There’s filth on my hoodie, and it’s cold. So absolutely fine.”
It was very much not fine, but maybe if Tomura said the opposite enough then it would become true.
His thoughts were interrupted by his stomach reminding him that he hadn’t eaten anything today. Tomura just scowled at the wall, and resolved to find some food. Maybe some vendor wouldn’t be watching their wares too closely. He would just have to play a thief today.
Tomura edged to the end of the alley, peeking out to see just where he had been dropped. It looked like some sort of shopping street. He silently thanked Kurogiri for at least doing that much, and stepped out into the sun.
One thing Tomura quickly discovered was that stealing food was nothing like his video games. There were no conveniently placed food carts, no barterers willing to trade, and certainly no other thieves willing to cause a distraction for him. The real world used money and Tomura decided that he hated it. This was why Kurogiri always did their shopping.
Maybe he could just, snatch some money from someone. Grab it from their pocket and book it. Sensei had said this was Musutafu. They weren’t known for their heroes—or even police—being around to deal with the crime. Tomura could probably hide until Kurogiri picked him up later. Surely it wouldn’t actually be more than a few hours.
(
Don’t leave me alone please don’t leave me I don’t want to be alone again
)
Tomura sharply shook his head, shoving down all his feelings. They weren’t useful right now. Especially the thing that felt like an overwhelming wave of something trying to drag him down. He scratched at his arm to relieve some of the permanent itching, and got moving.
He had to plan. Tomura was on his own for at least a few hours. In that time he needed water, probably food, and somewhere he could use as shelter. Like a survival game, he had played those before. It would probably be fine. Those mechanics had to be the same at least, none of this “no I can’t trade a broken watch you found in the trash for ramen” stuff.
Tomura muttered some half-baked plans under his breath, looking around for somewhere to start. Clothes stores were useless to him, as were most other things that did not have food. So by that logic, Tomura headed towards the store he saw people walk out of holding food.
Inside the store was warmer than outside, which was nice. Tomura also underestimated how big the inside was. There was a lot of food, though not as many people. There was a security camera pointed at the front door, but not the back one.
Tomura wandered down the aisles, aimlessly noting what foods he might be able to smuggle out under his hoodie. Which was still dirty and probably should have been washed a week ago.
How long had he been out now? An hour? Two? Maybe Kurogiri would bring him back early-
“Are you hungry?”
Tomura jumped, splaying his hands at his sides as he turned to face the person. Which was a child. They definitely weren’t a tiny one, like Tomura saw toddle out from schoolyards occasionally, but they were still shorter than him. Their big green eyes reminded him of something. Of someone. There was too much knowledge in those eyes.
“Am I…what?”
“Hungry!” the little kid chirped. “Because you keep staring at the food and not picking it up. Do you have money?”
“Uhhhh…”
“Stealing isn’t very nice,” the kid told him. “And this store has cameras to track thieves, so I wouldn’t try stealing if I were you. The owner has police connections.”
“…what.”
“Izuku, there you are!”
Tomura jumped, turning to see a woman walking towards them with a basket of food. She had the same color hair as the kid—Izuku, apparently—but hers was straight. The woman was small, but something about her screamed watch out. Tomura had only felt that around other villains. Sensei had praised him, saying it was good to be able to tell that, and that it wasn’t only limited to villains.
None of that helped the fact Tomura suddenly very much wished this was a video game, and that he had dialogue options instead of a strange person and no knowledge of what to say. The woman had stopped a few feet from them. She was kind of just, staring. At Tomura. He involuntarily shivered at the piercing gaze.
“I’m sorry, was Izuku bothering you?” She asked, voice soft and kind.
It took Tomura a second to answer, his mind still reeling at the idea of a person actually talking to him. “N-no, er, no, he wasn’t. I was just-“
“He’s hungry, Momma,” the boy protested. “And he’d get in trouble for stealing from Mr. Yashimo. You know how he bribes the police sometimes.”
“I wasn’t-“
“And we’re making extra soba tonight, right? Can we bring him with us? Please Momma?”
“Hm, well, I don’t see why not.”
“Wait,“ Tomura sputtered, brain finally catching up to the situation. “I’m not- I have food at our base, I just…can’t go back tonight. I don’t want to owe any-“
“You won’t owe us anything,” the woman said firmly. Tomura didn’t know why, but it made him feel at ease, and that was dangerous. “But is there a reason you can’t go home tonight?”
“I was… bad, and Sensei said I can come back when I learn my lesson. Kurogiri will take me back before tomorrow, I’ll be fine. I don’t need pity-“
“It’s not pity if you’re hungry,” Izuku helpfully chirped.
“But people-“
“Don’t do things without favors owed,” the woman finished.
Tomura stopped, blinking a few times at her. That was what Sensei always said. Different words, but the same idea. “Yeah…”
“That’s how it works for villains,” she said, and Tomura felt like ice was injected into his bloodstream. “But not for us. You can come have dinner with us, and a place to sleep for the night if you need it.”
“You don’t- you don’t even know me.”
“Maybe. But Izuku seems to trust you, so that says something about your character.”
Tomura furrowed his eyebrows, glancing between the mother and son. Izuku couldn’t be older than a middle schooler. Not that Tomura had a good reference point for ages, but the kid was still small and doe-eyed. The fact that an adult trusted him that much…when Sensei didn’t even trust Tomura to go out walking by himself…
Izuku must be special.
“…I won’t owe you anything?”
“No, just a promise to not cause any trouble while you’re around us,” the woman told him.
Tomura slowly nodded, and Izuku beamed so bright he wondered if the sun had been turned into a person. The kid grabbed Tomura’s wrist and pulled him deeper into the store. He kind of just, let him. It was something Tomura was absolutely not used to. The touching, and the talking, and the…kindness.
Sensei had told him people weren’t kind. That no one was nice just for the sake of being nice. Favors were traded for favors—nothing more and nothing less. Nothing was free. Tomura had had that drilled into his head since Sensei had saved him.
So why were these people being so nice, and not making him promise anything in return? It just- it didn’t make sense to Tomura.
What also didn’t make sense, was how he blinked, and then was suddenly surrounded by a sea of other children dear God why were there so many?!
There was very suddenly a lot of noise and a lot of people. Tomura raised his hands above their head level, making sure to keep a finger tucked in. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t actually want to hurt any of the kids. Maybe Sensei was right and he was going soft. But…they were just kids. Not wanting to hurt kids just meant he had some morals, like Kurogiri told him that time he didn’t want to test his quirk on a bird.
He had been ten, and Sensei told him to do it anyway. Tomura did it of course. He always tried to listen to Sensei. Only later did Kurogiri find him crying under the bathroom sink.
“Who are you?”
“Did Izuku find you too?”
“Why are you so tall?”
“Why is your hair blue?”
“Are you coming home with us?”
“Why are you holding your hands up there?”
Tomura spun in a bewildered circle to see all the children. There were so many. He was very quickly becoming extremely overwhelmed. Izuku had mentioned something about siblings, but not this many. Were they even all a family? Tomura theoretically knew what a family looked like. He vaguely remembered his own, before…
One of the kids stepped closer, one with brown hair and bright eyes. “What’s your name?”
“Tenko,” he answered without thinking.
…what.
That-
That wasn’t his name.
That wasn’t his name, but it felt…right. He hadn’t hesitated, why hadn’t he hesitated? He usually took a second to answer whenever someone asked his name. Like the fact—because it was a fact, wasn’t it?—wasn’t truly set in stone, or like he needed a second for the question to connect the right dots. But- but why had he answered Tenko? His name was Tomura. Tomura Shigaraki. That was what Sensei said his name was.
But then why had he answered Tenko…and why was the name Shimura on the tip of his tongue?
Notes:
*cackling* Y’all I have been waiting SO LONG to unveil this chapter! Shigaraki is not a part of the kid count, but he does become a major part of the later plot outside of what we see in canon :)
(Also: all the main villains, barring two (2), get happy endings, just so you know)
EDIT: Make that 3, I forgot about the Doctor, whoopsSmall thing next, but Shigaraki doesn’t really act like a teenager here, does he? Just something to think about and keep in mind for this chapter and the next one…
Anyway this grew into 2 chapters so next chapter is more Tenko! And more interactions with the Midoriyas :DGUYS, GUYS LOOK AT THIS ART, IT'S SO COOL!! I haven't been able to stop screaming about it. These are almost exactly what I envision when I think about these four's costumes! Ask me about these and my answer will just be excited yelling
Amazing Costume Interpretation (By alleysap)
Chapter 79: Memories Turn to Dust
Summary:
[Summon Party Member?]
*[Yes]* [No]
[Summoning home…]
Notes:
Hello!! I know finals are done for some people, congratulations!! And for everyone who isn’t done yet, you’ve got this!!
In honor of finals I've posted a chapter to both my active fics today :D This one, and then Eldritch. Might be working on a random one-shot too but it's iffy whether that will get finished(Small thing for this chapter, Mei calls Shouto Jupiter at some point, but it’s in reference to the split chimera cat, not the Roman god. Figured that reminder would be useful lol)
Hope you like it!
Sorry if I make you cry again
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Tenko was weird, but Izuku knew he was an ok person. Even if he acted like villains he had seen, he also acted like his siblings. Like before they were adopted. Tenko was odd, but Izuku was confident he wouldn’t hurt them. That was why he had talked to him in the first place.
He agreed to come home with them. Auntie Rei was making soba, so there would be plenty extra for Tenko. Momma just had to pay for the food, then they would head back home. It was the middle of the day so their grocery run was actually for groceries. Originally it had just been Momma saying she had to run out and grab some things, but it had grown to almost all of them wanting to come too.
Walking home was interesting. They all surround Tenko, keeping him in the middle like a baby bison. He didn’t seem to know what to make of it. Momma just watched with obvious amusement as they made their way back.
Izuku learned a few things along the way. One: Tenko got overwhelmed with a lot of attention, which they all seemed to notice thankfully. They took turns asking him things and let him stay quiet if he wanted to. None of them asked about his past, since it made him clam up and wasn’t their business anyway.
Two: Tenko reacted weirdly to his name. He responded to it, so it wasn’t a fake name he had chosen on the spot, but every time they said it he jumped and looked surprised a second later. Almost like he hadn’t expected himself to react. It was odd, to say the least. It was far from the weirdest thing Izuku had seen though, so he just shrugged and made sure they didn’t crowd him.
Three: Tenko liked games. Video games, to be specific. They learned this walking up to their house. All of them collectively froze, and then raced inside and up the stairs. Tenko was left on the sidewalk staring dumbfounded as they thundered around the house looking for something.
They came back to see Tenko hovering in the entryway and Momma setting the groceries in the kitchen. Izuku gently grabbed his wrist and pulled him over to the couch. He had noticed Tenko avoiding touching things and kept his hands close to himself. Probably quirk related, if he had to guess. Something destructive if his actions said anything.
The nine of them gathered around Tenko, who was sitting down now. Hitoshi reverently presented Tenko with a handheld console that was probably as old as they were. A game was flashing on the screen, a little red man jumping around.
“What’s this?” Tenko asked.
“Our game!” Mina chirped helpfully. “There’s a level we can’t get past. You said you’re good at games, can you show us how to do it?”
“I…uh…”
“Please? Pleeeeease?”
Mina stared at him with puppy eyes, her golden irises wide and pleading. Tenko lasted all of two seconds. He slumped in his seat, taking the device from Hitoshi with care. They all quietly cheered, squishing in close to see the screen. Tenko started up the game with precise movements.
“The last level?” He asked calmly.
“Yep.”
Izuku watched with rapt attention as Tenko pressed all the right buttons and got through half the level before losing. It was farther than most of them had gotten. The game had already been passed around to every sibling, Touya and Hawks included. Momo had asked if they could send it to Fuyumi and Rumi too. Momma had said no.
“How far did you get before?” Tenko asked, waiting before he started again.
“Not that far,” Shouto told him.
“You couldn’t survive more than three seconds, Jupiter,” Mei snorted. “Ochako got a bit farther than you did, but not by much. None of us can beat the level.”
“Hm, good to know.”
Tenko started up the level again, taking a slightly different route this time. They all held their breath as he got farther and farther. Only to sigh and dramatically mourn Tenko’s loss a few minutes later.
“Ok, I think I know what to do now,” Tenko muttered, restarting again.
The nine of them were on the edge of their seats. Or pillows, in Ochako and Hitoshi’s case, since they were draped across the back of the couch in order to see. Tenko was laser focused on the game. He pressed the buttons with perfect timing and pinpoint accuracy.
The seconds ticked by, every moment adding to the time Tenko crept towards the finish line. Izuku’s eyes were glued to the screen. No one dared to even breathe as the last stretch of the level came into sight.
And just like that, Tenko had won. The nine of them started excitedly cheering. Izuku jumped up and ruffled Tenko’s blue hair like Natsuo did to them a lot. Tenko didn’t quite seem to know what to make of it, but didn’t push Izuku off, so he considered it a win.
“You did it! You did it!” Mina crowed, hugging Tenko from behind the couch. “We’ve been stuck on that level forever. Thank you, Tenko!”
“I- uh- you’re welcome?”
Izuku had a sudden idea. He darted up the stairs, calling back that he’d be down again in a second. Tenko, still being showered in praise and asked what other games he played, barely noticed.
Izuku returned quickly, smiling and holding something in his hand. He grabbed Tenko’s wrist, making him hold his hand out. Then he dropped what he had found into it. Tenko held it careful, lifting his palm closer to his face to see what he had been given.
“A…charm?”
“It’s a cat paw,” Izuku told him. “It’s your prize for winning! We all promised something to whoever won, but those were mostly rights to the kitchen for cookies, so I wanted to give you my paw charm.”
“But I didn’t…”
“You won the level for us! And it’s something to keep so you remember today.”
Tenko held the little paw print charm with an air of reverence, and clutched it close to his chest. He smiled, a small and glass-brittle thing, but it was there. “Thank you,” he said softly.
Izuku couldn’t help beaming, and silently hoping he could give Tenko more things tomorrow.
~~~~~~~~~~
He was having a slight crisis.
Tomura was his name, it had to be. That was all Sensei had ever called him. That was all anyone had called him…right?
But he had answered Tenko when asked what his name was. He answered to it, which was surprising. Sensei had showed him how people usually didn’t respond immediately when they gave a new fake name. That…wasn’t how he was acting. And it was a little bit terrifying.
There was also the fact that whenever the Midoriyas said the name, he just felt…warm. Like it was right. Like that was his real name.
And it scared him.
There was something important he realized though. The Midoriyas were kind. Not for the sake of favors, debts, or leverage, but because they just were. It was confusing, but also not. Somehow the notion fit the family perfectly. He had never met people like the Midoryas. They were strange, but…Tenko liked them.
He didn’t have the heart to tell the small kids that most of the games he played were, well, probably not meant for minors. Sensei never minded, so it must’ve been ok. For some reason though, he found himself not telling them. Especially after they excitedly presented him with a game they couldn’t beat.
Winning a level had never felt so sweet. Was this what victory was supposed to feel like? Praise and adoration were showered upon him, as well as a gift. The small paw charm was attached to a cheap little clasp, most likely meant to clip onto a backpack or something. Tenko felt something warm explode in his chest. It was like pure spring sunlight had been injected into his veins.
He held the charm close to his chest, extremely careful to not curl every finger around it, and thanked Izuku. Silently, he promised to cherish the gift. It was the only thing he had ever been gifted without an expected return. Even Sensei had never given him a gift just because.
Dinner was called soon after the game was set aside, and Tenko swore he had never seen small people move so fast. Within seconds he was being dragged to a big table crowded with mismatched chairs. Bowls were set out on the table, and the kids scrambled to grab one. Tenko followed their example, uneasily following them to the food laid out on the counter.
There were two more adults now. One man and one woman. He learned their names by listening. Hisashi and Rei. They were called a lot of things by the gaggle of children. Tenko had never had an auntie or uncle, that he remembered at least, but he had had a father.
He didn’t like to think about when he had had an alive father.
Dinner was…messy. Very messy. And loud. Tenko had no idea meals could be like this. There was always someone talking, the sound of slurping noodles a backdrop to it all. People were squished together with elbows bumping into one another. It was all laughed off, every mess brushed off to clean later.
The soba was some of the best he had ever eaten. Seconds were quickly passed around to almost everyone. The conversation and boisterousness didn’t lessen.
“Hey Tenko?” Izuku said, catching his attention. “Can I ask you about your quirk?”
He froze for a second, but forced himself to relax. It was just his quirk. “Sure.”
“What’s its name?”
“Decay.”
“Woooah, that’s so cool! Does it activate with all of your fingers? Does it just speed up aging or break down stuff like fungi? Can it work on living things? Is that why you haven’t touched anyone with your whole hand? What about nonliving things? Can you decay a rock, or maybe it speeds up the aging process so much that it just turns to sand? Maybe-“
Tenko could do nothing but sit and stare, his eyes slowly growing wider as the flood of words just did not stop. It was honestly impressive. The only person Tenko had heard talk like that had been Sensei on one of his tangents about a new quirk. He had explained it all to Tomura later, and it had been interesting how Sensei thought.
Maybe that’s what made Izuku special.
“I only caught half of that,” Tenko said truthfully. “But it works on everything, and most of it just turns to dust. It’s more like disintegration that spreads than actually decaying things.”
“That’s so cool though! Does it work on liquids too?”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“I do,” Izuku laughed. “Sorry, it’s a part of my quirk, I guess.”
Tenko was suddenly very intrigued. “Well, what’s your quirk? I told you mine, it’s only fair.”
“Oh, I have Analysis. It lets me think faster than a lot of people, but it works best when I have to analyze a situation or a person.”
“You know what sounds like a generic quirk name used to cover up a super-powerful quirk, right?”
“Kinda, but why would I hide that?” Izuku stared up at him with big, innocent eyes. “I’m just a kid, why wouldn’t I want to show off a powerful quirk if I had one?”
“Because the Hero Commission is corrupted, and would probably force you to be a hero under them, obviously.”
The room fell silent. It hadn’t been quiet since Tenko had walked into the house, and now he could hear the crickets chirping outside. It was unnerving—extremely so.
“Tenko, dear, why do you think that?” Inko asked kindly.
“Because they are? Sensei told me about the kids they train. A lot of them were taken or bought from their families, especially if the family needed money, but all of them have powerful ‘heroic’ quirks. If you have something like that, then they might try and take you away. So hiding it would keep you away from them.”
“You…aren’t wrong. About the Commission,” Izuku said slowly. “But I have an analysis quirk, that’s it. My grandma had an intelligence quirk, so I got it from her.”
“Hm, ok.” Tenko nodded, and let it drop. He knew when to press something and when to not. It was crucial to know that, living with villains since he was small.
Whether Izuku did have an analysis quirk or not was still undecided in his mind. He had to have some sort of quirk that helped with thinking, but maybe there was something else with it. It would explain why the adults trusted him to make decisions. It had to be.
“Anyway!” Hisashi said, changing the subject. “Tenko, are you ok with sleeping on a futon?”
“That’s fine.”
“Perfect! We can go get it set up after dinner then. Thank you for the soba, Rei, it’s delicious.”
The conversation devolved into new recipes the adults wanted to try, the kids pitching in ideas every once in a while. Tenko ate the rest of his dinner quietly. The background noise returned, letting him fall back into his thoughts.
The nine kids dragged Tenko away once they were done eating too. They played games for hours, ranging from board games to more games on their little console. Tenko hardly noticed as the clock ticked later and later.
The adults noticed though, and Inko came upstairs to tell them it was time to sleep. Tenko handed back the game in his hands, heading downstairs to the futon Hisashi had set out. He was stopped before he got there though. It was Inko, who was handing him clothes.
“For you to sleep in,” she explained. “I can’t imagine a dirty hoodie would be very comfy to sleep in.”
“Oh…thank you.”
“It’s no problem, Tenko. Go sleep, we can make breakfast in the morning and wash your clothes.”
He nodded, silently retreating to change. The lights were still on downstairs, though everyone else was already in their rooms. Tenko shut them off before curling beneath clean sheets. His hoodie and pants were folded off to the side.
The Midoriyas really were kind. They gave him a roof over his head for the day, without knowing him or his backstory. They had played with him and given him the most attention he had had for…as long as he could remember, really. Somehow, they had let him forget everything else for a while.
Maybe that’s why it hurt so much, when he woke up to a familiar buzzing in his mind. Tomura sat up, and saw the clock read close to one am. The buzzing turned into something he knew. A voice that wasn’t his own.
Sensei was calling him home.
(“It’s called Waypoint,” Sensei told him.
“Woooah, that’s so cool, Sensei! It’s like in my games!”
“Indeed,” Sensei chuckled. “With this quirk, I can set a place and call you to it. But be careful, because I’ve been told it can hurt to resist it.”
“Ok Sensei, I promise I’ll listen.”
Sensei pat his head, smiling a satisfied grin. “Of course you would, Tomura.”)
Tomura got to his feet. He changed back into his hoodie and pants, leaving the oversized pajamas by the bed. No need to rack up a potential debt for stealing when it could be easily avoided.
He moved silently, unlocking the door and leaving the room like he had never touched it. Except…Tenko hesitated before opening the front door. He had to go back to Sensei, of course he did. But, a small part of him wondered what it would be like, to stay with the Midoriyas. Would he become a part of their crazy family? Would he be trusted one day, like Izuku was? Would he…would he be able to be kind like them?
The buzzing in his mind beckoned him home. Tomura knew his answer. He would never be able to be like the Midoriyas, no matter how hard he tried. He was a villain, and they were…not. One way or another, they would leave him too. Sensei and Kurogiri were the only ones who had never left.
He could never be like the Midoriyas, but he could take a piece of the happy memories he had made. Tenko scooped up the little paw charm he had been given, and left. The door was closed tightly behind him. He didn’t want to admit how many times he looked back.
Tomura made his way to an alley in the city, near where he had been dropped. A portal opened before him. He stepped through it, braced for the chill it always brought, and opened his eyes to see he was back in their base. The radio with Sensei’s voice was in front of him.
“Did you learn your lesson, Tomura?” Sensei asked in a soft voice.
“Yes, Sensei.”
“Good. What did you do while you were on your own?”
Tomura opened his mouth, but closed it a moment later. The story was on the tip of his tongue. How Izuku had found him, brought him with them, and given him food. How he had said a name that wasn’t his. How that name sounded like home.
But the thought made him feel sick. Like his entire body was rebelling against the idea of telling Sensei about the Midoriyas.
(Don’t make me forget them, please don’t make me forget again, his subconscious whispered)
“I took food and water,” Tenko said instead. “Watched some pawns run around most of the day. Ran into some children who- who wouldn’t leave me alone for a while.”
“Hm, I would have thought you would have caused more carnage, but no matter. You did well, Tomura. Go rest, my injuries from All Might will be healed soon enough.”
Tomura nodded, and retreated to his room. He changed into clean clothes, resolving to ask Kurogiri if they could do laundry tomorrow, and curled up in his bed. It felt nice to be home, even if it was just Kurogiri and him for now. That was ok. Sensei would be better soon. This was his home, his family. It wasn’t something he would leave.
And yet he still fell asleep with the little paw charm clutched close to his chest.
~~~~~~~~~~
Tenko was gone when they woke up.
Izuku couldn’t say he was surprised, but it still hurt. It hurt a lot. He had thought—had hoped —that Tenko would stay. That he could help. That their family could give the obviously hurting boy a place to feel safe.
But Tenko was gone, and Izuku felt a little splintered in the aftermath.
His parents noticed immediately, as did his siblings. They were all a bit concerned for him. They didn’t feel the loss like he did, Izuku knew. To them, Tenko was just someone they helped that didn’t want to stick around. A face that they would remember, but not miss much.
Momma was the one to finally ask him about it. She pulled him outside, handed him a cup of water, and asked what was wrong. Izuku had never been able to hide much from his parents—even the vigilante secret hadn’t lasted that long—so it didn’t take much for him to start talking.
“He wasn’t supposed to leave, Momma,” Izuku said quietly. “Tenko’s not meant to stay wherever he is.”
“Oh honey, I know.”
“No- no Momma, he felt like- like Mei did,” he sniffled. “And- and Kouji, and Momo, and Ochako, and- and Hitoshi and Shouto and his siblings, I think. They all felt the same, and Tenko wasn’t that, but it was similar. He’s was meant to stay around us, Momma.”
“Izuku, what do you mean by ‘felt’?”
“It’s like- it’s just a feeling, Momma, right here.” Izuku tapped the middle of his chest, between his lungs and over his heart. “Like when I’m happy, or angry, but it’s different. I’ve only felt it when I’ve met someone meant to be in our family.”
“And you felt it for Tenko?”
“Not- not the same, but it was close. He wasn’t- he wasn’t meant to leave, Momma. I don’t think he’s supposed to be my brother, but he’s supposed to be something to us. Why did he leave?”
“I think you know,” Momma answered softly, pulling him close to her side. “And we couldn’t force him to stay without evidence.”
“I know…”
“It just wasn’t meant to be, Izuku. Maybe one day you’ll see him again, and you can try and convince him to leave the ones hurting him, but until then all we can do is hope.”
Izuku nodded, burying his head in her shoulder. He understood. Tenko had been hurting—probably still being hurt—and didn’t know kindness. He didn’t know their family could help, so he left. He left thinking it was what he deserved. Izuku hadn’t been blind or ignorant, he knew Tenko was a villain—or at least raised by them. But he had good in him. That was why he had approached the teen, and that was why Izuku was so hurt by him leaving.
“I think I’m meant to meet him again,” Izuku said quietly. “And when I do, I’m going to help him.”
Momma kissed the top of his head, still holding him close. “And I have no doubt that you will.”
Izuku wiped at his tears, and made a silent promise. He would help Tenko if he saw him again. He would bring the boy home, and make sure he had a family.
Because no one would be left behind, not if he could help it.
Notes:
Does Izuku have a really powerful quirk? Or am I just using an unreliable narrator to mess with all the people who think his quirk isn’t analysis :)
AKA I’m too stubborn and don’t have time to go back and change the first few chapters that made his quirk more ambiguous than I meant it to be. ANYWAY if you know me then you know how I like to subtly mess with people, so interpret that scene as you will <3There were so many of you guys that thought he was going to stay, I’m sorry TwT He comes back though, don’t worry! I meant it when I said Tenko will be very important to the later plot, he just won’t be with the Midoriyas.
ALSO Hey, so I maybe, sorta, just perhaps-
forgot to add the next kid count these last few chapters?
Soooo SURPRISE! Kid 10 first appears next chapter!
Chapter 80: The Spider and the Lamps
Summary:
The vigilantes discover high-speed travel, and a new child appears :)
Notes:
Hi
This was supposed to be up yesterday
And instead of editing I may have accidentally hyperfocused on hand-sewing patches onto my ripped jeans for about 5 hours. On the bright side I now have jeans with the NASA logo on the knee so yayWelp, anyway, Welcome back to more vigilante shenanigans :D
And Happy Pride Month!! No matter who you are or what your situation is, you are loved <3 <3There was originally going to be a crack chapter here, but brain went brrr and gave me plot instead, so here we are. Sorry it’s a bit of a shorter one, didn’t have as much time as I would’ve liked to add more
Chapter title is based on the song The Spider and the Lamps from Razia’s Shadow: A musical. It’s mostly relating to the vigilante kids, but also partially Kid 10! Also in part because I just like the song though lol
(also reminder that all italics = talking over their coms)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Katsuki was going to be honest, he fucking loved being a vigilante. It was illegal, but damn if it wasn’t the most fun he’d ever had. Getting to routinely scare the shit out of bad guys, and help the not-bad ones? Best feeling ever.
Not to mention that it doubled as practice. Both for being a hero and for practicing with his quirk. He never used full explosions on people— obviously— but using them to fly was fucking fun. There was just something about trading the ground beneath his feet for air that was exhilarating.
People had noticed him flying too. Not many, but enough that someone had drawn their interpretation of him. The artist gave him wings of crackling fire, and absolutely nailed his mask. After that Katsuki wouldn’t shut up about the art. Mei printed it for him at some point, which led to it being hung in their room.
He decidedly did not ask where she got a whole-ass printer. The one in their house was right where it was supposed to be, so they collectively shrugged and didn’t question it.
They had stayed in Musutafu for the most part. It was where they were needed the most, and it was obviously the closest. But, some heroes had began to pick up on their patterns, and they had already had some close calls because of it.
Izuku was worrying himself into a frenzy because of it. Katsuki thought it wasn’t necessary, since they could probably take a hero in a fight. The heroes in Musutafu were usually only out during the daytime anyway. Unless a new one moved into town, or one of the few underground heroes actually patrolled, then they’d be fine. Touya and Keigo were the only other two that actually did their jobs, and both of them had avoided the vigilantes so far.
So, to Katsuki, they had nothing to worry about. Izuku didn’t see it that way though, and started pacing one night, muttering possible ways to get the heroes off their tails. They grew increasingly complicated and improbable as he went. Katsuki hated seeing him so worked up over a problem that, to him, had a relatively simple solution.
“So we go outside Musutafu,” he scoffed, tossing a ball in the air to catch. “Throw off the heroes, still go out at night, and help a different city for once. Win-win-win for us.”
“Oh. Oh, yeah, that- that makes sense.”
“Don’t get stuck on the problem, idiot,” Katsuki said with nothing but gruff fondness behind it. “A solution is there, work around it instead of staring at it like a dumbass.”
Izuku quietly grumbled, but admitted defeat. He didn’t get like that often, but Katsuki had seen it a few times. His brother would get so stressed over an issue that he couldn’t think of solutions, only that the problem was there. Just because he was smart didn’t mean he was immune to that.
That short conversation is what led to a majority of them being perched on the same roof, Gorgon—Hitoshi—questioning their mode of transportation.
“Not that I don’t trust Daedalus,” he said lowly, “but are we absolutely sure these things work.”
“Daedalus knows what they’re doing,” Kitsune responded confidently.
“I helped make them too, I promise they’re safe,” Athena added.
“If these detach on the way I swear to god-“
“They won’t, Gorgon. Calm down.”
Katsuki listened without a word, his eyes locked on the ground below them. Or rather, the train tracks. They looked different under the moon than the sun. The rumble of the train engine was louder without as much background noise. He could feel it through the roof they were crouched on, the metal titan rocketing closer.
They were going to ride the train, just, not the normal way. And honestly? Katsuki was so fucking ready. Jumping onto the roof of a stalled train with new magnetic boots and gloves sounded like something straight out of a spy film. Mei and Momo had been testing them for weeks, and only now were they being allowed to use them.
The roof shook under their feet, and Katsuki let a feral grin glow across his face.
“Ready?” Kitsune called over the noise of the incoming train. “On my count!”
Katsuki waited, energy coiled in his blood, ready to leap. The train pulled in below them. It would be an easy jump, hardly more than a few feet. All they had to do was wait for the perfect moment. Just a second longer…
“Now!”
Katsuki pushed off and flew. He found the ground again in landing on the metal shell of the train, his magnetic boots sticking once he stood still. He pressed his hands flat against it too, and felt them stick. His siblings landed around him, the same things happening to all of them.
The train began to move right on time, and Katsuki did his best to push away any doubts he had.
Mei reminded them to try and stay as close to the train as possible, so they didn’t go flying off. Half of them nodded despite the fact Daedalus was still at home. Katsuki listened, pressing himself low to the roof as the train departed from the station.
They picked up speed. The wind whipped around them as they went faster and faster, tugging at their clothes and buffeting their bodies. And yet, Ares could wipe the grin from his face, the red glow of his expression hazily reflected on the metal below him.
It almost felt like flying.
Buildings passed by them in blurs, the farther ones glowing with scattered squares of light. Stars shone above them in pinpricks. The moon was half-full, the sky smudged with clouds just a shade lighter than the sky. Katsuki took it all in from the roof of a speeding train, and reveled in it.
“Your stop is coming up,” Daedalus’ voice crackled through their coms. Katsuki shifted his weight as he looked ahead. “Get ready to jump to the roof of this one, about the same length as the first.”
Katsuki felt the train slow to a stop, and his magnets disengaged at Mei’s remote command. The five of them—Izuku, Mina, Momo, Hitoshi, and Katsuki himself—leapt off and onto the building. What few people were awake looked up at them. They flashed masked grins towards the civilians, and took off.
The streets were unfamiliar, especially from above. Daedalus was a constant guide in their ears this time. It was a slightly nicer city than Musutafu, but Katsuki knew it might just be the area they were in. Still, it was certainly quieter.
“How long until someone notices, you think?” Basilisk asked mid-leap.
“I give it ten minutes!” Gorgon answered. “Might not be Musutafu, but it’s not silent.”
“DIBS!” They all heard Izuku yell before disappearing down an alley.
Katsuki took it upon himself to yell back, “Wait for us, you reckless fucker!”
A screech and a flash of bright green later, and their first villain of the night was zip-tied to a lamp pole. A note was left stuck to his forehead, detailing what he had been doing. Kitsune flashed a metal-toothed grin at the note, Athena talking quietly with the other person who had been in the alley. A mugging, Katsuki assumed.
“Onwards!” Basilisk crowed, scaling the fire escape again.
They kept going, leaping over rooftops and racing over ledges. It wasn’t long before Mei was talking to them again.
“Someone posted a blurry picture,” she told them. “Gorgon, you’re staring right at the camera.”
“I have multiple sets of eyes, Daedalus, gotta be a bit more specific there.”
The rest of them laughed quietly, listening to the next directions they were given. Mei kept commentating on what was being posted at midnight. Katsuki swore she could find anything that mentioned them within seconds. He didn’t know if it was because she had a code thingamafuck for it or not, but it was still entertaining.
“There’s a residential area coming up,” Mei told them a few minutes later. “Watch out for civilians, but besides that you should be good. Check the front if you can.”
Kitsune shot back an affirmation, waving for Katsuki and Mina to go on ahead while the other three checked. The two of them raced off, manic grins on their faces and eyes sharp as ever. There didn’t seem to be anything on the ground.
The building itself, however, was different.
Katsuki rolled to a stop on an opposite roof, staring down at one of the apartments. He didn’t move as he watched, instead listening. Raised voices came from somewhere below. Basilisk edged over to his side, carefully listening as well.
Sharp movement caught their eyes. About a story down from them, the door to one of the balconies was flung open. Katsuki watched as someone stepped out, too small for an adult. They closed the door quietly, and seemed to slump in on themselves as they leaned over the railing. It was quite a drop from there, and the middle of the night.
It was then that the person began to speak. Not loud enough for the two vigilantes to hear, but the sound was there. Indistinct noise over the low hum of distant cars and trains.
Katsuki and Mina…well, they were never known for having the best impulse control. Together, the two of them leapt down to the balcony.
~~~~~~~~~~
There was a time when their house was quiet. There was also a time they didn’t exist. The two probably coincided, if they were being honest.
It was never quiet now. Loud voices, angry or annoyed or otherwise, were always there. Just, always. Even when there were no words, there was still tension. There were still unsaid threats and glares that cut like any blade would—or sometimes did. It never went away. Never would, they guessed, until they could leave.
Nighttime was their escape. Usually. Sometimes his mother decided midnight was a lovely time to start up another yelling match, whether that be with his sister or on the phone. Those nights were the ones they was grateful that it was their room that opened the balcony, and not their sister’s.
At least on the balcony it was kinda quiet. The yelling was muffled, and their dark clothes could blend in so no one saw them. Nothing much to see, anyway. Plain hair, plain face, nothing remarkable. That was what people always told them.
It stung though, every barbed word thrown around in their apartment. They hated it.
Still, the balcony was their escape. The plants were nice. They were the only one that cared for them, really. The vines were his favorite. In a corner of his mind he fantasized about them growing long and strong enough to let him run away. That one day they would touch the floor and let him slide down like they were Rapunzel’s hair, letting him escape to freedom.
But they were merely little vines, and that corner of their mind had long since been quieted. For dreams feed on hope, and his had been left to starve for a while now.
The stars were cool too. They were far away, but pretty. The stars didn’t care if he messed up. The stars would always be there, no matter what they did. It was comforting in a way. One of their only constants.
He never thought about it long. It just made him feel worse, knowing no person ever stuck around long. Family didn’t count since none of them could really leave. Not legally, at least. His sister wasn’t able to yet, and their mother was stuck with them. Not like they had a dad to run to either.
They couldn’t decide if that was a good or bad thing. All they knew right now was that it was lonely. He remembered stories of lonely travelers his mother had used to tell them. That had been when they were young, still bright-eyed and hopeful. The tales told of the universe itself helping the hero, giving aid and companionship. It had all sounded so mesmerizing when he was little. It still was, if they were being honest.
In the dark he looked up at the sky, wondering if any of the old legends were true. Even if he wasn’t the hero. “If you can hear me,” he murmured to the stars, “can you send me…I don’t know, someone to help? Something to make me feel better. Maybe someone to stop Mother from yelling so much.”
The stars glimmered above him, distant as ever. He sighed, closing his eyes, not knowing what he expected.
Certainly not to open his eyes to glowing red ones hardly a foot from his face.
Notes:
*cackles in not using kid 10’s name at all and minimal descriptions* Also they like plants now and that kinda just, appeared. Out of nowhere. But it’s a thing now, kid 10 likes plants.
Leave your guesses in the comments if you want! I'm not going to confirm or deny any, but I don't think I made it entirely too hard to guess, so go nutsOk little heads up for the next chapter: it might not be for 2-3 weeks :(
I have my other fic that I'm going to post to next week (hopefully), and the week after that I start summer class/exams and I have a friend visiting for a week, so I won't have as much time to write or edit. I'll do my best to get a chapter out though!!Have a good day/night <3
Chapter 81: Slightly Illegal Friendship
Summary:
Kid 10 is revealed, for real this time
Notes:
Hellooooo once again handsome people :D <3
Ok so, I lied. I couldn’t focus on a chapter for my other fic soooo here we are! Hope you like it :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Katsuki realized slightly too late that he…hadn’t quite thought his actions through.
The kid opened their eyes, and immediately yelped and launched themselves backwards, nearly taking a plant pot down with them. Which, fair. Katsuki forgot he was wearing his Ares mask. It didn’t exactly look like a normal face, so he scared the person without even saying anything.
Whoops.
“Ares,” Basilisk hissed, hopping down beside him. “Don’t scare them, you idiot.”
Katsuki gave her an unimpressed look. She was horrible at hiding the lilting amusement in her voice.
“You were about to do the same thing,” he reminded her, voice coming out deeper and warbled. “Don’t act like it would have done something different.”
“My eyes are gold. Gold is a friendly color.”
“You still have the face of a lizard in an assassin’s cloak.”
“…you got me there.”
The person on the floor made a strangled sound, dragging the vigilantes’ attention back to them. They were staring up at the two with wide eyes. Katsuki tilted his head, examining them. Their elbows were shaped kind of odd, and their hair was just long enough to be considered a mess. There was also the fact that they were gaping like a fish.
“You- you’re- are you-“
“Not villains, if that’s what you’re asking,” Mina happily chirped, sitting on the railing instead of balancing. “Just some vigilantes passing through.”
“Then why are you on my balcony!?”
Katsuki shrugged, dropping onto the balcony floor. “You looked like a lonely motherfucker.”
“Uh…”
Ares rolled his eyes behind the mask, and offered a hand to the kid. They eyed it for a moment, probably suspicious of the gloves and arm guards if anything, but they did take the hand. Katsuki easily pulled them to their feet. Too easily. They barely weighed as much as a medium-sized dog. Looked about surprised at being picked up as one too.
“So you’re vigilantes…who landed on my balcony.“ Katsuki resisted the urge to snort at how confused they sounded- “…why?”
“You looked lonely,” Mina answered. “And we’re waiting for the others to sweep some of the alleys. Hey, are these your plants?”
“I- yes they’re my plants- but why-“
“What’s your name?”
“I shouldn’t- what’s your guys’ names?”
“Ares,” Katsuki answered without hesitation. “And she’s Basilisk.”
“Those aren’t your real names.”
“Well duh,” Mina giggled.
“No offense, but we are vigilantes,” Katsuki drawled, leaning against the railing. “If we told you our real names, we’d risk being put in jail. Tell us a fake name if you want, that way it’s even. Either that or I give you a nickname so I can stop calling you ‘scrawny person’ in my head.”
“You don’t want him to give you a nickname, trust me.”
“Shut it, Raccoon Eyes.”
“See what I mean?”
“Uh…H-Hanta. My name is Hanta.”
Well, that didn’t sound like a fake name. Katsuki grinned, knowing it was reflected by his mask. “Nice to meet you then, Hanta. There a reason you’re out on a balcony at fuck o’clock at night by yourself?”
“No reason,” they choked out, still looking very much shellshocked.
“Alright.”
Something crackled in their ears, the warning note of their communicators. Both Katsuki and Mina stood straighter, waiting for someone to speak.
“Why are you talking to a beanpole in pajamas.”
Katsuki snorted, seeing Mina double over with a startled wheeze. Hanta just looked confused.
“Daedalus just called you a beanpole in pajamas,” Ares told Hanta, tapping the side his helmet to mime his ear. Mina just wheezed out the words again while melting onto the ground.
“You weren’t supposed to tell them that.”
“Tough luck, motherfucker. What do you need?”
“Kitsune didn’t see you on the roof and wants to tell you to get your asses back there.”
“Yeah, ok. We’ll be there in a minute.”
Mei made a noise of affirmation, before shutting off the coms again. Katsuki turned his focus back to Hanta and Mina. His sister was gathering herself off the floor, still giggling every few seconds and mouthing the words “beanpole in pajamas.” Hanta was watching them cautiously, but wasn’t outright scared anymore.
“We’re being called back,” Katsuki told Hanta. “Have a good night, or whatever.”
“It was nice meeting you!” Mina smiled, the action hidden but obvious in her voice. “See you tomorrow!”
“Uh, yeah, n-nice meet to- nice to meet you…too.”
Ares and Basilisk both nodded, before jumping back onto the railing. They leapt upwards, scaling the next floor like it was nothing. Within seconds they were level with the other buildings again. Kitsune’s glowing mask was staring right at them.
Katsuki glanced back down, and saw Hanta watching them go. They tentatively waved, so small Katsuki barely saw it. It reminded him of the kids that waved goodbye to their friends but didn’t actually want to say goodbye.
The two of them landed on the opposite roof, catching their breath besides their other siblings.
“Aw, did you make a friend?” Gorgon teased.
Katsuki ignored him, instead turning to Izuku. “We’re coming back here tomorrow.”
Kitsune just smiled a knowing vulpine grin. “Of course, Ares.”
He nodded, and moved to keep running. They would come back. Katsuki didn’t quite know why he wanted to, but he did. Hanta reminded him of something. Of someone.
Hopefully Hanta would be open to the idea of having friends that were doing something slightly illegal.
~~~~~~~~~~
They did, in fact, return to the same city the next day. And Mina was ecstatic over it. There was a certain feeling attached to making friends without them really knowing who you were. It helped that Hanta was nothing like the kids at school. Even if they had only known him for a day, Mina could already tell he was nice. Unsure of them, obviously, but he really did look lonely. Maybe they could help.
Traveling by train-top was also Mina’s new favorite mode of transportation. The wind grabbed at their clothes and pulled them back, but Mei and Momo’s magnets made sure they stayed put on the roof. Mina could watch through her mask as buildings zipped past in a blur of light and dark. It was amazing.
They leapt back off the train, wobbling for a second as they got their balance back. Which led to Mina wondering if there was a train equivalent of sea legs. She was shaken out of it when Katsuki playfully punched her shoulder. It was his silent way of making sure she was paying attention. Her response was whacking the back of his helmet.
Katsuki was about to retaliate again, playfully jabbing at her side, when Momo stopped them with a glare.
“Basilisk, Ares, knock it off,” Athena told them sternly, her voice coming out powerful and echoey, like a goddess.
“Sorry, Athena,” Ares grumbled, backing off.
“Sorry, Mo- Athena!”
She just shook her head, a fond smile reflected on her mask. Mina skipped over to the roof’s edge, staring down at the cement below. The gap between buildings yawned open below her, almost seeming to have a gravity of its own that tugged at her. Beckoning her to leap across and see how far she could reach.
It was Izuku’s voice that dragged her back from dreaming. “Basilisk, ready to go?”
She turned, already smiling in excitement. “Yeah! Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”
Kitsune laughed, before double checking they were all with him. Only Hitoshi and Kouji had stayed home tonight. It meant that Mina had gotten to see Shouto and Ochako’s reactions to riding the train, which had been fun. Ochako had been cheering for most of it, her cape-wings whipping around behind her. Shouto had flattened himself to the metal below them and refused to move, looking like a startled cat most of the ride. He had been smiling when they jumped off though, so he mustn’t have been too scared by it.
Izuku shot off without warning, letting loose a whooping holler as he flew over the gap between buildings. The rest of them followed without hesitation. Mina cheered as she tucked and rolled, adrenaline singing in her veins. The night sky embraced their flights. The stone beneath their feet may as well have been a trampoline. It was dangerous, and Mina loved it.
Her energy just increased as they got closer to Hanta’s apartment building. Hopefully he would be outside again! Mina really wanted to see him again, and maybe talk to him for longer than last time. They had a bit more leeway since they were outside of Musutafu. The heroes hadn’t picked up on their city switch yet, so they didn’t have to be constantly on the move yet.
It was enough for now, but it really was only a matter of time before the heroes figured it out. Some civilians had already posted about their presence. They hadn’t explicitly given away their location yet, which Mina was thankful for, but that would only last so long. It was still weird to think that they had fans though. Their own little corner of the internet paying attention to them.
“Hey Basilisk,” Harpy’s voice crackled over her earpiece. “Is this the place Ares won’t shut up about?”
Mina giggled, leaping over another alley. The night had been surprisingly quiet so far. “Yep! You guys go one ahead, Ares and I wanna go see if he’s here again.”
Harpy gave Mina a two-fingered salute, before diving down a different alleyway. Kitsune followed just as quickly. And where Kitsune went, the others did too. The rest of their siblings disappeared in the blink of an eye.
The coms buzzed in Mina’s ear, her nerves given physical sound. Mei calmly told her that she had switched her and Katsuki to a separate channel for now. She chirped her thanks, then started moving, Katsuki easily keeping pace with her. Together they stepped to the edge of the roof, peering down to see if a familiar figure stood on a balcony.
“He’s here!” Mina squealed.
“I can see that- wait, you fuck-“
Mina couldn’t hear her brother over her own laughter and the wind in her ears as she jumped. She clung to the balcony bars she had landed on, dropping herself onto the next one below. Katsuki’s faint cursing followed her. Honestly though, Mina couldn’t care less, not when she could see Hanta leaning over his own railing to look up at them.
When she landed on the correct balcony, Basilisk immediately moved out of the way. Ares joined her not a second later. He had jumped and caught himself with some well-placed explosions. Risky, considering they didn’t actually know Hanta, but worth it in their minds.
Said person was standing there, pointing at them with an accusatory finger and aggressive whispering. “You’re a part of the fucking Sirens.”
Mina blinked, glancing over at Katsuki, and knew they were thinking the same thing.
It wasn’t the easiest task to find out about them. All Hanta had had to go off of were their vigilante names and costumes. That was besides the fact that, before yesterday, they had never been seen outside Musutafu.
So the fact that Hanta had not only found out about the Sirens, but that they were a part of the Sirens, meant he knew where to look. It meant he was smart.
He had also cursed while saying it, so he got bonus points in their books.
“We are,” Mina confirmed.
Katsuki’s glowing red smile stretched wider on his screen. Not quite his murder-grin, but close. “What of it?”
“Why are- why are you hanging out with me then? I’m a- a nobody you saw on a balcony. You’re both vigilantes that do good out there, so why talk to a random kid?”
Mina just shrugged. “Why not? You looked lonely, and we know what that’s like. We weren’t always a group of vigilantes.”
Hanta was quiet. He could obviously hear the truth ringing in the statement, even if it was omitting some parts. Mina meant what she said though. Being lonely…it was horrible. A bone-deep longing for something you knew you couldn’t have, or couldn’t gather the courage to ask for. The memory of that feeling never quite faded.
There was a reason she stuck so close to Katsuki. Some part of her was still scared of being left alone, even if she knew Katsuki would never do that. None of her siblings would.
“You really trust each other, don’t you,” Hanta said softly, lined with jagged longing.
“I trust this idiot about as far as I can throw her.”
Mina hissed a laugh, whacking Katsuki’s arm. Those both knew it was all in good fun.
“You…what?”
“Nah, we trust each other!” Mina amended. “This moron just likes to keep a tough guy act. He’s one of the most protective of us though.”
“Shut-“
“You beat up a catcaller yesterday.”
Katsuki closed his mouth, angrily pouting in the corner. Hanta didn’t seem to know what to make of it. Ares, the loud vigilante that resembled a knockoff crimson Batman, was pouting in the corner of his balcony like a little kid. It was hysterical.
“The fucker deserved it,” Katsuki grumbled.
“Oh he absolutely did, that’s just the latest example.”
“There’s more?” Hanta asked, sounding genuinely curious.
Mina just grinned wickedly, ignoring Ares’ motion of waving a hand across his neck. There was no harm in sharing a few stories. “So many, wanna hear some?”
“Yes.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Hanta didn’t know how, but they had somehow managed to land two vigilantes as friends. Actual friends. They didn’t come by every night, but at least half the week he was out on the balcony talking with them. He would laugh and joke with them, like normal friends.
It was weird realizing the vigilantes…really weren’t that different from normal people. Not by much, as least. Ares was protective and brash, but also a huge nerd. Basilisk was hyper and happy and sometimes got tangled in her own cloak. They weren’t entirely normal, of course. Hanta could see that in how they moved. Strong, quick, and always tense. Always ready to spring. Their hands twitched towards weapons when something made a noise in the alleys below.
But they still came back. They came back and talked, and made Hanta happy. They couldn’t remember the last time they had been this happy. Even if he didn’t know their real names—even if he had never seen their faces—he was still closer to them than anyone at school.
None of them broached certain topics. All three of them had set clear boundaries in the beginning, and Hanta intended to keep to them. He wouldn’t ask them to remove their masks—not yet, at least—and they wouldn’t pry into why he was awake at midnight.
There was also the silent agreement they had. Hanta wouldn’t try to weasel information out of them, like their real names or details about their families. And in turn, the two vigilantes wouldn’t ask why he went still at loud noises, and nearly had a panic attack when someone started yelling in the nearby alley one night.
Despite everything, they kept coming back, and Hanta kept looking forward to it. For nearly three weeks they all grew closer and closer to one another. They danced around topics, but comforted each other all the same. Their little midnight misfit trio.
In those three weeks, Hanta had yet to meet the other Sirens, but that was fine by him. Ares and Basilisk were chaotic enough on their own. He knew about the others, having found a useful thread of information and sightings floating around. Honestly, getting to meet what were essentially two minor celebrities of Musutafu was mind boggling enough, and Hanta wouldn’t know what to do if they got to meet the others. Especially Kitsune.
There weren’t many pictures of…any of them really, but a few more of Kitsune existed than the other Sirens. From those alone Hanta could tell they weren’t someone to mess with. In every blurry photograph they were glowing, seeming to stare into the soul of whoever dared to look at them. The pupil-less green eyes reminded them of a vengeful ghost. Basilisk and Ares spoke highly of Kitsune though, so they couldn’t be that bad. Probably.
Although Hanta would rather try swinging off a lamppost again than tell Ares that Kitsune was scarier than him. The last time Basilisk had said something similar, he had pouted in the corner for five minutes. It was funny, but weird to see such an imposing vigilante with a pouty face for an electronic expression. If anything it just made the scales of intimidation tip in Kitsune’s favor.
But then again, maybe the other vigilante already knew. It was hard to deny their leader could be terrifying if he wanted to be.
Intimidating vigilantes notwithstanding, nighttime soon became Hanta’s favorite part of the day. It wasn’t quiet, but that was strangely ok with them. The silence of cold wind and muted car engines was filled with whispered jokes and laughter. It was laced with quiet questions about their day and subtle jabs at each other for things that sometimes flew over Hanta’s head.
Over time it became obvious that the vigilantes all knew each other outside of their nighttime activities. The way they acted—snickering over way too many inside jokes, tripping over stories they told to cut out names—it all practically screamed it. Hanta didn’t mention it, figuring they hadn’t meant to slip as much information as they did. Still, it was nice being trusted, and Hanta had no intention of breaking that trust anytime soon.
With that information came a better guess of their ages. Hanta didn’t quite know what to make of it, because all the signs pointed to them being…around his age, actually. Probably older, but not adults. Height had become far from an accurate measurement of age since the rise of quirks, but they were still around Hanta’s height. Their voices were also modulated, and their movements spoke of years of training, but…
But Hanta had the weirdest feeling that they were like him. It was impossible though. He was eleven. Middle school started next year, so there was no way the vigilantes were the same age as him. A year older at least. As much as he was completely willing to beat a villain up, it would be stupid to. He didn’t have training—not unless dodging a sneering sibling’s sharp jabs counted. At least the blades were just on her elbows like his tape was. It made it harder for her to actually land more than a glancing blow.
There were other things about the two, of course, but Hanta never thought about them for long. After all, who would be stupid enough to pick on vigilantes? Who would be bullying them into having some of the same reactions that Hanta had? It was something always rolling around in his head, but never picked apart. They weren’t ready to confront the thoughts and ideas attached to it quite yet.
At least he had them as friends. His only ones, really, since his singular other one had changed schools. Something about being closer to a new home. That had already been over a year ago now. Hanta had no way to contact them back then, and no way of getting a theoretical number now.
He wondered if that was why they clung so tightly to his nighttime friends.
They never seemed to mind though. Slowly but surely, Hanta grew to trust them. They appeared the nights they said they would, always promising to come back when they left. Ares and Basilisk were the only people Hanta had met that actually kept their promises. He couldn’t tell if it said more about them or himself that the only people he trusted were ones technically running from the law every night. It was strange, but…he wouldn’t trade his new friends for anything.
Maybe one day he would work up the courage to tell them about why he was always on the balcony at night.
Maybe one day it would be too obvious to hide.
Maybe they already knew.
Hanta couldn’t decide if he wanted that or not.
Notes:
Reminder for whoever needs it: Hanta is Sero, Mr. Tape Boy himself :D
And specifically to Axryz: Yes Sero was listed in all the comments you used as evidence :3
WOO! Kept that boy a secret for a WHILE. Hanta's arc got kinda long, and more-or-less turned into a venting arc because of what I was going through when originally writing their arc (months ago now, reminder that I have an entirely-too-long backlog), but I think I'm happy with how it turned out! I hope you liked the chapter!!
Ok for real this time, no chapter next week. I have someone staying the week and one of my summer classes starts, so I won't have any time to work on writing.
I hope you have a good day/night <3
And happy summer to everyone on summer break now!!
Chapter 82: Out in the Open
Summary:
Hanta and Harpy and Pronouns, oh my!
Bit of a shorter one this time lovelies, check the beginning notes for an explanation, but I hope you like the chapter!
Warnings: implied abuse, implied almost-panic attack
Notes:
Hello :D
Oh boy, sorry this chapter took so long to get out!! This last month been a bit nuts. I had a breakdown or two, my siblings and I caught covid, my sister had to go to urgent care for heart issues (nearly got sent to the ER too)(lemme tell you, getting woken up by my mom saying “I’m taking your sister to urgent care, you have to watch the littles” is not a very nice way to wake up), I had three exams, and jumped through hoops for a class only to say ‘screw it’ and enroll in a different one. So I’m taking that class now and have homework every day as well as weekly speeches to write and record. I am. Very tired. On top of that all I was thrown into an abusive situation again and because of that my brain chucked me into a depression spiral, so I’m recovering from that as well since that tends to tank my writing motivation. But I’m getting better so here’s the chapter :D
also Disclaimer (and spoilers technically): I am cis. Gender is the one (1) thing I have questioned and come back out with the same relative answer, so everything here regarding that is not based on first-hand experience. I hope you like it though!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Ares and Basilisk returned the next day, just like they had promised the night before. Except, this time, something was slightly different.
That being the third person dropping down after them, the first thing out of their mouth being a scandalized “Bitch” directed at Ares.
And that was how Hanta met Harpy. Kind of. They landed on the railing, balancing easily despite it being rounded and barely bigger than Hanta’s wrist. Basilisk made a choked wheezing sound. Harpy and Ares both ignored her, as Harpy leapt off the railing and right at Ares.
Hanta yelped, fully prepared to have to separate two vigilantes on their balcony to keep them from breaking his plant pots. Ares didn’t go down though. Instead Harpy kinda just, skittered up his shoulders. Like a squirrel. And proceeded to cling to his head like an overenthusiastic and slightly murderous scarf. All the while Ares just held still like he didn’t have an entire person laying on his shoulders.
“Harpy, get off,” Ares grumbled, reaching up to swat at them. Hanta could tell he wasn’t putting much force behind it though. “I need my eyes, you dumbass, get off before I throw you over the railing.”
“Give me back my gummies then, asshole,” Harpy hissed back, and honestly? It was slightly terrifying. A hissing, glowing bird-bat-thing was not something Hanta ever wanted to see and this was not changing their opinion.
“You stole mine yesterday!”
“Yeah but these ones are mine.”
“Karma,” Basilisk cackled in the background.
Hanta was just, so confused. Why was there another vigilante tonight? Why were they wrapped around Ares’ mask like mummy wrappings? And why were they hissing about candy?
“Guys, guys wait,” Basilisk wheezed out. “Guys—Hanta. Guys stop he doesn’t-“
That was the moment a light flicked on inside. The blinds were closed, but the slats of yellow light glowed all the same in the dark. Hanta froze. They hardly dared to breathe for a moment. He wasn’t supposed to be awake- he wasn’t supposed to be talking to the vigilantes (his friends, his mind whispered) it was late and he had been too loud.
A moving shadow blocked the light shining through the partially-blocked window. One of his family members, no doubt. Hanta felt the air in their lungs freeze over in his throat.
The door opened before he could move. There were two doors that led out to the balcony: one in his room and one in the living room. The second was hardly ever used. Hanta was the only one that actually liked the balcony, since it was quiet and all his plants were out there. But now the other door was being unlocked and opened and there was nothing he could do about it.
The head of his mother appeared in the doorway, eyebrow raised and expression hardened with a question. “Hanta, why are you out here? It’s late.”
He fought through the panic welling up in his chest, and risked glancing to the side. There was...there was nothing. Just his plants and his view of another building. A streetlight flickered down the road.
Huh.
“I, uh, I couldn’t sleep,” they said meekly, ripping his eyes from where his friends had been a minute ago. “Needed some air.”
“And why did I wake up to you making a racket?”
Hanta bit his lip, fighting back a grimace. He had yelped, not even that loud, but it had still caught the attention of his mother. It was hardly a racket though. Not that he could say that.
“I tripped,” he lied. “Can’t- can’t see out here, and all. My foot got caught on a pot.”
“Hmph, fine then. Watch your feet, Hanta, you’re so clumsy. Go to bed.”
He nodded, not moving an inch as his mother retreated back inside. The door shut and locked. The lights were shut off, plunging the balcony into darkness once again. Hanta felt like he could finally breathe again. They put their back to the wall, sliding down to the floor.
“Hanta?”
Oh, the vigilantes hadn’t left. For a second there he almost thought they might’ve been his imagination after all.
“She’s gone,” he whispered.
Ares was the first to haul himself over the railing again. To Hanta’s muted shock, he was floating. He flipped back onto the balcony, grabbing onto one of the bigger plant pots to keep himself from going up again.
Basilisk appeared next, with slightly less grace than Ares. She flung herself back over the edge and up to the ceiling. With no anchor to hold onto, she stayed up there. Harpy was the last one. They sat on the railing and put their hands together in a triangle. All three of them proceeded to drop to the ground again.
Hanta just stared as Basilisk somehow managed to flip and land on her feet. Ares caught himself with his hands, managing to not bang his mask into the cement. Harpy hadn’t moved.
“Hanta, hey, you ok?” Basilisk asked softly, edging closer to them with telegraphed movements.
He nodded, taking deep breaths to calm his panic. It was working for the most part.
“Was that your mom?”
They nodded again, counting backwards from twenty. He was ok, it was ok.
“Not the nicest person, is she,” Ares grumbled, getting to his feet. “Sorry we got you in trouble.”
“You didn’t,” Hanta answered quietly, barely a whisper. “That wasn’t in trouble, don’t worry. Where did you go?”
The three shared a glance, seeming to have a silent conversation. It confused Hanta how they did it. Basilisk was the first to shrug, turning her gaze to Ares, who did the same. The two of them turned their gazes to Harpy. They hummed a considering note before turning back to Hanta.
“I can make things float, if you hadn’t guessed,” Harpy told him. “So I grabbed these two and flung them into the alley with me.”
Harpy said it so casually, so simply, that Hanta couldn’t help laughing. He muffled it in his arms, but the sound was still there. Contagious too, it seemed. Before long all four of them were quietly giggling.
“I didn’t get to introduce myself, did I,” Harpy whispered, sliding off the railing and onto the floor. They offered a hand to Hanta to help him up. “I’m Harpy, official bird of the Sirens.”
Hanta snorted, letting himself be pulled to their feet with surprising ease. “Hanta, official…um, something. I can make tape? It’s- I’m not very interesting.”
“Yooo, dude that’s so cool!” Harpy whisper-yelled.
“It…is?”
“It is!” Basilisk piped up. “I can only melt stuff, and this dummy explodes shit.”
Hanta blinked, slowly processing the information. “You…you just told me your quirks.”
“Yep.”
“Isn’t that kinda, you know, dangerous?”
“You haven’t sold us out so far.” Ares shrugged. “And you told us yours. Not like there aren’t more quirks out there like ours anyway. We trust you though, so yeah.”
Hanta nodded, letting their conversation lapse into silence. He really should go to bed eventually. Not yet though. Not yet.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” he said suddenly, drawing the others’ attention. “Harpy, what’re your pronouns? You just look like a bird-person so…”
“She and her,” Harpy answered easily. “Yours?”
“I don’t care.”
The three stopped at that, sharing slightly confused glances, leaning more towards panic from Ares and Basilisk.
“You don’t care what pronouns we use?” Basilisk asked.
“Nope,” Hanta answered. “I’m…I’m agender, and don’t particularly care what pronouns you use for me, any are ok.”
Huh, it felt nice, to say it out loud. To other people. Hopefully it didn’t backfire.
“Cool,” Basilisk said first. “Not gonna lie, I panicked for a second thinking we had been using the wrong pronouns for weeks now.”
“Same here,” Ares echoed.
“You are brave and valid,” Harpy chirped quietly. “We don’t know the most about that kinda thing, but it’s awesome that you’re brave enough to tell us. You’re still ok with us calling you Hanta, right?”
He nodded, a light, giddy feeling spreading through his veins. They might not fully understand, but that was ok. They accepted him. Their friends were ok with them, and the night suddenly felt alright again.
“We should probably let you get some sleep,” Harpy trilled softly. “I’ll meet you two on the roof.”
Harpy grabbed her own arm, and her feet left the floor. She sent a two-fingered salute in Hanta’s direction, then used the railing to launch herself off the balcony. Basilisk and Ares watched her go.
“We’ll be back tomorrow probably,” Ares told Hanta. “Hopefully without the bird dumbass.”
“Somehow I feel like that won’t happen,” Hanta joked, and they could see Ares' mask split with a red grin, x-eyes somehow soft through a screen.
“Probably,” Basilisk laughed. “Anyway, we gotta go. Bye Hanta!”
Hanta waved as they left, swinging themselves back to the rooftops and leaping into the distance. He watched where they had disappeared for a minute. The stars almost seemed brighter tonight. It was peaceful, and Hanta…Hanta was happy. Truly happy.
They went to sleep with a small smile on their face, hoping they could cling to the feeling just a while longer.
Notes:
Me, halfway through writing this chapter: wait wait wait I never have to have the pronoun problem with Hanta because they use all of them YES
(Please note I will most likely use he/they more heavily than she or any neopronouns, since that’ll probably help avoid a bit of confusion on who’s being talked about)No idea when the next chapter will be up, I need to work on one for my other fic first and homework is Not Fun right now, so we'll see. I hope you guys are doing ok though <3
WE GOT ART THIS WEEK!! LOOK!!!
Children Chaos (By Tranthony)
Chapter 83: Cognitive Dissonance
Summary:
Hanta waits up for some friends, and Izuku gives a TED talk
WARNINGS: verbal abuse, a parent yelling at their kid, and a bit of gaslighting I believe. I know these can be triggering, read safely guys, and remember you are loved <3
Notes:
Hello :D
Didn't take a month this time, woo! Might be the last one for another few weeks though, I have finals this week and next, and then an almost 2 week trip out of state literally 2 days later. I get to go to a beach though so that'll be fun!! But after that I move back into dorms and my semester is going to be...Not Fun. In other news, if anyone has any advice for passing organic chemistry and cell biology, please feel free to share itAnyway!
Catch me projecting and saying the kids borderline-obsessively research anything they don’t understand but find interesting. Hyperfixation is one heck of a thingI hope you enjoy the chapter! Mind the warnings in the summary
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It had always been clear to the Midoriya kids that they could be anything they wanted to be. The adults in their life had made that abundantly clear. They would be accepted and loved no matter what, whether that meant being a vigilante or questioning who they liked. They were free to be who they wanted.
Because of that, Izuku figured they knew more about gender and sexuality than the average kid. That being said, when presented with a shiny, new, and interesting thing to research, Izuku immediately fell into a rabbit hole of information.
He hadn’t met Hanta yet, but he wanted to be ready for when he did. Mina and Katsuki had already filled him in, but he wanted to be extra prepared. That might’ve meant Izuku spent a few hours straight reading about gender and pronouns. He found that there were a lot of articles about why kids his age “shouldn’t be exposed to that kind of thing.” Which was ridiculous in his opinion; why keep it from people if it made them happy?
Izuku didn’t understand all of it, but he understood enough. He shared his findings with all of his siblings, rambling for as long as they let him. Dinner was called in the middle of his lecture. Not that that stopped him, it just meant he kept talking to them over the food.
(Hisashi didn’t know why their green-haired son was giving a TED talk on gender and pronouns to their other kids over dinner, so he just shrugged and listened as Izuku educated the table)
They went out that night, taking the train once again. The heroes had started catching onto the fact that they were moving around, so they would be staying in Musutafu a bit more again. Izuku wanted to try other train routes though. Maybe they could get to the cities in the opposite direction, and confuse the heroes even more. The farther their reach, the more they helped. He had a feeling none of his siblings would be opposed to the idea.
Tonight was normal though. Well, as normal as leaping onto the roof of a train and rocketing to the next city over could be. Izuku liked that normal. There was something intoxicating about going that fast, and catching millisecond-glances at the civilians below. Some people stared at them from building windows. Those were the ones they could actually see, and a lot of people seemed to like when they waved, even if Mei scolded them for letting go.
There were only three of them tonight, the others not being able to convince them to take a break night. Izuku figured one of them would probably force him to rest tomorrow, but that was a problem for Future Izuku. Right now, he was occupied with their upcoming leap off the train.
The night quickly found the three of them leaping over alleyways. It was almost second nature at this point, and Izuku loved it. The stars almost seemed to watch them curiously under the cover of night.
Mei guided them on their route, instructions given and followed without hesitation. Izuku kept his eyes open, scanning the alleys and streets below, just incase Mei missed something on her cameras. His metal ears swiveled around to pick up any noise.
The first villain of the night was someone Mina took out my hissing at them. The sound scared them, and they jumped right into the metal pole beside them. It took Katsuki over two minutes to stop laughing and secure the villain.
Izuku excitedly picked up his pace as they got closer to Hanta’s building. He had yet to meet his siblings’ friend, but they sounded nice. There wasn’t really anyone at their school willing to interact with the “weird kids,” so it was nice to know Mina and Katsuki had someone to talk to despite that.
“Hey Kitsune,” Mei said through his ear piece.
“What is it, Daedalus?”
“Alley at two o’clock. I can’t tell who it is from any of the cameras, but someone’s watching.”
“Got it. Basilisk, Ares, you hear that?”
His siblings called an affirmative, changing their course to stay closer together. None of them stopped moving, but they did watch their surroundings with more caution. Quirks were a wildcard. With an unknown person watching them, it was better to be on high alert. Their names and notoriety only stretched so far.
The comms crackled in their ear, Mei’s panicked voice filtering through.
“Wait—fuck, that’s a- Kitsune!”
Izuku was midair, leaping the gap between two buildings. Mei’s yell startled him into looking towards the alley. The one someone was watching them from. He saw Mina and Katsuki turn too, both still on the roof behind him.
Izuku didn’t even land before a sharp pain cut into his side.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hanta waited up for hours.
He sat on the balcony, staring up at the rooftop Ares and Basilisk always dropped from. They sat on the hard floor, legs pulled to their chest, eyes hardly blinking. The nighttime chill seeped into his bones, and yet he didn’t budge. What if the vigilantes thought he left them? Hanta couldn’t do that—refused to—so they waited.
And waited.
…and waited…
It felt like she blinked, and then Hanta was staring up at a lightening sky. None of the vigilantes had shown up. None of his friends had come, even though they said they would. They had never missed a day. Never. So why now…?
Hanta recognized the pull of tiredness at their limbs, but ignored it. It was too late to do anything about it now. They had school, and then they could return home and sleep. Even Mother’s scolding seemed alright if Hanta could just shut their eyes for a few hours.
“Maybe they’ll be back tonight,” Hanta muttered, pushing himself to their feet.
He went through the motions of getting ready, stepping lightly and not making a peep. They didn’t like making noise in the morning. It was already quiet, and it never lasted for long, so there was no reason to break it sooner. If he was quick enough Hanta could leave before their mother woke up. Their sister couldn’t care less if he left before her.
A door clicked open as Hanta waited for their toast to finish in the toaster. He felt a flash of fear and adrenaline at the sound, but grimaced and ignored it. The immediate impulse to grab the food and run never helped anything. Instead they waited, still as a statue, hoping their groggy family member ignored them.
Someone roughly knocked into Hanta’s shoulder, making him stumble a few steps. He caught himself on the counter.
“You were blocking the coffeemaker,” his sister grumbled, swinging a cabinet open to grab a mug.
Hanta just nodded, turning back to the toaster. Their toast popped up and he pretended to not feel a bit of vindictive glee at how his sister jumped. The second it was done he snatched the toast, his bag, and raced out the door. He nearly forgot shoes, only remembering when the carpet texture changed one step outside their front door.
He speed-walked away from the apartment building, shoes barely slipped on and backpack slung haphazardly over one shoulder. They didn’t stop long enough to worry about what people would think. It was probably not the weirdest thing they had seen that week anyway.
Finally, two blocks away, Hanta slowed down. They fixed their shoes and backpack, setting off at a slower pace now. Her sister’s school was in the opposite direction, so he was fine. They were fine. Absolutely fine. Certainly not more tired than usual and feeling fuzzy around the edges.
They were fine.
School was…school. There really wasn’t another way to describe it. It wasn’t boring, but wasn’t super interesting to Hanta, and he had no friends to keep him company. Not since Eiko had moved. The bullies weren’t the worst, more annoying than anything, and they left Hanta alone for the most part. He did hide in trees to eat lunch though. Higher ground was always safer, and being hidden in the leaves was a comfort. No one had found her current spot yet, so they figured it would stay their safe secret for now.
The teachers were less merciful about his tiredness that day. Hanta nearly fell asleep listening to one of them drone on about multiplying something or other to find a percentage. He was rewarded with a book being dropped by his head, and snickering ringing out over the classroom. They just sleepily apologized and tried to focus their blurry eyes. At least tying and untying the hairband on their wrist kept them awake.
Somehow, the day both seemed to stretch on forever and disappear in the blink of an eye. Hanta was scrambling out the doors as soon as they could. There weren’t bullies waiting for him, but that wasn’t his worry anyway. Their city wasn’t nearly as bad as Musutafu, but parents did usually walk their kids home. There were less after school screaming matches because of it, but it also meant Hanta couldn’t linger. He was expected to go home. They were expected to be walking down the street hand in hand with someone older, merrily skipping their way home, and keeping their eye out for danger.
But Hanta had no one walking with him. She didn’t want anyone to, anyway. They made their way home at a slow pace, gaze flickering around warily every few seconds. Probably not the best idea when running on two minutes of sleep, but they’d be fine. Perfectly fine.
Yeah.
Definitely.
…How had he gotten to the park again?
Hanta blinked slowly at his surroundings, which had changed to green grass and a play structure instead of concrete buildings at some point. He swore he wasn’t usually this tired after skipping a night of sleep, but it was like everything was catching up at once. They just wanted to sleep. The park was not the place for that though. She must have taken a wrong turn at some point, and ended up there instead of home.
Hanta just sighed, turning back to the normal roads. As nice as it would be to just slump over onto the grass and sleep for a few minutes, it wasn’t the best idea. Not when it was already getting late. Their mother would be at least mildly concerned if he didn’t make it back on time.
With that in mind, Hanta began walking back through the city. The streets weren’t crowded, but they weren’t empty. It wasn’t even dusk yet though, so they had been expecting that. It wasn’t late enough for them to worry about being outside.
The familiar apartment building seemed to appear far too quickly. Hanta hesitated outside, contemplating if it was worth it to wander back to the park. They were already late, what was a few more hours?
He shook his head, trying to dust away the thoughts. Being gone for longer would just make things worse. Might as well be a little late than a lot late.
Hanta climbed the familiar stairs and opened the door he had known since he was little. There were voices inside, coming from the kitchen. It made him hesitate for a second. If he was fast enough, maybe they could make it to their room. It would only delay the inevitable, but more time was better than none.
They didn’t quite make it that far though.
“Hanta, did you forget to do your chores?”
A chunk of ice dropped down his spine. It was something so simple—just a few words—but to Hanta they were terrifying. And he knew it wasn’t scary by itself, he knew that, but not doing something led to yelling. It led to Hanta keeping a mask over his emotions and breathing their way back to calm in the face of cutting words.
“I…I did. I’m sorry.”
“Hanta.”
He suppressed a flinch at the tone, hurriedly scraping together his nerves in a tight bundle. Their mother was glaring at them, hands gesturing sharply, voice raising loud enough to probably be heard through the walls, albeit muffled. His sister was off to the side with a self-satisfied smirk.
“You can’t keep doing this, Hanta, what have I told you?”
“To- to remember my chores.”
“Yes. I give you everything, Hanta, everything. I do everything for you and your sister, and this is how you repay me? By being lazy?”
They weren’t being lazy. They knew they weren’t, but- but it still hurt. It hurt being called that when he had just forgotten, something they had no control over. But what if…what if she was right? Maybe he just wasn’t trying hard enough…
“Stop pulling at your shirt,” their mother snapped, dragging Hanta from his head again. His hands dropped back to their side. “ Honestly, it’s like you kids have no respect these days. You should be grateful I haven’t kicked you out already.”
Hanta nodded numbly. They forcibly kept their hands at their sides, consciously keeping them still. Fidgeting would only lengthen the time they had to spend in the kitchen.
“Go to your room,” she huffed, turning back around. “I can’t be around you right now. One of us will come get you for dinner.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Hanta retreated to their room, closing the door near-silently. The noise in the kitchen picked back up. He didn’t put in any effort to listen, quietly laying on his bed. At least now they didn’t have to worry about their family bothering them for a bit. They were alone, and that gave them…less comfort than they wanted, but more than it probably should give.
Some days all he wanted was to be left alone. To fly under the radar of their mother and sister, and just breathe. Other days she longed for their attention, to hear the near-nonexistent praise their mother gave and the once-in-a-blue-moon playful hair ruffles his sister used to give him.
Some days, Hanta just…wanted his family to feel like a family.
A tap on his door drove him from those thoughts. Hanta stayed still and calm, knowing pretending to be asleep could keep his sister away for a while longer. It was a risk, but one they were too tired to care about at the moment.
And then he realized the tapping wasn’t coming from their normal door. It didn’t have the heaviness behind it that his sister did either. Their mother was out of the question, she would have just walked in by now. No, the tapping was from somewhere and different. Someone on their balcony.
Hanta scrambled off their bed, nearly tripping over their blankets on the way, and threw open the door. Lo and behold, three vigilantes were standing among his plants. Basilisk immediately brightened when she saw him.
“Hanta!” She whisper-yelled, darted forward to wrap him in a hug.
He stiffened, not quite knowing how to react at the sudden affection. The vigilantes didn’t usually touch him. No one usually touched him, really. It was…nice though. Slightly overwhelming, but it helped ground him.
“Let him breathe, Basilisk,” the third vigilante sighed.
Hanta looked the new vigilante over as Basilisk stepped away. They were taller than the other two, but that might’ve also been the literal mane of hair they had. The mask was metal, but still realistic enough for Hanta to question if their face could just shift into a lion. Their glowing eyes were gold, just a shade more yellow than Basilisk’s, and were staring right at Hanta. The rest of the vigilante’s suit was brown, with dark green—thankfully fake—snakes coiled around their arms.
“Chimera, right?” Hanta asked quietly, not taking her eyes off of the vigilante.
“Mmhm. Nice to meet you.”
Hanta nodded, turning back to Ares and Basilisk. Chimera was slightly intimidating, but Hanta knew they wouldn’t touch him. Besides, the intimidation factor was nullified by the expression the mask had. It was one he had seen on curious alley cats more than once: ears forward, eyes wide and bright, and head tilted a bit to the side.
“Why didn’t- where were-“ Hanta stuttered out, stumbling over what they wanted to ask.
Thankfully, Ares understood anyway. “We were on our way last night,” he said, uncharacteristically gentle, “but we got ambushed. Another ‘vigilante’ was jealous of the attention we were getting, and wanted us gone or some shit. Attacked Kitsune midair.”
“Is he ok?”
“He’s fine,” Basilisk answered. “The knife just skimmed his side. His hoodie took the brunt of it, so he’ll be fine. Daedalus can fix the hoodie, and Kitsune just needed some bandages. He might get a new scar from it, but besides that he’s fine.”
“Well enough to whine about staying home,” Ares grumbled.
“And the other vigilante? What happened to them?”
Ares and Basilisk both smiled, and it sent goosebumps skittering over Hanta’s arms. It was the smile villains saw, he knew, but it wasn’t directed at him. The simple expression dripped with molten steel and an eerie graveyard whispers.
“He won’t be bothering our brother any more,” Chimera answered for the other two.
Hanta nodded, feeling like he should probably be more wary about that sentence than he was. But he knew the vigilantes wouldn’t hurt him. She wasn’t the one that had earned their ire.
It struck them then that their friends were vigilantes. Real, true vigilantes. They weren’t heroes, but they weren’t villains. The gray area between was where they thrived. Ares and Basilisk arrested villains and helped civilians just as easily as they put a man out of commission for hurting Kitsune.
The admittance that Kitsune was their brother was less surprising. It just confirmed what Hanta had thought for weeks now.
“We’re sorry we couldn’t warn you,” Basilisk whispered, expression back to normal. “We didn’t want to leave you alone like that, but we didn’t have time.”
“It’s ok, I understand.”
He didn’t, not fully, but it was a world that he didn’t understand anyway not yet . And it was better than being left alone for no reason.
The four of them lapsed into silence. Hanta finally closed the door behind them, making sure it didn’t click loudly. The quiet was nice. No one was yelling, no one around to voice their disappointment in him. Just the breeze and the setting sun. And the three technically-criminals standing on their balcony, but they were nice so it was fine.
It was peaceful, and Hanta felt…not necessarily safe, but certainly calmer. Calm enough to sit with his back to the cold wall and close their eyes.
“Hey, Hanta?”
They hummed, letting Basilisk know he was listening.
“We, um, we heard some stuff, when we first got here.”
“Oh yeah, why are you here so early anyway?” He asked calmly. “No one usually sees the Sirens until the sun has set.”
“We wanted to make sure you were ok— but, that’s not the point. Why was that lady yelling at you?”
Hanta focused on their breathing for a moment, keeping it the same pattern as before. There was no use deflecting the question now, not when Basilisk had asked directly. He opened his eyes to look at his masked friend.
“It was nothing,” they replied. “I forgot to do my chores, so Mother scolded me, simple as that. I deserved it.”
“But she was yelling at you?”
“Yeah?”
“That’s…” Basilisk fell quiet, and Hanta swore understanding flashed through her glowing lenses.
“No one deserves to be yelled at,” Ares said firmly, dropping to sit down on the cement and leaning against the metal railings. His glowing red eyes seemed to stare directly at Hanta. “Scolding isn’t being yelled at. If you forgot then you forgot, and you can do it later. That’s not a reason to yell at someone.”
“But it was my fault?”
“Still not a good reason,” Chimera hummed.
Hanta blinked slowly, looking at the three of them in turn. Half of him was just, confused. Their mother had always acted like that. He had just assumed every other parent was like that, even if they didn’t really have another frame of reference. Her mother had always acted kind and sweet when they had friends over, so they assumed every parent was like that.
But the other half of Hanta…the other half sang. Sang like a dust-ridden canary who could finally see freedom at the end of the tunnel. It reached for the speck of light with weary claws and croaked its song of longing for a pain-free freedom. His heart tugged them towards a future he had never let himself dare to dream of for long.
But there were fishhooks still caught in his chest, and the lines were snagging on the thicket of pain he had grown up in.
“Are…are your parents not like that?” Hanta asked carefully. They had to check; they had to be sure.
“Not the ones we have now.” Ares huffed out a breath, turning to glance up at the stars. “Our old ones though? Not so great. But sometimes…”
“Sometimes you don’t realize how bad it is until you’re free from it,” Basilisk finished for him.
Hanta mulled that over. The words were obviously something personal to the vigilantes, something learnt. It sounded true enough, but, did it apply to Hanta?
“It could be worse,” he said. “I know I have it better than some people, so I’ll be ok.”
“That doesn’t mean it can’t be better.”
Hanta stopped again, staring at Chimera for a moment. The vigilante hadn’t changed from his calm demeanor, but his voice had changed. It was stronger now. Insistent. The tone held no room for a lie with how sincere the sentence was.
It was overwhelming. Hanta had never been told something like that before. He had never heard that maybe, just maybe, things weren’t supposed to be how they were for them. That parents weren’t supposed to yell. That maybe siblings shouldn’t be attempting to stab each other. That things could change.
It felt like too much, so Hanta did what they did best: direct the attention away from himself.
“That’s very wise for someone who looks like they’re wearing souped up pajamas.”
Basilisk sounded like she had choked on her tongue, and Ares folded in half like a lawn chair to keep his cackling contained. He tapped something on his helmet before the sound completely cut out. Hanta just watched as the now eerily silent vigilante rolled around his balcony. Chimera only blinked slowly, glancing down at his costume.
“It’s more like kevlar,” Chimera said. “But I do have actual pajamas on under it.”
The three of them stopped to stare at Chimera, who seemed oblivious to the eyes on him.
“Chimera,” Basilisk said slowly, “did you not put on the clothes Daedalus gave you specifically for going out?”
Ares unmuted himself and got to his feet again, turning to face Chimera head on. “You wore your fucking pajamas out roof hopping?!”
“My jumpsuit covers it all anyway,” he mumbled. “Besides, they’re fuzzy.”
“Daedalus is going to kill you.”
“Not if Gorgon doesn’t first.”
“Or Auntie.”
Hanta felt like he was stuck in a fever dream. He had no idea what was happening anymore. They did know, however, that someone was going to fetch him for dinner soon. He told the bickering vigilantes as much.
“We should probably head back soon anyway,” Basilisk told her. “Kitsune’ll probably be hijacking Daedalus’ comms if we don’t.”
“Train leaves in fifteen,” Chimera told them.
Ares grinned, leaning towards the feral side of things. “Race to the train station?”
Chimera didn’t even wait for a countdown, he just leapt off the balcony, throwing a “nice to meet you, Hanta!” behind him. Ares cursed and waved before following. Basilisk actually paused to send him a warm smile and goodbye. She took off a second later too, screeching about cheating and unfair head starts.
Hanta watched them go, vaguely wondering what on earth the series of events he had just lived through were. It left him feeling strange, but not necessarily bad. Just, open. Like his wounds had been bared and treated with care instead of brushed off. Hanta felt…heard, for lack of a better word in their mind. He didn’t fully believe his friends, but for now, them knowing was enough. Them saying things could be better was enough.
Hanta turned to go back inside, mind warring against what he had heard, but still content.
It would be alright. He knew that. One way or another, things would be alright.
Notes:
Hanta: Kitsune is terrifying, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a god or eldritch being
Izuku: I wonder if Hanta would like flowers :D?Also no, they did not kill that other vigilante. Threatened him to kingdom come and maybe given him a broken bone or two? Yes, but no death. When you trust someone as much as these siblings do, you are 100% willing to maim a person to defend them :)
ART TIME ART TIME
Just going to say this, Alley's designs are canon as far as I'm concerned. They're just so cool!! Take another look at the ones on ch. 78 too, I will never shut up about how amazing these are
Kitsune Design! (By alleysap)
Gorgon Design! (Also by alleysap)Have a good day/night <3
Chapter 84: Escapism
Summary:
Hanta and Kitsune finally meet :)
Warnings: Mentioned verbal and physical abuse
Notes:
HELLO EVERYONE
I am back from my trip and start school again soon, so I’m glad I can get this out this week :D
Please note this chapter is a bit self projection-y, since I wrote it when I was going through a pretty tough time at home a while ago. I'm at university a majority of the year now though, so I'm mostly good <3
Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
Edit: Wait one more thing-
A vigilante name key is now at the bottom of the chapter! It'll move with each new chapter to be on the most recent one, but it's there now!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Things were…fine. They were fine. Everything was fine. Hanta was ok. It wasn’t like the yelling had gotten worse. It wasn’t like they panicked about getting in trouble every other day. Everything was fine.
…Ok it wasn’t fine, but Hanta would rather lie to himself than cave into the yawning hole of fear growing in their chest. Their mother was yelling more, both at them and his sister. Her sister lashed out more because of it, convinced Hanta was the one to blame, even if she had been the one to get yelled at.
Not that Hanta could even do anything about it. Fighting back had given him a scar before, and telling their mother only got them yelled at again. There was no way to win but to stay quiet and wait to escape.
At least Hanta had the vigilantes. They didn’t come by as often, since the heroes had lightened up in their hometown apparently, but they still made sure to come and talk with him. Over the weeks Hanta met more of them too. Gorgon, Pan, and Athena all stopped by at some point, introducing themselves and leaving Hanta awestruck. Harpy and Chimera made sure to pop up to talk again too.
The only ones Hanta had yet to meet were Daedalus and Kitsune. The former never went out patrolling with them, and the latter…honestly Hanta was still mildly terrified of Kitsune. They heard many stories from the other vigilantes about him, but none of them had dulled the primally petrifying image Kitsune had. Even Gorgon, whose mask looked like a hoard of snakes and a face cast in steel, was less scary.
Hanta couldn’t even really explain his fear. There was just something in the way Kitsune carried himself and the way his eyes glowed that made them think predator. It was like knowledge was inscribed in his every movement. Like every secret ever buried was laid bare in his gaze.
So was Hanta scared of the vigilante the others talked so highly of? Just slightly. Maybe a lot. Not like, giant spiders level terrifying, but more like finding a fly in your room and then losing it. It was the constant apprehension while waiting to see it again.
If Hanta was being honest, they were just scared of what Kitsune would see. They were scared to have their fears confirmed. It was one thing to guess he was abused, it was another to have someone else say it. And it was an entirely different ballpark to have a supposedly all-knowing possibly eldritch vigilante confirm it.
It was kinda odd that Kitsune hadn’t come by yet though. Less so the first two weeks, since he had been a little bit stabbed. From there it was obvious that Kitsune was both a dedicated vigilante and a person with only slightly more self-preservation skills than a lemming. Over the next few weeks Ares and Basilisk told him where the others were, and more often than not the answers for Kitsune were “out patrolling” and “idiot got hurt again so Daedalus made him stay home.”
Up until the night he did show up, that is.
Hanta stepped out onto the balcony, quickly closing the door behind him. The moon was above the horizon, barely a sliver against the backdrop of space. Stars were blinking above their head.
And Kitsune was crouched on the railing, staring right at Hanta.
He may have jumped, and may have thought about throwing a plant pot at the vigilante. Only maybe. Hanta did notice Ares and Basilisk a second later though.
“Uhh, hello,” Hanta squeaked out, voice cracking halfway through. “Ki-Kitsune, right?”
Kitsune nodded, tilting their fox-like head to the side. They almost seemed to glide off the railing, stepping closer to Hanta without a trace of hesitance. Ares and Basilisk watched from the side. Neither seemed worried, so Hanta figured it was ok. Yep, not like they had an extremely powerful vigilante leaning closer and closer this was fine.
Something was suddenly shoved in his vision. Hanta blinked a few times, before processing what was happening. He took the container, a small box, and opened it to see his favorite candy. A few packages of his favorite candy, actually.
“I wanted to get you something,” Kitsune told him, their voice distorted and echoey, but for all intents and purposes, had the tone of a dog wagging their tail in excitement. “And Basilisk said these were your favorite, right?”
“They- they are. Thank you.”
Kitsune beamed, and Hanta swore the vigilante glowed brighter. He was less scary than Hanta thought he would be. Still eerie and not someone Hanta wanted to anger, but less terrifying than she had thought. They didn’t feel like they were about to be stabbed, at least.
“Cool,” Ares suddenly drawled, making Hanta jump. “Now you can both stop asking about each other. Hanta, our leader and possible sad-person magnet: Kitsune. Kitsune, our friend and cool person: Hanta.”
Hanta felt their heart lighten at Ares calling him their friend. And cool— who knew one day a vigilante would be calling him the cool one. She had no idea what timeline they were in, but it seemed to be a good one.
“Hey, you were the one to find another one this time, not me,” Kitsune barked, still smiling.
“He’s not wrong, Ares,” Basilisk snickered. “Are you stealing our beloved leader’s maybe-quirk?”
Kitsune groaned, throwing his head back in a dramatic sigh. Hanta had no idea whether to laugh or worry for Ares’ safety. “First, not the leader, guys, we’ve talked about this-“
“It’s true though.”
“Stop denying it, Kitsune.”
“-Second, you two know what my quirk is.”
“Well yeah, but an-“
Ares slapped a hand under Basilisk’s chin, and her voice cut out. It was almost creepy how quick it had stopped. She turned to glare at Ares a moment later, seeming to realize what he had done. Hanta snorted as she turned her voice back on.
“Bitch,” was the first thing out of her mouth. Somehow she made it sound both scandalized and fond at the same time.
“Dumbass.”
“Cunt.”
“Idiots,” Kitsune sighed, sounding both tired but used to their shenanigans. “It’s nice to see them comfortable around someone though. Thanks for being their friend, Hanta.”
“Oh. It’s- it’s really nothing, Kitsune. I should be thanking them—and the rest of you guys, really. It’s nice, having friends.”
Kitsune grinned, softer than before. Hanta wondered how advanced the technology in his mask was to capture the expression. “It is. We don’t have many friends either, so hearing that you managed to befriend those two was certainly something to hear. I know you probably don’t fully trust us, but still, thank you. If you ever need us we’ll be there, ok?”
“I don’t know how you’d get to me,” Hanta laughed, “but thank you, really.”
“We’d find a way.”
Well, that was ominous.
Hanta looked away from Kitsune to watch as Basilisk put Ares in a headlock. The two were having the quietest wrestling match he had ever seen. It wasn’t the weirdest thing she had ever seen, but it was certainly somewhere on the list.
“Do you have another place to go?”
Hanta turned so they could look at Kitsune again, and was met with green eyes staring into his own. The vigilante wore an expression Hanta could name and didn’t really want to. Their look alone spoke of secrets and curiosity and stone walls turned to transparent glass.
“Do I…what?”
“Do you have another place to go,” Kitsune repeated, glowing eyes boring into Hanta. “You don’t want to stay, so do you have a place to go?”
Hanta stilled, the air in their lungs turning to ice. This. This was why he had been scared of Kitsune.
“What are you talking about?” He asked, voice shaking despite their best efforts. “Of course I want to- to stay.”
“No you don’t.” It wasn’t a question, and they both knew it. Hanta swallowed a breath of air.
“Even if I did—which I don’t— no, I wouldn’t have anywhere to go. Ares and Basilisk are…they’re my only friends.”
“What about family?”
Hanta wheezed a quiet, melancholic laugh. “Never met them. They’re all either dead or disowned my mother. And my father left when I was a toddler.”
Kitsune nodded in understanding, deftly dodging a stray punch from Ares. Basilisk jumped onto his back, clinging like a hyperactive lizard-monkey. Hanta didn’t question it. The two would eventually get tired of fighting.
“That’s how Ares was, kind of,” Kitsune hummed, like he wasn’t shaking Hanta’s entire perspective with one sentence. “He didn’t really have the option of whether or not to run, but he’s our brother now.”
“Ares is- Ares is your adopted brother?”
“Mmhm,” Kitsune hummed. “Did they not tell you?”
“Not- not really. I knew Ares and Basilisk were probably related somehow, and Chimera, but not how. A-and not you too.”
Kitsune snorted, the noise weird through a voice distorter. “We’re all siblings, actually.”
Now that- that was a bigger shock. There were nine of them. Nine vigilantes, all siblings. Hanta could barely wrap his head around the idea.
“…that’s a lot of people,” he said.
“Yep.”
“All in one place?”
“Uh huh.”
“…how are you all still alive?”
Apparently done with their wrestling match, Basilisk draped an arm over Kitsune’s shoulders with a smirk. “Stubbornness mostly,” she said.
“True,” Ares snorted.
“Ha, I only have one sister and she still stabs me when we spend too much time around each other.”
Hanta snapped his jaw shut, instantly regretting what they had just said. The balcony was silent. It seeped into her bones and stung the air they breathed. In the span of four second he had managed to turn the atmosphere to choking poison. They had messed up they had messed up they had messed up-
“Come with us.”
Hanta jolted, eyes wide as saucers and locked onto the vigilantes. Ares had been the one to say it, but it had quickly been echoed by Basilisk and Kitsune. The proposition hung in the air like a heavy thread of spider silk on an outstretched hand. The three masks stared back at him
“Go- go with you?” Hanta managed to choke out.
“You obviously don’t like it here with your mother,” Basilisk said softly, carefully stepping closer. “They hurt you, Hanta. Siblings aren’t supposed to actually stab each other.”
“Not maliciously, at least,” Kitsune added. “Not with the intent to hurt you as much as possible. That’s just abuse, Hanta.”
It was…terrifying, in all honesty. It was terrifying to hear it from someone’s mouth. It was terrifying to have confirmation Hanta couldn’t deny. The vigilantes were bringing his worst fears and best dreams to life. He was stuck between a raging thunderstorm and the calm of a cloudless sky, the two warring in his mind like fighting dogs. Separate halves of their brain were trying to accept and deny what she was hearing.
It would be nice to go with the vigilantes, he thought. Safer, probably. They had never raised their voice at him in anger; they had never tried to hurt him in any way. They had been nice and accepting and friends. The bar was low, and yet their mother and sister had managed to dig under it.
But it would be new. New home, new faces, and technically on the run. If their family bothered to look for them, that is. Maybe Hanta could fake their death. School would be a challenge, but it was better than only seeing their friends in dingy alleyways and running from the police.
Doubt began to creep into their thoughts at that. The vigilantes could only do so much. Hanta couldn’t ask them to risk everything for her, even if they were some of the best friends he had ever had. He couldn’t drag them down just because he wanted to get away. They couldn’t do that to them.
“I can’t,” Hanta finally whispered. “It would- it would put you in danger. I only have about s-seven years until I can move out, I’ll- I’ll be fine.”
“You can,” Ares insisted. “We can-“
“You can what? Promise to hide me from the police? From heroes? From anyone that actually looks for me?” Hanta took a breath, trying not to choke on their own fear. They were afraid. Afraid to hope; afraid to get hurt again. “You can’t promise that.”
Kitsune stepped forward, cocking their head to the side while looking at Hanta. And he- he smiled. “Yes we can.”
“What?”
“We keep our promises, Hanta, and we can promise you that we’ll keep you safe and away from them. We already run from heroes and cops, and you wouldn’t be the first member of our family that isn’t there by entirely legal means. We could keep you safe, Hanta. I promise.”
Hanta laughed, the sound coming out more like a pained wheeze than anything. The entire situation felt like they were dreaming. Like in two minutes she would wake up in bed and have to make it through another day trying to hold onto a dream that was turning to mist in his hands.
But no, it was real. Kitsune— The Kitsune —was staring at him with piercing green eyes, Ares was clenching his fists and glaring at the closed window, and Basilisk was fidgeting with the edge of their cloak. And the three were offering Hanta an escape. They were offering him a new home. It still sounded too good to be true and something more likely to happen in a fairy tale.
“I don’t- I don’t even know your real names,” Hanta nervously laughed, aware they were mostly just grasping at straws now.
Without hesitation, Basilisk answered him. “Mina Ashido. The Midoriyas adopted me when Katsuki found me in the woods after my parents abandoned me, and then brought them to court so it would be legal and all that.”
“Katsuki Bakugou,” Ares answered next. “Auntie Inko and Uncle Hisashi adopted me after my parents…after they died.”
“My name is Izuku Midoriya, nice to meet you, Hanta.” Kitsune smiled, warm and inviting and safe.
“…I did not expect you to tell me so easily.”
“We trust you.” Ares shrugged. “If you ever come home with us, you need to know our actual names. As funny as it would be to see Natsuo confused over you calling us nicknames.”
Hanta had no idea who Natsuo was, but he nodded anyway. “Um, my- my family name is Togatta. Only fair you know too.”
The three nodded, not seemingly affected by the new information at all. Hanta supposed it didn’t change much for them. They had already known his first name. But it was a sign of trust. One Hanta knew the weight of.
“So…”
“So?”
“So will you come with us?”
Hanta blinked, looking away for a moment. A thousand and one thoughts rushed through their head. The chattering ideas dragged up memories and possibilities, layer upon layer to create a static in his mind. It drowned out any actual coherent thought, but, Hanta found that he already had his answer.
Was it probably stupid? Yeah.
But would it make him happy?
“Yes.”
Notes:
Hanta: Having a mental crisis about trusting the vigilantes and in denial that they might be able to finally leave
Also Hanta: Already planning how to fake their death so they can stay with the Midoriyas“Togatta” means sharp/pointed in Japanese! Because his sister has knives on her elbows and I think I said before that his mom has knives on her fingers or wrist or something, their dad was the one with tape.
Side note: when I first wrote this, I was really debating about Hanta actually trusting the vigilantes at this point because it’s only been a few weeks/months. And in current day (almost a year ago but same thing-) I met my best friend and it took, like, three months for me to more or less fully trust her. So I am happy to say I am no longer stressed about that particular part lol
ALSO!! I move into dorms again in a week! And my classes are pretty tough this next semester, so chapters won’t be super common again for a while, sorry guys :( I genuinely adore writing and posting chapters but my degree has to come first. Wish me luck in the class people have been calling The GPA Killer o7
ART TIME ART TIME
A lovely drawing of Harpy :D (By Illa)(also Hanta's tag will be added in the next chapter or two, I think I have to revamp the fic tags before ao3 will let me add more again TwT)
Chapter 85: And Then There Were Ten
Summary:
Hanta comes home <3
Notes:
Hello my wonderful people, guess who wrote a chapter in two days
Yes I know it’s only been like 3 days, but I really wanted to get another chapter out before school starts again for me, so here we are! :DAlso I made my own minor explanation of Hanta’s quirk, since I wanted to know how it functioned, and use it a bit in this chapter. Short version: His elbows are basically spinnerets but flat, and he can change the stickiness of his tape like spiders can! Or make it double-sided tape basically. Then in his elbow are “teeth” to cut the tape, which are basically the sharp things on a tape dispenser. The bulk of his elbow is also to reel in/store the tape (once again, like a tape dispenser). I think I wrote down more somewhere, but that’s the gist of it! :D
Enjoy the chapter!!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hanta felt like the consequences of his actions weren’t quite sinking in yet, even as he shoved their favorite clothes into a backpack and grabbed anything important to them. It still didn’t feel real. Not even with Ares helping arrange their things in the bag and Basilisk quietly asking if a trinket should be brought along.
Kitsune left before they started packing, saying he had to call Daedalus. Or Mei, as he had corrected with a small grin. The still-mildly-terrifying vigilante had hopped away and out of sight. Hanta didn’t know whether to feel grateful or nervous about that.
Basilisk softly told him about the plan while they packed. Her voice never wavered as she talked about train hopping and forging documents. Hanta guessed he should have expected that, since they were vigilantes and all. It was almost funny though. Usually anything even vaguely against the law was talked about in whispers in the school yard. The casualness Basilisk and Ares spoke about it was enough to make Hanta start quietly laughing.
It might have been tinged with a bit of stress and anxiety, but it was better than a panic attack, so Hanta was just going to ignore the mess going on in her head at the moment.
“I think that’s everything I want to bring,” Hanta said, double checking that their favorite shirt was in the bag. It had been in his hamper, but that wasn’t about to stop them.
“Do you want to bring any of your plants?” Basilisk asked.
Hanta hesitated, turning to her. “Is that- is that ok? We still have to get to…wherever it is you guys live.”
“We’ll manage.” She shrugged.
Hanta nodded, walking back out to the balcony and making a b-line for his favorite plant. It was a small pothos, the longest vine barely four leaves long. A baby compared to some of the others on the balcony. The little plant was his favorite though, and also the easiest to carry across a city.
“Awww,” Basilisk cooed. “It’s so cute!”
“We can put it in the kitchen window,” Ares said.
Hanta nodded, gently wrapping the plant in a shirt and setting it into their bag. It would be safe in there for their journey. The backpack was swung onto their shoulder, heavy with clothes and whatever else Hanta didn’t want to leave behind. There…honestly wasn’t much. A box of special things, some rocks Hanta had found at a park once, and the friendship bracelets he had made with his old friend.
It wasn’t a lot, but it was all Hanta needed.
He took one last look around his room, and then closed the door behind them. Ares and Basilisk were waiting for them on the balcony. Their glowing was the only light out. The night was quiet, almost normal, despite how Hanta’s world was shaking; despite how nerves were buzzing in their chest like a jar of bees.
“How- uh, how exactly are we getting down?” Hanta asked nervously, eyeing the window back into the apartment.
“I can carry you down,” Ares said. “We can walk most of the way though, roof hopping is dangerous when you can’t fucking tuck and roll.”
Hanta nodded, watching Basilisk leap onto the railing and balance there. She turned back with a glowing, shadowed grin. Her mechanical serpentine eyes were still warmer than his own sister’s had ever been. But…
Hanta hesitated, faltering in their steps towards Ares. And the vigilantes noticed. Of course they noticed. They wouldn’t have survived this long if they weren’t observant.
“You can change your mind,” Basilisk told him softly. “We won’t be mad, I promise. We want to keep you safe, but not if-“
“No! I- no, I want to go, it’s ok.”
“Then, what’s wrong?”
Hanta debated with herself for a moment. It was a stupid thought, really. Something that would be solved whether they brought it up or not. Still though, it was another thought nagging at his mind.
“Is- can I- um…your masks, c-can you take them off? I know I’ll see your faces anyway, since you’re kind of taking me home? But I don’t- I’ve never…”
A hand tapped his upper arm, dragging Hanta’s attention back to the present. They looked up to see Ares staring at him. Basilisk was still balancing on the railing. The wind kept whispering and the stars kept shining.
Without a word, but Hanta’s eyes on him, Ares reached up and pressed a button on his mask. A few things inside the helmet clicked and whirred. A release, Hanta vaguely thought. Normal helmets don’t stay on when someone leaps and rolls over rooftops.
Ares reached up, and slid his helmet off like it weighed nothing. Hanta took a moment to stare, shocked. Ares looked…human. Remarkably, plainly human. Not a god, not a mythical creature, just, human. With spiky blonde hair and eyes a red only slightly dimmer than his screen-made ones.
Hanta tilted their head, reaching out for Ares’ face—Katsuki, they supposed—before he could think. His friend didn’t move, just watched with a raised eyebrow. Like he expected Hanta to stop.
She did not. Instead, Hanta soundly booped Katsuki’s nose, just to make sure he was real.
Basilisk started cackling, nearly falling off the railing. Katsuki just blinked slowly, still not moving. Hanta backed up with a nervous laugh on their tongue.
“Sorry, sorry, I wasn’t-“
Katsuki shut Hanta up by tapping their nose right back. His triumphant smirk just made Basilisk laugh harder.
“Now we’re even.”
Hanta choked out a surprised laugh, still reeling over seeing Katsuki’s face. He had figured out they weren’t far-off in age a while ago—you don’t spend that much time with someone and not realize they aren’t teenagers or even adults—but seeing his face cemented that. The vigilantes really were kids like him. Absurdly strong and scary kids, but still.
Basilisk let go of the railing, still crouching on it in a feat of balance Hanta didn’t know was entirely possible. “Oh! Hang on one second.”
Another click, and Basilisk took off her mask too. Hanta stood there blinking for a moment. He hadn’t quite expected for Mina to be bright pink. Her eyes were cool, with black sclera and gold irises, and there were horns poking out of her hair. They were usually hidden by the fins on her mask, he realized.
Different looking as she was, Mina was still just as human as Katsuki. Still just as much a kid as he was. Even if she did look like she actually had the powers of her vigilante namesake.
“So, you ready to go now?” She asked cheerily, smile even brighter than the moon without a mask having to reflect the expression.
Hanta couldn’t help returning with his own grin, backpack on their shoulders and hope in their heart. “Yeah, I am.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Mina loved her brother. She loved all her siblings.
But laughing at their (non-physical) pain was just so much fun.
Katsuki was carrying Hanta on his back, and trying to get down to the street without waking anyone up. Or their new sibling screaming. Which was easier than Mina thought apparently; Hanta wasn’t making a peep as Katsuki slowly dropped them from balcony to balcony, explosions crackling in his palms to steady them. Mina watched from the rooftops like a curious lizard, stifling her laughter at Katsuki’s muffled cursing.
They had their masks back on, which meant Mina could hear Izuku talking to Mei about practicing more rescue scenarios. She could hear Momo in the background too. Actually Mina could hear most of their family in the background, but only if she focused on the voices.
Katsuki finally reached the ground with Hanta, letting their new sibling stand on his own feet. Mina stayed on the roof, watching as Katsuki turned his com back on.
“Keep an eye out?” Ares said.
“Well I’d like to keep my eyes-“
“I swear to fucking-“
“I’ll watch out for people, don’t worry,” Mina giggled, jumping to the next building over.
She did keep a figurative eye out, scanning the streets and alleyways for any life. Villains and heroes alike were people to avoid, and civilians were a chance they weren’t willing to risk right now. They had to get Hanta home. That was their first goal, everything else could wait.
Mina felt like she blinked, and then Kitsune was across the street, parallel to her so they could watch out for their siblings. His glowing green looked like soft moonlight from her vantage point. He shot her a white-metal grin when he caught her eye, leaping over alleys as he went.
They made it to the train station without incident. Well, an alley beside the train station, since walking up in full vigilante outfit was a pretty quick way to get heroes called on them. None of them were worried though, Kitsune always had a plan.
“So, how are we getting there?” Hanta asked, eyeing the train platform. “Because unless you guys somehow bribed the security guards, I don’t think we’re getting on a train.”
“We’re not getting in a train,” Izuku told them, grin turning to something familiar. One Mina copied without thinking, knowing whatever happened next would bring an adrenaline rush. “We’re getting on a train.”
“…is there a difference?”
“Yep!” Kitsune chirped. “Basilisk, Ares, you two know the way. Hanta, are you ok with riding on my back for a minute? We’ll get on while the train is stopped, and then I can use rope to tie you to me.”
Their new sibling seemed to be processing the fact that they were going train hopping. It took him a minute, but they eventually nodded, climbing into Izuku’s back. Mina was nearly buzzing with excitement. It didn’t take her and Katsuki long to skitter up the support beams and onto the station roof. Izuku followed, albeit a bit more carefully.
Standing above a train pulling into the station, Mina smiled, and jumped.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hanta felt like he should be slightly more panicked about seeing his new sister (and wasn’t that a thought) jump off a low roof and onto a train. She landed fine though, a hollow thunk echoing back up to them. Katsuki followed not a second after.
Kitsune—Izuku—turned back to them first, a small smile on his fox mask. “You ready? We can find another way on if you don’t want to jump from here.”
“I’m- I’m good. Not the highest thing I’ve jumped from.”
Izuku tilted his head in silent curiosity, but didn’t question the words. Instead he turned back to the train, and jumped off their roof.
The landing was heavier than the other two, which Hanta guessed was because of him. Still, they made it, and now the four of them were crouching on the roof of a train about to start moving.
What was his life.
“We have magnets on our shoes and in our gloves,” Katsuki explained, showing how he couldn’t move his feet after pressing a button. “But since you don’t have any yet, you can-“
“You can borrow my gloves!” Mina chirped, already handing them to Hanta. “I can make my own handholds, and we have a rope to make double sure you won’t blow away. There’s a little thing on the side here, see? That’s what activates the magnets.”
Hanta took the gloves, running a thumb over the material. “How did you guys even get gear like this?”
“Oh, Daedalus made it for us.”
If the circumstances were different, Hanta would have nodded, having already guessed that. They would have wondered if Daedalus would make him something, even if he wasn’t a vigilante.
But the actual scenario is that Hanta knew Daedalus was around their age, and somehow had access to materials to make electromagnetic gloves and masks with tech advanced enough to copy expressions. Add on the fact that all the Sirens had gear like it, and Hanta was content to just not think about it for at least another twelve hours.
“Cool.”
“Well now that that’s out of the way,” Izuku said, “I have some rope to make sure you don’t start sliding or something.
Hanta hesitated, but steeled their resolve. There was no time like the present. His new family were going to learn his quirk at some point anyway, might as well do it now. Rope was more uncomfortable anyway.
“No, it’s ok, I’ve got it.”
He didn’t wait for their confused responses, instead just shooting tape out of their elbows. It stuck to the roof of the train just like it did everything else. He didn’t bother cutting it, the retractable teeth in his elbows staying put. A moving train was probably pushing his limits, but he’d be fine. Probably.
His old quirk doctor had said his tape was virtually indestructible to anyone but him anyway. Holding onto a train would be a cinch.
“Is that…tape?” Mina asked, leaning forward to get a better look.
“Uh, kinda? It’s more like spider silk I think, but flat like tape, so…”
“Oh yeah,” Ares said. “You told us your quirk was tape, didn’t you. Just didn’t expect it to come out of your elbows like that.”
Hanta nervously fidgeted with the edge of his tape, before glancing up at the other three. Mina just looked curious, staring at the tape and looking like she was trying hard to not reach out and touch it. Which was good, since it would probably get stuck to her. Katsuki was obviously curious but trying to be nonchalant about it.
Hanta felt a chill run down her spine. They turned, and saw Kitsune staring at him with their head cocked to the side. There was a look in his green obsidian eyes, something sharp, and something slightly inhuman. For a moment—time was heavy and suspended. It was like they were sitting in a pitch-black, silent room, and only each other’s wordless company in existence. It felt like something was searing into Hanta’s mind with no pain to accompany it.
Kitsune gazed into his soul and simply, soundlessly, said I wonder-
And just as quickly as it had come, the feeling dulled. Kitsune was still staring at him, but Hanta wasn’t being choked by paralyzing fear. The green eyes were curious instead of a sharpened drill. Hanta had no idea what the look had been, other than he had felt like a rabbit caught in the paws of a fox.
If that was through a mask, Hanta hated to think what would happen if that look was directed at them without the barrier. He did wonder though, if that were some aspect of Izuku’s quirk, or something else.
He hoped it was nothing.
“That’s really cool, Hanta,” Izuku said earnestly, drawing their attention again. “And you’re sure it’ll hold you?”
“Yeah. My mother had me do some- uh, quirk testing when I was younger. Unless the composition has drastically changed since I was five, my tape doesn’t really…break.”
“So cool,” Mina breathed, practically watching with stars in her eyes. It made Hanta want to bury his blushing face in his shirt.
“Ready to go then?” Izuku asked.
“Y-yeah, I think-“
The train chose that moment to start moving. Hanta yelped, reflexively reeling his tape in a bit more. The clink of magnets hitting metal rang beside him. Something nudged their arm before they picked up too much speed. Hanta looked over to see Izuku handing him a pair of goggles.
“Put these on,” he said, “trying to keep your eyes open on a moving train isn’t fun without them.”
Hanta quickly slipped them on, crouching low on the train as it picked up speed. Buildings began to blur and lights began to blink by too quickly to catch. He heard Mina start cheering like they were on a roller coaster. Every word Hanta would have spoken was ripped away by the wind. It was almost like they were being lifted on invisible wings, being carried home faster than he had ever gone before.
It was breathtaking. Quite literally, since the air pressing on their chest whisked away their breath. But Hanta couldn’t help his wild grin. There was something about going so fast he could be flying that made them nearly giddy.
Combine that with the realization that she was one of very few people that would get to experience this? Hanta really did feel light.
The train ride seemed to end too quickly. Before he knew it, Hanta was reeling in his tape and clinging to Katsuki as he leapt up and onto the train station roof. Getting down was surprisingly easy, thankfully, since the station roof had a ladder. As fun as the train had been, Hanta was about ready to hug the stationary cement.
The three of them walked confidently down streets Hanta had never seen. There was still the odd person out, even if it was the middle of the night. Hanta guessed they probably weren’t the kind of people the four of them wanted to get close to. That was fine in her mind though, they weren’t planning on sticking around long anyway.
It did help that a few of the people took one look at the three glowing vigilantes and scurried back into whatever alleyway they had come out of. Which was fine by Hanta. He was perfectly content to hold onto their backpack straps and follow after their new, very intimidating siblings, thank you very much.
Hanta was still slightly reeling as they walked. Mina was chattering about their family, seeming to have no reservations about keeping it a secret now that they were taking him home like a stray cat. It was nice to listen to. They may have learned a bit too much, but it was funny. Especially when Mina told him about how they had to climb fences to get back home, since their neighbors had cameras near their front doors but not in their backyards. Izuku chipped in that it was like what cats did. Katsuki compared them to opossums, causing Mina to yell slightly-too-loudly about how it was one time she had eaten a grasshopper from their yard.
Hanta didn’t know what to make of that, so they just held onto their backpack straps and watched as the others clambered up onto the wooden fence.
After nearly falling into someone’s yard about seven times, the three intentionally jumped down into one. Hanta followed, trailing behind them as Izuku opened the door to a shed.
“This is where we keep everything,” he explained. “We’ll put it away then introduce you to everyone, sound alright?”
“Yeah. I’ll just- wait out here.”
It didn’t take long for the three to change, thankfully. Hanta got a peek into the shed, and saw so many things. Things he had no idea what they were used for, but that he knew were probably dangerous in some capacity. And that it was for the better if they made it a priority to never piss off Mei. Anyone with what looked like a weaponized drone was not someone to be messed with.
The vigilantes emerged a few moments later, costumes and masks stored away. Izuku was…almost exactly like Hanta had imagined he would look like. Green hair, green eyes that were very bright, and freckles on his cheeks. He smiled at Hanta, and Hanta thought the sun had come out again.
Izuku was still Kitsune, but he was definitely softer out of costume. Hanta decided to step lightly anyway.
The grass rustled under their feet as the vigilantes led Hanta to the door. The creak of the wood on the porch felt far too loud, and the slide of the backdoor was concerningly close to an alarm bell in Hanta’s tired and definitely not thinking clearly mind.
He was nervous. Nervous the other vigilantes might not agree with bringing them home, nervous they might not like him once they were out of costume. Hanta wasn’t going to go back though, so she just steeled herself, and stepped inside.
The house was…remarkably normal looking, for how many people supposedly lived there. Near the door was a big couch, a couple chairs beside it and a coffee table in the center. To the right, Hanta could just barely make out the kitchen and a massive table. The front door was beyond the room, hardly visible in the dark. A hallway stretched off to the left, probably housing rooms and stairs.
It was silent inside. Hanta’s eyes flickered around rapidly, head turning towards every little sound. The other three didn’t seem worried. Izuku made a b-line for the kitchen, a small light illuminating the room for a moment. Hanta heard running water and a cup quietly land on the counter.
Mina, now in pajamas instead of her vigilante coat, padded towards the hallway. Katsuki stayed behind a moment longer to lock the door they had come in. Hanta very much felt like he was invading a home that wasn’t theirs. A life that wasn’t something they deserved. A family…
“Everyone’s upstairs,” Katsuki muttered, cutting off Hanta’s train of thought. “Come on, before the dumbasses storm down the stairs themselves. Ochako wouldn’t shut up while we were on the train.”
Hanta nodded, still a bit dazed with the whole situation. Their backpack hung heavy on their shoulders. Despite all of his nerves, he followed after Mina and Katsuki.
The hall did have the stairs, which were decorated with picture frames along one wall. Hanta didn’t stop to stare at them too long. Upstairs had more hallways, and was even eerier than downstairs. Their new siblings led him down one side.
The door at the end opened before they got there, revealing someone Hanta had never seen the face of. They appeared slightly annoyed, and tired, but ultimately happy.
“Aunt Ko’s gonna be so confused.” Oh, it was Harpy—Ochako? She looked every bit a tired human as everyone else did. She turned to Hanta and waved, yawning in the middle of it. “Hiya Hanta. You can sleep here or in Mei’s room. Which is pretty much the guest room now. She doesn’t use it, pretty sure anything ‘splosive was taken to the shed.”
“I, uh…”
“Let them meet everyone first, Ocha,” Izuku laughed quietly. “Come on, everyone in. We don’t wanna wake up Momma and Dad.”
Hanta nodded, tiptoeing their way inside the room. Looking around, he could immediately tell a lot of people lived in it. Not only because all of said people were there, but because of how much there was. Mismatching posters plastered the walls. Knickknacks and figurines occupied every available space, rocks and hero models scattered over shelves on the walls. There were multiple dressers and a closet that wasn’t closed all the way. Somehow it felt…safe.
Ignoring the fact that nine people were currently staring at him, that is.
“Uh…h-hi?”
The rest of the vigilantes scrambled to their feet, whisper-shouting his name and a happy greeting. It was overwhelming, but…nice, somehow. Hanta recognized some of their voices. Only because he knew who she was talking to. If they didn’t, then it would have been near-impossible to guess. Their voice distorters did their job well.
A few of them were obviously more tired that others, leaning on the shoulders of their siblings with mumbled words. Mina was one of them. She trudged over to their massive bed—Hanta seriously wondered just how many mattresses made up the thing—and flopped into the nest of blankets.
“Everyone say their actual names,” Izuku yawned, closing the door behind them. “You already know Hanta, but he doesn’t know your faces.”
They went in some sort of coherent-ish line, each of the siblings introducing themselves with their actual names. Hanta knew for a fact they were going to slip up and forget their names at some point, but he still did his best to mentally attach names to faces.
“Well now that that’s done, I’m going to sleep, goodnight,” Shouto mumbled. Hanta was still stuck on the fact that he was an actual chimera, in the way that meant he was two split colors instead of a goat-lion-snake creature.
“Are you sleeping in here, Hanta?” Momo—Athena, and every bit as graceful even out of costume—asked them.
“Yes? I think- I think I’d like to stay here, probably.”
“Come on then, Spider boy,” Mei grumbled, falling face first into the mattress. “Sleep before someone tackles you.”
“Before they…what?”
“You heard me.”
Hanta hesitated, just kind of standing there blinking for a moment. In the meantime the rest of the siblings settled into the bed. One by one they all found a place to lay, seeming to mostly abandon pillows in favor of using another person. Blankets were pulled over whoever wanted one, while others just immediately passed out in the middle of the warm pile.
Preferring to not get tackled or otherwise toppled into the bed, Hanta set their bag down, then tentatively stepped onto the mattress. Katsuki and Mina were off to one side, so he gravitated towards them. Mina was already quietly snoring. Katsuki was still awake though, and staring up at Hanta as they silently debated the pros and cons of sleeping on the corner of the bed.
Katsuki seemed to decide for them though. He sat up quickly, grabbed Hanta’s wrist, and pulled her down with him. Hanta landed face first into a blanket. Honestly she was just thankful it wasn’t another person, with how many were gathered around them.
The first thing they registered was just how warm it was. There were fans whirring around the room, but the pile of siblings was just- warm. It was soft and comforting, and…something Hanta hadn’t had for years. Katsuki’s arm was draped over his back, and Mina was shuffling over to nestle her head next to Hanta’s arm.
It was a bit overwhelming, but it was almost like Hanta had stepped into a warm house after being out in the snow. He hadn’t realized just how cold they were. The warmth wasn’t stifling, even if the touch was a bit overwhelming.
Hanta wondered when the last time they had had this much physical contact was.
…when was the last time they had been hugged, again?
They were touch starved, that much Hanta knew. But he also shied away from most touch. It was kind of inevitable, with the family they had. But now he wasn’t there. Now, they were with the Midoriyas, people that…that he trusted.
Trust was hard for Hanta, so the fact that they actually trusted the Midoriyas?
It meant everything.
Hanta let himself melt into the touch and the warmth and the safety of their new family. He was asleep within minutes.
Notes:
I swear I meant to have them take their masks off earlier but then completely forgot. My justification is that people can be idiots especially when they’re stressed. This is coming from a person who does stupid things when stressed.
ALSO!! This is the halfway mark for Hanta’s arc! Next chapter is the parents' reactions :3
Next chapter will either not be for another month or in like, 3 days again. Don’t hold out hope though I have a lot to do before I can move again TwTSee you next chapter! Have a good day/night <3
Chapter 86: Did We Always Have This Many Children?
Summary:
First morning home! Chaos Breakfast Time with a side of Mild Crime :D
Notes:
HELLO THIS FINALLY EXISTS
I have had 3 exams this last week, 2 on the same day. I Am Tired. But done! No exams for two more weeks! Hoping I can have slightly more time to write but I’m not gonna hold my breath. This is finally getting posted either way so yay :D
Hope you enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Waking up was… weird.
For one, Hanta was warm. Which was odd in itself. He was perpetually cold, and no amount of blankets stacked on their bed usually helped. It wasn’t anything dangerous, just a feeling that never quite let her be without goosebumps and craving something they didn’t have.
The warmth was what registered first, in the lizard part of Hanta’s brain that was the only part working when he was just barely waking up. Lizard Brain declared it was warm so they shouldn’t move.
But the second thing that registered was the touch.
Hanta was laying on their stomach, and seemed to be trapped for the moment. A head was pillowed on their back. The weight was heavy, but not unbearably so, and kept Hanta from moving. Not that they were going to in the first place, but still. A leg was also tangled in his right arm, and what he guessed was a fluffy blanket had been flung over his legs at some point.
The third and final thing Hanta realized was the noise. It wasn’t loud, or annoying like Hanta found a lot of noises, but soft and constant. It was the sound of quiet breathing around the entire room, which meant a lot of people. There was also the occasional ruffling of blankets and shifting pillows. Voices sounded from down the hall, just wordless sound from how far away they were. The door was still shut when Hanta glanced up at it.
It wasn’t how Hanta was expecting to wake up. A part of him still half believed it was all a dream, something they would wake up from. That they would be right back to their cold bed and steel-cold fear and emptiness that only filled at night on their balcony. But it was real. Hanta was warm and safe, a soft golden feeling glowing in their chest.
Different as it was, it definitely wasn’t bad. Hanta was still slightly overwhelmed by how much physical contact there was, but the feeling was addicting. He had never had closeness. Maybe…maybe they could now.
Maybe going home with vigilantes had been the best decision of Hanta’s life.
~~~~~~~~~~
Inko had known it was only a matter of time. She knew her kids, and she recognized the way they talked about their new friend. At first she had been worried—of course she was, she was a mother—but after a while she realized why her kids were drawn to the friend they met in costume.
More details had begun to slip when they talked about Hanta. How he used different pronouns, how their family didn’t seem especially good, and just how skinny the child was. Inko, with all the empathy of a mother, had already begun mentally planning for another kid. Would this one need to go through the adoption system? Would they need forged papers? A new name? Possibly an entirely new look?
Either way, Inko was already preparing for a child to show up at their door. They didn’t have much of a budget to take Hanta all-out shopping, but Inko knew which places had good secondhand clothes that weren’t too expensive. Maybe a family trip to the beach would be nice as well. Knowing her kids, Hanta would come home with at least ten cool rocks and/or shells.
All of that was to say, when Inko woke up in the middle of the night and subsequently checked on her kids, she wasn’t entirely surprised to find a new face in their tangle of blankets and limbs. Hanta was taller than she expected, but definitely fit the description Katsuki had given. That being “skinny beanpole kid that needs more sleep.”
The sight was honestly adorable. Hanta was passed out alongside the rest of Inko’s kids, looking peaceful even if his face was a bit dirt smudged. It reminded Inko of a group of otters. She knew very well what her children were capable of, but they were also some of the cutest things in the universe.
Inko silently closed the door again, retreating back to her and Hisashi’s room.
When morning rose, she was one of the first ones awake. It wasn’t too surprising, what with her kids staying up to get a new sibling and her husband having worked late as well. Inko just shrugged, made some coffee, and got to work on breakfast. Hisashi was usually the one to make it, but Inko wasn’t about to go wake him up, and their family needed food regardless.
Soon enough Inko could hear the pattering of feet coming down the stairs. A head of green hair poked in through the doorway, soon followed by Izuku’s bright smile as he spotted her.
“Morning, Momma!”
“Good morning, Izuku.” Inko smiled, automatically raising an arm as Izuku leaned into her side. “I heard we might have another someone here.”
“Oh…yeah, I was going to tell you…”
“I know,” Inko hummed. “You trust Hanta?”
“We do. We wouldn’t have brought them home if we didn’t.”
Inko nodded, stirring the miso soup on the stove. “Then make sure Hanta knows their way around the house, and that we’re eating soon. Could one of you go wake up Natsuo too?”
Izuku just nodded, racing out of the room and back up the stairs. Kouji and Mei walked into the kitchen as he left, both taking a seat at the table to watch Inko.
More of the kids slowly joined them, some sitting in the living room while others came into the kitchen to wait. Hanta emerged from the stairs alongside Mina and Katsuki, looking for all the world like a skittish cat three seconds away from bolting back to their room. Inko pretended to not notice them.
“Momma Inko?”
Inko turned, smiling softly at the three kids. Hanta was attempting to be subtle about hiding behind Katsuki. He wasn’t doing an especially good job of it, but they were also a bit taller than the spiky blond.
“Hello there,” Inko said, hoping it came out less nervous than she felt. “It’s nice to meet you, Hanta.”
“Hi- um, hi Mrs. Midoriya.”
“You can call me Inko,” she laughed lightly, focusing on the pot again. “Do you like miso soup?”
“I do.”
“Fuck yeah,” Katsuki cheered groggily, voice still raspy from sleep. “Auntie Inko’s miso is the fuckin’ best.”
“Thank you, Katsuki.”
The two padded over to the table, Hanta following close behind. Mei immediately struck up a conversation with Katsuki. Something about gloves that Inko wasn’t going to question for the sake of her sanity. Her kids could do what they wanted as long as it didn’t hurt anyone.
Rei appeared at her side soon enough. She paused in the kitchen doorway, looking over at Inko with a questioning look and subtle gesture to the extra child at the table.
“That’s Hanta,” Inko whispered.
Rei nodded, already knowing the name. She joined the kids at the table, calmly and sleepily waiting for the soup to be done. They were all holding their own conversations with each other, not bothering to whisper and hide anything. Inko appreciated the trust her kids had in them. Her kids hadn’t had an easy life, but they trusted her, Hisashi, and Rei. They knew they were loved, and that was all she could ask for.
Breakfast was almost done when Hisashi finally wandered in. It was second nature for Inko to lean to the side so he could kiss the top of her head and mumble good morning.
“Soup is almost done,” she told him.
“Cool. Smells delicious as always, Love.”
Inko shook her head fondly, and nudged Hisashi towards the table. The kids were watching him with matching mischievous grins. A few of them were whispering back and forth, gesturing to Hanta between sentences.
Hisashi didn’t seem to notice, and walked over to the table to lean on one of the chairs. He ruffled Izuku’s hair as he stood. The other kids were giggling as their brother ducked out of the way, squawking about how his hair was already enough of a mess.
“Yeah yeah, love you guys too,” Hisashi huffed, slumping over the back of the chair and closing his eyes, his black hair just as much a mess as Izuku’s was.
The rest of the kids were trying not to laugh at that point, and not doing the best job of it. Inko kept one eye on them and one eye on the soup. She pretended to not notice Rei pulling out her phone to film.
“Alright, what’s so funny?” Hisashi asked, finally opening his eyes again. “Do I have-“
Hisashi stopped talking, and Inko glanced over to see he had locked eyes with Hanta. Said kid was staring right back, their almost-black eyes wide and unblinking. The rest of the kids had stopped to watch as well.
“Inko,” Hisashi said, turning to her with a look that she could only describe as horrified and utterly heartbroken. “Inko did I forget one of our kids? I know I’m tired but I don’t remember this one, am I getting dementia? I thought I was too young for that! Inko why are you laughing-“
“You didn’t forget one, Hisashi, don’t worry,” Inko laughed, trying to keep her voice even. “This is Hanta.”
“Oooh. Ok. Ok, yeah, that makes more sense. It’s nice to meet you Hanta, we’ve heard a bit about you from our kids.”
“O-oh. Nice to meet you too, Mr. Midoriya.”
“Just call me Hisashi, kid,” he chuckled.
Hanta nodded, tugging at their shirt hem. Inko turned back to the soup in time for Natsuo to walk through the doorway. He looked at the table, saw Hanta, and muttered, “It’s too early for this.” The other kids snickered as he trudged his way to a chair to sit down.
“Miso soup is done,” Inko declared.
The kids immediately scrambled out of their chairs. Rei got down the bowls first, and handed them to each person. A line formed for them to dish up their breakfast, which Hanta was dragged into by Katsuki. The pot slowly drained lower as Inko’s family got their food and retreated back to the table.
It was messy and loud, just like every one of their shared meals were. Inko kept glancing over at Hanta to make sure they were handling everything alright. He seemed to be a bit confused at the chaos, but otherwise fine.
“So, Momma-“ Ah, there it was, Inko had been expecting something. “-how hard is it to forge documents?”
“Not easy for me, but if I had to guess, Niseru taught Mei enough to help make it easier.”
“Yep,” Mei happily confirmed. “I can change your name too, Hanta.”
“Oh…I’ll- uh, I’ll have to think about it.”
“Suit yourself,” she hummed, putting another spoonful in her mouth.
“And if Hanta were theoretically-“ Mina started.
Inko sighed, but wasn’t able to hide her small grin. “If Hanta were to theoretically need to hide from police, heroes, and anyone else searching, yes, we can hack into those systems and delete the needed information.”
The kids nodded, most of them smiling around their breakfast. It was normal to them at this point. Ever since they had discovered Inko and Hisashi had been vigilantes, they had learned about how some of their siblings were actually able to stay. Momo and Mei were the only ones with explicitly forged paperwork and identities, but Inko had needed to gather evidence somehow. Those methods may have been slightly illegal. They got the job done well though, and her kids found it interesting, so it was no sweat off her back.
Hanta, however, was not used to that kind of talk. They were looking around the table with wide eyes, very obviously shocked with their nonchalance.
“That’s- that’s something you can do? That’s just- something you guys talk about over breakfast?”
“We’re vigilantes.” Izuku shrugged. “Momma and Dad were vigilantes too, but they’re retired.”
“And I learned to hack stuff from their old friend,” Mei told them. “And I make stuff. And blow things up sometimes but that’s not important to this probably.”
“Aunt Inko threatened my sperm donor once,” Shouto said.
Hanta visibly hesitated, but spoke anyway. “And that would be…?”
“Endeavor.”
“Oh.” Hanta stared down at his soup for a moment, like they were hoping the bowl might hold the answers to the universe. “This family is really weird but also really cool.”
The entire table broke into a fit of laughter. Hanta immediately began to turn red, ducking their head into their arms.
“I didn’t mean to say that out loud,” she mumbled.
“It’s ok, dear,” Inko laughed. “Finish your food now, we can discuss everything else later.”
Hanta nodded, and dug back in with significantly more pink-tinged cheeks now. The rest of the kids followed, never ones to pass up food. Inko couldn’t help smiling fondly.
Her kids may be chaotic—with a strong sense of morals and justice to boot—but more than anything, they were kind. And that was what was important.
Notes:
Can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it before, but there’s a podfic/reading of NOLB! Link to the youtube version under this part, but MY GOODNESS Star has done an amazing job reading the first few chapters. Made me realize Wow I actually wrote this?? It sounds like someone reading me a book??
GO LISTEN (chapters 1-3 up as of posting this) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqG7IKFlmZoALSO WE HAVE ART THIS WEEK :D
Aquarium trip! (Chapter 29) (By Amethysthope7)Next chapter: Baby's first Midoriya Shopping Trip and Hisashi being a good dad
Chapter 87: Overwhelmed
Notes:
HALLO :D
I live!! Sorry this chapter took 2 months, I had quite a few exams back to back and then FINALS but hey I’m done for the semester now!! And I passed all of them!!! My professors really said “you shouldn’t take cell biology and organic chemistry at the same time, you won’t do well” and I went “Watch Me” and got an A in both classes B)
Don’t hold your breath for next semester though, I have 3 pretty challenging classes, 1 with a professor that’s known to have some of the hardest classes in my major, so. We’ll see how that goes. On the bright side I get to go to an aquarium for that class so yay :D
Anyway! I hope you enjoy the chapter <3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Midoriyas’ house was…weird. Not bad, but definitely weird. Hanta wasn’t used to their particular brand of chaos.
First, he had woken up absolutely surrounded by people. It had taken him a minute to realize, oh yeah, these are the Sirens. The growing-famous vigilantes. The ones considered dangerous. The same ones Hanta now saw flopped over each other like a pile of kittens. Athena was holding Pan’s arm like a teddy bear. Hanta knew their actual names.
It was such a crazy thought that she almost wondered if they were still dreaming. They weren’t, but still. It was surreal to see the group—who a lot of people were starting to look up to, Hanta included—asleep with bedhead and drool on their blankets.
And then Hanta met Inko, Hisashi, and Rei. They were the kindest yet weirdest adults Hanta had ever met. He spent most of the morning waiting for the shoe to drop, for them to do anything that his mother usually did. They waited, and waited, and yet…and yet nothing happened. Hisashi and Inko had to leave for work, but Rei stayed. She asked about the new plant nestled in their kitchen window. When Hanta nervously stuttered out that it was theirs she had smiled, and promised to water it if Hanta ever forgot.
Natsuo was just as weird, if a bit less than the adults. He stared at Hanta in confusion before Rei patiently explained why he was there. The boy just nodded and said he would be out with friends in the afternoon. No fuss, no insults, nothing like Hanta’s older sister.
It was strange, but nice so far. Hanta still felt like the illusion was going to be shattered by the adults at any moment, but besides that they loved the new environment. They had never lived around many people, which became glaringly obvious as the day went on.
For one, Hanta wasn’t used to the movement. Someone was always moving, whether that be between rooms or writing something on a paper. Mina did a random cartwheel before lunch and no one batted an eye. Groups shuffled and reshuffled over and over and over and Hanta had no idea why. There were three different conversations going on that he could hear. Nothing was necessarily loud, but there was still a lot of sound, and they weren’t used to it.
Hanta also had nothing to do, so that added to their growing distress. Everyone else was doing homework or discussing vigilante things. In the meantime, Hanta had no schoolwork and nothing to occupy their hands. And it wasn’t exactly like they could all have a conversation on hiding him from the cops at the moment. Inko was needed for that, and she wasn’t home.
He must have been worse at hiding his unease than he thought, because in the middle of the river of noise Mei sighed loudly and got to her feet, staring right at Hanta with crosshair eyes.
“Come on, Spider Boy,” she said, holding out a hand. “I need your help with something.”
“Oh. Oh- yeah, ok.”
Hanta scrambled to her feet, practically chasing Mei out the backdoor. It slid shut behind them, and muffled the noise from inside. Both of them seemed to relax a little at the quiet.
“Come on,” Mei hummed, jumping over the three porch stairs. “We’re going to my workshop, where’s it quieter.”
“Do you…actually need my help?”
“Nope,” Mei said, popping the p. “But you weren’t doing anything besides getting more anxious sitting there, so you might as well join me in the shed. At least there the noise is me working on metal and coding.”
Hanta followed after Mei, blinking a bit in surprise. “Oh. Thank you, that- that sounds really nice actually.”
“Sometimes we all need some time away from other people.” Mei shrugged, unlocking the shed door. “My workshop is generally that place. Just don’t touch anything.”
“Ok. Can I… ask why?”
“Because some of it might explode.”
“…well that’s fun.”
“Yep!”
Mei opened the door and stepped inside without hesitation. Hanta poked their head in first to look around. They had seen the shed last night, but everything was different in the daylight. The inside looked bigger than it was supposed to be. Shelves and tables lined every wall, all of it occupied by some invention or another. The vigilantes' costumes were neatly stored in what appeared to be cubby holes. One of the back corners was occupied by beanbags and pillows.
Hanta closed the door behind himself, and gingerly edged over to a beanbag. Mei had pulled something off a shelf above her head. To Hanta it just looked like a bundle of wires and some bits of glass. It was undoubtedly something way more important, but he couldn’t quite tell what it was.
Without even looking over at him, Mei started talking. “I’m working on some more things for the vigilante costumes,” she explained. “This is hopefully going to be a prototype for heat vision that I can install in all of their masks.”
“Aren’t night vision goggles usually, you know, bigger? How will they fit inside the masks?”
“Usually, yes,” Mei hummed, not looking away from where she was fiddling with one of the pieces. “But none of my babies are ‘usual.’ If I want to make it small enough to fit in their masks, then I’m going to make it small enough to fit inside their masks.”
Hanta was struck with the sudden realization of what made Mei such a terrifying inventor. She saw the rules set by others and treated them like discoveries made five hundred years ago. They had a basis, but could be vastly improved upon. Mei was always two steps away from giving the laws of physics the middle finger.
Hanta was both curious and extremely worried for what would happen if his new sister ever got access to a professional support gear workshop. He also had questions. A lot of questions. Mostly about how the hell she had gotten her hands on half the equipment surrounding the two of them.
“Is there anything else you’re working on?” He asked instead.
“A few things,” Mei answered easily. “This takes priority, but I also found a hologram disk in the trash a while ago so I’m taking that apart to figure out how it works. Once I do I’m going to make a better one. There are a few things I need to fix too, like Hitoshi’s mask and the emote network not working properly. And…”
Mei glanced over at the other side of her desk. A stack of cloth and metal laid on the edge, a sewing machine sitting beside it. All of it was golden and expensive looking, but unfinished.
“Is that going to be yours?”
Mei finally looked up at him, one eyebrow raised. “How did you know that was a costume? It’s just fabric and pieces right now.”
“You don’t have one yet, as far as anyone knows, and the myth of Daedalus is connected to Icarus, right? So gold and wings would fit you.”
“You’re right.” Mei paused, seeming to stare into his soul for a moment, before turning back to her work. “You’re smarter than you look. Want to help me make something fun?”
“Depends. Does ‘fun’ mean I’ll get exploded?”
Mei paused, considering. “Most likely not. Probably. This time at least.”
“Then what do you have in mind, oh wise inventor?”
He didn’t know if they should be worried about the absolutely feral smile that Mei suddenly donned, but everyone in the family was in one piece after living with Mei for so long, so they figured it would turn out fine.
~~~~~~~~~~
Katsuki was expecting a lot of things in the days following Hanta coming home.
Finding a knockoff Roomba in their kitchen was not one of those things. Especially since the thing seemed to have a knife built into the front of it like some sort of violent unicorn. He watched as the robot bumped into the counter. It meowed.
Katsuki walked back out of the kitchen, deciding he would rather keep his ankles, thank you very much.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hisashi honestly didn’t bat an eye at seeing Mei’s latest invention puttering around the house. The little vacuum robot was cute, and the plastic knife on it would help keep the kids more aware of their ground-level surroundings. That and the cute little thing meowed when it ran into walls. It was now a fifty-fifty bet whether a meow was Peeves or the robot, which had quickly been dubbed Eraser Dust by the kids.
Hanta had seemed a bit confused by the name, up until Hitoshi very excitedly explained about one of their favorite heroes. He liked the name even better after that.
The little robot wasn’t the only new thing around the house. Or, wouldn’t be, once Hisashi could wrangle the kids into the car and get to the store. Inko and Rei were both working, and Hanta needed new clothes, so it was his turn to take the new kid shopping! All eleven of the kids were coming along this time. It was only possible thanks to the twelve passenger van their older kids had given them. Even Rumi and Fuyumi had come back to the city for a day to deliver the expensive gift.
Hisashi was extremely grateful for the van, since travel by train wasn’t exactly easy with eleven kids. Even though he trusted them to not get lost and take care of each other if they did, that didn’t mean Hisashi didn’t get stressed about accidentally leaving a child on a platform. The van was just easier. Getting out the door with their family was always an event, but at least with a car he didn’t have to worry about them running off down the street yet.
Still though, it was always…interesting, trying to get them all out the door.
“Mei, kid,” Hisashi sighed. “You can’t bring the robot to a clothes store.”
“Why not?”
“Because you can’t hold it the whole time, and you can’t put it down.”
“But why not?”
“Because we don’t want to lose Eraser Dust, or risk someone picking them up and throwing them away.”
Mei stared for a moment, Eraser Dust in her arms like a very odd, circular kitten. Then she nodded, and set the roomba back on the floor. Hisashi let out a deep breath, before turning back towards the front door. Hanta had stopped halfway through putting their shoes on. Katsuki was already yelling about seating and racing out onto the lawn.
“Alright then!” Hisashi clapped his hands, a smile on his face. “Everyone else out the door, come on.”
It took another ten minutes to get everyone in the car. Natsuo, sitting in the passenger seat, had a pencil stuck in his hair. Hisashi pulled it out without a word.
Hanta, squished between Katsuki and Mina, seemed alright on the drive at least. Hisashi had been worried about the kid getting motion sick, but they seemed alright. Everyone poured out of the car once they got to the first place: Inko’s favorite thrift store for clothes.
They invaded the building like a swarm of behaved locusts. Hisashi knew it was futile to keep them from scattering, so he didn’t try. Instead he headed straight to the kids section. He knew new kids always felt nervous to ask for things to buy, so he might as well find some nice things to prove it wasn’t a problem. Their budget wasn’t the biggest, but every kid deserved some new clothes. Especially ones that they knew wouldn’t tear after being worn twice.
Hisashi hummed consideringly as he sifted through the racks of cloths, occasionally draping some over his arm. He could hear some of his kids giggling a few aisles over—but so long as nothing crashed to the floor, he decided to leave them be.
Eventually his attention was drawn to the end of the aisle, where Mina was racing towards him with Hanta close on her tail. Hisashi just raised an eyebrow, but stayed where he was. His daughter was waving a shirt like it was some kind of victory flag. Hanta, on the other hand, looked about as red in the face as a tomato and ready to apologize at the drop of a hat.
“Dad-Sashi!” Mina crowed entirely too loud for indoors. “Hanta can get this, right?”
Hisashi glanced at the shirt, which was purple with a pink butterfly on it, and shrugged. “Sure, why not.”
“Thanks Dad-Sashi!”
Mina grabbed Hanta’s hand and pulled them back towards the other aisle, the poor kid looking shellshocked. Hisashi just chuckled and shook his head fondly. His kids could wear whatever they wanted, societal expectations be damned. And knowing his kids, it would get stolen and passed around between each other at some point anyway.
A few more minutes passed. Hisashi heard one of his kids laugh from the other side of the store. It wasn’t followed by any screams or others sounds of destruction, so he figured it was fine.
The aisle was quiet in a muffled sort of way. There was still sound from people talking, but it was distant. The relative quiet made it easy to hear the small footsteps growing closer. Hisashi stayed relaxed, pretending not to notice. Hanta was jumpy as it was, the last thing he wanted to do was scare her.
“Um, excuse me, H-Hisashi?”
He hummed, tilting his head towards Hanta to let them know he was listening. “Yes Hanta?”
“I- uh, is it really ok? For me to get all of this. I don’t really need that much, it’s ok if-”
“Hey, slow down kiddo, it’s alright.” Hisashi turned to full face Hanta. He hesitated for a moment, before kneeling down. It didn’t make him face-level with the kid, but he figured looming over Hanta wouldn’t help anything. “Try and explain what you’re thinking, yeah? Maybe I’ll understand a little better.”
“I- I brought some clothes with me, I don’t need new ones, it’s ok. There are already enough of you that need clothes and things. I don’t want to waste your money. I haven’t- I haven’t done anything to deserve it.”
Hisashi took a deep breath, and reminded himself that no, he could not burn down an apartment building. He was a vigilante, not a villain. And Hanta wasn’t there anymore.
“Maybe,” Hisashi said. “But you don’t need to earn clothes. You brought some with you, yeah, but new clothes means new memories. We’re more than happy to get you things.”
“But there’s already so much you need to pay for. I’m not-“
“Hey now, none of that,” Hisashi gently scolded. “We may have to budget, yeah, but we have enough to buy you things. We planned for this. So you get anything you want, and worry about whether it fits instead of how much it costs. You are worth every penny and deserve it all. Understand?”
Hanta nodded, even though the movement was small. Hisashi knew they didn’t really understand, and probably wouldn’t for a while. It took time to heal. Even if someone with a lie-detector quirk were to confirm his every word as the truth, Hanta would probably still have doubts.
But that was ok. Hisashi was patient, and Hanta wasn’t their first kid to have little to no trust in adults. Besides, Hisashi knew his kids. They wouldn’t let Hanta be alone or scared.
So he gently took Hanta’s hand, “It’s ok to want things, Hanta. You earn it by being here, safe. As long as it’s within reason, you deserve whatever you want. Does that make sense?”
“I…think so?” Hanta paused, obviously thinking. Hisashi gave him a moment. “So, I can get the clothes, and- and if I find something else, I can get that too? I’ve been- I can?”
“Of course! Everyone has their own things, and you’re one of my kids now, so you get things too.”
“Oh…I’ve never had a dad before, is this what they’re all like?”
“Not all of them,” he choked out, shoving down the squeaky sound trying to break out of his throat. “But some dads, yeah.”
“You’re one of the good ones then.”
Hisashi was less successful at suppressing his cooing this time. “Thank you, Hanta. I try my best. Why- why don’t you go keep shopping before the others find you and drag you back.”
“Ok,” Hanta laughed, turning to run back. He stopped for a moment though, and looked back. “Thank you, Hisashi.”
Hisashi just smiled, got back to his feet, and waved as Hanta ran off.
His kids would be just fine. All of them.
Notes:
Sorry that one was pretty short, the next one is a LOT longer, featuring character development, Vigilante Time, and Izuku being a scary gremlin :D
I also meant for the first part of the chapter to be a bit longer and definitely a bit smoother, but I really wanted to get the chapter out tonight, because I won't have time nor energy to tomorrow. I hope it turned out out regardless
See you guys next time, have a good day/night <3
Chapter 88: Eight
Summary:
Chapter 88: where there are 8 vigilantes jumping over rooftops, and a spider has 8 eyes and 8 legs.
Notes:
Hi!! Happy New Year!! May your 2023 be kind to you <3
WOO CHAPTER, didn't think I'd be able to get another one up but I finish it! And OH BOY was this chapter a monster to edit, sitting at over 6k words. This is officially now the longest chapter, hope you like it :D
Reminder that text in all italics means the character is hearing it through their comms! And that text in italics AND underline is the equivalent of normal italics but they’re talking through the things. As always a list of names is at the bottom! It travels to the latest chapter, so if there’s a chapter after this (or many) it’ll be on the very last one! I can add it to the end notes too if anyone needs it later though
Enjoy :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It had been three days since Hanta had been brought home, and the vigilantes were being ridiculous.
“What do you mean you aren’t going out?” Hanta demanded. “You guys are the Sirens, you’ve almost never missed more than a few nights in a row.”
“But that wouldn’t be fair to you!” Mina protested.
Hitoshi nodded, laying on their bed. “We don’t want to leave you here while we go out. You’re more important to us than going out vigilantying.”
Hanta was torn between his heart melting and screaming into their hands. The sentiment was enough to make him want to tear up, but they were the Sirens. They helped people the heroes couldn’t. They helped people like him.
Now he just had to put that into coherent words.
“That means more to me than you guys know,” Hanta said slowly. “But I still think you should go out. You guys genuinely help people at night, more than most heroes do. Even in the few weeks you spent in my- my old city the crime rates already dropped a bit. From what I heard anyway. Just your reputation is starting to become enough to keep some villains from hurting people.”
“Really?” Izuku asked, an almost wonderstruck look on his face.
“Well, yeah. You guys can be scary, and that’s only from what I saw, a person who knew you wouldn’t hurt me. The rumors that spread don’t exactly make you seem warm and fluffy.”
Katsuki gave Kouji a quiet high five. “Fuck yeah.”
“Anyone else and I would be concerned, I hope you know that.”
“But we still don’t want to leave you here,” Momo said calmly. “Even if it’s only been two nights, we don’t want you to have to wait up for us, Hanta. Or have to sleep by yourself in here.”
He just shrugged. “I stayed up late before I met you guys, and I can stay up now.”
“Well, yeah, but-“
“Hanta can stay with me,” Mei piped up from her spot, where she was using Kouji as a backrest as she tinkered with something. “That way you lot can go be adrenaline junkies, Hanta isn’t bored, and we all get our jobs done. Sound good?”
“That’s…that’s really ok, Mei?” Hanta asked tentatively.
Mei just shrugged, waving a screwdriver around. “You know not to touch anything, so it’s fine. Besides, if someone-“ Mei shot a long look at Izuku, who grinned, unrepentant “-stays in too long they get antsy and try to do stupid things. Like backflipping off a roof.”
Hanta snorted, and glanced over at Izuku. He didn’t even try to deny it. He did look at Hanta with a conflicted expression though, one part worried and two parts barely contained energy. “Are you sure?”
“I’ll be fine,” Hanta reassured.
“Ok, let’s go then.”
The rest of them scrambled to their feet, quietly racing down the stairs and out the back door. Hanta watched them go with a soft smile. The Midoriyas loved what they did, it couldn’t be more obvious if they shouted it from the rooftops. Again.
Hanta could see why Izuku was the Sirens’ leader though. He had known before, but that had been when he only knew Kitsune. Kitsune, who was strong and terrifying when he wanted to be, and gave orders that were supposedly followed instantly. But now Hanta knew Izuku, and everything became far clearer. Izuku was kind, and smart, and took care of his family. He was their leader, irrevocably and unquestioningly. The others followed him not because they were scared of him or just because he was smart, but because they trusted Izuku. They trusted him to keep them and others safe without question.
Hanta knew he was one of exceedingly few people to hold that knowledge. The Midoriyas were kind, extremely so, but not easily trusting. And yet they trusted Hanta.
She wanted to be worthy of that trust. They knew it was a nebulous thing right now, but Hanta also knew they would protect that trust with everything they had. For now, that meant keeping himself safe, but making sure his new family could do the same for others.
Meanwhile Mei leisurely gathered up the parts she had been messing with, her backrest having abandoned her. Even Kouji had energy to burn tonight. Hanta got to his feet too, wondering if they should help or leave Mei and her possibly-dubious-stability invention alone.
“It’ll take them a few minutes to get everything on,” she told him. “We’ll get down there and I’ll bet you Izuku still won’t have his belt on because he’s been too busy helping everyone else.”
Hanta tilted their head curiously, something he realized that they had probably picked up from Izuku. That or Mina. “But aren’t they all pretty quick at it?”
“Oh, yeah, I just meant he’ll be the last one, but they’ve still practiced getting ready. I’d bet you half of them could beat some firefighters.”
“Huh. Cool.” Hanta shifted from foot to foot, trying to wait patiently as Mei gathered her things. “Can I-“
“Yeah, yeah, go on,” Mei chuckled. “I’ll be in the shed in a minute, you go make sure they aren’t wrestling around my babies again.”
Hanta nodded, racing off down the stairs. He made sure to stay quiet, since he knew the adults (and Natsuo) were probably trying to sleep. They still borderline sprinted out to the shed anyway.
Inside was surprisingly quiet chaos. There were a lot of people in the relatively small space, all in various stages of getting their costumes on. Some of them were completely ready, like Harpy, while others were wrestling with their cape because they had somehow gotten stuck in it, like Chimera. Mei had also been right; Izuku had no mask on, and was helping untangle Shouto from his fuzzy prison.
“When I have a hero costume,” Hanta heard Shouto mutter, “I’m making it a boiler suit and that’s it. No fancy clasps, no cape, just a zipper.”
“I think Mei would have some choice words to say about that,” Izuku laughed.
Hanta stepped farther into the shed, taking in the vigilantes getting their costumes on. It was impressive how fast they were at it. None of the gear was super complicated to get on, but there was still a lot of it. He watched as Athena double-checked a sword sheath that was at her side. Somehow the armored toga looked even more like silken silver up close, even in a backyard shed.
“Oh, hey Hanta!” Mina chirped, the familiar lizard mask on her face. “You’re going to keep an eye on us, right?”
“I’ll be trying.”
“Awesome! You’ll get to see our super cool moves.”
Hanta laughed, nodding along. He honestly had no idea how Daedalus directed them while the vigilantes were out, but they were certain it would be interesting to watch. Knowing Mei now just confirmed that.
“Are you staying in Musutafu tonight?” He asked.
“Yes,” Izuku answered, done helping Shouto untangle himself. “We’ll go out farther in a few days, but we need to stay here for a bit again. Just until the heroes realize we’re here so they start patrolling more.”
“So you’re just…baiting the legal heroes into doing their jobs?”
“A lot of them don’t like us,” Izuku shrugged. “They think we make them look bad.”
Ochako snorted, bird mask on. “Which we do, because the fuckers don’t do their jobs.”
“Or they do a shit job of it,” Katsuki added.
“Both,” Izuku chuckled. “But when they realize we’re there, some of them start patrolling more. Mostly just to try and catch us, but they do help with some of the worse crimes in the area if we aren’t there. Win-win for us, lose for the villains. For the most part, at least.”
“But what if they’re on patrol when you’re there?”
Izuku shrugged, grabbing his mask off the table. “Mei usually keeps us away from them, since a lot of heroes have a set route they don’t wander much from. But if we do run into one then we run away. We avoid fighting them, since they’re bigger and we don’t have the element of surprise if they come after us, but we will if we have to.”
Hanta nodded, mulling over the new information. It made sense. Maybe it was why they had already lasted so long as vigilantes. Most people who started as illegal heroes with vendettas didn’t pull punches when it came to heroes. They fought them and got caught, or made a mistake around them. The Sirens weren’t like that. It only served to strengthen Hanta’s admiration for what they did.
“And with that ethics lesson-“ Hanta jumped at Mei’s voice, her entrance having gone largely unnoticed “-is everyone ready or do I need to repair something?”
“Just need my flamethrowers, Meimei,” Izuku laughed, picking up the canister Hanta had seen on the table.
“Good. Everyone else?”
There was a round of confirmations, the other seven vigilantes letting Mei know they were ready to go. Hanta watched as Izuku connected something on his jacket to the canister, before sliding it into the back of his toolbelt.
“What does that do?” They found himself asking.
Izuku glanced up, looking confused for a second, before understanding took over his expression. “Ooh, right, you don’t know my actual quirk.”
“Is- is the fire not your quirk…?”
“Nope!” Izuku said cheerily. “My quirk is Analysis. But as Kitsune I use these to make it look like I have a green fire quirk.”
Hanta blinked slowly for a moment, trying to comprehend that. The analysis made sense, Izuku thought way too fast for an average person, but faking an entire quirk? Somehow a canister of something made green fire. Somehow, Mei had made something that fooled everyone into thinking Kitsune’s quirk was actually fire instead of a flamethrower.
“I am both extremely impressed and terrified.”
Izuku barked a laugh, putting the mask over his face and pressing a button. The green eyes and glowing lines came to life. His expression was mirrored onto the metal, something Hanta still didn’t understand, and probably wouldn’t anytime soon.
“Fair,” Kitsune said, muzzle easily lip-syncing to the words, and hidden speaker distorting his voice. “Watch over us tonight, yeah?”
“Y-yeah.”
Kitsune pressed another button, and the white mask faded to black. The glowing green remained though. He turned towards the door, and, almost as one, the rest of the vigilantes followed.
Hanta looked out at the Sirens, glowing and buzzing with excitement to get out onto the streets, and couldn’t help the awe she felt. The vigilantes were impressive enough on their own, but right in front of him? It was more stunning than they had ever imagined.
“Be careful,” Mei told them all. “I’ll get the cameras and tracking up and running. Ready?”
“Ready!”
“Go on then.”
The eight of them were out the door like they were launched from a slingshot. Hanta could see them leap onto the fence, then just as quickly disappear into the neighborhood. He followed the glowing until he couldn’t see it anymore.
The city was in good hands tonight.
Hanta ducked back into the shed, shutting the door behind them. Mei was already at her desk, computer in front of her and keys clicking away. He pulled up another stool to sit next to her.
“I need to run a tracking program and a camera one,” she explained before he could ask. “The tracking one traces chips in their masks and shows me where each of them are. The camera program hijacks every active security camera near them—specifically their masks since that’s where the chip is—and then pulls up the feed on this side of the screen. After the mask is out of range whatever feed I was connected to is automatically wiped.”
“Woah.”
“Yeah, I learned some of it from one of Momma Inko’s friends. He taught me coding and hacking.”
“That’s really cool, Mei,” Hanta told her. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone doing this, at least not as well as you.”
Mei ducked her head, but Hanta’s still caught the slight smile on her face. “Anyway.” Mei cleared her throat. “It’s connecting now. Can you hand me those headphones over there?”
Hanta leaned over, grabbing the headphones. They looked like ones used for gaming. Or drive thru places, since it had a microphone attached to it. Mei pressed some buttons to turn it on, then turned back to her computer to press more buttons. Hanta has no idea what any of it did.
“I checked that their coms were all functioning earlier,” she explained. “Now we just have to make sure the idiots turn them on. I don’t have an extra pair that the audio can connect to, but you can wear them once I know the vigilantes are in the city.”
“Are you…sure?”
Mei rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “As much as we all tease each other, they aren’t actual morons. There’s a reason the Sirens haven’t been caught. And I’ll be watching my computer while you talk to them, so I’ll let you know if you need to fork over the mic.”
“Oh. Thank you, Mei.”
“No problem, Spider Boy.” Mei’s gold eyes gained a different glint to them, something distinctly sharper and more chaotic. “And call me Daedalus.”
“Right.”
“Let’s get this show on the road then, shall we.”
Mei slipped the headphones over her head, still grinning. Her computer screen blinked to life, showing at least a dozen different camera feeds, all organized and neatly labeled with what vigilante they were near. They were constantly shifting around, showing some in different sizes based on some priority, Hanta assumed.
The vigilantes moved across the videos in mesmerizing waves. Hanta’s eyes flickered between all the shifting views, trying to keep track of all the vigilantes. Kitsune jumped through the corner of one, a security camera in front of a store from the look of it. Pan waved to one he noticed on a rooftop.
“Daedalus is live. Cameras are on,” Daedalus said. “Roll call.”
There were eight answering voices, each taking their turn. Mei nodded in satisfaction when she heard all of them. Hanta was still staring at the changing cameras, watching as the vigilantes leapt across rooftops and over alleys. Not once did they slip or fall towards the ground. It was like Hanta was watching an action movie—except it was real, and those people were ones he knew.
“Good, none of you broke anything,” Daedalus joked, and got laughter in response. “All clear for now. Handing the coms to…” Mei paused, looking over to Hanta. “We never gave you a code name.”
“Oh. Do I…need one?”
“My coms are good, but there are technology quirks out there. Just a precaution for when the police eventually get involved.”
“That makes sense.” Hanta tapped their fingernails on the desk, staring at nothing as they thought. A specific myth came to mind, going along the theme all the vigilantes had. “What about, um…Jorogumo?”
“I like it,” Daedalus said. “Did everyone else hear it?”
Hanta couldn’t hear the words, but they did hear the eight loud responses muffled through the headphones. Mei nodded, then rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, handing it to them now. Don’t scream in her ears.”
Daedalus took off the headphones, and handed them to Hanta. They held it gingerly, like it was made of glass. They obviously weren’t—and were probably sturdier than any normal headphones, considering Mei had gotten her hands on them—but still, it was a lot of trust to be handed something of the Sirens’, especially Daedalus’.
But it was still easy enough to fit the headphones over their ears. Hanta adjusted the headband part, and lowered the mic a bit. Now all that was left was to just—talk.
“Um, hi?”
“Jorogumo!”
Hanta jumped, not expecting the voice of Basilisk right off the bat.
“Nice name,” Hanta heard Gorgon rumble through the coms. “You and Kitsune can be the Japanese myth gang.”
“Oh, you shush,” Kitsune barked next, but Hanta could hear him grinning. “It is a good name though, I like it. Any reason behind it?”
“Well, my tape is kinda close to spider silk, and I’ve been called Spider Boy by Daedalus already, so I figured a spider theme fit.”
“You know the myth behind it?”
“I do.” Hanta paused, collecting their thoughts. “I won’t be luring men to their death anytime soon, but…being a vigilante would be cool. It’s like what you guys do with the heroes. Go to one place and lure them there, and it helps, in its own way. It would be nice to help, even if it’s indirectly.”
Hanta glanced over at Daedalus’ computer again, and caught a glimpse of Kitsune on a rooftop. He was smiling softly.
“That’s really cool, Jorogumo,” Kitsune said. “Your webs would be useful out here.”
“You need armor first,” Mei mumbled from beside Hanta.
“Daedalus said something about armor…?”
He heard Ares snort, the vigilante undoubtedly smirking under his helmet. “Daedalus already has plans if they’re saying that, then. Get ready to be dragged into her lair.”
“Lair?”
“Even if you don’t become a full vigilante, Dae is going to make you a costume,” Basilisk said. “And you probably just triggered her idea mode.”
“I am so confused.”
“Welcome to the family,” Gorgon cackled.
Hanta felt warmth rise in his chest at those words. It had only been three days, but they knew what family meant to the Midoriyas. It had only been three days, but Hanta felt more at home in their busting house than she ever had in the apartment they had grown up in. Inko and Hisashi and Rei were already more like parents than his mother had ever been. Natsuo was already treating Hanta like a little sibling, but instead of snapping and attempted stabbing, it was hair ruffling and food stealing.
It was quickly becoming home. It was becoming family.
And, Hanta realized, they weren’t scared of it. Maybe he should have felt bad. Maybe he should have felt guilty for leaving without a word, but they didn’t. Instead they just felt safe. For the first time in forever, Hanta felt safe in a home.
“Hey Jorogumo, you ok? You went quiet.”
“Sorry, zoned out for a minute.” Hanta smiled softly, looking at the computer view of cameras. “Hey Kitsune?”
“Yes?”
“Do you- would you and Pan mind teaching me sign language?”
“Of course!” The fox vigilante responded eagerly. “Pan and I can absolutely teach you. He’s agreeing with me from across the street right now.”
“Awesome,” Hanta laughed, and he felt light.
It felt like family.
~~~~~~~~~~
Izuku wasn’t going to pretend to be sad that Hanta was ok with them going out. He had missed racing across roofs and down streets, even if it had only been two nights. None of his other siblings seemed to get the feeling as strongly, but it was almost like the nighttime called to him. It pulled at his bones and beckoned him to run, run until his lungs were burning and his smile couldn’t stretch any wider, to help until he had bleeding hands and shaking fists.
The Kitsune mask was a comforting weight on his face, the metal subtly moving to reflect his exhilarated smile. He knew Mei and Hanta were following along with them on whatever cameras were in the area. The eight of them were spread out over a few streets, always within sight of at least one other. Izuku could see Kouji balancing on the edge of a roof, looking down into the alley. Hitoshi was showing off and doing a front flip onto a lower roof.
They were running through a commercial area, but they were holding true to their name of Sirens. Right now they were all singing an almost-eerie version of Wellerman. Some blurry video of it would undoubtedly pop up in the morning, and they would all gather around the computer to listen to the little snippets people could catch of their singing. It wasn’t only for fun either, since it also deterred some villains. Most people who heard creepy singing at one am would turn on their heel and leave the area. Sometimes Izuku turned on their little music box to have background notes too.
It was fun, and Izuku knew, without a doubt, that he would never grow tired of being a vigilante.
“Daedalus said to take a break in two minutes,” Hanta—Jorogumo—told them. “And that there seems to be a hero out tonight, but she can’t tell where, they aren’t checking in their location with an agency.”
“One of the underground or independent ones probably,” Izuku hummed. “Thank you for telling us, Jorogumo.”
“No problem, Kitsune.”
Izuku made sure one of the surrounding cameras saw his grin, before jumping onto the next building. He slowed down to a stop, and could hear his siblings doing the same. Conversation picked up on the coms as they all settled for a moment, taking a moment to catch their breath and drink some water. Hitoshi was probably munching on a marshmallow or something.
It was pretty easy for Izuku to press a few buttons and connect just to Mei—or in this case, Hanta.
“Hey, Jorogumo?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you give Daedalus the coms for a second? I just remembered something and wanted to ask her.”
“Oh, yeah sure, give me a second, she’s trying to- OW-“
Izuku snorted as he heard Mei’s muffled apology for slapping a hand over Hanta’s mouth, and the following acceptance. He patiently waited for Mei to put the headphones on.
“Whatcha need, Kit?”
“Just wanted to ask how you’re doing with the collapsing masks? I remembered it and wanted to ask.”
“Oh, yeah they’re going…ehh, well, they’re going. Gonna take me a while to figure out how to fit it all in, and even then things are probably going to get cut if I want to make it small enough for you to take somewhere and not be suspicious.”
“That’s fine,” he quickly reassured her. “I’m not asking for it now or even soon, just wanted to know if you were still working on them. Honestly, we’d all probably be happy with anything as long as it covers our face.”
“Well I know that,” Mei said, and even though Izuku could see her, he knew she was rolling her eyes. “But you know me. I’ll make it as perfect as I can.”
“I know.”
“Get some water, Kitsune,” she told him. “You can see my babies when they’re done. And no trying to pry any information from Athena or Jorogumo. ”
“I won’t, I won’t,” he laughed. “Go back to your inventing.”
Izuku heard Hanta put the headphones back on, and the chatter of everyone else faded back in with the push of a button. He walked over to the roof access, leaning against the small structure. A glance around showed nothing visibly out of place. With that reassurance, Izuku took out a small bottle of water Mei always stashed in their belts, and pushed up his mask just enough to uncover his mouth. None of their masks opened up to their actual faces from the mechanical mouth, since it would be a hazard if someone ever attacked their heads, so they just pushed the masks up enough to drink. Mei watched their backs in the meantime. A small price to pay, in Izuku’s opinion.
He clicked the mask back into place without a problem. For now, it was quiet. The stars twinkled overhead, distant but oh so beautiful. Izuku took a moment to look for the moon. It was nearly a half moon, changing from a crescent. The streets were basically clear, barring the odd car or passerby they had seen. It was a calmer night compared to some.
As if jinxing it with a thought, Izuku heard something. Just a small sound, not even a suspicious one. But something about it had him on guard.
One of his ears swiveled to the side, focused and listening. His eyebrows furrowed underneath his mask. There was something. Barely there, but still a sound out of place. The light scrape of rubber over cracked concrete. A quiet but sharp inhale.
“Daedalus-“
He heard the click of something loading into a weapon, and Izuku didn’t hesitate—he took off across the rooftop.
“Found the hero!” Izuku shouted into the coms, and the rest of his siblings fell silent.
“STOP RIGHT THERE!”
Izuku ignored the hero, vaulting a stray pipe and leaping onto the next roof. Heavy footsteps followed him. Probably an independent hero. Underground ones usually kept their gaits quiet, even when running, and independent heroes were more used to daylight and flashiness. He did wonder what they were doing though. Not that it mattered at the moment, since said hero was chasing Izuku down the street.
“STOP IN THE NAME OF THE LAW!”
“No thank you!” Izuku shouted back.
The steps stuttered, and Izuku snorted. The hero obviously hadn’t been expecting to hear his voice.
Izuku took a sharp left, following along a different street. The coms crackled to life in his ears.
“I’m coming over to help-“ Gorgon began.
“Don’t you dare,” Izuku hissed, tucking and rolling after a particularly long jump. “We don’t know which hero this is yet, I don’t want them using you as leverage if that’s the type of hero they are. Wait until we know.”
“Daedalus is searching,” Hanta let them know.
“Good. I’m faster than them, everyone else-“ A jump, a roll, Izuku got to his feet with a huff “-steer clear for now. My guess is an independent hero, newer, used to daylight. Stay close but do not get involved. Not if you can help it.”
He got a round of reluctant agreements. Izuku nodded to himself as he ran. He just had to keep his distance, and he’d be fine. Some of his siblings weren’t as fast. The hero would either give up with him, or get too tired from the chase.
Something zipped by his head, far too close for comfort. Izuku didn’t bother to look behind him. It was obviously a ranged weapon of some kind, it was just a matter of what.
“Daedalus-“
“I found them,” she said quickly. “ Give me one more second to find what that thing was.”
Izuku darted to the side of a roof access door, ducking all the way around it as the hero followed. He stopped and muted his mask with the single second he had. His coms still worked, but now the hero wouldn’t be able to hear him unless he unmuted himself. It also muffled his heavy breathing as the hero looked around in confusion.
“Where the fuck did they go?” Izuku heard the hero grumble. “Didn’t even flinch at the dart, the hell?”
“Dart?” Izuku asked quietly, still listening to the hero mutter to himself, but grow farther away.
“Hero name: Knockout. Quirk: Tranquilizer,” Mei read out. “They create tranquilizer darts from their fingers, essentially. Limited rounds, but enough tranquilizer to knock you out for a good while. He uses an airsoft gun to shoot them farther. Avoid the darts if you can, but your costume should protect you from most of them.”
“Good to know. Thank you, Daedalus.”
“Have they left yet?”
“Not yet.” Izuku stepped away from the wall, ears swiveling around as he listened. “He’s heading down to the alley from the fire escape, from the sound of it.”
“Perfect, you can escape the other direction- Kitsune I swear to the fiery gods, don’t you dare-“
Izuku ignored Mei, and crept to the edge of the building. Knockout was clanking their way down to the ground, muttering curses in their confusion. Kitsune couldn’t help smiling a bit mischievously. He unmuted himself, and turned his mask white.
“Kitsune, I swear to all that is decent-“ Gorgon cursed, probably seeing him from across the street- “pick your battles, you idiot, that is a hero-“
Izuku dropped onto the fire escape. The rattling metal caught Knockout’s attention. He looked up, and stared at Izuku with wide eyes.
“Pick fewer battles, Kitsune,” Gorgon hissed, but Izuku could tell he was trying not to laugh.
Izuku just stared down at the hero for a minute, smiling with sharp teeth and glowing eyes. The man hardly seemed to blink.
“You’re fast,” Kitsune said, and Knockout’s jaw almost seemed to hit the floor at the compliment. “But please try to not shoot me again, you wouldn’t like the consequences. Goodnight!”
Izuku then leapt back onto the roof and booked it. A giddy laugh bubbled from his throat. Mei was cursing at him from the coms. Hitoshi was groaning, but also laughing. Mina was wheezing and demanding that Mei save a picture of the hero’s face since she couldn’t see it.
“There’s a civilian back there,” Mei suddenly said, and Izuku could hear Hanta laughing in the background. “They kind of just, watched, and then said ‘well, that just happened,’ and walked away with their cup of coffee. I think they took a picture.”
“I love them now,” Hitoshi declared.
Izuku just laughed, still running and putting distance between the hero and him. He knew his siblings were doing the same. Surprise only lasted so long, and it would be better to be farther when Knockout snapped out of it.
“I think we should call it a night,” Kitsune said. “We’ve done good, and it’s been quiet. No arrests this time. Sleep sound good?”
He got seven answers, and two more confirming from home. Izuku turned towards home, still listening, still watching. His siblings slowly grew closer in the edges of his vision. Mei guided them home, and Hanta relayed some of the instructions.
Headed home, Izuku still couldn’t help smiling.
(Long) Bonus:
Knockout had made a capital M Mistake. He regretted the last ten minutes of his life with every fiber of his being.
He had heard of Kitsune. Both from colleagues and chatter online, which had clashing information. No one knew the vigilante well, just that they looked like a kitsune and had managed to escape capture for a few weeks now. Almost every hero in Musutafu seemed to be in agreement that the vigilante was a menace, an illegal wannabe that was a danger. The internet, however, was growing to like Kitsune and the Sirens. The civilians of Musutafu were steadily raising the vigilantes to near-celebrity status.
Knockout had brushed off the ramblings of non-heroes, and asked nearby agencies if they would be willing to let him patrol their areas for a few nights. He hadn’t ever patrolled at night, having only graduated a year ago, but how hard could it be?
Not easy, was the answer. There were a lot more subtle crimes at night apparently. Knockout did his part to take down the villains they had noticed, and continued on. He was determined to find Kitsune, or at least one of the other Sirens, and bring them in. The attention from the capture would be magnificent. Not only would the name Knockout be in articles, but he would get a nice bonus for bringing in a vigilante, especially one with rising public support that was causing unrest in the hero community. Maybe he could send his mom on a vacation or something with it.
He had spotted Kitsune up on a rooftop. They weren’t exactly easy to spot, what with their dark clothes against the dark sky, but they were still glowing. Knockout very nearly yelled right then and there, hoping their status as a hero might shock the vigilante into staying still long enough to handcuff them.
Knockout didn’t do that though. Instead he found a fire escape and made his way up to a neighboring roof. His class had taken lessons on roof hopping and parkour, so in theory he knew how to catch up to Kitsune if it came to it. He didn’t think it would though. Most vigilantes were just playing hero because they didn’t have the guts to try and become a hero.
Once on the roof, Knockout watched Kitsune for a moment. The vigilante was staring up at the moon. With Kitsune obviously distracted, he took his dart gun from its holster and loaded it.
Within a blink, Kitsune was gone. Knockout cursed, taking off over the rooftops after the vigilante.
“STOP RIGHT THERE!” He yelled, berating himself for not taking the shot sooner. Kitsune didn’t even pause. “STOP IN THE NAME OF THE LAW!”
“No thank you!”
Knockout faltered, nearly tripping over his own feet. Hardly anyone had heard Kitsune speak. Their voice was…eerie, almost. It echoed and was obviously distorted, sounding more like a vicious ghost than human. The thought hit Knockout like a train, because maybe…maybe it wasn’t a human voice.
He shook off the thought the next second. Kitsune may have some sort of shifting quirk to look like a fox or something, but they were still mortal. Knockout continued after them, even as the vigilante grew farther away. They were talking to someone—or themself, he couldn’t tell.
Another few rooftops passed by before he remembered his dart gun was still in its holster, but loaded. He took it out without hesitating more. His aim was slightly off, going a bit to the side of Kitsune.
Between one turn and the next, the vigilante disappeared. Knockout skidded to a halt on an empty rooftop. There was no evidence that Kitsune was anywhere. No sound of footsteps on the opposite roof, no drawing of a weapon, no roaring of fire. Just—nothing.
“Where the fuck did they go?” Knockout muttered in confusion. “Didn’t even flinch at the dart, the hell?”
The city was creepily quiet. Knockout paced the roof, growing more anxious with every step and every thought. Now that he thought about it, Kitsune had hardly made a sound while running. Then they had just disappeared, like they had hardly existed at all. Like…like they were an actual kitsune from legends.
“Screw this,” he whispered harshly. “I am not dying because a city thinks an actual kitsune is a vigilante now.”
Knockout quickly clambered down the nearest fire escape, focused on getting down and away from wherever Kitsune might be lurking now. He got to the bottom without a problem.
It was with his feet on solid ground, that things went awry.
The sound of something hitting metal reached his ears, sounding off from far above his head. An ice cold bucket of fear splashed down his back. Knockout looked up without really meaning to, and the air was knocked from his lungs.
Kitsune was there. Their face was white now, somehow, and for all the world looking like a glowing skull. Green danced around them like flickering spirits. And their eyes. Knockout swore he saw his life laid out before him in those eyes, a plain footnote in the grand scheme of history. Even without pupils he could tell the green eyes were boring into him. Kitsune’s canine teeth had never seemed so much like a hell hound’s, seconds away from snapping up his soul for a meal.
And then Kitsune spoke, the words echoed and borderline ethereal.
“You’re fast,” Kitsune said, the last thing Knockout had been expecting. “But please try to not shoot me again, you wouldn’t like the consequences. Goodnight!”
And just like that, the vigilante was gone. Kitsune disappeared back into the night like they had never shown themselves in the first place. There was no sound of footsteps running away. Knockout didn’t move, too afraid that if they inched towards the exit that the spell would break. That Kitsune truly was a creature of myth and would drag him down to the underworld for a twisted game.
Barking laughter ricocheted around the city. It grew farther away, joined in song by others. A choir of coyotes. Knockout finally moved when he realized the noise wasn’t headed back towards him.
“Well,” someone said behind him, making Knockout jump and reach towards his dart gun. “That just happened.”
He blinked over at the civilian standing in the entrance to the alley. They took a sip of whatever was in their hand, looking suspiciously like something with caffeine in it, and then just—walked away.
Knockout slid down to the ground, and regretted the last ten minutes.
Notes:
Do the physics of Mei’s shed make sense? Probably not. Am I just going to pretend it’s a Tardis? Yes. Did she quite possibly get ahold of a quirk-affected object that could expand the space inside and ignore space physics? Probably lol
Also you know the second half in Izuku’s POV? I finished writing it and then went back through thinking of the scenes from that hero’s POV, and I find the duality hilarious between what Izuku thinks and how he’s actually perceived. Boy thinks he’s smiling like a mischief maker and giving the hero a little fright while the poor dude thinks his soul is about to be reaped.
And credit to Sam (Worst Jeanist) for the inspiration for the scene with the civilian. The civilian is them/their character, hope you liked it :DNext chapter: the older kids meet Hanta! :D
No clue when that'll be up, it's a dice roll between before I start classes again or before I leave.Have a good day/night <3
Chapter 89: Family of Choice
Summary:
Older siblings meet the New Child :D
Notes:
HI!! This was supposed to be up a week ago but then I had an exam get moved up by a week so I had to study, but that’s done now so here’s the chapter :D
Also I am once again crying over my own writing realizing just how many of these kids have abandonment issues and how much “no one left behind” would mean to them.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Touya honestly wasn’t that surprised when his mother called to tell him the Midoriyas had brought home another kid. He was slightly more surprised to hear they had been brought home in the middle of the night, but honestly? Touya had had his siblings for far too long to spend more than a few seconds worrying about the details of child acquisition.
As much as he wanted to go see his new sibling immediately, both Keigo and him had to work the rest of the week. Touya was almost done with his degree, and had started patrolling alongside his husband. Not literally, unfortunately, since Keigo more often than not took to the skies, but he still went out on patrol.
They were both busy people, but vowed to make time to go see their family. It had been far too long since they had visited anyway. Mei had already hacked into Keigo’s phone to ask when they were coming over for dinner, despite there being multiple perfectly functional phones in the house that she could have used to call them instead.
They planned to head over the next weekend for a family dinner. Mom kept texting Touya updates on the new child, which the two of them appreciated. The rest of the kids took turns spamming Touya’s phone to ask when he was coming over. Eventually the word spread that they were coming over for dinner, so the messages turned into telling them about Hanta.
Natsuo also texted Touya updates, but they were more along the lines of “help me there are so many of them now Touya rescue me from children hell.” To which Touya only reminded him that the kids were four years younger than him. And hey, at least the ten of them hadn’t tried to prank him yet. With Hanta added into the mix, any of the kids could get onto the ceiling now, not just Ochako.
Touya had gotten a confused text from Fuyumi after that, asking why their middle brother had frantically called her to say that he loved her, sounding like a solemn soldier going off to war. Keigo had just cackled at Touya’s halfhearted grumbling that Natsuo hadn’t called him to say anything like that.
Brother’s impending doom notwithstanding, Touya really was excited to meet Hanta. The kid sounded interesting. Keigo was excited too, if the happy chirping noises he kept making were anything to go by. He was also impatiently cawing as Touya got his shoes on.
“I’m coming, I’m coming, you impatient feather ball,” Touya said, stepping out onto their apartment balcony. He put a pair of wind goggles over his eyes. “Now I’m ready.”
No sooner than the words left his mouth did Keigo scoop him up around the middle and take off. Touya hardly batted an eye at how high they went, used to it by now. Neither of them liked trains or driving much. Besides, flying was faster.
Keigo continued to happily chatter as they went, wondering out loud if they should get Hanta some sort of welcome-to-the-family gift. However, seeing as they were two minutes away from landing on the Midoriyas’ lawn, that idea was quickly ruled out.
Touya hadn’t even been put down before the front door was flung open. Keigo proceeded to drop him and quickly take off again, leaving Touya to fend for himself in the ensuing stampede of children. He just rolled his eyes at his husband’s antics. An advantage of wings was apparently avoiding the half-dozen children that all tried to hug Touya at the same time. They didn’t manage to knock him over this time though, so, small mercies.
Keigo did eventually land, and was given the same treatment of aggressive affection. The two of them were then dragged inside by a dozen little hands. The rest of the kids were spread out over the house; Touya could see a few of them in the backyard.
Touya also saw Natsuo huddled on the couch. His brother looked up when the two of them were pulled through the door, and immediately jumped to his feet.
“Touya!” Natsuo cheered, semi-gently shoving the rest of their siblings out of the way so he could cling to one of Touya’s arms with wide eyes. “You have to save me.”
“From what?”
“The gremlins.”
Touya snorted, shaking Natsuo off his arm. “You’re fine, Natsu. Come on, I smell food and, knowing Mom, she’s in there helping.”
The rest of the kids dispersed, scattering back to whatever they had been doing. Touya and Keigo made their way to the kitchen without much trouble. Natsuo kept imitating a squirrel by trying to jump on and cling to Touya’s back, but besides that they were fine.
The kitchen was busy as always. Uncle Hisashi was at the stove, cooking fish in a pan. Aunt Inko was digging around in a cabinet. Mom was the first to notice Touya and Keigo standing there, and she smiled brightly as she rushed over to give them both a hug.
“Oh my boys, how are you? Are you eating enough?” She fussed.
“We’re fine, Mom,” Touya chuckled. “Are Fuyumi and Rumi here yet?”
“Not yet, they should arrive soon though. Here, Touya, Inko needs help with-“
“I’ve got it!” Keigo chirped, rolling up his sleeves and stepping farther into the kitchen. “You go watch for your sister.”
Touya, ignoring the children in the background pretending to gag, gave Keigo a kiss before retreating to the family room. He still hadn’t seen Hanta, but that would probably change soon. It was only a matter of time before one of the others dragged the poor kid around to introduce them.
It took about five minutes before the back door flew open, making way for four children to come barreling inside. Touya was almost instantly the center of their attention. Mina cheered his name and flung herself at him in a hug. Katsuki followed, if a tad bit slower, with Mei and another kid on their heels. Mei gave him a quick hug before asking where Keigo was, and then racing off to the kitchen.
Touya looked up from the two siblings, and saw Hanta standing a bit away. He blinked over at the kid, taking him in. They were a bit tall and scrawny. Black hair was in a wild bird’s nest on her head, but so were Katsuki and Mina’s, so Touya could guess they had been playing a game of some kind. Probably wrestling. Or tackle-tag, knowing his sibs. Hanta’s clothes fit at least, which was nice to see. Although Touya was decently sure the shirt he was wearing was one Momo had on last time he had visited.
Mina was the first to pull away from the hug, latching onto Hanta’s hand a second later to tug them a bit closer. “Aniki, this is Hanta!”
“It’s nice to meet you, Hanta,” Touya chuckled, bowing as much as he could with Katsuki still leaning into his stomach. “My name is Touya, but these tiny terrors call me Aniki. He/him.”
Hanta seemed to relax a bit at the introduction, as well as the pronouns. “Hanta, but you, uh, you already heard that. A-any pronouns are fine.”
Touya nodded, committing it to memory. Aunt Inko had already told him Hanta was agender, but hadn’t mentioned which pronouns to use. It was good to see the kids were wholeheartedly accepting of them. Not that Touya had been worried—the Midoriya family were the last people he would expect to discriminate in any way—but it was still nice to see.
Katsuki unlatched himself from Touya to reattach himself to Mina. She just grinned, already tugging him in the direction of the stairs.
“Katsuki took his hearing aids out to spar,” she explained. “They’re upstairs, since Momma Inko made a rule about not leaving them on the porch again. We’ll be right back!”
And just like that, the two had disappeared, leaving Touya with Hanta and everyone else running around somewhere. Good thing Touya had experience with traumatized kids. Lots of little siblings that weren’t blood-related tended to give him an edge in that category.
“Do you like it here?” Touya asked quietly, calmly moving over to the couch to sit down. Better to seem less threatening.
“I do.”
“That’s good,” Touya hummed, pretending not to notice how Hanta edged over to the couch like a particularly lanky but nervous mouse. “You’ll get to meet my husband in a bit, he’s in the kitchen helping with dinner right now. Did the others tell you about us?”
“A…bit. You’re both heroes?”
“Yep. Dabi and Hawks.”
Hanta was staring at him with wide eyes now. “You’re Dabi?”
“The one and only,” Touya laughed.
“My, uh, my sister liked you,” Hanta said slowly, making Touya raise an eyebrow. “You saved her once, when you were still in hero school still, I think. I was like, seven, so I didn’t fully understand it, but I did think you were cool.”
“Aw, thanks kid. Good to know my new little sibling is a fan.”
Hanta didn’t seem to know what to make of that. He sat there for a moment, kind of just blinking at nothing. Touya decided it was time for a subject change.
“You’ll get to meet my sister and her girlfriend too,” Touya hummed. “Her name is Fuyumi, and her girlfriend is Rumi, but you might know her as Miruko.”
“Are all of you heroes?”
“Not quite. Fuyumi is going to be a teacher, and none of the actual adults were heroes, as much as Aunt Inko would probably kick ass at it.”
“She- she would, wouldn’t she.”
Touya laughed, making a noise of agreement. Hanta seemed less tense after the conversation, at least. They were still coiled like a spring, ready to run if they needed to—a leftover response from their biological family, if Touya had to guess—but she still stuck around. The knowledge that they were heroes looked like it put Hanta at ease too. There was progress there, even if Hanta had only been with the Midoriyas a week.
They had a lull in conversation, and that was when one of the other kids yelled down the stairs that Fuyumi and Rumi had just arrived. Touya immediately jumped to his feet and raced to the door, already hearing a dozen footsteps thundering down the steps behind him. He sprinted outside knowing children were right on his heels.
Fuyumi, already knowing what was coming, just let herself be swept into a hug by Touya. The twins hadn’t seen each other for a while, what with them both having university classes and jobs to work. Rumi stood off to the side, waiting for the inevitable tsunami of kids to come and sweep the three of them away.
“I missed you,” Touya sang, dramatically swaying with Fuyumi held off the ground.
“Missed you too, you big lug, now let me down.”
“But that’s no fun.”
Rumi punched Touya’s shoulder, making him yelp, but he didn’t drop Fuyumi. “What am I, chop liver?”
“You get a hug when you stop punching me.”
“Would you rather I kick you?”
Touya laughed nervously, setting Fuyumi down. He didn’t attempt to lift Rumi off the ground, knowing for a fact that she would launch him into the stratosphere if he did that. His best friend may enjoy leaping entire buildings, but her feet leaving the ground without her permission was a recipe for broken ribs and maybe shins.
Touya let Rumi go the instant he heard something behind him move. Good thing he did too, because Keigo proceeded to bowl her over in a flurry of feathers. Fuyumi and him watched from a short distance away as the two wrestled in the grass for a moment. It lasted a few seconds before the kids fully escaped the house.
It took another few minutes for someone to poke their head outside and call them back in. The instant dinner was mentioned, all of them rushed back inside, eager for some food. Everyone knew the Midoriyas’ food was the best.
The table was set at borderline sonic speeds, and food was dished up just as quickly. Touya was happy to see that Hanta didn’t seem too nervous about jumping in. Their family was big, which usually meant first come first serve with food, but they would make room for Hanta if they needed it.
Conversation over the table was familiar, and it made Touya smile. He had missed weekend dinners with his family. Keigo was his family, of course, but he did miss the craziness of eating with sixteen—now seventeen—other people. Something about it just felt like home.
The kids were done first, to no one’s surprise. They waited for each other to be done before fleeing the kitchen and heading upstairs. Touya wondered if this was the moment that truly elevated him to “sitting at the adult table” status. Maybe not, since Natsuo was still there, but his brother was a slow eater anyway.
“What do you think of Hanta?” Uncle Hisashi asked cheerfully, eating another bite of dinner.
“They seem like a good kid,” Keigo chirped. “This is delicious by the way, thank you for dinner.”
“You’re welcome, Keigo,” Mom laughed.
“You said the kids brought Hanta home?” Fuyumi asked. “And in the middle of the night?”
“They found him in one of the neighboring cities,” Aunt Inko told them. “Brought them home after finding out Hanta’s family situation wasn’t very good.”
Touya mulled that over, and suddenly a few more things made sense. Hanta had seemed completely at ease around the other kids, laughing and joking with them over dinner like they had always been there, but turned tense and relatively guarded when around the adults. That reaction was never without a cause. Being heroes seemed to make him feel a bit more at ease, but even then Touya had still noticed the skittishness.
“Hanta mentioned an older sister, but something about it seemed off. And they seemed kinda wary around Natsuo,” Touya mentioned. “Was she…?”
“Her quirk was something like knives in her elbows,” Uncle Hisashi explained. Touya already didn’t like the dots that connected with that information. “And she dealt with trauma by copying their mother. Hanta has…a few scars.”
Oh. Oh dear. Touya took a deep breath, calming the fire trying to rise to the surface. He couldn’t imagine ever hurting his siblings on accident, let alone on purpose. He had burned Natsuo once when they were younger, and had cried until their mom and said it wasn’t too bad, the same as if he had accidentally touched a hot pan. Even then he had apologized until Natsuo got tired of it.
It made sense though, and Touya hated that it did. No kid should have to worry about their siblings injuring them. Playful wrestling and almost giving them a concussion on accident, sure, but never anything that hurt them enough to scar, and definitely not on purpose.
The rest of the table seemed to be in agreement about that. Natsuo didn’t seem surprised, so he had probably already worked it out. Or Aunt Inko had explained it to him, but Touya was willing to bet his brother had figured it out on his own, or at least enough to understand. His siblings were smart.
“Any knocking trouble from authorities?” Rumi asked, obviously already protective of the kid.
“None so far,” Aunt Inko hummed again. “A missing person report was put out a few days ago, but it was easy enough to change the details. We should have new paperwork sometime next week.”
“That’s good,” Fuyumi said. “I’ve been learning about the registration system for school, I can help you with that if you need it.”
Touya almost choked out a laugh, but settled for covering his smile with another bite of food. He would never fail to find it hilarious that his family was so ready to do illegal things in the name of family. Especially since Touya, Keigo, and Rumi were all licensed heroes. Not that the three of them would ever do anything about their family’s activities. If anything Rumi looked the most ready to go punt a government official at the moment.
He also found it hilarious that vigilantism apparently ran in the family, but that would be a conversation for later. Maybe when the kids were in the room so Touya could ask them how the hell they had ridden on the back of a train to a different city.
On second thought, maybe he didn’t want to know that. It mostly certainly had something to do with Mei though.
“Is Hanta changing their name?” Keigo asked.
“We haven’t asked them,” Mom said, “so we’ll see. In the meantime he’s settling in well.”
“That’s good! Is Mei already building Hanta something?”
“She’s been out in her workshop more, so I think so,” Uncle Hisashi laughed.
“They built Eraser Dust together,” Natsuo told them. “It’s already stabbed my ankles five times this week.”
Touya snorted, having been sent pictures of Natsuo standing on the couch and glaring down at the little armed robot. “So she’s fond of Hanta already then.”
“Absolutely.”
Laughter spread over the table, quieter than it was when the other kids were in the room. Touya leaned back in his chair, into Keigo’s wing, and breathed out a steadying breath. His family may be crazy, slightly illegal, and very big, but it was his. And Touya wouldn’t want it to be any different.
~~~~~~~~~~
When they had first met, Hanta had questioned just how good the Midoriyas were at fighting. They had some knowledge, obviously, but how good could they really be? They were the same age as Hanta, and ambushed most of the villains they fought.
Then Hanta had been dragged outside to watch a spar, and was promptly challenged to one himself. Suffice to say he no longer questioned it.
Well, he did a bit, but they had learned asking questions was alright, so he kinda just—asked. And Hitoshi had explained it to him. Apparently Hisashi had been teaching them self defense for years, and it was one of the reasons their parents were actually ok with them being vigilantes. Hanta, who had eaten dirt about five times now, was inclined to agree with the assessment of their skills.
He wasn’t about to stop trying though. Hanta wanted to learn, and his new siblings were willing to teach him. Even if he never actually became a vigilante, it was still good to know how to defend himself. Bullies and villains alike were very real threats. Izuku reminded him of that when he explained why they had all learned to fight, even before they became vigilantes.
There were still a few questions buzzing around her head though, so during a break in the play-fighting, Hanta gathered the courage to ask.
“You mentioned bullies earlier,” Hanta said from where they were laying in the grass, other siblings surrounding him in similar positions. “Do you…do you guys have them too?”
The yard was quiet for a minute. Hanta counted the seconds, silently repeating that questions were ok. She listened to the world around them and stared up at the cloudless sky. The sun was warm but not terribly hot today.
It was Shouto that answered, voice quiet above the spring silence. “We do.”
“Why do they- do they not…”
“They don’t know we’re vigilantes,” Ochako said, tone leaning into icy. “Not that anyone would believe them, but no, they don’t know.”
“But you’re so good at fighting, and I haven’t met anyone as smart as you guys,” Hanta protested. “Why don’t you just fight back?”
“We do,” Katsuki grumbled from beside Hanta on the ground. “Fucking morons back off for a few days, then it’s right back to before. It’s not even throwing punches half the time, shitty cowards.”
“It’s a lot more words now,” Mina said. “And things left on our desks. We can’t kick words, as much as we wish we could.”
“Even if it is fighting, it’s usually blamed on us,” Izuku told him. He shrugged. “We’re what the teachers call ‘troublemakers,’ even if it isn’t our fault. They don’t really like us much.”
“Why do they call you that?”
“A few too many incidents of protecting each other, loud parents that think their kid can do no wrong, and refusing to play nice with people that call us names.”
“And threatening to bite people,” Shouto added.
“That was mostly Izuku’s fault.”
“It was not.”
Hanta couldn’t help dissolving into laughter, simply at how indignant Izuku sounded. It also sounded exactly like him to threaten to bite people. He could probably take off someone’s arm with his mask if it had the strength for it, but even without it Hanta had no doubt that Izuku would bite someone if pressed.
The rest of them followed his giggling, resulting in a few of the siblings rolling around in the grass. Hanta was happy with the mild chaos they had created.
“Thank you,” he said, laughter still clinging to the words.
“For what?” Mina asked, tilting her head curiously, something Hanta noticed all of them did.
“For teaching me to fight. For including me. For- for taking me home.”
“Aww Hanta.”
Before they knew what was happening, Hanta was being pulled into a hug. Mina didn’t stay there long, backing up with a bright smile a second later, but he found himself wanting her to hug him longer.
“You’re our sibling now,” Mina declared, grabbing Hanta’s hand. “No one left behind. We’ll never leave you, no matter what you choose to do. We promise.”
Hanta felt like a wave of emotion had crashed over their head with Mina’s words. No one had ever promised like that. Their own biological sister had never uttered anything close to it. His mother had said something once, but not like Mina had phrased it. Hanta couldn’t help blinking back tears.
“I- I promise, too,” he swore. “We’re- we’re family now, yeah? One we chose, so, no one left behind.”
Mina nodded, bonking her head against his. Hanta had no idea what it meant, but it was obviously a show of affection, so he returned it. A quiet feeling of peace surrounded all of them.
This was Hanta’s new family. It was not little, a bit chaotic, and more than a bit outside of the law, but they loved it. It was his now. A family of choice, not one she was stuck with.
And that was the best family Hanta could have ever hoped for.
Notes:
To clarify before I get comments on it: Yes Touya, Fuyumi, Rumi, and Keigo know the kids are vigilantes. Yes I forgot to mention when/how they found out. But it is mentioned how in a later chapter! Just forgot in this one, sorry about that.
Also I wanted to explain what I meant when I said Hanta’s sister “dealt with trauma by copying”. From what I’ve noticed people deal with trauma in two main ways (there are obviously others, these just seem common): copying the abusive behavior or resolving to be nothing like the abuser. Hanta and their sister went through the same things, but dealt with it differently. Hanta’s sister took the abuse and did the same, taking out her anger at the abuse and amplifying it to abusing Hanta. While Hanta, on the other hand, wants to be nothing like their bio family and tends to jump to the faun response (agreeing and going along with things to lessen hurt/damage). Neither are set in stone and there are obviously other responses or a combination of them depending on the person, but I figured an explanation would be interesting.
Remember kids, there isn’t just fight or flight, but fight, flight, freeze, and faun!
A hilarious example of this would be my friend seeing a wasp last week, except she didn't TELL ME it was a wasp. She shrieked and ran, while I froze and semi-calmly asked why she was yelling. Only then did I see the wasp and walked away from it.OH YEAH WE GOT MORE ALLEY ART LOOK LOOK LOOK they drew Mina!!
Basilisk!! (Both of these are by alleysap)
Look at the girl!!One last thing, realized that I forgot to mention it for a while somehow?? Anyway I have a tumblr now, check the very end notes (on the latest chapter, so this one at the moment) CosmicAce was taken so I went with my second choice. I post some NOLB things there, not many but feel free to enjoy whatever chaos I reblog since I don't use twitter anymore
Chapter 90: These Ones Are Different
Summary:
Family cuteness, and someone’s backkkkkk :D
Notes:
Hello hello everyone, I’ve had so many exams and papers these last 2 weeks. I’m dying. I wrote a 10 page paper in 2 days for my neuroscience class because I finished half of it before realizing I had done it wrong and had to restart. BUT that’s done, I have spring break for like, 2 days, before I start dying about the fact that I have 3 exams and a roughly 14 page paper due when I get back to school next week. But I’m still very happy I got to post this :D
Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Normal siblings, as Hanta had so far learned, were extremely weird. None of them seemed to care that they were in public either.
Case in point, Hitoshi and Mina were doing some kind of…dance? Maybe? Honestly Hanta had no clue what it was. They were circling each other on the sidewalk, somehow managing to keep up with everyone while doing whatever it was, and making noises that sounded like angry birds. The adults hadn’t done anything about it though, so Hanta assumed it was normal. Or at least not something they were worried about.
At least they were still walking.
It was the first time Hanta had been out with the entire Midoriya family—which was a sight to behold honestly, since there were so many of them—and he really didn’t want to know what kind of traffic jam they would cause on the sidewalk if they all had to stop. Especially since they were on their way to lunch! Hanta hadn’t had street food in forever, so she was also just really excited to get to wherever they were going.
At some point Mina stopped playing dance-chicken with Hitoshi and moved onto trying to coax Kouji into giving her a piggyback ride. Hanta was happy to just watch from beside Shouto. In the weeks they had been with the Midoriyas—because it had been weeks, almost three now, even if it still only felt like days—Hanta had grown closer to all of them. They still stuck closer to Mina and Katsuki, but Hanta was confident that he was at least friends with everyone else. It helped that all of them were openly and aggressively affectionate. They hardly ever veiled their words either. There was no subtle hinting at wanting something to be done. All of them, even the adults, just told him what they wanted. It was a nice change.
Which is why when Inko asked if he wanted to go out to celebrate, they knew it wasn’t a test, and Hanta had happily said yes. It was an important day, after all. It wasn’t every week that they got to celebrate Hanta’s identity being changed, making the (admittedly weak) attempts from their mother at finding him basically null and void.
So off to lunch they went! All of them. Hanta wondered how many people thought they were a school on a field trip or something, what with there being fifteen of them. Touya was there, but Keigo wouldn’t meet up with them until a bit later. Something about finishing a patrol. It had taken Hanta a minute to remember Keigo was a hero, and not just the Midoriyas’ winged older brother.
Getting their food was a whirlwind of different carts and buildings and scattering over the grass in a park so they could all sit down. Hanta found himself with his back to a tree and Ochako trying to heckle Hitoshi for some of his food. It was amusing, to say the least.
“Just one piece? Please?” Ochako pleaded, reaching over to try and snag something off of Hitoshi’s plate again.
“Heck no,” Hitoshi said, lifting the plate away. “You have your own food. Touch mine and you lose kneecap privileges.”
“I can float, bitch, that’s not a threat for me.”
“Then I’ll punt you into the clouds.”
“I would bring you with me.”
They got distracted by a pigeon a minute later. Hanta was only half confused when Hitoshi silently handed Ochako a piece of his food after. Siblings were weird, but Hanta liked them. They were nice siblings. Some of the most chaotic people she had ever met, but good nonetheless.
“Hey Hanta.”
They looked up—far up, since Mina was apparently in the tree above him—and made a questioning noise.
“Have you thought about your name?” She asked. “I know you’re changing it, but to what?”
Hanta hummed, leaning into the tree behind them. “I’m keeping Hanta, I don’t want to change my given name, but I was- well, I was kinda thinking of changing my family name to…Sero?”
“Ooh, I like it.”
“You…do?”
“Yeah!” Mina chirped, hanging upside down from a branch now. “I changed my name too. It used to be Kaibutsu, but now it’s Ashido. I like Ashido better.”
“I do too.” Hanta smiled.
“You’ll probably still look up if someone calls ‘Midoriya!’ though,” Mina laughed. “We all do it.”
Hanta tilted their head to the side, trying to look Mina in the eyes. “But aren’t there only, like, three of you that actually have the name?”
“Yep! But Momma Inko always calls us together by saying ‘Midoriyas’ and teachers always say ‘Midoriya kids’ so we kinda just all answer to it. You will too, probably.”
“Oh. Cool…?”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get it in no time.”
Mina promptly unhooked herself from the branch, somehow twisting herself to land on her feet. Hanta clapped as she dramatically bowed. Half of the family picked up the clapping without looking up to see what had happened.
“I wonder if I could learn how to do that,” Hanta idly mentioned.
Mina immediately lit up like the sun. “I could teach you if you want! Maybe not off a tree at first, but there’s a gymnastics place nearby that has a day for free sometimes. I could take you and show you how to do some gymnastic tricks!”
Hanta blinked. “You could?”
“Of course! We’re family now, remember?” Mina’s smile turned softer as she gently bonked one of her horns against the top of Hanta’s head. “And I want to show you. I think you’d like it. Katsuki just tries to explode his way through it.”
“Yeah, that sounds like him.”
They both laughed, Hanta having the very vivid image of Katsuki trying to blast his way into doing an extreme somersault in his mind. He wondered if it had ever actually happened. It seemed like something his friend would do.
“You know,” Mina said, “I’m really glad that you came with us that night .”
Hanta thought of everything that had happened since he had met the vigilantes. They had more friends than ever, even if they were all in one family. She was loved more than ever. The Midoriyas were kind, none of them had raised their voice at him in anything but playfulness. The only injuries Hanta had gotten in three weeks was the occasional bruise from tumbling around.
More than anything, the Midoriyas had created something Hanta hadn’t thought existed—or would exist—for him: a family. However new and tentative, they couldn’t deny feeling like the Midoriyas were more family after three weeks than his…than the Togattas had in eleven years.
“Me too.” Hanta smiled up at the fluffy-clouded sky. “Me too.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Shouta Aizawa had an…iffy relationship with the police in Musutafu. Police in general were fine, if occasionally nosy and the paperwork surrounding them tedious, but Shouta would work with them as long as they would work with him.
Musutafu though…eh. They weren’t the…least corrupt division, to put it one way. Shouta didn’t exactly have the best memories from some of them either. Being a new hero was rough enough, but being a new underground hero was harder. Especially when some officers seemed to have the motto of “use quirk and/or gun first, ask questions later.”
He still had scars as his testament to that.
That being said, Shouta did like Tsukauchi. The detective was someone who seemed to have genuinely good intentions. He worked where he was needed, and called in heroes fit for a job. It was rare for a case with Tsukauchi on it to go unsolved, or result in many injuries.
So when Tsukauchi called him into one of the Musutafu stations—one on the higher end of things, all things considered—Shouta only hesitated a tiny bit to answer him. He agreed to hear the detective out, at the very least. It wasn’t often he was called into cases where the detective sounded relatively calm. Usually it was a frazzled secretary saying they needed his help on a case that dealt with things daylight heroes didn’t want to dirty their hands with.
The station was almost quiet when he got there. There was still background noise, of course, but it wasn’t anything compared to the ruckus of his UA classes. This was borderline peaceful compared to the unruly teenagers he dealt with sometimes. Although those ones usually got expelled, to be fair.
“Eraserhead?”
Shouta turned, seeing Tsukauchi poking his head through an open door. The man smiled at him, and beckoned him inside. Most of the precinct seemed to have gone quiet at his name. It just made Shouta smile knowingly. He had a reputation, and not just in the hero field. Seemed like his personal mission of rooting out corruption had spread to the whispers in break rooms.
“Thank you for coming,” Tsukauchi said, leading Shouta back to his office. “Take a seat, I’ll get out the file so you can skim it while I brief you.”
“I haven’t agreed to the case yet,” Shouta muttered.
“Oh, I know, but I have a feeling you won’t say no to this one.”
Shouta rolled his eyes, but took the file Tsukauchi offered to him. It was remarkably thin. Especially for something Tsukauchi had called him in for.
He flipped to the first page, and immediately raised an eyebrow at the detective. “A vigilante case?”
“Yes. They’ve been a- well, an issue.”
Shouta hummed, skimming through the first page. Just a summary of why they had a case file in the first place. Remarkably few charges for the stereotypical vigilante. There were assault and battery charges, which was the norm with any adult who used their quirk in public really, and some property damage charges. The mention of emotional damage wasn’t necessarily new, but it was certainly less common. Arson was up there too, though that seemed to be lumped in with the property damage instead of outright malicious burning.
Then Shouta flipped to the next page, and his eyes widened by a small fraction.
“A vigilante group?” He breathed, something like curiosity and apprehension mixing in his gut. “Haven’t seen one of those for a while.”
Tsukauchi nodded, lacing his hands together on top of his desk. “Let me tell you about them before you read any details.”
Shouta put down the file, giving Tsukauchi his undivided attention. It wasn’t everyday that someone heard about a vigilante group. They were rare, with most of them falling apart within a few weeks. Tentative alliances through convenience never lasted very long, and ones with “ideals” fell apart from infighting more often than not.
But it also wasn’t every day Shouta got called in for vigilante cases. Shouta, who had a notorious soft spot for vigilantes.
“As far as we can tell there are eight of them, probably nine.” That made Shouta stop for more than a second. It was even rarer for there to be that many vigilantes in a group, let alone working in one city at a time. Together. “They’ve been operating for a few months now.”
“Months?”
“Yes,” Tsukauchi sighed, “months. At least six, from what we know. They’ve evaded every attempt at capture, both hero and police force alike, and they’re always gone before we get to a scene. Civilians can’t even recall specific features half the time, and when they can they add only the barest details. They’re the smartest ones we’ve dealt with for a while.”
See, the thing was, vigilantes…they didn’t last long. For some of them it was a rebellious teenager angry at the world, or they didn’t get into a hero school and were dead set on still doing something similar. Those ones usually quit before too long. They turned into normal civilians, or got arrested and reformed.
For other cases it was an adult that just wanted to use their quirk. Whether it was for good or bad reasons varied, but those ones tended to get arrested before they quit. Oftentimes they didn’t have the skill to outrun official forces. Some of them turned into heroes though, so there was at least that. The worse ones tended to think their cause was just despite their actions. Those ones usually ended up in prison. And that was ignoring the villains that used the title of vigilante like a flimsy shield against repercussions.
Then there were the odd vigilante cases of heroes that turned against the law, deciding to take things into their own hands. Shouta had seen that happen himself. The consequences for them were lighter sometimes, since they did still have licenses more often than not. Early retirement was a kinder mercy than the prison sentence those cases tended to entail.
But those were the nicer outcomes. Those were the vigilantes that were caught before they could bite off more than they could chew. Those were the people that weren’t carted away in ambulances or body bags, the ones that didn’t get chalk outlines and somber news reports.
Shouta figured about half of all vigilante cases ended up in the final category.
It was rare for a vigilante to last half a year. One in ten thousand maybe, for a variety of reasons. Some of them just quit and returned to being normal citizens. But for a vigilante to last beyond a year? One in a million. Those chances were even smaller in Musutafu. Too many villains, too much skill required. It had become a vacuum. Heroes didn’t want to touch it, because it was growing more dangerous by the year, so villains moved in, only driving the heroes farther away. Arrests there hardly gained any media attention. Some of the police and heroes didn’t even try to hide the fact that they were corrupt.
So to hear that not only one vigilante had lasted months, but for there to be nine of them, and in Musutafu no less…well, Shouta had to admit, he was curious. Very curious, and very cautious. To last that long, one had to be some degree of dangerous. Very, very dangerous.
Still though, it was—almost nice, to hear that his old city was being taken care of. Or at least some good being done. Shouta was only one hero, he could only make so much difference, even if he did still patrol there when he could. Not that he would voice that, especially in front of a detective.
“Of the nine of them, we believe one is behind the scenes,” Tsukauchi continued. “We only have one recorded mention pointing to their existence, but we have more speculations that add onto it and make it more plausible.”
“Any obvious leader?”
“Kitsune,” Tsukauchi answered without hesitation.
“That name sounds familiar,” Shouta hummed idly. “Were they a hero before? Hero student?”
“Neither, actually. Their names are going around the internet in some circles, so you might have seen it. Or at least heard it from Yamada. They’ve gained popularity with the public, which is why heroes are pushing for their case to get priority now.”
“Ah, they feel the vigilantes are threatening the public’s faith in them, and their jobs.”
“Exactly.”
Shouta looked down at the file again, having a better idea of why he was called in now. The daylight agencies and police may want the vigilantes arrested, but Musutafu? The city was already attached to the vigilantes. It was a tenuous position to be in. Arrest the vigilantes, and face the backlash of getting rid of the vigilantes. If Shouta was guessing correctly, the group had already done a chunk of good in the city, and garnered a significant amount of support for it. But leave the vigilantes running free, and it risked the public demanding something of the heroes that they didn’t want to give.
Shouta couldn’t help the grin that stretched over his face. So that was why he was the one on the case. Observe, and make a logical decision from there. No matter whether the group stayed together or disbanded, someone would need to keep an eye on them.
“Everything you need should be in the file,” Tsukauchi told him. “I would suggest some research too, even if that just means setting Yamada loose on that side of the internet. There are probably some pictures there that no one collected since they weren’t official sources.”
“That’s assuming I take the case.”
The detective shot Shouta a smile, utterly calm and smugly knowing. “Are you?”
“…yes.”
“Good. They frequent Musutafu the most, but they also travel to different cities by train apparently.”
“Train?”
“One reason we believe they have a tech-man on the inside. Don’t ask,” Tsukauchi sighed. “It’s in the file too. They can usually be tracked if you know where to look, or at least that’s what one of the younger interns told me.”
“Internet?”
“Yep.”
“Fun.”
Shouta closed the file, already knowing it would keep him up tonight. He got up with it tucked under his arm. Tsukauchi followed, walking back around the desk to face Shouta.
“Thank you, Eraserhead,” the detective said, sincerity coloring his words. “I trust you to do what is right for this case.”
“I will,” Shouta promised, catching the meaning nestled in Tsukauchi’s words. He didn’t want the vigilantes hurt, and neither did Shouta. “Have a good day, Detective.”
“And you, Eraserhead.”
Shouta showed himself out, power walking back to his car. The drive home wasn’t a particularly long one, but the file innocently sitting in his passenger seat made it feel longer. He made a b-line for the table when he got to their apartment. His and Hizashi’s cat jumped up to nose at the new paper.
“Not now, Olive,” he said softly, gently picking her up and putting her back on the floor. She meowed indignantly, but padded away to curl up in her cat tree.
With his cat out of the way, Shouta opened the file sitting on the table. He skipped the first page, and stared at the second one for a moment.
“Well then,” he said, “time to learn about what makes these ones so special.”
Notes:
AIZAWA TIME HECK YEAH
This is just leading up to him being a kind-of-main-character later, but I hope you like the chapter :D His part was actually meant to be much smaller, kinda just a thing like “hey look, Aizawa! Police station! case file! Badabing badaboom he’s on his way home brooding over the vigilantes” but then it just kept going so now y’all lots of words of Aizawa learning about his new chaos kids.
Also small disclaimer, I don’t know the actual process for police cases so I’m making a guess as to how case files look. But then again this universe has people that literally spit fire so I don’t think the formatting of a case file is my biggest worry lolNext Chapter!: Hanta vigilante costume time :D
Gonna be honest, the next chapter probably won't be up until May :( I have so much work and studying over the next month, it's driving me a bit insane with how much there is. BUT I have a good week in May between semesters where I don't have anything, so at Minimum a chapter will be up then. Good luck to everyone else with finals coming up!!
Chapter 91: Jumping Spider
Summary:
WOO VIGILANTE CHAPTER
WARNINGS: mention of spiders and a costume modeled after a spider. I mention eyes, teeth, tarantula paws, and spider coloring.
Notes:
I HAVE RETURNED (for now)
This was supposed to be up like, a week ago, but I have exciting news! Well, exciting for me. I got into a research internship for my university!! So good news is I get to do that and discover science things for 2 months. Bad news is that might mean less chapters for summer :(
I say that and I already have the next chapter half done though lolAnyway! Enjoy the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hanta had always loved the nighttime. It was the quietest—and often safest—time of day for him. His balcony was calm and peaceful at night, with everyone else asleep. The stars told no secrets and the wind couldn’t really whisper.
So it was no surprise that he kept that love, even after moving into the Midoriya house. Except that, now, the meaning of it had changed. Night now meant smiling as his siblings made joking jabs while leaping over rooftops. It meant putting on the face of a new name, and the thrill of watching Mei’s screens as the Sirens took out criminals and slipped away from heroes.
Nighttime had once meant safety, and it still did, but now it was a different kind of safety. There was once security in muffled silence and a dark apartment. Now…now it was the loud, echoing laughter from a pair of headphones. It was giggling as Mina flip off Katsuki because he made her trip into a billboard.
Hanta was basically surrounded by chaotic forces of nature, and yet she had never felt safer.
“Hey Jorogumo, you there?”
Hanta shook himself, snapping back to awareness with Mei’s stare and raised eyebrow heavy on him. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.
“Sorry, zoned out.”
“Yeah, I could tell.”
“Don’t give them a hard time,” Kitsune’s voice crackled over the com, tinged with amusement.
“Yeah Daedalus,” Hanta snickered. “Don’t give me a hard time, I was just thinking.”
“Don’t do that, you’ll hurt yourself.”
“Hey!”
Laughter broke out over their lines, and Hanta couldn’t help a grin. They took a second to think how a year ago—hell, even six months ago—they would have taken Mei’s words for truth. But now, it slid off of them like water off an otter’s fur. It really was playful, and Hanta knew that. No hidden meaning, no concealed barbs.
“Ok, ok, in all seriousness,” Daedalus started, “there aren’t any heroes, police, or reported incidents nearby. I’m going to show Jorogumo something, so don’t blow up anything. I’ll still have my headphones in earshot.”
“Copy that, Daedalus,” Athena answered. “Oh, one second…Pan says the same goes for you, no blowing anything up while we’re not home.”
“I won’t,” Mei huffed, standing up from her chair. “Come on, Spider-boy, wanted to show you what I’ve been working on.”
Hanta eyed Mei carefully, but followed her towards the back of the shed anyway. He knew that she had been working on something, and that she had kept it a secret from basically everyone. They all knew she was working on it, but not what it was, so if Hanta got to be the first to see it then fuck yeah.
“Don’t tell the idiots this is done yet,” Mei warned, grabbing something from one of the vigilante gear cubbies, “or else they might try and drag you out immediately.”
“They’ll…what?”
“God knows you need more practice with parkour before they actually take you out. Your fighting is good though, you’re not as much of a string bean anymore-“
“Mei- Mei, what? What are you talking about?”
She paused, a folded pile of something in her arms. “You said you want to be a vigilante, right?”
“I mean, yeah.”
“Good, because this is your costume.”
Hanta blinked slowly at Mei, not quite comprehending what she had said. A vigilante costume…for him?
“It’s made with the same fabric as the others,” Mei began explaining. “Yours is based off the Joro spider, since your name is Jorogumo and all, so it’s black and yellow with some gray. The back has horizontal yellow and gray stripes, while your sleeves are black and yellow stripes. There’s one stripe on the pants, but that one’s vertical, to kinda make it look like you have more legs. All of the yellow parts glow, by the way. A lot of the armor pieces are rounded to make it look more spider-ish too.”
Mei dumped the fabric into Hanta’s arms. They stumbled a bit, not expecting just how heavy it would be. He marveled at it once it was in his arms, tracing over every bit with his eyes.
“You have boots like everyone else, cushioned to make sure you don’t hurt something or make too much noise. Yours are shaped to look like tarantula paws. I also made you spinnerets.”
Hanta looked up, puzzled. “You made me…what?”
“Spinnerets—like spiders, but meant for your tape instead of butt string.” Mei spun and grabbed something off the end of her workbench. It looked like arm bracers, except thicker and surprisingly streamlined. “They attach to your arms and elbows. Your tape gets fed in through here, and the mechanism inside will cut it up and spin it into thinner pieces. All sides of it’ll still be sticky and strong. It comes out here, at your wrists. There’s a button you have to press on your palm, under your gloves, to make it go.”
“Like Spider-Man,” Hanta quietly gasped.
“Yeah,” Mei laughed. “Like Spider-Man. You can thank Mina for that suggestion.”
“I can be the Japanese Spider-Man.”
“Of course.”
Mei turned again, and carefully lifted something from a shelf. Hanta’s breath caught when they saw it.
“Your mask,” Mei told him.
Hanta set down the rest of their costume to hold the mask. He could see his own reflection in the—currently dimmed, but he knew they could glow—eyes. All eight of them. The mask was black and rounded, pale yellow markings making a crown of stripes around the forehead and edges. The mouth had near-invisible seams around it, obviously meant to move as they spoke. Metal fangs poked out from the top.
“The eyes glow yellow. Push this button—“ Mei tilted the mask to show a button on the left underside of the jaw piece— “once to turn it on, and twice for things to glow. Any time after that just toggles the glowing. Hold it down to turn the mechanism off to let you out of the mask. The button on the other side toggles your voice. It’s automatically changed, but you can mess with the setting through my computer later. And this button either cuts off the projected voice or turns it on, it’s on as a default.”
“Got it.” Hanta turned over the mask in their hands, looking over the pieces. It…almost looked more advanced than the other vigilantes’.
Mei, who could apparently read Hanta’s mind, answered his unasked question. “I’ve had more practice since I first made the other masks.” Mei shrugged. “Yours is one piece and slides over your head before locking in. I’m working on something similar for the other masks, but I have another thing I want to finish first. They’re just as sturdy anyway.”
“What else are you working on?”
Mei gave him a flat but amused look.
“Right, I’ll see it once it’s finished. Can I…can I try it all on?”
“It’s your costume now, of course you can.”
Hanta could hardly contain their excitement. They set the mask down on the table again, exceedingly gentle despite knowing Mei had probably made the thing strong enough to rival a bulletproof vest. They nearly went to put on the actual costume part first before Mei stopped them.
“Spinnerets first,” she told him. “They go under your sleeves, not over. We want the heroes to think this is your quirk.”
“Oh, that makes sense.” Hanta paused, glancing over at his sister again curiously. “What do they think yours is?”
“Half of them don’t think I exist,” Mei snickered. “A quarter think I’m just an AI, and the rest think I have a technology quirk of some kind. Or communication. It’s honestly funny how far off some of them are.”
Mei walked him through putting on the first bracer, which was definitely armor worthy on top of being cool as hell and essentially giving him an entirely different quirk. Hanta took a second to think about how absolutely terrifying his siblings could be. It did nothing to dim his affection and care for them though. Their occasional singleminded focus and blazing intensity was aimed towards good, and he got some sick armor out of it, so Hanta just shrugged and put on the other bracer by himself.
The first thing they registered was that the costume was surprisingly soft. The material wasn’t scratchy or coarse like Hanta had thought it would be, since it was partially woven with literal metal, but instead it was like wearing a soft cotton shirt. That being said, it was heavy. Fit like a glove, but definitely heavy. On top of the fabric itself being dense, there were also solid metal pieces attached in various places. The shoulders, knees, and chest were the most noticeably armored, similar to the other vigilantes.
The mask came last. Hanta slid it over their head, vaguely remembering which buttons to press, and waited as it hissed closed and then clicked into place. The sound was a bit unnerving right next to their ears, but not too bad. Hanta held still until they were sure it was on. There was no glowing yet, but they could see out of the mask without a problem. Of the four sets of eyes only one lined up with their actual eyesight. Hanta had no doubt the other three sets had a purpose though, probably for a camera or something.
Hanta moved around a bit, getting a feel for the new clothes. They were heavy, but not unbearably so. It would take some work, especially if Hanta wanted to move as gracefully as the other Sirens, but it would be worth it. If the others could do it then so could they. Probably.
“Looks good so far,” Mei commented. “Try the glowing.”
Hanta nodded, pressing the button on the left again. The shed was filled with yellow light, both reflected from Hanta’s now-glowing spider eyes and the yellow stripes from his back and sleeves.
“So cool,” Hanta whispered.
Except, it wasn’t him. Sure didn’t sound like him at least. The voice was raspy, almost hiss-like, and higher pitched. Definitely distorted like the other vigilantes too.
“Mei, what is this,” Jorogumo asked, confusion pitching their voice even higher.
“Your new voice,” she explained, obviously trying not to cackle at his surprise. “I made it hissy along with the normal distortion. Like how a spider would sound if they could talk instead of the enchantress bullshit.”
“Why the higher pitch though?”
“Gender stereotypes,” Mei answered flatly. “People are more likely to think that voice belongs to a girl. It might throw investigators off our trail if it comes down to it. You can change it to whatever you want though, I won’t make you keep it.”
Hanta hummed to himself, mulling it over. He understood the logic to it. His voice was pretty neutral in the first place, not too deep but not too high, and had never made him especially dysphoric.
“I don’t mind,” Jorogumo finally said. “I just wasn’t expecting it at first.”
Mei nodded, smiling slightly. “Perfect. Come on then, we have to check that our morons haven’t actually blown anything up. Wear the costume tonight so you can get used to moving around in it. The comms should already be connected to the group.”
Hanta nodded, following Mei back to her computer. Their footsteps were almost worryingly quiet on the shed floor. The weight of the armor was definitely there, but it didn’t drag Hanta down too much. It almost felt like walking around with a weighted blanket on their shoulders.
“Where did you even get the materials for this,” Hanta wondered out loud. “Because I’m decently sure fabric like this isn’t sold in normal fabric stores. And I saw what looked like engine parts back there.”
“A completely legal place,” Mei answered.
“…why is that not reassuring?”
Mei only cackled, just cementing the knowledge that she maybe shouldn’t have some of the things in her possession. Hanta didn’t think Mei would have gotten the material off an actual villain or anything, but he wouldn’t put it past her to get things by slightly less-than-legal means. Like a black market. Or looting a dump.
“Alright, we’re back,” Mei said, putting her headphones back on. “Anything explode?”
Hanta scrambled for a moment to remember what button to press, but she got it after a second. They turned on just in time to hear Ares say, “Nothing important.”
Mei sighed. “You better not have blown up anything or so help me I’m sending Jorogumo to retrieve you.”
“… can Jorogumo come out?” Basilisk asked, extremely quick on the uptake and tone bordering on ecstatic.
Hanta, deciding to be an agent of chaos, leaned into Mei’s mic to answer with the voice changer still on. “Not tonight, though later…perhaps.”
There was an instant uproar of confused exclamations. Mei was laughing so hard that she almost fell off her stool. Kitsune was almost howling too, Chimera commenting that their illustrious leader had stopped on a rooftop to put his hands on his knees and catch his breath.
Overall, the night had been a successful one, and Hanta was happy with the development.
~~~~~~~~~~
Shouto watched from the sidelines as Hanta laid on their back, wheezing a slightly concerning amount of air out of their lungs after hauling himself up onto the ledge. Izuku bounded up after them, looking for all the world like the jump was a simple step instead of eight feet up.
“Good job,” Shouto commented.
Hanta’s answer was a thumbs up and an attempt at a deep breath. It didn’t take too long before he was rolling to his feet though. Shouto hummed to himself, idly looking over the abandoned and already crumbled building they had made their practice grounds. Ivy trailed along what walls remained, leaving curled shadows in the evening light. The setting sun was a nice backdrop to Izuku coaching Hanta on how to get around their nightly terrain.
“Are you sure I need the helmet?” Hanta asked, only slightly out of breath now.
“Yep!”
“You’ll be wearing your mask soon anyway,” Shouto drawled. “Better to get used to it now. Plus, we’re not stupid and you’re at risk for falling.”
“I resent that.”
“But it’s true.”
Hanta grumbled, but didn’t dispute it. Shouto knew he was right. Their masks were basically fancy helmets anyway. As good as they had all gotten at roof hopping, they would all rather be safe than sorry, and Mei was good at what she did. The padding in their masks was nothing to scoff at.
Pebbles skittered over the cracked concrete as Shouto walked to the edge of their platform. It had probably been a part of a roof once. That or the second story floor. Either way, the wall on one side of it made a lovely ramp. Or launchpad, if you were Izuku.
“Fake alley next?” Shouto questioned.
“Fake alley?”
“Some concrete chunks that have about an alley length between them,” Izuku explained. “We’ve all used them to practice how far to jump, since the real thing is more dangerous.”
“Huh, I- uh, I don’t know, I kinda thought you guys just went right to being vigilantes. I never thought about you practicing all this stuff.”
“Practice makes perfect!” Izuku chirped.
Shouto nodded. “And avoids a hospital visit.”
“That too.”
Hanta just laughed, and watched as Izuku showed them how to jump down from the ledge without hurting anything. Shouto stayed up on the perch for a minute. There were a lot of memories for him on the abandoned lot. Most of them were either of him sweating while training or watching his siblings fail at something for a stupid reason and laughing until he couldn’t breathe. Like when Katsuki had tripped over a rock while running up to one of the ledges. He had been fine, and the rock no longer existed now.
It was nostalgic returning to teach another sibling. Not that they hadn’t been there to practice regularly, but it was different when they had someone new with them. Shouto felt like he was eight again, watching Izuku excitedly try to explain to them how to scale a low wall.
Oh how far they had come. With a few months of vigilantying under their belts, and maybe an arrest warrant or two on their heads, Shouto could confidently say he was happy with how his life had turned out so far. Who knows, maybe in another world he wouldn’t have met the Midoriyas for another few years. The thought made him shiver.
But he was here, right now, witnessing Hanta eat dirt after vastly overestimating how far he had to jump and subsequently stumbling off the piece of concrete, and Shouto wouldn’t trade it for the world.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hanta’s first night officially out was spent in reverse of when they had first arrived at the Midoriya’s home. He quietly crept out the door—he had been told that they weren’t technically sneaking out, since the adults knew about them being vigilantes, but it was still courtesy to be quiet—with the Sirens excitedly tiptoeing out the door right alongside him.
The shed was quickly filled with hushed chatter and the sound of clasps and zippers and masks clicking into place. Hanta was used to putting on her costume by now. It wasn’t long before she was suited up, holding the last piece in her hands: the mask.
“You ready?” Izuku asked, gently bumping their shoulders together. Hanta nodded wordlessly. “It’s a bit intimidating the first time, isn’t it.”
“I’ve had the helmet on before,” Hanta muttered.
“Yeah, but it’s alright to be nervous, you know. We were all like that at some point.”
“I…yeah, I guess.”
“We’ll be right beside you,” Izuku reassured him.
Hanta nodded, still holding the mask in his hands for now. Izuku grabbed his own from where he had set it on the table. With practiced ease he slid on the two pieces, snapping them into place with learned precision. A press of a button brought light to Kitsune’s bright eyes.
It was then that Hanta realized he hadn’t really watched Izuku put on his mask before. Not close enough, at least. Because now that he was, the difference was stark.
Izuku’s entire air changed. He held himself differently, stance shifting from what Hanta knew as his normal. Even through metal and glass Hanta could tell his gaze was sharper. Kitsune screamed calculated actions and protection and threat all at once.
And it wasn’t only that. Hanta knew Izuku was inherently different when in his Kitsune gear. He spoke differently, mannerisms shifted slightly to the left, and acted…well, he still behaved like Izuku, but less controlled. Kitsune didn’t keep a cap on how he acted. He was intimidating, and didn’t mask his energy or knowledge. His kindness was a thin veil over his ferocity and seemingly endless determination.
It wasn’t just him either. All of the vigilantes were like that, now that Hanta was thinking about it. They all changed once their faces were covered and their eyes began to glow. They were never completely different, but still enough to be noticeable.
“I wonder why…” He mused aloud.
“Wonder why what?”
Hanta jumped, not expecting Momo to have materialized behind him. She just giggled as he wheezed in fright.
“Just thinking out loud,” Hanta coughed out. “You guys just seem to kinda- change, when you get in costume. I was wondering why.”
“Oh, that’s because of code switching.”
Hanta blinked over at her with a blank look. Momo shook her head fondly, a glowing white grin mirrored on her mask.
“Simplified, code switching is why we act differently around different people,” she explained. “We subconsciously copy them, or act in a certain way to fit in somehow. In our case, we embody our vigilante name. Which could technically be classified as method acting, but we’re not really acting when we put on our masks, we just behave differently to our normal selves. The anonymity helps.”
“The anonymity?”
“It’s like…” Momo paused, tapping the side of her helmet thoughtfully. “It’s like a layer of security. We aren’t connected to our civilian image when we have our masks on, so we feel like we can act differently. No one can bully us, or shun us, and we don’t have to act weak so people think we’re not a threat. We don’t have to answer to anyone like this either. We can do what we want without social consequences.”
“Except for law enforcement wanting to arrest you all.”
“Well yes, there is that,” Momo chuckled, the sound almost musical through her voice modulator. “But think of it like this: no one can come up to me during school and criticize what I do as Athena. Vice versa too, no one can judge me as Momo or tell me what to do while I have my costume on.”
“Oh. That- that makes an almost stupid amount of sense actually.”
Momo hummed and nodded. She pat his shoulder twice before moving back to the costume cubbies to grab her sword scabbard.
Hanta, left to their own devices for a moment more, stared down at their mask again. It truly was beautiful. The metal was obviously strong, and Hanta knew it would shift to copy their expressions when it was turned on. That particular feature had been almost surreal to see in a mirror. Who knew something inanimate could look so real.
With a deep breath, Hanta slid the mask down over his head, and let it lock into place. Yellow eyes flickered to life with the press of a button. It fit just the same as it had before, but it felt different now. He couldn’t explain it. Not fully, at least. He took a second more to revel in the feeling though, letting the cool silkiness of it pass over their skin.
“Everyone ready to leave?” Kitsune asked, the distinctive sound catching everyone’s attention in the shed. He received eight nods, and one thumbs up from Mei at her computer. “Let’s go then!”
They filed out the door, Hanta falling somewhere in the middle of their parade. He got to watch Kitsune leap onto the fence and immediately start running, hardly even having to balance himself. The others were quick to follow. Hanta took longer to balance on the relatively thin surface, but he hadn’t been training for weeks for nothing. It didn’t take long before he was running after the rest of the Sirens.
Hanta supposed he counted as a Siren now too—and what a thought that was.
Jorogumo, a vigilante of the Sirens, laughed with glee as she raced towards the city, and into the first night of her proper existence.
Notes:
I took code switching to a bit of an extreme here, but for anyone that didn't know, it's a real thing! Just an explanation for why we act differently around different people sometimes.
I might try and sketch Hanta's costume at some point, but we'll see. My tablet broke a while ago so it would probably just be a paper and marker drawing
See you guys next time! Have a good day/night everyone <3
Chapter 92: Is it Really Stealing if it’s Drug Dealer Money?
Summary:
Hanta has their first night out vigilantying :D
Notes:
HELLO HELLO I’M BACK AGAIN
Fun fact, Hanta’s vigilante name was originally going to be Arachne, but I changed it to Jorogumo during early planning. Quite a few of you suggested Arachne when Hanta appeared too which I thought was pretty interesting :DAlso this would've been up earlier but
1: I got fixated on a new story idea (Original story idea, not a fic) and planned out a book and a half, so. That's a thing. I have maybe 3 scene written out for it but I'm genuinely really excited to see if I can finish a book and maybe publish it at some point
and
2: ao3 went down from the DDOS attack. Literally as I woke up thinking "I'm going to edit and post the next chapter today." And then I had a poster to make for my internship which is why this wasn't up yesterday but ANYWAYOne more side note: I got some feedback that Hanta's pronouns were getting confusing when I switched them mid-paragraph, so I tried to stick to one set of pronouns per paragraph. I hope that can help with confusion!
Hope you guys enjoy the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The night started easy enough. Few villains, a relatively calm run—perfect for Jorogumo’s entrance into the vigilante world. Ochako was nearly surprised with how well he took to everything. Nearly, because Hanta had been trained by the rest of their siblings for the last few weeks, and—speaking from experience—it was hard to be surprised by most things after being put through the Midoriyas’ own brand of chaotic-ass boot camp. Ochako had definitely aided with the chaoticness. All in the name of training Hanta, of course.
All that to say that they had sufficiently prepared Hanta for being a vigilante by now. She was probably a better fighter than a majority of Japan at this point.
Even so, they had her keep her distance and watch for a bit. Whenever they stopped, Jorogumo perched at the edge of a rooftop, observing and getting a feel for how they worked. She watched how they tried to always keep to the shadows. How they did their best to observe and judge whether someone was an actual threat, and how they worked swiftly and efficiently if they were.
Sneak attacks were their default to threats. If that failed though, they had to be able to hold their own. None of them were ever without at least one partner nearby, but if it came down to it, they needed to be able to hold off an attack. Ochako knew their rules well. She also knew that all of them were a force to be reckoned with if they wanted to be.
Jorogumo seemed confident enough, at least. Ochako helped by pointing out things she herself had missed when they first started out. They absorbed it like a particularly intimidating sponge.
They avoided the city center, like they usually did, but they did skirt the edges tonight. Ochako hummed to herself as she paused for a moment on a rooftop. Clouds covered the sky, thick enough to completely obscure the stars. The moon was a hazy circle.
“Wonder if it’ll rain,” she idly mused.
“Shouldn’t,” Daedalus answered in her ear. “But you guys are mostly waterproof so I’m not worried.”
“I just don’t want Jorogumo to slip.”
“She won’t,” Mei assured. “All of your boots are made specifically to not do that. And I don’t think it’ll rain anyway.”
Basilisk laughed from over the coms. “Last time you said that we got soaked in the backyard.”
“In my defense, that storm came out of nowhere.”
“The sky had been dark the whole morning!”
Ochako just snickered, shaking her head fondly. She could hear Gorgon trying to stifle his laughter too. Daedalus was grumbling about it not being her fault still.
So all in all, a normal night so far.
Ochako made sure to keep an eye on the sky, just to be sure. Rain wouldn’t be the worst thing, but it would certainly make spotting things a bit harder, and give Hanta another challenge in navigating the rooftops.
And Ochako wasn’t particular on finding out just how waterproof their costumes were. They had been lucky enough to not get caught out in the rain yet, usually just staying in if it looked like it would storm. These clouds had rolled in after they left home though. It hadn’t rained for a couple days now, but plenty of clouds had been rolling in.
They kept going about their nightly business though. Tonight was no exception, and they had a duty to their city. Their people. The sky was dark but their determination was still bright.
(None of them mentioned the single missing person poster they had seen at street level, ripping edges and water-stained ink blurring on the paper, telling a story they would rather not acknowledge. The picture of Hanta was an old school photo. Ochako wondered if that was the only one her sibling’s egg donor had had.)
“Hey,” Daedalus said sharply, slipping into her vigilante voice. “Something on street level between the groups.”
“Got it, thanks Daedalus,” came KItsune’s voice.
Ochako didn’t need an order to creep closer and observe. She crouched low on the rooftop, glowing eyes fixating on the little movement she could see.
There were two people, no quirks immediately obvious. They were standing in the mouth of an alley, doing a horrible job of being inconspicuous. Ochako gave them points for at least being mostly out of camera view. One was holding a briefcase, which they seemed to be proudly showing off to the other person, who looked…slightly worse for wear if she was being honest.
“Drug deal?” One of them asked over the comms.
“Probably.”
“Shady looking motherfucker, of course it is.”
“Drug dealers can look like normal people,” Daedalus cheerfully informed them. “But yes this one is definitely leaning into the stereotype.”
“Anyone else have eyes on them?” Ochako questioned.
Jorogumo hummed through the line, “I do.”
Ochako smiled, a slightly feral thing. Her mechanical ears pricked forward in anticipation, yellow eyes scanning for where her sibling was. On the rooftop right above the very-likely-a-drug-deal sat Jorogumo, their spider-like silhouette almost seeming to blur against the clouded sky.
“You got this, Jorogumo,” Ochako whispered.
Ochako couldn't see the rest of the Sirens, but she could easily imagine every one of them anxiously watching Jorogumo now, each on their own little perches and with watchful eyes. They would intervene if anything seemed to go sideways. They had all seen Hanta’s skill though—they knew she could do this.
So they all watched with rapt attention, eager to see how their newest member would fare.
Jorogumo paused for a moment, taking in their surroundings. Ochako silently cheered at the fact that there was now another one of them that thought things through. Not to say Ochako was one of those half the time, but it was still nice to know they didn’t have to worry about Jorogumo flinging herself at every problem like a certain sibling of theirs.
Hanta flicked her wrist, and a string of silk-but-technically-tape attached itself to the opposite roof. A second later and there was another string next to it. Hanta, apparently having a great deal of faith in their tape and Mei’s handiwork, then stepped out onto the makeshift tightrope. Ochako watched sharply, ready to intervene if she had to, as their sibling balanced their way out to the middle. They crouched once they got to the center, something about balance and a lower center of gravity that Ochako had never really had to understand growing up.
Jorogumo silently turned on their glowing, the yellow patterns coming to life on their costume. Their eyes lit up a bright, hazardous yellow. All that was missing were the extra legs, and then Hanta really would be a venomous spider.
The new light source was enough to grab the attention of the two people in the alley entrance. They looked up slowly, eyes finally landing on Hanta. One of them jumped in fright. The other just froze, hand still inside their coat pocket.
Ochako leaned forward, eyes intent on the scene before her, and watched.
~~~~~~~~~~
If someone had told Hanta that one day he would be sitting at roof height, suspended by their tape that had been spun into silken strings, in a vigilante costume and part of the Sirens, he would have wondered if that someone was hallucinating. Yet here he was, every part of that statement true.
Hanta balanced on their improvised tightrope, staring down at the two in the alley. He hesitated to call both of them villains. Maybe he would have, if he hadn’t befriended the Midoriyas, but they had shown him that almost nothing about “heroes” and “villains” was cut and dry. There were people that fit the labels, of course, but it was rarely black and white. A villain could be heroic; a hero could do evil. The line was blurry and covered in jellyfish.
Drugs especially were a gray zone. People who took drugs tended to have a variety of reasons for doing it. Some used it for pain relief, or a stand in for prescription medicine they couldn’t afford. Other times it was to cope with life in general.
Hanta would still be extremely cautious, because they were still two strangers with unknown motivations that could very easily hurt him, but he didn’t want to immediately jump to “arrest now, ask questions later.” They would rather give them resources to recover than throw them in jail.
Not that people even stayed in prison for long, especially in Musutafu, but the sentiment remained the same regardless.
Both people below Hanta were scared stiff at the moment, waiting to see what she would do. Hanta knew that she probably cut an intimidating figure in the costume. The mask definitely helped—glowing eyes and a voice distorter tended to do that.
Mask or not, it was time to put their acting skills to the test. Hanta had already turned on the speaker, all he had to do was act.
“Well hello there,” she crooned, leaning forward the slightest bit. Her voice was higher than it usually was, and definitely more hiss-like. “What are you fine people doing in an alley this late at night?”
The response was about what Hanta expected. The first one turned on their heel and ran. She saw Kitsune dart after them from the rooftops, a blur of green and black. The second person stood their ground, lifting a hand towards the wall to do…something. Presumably something that involved a quirk and aiming at Hanta.
She didn’t give them enough time to carry out their plan. Hanta, threads quickly attached to their tightrope to use as a rappel line, jumped down into the alley. She wasn’t especially keen on testing how much shock Mei’s boots could absorb. Her landing was still near silent though, and Hanta needed only a moment before she was racing towards the remaining person.
Hanta ducked low, reeling back a fist and a line of string. Their hit connect, making the target hiss and stumble a step. They did go flying or anything, but Hanta knew she wasn’t quite that strong yet. Strength wasn’t what she was aiming for anyway.
Hanta ducked under the open-palmed swing of the man, dancing around them and making sure to stay out of touching range. The man seemed very intent on hitting Hanta with their whole hand for some reason. Figuring it was probably quirk related, Hanta wasn’t especially eager to find out what would happen if she did get hit.
A few rounds of potentially-deadly tango later, Hanta jumped away. Their string came with them. The string that they had been wrapping around their target as they weaved around him. One sharp tug was enough to make it pull taunt.
The man fell wrapped in the mock spider silk, cursing and thrashing around. The briefcase he was holding fell to the ground. Hanta took a second to breathe. The adrenaline was still coursing through their veins, but things had gone exactly to plan. He knew they wouldn’t always, but it had this time, and it had been fun. No wonder the other Sirens liked going out so often.
“That was awesome, Jorogumo!” He heard Harpy cheer through the coms.
“Thank you.” Hanta smiled, the expression reflected on the mask, probably scaring the man on the floor even more. “Could someone come down and check the case he dropped?”
“On my way.”
Harpy appeared a few seconds later, immediately moving to check the case. She nodded after opening it. Drugs then, good to know. Hanta ignored the man cursing about his “merchandise,” and taped over his mouth with a piece of duct tape. It was easier to get off than his own tape, in any case.
“Kitsune?” Hanta said. “You ok over there?”
“Headed back,” came the answer. “They’re headed home, I gave them a list of places to help. They declined an escort to a rehab place, but said they’ll try.”
Hanta nodded, knowing that was the best they could do. They couldn’t force someone to get better.
“What now?” She asked.
“I’ve got it,” Daedalus answered this time. “I can make something pop up on police scanners. That or Kitsune can actually call it in. He likes to annoy one of the detectives.”
“I do not!”
“Yes you do.”
“…ok I do, but he’s funny to talk to!” Kisune defended, sounding like he was trying not to laugh at the same time.
“How did you even get the number of a detective?” Hanta asked. “And how haven’t they traced the call yet?”
“Untraceable phone,” Daedalus answered first. “And I heard about him trying to snoop into our group. Even tried to hire someone else to investigate us, but they were a fan and tipped us off.”
“How did-“
“All they found was Daedalus’ decoy email address,” Gorgon snickered over the coms. “And it was because she let them. Everything else was hidden too well.”
“Serves them right for underestimating us.”
Gorgon hummed in agreement, and Hanta nodded along to the new information. It made sense. Most of it, at least. “So the investigator-“
“Pretty sure they were just an intern of the investigator,” Harpy said from beside him, throwing in her two cents. “They said they were told to gather some basic information.”
“Ok. So the intern tipped you off to being investigated, but how did you get the detective’s number? And why do you keep calling it, Kitsune?”
“Asked around a bit,” Daedalus said. “Found out they called in some fancy-pants detective to search for a vigilante group. Pretty easy to find his phone number—his work one at least—once we knew his name.”
“Good to know.”
“And I keep calling him because it’s funny,” Kitsune laughed, coming around the corner and scaring the life out of Hanta. “He always tries to get some sort of information, but all he can do is listen as I give the address. Pretty sure he thinks that he can find something about us from the area.”
“Which is hilarious to watch,” Daedalus added.
“Sometimes I leave notes to mess with him. Pretty funny since we all switch up our writing.”
“And you’re… not worried about him finding out about us?”
Kitsune shrugged, a relaxed grin on his masked face. “Daedalus scrubs any tapes we don’t want seen, we don’t leave behind any DNA, and our coms are secure. People only hear half a conversation if they’re around us, and we’re still careful about what we say.”
“Huh. Cool.”
“Yep! Alright then, let’s go before the cops get here.”
Kitsune turned into a blur once again, jumping his way up to the roof. Harpy offered Hanta a hand, since he hadn’t exactly mastered swinging up yet. They reached out to take her hand, but paused, an old memory surfacing.
“Hey don’t- don’t these guys carry money on them?”
Harpy tilted her head in question, glowing eyes waiting for him to elaborate.
“I mean, um, the- our-“
“Hades and Persephone.”
“What?”
“Their code names,” Daedalus explained. “Momma Inko and Pop-Sashi, right? Those are the code names we came up with a while ago. Forgot to tell you earlier.”
“Oh, uh, yeah. Why those names, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“They’re like the parents of the underground,” Athena told him. “We figured it fit.”
It certainly did. Hanta could read between some of the lines, since Mei was really the only one that didn’t have to worry about being overheard. The Sirens were the new “underground” power, or at least building up to it. Hades and Persephone were the king and queen of the underworld. They were also one of the only mythological couples that had a generally happy and faithful relationship, the beginning of the myth notwithstanding.
They did wonder what Rei’s code name was, but that could wait for later.
“That’s cool,” he agreed, then shook his head. “Not the point though. We’re not- I mean, Persephone still sends us out on…errands. And we’re not exactly rich. What if we kinda just- took some extra money. From villains. Since they’ll have it confiscated anyway, and I’d rather the police not have it.”
The coms were silent. Hanta nervously fidgeted with their gloves, awaiting an answer. Harpy was looking at him. Slowly, a grin spread over her mask. Which was kinda weird with a bird beak, but Hanta knew what it was all the same.
“I nominate Jorogumo for the smartest Siren,” she said.
That seemed to knock everyone out of their trance. There was laughter, and sputtering, and—funnily enough— agreement.
“How did we not think of that?!” Basilisk wailed.
“Jorogumo is the only one with functioning brain cells,” Pan agreed.
Ares’ end was just unbroken cackling.
“I’ll dig around his pockets,” Harpy volunteered, entirely too happy about technically robbing someone.
Hanta had to stifle laughter at the man’s expression. Harpy did check the briefcase first thankfully, and found a bit in there. And by “a bit” she meant enough for a week’s worth of groceries. Which, in their family, was a lot. One pat-down later and Harpy suddenly had pockets full of cash.
“No telling Hades and Persephone about this,” Harpy said. “You guys know they’d try and make us keep it for ourselves instead of helping with errands.”
“Probably,” Daedalus begrudgingly agreed. “Which is why we’re not telling them.”
Hanta could almost hear Kitsune shifting his weight in apprehension. “Are we sure? I mean, we already kept this a secret, and we know how that turned out…”
“This is arguably a bit less of an issue,” Mei pointed out. “And we know how tight on money they are sometimes.”
“Yeah…”
“I know you don’t like keeping secrets from them,” she said gently. “And we don’t have to, that’s alright, but you KNOW it would help, Kitsune.”
“I do…yeah, ok. But we’re only taking from the ones we know can live without it.”
“Of course. We wouldn’t stoop that low.”
Harpy, satisfied she had wrung the drug dealer dry of cash, offered her hand to Hanta again. They took it this time, and the two of them floated back up to the rooftop. Hanta wondered if he would ever get used to the feeling of being weightless. It was both fun and absolutely terrifying. Ochako was obviously used to it—downright gleeful at floating herself or others sometimes—but Hanta hadn’t had the time to adjust yet.
It was a wonderful idea—that he had enough time to adapt to something like this. Something good. Before, he had just been trying to get by. Sometimes he went day by day, sometimes by weeks. “Just get through today” he told himself, “just get through this week.” It was a never-ending loop of surviving and clinging to the few happy days.
But now—now, Hanta had time. Time to rest but not hide away. Time to adapt to what she logically knew was good. It was confusing sometimes. Hanta kept waiting for something to snap, but it hadn’t yet, and probably never would. If there was one thing she understood about the Midoriyas now, it was that they were kind. So unbelievably kind.
If stealing some drug money paid them back, even just a little bit, Hanta would do it without a second thought.
Harpy released her quirk once they got to the roof, both of them landing without a sound. Most of the other Sirens were up there already. They turned towards the two, smiling and glowing.
“That was amazing, Jorogumo!” Basilisk praised.
Chimera nodded to them. “You did great, especially for your first one. Good job.”
Ares came up and slapped Hanta on the back, but he was smiling a glowing red grin. “You didn’t fuck up. Congratulations, you’re already better than half these idiots started as.”
“Ares,” Athena playfully hissed, swatting at his head. “Be nice.”
“That is him being nice,” Kitsune laughed. “To Jorogumo, at least. Besides, we all know the mighty warrior can be bested by-“
“Shut up,” Ares growled, jumping at Kitsune and putting him in a headlock. Which failed to do anything besides make Izuku lean over a little.
“-bested by a garden hose!”
Hanta snorted, knowing exactly what Izuku was talking about. They all tended to spar in the backyard, which led to some interesting tactics sometimes. One of those being the time Hitoshi had ran in during Katsuki sparring with Mina and sprayed him with the hose. He couldn’t explode anything for a few minutes. Which was hilarious to watch, since Katsuki had spent those minutes chasing Hitoshi in circles around the yard.
All of them knew he was joking in the first place, but it was also funny to see him try and noogie Kitsune through a metal helmet in revenge.
“As funny as this is,” Daedalus said, making all of them straighten up, “cops are on their way, you should probably leave the area.”
“Got it,” Kitsune answered her, standing up fully now that Ares had let go. “You heard her, everyone, onto the next crime.”
Their leader—though Izuku still vehemently denied the idea—took off towards the next building. The nine of them automatically fanned out. Hanta couldn’t help the grin that spread over their face.
They raced after the other vigilantes, gleefully content.
Notes:
And now the question everyone want to know the answer to: what would have happened if Mr. Drug Dealer Man had touched Hanta?
Plants. Plants would’ve grown in their bloodstream, which is not especially conducive to life. A pretty good quirk for a florist, and an even better quirk for growing drugs. A lot of drugs come from plants actually which I found super interesting :DAnyway! Thanks for being so patient with me you guys <3 I finish my internship this week! We haven’t actually made that much progress but my group agreed to continue working over the school year with our professor. If nothing else, I am no longer scared of needles! This is because my group learned the important lesson of Don’t Trust Cosmic With Opening Needles when I managed to stab myself both times they asked me to take the cap off. Both were sterile and I’m fine! Very much contemplating getting a tattoo now though
I have about 2 weeks before I'm going to a wedding and a different state for a week, so! A chapter may go up before then, it may not, we shall see. I have another few weeks before classes start up again (my last year woo!) so hopefully I can finish a chapter or two between there
I love you guys <3 Have a good day/night!!
Chapter 93: Middle School Madness
Summary:
Middle school sucks, but it can have it’s good parts too. The Vigilante Kids discover this (last chapter of Hanta’s arc too let’s goooo)
ALSO Small warning for accidentally deadnaming someone
Notes:
Hello hello hello lovely people <3
This chapter turning out WAY longer than I originally meant it to. Almost 5k words!! My goodness. Have fun meeting Hanta’s old friend :)
This was meant to be out like, two weeks ago. But then I went on a trip for my cousin's wedding, my sister got covid (I somehow didn't, Thank God), and home has not been the most fun. But it's here! And I really do like how this chapter turned out :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Midoriyas had always had an iffy relationship with school. Whether they had been adopted younger or not, none of them held a particular care for the system. Or the people in it. There were good teachers and good students, sure, but a system that perpetuated inequality and abuse of power could only house so much good. They had all had their own experiences with it. Primary school had been a struggle, but at least they had had each other.
Now, apparently, middle school was already trying to make that seem mild.
“What do you mean we’ll be at different schools?!”
Hitoshi couldn’t tell whether he wanted to cry, scream, or demand that whoever had made that decision change their mind. Maybe all three. He already had police trying to arrest him on a semi-nightly basis, what was one more felony to change his school placement. Breaking and entering or hacking would probably be the smallest charge on his list anyway.
Momma Ink was calm though, despite the pandemonium currently surrounding her. All ten of them were standing in the kitchen in varying stages of grief about the news she had just broke to them.
“The school we wanted you to go to said they would only take three of you,” she explained gently. “I tried to make them change their mind about it, but they stuck to their decision. Their excuses were all within the law.”
“Fuck the law!” Mina crowed angrily. “They can’t turn students away! We need an education, and the law says so! …doesn’t it?”
“It does. However, they knew what they were talking about, so I can’t legally do anything.”
“But- but what will we do then?” Ochako asked. “We still have to go to middle school, you have to graduate middle school before going to a hero school. And we can’t afford private school.”
“You’re right.” Momma Ink nodded. She still didn’t seem too agitated though, so Hitoshi figured she had already worked something out. “The school administrator I spoke to told me they had already worked out enrollment for all of you.”
“Oh, ok then. So-“
Momma Ink sighed, and Hitoshi felt his stomach drop a little more. “I’m not done. The other schools will only take so many of you as well. Seems you’ve earned yourselves quite the reputation, and have records labeled as ‘troubled.’”
“We didn’t do anything!” Katsuki snarled, more at the notion than Momma Ink. “Every fight we got into was in self defense! And we all got passing grades!”
“I know, dear, I know. And I’ll be investigating why the schools won’t accept more of you when I have time, since it seems to be related to your records. In the meantime, three schools have agreed to take you.”
Hitoshi nodded numbly. He hadn’t been apart from Izuku since…kindergarten. Before they adopted him. They had been in separate classes before that, but always the same school. They had lunch together with the rest of their siblings. They saw each other in hallways and through windows, but the other was always there. There was still a decent chance Izuku would go to the same school as Hitoshi, but quite honestly, he was still terrified.
He knew the codependence was probably…less than healthy. But it wasn’t like school had helped with that. They were practically social pariahs. If it wasn’t bullies throwing a punch then it was someone with cutting words. If it wasn’t them then it was a teacher proclaiming they were beyond help. Some teachers just didn’t understand that kids learned differently sometimes. Izuku had taught half of them the subjects when a teacher couldn’t, or wouldn’t.
There were the better teachers, of course. Those ones tended to actually see them. Hitoshi liked those teachers. They were nice to all of them. Although the side effect was being called a teacher’s pet, but words were better than physical fights. Those were the years other students didn’t hurt them as much, since a teacher was more likely to notice and actually do something about it.
But they had always had each other. They had their family, and it was enough. If he didn’t have that, then how could Hitoshi face a new school? Their reputation would follow them. The teachers would single them out and the other students would pick up on it. A never-ending cycle that would drown him if he was alone.
And even if the whispers shrouding them didn’t follow, the school would learn their quirks. The corrupt system would see a group of “villainous quirks” and shun them. Declare them dangerous. Hitoshi gave it a week—maybe two—before things went right back to how they were before. Middle schoolers weren’t exactly known for being widely accepting and open minded.
There was good in the world, Hitoshi knew there was, but it was hard to dig and find it when the bad was being hurled at him like rocks. Especially when it seemed like all the good was already standing at his side.
“How far are they?” Momo asked calmly, but fidgeting with a stand of her hair.
“Not too far,” Momma Ink answered. “You all will still have to take a train, unless you’re very determined to walk, which I’m sure you could do if you wanted to.”
Hitoshi snorted, knowing that was true. All of them were stubborn and had stamina for days.
“So,” Izuku said, voice level, but Hitoshi could hear the shake in it, “who got put where?”
Ah, the part Hitoshi has been dreading.
Momma Ink pulled over a paper Hitoshi hadn’t given much thought to. She glanced over it for a second, before reading it out loud. “To Aldera Middle School: Izuku, Momo, and Mei. To Geonosis Junior High: Kouji, Shouto, Hitoshi, and Ochako. To Ryloth Academy: Katsuki, Mina, and Hanta.”
Hitoshi blinked slowly, processing the assignments. He didn’t know whether the person who had divided them up was stupid or just didn’t know them. Having their resident geniuses go to one school? And the “I seem quiet but I’m chaotic as a squirrel on caffeine” kids in one place? And the three that tended to just to embody “punch first, questions later”? Yeah…
Hitoshi wondered how long it would take for one of the schools to burn down. They could probably make it a contest.
He wasn’t with Izuku, but…they were still his siblings. He’d be ok. They would protect each other. Hitoshi trusted them. They faced villains on a nightly basis, and had always had his back. Compared to that, how hard could middle school really be?
~~~~~~~~~~
Hanta was early to class. It changed nothing, and yet, everything.
It started with Katsuki waking all of them up at the crack of dawn, since apparently they needed to get up extra early for their first day of junior high. Hanta grumbled about being dragged out of bed, but went anyway. Not that she would have been able to keep sleeping anyway. Not with everyone else also awake and sluggishly moving around.
Hisashi was chipper as ever when they dragged themselves downstairs. He happily handed everyone a plate of eggs and bacon for breakfast, giving them each a pat on the head and a smile. Hanta blamed it on just waking up, but he had gotten halfway through calling Hisashi “Pops.” The man hadn’t seemed to notice, just brushing off Hanta’s cutoff words as being nervous for school.
The extra hair ruffle really hadn’t helped Hanta’s ensuing crisis about parental names.
They didn’t have much time to dwell on it, at least. Rei walked in with the air of someone who had been up for hours and found the dawn peaceful. She asked all of them questions as she made tea, making them all double check that they had what they needed. Kouji promised to make sure Peeve hadn’t snatched anyone’s pencil bag again.
The morning had gone relatively normal from there. Hanta got dressed, triple checked he had his supplies, and got his shoes on alongside Katsuki and Mina. The three of them had to leave the earliest, since their school was the farthest. It wasn’t too bad, really. Just—not ideal.
But they couldn’t exactly change the school records without looking suspicious, so they would have to deal with it. Until UA, that is.
Hanta hadn’t known what they wanted to do for a long, long time. He had been more focused on getting through one day and then the next, no time to really think about things like a future career. But then they had met the Midoriyas, and being a hero had just…fit. Maybe Hanta would change it in the future, but right now, being a hero sounded like the best bet.
He would make sure kids didn’t have to be scared, like he had been. Even if that was just spreading awareness. And with his siblings at his side, Hanta knew it wasn’t just a faraway dream. It was a promise. One he intended to keep no matter what he ended up doing.
But for now, they had to deal with middle school first.
The three of them had almost been out the door, but that was when Hitoshi came skidding around the corner. He shoved something into Hanta’s hands, waiting for Hanta to stop giving him a confused look and actually see what he had given them.
The bag had a handful of marshmallows in it. Nothing else, just marshmallows. Hanta wasn't about to protest against getting a treat, but he was still slightly confused.
Hitoshi started talking before Hanta could ask though, probably seeing the question in their expression. “It’s a tradition,” he explained. “Every new kid, I give them a bag of marshmallows on their first day of school. I used to just bring them with me everywhere, but then we started getting put in different classes, so I cut out the middleman and just give them a bag.”
Hanta blinked down at the innocent bag of marshmallows. He had done the song and dance of first days with his mother. She would dress him up, make him pose, take some pictures, and then send him off. No tearful goodbyes, no walking them to school. It was the same every year since he could remember.
No one had ever given him a treat just because it was the first day. No one had involved him in a tradition like that. Hanta suddenly felt like the bag in his hands was the most precious thing he could be holding.
They didn’t even think before picking up Hitoshi in a hug. Hanta was taller, even if they weren’t quite stronger yet, but they still had plenty of strength to lift their brother off the floor. Much to Mina’s amusement, evident by her muffled cackling.
“You’re welcome,” Hitoshi chuckled, still a good few inches off the ground.
Hanta sheepishly let him down, marshmallows still safely in hand. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, again.”
“Cool, yes, tradition—we have to fucking go, idiots, ” Katsuki grumbled, pulling Hanta towards the door by his arm.
Hanta didn’t bother trying to stop their brother, knowing Katsuki would just pull him regardless. So instead he waved to Hitoshi as he was bodily dragged out the door and made sure to keep ahold of the marshmallows. Their purple-haired brother just shook his head fondly and waved back.
The train was boring. As boring as a train ride with two of his siblings can be, at least. Katsuki was the most awake out of the three of them. He stood with a scowl on his face that Hanta knew was his version of nerves. Mina was verbally wondering about how their day would go, rambling about details to distract herself and repeatedly rolling and unrolling the hanging strap on her backpack.
Hanta listened with half an ear, blankly staring out the window. A combination of being woken up early, the train’s lulling movement, and anxiety over a new school combined into a fast pass for his brain to check right out.
But before he knew it, the three of them were standing at the school gates. Mina had grabbed their hands at some point in the walk there. Hanta didn’t mention how he could feel her minute shaking, just squeezed her hand in what he hoped was reassuring.
“New place, new start,” Hanta breathed. “Let’s go then.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Late late late- he was going to be late. And on the first day too, the odds of his homeroom teacher liking him were already dwindling lower.
He didn’t bother paying attention to the people still loitering in the halls—there were always people out in the halls, even if the ball was ringing they would still be ignoring it. That wouldn’t change just because this was a new school. They were kids, there were bound to be a few that didn’t actually step foot in their classroom until they were “fashionably late.”
Not him though, no sir-e. He really wanted to make a good impression on his teachers this time. It made them more likely to actually listen to his request. Just one! One! And yet some treated it like he was asking them to touch an active stove or something.
With that fleeting morbid thought, he skidded around a corner—nearly eating it on the way—and spotted his door. The bell hadn’t rang yet, by some miracle. Maybe today would be alright after all.
He flung the door open, panting and using the frame as a temporary crutch.
“I’m not late!” he wheezed. “Hell yeah!”
Someone in the room snorted, which made him finally look up to see…an almost empty classroom. There were three students in total. No teacher, no full desks.
“…huh?”
“You’re almost twenty minutes early,” one of the other students answered, a girl sitting close to the door. “Did you really think you’d be late?”
He glanced over at a clock, and had the startling realization that he was, in fact, early. By quite a bit. But he could have sworn the electronic clock at home…
He suddenly groaned, smacking his forehead with a palm. “My mom used the microwave as a timer again and forgot to reset it.”
“What a way to be early,” the second student chuckled.
He just sighed, nodding. The last of the three students hadn’t said anything. He risked a glance at them, trying to judge whether they would be one of those types to call him stupid. Their black hair was like his own, which was super cool! And their face was-
Wait a second.
“YOU!” He yelled, stumbling forward a step and tripping on nothing.
“…me?”
“HANTA!”
Hanta paused, staring at him like he was a stranger. Which…hurt, a bit. Not that he blamed them. He had changed a lot since they had last seen each other.
It only took another second for recognition to wash across Hanta’s face though. “Eiko?”
He winced, and hoped Hanta hadn’t noticed. But he smiled anyway. It had been so long since he’d seen Hanta! Being separated before either of them had phones or emails really sucked. But he was here now! They both were!
Apparently the wince hadn’t gone unnoticed though. Hanta narrowed his eyes, assessing in a way he had never seen his old friend be before. And yet again, recognition appeared in Hanta’s expression.
“Ah, sorry,” Hanta said, an easy smile on his face. “I always forget how it’s supposed to be pronounced.”
“How do you forget how a name is pronounced, dummy?” The girl from in front of him asked.
“You try remembering how things are pronounced when you have little siblings,” Hanta laughed, rolling his eyes. “They can’t even pronounce half the alphabet, names are hard for them.”
“Yeah, fair.”
Hanta nodded, turning their entire attention back to him. The smile was still in place, but their eyes were…different. Deeper. Knowledgeable. He didn’t…he didn’t know what to make of it.
Hanta also didn’t have any little siblings. An older sister he had mentioned in passing, yeah, but no little siblings. And he had certainly never forgotten how to pronounce a name.
But that meant…well, it meant Hanta had managed to grasp what was wrong from half a second. One little action, and he had known. His Hanta hadn’t been like that.
“Remind me how it’s pronounced?” Hanta asked kindly, like he hadn’t just done detective-level thinking in a single second.
But still, this was Hanta. Hanta, who he had known for most of elementary school. Hanta who looked—better. Different, somehow. But still Hanta.
“Eijirou,” he managed to choke out, the words falling out in a rush of air.
“Right, sorry again that I forgot.” And Hanta smiled, something brighter now, and gestured to the seat next to him. “Come on, I saved you a seat.”
The other two students went back to ignoring the two of them. They hardly batted an eye as Eijirou stumbled forward, torn between flinging himself at Hanta in a hug and holding onto his backpack straps in a white knuckle grip. He hesitated next to Hanta.
“The chair’s not going to bite you,” he joked. “We’ve got some catching up to do, huh?”
Eijirou practically flung himself into the chair, the air abandoning his lungs in a whoosh. “Yeah- yeah, we do, don’t we.”
And yet, he couldn’t help smiling.
“We have some time now,” Hanta hummed quietly. Eijirou couldn’t help noticing his entire tone seemed to have changed, even with those few words. “Want me to go first?”
“Uh…yeah, if that’s- ok?”
Hanta just snorted, smile turning wry. “I offered, of course it’s ok.” He shrugged, voice low enough for the other two across the classroom to not hear them. “Long story short, I’m now Hanta Sero, I got adopted by a big family, and I have a lot of siblings now. They’re- they’re better. A lot better. I’m better.”
“I noticed,” Eijirou said softly, happy. “I’m happy for you, man! Your mother wasn’t exactly…er.”
“She was pretty bad, I know that now. The Midoriyas are the farthest thing from her anyone could be.”
“The Midoriyas?”
“The family that adopted me,” Hanta said. “They have a lot of adopted kids. You’ll see two of them when- I mean, if you want to- to have lunch with us?”
Now that was Eijirou’s Hanta. Nervous, but always striving to be kind. He had changed, that much was obvious, but it was a good change. Hanta had always reminded Eijirou of a picked flower—shaky, but pretty, and slowly wilting but trying so, so hard. Now- now Hanta was more like a sapling. Still shaky but growing stronger every day. Growing into something great.
Hope flickered in his chest, the ember not quite smothered yet.
“Hell yeah, man!” He cheered, eyes bright as he gave a closed-lip smile. “I’d love to meet your new siblings! And eat lunch with you guys.”
“Cool.”
Eijirou had been unaware that so much emotion could be conveyed through one word.
“Your turn?” Hanta suggested, somehow phrasing it like a question, like he could back out if he wanted to.
“Oh, right. Well…” Eijirou faltered, though only for a second. Hanta would figure everything out one way or another anyway. “I- uh, I found out I’m trans.”
“Nice. What are your pronouns now?”
Eijirou just blinked for a moment. Half the people he talked to didn’t even know what a pronoun was, let alone asked if his had changed. It threw him for a loop. And Hanta had said it so nonchalantly, like it was an everyday occurrence.
“H-he and him,” he finally answered.
“Good to know.” Hanta’s gaze turned softer, much more trusting than Eijirou had ever seen. “Thanks for telling me.” And with the casualty of saying there were clouds in the sky, Hanta said, “I’m agender, feel free to use any pronouns for me.”
“Oh- Oh, yeah! Sure, dude! Eh- are masculine words still ok?”
“They’re fine, Ei,” Hanta laughed, like a carefree campfire. “Don’t worry.”
Eijirou just smiled, and couldn’t help how bright it became. Hanta had been his safe person in school; his best friend. It made him so happy to see that hadn’t changed. Even after nearly three years, Hanta was still his friend.
“Your hair looks cool, by the way.”
“Thanks!” He chirped. “I wanted it shorter, but Mum wouldn’t let me. Figured this was about as good as it would get, and it turned out pretty manly!”
“It sure did,” Hanta laughed. “I think it’s shorter than mine actually.”
“If you’re all ready to begin,” a voice from the front of the classroom called, making them all snap to attention. “It’s time for class to start.”
Eijirou glanced over at Hanta, who was looking over as well. The two of them shared a grin. More time had passed than Eijirou thought it had, enough that their teacher had arrived without either of them noticing.
All in all, Eijirou had never been happier to be early to class.
~~~~~~~~~~
The lunch bell rang, and Hanta was out of their seat in a blink. He grabbed Eijirou’s hand—and hadn’t that been a shock, to see his old friend here of all places—and dragged the two of them out of the room before half their classmates could move. They borderline sprinted out the doors that led outside. Both were laughing the entire way, bento boxes held tightly under their arms.
The courtyard was practically empty. Hanta quickly scanned the yard, zeroing in on the pink beacon she called her sister. There was no sight of blond spikes yet, but he would get there eventually. Unless he had already exploded something in class and was held back. That wasn’t likely though—Katsuki followed most of the rules in a classroom, and none of their bullies had followed them to the school. That they knew of, anyway.
Katsuki also wouldn’t let himself get caught for anything he did do, so there was that.
“Mina!” Hanta called across the yard.
She whipped around, waving her arms like she was trying to flag down a plane. Or a stubborn taxi. Either way, she was grinning brightly, bento in her lap. Eijirou didn’t resist as Hanta dragged him over.
The two of them sat on the ground under a tree, just like their previous school. There was a bench this time though. They weren’t using it at the moment, but it would be nice to have. Hanta leaned onto Mina’s shoulder for a moment when he sat down.
“You’re new,” she said, pointing a chopstick at Eijirou, before turning to Hanta with narrowed eyes. “Have you pulled an Izuku?”
“Did you just use our brother’s name as a verb?”
“Answer the question.”
“No, I have not pulled an Izuku,” Hanta laughed. “This is Eijirou, I’ve told you about him before.”
Hanta shifted where they were sitting, leaning closer to his old friend. He pretended not to notice how Eijirou puffed up happily at his correct name. It made Hanta happy too, to know his friend had discovered more about himself. They both had.
They also still had similar hair. If anything it was even closer than it had been before, which Hanta found hilarious. Short, straight, black hair wasn’t exactly rare, but their styles were so similar that smaller-them had immediately bonded over it.
Meanwhile Mina turned her assessing gaze to Eijirou. He shuffled nervously, leaning the slightest bit away from her.
It took a few seconds, but understanding donned on Mina. “Ohhh, you’re Hanta’s friend from before!! You said your name’s Eijirou?”
“Um, y-yeah?”
“Cool! Mine’s Mina, you’ll see Katsuki in a minute. What’d you get for lunch? Momma Inko made us pretty bentos today, look!”
Eijirou, probably slightly overwhelmed by Mina’s rapid-fire talking, could do little else but lean over and look at the bento. They were pretty, to be fair. Momma Inko made them special ones sometimes. Hanta opened his to see one similar to Mina, but with some foods she had noticed they loved.
(Later, Hanta would marvel at how he hadn’t flinched away from calling her “Momma Inko.” Later, Hanta would quietly laugh to himself with tears in their eyes, and wonder if this is what having a mom was really like)
Maybe another thirty seconds passed before Hanta felt eyes on the back of his head. She turned around, and spotted Katsuki leisurely strolling over to the tree they had claimed. More students poured out of the doors behind him, but he paid them no mind. Most of them were ignoring him too. Probably because of his resting scowl, which changed to a small grin once Hanta waved.
“Took you long enough!” Mina yelled to him. “Anything interesting?”
“Fuck no,” Katsuki answered, flopping onto the ground on her side not occupied by Hanta. “Nothing interesting whatso-“
He cut himself off, his eyes landing on Eijirou. The words seemed to just- abandon him. Like his vocal cords weren’t working anymore. Red met red, their eyes locking for an instant that seemed to stretch on forever.
To Hanta, with his now-extensive knowledge on his prickly brother, it looked like Katsuki was starstruck.
It lasted for nearly a full minute, the two just staring at each other, before Katsuki scrambled to his feet. Hanta caught the sight of red blotching his face.
“Fuck- sorry gotta gay- GO somewhere pretty- PRETTY IMPORTANT SHIT—FUCK— BYE-“
And Katsuki—the spiky and normally unshakable blond—took off running back towards the school building.
Hanta blinked at where their brother had been just a second before. If his eyes hadn’t deceived him, Katsuki had been blushing. Over Eijirou. Who was staring at the same spot Hanta was, sharp teeth showing a bit with his dropped jaw and redder-than-normal face.
Mina and Hanta shared a look, and then promptly started cackling.
“Uh, guys?” Eijirou asked, sounding extremely confused. “Are you…good?”
“Amazing,” Mina wheezed.
Hanta managed to calm down just enough to say, “We’re fine.”
“What’s going on?”
“He thinks you’re pretty,” Hanta said bluntly. “And he never runs from things, so this is comedy gold to us.”
“Oh…he never runs from things?”
Of course that’s what Eijirou would focus on. Maybe the two were meant to be after all. “Nope, hardly ever. He’ll be back—I’d give it maybe five minutes—but we’ve never seen him do this, let alone over a boy.”
Eijirou seemed torn between preening at being referred to properly and doing his best impression of a tomato. Hanta couldn’t help the stray cackle that made its way passed his lips.
“Anyway,” Mina interrupted, clapping her hands together. “Welcome to our group. Hanta dragged you over so you’re a part of it now, which includes the benefits of beating up whatever bullies you may have and legal protection because Momma Inko is a badass. You made Katsuki flee so our other siblings are going to love you.”
“Other siblings?”
“There are-“ Hanta paused, mentally tallying everyone in their family. There were a lot- “technically eighteen of us in the family, twelve of them are our siblings. Two are our big siblings spouses-“
“Fuyumi and Rumi aren’t married yet,” Mina reminded him.
“They might as well be. We have three adults-slash-parents, two adult siblings, and one who’s in high school. Everyone else is our age.”
“So you have…nine siblings our age.”
“Yep!” Mina chirped in confirmation.
“…how?”
At the same time, Mina and Hanta both answered, “Izuku.”
“And Katsuki,” Mina added. “He’s the one that brought me home, and found you, Hanta. Even if Izuku was technically the one that brought you home.”
“That’s…that’s a lot of people.”
“They’re nice,” Hanta said, giving Eijirou a reassuring grin. His friend relaxed, taking the hidden meaning for what it was. He hadn’t known everything about Hanta’s home, but he had known enough. “And understanding. They know I’m agender, and Touya has a husband. Fuyumi has a girlfriend.”
“And I’m pretty sure I’m bi,” Mina added. “Or a lesbian? I’m still figuring it out.”
“That’s fair,” Eijirou hummed.
“I’m pan,” Hanta told them, confident in his words. “Pretty sure Shouto said something about being demi the other day. I think half of us like the same gender in some capacity, actually. Mo- Inko and Hisashi are going to have grandkids that look like a rainbow.”
Mina started cackling again. “It would fit!”
“It would. They’re just collecting every identity that exists. Like Pokemon.”
That sent Mina into a fit of giggles, which neither Hanta or Eijirou were immune to. Their lunches sat off to the side, momentarily forgotten. Katsuki came stomping back over while they were still in stitches. He didn’t question it, just sat down and started scarfing down his rice.
When Hanta caught his breath, he asked Eijirou what was in his lunch. That somehow sparked a debate between their friend and Mina on the best dessert. With them occupied, Hanta glanced over at Katsuki, who had returned in the middle of their debate. He was watching Eijirou, something like awe in his eyes. Bright and fragile like newly spun glass.
Maybe the new school year wouldn’t be too bad after all.
Notes:
The second scene just- did not want to exist. Not how I wanted it to. Took me rewriting the whole thing 4 times before I got to a point I was ok with and decided “screw it, we’re getting a Kiri POV early.” Did it turn out kinda messy? Maybe. I've become blind to it but think it turned out alright. But did it get DONE? Yes, so that’s good enough for me. And we got to see how Hanta has changed from an outside perspective! Because, as we all know, extended exposure to Izuku Midoriya tends to pass on a few braincells :3
ANYWAY KIRI IS HERE MY BOOYYYYYY. I was so excited to write him!! Especially since this is where he meets Katsuki and we got to see baby’s first gay panic :D
And Ohhhh boy can I just say the next two chapters are some I have been REALLY looking forward to, and I'm really happy with how they turned out! We'll see how long it takes to get them out though, school starts again in a month and I move my sister into college before that. They grow up so fast TvT
But I’ll give y’all a hint, since I'm so excited: A certain character makes a reappearance :) their cat Olive doesn’t, but she’s still adorable
Hope you have a lovely day/night <3
Chapter 94: The Waiting Rabbit
Summary:
A highly requested hero appears once again and acquires a new migraine source
Aka Welcome back to “Izuku is Scary” hour, where I have entirely too much fun making the sunshine boy terrify people :D
Notes:
HEYO I AM EXCITED FOR THIS ONE
So my brain decided to dump inspiration on me all at once since I've had Very Little for like a month, hence why this is early! And part 2 should follow in a few days! :D
Songs I listened to on repeat while writing this: Boyfriend (Dove Cameron), The Plagues (from Prince of Egypt), Until it Doesn’t Hurt (Mother Mother), and both Haylofts (also Mother Mother).
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Touya would like it to be known he technically had plausible deniability. Because, technically, he didn’t actually know which of his siblings was under which mask. Even though it was easy for him to guess. And Shouto was the only one that routinely did a peace sign when a camera was aimed at him, the same as Chimera did.
But since he technically didn’t know who was under which mask, it was no fault of his own for not attacking the vigilantes. Their costumes were also really convincing, to be fair. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to assume they were just new underground heroes. He didn’t usually work at night, so it wasn’t his fault. Same with Keigo and Rumi. They were daylight heroes, no one could technically blame them for not knowing the local nighttime heroes.
That being said, the few times he and Keigo did do a night patrol, the little shits seemed to make it their mission to shadow the two of them.
Case in point, Touya, having heard a scuffle on a side-street to his right, went to investigate a possible fight, only to find Athena and Gorgon standing between an angry man and a cowering child. He stepped back to simply observe. Gorgon said something—he sounded so different from Hitoshi, it was jarring—and the angry man melted into neutral body language. He then walked away, expression blank.
Touya didn't bat an eye when he felt his husband sidle up next to him. He merely shuffled over, giving the man a better view of the vigilantes and child.
“They handled that well,” Keigo said quietly. “Gorgon especially.”
Touya hummed in agreement. “They’re not tiny gremlins anymore.”
“No, they’re bigger gremlins now.”
Touya snorted, bumping his shoulder into his husband’s. He was right though. Their little siblings weren’t so little anymore, as much as they were still physically on the shorter side. Tall enough to pass for a short adult though. No one was crazy enough to believe that nearly a dozen middle schoolers would become highly skilled vigilantes, after all.
“Think we should talk to them?” Keigo asked.
“I have no doubt at least another two of the gremlins have eyes on us.”
“Oh yeah, right.” Keigo lit up, and turned to where he knew the nearest visible security camera was to happily wave at it. “Hi Daedalus! You’re doing great, fledgling!”
Touya shoved down the impulse to facepalm. Instead he just sighed and walked away from the alley. He had a patrol to keep to. Keigo would tell him if there was any trouble on the ground, since they were disconnected from their agency headquarters right now. The excuse of a teamwork exercise seemed to work, and Touya would prefer if there was little-to-no evidence that could get them in trouble for encouraging vigilantism.
Political pressure surrounding vigilantes was rearing its ugly head again. Heroes were facing more police insistence to arrest anyone they suspected of being one, and civilians were rallying around the Sirens. The building case against them had been leaked, and the public backlash had been a bitch to handle, according to Keigo, who was still mildly involved with the Hero Commission. He had said it while laughing though, so Touya wasn’t overly worried.
Besides, his siblings were smart. They had gone this long without getting arrested, or even being spotted by most heroes. They’d be fine. And on the off chance one or more of them did get arrested, Touya knew for a fact the little gremlins could break out of handcuffs and jail cells.
He certainly didn’t want to be the one to deal with that, so he left his vigilante siblings well enough alone when he saw them in costume.
“Looks clear from down here,” he told Keigo some time later. “Want to join me roof-side for a minute?”
“Be right there, Handsome.”
Touya fondly rolled his eyes as he found the nearest fire escape. Keigo was just landing as he got to the top, red feathers ruffling happily before laying flat again. He met Touya’s eyes with a lazy grin and a pointed tilt of his head.
“Seems we have some company,” he said.
Touya glanced over without moving his head, thankful for his tinted goggles. There was someone in a window across the street, phone out and pointed towards them, but only that. Better that than a villain. It did mean Touya couldn’t sneak his husband a kiss though, not unless they wanted to spark another internet scandal.
Well, “scandal” as in their collective fans screaming and theorizing about them being together, and others trying to say the opposite. It was amusing.
“Anything to see from the sky?” He asked nonchalantly.
“Nah, all clear. Seems our job is easy tonight.”
It’s been done for us, he didn’t say, but Touya picked up all the same.
“Nice. Think we can cover the northern sector before we have to head back?”
“Is that a challenge?”
“Only if you make it one, Birdie.”
Keigo just shot him a challenging grin, spreading his wings. Touya rolled his eyes.
A flash of movement had Touya throwing up an arm wreathed in blue flames to shield his side. His mind snapped into hero mode, searching for where the movement had come from.
Something melted on impact with his flames, telling him it wasn’t metal. Not a strong one, at least. Not a pointed weapon aimed to harm. Touya was reminded of the time Mei had surprised him by throwing a rubber bouncy ball at his face. The thing had quickly melted onto slag.
A glance to the floor, and Touya was putting his arm down and sighing. He quickly dropped his shoulders and threatening stance as well. Keigo followed his example, but kept his feathers sharpened.
Touya turned to the neighboring rooftop, leveling an unamused stare at the concrete. “Come on out, I know you’re there.”
A moment passed, and then a furry head poked itself around the corner of the roof access structure. Chimera looked like the perfect face of innocence. If he wasn’t Touya’s younger brother, that is. Even under a full-face mask Touya knew his brother was trying not to grin like he did when he was guilty but also trying not to laugh.
“Yo,” Chimera said calmly, throwing up a peace sign. Touya tried not to sigh again.
“I would suggest against throwing things at me,” Touya advised, extremely aware of the civilian that was probably still filming. A small jerk of his head brought them to Chimera’s attention as well. “I don’t recognize you, are you a new hero?”
“You could say that.” Chimera grinned a feline smile. On anyone else it’d be playful. On his brother, though, it was shit-eating.
“Your name, then?”
“Chimera. And I know you, Dabi. And Hawks! What a pleasure to finally see you.”
Touya gave his little brother a nod, trying his best not to coo at how Shouto was being open with emotions. He might be faking it, of course, but something told him that wasn’t true. Shouto wasn’t cold by any means, but he was always careful with what he showed. Chimera seemed to have loosened that frosty caution a bit.
“Well, I must be going,” Chimera all but purred. “I’ll be seeing you around, heroes.”
Touya watched Shouto practically disappear into the shadows. He wasn’t ignorant to what his brother’s words meant. His little siblings had seen the worst of the world. They knew how cruel people could be, how careless. They knew that heroes weren’t all good. The Sirens had made their opinions known, if only through little clips floating around the internet.
So Chimera outright calling Dabi and Hawks heroes—sincerely and not sarcastically—meant the two of them had the Siren stamp of approval.
Touya wouldn’t be surprised if he woke up to people screaming about it online. And a call from their PR manager. Shouto probably knew it too, the gremlin.
Keigo was the one to pop his thought bubble. “What are the odds he tries to throw bread at me next time we take a night patrol?”
“Since we’re still being recorded? Hundred percent.”
“…ah.”
“Yeah. Come on, Feather-brain, back to patrol. We can worry about the new hero later.”
Keigo nodded, taking to the skies with a parting grin. Touya allowed himself a moment to scrub a hand through his hair and let out a deep breath. Shouto wasn’t intimidating, not to him, but he could easily see how the boy could be. His little brother was growing up.
“I miss the time when he couldn’t walk,” Touya muttered lowly. “He couldn’t get into as much trouble that way.”
“Coms are still on, Hot Stuff.”
“Yeah, I know. Just verbally mourning my sanity so you can hear my despair.”
Keigo’s answering cackle was enough to make Touya smile and get moving.
It would be far from the last time Touya ran into his little siblings doing less-than-legal things. It also wasn’t the last time he turned a blind eye to it, or pretended to have no idea who they were. It was all he could do for them in-costume. But Touya would be damned before he hurt one of his little siblings.
Should the day come, Touya already knew which side he would choose.
~~~~~~~~~~
Shouta sat at his temporary desk in the Musutafu police station, and scrolled through his phone.
He had a good reason to—besides boredom on a nightshift, that is. The feed he was scrolling through was specifically tailored to show him posts that mentioned the Musutafu vigilantes. They were growing ever more popular, which made finding information on them surprisingly easy. Though sorting through it was anything but. There was a lot of false information to sift from the truth, but Shouta had been an underground hero for years now, so it wasn’t especially challenging. Most of the time, anyway.
A video popped up in the feed. It was a few days old, so nothing to add to Shouta’s mental catalogue of information, but he pressed play anyway. He had to admit, the video was an amusing one. And intriguing, since the video—simply titled “Musutafu Cryptid is a Mood”—consisted of Gorgon tripping off a low roof, hitting the ground, and just laying there for a minute while the videoer whispered worriedly. Then the vigilante merely sighed heavily before getting up and walking away like nothing had happened.
Shouta had watched the video enough times to realize the vigilante had stopped himself before he hit the concrete, but chose to lay on the ground anyway. It still said something about their resilience that he had walked away from he incident seemingly unharmed. As well as Gorgon’s general attitude. It reflected Shouta’s when he had to deal with stupid people.
A ping went off. Shouta’s eyes flickered to the notification as he pressed it without a thought. It brought him to a new post, seconds old. Anticipation and a vague sense of hope skittered across his skin.
Vigilante sighting!! the post joyfully declared. A blurry picture accompanied it. Shouta could make out silver, green, and gold. Athena and Basilisk, if he had to guess, mostly from the structure of the masks.
Another ping, and Shouta clicked on it just as fast. I just saw KItsune!!! the title read, a slightly less blurry picture with this one. Kitsune was perched on a balcony across from the photographer, glowing green gaze intent on something out of sight.
A feeling of victory welled up in Shouta’s chest. The picture had a street name accompanying it, just barely in view, but it was close. In Musutafu, maybe ten minutes away at his fastest pace. Shouta was on his feet within seconds, barking orders to the technicians on duty. He snatched his goggles off the desk and made a b-line for the door.
It was rare for the vigilantes to be so close to the station. It was even rarer for Kitsune to be there, and alone. It was the opportunity Shouta had been waiting for. Kitsune was a powerful opponent, if reports were anything to go by, but alone was much more manageable than the vigilante surrounded by his allies. Besides, everyone relied on their quirk. Without it, people folded. They yielded to Shouta, and he was going to take full advantage of that, if only to gain some information.
The vigilantes were wildcards right now. If he could just get some proof, some sort of evidence, then maybe he could make a case for reforming them into heroes instead of taking them out of the picture.
Eraserhead was racing across the rooftops not five minutes later, someone directing him to where Kitsune was predicted to be through his earpiece. The vigilante seemed to be following a path for now. He was going to take full advantage of that. If Shouta could get there first and intercept him, then maybe- just maybe-
The noise in his ear reached a new pitch, Kitsune changing directions if he was hearing correctly. His course was adjusted, Shouta flying across the darkened city. They had one shot at this. One. They had to get it right, or else it might take months for the vigilantes to let their guard down enough to let him get close again. The Sirens had been amiable towards some heroes so far—the ones they deemed “good heroes.”
Shouta just prayed he was on that list, and headed to intercept the elusive fox vigilante.
~~~~~~~~~~
Izuku was having the time of his life. The first week of school hadn’t gone horribly, and they had finally made it to Friday, which meant they could all go out to patrol the streets.
Mei directed them as always, steering everyone away from police and heroes alike. She kept them updated on what people were posting about them too. All of them listened in as she idly mentioned what was being said tonight. A few pictures of them had already been posted, and Mei filled them in on the responses that were flooding in because of them.
“They got one of you on that balcony, Kitsune,” Daedalus mentioned. “When Harpy dove off the roof. You look like a glowing gargoyle.”
“Gee thanks, Daedalus.”
“You’re welcome.”
Izuku playfully made a disgruntled noise as he vaulted another alleyway. The coms crackled in his ears, his siblings making their own commentary on their run. They were all out tonight; partly to celebrate the first week of school being over, and also because they were restless after having spent half the week actually sleeping instead of roof hopping.
It wasn’t a quiet night, but it also wasn’t extremely busy. Izuku had taken to keeping information cards with him, which he had used a few times already. Most of them had directions to homeless shelters or free food kitchens, some had information for drug rehabs that accepted anyone willing to seek help. He knew there were discriminatory ones out there, and made an effort to find the actual good ones.
There were some villains, of course, there always were. Athena and Basilisk had stopped a drug deal, leaving the dealer tied up for the police to find. Gorgon had gotten between a drunken fight and gotten nailed in the side for his troubles, but ultimately came out relatively unharmed. Tonight the nine of them had collectively stopped three muggings, two drug deals, one drunken harassment, and stopped to listen to a group of drunk college students play them a song. The video would doubtlessly appear on the internet by morning.
Izuku hadn’t expected them to gain a following when they became vigilantes, but they seemed to have amassed a fanbase. Mostly people from Musutafu and the surrounding cities they had visited, but people from outside were beginning to take an interest as well.
“Kitsune, you might have company soon.”
Izuku snapped to attention, skidding to a stop on a rooftop to listen closely. He kept an eye on his surroundings, but gave his full attention to Daedalus. “Who? And how soon?”
“Eraserhead.” And oh, didn’t that send a shiver down his spine. “He’s moving to intercept you on your current course. Intentions unknown, but my guess is he’s the one that’s been trying to track us these last few weeks.”
Izuku hummed in understanding, mind whirring with possibilities. Eraserhead was strong, stronger than he could take one-on-one, but also had a relatively well known soft-spot for vigilantes. It was unlikely the hero would try to kill him.
And if he had been trying to track them, odds were he either wanted information, or to try and bring them in himself. But it did leave one question: why tonight?
Then he had an epiphany.
“Hey Daedalus?”
“Yeah?”
“Were there any other pictures of me that got out there tonight? Or any of Harpy?”
“As far as I can tell, no.”
Gorgon made a worried sound over the coms. “He thinks you’re alone ,” his brother realized.
“Exactly.”
Izuku could hear the sound of his siblings all coming to a stop. They listened, waiting for direction—waiting for his direction. They trusted him. They trusted that he had a plan.
Izuku smirked viciously into the night. “What do you all say to paying Eraserhead a visit, hm? He thinks he has the advantage, but this is our playground. How about we show him who he’s dealing with?”
He could almost see his siblings’ answering grins. Their cackled words reached his ears, sharp and full of mischief. They wouldn’t hurt the hero, of course not, but if they were going to be ambushed, they might as well turn it around and make it their ambush.
“Harpy, meet up with Ares and Jorogumo,” Izuku directed. “Daedalus, fabricate someone posting a picture of me headed to that high-rise off Tenth Street. With any luck Eraserhead will get wind of it and head there to ‘cut me off.’ Everyone else, follow at a distance, don’t let yourself be seen much. Stay out of sight when you see Eraserhead unless something happens. Sound good?”
“Perfect,” Harpy purred.
“You heard the man,” Basilisk cackled. “Roll out!”
Izuku took a moment to let his grin soften, right before it sharpened again. He took off once more, flying over the city on a new route. It would be a challenge, but he had his siblings. With them at his side, he would be fine. Eraserhead, favorite hero of theirs or not, would sooner be unconscious than harm him.
It would be dangerous, but Izuku?
All he felt was excited.
Notes:
That line Touya said about missing when his little brother couldn’t walk? Yeah that exact line has been said in my house So many times. Usually right after the child learns to walk and they start getting into Everything. One of the most memorable being the DVD drawer we had, which one of my siblings emptied and then proceeded to sit in the empty drawer like it was a throne. Repeatedly.
Reminder that I have university classes starting in a bit less than 2 weeks! And I have a very packed schedule, so chapters are going to be pretty few and far between for the school year :(( That's mostly because it's my last year, and I'm shoving 4 years of college into 3, so I have 18 units the next 2 semesters
Pray for me, someone decided to make my Microbiology class at 8 a-freaking-m and Thursdays I'm basically going between classes and the cafeteria for 13 hours. So fun :) I love getting a degree :))Anyway! Next chapter: Children are scary and Aizawa wonders if he's fighting a God
Chapter 95: And The Lurking Fox
Summary:
Children can be terrifying, especially with the right motivation. Eraserhead learns this the hard way.
Also more of this:
Izuku: It’s Eraserhead!! Oh he’s so cool, I wonder if he would give me his autograph. Maybe I could cosplay as him next time I’m at a hero convention :D!!
Aizawa: This mythical being/maybe old god is Laughing while I’m trying to Stab Him wtf
Notes:
Hello my lovely people I am back with another chapter :D
This would have been up earlier but a hurricane hit my area of the state so that was fun! It wasn’t too bad in my area, thank God, but then my internet also went kaput for a few days until we could get it fixed so that delayed it. AND I move into dorms tomorrow! Last year of college woo! But yeah I’m gonna be REALLY busy this year so don’t expect a whole lot of chapters TwT
Oh yeah and the tags are slightly updated, been meaning to do that for a while now. Nothing in them has changed much! Just wanted it noted mostly so I knew when I did it lol
Enjoy :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Shouta was ready. His capture weapon was already in his hands, his quirk on the cusp of activating. He stared out at the surrounding buildings, watching and waiting, hiding in the shadow of a roof access door. Kitsune was on his way, and moving fast. Technicians back at the police station filled him in whenever there was an update, so he wasn’t going in blind.
Yet somehow none of it could dispel the growing pressure on his shoulders—the feeling that said something wasn’t right.
But too late now. Shouta could deal with whatever the consequences were. The vigilantes were strong, but Kitsune was also alone, and Shouta had the upper hand. He had surprise on his side and a restraining weapon. It would be fine.
A flash of green had his focus whipping to the left. Shouta didn’t dare to move a muscle more.
Kitsune was running across a rooftop two buildings over. His face was in its white form, stark against the dark night. Almost careless. Overconfident. It worked in Shouta’s favor though, so he wasn’t about to verbally critique it.
The distance gave Shouta a minute to observe. The vigilante was shorter than he was expecting, but Shouta had long since stopped associating height with age. He had seen far too many quirks to assume he was dealing with a child. It was a mistake a person only had to make once or twice to never make again.
Kitsune also moved gracefully, like he knew every muscle and tendon and how it would respond to him. And he didn’t stumble once. Shouta had seen quite a few vigilantes in his time, and there were three general categories: The overconfident ones, who moved like Kitsune was now, but quickly fell from grace. The anxious ones, who faltered and stumbled across the new territory. They too tended to drop quickly from the vigilante scene. And then the third, who moved like Kitsune because they had the skill to back up their actions.
The third was the most dangerous, but the rarest. Shouta doubted it was that, but he was nothing if not a cautious man. He wouldn’t dismiss the thought just yet.
Kitsune leapt, landing on the same roof as Shouta. The vigilante was constantly glancing around, ears swiveling like an actual fox’s would. But he didn’t pause. He didn’t show any sign of suspecting Shouta was there.
This was his chance.
Shouta moved in a whirl of gray cloth and a flash of red eyes. He felt the mental click of his quirk turning off a quirk factor, and he moved forward knowing he only had to hold it for so long. His capture weapon was fireproof—once Kitsune was wrapped up he was relatively safe, since reports had said Kitsune could only create green fire from his hands.
Kitsune, his back to Shouta, stopped. Just—slowed and stood there, head tilting to the side.
Not one to lose an opportunity, Shouta slung his capture weapon towards the vigilante. If he could just-
Kitsune was suddenly looking at him, and he was smiling. Shouta was close enough to see details now. He could see the vigilante’s teeth, the mask that looked like polished ivory. The green that lit his head and traced down his arms. The green of his eyes-
Shouta, in his own surprise, faltered. He only had a millisecond to realize his mistake.
Kitsune ducked the spools of fabric, weaving under and between them like he was taking a simple walk in the park. A blink, and the vigilante had two escrima sticks in hand. He swung at Shouta with no hesitation. It was instinct to reach back and grab his knife, bringing it up to block one of the weapons from hitting his side. Shouta didn’t know what damage the escrima sticks could do, but he’d rather not get some cracked ribs finding out.
“Ooh, you’re using your knife! I must be special.”
Shouta mentally tripped at the voice. It was higher than he had been expecting, and distorted far beyond the limits of normal human vocal cords. And, even while dodging Shouta actively trying to cocoon him, the vigilante’s voice was measured. Even. There was a hint of something else there, though. It almost sounded like excitement.
“I don’t usually use my escrima sticks either though,” the vigilante honest to Kami laughed. “So I guess you’re special too, Eraserhead!”
“You know my name?”
“Of course!” KItsune chirped, still weaving between Shouta’s attempts to capture him—far better than most of his own students could, he had to admit. “One of the only underground heroes to routinely patrol Musutafu when in the area. Teacher at UA, highest number of non-lethal missions and captures for an underground hero. And has a known soft spot for vigilantes.”
Shouta ducked a swung at his head, only to have to roll out of the way of a well-aimed kick.
“So, Eraserhead, may I ask-“
Shouta growled as he lashed out with his capture weapon again.
“-if the general population of hero and police want to bring us in-“
Kitsune twisted to the side, swung a step closer, enough for his green eyes to burn into Shouta’s quirk-lit red.
“Why did they send you?”
Shouta stabbed with his knife. It wasn’t meant to harm, just direct. But Kitsune didn’t know that. He leapt backwards, right where Shouta wanted him.
The capture weapon snagged the vigilante’s foot, and quickly snapped taunt. More cloth spooled around Kitsune until he was encased. Only his face and feet were uncovered. Shouta yanked his capture weapon until the vigilante was suspended upside-down.
Kitsune was still smiling.
Shouta let his quirk drop, still holding onto the restraints tightly with one hand. He put his knife away with the other one. Kitsune had been right, he didn’t use it often.
“To answer your question,” Shouta huffed. “They sent me because I had the highest chance of taking you by surprise and capturing you. They were right, evidently.”
There was a moment of quiet. Kitsune stared into Shouta’s eyes—through his goggles, why did it feel like he was staring through Shouta’s goggles—with glowing eyes. The green was unsettling. Pupilless, the sclera darker than the iris, but not by much. It was a shade that reminded him of toxicity and serrated chips of obsidian.
Then, still tied up in his capture weapon, immobile, Kitsune laughed. The vigilante tilted his head back and cackled, eyes closing as he did. Shouta tightened his grip on his scarf. A creeping feeling of wrong prickling down his spine.
Kitsune calmed down quickly, eyes sharp and locked onto Shouta’s own. He couldn’t move. Neither of them could, but as Shouta stared into the green eyes, he felt like his own paralysis was more akin to watching a disaster unfold.
“Oh Eraserhead,” Kitsune purred. “Do you really think you have the advantage here?”
“…considering you are unable to move, yes.”
“Maybe I am, yes, but I’m not the only one here, Hero. Didn’t you know a Siren never travels alone?”
Shouta felt goosebumps skitter over his skin. The hair on the back of his neck raised, the warning feeling of eyes fully registering. He couldn’t tell where they were coming from, but it was more than one pair. More than two. A glance around revealed nothing but a growing sense of paranoia.
He heard the technicians in his ear swear. The Sirens were watching, and waiting. Shouta still only had one chance. There would be no second one if he messed it up now.
“But you thought I was alone, didn’t you?” It wasn’t a question, and Shouta knew it. “Eh, can’t blame the media, you know? They don’t usually have all the right facts, or the right perspective.”
The phrasing was off. Shouta stayed quiet for a moment, picking it apart, before a realization set in. “You manipulated what I knew. You…changed it, somehow, so I would see what you wanted me to see.”
“Bingo! What, did you really think we wouldn’t know you were tracking us? We aren’t stupid, Eraserhead. We’ve gone this long without being caught and don’t plan to stop that streak anytime soon.”
“So then why?” Shouta shifted, still unsettled by the eyes on him that he couldn’t see. “Why meet me, if I was a risk?”
“You’re not.”
“You sound awfully confident for someone currently incapacitated.”
Kitsune shrugged, quite the odd motion with his shoulders cocooned and upside-down. “You like vigilantes, so I knew you wouldn’t fatally injure me. And even if you were half successful in bringing me in, my team would get me out before we went anywhere. And if by some miracle you made them retreat, I know how to break out of handcuffs and cop cars.”
“Duly noted. Still doesn’t answer my question.”
“Ok then. Why did you want to meet us?”
“I was given a mission to assess the Sirens.”
“Cool.” Kitsune chuckled then, somehow looking smug despite having a non-human face. “Now the actual answer?”
Shouta glared, red flaring for a moment. Kitsune didn’t even flinch. He waited for an answer, somehow appearing tamer than he had a minute before. No less sharp or dangerous, but mellower. A sheathed blade instead of a swinging one.
Maybe that was why Shouta decided to reach up and turn off his earpiece with clear movements. Maybe that was why he loosened his grip on his capture weapon, a silent offer.
“I’ve seen how vigilantes end up, you know,” he said lowly. “And your team is rare. Extremely rare. I’d hate to see you end up the way most other vigilantes do.”
Kitsune’s expression outright softened at that, making Shouta question all over again whether it really was a mask or some sort of secondary quirk characteristic he couldn’t cancel.
“You’re worried.” Kitsune stated. “That’s understandable. You’ve probably seen a lot of vigilantes fall, huh?”
“Too many, kid.”
“I’m not a child, hero,” Kitsune huffed, more out of amusement than anger. “But we aren’t like the others. We have the skill to back up our words.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that I should bring you in, Kitsune.” Shouta said evenly. But he didn’t mean a word he said, and Kitsune’s smirk told him the vigilante understood that perfectly well. “So, convince me.”
That, of all things, actually seemed to throw the fox through a loop. The grin melted away, changing to slight confusion. “What?”
“Convince me why I should let you go. Tell me why I shouldn’t make this easier for everyone by questioning you at a police station.”
“Well, first, it wouldn’t be easier. You’d have to deal with eight other vigilantes breaking me out of wherever you shove me.”
“Fair point, I suppose.”
“ And,” Kitsune said, somehow looking excited. “We can trade information.”
Now that caught Shouta’s attention. “I have my own information network, kit. What makes you think I won’t know whatever you tell me?”
“Ok, more than information, since we’re not that established yet. But I know things, Eraserhead. We can learn things at street level that you can’t. We hear about it first.”
Shouta raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”
“The drug ring that got busted last week? We’ve known about it for a month.”
“Heroes learned about that two weeks ago,” Shouta muttered.
“Exactly! We were going to try and take it down too, but someone tipped off the heroes before we could. Probably for the best though, honestly. But, we could also do missions if you need us to. Only if we all agree on it, obviously, but,” Kitsune sobered for a moment, expression solidifying into something more serious. Truth rang through his words like a bell. “You’re a good hero, Eraserhead. More than that—you’re a good person. We want to help our city. Help us do that, and we’ll return the favor.”
Shouta breathed, and focused on that. Focused on the movement of his ribs and the sound of his beating heart. He forced his thoughts into an ordered line, and ignored the whispered shards in his mind of “They’re like we were” and the memory of a face haloed by pale blue clouds.
“If I let you go,” Shouta murmured, “How can I know you won’t stab me in the back.”
Kitsune tilted their head, not unlike a predatory bird, or a curious canid. “We haven’t yet, so we won’t now. Would it give you reassurance if you could see all of us leave?”
Shouta paused, then nodded. Kitsune grinned again, but this time it was happy. He wiggled in the restraints until Shouta reluctantly shifted the vigilante back to his feet and let them fall away. The scarf coiled around his neck once more, the ends still in his hands, just incase.
“You heard him, guys!” Kitsune called into open air. “Come meet Eraserhead, and we might have a deal!”
There was a beat of silence, and then the darkness itself seemed to part like a curtain as eight vigilantes glowed into existence. They emerged with shadows twisting at their heels and eyes of multicolored fire. The eight of them moved closer, eyeing Shouta warily, but edged with hope.
He didn’t know whether it was the fact that he hadn’t seen them before that moment, or that none of their glowing eyes had blinked once yet, but Shouta found himself unnerved by the massive group of vigilantes. Not that he showed it. He knew better than that. But it was still…unsettling, knowing they had been there the entire time, and that he hadn’t been able to pinpoint a single one of them.
“Eraserhead, meet the Sirens!” Kitsune chirped. “I take it you know who each of us are?”
Shouta took a deep breath. “I do. Nice to meet you all. I take it you heard everything?”
“Of course,” Ares scoffed, voice more robotic than Kitsune’s, and harsher.
“So you… all agree with Kitsune?”
“Yep!” Harpy laughed, almost flute-like. “We follow him for a reason, Eraserhead. If he trusts you, then we can too. And we all like you anyway, so it’s not like it’s a hard choice for us to work with you.”
Shouta felt his eyebrows raise at the blatant trust towards Kitsune. He had known the Sirens were a tight-knit group, but not to what degree. Most heroes didn’t even have that level of faith in their allies. There were layers to what Harpy said too—by saying they implicitly trusted what Kitsune did, they were indirectly saying their leader wouldn’t harm them. That he wouldn’t lead them to trouble. To have that much confidence in their leader’s abilities…
“Would you want to meet with us again?” Kitsune questioned, bringing the attention back to him. Shouta hated that he could still feel the unblinking eyes at his back, making it obvious he was still surrounded.
“That would be preferable, yes.”
“Cool. How far are you willing to go?”
“…pardon?”
Kitsune laughed, and a choir of distorted giggles followed it. Shouta suppressed a shiver. “How far would you travel, hero? We don’t exactly stay in the same place, but we’re not gonna make you chase us all night if you want to see us.”
“As fun as that would be,” Athena snickered, voice almost misty sounding.
“That’s…considerate of you, thank you.” Shouta wracked his brain—making his own guidelines for an unprecedented situation was not as fun as people would think—and eventually settled on an idea. “This time next week. There’s a block north of here, the apartments-“
“The better part of the city closer to UA, yeah?” Kitsune interrupted.
“Yes. Would that area be alright?”
The vigilante just shrugged. “We’ll see. You’ll know if it’s not.”
Shouta nodded, the scraps of a plan coming together. It would take lots of moving pieces, but it might work. Both sides might come out of it without too harsh of a drawback.
“Well it’s been lovely meeting you, Eraserhead.” Kitsune bowed, straightening up with a wry grin. “Just one more thing, if I may ask?”
“What is it?”
“Can I have your autograph?”
Shouta blinked slowly. Kitsune didn’t blink at all. Eraserhead lifted his capture weapon.
Kitsune only grinned, and in one smooth movement removed something from his belt and threw it at the ground. Whatever it was shattered, and the roof was flooded with thick smoke.
Shouta coughed, and heard one of the vigilantes shout, “SCATTER!”
There was hardly any sound, that was probably the creepiest part. Just barely there scuffing on the concrete, and then nothing. The smoke dissipated after a few minutes. Shouta found himself on an empty rooftop, no glowing in sight. The feeling of eyes had disappeared with the vigilantes.
He turned his ear piece back on, huffing as he calmed the frazzled technicians. After reassuring them he was not, in fact, dead, he told them he would write his report at the station. Most of them just seemed relieved he was headed back. The line was turned off again soon after.
Shouta looked up into the night sky, and took a deep but shaky breath.
The vigilantes were unsettling. Human, as far as he could actually tell, but still unsettling. Their costumes leaned into that, and was undoubtedly one factor in their high catch rate of villains. And they had moved seamlessly, without question or hesitation. Not one of them had moved out of line. Even when Shouta had Kitsune tied up, none of them had acted until Kitsune asked them to. It was rare to see that level of trust. Something like that was usually forged through hardship and proven loyalty, an especially uncommon thing in the underground.
It could have all been a show, of course. Kitsune had already shown he was extremely smart, and had resources to maneuver people where he wanted them. It could have been a plan—an act—from the beginning.
And yet, Shouta had a nagging feeling that it wasn’t. He knew body language, and the vigilantes hadn’t shown any doubt in theirs. No silent wavering, no begrudging obedience. They had all been ready to jump into action if they had to, but revealed no reluctance. Kitsune had full faith in them as well. He talked about being broken out of police custody without an ounce of hesitation, fully believing his allies would break him out immediately, despite the danger.
It didn’t make sense though. There had been no warning for the vigilante group—no sign of an alliance between individual vigilantes just deciding to come together. Kitsune had been the only one spotted beforehand. Shouta had looked and scoured every corner he could, but there had been nothing on the other eight whatsoever. Not before they had made their debut.
The Sirens were an outlier in the dataset. They had already lasted longer than most vigilantes tended to. They had a (mostly) clear set of morals, and seemed to genuinely want to help their city. Their alliance hadn’t fallen apart, already landing them in the top twenty vigilante alliances Shouta had ever heard of, and it was unprecedented with how many of them there were.
Nothing about them made sense, but yet they worked. The Sirens were efficient, effective, and dangerous. Shouta had seen many vigilantes, but never ones like the nine he had seen tonight.
It would have been easier to learn about them in a controlled setting. An interrogation room was preferable, but a rendezvous on a rooftop would have to do. Shouta would work with what he was given. It was better than nothing. He had gotten more out of the meeting than he had expected to, honestly.
There was nothing left to do now, except wait. Wait for next week, and hope Kitsune was right—that the Sirens were different, and Shouta wouldn’t have to read about their revealed identities post-mortem.
~~~~~~~~~~
“…holy shit we just met Eraserhead!”
~~~~~~~~~~
BONUS :
“Um, Eraserhead, sir…”
Shouta raised an eyebrow at the skittish looking intern, and the officers in the background who were either laughing or looked minority terrified. “Yes?”
“Are you, um, are you aware that you are, er- glittery?”
“What?”
“You’re covered in glitter, sir. I only noticed once you walked in under the lights…”
Shouta almost regretted not stabbing the vigilantes when he had the chance to.
Notes:
General vibe for Shouta’s POV was just him being off kilter and unsettled by this vigilante that scared him more than he wants to admit. But this is the start of a Wonderful friendship/mentorship/mutual annoyance :D
Also yes, Izuku specifically threw both a smoke bomb AND a slightly delayed smoke-glitter bomb just to cover Eraserhead in black glitter. Because he is a menace and I love him
Also because apparently there was more quirk origins lore since I’ve caught up with canon so to clarify here’s how quirks work here: the quirk itself and the quirk factor are 2 separate genes. Quirk factor is essentially what lets the body use/express the quirk, and the quirk gene itself is what determines the quirk. Aizawa’s quirk specifically works by turning off the quirk factor! I’m pretty sure that’s just the same as the canon explanation but I wanted to write it down just incase
Have a good day/night!! See you guys whenever I have the time to post another chapter <3
Chapter 96: Stitches
Summary:
Mostly crack, basically. With a little bit of pain. Always fun when I learn a new fact and think “oh I can add that to my story” :)
WARNINGS: mention of sickness, hospitals, and surgery, and then someone being loopy on pain meds but that part is more lighthearted
Notes:
Hey hi hello I am not dead but school is trying to drag me into a shallow grave
This was not meant to take two months, but I had 6 exams in about 2-ish weeks, and then had another two this last week. And one more this Tuesday. I am. Very tired. But doing ok in most of my classes! And I’m over halfway done with the semester so yay!Anyway, enjoy the chapter! It’s a filler one between arcs but I’ve been waiting to add another SnowRabbit scene :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Rumi loved her best friends. They had stuck by her through thick and thin, and she had done the same for them. They were knuckleheads, but they were her knuckleheads.
However everyone has their limits, and hers was apparently the twenty-minute mark of listening to Keigo coo over Touya holding someone’s baby today.
It was a cute story, to be fair. Mostly because Rumi knew Touya, and thus knew the exact pitch his voice had taken when Hawks told her how bewildered his husband had been. Apparently someone had just- given him their baby for a minute. They had come back quickly, apologizing profusely, but still. Touya had rocked the baby and spoken softly the few minutes he had held the child.
Keigo, evidently, thought the entire ordeal was the most heart meltingly adorable thing in the world. Rumi had listened to him ramble about it for nearly half an hour. She could feel her eye starting to twitch.
And then her saving grace appeared. Her angel, the light of her life, her girlfriend.
“Fuyumi,” Rumi breathed, ignoring Keigo’s questioning sound to drop the phone and scoop her girlfriend into a hug. “Save me from your brother-in-law. He’s torturing me.”
“Hello to you too,” Fuyumi laughed. “What’s this about Keigo?”
“FUYUMI!” Screamed Rumi’s phone.
Fuyumi picked up the abandoned phone, holding it to her ear as Keigo began to prattle on again. Rumi let out a sigh of relief and slumped onto the couch. She adored her boys, she really did, but sometimes it was like they were still pining high schoolers instead of coming up on their two year anniversary.
Not to say Rumi was any better sometimes, but at least she had the courtesy to give her boys some warning before she called to panic about Fuyumi being adorable.
Fuyumi walked back through their sitting room, computer in one hand and phone in the other. She handed the latter back to Rumi with a fond roll of her eyes. It was quiet, so Keigo had evidently hung up.
“He forgot what time it was,” she explained, sitting on their old couch beside Rumi. “His shift starts in five minutes, apparently. Pretty sure I heard him jump off their balcony right before he hung up.”
Rumi leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Yeah probably.”
“How long was he talking about Touya and a baby before I got here?”
“Twenty-three minutes. They’re going to adopt a child, mark my words.”
“One day,” Fuyumi laughed, opening her computer. “Touya says they’ve talked about it before. They won’t start the process until they’re more established, but they both want kids in the future. Not as many as our family has, but a few.”
Rumi nodded wisely. “Only child syndrome and oldest child syndrome.”
Fuyumi snorted, silently agreeing. The two of them fell quiet after that. Rumi opened up her phone to scroll through her social media feed, thigh pressed against Fuyumi’s side. The sound of clicking computer keys became their background noise. The essays and homework never seemed to stop for Fuyumi, but she somehow managed to handle it all. Rumi would much rather punch her problems in the face, so it was truly impressive to her.
A bright banner caught Rumi’s idle attention. It was an article, which included the name “Musutafu” in the title. That already promised it would either be depressing or American-Florida-Man level of insanity.
Two paragraphs in and Rumi realized it was closer to the second one.
“Your goblins have an article about them,” she said.
Fuyumi stopped typing to give her a curious look. “Which goblins and about what?”
“The family ones. Look, right here- I can’t tell if the author is trying to call the villains weak or if they don’t know shit about Musutafu.”
“‘The tally of arrested villains attributed to the Sirens is reaching new-hero numbers,’” Fuyumi read. “‘Which begs the question: are the vigilantes truly as strong as educated heroes? Or are the villains simply the pickings left from the pros?’ Geez, you’re right.”
“It keeps going- ooh they’re definitely being sarcastic here, never mind. ‘The vigilantes’ activity has raised public outcry against the city-based heroes—who have yet to respond to the citizens asking why they’re not doing their jobs, but an anonymous source has provided multiple pictures of Musutafu-based Mite Might asleep at their desk.’”
Fuyumi snickered, but turned back to her homework. Rumi kept reading through the article, tilting her phone so Fuyumi could see the funny parts. The author obviously hadn’t agreed with what the article was meant to say. Instead they painted it in a satirical light, which anyone who actually knew Musutafu could see through like glass.
If anything it just made the little gremlins sound better. Their statistics were properly cited too, which was nice. Rumi kept that part of the article to herself, knowing it tended to stress Fuyumi out if she knew the specifics of what her little siblings were up to.
The two of them had been told around the same time as Touya and Keigo. Fuyumi had fussed over them, but ultimately given her reluctant approval. She was worried over them, but knew they could fend for themselves. Most kids couldn’t knock out grown men, after all.
Rumi had had a…slightly harder time accepting it. She had struggled to reconcile the image of the cute little menaces she knew with vigilantes. Vigilantes were illegal, and a dangerous path to follow. Everything she had been taught told her she should turn the kids in and let a reform program deal with them.
But…she knew them. She knew how Izuku got lost in his head when he was interested in something. She knew how Kouji sounded when he laughed, fully comfortable around his family. How Ochako hadn’t been able to be on a construction site since her parents had passed. Rumi knew how half of them still flinched at loud noises. She knew their rage, their righteous fury and pain, at how their city was. They weren’t criminals. They weren’t reckless punks who would put others in danger either, like Rumi had been told all vigilantes were.
They were people angry with the world, and—unlike everyone else—did something about it. Rumi couldn’t be mad at that.
It had taken a while, but Rumi eventually went from torn over her opinion to quietly supporting her surrogate little siblings. She couldn’t openly approve—she already had enough eyes on her from the Commission and public as it was, she didn’t need that kind of press pressure on top of it—but she could cheer them on from the sidelines. Which, today, included laughing at an article about them.
“Should we go visit soon?” Rumi asked.
“Probably. Mom has been asking when we’ll come back, and my siblings want us to meet their new friend. I just need to find a weekend free.”
“Just tell me when, and I’ll take off too,” Rumi promised. “I miss your aunt’s carrot cake.”
Fuyumi laughed, bright and clear. “I’ll ask Aunt Inko if she can make one when we’re there. She loves you though, so I’m sure she will. I think she’s already calling you her daughter-in-law.”
Rumi blushed, sinking lower in the couch to hide her face turning red. “Not married yet,” she mumbled. “But…”
“Hm?”
“Would you want to?” She asked carefully. “Get married one day, I mean.”
Fuyumi blinked over at her. She softly closed her computer, setting it to the side. Rumi kept her eyes glued to her girlfriend as she turned back with gentle eyes and a hand reaching up to cradle Rumi’s cheek.
“Yes,” she finally said. “I would like to marry you, Rumi. Not- not too soon, though, I want to graduate first.”
Rumi couldn’t help a sappy grin breaking out across her face. Warmth branched out from her heart, love making her soften. “Of course. We’ve got time, Snowstorm. No rush.”
Fuyumi huffed out a laugh at the nickname, but leaned in to kiss her all the same. Rumi eagerly returned it. She truly, honestly, couldn’t imagine her life without Fuyumi by her side. Not anymore. Middleschooler-Rumi wouldn’t have been able to imagine it. There had been a time when she scoffed at the idea of a partner—hero or otherwise. She had thought anyone who relied on another person was weak. It took the Midoriya family to shake her beliefs, and her best friends to really prove her wrong.
Touya and Keigo were stronger together. They weren’t entirely dependent on one another, and weren’t an actual hero team, but they had proven Rumi wrong all the same. Fuyumi had cemented the truth in her mind. Her girlfriend had been through hell, and was one of the strongest people Rumi knew, but she still relied on people. She had explained once, when Rumi asked, that being a lone pillar wasn’t healthy. People were meant to be around others and to share their burdens.
Rumi still preferred to be a lone hero, but not because being on a team was weak. Doing her own paperwork had proven that well enough. She would just rather have control over her own career right from the start. It was what she had always planned to do, just slightly adjusted now. Seeing as Miruko was nearing the top hundred heroes, it was paying off.
But hero work could wait until later. For now, Rumi leaned over her girlfriend to kiss her and distract her from homework. Everything else could wait for a while.
~~~~~~~~~~
The first time any of them needed emergency medical help, it wasn’t actually because of vigilantism.
Well, mostly. More of a cause-and-effect kind of thing. That didn’t make it any less scary, but hey, better than a stab wound. Probably. At least this one was easier to explain. Still stressful, but better.
None of them had been expecting it though. One day Hitoshi was fine, and then the next he was sick. Really sick. They had all thought it was a stomach bug at first, since those circulated their school like miserable clockwork, but this had been…different.
Izuku had been sympathetic, then worried, then terrified. He hadn’t known what to feel when Momma and Dad had taken him to the emergency room. He was scared and anxious and unsure and it was like something was trying to pull him underwater. But he held on, kept his head. Izuku did his best to reassure his siblings. To keep them calm.
He had dealt with his siblings getting hurt before. They had all had their own run in with injuries, and he was no stranger to blood at this point. Each of them had had bumps and bruises and cuts, a few scars but not many, and most of them had had a concussion at some point.
None of that prepared him for his brother getting so sick and having to go to the hospital.
Izuku lost track of how long it took for Momma to call Aunt Rei. And then it had been a few eternal minutes of waiting for them to talk before Aunt Rei could fill them in. He closely watched her expression though. It shifted from worry to a grimace to sympathy and then into something like calm acceptance.
Izuku watched and waited as she hung up. He held his breath, holding Shouto’s hand and not remembering when he had started doing that. Breathed out only as Aunt Rei explained-
Hitoshi needed his appendix taken out.
An easy procedure, she told them gently. They had already taken him back for surgery, and he would be out within two hours or less. He would be fine.
She was going to drive them to the hospital, so they could see him once he was out of surgery. Izuku didn't think he’d ever seen all of them get their shoes on faster.
So that was what led Izuku to be sitting in the waiting area now, almost his entire family spread out around him. He was wedged between Momo and Dad, Momma on Momo’s other side. Aunt Rei was across from them. Natsuo had claimed one of the chairs next to her, a textbook open in his lap. Izuku was pretty sure he wasn’t actually reading though. Not with how he kept glancing at the clock, and hadn’t turned more than three pages the entire time they’d been there.
Touya and Keigo were, for now, sitting in chairs. Keigo’s wings rested over the backs of Mei and Kouji’s shoulders like a protective cape. Both of them kept getting up though, usually to accompany one of them on a walk outside. They all rotated chairs and pacing and exploring outside when they got too antsy. Izuku stayed inside mostly, parked in his chair, watching the nurses come and go.
Hitoshi would be ok. They knew that, but it was still nerve wracking. None of them had ever been in surgery before. Izuku had been to the hospital that time he broke his hand, but this was different.
At least they knew Hitoshi would be done soon. The operation didn’t take long apparently, and he would be awake not too long after. So for now it left sixteen (Fuyumi and Rumi weren’t there, but had been on the phone) of them sitting in the waiting area trying to entertain themselves. Mina had already explored the hallway in search of vending machines. She had counted five before Dad went to find her.
Izuku watched as a nurse stepped into the room, scanning the chairs.
“For Hitoshi Shinsou?”
All of them immediately stood, which made the nurse blink a few times. Momma and Dad were the only ones to approach her though. The rest of them gathered around the other adults, anxiously waiting for the news. It didn’t seem bad, if the expressions of relief on their parents’ faces were anything to go by.
Momma and Dad returned to their little corner to fourteen pairs of eyes silently demanding answers.
“He’s out of surgery, everything went fine," Dad told them.
“Thank goodness,” Auntie Rei sighed in relief.
“He’ll be waking up soon, so we can go see him,” Momma said. “But we can’t go in all at once, and he’ll be pretty out of it if he does wake up. So we’re going to go in in groups of three, and when you’re done visiting one of the adults will bring you back down here so you can go home. Hitoshi will be released tomorrow.”
Izuku let out a deep breath, the sheer relief of knowing his brother was ok enough to make him physically slump. He hadn’t even realized how tense he had been. Not until it felt like all of his muscles had uncoiled at once. Hitoshi would be ok. Loopy, and missing a minor organ, but ok.
“Come on then.” Momma gestured for all of them to follow her. “Remember, groups of three. Stand with whoever you want to go home with.”
Izuku dutifully fell in line behind Auntie Rei. Shouto was beside her, holding her hand as they made their way down the long hallways. Everyone else fell in like a nervous row of ducklings.
The room numbers passed by in a blur. Identical white walls and identical floor tiles were broken up by windows and bustling nurses. Before Izuku knew it they had already reached Hitoshi’s room. An unspoken, unanimous agreement let Izuku go in first, along with Shouto and Ochako.
Auntie Rei went with them too, in order to “supervise,” as the nurses put it, but they all knew it was because she was just as worried about Hitoshi as they were. Besides, they knew better than to touch medical equipment. Mei had instilled them with a healthy fear of touching anything that involved electronics and wasn’t “theirs.”
Izuku’s first impression was that Hitoshi was…still. Like he was asleep, but all wrong. He wasn’t flopped on his stomach or curled in a ball on his side. Instead he was on his back, hands flat at his sides, breathing quietly in the bed that was too big for him. His skin was pale, but still healthier than he had looked that morning. An IV was still in his arm.
Izuku quietly and gingerly grabbed his brother’s hand. He was so used to Hitoshi immediately grabbing back, that he almost wasn’t surprised when the fingers gripped his back. The other three noticed though, and immediately came closer. Rei stepped out to let their parents know Hitoshi was awake ahead of schedule.
“You’re not supposed to be awake yet,” Izuku whispered.
Hitoshi’s eyes cracked open. He blinked a few times, letting his eyes adjust to the light, then opened them all the way. His pupils were wide and dark. Ochako giggled at his wide-eyed look, whispering that he looked like a cat.
“Zu?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Shouto and Ochako are here too, see? Everyone else is outside right now.”
Hitoshi slowly blinked, staring right at Izuku. He then, much to everyone's distress, started to tear up.
“Toshi?!”
“C’n I still be a hero?” Hitoshi asked tearfully.
“What?”
“They took somethin’ from me an’ I don’t know what, can I still be a hero?”
Ochako edged closer, tapping Hitoshi’s other arm. “Why would that stop you?”
“Wanna be a hero like Zu,” Hitoshi pouted, “but can’t if they- if they took my- my stomach? Zu I didn’t wan’ em’ to take my stomach. How can I eat marshmallows?!”
Mostly just relieved that his brother wasn’t crying from pain, Izuku could only laugh. “They didn’t take your stomach, Toshi, just your appendix.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, ‘oh,’” Shouto snorted. “Don’t scare us like that.”
“‘M sorry. Gonna be- gonna be better. Gonna be a hero. Like Kitsu, and Zu. But like- purple.”
“Purple?”
“Mmhm.” Hitoshi flopped his head to the side, a very dopey smile on his face. “‘Cause I’m purple. Kitsune is green, so I gotta be purple. Scary prople, so villain just- don’t.”
Ochako was trying really hard to not start laughing. She was mouthing Hitoshi’s last sentence and silently wheezing.
“That makes sense,” Shouto hummed. “What would your hero name be?”
“Uhhhhhh, Gorgon. Wait, fuck. No. Silenter! Purple Panda. Or Raccoon, but Kat a’ready calls Mina raccoon. But I like raccoons. Did you know they wash their food?”
“I did,” Izuku giggled.
“And- and people give ‘em cotton candy. But it’s so mean.” Hitoshi began to tear up again, staring at them with big puppy eyes. “‘Cause they try to wash the cotton candy, but it disappears. And they look so confused. They just wanted the cotton candy.”
Auntie Rei chose that moment to appear again. She blinked at the four of them for a moment, silently asking what was going on. Hitoshi noticed her when none of them said anything.
“Auntie Rei!” He chirped, all tears forgotten. “Have I told you that you’re like a- a pink gladiolus? I found it the other day ‘cause you like flowers and you’re like one.”
“Aww, thank you, Hitoshi. How are you feeling?”
“Like Kat flung me into a pillow pile again, except there were more pillows this time. Like I’m swimming in them.”
Izuku stifled his laugher, but couldn’t help being slightly relieved. It had been…really scary, seeing Hitoshi get sick. Not knowing if his brother would get better or worse had shaken all of them. Izuku had hated it. It had made his chest heavy and constricted, like a steel band had been wrapped around his lungs. He hadn’t been able to do anything, and that hurt the most. No quirk to heal his brother, no knowledge to ease the pain he was feeling.
But Hitoshi was ok. He was groggy, and currently telling Ochako about how Shouto had fallen on his face into a mud puddle once, but alright. He was alright.
“Alright kids, we should go,” Auntie Rei said gently. “The others want to come see him too. We’ll see you soon, Hitoshi, ok?”
“Ok, Auntie Rei. See you at home.”
Izuku leaned over the side of the hospital bed to give Hitoshi one last, gentle hug. Ochako and Shouto followed his example, the two of them embracing their brother before retreating to their aunt’s side. Hitoshi waved to them as they filed out of the room.
The rest of their family was waiting out in the hall, right where they had been a few minutes ago, if slightly more scattered over the nearby chairs and floor. Izuku gave his siblings a reassuring smile. It seemed to help, since most of them visibly relaxed.
“So he’s really ok?” Momo asked.
Izuku nodded. “He’s loopy, but he’s- he’s ok”
“Might want to make sure he stays off the topic of you-know-what until he’s more awake though,” Ochako added. “He has less filter than Hedgehog Hair does after an all-nighter.”
“OI!”
That triggered a wave of laughter down the hall they occupied. The rest of the tension dissipated, and the next four of them went in to go see Hitoshi. Auntie Rei guided them back out of the hospital, all of them in lighter spirits than a few minutes before.
Izuku held Shouto and Ochako’s hand, more thankful than ever that he had all of his siblings in his life.
Notes:
Did you know appendicitis can be caused by blunt trauma to the abdomen? And Hitoshi got hit in the side two chapters ago :)
So that’s how that happened. I thought I had appendicitis the other week (I did NOT, to be clear) but instead I had a cyst. So that was fun.For those that didn’t google it already: pink gladiolus means compassion, motherly love, strength, and integrity! All of which I thought fit Rei well and so did Hitoshi. Genuinely didn’t go into that scene intending for it to go that way, but I hope you enjoyed it lol
No idea when the next chapter will be out. Hopefully not another 2 months but I would not be surprised with the way my classes are going :(
I'm mostly active on Tumblr if y'all wanna interact with me outside of the discord server though, I tend to reblog things between classesAlso last minute addition: this fic has officially turned 4!! Didn't even realize until I went to post, that feels crazy
Chapter 97: He is Friend Shaped
Summary:
Eijirou meets the rest of the Midoriyas!
Notes:
Finals are doneeeee I have one more semester to go and then I’m DONE Hallelujah
(I say considering applying for a doctorate woo)We’re almost to 100 chapters aadsshajkh I’ve never written anything this long, AND I’M STILL GOING. Here's to another 100 if that's what it takes to finish this fic lol
Anyway! Since I'm now on Christmas break I technically have more time on my hands! Provided I don't catch covid like the rest of the my family! No promises because I swear I'm cursed to never post if I say there's a chapter soon, but I have a few in backlog if I can edit them :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Eijirou hadn’t really had anyone to hang out with since he had moved schools. Without Hanta, he had been lonely. He wasn’t alone, no, but he hadn’t had any real friends. A drifter, untethered, always just on the edges of closeness.
But now he had Hanta again! By some miracle Eijirou had his best friend back, and had managed to gain even more friends through their siblings. Just how many Hanta had now was a bit overwhelming, but they all seemed nice. Katsuki and Mina were at least. Eijirou hadn’t really met the rest of them, but the three spoke highly of their other siblings.
That was about to change though, since Hanta had invited Eijirou over to their house.
The school day seemed to drag on forever. Eijirou had to resist the urge to tap out a beat with his pencil while their teacher droned on. It wasn’t the most boring class he had ever had, but it still felt like the clock was ticking slower than usual. He just wanted school to finish so he could go. The Midoriya house sounded so much cooler than a classroom. Hanta felt the same, if the glances they shared were any indication.
Once the bell rang the two of them were out the door in three seconds flat. Katsuki joined them in the hallway, bag slung over one shoulder and scowl on his face. Eijirou avoided eye contact with him. Not because he thought Katsuki was angry, since that was just the face he always made after class, but because if he did Eijirou knew for a fact he would start smiling and only looking at Katsuki and not the ground. He would rather not get a mouthful of dirt again, thank you very much.
Besides, it wasn’t his fault Katsuki was so manly and looked pretty in the sun. It was like he had been blessed by a god somehow, and all the rest of them had been cursed with acne and bad hair days. Eijirou was decent at feelings, but romantic ones were still…iffy. He knew he liked Katsuki. He knew Katsuki was pretty, and that when he got a smile from the prickly boy it made his heart try to pull out of his chest. It was kind of ridiculous, honestly.
But the emotions weren’t going away, so the only thing Eijirou could do—or even wanted to do, really—was mitigate the damage.
Which didn’t work out especially well, since his distraction gave Mina the perfect opportunity to run up and pounce on his back. He stumbled forward like a falling sack of flour.
“Minaaaa,” he whined, getting his feet under himself.
“Onward, manly steed!”
“You’re like a damn limpet,” Katsuki commented.
“Why thank you.”
“Guys let’s go,” Hanta urged, grabbing Katsuki’s arm to start dragging him outside. “We really don’t want to be late.”
Eijirou laughed nervously, following after the two boys. “What, uh, what will happen if we’re late?”
“The others will come and find us,” Mina chirped in his ear. “Which would probably mean an Izuku ambush. Or Kouji’s bugs. Or Ochako sneak attack. Or-“
“Stop trying to scare him, dumbass. We’ll just miss the train, and you probably can’t walk to our house if we miss it.”
Eijirou nodded, swallowing back his unease. He tried not to feel just a bit intimidated by his friends and their family. They were nice, he had heard enough stories to know that, but it was hard to not be when they said stuff like that. So simply, too. Like it wasn’t a big deal that their siblings could send bugs as scouts or turn themself into an observation balloon. Even if it had been a joke, Mina had listed it too quickly for it to be a full lie.
They had also definitely walked all the way home before, from the sound of it, and Eijirou wasn’t quite keen on knowing how far that was.
“You’ll be fine,” Mina said confidently.
Eijirou turned his head a bit so he could see her. He just raised an eyebrow, silently asking if she was sure.
“Don’t give me that look,” she giggled. “You’ll be fine, I promise. If we like you then they will too! Besides, Hanta told us enough about you before we even met, and they’re all excited to meet you too.”
“What exactly did Hanta tell you guys?”
“All good things,” Hanta promised, gently nudging Eijirou’s shoulder with his own. “You’ll be fine, Ei. We’re just going to hang out, probably do some homework and whatever game we want to play.”
“No Mario Kart,” Mina said solemnly.
“If we play Mario Kart you’re getting thrown off the fucking couch again, Raccoon Eyes.”
“And that is exactly why we are not playing that game,” Hanta told Eijirou in a theater whisper. “Pop’s already had to replace two of the special controllers, despite them being fire, acid, and waterproof.”
Eijirou couldn’t help snorting. It was so like his friends to break something specifically made to not be broken. Knowing them, the offending controller had probably been broken on accident, but in a way that would sound fake to anyone that didn’t know the Midoriyas.
The rest of the trip to the Midoriya house was relatively uneventful. Mina jumped off Eijirou’s back and did a back handspring outside the train station, which they did get to on time. Katsuki boasted about beating Ochako in a sparring match the other day. Hanta told him about who he would probably see in the house, once they got off the train. Eijirou’s head hurt a bit trying to remember all the names. He made sure to mentally recite the adults’ names, at least, so he wouldn’t seem overly rude.
It felt like far too soon before the house was in sight. Mina punched Hanta’s shoulder, yelling about a race, before the two were sprinting for the front door. Katsuki rolled his eyes, but fell into step with Eijirou.
“They’re overexcited idiots,” Katsuki said. “Be prepared for more of those.”
“Oh, I’ll be ok. I get like that too, so…”
“Yeah, but there are a fuckton of people in our house. Tell one of us if you get overwhelmed.”
Eijirou made a noise of agreement, eyes glued to the door that had just been thrown open. Katsuki knocked their shoulders together as they walked up. It was more comforting than it had any right to be.
The house was nice, he noticed. Slightly mismatched furniture that looked comfy. Clean, but definitely home to a dozen people. There were little things scattered around that made the house feel lived in. Eijirou noticed paper and pens on the coffee table, a half-empty mug sitting beside them. Something that looked like silky curtains hung from the corner of the living room. Hanta had mentioned taking aerial silk classes, so he figured that’s what they were for.
The backyard was visible from the front door, and it just looked like a normal yard. Eijirou wondered if he had been expecting something more interesting. Like a sand pit for wrestling. That would fit with the Midoriyas.
Katsuki brushed past him to take off his shoes. Eijirou kind of scrambled to follow, quickly setting them to the side with his bag. He didn’t have to worry about being left behind though, since Katsuki waited in the entryway for him. The two of them veered off to the left, where Eijirou heard voices and saw people in the kitchen.
Pictures lined the walls along the way, hung with care and obvious pride. The hall in the other direction, the one that had doors, had even more pictures in various frames. Eijirou could put a name to a few of the people in them. Not all, but his friends talked about their siblings enough that he could recognize some.
They stepped into a busy kitchen. One adult was at the stove, two sheets of cookies in front of them. Inko, if Eijirou had to hazard a guess. There were only two people with green hair that Hanta had mentioned, and this wasn’t Izuku.
Hanta and Mina stood on either side of Inko, both trying to convince her they needed a cookie right this second please Momma? She calmly redirected them from burning their hands while Eijirou looked over the rest of the kitchen. Wow that was a lot of chairs. Three of them were filled, close together and made of different wood. One of the siblings zeroed in on Eijirou, which made the other two look up too.
Hanta noticed him then, too. She abandoned the cookies, instead slinging an arm around Eijirou’s shoulders with a grin.
“Eijirou, meet Momo, Shouto, and Kouji.” He pointed to each of them in turn, and Eijirou mentally repeated the names in hopes of remembering them. “And this is Momma Inko. Pops is still at work, and Aunt Rei is getting back soon—she had to go deliver flowers to someone.”
Inko turned around at her name, letting Eijirou see her face. She looked kind. Her long green hair was pulled into a bun, and she had an oven mitt on one hand. The smile on her face was soft and welcoming.
She looks like a mom, Eijirou found himself thinking.
“Nice to meet you,” he said.
Momo grinned, something benevolent that Eijirou thought belonged to a princess. “It’s lovely to meet you too, Kirishima. We’ve been excited to meet you.”
“I- uh, Eijirou is fine,” he chuckled nervously. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you guys too. You’re at Aldera, yeah?”
“I am, yes. Shouto and Kouji are at Geonosis though.”
“MotherFUCKER!”
Eijirou jumped, head whipping around to stare at another new person. She was hopping on one foot and holding her ankle. A little roomba puttered down the hallway, seemingly innocent except for the training knife built into its front.
“And that’s Ochako and Eraser Dust,” Hanta said calmly.
“Why do you have a vacuum with a knife on it?”
“Practice.” Hanta shrugged. “Makes us aware of our surroundings and trains our reaction time. Downstairs, at least. It’s training for when we’re heroes.”
“When will we ever have a villain try and bite our ankles,” Ochako hissed.
Hanta just shrugged again, and steered Eijirou closer to the cookies.
“Let them cool, Hanta,” Inko reminded them. “It’s nice to meet you, Eijirou. Make yourself at home, dear, and don’t be afraid to ask for anything. I’ll be working in the living room if any of you kids need me.”
“Thank you, Inko-san.”
Her eyes softened, and Inko reached out to ruffle Eijirou’s black hair. “Just Inko is fine, sweetheart. Don’t let them eat those cookies until they’re cool.”
The gesture left him blinking in surprise as Inko left the room. He could still see her from the kitchen, since it opened into the living room. No one had ruffled his hair since…well, he couldn’t remember.
“Momma Inko is like that,” Hanta said like it was some sort of explanation. Which…it kind of was. “Come on, everyone else is upstairs.”
“No we’re not!”
Eijirou turned, and saw people gathered around the kitchen doorway. Two more were still running down the stairs. It was kind of intimidating, since they were blocking the only exit in the kitchen. They were all smiling though, so. That was good at least.
It was easy to tell which one was Izuku, at least. Eijirou had heard far too many stories of him to not connect those dots. His grin was like Inko’s—warm, welcoming, caring—but slightly more mischievous.
“Katsuki hasn’t stopped talking about you,” Izuku said. He only snickered when Katsuki moved to elbow him in the side. “You haven’t met everyone yet, right?”
“Um, no.”
Izuku held out his hand, eyes squinting with his smile. Eijirou couldn’t help being drawn into it. He was like a bee to a flower, beckoned to reach out and maybe embrace something that could be amazing. The boy of green and light, just for a moment, chased away the shadows his doubts clung to.
“Come on, Hanta and I can introduce you. Then what do you say to a game?”
Eijirou glanced over at Hanta for a moment, and received an encouraging nod. He reached back and took the extended hand.
“Yeah, I think I’d like that.”
Eijirou was pulled forward by a surprisingly strong tug, almost stumbling over his feet. Yet he couldn’t help an answering sharp-toothed grin.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hanta watched Eijirou interact with his family, and felt like something had finally settled into place. His old friend was obviously nervous, but that hadn’t lasted too long. Once Izuku had spotted him, his fate was sealed. No one could be anxious like that for long with the human embodiment of a warm campfire giving them puppy eyes.
How he had reacted to Momma Inko had helped, probably. Hanta had noticed Izuku watching. Eijirou wasn’t like Hanta—not fully, at least—but she had seen his parents before. They weren’t awful, but they weren’t…great. From what Hanta had seen, they were a bit needlessly strict, and also a bit negligent, but still cared for their kids. Old fashioned in a lot of ways.
With the combined knowledge about his parents and the fact that Eijirou was trans, it didn’t paint the prettiest picture, but not one Hanta could make a call on quite yet.
Izuku had probably already picked up on it though. Hanta wouldn’t put it past their brother to already be plotting something. They weren’t blind either; they had seen the assessing look in Izuku’s eye at first. He had been hurt far too many times by people to trust without questioning, or at least seeing Eijirou for himself.
But Eijirou passed whatever test he had been given, and now they were all in the backyard, debating what game to play. Well, they all called it a game, but it was more like training disguised as fun. They had all agreed it would alarm less people if they talked about it like a game though, since “we’re playing Keep Away” sounded less dangerous than “that one time Izuku followed Ochako up to the roof and tackled her into the bushes so he could get the football.”
Hanta had zoned out though. The sky was pretty today, and he was tired.
He let himself drift, eyes closed. Right until Mina yelled “THE FLOOR IS LAVA” and a shot of adrenaline had him leaping to his feet and racing for the side of the house.
Hanta knew better than to hesitate. Mina was far too quick on the draw for that. Instead she shot out a line of tape to stick to the side of their house, just focused on getting their feet off the grass as quickly as possible. Her siblings were squawking around them and rushing for higher ground.
Hanta reeled in his tape, clinging to the side of the house like he was an actual spider. With his position secured he could look back at the rest of his siblings and whatever chaos they had created.
Katsuki had blasted himself up onto the porch railing, and was glaring down at Mina like a disgruntled goose ready to hiss at her. Hitoshi was clinging to the side of the porch alongside Kouji. Ochako was clinging to the same railing, except reversed, with her feet in the air and weightless. She was glaring at Hitoshi as he inched closer to her hands with mischief in his eyes.
Shouto had froze himself to the side of the fence. Momo was standing on the fence itself behind him, perfectly balanced. Mei had disappeared to her shed for refuge. And Izuku had somehow made it up to the roof again. Hanta suspected he had used the drainpipe on the other wall.
Meanwhile Eijirou, who had obviously panicked just a little bit, was still standing in the middle of the yard. His skin looked different though. Hanta recognized it as his friend’s quirk, but the others obviously didn’t know what to do with the anomaly of someone not running from Mina’s threat of “lava.”
Mina just raised an eyebrow, and threw some of her slime-acid at Eijirou’s feet. It wouldn’t hurt him much, but it would sting a bit. If he had normal skin, that is, and since they didn’t wear shoes for this particular game. Hanta just watched in anticipation of what he knew would happen.
Eijirou, slime-acid now on his feet, just blinked down at it. His feet that now resembled rock instead of skin. He looked back up at the siblings clinging to various things off the ground, and grinned nervously.
“Does this mean I win?”
Hanta immediately started laughing, borderline wheezing as he cackled, and slipped off the wall as a result. That just triggered everyone else to start giggling too.
“Dude, what quirk is that?” Mina wheezed, having gone boneless and fallen on the grass. “My acid is supposed to sting!”
“Hanta didn’t tell you?”
“It never came up I guess?” Mina shrugged. “But what is it?”
“Oh, uh, I can harden my skin. It kinda turns into something like a rock, which is why I didn’t feel the acid, I guess?”
Izuku, who had somehow already climbed down from the roof, looked at Eijirou with hungry stars in his eyes. “So you don’t feel pain on your skin when it’s hardened? Does it turn into actual rocks? How does that-“
“Remember to give Ei a chance to answer, Zuku” Hanta joked.
With Izuku’s excited questions becoming background noise, Hanta flopped onto the grass again. Mina sat cross-legged next to him. He was listening to Eijirou try and answer all of Izuku’s questions, and so were most of their siblings. It was always interesting to see Izuku dissect a quirk. It was like he had a train of thought, but it jumped several tracks a minute while he somehow found answers to questions he didn’t actually ask. They were all fascinated by it.
“Your quirk is so cool,” Izuku gushed.
“I, uh, I don’t know too much of the technical side,” Eijirou sheepishly admitted. “I never tested it much or anything. My quirk has kinda just always been, you know, my quirk. It works how it works to me.”
“That’s fair.”
Izuku dropped onto the grass near Hanta, his head landing near their side. His hair almost blended in with the grass. Eijirou took that as his cue to shuffle over and sit on the ground too, near Hanta’s head and Katsuki’s left side.
The yard fell into a calm quiet. Hanta closed his eyes, just enjoying the peacefulness while it lasted. Mina ran her fingers through his hair. It was a kind of settled Hanta hadn’t felt before coming to the Midoriyas.
Eijirou nudged the side of his head, prompting Hanta to open their eyes.
“Do you still have plants somewhere? I remembered that you used to like them.”
“I do,” Hanta hummed. “One of my vines is in the kitchen window, and I help Aunt Rei with her flower garden. It helped a lot when I first got here, gave me something to focus on when I needed alone time.”
If Eijirou was surprised with the honesty, he didn’t show it. He was looking up at the sky, arms propped behind him and ruby eyes unfocused. Hanta knew he was seeing his own thoughts instead of the clouds.
“What about you?” Hanta asked, gently butting his head into Eijirou’s knee. “Still like that red hero?”
That made his friend look down, a spark returned to his gaze. “Yeah! Crimson Riot is still the manliest hero.”
“I’ve heard of that one,” Mina commented. “He’s one of the old ones, yeah?”
“Vintage Era,” Izuku corrected.
“He was awesome. I want to be like him.”
Hanta made a curious noise. “You want to be a hero?”
“If- if I can, I would like to try.” Eijirou shifted, sitting up so he could look down at his lap and fiddle with the grass. “I know I’m not as brave as some people, but- but I would like to be that way. I want to be someone people can look at and think ‘he’s brave, I want to be like him too.’”
“That’s a good goal.”
“Thanks, Hanta.”
Izuku started a conversation with Eijirou about Crimson Riot, and Hanta zoned out again. He half-listened to it, but they were tired, and the yard was peaceful. Especially since Mina started playing with their hair again.
Hanta didn’t think twice about relaxing around his family and old friend, and the thought of that alone made him happy. Eijirou was enjoying himself too. Somehow, someway, the two of them were reunited, and still fit together like connecting cogs.
Hanta hoped it stayed like that. He hoped Eijirou would stay their friend, and maybe they could all be heroes together.
It made for a good dream.
Notes:
So the next arc is going to be pretty long, but that’s because it’s technically 3 arcs rolled into one! One big and two mini arcs. I have affectionately nicknamed them Shark Boy Arc, Influencers, and Literal Dumpster Fire :D
(just want to clarify too, the whole dynamic with Kirishima and the fam will be explained in a chapter! No the kids will not see each other as siblings, that would be weird, but yes Kiri is technically considered a kid for summary/how-I-count-arcs reasons. Or half a kid? Still considering that part. It’ll make sense later. We're going with half-kid for now)Upcoming includes Chaos! Sappiness! And my document getting so laggy I had to make a second one! Have a good day/night <3
Chapter 98: Home is Not a Place
Summary:
It is a people.
Notes:
Hi! Reminder that you are beautiful! And deserving of kindness! <3
Catch me projecting onto Eijirou with my concept of trust and falling in love with my best friend.
Anyway HOO BOY I DID NOT MEAN FOR IT TO TAKE THIS LONG, sorry about that. I'm in my last semester of my bachelor's degree and I finally started therapy! Only took me two and a half years of chickening out of the free school therapy but I got there. A lot of the delay was A) got smacked with a depressive episode in the middle of December that finally resolved itself like. Last week. and B) my brain did Not want to edit this, it wanted to work on an entirely new fic IN AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT FANDOM :p
Anyway x2, Writing mood of the week: writing an argument about microwave popcorn to Dangerous Woman by Power-Haus (very good, would recommend)
Hope y'all like the chapter! :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It took Eijirou exactly three more visits to the Midoriya house to realize it was starting to feel like a home. The realization struck while he was doing homework on their living room floor, Mina muttering something about percentages and Kouji teaching Hanta more sign language. There wasn’t any significant trigger, no special event that made him realize. It wasn’t even something profound. No big lead up, no struggling with his thoughts. Nope, none of that! Just the random thought of “I like it here. This feels like home.”
Eijirou blinked a few times, and nothing changed. The calm that always settled into his heart at the Midoriya home didn’t waver. It was a remarkably quiet truth. Grass was green, protea flowers were Eijirou’s favorite, and the Midoriyas felt like home.
He had become more comfortable around them after the first visit. All of them were kind, and excited to meet him. The adults were cool too. He hadn’t been expecting them to be, but they were. Rei made delicious food and told him about the plants she had in the yard. Hisashi was silly, and got excited over Eijirou’s quirk like Izuku had. And Inko was just, a mom. That was the best way he knew to describe it. She always made it clear he was welcome, and included him in everything like he was another one of her kids.
Even Natsuo was cool! Eijirou thought the red streaks in his hair were awesome, and when he told the older boy that he had ruffled his hair and said maybe he could dye his like that.
Then there were the siblings themselves. Izuku was intense, but always helped if he could, and made sure Eijirou knew he was their friend. Hitoshi’s friendship was quiet, but he also threatened to beat up anyone that gave Eijirou trouble for being trans. Shouto showed affection through humor and cooling Eijirou’s shirt if it was too hot out. Kouji had introduced him to Peeve—who was the cutest cat Eijirou had ever seen —and had ever taught him some sign language! Which he thought was super manly and useful.
Momo liked to randomly compliment him on things. She had picked up on his use of “manly” and had started using it too, which Eijirou was ecstatic with. Ochako also threatened to beat up any bullies he may have, and liked to ambush him with physical affection. Mei gave him things sometimes, like a fidget toy or food she had grabbed from the kitchen. Mina had enlightened him to the fact that that was her way of showing affection. Eijirou accepted it all just a bit more brightly from then on.
And then there was Mina, Katsuki, and Hanta. Hanta and him had somehow become even closer than they had been before Eijirou had to change schools. Mina had wormed her way into his heart as a pink gremlin that kept using him for piggyback rides. She was awesome though, and had started to teach Eijirou how to be more bendy. His quirk was the opposite, so he wanted to at least try to be well-rounded.
And Katsuki…
Eijirou trusted Hanta, but he had known them for a while. Eijirou had known Katsuki for a few weeks. He hadn’t known he could learn to trust someone so much in such little time. Katsuki was strong, everything Eijirou wanted to be, but still achingly human. He made mistakes, he had strong opinions, but he did it in every way that made Eijirou feel safe. Katsuki’s affection was loud and giving but made him feel loved.
Eijirou didn’t quite want to acknowledge the warmth in his chest every time he was around Katsuki. Not yet. He had an idea of what it meant, but…he wasn’t ready to bring it any closer to the light. For now it could stay locked in his soul, a silent feeling to circle his veins and warm his heart.
Home. All of it, every little bit, added up to a feeling of home. Eijirou felt like he should probably be a bit more concerned that his own house didn’t feel like home, but his friends’ did. Yet, he really wasn’t. Not much, at least. It’s not like he had much to miss there anyway. His parents were hardly ever home, and both his sisters were old enough to have houses of their own. He had been alone a lot before the Midoriyas.
Stuck in his head with the sudden realization, Eijirou didn’t notice the homework Mina had thrown until it landed in his lap. He jumped, looking up to see her flopped face-down on the floor. She made a wordless sound of anguish that was muffled by the rug.
Eijirou watched as she then flipped onto her back, scowling at the ceiling.
“IZUKU!” She yelled, getting the attention of everyone, both downstairs and upstairs.
Muffled from the top of the stairs, came an answering “Yeah?”
“STOP HOARDING THE FUCKING BRAINCELLS! I’M TRYING TO DO MATH.”
Eijirou couldn’t help the surprised snort that almost made him double over with the following laughter that tumbled out. He could hear giggling drift down the stairs too, background noise to Mina’s semi-coherent grumbling about homework and potential arson.
Momo shifted over to sit next to her, sympathetically patting her head, before offering her help. Eijirou handed the offending homework back once Mina sat back up.
“Why do we have to do math,” she groaned. “I’m not interested in math.”
“Because math is important,” Momo reminded her.
“We’re going to be heroes. Heroes don’t need math.”
Mina looked over to Kouji, so Eijirou directed his gaze over there as well.
“Yes they do,” he signed, and Hanta translated for Eijirou. “Heroes do their own accounting sometimes, and need to know how to calculate statistics. Especially new heroes who can’t afford to hire someone to do it for them.”
“Ughhh, I hate when you’re right.”
“At least you admit I’m right.”
“Shut.”
Kouji stuck out his tongue, which Mina returned—right before giggling. Eijirou just smiled fondly and got back to his own work.
The quiet lasted another ten minutes before it was interrupted again. This time it was from Inko arriving home, and Hisashi yelling his welcome down the hallway. Eijirou got up with the rest of the Midoriyas to go greet her.
Mina managed to get there first from the look of it, and was hiding behind Inko as Katsuki yelled something about a tie. Eijirou carefully snuck between them to give Inko a hug too. He had learned their family was very physically affectionate, and Eijirou loved it. Especially since Inko used her free arm to hug him back and ruffle his hair.
“How are you today, Eijirou?” She asked kindly.
“I’m good, Mrs. Inko!” He said brightly. “We were just working on homework.”
“That’s good, always better to have that finished.”
Eijirou nodded, backing away so the rest of his friends could give their mom a hug. They did eventually all shuffle out of the entryway. The family dispersed like a bunch of pigeons, going back to whatever they were doing, but doing so in every direction imaginable. Eijirou trailed after Hanta, who followed Inko into the kitchen.
Hisashi was working at the table, doing something-or-other on a computer. He looked focused and intent on whatever it was, right until Inko walked it. Eijirou got to see him light up upon seeing her. He didn’t get up from his chair, but did open his arms for Inko to step into and kiss the top of his head. Katsuki and Mina made exaggerated disgusted faces behind the adults’ backs. Hanta just rolled his eyes, nudging Eijirou’s side, but the two shared a small smile at how cute it was.
It wasn’t the first time he had seen the two adults be affectionate towards each other, but Eijirou still wasn’t quite used to it. He hadn’t known couples were actually like that in real life. His parents weren’t exactly paragons of romance, but still. It was…reassuring, almost, to know that people could be that affectionate, and it wasn’t considered weird.
“How was work, Auntie?” Katsuki asked, already over his fake disgust and now opening the fridge to look for a snack.
“Uneventful, thank goodness. Made progress on some cases, listened to Ito vent about her latest one. She couldn’t share details, but I think someone’s tried to hire her to try and sue All Might again.”
“Again?” Eijirou sputtered, leaning against the counter behind him.
“Yes, again,” Inko sighed. “Those cases almost never get far, but they do appear every once in a while.”
“Is All Might one of your favorites too, Eijirou?” Hisashi asked.
“Kind of? I like him, yeah, but Crimson Riot is my favorite.”
The two parents shared a look, one Eijirou couldn’t decipher. It was like they were having an entire conversation through facial expressions. They both looked away smiling though, so he assumed it hadn’t been a bad conversation.
“Crimson Riot was a real manly hero,” Hisashi said, grinning. “We got to meet him once. He was a kind man.”
Eijirou suddenly felt like he was going to burst out of his skin with excitement. “You’ve met Crimson Riot?!”
“We met him when we were in college,” Inko laughed. “He was already close to retirement at the time, but he was still a very capable hero.”
“That’s so cool! How did you meet him? Was he just as manly as he is in his interviews? Is he-“
“Izuku’s braincells have infected another one,” Mina commented.
Hanta playfully swatted her shoulder. “You shush, let him ask questions.”
“We met him at a, uh, college thing,” Hisashi answered, waving one hand around. “He was near where we were working, and we ran into him. Did you ever get to meet him?”
“Once, when I was a bit younger. He was doing a question panel at a hero con.”
“I remember that one,” Katsuki said. “Izuku wouldn’t shut the fuck up about it.”
“Neither would you, Blasty.”
“…fuck you.”
“Love you too, Katsuki.”
Eijirou covered his mouth in a vain attempt to keep in his giggling. A futile ordeal, but Katsuki just smiled and rolled his eyes, so he figured it was fine.
“Anyway,” Eijirou snickered, “I was super excited, since he was already my favorite hero, and I got to listen to him talk about a bunch of other manly heroes too! Like Gran Torino, Gengar, Persevere, and Wisp. Persevere is my second favorite hero though, so I remember that part the best.”
The room had fallen a bit quiet. Eijirou glanced around, noting the surprise on a few faces, delight on others. Mina was very suddenly very close to his face, eyes practically shining with stars.
“You like Persevere?” Mina almost squealed.
“Y-yeah? She was really cool, and always said-“
“‘Never be anything but yourself,’” Mina finished for him. “She’s my favorite hero!!”
“Really?!”
“Yeah!"
Eijirou had never actually met anyone else that loved Persevere. She was an “old” hero, and not many knew much about her, but Eijirou loved her. She had been a kind hero, and had always put emphasis on saving as many people as possible, whether that was from villains, a natural disaster, or their own mind. Being true to oneself had been one of her main messages, same with Crimson Riot. The two were his favorites because of it.
“Alright little hero enthusiasts,” Hisashi laughed. “How about you go back to the living room so we can get dinner started. Eijirou, do you want to stay for dinner?”
Hanta stood straighter, excitedly grabbing Eijirou’s arm. He took a moment to lean into the touch. Hanta’s affection had been rare before they were separated, and it was more common now, but Eijirou still treasured every moment of it. Even if he himself was still getting used to it.
Still holding onto Eijirou’s arm, Hanta excitedly asked, “Can Eijirou spend the night?”
The adults shared a look, and all four of them in the kitchen held their breath.
“I don’t see why not,” Inko answered. “So long as your parents are ok with it, Eijirou, then you can stay the night.”
Mentally cheering, he nodded quickly and grinned with all his sharp teeth. “I’ll go ask right now, thank you Mrs. Inko!”
Eijirou dashed out of the room, friends hot on his heels. He was practically giddy with nerves; he hadn’t had a sleepover in forever! The last one had been with Hanta, actually, but that had been before they moved. His parents already liked Hanta, and practically let him have free-rein anyway, so there was almost no reason for them to say no. All he had to do was text and ask.
He dug out his phone from under the scattered papers of homework, quickly sending a text to his mom. She didn’t like to be called at work, but that was ok. He could wait.
“You can borrow some of our pajamas if you don’t want to go all the way home to get clothes,” Hanta told him. “Something will fit you, probably. We share enough clothes that you could just take some if you want.”
“Sounds good, man,” Eijirou laughed.
Eijirou’s phone dinged with a notification. He nearly fumbled it onto the floor trying to snatch it up, much to his friends’ amusement. They all held their breath as he read the text.
Eijirou broke out into a bright grin. “I can spend the night!”
“FUCK YEAH!”
“Yessss.”
“I’ll tell Momma Inko!” Mina cheered, then sprinted to the kitchen.
Eijirou could only laugh and smile so wide that his cheeks hurt. Some of the other siblings seemed to have been attracted by the noise, and poked their heads into the room. When they heard Mina cheering about Eijirou spending the night they joined in too. He was quickly swept up in a wave of ecstatic friends that rushed him off to their room to plan what they wanted to do for the night.
An hour later and they had everything planned. They would have a movie night, and Eijirou would sleep on the futon downstairs. All of them admitted they would probably just fall asleep during a movie and collectively sleep downstairs anyway, and Eijirou was fine with that. Honestly, he was just looking forward to spending an entire night around his friends.
It took another half-hour for them to choose what movies to watch, and by then Rei was home and calling them down for dinner. Eijirou was tugged along in the dash to get downstairs. It was like a tidal wave of excitement and joy. He could laugh and let himself be pulled along, joyfully trying to not trip down the stairs while Ochako elbowed Shouto in front of him.
Eijirou didn't know what he had been expecting a Midoriya dinner to be like, but it was certainly a bit more chaotic than he had guessed it would be. Maybe he had subconsciously assumed it would be like his family’s, quiet and stilted. It, of course, turned out to be the exact opposite.
Everyone had “their” chair, and food was passed around to plates that filled up quickly. They all waited until everyone else had their serving to start eating. Even with dinner actually being eaten, there was conversation between bites of food. Days were described, plans for tomorrow laid out, and any news that needed to be shared.
It was…really nice actually. And definitely fit the Midoriyas. Eijirou felt heard, despite the kitchen being pretty loud.
It was over almost too quickly. Before he knew it Eijirou was helping clean up and putting leftovers in the fridge—and how they had any leftovers, Eijirou didn’t know, but they somehow existed. Once everything was clean he was whisked away to help hunt down whatever pajamas would fit him.
It was kinda entertaining, he had to admit, to watch the siblings dig through their clothes. They had apparently never bothered to separate any of it much. Which made sense to Eijirou, honestly. There was only so much storage in their room. There were already dressers stacked on top of each other, and they all seemed to like similar clothes, so why bother?
His thoughts were interrupted by Momo making a triumphant noise and saying, “Oh, I forgot we had this! Eijirou, I think you’ll like this one.”
Momo, arm disappearing into the back of a drawer, fished out a half-folded set of pajamas. She presented it with a bright smile and a chirp of “Here you go!”
“Sharks!” Eijirou practically squealed, taking the pajamas from Momo. “They’re so soft.”
Eijirou marveled at the pajamas for a moment. It was basically a big onesie, but with sharks printed on them, and a hood meant to look like a shark head. Probably warmer than strictly needed, since it was still only spring, but Eijirou loved anything sharks. And besides, it was fuzzy.
“They’re technically Katsuki’s,” Momo giggled. “But he hasn’t worn it in ages, and we all have a similar size anyway so it should be fine for you.”
“Says you,” Hitoshi snorted from next to them. “Ms. ‘I’m taller than all of you.’”
“Incorrect, Kouji is still taller.”
“Not by much! Not that it stops you anyway.”
Momo just smiled, and Eijirou suddenly questioned whether it was actually a smile or something more malevolent. “You’re wearing my shirt, Hitoshi.”
“…I was wondering why it was big. And had the logo of an old rapper on it.”
“Exactly.”
Eijirou shook his head fondly, quietly making his escape to change in the bathroom. The shark onesie was just baggie enough to make him feel like he was wrapped in a blanket, and just as fuzzy as one too.
He did his best to ignore the fact that it was apparently Katsuki’s, and failed spectacularly.
Eijirou emerged to the sound of people loudly talking from the kitchen. He dropped off his clothes in his friends’ room, making sure they were out of the way, before heading downstairs.
He was met with the sight of Izuku, Katsuki, and Kouji rummaging through the cabinets for something. Kouji already had a few snacks stacked in his arms, but Izuku was currently standing on the counter, bickering with Katsuki about something. Upon a second of listening, Eijirou realized they were arguing about popcorn.
“I put it there, I specifically remember putting it right there," Izuku said firmly.
“Well it’s not fucking there now, is it?”
“It’s not up here either, Kacchan!”
“Did you use your eyes? Because I know it’s up there.”
“But this isn’t where I put it last!”
“Use your fucking eyeballs.”
“I am!”
Kouji was the first to actually notice Eijirou standing there. He shot him a small smile, gesturing with his head to come closer. Ever so softly, he spoke to Eijirou.
“We’re looking for microwave popcorn,” Kouji explained quietly. Eijirou felt a sense of honor at hearing his voice. “Izuku says he put the rest of them in the bottom cabinet by the fridge, but Katsuki says he saw Dad put them in that cabinet.”
“Do you think it’s up there?”
“No,” Kouji giggled quietly, “because I saw Natsuo put the rest next to the sink last night, but they haven’t asked me yet.”
Eijirou covered his mouth with his hand to muffle his laughter. Kouji did nothing to stifle his, just quietly snickered. Peeve wound around his ankles, meowing something that Kouji nodded to. The other two still hadn’t stopped arguing.
“Should we…do something?” Eijirou asked when it looked like Izuku was about to jump and falcon-kick his brother.
“Probably,” Kouji hummed.
Neither of them moved.
“Hey,” Eijirou said, “do you guys have any candy?”
“Farthest bottom cabinet on the left, I think we stashed some in there.”
Eijirou nodded in thanks, and went to dig around the cabinet. Kouji had been right, there was a stash of candy in there, hidden behind a container of oatmeal packets. He emerged with a grin and some of his favorite treats.
Izuku and Katsuki were now both standing on the counter, the former trying to bat the latter off while he looked for popcorn.
“I like those,” Kouji softly commented. “Poprocks are good.”
“I know, right? I just think they feel funny, and my sister thought it was hilarious that I can basically turn into a rock yet I like eating fake rocks.”
“That is funny,” Kouji giggled.
“Almost sounds like another one of your guys’ nicknames for Katsuki too,” Eijirou mused. “Poprocks would be pretty cool, with his quirk and everything.”
“I like it. That can be your nickname for him.”
“Huh?”
“Call him Poprocks,” Kouji insisted. “Some of us have our own nicknames for each other, yours for him can be Poprocks.”
“Oh, yeah! Sounds cool, man.”
Kouji nodded, then silently moved towards the other side of the kitchen. Without a word he grabbed a few bags of microwave popcorn from a labeled basket and started heating them up. Izuku and Katsuki both froze when they heard the popping, and slowly looked over at Kouji, who was staring at them and quietly radiating smugness.
“…we’re idiots.”
“I was still technically half right.”
“Katsuki, I will dropkick you into next week.”
The two gracefully jumped off the counter. Izuku immediately went to grab bowls and help Kouji, while Katsuki moved to stand next to Eijirou. He silently offered Katsuki some of the chocolate that Eijirou knew was his favorite.
“Hey, you’re ok with nicknames, yeah?” Eijirou asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“Found one for you,” he declared proudly. “It’s Kouji approved and everything.”
Katsuki raised an eyebrow, but Eijirou could see the little smile he had. “Oh yeah?”
“Mmhm, you will now forever be known as Poprocks.”
“...I can live with that.”
Eijirou beamed, and brushed off the pink on Katsuki’s cheeks as happiness at the nickname.
Mina chose that moment to appear, racing in through the doorway and loudly declaring the movie was ready to go. She snagged Eijirou’s arm to pull him out of the kitchen, chattering all the while. The sleeve of Katsuki’s shirt had a similar fate. They were quickly ushered into the living room, which had been made into a very comfy nest of pillows and blankets.
It took everyone a while to get settled, but once they did, Eijirou felt like he never wanted to get up. The bucket of popcorn got passed around, and blankets draped over whoever wanted one. Eijirou had a pillow behind his head and Hanta sitting on his right. Katsuki took up a place on his left, sitting cross-legged with Momo’s head in his lap as he braided her hair. It wasn’t a super long braid, since her hair only went to her upper back, but it was pretty. And Eijirou hadn’t know his friend could braid.
They pressed pay on the movie, Eijirou watching intently. He settled into the softness and warmth around him, and couldn’t help a small smile, meant for no one but himself. As he drifted off to sleep, he only had one thought
This is what home is supposed to feel like.
Notes:
Notes! Woo!
-Gengar is a reference to an OC teacher at UA I used in IEHP and Wisp is a hero name I made up on the spot for the sixth AfO user
-Meaning of Protea flowers (that apply to this chapter): transformation, courage, and daring
Just thought that would be a cool detail to include as Eijirou’s favorite flower. On a related-ish note, Katsuki’s favorites are Tansies, for the simple reason of their meaning is “I declare war on you”
-Also just wanted to mention, while I adore the “Kiri has 2 moms” headcanon, it didn't quite fit for him in this fic. Mostly because same-sex parents have an astronomically lower chance of pulling the stuff Kiri’s parents end up doing in his arc.Next chapter! No idea when it'll be! But it's funny and my first try at a social media format
ALSO ALLEY MADE MORE ART GUYS I'M IN LOVE WITH THIS LOOK AT THEMMMM!
Chapter 99: Verified Chaos
Summary:
You ever wonder what it would be like if Spiderman had a twitter? This is kinda like that
Notes:
HELLO EVERYONE GUESS WHO'S FINALLY DONE WITH HER DEGREE!! WOOO!!
This would've been up earlier but my sister had her wisdom teeth out and my family has been Busy this week. But!! I'm done with one degree now!! Slightly more time for the next month for chapters :DOnto chapter things!
Reminder that when we're in a vigilante-based scene, italic = talking over their coms, and italics AND underlined = coms but would have been italicized if it was normal talking. Emphasis!Anyway hope you guys like the chapter! It ended up absurdly long because there's a social media format in this one :p
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
After three weeks of meetings with Eraserhead, they fell into a predictable pattern. The vigilantes would all gather onto the train, ship themselves closer to UA, and meet on one specific rooftop. Izuku would double check his coms while the rest of them hid in the shadows. It was always early enough that the Sirens got there first, so while waiting whoever had tagged along would try and find the oddest place to hide themself. If Izuku got bored he would try and spot them.
One of them–Izuku couldn’t remember who–had started keeping score. Hanta was currently winning by virtue of being the most willing to squeeze herself into crevices. Mina was close behind by sheer flexibility. Mei has commented on the practical applications of their game, to which Izuku had agreed, and in the same breath laughed as Hitoshi popped his head out from behind an air conditioning unit.
Eraserhead was trustworthy, to an extent, which is why Izuku stood on the rooftop by himself. It’s why the rest of his siblings hid away to watch, instead of being in plain sight. They trusted the hero to not stab them in the back at least.
On one such night, Mei keeping an eye on where Eraserhead was, Izuku listened to his siblings chatter while checking his gear.
“I’m just saying,” Basilisk said, “it would be funny!”
“I’m not saying it wouldn’t be, just that it’s not really smart,” Gorgon commented.
“Ok but consider-“
“Consider that it’s really not a good idea to throw burnt cookies at daylight heroes.”
Izuku snickering from behind his mask, shaking out his bracers to make sure they were secure.
“Well it’s not like we can prank them online more than we already do,” Basilisk snarked. “So we have to take it into our own hands!”
“That doesn’t make it a better idea,” Athena told her.
Izuku heard Mei give a considering hum, and he immediately looked to the nearest camera with narrowed eyes. He knew that tone of hers. It was the one she used whenever she got a new idea, one that had a fifty-fifty shot of something catching fire.
“In theory,” she started, “if we had a Spaceline account, would you guys want to use it? Besides trolling hero accounts.”
Izuku took a millisecond to think about it, then shrugged. That idea, at least, wouldn’t catch literal fire. It could even be fun! Spaceline was the most popular social media at the moment, so it wouldn’t be too hard to spread new about themselves.
His siblings seemed to agree, if the immediate joyful exclamations were anything to go by.
“ Hell yeah I would use it!”
“Daedalus we could cause so much chaos.”
“It may ruin our whole ‘mysterious deities’ thing though,” Chimera mused.
Gorgon just laughed gleefully, poking his head out of his hiding place to make sure Mei could see his broad grin. “We can be internet gremlins instead.”
“Never mind, I like that better.”
Izuku chuckled as his siblings began debating what they would do with a vigilante account. They all collectively shared an account on Spaceline, mostly just to look at memes and keep up with Musutafu news, but none of them used it too often. Mostly on account of them sharing a grand total of two phones.
“Ok, ok, we can keep talking about it later,” Izuku laughed. “Is everyone ready?”
Eight confirmations sang through his earpiece, along with Mei informing them that Eraserhead was in fact almost there. Izuku shook out his limbs, listening for the minuscule sound the underground hero made before arriving. His siblings fell quiet as he did. That was his sign that Mei had already changed his com settings, letting his family hear him, but keeping them from speaking to him.
The hero landed lightly, a blur of black and gray with bright yellow goggles. Kitsune jumped in place for a moment, smiling in his bone-white mask, while the hero settled from his leap.
“Good evening, Eraserhead,” he barked cheerily. “How are you doing this fine midnight?”
“I’m doing fine, thank you, Kitsune. I take it the trip here was alright?”
“Oh it was fine,” Izuku laughed. “Might see some pictures of us later, but rest assured, hero, we still have all of our dignity.”
Eraserhead cracked a grin, and Izuku couldn’t help feeling a bit accomplished.
“Have things been quiet for you, kid?”
“Still not a kid,” Izuku said, rolling his eyes, but the smile still stayed. “But yeah, mostly. Dug up some information on that new drug ring you wanted.”
Eraserhead raised an eyebrow, just barely visible over his goggles. “For what in exchange?”
“Just information, Eraser, if you have it. Have you heard anything about quirk trafficking in the southwest side of town?”
Izuku, restless, began pacing the length of the roof. They hadn’t truly run yet tonight, and it left him with excess energy. He kept his head tilted towards Eraserhead, one ear always angled towards him to listen closely, but the electricity beneath his skin demanded he move.
“A bit,” the hero muttered. “Mostly rumors. But three of my contacts gave conflicting information. One said it was false, made to shift police attention away from a different drug ring. Another said it was there, but had moved bases by the time they went to check. The third insinuated a dead supervillain was running it.”
Izuku blinked slowly, processing the information. “Why would they say that?”
“Only rumors,” Eraserhead reminded him firmly. “But he was something of a boogeyman during the rise of quirks.”
Izuku came to a full stop at that, turning an incredulous look towards Eraserhead. “The rise of quirks?”
“Yes. His body was never recovered, but it was assumed he died either to old age or in a fire-fight against heroes.”
“So then, why the rumors?”
“He could, allegedly, take quirks for himself.”
Izuku took in a sharp breath, fully freezing in place. The very idea made something in him recoil. The implications of taking what a lot of people considered part of their very soul, a part of their DNA no less? There was a lot that could hide behind how that quirk worked, if it was real.
“If he was alive during the rise of quirks, and took a powerful one…”
“One could have been something to increase his lifespan, yes,” Eraserhead sighed, heavy with the weight of that knowledge. “But like I said, Kitsune, it’s been a long time since anyone has heard from him. That’s besides the fact that no one can even agree on the description of the villain this time around. Don’t let rumors make you reckless.”
Izuku nodded, breathing out to try and settle his emotions. He remained unnerved and unsettled, the feeling clinging to the bottom of his stomach like mealy mud, but he moved on. There was nothing more he could do right now.
“What descriptions were given?” He asked. “Just so we can keep an eye out, incase the rumors turn out to have some truth.”
“There seemed to be two: one of a person with purple mist-like material covering their body, and another of a blue-haired person. Both have deadly quirks, but once again, no one can agree on what they are,” Eraserhead grumbled. “But since the original villain had neither of those descriptions, the rumors are most likely just someone trying to use the fame to gain notoriety.”
Izuku nodded, but his mind was still racing. Dots connected and disintegrated within seconds. False successor to a supervillain or not, they would still have to be on alert. Especially if they were connected to the quirk trafficking that had been whispered about recently.
“Thank you, Eraserhead. Here, the locations we gathered about the drugs.” Izuku reached into a pocket, pulling out a piece of paper with addresses printed on it. “One is a dealing location, one is where it’s produced. If you and whatever heroes can only raid one, tell us. We’ll take the other one at the same time, assuming it’s not in the middle of the day.”
The hero nodded, skimming over the addresses and labels quickly. “Thank you, Kitsune.” Then his posture softened, as did his voice. “You did good, kid.”
Izuku inwardly preened at the praise from an actual hero, but outwardly rolled his eyes. “Again, Eraser, I’m not a child.”
“And you’re still younger than me, Kitsune. Ergo—kid.”
“I could be thirty.”
If Izuku could see his eyes, he had no doubt that Eraserhead would be giving him a deadpan stare. “Sure, kid, whatever you say. Is that all you needed?”
“Yep! Same time next week; any requests, hero?”
“Not this time. Take care of yourself tonight, Kitsune.”
Izuku took a step back, giving Eraserhead a two-finger salute. “Aye aye, sir. Have a-“
Someone quietly cursed in the alleyway below them. Izuku’s ear swiveled to capture the sound, which was probably too quiet for Eraserhead to hear. He glanced back towards the street, but didn’t immediately see anything.
“Kitsune?”
“Minor robbery,” Mei reported, his com back online. “Stolen purse, maybe a bag of groceries or something. Gorgon, you’re closest.”
“Got it.”
Izuku moved to the edge of the building, looking down into the alley below. There was a person crouched on the concrete. They were dumping out a purse, shuffling through the things and taking out what was probably a wallet. Izuku noted Eraserhead coming closer, looking down too from beside him.
“I’ve got-“ Eraserhead started.
Izuku held out his arm, stopping the hero from leaping down. He didn’t say a word, or move his gaze, instead he waited for the perfect moment.
Kitsune’s ear flicked, angling towards the clatter of a pebble or two from his brother, and that was when Gorgon pounced. He almost seemed to melt out of the shadows themselves. His glowing was turned off until he struck, likely from Mei’s remote control of it, a feature she had polished over the last week. It came in handy when they couldn’t reach the button, and also for comedic timing.
The robber was neutralized quickly, Gorgon questioning them quietly. Izuku nodded to himself. They would both be ok, the former either cuffed or set free with a card of resources in short order. Hitoshi would make sure of that.
With that taken care of, Izuku turned back to Eraserhead, who looked…kind of shellshocked, if he was being honest. Not scared, but definitely unsettled.
Izuku tilted his head curiously, wondering what he had done this time. He hadn’t said anything-
Ohh, he hadn’t said anything. That was the problem. It had probably looked like Gorgon leapt in without a word between any of them. Eraserhead likely knew the other Sirens were nearby, but maybe not how they communicated during meetings. From the hero’s side he had been stopped from arresting a mugger and then a vigilante had materialized into existence with telepathic orders.
Maybe the hero had assumed something different, but the idea was so funny that Izuku had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing. He quickly nodded to Eraserhead and took off across the rooftops. Laughter was already crackling over the coms as he ran away, and it was infectious.
There were quite a few reports of “evil cackling” in a section of Musutafu that night. Izuku proudly showed the collected posts to their parents, who found it just as funny when he told them the story.
~~~~~~~~~~
It took two days after proposing the idea for Mei to sit on their bed with her computer and, without preamble, say, “I gave us verified status. I got dibs on first post but you guys can basically have free rein after I’m done.”
Mina blinked, the room silent. They all slowly processed what she had said.
“Mei,” Izuku said, slowly and clearly, “are you saying you made us a vigilante Spaceline account…and got us verified?”
“Yeah.”
There was a count of one, two, three-
“What the FUCK.”
“Mei you did what?!”
“We have a what now?”
“FUCK YEAH!” Mina cheered.
She personally loved the idea of the Sirens being more accessible to people. It would let them clarify stuff, and answer questions people had! They would be a bit less mysterious, but it would be worth it.
“Have you posted anything yet?” Mina asked eagerly.
“Just one.”
“Lemme see!”
Mina leaned over Mei’s shoulder to look at the screen, and snorted at what she saw. The account did look cool, with a collage-like picture of them in-costume as the banner, and the profile picture of a simple quarter note. Their username was just a simple “The Sirens.” The one post consisted of only the words: “alright gremlins here you go.”
“You have such a way with words, Mei,” Mina snickered
“I know, thank you.”
The rest of them crowded closer to get a look too. Mei spun her computer out so they could all see, telling them about it as she did.
“I’ll make a pinned thing with your names,” she told them. “Sign whatever you post with your vigilante name, so we know who’s who. Use common sense. Please. Other than that just make sure to never give away locations, we don’t need more police chasing you.”
They all nodded. Mina was practically buzzing with excitement, eager to see how many people would notice them at first.
“What are we waiting for then?” She asked. “Let’s start!”
Mina gave it a week before they had tons of people asking them questions.
~~~~~~~~~~
Niko was bored. And procrastinating her homework. She wasn’t about to tell her parents that though, they’d just say “do your homework, then you won’t be bored.”
They underestimated the power of boredom and the ADHD superpower of “I’d rather stare at a wall than do this.”
So she found herself scrolling through her phone. Almost immediately she was met with posts in all caps, some pictures, and multiple screenshots. All of them were from two people she followed, but both of them were screaming about something.
“What the…” she muttered. “Why is this one about…sirens?”
Scrolling down produced more screaming, some more screenshots Niko understood none of, and some blurry pictures. Like someone trying to get a picture of a cryptid. Most of the actual text-posts consisted of “they have a Spaceline” and “oh my god.”
Thoroughly confused but very curious, Niko reloaded the screen and was met with— thank God— an explanation post.
“Vigilantes, huh?” She said aloud.
The post went on to explain who the Sirens were. They were based in Musutafu, which explained why Niko had never heard of them, seeing as she lived on the opposite side of Japan. A lot of people seemed to like them though, mainly locally but the number across the country was growing. With their new account—hours old apparently—Niko guessed that number was about to grow.
One of the next posts down included a link to their account, and Niko didn’t hesitate to click on it. If nothing else it would be entertainment until she was called for dinner.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Sirens
yes this is the account for the Musutafu Vigilantes, we answer questions
Posts Ask Us Things Archive
The_Sirens (pinned post)
To let you guys get to know us better, we’ll be doing a QnA! Ask whatever you want and we’ll do our best to answer!
~Kitsune
Idonthaveagoodusername
Can one of you explain why you were in a different city? I saw a picture but im a bit confused on why
The_Sirens
Well someone told us to get on the wrong train, so we went farther north than we meant to last week
~Gorgon
confused_kat
how did you get your gear and how do you always immediately know when someone posts about you
The_Sirens
Me ~Daedalus
confused_kat
???
nest_in_closet:
how would you feel about stickers on your costumes?
The_Sirens
They tend to not stick very well, but I have wanted to put stickers on my helmet for a while. ~Athena
Koi_the_Kit
If the snow is thick enough would you eat it?
The_Sirens
It’s just frozen water, so yes! ~Harpy
The_Sirens
Harpy NO ~Kitsune
The_Sirens
Harpy YES
1st_class_dreamer
You guys ever consider going official with your work? Any hero agency with half a brain would hire all of you in a heartbeat!
The_Sirens
We have, and thank you for the kind words ~Athena
Rioteyes
Gay rights?
The_Sirens
FUCK YEAH GAY RIGHTS
~Ares
Papa_Void
What is the funniest story you all have while working?
The_Sirens
That’s classified ~Ares
The_Sirens
Lol no it’s not
Ares once got a text from his crush and walked into a lamppost, Daedalus made us keep our phones at our base after that.
Another time heasdfsjakls ~Basilxisk
GayHorse69
Oh my fucking god they're fucking Dead
The_Sirens
Basilisk is fine, Ares just tackled her ~Chimera
GayHorse69
I have Concerns
ResidentCatboy
so, it seems like most of the vigilantes personas are inspired by greek mythology, so, if you all had to choose a god/creature from norse mythology instead, who would it be? (also you guys are super cool ilysm please sign my face)
The_Sirens
I would like Fenrir ~Kitsune
I want the name of the old lady Thor lost a wrestling match to ~Harpy
Norn ~Daedalus
Crimesbegone
Do any of you actually sleep?
The_Sirens
No ~Gorgon
The_Sirens
Can't sleep, things to get done. If I stay up long enough eventually I will transcend the need for rest
Also someone has to make sure these idiots don't do something stupid ~Daedalus
Cheesy_patao
can I make you guys a rainbow crowbar?
The_Sirens
YES ~BASILISK
The_Sirens
If you tell us where you’ll leave it then we can get it ~Daedalus
The_Sirens
BE GAY DO CRIM ~Basilisk
JoeyKiddo
what pokemon would you say you are, and if you were gym leader what type would your team be?
The_Sirens
I’m making the list ~Daedalus
Kitsune: Absol, Fire or Psychic gym
Gorgon: Jigglypuff, Ghost gym
Chimera: Volcanion, Water gym
Ares: Typhlosion, Fire gym
Basilisk: Goodra, Poison or Dragon gym
Athena: Arceus or Delibird, Normal gym
Pan: Torterra, Grass gym
Harpy: Lunatone, Flying gym
Jorogumo: Ariados, Bug gym
Me, Daedalus: Skarmory, Steel gym
HelpAsNeeded
What's your favorite treats? I'll see if I can set some up on my balcony for you guys to grab.
The_Sirens
Marshmallows ~Gorgon
The_Sirens
Ignore him, we can’t really accept food But if you happen to leave a package of those fluffy cookies from a store on a roof and Accidentally DM us the address then it would be a shame to leave them there ~Harpy
Hi-Trans-Im-Dad
oKAY this is for Basilisk, please the fins on the side of your head they A r e axolotl find right?? Please this is a debate I need to prove that I'm right
The_Sirens
They are!! Go my child, win your debate ~Basilisk
I-condone-sending-a-message
Favorite ugly and or stupid animal
The_Sirens
Axolotls!! They’re kinda dumb but I love them so much ~Basilisk
Bears. They are stupid because I can’t pet them. ~Chimera
Blobfish because they’re misunderstood ~Jorogumo
Arabian Sand Boas. Have you seen how stupid their faces look? I love them ~Gorgon
No animal is ugly and I love them all. However Koalas are definitely stupid ~Pan
Whatever those birds with bowl cuts are called ~Harpy
MyGarbageGremlin
Would y’all ever consider streaming??? Definitely not cause I want to help fund the sirens without it actually being illegal haha
The_Sirens
Probably? Daedalus would need to make sure it’s secure enough for us, but I don’t see why not one day ~Kitsune
the-only-time-ill-accept-a-no
Is gender a soup or do you think it's another kind of food? Also: is gender edible
The_Sirens
I think it’s like a smoothie, everyone can add in their own stuff! Sometimes one thing, sometimes all things, and sometimes you have a gelatinous blob instead of a smoothie ~Jorogumo
The_Sirens
Ah yes I’ve had a bite of the Gender, it tasted like play dough ~Gorgon
Theplanismurder
opinions on snakes
The_Sirens
Scaly noodle children ~Daedalus
Pridefrog
You walk down an alley. There is no one around. There is a mud puddle. Step in it?
The_Sirens
You would be surprised how many times they’ve all done that when they think I’m not paying attention ~Daedalus
HeartsSTOPper
frogs??
The_Sirens
Frogs!! ~Basilisk
If-you-dont-stay-in-the-hospital-i-swear
Please tell me you will not take after literally any hero and actually listen to your doctors and not leave the hospital before you are formally discharged because I swear if there aren't more heroes who will do that I will go into teaching and no one will enjoy that
The_Sirens
I'm the only one that's been in the hospital and I stayed until I was discharged, so yes ma’am we will listen to the doctors ~Gorgon
flies_are_kappa_food
Were none of you born in a hospital?
The_Sirens
Idk I think Kitsune kinda just sprung up fully formed honestly ~Gorgon
warrior-of-light
How do you tend to rush into battle? Perhaps we could covertly share notes, if you want
The_Sirens
Half the time it’s just us running after Kitsune, and we’re not sharing our plans right now, since this is public. Sorry dude ~Gorgon
Precipitation-Mickey
hey, I have a more serious question, and I get if no one wants to answer.. but um..... Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
The_Sirens
SPONGE-BOB SQUARE PANTS
The_Sirens
I read this out loud and three of them just screamed that at the top of their lungs then stole the phone. Why would you do this ~Daedalus
Beepsheep
Ok but WHO is Daedalus?? And why have we never seen them??
The_Sirens
Because my wings aren’t done
Cosmosflowers
I’m sorry your WHAT?!?!? EXCUSE ME SIR ARE YOU BY CHANCE RELATED TO HAWKS???
Cosmosflowers
Your lack of answer leads me to believe i am RIGHT
Axryz
okay this isn't at all related to your work as vigilantes BUT. how do yall feel about dinosaurs? or other prehistoric creatures? if any of you enjoy them do you have favorites?
The_Sirens
Hey you’re the one that named us, thanks :D
Also Quetzocoatlus are awesome, they're my favorite ~Harpy
The_Sirens
I like Carnotaurus just because of how stupid their little arms look ~Ares
Terror Birds are awesome ~Basilisk
I like the Smilodon, but Dawn Horses are cool too ~Pan
I was so tempted to put a Pokemon name. But Titanoboa, because beeg snek ~Gorgon
Spinosaurus are my favorite! ~Kitsune
Spellnig_is_my_criptonoght
Gorgon speaks Inpternet, I love him
The_Sirens
Love you too, random person in the glowing box ~Gorgon
SpyingEye
Why do you ignore proper channels and work as vigilantes? Shouldn't you leave crime-stopping to heroes?
The_Sirens
The “proper channels” aren’t available to everyone, and no one else was doing anything, so we took it into our own hands ~Kitsune
The_Sirens
HA, if you see a real hero around here, tell us so we can teach them how to do their damn job ~Ares
No-Maidens?
If I were to start an emo boy band would any of you join or are you cowards
The_Sirens
Only cowards ask about bands over the internet. Hand me the drumsticks, bitch ~Harpy
When_Lightning_Meets_The_Sea
how do you feel about people with quirks that aren't suited for the career path they’ve chosen? Do you think they should give up or push forwards towards their dreams?
The_Sirens
Keep pursing it. I know it looks hard, but it’s worth it. Having a “suitable” quirk can help, yeah, but it’s not necessary. I know it sounds kinda cheesy, but you can do anything if you have enough determination. ~Kitsune
I_just_dropped_in
do y’all have, like, a Spotify playlist? I think people’ve said that y’all sing, so do y’all have a playlist where we can find y’all’s songs? Thanks!!
The_Sirens
Here you go! It’s some of our favorites ~Jorogumo
UwU_Respecc
How many of y'all say y'all unironically? Follow up, how many of you started saying y'all and then it accidentally became a habit?
The_Sirens
Kitsune does that, and I say it just to fuck with people ~Harpy
The_Sirens
They’re both almost fluent in English and do it in that language too. Their southern accents are terrifyingly realistic ~Pan
TisTheInsomni
Favorite ice cream/cake flavor? Also, who's the most likely to steal a stray animal
The_Sirens
For the second one, animal would be Gorgon or me. Stray person would be Kitsune though ~Pan
The_Sirens
Most of us like chocolate, mint, or matcha, but I personally enjoy the peppermint flavor of ice cream that appears in winter. ~Athena
A-starfish
If I were to crochet a shit ton of sweaters and/or blankets that happened to have the color schemes of our fave vigilantes, hypothetically, where would I be able to drop them off. Y'know. Theoretically. Probably.
The_Sirens
THEORETICALLY if you left them on a roof in Musutafu and then HYPOTHETICALLY Dmed us the address then PERHAPS we’d just maybe be able to pick them up
(can I also request mine be extra fuzzy?) ~Gorgon
Hawks-works-for-the-bougwasie
ayo when's the album dropping
The_Sirens
Right now! Here you go Link ~Chimera
The_Sirens
Also Hawks would find your username hilarious ~Chimera
Buy-my-art
If you came across someone hurting a quirkless person, would any of you turn a blind eye?
The_Sirens
FUCK NO, what kind of heroes would we make if we did that shit? Especially since most of them are old people, we’d be just as bad as villains ~Ares
Seaweed-on-the-moon
Can you tell us y'all's pronouns?? Or is that too much info
The_Sirens
Our pronouns generally line up with what our names are based on ~Pan
TerMITES
Fav heroes?? Idk if y'all are anti-heroes or not but this is a common icebreaker question, if y'all are fine w it
The_Sirens
Most of us like All Might or an underground hero the best ~Kitsune
Persevere’s my favorite! She was really cool ~Basilisk
Spider-man, for some obvious reasons ~Jorogumo
Hawks is the best ~Daedalus
Either Hawks or Dabi, they’re nice ~Chimera
Bitch_begone
Question: how many of you make animal noises? Because I swear I heard Kitsune do the fox hehehehehe thing one night
The_Sirens
Yes I do make fox noises, Harpy makes fun of me but she makes bird noises so we’re even ~Kitsune
The_Sirens
Basilisk and Gorgon have hissed at me before. Pan has too but they’re fluent in Cat so they get a free pass ~Chimera
Bitch_begone
What does “fluent in cat” mean??
The_Sirens
Exactly what I said it means ~Chimera
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Niko set down her phone, staring at the ceiling for a moment.
The Sirens sounded…really cool actually. They were funny, and seemed to have good morals. They actually cared about people. Niko may not live in Musutafu, but she had still seen her fair share of villainy, and heroes that turned a blind eye.
She wondered how many other people were fans of them now. Some accounts acted like they had known about the vigilantes for months, and they probably had. Those ones were probably in Musutafu. Niko had even glimpsed some art on the trending page before she looked at the actual account. There had been some pictures too, taken out of windows and off of balconies.
“Oh no,” she muttered, “this is going to be my next hyper-fixation isn’t it.”
Well, at least she had something to cure her boredom now.
Notes:
Credit to my discord for most of those questions, love you guys <3 <3 <3
Sorry if that seemed like a Lot, but some of them were just too funny to not include. I hope you liked it :DAnyway introducing the main social media of NOLB!BNHA’s timeline: SPACELINE
I didn't want to use tumblr or twitter however long in the future this is, so we have a new one because I like world building! Combination of tumblr and twitter basically, with the name being "space" as a concept of being 'beyond' other medias and "line" from 'online.' Also fun fact I actually had this outlined before twitter was rebranded. RIP to twitter I refuse to use it anymore.Also hey. Hey Reminder that AfO’s fight with All Might was kept a secret from the media :) Aizawa only knows vaguely of AfO because of Boogey Man whispers and him being an underground hero :))
The kids also 100% make it a goal to get blocked by most official hero accounts and succeed more often than notOne more thing, would you guys be interested in an ask-blog on tumblr? Basically just this chapter but actually on tumblr. No idea whether I'll actually run with the idea yet but I'm curious if anyone would find that interesting
Next chapter will be out whenever I get the motivation to edit it. Have a good day/night :D
Chapter 100: How Can I Help?
Summary:
Love is Trust
WARNINGS:
Dysphoria is included and talked about in the chapter, just a heads up
Notes:
100 chapter. ONE. HUNDRED. CHAPTERS. AAAAAAAAAAAA I can’t believe we’ve made it this far!! This is the longest thing I’ve ever written, and it’s not even over yet! Probably at just over halfway though, but only time will tell if that’s correct. Thank you for reading my wonderful mishmash of a story, it genuinely means the world to me that people are still reading and commenting. I love you guys <3 <3 <3
This chapter’s vibe brought to you by repeatedly listening to A Memory Away by Matt Maeson (but like, a hopeful view of it)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Eijirou came home with them after school most days, and today was no exception. A few weeks ago Hanta would have never thought he would get to say that. He did now though, and that’s what mattered. His best friend rode the train with them home, did his homework with them, and—more often than not—stayed for dinner.
It was a good thing too, because Eijirou had been…off. Not in physical pain, from what Hanta could see, but something was definitely wrong today. He had been extra quiet all the way home. Eijirou was almost never quiet. He wasn’t necessarily loud, but it was a rare thing for Eijirou to not say a word, and for him to seem almost…muted. Subdued.
Hanta stuck near his side. Eijirou would tell them what was wrong if he wanted to, Hanta reasoned. For now though they could offer silent comfort.
They got home with minimal disaster, the house silent when they opened the door. Hanta just shrugged as she took her shoes off. The adults had warned them that they would be on their own for a while today, meetings and case presentations and work shifts lining up in a bad way. Hanta wasn’t worried though. If they could arrest people on a nightly basis then they could manage to not light the house on fire for a few hours.
The kitchen was immediately raided for snacks. Hanta snatched some of Eijirou’s favorite candy on the way, silently dropping it in his lap. Katsuki and Kouji had the same idea apparently, since they followed Hanta and gave Eijirou a box of crackers and a bag of beef jerky too.
They unanimously decided that homework was going to wait, and that it was movie time.
Even with a blanket over his lap, Eijirou didn’t take off the hoodie he had been wearing all day. Hanta just shrugged and assumed he was cold. His attention was on the movie, but she kept glancing over at Eijirou, just to check on him. He seemed to calm down a bit since they had all gotten home, but still just seemed—off.
It was between movies that Eijirou slipped away. He smiled and waved off concerns, saying he just needed a second of quiet. The rest of them nodded and let him go. They knew very well how overwhelming they could all be, and all of them needed a minute of quiet sometimes.
Still. Hanta watched as Eijirou shut the glass door, only going a few steps to sit on their porch stairs. He had his arms wrapped around himself and his hoodie still on.
Hanta gave it a few minutes before they followed Eijirou outside. Their friend glanced over at the sound of the door sliding open, something rapidly flickering in his eyes. Worry, maybe, but Hanta thought it looked more like a type of fear.
She didn’t know why Eijirou would be scared, but Hanta knew how much it sucked. She made sure to look relaxed and chill as she sat on the stair beside Eijirou. If she could help, she would. But that wouldn’t work if Eijirou felt like he was being interrogated.
Neither spoke for a bit. It was warm out, the spring air mildly humid but not unbearable. It was barely evening, but Hanta could already see the moon.
“Sooo,” Hanta drawled, “what’s bothering you, dude? You’ve been quiet.”
Eijirou laughed, the sound some mix of awkward and nervous. “Just some stuff on my mind, that’s all.”
“You sure? Anything I can do to help?”
Their friend paused, staring out at nothing. Hanta leaned back on their hands and waited.
“Do you…do you know what body dysphoria is?”
Hanta nodded. “I know of it, but I don’t have it myself. Is that what’s on your mind today?”
“Yeah…sorry.”
“Hey man, don’t apologize,” Hanta said, gently nudging Eijirou’s shoulder with his own. “Anything I can do?”
“Not- not really? It’s just—I’ve been reminded of how wrong it all feels. Being here helps, since you guys actually use my pronouns and my parents…don’t, but the idea of taking my binder off right now kinda makes me want to keel over.”
“Is touching ok?”
“Probably?” Eijirou made a frustrated sound, pulling his knees to his chest. “I don’t know. I’ve never really told anyone, but it’s…it’s helped a bit before, so yeah, probably.”
Hanta wasted no time in practically draping himself over Eijirou’s shoulder, pausing to make sure Eijirou suddenly realized it wasn’t helping. He didn’t though, instead seeming to relax just a little. Some of the tension bled out of him at least.
“Anything to avoid?” Hanta asked.
“Anything feminine, I guess. I have thick skin—hah, sorry, bad pun—but nothing like, pointing out my clothes or posture or something. Does that…make sense?”
“Yeah, it does. Only the manliest of compliments for the king,” Hanta joked. “But seriously dude, just let us know if we can ever do anything to help, we’d all understand and pitch in. Especially at school.”
“I know. Really, I do, it’s just…hard.”
“Yeah, I get that.”
They both fell quiet again, Hanta still leaning half his weight on Eijirou and Eijirou just soaking in the affection. The hoodie made more sense now. It wasn’t exactly warm out, but it also wasn’t cold. It was, however, an oversized hoodie that covered most of Eijirou. And he had thrown it on the second they had been dismissed from school and thus out of uniform.
Hanta hummed as they sat for another few minutes. Muffled voices got through the glass of the door, telling them that the next movie hadn’t been started yet. Hanta’s siblings were probably still debating which one to put on next. No one else joined them outside though. All of them were well-versed in needing to comfort each other, they all knew to not butt in unless given the ok.
It was probably time to go back in though, before someone poked their head outside to check on them anyway.
“Wanna go back inside and keep watching movies? You know they’d all give you hugs with no questions asked- well maybe some questions asked, but they wouldn’t pry.”
“Yeah, we should probably go back in.” Eijirou paused, thinking for a moment again. “Do you think…they wouldn’t react badly if I told them about my dysphoria, right? I know you guys all accepted me pretty easily, but still…”
“You still want to be sure,” Hanta finished for him, and Eijirou nodded. “Honestly, I think the worst reaction would just be one of them trying to jump you with affection. As in actually jumping on you. Maybe trying to affectionately bully away the dysphoria. Mina might just straight up drag you to the floor.”
Eijirou snorted, and Hanta knew they had done their job. It wasn’t fixed, but Eijirou wasn’t thinking about it so much. That was all they could ask for.
Hanta got to her feet, stretching like they had been sitting for hours instead of ten minutes. Eijirou followed, a bit slower, shoulders drawn in. Conversation didn’t stop inside as they walked back in. Another movie was paused on the starting screen. Hanta didn’t recognize it right off the bat, but that didn’t mean much with how big the Midoriya movie collection was.
“Hey Ei,” Hanta whispered. “If one of my siblings ask, is it alright if I tell them you’re dysphoric today?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
“Cool.”
And that was that. Hanta pulled Eijirou back onto the couch, practically draping themself over his side like a lanky cat. It wasn’t long before Katsuki took up a silent post on the other side of Eijirou. Hanta shot his brother a smirk when he noticed the slight blush on his face. Katsuki gave him the middle finger when Eijirou looked away.
It wasn’t too long into the next movie that Hanta looked over, and Eijirou was asleep on Katsuki. Just passed out. Hanta had to try extremely hard not to snort at how stock-still Katsuki had gone.
His brother looked over, glaring and silently mouthing “not a fucking word.” Hanta looked away to stop himself from laughing. He adored his best friend, and he loved his brother, but the two of them were oblivious dorks. Yeah they were young, but the two of them obviously liked each other. Only time would tell where it went though.
Personally Hanta liked the idea of Eijirou being his brother-in-law, but saying that out loud was likely to get him exploded, even with it being practically illegal to move with Eijirou sleeping on Katsuki’s shoulder, so he held his tongue out of self preservation.
Hanta also watched as Izuku snapped a picture of the frozen Katsuki and asleep Eijirou. The fiery glare held a little less heat when he was also blushing and refused to move an inch.
The movie kept playing, Eijirou kept sleeping, and Hanta was just happy his friend was getting some rest.
~~~~~~~~~~
The world felt fuzzy. Eijirou didn’t bother moving, happily trapped in the gap between awake and asleep. He felt warm, and wanted to sink into the comfort of whatever soft thing his head was pillowed on. Without thinking he snuggled closer to it.
He vaguely registered voices near him. They were quiet and gentle though, nothing telling him to get up or that he’d be late again. Just soft voices that made him feel safe.
One came closer, saying something about asking something about dinner. Whatever Eijirou was laying on rumbled with another voice.
“No, let him sleep,” they said quietly. “You know he’ll eat anything with meat.”
“Well yeah, but it’s also getting late, shouldn’t we-?”
“Fuck off, he was tired all fucking day. I’ll move when he wakes up.”
There was a quiet giggle. “Ok then, we’ll help Dad-Sashi with dinner.”
Soft footsteps retreated from near them. Eijirou didn’t stir, slipping back into unconsciousness. He heard one more sentence before he slipped back into dreamland.
“You’re going to be the fucking death of me, I swear,” they muttered.
Eijirou liked the fondness in the voice, but was too tired to decipher the meaning behind it. Between one breath and the next he was asleep again.
~~~~~~~~~~
Watching Eijirou wake up and discover he had been using Katsuki as a pillow was, in Mina’s humble opinion, fucking hilarious. Especially since Katsuki hadn’t moved a muscle for at least an hour to let him keep sleeping. Eijirou opened his eyes, took everything in, and then immediately turned bright red when he realized who he was laying on. Mina had to try really hard not to start cackling.
With Eijirou stuttering out apologies and Katsuki trying to keep up a tough-guy exterior and act like it was nothing, Mina ducked back upstairs for a minute. She figured Eijirou would probably just stay the night again. He had been doing that more often now, and even had a dedicated drawer in one of their dressers! One of his extra uniforms was in there, along with pajamas and normal clothes. She just wanted to double check that everyone upstairs knew he was at least staying for dinner.
That and she wanted to gush over them with her sisters. The two of them were really cute, but if they kept pining then she was going to start calling them Christmas trees.
Dinner was called while they were talking. Mina jumped to her feet, her sisters following after her. All fifteen members of their family hungrily stormed the kitchen. The following graceful chaos was her favorite dance, which ended with all of them in chairs and talking about whatever came to mind.
Mina didn’t quite know how, but somehow they got onto the topic of vigilantes. It may have stemmed from their conversation about hero license exam exclusivity. Or maybe the one about underground heroes? She honestly didn’t know, half of their conversations had a train of thought with no rails.
But still, they got onto the subject of vigilantes with Eijirou. Who did not know they were vigilantes. And Natsuo was not being subtle with his glancing between Eijirou and the rest of them. Mina would have kicked him under the table if he had been across from her.
“Yeah, I mean, I know they’re technically illegal,” Eijirou said between bites. “But I know they can do good where heroes don’t try to reach. Obviously the licensed heroes can’t screen for the good ones, but going after all vigilantes feels unmanly.”
Hitoshi snorted quietly. “Yeah, unmanly is one way to put it.”
“And it’s not like all of them even fall within the legal definition of vigilante, since some don’t use their quirks.”
Mina saw Izuku raise an eyebrow, his intrigued gaze falling on Eijirou. “You have the legal definition of vigilantism memorized?”
“Uh, well, kinda? I did a project on it once,” he mumbled. “Vigilantism is defined as ‘someone who uses their quirk for unlicensed, hero-like actions outside of self defense,’ so if you don’t use your quirk, you technically don’t fall into the definition of vigilante.”
Izuku nodded, green eyes bright. Eijirou turned back to his food, and Mina saw her green-haired brother lock eyes with Katsuki and mouth ‘keep him.’
“Do you keep track of any vigilantes?” Kouji quietly asked.
“Some of them, yeah. I just…think they’re interesting.”
Mina paused, getting a good look at Eijirou. He kept his head up, but his eyes flickered too quickly between everyone, never holding eye contact for longer than a second. She could also see some of the tell-tale texture of his quirk on his hands.
The irony was not lost on her that he was nervous talking about vigilantes to a literal room of vigilantes.
“You’re fine, Ei,” Mina said casually. “We like vigilantes. My favorite is Lady Omniscient.”
Momma Inko cast her a soft look, and Mina beamed back. Lady Omniscient really was her favorite. She loved her siblings, but her mom’s vigilante persona was just so cool! Mina herself acted more like Flamethrower when she was Basilisk, but she liked the idea of being a good mix of the two.
“Oh- Cool, I think I’ve heard of her,” Eijirou said, smiling now. Most of the tenseness had immediately dropped from his posture. “I, uh, I don’t really know if I have a favorite, but I really like this one named Ares.”
Katsuki nearly choked on his dinner. Mina kept her eyes on Eijirou, knowing that if she looked over at her brother then she would start laughing, but she wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to learn more.
“Oh really?” She practically purred. “Why are they your favorite?”
Eijirou almost seemed to brighten up even more, lighting up like an excited glow stick. “He’s just really manly! He has red eyes like me too—even if they are just electronic, it’s still cool. And he’s intimidating, but I’ve seen pictures of them with kids and he just seems really gentle too, you know?”
“They sound super cool,” Mina agreed. “So you like the Sirens then?”
“Yeah! I’ve known of them for a while, but bro, did you hear they got a Spaceline account the other day?”
“No way!” Mina dramatically gasped.
“Yes way! Dude, I got to interact with them, it was so manly. They seem like genuinely good people.”
“I saw that the other day,” Shouto piped up, never one to miss an opportunity to mess with their siblings. “You were one of the people they responded to?”
“I was, yeah. Were you one too?”
“You could say that.”
Eijirou made a delighted sound, and Mina stifled her laughter by taking another bite of her dinner. The rest of the table was pretending they weren’t paying attention. Katsuki wasn’t bothering to hide it though, he was openly staring at Eijirou as he excitedly rambled about the vigilantes.
It was a bit disorienting honestly. Mina knew they did good at night, but she had never heard someone talk about them like that. Not with such interest and borderline awe. Eijirou talked about them—without knowing it was them—like they were…like they were heroes.
Mina let out a slow breath. She had once believed she would never be anything, let alone a hero. It had seemed like a dream and only that. But now here she was. Sitting at a table with a big family that loved her, doing alright in school, and working towards being a legal hero, while being a vigilante at night.
She idly wondered how her younger self would react to their life now. They weren’t old or anything, but still, so much had changed since she was small.
Mina shook her head, dispelling the distracting thought, and tuned back into whatever Eijirou was saying.
“-voices are really cool, the distortion sounds awesome when they sing!”
Katsuki seemed to have finally regained control of his vocal cords as well. “They do sound pretty badass,” he admitted. “Are there any songs you’ve been waiting for them to sing?”
Mina almost snorted at how obvious he was being. It was sweet though, so she stayed quiet. Not like Eijirou would notice either way.
“Ohh that’s a hard one,” Eijirou muttered. “I liked that time they sang Teenagers, but I’ve been wondering how it would sound for them to sing Who We Are, the one by Nothing More.”
“Those are good ones!” Ochako chirped.
Mina nodded in agreement. Katsuki had a look that Mina figured meant he was going to demand they sing those songs tomorrow night. Mei would also probably make them wait until Eijirou actually asked for the song through their account though, or wait a week or two to make it less suspicious. Personally Mina thought it would just be a better idea to let Eijirou in on their secret before he became their brother-in-law, however long that took, but she digressed.
“I bet that if you ask, they’d sing it one night,” Izuku suggested calmly. “I’ve read through their account, and they seem like the type to do that.”
“Yeah, maybe I will ask! Thanks guys.”
Mina grinned, and knew tomorrow they were all going to laugh over the sheer irony the entire conversation held. But for tonight, they enjoyed dinner and Eijirou’s company.
~~~~~~~~~~
Izuku woke up from a weekend nap to Katsuki screeching at the top of his lungs, followed by the sound of a chase down the hallway. He pried open his eyes to see Mei dart down the stairs, followed by their explosive brother. She was almost falling over herself laughing though, so Izuku figured it wasn’t too serious.
Ochako walked into the room a minute later, Izuku not having bothered to move. She plopped down on the mattress by his head.
“Mei ok?” He asked groggily.
“Oh yeah, she’s fine.” Ochako waved her hand in dismissal, but snickered to herself. “She made a post that said, and I quote, ‘Ares overheard a fan complimenting him today while out of costume. His face was hilarious, he turned so red lol.’ The explosive dandelion saw it this morning and that was the aftermath.”
“Just make sure they don’t explode each other,” he mumbled. “I haven’t slept enough for this yet.”
He fell back asleep to his sister giggling and playing with his hair.
~~~~~~~~~~
Eijirou woke up early like he always did. When he was home in his room, at least. He always slept later when he was over at the Midoriyas for some reason, but that was besides the point. The house was almost silent, with only the muffled sound of something sizzling drifting over from the kitchen. The weekend meant at least one of his parents would be home for the morning.
The morning sunlight filtered in through his blinds and right into his eyes, making it hard to see until he rolled over. He blindly swatted around for his phone so he wouldn’t have to move more.
To his surprise, he had notifications. And a lot of them. Like, a lot a lot. All from Spaceline. And two texts from Katsuki.
He opened the messages from Katsuki first, deciding to deal with whatever nonsense had happened on his account later. The first text read a simple “Looks like your wish came true,” and the second was a link to a Spaceline post.
Eijirou clicked on it without thinking, and the Sirens account stared back at him, as well as…his own username? Oh. Oh, it was his question. It was Eijirou asking if they could sing Who We Are.
RiotEyes
I don’t know if you guys take requests, but do you think you could sing Who We Are by Nothing More someday? I just think it would sound awesome with you guys singing it
The_Sirens
You’re in luck, Ares likes that one. Here you go
[video description: The video is filmed through a blurry security camera at first, and it shows Ares on a rooftop, Athena farther behind him. He stares at the camera for a moment, then sings the first line of Who We Are. Ares starts jumping along the street, and the rest of the Sirens begin singing the song too. The video switches between cameras to follow the vigilantes, but there’s always audio. The song ends with Ares in frame again, his display-face smiling red.]
Eijirou set his phone on his chest and stared up at the ceiling.
The Sirens—The Sirens—had actually read his request. They had sang the song he suggested. Daedalus, or another one of them but presumably Daedalus, had taken the time to gather footage of them singing and edit it together for him. And then respond to his question with the video. Which was why Eijirou’s notifications were overheating his phone. Not only that, but apparently Ares already liked the song.
Eijirou very calmly grabbed the pillow behind his head, pulled it over his face, and screamed.
Notes:
I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter :D
I'm headed on my first solo trip this week, so I wanted to get this up before I left! Didn't mean for it to take a month but eh :pIn other news this week inspiration decided to strike for the prequel, so that may be up sooner rather than later? We'll see, I want to get at least three chapters written before I post the first one. Gold star for anyone that can guess what I'll be naming it :)
Have a good day/night <3
Chapter 101: Not All Love is the Same
Summary:
At the grand old age of 12, kids everywhere are developing an awareness for dating and romance. No, not those two, they're still oblivious. Instead we have someone else's trauma to see this time
WARNINGS: mention of bullying and transphobia. Eijirou’s scene (second half of the chapter) might hit hard for some people, read carefully guys, and remember you are loved <3
Notes:
Hello :D
WOW I did not mean for this to take so long to get out. It's technically been done for a good bit. But I got covid (again) from my trip, went on another short one with my family since me and two of my siblings hit milestone ages, and now I'm watching all my siblings while our parents are away for an anniversary trip. I would also just rather write than edit so I may have another two chapters ready to go in the meantime lolAnyway hope y'all enjoy the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Momo liked to think she was relatively down to earth. She didn’t take what she had granted, and she knew everyone had their own circumstances. Her old life had been lavish and grand, but…blank. No love, no warmth. And now, with the Midoriyas, she did not have riches, but she did have love. She had warmth of blankets and hugs, and she had the caring of two loving parents and nearly a dozen siblings. And she would never, ever take that for granted again.
Momo was humble and understanding, but she was not blind. She knew that she was pretty by traditional standards. She knew people their age tended towards being shallow. She knew past trauma had changed her and her view of—well, everything.
Yet she was still surprised when someone approached her after school.
It had been the three of them—Izuku, Mei, and Momo—headed on their way to the train station to go home. They hadn’t left the school gates yet. That was when the boy had ran up to them. Momo, and both of her siblings beside her, had immediately tensed. They may be in a different school, and it still wasn’t rare for people to try and pick a fight with them, but someone running up to them hardly ever yielded positive results.
“Midoriya, wait up!” He called.
Izuku and Momo exchanged a look, wondering which one of them he meant. Mei went by Hatsume at school, but even she wasn’t excluded from the possibility. Some of their teachers tended to lump them together if they knew they were siblings.
The boy jogged to a stop near them, a lopsided grin on his face. “Midoriya, hey-“
“Which one of us are you talking to?” Izuku asked, sighing halfway through the sentence.
“Oh- sorry, uh, Momo. Can I talk with you? Privately?”
Momo blinked, tilting her head to the side a bit. The boy looked…open. He didn’t have the body language of someone asking for a fight. He looked confident, sure, but not aggressive. Momo could take him even if he was looking for a fight. Just from how he was moving though, Momo figured he was asking for a different reason.
Well, it couldn’t hurt.
“Sure.” She shrugged. “You will wait for me, right?”
“Of course, Mo,” Izuku said softly. “We’ll definitely stay right here.”
Momo almost laughed at the thinly veiled sarcasm. He said it sweetly, but put emphasis on all the wrong sounds. The other boy didn’t seem to notice though, so at least they didn’t have to answer any questions about it.
Mei just looked Momo in the eyes and gave her a serious nod. A silent promise that they’d be there if she needed them. She returned it with an acknowledging smile.
With that, Momo followed the boy to the side of the school building. It was secluded, and made her skin crawl a bit, but Momo also spotted a flash of pink hair ducking into the nearby bushes. It gave her a bit of comfort.
The boy turned to her, the confident grin still in place. “You remember me, yeah?”
“I think so,” she hummed, fidgeting with a piece of her hair. “Shiruba, right?”
“Got it in one! Anyway, just wanted to tell you I think you’re super beautiful. Would you like to go out some time?”
Momo blinked, because, well, she didn’t know this boy. She knew of Shirabu, but didn’t know him. They had never hung out, and she had no idea what he was like outside of class. He seemed smart in that setting, but that said little about his personality.
“You don't really…know me, though,” Momo said carefully. “I appreciate the sentiment, but why would you ask me?”
“Because you’re pretty,” he said, tanking Momo’s hopes about his character. “And you’re not really like them, you know?”
A sinking feeling tugged on her gut. It left her throat burning and her words cold.
“No, I do not. Who are you talking about?”
“Y’know—your brother and the other one. The weird, teacher-pet kids.” Shirabu waved one hand around and rolled his eyes, like he was brushing aside what he had just said. “You’re obviously much better than them. I don’t know why you stick around them honestly, you could do so much better. If you go out with me you can hang out with me and my friends! They’d be so impressed that we got together.”
Something was buzzing in Momo’s mind, a kind of static that grew louder with every passing second, drowning out her thoughts. She couldn’t fully tell if it was born from cold terror or fiery rage. Both, probably. The two were canceling each other out, turning to stinging pins and needles that skittered across her arms and behind her eyes.
Momo was scared. She hated it but she was, because Shirabu had phrased it like…like she was a prize. A trophy. An object to win or trade, just like she had been to her before-parents. Something to marry off for riches without her say.
But Momo was also angry. Because how dare he. How fucking dare he. The Midoriyas were better than anyone. They had given her a home—they had given her a family. They were kind despite every single thing the world had thrown at them. They were good , and how dare Shirabu speak of them like that.
Formulas flashed through her vengeful mind, a hundred possibilities at her fingertips. Shirabu was still talking, and Momo was shaking with clenched fists. She could see Mei start to move out the bushes. A minute movement from Momo had her pausing, and that was all the time Momo needed.
Anger was a funny thing. Momo never really got angry, not truly, but her anger made her mind sharper, more cutting. It made her actions simpler but effective.
So, without much thought, Momo shot a jet of water from her upper arm right into Shirabu’s face.
He yelped, not expecting the use of her quirk, and went down flailing and sputtering. His hair dripped into his face and made him look like a half-drowned rat. It was simply a bonus that the water made the dirt beneath them into mud.
Momo stood over him, glaring right into his wide eyes. “Don’t you ever insult my family like that again,” she growled. “They are kinder and smarter than a thousand of you. I would have to be stupid to date someone who’s asking me out only because they think I’m pretty, and so are you! So next time use whatever braincells are dinging around your empty brain and know who you’re talking to. ”
Momo spun on a fuming heel and stormed back the way she had come, feeling three seconds away from tearing at the seams. She turned the corner before she saw Izuku and Mei appear again. They fell into step with her, and side by side they all left the school grounds.
The three of them boarded the train without a word said between them. They both sat beside her though, and Izuku leaned his head onto her shoulder. Mei chattered about her latest baby to distract her. It…it helped.
They still had a few more minutes on the train when Izuku spoke.
“I think I might be aromantic.”
Momo glanced down at him, his head still nestled on her shoulder, and felt a surge of protectiveness. Izuku may have been the first in their family, and was older than her by two months, but in some ways he was still her little brother. And not just because Momo was a good few inches taller than him. Izuku was strong and capable, but he still needed to be protected too. He still needed reassurance and someone to watch his back.
So Momo gave him a sideways hug and laid her head on top of his. “Thank you for telling us.”
“And you’re sure it’s not just because the flag matches your hair?” Mei chimed in.
Izuku snorted, shifting to look over at Mei. “No, but that is funny.”
Momo giggled, and felt her fear ebb away. She was here with her family, her trusted siblings, and would never go back to Before. She would be ok.
They all would be. Eventually.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hitoshi enjoyed school to an extent. It was nice having Kouji, Ochako, and Shouto with him, because they had each others backs and could cause minor chaos together, but it also sucked. Because now the rest of their siblings weren’t with them during the day, and they didn’t know what had happened to each other until they all got home and could share stories.
Such as today, where Momo was recounting the asshole who had asked her out while the eleven of them (including Eijirou, who came over a majority of the week now) listened. That was what Hitoshi hated the most—not being able to help his siblings at other schools. He would have loved to get a kick in on Shirabu. Momo seemed to have taken care of that though.
“He doesn’t deserve you,” Hitoshi said vehemently. “Fuck him, you’re better than him and all his cronies put together.”
“He might just not know better,” Momo said quietly. “It was rude, and I won’t talk to him again, but I…I don’t want to immediately hate him. We’re still in middle school, maybe he’ll learn.”
“Mo, you are too good for this world.”
That got her to laugh a little, at least. Hitoshi took the liberty of flopping over and laying his head on her legs. It did a wonderful job of distracting her.
“At least it wasn’t a prank?” Shouto offered.
“Yeah…”
“What happened after?” Hitoshi asked. “No one else came after you, right?”
“No, we were fine, I promise. We just got on the train and Izuku and Mei comforted me.”
Izuku nodded. “And I told her I think I’m aromantic, which I’ve been meaning to tell you guys for a while.”
Hitoshi blinked up at his brother, paused, and then nodded. It made sense. He had been around Izuku long enough to maybe suspect that was the case anyway.
“Good for you, Zu,” he said. “Have fun never falling victim to a tragic romance plot.”
Izuku just started cackling, semi-gently slapping Hitoshi’s shin in his hysterics. Hitoshi considered his mission accomplished. Momo was comfy and he was tired, so he closed his eyes. He kept listening, of course, but he was definitely going to be half unconscious in a few minutes.
“So what about you guys?” Izuku asked after he stopped dying. “Anything interesting?”
“Ochako threatened to send someone into the stratosphere again,” Shouto said nonchalantly.
“He deserved it.”
There was silence, and Hitoshi assumed Kouji was signing. The one disadvantage to closing his eyes is that he had to play a guessing game of “what is Kouji saying.” It was relatively entertaining though, to be fair. Hitoshi also knew the bully they were talking about though, so he wasn’t missing much anyway.
“Ah, yeah, that makes sense,” Momo hummed.
“We got an assignment in science,” Hanta said. “We have to think of some kind of limitation we have, and why we have it. Like, the part responsible for it. I’m thinking of doing why we can’t see in the dark without a quirk that affects it, since I can use Peeve as an example for animals that adapted it.”
“Ooh good idea.”
“I think that’s just your class,” Mina added. “Kat and I don’t have it.”
“Huh, alright then. Hey Ei, what are you thinking of doing the project on?”
“Probably my quirk,” Eijirou hummed. “It works like, uh, crap what’s the word? Um, the opposite of hysterical strength, like- how our brain kinda limits our strength so we don’t bite off a finger or something, my quirk does that but with my skin.”
“That’s so cool,” Izuku said, probably with stars in his eyes.
“Thanks man.”
“What about your scar though?” Mei asked. “If your quirk stops you from hurting your skin, and presumably if you can predict any damage, why do you have a scar over your eye?”
“Oh! That’s from when I first activated my quirk,” Eijirou laughed a bit awkwardly. “It was still new, I guess? So I accidentally cut my eyelid when my hand hardened.”
“Huh, interesting.”
Hitoshi hummed in agreement, definitely drifting off now. The voices of his siblings—his friends—were calming. They always were.
“My quirk has something like that!” Mina chirped. “My skin is basically acid-proof, since I can secrete it from most of my skin. It makes sure I don’t burn myself with it.”
“Quirks are so cool,” Izuku commented again. “Mine is basically just Thinking Plus.”
“That would have been a good name for it,” Hitoshi snickered, eyes still closed.
“Maybe!”
“Mine is already a balance,” Shouto hummed. “But genetics are weird, so my hair decided to reflect the split too.”
Hitoshi barked a laugh, and opened his eyes long enough to give his brother a high-five.
“Your siblings have different hair too, right?” Eijirou asked. “I’ve seen Natsuo’s but not Fuyumi or Touya’s.”
“Fuyumi’s is white with red streaks, and Touya’s is red, but he dyes it black.”
Mei made an agreeing sound. “It’s crispy.”
“He’s dyed it for a few years now,” Shouto translated. “And didn’t always take care of it well.”
“I’ve always wanted to dye my hair,” Eijirou said. “My parents won’t let me though. Same with cutting it shorter.”
Hitoshi had a sinking feeling. He opened his eyes, squinting up at Eijirou. His black hair hung over part of his face, hiding his red eyes. He was staring down at the floor. But his tone—Hitoshi heard the hidden despair in it.
“Why won’t they let you cut it shorter?” He asked.
“Oh, you know, just- they like it longer,” Eijirou said, laughing it off. “And they say it looks better black, so. No color for me.”
“Eijirou.” Hitoshi said flatly, sitting up to look him in the eye. “It’s your hair, you get to do what you want with it.”
“They, uh, they’d be mad though, dude. Real mad.”
Hitoshi paused, and looked to Hanta. The two had known each other for longer than the rest of them had known Eijirou. Hanta would know what was up.
And he was right. One look was all it took for Hitoshi to deduce the rest of the situation. Hanta looked frustrated, maybe hurting on behalf of Eijirou, and definitely annoyed. But, not surprised.
“Would they not accept you?” Hitoshi asked quietly, just to confirm.
“…No, I don’t think so. They wouldn’t…really understand. Last time I tried to hint at it, they said it was just a phase.”
Hitoshi scowled, and nodded in understanding. “That sucks. You already know this, but you’re always welcome here. Just call us if something ever happens, alright?”
“Yeah, I will. Thanks dude.”
Mina took the opportunity to flop across Eijirou’s lap like a cat. “You are the most valid boy.”
“Thanks Mina,” Eijirou laughed. “Seriously, it means a lot.”
“I can blow them up if they ever do anything,” Katsuki promised, leaning onto Eijirou’s shoulder. “That or Auntie can sue them into the next century for child endangerment.”
“Or Dad can set their important documents on fire,” Izuku added.
Eijirou just laughed, the sound watery with relieved tears. He curled into the hugs he was suddenly drowning in. Hitoshi joined his siblings in squishing their friend, heart aching for him. There wasn’t anything more for them to do, but it was enough. For now, Eijirou just needed to know he was loved.
Notes:
Shirabu isn’t a reference to any other characters, I realized that I’ve seen the name in another anime or two only after I already used it here. In this case I chose it because it means “silver,” and I was going for a “silver tongue” kinda thing.
Also I'm going to attempt to fix the art at some point. I need the motivation and time for it, but I'll try and minimum fix the costume refs. Thank you to everyone that let me know about it!
Anyway, Aro Izuku for the win, have a good day/night <3
Chapter 102: Redamancy
Summary:
Redamancy: the act of loving in return
AKA Surprise! The baby gays figure it out before high school
Notes:
Hiiii all you wonderful human beings, I hope you’re all doing ok <3
GOODNESS has summer gone fast. I've actually written a TON but haven't edited as much, hence less chapters posted than I would like, but they're written!! No promises When they'll be posted though, I swear every time I say it'll be soon something gets in the way. So they'll be here At Some Point
Enjoy the sappiest chapter I've written in a while :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Extraordinary things do not begin on extraordinary days. An extraordinary thing, a memory to cherish forever, can start on a mundane, normal day. They can have roots in anything. The smallest occurrence can build to something to never be forgotten. Just like a hurricane can begin from the flap of a butterfly’s wing, a lifetime can begin with a single conversation.
For two boys, it started at school. And then it grew, building into something that had the potential to be beautiful.
And on a normal, boring Wednesday, their lifetime began.
~~~~~~~~~~
“I swear to God, if you poke me with your chopstick one more time I will bite it in half.”
“No you can’t!” Mina giggled, inching her chopstick closer to Katsuki’s cheek again like the gremlin she was. “Ei’s the one with the teeth for that, not you.”
“I will find a fucking way.”
Hanta, from their place laying on the ground, just sighed. Mina lightly nudged them with her foot. They didn’t react besides scooting slightly farther out of her range, which was ultimately futile, because Mina was more flexible than any of them and had long legs.
“Actually,” she mused. “Eijirou, can you bite through wood?”
“Yep!” He chirped with a big smile. “I bit through chopsticks so much as a kid my parents got us metal ones!”
“He’s also bitten through sticks on a dare,” Hanta drawled, eyes closed.
“I only did that a few times!”
“Our teacher had to supervise recess for a week because you got a splinter in your gums.”
“…I mean, yeah, but I stopped after that.”
Mina giggled, munching on one of her onigiri. Lunch was one of her favorite times of the day. Not only because she got to eat—which was a major contributor to be fair—but because she got to see her siblings. And it was more peaceful than in a classroom. Their teacher was ok, its just that their class was a bunch of rowdy middle schoolers.
Lunch didn’t always mean a break from others though.
Mina was the first to notice them. People walked and ran around during their lunch time, but they usually avoided Mina and her siblings. Their little group stayed under their tree and around their bench. So when someone walked towards them, and didn’t turn away, Mina noticed.
They didn’t seem hostile, so she watched them with an open mind. The rest of her siblings (and Eijirou) took notice too as they got closer. By the time they were within hearing range, the person had four sets of eyes watching them.
Mina didn’t recognize them. None of the other three seemed to either, so it really was a mystery why they had approached. So she waited. The student stopped a few feet from them, looking a bit nervous now with all the eyes on them. Their details became more obvious up close. She had ginger hair, blue-green eyes, and dirt faintly smudged on the side of her face. Mina noticed that her hair had some of the perpetual messiness that Izuku seemed to have too.
“Uh, hi.”
“Hello!” Mina smiled, holding onto optimism that the person would be nice. “Do you need something?”
“Yeah, um. I don’t know you guys, but long story short, my friends are too chickenshit to ask what’s up with you all.”
Mina tilted her head, sending a confused glance to her brother. “Huh?”
“Sorry, that was way too vague. What I mean is no one can tell what’s up because you two-“ they pointed to Hanta and Eijirou “-look like brothers, and you two-“ now they pointed to Katsuki and Eijirou “-apparently act like you’re dating. But someone said three of you are siblings and, no offense, but none of you actually look related to me.”
Mina choked on her own laughter, the end result being a mix between a snort and a wheeze. “Oh that is good.”
The person grinned, rolling her eyes. “I know, right? Like, their justification was that they have the same hair color.”
Mina cackled, enthusiastically nodding her agreement. Hanta was chuckling, still on the ground, and Eijirou and Katsuki looked like they didn’t know whether to blush or laugh too. The internal struggle was visible in their eyes.
“You’re right about us not being related,” Mina laughed. “But these two dummies are my brothers. Eijirou isn’t his boyfriend yet though, he’s our friend.”
The person nodded seriously, giving them a quick bow. “Thank you. Now I can call them out for being scared of you guys, you seem nice.”
Mina beamed. “Thank you! You seem nice too!”
She smiled back, waving as she ran back the way she had come. Mina watched her go curiously. Only when Eijirou elbowed her did she realize she was staring.
Oops.
The bell rang a minute later, interrupting a debate about the merits of starting as an underground hero instead of a sidekick. The four of them rushed to collect what was left of their lunch. Students began to stream towards the doors back inside, the three Midoriyas plus honorary-Midoriya included.
Mina was just about to step through the threshold, when she felt someone grab the back of her shirt. Not tightly, and they didn’t yank her back, just held on for a moment to get her attention. That was the only thing saving Mina from whipping around with a fist. But instead she calmly turned, still ready to start a fight if necessary. There was no need for that though, since it was just Eijirou. He silently tugged on her shirt and motioned over to the side, away from other students. She followed him without question back outside.
“Need somethin’, Ei?” she asked.
“Yeah, just, one thing.” Eijirou didn’t look her in the eyes, instead nervously wringing his hands. “Could you, um, stop joking about Katsuki and I being boyfriends? I really like him, but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t like me back and hearing you joke about it kinda hurts so-“
“Wait wait wait-“ Mina put her hands on Eijirou’s shoulders, which finally made him look up. “Since when did you start thinking he doesn’t like you back?”
“Since…a while? Yeah he’s said he’s gay but that doesn’t mean he’d just automatically like me. And- it’s me. Just plain old Eijirou, you know? Why would he like me back.”
Mina took a deep breath. “You’re both idiots,” she declared. “I have not had to listen to my brother wax poetic about your eyes and stupid bravery only for you to think he doesn’t like you back. He literally couldn’t introduce himself the day we met because he thought you were too pretty. I will stop joking about you two being boyfriends if you really want me too, but not for the bullshit reason of ‘he doesn’t like me back’, because anyone with eyes can see he does.”
“…he…likes me back?”
“YES, you doofus,” Mina laughed, and stepped back. “You don’t have to do anything about it right now, but just—think about it, ok?”
“Yeah…ok.”
“Good, now, we’ve got a class to get to.”
“Oh shit-“
They both managed to dive into their seats right before their respective teachers came in. Mina shot Katsuki a thumbs up, and she got a ‘what the fuck’ face in return. She just smiled though, happy knowing things would probably work out in regards to her brother and her friend.
~~~~~~~~~~
Eijirou felt off the rest of the day.
The idea that Katsuki actually liked him back, romantically, seemed almost absurd. Sure, he was unusually indulgent to what Eijirou wanted, and he seemed to always save a place to sit next to him, and he always took care of him in that aggressive-caring way Katsuki tended towards—but still! What if Mina was wrong! It’s not like Eijirou was the only one he commonly shared food with, or gave his own version of compliments, or was the only one outside of his siblings that he felt safe turning off his hearing aids around.
…
Ok so maybe what Mina said had a little merit to it. Just a tiny bit. Maybe.
School crawled by with his realization. Classes went by in a haze of words that went in one ear and out the other. Eijirou didn’t really put much effort into listening though, to be fair. His mind was too occupied with running in circles around the idea that Katsuki could like him back, and what that could possibly lead to.
The bell rang, and Hanta dragged Eijirou out the door like always. None of them asked if he was heading back with them now, it was just a given. The Midoriya house felt more like a home every day. Eijirou loved the warm feeling it gave him, the comfort of a lived-in house.
Inko was there to greet them today, a few of her papers swiftly stored in a briefcase so they didn’t accidentally spill something on them. Eijirou was swept up in the tide of snack snatching and homework griping.
Eijirou was in the middle of listening to Momo give an impassioned speech about why potatoes were one of the best foods, when he noticed Katsuki slip out the front door. He waited a few moments before following. The door clicked almost silently behind him, none of the others taking notice.
Katsuki was sitting on the driveway, his back to the garage door. He was just staring out at the road, maybe the trees and the sky, taking it all in. Eijirou took the silent moment to just observe. Katsuki’s expression was almost pinched, his nose scrunched just the slightest bit, and his eyes narrowed at nothing. His thoughts were almost visible under the surface. For a moment Eijirou wanted to compare it to new aluminum foil—smooth and silver, but sharp and crinkled in places. He quickly brushed that metaphor aside though. Now wasn’t the time to make comparisons of Katsuki to precious metals.
With hardly a sound, Eijirou went and sat down next to his friend. Katsuki didn’t move, only glanced over, before going right back to stare at the street.
That was when Eijirou realized that one of them was going to have to be the first to bring it up. One of them had to be brave about it. He knew Katsuki was brave, knew he never backed down, but when it came to this?
Maybe they were both a little scared.
“Mina told me something today,” Eijirou said quietly.
Katsuki grunted an acknowledgement, a wordless cue to go on.
“She said…well, she said you like me back.” Eijirou nervously laughed, not looking over at Katsuki. “And at first I was like, ‘that’s crazy! He couldn’t like me back.’ But then I thought about it and it kinda made sense, in hindsight, but I still don’t really believe it. Because I don’t know if you noticed, but I’ve had a crush on you for a while now.”
He risked a glance over at Katsuki, and nearly lost the breath in his lungs.
The unadulterated shock in his eyes also held a tentative hope. A fragile kind of awe. It was like Katsuki couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but wanted to. His mouth was open but no words came out. Eijirou could almost see how he was trying to not put up walls, to let himself try and be hopeful. He knew that was rare for Katsuki. He knew how hard it was for him to let down his shields and stop fighting. To stop being ever cautious.
Katsuki had learned to cover weakness with snapping teeth and barbed words. Eijirou learned that in the quiet moments when he stayed the night and it was just the two of them awake. He was like Achilles, so strong in battle and yet had a heart and heel that could be hurt.
Eijirou supposed that made himself Patroclus. Hopefully without the dying part.
“You, uh, you don’t have to do anything,” Eijirou added. “We’re only in middle school, there’s so much more for us to see still. So I- I um, I understand if you-“
Katsuki spun, fully facing Eijirou now, and grabbed his hand. He just held it for a minute, head bowed so Eijirou couldn’t see his expression. Though he could see how red Katsuki’s ears had gone.
Eijirou didn’t say anything, even as the seconds dragged on. He waited for Katsuki to speak first.
“You are-“ Katsuki’s voice cracked, making him clear his throat before he began again. “You are an absolute dumbass.”
Eijirou couldn’t help a surprised snort, because yeah, that was exactly like Katsuki. “How am I the dumbass?” He questioned. “Because according to your sister, you wrote a poem about my eyes.”
“Shut the fuck up, I’m trying to be r-romantic and shit, shut it.”
“And yet you started by saying I’m a dumbass.”
Katsuki used Eijirou’s own hand to smother Eijirou’s grinning face. He still didn’t let go though, and Eijirou could see his blush through the cracks in his fingers, so he considered it a win.
“I want to see it with you, you piece of shit.”
Eijirou stopped struggling against Katsuki pushing at him, and the hold on his hand retreated to let him sit up. “What?”
“You said we have a lot to see, since we’re in middle school,” he grumbled. “I want to see it with you, idiot. I’m a pain in the ass though, so I thought you wouldn’t think the same.”
“… oh.”
“Yeah.”
Eijirou settled back against the garage door again, looking up at the sky. He felt the metal warp behind him slightly as Katsuki did the same.
“So, you like me,” he said slowly.
“Yep.”
“And I like you.”
“Apparently.”
Eijirou smiled a sharp-toothed grin, elated laughter bubbling out his mouth. “We’re a mess, aren’t we?”
“Yeah, we’re shit at this,” Katsuki agreed, but was smiling too.
Eijirou hummed, and leaned just far enough to bump his head into Katsuki’s. He just stayed there for a minute, enjoying the weather and the contact. His thoughts were quiet but so, so bright. Hopeful.
There were many ways this could go, he knew. Some good, some bad. Maybe there was a happy ending somewhere in there.
Eijirou smiled. He quite liked the idea of a happy ending for this story.
~~~~~~~~~~
Katsuki did not know what being in love felt like, but he figured what he felt for Eijirou was pretty damn close.
They were still in middle school, and Katsuki had seen enough of his own parents’ relationship to know “being in love” wasn’t a promise. It wasn’t a guarantee of happiness. He knew they were young, and so he wouldn’t say he was in love. Not yet.
That didn’t stop the feeling of warmth though, the solid calm that settled into his bones whenever Eijirou was around. It didn’t stop the burning desire to protect his friend.
But it’s not like he could fucking tell Eijirou that, so Katsuki stayed quiet. If it lasted, then he would bring it up. If it didn’t, then it didn’t, and they were still friends. Katsuki wasn’t backing down, fuck no, he was just…waiting. Maybe stalling, just a little while.
Eijirou didn’t make it easy though. He came back home with them more often than not. He had dinner with them and borrowed their clothes and laughed with them all. Every time he did something cute Katsuki had to stop himself from staring and maybe doing something sappy.
In summary, it was fucking awful. But Katsuki had also…never really been happier. He had been happy before, but this was a new level. Cliche as it sounded, the world was brighter. Less horrible. It didn’t make sense, but Katsuki was going to enjoy it while it lasted.
Until one of his sisters had to go and spill the goddamn beans. He didn’t know which one had fucking done it yet, but when he found out he was going to…something. It depended on how his current conversation worked out. If it worked out then maybe something mild, like waking them up at the crack of dawn for a week with a rooster alarm or hiding plastic bugs on their spot of the bed.
If it didn’t work out though? …Honestly he would probably break down first and then not talk to them for a month. They would feel bad enough after that.
But none of that was set in stone yet, because neither of them had actually worked anything out. They were just sitting on the driveway, watching the clouds and wind rustle the trees. Katsuki usually went to the backyard, but this time he didn't want his siblings to see him. He didn’t want their comforting but nosy asses to ask what was wrong.
Until, lo and behold, the reason behind his turmoil followed after him, and now they were here. Still on the driveway, still trying to sort through their own individual thoughts.
Katsuki hated his own shitty self sometimes, but Eijirou seemed to like him. Somehow. For some fucking reason.
“I think I’d like to give it a try, you know.”
Katsuki glanced over, and saw the shining ruby eyes—which yeah he had maybe complained to Mina about multiple times for how expressive and pretty they were—scrunched with a soft smile. He made a questioning noise instead of speaking. The words were too fucking jumbled in his brain anyway.
“Us, if you, uh, if you’d want to?”
Katsuki was suddenly struck with the weirdest combination of joy and a burning need to make sure Eijirou realized what he would be getting into.
“What if we find out it doesn’t work, huh?”
Eijirou just shrugged. “Then it doesn’t and we’re still friends at the end of the day. We’re not in a movie, I won’t stop being your guys’ friend just because we lose feelings.”
“…and if it does work out? What then?”
God, apparently that grin could somehow get softer. Katsuki felt his face heating up just looking at it, like he was staring at the sun. It might be midday, but Katsuki had all the light he ever needed in Eijirou’s eyes.
“Then we get our happy ending, I guess,” Eijirou hummed. “Whatever you want. A wedding, a dog, maybe even a house your siblings could come stay at. We could have that family dinner you guys do every month there. I think that sounds pretty good, yeah?”
Katsuki wanted to fucking melt.
There was a time he didn’t dare even dream of something like that. He figured he would fight his way to the top of the hero pecking order, doing everything in half the time people expected him to, and for him to move out as soon as he could. He would be at the top—victorious, but alone. No one beside him meant no one to hurt him. No one to look down on him.
But now— now —Katsuki let himself dream. He had a dream, a goal, of starting a hero agency with his brothers and sisters. He had a dream of fighting his siblings for the top, a friendly competition they would bicker about over dinner with his aunts and uncle. Katsuki let himself dream of Eijirou being right there with him, every step of the way. The two of them an unstoppable duo. The red-eyed menaces of every villain and the protectors of those who couldn’t protect themselves.
Maybe…maybe some dreams could come true, and Katsuki could be an optimist for once.
“I think I’d like to try too,” he mumbled. “If you can stand my ass for more than a week.”
Eijirou lightly punched his arm. “I’ve stuck around this long, haven’t I? If you’ll have me then I’ll have you.”
He couldn’t help laughing, rough and cracking but happy. They didn’t kiss—they weren’t quite that cliche—but they did hug. Eijirou held on like he was trying to memorize the moment, and Katsuki did too.
“I call planning our first date,” Eijirou suddenly chirped.
Katsuki could only grumble. “Better not be a fancy restaurant or some shit.”
“Nah,” Eijirou said softly, still leaning into Katsuki, “I’ve got some better ideas.”
Katsuki found himself already hopeful for the future.
BONUS :
The two of them walked inside holding hands, much to Eijirou’s joy and Katsuki’s embarrassment.
They were inside for all of three seconds before Mina leapt to her feet and yelled “I CALLED IT! Pay up, fuckers, mamas getting herself a new chocolate bar.”
Katsuki glare promised cheap plastic spiders in her bed, but she was too busy collecting money from her groaning siblings to notice or care.
Notes:
Can anyone guess who that mystery girl was? :3 (KENDOU IT WAS KENDOU)
I was originally just going to make them a random person to show not everyone in middle school is a bully to them and not everyone is terrible. But then I had the idea of making a canon character show up. So she showed up, and might be shipped with Mina in the future? Still debating that one.Anyway I just found out that I got an internship I was hoping for!! And I'll still have time to write too which I'm really happy about :D
Have a good day/night lovely people <3
Next chapter: the beginning of what I have affectionately nickname the Down With The Dumpster Fire arc :)
Chapter 103: Dry Tinder
Summary:
A mystery, a danger, and kids being kids :)
Notes:
Hey hey hello lovely people :D
This took 2 days to write somehow. Inspiration is THRIVING. And probably motivated by feeling like I had homework this weekend despite having graduated already lol
In other news I've started my internship and I'm loving it so far :D Very busy and fast paced with a lot to remember but it's been fun so far! It's also hilarious to tell my family what I've done in a day, because sometimes it's "a ferret licked me today, did you know their tongue is like a cat's?" and others its "today I cleaned a gator pond while someone else kept it away with a shovel" :DOne more note: I forgot to change the date on the last chapter since I had it as a draft for a bit, so for anyone checking this from their bookmarks, make sure you've read the last chapter! It's not super relevant to this chapter specifically but you Will be confused moving forward lol
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Ochako was flying.
Well, not really, but still. She was relying on her quirk and a rope to keep her from floating into oblivion. But she had been bored, and Shouto had been bored, and that always resulted in something the adults referred to as “chaotic events.”
This time, they were waiting for Mei to give them an all-clear signal. Katsuki and Izuku were doing reconnaissance on a potential drug ring. They were investigating while the rest of them—and Ochako did mean all of them this time (barring Mei obviously) just in case they were needed—waited for the report of what they should do next.
But it was exceedingly boring. The seven were just hiding on a few different rooftops, waiting. Ochako had nothing to do but stew in anxiety over her brothers’ mission. If she didn’t get a distraction soon, then she was going to go insane. Or do something Mei explicitly told them not to do, like sneak in to help Ares and Kitsune.
So she grabbed the rope in her belt, tied one end to her waist, and handed Shouto the other end with a short “Hold this.” He didn’t question what she was doing, just dutifully held the rope and watched her. With a second check to make sure she wouldn’t float into oblivion, Ochako tapped her arm with all five fingers.
Her quirk still made her nauseas, but it was more bearable than it had been when she was younger. Ochako slowly rose above the rooftop with the lack of gravity. Her siblings waved from across the street, giggling into the coms as she flew higher.
A few minutes went by. Ochako felt the rope tug on her waist slightly, letting her know that that was as far as it went. She bobbed in the air as she flipped around to look at the sky.
Her first thought was that it was beautiful. A breathtaking vastness. From the right angle she couldn't see any buildings, only the sky. An inky blackness that glimmered with scattered stars. Ochako felt like she was floating in the ocean, nothing in sight for miles and miles.
Staring up at the stars, she was struck with the realization that she was, in the grand scheme of things, so very small. It was calming, in a way. She still had an effect on the world. Her actions meant something, no matter how she’d probably end up as a footnote in history. It mattered here and now.
Maybe that’s what Izuku’s had in mind all along, she mused. Maybe that’s why they all followed him so easily.
“You having fun there, Harpy?” Mei teased from their coms.
“Of course I am,” she giggled. “It’s so pretty, Dae.”
Ochako spent a few more minutes just staring up into space. The chilly air didn’t bother her, especially with her costume and cloak. Her siblings chattered away in her ears, their coms on a different channel than Katsuki and Izuku. It was comforting.
Ochako spun around midair, facing the rooftops again. Shouto waved, still holding the other end of the rope. She took a moment to look around from her vantage point.
Movement caught her eye. Ochako immediately swung around to focus on it, golden eyes scanning for what was below. She made eye contact with a person, their arms still raised to flag down Harpy, or at least draw someone’s eye. But they were looking right at her. They waved again, in a “come over here” sort of way.
Ochako tugged on the rope, and Shouto began to reel her down. She kept eyes on the civilian as she went, not wanting to lose where they were. It was a building over from her current rooftop.
She touched down on the cement again, quickly untying the rope. There was no time to waste. No one flagged down a vigilante without good reason.
“Someone’s trying to get our attention,” she told Chimera. “Help me get to ground level?”
“Of course.”
They went through the usual means of getting Ochako to the ground. Which was essentially just Shouto gently throwing her off the roof with her quirk activated. Since it negated gravity, but not momentum, she floated all the way to the ground. Or the top of a closed dumpster, in this case. The lid dipped slightly when she discreetly canceled her quirk.
Shouto remained on the roof behind her. He was in plain sight, just to keep an eye on her. On the off chance something went south.
The civilian was waiting right where Ochako had last seen them. They looked a little awestruck at the sight of her, honestly. They quickly shook it off though, putting on a serious (but still kinda starry-eyed) expression.
“Do you keep up with hero news articles?” They said.
Ochako nodded. “For the most part, yes.”
“Have you heard about the recent one on Endeavor?”
Ochako immediately glanced back up at Chimera. He had gone very still, to the point that she couldn’t really see him breathing. But there wasn’t time for her to check on him right now. Ochako had to prioritize potentially dangerous information.
“We haven’t seen that one,” she said warily. “Does it have something to do with us?”
“You, uh, you didn’t hear it from me, but Endeavor plans to be in Musutafu for a while to try and go after the Sirens. He’ll be there within a week.”
Ochako blinked. She knew Endeavor was Shouto’s dumpster fire of a sperm donor. She knew Aunt Ko had taken the bastard to court and won, but that it had been pretty hidden from the public eye. Not inaccessible, but hard to get access to. Endeavor hadn’t lost his license—he had been deemed ‘too important to society’ to have his career destroyed, which Ochako would like to call utter bullshit— so he was still the Number Two Hero.
But that had all been before she met the Midoriyas. Before meeting Izuku and Shouto. She had only seen the aftermath of Endeavor, and that was already bad enough.
So Ochako felt like she was a little bit justified when she scowled and hissed like an angry goose. The civilian only nodded in solidarity.
“Thank you for telling us,” Ochako practically growled, sincere but simmering with emerging rage.
“Of course. I’ve been a fan for a while, and I know…I know how dangerous Endeavor can be. If this is how I can help, then it’s the least I can do.”
Her anger melted away for a moment, sincerely thankful golden eyes focusing on the civilian. “It really will help, and we appreciate it.”
The person nodded, and bowed to Ochako and Shouto. “Like I said, it’s the least I can do. I have to go, but—thank you, for all you do. ”
They ran back out of the alley before Ochako could get another word in edgewise. Once they were out of sight she shot back up to the roof. Shouto hadn’t moved, and Ochako only registered that her siblings had fallen silent when Hitoshi spoke.
“Daedalus-“
“Already looking for the article,” Mei growled, not aimed at any of them. “Get together and head back home, this isn’t a conversation to have out in the open. I’ll tell Kitsune and Ares to get out of there.”
Ochako gently touched Shouto’s hand with a quiet reminder to breathe. He took in a breath like a drowning man, ears swiveling down and a snarl appearing on his mask. Their masks didn’t blink, but Ochako would bet that his eyes were screwed shut underneath.
“Let’s go home,” Ochako said softly.
Shouto’s voice was wobbly and strained, audibly shifting away from Chimera and back to Shouto. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Mei’s hands hovered over her keyboard. Her eyes took in the information on the screen, but little of it sunk in.
The article they had been warned about did exist. But.
It wasn’t published yet. It was scheduled to, but not for another two days.
It involved an interview with Endeavor that was originally just a general interview, but quickly turned to the topic of vigilantes and had gone downhill from there. The man was very…passionate. About bringing vigilantes to “justice.” He went on, without prompting, about how they were no better than villains, and how it was his duty as a hero to arrest them.
Then he mentioned an upcoming trip to Musutafu in pursuit of vigilantes. Mei could read between the very obvious lines from there.
Part of her was terrified. Endeavor may be a downright bastard, but he was still the second highest ranking hero. He was strong, extremely so, and not someone Mei wanted her siblings to face. She didn’t want them to be in that kind of danger.
But another, vindictive part of her really wanted to release her vigilante siblings on him. For everything she had heard Endeavor had done—to the Hisames, to villains, and even to normal civilians—she wanted them to be the vessel for karma to kick his ass.
And yet all of that paled in comparison to Mei’s pure confusion.
The article wasn’t released yet. She had had to scan for unpublished or early released ones to find it. If Mei didn’t think to look there, or knew a bit less code, she wouldn’t have found it.
Which begged the question, how had the civilian found it? Mei could only think of three options.
One: they were an editor for whatever news network had done the interview. That was the easiest to believe, and the most likely. The author of the article had phrased the things against vigilantes, but editors didn’t usually have much say in the actual message of the article. Editors were also easy to outsource for a news station.
Two: they were the one that had done the interview. The transcript of the interview made it pretty obvious Endeavor had bulldozed over any other questions once he got onto the topic of vigilantes. The interviewer and article author were listed as different people, so theoretically it was possible.
Three: they worked for Endeavor. It was the least likely option, and didn’t make much sense, but it was possible. Not everyone who worked with the trashcan was an asshole. If they lived in Musutafu it would make sense why they liked vigilantes, though the commute to Endeavor’s agency was pretty far, even by train. Hence why it was the least likely, but not impossible.
All three were possible, technically, but none were concrete. Mei was just left with more questions than answers in the end.
So she shook her head, took a breath, and set her hands back on the keyboard. Her siblings were heading home, but they had a long night ahead of them yet. There was a lot to do still.
Mei could only hope Shouto was ok in all of it.
~~~~~~~~~~
They didn’t speak on the way home.
All of them were silent—eerily so. A boiling kind of silent that only went unbroken because it wasn’t the time to scream yet. They had to get home first, then they could do that.
Izuku’s expression was locked in a nasty scowl. For once, his thoughts were relatively quiet. Replacing the normal noise was a burning kind of protectiveness. And rage, it was definitely part rage.
Because how dare he. How dare Endeavor come after his family again. How dare the bastard try and hurt any of Izuku’s family-
Mei made a good call in making them go home, because Izuku could barely think straight, let alone continue tonight. The drug ring could wait—they could hand it off to the heroes if they really wanted, they had enough evidence—but this couldn’t. They were on their own with this.
Izuku was the first to take off his mask once they landed in the yard, practically ripping it off his face. He then spun on his heel and immediately swept Shouto in a bone-crushing hug. His brother was quick to return it, all but clinging to Izuku. It wasn’t long before Hitoshi joined in, and the rest of their siblings followed. They hadn’t seen the immediate aftermath of Endeavor, but they all knew what had happened. They all knew what the man had done. The pain he had caused.
“We won’t let him touch you,” Izuku promised, a bit of a growl slipping into his voice. “I swear it Sho, he won’t get near you.”
It took a minute for his brother to be able to speak, and when he did it was choked with held-back tears. Izuku couldn’t tell if they were angry tears or not. “I’m not worried about me.”
“Yeah well I am,” Hitoshi grumbled.
“I was young enough that I’ve mostly healed from it,” Shouto said. “But what if he hurts you guys?”
Mei’s hand on Izuku’s shoulder made him twitch, but he was quick to lean into it. “That’s why we’re spending tonight planning, Jupiter. None of us are getting hurt by that fire hazard. Not if literally any of us can help it.”
Shouto nodded, and their group hug began to separate. Momo kept a hold of his hand though. Izuku had almost forgotten that she had seen Endeavor in person before. The two stayed close as they all headed back into Mei’s shed to put their costumes away.
A few minutes later found them all huddled close in the workshop. They barely fit, but they made it work. A few of them were perched on stools or a beanbag, with the rest of them gathered in a circle. Izuku took a deep breath, and slowly let it go. With it he tried to let go of his immediate anger. Internally, he wanted revenge. He wanted to go after Endeavor and make sure the bastard never stepped foot near his family again. Izuku always tried to solve things with words where he could, but Endeavor was the exception.
Anyone willing to intentionally harm their own child in the name of “training” deserved whatever fury Kitsune could unleash.
But that wouldn’t help right now, so Izuku breathed in, and breathed out. His anger could be channeled into planning. He could make the boiling emotions work for him instead of blinding him, make his eyes sharper instead of clouded.
“Where do we start?” Kouji quietly asked.
“We have a week, tops,” Hanta said. “Sooo…do we wait it out? Go quiet until Mr. Trash Fire gives up?”
Izuku didn’t even debate it. “No, we’re not doing that. I don’t care if the Number Two Hero is out on our streets, I’m not letting him be the one to handle our city.”
“He would kill someone,” Hitoshi muttered.
The severity of the situation seemed to be fully settling in for them all. Endeavor had one of the highest body counts of any daylight hero, and a grudge against vigilantes. If they weren’t careful…
“We aren’t going to fight him then,” Momo said, leaving no room for argument in her tone. “He’s too strong for that.”
“Probably.”
“So…what?” Mina asked. “We just avoid the bastard until he goes away? I mean, I’m fine with that, but come on. Isn’t this the perfect chance?”
“Perfect chance to what?”
Mina’s smile was mischievous and just short of chilling. Izuku was so proud. “To prank the ever-loving hell out of him.”
Izuku tilted his head in thought. She…had a point. They couldn’t really fight Endeavor, not directly. Probably. Izuku wouldn’t put it past the man to spin that into an anti-vigilante narrative for the press.
But pranks? Oh, harmless little things. A few people just having fun, nothing damaging. A hundred different ideas immediately flooded Izuku’s mind. A grin spread across his face, maybe showing a few too many teeth.
“Ohhhh, I like that,” he smiled. “Revenge, and we can be far enough away that he can’t actually retaliate. Meimei, did that article happen to mention how long Endeavor would be staying?”
Her smile reflected his own, as the energy between all of them began to buzz like a live wire. “It didn’t, but my bets are we can run him out of town within, hmm, a week?”
Izuku turned to his siblings, clapping his hands together like he was about to propose a wonderful idea. And really, he was. After all, how many people get the chance to prank the Number Two Hero into oblivion? While also getting revenge on their brother’s abusive former-father?
“So, what pranks do we want to do?”
There was a clamor of noise, ten feral grins, and a rush for the document Mei had opened on her computer. Izuku found himself thinking that Endeavor had better be careful, or his reputation might take a serious blow. Maybe even make him a laughing stock online.
Izuku couldn’t wait.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Sirens Revenge Pranks on Endeavor Garbage Fire
- Water balloons
- Marshmallow gun
- roasting marshmallows on his stupid beard (As long as it doesn’t get us caught Toshi)
- More Water Balloons
- fire extinguisher
- Throw popcorn at his fucking face and watch them explode (No)
- Subscribe him to Scientology mailing list (holy shit Ochako that’s evil) (and PERCECT)
- Bugs (Kouji what do you mean bugs) (I mean lots of bugs)
- Glitter bombs
- Glitter and GLUE bombs
- Throw eggs at him!
- “Accidentally” broken fire hydrant (maybe)
- Paint trashcans to look like him (holy shit YES)
- Glue Balloons
- Bird seed after the glue balloons
- BIRDS after birdseed and glue balloons :D
- Banana peels!
- Skunk (Shouto there aren’t any skunks here…)
- Industrial Strength Fart Spray (Thank you Mei)
- Involuntary ice bucket challenge
- Koolaid in the water balloons [hair dye]
- Some of the trashcans but Bald
- Steal his wallet (Fuyumi and Touya probably still remember his pin) (fuck yeah new materials for me) (are we allowed to commit credit card fraud??)
- Hack his internet and permanently turn it off (yessss)
- Break his legs :) (MINA NO MAIMING)
- Make any speakers in his agency play Never Gonna Give You Up when he gets back (Mei you’re a GENIUS)
- Watergun with apple juice AND glitter :)
Notes:
Thank you to my lovely discord server for helping me create the list of pranks <3
A lot of you wanted to maim Endeavor. I do not blame you, I wrote him to be hated. Hope y'all enjoy this arc of dunking on him :DEdit: I appear to have made a years-long error, whoops. Mei calls Shouto "Jupiter" as a nickname here, which she's done before in ch. 79, and I thought it would be a cute but niche reference to a chimera cat I saw called that name. But my memory should not be trusted and the cat's name was, in fact, Venus. not Jupiter. So there's your explanation lol, won't use the nickname going forward but that should clear up a slight bit of confusion
Next chapter: let the pranks begin :)
Chapter 104: Ignition
Notes:
Hi I have had Way Too Much Caffeine and have gone a little bit feral. Have fun with the chapter :3
Also small reminder for this chapter: Natsuo’s quirk! He can make water in a certain radius around his hands, and can control his sweat (which he learned after the Midoriyas introduced him to ATLA). If he focuses and uses a lot of energy he can make unstable ice crystals that explode on impact with things. Not canon but I think I made it up before we knew his canon quirk lol
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
They took the next few days to stockpile and prepare. Materials were organized, weapons primed for action, and safety procedures put in place. Shouto kept a keen eye on all of it. He, more than anyone, knew how strong Endeavor was. He knew how little his former father cared about causing injuries to those he deemed villainous.
That being said.
Shouto was also having the time of his life. There was still an ever-present undercurrent of anger, and under that still was a good amount of fear, but preparation gave him something to focus on instead of that. And it was fun.
The adults were even helping. They had been a bit surprised at the development, but not shocked. Shouto had wanted to tell Mom about what was going on, so they all came to an agreement to just tell the rest of their family. Imagine Shouto’s surprise when not only his mom, but his aunt, uncle, and even Natsuo offered to help them set up pranks on the bastard.
One call to Touya and Fuyumi later and both were aware of the situation as well, though they couldn’t get off work to help with the pranks. Touya encouraged them though, his exact words being “Hell yeah, fuck him up” with the suggestion of stale soda mixed with fine glitter in a water gun. Shouto thought that was a fantastic idea.
Aunt Inko immediately began scheming with Izuku, Mei, and Momo. Uncle Hisashi quite happily volunteered to drive a group of them to the store, where they could get any materials they might need. Mom joined in on the planning, divulging things that Endeavor hated or just plain found annoying. Shouto leaned into her side while he helped.
This was revenge for her too, Shouto belatedly realized. Court had been a satisfying blow, but there was nothing like being a petty inconvenience to someone your hate. And he couldn’t even retaliate in this case. Mom knew how careful they were, and that Endeavor wouldn’t even know their identities. It would be their secret who really did it, and that was the beauty of it.
Shouto couldn’t wait.
Uncle Hisashi and half his siblings returned home with armfuls of water balloons, ultra fine glitter, discount soda, marshmallows, a few water guns (only half of which would have actual water in them), glue, corn starch for some reason, food dye, paint, a bag of birdseed, and two fire extinguishers.
Mei immediately commandeered one of the fire extinguishers, saying she was going to try and recreate it so they could have more. None of them batted an eye. Uncle Hisashi did tell her to not try and pry open the can though, since it was pressurized. She called back an acknowledgment before disappearing outside.
The rest of them began to downright gleefully sort the supplies. Half of the water balloons were reserved for actual water. Ochako took a package of balloons, the cornstarch, plus some food dye and squirreled away to the kitchen, Hitoshi following after her. Shouto took the glue and put it in the pile with glitter and lots of balloons. Izuku snagged some of the glitter and ran outside, saying something about asking Mei about glitter bombs.
Over the next three days they put everything together. By the end of it they had buckets of balloons of various contents, Mei-altered water guns (also of varying contents), paint ready to be used on trashcans, and various other means of inconveniencing Endeavor.
They were ready.
Which was good, because the next day, Endeavor arrived.
~~~~~~~~~~
Touya loved his job, he really did. However, he loved it a little bit less when the press tried to get involved.
There were some he liked well enough. Those were the respectful ones, the ones that knew heroes were human too, and not scandal-and-juicy-news generators.
Then there were the ones he didn’t like. Such as the one currently running up to him with a news camera right behind her. This was why Touya liked to do twilight patrols more than daylight ones.
“Hero Dabi! Hero Dabi!” The lady shouted, despite being well within earshot now, and blocking his path. “Have you heard that Endeavor is in town?”
Touya internally sighed, and mourned his relatively stress-free patrol. “Yes, I have.”
“...well?”
“Hm?”
Oh, teasing reporters was so funny. Touya had to hide a small grin. As non-annoying as some were, this one seemed to deserve it.
“What do you think of him being here? After how things were left-“
“I’m gonna stop you right there, ma’am,” Touya said. “The court case summary is public, anyone can review it, so I will not be rehashing what has already been legally dealt with. Especially not details that I legally cannot share.”
“Ah, apologies, I meant as heroes. He’s on your turf, right? Will there be some rivalry between you two?”
“No, there will not be. Endeavor and I are both heroes, and there is no such thing as ‘my turf.’ If he would like to help where I usually patrol, then by all means, Mr. Fire Beard is welcome to.”
“Surely there’s some sort of competition?” Jeez they did not give up, did they. “After all, he trained you, practically made you into who you are, isn’t there some rivalry to see who’s the better hero now?”
Touya stared blankly at the reporter for a solid few seconds. He wondered if she was one of his father’s supporters, or just really that desperate to create drama. It was almost sad, really. Touya had grown up with younger siblings. If the reporter was going to get a rise out of someone, it was not him.
“It seems there’s been a misunderstanding,” he said with an entirely too-sweet, plastic grin plastered on his face. “Endeavor did not make me into a hero. He made me into a child with burn scars and depression, not to mention the self-destructive tendencies he encouraged. I made myself into a hero. My family is the one to thank for that, and Endeavor is not a part of my family. I am a hero in spite of Endeavor, not because of him. Does that clear some things up?”
“I-”
“Good. I also don’t want to ‘prove who’s better,’ there’s no way to really measure that anyway. My fire is hotter, he’s had longer in the field. It’s subjective.” Touya shrugged. He pointedly did not mention that he was obviously less of a bastard fuck, since Endeavor was the one his siblings had taped a picture of to a dart board. The thing was riddled with so many holes. It never failed to make Touya snicker when he saw it on the back of Natsuo’s door.
“…noted. One more- OH! There he is!”
The camera turned, and Touya caught a glimpse of orange flames in its reflection. He turned, and lo and behold, the trash-man himself. Endeavor had stopped, and was staring at the small group.
Touya didn’t hesitate to swing around and, at least partially out of view of the camera, flip Endeavor a double bird. As much as he wasn’t going to have a “rivalry” with the man, and would be doing his best to avoid him on his routes, he was still a piece of shit. Pieces of shit get the middle finger. Both of them, preferably. It just depended on whether he had both his hands free.
He really wished he had one of the water balloons his siblings were stockpiling to throw, actually. Add some insult to the open-mouthed gape the flame-head was wearing. Or a camera, really, the reaction was hilarious- oh wait.
Touya subtly slipped away from the reporter, who was now hounding Endeavor. He continued on his route, cheerily pulling out his phone and dialing one of the top three contacts.
“Hey Mom,” he greeted. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Of course sweetheart, what is it?”
“Tune into-“ he glanced back, noting the name of the news network branded onto the camera and microphone the reporter had “-Scour News. I got a certain on-fire dumpster to make a face that everyone would find hilarious.”
“Oh my,” Mom laughed. “I will, Touya. Good luck with the rest of your patrol.”
“Will do, Mom. Love you.”
“Love you too, dear.”
Touya hung up, happily walking down the street, eyes peeled for anything he could help with. An old lady was struggling to carry groceries across the road. He walked over to help as he wondered if Keigo could record the report at home. He would find it funny.
All in all, not a horrible day.
~~~~~~~~~~
Natsuo didn’t know what he was expecting when his mom called them all downstairs, but it sure wasn’t to look at the tv and see Dabi on it. Much less with their sperm donor coming into frame in the background.
The rest of the kids were just as confused, but settled around the room like it was story time. Mom pressed play once all of them were gathered.
The reporter’s poking questions made Natsuo’s skin crawl. It was a reminder of why he didn’t want to be a hero. His solution to someone needling him would be a case of “accidental” quirk activation. Which, while probably effective, was the perfect equation for a lawsuit or something. Natsuo didn’t know, but he figured having someone’s sweat thrown at a person was grounds for some sort of legal thing. And he definitely knew using the exploding ice part unprovoked could get him in jail.
There were other factors, but Natsuo was happy in his decision to be a doctor instead of a hero.
Touya dealt with the reporter really well though. His answers were straightforward and didn’t leave much room for misinterpretation, with the added bonus of making their views on Endeavor known on live broadcast.
But then- then. Endeavor appeared. And Touya didn’t even hesitate to turn around and flip him off. Natsuo immediately lost it. The rest of his siblings did too once they saw the man’s taken aback face, the pure shock dropping right into hilarity at Dabi giving him the middle finger. Natsuo wheezed like a dying seal and fell off the couch.
He idly noted that his other siblings were also giggling wildly. Izuku took a second to write something in a notebook—which Natsuo had idea where he had gotten it—and then stopped Ochako from floating too far. Instead she dropped onto Eijirou, who stumbled a bit but didn’t fall. What did make him fall was Katsuki grabbing his arm and bodily pulling him over the back of the couch.
“Please tell me we recorded that,” Natsuo cackled.
“It is saved, yes,” Mom answered.
Natsuo kept laughing from his place on the floor. It wasn’t direct revenge, but damn was it good enough for now.
~~~~~~~~~~
Izuku looked out over Musutafu from a rooftop. Their city, their home. The place where they had begun everything. The night air was warm, but not unbearably so. Their costumes kept them nice and cool anyway, despite it being the middle of a summer night.
The city was quiet. Not silent—never silent—but calmer. Izuku scanned the streets below, knowing Mei was already getting to work behind the scenes. His siblings were all on the roof behind him, waiting for everything to be ready. They couldn’t mess up tonight. Everything had to be perfect, or at least close enough to it, or they would be risking everything.
But it would be worth it. So worth it.
“Target spotted,” Daedalus buzzed in their ears. Izuku’s ears perked up at that, eyes flickering to his excited siblings for a moment. “He’s leaving one of the Hero Commission buildings, the one on Midas Street.”
Izuku grinned, “We know where that is, don’t we guys?”
He got his answer in the form of muted hollering and sharp grins. Izuku took a moment to appreciate how they must look to an outside eye. Because, to him, these were his siblings, the people he trusted most in the world. They had his back and he had theirs. And tonight, they were ready for some mostly harmless revenge against a person who had hurt one of them. They were all excited.
But from an outside perspective? They must look terrifying. Half of them looked like smiling demons, and they were yelling like phantoms on an eerily silent warpath. They were all glowing like creatures that had dragged themselves from the very depths of the sea. Nearly a dozen of them that moved in sync and knew each other better than themselves.
They must be a sight to see, Izuku mused. But he liked the view from where he was.
“Ready?” He asked.
“Lead the way,” they answered.
Izuku happily complied, and led the charge across their city. Their nighttime playground happily guided them across the rooftops. The Sirens spread out without a word between them, occasionally taking care of a petty crime or two on their way. Daedalus kept them updated on where they should be. Once they were close enough though, they could see for themselves.
“Jeez, he really isn’t used to night work.”
“Tell me about it,” Chimera huffed.
They were two streets away, and they could already see a faint glow from Endeavor’s fire. He hadn’t turned off his fire-beard. Izuku stopped for a second and wondered if the man was stupid or just hadn’t thought of the repercussions. Because not only would that fire alert any nearby villains to Endeavor’s presence, it would also make it really easy to find the man. Or really easy to avoid him.
Maybe Endeavor had thought of that, but Izuku…didn’t think so. Endeavor had been a hero for over twenty years now—twenty-four if Izuku was remembering right—and had been the Number Two Hero for a lot of that. So for twenty or so years he had had the first pick of cases, of patrol routes, and how things were run. Izuku knew for a fact that he had only taken a handful of undercover or nighttime missions in that time.
The man was strong. He was Number Two for a reason, after all. However. Izuku would not be surprised if he had simply forgotten that fire would give away his location. Endeavor was used to the daylight and spotlight. He was used to fire being intimidation, not a beacon. Even if he had thought about it, it was likely with the assumption that the vigilantes, which he was specifically in Musutafu to look for, would not seek him out for a fight. Especially on the first night, when they weren’t even supposed to know he was there.
So maybe it was intentional. Maybe Endeavor was specifically giving them a warning—still a bit stupid in Izuku’s opinion—so he could have a big, flashy fight. Maybe the hero wanted them to gather their forces and clash on camera. A valiant battle with him as the victor, just as always.
Kitsune couldn’t help the vindictive, vicious grin from crossing his face. No matter what angle he approached the problem from, Endeavor was still wrong in his assumptions. They were looking for the man, but not for a fight. They were gathering their forces, but not with the purpose of battling the hero for pride or other nonsense.
The Sirens had every intention of confronting the man, but no one said it had to be fair.
They had already decided on a course of action at home. The pranks would begin with normal water balloons, then over the week would escalate to the worse things. Day two would be paint balloons and Mei-grade water guns. Day three would be soda and glitter in the water guns, and glitter and glue balloons. Everything after that was free game! Mei was finishing up two guns that would shoot a stream of fire extinguisher foam, Izuku was especially excited about those. Hitoshi had also convinced Mei to make one that shot marshmallows way too fast. Personally Izuku wanted to see if they could get close enough to roast a marshmallow on his beard before he wised up and turned it off.
About half of them would keep watch, trading off after a while to get their own pranks in. Izuku would lead the charge for the first group with water balloons. They did only have a limited amount, but they also had Momo, who could make more for them if necessary. She had told them that sweetly with a plotting grin, and Izuku couldn’t be prouder of his sister.
He also saw Chimera already taking out can of spray paint he was “borrowing” from Touya and Keigo. Said older brothers had happily handed over the paint when Shouto shared that part of his plan.
Shouto was the exception to both groups, actually. He didn’t want to be near Endeavor, not yet, but he did want to cause chaos. So he would be going ahead of the hero and vigilantes, and emblazoning any nearby trashcans or dumpsters in sight with Endeavor’s face. Izuku had heard him mention making a few of the caricatures bald. This idea was wholeheartedly approved by all of them.
The glowing from Endeavor’s flames grew a bit brighter, and Kitsune turned back to his siblings with an anticipatory grin. “Let’s run a hero out of our city.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Eijirou couldn’t sleep. So, like most people tend to do, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through whatever he clicked on first.
It was maybe one am when his phone buzzed with a notification. He clicked on it without much thought, only pausing when it took him to the Sirens page on Spaceline. The most recent post had a video attached. One that made Eijirou do a double take.
Making a Hero Leave Musutafu Challenge: Day 1 the title read. The thumbnail was a picture of a trashcan with…Endeavor face painted on it? Angry eyebrows took up half the face. There wasn’t much of a caption with the video, just a short sentence that read “Heard a wildfire was headed for Musutafu, and we can’t have that, now can we :) ~Daedalus”
Eijirou clicked on the video without a second thought after that.
It opened with a black screen and white text, and an automated voice reading the text.
“Disclaimer,” it read robotically. “Do not try any of what you are about to see in this video. The Sirens are trained professionals with a grudge.”
The black screen changed then, fading into color. The camera quality was surprisingly good, and, despite it obviously being nighttime in the video, Eijirou could see everything pretty well. He had a moment to wonder what was recording, when the angle changed and Kitsune came into view. The camera was pointed at a dark window that acted as a mirror.
Kitsune waved in the distorted image, tilting his head. The camera followed it. Eijirou quietly gasped as the video stopped moving, and a white arrow pointed to Kitsune’s eyes, along with text that said “recording through Kitsune’s eyes.”
They were seeing that Kitsune was seeing, Eijirou realized. He had no idea how that worked, whether it was a recording quirk or an actual camera, but he didn’t really care at the moment. For now, he could only watch as Kitsune looked away from the windowed building and towards the rest of the Sirens.
“Hello everyone,” Kitsune said, distorted through the video. “Tonight we’re doing a little bit of a…prank, I guess.”
“A challenge!” Harpy chirped from beside him.
Kitsune barked a quiet laugh. “Yeah, that works. A challenge—running a hero out of the city.”
“A bastard, you mean,” Chimera chipped in.
“Yep.”
Eijirou realized this was the first time he—and a majority of people actually—had ever heard the vigilante’s voices and seen their outfits up close. All of their voices were distorted, like they were being run through something to warp the tone. Their costumes were amazing though. Eijirou had never seen them through anything but edited together phone videos, so seeing it up close through a remarkably good quality camera was just so cool.
“Tonight, we’re starting with water balloons!” Kitsune gleefully told the camera on his face. “We already have a plan, so you guys are just along for the ride. Can’t have anyone giving away our plans now, can we.”
Eijirou stifled his laughter, watching as Kitsune walked to the edge of the building. He felt a cold flash of worry when the vigilante jumped off the ledge, only to let out a relieved breath when they landed on a fire escape a few feet down.
Kitsune made his way down to the street, footsteps silent. Eijirou could just barely see shadows creeping along the rooftops after him. He wondered for a moment what hero the vigilantes were targeting.
He didn’t have to wait long for an answer.
An orange glow came into view, and as Kitsune leisurely strolled closer, Eijirou realized it was Endeavor. Honestly, he didn’t know what to think about that. On one hand, he hated Endeavor right alongside the Midoriyas for what the hero had done. On the other, he was now worried this would be when the Sirens bit off more than they could chew.
Then again, if the video had been posted, they probably hadn’t gotten off too bad. That thought alone gave him the reassurance to keep watching.
Kitsune kept on walking closer as Endeavor came into view. Almost inaudibly, he whispered to whatever mic was recording him, “I want to see if he even recognizes me.”
Eijirou watched as the vigilante calmly approached the hero. Endeavor wasn’t facing him—he was walking away, actually—but that didn’t stop Kitsune. He instead walked a little faster to catch up, steps a little bit more audible on the concrete. Eijirou wondered if he had to do it intentionally.
“Excuse me,” Kitsune said loudly. Endeavor jolted, but didn’t jump. He didn’t turn around either.
“Not now,” the hero responded.
“Oh but sir,” Kitsune chirped, sickeningly sweet. “It’s so rare to see you outside of disasters, why are you in little old Musutafu?”
“Looking for those infernal villains your city calls ‘Sirens,’” Endeavor growled. Eijirou quietly snickered. “Now if you excuse me, I’m busy.”
“Really?”
Eijirou snorted, his tired mind absolutely cackling over Endeavor’s inobservance. Something flickered in the upper corner of the video as Kitsune said that. He paused the video and rewound it a bit, watching where the movement had been.
At least three of the other vigilantes were creeping closer by the rooftops. Eijirou pressed play again, eager to see how it would all unfold. Knowing the Sirens, it was going to be badass.
Endeavor, who still hadn’t bothered to turn around, kept walking. Kitsune followed after him, matching the hero’s longer stride with two steps of their own. Eijirou could almost hear the smug grin on Kitsune’s face when he spoke.
“Are you sure I can’t help you?” Kitsune chittered. “Maybe I could-“
“Cease,” Endeavor snarled, and whipped around.
The Kitsune-eyed view gave a wonderful close up of Endeavor going through the spectrum of human emotion in record time. His eyes widened and then squinted again in a glare, the flames around him twisting in a dangerous reflection of the man’s emotions. Yet the camera didn’t so much as waver. Kitsune held perfectly calm, looking up at the Number Two Hero without so much as a wince.
Then the camera perspective suddenly changed.
Eijirou paused just as it did, taking in the new frame to try and figure out where it was being filmed from. It was taken from the rooftops now, probably through the eyes of another vigilante. They were looking down at the street, where Kitsune was standing behind Endeavor. It had jumped back a few seconds, so the hero hadn’t turned around yet. But Kitsune was grinning, arms behind his back in a parade rest stance. He looked relaxed despite the agitated hero in front of him.
Eijirou unpaused the video again, watching intently as Kitsune spoke and Endeavor whipped around. The smile didn’t so much as flicker as the hero’s flames grew. If anything it just grew more mischievous. Eerie giggling echoed through the video, a few of the roof-bound vigilantes tittering like hungry vultures with songbird voices.
And then, quicker than Eijirou could keep track of, Kitsune whipped out something from behind his back, and threw it right at Endeavor. The man wasn’t nearly quick enough to dodge.
The flames on Endeavor’s head—mostly the part around his face—were extinguished, just for a second. The hair beneath steamed as it evaporated water. From a water balloon. That Kitsune had thrown right in Endeavor’s face.
Eijirou had to pause the video to muffle his wheezing into a pillow. It took a few minutes for him to compose himself enough to not wake up the rest of his family. Kitsune had really done it. He had hit the Number Two Hero with a water balloon. A water balloon that had hit its mark dead center too.
He settled himself before pressing play again. The rest of the vigilantes were all laughing, loud cackling that echoed through distorted speakers and down the street. Endeavor whipped around to stare at them. Kitsune took the opportunity to throw another water balloon at the man. This one hit the side of his head, and put out more fire for a second. Endeavor spun back around with an aura of murderous rage.
And yet, Kitsune only smiled. His hands were once again behind his back, and he was staring down Endeavor like someone might look at an interesting rodent, waiting for a reaction.
And react he did, to be fair. Endeavor threw a relatively slow punch. Kitsune, hands still folded behind their back, danced out of the way with fluid grace. His teammates cheered from their perches, still filming.
Kitsune didn’t stop either. For every movement Endeavor made, the speed slowly picking up as he continued to miss, Kitsune seemed to have already predicted it. They ducked and wove around the man like it was nothing. Ares was still Eijirou’s favorite, but Kitsune was quickly becoming his second favorite. If only on respect and manliness alone. Because you couldn’t dodge a pro hero without being manly as fuck on some level.
All at once Endeavor seemed to get fed up with trying hand-to-hand, and switched to using his quirk. That was when the vigilantes all moved. The camera perspective switched back to Kitsune.
With an up close look, Eijirou got to watch as Endeavor lifted a hand, flames at his fingertips, and promptly got absolutely pelted with water balloons. Something that was definitely glitter exploded out of a few of them. His fire beard was reduced to steam. The man could only stand there, now dripping wet from the assault, and stare dumbfoundedly at Kitsune. The vigilante was cackling like a—well, a fox.
Eijirou had to pause the video again to not start laughing himself. It was a struggle. He should get an award.
“Well it has been a displeasure to meet you, Endeavor,” Kitsune cackled, “but we must be off. Bye!”
And just like that Kitsune was off like a shot, ducking into the nearest alley and skittering up the walls. The video stayed in his point of view, catching the manic giggling as he launched himself back to the rooftops. Some of the other Sirens were waiting at the top to meet him. Basilisk was laying on the roof, wheezing. Kitsune stepped around her like it was normal.
“One night down, guess we’ll see how many more it takes,” Kitsune snickered.
Athena popped into frame, silver smile bright. “We have more surprises in store for tomorrow, made by one of our very own Sirens.”
“We do! Thanks for the reminder, Athena.”
The silver goddess nodded, smile turning happier instead of mischievous. How Eijirou could tell that through a digital expression, he didn’t know. Athena turned back to whatever she had been doing before though. It seemed like that was petting the mane of Chimera.
The footage of the vigilantes cut out, the screen shifting to a picture of a trashcan. A trashcan that had Endeavor’s face spray painted on. It floated across the screen, text beneath it reading “Chimera’s Art Contribution.” Eijirou had to try very hard not to lose it again.
After that the video was over, leaving him to wonder what the fuck he had just witnessed. Did throwing water balloons at a pro hero count as petty crime? Maybe not a crime, but it certainly was petty, and also hilarious. Eijirou made a mental note to see if they posted another video the next night…maybe the following morning though, instead of—he glanced at the clock—after three am.
Eijirou still wasn’t quite tired though. So he pressed play again to watch a second time, watching extra close for details he had missed.
The Sirens new game was going to be interesting, that was for sure.
Notes:
Blame any errors on the fact that I’m editing and posting this while we’re maybe on evacuation watch for a fire and two cities over have already begun to evacuate so I am Stressed :p
Anyway hope y'all have a good day/night! <3
Chapter 105: Hunting Grounds
Summary:
The kids have a little fun with their challenge :)
Warnings: the court trial with Endeavor is brought up but nothing in detail, just warning for notice's sake
Notes:
Hey hi hello my lovely people I have missed you
This (as usual at this point ;-;) was supposed to be out last week. But Brain had other plans apparently. Anyway! Things happened and now have another wild thing to use if I ever have to play 2 truths and a lie. The current ones I have are: I've accidentally drank poison, I have burnt my wrist reaching for strawberries, and I've been bitten by an opossum :)
I'm really not that interesting but it's hilarious to spin it like I am. I'm probably one of very few people that even worry about having something to say ready to go lolAnyway I love Kouji and I love that I get to throw in random animal knowledge when he’s around because I adore being able to use my random knowledge in writing. I may have also made Pan slightly more feral than Kouji normally is but that was a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Kouji was honestly having a lot of fun with pranking Endeavor. It was pretty easy to find the man. Not only did he never turn off his fire hair, but he was also loud. At least for someone out at night. It never took long for rodents or bugs to find the hero.
The first night had gone really well too! Kouji was one of the look-outs for that night, but that just meant he got to be a part of the pranking squad for their second night. They got to use water guns Mei had made! And water balloons filled with paint, which Kouji made sure to stock up on. The paint was washable, unfortunately, since transporting them was pretty risky to their own costumes, and Mei didn’t want them to stain their pockets. It would still leave a mark though, so Kouji’s goal for the night was to make Endeavor’s costume look like a kindergartener had tried to make their own version of camouflage. That is to say: multicolored and as bright as possible.
He kept double checking his mask as they made their way towards their goal of the night. Mei had managed to put cameras in most of their masks, specifically in the eyes, and their first prank video had come out awesome because of it. Mina really had an eye for editing.
A helpful owl called out that “the fire man” was up ahead, or at least the closest translation of it, along with her annoyance at the man’s volume, which was apparently scaring away all her food. Kouji thanked her for her help and suggested a nearby field for hunting. Reminding himself to switch back to Japanese, Kouji—Pan right now, he reminded himself—relayed the information.
“He’s down on Fifth,” he told them.
“Fuck yeah!” Ares crowed through their coms, and Kouji just knew he was smiling that one specific feral grin that reminded him of a wild mink. “Who’s ready to hunt down a fucker?”
He just got cackling back, and Kouji couldn’t help giggling a bit too. There was something so freeing about letting himself loose as a vigilante. Kouji-in-the-day made sure to always be gentle, because he knew what consequences could follow if he wasn’t. He was less worried about it now, with the Midoriyas—specifically because he knew any of his siblings could take whatever he could dish out, even on accident—but it was still a minor worry with anything smaller than him.
But Kouji-at-night? Pan? He could be whoever he wanted. The anxiety was still there, his disorder wouldn’t suddenly disappear with a mask, but it was certainly easier to handle. He could be the predator to daytime’s prey. Free to let sharp teeth show, unrestrained and unburdened by ever-present fear. Kouji hadn’t been partially raised by a cat for nothing. Peeve would be proud of him.
He had struggled with the difference for a while. The dissonance between masked and unmasked didn’t make sense at first. Kouji had given it thought. A lot of thought. And had come to a peace with who he wanted to be in both. Because for all he was gentle and careful, it was because he chose to be that way now, and letting himself be less careful for a while was alright.
He would always be kind, and always be careful, but at night he could just…loosen that a bit. And Kouji was happy with that difference. Most of his siblings had fallen into something similar.
Said siblings were beginning to crawl over the rooftops like a pack of hungry rats. Kouji followed without an ounce of hesitation. He knew that his mask’s dark green eyes glowed bright, glinting off his curled ram horns. The night was young, their target was a glaring splotch in their darkness, and Kouji had an array of colors ready to stain the man with.
It didn’t take long to get there. Endeavor had obviously moved, but not far. Kouji was almost surprised with how easy it had been to find the hero. Then he put some thought into it, and decided it really wasn’t shocking. The man was a daylight hero. He was used to dragging attention to him, to standing in the spotlight. The night was unfamiliar to him as the dark side of the earth was to the burning sun.
At the first glimpse of Endeavor, they all fell silent. Kouji knew his siblings well, so he knew they were all mentally cheering, but they were also smart. And at the base of it all, he recognized that they all changed when the masks went on. They were a pack on a hunt right now.
And a predator’s roar was not meant to be a precursor to an attack. A roar was for victory, and saying this place is mine.
Kouji palmed a balloon, idly noting it was a blue one. Basilisk, Jorogumo, and Chimera slipped away for their various jobs. Shouto wanted to make more art. Basilisk and Jorogumo were going to check the surrounding area and be backup. Maybe take some potshots if they were close enough.
Kitsune didn’t descend to the ground like the night before. Kouji was honestly thankful for that, his brother being so close to Endeavor had been a bit nerve-wracking. Logically, he knew Izuku could probably outmaneuver the hero if it came to it, but he didn’t want it to come to that, and his anxiety didn’t care about logic either. Kitsune was ridiculously competent though, so Kouji had no qualms with him running ahead to a better perch down the street.
Endeavor suddenly stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. Kouji took it for the warning that it was, and hit the deck. His siblings followed suit. They had turned their glowing off a minute before, which let them all look over the edges of the buildings they found themselves on. With the darkness as their cloak, Endeavor saw nothing.
Really, the man hadn’t even thought to bring some kind of night vision goggles when he knew his patrols would be at night. Kouji, just for a second, questioned how Endeavor had made it to the top of the hero charts. He quickly shook off the thought. Underestimating Endeavor might be what the man wanted, and Kouji wasn’t about to grant that to the hero.
The next moment he wondered if there was a ranking for underground heroes. Huh. Maybe they could make one. That’d be neat.
Endeavor turned back around after a second, not able to spot any of them. Harpy giggled through their coms. Gorgon hissed out a “shhh,” which just made more of them quietly giggle.
They all saw Kitsune stand up farther down the street, brilliant green now glowing stark against his backdrop of night sky. He was smiling—or, more specifically, baring his teeth in a challenging grin. Kouji rose to his feet and got ready to throw.
Everyone watched with bated breath as Kitsune raised his Mei-altered water gun. He wasn’t the best shot out of all of them—that award went to Mei, even when she didn’t use her quirk—but he was still good.
So they watched as he pulled the trigger, and the water shot down from the roof.
It hit Endeavor square on the side of the head, undoubtedly going into his ear and eye. Kouji would wince in sympathy if he had any for the man. As it was, the hero didn’t stumble, but he did startle and sputter as the water hit. Part of his beard steamed.
Endeavor whipped around to where Kitsune had been, once he could see again, only to find the vigilante wasn't there. He was, however, two buildings over, and taking aim again.
Kouji laughed, and took that as their queue.
He happily watched as the paint balloon arched through the air, like a beautiful rainbow, and landed splat on the back of Endeavor’s head.
A colorful hail of more followed, all from different angles. Endeavor roared in rage, fire flaring out around him. It didn’t do much but evaporate the water from the paint, making it flash-dry, and melt the plastic of the balloons. Kouji reached for another balloon, orange this time, and timed it just right to smack into Endeavor’s chest. Some of it splattered over the man’s no-longer-flaming chin.
They all let up for a second so they could arm themselves again. It gave Endeavor a second of false hope that it was over. The man spun around, intent on…something. Kouji didn’t know what he thought he was doing. Fire wouldn’t reach them from multiple stories away—not with how his quirk worked at least, Izuku had explained it to them—and it wasn’t like he could do much against the ensuing pelt of paint and water.
It was when Endeavor made for the alley beside a building that they scattered, giggling all the while. They all collectively skittered away from where Endeavor was, very loudly, clanging his way up the fire escape. He reached the top to see about a dozen glowing eyes staring at him.
Everyone collectively froze, waiting for the other side to do something. The Sirens more in anticipation and barely restrained glee than anything.
Kitsune silently crept up from the other building behind Endeavor. He raised his water gun, and Kouji saw Ares’ hand creep towards the matching one holstered at his waist. Time seemed to slow for a glorious moment. Endeavor raised a hand, expression halfway to scolding like an angry teacher, and Kitsune pulled the trigger.
Ares was a fast draw, and with Endeavor distracted by the stream of water hitting the back of his head, it let him draw his water gun and shoot him in the face. His open-mouthed face.
“Bullseye!” Ares cackled as Endeavor sputtered.
Kouji couldn’t help dissolving into full-bellied laughter. Something about the hero just looked so ridiculous, he couldn’t help it! None of his siblings could either. Soon the rooftop was filled with the cackling of the Sirens, sounding like a pack of hyenas. Or a victorious murder of crows.
Endeavor’s following roar and wave of fire brought them back to focus, but didn’t stop the occasional giggle from slipping through their masks.
“I’m out of balloons,” Kouji admitted.
Gorgon snickered from his place somewhere behind Kouji, trying to contain it long enough to talk. “I am too.”
“I’m ready to let the trash fire burn himself out if you guys are,” Athena said.
Kouji nodded, silently assessing their escape routes. They were on the rooftops—there wasn’t exactly a limit to their routes besides the roads, but they were in the part of Musutafu that had a lot of buildings close together.
“Race you guys home,” one of his siblings dared, and that was all any of them needed.
Kouji tore off in the direction of home, occasionally giggling still. Oh he could not wait to see the footage from tonight.
~~~~~~~~~~
Keiryaku was beginning to maybe rethink his internship.
Not because of the hero he was working under, Kidou was awesome! And he was helping Keiryaku get better at using his quirk, since they were kinda similar. His internship had been great so far actually! Most of the sidekicks at Endeavor’s agency were nice, though there were a few Kidou had warned him to keep his distance from. That was ok though, Kidou was nice, and Onima kept them company if he was bored.
The thing that was making him rethink his internship was Endeavor himself. The hero had seemed almost larger than life when Keiryaku first saw him. He looked the part of Number Two Hero, standing taller than most of the room, his quirk constantly flickering around his head like a crown.
Then Endeavor had turned his burning gaze on Keiryaku, and he felt like maybe he understood why people were kinda scared of the hero sometimes.
Keiryaku was short, he knew that. It was a combination of his mother being very short and him being the oldest of his three siblings. But the way Endeavor quite literally looked down on him made him want nothing more than to be taller, to look the hero in the eye and ask why he was staring. Instead his heart began to jackrabbit in his chest as his courage quailed.
“Your intern, Kidou?” Endeavor had asked gruffly, moving his gaze to Keiryaku’s mentor.
“Yes, sir,” Kidou said calmly. “This is Sure-shot. I was just about to take him out for a midday patrol.”
Endeavor nodded, like he had decided something. “You both will join me for patrol in Musutafu tonight.”
Keiryaku wanted to sputter and flail—because Musutafu —but kept his mouth shut and limbs still. He still screamed mentally though. Mostly the word fuck on repeat.
Kidou made a face at what his boss said, so at least Keiryaku knew he wasn’t the only one who thought sending him, who didn’t even have his provisional license yet, to a city known for their villains was a bad idea. A terrible one, really. His classmates whispered about that city. How it was used as a training ground for UA since there were so many crimes. That it was no wonder a record number of vigilantes had appeared there. Maybe some of it was exaggerated—nothing Nako said could be entirely trusted—but still!
“Sir, with all due respect, is that really-“
“He will not be fighting,” Endeavor scoffed. “I simply need more eyes, and your quirk will be valuable if needed.”
Keiryaku thought that just sounded like a fancy way of saying he needed help, but he wasn’t about to tell Endeavor that.
“Is it the vigilantes again?” Kidou sighed.
Now that caught Keiryaku's attention. “The Sirens?”
Endeavor’s gaze snapped to him, and he promptly regretted opening his mouth. Kidou gave him a look as well. Not the one Keiryaku’s teachers tended to give him, that one looked more like “shut up” than Kidou’s. His was more just—curious.
“You know them?” Endeavor demanded.
Under the weight of the hero’s gaze, Keiryaku couldn’t help answering, even if his tongue felt tied in knots. “Uh, y-yeah, kinda. My friend mentioned them, a- uh, a while ago. I mostly just know their n-names though.”
“They’re pretty popular on Spaceline,” Kidou mentioned, bringing Endeavor’s attention back to him. “That’s all I know though, along with that you’re trying to bring them in, sir.”
“They’re pests,” Endeavor grumbled. “And annoying ones. I need more eyes.”
“Will do, sir. I’ll make sure we’re ready when you’re set to leave.”
Endeavor nodded in thanks, and then walked away. Keiryaku didn’t realize he was holding himself stiff until Kidou’s hand clapped him on the shoulder.
“You’ll be fine, kid,” he said gently. “Musutafu is a…challenge, but we’ll both be there. Vigilantes wouldn’t dare try something with two heroes there.”
Keiryaku nodded, but felt a thread of disbelief wiggle its way between Kidou’s words. The Sirens were strong. They had already been active for longer than most vigilantes usually lasted. He didn’t think they would attack him just for being a hero student, but still…he didn’t know enough about them to say it with confidence.
But now was no time for being scared. Keiryaku set his jaw, and made up his mind. He was going to be a hero, so he had to act like one. And that included information gathering. If the vigilantes were active on Spaceline, like Kidou said, then he could learn about them.
“You coming, Sure-shot?”
After patrol. He still had a job to do first.
“Coming!”
~~~~~
Keiryaku set down his phone, and looked up at the ceiling. It held no answers. His mattress was comfy at least, and his pillow didn’t make his neck hurt, and he could still taste some of the street food Kidou had let him get on patrol on his tongue. The acknowledgment of his senses helped reel in the…not fear, but, shock? Incredulity? Something like that.
He had looked up the Sirens after getting back from patrol. That had led him to their Spaceline account, and the video that had been posted that morning. The video in itself was pretty funny. Keiryaku didn’t like that they were pranking Endeavor, but he had to admit, the sight of the powerful hero looking like a drenched cat was objectively amusing.
That wasn’t all though. There was a question at the top of their account, right above their latest video.
“Why are you pranking Endeavor specifically??” the question had read. Keiryaku had expected an answer like “it’s funny” or “this is our territory, he doesn’t belong here” or something else equally kinda ridiculous but logical enough they would use it as justification.
That hadn’t been the answer. Instead it was just a single line, and a link to a document.
“A small sliver of justice,” the Sirens—Kitsune himself, this time—had answered. The link was to a court case. The summary was publicly accessible, but with the actual transcripts and details hidden unless one had special clearance. That was already a bit curious, so Keiryaku read the summary.
He finished with a deep pit in his stomach, and so many thoughts that he could do nothing but stare up at the ceiling and let them swirl around.
“Enji Todoroki was declared guilty,” the paper had summarized, “on accounts of domestic abuse, child abuse, neglect, bribery, and second-degree murder.”
Keiryaku hadn’t…he hadn’t immediately recognized the name. But as a hero student he had access to court cases sometimes, through his school. So he opened it with his official hero student login.
He almost wished he hadn’t.
“It was declared imperative to society that Enji Todoroki (Hero Name: Endeavor) not have his license revoked,” the uncensored case read. “A sum declared appropriate was paid out to Rei Hisame.”
Keiryaku took a deep breath. He could interpret legal jargon. Not very well, but he could. And he knew that meant Endeavor had gotten off with a slap on the wrist. No wonder the vigilantes didn’t like him. There didn’t seem to be a concrete relation, but some scrolling later had shown the vigilantes obviously had a strong sense of justice. Their own justice, but justice nonetheless.
Keiryaku didn’t know what to think about it. About any of it, really.
If Endeavor had done that, how was he still the Number Two Hero? Why didn’t more people downright riot against the idea? One of the top heroes, an abuser. A- a villain? Keiryaku wasn’t blind to the problems in their world, but had it really fallen that far?
He hoped it hadn’t. Even if it had, maybe he could help fix it. He was already studying to be a hero, maybe that could be a part of his goal? Root out corruption.
In that case, Musutafu would probably be a good place to start. Kinda like reconnaissance, for when he got the ball rolling. Maybe it was a good thing he was going there tonight after all. Endeavor notwithstanding.
The hours seemed to pass far too quickly after that. He blinked and found himself already in the city.
Keiryaku stared out the car window, and tried not to shrink away from how dark the streets looked. It was nearing midnight, so of course it was dark, but the streets almost seemed to wreathe itself in deep shadows. Streetlights glowed a hazy yellow onto the cement, but their light only stretched so far.
Musutafu looked cold.
Endeavor parked the car in the agency that was letting him patrol their routes. Keiryaku hesitated before stepping out of the car, just for a moment. For a split second he was six again, scared of the deep end of the pool, thinking a shark was hiding in the shadowy tiles. Except this time it felt like a villain was going to jump out of the oily pavement and take a swing at him.
He shook it off quickly though. No villain would do that, not with two other pro heroes here. Besides, even if Keiryaku’s opinion on Endeavor was worse now, he still had to acknowledge how strong the hero was. Begrudgingly, but still. He couldn’t deny he was still the Number Two Hero, morally undeserving of that spot as he seemed to be.
Kidou gave him a nod when he fell in at the hero’s heel. Endeavor gruffly told them to wait outside, then walked inside to check in. Keiryaku took the chance to look up and down the street. It was very…still. No sign of any vigilantes. He did see a rat scurry around a corner though, so there was at least some life around.
“Keep your eyes up tonight,” Kidou told him. “The Sirens like to come from the rooftops. We’re here to be eyes, not muscle. Stay out of Endeavor’s way as much as possible.”
Keiryaku nodded seriously. “Understood, sir.”
Kidou seemed to soften a bit at that, and reached out to ruffle his hair. “Just be careful, ok kid? Endeavor is a powerhouse, and you can’t redirect his quirk like I can. Just be our eyes tonight and you’ll do fine.”
Keiryaku grinned, halfheartedly swatting away the hand messing with his hair. He made a noise of agreement right as Endeavor walked back out the agency’s door. The two of them straightened up at the sight of him, ready to go.
“We will follow the same route I took last night,” Endeavor told them. “I found them near the same area both nights, they should be there again.”
Endeavor started walking, expecting them to keep pace. Keiryaku scrambled for a second to stick close to Kidou. He did not want to fall behind tonight. The vigilantes may seem to have some morals, but he wasn’t putting all his trust in that. Not when he knew some vigilantes had grudges against heroes, and he was equivalent to a baby hero.
They marched down the street, eyeing alleyways and street corners. Keiryaku copied Kidou and kept glancing at the rooftops. He didn’t… quite know how vigilantes liked to travel, but he figured it was a good idea to copy his mentor. Running across rooftops seemed tiring though. They would have to watch their footing and keep running for miles. Keiryaku would much rather the slower street patrols with occasional battles that came with being a normal hero.
The three of them got two more streets down before something caught Keiryaku’s eye. He turned to look at one of the rooftops, but didn’t see anything. Just the same darkness and night sky they had seen for the last however long. But there had been something. It had been barely a flicker, dark enough to have been a bird or something, but definitely there.
And yet he didn’t catch anything else after a second or two more of watching the one spot. Keiryaku shook his head, turning to catch back up with the heroes. Kidou had pulled ahead to talk to Endeavor, probably something about strategy.
Only, Keiryaku caught another flash of movement to his right. He stopped to look, and his breath hiccuped in his throat.
Two spots of glowing yellow stared back at him from the roof. He didn’t blink, and the yellow didn’t either. It was too far, and too dark, for him to be able to tell if they were eyes, or just lights on the low roof. He hoped…
A choked yelp drew Keiryaku’s attention back to the two heroes ahead of him, and he had to immediately stop his instinctive lunge forward.
One of the vigilantes—Gorgon, if he remembered correctly, because of the snakes around their head—was clinging to a lamppost above Endeavor’s head. But he wasn’t attacking. Keiryaku took another second to assess the situation and…he kind of wanted to laugh at it, actually.
Because Gorgon was hanging sideways off a lamppost, with a long skewer extended over Endeavor’s head of fire, roasting a marshmallow. Keiryaku didn’t know what he was supposed to think about that.
Endeavor hasn’t actually noticed yet. Instead he was looking at Kidou, who had been the one to yelp. It took another few, long seconds before Endeavor realized Kidou was, in fact, staring at something over his shoulder, and began to turn around to look for himself.
And just like that, Gorgon was gone in a flash. He skittered up the lamppost and leapt at the wall of the nearby building, landing on a window ledge and hauling himself back up to the roof. Endeavor fully turned just in time to see Gorgon’s boots disappear.
Keiryaku risked a glance to where he had seen the yellow, and wasn’t even that surprised to see it was gone. He turned back to Endeavor and Kidou—just in time to see a marshmallow hit the side of Kidou’s head. His mentor jumped, and spun in the direction it had come from. Another beaned him in the forehead.
Keiryaku should probably be more worried, he realized somewhere in his mind. But the image of his mentor looking so confused at the marshmallow was enough to make Keiryaku have to stifle his giggling. The second one had him choking as he tried to stop himself from laughing.
Then Endeavor turned to look too, and took a marshmallow to the nose, thrown significantly harder than the other two had been. Almost like it had been shot out of something.
Keiryaku gave up and doubled over laughing. Kidou was snickering from next to a scowling Endeavor.
Keiryaku felt a pinch of vindication. The marshmallows weren’t hurting anyone, and the inconvenience was the least Endeavor deserved, in Keiryaku’s mind at least. He was going to be a hero. He had to act like one, and maybe…maybe the vigilantes had the right idea.
So when he saw the vigilante aim a distantly sparkly water balloon, he just asked Kidou to come look from his angle.
~~~~~~~~~~
It was their fourth night of pranks, and Endeavor had brought different people this time.
Shouto was honestly happy with how the last three nights had gone. The first night had been glorious, and the second even better. Watching his sperm donor have to trudge down the street dripping with paint and water was the best thing he had seen for a while. Night three had gone better than any of them expected, since Endeavor had brought a sidekick and their intern with him. The sidekick hadn’t done overly much to defend his boss, and the intern actually enabled them.
Pelting Endeavor with glitter balloons while one of his interns lost it laughing in the background had been the highlight of Shouto’s entire month.
The internet seemed to agree, since the video got quite a bit more attention than their last two had. That didn’t stop the thing from being taken down—and subsequently reposted—almost immediately, but still. Their name was becoming more well-known. Shouto wondered if it would be enough to make the trial common knowledge, and if it would finally be enough to get Endeavor’s license revoked.
Keigo was already in the top ten, and pulling his way closer to Number Three. It would be pretty cool to have his brother-in-law in the second spot instead of his sperm donor. The first two rankings hadn’t moved for twenty years, Shouto thought it was about time for some change.
That was for thinking over later, though. For now all Shouto had to worry about was aiming the soda-and-glitter loaded water gun Mei had given him. There was no little intern this time, but there were two other sidekicks. One was chattering away, kissing up to Endeavor. The other was actually doing a decent job of looking for them.
Too bad Shouto was hunkered down on a roof like a sniper, all glowing parts of his costume turned off so he wouldn’t be spotted. Izuku was on the adjacent roof doing the same. Mina was leading the rest of the Sirens on various rooftops and alleyways, balloons of varying contents and inconvenience ready to be thrown.
Katsuki had bet that whoever could make a sidekick run away would win half a batch of cookies all to themself, and Shouto wasn’t about to pass that up. He had a sweet tooth, a water rifle, and the soul-deep desire to beat his siblings—Shouto was ready to make an adult cry if it got him those cookies.
The only obstacle was that every single one of his siblings was thinking the same.
Shouto slowly breathed out, steadying his aim towards Endeavor. The man was jumpy tonight, seeming to have realized the pattern would probably hold, and he would be found by the vigilantes long before he spotted them. He was right, to be fair. They hadn’t even needed Kouji’s help to find him tonight.
Endeavor was oblivious as Shouto took a breath and aimed.
The sidekick to the right, the one actually keeping watch, yelped as someone hit him with a shot of glittery water to the shoulder. Shouto squinted at the opposite roof, and could almost hear Gorgon’s snickering. He quickly changed his aim.
The other sidekick howled as Shouto hit him square on the back of their neck. They went down screeching like a banshee, much to the snickering of many Sirens on the surrounding rooftops. Endeavor turned around with a scowl.
Shouto had never pulled a trigger so fast. His next shot of glitter-soda-water—more like a pressurized water bullet than a stream from a normal water gun—hit the man’s chest. Shouto took a second to snicker over it. He knew how hard it was to get glitter out of- well, anything, and combined with sugary soda meant Endeavor’s shirt was going to be sticky. A special kind of sensory and visual hell.
One sidekick backed up to Endeavor, fists up like a guard would help him. The other sidekick was still on the floor, loudly pretending they were dying.
That was when the hail of balloons started. Shouto was almost impressed with how well his siblings had all coordinated their throws. They were staggered just enough that there wasn’t much of a pause as the others reloaded. The non-screechy sidekick froze for a second, but quickly recovered enough to drag his partner from the pavement and under an awning.
Endeavor wasn’t so lucky. Nor as smart.
Instead the man stood there, glaring up at the rooftops as he got pelted with whatever the Sirens had decided to fill water balloons with tonight. Shouto spotted some marshmallows in the mix. They were half melted as they hit Endeavor, sticking on impact and promptly turning into a gooey mess because of the fire.
Shouto was having the time of his life.
He also still really wanted those cookies, so he changed his angle, and aimed at the loud sidekick hiding with their partner.
The shot missed the first time, but it did get close, and made the two sidekicks jump. The second and third shots did hit though. Shouto couldn’t see where, but he knew they connected because the loud sidekick screamed again. Hopefully whoever lived nearby wasn’t too bothered by the noise. Or that at least they’d find it funny.
“RETREAT! RETREAT!” The loud sidekick yelled, sprinting out from their hiding place and fleeing down the street.
Their partner followed after a moment, casting a glance back to Endeavor, but still running. The hero made a wordless noise of rage, and began stomping after them. The hail of balloon stopped, letting him leave. Shouto, however, wanted the last word.
Endeavor, with his back turned, didn’t see the shots to his head coming until they had already doused his hair. Shouto outright cackled on his roof. The man continued stalking away after his sidekicks.
“Well that went well,” Kitsune laughed in his ear.
Shouto pulled himself together, still smiling as he asked a question. “Think he’ll still come back tomorrow?”
“Yeah, probably.”
Shouto hummed, already scheming what tomorrow would bring. For now though, they had work to do. Their city wouldn’t get better by itself.
Shouto cast one more look to where Endeavor had disappeared. He tilted his head, considering what had happened. How not once had he thought of the man as his father tonight. Endeavor was a hero—a wrongfully licensed one—and…that was it. He was not Shouto’s father, he was not the monster under his bed anymore.
Endeavor was still his abuser. He was still someone Shouto never wanted to be stuck around again, but this—this he could do. This was his revenge, some small penance for what had happened to him and his family.
Besides, the spot of father figure had been taken for years now, and it certainly wasn’t Endeavor who held it.
Shouto hummed, getting to his feet, and made a mental note to hug Hisashi in the morning. And his mom. And Inko. And Touya and Fuyumi when they could be dragged free from studying hell. He would tell them all thank you, and maybe make them breakfast.
Because Shouto never had to question whether he was loved now, and he wanted to make sure they knew he would always love them too.
Notes:
Touya taught Shouto how to play catch when he could sneak Shouto away and that’s a headcanon you can pry from my cold dead hands. They may only have an 8 year age gap but Touya protected him (at least in NOLB canon, been way too long for me to say anything about actual canon) and Shouto absolutely makes him cry by getting him a “dad that stepped up” shirt as a joke. Keigo 100% steals it and then Mei gets him one too, because that’s Her father figure.
Did you known a mink takes down prey (sometimes over twice its size Or More) by jumping on its back and biting its neck? Fascinating :) They also hunt rats :))
Hilariously double checking this information led me down a rabbit hole of a guy that uses his minks to hunt rats as a form of pest control. Super cool :DAnyway that second part was meant be a Whole lot shorter, but Keiryaku took the scene and ran with it. I love him now. Cute little dude. And an explanation for why there isn’t more public outcry for Endeavor being convicted: the average person doesn’t know! And can’t investigate because it’s behind a wall Endeavor/Hero Commission put up!
ALSO HEY WE HAVE MORE ART!! I want to hang this on my walls look at how beautiful it is. Both are by lemonvolley on tumblr! Thanks again Lem I adore them <3
Katsuki “not flipping anyone off”
Everyone's favorite knockoff Spiderman (BEAUTIFUL)
I love you guys! Have a good day/night <3
Chapter 106: A Literal Dumpster Fire
Summary:
Who would win: An elite group of heroes double the age of their opponents, or, 9 nighttime gremlins
Warnings: talk of depression with Eijirou in the first section of the chapter, and giving someone a concussion probably but most of y'all won't be sad about that one
Notes:
Hello :D
Need music to listen to for this chapter? I recommend You’re Not Welcome (Naethan Apollo), Mob Song (from Beauty and the Beast), 16 Shots (Stefflon Don), and Dangerous Woman (Power-Haus version), they’re what I had on repeat for writing this chapterReminder that almost everyone thinks the vigilantes are young adults/teenagers. When they are, in fact, currently 12. Height is no indication of age in their society, and they don’t really get close enough for normal civilians to tell their height, so people assume they’re adults. They have the attitude of 12 year-olds though. As in “I will fight God for a bagel” mentality and the confidence to make you think they’d pull it off.
Kinda minimal editing because I may be getting sick again and don't have the energy for more effort. I did edit this earlier so there shouldn't be too many errors, but let me know if there are some you guys catch!
Also!! Last note: I learned today that escrima sticks (and the fighting style in general) originates in the Philippines! Which is really cool and I want to learn more about it when I have time, because it’s so FAST. Just thought that was cool and you all should know about it. Shout out to any Filipino readers, you guys have an awesome martial arts style
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Eijirou couldn’t sleep. Again. He stared up at his ceiling, wondering if he put a hand to his chest if he would feel the aching abyss nestled in his ribs. It was ok during the day, he could see Katsuki and the Midoriyas during the day, but at night…
It was ok though. He would see them tomorrow. It became more of a plea as every night alone went by—his parents never home and uncaring even if they were—but he would survive. Even if it hurt. He couldn’t change that.
His manta of “it’ll feel better tomorrow” didn’t really help him sleep though. A glance over at his clock showed it to be close to two am. He had school tomorrow.
Eijirou’s mind didn’t seem keen to cooperate with the plan of sleeping though. The last time he hadn’t been able to sleep earlier that week, he found the Siren’s video. That made him jolt towards his phone. The vigilantes had posted a video every night for four days now, and he figured the trend would continue.
Sure enough, after quickly navigating to the page, Eijirou found the fifth video. The original this time too. It hadn’t been up for more than ten minutes, so it hadn’t had the chance to be taken down yet. He quickly saved it though, just to be safe. It would undoubtedly be gone within the next hour.
Eijirou burrowed himself into his blankets to watch, and pressed play.
The video opened to one of the vigilante’s point of view, some text at the bottom saying it was Harpy’s. They were looking at Kitsune, who was leaning over the edge of a building, appearing calm and collected.
Still calm, Kitsune said. “We have a problem.”
“What kind of a problem?”
“More heroes,” Kitsune answered. “Five, including the walking trash fire.”
There were murmurs around the camera, too quiet to pick out the words. Eijirou saw a few of the vigilantes shift on the edge of the frame, nervous. They were strong, but five licensed heroes? Eijirou was worried for them.
The video wasn’t titled anything bad though, and it had been posted, so he figured they would be fine. Hopefully.
Kitsune turned towards the camera then, a grin on his fox-featured face. “What do you guys say to something a little… different, tonight?”
“What are you planning, Kitsune?” Athena asked, half skeptical and half amused.
“If he brought more heroes today, he’ll probably do the same tomorrow. So…who’s up for a little game?
Eijirou could almost feel the anticipation through the screen. The vigilantes shifted closer, eager to hear what their leader had to say. Kitsune was bouncing on the balls of his feet, still smiling.
“We split up into groups of three. Draw away a hero or two, and whoever loses their tail the fastest wins.”
“What’s in it for us?!” Ares jeered, laughing.
Kitsune tilted his head for a moment, like he was listening to something. Then his grin grew sharp. “Winners get a new toy to play with for a night. There seem to be new boomerangs to test out.”
“Fuck yeah.”
“So what do you say?” Kitsune cackled.
Eijirou thought the ensuing hollers and laughter sounded an awful lot like hyenas on a hunt.
~~~~~~~~~~
They were being hunted. It was the only explanation for the prickling that poked into the back of Enji’s neck and made his hair stand on end. And yet, no matter how fast he turned or where he looked, he saw nothing. No person, no eyes, just—nothing.
Enji fucking hated it. He hated that it was a reaction he could not control, some part of his instinctual mind saying that he was being stalked, and should prepare to fight or flee. It made no sense. The vigilantes—because who else was dumb enough to be watching him —weren’t even that big of a threat. They were nuisances at best. Annoying little villains-in-the-making that no doubt had washed out of whatever job they had had before.
They were not a threat.
And yet.
Enji whipped around towards another flicker of movement that wasn’t there. He growled to himself, continuing on their march. He had brought four heroes with him. Three were heroes Enji had offered to team up with from bigger cities, and one was from Musutafu itself. Enji didn’t know whether to be glad it wasn’t Touya, since the boy had been a failed quirk, or annoyed, since even Touya would be more competent than the majority of the population. At least anyone of his blood took orders.
The backup was necessary, in any case. The bloody vigilantes wouldn’t cease. Even two sidekicks hadn’t managed to lure them down, or climb to the rooftops quick enough to capture them. Enji had tried that for four nights now, and none had been successful. So, backup. Four other heroes should be enough to bring the petty villains in.
If the pattern held, he would find the vigilantes, and while they were distracted being irritating, at least two or three of the heroes should be able to capture the lot of them. It wouldn’t take more.
The prickling persisted as they marched on. Enji had found the vigilantes in a similar part of the city three of the four nights, so that was where they headed.
A noise from an alley had them all spinning to face it. At first there was nothing, and then two eyes blinked into place, illuminating part of the pitch-black alley. They had no pupils, just two shades of unblinking yellow.
Red light almost seemed to drip down the form, revealing a feathered face with pointed ears and a black beak. Crimson feathers rested behind their back, the red light rolling down them like melted wax. None of the heroes moved for a moment.
The vigilante grinned, a weird expression on a beak. “Hello there!” they chirped. “Would you like to play a game?”
Enji waited, expecting a trap of some kind. No other vigilantes appeared though. Two of the other heroes he had brought along took that as their cue. They dove into the alley, trying to grab the vigilante. One threw out a lasso, part of the gimmick of their quirk Enji hadn’t bothered to look into, and missed. The bird vigilante neatly dodged it, and led the other hero right into its path.
“Is that all you can throw at me?” They laughed, somehow up on the fire escape ladder now. “Come on, the burning pile of trash has been after us all week, and that’s the best you can do?”
Enji lobbed a fireball at the vigilante, scowl twisting his face. The vigilante didn’t bat and eye at it and jumped farther up the fire escape, part of the ladder turning red-hot behind them but not melting. The other two heroes yelled that it was getting away, and raced to climb after the bird.
“Come and get me!” The vigilante cackled, scaling the ladder like gravity didn’t matter.
Enji watched the vigilante disappear over the rooftop with two heroes in pursuit. Good, they could handle one of the pests, even if there were inevitably more of them waiting up there. The telling crunch of someone walking on the worn street behind them had Enji quickly turning around.
He was greeted by the sight of two vigilantes—one on the ground, and another hanging off the nearby lamppost by a string. The one on the ground had a crest on their helmet, and glowing red eyes that stared right at Enji. The one on the lamppost just looked like a spider. A yellow, glowing spider, but a spider.
There was no mouth on the red-eyed vigilante, but the screen of its face moved to mimic a sneer. “Took you long enough to notice us, you unobservant fucks.”
“Why you-“ one of the heroes currently in front of Enji growled, pulling back a fist.
The vigilante looked supremely unimpressed, and even had a raised eyebrow expression. The spider vigilante started laughing.
“Wow,” the red vigilante drawled, sidestepping the punch, and the following kick. “You really went for the D-grade idiots? I thought the Number Two Shithead would have more money to throw at us.”
“We’re hurt!” The spider laughed, foot seemingly now attached to the post somehow. “Do we really mean so little, Endeavor? I thought we were friends now!”
Enji glared, raising a hand to throw fire at the bug and her accomplice. That was when something— someone —landed on his shoulders.
Enji instinctually lit up his shoulders and head, fire flaring bright and hot. The weight left just as soon as it had landed, but it still made him stumble a step. He whipped around to see Kitsune. The fox was grinning, feet steadily planted into the back of another hero, who was now face down on the cement.
“Come on then,” Kitsune chittered. “Didn’t you want to capture us, Endeavor?”
That was all he needed. Enji roared, and threw a stream of fire at the vigilante. High, so it didn’t hit the other hero, but he knew the fox would dodge it.
And he did, ducking right under it and into an alley. Kitsune laughed, sounding every bit of fox he was theorized to be. Enji didn’t particularly care. The vigilante was holding still again, so he threw more fire, the edges of his vision turning orange.
Kitsune leapt back again, laughing as he turned and started running. Enji wasn’t going to let him get away again. The vigilantes had made a fool of him. They had made him look ridiculous to an audience of thousands. The vigilantes would pay, and be put where they belonged.
He was not the one being hunted here. He was the pursuer, not the prey. Endeavor was scared of nothing, and stopped at nothing to bring justice. He was the powerful one, not a lowlife scum of a not-quite-villain. HE was the one in control here.
(And yet.)
It took him far too long to realize Kitsune had separated him from the other heroes. Even before that, the bird vigilante had split their force nearly in half. Endeavor shook off the vague unease. The other heroes would be fine, they could handle some half-baked wannabes. And Enji may be alone, but so was Kitsune.
Or he was, a minute ago.
Enji slowed to a stop, looking up and down the street the alley had opened up onto. It was abandoned. A light flickered behind him, but there was no movement. No green.
Kitsune had gotten away, and Endeavor didn’t even know when.
He let out a wordless bellow, spinning on his heel and stalking back the way he had come. The vigilantes had to be around somewhere. They could only go so far.
(Kitsune watched from three stories above his head, perched on a windowsill, snickering to himself as Endeavor walked away)
~~~~~~~~~~
They crashed back into Mei’s shed giggling like mad. Hanta was wheezing so bad he was practically draped over Mina’s shoulders, who wasn’t much better. Kouji had Shouto on his back, who still had yet to stop giggling from Izuku telling him about Endeavor when he couldn’t find Kitsune.
Mei met them at the door, practically throwing it open with a blinding smile. She quickly dragged them inside and pulled up the video she had been working on since they had all successfully escaped the heroes they had drawn away.
By the end of it half of them were on the floor. Ochako was crying. Shouto wheezed out something that sounded like “we have to send that to Touya” but also could have been incoherent gibberish.
Izuku gathered up his calm, trying his best to stop the giggling for a minute. It took a bit, because the image of Endeavor’s offended face when asked if that was the best they could do would forever live in his memory now. He did eventually regain the ability to speak.
“Ok, ok, I have a plan for tomorrow,” he said, catching his siblings’ attention. “I call it: Plan Dumpster.”
Izuku’s grin could have cut a mushy tomato with how sharp it was.
Tomorrow was going to be fun.
~~~~~~~~~~
Endeavor brought even more heroes the next night. Because that would help, apparently. Izuku quietly snickered. The hero may be powerful, but this was the Siren’s home turf. This was their playground, and the man had no power here. Increasing their numbers by two wouldn’t help.
Izuku turned his head, Ochako falling into his line of sight. “Camera ready to go?” He asked quietly.
“Ready,” she confirmed.
“Good. I’ll be safe, I promise.”
“You better,” Harpy groused. “Or I’ll have to send Endeavor to space, and who knows what he’ll do to the atmosphere.”
Izuku snickered, and stood up. He silently crept down towards the ground again, in an alley in front of where Endeavor and his entourage were headed. Mina and Hitoshi—all suited up as Basilisk and Gorgon—had already taken care of the two heroes Endeavor had brought that decided to take to the rooftops. They had been smart to do that, but still not smart enough. Up against two of their fastest and ambushed by one of Mei’s new sleep bombs, they hadn’t stood a chance.
They were fine, but would definitely be confused when they woke up in an hour or so and were zip tied to a roof.
That left five, just like last night. They weren’t going in groups of three this time though. Tonight, their goal wasn’t to lose their tails, it was to bring them as far away as they could. Izuku had drawn a map for them, and Mei made sure they all had it in their mask feed.
Ochako and Izuku were the only ones with a different job. Endeavor was nearing the end of his rope after last night. If humiliation by itself wouldn’t drive him out of Musutafu, then losing to them just might.
Izuku slipped further into his vigilante mindset as hit the ground. He had all of his glowing parts lit up bright, easy to spot and relatively easy to track. Two more heroes peeled off, not listening to their teammates warnings about chasing the vigilantes.
If nothing else, Endeavor could be trusted to gather heroes like him. Egotistical idiots who thought with their wallets or wanted to gorge themselves on glory.
One more went after their teammates after seeing Katsuki follow from behind. That left two: Endeavor and the hero from Musutafu, Quills. Fire and a porcupine-like quirk. Both a challenge, but far from impossible. They just had to get Quills to go after someone. He seemed to have a grudge against vigilantes, so it shouldn’t be too hard.
Hitoshi with a water balloon is what did it. He threw three, one hitting Endeavor and the other two breaking on Quills’ spines. The prickly hero roared and ran at the building Hitoshi was perched on. Izuku spotted Momo’s helmet next to him, and Shouto’s mane behind him. They would be fine.
That left Endeavor. The man looked a second away from going with Quills—and that wouldn’t do.
Izuku shook himself to get rid of any lingering nerves, and stepped into the open night.
The hero spotted him immediately. Kitsune stood still, just smiling. Endeavor paused, seeming to use his brain for once. Izuku tipped his head up, looking down his muzzle at the man, then turned around and began to walk away.
The heavy footsteps were easy to hear. Izuku picked up his pace to a swift walk, keeping one ear angled back towards Endeavor. The man crossed the distance quickly, but not quick enough.
Kitsune ducked around the corner, out of sight for a precious few moments, and took off at a sprint. Izuku knew he was fast. He was small and nimble, and had been running for nearly as long as he could walk. The street blurred beneath his boots as he stretched the distance between him and the fiery hero.
“Corner,” Harpy snapped out, and Izuku slowed back to his walking pace.
Endeavor barreled around the building, and Izuku was already more than halfway to his next corner. The man looked confused for a second, according to Ochako, but ran after Izuku again.
Kitsune reached the corner, and took off again. This time it was down an alley, so he stopped at the next corner, and waited. Ochako gave him the signal that Endeavor had him in his line of sight, so he turned the next corner, the man only catching a glimpse of him before he was out of sight again. They made eye contact for a split second. The yell to stop was enough to have Izuku snickering again.
The cycle repeated. Alley after alley, open street after street. Izuku led Endeavor on a wild goose chase through the city, only staying close enough to be in sight, but well out of reach. He did have to duck a few fireballs, but that was easy enough with the distance. Ochako followed from the rooftops, keeping a running commentary going as well as telling Izuku when to walk or run.
Izuku could practically feel the growing rage rolling off the man.
He listened as his other siblings began to report in that their heroes were on the other side of the city. Daedalus gave them their escape routes, and let Izuku and Ochako know they would shortly be tuning in to her commentary.
Izuku happily hummed as he jogged into the last alleyway of the night. This one was wide, had a fire escape, and a few dumpsters. Most importantly: it was a dead end.
Izuku didn’t even pause as he jumped and swung himself onto the lowest level of a fire escape. The metal creaked, but didn’t shift. One more level up and Kitsune crouched down, watching the entrance.
Endeavor charged in with all the grace of a rampaging rhino. Kitsune watched, almost fascinated at the pure confusion and lack of subtlety. The man walked farther into the alley, but didn’t look up. Again.
The hero was used to straightforward villains. Ones that announced themselves, or caused enough destruction to be obvious. He dealt in the daylight.
But vigilantes were born in the shadows, not the sun. They hid away and ambushed their targets. The Sirens were no villains, and Kitsune was no daytime nuisance.
Izuku crept onto the railing of the fire escape, balancing on the thin bar as he looked down at Endeavor. He palmed his escrima sticks, extending them to their full length. His weapons in hand, Izuku was ready. He sent one last glance to the opposite roof, where Harpy was perched on the ledge. She waved, then turned her focus back to their target.
“Keep an eye out for us, Daedalus,” Izuku said quietly, and turned his speakers back on in his mask.
With no further delay, Izuku stood, and stepped into open air. It wasn’t that high up, and Endeavor was pretty tall.
Kitsune landed on Endeavor’s shoulders and immediately pushed off. The man stumbled forward, the fire he flared with going into the brick wall. Izuku landed on the ground behind him, and took off towards the nearest wall.
Endeavor turned around in time for Kitsune to ricochet off the wall and plant a boot into the man’s shoulder and push. Izuku launched himself into the air, using the shoulder like a springboard, and came down with both escrima sticks crossed on Endeavor’s raised arm. He had lifted it to throw fire. Kitsune didn’t even feel the embers.
Izuku took the momentum and spun to the side, landing behind Endeavor. A quick kick to the back of his knees had the man cursing. He danced around the opposite flailing arm coated in flames, using one stick to keep it out of the way as he ducked under, and using the other to swing up at Endeavor’s face.
The man leaned back far enough to avoid getting smacked, which let Kitsune duck under his other arm and get some distance again.
“Awww,” Izuku cooed mockingly, voice distortion turned up as high as it would go. “Did the little villain get some bruises?”
Endeavor glared, standing to his full height to glare. “Who are you calling a villain, vigilante.”
“You, because I see no hero,” Kitsune chittered. “Only a villain with a license and money to throw at his problems. I may be on the wrong side of the law, technically, but at least I have morals.”
“You-“
Before Endeavor could spew whatever vitriol he wanted to come out of his mouth, Izuku sprung into action and closed the distance between them again. He batted away the fire and spun his sticks to fan it away. Endeavor was too big for Izuku to sweep his ankles like he did with his siblings, but he was definitely big enough to jump on.
So Kitsune leapt, scrambling up the side of Endeavor and thanking Mei for making their costumes relatively fire proof. He didn’t even feel heat from his gloves and boots. A foot planted into Endeavor’s shoulder let him jump back off to the man—who was wheeling around and trying to swat at him like a bug—and onto the bottom level of the fire escape. He hung from the metal, upside-down, and grinned down at Endeavor.
The man obviously hadn’t been expecting for Izuku to launch off the escape and right at his face. More specifically, his shoulders. Kitsune used Endeavor’s shoulders as a launching point for a back handspring. He spun in the air, silently thanking Mina for teaching him how to do that, and landed on his feet.
Endeavor didn’t fall down, but he did stumble. He turned to face Kitsune again with an even more severe scowl than before. Izuku hadn’t thought that was possible.
“Do you intend to keep dancing around then running away?” Endeavor demanded, fire building in his hands.
Kitsune took a step to the left, and Endeavor followed. Soon his back was to a wall, the one opposite the fire escape.
“Oh, no,” Kitsune laughed, beaming in his mask. “I did want the chance to punch you, yes, but no. I was merely the distraction.”
“The what-“
Harpy appeared behind Endeavor like a red demon. She gleefully smacked his back with both hands, and Kitsune jumped forward with his escrima sticks swinging for Endeavor’s head. He connected pretty easily, since the man was distracted with his feet leaving the ground.
Endeavor wasn’t unconscious, but he was definitely disoriented. Izuku had made sure not to hit him that hard. Harpy made quick work of tying a rope to the now-floating man either way. Together the two of them quickly pulled Endeavor over to one of the open dumpsters, maneuvering him just right so he was floating over it. Izuku grabbed the lid.
“Now,” he said.
Ochako canceled her quirk, dropping Endeavor into the—partially filled—dumpster like a bag of rocks. Izuku swung the lid shut and quickly zip tied it. He left a rock shoved under the lip to leave a crack for air, since he didn’t outright want the man dead. At least not in any way traceable to them.
Kitsune turned back to Ochako, a brilliant and gleeful smile on his face. “Well that went well!”
“It did,” she cackled. “And it’s all on video too, from both me and everyone watching.”
Izuku tilted his head in question, then looked up to the rooftops. He saw the outline of his other seven siblings. It made his smile soften, knowing they had been there if anything went wrong.
“Let’s not keep them waiting then,” Kitsune said softly. “And the sooner we get home, the sooner Daedalus can show the footage to the world.”
Harpy kept cackling as they climbed back up to the rooftops. Their siblings were laughing too, congratulating them on besting a pro hero, bastard he may be.
Izuku let himself think about what he had just done, and laughed along with them. A bit hysterically. He had just fought a pro hero in hand-to-hand, and won.
Izuku glanced over to Shouto, and found his brother laughing too. He wasn’t hunched in on himself, and he wasn’t falling quiet. He was smiling brightly at their victory. Shouto wasn’t scared.
Izuku went over and threw his arm around Shouto’s shoulders. His brother gladly leaned into it, signing “ok” with one hand. The two of them followed as Momo began to lead the way home, all of them tired and ready to turn in early tonight.
“Do you think it was enough?” Shouto asked, merely curious.
“I hope so,” Izuku hummed. “If it wasn’t, I’ll throw him in another dumpster.”
Shouto just snickered, “I know you would.”
Izuku just grinned, and took off to follow their siblings, Shouto not far behind.
Yeah, they would be ok.
Notes:
*off screen: the other kids throwing various things at the other heroes, ranging from water balloons to marshmallows to balloons filled with expanding foam. One got knocked down and three vigilantes all yelled STRIKE and spun around like in Wii bowling. This was absolutely in the video*
Y'all it was SO hard to write Endeavor. I just could NOT seem to get his voice and internal dialogue right. Maybe because he always seems like the “do, no thinking” type, but still. Also absolutely not used to fighting fast little buggers in close quarters, hence why Izuku, very much used to that, won that fight. If it had dragged out for longer he might not have.
Hey. Hey do y’all remember Quills? He’s been mentioned before. Remember him. He becomes important later :)
Chapter 107: ¡Hasta La Vista, Fuego de Basura!
Summary:
(rough) translation: See you later, trash fire!
Notes:
Hello hello hello my lovely people
Stardew Valley is updating on the switch tomorrow so, seeing as that's all I can play on as my computer would try to light itself on fire, I wanted to get a chapter out before that consumes my entire mind for the next bit lolAnyway! For music I listened to Snakes (the one from Arcane) on repeat for most of this chapter. And next chapter escalates REAL QUICK, so enjoy this before the angst train hits :)
Kinda minimal editing with this one, I kept getting stuck so decided it's fine the way it is and am moving on. Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
They saw it on the news the next morning over breakfast. Momo nearly choked on her cereal when she saw it, but paid rapt attention as Ochako dove over the back of the couch to turn up the volume.
Endeavor was on the news, face emotionless and cold as always, fire flickered probably too close to the reporting standing next to him. The camera captured enough to tell her that they were in front of Endeavor’s agency.
The man looked the same as he had when Momo first met him, back when Shouto had only been a friend at galas. The scowl was a carbon copy of the one all those years ago. At least this time it was through a tv screen, and Momo could laugh at him for how it made him look like a cartoon villain.
She also knew what the man looked like with paint dripping from his hair and glitter stuck to his suit, so that significantly dulled whatever fear she had previously held for the man.
They caught the second half of whatever the reporter had been saying. “-here to ask about the investigation into the Musutafu vigilante gang, also known as the Sirens. Endeavor, what can you tell us about how this mission went?”
“They’re nuisances,” Endeavor grunted. “Nothing more than pests of the neighborhoods. My patrols in Musutafu were consistently interrupted with petty pranks of theirs, and I witnessed no redeemable qualities.”
“So are you going back to capture them?”
“No,” the man grumbled. “The vigilantes learned to guess my movements and knew the city layout better than I, so I deemed the mission ineffective for my skills. A hero more specialized for this job already has a case open.”
The reporter looked confused. “So you aren’t going to arrest the vigilantes?”
“I will be leaving it to the heroes in Musutafu,” Endeavor answered-but-didn’t-answer.
“O…k. Thank you, Endeavor. Do you have any other comments on the topic?”
Endeavor looked right into the camera, still scowling. “I advise adults to monitor what children are consuming about vigilantism. It is a vile path meant for cowards and villains, children should understand that and be steered away from mention of it.”
The reporter nodded, taking back the microphone. “And that’s today’s segment on Endeavor and the ongoing case against the Musutafu vigilantes. Tomorrow will be a feature report on the history and endings of vigilantism. Now back to Saguaro in the studio.”
Ochako turned the volume back down, since they weren’t especially interested in the sports segment. The room was quiet for a few moments, all of them processing what they had just heard.
Then Shouto started giggling, more than a little bit hysterically, and the rest of them followed, adding in their own cheers of triumph.
Momo slumped in her chair and just breathed. They had done it. Endeavor was gone from their city. She had been more scared for her siblings than she wanted to admit, with how close they got to the man. Endeavor had no qualms about injuring people he saw as villains.
But they had done it. They had driven a hero from their city, and it hadn’t even taken a full week! Not only that, they had beaten the Number Two Hero. It wasn’t in a fist fight, yeah, but then again, they were vigilantes. They didn’t usually deal in direct fights. That was for the flashier heroes and villains willing to come out into the daylight.
The Sirens were ambushers. They could fight if necessary—they wouldn’t have made it this far if they couldn’t—but it was always second to surprise. Quick and easy was safer to knockout drag-down fights, and they all knew it.
That being said, Izuku had, technically, beat Endeavor face-to-face. Momo wasn’t confident she herself could do it. But Izuku—he was the best of them. He would deny it every time someone mentioned it, but he was. Maybe he wasn’t the surest shot (Mina and Mei, tied), or could lift the most weight (Kouji), or could focus for the longest (Mei), but he didn’t have to be. Izuku was the quickest. He was the surest on his feet, the most confident once he put the mask on.
Izuku had the strongest morals. Momo never, not even for a second, doubted he would always make sure they all got home. He may be the kindest of them, but he could also be the most vicious if one of them was in danger. He was loyal to them, and in turn they were loyal to him. Their brother they would follow into hell and trust he knew how to keep them from burning. That or start a coup among the demons, but that wasn’t here nor there.
“I see you kids have been productive,” Rei mentioned calmly. Momo had forgotten she was in the kitchen.
Izuku turned to her, almost bouncing in his seat in excitement. “Have you seen the videos, Auntie Rei?”
“I can’t say I have.” Rei took a sip of her morning tea. “Would you like to show me?”
Izuku immediately took the phone Rei held out to him. Momo took another bite of cereal, patting Shouto on the shoulder. He looked half hysterical and half thoughtful. Whether that was a good thing was anyone’s guess.
Momo gently poked him. “What are you thinking?”
“Nothing.”
“Liar. What’s going on in your head?”
Shouto hummed, not looking at her. “I’m almost sad that he didn’t know it was me. As Shouto, not Chimera. I just…”
“It’s better he doesn’t,” Momo gently reminded him. “I understand why, Shochan, but he won’t react how you want him to. You know that.”
“…yeah, I know.”
Momo wrapped an arm around his shoulders, leaning precariously across the gap between their chairs. Shouto leaned into it like an affectionate cat. It was his left side leaning into Momo, so it was nice and warm.
Rei snorted as something happened in one of their videos, and Izuku started giggling and explaining what they were doing. Momo saw Shouto smile.
She didn’t have to worry about him, Momo knew. Because at least if he did decide to do something stupid, they would have his back.
~~~~~~~~~~
Shouto knew Momo had a point. She usually did, and she definitely did this time, but he wanted to do something. Just a hint, maybe. He just felt like it was unfinished. They had done well, messing with Endeavor and laying the stones for his reputation to be dragged through the mud, but Shouto just…he wanted the man to know. Not that Chimera and Shouto were one in the same, because that would be stupid, but something. Something so the man knew he wasn’t off the hook. That this was personal.
So he asked two of the people most likely to enable him, Mina and Hitoshi, to come with him on a little trip. Aunt Inko had given them a knowing look as they left. Their excuse of “sibling bonding time” was probably slightly suspicious, in hindsight, but she hadn’t told them no, so. Off they went.
The three of them were relatively quiet on the way there. Shouto held his bag close to his chest, his vigilante costume hidden inside and out of sight. Mina was chattering away, telling him about how she wanted to try a new boba place near the station. Hitoshi didn’t say much, but he kept his shoulder pressed to Shouto’s left side in silent comfort. Both were appreciated.
Once there, the three split up. The two very sternly told him to be careful, and that they’d be there if anything went wrong. Shouto couldn’t be more grateful for them. He made sure he told them, before he turned and walked to the nearest alley that would hide him from view.
Shouto slipped into the mindset of Chimera once the mask went on. The cape easily snapped into place, a comforting weight along with the suit pulled on over his clothes. It wasn’t quite as light and streamlined-feeling as when he wore the under clothes specifically meant for his costume, but it would do. Not like he would be fighting much crime anyways.
Everything in place, and bag carefully hidden, Chimera climbed his way up to a roof. The nearby train station helped orient where he was. His orange eyes zeroed in on where he was headed, and Shouto took off.
It wasn’t hard to find where he was going—not with how obnoxiously tall it was, and how there was a giant letter “E” on the front of it. Shouto made a b-line for it.
The streets were bustling below him, but thinning. With the sun setting people began to return home. It was the time between daylight heroes clocking out and the odd underground hero checking in. Shouto knew that well, and settled in to wait.
Endeavor left his agency just as dusk began to settle.
Chimera watched with sharp eyes as the man left the building. He cataloged the empty street, the relative quiet charged with anticipation. With feline-serpentine grace, Shouto slipped down closer to the street. He balanced on a ledge, crouched in front of a store sign, the neon just beginning to buzz to life.
Endeavor walked closer, scowl in place. Shouto wondered if his mother had ever warned him that if he made that expression too much that it would get stuck. Probably not, seeing how the bastard always had the same expression on his face.
It was now or never. Shouto made sure his speakers were on, and did the one thing they didn't do during the day: call attention to himself.
“Hello, Endeavor.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Enji had thought he was done with the vigilantes. He had washed his hands of the pests and whatever sticky concoctions they had chosen to torment him with. His agency was decently far from their territory.
And yet one of them sat above him on a small ledge, one of the bars that hadn’t yet opened for the night, but had their sign on and glowing bright. The vigilante was watching him intently. Their mane pooled around their shoulders, the light catching the goat horns on their head. Enji felt familiar rage kindle at the sight of the orange eyes. There was no fear there, no wariness. They did not believe Enji was a threat, and that was what made him angry.
He considered just throwing a fireball and being done with it. The vigilante wasn’t worth his time, and Enji had a formal dinner to prepare for as the Number Two Hero.
He shook away the idea though. The vigilantes were like speedy cockroaches, and it would only result in a neon sign needing to be replaced and damages due to the establishment. It wasn’t worth it.
But before he could just turn and walk away, the vigilante spoke again.
“Your crimes have not been forgotten, Enji Todoroki,” the vigilante said. Their voice echoed, soft and loud all at once, but very, very clear.
“What crimes,” he sneered, needing to prove the vigilante was wrong. “Any trial I have faced I have been acquitted from.”
The vigilante tilted their head, and their orange eyes burned. “Not every trial, false hero.”
Enji shifted back, eyeing the vigilante. He wasn’t used to chill, but it wound itself up and around his limbs like hissing snakes. Because there was one, single trial.
Enji went still, and the vigilante smiled, all sharp teeth and burning, knowing eyes.
“Your crimes have not been forgotten,” they repeated. “Do you understand, Enji Todoroki?”
“Who are you,” Endeavor snarled. “Did someone put you up to this?!”
The vigilante straightened, but their grin did not budge. “I am someone who saw what you did, Mr. Todoroki, and want you to know that.”
Enji growled again, and moved to throw fire at the vigilante, property damage be damned. They only chuckled, like they had been expecting it, and leapt away. Coward. They disappeared over the edge of the rooftop, and vanished without another sound.
Enji ground his teeth, staring at where the vigilante had disappeared. The court hearing was public access, but behind walls to prevent a majority of the population from viewing it. How a vigilante had seen it, had known, unnerved Enji more than he wanted to admit.
It unnerved him so much that he didn’t notice the two children across the street, nor the civilian filming from inside a nearby shop.
~~~~~~~~~~
Shouta nearly broke down Tsukauchi’s door when he heard what had happened.
Nearly a week. A week that Endeavor had been near his vigilantes, and no one had thought to tell him. He had had to learn from Hizashi that the gremlins were messing with the hero! They were all fine, thank God, but they had been pranking the Number Two Hero for nearly a week. And no one had told him Endeavor had been added to the case.
That meant one of two things. Either Tsukauchi or someone else had forgotten to tell him the Number Two Hero was being added to their case to try and bring in the vigilantes, or , the burning-match of a man hadn’t done any paperwork, and just declared that he was going after the Sirens.
Shouta had a much easier time believing one of those, and it wasn’t the option relating to Tsukauchi. The detective had always been reliable.
Which is why he only nearly broke down Tsukauchi’s door, and did not actually slam it through the wall.
The detective looked up, startled for all of a second, before he sighed. That boded well for Shouta. Or not, depending on what his next words were. Tsukauchi knew him well though, and Shouta hadn’t even opened his mouth before the detective was answering his questions.
“No, Endeavor did not go through proper channels to get himself assigned to the Sirens’ case,” the detective said tiredly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “He claims that he did not know there was an active investigation.”
“Bullshit,” Shouta cursed.
“He’s backed off, in any case,” Tsukauchi sighed. “The Sirens are scrappy, I’ll give them that. It was probably a combination of them and his legal department panicking that got him to drop it.”
Shouta huffed, but nodded, and definitely did not flop into one of the chairs opposite Tsukauchi’s desk. The vigilantes were smart if nothing else. They were nearing a year of being active, a major milestone for vigilantes, considering how many never made it to that point. Shouta wondered if the Sirens had recorded the exact date they had started. He wondered if they would be willing to share it with him. For entirely record-keeping purposes, of course.
Shouta ignored the various cake recipes that idly floated through his head.
He had been meeting with the vigilantes nearly every other week for about two months now, and he had to admit they had grown on him. Like fungus. They were oddly knowledgeable about a multitude of things, and Kitsune was smarter than most of his students. Even if he had originally been planning to capture the vigilantes—which, at this point, he could admit that he wasn’t anymore—they hadn’t let down their guard enough for him to try.
They had let up on the security, from what Shouta could tell. Kitsune was still the only one to talk to him, but their trust had upgraded from the rest of the Sirens being on guard duty to only a few of them now. Shouta felt like he was winning the trust of feral cats.
“So we don’t have to worry about him on the case?” Shouta asked.
“No, we do not,” Tsukauchi confirmed, and Shouta relaxed, just a bit. “Did you confirm the information we got from them last time?”
“Yes. All of it is true, like it always is.”
The detective nodded, reaching over for some paper in his mountain of them. “Then I’ll hand it over to the closer department, they work better with the heroes over there. Are you going to meet the Sirens tonight?”
“Next week. Anything to pass along?”
“Not at the moment,” Tsukauchi said. Then he smiled, a small, thankful thing. “You’re good with them, Eraserhead. Thank you for taking this mission.”
Shouta could only shrug. “It’s my job.”
“Not this. You could have chosen not to.”
“True.”
They left it at that. Both of them had been in the field too long to take it further into “what-if” land. Shouta had made his decision, and so had Tsukauchi. They could have chosen differently, but they didn’t, and they were here now. No point in dwelling on what could have been.
Besides, Shouta liked to think that maybe this was the best outcome they could have had, considering the circumstances.
He left with a goodbye and a promise to be careful. Shouta drove back home without much thought or issue, greeting his husband with a kiss and half a mind on not tripping over their cat. Olive seemed to make it her mission to make them fall. It made both of them keenly aware of ground-level threats, at the very least.
Shouta promptly passed out until it was time for dinner, and his night patrol. Hizashi wished him luck on the way out the door. Shouta lingered for one moment, caught in his imagination. He wondered how old the vigilantes were. Young adults, probably, but not much older. Hizashi and him didn’t exactly have tons of room, but if the vigilantes ever needed a place to go…
“Shou?” Hizashi said, concern leaking into his voice. “You ok?”
Shouta shook himself. “Yes, fine, just…thinking.”
“About?”
“The Sirens. No one…knows if they have a place to go, if they get injured.”
Hizashi softened, coming over to pull Shouta into a hug. He relaxed into it like he always did.
“You want them to come here if they are?”
“I want to offer,” Shouta said, but didn’t deny. “They’re good people, Zashi. Kitsune reminds me of my students sometimes.”
“You can offer them a place, Shou, but you know they might not take it.”
“I know,” he mumbled. “But I’d still like to offer, if you’re alright with it too.”
“I am. You trust them, so I can too. Besides, the listeners are very entertaining to follow.”
Shouta grumbled unintelligibly into Hizashi’s shoulder. His husband had been the one to find the vigilante’s reposted videos, and the one to share it with Shouta. Along with their—seemingly official—Spaceline account. He was still torn between telling the vigilantes it had been dumb and praising them for their skills.
Hizashi nudged him, making him stand up on his own. “Go on, you have work.”
“You do too.”
“Go, you silly man,” Hizashi snickered.
Shouta stole a kiss anyway before he ran out the door. He had a job to do and vigilantes to see later, after all.
Notes:
*chanting* dad-zawa Dad-zawa DAD-ZAWA DAD-ZAWA DAD-
Also catch me laughing at how apt the comparison of the vigilantes to fungus is. Some are sweet, some are deadly, some just make you believe weird stuff. Amazing.Next chapter up literally just when I can edit it. My internship ends soon, and the next one is kinda already half edited? So we'll see when that goes up! It's as much a surprise to y'all as it is to me lol, have a good day/night you guys <3
Chapter 108: Tell the Reaper That I’m Sorry
Summary:
Zero to a hundred REAL QUICK. Prepare for angst
WARNINGS: talk of suicide, suicidal ideation, transphobia, and depression. Someone is found on a bridge, but nothing happens and they’re fine, there is no actual risk of death but there is talk of it. Also crying. Lots of crying and swearing.
Notes:
Hi hello my lovelies PLEASE mind the warnings for this chapter, it gets Heavy. But also a reminder that everyone (besides like, 3 people) get a happy ending here
I was originally going to have this chapter be a kinda filler one, but then Eijirou said Nope it’s Plot Time For Me and uh. Here we are. Once again please mind the warnings in the summary, stay safe <3
You know. I was going to post weekly for November. And then writers block smacked me like a 2x4. But I live! Anyway, enjoy, maybe grab some tissues. If anyone needs a summary instead of reading the actual chapter it's in the end notes
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The months went by faster than Eijirou thought they would.
July seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye. They celebrated Inko’s birthday, which he was invited to, that had been fun. Eijirou had slept over, and when he woke up he got to help with breakfast for the parents and with making sure all the gifts were ready. One of which was a little tree sapling for the backyard, which was just as much a gift to Hanta and Rei as it was to Inko.
Eijirou had eagerly helped with whatever he could. He helped set up breakfast and organized the gifts so Inko could open them afterwards. He sat on the floor, Katsuki at his side, while he watched her open them all.
The gift of a scrapbook—a collaborative effort from the entire family—immediately had Inko crying. Various tins of tea and coffee and honey were neatly stacked to the side while she flipped through it. There were pictures of the kids at almost every age, and more of them appeared as they got older. Eijirou wondered when each of them had been adopted. He knew the reason behind most of them, but not specifically when all of the Midoriyas had been adopted.
He quietly asked Katsuki, and his boyfriend’s answer had been to snort and ask Inko to show Eijirou all their adoption-day pictures. He asked later, when everything had calmed down, and was treated to a mom very excited to show off her kids’ pictures. She went through a well-loved book, pictures neatly dated, and told each adoption story in order. There were definitely pieces missing from some, but Eijirou was just happy to see pictures of his friend when they were littler.
And he may be biased, but Eijirou found the pictures of Katsuki as a little kid the cutest.
The last gift was the little sapling. Izuku took the lead, guiding their mom outside while she closed her eyes. Eijirou wondered for a moment why there was a toy bird nestled in the branches. He figured he would get an answer soon enough though, so he just shrugged and settled off to the side.
Inko seemed confused for a moment too, until Izuku happily explained.
“It’s partridge in a pear tree!” He chirped, pointing to the bird. “Because of that joke you always make, Momma, when you make a list.”
Inko started laughing then, and pulled Izuku to her side for a hug. The rest of the Midoriyas quickly squished in for one too, and Eijirou found himself being dragged into the group hug. Not that he was protesting. Midoriya hugs were the best.
The rest of the month was relatively boring. They celebrated Izuku, Mina, and Hanta’s birthdays at the end of July, and they had cake after seeing who could rollerblade the fastest down the street. Eijirou caught a mention of a one-year anniversary thing too, but didn’t know what it was for, and didn’t really ask. Knowing Izuku, it was either pretty mundane or something he wouldn’t want to share because it would make Eijirou worry.
Summer break was a very welcome relief from school. Eijirou found himself at the Midoryas’ home far more often than his own. He went on more dates with Katsuki, the two of them still figuring out the difference between ‘best friends’ and ‘boyfriends.’ There didn’t seem to be much of one, they just got to do things romantically now.
Momo seemed to be of the opinion that going hiking and exploring the woods behind the park wasn’t romantic, but Eijirou and Katsuki both thought it was, so that’s what they did. Getting to hold hands while showing each other cool rocks they had found? Hell yeah.
Eijirou’s only problem with…anything, really, was that he still hadn’t told his parents. He knew they’d be fine with the boyfriend part, in a way, but…
His parents were…traditional. And not accepting of much outside of that. He had heard them gossip about neighbors and strangers before, commenting on how they dressed or acted. But still, they said that they loved him. They didn’t know he was a boy, but they still told him they loved him, so that had to count for something.
It had to.
Katsuki was fine with it, in any case. They both understood why he was nervous. Eijirou promised it wouldn’t be forever though, just until he worked up the courage to tell them. Until then, Katsuki’s aunts and uncle were good enough for “adults who know.”
So, Eijirou was happy. He was! Really. He didn’t- he didn’t have a reason to be sad. He had everything he had ever wanted, and he was happy.
So why did it feel like a yawning void had opened in his chest
-
It was usually fine around the Midoriyas though. Eijirou could ignore everything for a while. And if he did start to feel bad, he could go boneless over someone’s lap and they wouldn’t question it, just start playing with his hair. His dysphoria was another thing, since it was too warm for hoodies in the summer, but he managed.
The end of their summer break, and the end of August, came with Mei ambushing him one day with a bag. She practically threw it at him, saying it was an early birthday present. Eijirou was only mildly hesitant to open the bag. Once he did though, he nearly fell over trying to see all that it contained.
The bag was full of awesome shirts. A lot of button downs, and a lot of them had sharks on them. Eijirou’s incredulous look had Mei explaining that she knew how to sew, and Momo could make fabric. She had noticed how he wasn’t comfortable with his normal shirts without a baggy hoodie, and wanted to fix it. Ergo: a bunch of loose shirts that he wouldn’t overheat in.
Eijirou almost tackled her trying to hug her. Mei, slightly less inclined towards physical affection than the rest of her family, patted his back as she embraced him.
September brought back classes, and stress, but Eijirou managed. Maybe not well, but he did manage. He still didn’t tell his parents about Katsuki and him. They went on another date to get ice cream.
October brought Eijirou’s birthday, and far too many presents from the Midoriyas. Mei gave him a hoodie, stitched to say “Honorary Brother” in the corner, which made him almost start crying. Izuku got him hair gel. Mina ambushed him with a headband meant to look like Crimson Riot’s hair, which was appreciated despite her literally jumping on his back to put it on his head.
Katsuki made him a bento of his favorite food, since they still had school on his birthday, and a new hoodie. A hoodie that turned out to be the softest thing Eijirou had ever felt, and also so oversized he practically drowned in it.
One of his sisters also came to visit! She was moving to the United States for work, so it would be the last time he’d see her for a while, but it was nice. She brought her husband with her. He seemed kind, at least, so he figured the two of them would be ok. He promised to tell her about school and his friends every once in a while before she left.
November was…worse. They were halfway through the month before Eijirou realized he hadn’t really… seen his parents. He had seen them in passing, of course, said hi and asked how their work was going, and then moved on. He hadn’t actually talked to them for…weeks. Maybe months, now.
He wondered if he actually wanted to, or if he was just feeling guilty because the Midoriyas always talked with their parents.
His mind got worse. Eijirou was no stranger to depression, but it was…heavy. More than it usually was. His bones felt like they had been filled with concrete, and it was grueling to wake up some days. It sucked.
But he kept going. He had to. He didn’t have a choice to end it.
He ignored how appealing it began to sound as the month went on.
Then December rolled around. The semester was almost over, and Eijirou couldn’t wait. He had been feeling a bit better for a week too! He was happy, and feeling brave. Maybe it was dumb, but he wanted to tell his parents about him and Katsuki soon. He was tired of dragging it out. They were even both going to be home tonight! It was rare that they were, with how different their schedules were.
Maybe he could even bring Katsuki over for dinner once he told them. It would be leagues quieter than what his boyfriend was used to, but maybe it would be nice.
Resolve settled, Eijirou just had to wait for them to get home.
~~~~~~~~~~
The night was barely getting started, and they were already nearly buzzing out of their skin with energy. Katsuki was ready to get going already. He wanted to punch some fuckers and bring justice.
The only thing standing in the way of that was Mei and Momo arguing over who was sitting at the control center tonight. Momo said Mei needed a night to just rest, and Mei insisted she needed to work tonight. They had gotten nowhere in ten minutes of arguing. Katsuki was ready to walk about the door while they sorted their shit out.
Instead he stood in the shed, waiting. Hitoshi was lounging on the beanbags in the corner. He was scrolling through one of the phones they shared, huddled under two blankets and a hoodie, all set up for staying in as base support. Katsuki didn’t comment on it—they all knew he despised the cold, and none of them blamed him.
Izuku joined him in his semi-patient spectating at some point. His brother was already in costume, and he looked…distracted.
“What’s up with you?” Katsuki questioned.
“Something feels off,” Izuku muttered. “Not with Mei and Momo, they’ll figure stuff out in a few minutes, but…something. I don’t know, just a gut feeling”
“Stop worrying, you idiot. We’ll be fine.”
Izuku rolled his eyes, but cracked a smile. “Yeah, I know.”
Katsuki punched Izuku’s shoulder just in time for Mei to throw her hands up and yell “FINE.” She joined Hitoshi on the beanbags a second later, dramatically pouting as she burrowed into a blanket. Momo looked triumphant as she sat in front of the monitor.
“You’re free to go,” Momo dismissed. “Be safe.”
Katsuki didn’t need to hear another word. He was off like a shot, already running down the fence line before he heard another word. His siblings were right there with him. Harpy gave him the middle finger as he overtook her in their impromptu race.
The city stretched before them, a realm of possibilities for the night.
“Hey Ares,” Kitsune said, drawing his attention. “Want to take point tonight?”
“Fuck yeah , let’s go.”
Katsuki found himself veering towards the more residential areas. The rest of his siblings followed without hesitation, keeping their eyes out. Momo kept them updated on what was going on around them. There were some heroes out tonight, but none especially nearby.
A drug deal bust and running from police sirens later, Momo called for them to take a break. The lot of them were scattered over half a block, opposite a neighborhood. It was one of the farther ones, a river separating the rest of it from the city proper, where they stood. Katsuki tried to remember why it felt so fucking familiar.
While his siblings all caught their breath, Katsuki leisurely explored the small area he found himself in. It was right on the edge of the river, one of the bridges that crossed over it to his left. He couldn’t hear anything from up on the roof, but he could see the steep slopes of the concrete bank made to contain it.
Katsuki squinted at the bridge again, something itching the back of his mind.
“Hey, Athena,” he said, trying not to make it sound too sharp. “You have eyes on the bridge near me?”
“I do, yeah.” She was quiet for a moment, then said, “There’s a person down there. ”
Katsuki huffed, leaning just a bit closer to the ledge. “Thought that’s what I saw. Now what the fuck are they doing there.”
“I can’t see that well,” Momo admitted. “But if you get closer I can connect to the camera in your helmet.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Ares made his way closer, jumped onto a rooftop that was both lower and closer to the bridge. He leaned as far over the edge as he dared. Something like cold suspicion began to curl through his gut.
He couldn’t make out many details, since their back was to him, but he could make out a few. Darker color hair, about shoulder length. Clothes that definitely weren’t warm enough for how cold this December was. They were sitting on the bridge’s railing, legs hanging over the water far, far below. They were holding onto the rail with one hand, the other holding a phone that cast a dim glow around their head.
But you see. The thing with getting to know someone is that you can eventually pick them out of a crowd. You learn what to look for so you can find them. Katsuki knew his siblings like the back of his hand, and he knew Eijirou like he knew the color of the sky.
And the person on the bridge looked far, far too much like Eijirou.
“Tell me that isn’t Eijirou,” he demanded, the fear skittering up his throat making him use his boyfriend’s name even with his mask on. “Athena.”
There was scuffling on the other end. Katsuki waited, however impatiently. He hardly dared to breathe.
Mei was the one to pick up the line again.
“Gorgon has the phone right now. He says you got a text, Ares,” she told him. “It’s from Eijirou. Can we look at it?”
Katsuki grit out a “yes,” worry making him want to move. But there was nothing to fight against here.
Her tone when she came back only made it worse.
“I’m switching to line with just you,” Mei said.
“What did he say.”
“‘I love you,’” Mei read, sounding grave. “‘I know you’re probably asleep, but I just wanted to make sure you knew.’ …Kat- Ares. That’s his neighborhood, isn’t it?”
Katsuki was frozen. He wished it was a coincidence. He wanted it to be a freak fucking coincidence, and maybe it still was. Maybe Eijirou was just awake and wanted to tell him. Maybe maybe maybe-
But he knew how bad Eijirou’s depression had been getting. He knew how it was dragging on him. Eijirou had told him himself. He knew he knew he knew— and fuck what if it was him? Eijirou didn’t know he was Ares. He liked the vigilantes plenty, had told them about how interesting he found them a few times, but that wasn’t knowing.
Katsuki fucking hated being scared, and right now that was all that he felt.
But he could work with it. He had been scared before, and it was shitty but not unsalvageable. So he took a scrap of that fear and twisted it into something like determination.
“Get Jorogumo over here,” he ordered. “Or Harpy. One of the fuckers that can catch him if he- if he jumps. Tell ‘em to stay out of sight for now.”
“I will,” Mei said quietly.
Katsuki nodded, and turned off his coms. He leapt down to the ground, trying to not let desperation bleed through into his movements. Fuck- he had to be fast enough, he had to be.
The night was silent. There were rarely any cars this late, and the other city sounds were distant with how far the neighborhood still was. Ares’ boots touched down on the road without much more of a sound.
He stayed alert as he walked closer. The person didn’t shift. Their phone was off now, but their shoes were on, at least.
But fuck —it was Eijirou.
Katsuki carefully got closer. Eijirou didn’t jump, didn’t move. With slow, telegraphed movements, Katsuki leaned against the bar to Eijirou’s right, close enough to reach out but far enough to try and give him space. Because as far as his boyfriend knew, this was a stranger.
Eijirou tilted his head, just enough to be able to glimpse Ares. Katsuki looked right back.
Eijirou had been crying. His eyes were red and watery, and he was shaking. Only part of that was probably because of the cold. It took everything in Katsuki to not reach out and whisk him away from the bridge.
“Ares,” Eijirou acknowledged, and fuck, his voice was hoarse from crying too.
“What are you doing out here? It’s pretty late,” Katsuki asked, trying to be gentle.
He knew Eijirou didn’t recognize his voice, modulated as it was. That was the whole point of the damn thing. Yet it still made him want to tear off his helmet, consequences be damned. This was Eijirou. This was the idiot that had made him realize he could be loved.
Katsuki couldn’t lose him.
“You don’t have to worry about me, Ares,” Eijirou said, a weary and pained smile on his face. He looked so tired. “I’m not going to jump. The impact wouldn’t even kill me, stupid quirk won’t let me die.”
Katsuki tried not to be surprised at that. He knew how Eijirou’s quirk worked—it stopped him from getting hurt. He couldn’t consciously hurt himself, and anything he thought might hurt him made him subconsciously activate his quirk.
He was right, the impact wouldn’t kill him. But the water would, and drowning was a painful way to go.
“Ok,” he said. “But why are you out here?”
Eijirou sniffled, ducking his head to rub at his nose. Ares waited. He could almost see his boyfriend debating with himself.
“I tried to come out to my parents,” he finally whispered. “They didn’t…take it too well. I had a breakdown after, and ended up…here.”
Katsuki inched closer, wanting nothing more than to pull Eijirou off the railing. But he wasn’t Eijirou’s boyfriend right now, he was Ares, who Ei didn’t technically know.
He still couldn’t help himself from leaning closer.
“Sounds like some shitty parents,” he muttered, doing his best to keep his voice even.
“Yeah, I…I guess so.”
They were quiet for a minute. Katsuki waited, hoping Eijirou would talk again. In the meantime he tried to press down all his anger into a small disk of hatred.
“Where are the rest of the Sirens?” Eijirou asked cautiously, looking over at Ares. “You guys are hardly ever alone.”
“One of ‘em’s nearby,” Katsuki grunted. “Didn’t want to make you feel outnumbered.”
“Huh. Thanks, I guess?”
Katsuki hummed, the noise sounding kinda weird through his voice distorter. Eijirou seemed to understand it well enough though.
“Do you-“ Eijirou cleared his throat, trying not to sniffle again. “Do you, uh- hey, you guys know where some of the homeless shelters are, yeah?”
Katsuki stood up straighter, not hesitating to stare right at Eijirou now. His digital eyes were held unflinchingly by watery red ones. “Did your shitty excuses for parents kick you out?”
Eijirou didn’t shrink back, which Katsuki thought said more than enough about his boyfriend’s bravery than anything else. His voice was small though, hardly above a whisper. “Yeah, they did,” he sighed, averting his eyes again. “I, uh, I think I have a place to go, later, but I’m…I don’t want to bother them tonight. You’re right, it’s- it’s pretty late.”
Katsuki wanted to swear. He wanted to scream, he wanted to go to Eijirou’s parents and ask what the hell they were thinking. He wanted to snarl at the injustice done to one of the kindest people he had ever met.
But he did none of that. Instead he took a deep breath, let it out, and gently grabbed the back of Eijirou’s too-thin-for-this-weather shirt.
“Come with me,” Ares said, coming out far more confident than he felt.
To his surprise, Eijirou only nodded. “Ok.”
He turned and slipped off the railing, getting his feet back on solid ground. Katsuki could have collapsed from the sheer relief of that. Fucking hell, he wanted to cry. For multiple reasons.
“Give me a minute to contact Daedalus,” he told Eijirou. His boyfriend only nodded, staring over the edge of the bridge. Katsuki still gingerly held onto the back of his shirt.
A few taps and he connected back to the coms.
“Thank fuck,” was the first thing he heard, the relieved voice belonging to Hitoshi. “You’re bringing him back here, right?”
“Of course I am, you dumbass,” Katsuki grumbled. He didn’t see the look Eijirou shot him. “You’re going to have to fork over some of your blankets, the fucker is freezing.”
“I am not,” was Eijirou’s petulant reply.
“Jesus Christ. Of course, yeah. Just get back here,” Hitoshi said.
“Momo went to grab a hoodie for him,” Mei told him.
“Good. We’re headed out then.”
Katsuki closed down his coms again, knowing Mei could open them again if she needed something. He idly noted Ochako jumping back up to a roof to his right. Eijirou was watching him, seemingly torn between caution and exhaustion.
“I’m carrying you,” Katsuki declared. “You’re dead on your fucking feet, and there’s no way in hell you’d be able to keep up with me.”
“I’m not that slow,” Eijirou grumbled.
“I know. But we’ve been doing this for a while, and you haven’t.”
“That’s…fair.”
Nodding, Katsuki crouched down so Eijirou could jump on his back. He did hesitate for a moment, but not too long. Katsuki made sure he was secure before walking forward.
Eijirou was cold, that much was immediately obvious. Katsuki didn’t exactly have anything to help with that yet though. Nothing besides getting home quickly. His boyfriend was also running on adrenaline right now. He’d probably stay awake until they got home, then crash, hopefully just sleeping through the night after that. He needed it.
Katsuki was extremely careful getting up to the roof, and made sure Eijirou wouldn’t slip once he started running. The extra weight was jarring, but he adapted. Harpy and Jorogumo joined him pretty quickly. He could feel Eijirou jolt when he noticed the other vigilantes, but didn’t say anything. Or if he did, then the wind stole his words.
Katsuki just wanted to get home.
He quickly found that his siblings had formed a vanguard around them. They ran the rest of the city slower than they usually did, and took the back route into their neighborhood. Eijirou didn’t seem to recognize where they were.
Until they landed in their yard, that is. He made a confused noise, sliding off of Ares’ back to stand on his own. The rest of the Sirens made their way to the shed.
“I know this house,” Eijirou said. “How did you…?”
Katsuki, his siblings all having swiftly scurried out of sight, stopped pushing everything down. He practically ripped off his helmet, the mechanism having barely unlocked before he was pulling it off his head. He had a split second to see Eijirou’s shock before he pulled his boyfriend into a rib-crushing hug.
“You scared the shit out of me, Ei,” he croaked, the tears he had been trying to put off coming back with a vengeance.
“Kat…Katsuki?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re Ares.”
Katsuki could only nod. He took a second to steel himself, then pulled back, letting go of Eijirou. A good look at his boyfriend’s face showed pure confusion. It would’ve been funny, if Katsuki wasn’t so damn scared of what the reaction could mean.
“We were going to tell you,” Katsuki told him, voice slightly hoarse. “But you were dealing with your own shit, and I didn’t want to put this on your shoulders too.”
Eijirou stared for a minute, not saying a word. Then he leaned forward until his head hit Katsuki’s shoulder. He stayed there, and Katsuki didn’t know what to do besides hold him.
He felt a spike of worry when Eijirou started shaking again, only to drop into confusion when he realized it was laughter.
“Why the fuck are you laughing?”
“Because I was right,” Eijirou giggled, face still hidden in Katsuki’s shoulder. “I was right, it was you.”
“…you fucking guessed?”
“Yeah.” Eijirou pulled back, only far enough to be able to look Katsuki in the eyes. “You talked the same around me. I think I had a suspicion before too, but talking with me as Ares is what tipped me off.”
Katsuki sighed, pressing his forehead to Eijirou’s. “You dumbass.”
“How do you make that sound like a pet name, it has to be some sort of secret quirk.”
“Shut up,” Katsuki huffed, closing his eyes. “You’re not freaking out.”
“Oh I’m probably going to later. I’m just- I’m tired, Katsuki.”
Katsuki hummed in acknowledgment and nodded, knowing Eijirou didn’t just mean that he needed sleep. He was tired of everything. Of stress, of his parents, of feeling like shit. But he did also need to sleep. That was for fucking sure.
So he tugged on Eijirou’s arms, pulling him towards the shed. “We’re going to sleep, and then we can deal with this clusterfuck in the morning. Hanta’s probably freaking the fuck out too.”
Eijirou winced, but nodded, and followed when Katsuki guided him to the shed. He deposited his boyfriend in Hanta’s arm and went to put away his costume. Hitoshi was already up and throwing a blanket over Ei’s shoulders. Mei was at her desk, just watching from her seat. Katsuki and her shared a look. They both silently nodded, knowing he would be on watch duty tonight, and Mei would cover for him if needed.
Back in normal clothes, Katsuki ignored any and all protests and scooped up Eijirou in a princess carry. The back door had been left open, so it was easy to march inside and up the stairs, careful to not hit Eijirou’s head on any of the doorways. Their room already had a few siblings in it. They all shuffled over so Katsuki and Eijirou could be in the middle of their sleeping pile, which he appreciated. It was the warmest place to sleep.
He dropped Ei and unceremoniously clung to him like an octopus. Boyfriend immobilized for the time being, Katsuki finally let himself relax somewhat. Eijirou was asleep within minutes.
As the rest of his siblings slowly dropped into sleep, Katsuki couldn’t. He knew he wouldn’t be able to. Not for a long while tonight. So he laid there, listening to Eijirou’s heartbeat to reassure himself that his boyfriend was still alive, and kept watch.
It was all he could do for now.
Notes:
Chapters summary for anyone who needs it: Eijirou is kicked out by his parents after coming out to them, and Katsuki finds him on a bridge. He has no plans on jumping, it just scares everyone. He's brought back with the Sirens and they have an identity reveal.
I wanted to make Inko’s birthday scene longer, but I didn’t know if I would find a good place again after this, so it’s kinda shorter. I’ve been sitting on that “Partridge in a Pear Tree” joke for a while now lol. And thank you Miki for the scrapbook idea forever ago <3
Anyway yeahhhh Eijirou’s arc is SAD and I figured this would be one of the chapter y’all yell at me for. Hope I made you feel emotions :)
A lot of this chapter is me projecting. Depression sucks, unaccepting parents suck, and it hurts. It gets better though, I promise it does. It’s been a good while since I wrote this (because school sucked and my backlog is way too long still) and I’m doing better, so I swear to you: life is not stuck the way it is. You will find people that love you unconditionally. You will find a life that you love living. Stay alive everyone <3One last thing, disclaimer: figured there will probably be comments on this, but no Eijirou will not officially be adopted! He’s going to stay with the Midoriyas since they’re his boyfriend’s family. I know of irl people who have done something similar. There are things in place to keep it away from weird territory, just wanted to make that clear!
Chapter 109: And They Were Roommates
Summary:
A morning of discoveries.
Warnings!: Implied transphobia, homophobia, and suicidal circumstances.
Notes:
What do you MEAN it's already been two weeks since the last chapter, my goodness. I have like 4 chapters I just need to edit and get up. However my family has been going through some stuff. My baby sister may be going blind and we're doing everything we can to prevent it while avoiding immunosuppressants because those can be nasty, especially since she's only six :(
Anyway I would like to dedicate this to my friend in middle school, who will probably never read this but he still had a pretty big effect on my life. In our small, pretty conservative little school and community, he was the first openly trans person I ever met. We were 12, and I may not have known what being trans meant at the time, but I’ll always be thankful that he’s how I learned about the trans community rather than through my transphobic mother. He was a cool friend while we knew each other and I hope he’s doing well. To all my trans readers, I love you guys and wish the best for you <3
Enjoy the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hisashi was up first, like he usually was. Rei had slept in for once, and Inko had nowhere to be until the afternoon, so the kitchen was quiet as he went about making coffee and filling their kettle with water. A quick glance at a calendar reminded him that it was the weekend, the last one before the kids’ break started.
Happy in the knowledge that none of them had anywhere to be for a good few hours, Hisashi sat down on the couch to enjoy the peace for a bit. He had paperwork to do later, calls to make, but that could all wait for a bit.
Hisashi smiled as he heard one of his kids coming down the stairs. Hanta rounded the corner a second later, and…his smile faded.
“Everything ok, kiddo?” He asked softly.
Hanta fidgeted with their hands, rapidly glancing between their hands and Hisashi’s face. Their eyes were slightly red, bags beneath them. Hanta hadn’t slept. Or if they had, then not well.
“Something happened last night,” they whispered. “And um- Eijirou’s upstairs, right now.”
Hisashi blinked, remembering that last night had been one of the dwindling few the boy had spent at his own house. Supposed to, at least, and Hisashi didn’t like the look on Hanta’s face. He set his coffee to the side, beckoning his child closer. Hanta came willingly and sat beside Hisashi, leaning against his side.
“Why is Eijirou upstairs?” Hisashi asked gently.
“His parents kicked him out,” Hanta said, words wobbling on the edge of tears. “We found him on a bridge, Pops.”
Hisashi’s heart dropped. But no, he felt it beat in his throat, choking his words. He pulled Hanta to his side, letting them bury their face in his chest.
“He tried to come out to them,” Hanta croaked, muffled by Hisashi’s shirt. “And they kicked him out. He said th-that he wasn’t going to do anything, but Pops-“
“I know, kiddo, I know,” he whispered. “He’s safe here, and always welcome. He’s ok right now, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Did you come down here just to tell me?”
“Mmhm.”
“Ok.” Hisashi let out a slow breath, staving off the chilly fear that had frosted over his lungs, and trying not to let it burn. “Why don’t you go back upstairs and stay with him then. I’ll tell Inko and Rei, and we can have breakfast ready in a bit, sound good?”
Hanta leaned back and wiped their tears, giving Hisashi a small, watery grin. “Yeah, that’d be cool, thanks Pops.”
“No problem, Hanta. Go on then, I’m sure they’re missing you.”
Hanta snorted. “They’re all asleep, Pops, I think they’re fine.”
Hisashi only chuckled, ruffling Hanta’s black hair as his kid quietly retreated back up the stairs.
It left Hisashi alone. Alone with his lungs trying to burn and smoke leaking from between his gritted teeth. It left him with the impulse to go put on the Flamethrower mask once more and burn a building down. Eijirou didn’t deserve that— no one did. Eijirou was a sweet boy, a genuinely good kid.
Hisashi breathed out, and embers followed it. He tried again, breathing in and out while naming things he could see. It wouldn’t do to burn down his own house. His second attempt was a bit better. Fire still licked at his throat—which was probably glowing right now—but he didn’t exhale flames so he considered it successful.
God, he still had to tell Inko.
The kids were still sleeping, or at least just chilling in their room. He would have to tell Rei and Natsuo too. Inko normally wouldn’t wake up for another hour or so, but she needed to know. And honestly, Hisashi would rather he told her away from the breakable mugs and plates housed in their kitchen.
He climbed the stairs lightly, still keeping his breathing in check. Hisashi paused in the doorway to their bedroom, just—listening, for a moment.
The house was quiet. Most of his family was sleeping, and there was nowhere to be right now. It was always stressful when a new kid came home. It was hours of worry and stress, but Hisashi was always happier for it, and he knew Inko was too. Eijirou had a long road ahead of him, but he would be alright. He was with them now. They would keep him safe.
They would deal with whatever came their way, and make it to the other side better for it. Hisashi still appreciated the moment of calm though. They were all going to need it. That in mind, he tiptoed into their room.
“Inko,” he called softly, moving to sit on the bed on her side. “Wake up, love.”
Hisashi gently rubbed at his wife’s shoulder, coaxing her awake. She blinked open her eyes after a moment, unfocused and groggy as she tended to be in the morning. She shook it off quickly though.
“Good morning,” she hummed, closing her eyes for another second. “You don’t usually wake me up.”
Hisashi smiled sadly, and Inko was immediately alert and sitting up.
“What happened,” she questioned sharply. “Are the kids ok?”
“The kids are ok, they’re alright,” he reassured. “Kirishima is here.”
“He…he didn’t spend the night though, didn’t he?”
“He didn’t.” Hisashi sighed, grimacing slightly. “He came out to his parents. They didn’t take it…especially well.”
It took a scarce few seconds of staring at Hisashi’s face for Inko to connect those particular dots. The clock on her nightstand rattled. A book went flying off of their bookshelf, Hisashi deftly catching it as it flew past. More things of theirs shook like they were in an earthquake, Inko scowling down at her lap.
“I already had to stop myself from burning something,” Hisashi admitted. It got Inko to look up though, so he considered it a success. “They- they found him on a bridge, Inko. He says that he wasn’t going to do anything, but Ink-“
The rattling reached a higher pitch, and a few more books fell off their shelf, but then it stopped. Inko pulled Hisashi into a tight hug, the two of them just trying to breathe. Eijirou wasn’t a son to them, but he was still a child. A child that should never, ever have to question if he was loved, or if he had a home. A child that had thought he had both with his parents.
They had long ago promised themselves—and each other—that they would show love to the world. They would accept the troubled and love the ones that needed it. No matter the problem, no matter the identity, none of it would change the fact that they would show that person love before all else.
And now they had their son-nephew’s boyfriend at their house because he had been kicked out for being gay and trans. He was twelve. God, Hisashi wanted to cry and scream at the unfairness of it. But that would probably result in something on fire, so instead he held tightly onto his wife as their books stacked themselves back onto the shelf.
“We still have to tell Rei and Natsuo,” Hisashi said quietly. “And the twins, I’m sure they’ll want to come over. And- and we have to-“
“Breathe, dear,” Inko muttered. “We’ll get to it. Right now I need you to remind me why it’s a bad idea to burn down a house.”
Hisashi barked a laugh. “I was hoping you would be the one to tell me that.”
“Well there’s nothing for it then, I’ll get the matches.”
“But I thought I was the matches?”
Inko snorted, and the two of them dissolved into laughter. Hisashi felt himself relax. They stayed like that for a while, just holding one another. They both knew that they needed it. The time let them rebuild their mental supports that had been shaken, letting them shore up one another with their presence. Hisashi breathed and did not taste embers on his tongue.
When they both separated again, their gazes were sharp and minds ready.
“You tell Rei,” Inko said. “I’ll tell Natsuo. The twins can wait until after breakfast.”
Hisashi nodded, standing back to his feet. He kissed the top of Inko’s head before going back downstairs. Rei was probably awake, or at least awake enough not to freeze him to the floor. She had always been a bit calmer than Hisashi or Inko, but he wouldn’t say there was a zero possibility of her freezing something when she heard about Eijirou.
It would be ok though. That was why Hisashi was going to tell her, just incase anything needed to be melted, and why Inko would be telling Natsuo. A phone call would have to do for the twins. It was honestly a draw of the hat which one of them (or their partners) would want to drop everything and come visit once they heard.
Hisashi figured they should prepare for more guests at lunch. He mentally added it to the end of their new to-do list. For now—making sure everyone was aware of what was going on.
~~~~~~~~~~
Eijirou woke up to Natsuo bursting through the door. The knob hit the opposite wall with a loud clang (which had been covered by a wall-plate a long while ago, after someone put a hole in the drywall), and the rest of the Midoriyas jumped in surprise. Someone threw a pillow at him. Natsuo batted it out of the air and zeroed in on Eijirou. Still waking up, the boy could only blink groggily as Natsuo promptly scooped him up and sat back down with Eijirou held to his chest like a stuffed toy.
“Huh?” Eijirou said intelligibly.
“Your birth parents suck and I’m adopting you now,” Natsuo hummed. “Eijirou Hisame has a ring to it. We can dye your hair white and red.”
“Uh…”
Katsuki smacked Natsuo’s side from the mattress. “Fuck off, he was mine first.”
“Uh-“
“Yeah well, mine now. Snooze you lose, finders keepers, whatever.”
“Fuck off.”
Inko poked her head in through the doorway then, and gave Natsuo and Katsuki a remarkably unamused look. Eijirou was still limp like a scruffed kitten.
“Natsuo, dear, you can’t adopt someone until you’re eighteen,” Inko sighed.
“That’s only two more years!”
Katsuki, apparently having had enough, sat up and whacked Natsuo over the head with a pillow, narrowly missing Eijirou, but making his older brother let go. “Fuck. Off.”
“Owwww,” Natsuo whined dramatically while on his back.
Inko shook her head fondly, a small smile on her face. Eijirou, just now beginning to become aware of his surroundings, hoped that meant she wasn’t mad at him showing up unannounced. He figured she wasn’t, because he knew Inko by now, but still. He was nervous.
She turned her attention to him, ignoring how Katsuki and Natsuo had started wrestling on the floor, the rest of their siblings sleepily cheering them on like it was a morning MMA match. “Eijirou, could I talk to you for a moment?”
Ah, there was the nervousness chewing through his limbs. Lovely.
He nodded regardless, wordlessly picking his way out the door and into the hall with Inko.
The first thing she did was hold her arms out for a hug. Eijirou hesitated for barely a moment before falling into it. Inko hugged like sunshine, comforting and warm and reminding Eijirou of happier days. She- she hugged like a mom should, he realized, and it made him want to cry all over again.
“I’m so sorry for what happened to you, sweetheart,” Inko said softly. “You are always welcome here, no matter what, for as long as you need, alright?”
Eijirou nodded, face hidden in Inko’s shoulder. Gratefulness unfurled in his chest, wrapping around his heart and soothing his worry. The Midoriyas were safe. They were kind, and loving, and safe. He didn’t have to worry while he was with them.
Doubly so now that he knew his friends were vigilantes. It was no wonder they could fight so well, and why Eijirou had always been shuffled away from the bullies while the Midoriyas dealt with them. Never alone, but always keeping him out of the crosshairs. They had been protecting him.
It was almost ironic, considering his quirk. Eijirou wished he could return the favor.
“That being said,” Inko continued. “We do need to contact your sisters.”
Ah. That was…a bit more of a problem. Eijirou loved his older sisters, he really did, but he…honestly preferred the Midoriyas. His sisters had never been home, basically already adults with their own lives when he had been growing up. They both had husbands and jobs and lived in other places. Hell, Akari was in North America now! And Nika not only lived clear across Japan, but had just started working at a hospital after finishing medical school.
He didn’t even know if they would still want him around either. He knew they loved him, yeah, but he had thought his parents did too. And now he was here, disowned and maybe technically homeless.
But he didn’t say any of that. Instead all that came out was a small “Ok.”
Inko didn’t move yet, just letting him stay there in her embrace. Eijirou basked in it while he could. He figured it wasn’t something that was going to be taken away, or even something rare now, but old habits die hard. For years he had hoarded whatever affection he had been given, knowing he would have to cherish the memory, have to hold the feeling in his palms like a handful of fragile embers, and make it last until the next time.
It had been different since meeting Hanta again. It had been different ever since the Midoriyas had crashed into his life with the grace and attitude of feral cats adopting him; it had been pretty obvious when they showed up, and before he knew it they had nestled themselves into every part of his life, and he couldn’t imagine living without them.
So he finally stepped back, and followed Inko as she led him downstairs. Eijirou hesitated at the bottom of the stairs. Inko glanced back and gave him a reassuring smile.
“Rei said you can call them in her room if you want some privacy,” she explained. “I’ll be right in the kitchen.”
Eijirou nodded, saying a quiet “Ok,” before heading to where he knew the room was.
Rei’s room was tidy, but with just enough organized chaos to be lived in. She had a desk with papers and various books piled on it, all encircling a laptop that was plugged in. Plants dotted the room like it was a small jungle. The curtains were partially closed, so the light was muted but still morning-bright. A vase of fresh flowers was balanced up on one of the many book-laden shelves.
Eijirou shut the door and gingerly sat at the desk, his phone heavy in his hand. He had already pulled up the familiar contact before he could think about it. One moment to second guess, and another to brush it away and steel his resolve, then Eijirou pressed the call button.
Nika picked up after the second ring. Eijirou was torn between being happy that she had, and dreading the conversation. She may be the more levelheaded of his two sisters, but he still didn’t know how she would react.
“Hey Ei,” Nika said, and then yawned.
“Hey Nika,” he said quietly. “Did I wake you up?”
“Nah, just got home from a night shift. Whatcha need?”
“I, uh…”
Eijirou hesitated. He went quiet for a second too long. When Nika spoke again, she sounded worried.
“Ei? What’s wrong?”
“I-“ Eijirou choked. “I- M-mum and d-dad-“
Nika’s voice dropped into icy. Low and cold. “What did they do.”
“I- th-they um…They k-kicked me out…”
He heard her take a deep breath, and could almost hear her gritted teeth. “Ok. Ok, that…happened then. Why did they kick you out?”
And here came the part Eijirou was dreading. He swallowed back the lump in his throat, one hand on the phone and one tangled in his shirt.
“I, uh, I told them that I’m trans,” he mumbled, staring at the floor beneath him. “And that I- I have a boyfriend.”
There was a beat of silence, in which Eijirou’s heart decided to ricochet off his ribs and into his throat. He prepared himself for rejection—prepared himself to hang up before he knew if his sister really would hate him. Many, many thoughts flew through his head, almost none of them good.
And then the moment passed, and Nika wasn’t cold anymore, her tone careful but warm.
“Do you want me to call you a different name?”
“Y-yeah,” he breathed shakily. “Ei-Eijirou. I know it’s close to ‘Eiko' still, b-but it was easier to keep ‘Ei,’ a-and I like the nickname, and-“
“Eijirou,” she said, and he could hear her smile. “I like it.”
He could have sobbed out of relief, from the sheer weight taken off his shoulders. Nika didn’t hate him. She asked his name, and she actually liked it.
“You’re not—mad or- or-“
“Oh Ei, buddy, no, of course I’m not mad. I’m just glad you told me. You’re ok, right?”
“Yeah- yeah, I am,” he breathed. “I’m with the Midoriyas.”
“Good, that’s good. I can come-“
“Wait-“ Eijirou cut himself off, and so did Nika. He scrambled to finish his thought. “I want to stay. With them, I mean. I want to stay here.”
The line fell quiet again. Eijirou steeled himself, ordering his thoughts. He had to get this right.
“I- I practically already lived here anyway,” he told his sister. “And- and you just started at the hospital, and probably don’t have room for me anyway, and Akira just moved to America with her husband, and- a-and-“
“Eijirou, hey, slow down.” She was still calm, still careful, but she was listening. “It’s not too much for us, I- yeah, it’s hard at the hospital, I won’t lie, but you’re my si- my brother. Both Akari and I love you, you know that, right?”
And he did. He did know that. But that had done almost nothing to erase his fear. The terror of “what if” that colored every interaction. Their world as a whole may be leagues more accepting than it used to be, but Eijirou still had to be careful. He still had to worry about his parents disowning him.
So yeah, he knew his sisters loved him, but that love had no guarantee of being unconditional. His parents’ hadn’t been. Their rejection had gouged a bigger wound in his heart than he wanted to admit, and it left him wary that his sisters would react the same.
But Nika, at least, accepted him. She still loved him.
“Yeah, I know,” Eijirou answered softly.
“Good, that’s good. Hey, I- I have to go soon, but I’ll tell Akari, ok? And we can all talk about what to do next later. For now you’re- you’re ok with the Midoriyas, yeah?”
“I am.”
“Ok, I’m glad. Could- do you think you could give the phone to Inko for a minute?”
“Yeah, one sec.”
Eijirou pushed himself to his feet, opening the door again with a click. The kitchen was back down the hall. He found Inko sipping coffee at the counter, quietly talking with Rei. Both of them immediately turned to him when he poked his head in.
“Nika wants to talk to you, Inko,” he said.
“Oh, alright then. Give me one moment, Rei.”
Inko took his offered phone, retreating to the family room to have the conversation. Probably logistics of him staying with the Midoriyas. Hopefully. Eijirou was then left alone with Rei. And Peeve, who was perched on top of the fridge, but unlike Kouji he could not talk to her.
“Thank you for letting me use your room,” Eijirou said quietly.
“Of course, sweetheart,” Rei said, voice almost crystalline. “You’re always welcome here, and that includes my room if you need it. Within reason, of course.”
Eijirou nodded in understanding, and grinned. It felt watery, but true. Rei returned it just as readily. Then she offered Eijirou a mug of tea he hadn’t noticed on the counter behind her.
“Katsuki told me this one is your favorite,” Rei told him. “I hope I added enough honey.”
Eijirou took the mug, cradling it in his hands with utmost care. It made him want to cry—the care Rei and Inko and Hisashi were showing him. They cared so much, it was almost overwhelming. They hadn’t even batted an eye at letting him stay. None of the siblings had either. Even Natsuo had said—in his own, slightly eccentric way—that he wanted Eijirou to stay with them.
He found himself tearing up while staring at the mug of tea in his hands, with far too many emotions clogging his throat and too many thoughts in his head.
“Oh sweetheart.”
The mug was gently taken from him and set back on the counter. Eijirou was left staring at his hands, blurry through his watering eyes, before he was carefully pulled into another hug. Rei rubbed his back and held him, the warmth of the embrace a sharp contrast to her relatively cool skin. It did the trick of grounding him though.
A hand gently carded through his black hair, loose in case he wanted to move. “It’s ok, Eijirou,” Rei said softly. “You’ve been through a lot, sweetheart, it’s alright to cry. We’ve got you now, it’ll be alright.”
Rei continued to speak softly, coaxing Eijirou back to normal breathing and less tears. Inko had come back at some point and set his phone on the counter. He wasn’t worried about that though, for now all Eijirou cared about was trying to make sense of the blaring symphony of emotions in his brain.
“Thank you,” he mumbled once he had calmed down slightly.
“It’s no issue, Eijirou,” Rei answered. “You’re safe here, I promise.”
He nodded, and spent another minute just enjoying the hug. Rei didn’t move back, just let him bask in it. Maybe she knew that he needed it. Maybe she was just nice. Eijirou didn’t care which one it was, really, he was just thankful that he had found such a kindness in the world.
It would get better, he knew. He wouldn’t be stuck like this forever, feeling like he was drowning in emotions and having to deal with what had happened. Time would move on and he would be loved and loved and loved by the Midoriyas for the rest of his days, whether he was with Katsuki or not.
So it would get better.
It already had.
Notes:
Side note! I finally (after FIVE YEARS) rewrote chapter one for some clarity! I didn’t add any new information, so you’re not missing out if you don’t go read it, but just to let everyone know it exists!
ALSO WE GOT ART!! LOOK AT WHAT PHROGG MADE :D
Chillin Vigilantes
Chapter 110: Trust In You
Summary:
*slaps the roof of this chapter* this bad boy can fit so much catharsis in it
Notes:
MERRY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE HAVE A CHAPTER FOR CHRISTMAS
Editing was kinda minimal on this one because my focus has been shot for the last week or so and ESPECIALLY today because I love Christmas and every one of my siblings is being nuts trying to distract themselves to get to tomorrow. Hope you enjoy :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Katsuki fucking hated the quiet. Quiet used to mean anger, a boiling pot about to blow. Now it was better, no longer meant badly hidden rage, but their house was still never silent. Silence meant no one else was home. It was fucking eerie. Even at night he could hear his uncle’s snoring down the hallway. Quiet meant muffled sounds from ears that didn’t fucking work how they were meant to and struggling to get all the details of a conversation.
But the house was quieter in the morning, usually. A good quiet. Even if this morning they had been woken up by Natsuo being loud and trying to steal Katsuki’s fucking boyfriend, which he could fuck right off with. He got a pillow to the face for his idiocy. Eijirou was still pulled out of the room by Auntie Inko, leaving Katsuki with his siblings and the beginning of a still-sleepy quiet.
Besides Natsuo, Katsuki’s morning started with Hitoshi trying to burrow into the blankets and Mina deciding he had slept in long enough.
“Cruelty!” Hitoshi hissed, flailing for the blanket Mina had dramatically ripped off of him. “Injustice!”
“Oh, get up you big baby, everyone else is already up,” Mina snickered.
“You have abandoned me to the cold, I can feel myself…freezing…to death…”
“You’re so dramatic, Toto.”
“I am dying.”
“We’re indoors!”
“Dying.”
Hitoshi, deciding he had put on enough of a performance, rolled to his feet. Katsuki watched as he dug out a random shirt from their collective pile. The arms were just slightly too long. Dramatic shit.
Breakfast was cereal and it was too fucking quiet. Breakfast was almost always quieter than dinner, but today it was like everyone was keeping their tone hushed and voices to a whisper. Katsuki felt like his bones were itching.
It took him probably too long to realize Eijirou wasn’t with them. His boyfriend had been there for cereal two minutes ago, but had disappeared at some point. Katsuki felt a twinge of worry in his tingling hands. An unnamed feeling welled up under his skin, scratching and shifting like hourglass sand.
Katsuki got up and put his bowl in the sink, ignoring how his hands were shaking. The muted chatter at the table faded as he made a b-line for the backdoor. There was something better about the quiet outside. It was less stifled. All he could hear were cars and birds, but it was still better. Like a quiet that belonged.
He also figured that he would find Eijirou outside. The two of them gravitated towards the outdoors for some fucking reason, despite them being in the middle of the city. Who knew, maybe the two of them would fuck off into the woods and be hermits one day.
Lo and behold, his boyfriend was on the side of the house. The right side, if you were standing o the porch, which had a garden instead of a shed. Rei and Hanta liked to grow flowers and vegetables back there. Eijirou was sitting on one of the stepping stones on the grass, hunched in on himself and picking at the grass. Katsuki only paused a moment before joining him.
Eijirou was the first one to speak and break the quiet. “I talked to my sister this morning. Nika. She’s ok with me staying here, and she- she’s ok with me being trans, and being with you.”
Katsuki nudged his shoulder on Eijirou’s, leaning onto him. His boyfriend pressed back into the touch. It was a weight off both of them to know that at least some of Eijirou’s family approved of them.
“Good,” Katsuki said. “One less person to beat up.”
“Don’t beat up my sister,” Eijirou laughed, a wavering and watery sound. “But I’m glad too. She’s gonna tell Akari for me.”
“Think she’ll be ok with us too?”
“I think so,” Eijirou hummed. “If she is then she might get to our parents before any of you can. She can be…intense.”
Katsuki snorted in amusement. “We still need to go get your things. Auntie and Uncle would probably take you if you want to get them today.”
“Oh, yeah, I guess I can go get things, huh.” Eijirou paused, still picking at the grass. “Maybe- maybe not today though. I don’t think I can…”
Katsuki nodded, leaning heavier into Eijirou’s side. He may not know what was going through his boyfriend’s mind, but it wasn’t hard to try and put himself in those shoes. If it had been his own parents? Fuck, Katsuki would probably just say screw it and get new things instead of going back.
“Whenever you’re ready,” he reassured. “You’ll have a bunch of vigilantes behind you too. Your asshole DNA donors won’t be able to do a thing to you.”
Eijirou chuckled again, sounding a bit less like he was two seconds away from crying.
“We could sneak in too,” Katsuki suggested. “Easy enough to open a window. Fuckers wouldn’t even know we were there until morning.”
“I keep forgetting you guys are the vigilantes I’ve been watching for weeks,” Eijirou admitted.
Katsuki shrugged, not really knowing what to say to that. There wasn’t much to say in the first place. They were vigilantes, and his siblings had teased him mercilessly over Eijirou technically being a fan of theirs. But at the end of the day Eijirou hadn’t hated him, so Katsuki was satisfied.
“…Hey, Kat?”
“Yeah?”
“How are…how are we going to keep up…this?”
Katsuki raised an eyebrow, turning his gaze to Eijirou’s red eyes, which were watching him nervously. “Keep up what?”
“Us. Being together. If I’m living here…what are we going to do?”
Katsuki took a slow breath, giving the question the thought it deserved. His gut reaction was to say fuck it, he liked Eijirou and that was all that mattered. But that wasn’t what his boyfriend was asking. That wasn’t the answer either of them needed.
Katsuki knew adults would tell them to break up. If Eijirou would be living with them, it would be the best option, in their mind. But Katsuki couldn’t do that to either of them. Fuck that. He may not know if what he had was love yet, but he cared about Eijirou too much to just break things off because there was a challenge.
If they realized that things weren’t working out, then yeah, they’d break up, but that didn’t mean Katsuki would stop caring about Eijirou. They were best friends first, boyfriends second. He would always have a home with Katsuki and his family.
“What we always do,” Katsuki answered confidently. “We adapt and adjust. Whatever happens you have a home here, Ei. Don’t you ever fucking doubt that.”
“I know.” Eijirou smiled, small but true. “I’m just…worried. Won’t it be weird?”
“Eh, my family is weird as hell anyway. We know what to do and what not to do, and you already stayed here a lot before now.”
“Yeah, I- I guess you’re right. We’ve basically already been living together, haven’t we.”
“Yep, so don’t worry your fuckin’ head about it, alright? It’ll work out. We’ll work it out.”
Eijirou hummed an agreeing noise, and reached over to grab Katsuki’s hand. The cold winter air wrapped around them like a comforting blanket despite the chill.
“No one left behind,” Katsuki said suddenly.
“Hm?”
“It’s our, fuckin’—family motto, or whatever you want to call it. No one left behind. We don’t leave each other, and we’ll do whatever it fucking takes to keep each other safe.” Katsuki turned then, just enough to look into Eijirou’s eyes. “You’re one of us now, even if you’re not—official family or whatever. So no one left behind, fucker, it includes you.”
Eijirou’s expression was a mix of cautious hope and awe. He had more brightness in his eyes than he had for…a while now. Fuck, Katsuki would do whatever it took to make him smile again.
And wasn’t that some sappy shit.
“Ok,” Eijirou said softly, leaning his head on Katsuki’s shoulder again. “No one left behind.”
Katsuki let out a breath, and nodded. Neither of them said a word more. The quiet settled along their shoulders and curled around their ears, and Katsuki felt calm.
~~~~~~~~~~
None of them went out that night. They stayed in their room and planned to actually sleep for once, which Mina wasn't opposed to, per se, but she did have a lot of excess energy she had wanted to burn before sleeping. It was better to stay with Eijirou though, so she really didn’t mind. Her siblings would just have to deal with her doing handstands while they all talked.
And they were talking. Mostly filling Eijirou in on their vigilante business. How long they’d been doing it, how Mei made all their costumes, yada yada so on and so forth. Mina paused and wondered if it was Izuku’s fault that she used the phrase “so on and so forth” in her own thoughts.
Mina tuned into the conversation as she began walking the length of their room on her hands, feet carefully kept still so she didn’t accidentally kick anyone.
“So let me get this straight,” Eijirou started. “You’ve actually been doing this for how long?”
“Over a year, I think?” Izuku said casually. “That’s when we all started, anyway. It’s been longer if you count when people started to recognize the name Kitsune.”
“And I’ve been a vigilante for uhhh, nine months now? Maybe? Jeez, that sounds like a long time actually,” Hanta said.
“You were already a vigilante when we met again,” Eijirou realized. Mina saw the realization dawn on his face, albeit upside down.
“Yep.”
“Dude.”
Hanta shrugged, which looked pretty weird when Mina was standing on her hands. “I would’ve told you if it wasn’t, you know, illegal.”
“It’s still illegal,” Eijirou pointed out.
“Yeah, but now you’re living with us. You would’ve found out eventually anyway, this just sped it up to before Katsuki could tell you.”
“That’s fair, I guess.”
“We really were going to tell you,” Mina chipped in. It was a testament to how often she did gymnastics in the house that none of her siblings even batted an eye at her antics. “But Blasty over here wanted to be dramatic about it.”
“Shut the fuck up!”
Mina giggled as she kept walking the room on her hands. Wow, they needed to vacuum in here. She dropped back onto her belly, just laying on the floor for a moment and observing what treasures were hidden under their dressers. Oh hey that’s where that sock went.
“And you really go out almost every night?” Eijirou asked next.
Hitoshi was the one to answer. “Almost. We made a deal with our parents to not go out every single night of week, so we take some nights off and trade who goes out. Mei and Izuku seem to be allergic to it though.”
“I don’t go out every night!” Izuku protested.
“Yeah, you go out six out of seven nights, because you’re just like Momma Ink when it comes to using loopholes in a contract.”
All that Mina heard in response was a muffled protesting noise, but no words. She wiggled out from under the dresser, sock in hand, to see Izuku facedown on the bed. The sock was thrown in the general direction of the closet hampers.
“Do I count as an accomplice now?” Eijirou asked.
“…maybe?”
Eijirou nodded, looking contemplative. Mina decided she’d see how many slow kick-overs she could do before she fell down. She kept one ear on the conversation as she went into the backbend.
“Well in that case,” Eijirou said, “how can I help?”
Mina loved that all of her friends-turned-siblings were down for illegal activities. All of them had been so ready to break the law, it was hilarious. Eijirou may be her brother-in-law more than a normal brother, but that did nothing to quell her amusement at the situation. Manly man was down for metaphorical murder and theft.
“Maybe start by watching for a bit,” Momo suggested. “You could join me at the control center tomorrow night?”
“Oh, yeah! That sounds cool.”
Mina made a questioning noise, which Momo answered before she even asked the actual question. “Mei wants to work on something so I’ll be heading the control center tomorrow.”
“Ohh ok.”
“It’s…ok if I do that?”
“Just don’t touch anything you’re not supposed to and you’re fine,” Mei told him. “Most of the exploding stuff isn’t within reach of that side of the bench anyway.”
“Ok,” Eijirou said, only partially fazed by the comment.
Izuku leaned forward, the air of the room suddenly seeming to grow heavier. Mina stopped to sit on the ground and pay attention to whatever Izuku- no, Kitsune was about to say.
“Do you want to be a vigilante, Eijirou?” He asked very seriously.
“I think so.”
“You understand the consequences attached to it, right?” Izuku was staring right into Eijirou’s eyes, green on red. Obsidian on garnet. “Police and heroes will be after us, and villains will want us gone too. It’s not safe. We’d be with you, but that doesn’t make it less dangerous.”
Eijirou held the gaze for a moment. Mina watched the staring competition curiously, but also knew the weight that was attached to it. No one dared to say anything.
“I know,” Eijirou said, more confident than Mina thought he would. “I’ve seen what you guys face—at least a bit of it. I’m not ready for it yet, skill-wise, but I- I want to help. I think that I want to be a hero, and- and I can’t call myself a hero if I can’t be brave.”
“Bravery has its place,” Hitoshi said. “But so does picking your battles, and knowing when you won’t be of use somewhere. What we’re doing is, by all means, kinda stupid.”
Ei shook his head. “You do it because the city needs you, and that’s brave.”
“Still dumb from everyone else’s perspective.” Hitoshi shrugged.
“And illegal,” Shouto added.
It was Eijirou’s turn to shrug. “Brave doesn’t always mean legal.”
“Fair point.”
“What I’m saying is,” Izuku sighed, getting them back on track. “Are you sure you’re ok with doing this? Even just helping behind the scenes could get you in trouble if we’re all caught.”
Eijirou tilted his head, and Mina wondered which one of them he had picked that up from. “But you wouldn’t let that happen. I get what you mean, man, I do, but I also know you. Both as Izuku and Kitsune. You wouldn’t let even one Siren stay caught for long enough to give away information, let alone all of you.”
Izuku faltered, caught off guard. Mina found it fascinating. It was usually so hard to surprise Izuku, what with him being super smart and also, you know, living with all of them. It had kinda desensitized him to surprises.
“You’re…not wrong,” Izuku admitted. “But still, you understand the danger attached to this, right?”
“Yeah, man, I get it. And I trust you guys to not go overboard, and to keep me safe if it comes down to it.”
Izuku looked like he was about to cry. “I’ll make sure it’s not a misplaced trust then.”
“I know you will.”
Mina cooed from her spot on the floor. She launched herself at Eijirou, tackling him in a hug. The fact that he didn’t use his quirk and just let himself fall was both hilarious and heartwarming.
“We trust you to have our back too,” Mina told him. “Our strong manly man shield boy.”
“Thanks Mina,” he laughed.
One potential Siren stronger, the Midoriyas settled down for the rare night where they all slept at the same time. Eijirou, already used to the sleep piles, just snagged a pillow and a place beside Katsuki.
Mina drifted off with the thought of how thankful she was that he had decided to stay.
Notes:
Might come back and reread this when I'm not fielding two kids asking questions about presents and parents arguing over cleaning the garage because everyone is Wired waiting for Christmas. Anyway I love you guys and hope you have a lovely day no matter what or if you celebrate anything this week <3
Next chapter!: some breaking and entering, as a treat
Chapter 111: This is a Holdup Momma
Summary:
A bit of breaking an entering never hurt anyone.
Chapter title from A Bank Robber’s Nursery Rhyme by Goodnight, Texas
Notes:
I HAVE RETURNED
Hey, hey notice the lack of comma in the chapter title? Yeah that’s intentional. Robber Inko for the win!
Chapter brought to you by listening to Dog Days Are Over (Florence + the Machines) and Bank Robber’s Nursery Rhyme (Goodnight, Texas) on repeat, with Digital Silence (Peter McPoland) thrown in there once I drank all my tea.
Let me know if y'all spot any errors in this one, I kinda gave up on the nitpicky editing after two weeks of failing to edit it at all in exchange for actually finishing. Enjoy! <3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Kirishima parents were away at work, like they seemed to usually be. Hitoshi wasn’t going to complain about it, since it worked in their favor this time, but still. It had annoyed him since meeting Eijirou and he would continue to be annoyed at it forever probably.
They took their passenger van to Eijirou’s former house. All eleven of them—twelve with Momma Ink driving—piled in to pretend they definitely weren’t going to be trespassing soon. All innocent faces and innocent plans. Nothing illegal here, nope.
It wasn’t hard to pretend anyway. They had practice. Breaking and entering, if it came down to it, would be far from the worst charge to their names.
Eijirou seemed to be having a time though. Even knowing his parents wouldn’t be home, he was obviously nervous. Hitoshi didn’t blame him. He had all of them at his back though, and Hitoshi was determined to get in and out as fast as possible. If they maybe managed to fuck up something of his parents’ in the process, well then that was just a bonus.
They finally pulled into the driveway, and everyone was unbuckling their seatbelts before the van was even in park. Hitoshi joined his siblings in spilling out of the car in a flood of children. He really hoped the neighbors were all busy and wouldn’t question their presence. Or not, it would be kinda funny to see Momma Ink smile all polite while she verbally disarmed them. It was always hilarious.
Eijirou led the charge towards the door, knowing where the spare key was kept. Hitoshi watched as he turned over a plasticky looking rock, and found it empty.
Welp, breaking and entering it was!
Momma Ink came up behind them before anyone could say a word. She took in the empty rock, Eijirou’s heartbroken but resigned expression, and the rest of them eyeing the door like they were wondering how easily they could kick it in. That’s what Hitoshi was thinking, anyway.
“Give me one minute,” was all Momma Ink said, before reaching into her bag.
She pulled out a lock picking tool, and before most of them could blink, the door was already swinging open. They all turned to each other with wide eyes and giddy grins.
“We have the coolest mom ever,” Hitoshi said.
“Agreed,” echoed his siblings.
“Come on then,” Momma Ink laughed lightly. “In and out kids. Help Eijirou, I’ll see if I can find important documents.”
“Aye aye cap’n!” Hitoshi said, giving a mock salute.
The giggles of his siblings chased them into the house and to Eijirou’s room. Boxes were quickly assembled as he pointed out some of the things he wanted to take. Hitoshi kept an eye on him, knowing how nervous he had been. Katsuki hadn’t budged from his side since they stepped out of the van.
All things considered, Eijirou seemed to be doing alright as he packed. He walked through the house to grab a few little things, then directed the rest of them on what to take or leave in his room. In no time at all they had stripped it bare like a hoard of packing piranhas. Ochako and Kouji had even made sure to grab his bike from the garage.
Momma Ink appeared in Eijirou’s doorway when they were close to being done. She had a folder tucked under her arm, the lock picking tool still in her hand. Hitoshi still thought that was the coolest thing ever.
“Almost done in here?” she asked.
“Almost!” Izuku chirped. “Are we still going shopping later?”
“After we drop the boxes off at home. We won’t have room in the back otherwise.”
Hitoshi nodded, taping up the box in front of him. It had been a week since they had gone to get groceries, so it was definitely time to go again, and probably scare whatever poor cashier they got this time. Some of them knew their family by name now. Those were the ones less surprised by how much food they got in one go, and how many kids sometimes went on the trip.
Always an adventure with their family. Hitoshi loved it.
“Then let’s get these in the car.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Eijirou, having all but lived with the Midoriyas even before he got kicked out, had in fact gone on a shopping trip with them before. It had been utter chaos and the most entertaining thing he had done all week. The current one was shaping up to be very similar.
Inko had handed three of them a list at random, and they had all promptly split into groups and scattered the second they stepped foot in the store. Divide and conquer, he supposed. Eijirou found himself dragged along by Hanta, who had snagged Mei and Shouto too. They went directly to one of the aisles that held cereal, close to the back of the store. Shouto and Hanta almost immediately got into a debate about what cereal was better while Mei started scaling the shelves for her favorite on the top.
Eijirou, curious, wandered to the next aisle. It was a lot of hair products, but he also didn’t particularly want to debate about cereal right now, so he wandered down it.
He quickly discovered the hair dye at one end, and stopped. There were so many colors. Almost without realizing what he was doing, he reached up to his own hair. He had wanted to change it for…forever now. He wanted it shorter, he wanted it to be different. Something besides the plain black that his mom had never let him cut shorter than his shoulders.
Maybe…
“Do you want to dye your hair, Eijirou?”
He jumped, whipping around to see Inko a few feet from him. She calmly waited for him to answer, seeming to scan the shelves herself. Eijirou quickly tried to cover up that he had been surprised in the first place.
“A- a little bit, but it’s ok, you’re already getting groceries today and there are a lot-“
“We aren’t going to go broke from a box of hair dye, dear,” she chuckled. “What color do you want?”
Eijirou hesitated, but didn’t want to argue, so he turned back to the wall of chemical colors. His eyes gravitated towards one color specifically. Inko nodded in approval when he pulled it off the shelf, commenting on his choice.
Something in Eijirou’s chest loosened, and he went to go show off his prize to Hanta.
~~~~~~~~~~
One haircut and hair-dyeing session later—as well as a call to Touya to make sure they were doing it right—Eijirou stepped out with bright red hair. Momo thought it had turned out well, if she did say so herself. He had even used some of Natsuo’s hair gel to try and spike it. It didn’t really hold well, just a tiny bit too short now, but it made Eijirou happy. Enough that he posed for pictures to send to his sisters.
Momo may not understand all the feeling attached to being trans, but she did understand the freedom of a new haircut. Her own had long since grown out again, but she still remembered what it had felt like to look in the mirror that first time. The euphoria that came with looking different. A new start.
So no, she didn’t know exactly what Eijirou was feeling, but she knew it was similar enough to her own experience from the pure joy that showed on his face when he looked in the mirror.
It was also hilarious to see Natsuo’s face when Eijirou shyly mentioned that one reason he wanted red hair specifically was because of Natsuo. He thought that the red in Natsuo’s hair was “so manly, dude” and that both Natsuo and Crimson Riot were inspirations to him. Momo thought Natsuo was going to start crying.
They still had a few hours until sunset at that point, and Momo spent that time trying to see if she could make hair dye. It was surprisingly easy to find the molecular structure of the dye, but the ratio of ingredients was slightly harder to find. Same with the hair bleach.
All that to say, the ends of Momo’s hair were red by the time she and her siblings migrated out to the shed. She munched on a protein bar as she sat down and booted up Mei’s computer.
The chatter surrounded Momo like a familiar blanket. Latches clicked into place, metal clinking as her siblings assembled their costumes and weapons. Multicolored light slowly began illuminating the walls. Mei was farther down the bench, already working away on whatever construct she was crafting. An extra stool was pulled up next to Momo for Eijirou, though it was still empty for now. There was giggling and laughter and cursing as the Sirens pulled on their personas piece by piece.
The stool scraped against the floor as Eijirou arrived, drawing Momo’s attention away from the computer. She looked up with a smile.
“Redhead ready for duty,” Eijirou joked, leaning over to glance at the computer. “What’s this do?”
“It’s how we’ll watch,” she explained. “The masks all have a chip in them that will transmit a wireless bug, which will let us see the footage of any nearby cameras, and then delete the footage of when we were watching. All the masks also have their own cameras in them that appear on a different tab, Mei is working on getting another monitor for that footage though.”
Mei, off to the other side of the bench, called over, “That’s next week’s problem!”
“We’ll have another screen next week,” Momo continued without missing a beat. “Any questions?”
“I got like…half of that.”
“That’s fair,” she chuckled. “What did you understand?”
“Uh, the computer shows us wherever the masks are, which can record stuff now…and that’s about it.”
“Close! See this map here? That’s where the location data is sent, which shows us where the vigilantes are, as well as police and heroes, since they usually have to report their location. And this monitor here can show either mask footage or any surrounding video, such as security cameras.”
Eijirou focused intently on the screen, watching as Momo pointed out the color-coded circles on the map. Vigilantes labeled and in green, police in blue, and heroes in red. There were some yellow pins too, which Momo explained were for reported incidents that police or heroes were notified of. It depended on how serious an incident was that determined how fast heroes or cops got there.
He nodded along as she explained, everyone else assembling their last costume pieces in the background. Momo moved onto explaining how the comms system worked. Eijirou looked a bit overwhelmed, but he seemed to understand most of it so that was good. She had no illusion that he probably wouldn’t stay command center bound for long.
Momo may not know every little thing about Eijirou, but she knew more than enough. Enough to make an educated guess that he would become involved very quickly. He was the type of person that wanted to help, and had the power to, but just needed a direction to go in. The Sirens had given him that now. It was honestly more a matter of how fast Momo and Mei could get him a costume, but that involved Eijirou telling them what he wanted as a name and theme.
For now though, Momo was happy to tell him about their systems and let him watch the others take off into the city. Mei was contently tinkering a few feet from them. Momo knew surprisingly little about what it was, just that Mei had needed a lot of metal pieces, gold leafing, and more mechanical parts than usual. There was also the matter of the half-fixed motorcycle in their garage, but that was something different than the gold-and-wires mass Mei was working on at the moment.
The camera screens began to switch between different views, the different angles quickly filling up the screen and flickering from one camera to the next. Momo pulled up the map instead for a moment and let Eijirou watch it while she grabbed the extra pair of headphones.
Her own pair of headphones ready, she handed Eijirou a second set.
“We can’t use real names,” she reminded him. “You know all of ours, but do you have one you want to use?”
“Oh, uh…do I need to have one now?”
Momo shook her head. “Whatever you use will probably stick, so make sure you like it before we use it. You can use the computer later to try and find one that fits if you want.”
“I’d like that.”
“Good. In the meantime we might have to act like you aren’t actually listening, just to be safe.”
“My comms are pretty safe,” Mei pitched in from down the bench. “But there are technology quirks out there, and people that could theoretically hack in but I’m less worried about them and more worried about quirk bullshit. There’s always a chance of them being recorded too, and mentioning a real name could lead the cops right to us.”
“Oh, damn, yeah I’ll just pretend I’m not here then.”
“We could talk like you’re Mei,” Momo suggested. “Or that you’re me, actually, since Daedalus is usually on comms anyway.”
“I, uh, is it ok if we act like I’m Daedalus? Athena is a good name don’t get me wrong, but it’s…”
Momo nodded in understanding, connecting the dots pretty quick. She forgot for a moment that Eijirou might not want a name considered feminine. “Of course. Just let me turn these on and let the others know.”
Momo slipped the headphones over her ears, seeing Eijirou do the same out of the corner of her eye. Voice immediately washed over them once she turned them on. She triple checked the microphone before she began speaking, slipping into the mindset of Athena.
“Athena checking in,” she said crisply. “Before anything else, sound off.”
All of her siblings said their name in order. Momo hummed happily, eyes darting over the map and camera array.
“I’m here with Daedalus,” she said, putting unusual emphasis on the name. “He is watching with me tonight.”
They all caught on quickly, thankfully. “Loud and clear, Athena,” Kitsune said, smile audible. “We’ll put on a show for him.”
There was a wild cackle from Ares, which Momo ignored in favor of checking the maps again.
“Head west tonight,” she told them. “There are a lot of baby heroes that have crossed into Musutafu in the east, I think it’s nighttime training for UA.”
She got affirmative calls back, and the green circles of her siblings began to shift west. Eijirou watched, a furrow in his brow.
“Isn’t UA technically in Musutafu?” he asked.
“Not really. UA itself counts as its own city, law-wise, and it’s far enough out of Musutafu borders that it’s only lumped in by technicality. It’s closer to the next city over, anyway. Heroes usually go that way too, since it’s where the actual main gate is, not towards Musutafu.”
“Oh…I guess that makes sense.”
“Hero students come over here sometimes though,” Momo continued. “UA teachers like to take them out at night a few times every year. It’s a coin flip whether they’d use too much power trying to capture one of us or if they’d be too inexperienced to do anything. Better safe than sorry and just avoid them altogether.”
Eijirou nodded, watching the cameras now. Momo listened to the chatter of her siblings as they ran. Ochako called dibs a few seconds later, and disappeared down to street level. The cameras nearby showed someone stumbling down the sidewalk. She landed near them, talking in a low tone. The person let Harpy sit them down on the curb. Momo moved on in the cameras, knowing Ochako had the situation well in hand, and that Hanta was nearby if she needed backup.
“What’s she doing?” Eijirou asked quietly.
“Helping,” Momo answered. “They weren’t doing anything obviously illegal, so we talk first. They probably just needed help home.”
“Oh. I didn’t know you guys did all that. I mean, I knew you helped people, but-“
Momo nudged his shoulder, bringing his attention back to her. “You’d only know what people post online, and we haven’t talked about it a lot with you. But yeah, we try and help everyone we can, and that includes drunk people that we want to get home safe. Fundamentally, we help the people that heroes tend to ignore.”
On the camera screens, a car pulled up, and Harpy helped the drunk person into the back seat. She talked to the driver for a second before they drove away. With that she scaled the nearby building and was back to leaping over the rooftops.
“I want to do that,” Eijirou whispered.
“Hm?”
“I think- I think I want to do that, too,” he repeated. “I want to help like that. I’m not…I’m not brave, not like you guys, but I want to at least try.”
Momo wondered how long he had been thinking about it. Eijirou had known about the Sirens—their existence, not their identities—for a while. She wondered if he had ever thought of joining them, even before they had brought him home.
“You could be a normal hero, too,” Momo gently reminded. “I know you already said that you would like to help, but you don't have to be involved with the Sirens. We’d love to have you with us, obviously, but you need to know what you’re getting into. If we’re ever found out…”
Both of them jumped as a voice piped up from their headphones, having forgotten the others could hear them.
“We’d be arrested,” Kitsune said bluntly. “ It would depend on how well we’re liked, and how much they can prove, but what we’re doing is illegal. I know we talked about it the other night, but still, it’s serious.”
“I know,” Eijirou said quietly. “I, uh, I looked up some of the laws, when I started following you guys. I don’t know everything, obviously, but I know enough.”
“What we do isn’t pretty either,” Basilisk piped up solemnly. “We see bad things. Sometimes we aren’t fast enough. Heroes hate us and police would probably try and shoot us. It’s dangerous.”
“But you do it anyway.”
“Exactly.”
Momo set a hand on his shoulder. “We just want you to know that this isn’t something you have to do because you’re here, ok? We’d help you train either way, but you don’t have to be a vigilante. Just make sure you’ve thought it through.”
Eijirou paused for a moment, eyes flicking back and forth as his thoughts ran rampant. Momo gave him a quiet moment. She checked the maps, checked the cameras. The rest of the Sirens were still well on their way of their patrol.
“I don’t know if I have what it takes to be a hero,” Eijirou said after a few minutes. “But maybe…maybe if I practice, then I will be. And I want to help.”
Momo couldn’t help the smile that crept up on her lips. “You’d need a lot of training,” she said.
“I can do that.”
“And you’d be running from heroes and cops.”
“I can do that!”
Momo smirked. “Think you can handle talking to Eraserhead?”
That made Eijirou stop, staring at her with wide eyes. Momo could hear Mei cackling in the background.
“You’ve met Eraserhead?” he whispered.
“Kitsune sees him almost every week.”
“Dude.”
Momo couldn’t help laughing too now. Eijirou only really knew about Eraserhead from them, but if nothing else, he knew how much they all liked the underground hero. He had absorbed some of the awe by being around them for so long.
“So?” she asked.
“Count me in.”
Notes:
I know they already had the whole “you wanna be a vigilante?” conversation but it felt necessary to repeat a bit with more detail. Mostly I was writing the scene where Eijirou sees all the stuff they actually do and it kinda led to another “you sure about this?” conversations without my input, but it fits so here we are!
Anyway sorry this took so long! I watched Arcane and it decided to worm into my brain in a way that hasn’t happened since I started THIS fic in 2019. That is to say I now have 2 one-shots posted and an ongoing soulmate AU now, shameless self promo go read it I’m having so much fun writing it :D
Have a good day/night! <3
Chapter 112: Next Generation
Summary:
Eijirou’s vigilante name reveal, and a certain solution is found :D
Notes:
I’M ALIVE. Just still obsessed with Arcane. I feel like my writing may have had a jump in improvement (or at least a slight change in style after writing 150K in 2 months lol) but that means now I want to rewrite something like half this chapter still ahhhh. Anyway I'm done fussing over it it’s up it’s here enjoy :D
Also we just passed 3,000 (visible) bookmarks on this fic??? My goodness there's a lot of you hi!! I love you guys!!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hanta had almost forgotten how tough the Midoriyas’ version of training was. Almost, because he was very much still learning. He just hadn’t realized how much he had improved until Eijirou was suddenly added to the equation. Square one, it turned out, was now something Hanta could do with ease.
They had started with an easy run. Just to their training grounds—the abandoned building they had turned into a vigilante playground—and back. Simple! At least Hanta had thought so, until they got back and Eijirou had flopped facedown onto the grass, wheezing something about dying.
It was almost funny. Hanta wasn't going to laugh, mostly because she remembered when she had been like Eijirou, but. It was a little bit funny. Hanta joined Eijirou on the grass either way.
“Hanta,” he groaned, “I’m dying.”
“Nah, you’re fine.”
Eijirou then made a noise that could have been him saying “dying” again, but it also could have been him getting grass in his mouth. Hanta blindly reach over to pat his friend’s shoulder.
“It gets easier,” Hanta promised. “After a while what we just did feels like a warmup, and you’ll move onto harder things. I thought I was dying when I did this the first time too.”
Eijirou turned his head to the side, looking up at Hanta. “Really?”
“Yeah,” they laughed. “Ate shit a couple times too. Once you start doing parkour though it gets really fun. Hard, but fun.”
Eijirou seemed to think for a second, then nodded to himself. Hanta took the moment to look up at the sky. It was chilly outside, but there hadn’t been any snow yet. They were expecting it any day though. January had already crept up on them, and their winter break would be over in a week.
Hanta wondered if anything would change at school now. They figured it wouldn’t, since Eijirou had practically been theirs even before actually taking him home, but still.
“I’ve been trying to think of a name to use,” Eijirou said, face not pressed into the grass this time. “But I can’t decide on one.”
“What do you have so far?”
“I don’t know, just that I want it to be like, strong? And not feminine. Your whole thing is cool, dude, but I think it’d just give me dysphoria.”
“That’s fair.”
They laid on the grass for a few minutes more, more-or-less thinking about names. Hanta had a few drift through their mind, but none they thought would fit Eijirou. Their best friend deserved a good name that fit him.
None stuck out to them though, and Hanta’s stomach was rumbling.
“Let’s get lunch,” they said. “Maybe Momma Inko and Pops can help with a name.”
Eijirou made a wordless sound of faux-annoyance. “Ugh, fine. Help me up, my legs feel like jello.”
Hanta only grinned, and then pulled Eijirou up with enough strength to slingshot him towards their front door, leaving Hanta laughing and Eijirou sputtering in the grass again.
Inko knew, logically, that her family was not what most would consider “normal.” There were a lot of them, to start with, and most of them were vigilantes. Most people were not vigilantes, or had vigilantes for parents. But Inko knew she herself wasn’t exactly “normal” either, and the concept of normal was relative anyways.
There were days though, that she could only watch what was happening and think “ah, that’s probably not something other parents worry about.” The current example being that she had arrived home for lunch to find her kids having a conference over the kitchen table, very seriously discussing names from different mythologies.
Inko, knowing this was probably the calmest her kids would be all week, just shrugged and stepped into the kitchen.
All eyes were immediately on her, almost a dozen excited grins and greetings joining them. Inko couldn’t help a soft smile at the sight. A few of her kids got up to give her a hug before returning to their seats at the impromptu kitchen conference.
“We heated up the leftovers, Aunt Ko!” Ochako chirped.
“Thanks sweetheart,” Inko said, grabbing a plate. “What are you all deciding on?”
All eyes turned to Eijirou. He laughed a bit nervously before answering. “A name, I guess.”
“A vigilante name?”
“Yeah…”
Inko nodded. “What ideas do you have so far?”
“Oh. Uh. I thought of a few, but none seem to really…fit.” Eijirou paused, and the rest of the table began muttering again. He looked up and nervously held Inko’s gaze. “How did…how did you and Hisashi choose names?”
Inko smiled, the memories colored fond and bittersweet. “I wanted to sound knowledgeable, and like I was older than I actually was at the time. Like I wasn’t someone to mess with even if someone only knew my name. It also summarized my skills pretty well.”
“And Hisashi?”
“Similar, it was for his quirk.” Inko huffed in amusement at the memories of first meeting her husband, not knowing who he was back then. “I asked Hisashi why he hadn’t chosen the name Dragon, after I first met him. He hit his head on the table because it simply hadn’t occurred to him.”
Her kids snickered and laughed at the idea, and Inko chuckled along with them. Meeting Hisashi as Flamethrower had been…an experience, to put it simply. She had been used to people fearing her, or at least cautious of what she could do. People came to her to get information in exchange for money. That was it.
Then Hisashi had appeared. He had waltzed right up and talked to her like they were old friends at a bar. It had thrown her for a loop at first, she would admit. Although at the time she had mostly just been annoyed.
But the longer he stuck around, the more he came back and did his damndest to actually befriend her, the more she found herself falling. The fact that she had been falling for the goofball Masaru had introduced her to at college had complicated things, up to the point that she had discovered they were one in the same.
She still gave him grief for the name Flamethrower though. Falling in love with Hisashi hadn’t discounted his terrible naming skills.
“Oh,” Eijirou said. “I…would Dragon be a good name for me? I don’t…breathe fire or anything, but dragons are pretty common in myths, and my quirk could be like scales…”
“There was also a dragon guarding a grove of Ares,” Hitoshi piped up, a shit-eating grin on his face.
“They were usually seen as either protectors or bringers of destruction,” Momo mused. “I’d say that fits pretty well, Eijirou.”
Izuku hummed, nodding in agreement. “And it’s still vague enough to not connect back to you as a civilian. I like it.”
Eijirou turned back to Inko then. His red eyes were big, curious, something almost pleading in them. He wanted approval. Inko had seen it in all of her children at one point or another, how they longed for encouragement, for the reassurance that they had chosen correctly.
So Inko smiled softly, nodding to the boy. “A protector,” she said kindly. “I think it will suit you well.”
“Hell yeah!” Hanta cheered, throwing an arm around Eijirou’s shoulders and shaking him.
“We can be the lizard duo!” Mina chirped. “Trio if you count Gorgon.”
Mei reached over and playfully punched his shoulder. “Dragon’s a good one, Knuckles.”
“Knuckles?”
“Yeah.” Mei shrugged, entirely unrepentant. “Like the echidna from the old games Pop-Sashi showed us. You know, red and spiky.”
“It’s perfect,” Mina snickered.
“Yeah, I like it,” Eijirou laughed.
Inko couldn’t help the joy that danced in her heart. Her kids were laughing, joking with each other and congratulating Eijirou. He may not be her son, but she wanted him to thrive all the same. By any means necessary.
“That reminds me,” Inko said, catching the kids’ attention. “I have something—some knowledge—that may help you all.”
They all leaned in at her tone, watching and listening intently. Good. It was important that they understood the gravity to her words. The knowledge itself wasn’t dangerous, but still far from safe.
But Inko knew it could help. Not the place itself, but her kids were smart. They would find someone.
“Have you heard of the Neutrality Bar yet?”
Izuku was nervous. Or excited. He really couldn’t tell, but it was probably both if he was being honest. Whatever it was bubbled in his gut with nerves, slivers of confidence working their way through his skin. Yet his hands remained steady, his eyes sharp.
He stood on a roof, looking over the edge to the building before him. Hitoshi, Momo, and Kouji were behind him on the roof as well. Gorgon, Athena, and Pan right now. Their eyes glowed, Kitsune’s mask illuminated in white. They were not trying to hide tonight.
“Persephone said to just go in through a window, yeah?” came Gorgon’s electronic drawl.
Izuku hummed an affirmative, the noise coming out like the buzz of a live wire. “Go in through a window, ask the bartender if they know someone who could help, and either sit for a while or leave.”
“Don’t forget their table,” Athena chuckled. “We have a legacy to uphold.”
“Right, that too.”
Pan nudged Izuku’s side, bringing up his hands to sign. “Are you ready?”
Izuku nodded, triple checking his mask to make sure nothing had been caught in the seam. Mei had said she was in the process of remaking his, overhauling it to be one piece like Jorogumo’s. Adding some updates and fixes to it too. Improved expression tracking, sturdier wires, and more moving parts.
She’d also be fixing the dents he had acquired on this one. Izuku was careful to avoid getting hit as a rule, but that was never foolproof, and they all had random bouts of clumsiness. Especially after a growth-spurt. He idly traced one such dent in his cheek. A crowbar to the face hadn’t been the plan for that particular night, and Izuku had never been more grateful for how sturdy their masks were.
Either way, this was far from the scariest thing they had ever done. It was certainly up there, but it was also probably one of the safest risks they could take. There was no fighting in the bar. There was still danger, but it had a thick veil of civility. Enforced by the bartender apparently.
They could do this, especially if it would help Eijirou.
Izuku took a deep, steadying breath before finally saying, “Let’s go.”
He swung over the edge of the building and onto the fire escape. The adrenaline of weightlessness never got old, in his opinion. Something in him just loved to fly. That same part sang as he leapt onto the railing of the fire escape now, nothing but air between him and where he needed to be.
The opposite building was riddled with ladders along the walls. More than there were technically supposed to be, but there was a reason for it.
After all, why go up the ground-level stairs when you were already on the roof?
Izuku smiled widely, then launched himself across the alley, catching himself on the rung of a slightly rusty ladder. He quickly skittered his way up to the next window. A clang below told him that his siblings were following, just like they had planned.
The window was already open, muffled voices and music drifting out of it. Izuku glanced down, just to make sure his brothers and sister were close behind. Athena’s mask stared back at him, a patient silver. She gave him a nod.
Izuku steeled himself, then gracefully threw himself through the open window. He rolled on the floor and came up standing, shoulders back and eyes immediately scanning the room. Athena came in behind him, feet first this time, followed by Pan and then Gorgon.
They had drawn a few eyes with their entrance, but most were already looking away again. Polite, carefully cultivated indifference. Any glances snuck in after were quick and cautious.
Izuku shared a look with Hitoshi. He tilted his head towards the back right corner. Tucked behind the curve of the bar was a table. Empty and free for the taking. For them, at least.
His brother nodded, heading for the corner with Athena and Pan falling in at his heels. Izuku split off towards the bar.
He took a seat at an empty barstool, subtly observing the people near him. It wasn’t a packed building, but there were still a few people scattered along the long bar. In total there were maybe just over a dozen people across the floor. It was still early, Izuku knew, so the night probably wouldn’t get crowded for a while.
The bartender was a a tall person, hair gray and curled with age. Their eyes flickered over to Izuku as they dried a glass. Kitsune held their gaze, mask unblinking.
The bartender tipped their head, raising an eyebrow silently. Izuku tilted his own head to the side, metal muzzle angled down in respect. Their silent conversation ended with the bartender filling a clean glass with water. They stepped over to Izuku, setting the glass down.
“Haven’t seen you here before,” they commented. “Did you come for something?”
“Someone, if you know of a person that can help us.”
“So you came for aid?”
“Yes.” Izuku nodded, glancing back at his siblings. They were quietly talking over the table now. “Our…mentors, told us you might be able to help.”
“Mentors.” Their eyebrow raised again, muted orange eyes staring into the glowing green of Kitsune’s. He understood the silently asked question.
Izuku kept his voice low. Not a whisper, but quiet enough to not be overheard by the rest of the bar. “Lady Omniscient and Flamethrower. They spoke highly of this place.”
The bartender held his gaze for a minute, searching. Then they grinned, expression melting into a mix of fondness and amusement.
“Ah, yeah, I knew those two,” they chuckled. “Bit reckless, but well-meaning. I watched ‘em grow into powerful vigilantes. Good to know they didn’t kick the bucket when they disappeared.”
“They told us about that,” Izuku grinned, relieved. “But they’re still around. The Sirens are their legacy.”
“Good to know, good to know. So what do you need, kid?”
“Someone with a gender-swapping quirk,” Izuku said intently, almost excitedly. “We don’t need a meeting tonight or anything, but if we could arrange a meeting for one of ours, then that would be greatly appreciated.”
“Hm. I might know someone. Their services are usually pursued for undercover missions, is that what this is for?”
“No, sir,” Izuku answered, then paused. “Well, maybe a bit, in a sense, but he…he just wants his body to be the way it’s supposed to be.”
The bartender nodded. “Ah, a few have sought them out for that.”
Izuku breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He had been worried, if only for a moment, that they would be turned away.
“I don’t suppose they’re here now?” he asked.
“Not tonight,” the bartender answered. “But if you want a meeting, I can let them know.”
“That would be appreciated. We can come back next week, would that be enough time?”
“It would.”
“Great!” Izuku smiled, then hesitated for a second. “What do they…what do they usually take as payment? Just so we can be prepared.”
The bartender eyed him for a second, mostly amused. “They accept money or favors, generally. But most trades are negotiable. That’s up to you, kid.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem, Kitsune.”
Izuku had been turning to go back to their table, but stopped. “…you know who I am?”
“Hard not to, around here,” the bartender snorted. “People have been talking, wondering if you’d find your way here. I figured it was only a matter of time.”
“Oh. Well, I hope we don’t disappoint then.” Izuku gave the person a shallow bow and a grin. “We’re not kids though, just so you know.”
“Just like your mentors aren’t married, right?”
“Right.”
The bartender only grinned knowingly. “I’ve been around here long enough to see some things, kid. It’s not hard to put pieces together after a while. Flamethrower and the Lady weren’t exactly subtle about their bond.”
Izuku exhaled a quiet laugh. The bartender—he still needed to ask their name—was the first to really guess that they weren’t adults. To their faces, at least. Their heights were similar to some adults, and quirks could throw off height, so the assumption wasn’t a common one. Maybe they thought the Sirens were still older than they actually were though?
With that curiosity, Izuku figured it couldn’t get worse, really.
“How old do you think we are?” he asked.
The bartender eyed him, then glanced over at where he knew his siblings were sitting. “Hm. Around sixteen, seventeen I’d suppose. But if I didn’t know your mentors I’d have said closer to eighteen or twenty.”
Izuku smiled. “Good to know, thank you…”
“Izakaya,” they answered. “Don’t cause trouble in my bar, Kitsune.”
There was a glint in Izakaya’s orange eyes. Knowledge, maybe, or perhaps strength to back up their statement. Izuku quickly nodded, knowing they meant it. He briefly wondered what Izakaya’s quirk was, or if he had one. The bartender obviously wielded power like a well-loved blade, but what that power was remained a mystery. Izuku wondered if he could figure it out if he watched the bartender for long enough.
“Of course.” Izuku stepped back, bowing theatrically as he did. “The Sirens are here to help, if we are needed. We’ll try not to cause trouble.”
Izakaya sighed, but looked amused. “Go to your team, Kitsune, before they cause a ruckus.”
Izuku cackled a laugh, turning and going back to the table. Gorgon and Pan were signing back and forth, Athena leaning back in the booth and eyes scanning the sparse crowd. Izuku slid in across from her.
“We have a meeting with someone that can help, same time next week,” he told them.
“Hell yeah!” Gorgon cheered, just loud enough to not be overheard much.
“Dragon will be happy,” Athena said softly.
“He’s going to cry,” Pan signed. “And then we’re all going to cry.”
“Yeah, that’s probably accurate.”
“The bartender’s name is Izakaya,” Izuku told them. “He knew Lady Omniscient and Flamethrower.”
“Oh dang.”
“They also think we’re around sixteen.”
Gorgon snorted, and Athena choked on a laugh, turning to hide her face in Pan’s shoulder. Pan went to cover his mouth with a hand, and seemed to remember a second too late that he was wearing a mask. That just made Hitoshi put his head on the table to wheeze.
“And that’s only because he knew what to look for,” Izuku continued, trying not to get caught in the infectious giggling. “Everyone else thinks we’re young adults.”
“I mean, Athena is taller than some adults already,” Gorgon commented.
“And Pan is almost my height too,” she added thoughtfully. “With the masks it really is hard to tell.”
Kouji lifted his hands to sign, “Good.”
“So do we just…hang out for a bit?”
“I brought money, I want soda,” Kouji signed eagerly.
“Guess we’re staying for a bit then,” Gorgon snickered.
Izuku watched as Kouji and Momo both got up and headed towards the bar, Momo translating for Kouji. Izakaya handed them four glasses after a minute, the two cheerfully thanking him, before heading back to the table.
“There’s a lot of sodas,” Kouji signed after sitting down.
“He said that a lot of people don’t want alcohol when they might still have to run away later or negotiate a deal,” Momo explained. “Here, he said there are no cameras, so we can slip our masks off to drink.”
Izuku thanked the two of them as Momo passed over a soda. Hitoshi had already unlocked his mask and pushed it halfway up his face, borderline chugging the root beer Kouji had handed him. Blackberry soda in hand, Izuku idly wondered if Mei could build something into their masks that could disrupt phone cameras. The other option was making it so they could drink through their masks, but that would cause a whole other host of issues. Mostly with the mouth hinges. Izuku, for one, would rather not have to scrub the inside of his mask after every patrol snack, thank you very much.
It was fun though, just sitting with three of his siblings for a bit. They laughed and told stories from school and covered for when someone pushed up their mask to drink some soda. More people slowly filled the bar. The four of them attracted some looks, but no one approached them. Even so, Izuku knew word and rumors would be flying before they even left the building.
They were following in their parents’ footsteps, and honestly? Izuku was pretty happy with that.
Notes:
I changed Eijirou’s name very last minute. It was originally going to be Dragon, and then I forgot why I wanted it to be dragon, changed it to Ryuujin, realized that didn’t fit a whole lot, THEN decided on Golem because it fits more. Then realized THAT was too close to giving away his quirk and thus too close for the Sirens to be comfortable. Only THEN did I remember why I named him Dragon so back to that lol
Also remembered that “Dragon” was related to something I had foreshadowed earlier whoops lol. If anyone would like to take a guess at other future events, might I direct your attention to the DnD chapter :)
Last thing, if y'all have any recommendations besides GoogleDocs to use feel free to pass them my way. I'm trying out Ellipsus (which is awesome so far!) but formatting doesn't paste over from Pages so that's getting slightly annoying, since I have to double check all bold and italics. Of which there are a lot. Because I am dramatic and like to Emphasize Things.
I do 100% recommend Ellipsus if y'all are also looking for something else to use I just like having my writing in multiple places so there's less chance of me losing it.
Chapter 113: Dracontine
Summary:
Dracontine: belonging to a dragon.
Notes:
I forget how much dopamine I get from comments on this fic SO 113 LET’S GO
Also it did take slightly longer because I couldn’t decide on some aspects on Eijirou’s costume until I drew it out lol. Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
With Eijirou’s name now decided on, Mei was having ideas. So many of them. All the ideas.
Momo had already had to pull her out of the lab a few times. Mei was equal parts grateful for the reminder that she was human and annoyed at being dragged away from her babies. She just had so many ideas. And if there weren’t more hours in a day then why did coffee exist?
It tasted sweeter when Mei had steal it from the kitchen anyway.
Izuku had tried to be helpful and convince her away from working a few times. Then he had discovered a hologram puck in a dumpster, and all bets were off, much to their other siblings’ exasperation. He became fixated on how holograms worked. Mei was more than happy to lend him the workspace to figure it out.
With him working on that, determinedly rustling around the guts of the small machine, Mei was content to work on her own projects beside him. The company was nice. Having another person there to bounce ideas off of was always helpful, and they both benefited from it.
Within a week Izuku had cracked how holograms worked. Another and Momo could make a better, smaller version of the projector, and Izuku was making his own holograms. He explained it to Mei once he figured it out. The mechanics themselves were more interesting to her, but the art was neat. More coding than anything, besides making the 3D models. Those weren’t the worst to work out either. Which was good, because it meant Mei could make a surprise for Izuku.
He was Kitsune, afterall. And a kitsune needed their tails.
But Eijirou’s costume took precedence. He needed a full thing before Mei could finish her side projects. One was the tails, another was adding fire to his mask too, to be more like their dad. Mei hadn’t missed the longing looks her brother sometimes got, seeing their dad’s quirk.
Yet another was the half finished costume perpetually sitting at the end of Mei’s desk.
She was just as prepared and practiced for roof hopping as the rest of her siblings. Just as strong. She could still knock them flat on their ass in sparring. Their costumes were more important, so she put them first. Repairs, additions, whatever it took. Only once she knew they were safe—knew she had done everything she possibly could to keep them alive—did she put work in on her own suit.
Mei idly ran her hand over the shining fabric and metal. Eijirou’s costume was in front of her, but her own was right next to it. The golden feathers had been a bitch to figure out. The mechanics behind the wings actually moving had been even more annoying, but it had worked in the end. After Mei had redone it three or four times over the last year-ish, but still.
Eijirou’s costume was close to being done though. Mostly details remained; the two sets of holograms she wanted to try incorporating, securing the chainmail-like scales to the elastic material at the waistband, and making sure the spines along the back wouldn’t jangle around and dislodge themselves.
The mask was mostly done, at least. She had to connect some of the lighting wires still, and make sure the expression capturing would run alright, but as long as nothing broke then it wouldn’t take more than a week. Which was good, considering it had already taken around two for her to get this far.
So many things were almost done, Mei was looking forward to showing them to her siblings. Improvements to their masks, better coding, better materials and redone pieces of their costumes. So many cool babies.
She just had to finish them.
Eijirou was having a nice, peaceful break from feeling like he was dying. A short respite from feeling like a mouse in a barn full of cats. He decided that whoever introduced the Midoriyas to the concept of Reverse Rules Tag hadn’t known what hell they were unleashing.
“Let’s play a game, they said,” he muttered, out of breath, flat on his back in the grass. “It’ll be fun, they said.”
It had been fun for a bit, to be fair. Eijirou had laughed while dodging and weaving to avoid the Midoriyas. All ten of them had been chasing him around the yard, trying to catch him in corners and herd him into the fence. That particular maneuver had resulted in him just climbing into the front yard. Katsuki’s cackle had probably been heard down the street.
Eijirou knew he didn’t have a chance of actually winning the game, but it was fun, and got him used to dodging. With every round he lasted just a bit longer.
At least, he had, until Izuku declared they were kicking it up a notch, and could use the terrain to their advantage.
Eijirou had lost that round very, very quickly. To Ochako, who had climbed up to the roof. He hadn’t even thought to look up there. That had been his downfall, evidently, when she launched herself at him from ten feet up.
A few more rounds later and he had somewhat adjusted to the new rules. Eijirou got why they were doing this, but jeez. The Midoriyas were no joke.
So now he was enjoying a break. It was cold out, slush and ice still clinging to the shadows under trees but leaving the sunlit grass alone, yet Eijirou was fine in short sleeves and shorts. He had been running around for long enough that it was a welcome chill. Even the mud seeping into the back of his shirt wasn’t that bad, since he was already smeared with dirt from the game.
He had been enjoying the break, until he opened his eyes to Mei hovering a foot from his face.
Eijirou blinked slowly, too tired and entirely too used to Midoriya eccentricities to freak out. So all he said was, “Yes?”
“Your costume’s done.”
“Oh.” Eijirou paused, processing the words. Then the excitement crashed into him like a truck. “Oh! You’re done! You’re done, can I see it? Can I-”
Mei was already turning and heading back towards her workshop, calling over her shoulder, “Come on, Knuckles, we don’t have all day.”
Eijirou scrambled after her. He knew the others had clocked the two of them leaving. However, he also wasn’t paying much attention to anything besides his mental mantra of “it’s done it’s done it’s done I get armor and a shiny mask it’s done!”
Mei held open the workshop door for him. Eijirou very carefully stuck near the desk and didn’t touch anything else. He knew not everything could catch fire, or explode, or was trapped, but he also didn’t know which things were, so he figured it was better to just not touch anything yet.
The workbench was, as always, covered in scattered projects. A space had been cleared though, and on it sat a few finished-looking pieces. Eijirou carefully reached out and touched the main bundle of fabric, and was surprised to find that it shifted almost fluidly in his hand, yet was definitely mostly metal.
“Your armor is going to be louder than the others,” Mei grumbled, glaring at the fabric like it had personally spited her. “I couldn’t get the scales to be stronger without them being too loud when you move around, so this was what I settled on.”
“Scales?”
“Well yeah, you said you wanted your name to be Dragon.”
Eijirou excitedly picked up the fabric now, lifting it up so he could see it unfurl. It was a shirt, and sure enough, was covered in red scales. They were dark enough that he could still blend into the shadows, but bright enough to be visible when he wasn’t actively trying to hide. It did make some noise as he moved it around, something like dozens of wind chimes ringing at once, but muted, the softer fabric beneath quieting the noise.
The belly was a different color, an iridescent yellow that somehow looked black from most angles. Eijirou had no idea how the hell the science on that worked, but it was so cool. It even went up his neck, ending where the mask would begin. They were more plate-like than the other scales, made up of longer bars instead of the smaller red ones.
“The scales are attached to each other like chainmail,” Mei explained. “They’re also attached to a layer of fabric beneath them to make it quieter. Under that is the actual shirt, so none of the metal bits have to touch your skin. Your pants are the same way. The elastic—here, see—is where your belt will go, and both will clip together so they don’t come undone while you’re running.”
Eijirou glanced over to see the other bundle of fabric was indeed pants made with the same materials. Beside it sat a pair of boots, the toes ending in black claws. Gloves were laid over them too, the back of them scaled, but the palm made of soft looking leather pads. He picked one up to look closer and saw tiny hooks at the end of the wrist, lining up with where his sleeves would be.
“There aren’t claws in yours,” Mei said, picking up the other glove to show him. “Because I know your hands turn into rock claws when you harden them. So instead they’re made of regenerating material. I would’ve made it the inside material of your whole costume, but it’s not exactly soft.”
Eijirou paused, rolling that around his mind for a moment. “What?”
“It’s a type of nylon and won’t actually rip when you use your claws,” she simplified. “Which is fine only because you don’t have fingerprints when your hands are rocks.”
Eijirou nodded, sliding the gloves on to see how they fit. He flexed his hands, happy with how bendy they actually were. The scales weren’t as loud as he thought they’d be either!
Mei sighed dramatically, lightly punching his shoulder. “Stop procrastinating.”
“I’m just saving the best for last, dude!”
“Well stop that, I need to make sure it fits.”
Eijirou laughed, dodging a swipe at his red hair. He slowed for a moment, just taking in the details, before gingerly picking it up. The mask sat light in his hands.
It was a dragon, that was for sure. More rigid red scaling covered most of it, but black spines ran from a point on the forehead down the back of the head, looking like they would connect to the back of the shirt and run down his spine as well. Some smaller ones went up the snout too. Bigger spikes were at the point of the jaw, below the pointed ears. Twin horns twisted backwards from the top of the head. The eyes were dim for now, but still a bright orange-yellow, like embers in a smoldering fire.
It was beautiful. There was no other way to put it. Eijirou twisted the mask this way and that to look at it from every angle. There were buttons on the bottom of the jaw, and cleverly hidden air filters. The jaws were full of metal teeth that looked like they belonged to a shark.
Eijirou loved it.
“Go on, try it on,” Mei encouraged.
“Does it go over my clothes or…?”
“Up to you.” Mei shrugged. “Some of them like to put the costume over clothes, or pajamas, but some of ‘em also like to just wear the costume. I made them all comfy either way, but I’m working on undersuits.”
Eijirou nodded, thinking for a second. He decided that he could decide later. For now he just wanted to see what everything looked like put together.
Everyone went on relatively quickly. Mei had to show him where some of the clasps were, and how to make sure it was all snapped into place, but before long it was all nicely put together. There was a mirror Mei had dragged in leaning against the wall, and Eijirou almost jumped when he looked over at it.
He looked entirely different. That was to be expected, since he was covered head to toe in a costume, but still. The scales somehow seemed to absorb the light that hit them, making his edges blurry. They shifted fluidly as he moved. The boots fit perfectly—and he wondered how long that would last, they all seemed to be going through growth spurts lately—with the bottom of the pants perfectly in place tucked into them. Eijirou did a little jump, just to test them. He landed without a sound.
“There’s still more,” Mei told him eagerly. “Press here to turn on the mask first, then press it again for things to glow.”
Eijirou followed her instructions, pressing the buttons on his jaw twice. The mask flickered to life. It hissed and clicked into place over his head, fitting snugly but not too tight. He moved his mouth, and the dragon muzzle of the mask moved in tandem with it.
Eijirou looked in the mirror again, and couldn’t help the awed gasp at his reflection. The eyes were glowing orange, like a crackling fire, like a warm hearth. Swirls curled up his twisting horns, glowing the same yellow-orange.
Light was studded down his sides like jewels. Down his arms and in a line down his legs they glowed, illuminating the scales. The inside of his mouth was glowing too, which he could see since his jaw had dropped. It was a brighter orange that glowed through his metal teeth like a mimicry of flames. Eijirou twisted around trying to see it all.
“This is so cool,” he whispered, and the voice came out all distorted. He had kinda been expecting it though, so he didn’t jump. It was deeper, more growly, than his normal voice.
Eijirou felt like he was floating from the sheer joy of it.
“One more thing,” Mei said, bordering on manically cheerful. “Clap your hands together.”
“…huh?”
“Just do it, it’s cool I promise.”
Eijirou shrugged, and gently clapped his hands together. He heard a soft whirring sound, which quickly died down, and a soft glow flickered to life in the corners of his vision. He tried to spin and see it, but the glowing remained at the edge of his vision.
Mei snickered, obviously trying not to laugh as he spun in a circle. Eijirou slowed and then stopped, realizing the mirror was, in fact, still there. His jaw dropped even farther when he saw what the glowing was.
On his back were wings.
“Mei,” Eijirou breathed. “How…”
“They’re holograms,” she said proudly. “Izuku helped me figure them out. They’ll move like real wings and glow a bit.”
Eijirou twisted in the mirror, taking in the wings—and a tail, he had a tail! The wings were bat-like, red and with a claw at the…elbow? Thumb? Eijirou didn’t know what to call it, he just knew that it looked awesome.
The tail was the same ghostly-but-almost-solid red, ridges running down the top of it and ending in a single point, a reflection of the spines going down his back. It even looked like it was scaly! Brighter red circles ran down the sides of it, just like on the physical part of his costume. And as he turned to look at it, the tail almost curled around like it had actual weight to it.
Eijirou had so many questions. But the first one that made it through was, “Aren’t holograms mostly set projections?”
“Izuku and I figured out how to make it act more like a 3D animation.” Mei shrugged, grinning. “Or more like video game physics, reacting to your movement. Hopefully. If we didn’t fuck up somewhere.”
Eijirou wiggled from side to side, watching as both the tail and wings responded to the movement. He jumped up a bit, and stared in awe as the wings gave a little flap and the tail seemed to bob with gravity. His bright orange eyes turned to Mei.
“You are a miracle woman and I would die for you,” he declared.
Mei only snorted. “No dying, it would make Blasty Boy sad. Go declare your undying loyalty to him, not me.”
Eijirou, nearly buzzing out of his skin from excitement, bounced on his toes and tried not to ooh and aww over how the wings flapped with his movement. They only clipped into the wall a little bit. He figured they weren’t appearing on the other side, since holograms couldn’t go through solid objects, but the idea was funny enough anyway.
“Can I go show them?” he asked, about two seconds away from dashing out the door.
“Sure, go nuts. You need to start practicing with the costume anyway.”
“Ok thanks bye Mei I love you-“
And Eijirou was gone, crashing back out the door and into the yard to show off his shiny new costume. He nearly tripped on the way out, but quickly righted himself. The wings flapped like they were helping boost him up, and Eijirou couldn’t help a giddy giggle.
He was a vigilante. He had an official costume! He had wings! Eijirou was about ready to burst from joy and wonder. He had followed the Sirens for a while, and now he was a Siren! He had a costume and a name and a fake identity and everything.
He could help people like this. He didn’t have to be brave all the time, and he could work on it. There would be other people around that could pick up the slack if he couldn’t do it, but would encourage him to be brave all the same. He had a team.
Eijirou could be brave. He could be a hero, but he would be a vigilante first, with his friends at his side. That, if nothing else, made him feel more courageous.
The Sirens
yes this is the account for the Musutafu Vigilantes, yes we answer questions
Posts Ask Us Things Archive
The_Sirens
Can’t wait to meet you guys :D
~Dragon
Notes:
Just a fun little fact, self healing fabric does exist! I haven't done a whole lot of research on it, but I got the idea to make part of Eijirou's costume out of it from this nylon NCT one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGsD5SXzRjo) but there are more out there and I find them pretty interesting!
Anyway Eijirou's costume!! Dragon is here!! He is a holographic dragon boy, I love him. Stay tuned for this boy getting his gender transed and one of my favorite OCs in next chapter :D
Have a good day/night everyone <3
Chapter 114: Bada Bing Bada Boom I Cast Transgender Upon You
Summary:
Eijirou passes his Vigilante Exam and gets his gender transed :D
Notes:
HELLO MY LOVELIES
This is one of my favorite chapter titles
Let me know if y'all spot any errors, switched to Ellipsis instead of googledocs (also just got tired of editing :p) and I love it but it doesn't catch as many spelling/grammar errors since it's technically still in beta. 100% recommend it though I adore it so far. Anyway, Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Touya sat in a patch of overgrown grass, watching his little siblings move around the abandoned lot and fallen building. Ivy had long since claimed most of the walls. It was quiet, thanks to the lot being on the very edge of the city, basically outside of it.
Or, it would be quiet, if Touya’s little siblings weren’t there.
He watched as Izuku called down instructions from his perch on a half-fallen pillar. Most of them were directed towards Eijirou, who was undergoing some sort of assessment. Half the kids were watching, the other half participating by playing some sort of enemy.
Touya had been invited to join in on their training. Right now he was just watching, his little siblings having already had their fun sparring and racing him around their training grounds. He was loathe to admit it, but they kept up far better than he thought they would. Not that he was exactly surprised, but still.
They were his little siblings. Most of them had been that far before being vigilantes, and a part of him would always see them as the kids clinging to his hands in a parking lot.
But they were agile gremlins, and better than he’d half-expected them to be. It proved, at least to Touya, that their success hadn’t been dumb luck. They had the skill to back up their not-so-secret hobby. Touya wasn’t exactly a seasoned pro, but he did have experience as a hero. And they had kept up with him pretty easily.
If his siblings kept up their pace, Touya figured they may surpass him before they actually started hero school.
If none of them made top ten in their first few years then Touya would seriously wonder if the rankings were rigged. Not that he would be surprised if they were though. Endeavor had continued to hold the Number Two spot, after all.
It was mostly their fighting that needed work, Touya had idly noted. Their parkour skills were equal if not better than Touya’s already, and he was a hero that took to rooftops a lot. They could easily outrun new heroes. Their fighting was still far better than most children their age, and they hadn’t let their tactics of surprise and ambush stunt their skills, but it wasn’t hero level quite yet.
Touya was a bit worried about how they’d handle skilled villains, ones that had no qualms hurting people and the power to do it. But he also knew they were never alone. Numbers would be crucial if they were outmatched one-on-one. He had no doubt that even that wouldn’t be a worry before too long though. Not with the rate the eleven of them were improving.
And, well, if Touya helped them out a bit…not like anyone could prove it. He was sure Keigo would also be chomping at the bit the second Touya suggested the idea. And Hisashi and Inko were doubtlessly still training the kids. They were busy though, and more help wouldn’t hurt.
Even watching Eijirou today, Touya could see it. The potential they all had. The boy hadn’t even been with them for that long, and he was already vaulting concrete slabs and leaping gaps with ease.
Touya watched as Eijirou cleared a few far jumps, managing to not lose his footing. He stumbled a bit as Izuku directed him to a ledge to jump up, but ultimately cleared it. The boy leapt between crumbling sections with the sure-footedness of experience. He wasn’t pro level, but he was good, especially since the gremlins had only been training him for a few weeks.
Mei came and sat next to him, leaning into his side like an affectionate cat. Touya only chuckled and pat her head.
“How’s Keigo doing?” she asked.
“I’m chopped liver,” Touya mused. “He’s doing good. Commission is keeping their distance after the last incident.”
“Good,” Mei said, and sounded vicious about it.
Touya couldn’t remember how long the kids had known about the Commission’s relation to Keigo. He was pretty sure neither of them had outright told them, but they knew all the same. Neither of them were surprised, really. The kids were too smart for their own good.
Mei had even asked if there was anything she could do, vehemently insisting she would bring them down if they touched another hair on Keigo’s head. Keigo had simply ruffled her hair, and told her that keeping herself away from them was more than enough. Touya agreed wholeheartedly. There would still have to be some level of contact with them, since it looked like most of the Midoriya kids would be trying to become heroes, and Mei in an affiliated field, but keeping it to a minimum would be safer.
Because for all the talent that Mei had—for all the skill all of them had—they wouldn’t be able to bring down the Commission. It was too complicated, had too many steps to dismantle. Maybe one day they could, maybe, but not today. Not until they could make sure hero society wouldn’t collapse without it.
Keigo had only been free for just over two years. Their anniversary had passed in November. They hadn’t had many more issues with the Commission since then, but every couple of months they still tried something to get Hawks back to their side. Touya and Keigo had foiled every plan. They weren’t completely free and disconnected, since they were still heroes, but it was enough.
“Is Eijirou going to join you guys soon?” Touya asked. “He looks pretty good.”
“I finished his costume this week,” Mei said proudly.
Touya reached up and ruffled her hair, laughing at her indignant grumble. “Good job, kid. That’s impressive.”
Mei knocked her head into his shoulder, making an incomprehensible sound of thanks. Touya wasn’t ready to be a dad, and neither was Keigo, but damn if Mei wasn’t their honorary daughter.
They both watched as Eijirou rocketed his way up to the tallest point of the abandoned building. It had probably been a third floor roof at some point, but now it was the corner between steel beams with some concrete and rebar hanging onto the top. Eijirou stood on top of it like he was king of the world, beaming like the sun behind him.
“He’ll be a good one,” Mei commented.
“I don’t doubt it.”
“We’re taking him out tonight,” she continued. “Izuku found someone that can change his biological gender with their quirk. The adults might want to do dinner to celebrate this week.”
Touya nodded. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Good.”
They both fell quiet after that, Mei still leaning into Touya’s side. She’d had a growth spurt, and was at his shoulder now. She was at least taller than Izuku at any rate. Touya figured Shouto probably had a fifty-fifty shot of being tall. He was pretty short still, but Natsuo towered over Touya by a good few inches already, so there was hope for his baby brother yet. Mei was probably forever going to be a small menace though.
“Stay out of trouble tonight, ok?” Touya said. “I heard that one of the UA teachers is sending out some green heroes this week.”
Mei nodded. “We will, promise.” Then she smirked. “Not like they’d be able to catch us though.”
“That’s fair,” Touya laughed.
“Did someone tell you about our last meeting with Eraserhead?”
“Nah, they haven’t. Wanna tell me?”
Mei’s eyes lit up, and she launched into a story about how the hero had asked if they knew anything about a specific villain, only for Ochako to dump the man at Eraserhead’s feet a few minutes later. Her description of the hero’s reaction left Touya in stitches. Apparently he had looked like a cat owner whose cat just dropped a dead rat at their feet.
They kept talking, Touya sharing funny anecdotes from his patrols and about Keigo. In turn Mei told him about the latest things they had done as vigilantes. All the while Touya kept one eye on Eijirou as the boy jumped and swung across the kids’ makeshift jungle gym. Eventually he rolled onto the grass, jumping to his feet with a bright, sharp-toothed grin, breathing heavy.
Izuku yelled “Time!”, their signal that the test was over. Eijirou was immediately swarmed by cheering and congratulations. Mei dragged Touya to his feet, rushing over to clap Eijirou on the back.
Touya didn’t exactly know what test Eijirou had been doing, but he knew that the boy had passed, so he cheered right along with his younger siblings. He hardly noticed Shouto sidling up next to him until his little brother spoke.
“Do you think he’s ready?” Shouto asked, making Touya nearly jump in the process.
“Shit, you’ve gotten better at stealth,” Touya muttered, then shook himself. “Yeah, I’d say so. As long as one of you is near him then he’ll do fine.”
Shouto nodded seriously, which made Touya reach out and ruffle his hair. How could he not? It was a big brother instinct. Shouto squawked and batted at the offending hand, but Touya just wrapped an arm around his neck to hold him in place.
“I’m proud of you,” Touya said. It had the added benefit of Shouto stopping his struggling. “You’re doing good.”
“Oh. Thanks, Aniki.”
Touya snorted and released his little brother, giving him a gentle shove in the direction of their other siblings. “Go kick some ass tonight, and keep Eijirou safe.”
“We will.”
Touya grinned, even as Ochako surprised him by jumping on his back. It triggered the rest of them to try and tackle him to the ground. Keigo appeared halfway through their manhunt and, instead of helping, was the one to finally topple him.
Even then, Touya could do nothing but grin, and thank whatever forces were out there that this was the family he had.
Hitoshi always kept a careful eye out when they took out a new member of their team, and Eijirou was no exception. Their friend had taken well to training, and Hitoshi knew Izuku wouldn’t let him join them if he wasn’t ready, but he couldn’t help being worried. Just a little bit. There was a difference between training and the real thing. Hitoshi had adapted to it, but he knew it could be a challenge.
It was also just fun to watch new people join them. The way their expressions morphed from shock to joy to awe as they took the train for the first time; the way they lit up seeing the skyline of city lights, their own personal sky of stars. Every new person added to their team was always tentative and cautious their first time out, but by the end they were joking around and already more confident in their abilities.
They didn’t pay as much attention to combing the streets for Eijirou’s first night out. Not when they had a destination to get to. Mei still directed them to things she spotted, of course, but Hitoshi knew they were more focused on traveling than on anything else tonight.
Not everyone had gone out for Eijirou’s first night. The team was made of Hitoshi, Izuku of course, Katsuki, Hanta, and Eijirou—Gorgon, Kitsune, Ares, Jorogumo, and Dragon. All of them were practically buzzing with excitement. Not only was it Eijirou’s first night out, but he was getting his gender transed.
Eijirou had found it hilarious when Hitoshi called it that. Momo had helpfully reminded him of the actual terms, which Hitoshi promptly ignored in favor of making his new brother-in-law laugh.
The bar came into view ahead surprisingly fast. Eijirou had taken to roof hopping really well, so they had arrived quicker than Hitoshi thought they would. He was honestly impressed. They had collectively put him through the wringer for training though, to be fair. His were well won skills.
Izuku slowed to a stop ahead of them, and Hitoshi, ever at his side, matched him. Ares and Jorogumo flanked Dragon as they pulled to a stop too. Kitsune’s new hologram tails fanned out behind him as he turned, which was frankly one of the coolest fucking things Hitoshi had seen. Mei’s gift for what she called their Next Stage.
She had upgraded most of their costumes actually. Some of Hitoshi’s snakes, the ones on his mask, moved now. Momo and Katsuki’s masks had gotten upgraded expressions. Everyone’s masks had hinges instead of being two separate pieces. All their costumes and boots fit once more, adjusted for their various growth spurts.
Weapons had been a part of Mei’s gift haul too. Hitoshi had been handed upgraded whips, his signature weapon, and tested them by smacking tin cans from the air. That had been fun.
Kitsune had definitely had the biggest upgrade though. He could breathe fire now, instead of just shoot it from his hands. His escrima sticks had been upgraded and repaired. And the tails.
They were partially opaque, an almost opalescent green. The tip of each one was the same ivory white of his mask.
There were also only five of them, instead of the classic nine. Izuku had justified it with the fact that he had more to learn. Hitoshi also knew it was easier to animate five hologram tails instead of nine.
But there was also the unspoken meaning of it. That if Kitsune was this powerful and knowledgable with only five tails, that meant that he wasn’t at full power. It meant that Kitsune could still learn, could still be more powerful, and it was an unsettling thought. Not for Hitoshi, who knew his brother like they were the same person by now, but definitely for whatever villains they ran across. Probably a good bunch of heroes too.
Izuku, mask shifting to white with the press of a button, tilted his head at them. “Are you ready?”
“Ready,” Dragon confirmed, dragon face smiling a toothy grin and hologram wings fluttering in excitement.
Ares nodded, expression serious, but Hitoshi could see the excitement beneath it too. After however many years now, Hitoshi could read his brother pretty well. Katsuki was happy for his boyfriend. Proud of him for being so brave, too. Layered over all of it was a protectiveness that had made a home in his brothers bones at seven years old and never left.
Hanta, on the other hand, who was being pretty chill about the whole thing but was smiling wide, kept nudging Eijirou excitedly. Hitoshi couldn’t help a soft grin at the sight. Neither could Izuku, from the look on his vulpine face.
“Let’s go then,” Kitsune said. “We jump over to that ladder there. If you don’t want to jump though, you can get in from ground level.”
Dragon squared his shoulders. “I can do it.”
Izuku nodded, looking proud. Without another word he took a running start, then launched himself across the gap. The opposite wall held the ladder he was aiming for. He grabbed it without a problem, easily climbing higher to give everyone else room.
Jorogumo went next, flawlessly copying Izuku, and turned back just in case she had to catch Dragon if he slipped.
They didn’t have to worry though, as much as Hitoshi’s heart lurched when Dragon took the leap. Their newest Siren grabbed onto a ladder rung and kept his grip. Hitoshi could see all of them let out a sigh of relief.
Hitoshi went next, followed by Katsuki soon after. They crawled through the window, one after another, after Izuku’s tails. Dragon paused to fiddle with his wing settings for a moment before he rolled through the window. Kitsune did no such thing and let his tails wave around freely.
The bar’s chatter had quieted somewhat by the time Hitoshi swung in. He carefully swept his gaze around, assessing. Very few people met his eyes. Izuku began to sweep his way to their table in the back, and Hitoshi fell into step with him, trusting the other two to keep a watchful eye at their backs.
Their booth was empty, which was good. Hitoshi didn’t want to have to fight someone to get their table. The five of them carefully took their seats, Izuku and Hitoshi on the two edges, Eijirou in the middle of Izuku and Katsuki. Hanta happily sat next to Hitoshi and across from his best friend.
No one approached them, though Izuku did get up to talk to the bartender for a moment. He returned grinning, telling them the person they were meeting would be there in a few minutes, and that Izakaya would bring them some sodas. Hitoshi immediately launched into telling the other three about the delicious drinks Izakaya had.
They didn’t have to wait long. Someone stepped up to the bar, and Kitsune’s eyes zeroed in on them. Hitoshi lazily glanced over, noting features. Average height, unassuming, black hair pulled into a messy bun on top of their head. They had an undercut, which was cool. Green eyes and what looked like a painter’s gas mask over the bottom half of their face. Their hands were at their sides instead of in their hoodie pocket, showing their lack of an immediate weapon, and ripped jeans.
Izakaya gestured to their table. The person nodded and began heading over, Hitoshi and his siblings already staring expectantly. If they were surprised, then they didn’t show it. Instead their steps remained measured, their eyes forward, expression neutral.
Not a vigilante, Hitoshi concluded, or at least not tonight. Could be an information broker, or maybe just quirk-use-for-hire. Their gaze was assessing and body language intentionally casual. Hitoshi noted the clink of chains along their side, attached to their belt loops, which could easily be turned into a weapon if they knew what they were doing.
They were pretty obviously doing the same to all five of them too, cataloguing weapons and gear. Hitoshi saw their eyebrows raise as they took stock of the vigilantes. Izuku rose to his feet, easy smile on his face and eyes bright but welcoming.
“Sirens,” they said first, giving a shallow bow. Izuku returned it happily, and the rest of them nodded their heads in respect. “Izakaya said you want a favor?”
Hitoshi tried not to snort at the mostly-hidden surprise and bubbling intrigue. He figured they would react like that. As far as the public knew, their team kept to themselves. Them asking for help, even a favor or a contract, hadn’t happened yet. Which was apparently unusual for vigilantes. Most of them made deals and traded favors like candy within the first few weeks and months.
The Sirens had been active for a bit over a year now, and only now did they make an appearance to interact with others in the underground.
“Izakaya said you could help us with something,” Kitsune said easily. “How much did he tell you?”
“That one of yours wants a permanent switch, and that was pretty much it.”
Izuku nodded. “Yeah, that about sums it up.”
“So not undercover, and not temporary,” they mused. “That takes a bit more of my energy, but I can do it.”
“What will we owe you?” Jorogumo asked, leaning forward.
Hitoshi watched as their eyebrow rose again, once again in surprise. “That’s a dangerous thing to say, vigilante. I could ask for anything.”
“And we’d pay for most things.” Jorogumo shrugged. “Which do you need more: money or a favor?”
The person blinked slowly, glancing around at the rest of them. They looked for a moment longer, then almost seemed to relax. Their shoulders dropped and their expression melted to be a bit less guarded.
“Eh, a soda and a future favor sounds pretty good. Then we’ll call it even, yeah?”
Izuku stuck out his hand, bright smile on his mask. “It’s a deal.”
The person took it easily, eyes crinkling in a smile too. “Call me Agenda.”
Hanta snorted. Dragon had slightly less luck stifling his laughter, turning to hide his face and accidentally smacking Katsuki with his mask’s snout. It was a fight for Hitoshi to not start cackling at Ares’ disgruntled expression.
“I like you,” Jorogumo declared, amusement in every word. “Amazing name you have there.”
Agenda grinned, their eyes scrunching up with it. “Noted.” They swept their gaze over the table then, tilting their head. “Alright then, which of you is getting switched?”
Dragon raised his hand nervously. Agenda nodded to themself, stepping closer and taking off their leather glove.
“I’m gonna need to sit down after this,” they warned. “And I need to touch your skin for this to work. You’re gonna feel real fucking weird for a bit, and probably wonky for a few days while your body fully adjusts, but after that you’re all set to go. On the off chance you want to change back, you know where to find me.”
Eijirou nodded, unlatching his gloves from his sleeve and pulling it up to reveal his arm.
Agenda grimaced for a second. “Sorry to ask this, but I need to know for my quirk to work. AFAB or AMAB?”
“AFAB,” Eijirou said, and he sounded calm. Hitoshi hoped he actually was.
“Cool, thanks.”
Agenda wrapped a hand around Eijirou’s arm, closing their eyes. A faint light glimmered from between their fingers. When the light faded they wobbled on their feet, and Izuku was quick to carefully catch their elbow and shift them over to sit in their booth, where he had been sitting before. Eijirou’s expression had gone blank for a second, but he quickly snapped back to awareness, and a bright, overjoyed grin took over his face.
Agenda smiled too, and shot a tired finger gun at Eijirou. “Bada bing, bada boom, I cast transgender upon you.”
Jorogumo snorted, and quickly lost the battle of containing her laughter. She cackled while the rest of them also dissolved into laughter at the joke. Meanwhile Eijirou was smiling so wide Hitoshi knew his cheeks had to hurt behind the mask. He did wobble a bit, even sitting down, but the joy obviously overpowered whatever else he was feeling.
“Thank you,” Izuku said sincerely, once they had all calmed down slightly. “We owe you. Within reason, obviously.”
“I won’t ask you to hurt someone or something,” Agenda waved off. “If you ask Izakaya for a blueberry soda we’ll call it even for now.”
Izuku nodded, practically skipping up to the bar. Hitoshi took the moment to look over Agenda again. They definitely looked a bit worn now. They also couldn’t be much older than twenty, if he was guessing right.
Their hoodie had a genderfluid flag pin on the edge of the hood, he noted. Along with a bi flag pin. The finger guns made more sense now, Hitoshi mused.
Izuku returned with a tray full of drinks. He passed them out, handing one to Agenda first. They nodded gratefully and proceeded to pull their mask down and then chug almost half of it. The rest of them thanked Izuku, Hanta and Eijirou unlocking their masks to reveal the lower half of their face. Hitoshi waited, glancing around the room to watch their backs.
The two of them couldn’t see with their masks up like that, so the remaining three of them kept an eye out. Agenda glanced at them, but didn’t stare, or try to and see more beneath the mask. Hitoshi was grateful for the courtesy. The rest of them did the same, politely ignoring the show of trust from all sides.
Agenda finished their drink, looking marginally better with the sugar and slight rest in their system, and pushed to their feet.
“I’ll leave you to whatever you guys do,” they said, steadying themself for a second before pushing away from the table. “Congrats on the new gender, my dude.”
Izuku tilted his head curiously. “You can stay for a bit, you know. We don’t mind.”
“…you sure?” Agenda gave him a look, a mix of surprise and skepticism. “Because you guys all wears masks, which you have to take off to drink from the look of it.”
“You did just take yours off too,” Hitoshi pointed out. “So I think it’s pretty even.”
“That…is a fair point. And you guys don’t seem like the snitching type.”
“We are not,” Izuku confirmed happily. “Thank you for trusting us.”
Agenda snorted, a bit sardonic. “I can change my own gender at will, Kitsune. My face changes with it. Cops couldn’t identify me even if they tried. I’m fine, but you don’t have my quirk so I understand if you’re cautious.”
“That’s so cool,” Izuku said, squeezing in beside Hitoshi now so he could lean over the table. “Does it take less energy for you to change your own gender?”
Agenda squinted for a second, then shrugged, apparently deeming Izuku’s question innocent enough. “Yeah. Takes less energy on myself, and same thing if the change is temporary. Most people hire me for undercover missions.”
“Nice,” Hanta commented, mask clicked back into place and soda half gone.
Hitoshi listened as he unlocked his own mask and shifted it halfway up his face, balanced on his nose. His soda was delicious, just like it was last time. The conversation carried on about Agenda’s quirk, then onto how they chose their name, which led to talking about their own vigilante names. Hitoshi had his mask back on in time for Agenda to ask about their motivations. Pure curiosity, they clarified, since most vigilantes had a code of morals they followed.
Kitsune happily explained for them. He even added in how they came to be vigilantes, heavily omitting parts of it, but including the important bits. Agenda paid close attention the entire time, seemingly keenly aware that they were one of the first outside the Sirens to be given this knowledge. Hitoshi smirked into his soda as he listened. Imagining it all from an outside perspective was entertaining.
Agenda’s expression shifted to surprise when Izuku told them just how long they had been vigilantes. A massive outlier, Hitoshi knew, compared to other vigilantes. Eraserhead had told them as much before.
The surprise changed to something awed, something intimidated but quickly covered up, as the conversation continued to how long Dragon had been training. A remarkably short amount of time, all things considered.
“I have known you for maybe an hour,” they declared, “and I can already tell that that’s in character for you all. Your entire group is bonkers.”
“Maybe,” Izuku chirped.
“Then again, I saw the Endeavor videos—good work there, by the way—so I don’t think I’m all that surprised.”
Izuku just grinned his troublemaker smile, reflecting well onto his fox face. Ares snorted into his soda. Dragon began to excitedly chatter about said pranks to Agenda.
Hitoshi marveled at his brother’s ability to make friends with almost anyone, and hoped they would see this one again.
Notes:
I accidentally got far too attached to Agenda so they get to come back and aid the plot later on now. Some information on them because I love them now: Genderfluid, changes their own gender at will (but they/them for pronouns mostly), named after one of my lovely friends, and they took one look at these kids and went “yep I like these terrifying people, yoink they’re mine now.” They do not, in fact, intend on cashing in that favor. Except maybe for another soda later on. Or something will force their hand at some point who knows :)
ALSO. Y'ALL WE GOT ART!!
Chiibis! And sneak peak of Daedalus' mask (by Sitian)
Dragon's costume :D (By IreneAzreal)Ok so one last note. I have both way too large of a backlog right now and also some semblance of a schedule I'm trying out. Which may get thrown out the window in a week because of job stuff, HOWEVER. This does mean I want to cut that down. Meaning more chapters. HOPEFULLY. If I don't get cursed again. I'm literally going back to edit more chapters after I'm done typing this. Next chapter is a silly between before we get to the next arc :D
Have a good day/night you guys <3
Chapter 115: And We're Live
Summary:
The vigilantes figure out how to stream.
Notes:
HELLO!! I have returned!! After only two days hooray :D
Ok so this is a kinda silly chapter. However remember these kids are 12/13, this is something I would have 100% done at that age if I had the resources lol.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Mei sat at her desk, computer in front of her, running yet another test for her latest project. It seemed to be going smoothly. There weren’t any obvious gaps, and she had patched all the little ones she’d noticed, but she wouldn’t really know until it was put to use. That was the part that made her nervous. And when Mei was nervous, she obsessed over making her babies as perfect as possible.
It wasn’t even a hard project, necessarily. Not even close, compared to most of her other babies. This one though, while remarkably mostly-legal, could also go spectacularly badly very quickly. But only if she didn’t do her job right.
It wouldn’t go wrong. It wouldn’t, because Mei was nothing if not thorough. She had done everything she could to make sure nothing could go awry.
“Think it’s about ready?” Momo asked, leaning over Mei’s shoulder to glance at the computer screen.
Mei hummed, scrunching her nose up as she scanned a critical eye over the screen again. She had to get this right. There wasn’t time for something to go wrong now.
“Probably,” she relented.
“Good, because Mina already has her mask on and is terrorizing the boys while they put up the paper.”
Mei snorted. She had assumed nothing less after their pink sister had come barreling in, grabbed her costume, and then sprinted right back out with nothing but maniac giggling. Ochako had followed soon after. She was probably helping set up their paper background though, so there was slightly less chance of terrorizing happening. Only slightly though.
What had been Mei’s room, then turned secondary workshop and storage, was now being transformed into something like a studio. Momo had made a ream of white paper to stretch from the ceiling and along the floor, like the fancy photography places Mei had only seen through mall windows. Hanta and Kouji had already come by to grab most of Mei’s beanbags and haul them upstairs to sit on. Katsuki was working on the lights, and, last Mei had checked, snapping at anyone else that tried to touch them.
It left them with a blank, unidentifiable room. Mei’s job was pretty much the only one left. Hers was also, technically, the most important. It had been tricky, but not overly so. Besides, all of her siblings had been excited about the prospect of what they were trying to do, and that made it easier to work on.
Most vigilantes didn’t stream, after all.
There had been the issue of location tracking, which was the tricky part, but Mei had disabled it before. Then there had been the matter of donations, and making sure whoever donated would also apply to the non-tracing code, since she didn’t want anyone to get accused of aiding and abetting vigilantes.
Mei could have just disabled it, sure, but…she would also like some more money. Black market things weren’t exactly cheap, thank you very much, and there was only so much Momo could learn to make in a period of time.
Their account was already set up though, since Spaceline came with streaming built in, and Mei had made a bank account under a fake name ages ago. All they had to do was assure their location was hidden and put on their suits and masks. Mei herself would be behind the camera and computer. She had to make sure things kept running smoothly, and fix it quickly if something went sideways.
She would be there though, and probably talk a time or two. With that in mind, Mei snagged her newly finished and refined mask to tuck under her arm. She’d need the voice modulation if she wanted to talk at all. And the extra screens would be helpful.
Laptop and mask tucked under her arm, Mei headed inside. It would take a minute to set everything up. Ample time for whichever siblings weren’t ready yet to haul ass into getting dressed.
Mei passed the adults on her way to the stairs. Momma Inko was holding the remote, with Pop-sashi clearly trying to figure out how to get the stream onto the tv from his phone. Aunt Rei was watching from the couch, sipping her tea. Even Natsuo was in the room. He was working on a university application at the coffee table, but he was there, ready to watch their first stream.
“Oh, Mei!” Pop-sashi smiled. “Come help me for a sec, kiddo. We can’t figure out how to get your stream on the tv.”
Mei nodded, setting down her stuff before taking the offered phone. Within two minutes she had it on the screen and ready for whenever she actually started the stream.
“Thank you, Mei,” Momma Inko said, giving her a grateful hug. “Good luck, let us know if you need anything.”
“I will,” she promised.
Pop-sashi took the opportunity to scoop her off her feet for a second. Mei squawked, but didn’t try too hard to escape, since she didn’t elbow his kidneys.
“Our babies are all grown up, Inko,” Hisashi sniffled dramatically. “Doing their first mildly illegal stream and everything.”
Mei gave up and went limp, resigned to her fate for the moment. She still gave a small smile though. Pop-sashi was always warm, and Mei basked in the affection and approval. Momma Inko came up and kissed both of their cheeks before settling next to Rei.
“I have to go set up the stream,” Mei said, attempting to wiggle out of her dad’s arms.
“Aw, I guess you do.” He gently deposited her on the floor, then ruffled her hair. “Knock ‘em dead, kiddo. We’ll be watching from down here.”
Mei nodded. She hesitated for only a moment before she ducked forward and gave him a hug. Then she was grabbing her stuff and hustling up the stairs.
The room was bustling with activity when Mei got there. Ochako was still floating close to the ceiling, double checking that the paper would hold while they streamed. She was already in full costume. Izuku was doing the same on the floor, making sure it wouldn't suddenly roll back up and reveal the carpet beneath.
Mina, however, was currently clinging to Eijirou’s back, hanging on as he used minimal effort to get her off. It had become their new game to test how he was adapting to the changes in his body. He was doing well so far, as his body figured out what to do with the differences. Most of it was relearning his strength and sense of balance. Right now though, he was double checking the edges of the paper while Mina attempted to distract him.
The white background was good to go. Multiple colored beanbags from Mei’s workshop were gathered in the center of it, ready to be occupied. The lights were perfectly angled, even if Katsuki was still fussing with them. The camera—one of Momma Inko’s old ones, apparently— was set up on on the tripod. Behind it was the desk, moved away from the wall to let Mei sit facing the white background and bean bags.
Everything looked perfect. The camera was angled to keep any other room features out of frame. The paper was taped down and secured. They were just missing Mei’s computer, and the actual vigilantes.
Mei set down her electronics, and then loudly clapped her hands together. “Go get your costumes, I’m starting the stream in ten minutes. The lights are fine, Blasty.”
Katsuki grumbled something, but stalked off to go get his costume anyway. The rest of their siblings filed out too. Within a minute Mei was sat at the desk in relative quiet, whichever siblings weren't getting their costumes on semi-peacefully staking claim to their seats.
Mei plugged in her computer, triple and quadruple checking that everything was running fine, then set the stream to start with a waiting screen. It was really cute, actually. Hitoshi had the foresight to commission someone to make a little animation for them a few weeks ago, when Mei had mentioned the possibility of streaming. It was a screen that said “Starting Soon” with stylized cartoons of their personas leaning into frame every few seconds. It was perfect.
The rest of her siblings quickly filtered back into the room. Mei was busy making sure the camera angle was right, and that her program was up and running.
People had begun to trickle into the stream. Most of them were making comments of confusion, some saying maybe they had accidentally started a stream. Those ones were quickly directed to the customized and obviously intentional waiting screen.
There were already over three hundred people, and none of the vigilantes had even been on screen yet.
“Questions will pop up on your phones,” Mei reminded her siblings, specifically Izuku and Eijirou, who were holding said phones at the moment. “Read them out loud. Thank whoever sends one in. I can mute the mics or cut the video if I have to, but this is your show to run. Ready?”
She got a round of affirmatives, and then, nodding to herself, put on her mask.
The hinges clicked into place, gold almost entirely covering her head. Multiple sets of golden wings fluttered into place around her face. Two covered where her eyes would be, another pair over the sides of her head, where her ears would be. Two more sets of them spread out over the back and top of her skull, one more flared out instead of being held close. The bottom half of her face remained uncovered by wings, instead taken up by a screen that could project a mouth for talking or making faces. Mei planned to keep it blank most of the time for intimidation purposes, but still, it could change if she wanted it to.
On some of the feathers were little black dots. Holograms blinked into place above them, creating many glowing eyes. Each with a camera and projector as the pupil. It gave her three hundred and sixty degree vision, and literal eyes on the back of her head.
The finishing touch was a large hologram eye, which flickered into existence above her head. That one was there purely to look cool. And to make it look like her head wasn't human.
The wings did mean that she relied entirely on screens to see, but Mei liked it that way. She could pull up all of her codes, all of her babies, right in front of her eyes. In this case, it let her keep an eye on the stream and connected code. Any law figure who had ever heard of them would probably be trying to break into their location data once the Sirens showed up on screen. This way, Mei could keep track of it live.
The beanbags filled up as Mei triple checked that her mask was secure. Some of her siblings sat on the floor. Mei wondered if it was intentional that Kitsune was front and center. Judging from her brother’s momentary flailing, it wasn’t his idea, but it was certainly intentional. The sight made her huff a small laugh.
“Ready,” Mei called, “in three, two, one…”
Mei cut the waiting screen, fading it into the actual video. The chat immediately went nuts. At her thumbs up signal, Izuku grinned and waved at the camera.
“Hello!” He chirped. “Welcome to the Sirens’ first official stream!”
The viewer count almost immediately jumped by another hundred, and then another, and just kept ticking higher as Mei watched.
“Daedalus mentioned the possibility of streaming,” Hitoshi—Gorgon—drawled from Kitsune’s right. “But it took a bit to set up something to keep the cops off our tails. Anyway, here we are.”
Most of the messages that flew by in the chat were swearing. Some of them were exclamations of “WHAT” and “HOW” but most of them were just “WHAT THE FUCK.” It was funny.
Izuku pulled out his phone, and snorted at the messages he could see. “Yeah, I don’t quite know either, thank Daedalus for making this possible.”
What followed was a hundred messages of “THANK YOU DAEDALUS” and “Who is that??” and, again, “WHAT THE FUCK” flying by. Their number of viewers had crept up to a thousand, and they had been live maybe five minutes.
“Anyway!” Izuku chirped again. “We did this so we could interact with you guys! We can answer some questions, you can get to know us, and give us feedback! All live!”
“Anyone rude gets banned,” Ares warned. “And snitches will too, if you’re found you are banned as fuck.”
“Daedalus is watching chat,” Chimera said, grinning but still a warning. “And they know how to ban your entire account for a long, long time.”
The chat almost seemed to stutter for a second, as the messages paused with the warning. That, however, was when someone discovered their donate button.
The alert chimed happily, making all of the vigilantes perk up and then lean into Kitsune’s space to see the phone. Eijirou—Dragon—also had his out, so half of them leaned over his shoulder. Izuku smiled brightly at the camera again.
“Thank you!” He exclaimed. “Thank you- uh, let’s see, oh! Thank you TokenAmerican for the five dollars! They ask: does this work- yep! It does!”
“You can ask questions without donating,” Hanta quickly chimed in. “Daedalus should have that set up. The donations are greatly appreciated, but not necessary!”
Mei snorted at the influx of messages. She read a few that flew by, ranging from “Is there a limit to the number of questions?” to “I am giving money and NO ONE CAN STOP ME (except my bank account)” to incoherent keysmashing in all caps.
Another alert pinged, reading “pockyneedssleep asks: what are y'all's pronouns?” Izuku muttered it to the rest of them, and then smiled and read it louder for their audience.
“I think we’ve answered this one before,” Hitoshi hummed consideringly. “They line up pretty well with our costumes. If you can’t tell then most of us don’t mind they and them. Dragon’s new though.”
“Oh, yeah!” Eijirou smiled, looking adorable for having such a ferocious mask and voice. “He and him for me please!”
“This stream was partially to introduce Dragon better,” Basilisk—Mina—said. “So this is our new teammate! He/him pronouns, and if you don’t use them I will melt your kneecaps.”
Mina gave a chilling grin through her lizard mask, unnerving in a different way from Eijirou’s. Mei idly wondered if bringing the attention to his pronouns would cause problems. But then again, it would be nice for people to know they were allies at minimum. Although Mei also wondered if they still counted as “allies” when at least half of them were queer in some way.
Eh, questions for later. For now Mei just focused on the first few pings she was getting from someone bumping into her firewall.
Another alert chimed, and Hitoshi grabbed the phone to read this one out loud. “cH40T1c4T—wow that’s a mouthful to read outloud—is asking: heyheyhey y’all how’re you so good at the parkour thingy I could never also who falls the most?”
“Lots of practice,” Kitsune chirped. “We’ve been doing this for a while, and only got better once we became vigilantes. We still make mistakes, of course, but there are less of them.”
Dragon raised his hand sheepishly. “I probably fall the most right now, since I’m the newest at it. But I’m learning!”
There was a string of cooing and people declaring they would die for Dragon in chat. He saw it, judging by the look on his face. If he didn’t have his mask on Mei figured he’d be visibly blushing. As it was, he turned and hid his face behind Katsuki’s armored shoulder for a moment, mumbling something unintelligible. That just triggered more cooing in chat.
Ochako gleefully snatched the phone from Eijirou to read the next question. “SuperBatman asks: ‘how are you guys so cute yet so scary?’ Aww thanks! And it’s because we’re adorable but could also stab a man.”
That made Mei snort, probably picked up by the mic. Hitoshi reached up and gently smacked at the side of Ochako’s face. In turn she leaned forward and pecked the top of his head. Hitoshi just scowled and ducked around Izuku to use him as a shield.
“It’s true, to be fair,” Momo hummed regally. “Oh, here’s another one. Justalittleguy asks: ‘Thoughts on dragons? Do any of you have favorite types of dragons? Does a dragon need to breathe fire?’—Oh that’s an ironic one, isn’t it.”
Dragon was smiling, leaning forward and away from Ares now. “Well I breathe fire,” he lied, and Mei had to keep herself from snorting again, “but a dragon doesn’t have to breathe fire to be a dragon, in my opinion. I like the European dragons since they’re the ones that tend to represent earth and stuff, they’re cool.”
“I like the good old Japanese ones,” Gorgon threw in. “Giant snakey noodles.”
Their viewer number hit over five thousand. The person who had been trying to get through Mei’s firewall hadn’t even peeled back the first layer, though there was someone else trying as well now. The chat flew by at double speed, even with slow mode on. Mei scanned it and banned a few people that hadn’t been caught by her custom modding bot.
The number of viewers kept going up and up and up. Mei almost considered checking the normal social media feed for a moment, just to see if their name was trending. The number wasn’t that high, not in comparison to actual popular streamers or celebrities, but it was something.
It was their city, those that knew about them, spreading the word.
Another ping chimed in the room, a money donation. Momo happily read this one. “Thank you foxneedssleep for the donation! It is greatly appreciated. They also ask us: ‘how the fuck are y'all awake almost every night?’”
“Conditioning and extra energy,” Kouji signed, translated verbally by Hitoshi.
“And stubbornness!” Basilisk chirped.
Jorogumo nodded in agreement. “Lots of stubbornness.”
“Oh, here’s another one,” Chimera said. “TheDadFriend asks: ‘I just want to make sure you kids are being safe. Your gear is good quality, right? I've seen the jumps you all make over the roofs, and I fear you falling.’”
“The best quality!” Harpy chirped. “And our masks are also built in helmets-“ Ochako knocked hard on hers to demonstrate- “so we’re safe, I promise.”
Mei’s eyes flickered over the multiple screens and tabs she had. Nothing was breaking yet, and no one had managed to even get close to breaking the stream. Donations and questions streamed in from their ever-growing audience.
Hanta snorted, having grabbed the phone to read another one. “Thanks for the donation, krillpickle. They're asking us if Ares and Athena actually have a rivalry like in the myths.”
Momo leaning over and draped herself across Katsuki’s shoulders, head knocking into the side of his with a metallic clang. “Yes, I hate him,” she deadpanned.
Katsuki rolled his eyes, but accepted the affection. Dragon shifted the phone so she could see too.
“FozzieBearTheSecond: The cops are chasing you and they yell at you to stop. What do you say back? Wrong answers only.”
“I surrender,” Katsuki drawled.
Hitoshi snorted from the floor. “They said wrong, not a flat-out lie.”
That led to a round of laughter. The phone was passed around, falling into the hands of Shouto and Hanta this time. Hanta was the first to read a question.
“SleepingStanding wants to know how many of us are fully nocturnal,” she read.
“I don’t think Daedalus actually sleeps,” Hitoshi said.
“No, that’s Kitsune.”
“Hey!” Izuku yelped playfully. “I sleep!”
“When?”
“Moving on!” Ochako chirped, snatching a phone. “pockyneedssleep—oh hey thanks for another donation—asks: do y'all have good parents/guardians or do I need to throw hands.”
Mei saw them all hesitate for a second. They were playing as adults, but also wanted to keep from outright lying in most cases. It was barely a moment, but some of the chat picked up on it.
Izuku, as usual, was the first to jump in with a grin and a sly look. “We can’t reveal anything about our civilian identities, but our mentors are pretty cool! Hades, Persephone, and Khione taught us most of what we know.”
Mei nodded in approval. As much as Lady Omniscient and Flamethrower were pretty powerful names to throw around, they wanted to avoid the attention of stronger villains and vigilantes for now. Three unknown names of three “unknown vigilantes” would work well, and draw in more intrigue instead of danger.
It wasn’t a lie either. Momma Inko, Pop-sashi, and Aunt Rei had taught them a lot. Mei was tempted to mention Dabi and Hawks too, but she didn’t want them to get in trouble. Besides, the chat was already freaking out enough as it was.
Mina read the next question “BestJeanistsBeltBuckle: Best way to greet a Pro Hero, wrong answers only!”
Without hesitation Shouto looked dead in the camera and said, “You owe my mother child support.”
Mei choked on her laughter, almost crying as the rest of the room broke out into cackling and wheezing. Meanwhile Chimera just looked proud of himself. With the rest of the room incapacitated, Shouto moved onto reading the next question.
“StarChild, thank you for the donation, they’re asking…” Shouto trailed off, squinting at the screen. “Why Kitsune is Baby. But that doesn’t make sense, Kitsune isn’t a baby.”
Mei idly watched as the chat devolved into “He’s so dumb (affectionate)” and “oh so he’s a Himbo” and “but why are they right though.”
“I’m not a baby,” Izuku giggled, still trying to peel himself off the floor and out from under Hitoshi, who had collapsed on top of him. “But, uh, same as Harpy said earlier I guess? I can be cute but also I’ve whacked a pro hero with my escrima sticks, so.”
“Good lead-in to the next question!” Basilisk cheered. “EndeavorIsOverrated asks: Who's your favorite and least favorite heroes?”
“I feel like we’ve answered this before too,” Ares grumbled. “But Endeavor is really low on that fucking list.”
“All Might is a hero we all like,” Izuku declared cheerfully. “And Present Mic, he’s cool, and some underground heroes we won’t mention by name for anonymity's sake.”
“Persevere is my favorite,” Mina answered. “She was an amazing hero.”
“I like Gang Orca a lot,” Kouji signed, Hanta translating for him this time.
“Gang Orca is a good one,” Izuku agreed. “I met him when I was little, he was pretty new at the time but really nice.”
Mei made a face under her mask in place of snickering. She had heard the story about Gang Orca, and how most of them had met the hero by incapacitating a villain. He was pretty ok, Mei had to admit. And his quirk was cool.
“Crimson Riot is my favorite!” Dragon said brightly. “Persevere too, she was awesome. I haven’t met the Sirens’ favorite underground hero yet, but I’m sure he’s manly too.”
Mei nodded, making a mental note to remind her siblings that they did, in fact, have a meeting with Eraserhead tomorrow night. The man had been looking for information on the quirk trafficking ring that the Sirens were also trying to root out. In exchange for the information Eraserhead was going to give them warning about any hero activity around the area, which was a pretty good deal in Mei’s opinion. He also hadn’t mentioned stopping them if they wanted to take action first.
“Next question!” Hanta declared. “PresentMice—aw thanks for the donation, that’s a lot of money, wow—asks: Opinions on windows? On a scale of 1 to 10, how breakable are they?”
Mei snorted, and raised her hand. It caught her siblings’ attention quickly, and they all perked up. She had never spoken on camera, after all. Her mask had only just been finished.
“Depends on the window,” Daedalus said, preening at the impressed looks at her modulated voice. It was deeper than her own, and very mechanical sounding. Mei had managed to fit in drawn out syllables that resembled machinery; like hissing compressed air on “s”, clinking gears on “c” and “k”, and the hum of electricity on “m” sounds. She was proud of it. “Older buildings are easier to break, newer ones aren’t. But they all have their weak points. Aim for the corners.”
“You have to rate it, Daedalus!” Harpy chirped, grinning broadly.
“Hm. Two out of ten with a fist, seven out of ten with normal tools, and ten out of ten when I smash them with a rock, simply because it’s funnier.”
“Amazing,” Harpy tittered.
The chat flew by, a lot of them saying how cool Daedalus’ voice was. Mei ducked her head behind her computer for a moment. She had put a lot of work in everyone else’s costumes, and her own had taken…kinda forever, and it wasn’t even fully done yet, but it was nice, seeing her work praised. Always was.
“Yeah Daedalus is really cool, but if you get me started on that I won’t stop, so time for more questions,” Izuku told their audience. “Here’s one. Insert_Username_Here asks: What’s the funniest thing that happened while y’all were patrolling recently?”
Harpy immediately and ruthlessly shared, “Gorgon fell off a lamppost because they saw a moth."
“A kid asked Harpy if she was Batman and started crying when she said no," Gorgon shot back.
“I gave him a lollipop after, it was fine.”
“Pan asked some rats to help stop a purse snatcher,” Chimera said calmly, ignoring the other two starting a slap fight on his right. “They started crying.”
“Not my fault,” Kouji signed, unrepentant.
“koi_to_dragon is asking, um, why people think we’re scary?” Dragon read. “I mean, we could turn the lights off and show you?”
“If any of you touch my fucking lights I will murder you.”
Dragon turned to Ares with the mask equivalent of puppy eyes. “Even me?”
Mei watched as Katsuki lasted about three seconds before crumbling. He scowled petulantly, crossing his arms and grumbling, but gave in to Eijirou laughing and booping his snout into the side of Katsuki's helmet.
Izuku stepped in, speaking before anyone else could. “We have to keep some secrets. But let’s just say there’s a reason villains don’t like to see us.”
Kitsune made sure to look right in the camera when he smiled, showing off the sharp teeth in his mask. The rest of the Sirens laughed around him. Their own grins were cutting, closer to smirks than anything. Confident and dangerous.
There was a reason they had survived so long. A reason they showed their masked faces now, and didn’t fear many consequences. It was a declaration, a dare, for anyone to try. Because they wouldn’t accomplish much.
The chat stuttered, slowing as people took in the sight. Mei laughed along with her siblings, the sharp grins bursting into pure amusement, and the chat realized their question had technically been answered.
“Ok, ok,” Izuku said. “A few more questions, then we’ll end the stream.”
Mei took the liberty of reading one, since they were still picking the phones up from wherever they had been dropped. “SetsunaStan says: could you rank yourselves least to most likely to be able to beat a raccoon in a no quirks one on one brawl?”
Mina snorted. “I’ve fought a raccoon before-“
“Gorgon doesn’t count,” Ares said.
Mina stared at him for a moment, silently willing him to shut his mouth, before turning back to the camera with a big smile plastered on. “I was on the streets for a bit, but yeah raccoons can be nasty fighters.”
“Pan loses because he wouldn’t fight it, he would politely ask it to move,” Kitsune shared.
“I think any of the girls would win actually,” Gorgon declared. “They’re all terrors.”
“Why thank you,” Hanta said. Mei had to hide a snort, knowing Hanta only included themself under “boys” or “girls” when it amused them.
“Honestly I think Dragon is at the top of the list,” Athena said thoughtfully.
“Why?”
“Oven mitt hands.”
“Elaborate?”
Momo smiled serenely into the camera. “No.”
“Here’s another question,” Dragon loudly distracted them with. “Uh, SewageRat—thanks for the donation—says: Poptarts are either lasagna or Wellington. Change my mind.”
“They’re not lasagna, that’s stupid,” Harpy declared. “If anything poptarts are a- a dumpling or something. Their edges are sealed, and lasagna is just stuff stacked on top of each other.”
“Both are wrong, Wellington is a type of meat poptart,” Hitoshi said, a shit-eating grin directed at the camera.
Mina faked gagging. “I hate that.”
“You’re welcome.”
Mei squinted at the screen and the latest question coming through. “Hang on, this one is in Russian.”
“Oh, cool.”
Izuku tapped at his phone, the rest of the Sirens leaning over to see. “Oh, ok. So DogandCat is asking us if we have a mom.”
“Accusing us of motherless behavior,” Gorgon drawled sarcastically. “For shame, chat.”
“Athena is kinda like our mom,” Mina answered. “We don’t all have the same mom obviously, that’d be silly, but Athena is the mom friend so close enough.”
Momo nodded her agreement, somehow managing to look poised while half-sunk into a beanbag. Mei wished she had that skill.
“Last one, then we’re wrapping up,” Mei called.
“Ok, I have one,” Izuku said from his seat on the floor. “RooftopMothman asked us if there’s any way to give us things, like a PO box.”
“Just message us and tell us where you left it, preferably on a roof,” Momo answered. “No PO box unfortunately, too big of a risk.”
“But we do find the stuff you leave if you tell us about it!” Ochako added. “We got a super cool rainbow crowbar that someone made us. It’s hanging on the wall in our base, I put it on my belt sometimes.”
Ares started snickering. “That villain’s face when you hit them with a rainbow crowbar was the highlight of my fucking week.”
“Mine too!”
Mei let them keep talking for a few minutes while she checked their set up. Quite a few people had tried to hack their location, as well as their camera and stream itself. None of them had worked, obviously. Their location wasn’t even data that could be mined at this point.
Their viewers number had also gotten to over ten thousand, so there was that.
“Everyone say bye to chat,” Mei told them.
There was a chorus of goodbyes and well wishes. The chat returned it, some asking when the next stream was, others lamenting how they didn't want it to end yet. The vigilantes all waved to the camera as Mei put her hand up for a five second count down. When her last finger went down she turned off the stream.
Her siblings all cheered, some of them slumping over onto others in a show of dramatics.
“That went well!” Izuku chirped.
“It did,” Mei agreed.
That was when Pop-sashi came bursting into the room, immediately scooping up as many kids as he could reach and swinging them around. “You guys did so well!”
“You all did such a good job,” Momma Inko said, slightly calmer, but still pulling at least two of them into a teary-eyed hug. “You handled the questions well, we’re so proud of you.”
Mei preened under the praise, promptly being pulled into another hug-and-spin by Pop-sashi. Aunt Rei tugged Shouto to her side, quietly praising him, and then reaching out to pat the head of whoever passed by her.
“Don’t forget we have a meeting with Eraserhead tomorrow,” Mei reminded her family.
A beat.
“Fuck.”
Ochako slipped into the shadows as Izuku landed on a familiar roof. Eraserhead was already there, watching her brother approach. Kitsune’s mask audio was already connected to her own, a small video feed in the corner of her vision, letting her see his cheerful wave to the hero.
There were only a few of them out tonight. Mainly because they knew Eraserhead, but also because Izuku, Momo, and Mei all had a test tomorrow. Not that that had stopped Izuku from going out, but it did mean Mei and Momo were busy studying while Hanta manned the control center for once. Ochako was half surprised their school hadn’t burnt down yet, since it housed three of their resident geniuses. Then again, they were also decently polite, so any fires they started wouldn’t cause more damage than they intended them to.
Ochako and her hooligans at Geonosis Junior High, in the meantime, had already been called to the principal's office for running an underground candy ring at school. Considering they had been running it since the beginning of the year, and that had been last April, Ochako was bummed that it had been busted.
Not that they were going to stop, necessarily, they just had to be sneakier about it. And make sure to root out any snitches this time.
Honestly, she was probably more surprised that Katsuki, Mina, Hanta, and Eijirou hadn’t gotten into a fight with a teacher yet. More specifically the former two in defense of Hanta and Eijirou.
Ochako dragged her attention back to her brother and their favorite hero. The only other two out tonight were Ares and Dragon, who were hiding on the opposite side of the meeting place, probably tucked into the same shadow. They were ridiculously cute. By Katsuki’s standards, at least.
She had heard Ares quietly explaining to Dragon how the meeting was going to go while they were headed over. Now the two of them were silent, keeping an eye out. They weren’t especially worried about Eraserhead now, after a couple weeks of meetings, but outside dangers were always present. It was why Ochako kept her eyes on the surrounding streets and alleys more than the two heroes on the rooftop.
“Kitsune,” Eraserhead greeted. Ochako could see his mouth move from this distance, and just barely pick out the faint words, but they came through louder from Izuku’s own mask recording.
“Eraserhead!” Kitsune smiled, standing a few paces away. “How’s this fine night going for you?”
“Wonderful,” the hero deadpanned, and Ochako quietly snickered at how done he sounded. “I saw that you decided to stream.”
Izuku lit up, quite literally, since he was already glowing. “You did?”
“My daughter and partner started screaming about it,” he sighed. “So I really had no choice. Good job though, I had detectives complaining about not being able to get through Daedalus’ firewall.”
Ochako’s eyes widened, and she leaned forward in curiosity. A daughter? She knew Eraserhead had a spouse, since he had mentioned them before, but a kid? That was new.
“I’ll give them your compliments,” Kitsune laughed. “Now, information?”
“The quirk trafficking ring.” Eraserhead nodded, hands relaxed at his sides. “Were you able to find out anything?”
Izuku pulled out a flash drive, holding it out to the hero. “Every recording we’ve managed to get of their movements so far, possible routes, and a base we discovered was cleared out but some evidence left behind. I hope it helps, Eraserhead.”
The hero nodded, taking the offered drive with only a bit of caution. “Thank you.”
“We’re happy to help.” Izuku shrugged, angling away from Eraserhead to leave. “If that’s-“
“Wait.”
Izuku stopped, turning back to give his undivided attention to the hero. Eraserhead sounded…almost hesitant, like he was expecting them to reject what he said. But he also sounded oddly hopeful.
Eraserhead dug through his pockets, and then held out a small, folded sheet of paper. “There's nothing new in Musutafu, hero-wise, but—here," the man said carefully. "My phone number, and…address, should you or your team need it.”
All of them went dead silent, hardly daring to breathe. Izuku stood stock still, glowing eyes locked onto the paper, shock cracking through his Kitsune facade. And yet Eraserhead stood patiently.
“Are you…sure?” Kitsune asked carefully.
“I don’t know if you kids have a place to go or not.” Eraserhead shrugged. “If you’re hurt, or need a hideout, my windows are usually open. I talked it over with my family, and they’re fine with it.”
“That’s…a lot of trust you’re giving us, Eraser.”
“I’d like to think you’ve earned it.”
“I…thank you.”
The hero shrugged again. “I’ve been meaning to offer for a while now, but things got in the way. Just use it well, kid. I don’t exactly live near your normal range, but if it helps, then use it.”
“I…we will, Eraserhead, thank you. I, uh, I have a phone, so we’ll let you know if it comes down to that, but…thank you.”
“You’re welcome, kid. And tell your new one hello for me.”
“Oh, he’s- he’s actually here, if you want to meet him?”
Ochako tilted her head in curiosity. Izuku didn’t get thrown off often, but Eraserhead had certainly just done it. None of them had been expecting that. Not a single one of them would have guessed an underground hero would give them all but free access to his home and phone number. That same hero would be expected to try and arrest them if another hero was around, and yet…
Eraserhead was kind, Ochako concluded. Exceedingly kind, despite all that he had probably seen. Just like them. Just like Izuku.
Ochako wondered how hard it would be to adopt a fully grown hero.
“Dragon?” Izuku called questioningly.
Ochako stayed where she was, but watched as both Ares and Dragon melted into sight on the roof. Eijirou was trying to act cool, but Ochako saw how he was fidgeting. Part nerves and part excitement. They had all spoken highly of the hero, and now here Eijirou was, right in front of him.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Eraserhead,” Eijirou said.
Eraserhead inclined his head. “Nice to meet you too, Dragon. I see the Sirens have pulled someone else in.”
“Oh, I volunteered, really,” Eijirou laughed, a bit nervously. “But they, uh, they speak highly of you, Eraserhead, sir. Thank you for offering help if we need it.”
The hero nodded, and if Ochako wasn’t mistaken, had a small smile on his face. Holy shit.
“Be safe,” Eraserhead reminded them sternly. “And thank you for the information. I’ll see you in two weeks, Sirens.”
And just like that Eraserhead turned to leave, incidentally leaving his back open to them. A show of trust. Ochako watched him go, making sure he left them safely. Then she turned back to see Dragon happily freaking out with Kitsune.
They had another ally, and a safe place to retreat to on the other side of Musutafu, if they needed it. They were making connections. They were getting stronger.
Ochako couldn’t wait to see what they could do with it.
Notes:
Most of the questions were submitted by people in my discord, thank you so much you guys! Love you and thank you for giving me questions <3
Question I couldn’t figure out where to put because this is already a beast of a chapter:
(username): Are you guys furries??
Izuku: No? Maybe? I don’t actually know-
Hitoshi: SureAnyone wanna guess who the Erasermic daughter is? ‘Cause it’s not Eri :) (pretty sure I’ve mentioned it in the discord before but we’ll see who remembers lol)
Also!! One last thing, go back to last chapter and look at the chibi art Sitian made. I wrote this chapter before getting their art, but that is EXACTLY what I was imagining with the little Starting Soon screen mentioned in this chapter. The stars aligned or something, thank you again Sitian you have wonderful timing <3
Next chapter: The kids meet a certain hero, and another arc begins :)
Chapter 116: An Easy Decision
Summary:
A Dadzawa moment and hey would you look at that another hero :) I wonder what arc is next :))
Notes:
I am back! AGAIN!
Gonna be a slightly longer gap between this and the next chapter, because I start my new job this next weekend!! But I still have another 10-or-so chapters before my backlog is cut down to where I want it, so look forward to whenever that'll be up :DEnjoy <3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Kitsune was…agitated.
Shouta knew it the instant he spotted the vigilante, pacing the length of the roof they usually met on, his hologram tails trailing and lashing behind him. The holograms had been an intriguing addition to Shouta, and his commenting on it had Kitsune grinning, but he hadn’t realized how…reactive they were. Almost like actual tails instead of 3D images.
An agitated vigilante was usually a signal to be cautious. And Shouta would be, of course, but…
He had also known the vigilantes for a good few months now, and learned their motives and personalities in that time. The rest of the Sirens had slowly introduced themselves. They had stopped hiding as much during meetings, allowing Shouta to get a glimpse of them.
But Kitsune still represented them. He was still the only one to outright speak with Shouta, most of the time. The one in the most danger, out in the open. The vigilante was secretive, cautious, and skilled at spinning words. But he was still human. Things still slipped in through what he said, little details about himself and his group.
Shouta knew Kitsune, and so he knew the vigilante wouldn’t lash out at him. Not with the intent to harm, at least.
With that in mind, Shouta landed on the roof, hardly batting an eye as Kitsune whipped around with a snarl on his mask. The expression quickly dropped, but it had still been there.
“Eraserhead,” the vigilante greeted stiffly.
“Kitsune.” Shouta inclined his head. “Something’s wrong.”
That got the vigilante to hold still, expression shifting to something like regret. “Ah, sorry, Eraser. Nothing you need to be worried about. Just…just life.”
Shouta tilted his head, considering. He still didn’t know how old the vigilantes were, but Kitsune…Shouta knew Kitsune, or he liked to think so. More than that—Shouta was a teacher, and Kitsune reminded him of his students.
So he sat down on the cement roof, leaning his back against the raised lip of the building, and waited. Kitsune eyed him. It was more amusing than anything. Like the fox didn’t quite know what to make of the situation.
“Tell me about it,” Shouta offered.
Kitsune stared. He wasn’t pacing anymore, but he also wasn’t moving much at all now. Shouta held his gaze calmly. He may be used to his family loudly telling him their problems, but it took more than a mildly unnerving stare to faze him.
The vigilante shifted, angling more towards Shouta. His eyes flickered around, taking in Shouta’s face and body language and probably plenty more details. Shouta could almost see the calculations of losses and gains going on behind the glowing eyes.
Eventually though, Kitsune reached up and pressed a button of some kind, and carefully settled on the roof beside Shouta.
“I…got in trouble, at school today,” Kitsune grit out hesitantly, the mask shifting to show metallic teeth. “I was defending someone.”
Shouta nodded, encouraging Kitsune to go on. It sounded very in-character, honestly. The vigilante had never struck Shouta as the type to take cruelty sitting down. Any of them, really.
“I don’t usually get caught,” Kitsune growled, which, yeah, made sense. “But when I did they threatened to get my- my friends, in trouble too, if I didn’t listen.”
Shouta grimaced. He was very familiar with the tone Kitsune used, the way he spat the word. Shouta had been a “troubled kid” before UA too.
“And then,” the vigilante all but snarled. “We ran into a hero on the way here. Real self-righteous one. Tried to make us ‘see the error of our ways’ and ‘give up a fight we couldn’t win.’ Said how there was no reason to be a vigilante-“
Kitsune cut himself off with a growl, the sound closer to a wolf than a fox, echoing and rumbling deeply. His ears were back, and tails clipping through the roof but lashing when they came into view. The vigilante’s fists had a white knuckle grip on his upper arms. A defensive gesture, Shouta knew.
Shouta also knew how anger could burn. How it made it it hard to breathe, and wrapped around one’s heart and lungs, clouding their mind. Having a fire quirk tended to make it marginally more literal.
He was about to speak, about to say something to try and calm Kitsune down, when the vigilante slumped. He let his shoulders relax and leaned forward, letting out a deep sigh. Shouta got the distinct impression that it was like a too-wound spring uncoiling.
“Sorry, Eraser,” Kitsune said, quieter now. “But thank you for listening.”
Shouta, unthinkingly and on impulse, reached out and patted the top of Kitsune’s head. The metal was cool to the touch. The vigilante stilled, but didn’t pull away.
“You have a right to be angry,” Shouta intoned. “You were right to defend your friend against bullying, even if the administration didn’t agree.”
“I know that,” Kitsune whispered.
“And you have a right to be angry about that hero.” At that, Kitsune’s head whipped back up, eyes wide at Shouta’s word. “Belittling the issues in Musutafu does nothing. You are a product of the city that made you, even if you took a path most don’t follow. And you’ve lasted this long, kid, you know when you can win a fight and when you can’t by now.”
“I don’t…know what to say to that.”
Shouta shrugged. “Don’t have to say anything, kit, it’s just the truth.”
Kitsune was quiet, but he nodded. He also seemed to be thinking something over. Shouta stayed quiet, idly looking at the stars and noting where the other Sirens were out of the corner of his eye. Only one more was in view, Athena, but he knew there was at least one more somewhere around them.
With Shouta’s eyes on the sky, Kitsune listed to the side, gently tapping his helmeted head into Shouta’s shoulder. He didn’t move, just hummed as he accepted the short affection. Kitsune quickly pulled back after.
He reminded Shouta a bit of his daughter, he realized. Hurt by the system but trying so, so hard to heal.
Kitsune got to his feet, tails waving calmly behind him. “Thank you, Eraserhead. Was there- was there anything you needed from us this week?”
“Not this week, Kitsune,” Shouta told him, getting to his feet and hearing his knees crack. He hesitated for a second, but decided to go with it, and patted Kitsune’s head again. “Stay safe, kid. You and your team are good.”
Kitsune stuttered out some approximation of “Ok thank you good bye” all in one breath. Then the fox vigilante was jumping away, and Shouta heard at least two sets of laughter following after him. He watched the glowing vigilantes converge together, and then fade into the distance.
God, becoming a dad had made him soft, hadn’t it.
Mina had always been picky with what she spent money on. A result of being given scraps for the first seven years of her life, she figured. And being homeless for a bit of that. For that reason anything she wanted was heavily scrutinized for whether it was worth the cost.
She did enjoy window shopping though! Musutafu may still be pretty crime-ridden, but their downtown shops were fun. Especially after her and her boys had just finished a big exam! Momma Inko had agreed they could wander as long as they were back for dinner, so Mina had corralled Katsuki, Hanta, and Eijirou out of school and onto the train to downtown before any of them could protest.
They did have a little spending money too. Just what they hadn’t used for groceries the last week, bolstered with some of the money people had donated to them. And wow, Mina hadn’t been expecting so many people to watch their little stream, let alone actually give them money! All of them had stared at the screen for a good few seconds, utterly silent, when they saw the numbers.
They had, in fact, briefly gotten their names trending on Spaceline. Mina personally thought the posts asking who the Sirens were were the funniest.
But anyway—they had some money left, and Mei’s birthday was next, and she had mentioned needing another notebook, so Mina was on a mission.
Besides that, it was also just fun spending time with her boys. Mina was close with everyone in their house, but especially Katsuki, Hanta, and Eijirou. They were also the three she could most reliably drag into stuff.
“I think there’s a store with good journals at the end of the block,” Mina chirped once they got there. “Do you guys want to wander around first or go straight there?”
Hanta shrugged, easygoing. “I’m good with either.”
“Ice cream?” Eijirou said hopefully.
Katsuki, unable to not indulge his boyfriend and be mushy, immediately nodded. “There’s one down here.”
Mina mentally tallied how much money they had versus how much ice cream would be, plus the journal. She stared down at the sidewalk, grimacing a bit. She had no idea how much the notebook would cost. The ice cream wouldn’t take up all their money, obviously, but she also knew they would inevitably stop in a bunch of other shops along the way, and maybe buy smaller things there. Mina didn’t want to accidentally spend too much and not be able to get Mei her present.
“Hey, here,” she said, handing Hanta a good chunk of their money. “You guys go get ice cream, I’ll meet you there in a minute.”
“Where are going?”
“Just gonna get Mei’s present first!” she reassured them. “I’ll be fine, it’s just down the block I think.”
The boys nodded, Katsuki and Eijirou holding hands as they turned towards the ice cream shop. Hanta trailed behind them, exchanging a playfully suffering look with Mina as they walked away.
On a mission now, Mina walked down to where she thought the stationary store was. She had seen it before. Never gone inside, but Izuku had, so she at least knew the thing existed. It couldn’t be that hard to find, right?
Well.
“I should’ve asked Zuzu for directions,” Mina muttered about ten minutes later.
The shop had not, in fact, been at the end of the street. Or on the street to the right of it. So now Mina was backtracking and trying the last block of downtown, wondering if maybe it was at the other end of the road. Or nestled in one of the alleys and she just hadn’t noticed it.
She turned into the third street, hoping it was the right one, and—there! A window that showcased all kinds of pretty notebooks, the name Sangi’s Stationary emblazoned on it.
A bell rang as she walked in. Someone called a welcome, hidden behind the many shelves and tables of nice paper, notebooks, and notepads. There was even half a wall of just pens! Fountain pens, ballpoint pens, glitter pens—oh this was dangerous for her wallet.
Mina spent a while just wandering the aisles, looking for the perfect thing. She found it in a notebook with a picture of golden cogs on the front. The paper was nice, and it even came with a matching pen! Mei would love it.
Mina paid and walked out with the notebook in a bag to hide it from Mei, happily humming to herself as she went back the way she had came. The boys were probably getting worried right about now. She turned to cross the street, figuring it was shorter than walking all the way down and around again.
Or, she would have, if she hadn’t heard crashing and the distinct whistle of something large headed her way.
Mina didn’t even have to think about it—she threw herself to the side and rolled with the momentum. A chunk of road smashed into the sidewalk where she had been standing just a moment before. With a bare second to consider how close she had come to getting squashed, Mina leapt back to her feet and quickly scanned the street.
A lone person was standing slightly farther down the road, right in the middle, blocking traffic. There was already an upended car to his right. Behind him were craters, presumably where he had pulled the massive chunks of concrete and dirt that now hovered over his shoulders.
He was cackling, demanding money from the nearby shops or he’d smash them in. The one Mina had dodged seemed to have been a threat, a show of power. And it had worked. Half the people on the street were ducking for cover, some calling for heroes or just plain screaming.
Mina scowled. Figures the one time she’s separated from her family was when another villain attack happened. Fucking hell. And there probably weren’t any heroes nearby, or if there were they wouldn’t arrive for a few minutes. Long enough for at least two windows to get smashed in.
Musutafu wasn’t a rich city. The businesses needed their shops, and some probably couldn’t afford a broken storefront. Mina wasn’t about to let a late hero be the reason her city suffered.
She carefully stashed Mei’s present in the closest alleyway, hoping it would get out unscathed. That was the only thought she gave to it though. Next thing she knew, Mina had already palmed a chunk of the concrete and hurled it at Mr. Road Floaty Man.
“HEY!” She yelled, spending a moment to be pleased when the rock hit the man smack in the shoulder.
The man began to turn, and Mina was already sprinting. The idiot had probably assumed he’d start at the end of the street and make his way down, pillaging shops along the way. Unfortunately—or fortunately, depending on who was looking at it—that put him very close to Mina. With her agility it took her maybe five seconds to close the gap between them. He hadn’t even turned around for three of them.
The villain was fully facing her by the time she got right up next to him, with a truly impressive haymaker—in Mina’s humble opinion—already flying towards his face. She struck true, and the man went slightly airborne. Only a bit, but. Whoops.
He landed on his back, the air knocked from his lungs, and the chunks of earth dropping back to the ground. Neat, so probably concentration based control. Izuku would have gotten a kick out of dissecting the quirk. Unfortunately—or, once again, perhaps fortunately—he was not here. But Mina was.
The man groaned, but got up. Damn. It did look like she had broken his nose though.
“What the f-“
Mina smiled, malevolent and dark in its brightness. “We can do this the easy way, or the hard way,” she told him. “Either you stop destroying the shops, and I can tell you how to fix whatever’s going on that you need to steal from little Musutafu stores, or I knock your lights out for the cops to find. So which’ll it be, buddy?”
The villain stared at her. Blinked. Then he raised a hand, one of the previous chunks of road hovering up with it.
Eh, you win some you lose some.
“Yeah, that’s what I figured,” Mina sighed.
She laced her fingers and stretched out her arms, idly wondering how long it would take for her boys to hear about this. They were only a street down after all. But she couldn’t rely on them hearing the commotion and coming to help, Mina had to handle this herself. And she would do so gladly.
She had some zip-ties in her pocket. There weren’t any weapons on her, but rocks would do. There were certainly plenty around for her to scoop up now. Palming one, Mina straightened back up to see the villain eyeing her warily, before he scoffed something about little girls.
He was underestimating her. Mina couldn’t help a sharp grin as she took a step forward, mind spinning through the possibilities of how to incapacitate the man.
Someone else got there before she could though.
“I AM HERE!”
Holy shit.
The villain was plucked from the ground, and every hovering chunk of cement fell. Dust whisked its way down the street with the sudden wind. A borderline blinding smile was turned onto the street at large.
Holy shit that was All Might.
All Might was never in Musutafu! Not on this side anyway! Oh God, he was even taller in person.
“FEAR NOT CITIZENS!” He boomed, the villain dangling from his hand by the back of his shirt, like a scruffed cat. He was hissing and struggling like one too. “THE VILLAIN HAS BEEN APPREHENDED.”
Then he turned his gaze onto Mina. Mina! Ohhhh gosh she was going to faint. The Number One Hero was right in front of her, one of their favorite heroes ever, and he was right there.
“THAT WAS VERY BRAVE, YOUNG LADY!” All Might said, kneeling down to be slightly closer to her level. The villain had gone limp, seemingly accepting his fate, but still glaring at her.
Mina stared, slack jawed. Oh, she should probably say something. “Th-thank you, All Might, sir! I- um, I just moved without thinking, y’know?” Oh God that sounded bad didn’t it- “Or, well, I thought about it, but I had to save the shops and the people and-“
She sounded kinda like Izuku. Mina bit down on the rest of her nervous words, really just hoping she wasn’t about to be scolded by one of their favorite heroes. That might put a damper on liking him.
But she didn’t have to worry, apparently. All Might only chuckled and nodded, then gave her a curious, almost appraising look. Mina didn’t know whether to be curious right back or to bristle. She settled on holding his gaze.
“You have impressed me, young lady,” he said, far softer and gentler than before. Not loud enough for the whole street to overhear, just her. And the villain dude flung over his shoulder, she guessed. “Could you do me a favor and come with me? I wish to speak with you for a moment.”
Mina almost agreed immediately. Almost. Because All Might may be a hero, and Mina was pretty good at judging a person’s character, but she wasn’t stupid. But she also wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity.
“Let me find my brothers first,” she said. “We got separated.”
All Might nodded, looking understanding but also partly…not annoyed, but almost resigned? “Ah, yes, that makes sense. I am required elsewhere, but my assistant is in the area, I shall tell him to find you and relay my message.”
Well that was…odd, but not the weirdest thing Mina had ever seen or heard. So she just smiled and agreed, and the hero launched himself into the air with a loud goodbye. Mina stared as he disappeared a few streets down, where she could hear sirens wailing. She gave it two minutes before her boys appeared on the street.
She went back to retrieve Mei’s gift, thankfully unharmed. Mina breathed a sigh of relief at the sight. And since All Might had brought the guy to the cops, she probably wouldn’t even have to give a report or anything! Or, well, maybe that’s what she would be giving to All Might’s assistant?
Wait she had just met All Might. Her siblings were going to flip.
“MINA!”
Oh, there they were.
Katsuki led the charge, just barely stopping himself from crashing into her. He still grabbed her shoulders though, holding her still and at arms length while he quickly scanned her for injuries. Mina withstood it with an eyeroll, but no struggling. Only once he was satisfied did her brother do his best to crush her ribs in a hug.
“The one fucking time you go off on your own,” he groused.
“I’m ok, I promise,” she reassured all three of them. “Nothing more than bruises.”
“Thank fuck,” Hanta breathed, nudging Katsuki slightly out of the way to hug her too.
“This happens to you guys way too often,” Eijirou sighed, but still nestled himself into her side for a moment.
“And you’re a part of it now,” Hanta snickered. “Get used to it.”
“I should probably be more worried.”
“Eh, maybe. It meant we knew where she was, at least.”
Mina laughed, gently shoving the boys off of her. She slung an arm over Hanta and Eijirou, but looked right into Katsuki’s eyes. He squinted in suspicion immediately.
“You’re never gonna guess who I just met.”
Notes:
Izuku is Definitely having a freak out over Aizawa being parental. The man was already one of his favorites, but now that he’s seen the hero is actually Kind, he kinda wants to adopt him (Ochako is 100% on board after last chapter too) and! Y’all get to meet his daughter before UA :) Still gonna be a bit but Eventually. And I will say that a few of you guessed her identity, but I will not be confirming who she is because I want to leave the reveal for the plot.
Also! Yes I know the canon OfA stuff doesn’t happen for another 2 years! But canon is a playground and I am happily making a castle out of sand and rocks in the corner while everyone else is screaming on the jungle gym
Chapter 117: A Single Pillar
Summary:
And the next generation that’s not alone.
Notes:
My brain gave up on editing about halfway through. I didn't sleep until close to 2am and then got up at 8 to go help my mom paint. So hopefully this reads alright. Enjoy! Also make sure to check the end notes, have a surprise on this one :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“You’re shitting me.”
“Nope!” Mina chirped.
They had retreated back to the ice cream shop, where her boys had abandoned their treats to go see if she was ok. It was sweet. They were sitting outside now, Mina happily eating her own ice cream, while she told them about what had happened in their few minutes of separation.
Katsuki had grabbed her hand at some point on the way back, and hadn’t let go since. Mina wasn’t about to make him either. They were both shaken; Mina because she had come really close to getting hit with a boulder, and Katsuki because she had been forced to deal with a villain alone.
All three of them knew she was capable. The villain attack itself wasn’t what bothered them. No—it was that she had been alone for it.
It had worked out though. She had gotten to meet All Might! Which Katsuki had listened to with the funniest mix of relief and jealousy on his face.
“He said his assistant would come and tell me his message, apparently,” Mina told them, taking another bite of her ice cream. “I wonder how many of those he has.”
“Why would he bring an assistant with him on a patrol?” Hanta mused.
“Maybe they were just in the area and All Might jumped in?”
Mina shrugged. She didn’t know where All Might had come from, just that he had jumped in and quickly ended the fight. With less property damage that Mina may have been able to manage by herself too. All Might could create plenty of damage by himself, and had on a few notable occasions, but he was fast. Way faster than Mina, and had the height and strength to end things quickly.
That was even besides the fact that he was the Number One Hero, and that most villains wouldn’t even try to fight him anymore. The title had been well earned. All Might had kept it for nearly thirty years too, and that took serious strength and skill.
“Ah, excuse me.”
Mina looked up, and saw a man walking up to their table. He was skinny—like, ridiculously, probably malnourished skinny—with sunshine yellow hair and sunken blue eyes. He almost looked…skeletal. But there was kindness in his gaze. And awkwardness, but mostly kindness.
Interesting.
“Would you happen to the young lady that helped All Might arrest the villain earlier?”
Mina eyed him over again, curious, and nodded. Katsuki squinted up at the man in suspicion. The other two subtly shifted, ready to jump in if they needed to, while Mina resisted the urge to roll her eyes at all three of them. They were well meaning, but it also looked like a mild wind could knock the dude over, so she wasn’t especially worried.
“That’s me,” Mina said, waving with the hand that didn’t have a spoon in it. “Who are you?”
“Ah, I would be All Might’s assistant, he sent me to speak with you.”
“Cool, nice to meet you, Mr…”
“Yagi,” he said, bowing shallowly.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Yagi!” Mina chirped. “You can pull up a chair if you want, I was gonna get ice cream before the villain guy attack, so we went back here. Would you like some?”
Mina smiled at the man, hoping it put him at least somewhat at ease. She could only imagine how odd it was to be asked to find some random kid on the street. One that looked like herself no less. And probably with very little explanation, judging by how fast All Might had zoomed off, except for whatever message he wanted passed on. Ice cream seemed like a reasonable consolation for the trouble.
Besides, they may not have much extra money, but Mina always would share what she had.
“No, I apologize, but I am on a strict diet due to an old injury, and unfortunately I cannot have sugar, or much dairy. But there is a diner on this block that has something I can eat. I would be honored to pay for a meal for you, if you would join me.”
“Oh, sure!” Mina chirped easily, getting to her feet to throw out her now-empty ice cream cup.
Mr. Yagi glanced at the three boys, and Mina felt suspicion skitter up her arms. “All Might told me to, ah, tell you in private, if I could.”
Katsuki immediately started outright glaring. “Well, you can’t,” he growled. “You’re an older dude trying to get my sister alone. So All Might’s assistant or not, fuck no.”
Mr. Yagi nodded, seeming to backpedal. “That is understandable, my apologies for how that came off. I…” he looked over to Mina. “They are your…”
“Siblings,” Mina told him. “Well, Eijirou is dating Katsuki so he’s technically my brother-in-law? Or whatever you wanna call him. But yeah.”
“You trust them?”
Mina tilted her head, staring at Mr. Yagi in a way she knew unnerved some people. Intense and searching. She found only nervousness and earnesty.
“With my life,” she told Mr. Yagi seriously, lifting her chin. “Anything you say to me can be said to them, secret or not.”
“Alright,” the man sighed, then gestured to their left. “The diner is over here, if you would please follow me.”
Mina looped one arm through Katsuki’s, mostly to drag him along and keep him from doing anything worse than glaring at Mr. Yagi. Hanta and Eijirou took up the rear of their little group.
Mr. Yagi showed them to the diner, holding the door open for all of them, then ushering them to a rounded booth nestled in the corner. The four of them squished close together, facing opposite him as much as they could. The surrounding tables were empty in the post lunch rush quiet.
Hanta immediately grabbed a menu from the table, as did Mina. Free food was free food, after all. They were going to make the most of it. Mr. Yagi seemed content to wait a moment anyway, so Mina took her time, and elbowed Katsuki until he turned his scowl towards his own menu.
“I have been meaning to try this diner,” Mr. Yagi idly mentioned. “I was on my way here when All Might asked me to find you.”
“Sorry we’re kinda crashing it then,” Eijirou said apologetically.
“Nonsense, my boy,” Mr. Yagi laughed quietly. “I am happy to have you join me. I have found food is always better enjoyed with company.”
Eijirou smiled, easing up on his suspicion. Hanta relaxed a bit because of it too. Katsuki grumbled, but didn’t go back to glaring, so Mina counted it as a win.
“May I ask your names?”
Mina wondered for a split second whether she should give a fake name, but decided against it. Anyone hired by All Might was obviously vetted, and probably trustworthy. If not then he could probably find out her name anyway.
“Mina Ashido.”
“Hanta Sero.” Hanta waved across the table.
“Eijirou Kirishima.”
Mina had to elbow Katsuki until he grumbled out a sullen, “Katsuki Bakugou.”
“It’s nice to meet all of you,” Mr. Yagi said, smiling. “I am Toshinori Yagi, All Might’s assistant for the last few years. Though a more apt term would probably be secretary, I am hardly a sidekick or the like.”
Yagi chuckled good-naturedly, and Mina nodded, wondering if Izuku had heard of him. He probably had. Nothing about All Might was especially secret, so his assistant was probably known. And All Might hadn’t had a sidekick since Sir Nighteye, so that checked out.
Someone came and took their order after a minute. Mr. Yagi told the four of them to get whatever they wanted, then rattled off his order. Mina wondered if he was rich. Being All Might’s assistant had to pay pretty well, right? Enough that he could pay for four growing kids to eat plus himself, that was for sure. He hardly batted an eye when they all ordered.
Once the waiter was gone Mr. Yagi leaned forward, elbows on the table and hands laced in front of him. “What I tell you cannot leave this table, understood? I would have preferred less people know, but I understand the circumstances, and your protection of your sister is admirable.”
Mina nodded, followed by the other three and their confused expressions. Mr. Yagi spoke gravely. Like this secret, whatever it may be, would result in disaster if it wasn’t kept under lock and key. Like there was danger laced in its existence.
Considering he was talking about All Might, Mina figured that may be true.
“All Might was impressed by you, young Ashido.”
Mina blinked. Then turned to Katsuki, to make sure he had heard the same thing, then quickly redirected when he gestured to his hearing aids. She could almost hear him, also disbelieving, saying “my ears don’t fucking work anyway, ask the other two.” Both Hanta and Eijirou nodded though. It reassured Mina that they had, in fact, heard that All Might had been impressed with her.
The Number One Hero. Impressed with her.
Mina felt like she was going to faint. Or cry. One of the two. She went with the third option of smiling so wide her blushing cheeks hurt.
“I- that’s- thank you! Tell- can you tell him thank you for me please, Mr. Yagi.”
“I will be sure to pass it on,” he said, something like fondness in his tone at her excitement.
Their food was brought out then, and Mina didn’t hesitate to dig in. And to steal some off of her boys’ plates. They did the same to her, to be fair. They all knew new food was free game unless told otherwise.
“Back to my point,” Mr. Yagi said after his first bite, his voice low and quiet. “Have you ever wondered if there was a quirk that could be passed down?”
Mina tilted her head curiously. “I mean, yeah, I figured there’s one out there, with how many different quirks there are.”
“Imagine one such quirk,” Mr. Yagi said. “A quirk thats power increased as it was passed down, growing as each user cultivated their strength. How strong would it be in the eighth such user?”
“As strong as…All Might?” Mina carefully answered, half-seeing where the maze of words led, but not why.
“Correct, young Ashido,” Mr. Yagi smiled, a subtle, proud thing as he took another bite of food. “And if All Might was, say, looking to pass on that power, and spotted a brave, hopeful hero?”
Mina glanced around, saw no one nearby—and no cameras—then looked Mr. Yagi in the eye. “Can I speak plainly, Mr. Yagi?”
He glanced around too, then nodded.
“All Might’s quirk can be passed down, probably one of the most power quirks in the world because of that, and he- he wants to pass it down to someone?”
“To you,” Mr. Yagi said quietly, but Mina swore it echoed in her bones.
“Me?”
“Yes, you. You acted a hero should, and as many aspiring heroes sometimes do not.”
Their table was silent for a few moments. Mina, staring down at her plate with a furrowed brow, trying to comprehend what she had just been told. She ran a hand through her hair, hooking a finger around the base of one of her horns.
She had been told that she was a monster. More times than she could count, really. She had been told that she’d never be a hero, not with her looks and not with her grades.
And yet.
Here was All Might’s assistant, telling her that All Might himself thought she could be a hero. That he wanted to pass on an extremely powerful quirk to her. To- to help her become a hero? The purpose wasn’t super clear. To safeguard the power? Because she was brave, and acted like a hero, thus she should have the power?
There were…a few holes, in the reasoning. But honestly Mina was still just trying to reconcile “All Might” and “thinks I can be a hero.”
“You do not need to decide now,” Mr. Yagi said. He took a piece of paper out of his pocket, obviously ripped from a notebook instead of being some fancy business card. “This is All Might’s personal number. Tell him your decision when you’re ready.”
Mina took the paper shakily. “I will,” she promised. “Thank you, Mr. Yagi. I, uh, I don’t know what to say.”
“All Might does not expect an answer today,” Mr. Yagi offered. “So enjoy your food, and please remember, he does not wish for this to be spread. There are…very dangerous enemies out there, that would do anything to get their hands on this power. Please, do not tell another soul.”
Mina nodded, understanding the severity of the words. All Might was the Number One Hero, and his quirk was a part of what made him that. Regarded as one of the most powerful strength augmentations quirks out there. So the idea that it could be passed on?
Mina knew people would kill for that type of power. Not even just villains, though they’d certainly be considered a villain after that. But if the Hero Commission knew about the quirk…
“You can count on us,” Eijirou promised.
“Won’t say a word,” Hanta added.
Katsuki grunted, but nodded in agreement. Mina gently headbutt him and then Hanta—who was on her other side—in thanks. It was another secret, one they, in all honestly, probably weren’t going to keep from their family. But they weren’t dumb kids. They weren’t going to go tell someone at school. Just their family, who already knew how to keep secrets.
After all, Mina was already a vigilante, what was one more secret?
Oh. Hm. All Might unknowingly wanted to give his quirk to a vigilante.
Welp.
And he had seen her for like, two minutes. Maybe. Was- was this really a good decision? On his part, that is. Would he have chosen any random kid that jumped into a fight with a villain? Maybe not, but any kid that showed bravery? Just someone off the street?
What if it hadn’t been Mina?
Mina was suddenly questioning the decision making skills of the Number One Hero. Trusting some random kids with his biggest secret after watching them be slightly heroic. Hell, All Might didn’t even know if she wanted to be a hero. Oh boy. And he had sent his assistant to tell her. In a diner.
It did beg the question though, why did his assistant know the big secret? From what Mina had seen, assistants to heroes, or secretaries, were basically just organizers. They kept track of things, and did paperwork, but really didn’t need to know specifics of very important and dangerous secrets.
Mina ate more of her food, and snuck glances at Mr. Yagi. Now that she was looking, wasn’t All Might’s hair almost the same color? And the blue eyes…
It was minimal evidence, and maybe Mina was overthinking it, but. It was still there. That was besides the fact that Mr. Yagi had been there almost immediately after All Might had flown off.
No—compartmentalize. Here and now was not the time to possibly uncover a second major secret of the Number One Hero. She could think about it later, when Izuku was there to point out the flaws and bring reason to the table.
For now Mina would enjoy the food, then say goodbye to Mr. Yagi, and make sure the little slip of paper would stay safe in her pocket. They would get home and Mina could say everything she was thinking.
Easy peasy. She could do that.
Notes:
All Might knows how to fight villains. He does not know how to deal with kids insisting they don’t leave their sister while he’s trying to tell her a major secret. Man bumbles his way through things he's not used to with a mask of professionalism and honestly? Mood. I actually meant for him to come off as more oblivious, but then made him actually pretty competent at his job. A bit awkward with kids and secrets, but good at his job. Instead of an idiot he’s more of a flawed person who thinks they’re doing what’s best, but has kinda lost sight of what goes on below the top.
Also All Might’s diet is partially researched, but I did go with something similar to what my little sister and grandma do for arthritis since the base of it is anti-inflammation, which would be important without most of a stomach.
AND, I made a Sirens ask blog! I mentioned it back in chapter 99 I think, but ChaoticCat reminded me of it, and now it exists! Here you go! Go nuts, ask box is open, I'll probably post random things from the vigilantes pov every once in a while too.
Chapter 118: Beginnings of a Foundation
Summary:
Mina: All Might’s quirk? Cool! I can keep it safe and use it for good
Also Mina: HOLY SHIT THIS IS PERSEVERE’S QUIRK??? I AM DEAD, DECEASED, HAVE ASCENDED TO HEAVEN
Notes:
HEY HI HELLO MY LOVELIES, I RETURN!
So originally I was going to make All Might a bit more of a bumbling, vaguely abrasive and jaded-to-not-being-right kind of person. And then I accidentally made him an awkward man with flaws, but lovable. Whoops. Found Family struck again and they’re kinda adopting the literal number one hero.
Anyway enjoy the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Mina arrived home in a whirlwind.
Izuku had been peacefully doing homework, thinking about finals in the back of his mind. Mostly what he’d need to organize for studying. There were a few weeks left, but if he was prepared then it was less likely to creep up on him. Hopefully.
Half his mind was also dedicated to keeping an eye on Mei. She was tinkering at the coffee table, her Daedalus boots propped up while she messed with something in the treads. Something about magnets and potentially letting her walk up walls. It didn’t sound like it would go up in flames—and likely wouldn’t, since she had decided to work in their living room today—but Izuku still kept an eye out. Just to be safe.
That was when Mina came tumbling in, almost tripping over herself in her rush. Her hair was windswept and wild, eyes wide and trying to speak a mile a minute. It looked like she had gotten off the train and run the rest of the way home.
“GUYS!” she yelled, immediately snapping all attention to her. “Something- someone? Someone decided- well I decided- no wait I need to- I was-“
Izuku quickly scanned his sister, noting that there was no blood. No visible injuries. It helped calm his suddenly rapidly beating heart. Something had obviously happened, but he couldn’t tell what. Not with how Mina had started to pace and only get halfway through a sentence before starting a new one.
Katsuki, Eijirou, and Hanta appeared in the doorway a few seconds later. They weren’t panting or anything, but it definitely looked like they had ran after Mina and hadn’t quite been able to keep up. None of them seemed hurt either. Just exasperated, maybe slightly on edge.
Mina herself was still trying to explain something, but none of them could tell what. Not with how she was pacing in short circles and biting her own sentences in two.
Reassured none of his siblings were in immediate danger, Izuku neatly packed away his homework. He had a feeling whatever conversation came next would be plenty distracting for the rest of the day.
“Slow down, Pinky,” Katsuki growled, aggressively taking off his shoes. “They won’t understand shit if you don’t breathe.”
Hanta, who had quickly disappeared to set a bag in Aunt Rei’s room—probably a present for someone then, Aunt Rei tended to keep them hidden—returned in time to grab Mina by her shoulders to stop her for a second. “You wanted to tell everyone at once, right? Just wait a minute.”
Mina blinked, seemed to reset slightly, and then nodded. Izuku watched her consciously shake the nervous energy from her muscles. It was almost like she was excited, but also kind of panicked about the whole thing.
“Yeah,” Mina sighed, leaning into Hanta. “You’re right.”
They hadn’t been gone that much longer than the rest of them after school. What could have possibly happened in that short amount of time?
Izuku shook his head, almost snorting to himself. It was them. A lot could happen in five minutes, let alone the almost two hours the four of them had had.
Izuku glanced over to Mei. He tilted his head towards the kitchen while he got to his feet, noting her nod as she also stood. She went to retrieve whichever siblings were in there while Izuku made a b-line for Mina.
Currently, his sister looked about two seconds away from buzzing out of her pink skin.
“You’re ok?” he asked first.
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine!” Mina said quickly. “Just—you know, something, um, something happened.”
Well that wasn’t cryptic and ominous and at all.
“A lot of things happened,” Eijirou groaned, listing forward to bonk his head into the back of Katsuki’s shoulder. “Like, a lot of things, man. And Mina made us run here from the train station.”
Hanta, one hand still on Mina’s shoulder, cheerily reported, “She almost took out three pedestrians.”
“No I didn’t!”
“You definitely almost did, Min,” Hanta chuckled. “If you hadn’t literally tucked and rolled out of their way then you absolutely would have.”
Izuku shook his head fondly. He knew full well the other three had also probably almost ran into people while chasing their sister. But they had all made it home in one piece, and Mina obviously had news, so he figured it was fine.
“Let’s talk upstairs,” Izuku said, heading towards the staircase. He heard the other four fall in behind him.
Shouto, Hitoshi, and Momo were already up in their room, Momo helping the other two study for an upcoming exam. They glanced up from their work when the five of them walked in. If Izuku’s serious expression didn’t tip them off to the situation, then Mina’s nervous energy as she walked in definitely did.
Hitoshi took one look at Mina and put away his books. Shouto did the same, slightly confused but curious. Momo sighed, but followed their example, her students having abandoned her.
Katsuki immediately face-planted onto the mattress. Eijirou took that as an invitation to sit down and use his boyfriend as a backrest. Mina sat down near hem, though she kept fidgeting and shifting, waiting for everyone else to get upstairs and obviously wanting them to hurry up.
Mei arrived with the rest of their siblings a few moments later. She plopped herself next to Izuku, and kept on tinkering with her boots. She could multitask. Kouji also walked in with Peeve, took one look at Mina, and dropped the cat in her lap.
Mina froze for a second before she started petting Peeve. It helped calm her down a bit, her hands finally having something to do. Kouji settled in on her left side, Hanta taking up her right, and everyone else fell into a loose circle around their room.
“So, why are we having a meeting?” Hitoshi asked.
“Mina did a thing,” Hanta said.
“Well I figured that-“
“I met All Might!” Mina blurted.
The room went dead quiet. Mina kept petting Peeve, except now their cat was also the only thing she would look at.
It took her a second, but she picked her line of thought back up. Slower this time. More ordered than when she had come bursting through their front door, switching sentences halfway through to start another.
Izuku was staring blankly, still trying to wrap his head around the words “All Might.”
“There was a villain in downtown,” Mina began again. “He wouldn’t have been too hard to handle, and I gave him a chance to stop and everything, but then I blinked and BAM, All Might is there, holding him by the back of his shirt and telling me I was brave.”
Oh. Ohhhh. Yeah that sure was something.
“He, uh, wanted to tell me something, but couldn’t stick around, so he said his assistant would find me so he could deliver the message. His name is Mr. Yagi. He took us to a diner there and told me—told us—that All Might was impressed with me and he wanted to-“
Izuku watched Mina hesitate, saw her waver with a keen eye. He saw Hanta nudge her side encouragingly. She took a steeling breath, then squared her shoulders and glanced around.
She locked eyes with Izuku.
“All Might has a quirk that can be passed on, and he wants to pass it onto me.”
Oh.
Oh shit.
The room erupted into a cacophony of confusion. His siblings were asking questions, their voices overlapping, yet Izuku was quiet. Too many thoughts rushing through his mind to voice any of them. His sister had met All Might. He had a quirk that could be transferred—what did that even entail—and wanted to give it to Mina.
Izuku had always figured a quirk like that may exist, but someone discovering they had it was…very slim. Did that mean All Might’s quirk wasn’t super strength? Why was he so strong then? And fast—did he have multiple quirks? Was that even possible?
His expression twisted along with his train of thought. Izuku stared down at his lap, trying to narrow down his whirling mind into something more manageable amidst the sudden clamor. So many puzzle pieces, the number growing by the second, and not enough of the picture to see anything. Izuku felt like he was desperately trying to connect some of them. There had to be answers hidden somewhere, if he could just-
He looked up, and caught Mina’s eye.
They had been siblings for almost half their lives now. Izuku had seen her scared, triumphant, so happy she looked like she could burst—but he had never seen her like this. Mina was someone that gave her all to everything. Every bit of her confidence, and every chunk of bravado.
There was none of that now. None of that armor she showed the world. Now it was just Mina, unsteady and unsure, looking at Izuku.
She was looking to Izuku.
The questions faded. His mind stopped whirling, instead sharpening to a focused point. Their siblings confusion buzzed but didn’t distract.
Mina needed him. His sister needed him. Questions, no matter how many of them they had, could wait.
He had to get more information, and he couldn’t do that if their siblings were all shouting over each other.
So Izuku took a deep breath, and slipped into being Kitsune for a moment. His voice sharp and piercing, he barked, “Quiet.”
It wasn’t all that loud, but his siblings snapped to attention, immediately quieting. Izuku nodded to himself and let his rigid posture relax.
“Mina,” he said, softer now. “Explain, please?”
She nodded, and he knew she was more venom-gold-Basilisk than happy-bubbly-Mina right now. “He said the quirk can be passed on, and that whoever has it adds power to it. So as it’s passed down the quirk becomes more powerful. All Might is the eighth one to have it.”
Hitoshi whistled a low, drawn out note. The rest of them muttered about how powerful the quirk must be now, since All Might was largely regarded as having one of the most powerful strength augmentation quirks in the world. And it was no wonder, if eight people had held it so far.
“I, uh, I also have a theory,” Mina said, sounding more hesitant now. “Mr. Yagi was really tall—like really, really tall—and he had yellow hair that looked kinda like All Might’s if he got dunked in water? He said that he’s on a strict diet because of a bad injury, and didn’t All Might have that break or something a few years ago? And- and Mr. Yagi was there really fast after All Might left. He could have just been in the area, like he said, but…well…”
That-
That was…
Huh.
Izuku didn’t know what to think of that, yet.
His mind latched onto it though, immediately running all the information through possibilities and reasons and connecting other dots. Mr. Yagi had talked about a diet due to an injury. All Might had disappeared for a while when they were younger, and had cut back on working hours after. The quirk—which didn’t have a name for them to talk about, a smart precaution, if a belated one—was obviously very powerful. If it had been passed down through seven previous people, all with their own quirks and skillsets to the point that it wasn’t recognized that the quirk was the same in different people-
It made Izuku’s head hurt, a bit, thinking of all the possibilities. Because “passing on power” was extremely vague. It could be physical power, like All Might’s super strength, or it could pass along other quirks. Or knowledge, or skills, or any number of things. Almost anything.
And it could, possibly, include shapeshifting. Or different set forms, maybe. Either as a separate quirk-within-a-quirk, or another aspect of the original. A quirk like that would probably have failsafes, like Eijirou’s did. A built-in means to keep the user alive. If All Might had gotten injured—hurt to the point that all his energy had to be focused on keeping him alive for most of the day—then it would make sense.
Izuku hated that it made sense.
It was only a possibility though. A theory, not a conclusion. Even so, Izuku’s expression must have flickered through his thoughts, because his siblings collectively leaned in, curious even though they were reeling too.
They all looked to him. They all paused to listen.
“It would make…some sense. I think,” he admitted to them. “But we don’t know for sure, so we can pick it apart later.”
They nodded, muttering between one another. Mina kept petting Peeve. Izuku gathered his thoughts into a semi-coherent line, hoping pure will was enough to keep his mind from straying too far.
Izuku clapped his hands together, drawing attention back to himself. “Back to the point. Mina…?”
“I, uh, he also said I shouldn’t tell other people,” Mina fidgeted. “But I really, really need your guys’ opinion, because I don’t know what to do.”
Ochako made a wordless noise of confusion. “He wants to give you a super powerful quirk, what’s there to think about? You got chosen by All Might!”
“I already have a good quirk though! There are other people who deserve it, and- and could use it way more than I do. One of you guys could use it more than me-“
“All Might asked you though,” Eijirou pointed out.
“Well- yeah, but-“
“You deserve it, Mina,” Hanta said, nudging her side again. “We know you’d do good with it. Think about it—you know how to keep a secret, you’re already personable and friendly, and have the determination to train with an entirely new quirk. Not to mention the good it would do if you rose to the top ranks. Mina, you could do it.”
“I…are you sure? I…”
She sounded so unsure, so small. Like they were suddenly six again and she was the small, scrappy thing Kacchan had pulled in from the woods.
“You deserve this, Mina,” Izuku said softly. “If you think it’ll make you a better hero, then you should take it. But it comes down to what you want.”
She was quiet, staring out at nothing with glazed eyes for a moment. Izuku let her think.
She deserved the quirk, and he believed that wholeheartedly. Any of his siblings would. All Might had seen Mina’s bravery, and recognized it. She would keep it safe, live up to whatever legacy that came with it, and do well by All Might’s name.
(In a quiet chamber of his own heart, where no one else would see, Izuku could admit he almost wished All Might had offered it to him instead. But he hadn’t, and Izuku was happy for his sister—really, truly was—so envy and longing for something more powerful, something to make him seen, had no place in his heart right now. Izuku did his best to cast them out.)
“If I were to take it,” Mina said slowly. “How…how much power do you think it would have? Should I be, you know, worried about how much there would be?”
“With how powerful All Might is…” Izuku trailed off, scattered mental calculations flickering through his mind.
All Might had to have added to the pool of power exponentially. He had already started as an extremely strong hero, and had only gotten stronger with time and age and experience. Izuku didn’t know whether the quirk passed on a starting level power and worked its way up, or if the power level started where the last holder had left off. If it was the latter…
Whoever got the quirk next would need to be careful. That much power could…seriously hurt someone. At minimum.
“Yes,” he concluded. “You’ll have to ask All Might about it, since we only know enough to guess right now, but if he’s willing to pass it on at all…it can’t be that bad.”
Mina took a deep breath. “Ok. Ok then, I think…I think I’m gonna say yes.”
Izuku smiled, and the rest of his siblings cheered.
“I guess I’ll text All Might,” Mina said, then wrinkled her nose. “Wow that’s weird to say.”
Hanta threw an arm around her shoulders. “Get used to it I guess.”
Mina knocked his head with one of her horns. It very nearly got tangled in Hanta’s hair, but thankfully didn’t.
“You’re going to have to tell the adults,” Momo pointed out.
“I know,” Mina said. It made Izuku breathe a sigh of relief, because that tone was yes-I’ve-already-thought-about-it and not I’m-pretending-to-already-know-that. “I’m gonna tell them after dinner, since they’ll all be home then.”
“I want to see how long it would take Aniki to notice,” Shouto hummed.
Izuku snorted, but nodded. “Depends on how the quirk presents itself, but probably a few weeks if we don’t tell him, since he’s not over here all the time.”
“Natsuo’s busy with thinking about universities, it might take him a while too,” Hitoshi snickered.
“True.”
“I wonder if it’ll be super strength,” Mina hummed, the rest of their siblings devolving into talking about how long it might take their older siblings to notice the new quirk. “Or if my quirk will just be…different.”
Izuku shifted over so he was sitting closer to Mina. “It could be both,” he proposed. “Maybe All Might’s original quirk was some kind of strength augmentation, and the new one made it even stronger. Or he has a hidden quirk and the super strength just came with the passed-down quirk.”
“I think super strength would be cool, mostly because then I could go super fast.”
“Imagine doing your gymnastics and landing a flip that cracks the concrete.”
“That’d be so cool,” Mina giggled. Then she leaned forward, just enough to bonk Izuku’s head with the side of hers. “Thank you, Zuzu.”
“For what?”
“Believing me. Believing in me. Making sure we’re all safe and being a good leader.”
“I’m still not the leader,” he halfheartedly protested.
Mina only laughed. “Yeah, you are. You kicked right into Leader Mode earlier.”
“…I don’t like that you’re right.”
His sister only laughed at him, semi-aggressively knocking her horn into the top of his head. “We unanimously elected you, you’re stuck with it. There’s no escape.”
“Woe is me,” he deadpanned.
“Such a terrible fate.”
Izuku snorted, unable to keep a straight face, and lunging up to aggressively ruffled Mina’s hair until she squawked and withdrew. “Go text our favorite hero and find out what he wants you to do.”
Mina smiled, almost giddy, and Izuku knew she’d be ok.
She had all of them behind her, after all.
The first thing Mina discovered was that All Might texted like an old man.
He had sent lots of exclamation points—which, fair, Mina did too when she used the phone—and ended every sentence with punctuation. He also typed exactly like he spoke, which she hadn’t realized translated to “old person very excited to text.” She told her siblings as much and Izuku had looked both intrigued and slightly broken for a few minutes afterwards.
They were meeting at some beach, one Mina had never heard of. It popped up when she looked for directions though, so it did exist. Dad-Sashi said he’d drive her.
Her parents had been skeptical at first, but had ultimately agreed to it. On the condition that they get to meet the man and discuss training before they started. Mina had excitedly agreed, just happy that they mostly supported the idea.
Which is what led to Mina hopping out of one of their cars in a worn-down looking parking lot. Dad-Sashi rolled down the windows before he turned the car off.
“Yell if you need me,” he told her.
“I will!”
“Good, then have fun! And don’t touch any of the trash without gloves!”
Mina nodded, waving as she ran off. She could just barely make out the sign All Might had asked to meet her by. The red letters were faded, the pain chipped and cracked.
She hadn’t been able to see the sand from the parking lot, and she still couldn’t now. The beach was…absolutely covered in trash. Mountains and mountains of it. Rolling hills of garbage as far as the retaining wall stretched, which was a ways. What water she could see was murky, plastic floating and lapping at the dirty shore.
It wasn’t especially pretty, to put it mildly.
“YOUNG ASHIDO!”
Mina jumped, spinning with her fists up in a guard as All Might landed on the cracked concrete in front of her. He smiled, as he always was, as she sheepishly put down her hands.
“Apologies for scaring you,” All Might said, softer than his greeting had been. “Thank you for meeting me here.”
“Of course!” Mina chirped. “But, uh, why here?”
“ALL SHALL BE REVEALED SOON! Ah, but first, I must admit to a ruse, young Ashido.”
Mina tilted her head, curious and still slightly wary. But she waited for him to go on.
“You see, about three years ago I faced a…a supervillain, and I received a grievous injury.”
The pieces clicked into place, Izuku’s theory and subsequent mutterings falling into a neat little line. A very important, possibly deadly-knowledge-secret line.
“Kouji owes me mochi now,” she whispered to herself.
“What was that, young Ashido?”
“Nothing!” She chirped. “Continue please.”
“Ah…alright. You see, because of this injury…perhaps it is better I just show you.”
All Might gestured for her to follow him. They descended the stairs next to the sign, which didn’t even get all the way to the sand before disappearing below the trash. At the bottom—or as close as they could get, ew—Mina looked at All Might and waited. He glanced around, making sure they were out of sight.
Then a cloud of steam enveloped him, and Mina was starring at Mr. Yagi. She blinked up at him. Wow, he looked even skinnier like this. He wasn’t in the All Might uniform, instead an oversized shirt and baggy cargo shorts, but still. Momma Inko was probably going to immediately insist the man joined them for dinner.
“You are…not surprised.”
“Not really.” Mina shrugged. “I kinda put the pieces together? Mr. Yagi was there right after All Might left, and you mentioned an injury and All Might disappeared a few years ago, and if it was for an injury it would make sense why you disappeared for a while. Also your hair and eyes are mostly the same.”
“That is…an astute observation, young Ashido.” Haha he looked kinda shellshocked. Mina couldn’t help smiling her I’m-an-angel grin. “Nonetheless, yes, this is my normal form. My name is Toshinori Yagi.”
“Cool! Want me to call you Mr. Yagi still?”
“Ah, yes, that would be appreciated.”
Mina nodded, and turned to sit on the stair near her. If for no other reason than it looked like Mr. Yagi needed to sit down too.
“Is there a time limit?” She asked first.
“Three hours in my hero form,” Mr. Yagi answered easily. Mina liked his voice in this form. It boomed less, and didn’t sound like he was always giving a presentation. “Limited diet, as you know. I also occasionally cough up blood.”
Mina looked up at him with wide, concerned eyes. Mr. Yagi waved a hand, seeming to want to quickly backpedal.
“Ah, it is nothing to worry about, I assure you. Simply a result of my injury.”
“That doesn’t sound ok!”
“It’s the least of my symptoms, kid. But we’re not here to talk about all that. You said you wanted to know more about my quirk before you accept it?”
“Oh- uh, yes.” Mina focused, trying to shake the image of Mr. Yagi coughing up blood from her mind, and willed herself to remember what she had wanted to ask. “Like, how it’s transferred, what it might manifest as, any drawbacks. That kinda thing.”
All Might reached up at scratched at his temple, thinking. “Well, to start, the name is One for All.”
Oh, that was cool. Mina could almost feel the weight that came with the words.
“I’m the eighth holder,” he hummed. “My mentor, Nana Shimura, chose me when I was a bit older than you, probably.”
“Was she a hero too?”
“Yes, she was.” Mr. Yagi sounded wistful, and he was smiling a small, melancholy smile. “You probably haven’t heard of her—she never broke the top rankings, but she was a kind hero. Her name was Persevere.”
Mina’s mind went blank. Crashed. Died, absolutely went caput.
Persevere. All Might’s mentor had been Persevere. Mina’s favorite hero. Persevere had been the one to pass down her quirk to All Might.
Mina had a chance of having Persevere’s quirk.
It was official. She had died and gone to heaven. Rest in peace, she would miss her siblings.
“Young Ashido?”
She rounded on Mr. Yagi, eyes practically full of stars. “Your mentor was PERSEVERE? She’s my favorite hero!”
Mr. Yagi’s smile turned wide and bright at that. It reminded her of Izuku. “That’s lovely to hear, young Ashido. She is my favorite too.”
“Did- how did One for All look for her? Because she didn’t have super strength or at least I don’t think she did? But oh my gosh that’s so cool.”
“You are right, she did not have super strength,” All Might chuckled. “Her quirk was named Float. Though she did have increased abilities, it was not quite on the scale it manifested in me.”
Mina nodded, filing away the information for later. Her siblings were going to absolutely flip their lids later. But right now she still needed more information.
“Ok, ok ok ok, back to the point even though that’s really, really cool. Um, ok, so you told me the name, but why’s it called that?”
“Because One for All has always been passed on to people who help others,” Mr. Yagi answered. “Not always official heroes, but each holder has been selfless and heroic in their own right. ‘One for All’ just refers to that.”
“Oh, that’s cool. Uh, how’s it transferred? Do you just…will it?”
“Halfway,” Mr. Yagi chuckled. “You have to ingest something with DNA for it to transfer, with the easiest means being a piece of hair. I do have to ‘will it’ as you put it, though. I have to actively want to transfer One for All through whatever I am giving to pass it on. It cannot be forcibly taken.”
Mina nodded, adding to her mental notes. She had almost brought a notebook, but figured it wouldn’t be super secure, and All Might wouldn’t want details of his secret quirk written down without it being safe. Izuku could help her make a cypher later.
“How do you think it’ll manifest in me?” Mina asked curiously. “Because you have super strength, but if the quirk has been passed down that many times and no one has recognized it, then it has to show up differently in every person, right?”
“Correct. And honestly, I do not know. Mine is the strongest One for All has shown itself in any of the previous holders, and I have reason to believe it is a combination of enough gathered power, as well as one or two quirks from previous holders as well.”
“So I could, theoretically, get eight quirks for the price of one?”
Mr. Yagi laughed, patting her shoulder. “Not quite, young Ashido. The first holder was the base, merely a transfer quirk and then a power accumulation quirk. And I was born quirkless.”
“Oh…”
The discrimination hadn’t been as bad in previous generations, Mina knew, since their numbers were greater. But it hadn’t been completely safe for…a long time, for quirkless folks. They hadn’t been allowed to be heroes, and still weren’t. Not really.
“Will that be an issue?” All Might asked, sounding lighthearted, but Mina heard the heaviness to the words.
“Of course not!” She insisted. “I just- I know how bad it can be. Some of my brothers don’t have obvious quirks, and get bullied and called quirkless. It’s- it’s not fun, Mr. Yagi, and I don’t know how you grew up but I’m sorry if you had to deal with anything like that.”
Mr. Yagi blinked down at her, looking caught off guard. It quickly melted into fondness though, and maybe a bit of pride.
(I definitely chose the right one, Toshinori thought)
“Thank you, young Ashido, it has been a long time since anyone has said that to me,” he said softly. “How many siblings did you say you had again?”
“Oh! Uh, let’s see. I have three older siblings—two of them are twins—so that’s two brothers and one sister. Then I have-“ Mina had to stop and mentally tally them “-nine more siblings? More like nine and half, since Eijirou doesn’t fully count but he’s still ours, you know? But that’s three more sisters, five more brothers, one sibling in Hanta because they’re agender, and half another brother with Eijirou.”
“That is…a lot.”
“I love them a lot,” Mina chirped. “Most of us are adopted and want to be heroes. Touya is already a hero too, but he went to Ketsubutsu and we all want to try for UA.”
“An admirable goal,” Mr. Yagi said, still looking like he was reeling a bit from the idea of Mina’s family. “Ah, but, back to your questions. One for All is…extremely powerful. You will need muscle mass and control to be able to use it.”
“How much?”
“Enough to not get your limbs blown off,” Mr. Yagi said, half a joke and half not. “However that is why I brought you here!”
Mina looked around at the piles and piles of trash. “…ok?”
“As training, and admirable community service, you will clean this beach!” Mr. Yagi declared.
“I already have a lot of muscle,” Mina pointed out. “I’ve been dancing and doing gymnastics since I was pretty little, so my muscle looks different, but it’s still there. I’m not going to look like a body builder.”
All Might hummed, eyeing her arms critically. “I will have to adjust the training regimen once I know what you can do then.”
“Sounds good! Do you have a truck and stuff to take away trash?”
He nodded. “It can come tomorrow at the earliest. But you make a good point with your strength, and I will have to adjust your training goals. Perhaps you will not have to clean the entire beach.”
“Oh, no, I’m still going to clean all of it,” Mina said, a determined fire sparked in her. “I’m gonna get my siblings to help, but we’re cleaning this beach.”
“I like the spirit!” Mr. Yagi laughed, clapping her on the shoulder before standing to his feet. His knees cracked as he stood. “I believe that is all I wanted to tell you, young Ashido.”
“Nice,” Mina leapt to her feet, bounding up a few stairs. Mr. Yagi followed, a bit slower. “Oh, my parents wanted me to invite you for dinner or lunch or something. They said I couldn’t train with you until you talked to them first.”
“Ah, that…”
“They can keep a secret,” she offered. “And I’m not keeping this from them. It’d be kinda dumb to, Mr. Yagi. They know my quirk just as well as I do, and I can lie pretty well but not to them.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” he sighed. “Alright, though perhaps dinner is not the best time.”
“Momma Inko already said she’d make something you can eat, and none of us are super picky so we don’t mind one bit! So send me a list of what you can eat and we’ll make you something.”
“…if you are sure.”
“I am!”
“Alright then. Thank you for the hospitality, young Ashido.”
Mina hummed, smiling. They got to the top of the stairs, and she waited for Mr. Yagi to get there before she said bye.
She got a few steps away before pausing. Mina turned back, and Mr. Yagi stopped too when he caught her gaze.
“The villain that hurt you,” she said. “They…”
“You do not have to worry about him,” Mr. Yagi said. “He was a plague on civilization, and only the power of One for All was enough to defeat him, but worry not, young Ashido. He is taken care of.”
Mina nodded, satisfied. She hesitated for one more moment before deciding, yeah, fuck it, and ran up to Mr. Yagi. Carefully, to make sure she didn’t hurt anything, she hugged him.
“Thank you for trusting me,” she said quietly.
A hand hesitantly patted between her horns. “I believe trust is a good base to being a mentor,” Mr. Yagi said. “I cannot hope to be like Nana, but I can sure try to make you a damn good hero, kid.”
Mina still had some questions, mostly about why he had trusted one of the first people he had seen jump into a villain attack, but that could wait. All Might really was a kind man, from what she had seen. He meant well. The best intentions wouldn’t have saved him if he had made a mistake, but in the end he hadn’t, and Mina could be trusted with his secret. She would live up to the legacy she would soon carry.
Her siblings were still going to flip when she told them who All Might’s mentor had been though.
Notes:
Thing I realized only After writing this: The beach’s name in canon is apparently Tokoba beach?? But I’ve seen it Dagobah in a lot of places soooo I’m keeping that.
Also I was wondering why this took so long to edit and apparently I added almost a thousand words to an already long chapter WHOOPS.ALSO WE GOT SO MUCH ART!
Boys and Creatures (by natgeowo)
Mythologically accurate Gorgon (by Rinx)
Mythos Chimera (also by Rinx)
Kitsune get Arted (ALSO by Rinx :D)
Daedalus' Mask (by chaoticattt)AND LIKE 8 FROM CR0WJAY EVERYONE SAY THANK YOU CROW (and Rinx since they made THREE guys I am LIVING)
Kitsune
Dragon
Pan
Balcony Friends
Harpy sketches
More sketches
Kitsune!
Kitsune costume variations (the black version of his mask!! I love it so much)
Chapter 119: Words of the Wise pt.1
Summary:
Three heroes, but one question:
Can I be a hero?
(chapter title from Words of the Wise by Truslow)
Notes:
Hello hello hello
I’ve had an AMV idea to this song using NOLB for a WHILE now and I’m glad I could finally write it out :D I mostly just wanted to explore what the answers would be in this universe, so enjoy!
This was meant to be up last week. And then it was meant to be up earlier today but my dog managed to injure herself in the literal two minutes I turned around to answer the front door after I got back from work T-T She's limping but not in pain so? We'll see about a vet visit in the morning. My idiot baby
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
All Might arrived with the fanfare of a doorbell.
Kouji knew it was All Might because half of them, the half that were still home right now, had been watching through an upstairs window. The other half of his siblings were out grocery shopping with Rei.
He didn't know everything, but he knew All Might had been one thing Endeavor used to excuse his abuse. Rei didn’t want to see him. She didn’t want to be recognized by him, their aunt had admitted in a hushed, hesitant voice.
So she was out grocery shopping, along with half of Kouji’s siblings. The rest of them had been told to stay upstairs while All Might was over. Kouji got it, he really did, but he was still kinda peeved.
Not Peeve, she was still lovely, but peeved, because he had kinda wanted to meet All Might. The man had never been his favorite hero or anything, but he was still super cool. And really, who else would get a chance to say they had met the Number One Hero because he came over for lunch?
Not that any of them could say that, what with how dangerous it could be, but still! All Might! In their house!
They didn’t want to overwhelm the hero though, which made sense. There were a lot of them. And the adults needed to focus on making sure Mina would be trained right. She was already very strong, but Izuku had told them what he thought about the quirk. It was…concerning, to say the least. Mina would have to be careful.
Which was why all of them collectively decided to eavesdrop from the top of the stairs. It was out of sight, and they could just barely hear the words from the kitchen, but it worked. It wasn’t a foolproof plan, since most of their family walked pretty quietly, but Kouji really wanted to know what was going on in the kitchen.
Not much, apparently, since they were talking so quietly. His siblings were getting restless because of it. Katsuki wanted to sneak closer. Hanta proposed clinging to the ceiling and swinging across the living room. Kouji wanted to facepalm, instead settling for a deadpan look and a deep sigh.
Because honestly. They had a perfectly good spy that wouldn’t get caught. Not that their parents wouldn’t know exactly what Kouji was doing, but All Might wouldn’t, and that was the important bit.
“Get back here,” Kouji hissed quietly, grabbing the back of Katsuki’s shirt to tug him backwards. “Stop that.”
“I was just going to the bottom of the stairs,” Katsuki grumbled.
Kouji silently held up their cat, staring Katsuki in the eyes. It took his brother a second to connect the dots. He then promptly went through the stages of grief before grumbling some more and backing away.
“Are we spying today?” Peeve asked Kouji.
“Yeah,” Kouji answered quietly, setting her back on the ground. “Can you listen for a few minutes and then come back to tell us what’s going on?”
“Of course, kit. Make sure your littermates don’t get into trouble.”
Kouji smiled, nodding, and scratched behind her ear for a second. Peeve purred, then shook out her fur and trotted down the stairs. The rest of Kouji’s siblings went back to trying to lean as far down as the could without getting caught. Meanwhile Kouji waited, sitting on the top stair.
He could hear All Might saying something, and then cooing over Peeve. Kouji also heard the very quiet snickering of their dad.
Peeve pattered back up the stairs a few minutes later, jumping right into Kouji’s lap without preamble.
“The new human said the food was good,” she meowed. “Pink person is excited, but said to tell you to stop worrying. Other people talked about cleaning and heavy things.”
Kouji nodded, quietly saying thank you as he scratched behind her ears. He looked up to find four pairs of eyes starring at him.
“Mina says to stop worrying,” he whispered. “But the adults are talking about the beach, I think, and how much training Mina will need to do.”
“New human said eight months,” Peeve added.
Kouji nodded, relying Peeve’s words so his siblings could understand. “All Might thinks it’ll take eight months.”
“That’s…quick,” Hanta said.
“She’s already pretty fucking strong,” Katsuki huffed. “It might not even take that long.”
“We’ll see,” Kouji hummed. “But we’re helping either way.”
“Fucking duh.”
Kouji huffed, but let it go. Katsuki was nervous for their sister. He had been the one to find her, the one to bring her home. The idea that she could get extremely hurt by accepting an entirely new quirk?
Yeah, it was scary. Terrifying, really.
But they had Mina’s back. She wouldn’t be doing this, or anything, alone. They would all make sure of it.
It’s what they did best.
Izuku was not a morning person. He wasn’t asleep, sure, but also wasn’t really awake yet. Not this early.
He still followed after Mina though. Down the sidewalk in the foggy morning, they all trailed along in a sleepy line. Mina herself was happily chattering away to Kouji, one of the only other ones to actually look awake, as she led them. Everyone else slumped along in varying stages of awareness. Katsuki barely counted as walking with how heavily he was leaning on Eijirou.
They were almost to the beach. The train station was a couple blocks from it, but none of them had wanted to bother the adults with driving all of them. It meant they had to be up a bit earlier than originally planned. That was fine though. The walk would wake them up, Izuku had rationalized.
Lies. If he was horizontal for more than two seconds he would pass right out again, and they were nearly there.
They turned into the parking lot, taken up by only one other car. A truck, which All Might—in his small form—was leaning against. Izuku just barely stopped himself from squeaking. His favorite hero was here, helping them train and clean a beach.
Izuku had to try really hard not to ask for an autograph, if only because he had already asked yesterday, before the man had left their house.
All Might—Mr. Yagi in this form, he remembered—waved to them, and Mina practically skipped the rest of the way up to the truck.
“We brought gloves!” She cheerfully declared. “And trash bags!”
Mr. Yagi smiled, and Izuku was once again hit with the realization that this was All Might. “Thank you, young Ashido. Do you remember what I told you about cleaning today?”
“Small trash in the trash bags, cans in different bags, big things straight to the truck. Keep the gloves on, and close-toed shoes because there are probably needles here,” she recited.
“Correct! Well done.”
Mina preened as the rest of them grouped up. Eijirou shook Katsuki awake, making him stand on his own. Momo began to hand out gloves from the bag she had slung over her shoulder.
They split up, quietly talking amongst each other as things were passed out. Mr. Yagi’s phone rang, loud in the otherwise silent parking lot. He reassured them that he’d be right back as he retreated farther down the sidewalk.
Izuku hummed to himself, still trying to shake the remaining grogginess as he slipped on gloves. They were thicker than his costume’s ones. Gardening gloves. Made by Momo though, so nothing would actually stab through them. He tucked a trash bag into his back pocket while getting used to the feel of them.
Izuku had just finished convincing Hitoshi to not actually take a nap on the sidewalk when he noticed Mina. She was standing by herself at the top of the stairs, staring out at the hills of garbage. Izuku just watched her for a moment. She was on her tiptoes, shifting from side to side. He couldn’t see her face from here, but he could guess what expression would be there.
Which was why he walked up, gently knocking their shoulders together when he stepped up to her side. A glance told him that he had been right. Mina looked apprehensive. Overwhelmed.
“Plan of attack?” Izuku asked, trying for nonchalance and overshooting into what his siblings called his teacher voice. Gentle and guiding.
“I, um…” Mina looked out over the trash again, back and forth. “I don’t know where to start.”
“What about we start at the bottom of the stairs, then make a path to the ocean?”
The effect was immediate. Mina’s shoulders relaxed, and her expression melted into something more sure. She looked more settled. “That’s a good plan. Think we can get to those microwaves before tomorrow?”
Izuku looked out and, sure enough, there was an obscenely tall pile of microwaves off to their right. Along with a dishwasher closer to the stairs, and a couch half buried in miscellaneous junk. A fridge was on its side between a gap in two big piles.
The microwaves weren’t too far though. If they got to the ocean, then cleaned a bit more, then they might be able to reach it.
But Izuku also knew his sister needed motivation, and nothing motivated her more than mischief. So he wrapped a dare in a grin and began descending the stairs. “Wanna bet a song on it?”
Mina laughed, bright for the foggy morning, as she skipped down to follow after him. “You sure you wanna do that, Zuzu?”
“Depends on whether you win or not.”
“You’re gonna regret that,” she singsonged.
She still knocked their shoulder’s together on her way down though, a silent thanks. Izuku’s smile melted into something warmer.
The rest of their siblings trickled down after them, all in varying states of enthusiasm to clean the beach. Each of them had a trash bag and gloves. Izuku was content knowing that at least none of them would get stabbed by picking up something or stepping on glass.
They huddled up, looking to Mina for direction. She showed them where to start and reminded them to keep stability of the piles in mind. It would be a bit awkward until they got a big enough space cleared for everyone to move around, but until then they would work where they could. The first goal was getting a path cleared to the ocean. It would help divide the beach into sections and make it easier to move around.
Her confidence was back, sparkling in her eyes. They could all see it. So even though it was early, even though they were still tired, they all cheered before splitting up to conquer the trash.
Izuku was just happy they were there with Mina. She had told them how she insisted they train with her, that they help her clean the beach. All Might had tried to convince her that it was better done alone. Independently. That it would prepare her for being a hero, and let her focus.
But Mina had been steadfast. She had said that she wouldn’t train without them all. That they were all going to be heroes, together, and she refused to intentionally separate herself from them like that.
All Might was a pillar. But when it came down to it, Mina was not. She refused to be.
Izuku would be lying if he said that the top didn’t look lonely. All Might was above every other hero, his shadow a thing that covered the rest of the country, if not the world. But he had only ever had one sidekick. He didn’t seem to have many friends either. He was strong, but…isolated.
All Might was an amazing hero, Izuku wouldn’t ever refute that. He was strong, and kind, and always did his best. But that didn’t change how other heroes didn’t befriend him. It was hard to, when he had been at the top for so long, while the rest of the ranks changed on a dime.
Endeavor had been one of the only constants at the top too, and Izuku couldn’t quite bring himself to begrudge All Might for being friendly with the man in his career. At least before the trial. All Might hadn’t been seen with Endeavor since.
Either way, Mina had held her ground, and they were all there to help. Even if “help” was currently trying not to cause an avalanche of trash near the stairs.
Izuku hummed to himself as he cleaned, grabbing pieces of plastic and crushed cans to put in their respective bags. His siblings were focused on their tasks around him. They gradually widened the area they could move around, and began to make their way towards the water.
After a while though, Izuku began to notice something.
Mr. Yagi would walk up to one of his siblings, talk to them for a minute, then direct them somewhere. That in itself wasn’t notable. It looked like he was getting to know them all, which was really cool! Izuku didn’t pay it much mind at first.
But then he noticed a pattern.
Izuku paused, looking over their cleared patch of beach, and noted his siblings. Katsuki, Eijirou, and Shouto were near Mina, helping her lift a doorless fridge, about halfway to the water. Momo was carrying a smaller microwave and to set near the stairs, before returning to where Mina was. Ochako high-foured her as she passed by, pulling a floating chunk of wood behind her. Then there were Hitoshi, Kouji, Mei—they were closer to the stairs, near the smaller piles, with smaller pieces of trash. Hanta was scaling a haphazard stack of chairs somewhere among the garbage near them.
They were divided. It took Izuku a minute to think of why, because the difference felt so arbitrary to him. But—quirks. They were divided by quirks. Strong, obvious, heroic quirks, and subtler, mostly nonphysical quirks.
Huh.
Mr. Yagi was making his way over to Izuku now. He tried to not let his hackles raise, tried to keep an open mind and stay calm. But it was…pretty hard to ignore how they were divided. It reminded him too much of school. Too much of teachers and students and strangers that didn’t know them.
But it was also All Might, Izuku could give him the benefit of the doubt.
“Young Midoriya!” He called. “If I could have a moment of your time, my boy.”
Izuku nodded, brushing off his hands and turning to face the man. “Sure. What do you need, Mr. Yagi?”
“You see, I am trying to see where everyone skills will be best used.” Izuku felt his stomach sink. “So would you mind telling me your quirk, my boy?”
Izuku glanced over at his siblings. They were working away, focused on their job. He wondered if they had noticed yet. It was All Might, and they were still with each other, so it would be easy to not question it.
Izuku almost didn’t want to.
“Mr. Yagi,” he said slowly. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Ah, of course, my boy. What is it?”
Izuku almost hesitated. Almost withdrew. But he didn’t, instead he drew himself up and met the very tall hero’s eyes. “Do you think someone with a weak quirk can be a hero?”
Mr. Yagi hesitated.
All Might hesitated.
Izuku felt something in his chest…crack.
“It is a dangerous profession,” All Might hedged. “Quirks do not always make a good hero, but a strong one does help, my boy.”
His tone freezing over, he said, “You didn’t answer the question, sir.”
“Ah, apologies. It is…not impossible,” All Might mused. “But certainly a great challenge, and would not be advisable because of the danger. I am aware that there are many quirks, strong in different situations. But a hero cannot rely on the right situation falling into their laps. A weak quirk is a liability when lives are on the line.”
Disappointment and something like loss twined around his gut, a dark and murky thing that sucked in his previous excitement like a black hole. All Might had almost made it sound reasonable. And maybe it was, to him, but All Might didn’t know them. He didn’t know how hard they had already worked, or why they wanted to do what they did. He didn’t know them. And it wasn’t like the man’s quirk—quirks—were perfect either.
He felt the darkness retreat, enough to be replaced by a sharp chill. Part of it felt like determination. The other part felt a bit like spite.
“Strong quirks can be a liability too,” he said, raising his chin and his voice, letting the chill seep into his words like a creeping frost. “You could take down a building and everyone inside it with a miscalculated punch. Strength does not equal being a good hero either, All Might.”
“I am not saying it does, my boy, merely that a strong quirk is more helpful, and makes the job far easier.”
“But a quirk doesn’t make a hero,” Izuku insisted. “What someone does is what makes them a hero.”
His siblings were looking over now, stopping what they were doing to listen and watch. He saw a few of them began bristling, their faces twisting into a grimace. It wasn’t hard to pick up what Izuku was arguing about. He rarely sounded so cold over anything else. It was a very short list of things that made him genuinely angry, and this was one of them.
“You have to admit, young-“
“You could have made a great supervillain,” Izuku said plainly, and winced a bit at All Might’s flinch. He didn’t regret his words though. “So could have Hawks, or Nedzu, or any other hero. It’s what they do that makes them heroes, not their quirks.”
“They are all inclined-“
“I’m going to be a hero,” Izuku said. He looked All Might in the eye. “My siblings are going to be heroes, or whatever else they want to be. Our quirks are not what determines it. We are not made for heroics or for villainy, we choose it. A quirk that is considered weak is just one that’s not flashy or physically strong. I will not have you telling my siblings that they’re not meant to be heroes because of a quirk.”
“I was not going to do that, young Midoriya,” the hero said gingerly. “However your determination is commendable.”
That was when Hitoshi got to them, stepping in front of Izuku to put himself between All Might and him. He was shaking, but stood strong, staring up at the tall hero.
“What are you saying to my brother,” he demanded.
All Might put his hands up in a soothing gesture. “We were merely disagreeing about heroics, my boy. I only have some reservations about-“
Izuku stepped forward, grabbing the back of Hitoshi’s shirt and gently tugging. His brother looked back to him with determination in his eyes. He was scared. He was shaking, because he was facing down All Might, but he didn’t move. Not an inch.
Hitoshi would protect him, no matter who it was from. Izuku knew that. He would do the same, and had been since they had met at five years old.
But his brother was waiting. He stood between the Number One Hero and Izuku, feet planted in the sand, awaiting the verdict. Waiting to know whether they left right now or stayed. Waiting to see what Izuku would decide.
The biting cold drained from his chest. All Might was one of his favorite heroes, yes, but what he said did not determine his worth. Izuku cared about what the hero thought of him, but not more than his family. All Might did not determine truth. His siblings would have his back. Always.
“It’s ok,” Izuku whispered. “I’m alright.”
Hitoshi searched his face for a lie. He didn’t—and wouldn’t—find one. With a nod he fell back, just a bit, to stand at Izuku’s side instead of in front of him.
“A quirk doesn’t make a hero,” Izuku repeated, steadier and stronger than before. “And whatever you think won’t change that, Mr. Yagi. You have to know that if you’re going to teach Mina. You aren’t giving her a quirk to replace her first one. You’re giving her more power to accomplish her dream and something else to protect.”
Izuku had never seen a man that tall manage to fold themself so small as Mr. Yagi did in that moment. But the man nodded, hunching over and leaning to be closer to Izuku’s level without going onto one knee. He could see many emotions flickering through the man’s eyes. He had paused, thinking, and seeming to be reliving some sort of memory.
(“That’s not what I meant, Mirai, you know that!”
“Then what did you mean, Toshinori?! Because it sounded a hell of a lot like you were saying I can’t be more than a sidekick because I don’t have a flashy quirk.”
“I just mean that it’s dangerous-“
“Unbelievable.” A scoff. “Don’t call me again until you get your head out of your ass, Toshinori. Goodbye.”)
(He reminds me of Mirai, Toshinori thought silently. Maybe…)
“I believe I have some learning to do,” Mr. Yagi admitted. “I do not mean you distress, young Midoriya. I apologize for implying you could not be a strong hero.”
Izuku stared for a moment. “I’m not going to say it’s alright, because it’s not. But thank you for apologizing.”
All Might didn’t kneel down, because the sand was very much still covered in unknown amounts of sharp objects, but he did sit back on his heels to be just below Izuku’s eye level. His blue eyes were shifting. Not quite conflicted, and not full of some grand breakthrough realization, but…willing.
“I still have reservations,” he said lightly, “but it has been…a while, since someone has told me I am wrong, my boy. I believe it is time I learned from a different perspective.”
…Izuku was very close to either squeaking or just flatout dying. Was this what shock was like? Maybe. Or he was hallucinating. Because there was no way the Number One Hero had just implied he wanted Izuku to teach him something.
The sensation warred with his righteous indignation on his siblings’ behalves. The result was Izuku just staring for a solid few seconds before scrambling to school his expression into something besides shock and awe. Because for all his anger at what All Might had said, it was hard to shake the hero worship.
“We can all teach you,” Izuku suggested, then paused, considering. “Well, show you. Just—don’t write us off because of our quirks. Train Mina and let us help, but don’t stop us from doing things.”
“I can do that, my boy.”
“Good.”
Izuku turned to the rest of his siblings, who were watching the exchange like a flock of seagulls—ready to raise hell at the drop of a sandwich. He gave them a nod, and a small, reassuring smile, and they turned back to what they were doing. Some of them more hesitantly than others, but they took the signal.
Izuku really, really loved his siblings. Who else would be ready to throw down the with literal Number One Hero for him? The surge of affection he felt was familiar and warm. It dripped down his limbs and glowed in his chest.
Hitoshi tapped the side of his fist to the top of Izuku’s shoulder before he walked away. All Might stood back up, his knees cracking, and wandered off back towards his siblings. Izuku watched for a minute, as he struck up another conversation with Mei, and then eventually redirected her towards the mountain of microwaves.
Izuku was still…upset, he supposed. It was not the bright, searing thing of before, but it still burned. It still prickled at his nerves and set his teeth on edge. He wanted to bite something, wanted to rattle something so his anger could be taken as a warning.
But All Might was willing to learn. He was going to try. He wanted to try. Izuku was going to make sure he carried through with it, and that was enough.
It should be enough.
…
…it didn’t feel like enough.
Izuku still felt angry.
Notes:
Fun fact, I forgot that I gave Peeve a quirk until I looked back at Kouji’s arc. Whoops, I need to use that again it’s a fun idea. Didn’t this time though because All Might didn’t need to have a heart attack
Next chapter: Part 2! Who do you think Izuku will ask next? :)
(not a rocket science guess lol)ALSO WE GOT MORE ART!! LOOK AT THIS!!
AGENDA!! (by Starstargazer)
GORGEOUS Kitsune, other kids, and tamagochis! (by bellyee)Hope y'all enjoyed! Have a good day/night <3
Chapter 120: Words of the Wise pt.2
Summary:
(Once again, chapter title from Words of the Wise by Truslow)
Three heroes, but one question:
Can I be a hero?
Notes:
Hello everyone :D
See this was originally all supposed to be one chapter, but then the first one went LONG for one part so here we are (laughs in future edit and my longest chapter is now 8.4k words (arcane fic not NOLB))
Anyway:
It’s my birthday today! And to celebrate I decided to post not only this chapter, but four others to different fics! I love you guys, enjoy the chapter <3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Tonight was already unusual. Shouta hated it.
He had woken up with a bad feeling buzzing in the back of his mind. Even Olive purring on his chest hadn’t eased the creeping dread. It definitely hadn’t helped that Hizashi yelped about burning dinner a few minutes later.
And he had tripped over his scarf on the way out to patrol. Shouta had simply stood there for a moment, the dread turning into a resigned annoyance that something was going to go wrong tonight.
First order of business: patrolling on the way to his meeting with the Sirens. Easy enough. Normal.
But the streets were remarkably quiet. They had been getting quieter, safer, over time, but tonight it was almost…eerie. Or Shouta was overthinking it, but still. Another tally to the “tonight is weird” score. He got to the rooftop surprisingly fast, at least.
Second order of business: the Sirens.
Kitsune was already on their designated rooftop, like usual.
But.
It took Shouta a moment to spot him, because he was sitting on the ledge of the building. His back to Shouta. The direction he knew Shouta would be coming from.
That alone made him pause. He could tell Kitsune’s ear was cocked back towards him, but the vigilante didn’t move. It was a remarkable show of trust. When your job relied on being borderline paranoid about your surroundings, offering your back to someone spoke volumes. An unspoken declaration of trust and camaraderie.
It was that or Kitsune was feeling like shit, in which case Shouta should probably make sure he wasn’t bleeding out.
He kept his steps light, his muscles loose. The mechanical ear followed his movements. Shouta carefully eased down to sit beside the vigilante, leaving enough room between them for both to feel safe. He swung his legs over the edge to match Kitsune, but leaned back on his hands to look up at the stars instead of down at the ground.
He wondered what was running through Kitsune’s head, starring down at the sidewalk like that.
“Eraserhead,” Kitsune whispered, so quiet Shouta swore he could hear the mechanics in the mask whirr.
“Kitsune,” he answered steadily. “Who’s out with you tonight?”
“…Chimera and Athena, but they went off to deal with a robbery a few streets over.”
Shouta hummed, noting the unusual lack of eyes on the two of them. The vigilantes all seemed to trust Shouta, but were also prepared in case he did betray them one day. It was smart. It’s what Shouta would do.
That just made it extra odd that their surveillance was missing tonight.
“You’re not injured, are you?” Shouta asked.
That got Kitsune to huff, something adjacent to a laugh. “No, Eraser, I’m not bleeding out or anything.”
Hm. So not not hurting, but not badly injured. Duly noted.
“We found how they’re getting people to that trafficking ring place,” Kitsune told him, pulling his legs back over the edge to hold them to his chest. “They bring in trucks, the ones meant for transporting stuff to stores? The trade-off points are at large grocery stores and warehouses. Smaller groups are separated from there.”
Well damn, that would explain why they hadn’t been able to nail down bases, if they had covers as grocery stores and used the trucks. “Thank you, Kitsune. You all did good.”
The vigilante hummed an acknowledgment, curled into a ball on the edge of the building. The mask’s expression barely changed, only little things twitching, but it was enough for Shouta to see the weight on Kitsune. His shoulders were slumped, his eyes cast downwards. Something was wrong. Or at least weighting on the young vigilante’s mind.
Shouta had the irrational urge to tell him to back away from the ledge.
But he didn’t say anything. Instead he waited. The two sat in the silence of a city that wasn’t silent at all. Shouta counted how many constellations he could recognize through the light pollution. He wondered if Hizashi would want to take a vacation to somewhere in the mountains this year, so the three of them could see the actual stars. Their daughter hadn’t been before.
Shouta wondered, not for the first time, whether Kitsune had family outside of the group he had built around himself. Whether he had been an orphan in the system like Shouta’s daughter. He wondered if the boy had family to go back to after he took off the mask.
“Eraserhead,” Kitsune said quietly, starring out across the city. Perhaps his own version of the stars. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure, kid.”
The vigilante hesitated, and that’s how Shouta knew his answer was going to be important. Kitsune was a kid—it had become pretty obvious that he wasn’t a full adult, at least, with the mentions of school—but he had a remarkable amount of bravado and confidence. To see that waver, to see it shake under whatever weight was pressing on the kid’s shoulders, was concerning.
“Do you think…” Kitsune whispered. “Do you think someone without- without a strong quirk can be a hero?”
Shouta didn’t speak at first, giving the question due thought. He silently questioned why Kitsune was asking, since his quirk was pretty flashy. Maybe he just wanted advice for someone else that had asked. Or maybe he had a skewed view of his own quirk, or acknowledged fire wasn’t always useful. It was far from being considered weak though.
What an odd question from a vigilante, especially this one, but Shouta gave it the careful thought it deserved either way.
“I think,” he said levelly, “that quirks can be useful in some instances, and a hindrance in others. You need to know your quirk well to use it right. But none of that makes you any better or worse at being hero. It gives you a leg up, kid, I’m not going to lie to you. It’s harder with a quirk that’s seen as weaker, but that just means you have to put the right work in to go places.”
Shouta quieted for another moment, recalling statistics. His own, even. From his classes at UA.
“People with less combative quirks tend to drop first,” he said bluntly. “Whether out of hero school or vigilantism, they’re the first ones to go, usually. But most of them try to brute force their way through things. Or they just find it too hard, and can’t adapt how they need to. The ones that make it? They work for it, and make connections. Friends are important in this field, kid.”
“I know,” Kitsune whispered.
Shouta snorted, reaching over to pat the top of Kitsune’s head without thinking. “I figured you’d know that, kid, just reminding you.”
“But you think they can be a hero?”
“With enough work, yes.” Shouta shrugged. “Being a hero is dangerous, kid. I know you know that, but not everyone does. If someone isn’t willing to put in the work then a quirk doesn’t matter, they’ll be a danger to everyone around them whether they’re strong or not. But if someone wants to be a hero and works for it? Quirk doesn’t matter, they’ll be a hero.”
Kitsune nodded, and something almost seemed to uncoil in him. Shouta wondered if Kitsune really was asking about someone else. But he had a fire quirk, right? Sure, it wasn’t exactly a quirk suited for combat, but it was still useful. Kitsune had shown just how useful it was being a vigilante.
Shouta had already heard one of his students with a similar quirk say that she wanted to use it like Kitsune. She had found a love for rescue and public outreach. Shouta had been damn proud of her and her newfound confidence, her progress skyrocketing. Finding out the source had been Kitsune only made him prouder.
Then again, Kitsune was righteous. Shouta had seen how torn up he got over injustice. An innate sense of needing to fix it that had probably led to him being a vigilante in the first place. And if one of his own Sirens had been told they couldn’t be a hero, especially because of their quirk, then it would make sense. Kitsune was obviously loyal to them. If they were upset then he would want to fix it, in any way he could.
Shouta wondered, but didn’t say anything. He had practically just gotten the vigilantes to trust him. He didn’t want to jeopardize that by asking about quirks.
“Thank you, Eraserhead,” Kitsune said, drawing him out of his thoughts. The vigilante’s voice was stronger now. “I’ve told you you’re my favorite hero, right?”
Shouta snorted, jostling the top of the fox mask like he would if he were quickly ruffling hair. Kitsune only laughed and leaned back onto his hands. He went to look at the sky, just like Shouta had been doing a few minutes before, and smiled. It was a relief to see the sharp-toothed grin.
“I’ll pass it on,” Kitsune continued. “Thank you though, Eraser. It means a lot to a few of us.”
Shouta could only shrug again, nonchalant. “It’s the truth, nothing more.”
“Still. There’s…a lot of people that think a quirk is what makes a hero, and they aren’t always wrong. But I think- I think we’re going to try and prove them wrong.”
Shouta cast a look at the vigilante. Kitsune’s eyes hadn’t changed much, but he swore they glowed brighter. With determination, maybe. But he also looked lighter than before. Like a chain had been cast off, at least for the time being.
Well if that’s what he needed, then Shouta was happy to provide the truth.
“I don’t doubt that you will,” he said, sharing a small grin of his own.
Yeah, the vigilantes would be ok.
The night was here once more, and Izuku took to it with a skip in his step.
He hadn’t realized how much All Might’s answer had eaten at him. Izuku knew a quirk didn’t make a hero, but hearing that All Might didn’t think that had been…hard. It made him second-guess. It had eaten at Izuku like rot in his heart. Every word the bullies and teachers had ever said came flooding back, picking at his mind like buzzards.
So he had asked Eraserhead the same question. Izuku hadn’t known why, necessarily. He liked the hero but also hadn’t wanted to get his hopes up.
Then Eraserhead had given him an answer that rang with nothing but honesty, and he said that he could be a hero. That Izuku could do this. He hadn’t said it directly, but the meaning had been the same. It had been enough to drive away the doubts.
And now, with nothing but concrete and air beneath his feet, Izuku felt alive. There was nothing like donning his mask to remind him that he was already a hero. He already helped people.
No small words could take that from him.
Izuku laughed as he landed a flip between buildings. His siblings snickered something about him being a showoff, but he just laughed along with them. He knew they’d all be doing their own tricks soon too. He and his siblings were nothing if not competitive, and this was their playground.
They were all a bit tired from cleaning the beach almost every day, yet at the same time buzzing with energy from it. Since All Might was usually there, and they were busy cleaning, they hadn’t gotten to climb around and explore the beach. Night wasn’t the time to do that either. Too dangerous. So instead they sent themselves flying from rooftops to get their remaining energy out.
Mei, as usual, was directing them when something popped up on her cameras. The crackling in Izuku’s ear heralded her voice. “Two buildings in front of you, drop into the left alley. Guy with a knife trying to mug some kids.”
Izuku scowled beneath his mask, but gave Mei confirmation that he had heard. He kept himself quieter than before. Stealth and surprise were their main weapons, and getting the drop on someone with a weapon was important.
One building. Two. Left alley—Izuku leapt over the edge, already scanning the ground for who was where. Oh nice, the mugger was in his path.
Izuku snagged a window ledge, slowing his descent just enough to not break any bones. It also gave him just the right angle to launch himself at the mugger. The man looked up just in time to get tackled by an armored vigilante.
The ensuring scuffle was short-lived. The man had dropped his knife upon impact, and was taken by surprise. It was easy to wrestle him into zipties from there.
Izuku stepped back, double checking his work. The man was tied with his hands behind his back and his wrists hooked to his feet. He thrashed around, yelling, until he caught sight of Izuku. He went quiet after that, probably recognizing a lost battle when he saw one.
“Got him,” Izuku said.
Mei snorted, and the sound of clicking keys sounded through their coms. “Cops should be on their way soon, wanna give your lecture of goodness?”
“It’s not a lecture, Daedalus.” Izuku rolled his eyes, but crouched down the man either way, addressing him instead. “Why do you need money bad enough that you’re mugging children?”
“Fuck you!”
“Are you sure? We know of places that can help.”
The man glared, then tried to spit on Izuku’s boots.
Izuku shrugged and got to his feet, dusting off his knees. “Have it your way then.”
His attention got drawn to the other side of the alley by a squeak. Izuku turned to see the two kids, one probably a bit older than he was, and one that couldn’t be older than four or five. The small boy was trying to wiggle passed his older sister. She was blocking him though, obviously putting herself between her brother and the threat.
Izuku felt himself soften. He took a few steps away from the former-mugger and knelt down, trying to make himself seem smaller. Less dangerous.
“Hello,” he said gently. “You two are ok now, it’s alright. The cops should be on their way. They’ll want to get your statement about what happened, but they’ll have security footage of it, so we won’t make you stay if you just want to get home.”
The older girl eyed him warily, but nodded. The lapse in focus was all the time her brother needed to stage an escape though. He ducked around her, dodging her reaching hands, and ran straight to Izuku.
The little guy slammed into the vigilante, nearly bowling him over. Izuku steadied himself in time for the little boy to jump back up and stare at him. His eyes were brown, Izuku noted. Big and still watery but determined.
“Thank you for savin’ us, Mr. Kitsune,” he said. “Can I ask you somethin’?”
Izuku nodded, and the boy launched into a story about school and the doctor’s and something about the kids picking on him. His sister came up behind him a moment later. She set a hand on his head, sighed, and said, “Ask your question, Suma. I’m sure Kitsune has to be somewhere.”
The boy nodded, and looked Izuku right in the eye. Impressive for a small kid. Brave.
“Can someone with a bad quirk be a hero too?”
Izuku felt like the air had been punched from his lungs.
He let himself freeze for a moment, a mix of emotions swirling in his lungs. Elation, at being asked the question. Anger, for what he now understood was a tiny kid getting bullied for his quirk. Fear that the answer might not go over well.
But above all of it was the surety that he could be who he had needed as a kid. Who all of his siblings had needed too.
“There’s no such thing as a bad quirk,” Kitsune said softly. “Being a hero is how you act, not what your quirk is. Does that make sense?”
The kid looked remarkably serious for how young he was. It was kinda funny. “So to be a hero I gotta act good?”
“Exactly. You have to work hard to be a hero though. You have to get big and strong so you can protect others, ok? But if you really want to be a hero, then nothing can stop you.”
The boy broke out into a joyful grin, and lunged forward to wrap his arms around Izuku’s neck again. Izuku could only laugh, hoping no note of the tears beginning to leak from his eyes made it into his voice. He wasn’t entirely successful, if the look the older sister gave him was anything to go by.
The sound of police sirens bled through his ears. Izuku took that as his cue to leave, gently detaching the boy from his neck. He happily went back to holding his sister’s hand.
Izuku turned to go, but stopped with a light touch to his arm.
“Thank you, Kitsune,” the girl said. “We’ve…”
“It’s the least I can do,” he returned. He hesitated for a second, but decided the risk was worth it. “I wish someone had told us all the same, as kids. I meant every word of what I said.”
“Thank you.”
Izuku nodded, smiled, and then launched himself up the closest wall. A hand helped pull him up at the top.
Shouto stood there, his Chimera mask gently bumping into the side of Izuku’s. “Good job.”
“Thanks, Chimera.”
“You’re still my favorite hero, I hope you know that.”
Izuku laughed, playfully whacking the back of Shouto’s mask. “You haven’t changed your answer for six years, sure you haven’t found a new one?”
“No, I like my answer.”
“Stop fighting a losing battle, Kitsune. Get a move on, the cops are coming,” Mei told him.
“We’re going, we’re going,” he laughed. “Come on, how far has everyone else gone?”
“Not far.”
That was proven when glowing eyes popped up a roof over. Izuku smiled and took off, hearing Shouto follow close behind.
For all that he had struggled, that they all had, Izuku couldn’t find it in himself to say he regretted any of it.
Notes:
Fun fact, I wrote most of this the day after writing a Villain!Kitsune AU (didn’t turn out super good imo but I was in a Murder mood yesterday so eh it helped) and I just found the duality kinda funny.
Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed!
Oh yeah, and T-3 chapters until Kid 12 appears :)
Chapter 121: Ecliptic
Summary:
OfA progress, and the beginnings of a grander plan.
Notes:
I have caffeine, Ghost and Pals songs playing, and the deadline of I have 2 free days before I get on a plane and don’t have my computer for 10 days. SO LET’S GO!!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It had been four months now, and Mina was honestly impressed by how much of the beach they had cleaned. They weren’t done, not by a long shot, but they were getting closer! And all the while she was getting closer to receiving One for All!
Apparently she was much farther along in building muscle than All Might had been prepared for. Mina had to try so hard to keep a straight face as he assessed her starting abilities, and his eyes just slowly grew wider with every test. It was even harder with her siblings snickering behind Mr. Yagi’s back at his shocked expression.
All Might had planned for it to take a bit over a year for her to be fully ready. At the rate she was going though, and with her healthy head start, he estimated it might only take eight to ten months. Which was still a long time, but eh. Mina wasn’t in a rush. As long as she got the quirk before any hero entrance exams then she didn’t care. Being ready to handle the quirk was pretty important, so if it took more time then so be it.
They were four months in now, and Mina was confident it would be closer to the eight month mark. Not only was the beach almost half clean, but she could almost haul an entire appliance by herself now! She had collapsed at the top of the stairs after that, but still! Progress!
Multiple trucks had already come to dispose of the larger appliances they had lugged up the stairs. More had picked up the dumpsters they filled almost every day. They had two full trashbags of just batteries to be taken wherever those were disposed of too.
They could even see more of the ocean now! It wasn’t safe to run around without shoes yet, since there were definitely still pieces of broken glass and needles buried in the sand, but it was very promising progress. Even if the water itself was still pretty polluted. Some fancy filters or quirks and it would good as new though, once they were done and All Might could call that part in.
Today wasn’t a cleaning day though. Mr. Yagi said they needed a break from that, so instead they were going jogging. He wanted to see what their stamina was like after the few months of cleaning.
Mina wondered if she should tell him that they were building different types of muscle by lifting heavy things as opposed to jogging, but figured he already knew. The knowing gleam in his eyes suggested he did. Almost like he knew something they didn’t, and it was going to be funny. Or a learning experience. Maybe both.
Mina discovered it was definitely both when, a few minutes later, they were all jogging and Mr. Yagi was riding in front of them on a segway.
It was pretty funny, she had to admit. Especially when they just kept going, none of them protesting the distance, and Mr. Yagi just looked both confused and impressed about it. His grand plan was revealed when they stopped at a cafe that had opened minutes before they arrived.
All Might may have been a bit of a misinformed jerk at the beginning, but he was trying. Had been trying. Buying them all tea and breakfast definitely helped.
Plied with drinks and food, they all sat down at the tables they had dragged together to seat twelve.
“Have you thought about hero schools yet?” he asked them all.
They all exchanged glances, most of them shrugging and looking to Mina to answer for them. “UA is our top choice,” she chirped, sipping her matcha. “But we’re probably applying to all the other ones around too.”
“That is a good plan,” Mr. Yagi nodded. “The exams are next school year, aren’t they?”
Shouto nodded across from them. “Most are in January. Our brother took the Ketsubutsu one then, but UA’s is later.”
“You will all do marvelous,” Mr. Yagi said confidently, with a smile that swept across the table. Mina felt like crying, suddenly. “Although I do believe some are more geared towards battle-ready quirks. You will all be applying to those ones too though, I assume?”
“Yep,” Mina said. “We have a plan.”
Mr. Yagi chuckled, in the way Mina had come to learn meant ‘I’m training hooligans but I’m amused by this.’ “Well then I look forward to whatever waves you children cause. Just make sure to double check rules for the exams, some are stricter than others.”
“How strict is UA’s?” Ochako asked curiously, leaning over the table.
“Hm. Not extremely, I believe. Disqualification for harming another examinee, or intentionally interfering with another’s exam, but not much besides. However the format changes every year, and Nedzu is very secretive with it.”
“As long as I don’t have to fight Godzilla,” Hitoshi joked.
The cafe was filled with laughter, the early morning light shining in white through the windows. There was no one else there, besides the employees back in the kitchen, and they still had time before they had to all get to their various schools.
Mina felt like she could stay here forever.
It was nearing midnight, and Izuku was pacing the length of Mei’s workshop. Mei herself was at the bench, fiddling with an adjustment to his hologram projector and directing the six Sirens that were out tonight. Izuku was, begrudgingly, taking his mandatory rest night.
Almost everyone else was in the shed too though, to be fair. They had a problem to work out.
“They’re going to move soon,” Hitoshi muttered for the third time, slumped in one of the beanbags they had shoved in a corner.
“I know,” Izuku huffed, stepped, spun, stepped once more. “I told you, Eraserhead already tried to make them act.”
Hitoshi grumbled, sinking lower. “But they don’t trust our proof.”
“Or Eraserhead’s,” Mei added. “Probably underground heroes in general.”
“Sounds like Quills, I bet he’s the one that decided on that bullshit.”
Kouji hummed, and Izuku looked over to see him sign. “How long has he been a hero?”
“A few years I think,” Mei answered, “but not enough to retire unless he’s injured.”
“Damn.”
Izuku kept pacing. He muttered under his breath, picking apart the information they did have.
There was a quirk trafficking ring in their city. There were a few actually, but this one was the most obvious, and the only one they had reliable information on at the moment. The Sirens had never taken on more than the odd transport or small drop point before. Their efforts had freed some people, but not enough. Never enough until every stolen person was free.
But they knew where three bases were for this one, and also knew they were the only bases for this ring. Kitsune had passed the information on to Eraserhead. They had trusted the hero to do well with the information, to take it to heroes that would help.
And he had, to be fair. It’s just that some of the heroes had pressed him for where he had gotten the information, and when he had said it was from an informant, the heroes hadn’t wanted to immediately trust the information. It made Izuku want to puff up in indignation. Their information was good and had been proven before. Momma had trained them well in gathering.
Dad was the one that had trained them for what to do with that information, and it was looking like they were going to have to use that part of their training too.
Izuku refused to let the knowledge sit and fester for however long it would take. It had taken them weeks to find the bases, and that had been with their ear to the ground. For some heroes that were waving a high-and-mighty flag from their high horse? It would taken them months. And that was probably how long it would take for some of them to just break and accept the information from Eraserhead.
That or they would go in guns blazing, or be so unsubtle their mission went sideways immediately. And Izuku couldn’t let that happen. He refused.
The Sirens had never done something this big, but, maybe it was time they did.
Mei had been wanting to give her costume a test run anyway. If they set her loose on one of the bases, Izuku figured the rest of them would be on cleanup duty behind her.
Without looking at him, Mei spoke over her shoulder. “Don’t make decisions without everyone here, Greenie.”
Izuku squawked, “I wasn’t!”
“You stopped pacing,” Hitoshi pointed out.
Izuku looked down at his still feet. Oh. Would you look at that.
“That means nothing.”
“It means you made a decision.”
“Does not!”
“Does too.”
Kouji laughed at them. Izuku shot him an exaggerated betrayed look, which just sent his brother into more laughter. It must have been infectious, because Hitoshi started giggling too.
“Ok, ok,” Izuku said. “I’ll wait until we’re all here, but…do you think we could take down the ring by ourselves?”
The shed fell silent. Even the chatter through Mei’s headphones, very muffled anyway, had gone quiet. Izuku weighed the reactions and considered whether he was about to be called stupid or not.
Mei recovered first, the gears almost visibly beginning to turn behind her crosshair eyes. “It would be a lot,” she said slowly. “But doable. What were you thinking?”
“Do we want to fill Mina in later or…”
“Let her sleep,” Izuku said quickly. “She needs the rest after all those extra muscle-building exercises.”
Hitoshi nodded, sitting back, and his focus falling entirely on Izuku. The other two were paying attention too. Izuku didn’t think he’d ever get used to it—how they all looked to him with plans and decisions like this. They trusted him so much. It was overwhelming at times.
“There are three bases,” he reminded. “In three different places in Musutafu.”
“It would spread us pretty thin,” Hitoshi pointed out.
“Not if we cut off communications between the three.”
Mei began tapping a fast, thinking pattern on her desk. “Stop them from telling the others, take out whatever infrastructure we need to, then move onto the next one. Think we can even do that in one night?”
“If we’re quick.”
“The trains?” Kouji suggested.
“If we time it right, yeah, we can use the trains. Two are technically within running distance, but that might not be fast enough, depending on our time frame.”
A burst of noise from the headphones made Mei wince. She picked them up with a bark of “What?” and then fell quiet. Contemplative.
“Dragon wants to know whether we could coordinate with Eraserhead,” she passed on, eyes gaining a slightly manic gleam. “We take out two, the heroes take out one.”
“Dangerous,” Hitoshi muttered. “If we tell Eraser, he’d know where we are. Which means other heroes would too.”
“Not necessarily," Izuku reminded. “We could ask him to keep it a secret.”
“And you think he’d listen?”
Izuku hesitated. Eraserhead was their favorite hero, but he was still another factor to account for if they involved him. He could keep it a secret, take one of the bases from their hands. He could also tell the heroes he worked with why they didn’t have to take out the other two. Then those heroes could show up in the middle of the Sirens’ own siege, the vigilantes too busy to realize one of them had gone missing in the chaos.
But it would help to have one less base. It would help to have heroes to comfort the freed people while the Sirens kept moving.
“I think…he doesn’t want us hurt,” Izuku said slowly, letting the decision settle, trickle down into the gaps it could fill. “Or anyone else. If we tell him we’re moving ahead with or without other heroes, he would try to help. I don’t know what help would mean for him though.”
“You could ask.”
“Ask?”
“Izuku, you have his phone number.” Kouji paused, remembering something. “And his address. You could go talk to him in person.”
“If I see him in person he’d probably try to arrest me to keep us from doing it.”
“When are we doing this?” Hitoshi asked next.
Izuku started pacing again, muttering about plans and timing. They could, technically, go tomorrow. If Mei and Momo knew how to make something that would cut off phone signals. A portable dead zone. They also needed to check the train schedule. If they timed it wrong, they’d have to run to the second base. Which wouldn’t be the end of the world, but better to enact the whole plan as quickly as possible. Quicker than the heroes could catch them.
They could also use an estimate of how many people were there. How many they’d have to free, how many they’d have to incapacitate. How many zip ties and handcuffs and whatever else they might need. They’d need a material list. And a restock of his fire canisters, if Mei didn’t already have some. So recon, restock-
Mei snagged his arm, all but flinging him back into the stool next to her, uncaring of whether he overbalanced or not. “I have extra canisters, and we can do recon tomorrow. Momo and I will need a few days to make a signal blocker.”
Right, he had been talking out loud.
“What about after we free people?” Hitoshi questioned. “Where are they going? Are we leaving someone behind to stay with them?”
“This is why we handed it to the heroes,” Kouji signed. “They have resources. Eraserhead would help.”
“He would,” Izuku admitted.
“Think he could get an agency to rent a hotel or something?”
“Maybe?”
“There are agencies meant to help people who have been through quirk trafficking,” Mei mentioned. “I had one offer to help me before I was found by Keigo. I couldn’t take it then, but still. They exist.”
“We definitely need a count of people then, at least a rough estimate, and time to give the places warning.”
Mei started typing on her computer. Izuku, spinning on the stool he had just discovered could rotate, wondered how many calls he’d have to make. Or how many he could pawn off on Mina. Mina liked talking on the phone. Izuku, personally, kinda hated it. He’d do it, but he wouldn’t have a fun time.
“We have a free weekend in two weeks,” he brought up. “Would that be enough time?”
Mei paused typing, her eyes flashing over invisible equations. “Probably. Call the agencies, and Eraserhead, then we’ll know. Three might be better.”
Izuku looked over to the beanbags and saw Hitoshi just staring blankly at the wall for a moment. Then his brother said, still blank-faced and shellshocked, “We’re really planning a raid. In a shed in our backyard. While we’re in eighth grade.”
“Pretty much!” Kouji signed, smiling brightly.
“Did you expect anything different?” Mei asked.
“…no not really.”
“There’s your answer then.”
Izuku chuckled, got up, and kept pacing, this time to work out the nerves that came with calling someone. Maybe he should just wait for Mina to wake up tomorrow, she liked phone calls-
Mei turned around and kicked in the back of his knee. Izuku yelped, flailing as he went face first onto one of the beanbags. Hitoshi was cackling somewhere on his left. Kouji’s quiet giggling was a bit farther, so he escaped Izuku’s pounce of revenge that dragged Hitoshi down onto the floor with him.
“Go wrestle outside!” Mei barked as they tumbled on her floor. “Out! I will set you on fire, OUT!”
Hitoshi snagged the front of Izuku shirt and dragged him to his feet. From there the two of them more or less fell out the door. They collapsed into the grass, giggling as they stared up at the night sky, door closing behind them.
It was quiet outside. The night always held a stillness to it that Izuku loved, the peace that came with being unafraid in the dark. The crickets chirped, the stars glowed. It was grounding.
“You really think we can do this?” Hitoshi asked quietly.
“I think we have to,” Izuku answered. “We’re ready for it, I think, but we don’t have a choice to avoid it.”
“We could leave it to the heroes.”
“And let it take months? The bases would have moved before then.” Izuku scowled up at the sky, almost wishing flames could leak from the corners of his mouth and curl around his palms right now. “I won’t let people suffer if I can help it.”
Hitoshi raised a fist and knocked it into Izuku’s shoulder. “If we can help it, idiot. I was just asking if you think we’re ready. We still stick to ambush most of the time.”
“I know.” Izuku let out a deep breath through his nose, closing his eyes for a moment. “Even if I wanted to, I can’t ignore this, Toshi. We can’t. Not when we can do something about it.”
His voice was practically drowning in fondness when Hitoshi said, “I know. You wouldn’t be Zu if you did.”
Izuku grinned, curving around until he knocked his head into Hitoshi’s shoulder.
“We’ve got this,” Izuku whispered.
“Yeah we do.”
“So you’ll call Eraserhead for me?”
“Hell no.”
Eh, worth a shot. Izuku spent a few more moments staring up the sky before rolling to his feet. He offered Hitoshi a hand up. They had a plan to make, information to gather.
It was time to get to work.
Notes:
I do show more of All Might’s progress to not being bigoted later! But for now I wanted to get to Kid 12 and move on for more OfA progress (which intertwines with their arc!)
Also! Some of y'all may have noticed, this is now a part of a series! NOLB What Ifs is now a thing, and currently includes one of the villain AUs I talked about last chapter! This will also be where the eventual Inko/Hisashi prequel will be :)
ART TIME!!
Harpy! (By Lilackl)
Jorogumo! (also Lilackl)
BEAUTIFUL Agenda! (by chaoticat)
Chimera sketches! (By Cr0wjay)
Vigilantimals (also by crow!)Next chapter: Daedalus full costume reveal!
Chapter 122: Horizon
Summary:
BADASS TIME LET’S GO
WARNINGS: human trafficking (quirk trafficking in this case) is talked about in this arc, specifically this chapter and the next! I tried to keep it as tame as I could, but just be aware of it
Notes:
HI I'M BACK AGAIN
I leave in 3 days and somehow translated to editing more than one chapter, so let's go :D
Enjoy Mei's costume :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Izuku felt like there was a buzzing beneath his skin.
He hadn’t gone to do recon, actively chosen to keep himself from it actually, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t plan in the meantime.
Mei had set up a table for him in a corner of her workshop. She had built it, actually. It set up in the corner where their costumes were stored, and folded up flat against the wall when he wasn’t using it. That way he couldn’t accidentally jar any of her babies. It was incredibly thoughtful. Izuku had cried when she showed it to him.
She had made it even better by revealing that she has scrounged up some up-to-date maps of Musutafu from somewhere, and printed them out using their school’s giant printer. It was one they weren’t technically supposed to use, but it printed on big paper. Izuku practically tackled her while saying thank you a thousand times.
With it he had a system now, and a little container to keep all his marking things in. Orange bottlecaps pinned to the map were the bases. Green pins and string would be the Sirens and where they’d go. Red pins and string were heroes, mostly patrolling ones and their usual path, along with routes heroes they may take if they were called to the first base. A black pebble one of them had found was taped to the third base; it represented Eraserhead.
Having the visual helped immensely, even if most of the actual planning was in writing. Izuku looked over his map, making plans upon plans upon backup plans. All the while Mei was in his periphery, watching over the recon mission. The only ones on it were Kouji, Hitoshi, and Ochako. Pan, Gorgon, and Harpy.
Kouji was going to use animals and bugs to ask about inside layout and guard patterns. Hitoshi, having never lost—and only improved on—his talent for sneaking, would get inside and confirm whatever information Kouji got. He would stick to the shadows and ceiling beams, avoiding being seen at all costs. Ochako would be their entrance and exit, leaving no trace and acting as their lookout.
That was the plan, at least. From the sound of it things were going well. But Izuku kept his focus on his map and his plans, knowing that if he looked over, anger would burn through his veins like fire. Their masks all had cameras, and Mei was double checking their counts.
Mei kept her voice tightly controlled. Level, calm. But it still shook with something that tempted Izuku to look over every other minute.
He kept his focus on his map. If he looked over, Izuku didn’t know if he’d be able to keep their attack on track. His siblings needed him to be objective, to keep them safe while they saved the other people. He couldn’t do that if he was so angry that he made mistakes. Mistakes could be deadly.
It was in everyone’s best interest that Izuku just focused on making escape route after escape route, attack plan after attack plan, and tuned out his siblings for now.
They were going to call every shelter they could after they had accurate counts. Not tonight, but before they acted on the information. The last thing they needed was to free people and then leave them on the streets. That would solve nothing.
Izuku still had to contact Eraserhead too, to ask if he would help. He didn’t see the man saying no. Or, more specifically, he would help after realizing he couldn’t stop the vigilantes.
Part of Izuku hoped he could recruit other heroes. That way they had one entire base handled, out of their hands and range of worry. Another part of him almost hoped Eraserhead would go under the radar and join them himself. It would be so cool to fight alongside his favorite hero. Even if that was least likely option, Izuku still kind of hoped.
But they needed information before calling him. So Izuku traced alleyways and rooftops, recalling what some of the terrain had looked like on previous runs nearby, and tuned out Mei. They would be fine, he knew they would be. Not only on the recon mission—he had no doubt in his mind that his siblings would be ok—but the raid as a whole. If he planned enough, prepared enough-
It had to be enough.
“I can hear you stressing from here,” Mei said without looking, making Izuku jump. “Stop it.”
Izuku couldn’t help the half-sheepish chuckle that broke from his throat. “Sorry, Meimei.”
“They’ll be fine. We’ll be fine. We know the city better than whoever you’re worried about. You trust us?”
“Of course.”
“Then trust that we know what we’re doing. We’ll get people out safe.”
Izuku nodded, taking a deep, curling breath. He knew she was right. They knew what they were doing, and he could only control so much of the situation. He had to trust that his siblings knew how to handle themselves. They would take out anyone who could hurt the ones they freed, and then leave in time to evade heroes.
It was really only the second base that snagged his mind with the danger involved. If timed wrong, heroes could get there too soon and try to interfere with the vigilantes instead of helping. It would be ideal if they were delayed as much as possible, but the timing was finicky, and Izuku wasn’t too confident in it. Heroes would probably be headed their way the second Eraserhead was done at the third base.
Hence all the escape routes. And maybe a wild goose chase, if the situation called for it. Hm, Izuku would have to make sure his siblings might be ready for that. They really needed to make sure heroes didn’t interfere with the second base. There was, of course, the marginal possibility that some may help. But that also left them very, very close when the job was done. Far too close for comfort.
Izuku would rather not have to break any of them out of a cop car after the raid.
“They’re moving onto the third base,” Mei told him idly. “I wrote down the numbers.”
“Thank you.”
“Gorgon says he can feel you stressing from there.”
“Tell him that he can drink gutter water,” he said with utmost fondness.
Mei snorted, then relayed it. She returned with, “He says go eat some dirt.”
“Maybe I will.”
“Do it, you need the vitamins and minerals.”
Izuku grinned, and turned back to the map. Mei returned to her screens that Izuku wasn’t looking at. Time ticked on and more string got added to his map.
Two weeks. They had two weeks.
Izuku hoped it would be enough.
Shouta didn’t know whether he should be proud of the Sirens or want to wring their necks. Considering he was pretty sure they were the age of his students, maybe slightly older, he felt like his conflicted feelings were justified.
Kitsune had called him shortly after classes ended, when Shouta was already curled up in his sleeping bag on the floor. He had answered only because he saw the contact name.
If nothing else, he was certainly awake after Kitsune finished filling him in.
Tangled bastard fuck, he knew they wouldn’t take the delay well. Shouta himself hadn’t taken it well, glaring at the other heroes in the room that had been skeptical of his information. It had been younger ones—all of them. None of his former students. No, they knew better. But he had been outvoted by a small margin, so the plan was delayed to “double check” the information.
Hizashi had loudly stated where the daylight heroes could shove it while they were in the teacher’s lounge. Shouta had sighed heavily, wondering why on Earth he had been assigned a bunch of younger heroes that had never worked with underground heroes.
He answered his own question by remembering that it was a Musutafu mission, and most heroes tended to avoid the city. Young ones, prideful and reckless ones, tended not to. Either because they hadn’t heard the rumors and numbers attached to it, or because they had enough of an ego to think they alone could change it. That if they were loud enough, impressive enough, they could force the world to see them. A toxic idea perpetuated by hero popularity paychecks.
The system was broken, and Shouta did what he could to change it, but he was one man. One man up against what got heroes paid. Attention and fame would always win over good intentions so long as there was money attached.
Kitsune’s plan complicated things. Missions this big required a paper trail to prevent illegal actions. Missions like this one required documentation and sign offs. Both of which took time. Time they didn’t seem to have, with the vigilantes moving whether he liked it or not.
God, this was why he worked solo. But the situation was too big for him to work alone this time.
Hizashi, simmering down from his anger on Shouta’s behalf, flopped into a chair and over the table. “Couldn’t you just work with the Sirens for this? It’s happened before, and Tsukauchi already knows you meet with them.”
“Temporary truces have happened,” Shouta corrected, “but never a team up on this scale.”
“There’s a first for everything!”
Shouta sighed, and sorted his thoughts. Hizashi voiced one of them before he did.
“You’d help them anyway,” his husband shrugged, like what he was implying wasn’t slightly illegal. “And we both know Nedzu would help you get out of legal trouble.”
“Why yes I would!”
Shouta made a disgruntled sound as he activated his quirk, preventing Hizashi from blowing out another window as he launched himself backwards. Nedzu blinked down at them innocently from the vent above their heads. His whiskers twitched with amusement as he grinned.
“You’re speaking of the Sirens, yes?”
There was no hiding it, so Shouta sighed and said, “Yes.”
“I have rather wanted to meet the vigilantes! I think a meeting with them would be perfect compensation for keeping the Commission off your case?”
Shouta’s eye twitched. He didn’t want the Sirens—any of them—anywhere near Nedzu. The vigilantes were already dangerous enough as it was, they really didn’t need a hyper-smart rat teaching them more. The thought of Kitsune alone learning from the principal was headache inducing.
Shouta didn’t need more nightmares, thanks, kindly fuck off.
“I’m trying to stay above the board,” he stubbornly reminded both of them. “So we’ll see.”
Nedzu, still hanging upside-down from the vent, somehow managed to clap his paws in delight. “Wonderful! I look forward to it.”
And just like that the principal was gone again. Hizashi wheezed as he draped himself across the table again.
Well. Guess Shouta had a maybe-maybe-not legal raid to go plan.
They were ready.
All the preparation were made. Every route and variation had been memorized, every variable that Izuku could think of accounted for. They had tools and tricks and something like guile burning in their hearts. It lurked in their eyes and dripped from their grins.
The Sirens set off into the night, ready to hunt.
There was an angel on the roof.
Not even one of the cute ones. It couldn’t have been a cheribum or something, one of the adorable little babies with wings. Nope! It wasn’t even one of the human-looking angels with wings, pretty with divinity. Or even just a person with a halo.
Because no, of course not. Instead there was a fucking ball of goddamn wings and eyes on the roof.
Haruto would deny until his dying day that he squeaked when the thing landed. He had just wanted a smoke break, damnit, not whatever the fuck this was. They had clients coming tonight for fucks sake.
Then his not-a-squeak drew the fucking thing’s attention. The head—was that even a head?—tilted in his direction. One fuck-off-big eye zeroed in on him. The thing stood, facing him. The wings unfurled, and turns out the angel wasn’t only an actual ball of wings, but it did have many sets of them, on top of however many on their head.
Gold—the angel was gold. Reflecting in the moonlight and glowing like the feathers of their many wings were molten, dripping onto the rooftop like wax. They stretched wide, curling over themselves and Haruto wondered- wondered if he could touch them. Whether they’d burn. Whether he should run. They blocked out the sky and the darkness seemed even deeper-
The thing stepped closer, casual, careful. Like it knew the past and present and future. Haruto took a step back, stumbled, and fell onto his back.
And the angel laughed.
“Aww,” it cooed, and the sound reverberated in Haruto’s bones. “You thought you could run.”
The first base went down with the silence of an ambushed animal.
Mei stood on the roof of a building—a warehouse, cliche but it worked as the drop off point it was—and smoothed out her feathers. The costume had taken forever, literal years honestly, but it was one of her and Momo’s best works. Her most magnificent baby.
Her helmet had been done for a while, the many wings covering her entire head and shielding the screens that acted as her vision. They housed the cameras for her screens too, in the form of multiple hologram eyes with the camera where the pupil was projected to be actually set into the wings. They individually blinked every few minutes. Mei loved them. The one above her head, larger than any of the other ones by far, occasionally glanced around in whatever direction her head tilted. If she wanted it could also project over her torso, to really sell the “ball of wings” things. It was unnerving and perfect.
The rest of the costume, the fabric part at least, was relatively simple. Black cargo pants with many, many pockets and speckled with golden down feathers. Black combat boots with wings on the outside of her ankle, which were also knives that she could draw if it came down to it. Her shirt was a simple black long-sleeve under a bulletproof vest, which had the same feathers studding it.
Black gloves covered her hands. They had tracking nodes in them, which let her interact with her screens without having to rely on the limited control of eye tracking. Over her wrist and forearms were rounded bracers, also with golden wings attached to the sides. Those ones weren’t weapons, but they did contain teeny tiny tracking clips, tranquilizer darts, and razor wire.
It was free storage space, and who was she to pass it up?
The most complicated part—minus the mask, which was a new level of difficult—were her wings. Three pairs of them, attached to a harness. It had buckles across her chest and torso, as well as straps over her shoulders and legs, like a steampunk skydiving harness with additional pockets and metal-feather knives in the built-in utility belt.
The biggest pair of wings were anchored at the middle of her back, near the lower third of her ribs. Their golden feathers were long and light. The other two sets of wings were smaller. The base of one pair was at her shoulder blades, spreading behind her shoulders and mantling across them like a shawl. They were almost as long as her arms, and the smallest. The third and lowest pair were at her lower back, resting at her sides and tight like armor when not in use.
The main wings were each a bit over five feet long. Not nearly long enough to fly by themselves, but they weren’t meant to get her off the ground.
No, that would be the purpose of the small jetpack Mei had built under them.
She hadn’t been able to test it much. Commercial jetpacks existed, obviously, but they weren’t quite as compact as the one Mei had made. And testing it in their backyard was just stupid. Their training grounds—the abandoned building and field—were perfect, but there were only so many times Mei could get away with testing it before someone noticed.
It wasn’t going to explode, probably, so she was fine. She hadn’t even had to use it much. Mei may stay home to run their operation, but she could still keep up with her siblings. The jetpack was just for long and high flights.
So far she had only used it to land on the roof and get them an entrance. It had been even easier than Izuku had planned, since someone was up on the roof already, the door propped open.
It wasn’t as easy from there, but they hadn’t expected it to be.
The Sirens methodically cleared the building, being as quiet as possible. Mei was wound tight as they rounded corner after corner and cleared room after room. She was their vanguard, after all. The only one with bulletproof shields. Or, wings.
That part she had tested. Rigorously.
Momo had been almost gleeful to test out her ability to both make a gun and aim it too. That had been fun.
The panicked yells when bullets only pinged off her wings were gratifying. Mei let her wings rattle as she moved forward, clearing the way for her siblings. The rooms were cleared in short order. When the crack of guns stopped she mantled her wings, carefully, and moved to help with the rest of the takedown.
She wasn’t meant to look friendly, and the captured people needed comfort right now. A job for the rest of her siblings. Mei was made to look like an angel, and there was a reason angels had to say “do not be afraid.” Justice wasn’t meant to be pretty and pandering. Not the justice Mei had grown up with, anyway.
Kitsune came up to her side once things were calm enough, both of them perched on the otherwise empty rooftop.
“The delivery truck should be here any minute,” he idly mentioned.
Mei hummed, considering. “I get the driver, you get the back?”
Kitsune’s smile was all teeth and leaking violence. It was righteous determination and adrenaline-fueled glee. His smile was fire, and the Sirens moths to flame.
“You got it, Daedalus.”
Notes:
I just realized that this chapter tipped NOLB into 400K words oh goodness. And it'll be 6 in September!!
Lilackl made a guess at what Mei's costume would look like before this chapter, go check it out!
DaedalusNext chapter!: New kid :)
Chapter 123: Eclipse
Summary:
Kid 12 time :D
WARNINGS: same as last time, explicit talk about human/quirk trafficking in this chapter. Also mention of blood
Notes:
HEY HI HELLO EVERYONE I'M ABOUT TO GET ON A PLANE!!
Stuff happened, my sister was in the ER for a bit there, but we're all good!! And I'll be on a trip for the next 2 weeks so no chapters (unless?) during that time. Figured this one was a good place to leave for a small bit :)Anyway this one actually took minimal editing, hooray! Enjoy!!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Everything was bright. It had been bright for…well, a while. A burning brightness that chased away the dark. A comfort only in moderation. The light chased away the dark from his cage, also chasing away sleep and whatever little comfort his demon brought. Locked away, the voice had become restless. Angry. All but thrashing beneath his skin and keening for the dark to come back, its comforting blanket.
But the light was there to keep them tame. To keep them docile. The lack of sleep was certainly doing the job to their body, but it made their minds restless.
He wondered if this was what he would be living with now. He already feared the consequences of when the lights shut off, and maybe- maybe that is what their captors wished. They were far from deaf—they heard the whispers around their cage about how powerful his quirk could be, how high a price they could fetch.
If he weren’t so tired, he figured that he would be disgusted. Probably sick. But as it was, they couldn’t dredge up much besides hazy fear.
How long had it been since their body had slept?
He had nothing to do but think. Not many others were kept near them, on account of the flood lights directed at them. One or two, occasionally, both with other darkness related quirks. They were older than him.
Most of them didn’t have someone coming for them.
A few of them did, of course. Many do not go through life without their anchors, their flock. The winding bonds between people a commonality between many. Those were the ones that were the loudest.
They were usually gone first. He had wondered, once, whether they had been freed, or killed. Maybe sold. Maybe traded.
They didn’t wonder about it again.
They didn’t have anyone coming for them, of course. Parents claimed by the endless darkness, a grandfather that threw them to the depths of corruption. They had no flock to speak of.
The foster system had not been kind to them either. Seeing as they had been on the street when they were grabbed, kicked out with screaming and a torrent of vitriolic words biting at their heels.
No, their former foster family would not report their absence. It had already been two weeks. Two weeks of only snatches of sleep. Of growing more restless, of witnessing unspeakable cruelty. Of wondering if today would be the day they were sold, or a hand was raised to them, despite the fear the traffickers exhibited towards them. Because fear bred violence. They knew that much, and they knew it well.
But the thoughts drifted away like a leaf in the wind, leaving behind the haze of dust that had settled into their mind and then taken over. Their emotions were muted, but even still, the ever-present feeling of restlessness rattled in his ribcage and crawled under his skin like ants.
He idly wondered if that’s where the word “antsy” had come from. The thought amused him, as much as it could while he felt like pinfeathers were poking through every inch of skin.
The night ticked on, their lights never shutting off. There was someone in his corner with them tonight. Though he did wonder if their captors realized this person wouldn’t do to be even more unstable from lack of sleep. She had already looked him over like a bag of blood and declared him cute, that his blood might taste sweet, and that she liked birdies.
It was the first time he was thankful that they were in chains. She had apologized a minute later, saying she wouldn’t actually eat him. Probably. She was just so hungry.
He related it to their longing for the dark, as well as the incessant tug of sleep. A rope on their navel dragging down down down. She had nodded enthusiastically at that, so they figured it fit well.
Her name was Himiko. She asked what theirs was.
“We go by Fumikage Tokoyami,” he said quietly, tiredly.
She giggled at it, chattering about whatever she had heard their captors whispering about. Something about hero activity in the last few days. Fumikage didn’t bother getting his hopes up. Heroes had not helped them. Scorn followed the sight of them, the system’s exalted submerged in the burning light of black versus white. They knew nothing of nuance. Nothing of quirks one could not control, nor ask for.
The feeling of restless-escape-I-need-to-be-Free pushed into his mind once more. Fumikage threw a mental blanket over it.
Himiko kept chattering away, apparently just happy to find a listening ear. She was a bit older than they were, apparently. She had ran away after something happened at school. Something involving blood, he figured, from the way she kept mentioning that she was hungry and licking her teeth. Fangs, really. No wonder they wanted to try and keep her docile too.
Although Fumikage wondered, once again, whether that was truly the best course of action. Himiko already seemed inclined towards biting their captors. Less sleep did not appear to be the remedy to that particular issue.
The feeling of escape-question-free pressed into his mind, and Fumikage sent back his exhaustion. The feeling withdrew. Acceptance for their current skill level, and how outclassed they were. Even with an escape opportunity they would not get far. They had nowhere to go, no nest to roost. An alleyway they had grown fond of did not count.
Himiko was telling him what different birds tasted like. He mostly tuned it out, taking care to not indicate the sliver of shadow peaking out from behind his back to listen to her as well. It soothed the restless feeling. A temporary balm. His shadow barely had the energy to listen with the lights and their exhaustion, but Himiko seemed content enough to talk for the both of them.
Her words cut off without warning. Fumikage lifted his head slightly, opening eyes he hadn’t realized were closed to look at her. She was staring intently at the door to their room. There were bars between them and the door, but they could still get an arm and their shoulder through them. Enough to grab someone and yank them closer if need be. They weren’t prison bars, instead made of scavenged rebar welded to metal sheets in the floor. Though they were still plenty strong.
Fumikage was, however, considering whether they were stronger than a very hungry and bloodthirsty teenage girl. Even if they were cuffed to the walls.
“There’s someone coming,” she told him, watching the door with a hunter’s stillness. She licked her lips. “I smell blood.”
Fumikage listened, and heard it. Footsteps, and dragging. Something scraping the ground with the shriek-hiss of metal dragging along cement. It was faint, but growing closer. Himiko stood, albeit shakily, to get closer to their bars. She was taking deep breaths like if she inhaled enough of the scent it would fill her stomach.
Other sounds accompanied it as the footsteps advanced. Small noises they only barely heard through the door. There were no gunshots though, no screaming. Only quieter exclamations of surprise, and then very quiet, dull thuds.
The footsteps grew louder, until Himiko reacted to them. A small twitch towards the door. The noise drew closer, the scraping with it, until it stopped.
Their door creaked open.
Fumikage froze, conscious of his how heart rate began to spike. Another part of him crooned, a tiny spark of hope.
An angel stood in the doorway. Not one with wings, nor pristine white robes, or even a human face. But they were glowing, a halo even in the brightness of the room. Blood was swiped over their fox-shaped face. They held a sword flickering with fire in their right hand.
A closer look showed it to be an escrima stick, not a sword, but the fire was real.
Their angel was dirtied with blood, glowing with fury, but an angel all the same. And when they spotted Fumikage and Himiko, they softened and said, “It’s ok, don’t be afraid.”
Himiko had gone stock-still, staring at the blood smeared across the forehead and muzzle of the fox. They seemed to realize, and whispered something back out the door. Only then did they step farther into the room, confidently striding up to the makeshift door in the bars and the padlock that chained it shut.
The angel hit the lock with his escrima stick, bringing down the butt of it and separating the lock from the chain. The door swung easily, despite how heavy Fumikage knew it was. Their angel was strong.
They knelt down, then. Noting both of their faces.
“I can’t give you blood,” they said quietly, gentleness bursting through the mechanical tone. “But I can have someone bring some. Can you last that long?”
Himiko stared for another second, then shook herself, and nodded.
“Ok, that’s good. Sorry about the blood on my face,” the angel apologized, baffling Fumikage. “I had to headbutt one of the guards here, and their bloody nose got on it.”
Fumikage put the pieces together slowly. He had already figured this wasn’t another captor or owner, but the idea of being free again took a minute to click into place.
“You’re rescuing us,” he croaked.
“Yeah,” the angel nodded, shuffling closer to look at their cuffs and chains. “These will take another minute to get off. Just stay still, ok?”
Fumikage nodded, leaning back against the cement wall once more. The angel lifted his offered hands, cuffed in front of him and heavy to his fatigued muscles, and it was…gentle.
Fumikage didn’t remember the last time they had been treated with such care. Not like they were glass, cautious and hesitant, but like it was a deserved comfort. He didn’t move, just kept his wrists still, but the feeling simmered, burning, in their throat.
The lock came off within a minute of picking, and Fumikage could let his hands move without being dragged down by heavy metal. The angel moved onto Himiko next, cautious but not scared. She only eyed the blood on his mask a little bit.
“We’re about to take the main room,” their angel told them. “But there will be people here to help soon. Either stay here or go out a back door if you can. Help should be outside in a few minutes, but until then others like you will be out there too.”
Fumikage nodded. He vaguely remembered the building layout from when they were dragged through it. A bar and the floor on top of it. Nothing notable, except for the horrors occurring behind the walls.
“Are you ok to get out by yourself?” Their angel asked.
Himiko nodded, already heading towards the door with a moving thank you. Fumikage took a moment longer. He catalogued their body, and the restlessness that was beginning to burn. He glanced at the door, and how dark the hallway was compared to their bright room.
But this angel was freeing others. He had no right to impede them.
“I shall be alright,” he said, willing the trembling to go away as he pushed to their feet.
The fox nodded, short and sharp, ears angling towards the door. The scraping sound had started again, farther down.
“Be safe,” they willed.
And then they were gone, leaving Fumikage on fawn’s legs to stagger towards the door. His shadow writhed under the surface once they stepped into the slightly-less-blinding hallway. It wasn’t enough to do anything. It wouldn’t be able to do anything for a while, he suspected, if their theory of battery-like energy was correct. However, it was enough to be concerning.
If they were thrown into full darkness again, so soon after his starvation and exhaustion, his quirk may become out of control. The wild beast he could not keep caged. The light was all that held it at bay. If it was not tonight—because it was night, a passing window told them that much—then later. It would recover and take out their anger on whoever was around.
Fumikage hated it, and then hated himself for not controlling his quirk, and then hated yelling at his shadow because it always looked so sad.
But they couldn’t stay here. So he stumbled towards an exit, ignoring the distant sounds of gunshots and yelling. They just had to escape the labyrinth. Escape the Minotaur of their captors, and he could call themself Theseus.
The feeling of escape-escape-escape pounded through Fumikage’s head so loud that he didn’t know whether it was his or his shadow’s. Perhaps it was both.
Time blurred beneath their feet, only perceived in step by step by step down the hallway. At some point their hand found a wall. He dragged it along, leaning on it every other step.
One more door, and suddenly they were outside.
Fumikage froze. It was warm outside, the kind that wrapped them in a blanket of summer warmth and a vaguely chilly breeze. Scant clouds drifted over the blackened, ink dark sky. Stars were sparsely scattered in the light polluted vastness.
Shadows burst from their skin in threads, coalescing into a mockery of a raven head. Glowing yellow eyes blinked open. Fumikage stamped down on the squawk that rose in his throat as Dark Shadow rose into the air at his side.
“Freedom!” they cawed, a rattling sound.
“Quiet,” Fumikage said, meaning to hiss it, but too tired to dredge up the care. “There’s help, you heard the-“
“An angel saved us!” Dark Shadow squealed, swirling in a loop above their head. Fumikage began walking as they kept talking. “And now we get to nap!”
“Not in the alley,” Fumikage grumbled.
“Of course not, that’d be silly!”
“Please be quiet, we don’t want to alert any foes to our whereabouts.”
“Oh, ok.”
Fumikage breathed a sigh of relief when Dark Shadow listened and fell quiet. His quirk settled onto the back of their shirt, not retracting into their skin but not lashing out. It didn’t have enough energy to. Fumikage felt a wash of gratefulness at that, that he wouldn’t have to deal with anyone else getting hurt.
They staggered their way out of the alley and onto the street, only to stand, blinking, at the surroundings. People were gathered in clusters, many cars blocking the road on both sides. Blankets and water were being handed out. There were no heroes, not obvious ones at least, only people in some sort of uniform. No police either. Though there were sirens in the distance, heralding their impending arrival.
Fumikage found his feet…still. He didn’t move closer, despite his desire to be free and away from the terrible place behind them. The people there—help the angel had called upon, if they were correct—were providing aid.
He didn’t want to hurt them.
“I won’t hurt them if they don’t make us angry,” Dark Shadow huffed, feeling Fumikage’s thoughts, his emotions.
“I can’t trust that.”
“I won’t!” his quirk insisted.
Fumikage was silent. He could not control his quirk, a weakness he refused to allow a longer leash. He could not control it, so he would not go closer. They needed someone that would help him. Someone strong enough to control his quirk, control him. Just until he could learn. Just until someone could teach him control, and make his quirk listen like everyone said it should.
He saw a flash, in the corner of his eye. A turn and—the angel. Glowing green, moving so fast they were a blur. Others followed. Many followed. Different colors and different shapes.
The building behind Fumikage was silent. Empty.
Defeated.
The angels—or whatever they were—had freed the entire building. There was no sound to be heard. And there would be, should only a few have been freed. Especially not with dozens outside of the building.
They probably weren’t heroes. Heroes tended to stick around, to revel in the fruits of their labor in front of cameras. These ones were running. Retreating. Avoiding the sirens creeping closer.
Strong. They were strong, and smart. And probably more words but Fumikage’s mind only produced the foggy feeling of safe.
He turned to the retreating blurs. The last one was just clearing the chasm between buildings over their head. Fumikage took a step. Another. Another and another and another, faster and faster, until he was running as fast as his tired feet could carry him. Dark Shadow squawked from the back of his shirt, asking where they were going and why they were running. Fumikage raced after the glowing blurs, the speeding fireflies flying across the rooftops.
His legs were already screaming, his lungs screeching the same tune. It hurt, it hurt, but he had- he had to follow them. They would be safe and maybe- maybe it was stupid but Fumikage was tired of hurting others and tired of being seen as Other and Mutant because of their features.
A fox wouldn’t judge a bird. The angel had already showed mercy, Fumikage just hoped—prayed—that they would show it once more.
Notes:
A WILD TOGA APPEARS! To clarify, she won’t be a part of the plot yet, but I know y’all have been wanting to see her so she got to show up <3
TOKOYAMI TIME BABY!! I have been SO EXCITED for their arc!! My boys!! AAAAA I love them and I'm SO excited for their arc!! Genuinely I had SO MUCH FUN writing them
ART TIME!!
Siren Doodles! (by cr0wjay)Next chapter: Back to the vigilantes :D
Chapter 124: Little Bird, Little Bird
Summary:
Child(ren) Acquired
Notes:
HI HELLO SORRY THIS TOOK A MONTH. Y'all I have been through the wringer. So I went on my trip, which was super fun!! I loved it!! Then came home and the following happened: (TW for medical talk and kinda disturbing thing)
1. Got super nauseous at work "for no reason."
2. Immediately got a fever the day after working. Fever does not go away for 5 days, and in fact gets worse, so I go to urgent care.
3. I have pneumonia. Get antibiotics for pneumonia.
4. Get blisters on my lips and entire mouth. Can't eat basically anything. Go to urgent care again. Told it's probably a secondary fungal infection, given an antifungal.
5. Urgent care doctor calls me at 9PM and tells me to go to the ER, because I may be having a rare reaction to the antibiotics/pneumonia called Steven-Johnson syndrome, where your skin kinda just. Detaches. And the blisters on my lips looks similar enough that the doctor was concerned.
6. I win shortest ER visit in my family because I did not in fact have that.
7. I am, however, allergic to the antibiotics I got. Which I was given as an alternative to the normal ones because I'm already allergic to those. AND I got a fungal infection on top of the allergic reaction
8. It takes another week and a half for my mouth to return to normal. Like literally just a few days ago I was finally able to eat a full meal. And texture/taste is still not back to normal.Anyway definitely could've been WAY worse but the ao3 author curse apparently decided to smack me with a bat. Not to mention I had been preparing to go to the ER Anyway because my grandma had been admitted for stroke risk (she's fine now we're all good! She just ran out of blood pressure meds and forgot to order more, none of us realized she needed them that much). But yeah if I ever need medical angst I now know what to inflict on the character lol
Anyway enjoy the chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Izuku hummed to himself as the Sirens ran back home. He paused, just for a moment, to glance behind them. A few of his siblings had already picked up on what he saw.
For the ones that hadn’t noticed, he said, “We seem to have a tail.”
The rest of them began sending looks back too. Mei, gliding on her jetpack wings, spread her shield-like feathers wider, bristling.
“Not a hero,” Izuku clarified. “I think it’s someone from the second base.”
“One of the ones we freed?” Momo asked curiously, glancing over mid-jump a few buildings away.
“I think so.”
Izuku landed his next jump and took a few jogging steps to slow down, eventually coming to a stop. Three of his siblings immediately landed beside him. The rest of the Sirens slowed on their respective rooftops as well, watching and waiting. Listening for his verdict.
“I think we should see what they want,” he said. “They aren’t keeping up, but they seem to be pretty good at guessing what streets we’ll be down.”
“Did you see what they looked like?” Mina asked, leaning over the edge of the building.
“No, it’s too dark and they haven’t gotten close enough.”
Mei mumbled something, her hands waving in the air. Izuku found it fascinating. It looked like she was casting a spell or something, even though he knew she was controlling the screens in her mask.
Then Daedalus fell still, her hands hovering, lowering a fraction in hesitation.
“It’s a kid,” Mei told them. “Mutation quirk, has the head of a crow. They kinda look dead on their feet.”
Izuku’s ears tilted forward as he leaned closer to the edge of the roof, like he could see them from here. The bird head kid—he had freed them right before they took the main area. Skinny, no eyebags to see because of their feathered head, but moved in a way that practically screamed the brink of total exhaustion. With the extra bright lights in the room, Izuku wouldn’t be surprised if the kid hadn’t slept much at all since being grabbed.
Probably not a danger to him. And if they were, Izuku had his siblings behind him.
“I’m going down,” he told them, already moving to slide his way down a pipe.
“At least wait for backup,” Hitoshi groaned over their coms.
“Nope!” Izuku chirped cheerfully, feet already on the cement. “Don’t scare them.”
There was a round of grumbling, but no one else joined Izuku on the ground quite yet, so he considered it a success. Mei directed him down an alley or two, which let out onto a main road. The sidewalk was otherwise abandoned, with no cars running along the road, but the kid was a block or so down. Their black feathers blended in well with the darkness. That didn’t cover how they were a bit hunched over though, hands on their knees and breathing quick as a scared, exhausted rabbit.
Izuku quietly made his way closer. He froze when the kid didn’t move, but something on their back did.
A swell of darkness rose from the back of the kid’s shirt. Two glowing yellow slits in it resembled eyes, and they were starring directly at Izuku. The shifting shadow batted at the kid’s head, not moving from watching Kitsune. They looked up with glassy eyes.
“He-hello?” They called, blinking rapidly in an attempt to clear their vision probably. The kid stood up straighter when they actually saw Izuku. “Oh.”
“Hello again,” Izuku said softly.
He kept his feet where they were, taking the time to look over the kid. Their feathers were a mess. They were also still breathing heavily, which was to expected if they had ran after Izuku and his siblings this entire time. Probably very hungry, very tired, and about ready to collapse. And yet, they had ran after the Sirens.
Izuku’s mind itched to know why.
“You ran quite a long ways,” he said, tilting his head to the side curiously. The shadow copied the movement. “Were you turned away outside the base?”
The bird-boy shook his head, seeming to still be gathering their bearings. “No- no I…I did not go to them.”
Hm. Well that was interesting.
“Why not?”
“I…” they trailed off, obviously having an internal debate. But then they pulled themself up straighter, and looked into Kitsune’s eyes. “I ask for protection and…guarding, I suppose. I- my quirk…”
Izuku shifted his gaze to the shadow. It tilted its head the other way, a repeat and mirror of what Izuku had done before. A bird head and a shadow quirk was very interesting. Not necessarily rare, but certainly not common to have both a physical mutation and manifestation one.
“Why would you need guarding?”
The kid sent a cautious glance at the shadow, which was hovering over his shoulder. “My quirk is weak, currently, from the bright light draining its power. However, once its power is restored I may not…I cannot control it. It is a weakness I have yet to overcome, and if I am in the dark I cannot promise safety to those around me.”
Izuku took in a sharp breath, realization hitting him. “You want us to guard others from you, not protect you from others.”
“Yes,” they nodded. “You are strong. I- I understand that it is a burden, but I do not know of anyone else that might help…”
“What’s your name?”
“…Fumikage Tokoyami.”
“And I’m Dark Shadow!”
Izuku startled, gaze snapping to the shadow hovering over Tokoyami’s shoulder. It twisted in the air, swooping closer to Izuku. Closer now, he could make out feathery shapes resembling Tokoyami’s on the head, and a beak-like shape for its mouth. Also like Tokoyami.
“It’s nice to meet you both then,” he said calmly, holding eye contact with Dark Shadow. “Did you name yourself?”
“I did!” They chirped, swirling in the air in front of Tokoyami, beak curving into some approximation of a smile. “We were very, very little! Fumi wanted it to be our hero name too!”
Izuku flicked his eyes to Tokoyami, who was looking at Dark Shadow too, and looked…confused, actually.
“I don’t remember that…” he muttered.
“Fumi was very tiny,” the shadow whispered to Izuku, in a way that was actually louder than normal talking. “He doesn’t remember sometimes but I do, especially when we were very small and-“
Dark Shadow squawked as he was physically tugged backwards, which was both interesting and concerning. Tokoyami looked flustered as he wrestled with his shadow.
“I’m sure the very important angel doesn’t need to hear about our past,” he hissed, the sound not dissimilar to a corvid caw.
Izuku did have to stifle a short laugh at that. “Angel?”
Tokoyami’s feathers all fluffed up at once, which was both hilarious and adorable. And a very visual indicator of being flustered when paired with avoiding Izuku’s eyes now. “I do not know what you are, just that you saved me. Angel seemed appropriate, as you do not appear to be a hero nor a villain. Your face, as well, is not human.”
“You’re mostly right. Though this is a mask, unfortunately.” Izuku bowed shortly, the eloquent way the boy spoke seeming to fit the action. “I apologize if that’s one reason you chose to follow us. Two of my teammates have mutations though, and none of us would turn you away because of yours.”
Tokoyami nodded, hiding his disappointment well. Dark Shadow, however, did not, and visibly wilted out of Tokoyami’s hands with a sad noise.
“We’re vigilantes,” Izuku continued. “So you were right about that; we’re not heroes but not villains either. Either way, it’s nice to meet you, Tokoyami and Dark Shadow. Could you tell me more about why you’d need guarding?”
“Dark Shadow gains strength with the dark, and becomes uncontrollable. It is prone to emotional outbursts and lashing out. I- I am…I am tired of harming others. So I humbly ask for you to keep my power at bay.”
Izuku took a deep breath, and choke down his many questions. He had to focus. Not on how Dark Shadow seemed sentient, but how Tokoyami talked like they weren’t. Not on how the combination of mutation and emitter was fascinating.
Later. He could ask later, probably. But first-
“Do you not have someone to help already?” Izuku asked gently. “Parents? Siblings? Friends?”
Dark Shadow wound himself around Tokoyami’s neck like a dark scarf, crooning sadly. Tokoyami himself had found a pebble to stare at.
“No, I do not,” he answered. “I…had a foster home. However, they decided I was…unseemly. And unruly. There will be no one coming after me.”
Izuku shifted his weight, his hologram tails lashing and his mechanical ears angling back. He hated the resignation in Tokoyami’s voice. He hated the familiar story, and the implication behind the words. Should the vigilantes prove to be just as bad as villains, or an extremist hero that would just take out a threat before it became a large one, then no one would look for Tokoyami. No one would report him missing until his social worker noticed he was gone.
Considering he had obviously been trapped in the quirk ring for a while, and he had chosen to chase after vigilantes instead of being noticed immediately, that still wouldn’t be for a while.
“I swear one day we’re rewriting that entire system,” Izuku growled. He immediately cut it off when Tokoyami flinched. A small thing, but Izuku’s sharp mind still noticed. He immediately softened his voice. “Sorry, I’m not angry at you. Just wait one minute, alright?”
Tokoyami nodded, looking slightly confused, but obliging.
“Cool. Gorgon?”
His brother’s voice appeared above him instead of through the coms. “Already here.”
Both Tokoyami and Dark Shadow jumped, whipping around to stare at Hitoshi, who was crouched on a window ledge above them. He slid off and onto the ground eight feet down, slinking back to his feet easily.
“You are…also a vigilante?”
“Yep,” Gorgon said. “And you’re worried about hurting someone?”
“Yes. Can…can you help?”
“Eh, depends on something, but probably. You really don’t have anywhere else to go?”
“No. I apologize for the-“
Hitoshi waved a hand, making it seem casual for all the tenseness that wound through the rest of his rigid muscles. “Nope, no ‘sorry’s. Yeah, it’s a surprise, but if Kitsune didn’t immediately ping you as a bad dude, then you’re probably fine. Either we keep you or we find a good place for you later.”
“Keep us?” Dark Shadow asked, floating a bit closer to Hitoshi.
“You wouldn’t be the first stray we’ve picked up.”
“Hey, you can’t blame Jorogumo on me,” Izuku protested, laughing halfway through his sentence. “Ares and Basilisk found her first.”
“And yet who offered to bring her home?”
“Hey they were about to anyway, I just beat them to it.”
“Still brought her home,” Hitoshi singsonged.
Tokoyami looked between the two like it was a confusing tennis match. “How many vigilantes are there? And what place of madness houses multiple?”
“Wanna come find out?” Hitoshi offered, reaching out an open hand.
Tokoyami hesitated, eyeing the hand and the two vigilantes. Dark Shadow blinked—a weird movement when its eyes were just glowing shapes—and then chirped. The shadow dove for Hitoshi’s hand and wove around it, almost nuzzling his arm. Hitoshi very visibly struggled to not reach out and pet it like a cat.
“We can help you learn about your quirk,” Izuku offered. “And we’ve kept foster kids safe before.”
“I…would be amenable to that.”
Izuku grinned, and offered his own hand to Tokoyami. The other boy took it gingerly. Dark Shadow was still wrapped around Hitoshi’s arm, head now laying on the still-raised hand. Hitoshi had given up the fight and carefully patted the shadow, his eyes widening when it seemed to be solid. And soft, if the wide-eyed look Hitoshi shot Izuku meant anything.
Izuku turned down the street, gently pulling on Tokoyami’s hand until he began to follow. They were close enough to not need to take the train, thankfully. It would take a bit to get home, especially with another person with them now, but still well within the time they usually arrived. The only worry were heroes catching up.
“Daedalus,” Izuku said outloud, drawing Tokoyami’s eye. “You’re keeping an eye out for other pursuers, yeah?”
“Of course I am,” Mei scoffed.
“Good. We’re taking it slower tonight then. Unless anyone wants to run ahead.”
Mina’s voice was the next to filter through his helmet. “If you make me walk home I’m going to explode.”
“Same, man,” Eijirou chuckled. “I think we’ll just run home then…?”
“Be free,” Izuku joked. “See you there.”
There was a loud whoop over their heads, and then a few blurs went racing away. Izuku counted five. Mina and Eijirou, he knew, and from the look of it Katsuki and Hanta with them, as well as Kouji. That left Hitoshi, obviously, and Mei, Ochako, Momo, and Shouto.
“Silver lining,” Hitoshi drawled from behind Izuku, “we don’t have to be the ones to tell Hades, Persephone, and Khione.”
“True.”
Tokoyami glanced between then, but stayed quiet. Dark Shadow perked up though, hovering above Hitoshi’s arm a bit.
“Who are they?” Dark Shadow asked.
“Our mentors,” Izuku happily told. “Who we don’t talk about by name out in the open, since that could put them in danger.”
“Cool!” Dark Shadow chirped.
“Interesting,” Tokoyami hummed.
Izuku shrugged, grinning. They would learn about their parents soon either way. And that the vigilantes that had just raided two bases for quirk trafficking weren’t quite yet teenagers. Some of them had already turned thirteen, but a few of them hadn’t. Katsuki still hadn’t stopped holding it over their heads that he was technically the oldest of them.
Which did bring Izuku to one of the questions buzzing around his head.
“How old are you?” he asked Tokoyami.
“…how old are you?”
“We’re twelve!” Dark Shadow chirped. “Our birthday is in October! I was born with Fumi so I’m twelve too!”
Izuku hid his laughter, hoping his mask wouldn’t give away the way he was struggling to keep it in. Tokoyami looked frustrated, and maybe a bit scared behind it. That wouldn’t do.
“Can I tell you a secret?” Izuku whispered.
“I…suppose?”
Izuku leaned in close, keeping his voice as quiet as it would go. Dark Shadow hovered close to hear as well. “We’re only a bit older than you two.”
Tokoyami and Dark Shadow were both left blinking in confusion. Izuku smiled happily, content to let them process that information as they kept walking in the direction of home. They’d have to take to the fences once they got close enough. That or change out of costume in an alley, though that came with its own risks.
Ah, they’d cross that bridge when they got to it. For now all Izuku had to focus on was getting their potential new siblings home.
Eijirou had been a vigilante for a few months now—closer to a year actually—but he had never done anything bigger than surveillance with the Sirens. Most of them hadn’t done anything more than that. He had stopped plenty of muggers, stolen a lot of drug money, and gotten a shitton of assholes arrested.
But the raid had been their first big thing.
The first base had been almost…easy? Eijirou had wondered if it was supposed to be harder. They quietly knocked out or gagged every person in power there, then moved onto freeing the captives. By then the agencies his friends had contacted had began showing up. The eleven of them had then slipped out just as quietly, all too aware of the clock suddenly ticking over their heads.
It was only a matter of time before heroes showed up.
Eijirou still wasn’t quite used to running from heroes and cops, but he had to admit, it was kinda fun. Getting caught wasn’t even that big of a threat! Not when his boyfriend—and the rest of his friends too—had all been very clear that they would break him out as fast as they could if he did. Katsuki had even admitted that he had practiced how to break someone out of handcuffs after they started their nighttime job.
So he wasn’t worried. It was an odd feeling, knowing what they were doing and being so focused on it that Eijirou didn’t really care about consequences. Besides outrunning them, maybe. But still.
The second base had been a bit more of a challenge. Eijirou had to use his quirk more. He even got to test Mei’s theory that he was bulletproof! That hadn’t been fun, exactly, but at least now he knew! And after the first success he hadn't hesitated to put himself in the lead to protect his friends.
He hadn’t even realized he did, actually. Not until all the villains with guns were down, and his friends were just beginning to file into the room behind him. Then he had a minor freakout because he did that.
Maybe…maybe he was becoming brave, like he had always wanted. Maybe Eijirou could call himself truly manly now.
He didn’t dwell on it too long, not with the work still left to be done. The captives still had to be freed. The Sirens still had to make it out. There was work to be done—a raid to survive and escape, and then he could celebrate.
Katsuki, who had been somewhere behind him, was quick to yank him closer and slam their foreheads together. It didn’t hurt, thanks to their masks doubling as Mei-grade helmets, so the intent got across without a concussion. Eijirou couldn’t help the joyful laugh that escaped him. Ares’ mask showed a grin, a bit manic and adrenaline-high but definitely a grin.
“You did fucking amazing,” Katsuki praised, letting Eijirou go with one last bonk.
Eijirou couldn’t help giggling again, smiling just a touch sappily. “I love you.”
Katsuki froze, stalling for a second. Then he almost bowled Eijirou over in pursuit of hugging him. When he leaned away again the two stared at each other, the world fading away for a moment. Eijirou had said that he loved Katsuki before, but his boyfriend still reacted like he had handed him either a live bomb or a puppy. It still took him off guard, nearly every time, and it was hilarious.
For all that Eijirou liked to say it at funny moments, this wasn’t one of those times. He had just been overwhelmed with the need to say it.
“I love you too, you fucker,” Katsuki said fiercely. “Now come on, we have people to free.”
Eijirou nodded, happily going off to do his own thing. They both knew the clock was ticking lower. None of them knew when heroes might reach the base, but it was inevitable. The agencies contacted to help the displaced people knew the address. One of them would give up the address, and the vigilantes would have to run.
But their work was almost done. That was all they had been hoping for. They had all outrun heroes before, so they’d be fine.
When the last villain was gagged and tied up, Kitsune gave the call to evacuate. Eijirou reassured the person he had been guiding outside, left them in the hands of a mildly-bewildered worker, and then scaled the nearest wall. His hologram wings flapped, not providing any help but looking manly as heck while he did it.
The singleminded focus began to wear off as they ran. The adrenaline didn’t though, leaving Eijirou absolutely buzzing even as they were running.
They had done it! Eijirou had done it! They had taken out two whole bases, and none of them had gotten hurt. Eijirou had learned his quirk was technically bulletproof, though it had left him with some nasty bruises and a few nicks under his costume. And none of them had gotten caught by heroes! Mei’s costume also hadn’t had any malfunctions, which she seemed pretty happy about.
Pausing to talk to someone who had been chasing them was…well, Eijirou couldn’t say he was surprised, necessarily. It was about time they found someone else to bring home.
However if Eijirou had to hold still for another five seconds he was going to combust. His bones were buzzing. The adrenaline demanded he move or else. He didn’t know what that “or else” was, just that he was about ready to start spinning in circles if they didn’t hurry up.
So when Kitsune joking told them “be free,” Eijirou took the opportunity with both hands and ran.
He came to the conclusion, airborne and laughing, that this was what freedom really tasted like.
Most of the news articles the next day were on the Sirens and their takedown of the trafficking ring. Some condemned their license-less actions, other praised them. Some tried to attribute it all to the heroes—namely the daylight Musutafu heroes Eraserhead had convinced to help—that took down the third base.
A few, mostly the gossip columns, focused on Ares and Dragon apparently saying “I love you” before fleeing the scene.
Katsuki was banished up to the roof until he stopped blowing up his siblings when they teased him for it.
Notes:
Admittedly I haven't edited this one super closely, because I'm tired but wanted to get this out for you guys, so let me know of y'all spot any errors! Also my T key remains half broken so any missing Ts can be blamed on that lol. Anyway I hope you enjoyed <3
ART TIME
Jorogumo (by Lilackl)
Light and Dark Athena (also Lilackl)
Siren Doodles(by littleshyartist)
Daedalus, inspired by Lilackl :D (by Starbumbum)See you guys next time! Have a good day/night <3
Chapter 125: Fly Through My Window
Summary:
The children make it home.
Notes:
Good day everyone :D
Why can I not give kudos to bookmark notes, y’all are so sweet. To the person that said they still get my version of ring around the rosie stuck in their head: that absolutely made my day <3 also you got it stuck in MY head and I discovered it sounds nice and creepy in an echoey room when I sang it at work lol
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The vigilantes were human.
Fumikage had watched the remaining ones as they headed to their base. They spoke quietly, but laughed loudly. They were rough with each other, but gentle enough for it to be affection. They were powerful, and yet, remarkably human.
They didn’t know what to make of that.
The vigilantes had enough power to protect themselves and others from Dark Shadow. But they were human, fragile in the end, and Fumikage was so tired of fearing for others around his quirk. Dark Shadow kept pushing annoyance and reassurance in equal measure at him for his melancholy thoughts. Fumikage wished he had enough energy to force his quirk to retreat into their skin again, but he was struggling to just stay on their feet as it was.
Dark Shadow also kept glancing at Kitsune, and then practically shoving wary-watching-he-knows into Fumikage’s half of their mind. The mixture of feelings was disconcerting. Being wary was self explanatory. Watching had always been a very clear feeling, which Dark Shadow had wordlessly told him of quite often in their life. It felt like ants crawling through their feathers and over his skin. He didn’t quite know what he knows meant, though the feeling was also distinct.
Fumikage had glanced over as well, a few times. Kitsune had either been talking with one of his partners or looking at their surroundings. The vigilante’s body language gave away nothing.
The city proper turned into a neighborhood between one street and the next. The rest of the vigilantes joined them on the ground, and Fumikage took them in with the speed of the sleep deprived person that he was. Daedalus—the one with wings—took him the longest to comprehend. They looked like an angel. One that people spoke of with many wings and eyes.
He wondered, under their masks and armors, which of them had the mutation that Kitsune had spoken of. It could be any of them. None of them looked human in an outward manner, as a part of their disguises no doubt, and barely showed their skin underneath. Quite clever. There was no tracing their identities if their face and true voice was never shown.
The one with metal snakes for hair—Gorgon, if he was remembering correctly—began walking at their side at some point. They did not reach out to touch them, just stayed close. It took Fumikage a minute to realize it was because he kept drifting to the side. Likely out of sheer exhaustion.
“We’re going to have to climb some fences in a minute,” Gorgon warned them, electronic voice distorted but even. “One of us can carry you if you need it.”
Fumikage nodded, Dark Shadow following the movement by resting on top of their head. “It will not be an issue.”
“Alright dude, just let us know if need help.”
Fumikage nodded, Dark Shadow still resting on top of their head, eyeing the surrounding fences. They were not the widest thing, but he had balanced on worse. Mostly to escape other children. Or to walk on a tree branch. Surely it couldn’t be that different.
They watched as the vigilantes began scaling the barrier. Some of them began running, laughter trailing behind them. Gorgon stepped to the side, giving the distinct air of a joking smirk with a dramatic bow and gesture for Fumikage to go before him. Kitsune very visibly rolled his eyes, but also stepped aside to let Fumikage go first.
“We’ll make sure you don’t fall,” the fox vigilante reassured. “Unless you want to be carried.”
Fumikage only hid his grimace at the idea because of practice. “I will be fine.”
“Ok, just be careful.”
“We’ve done worse!” Dark Shadow chirped. “Like that one time-“
“We’ll be fine,” Fumikage said, swatting at his quirk, who squawked and ducked to hide under their arm instead.
Gorgon couldn’t quite hide the snicker in his voice when he said, “If you’re sure.”
Fumikage didn’t dignify it with a response, instead focusing on hauling themself up on top of the fence. He stood on shaky legs, but still, he stood. Dark Shadow gave a quiet cheer at the accomplishment. Now they just…had to walk.
They had not assumed “climbing fences” meant walking along them like a tightrope, but the vigilantes had already proved to contain a multitude of madness. Fumikage was also too tired to really be surprised.
The first few steps were like walking on wobbly fawn legs. Fumikage didn’t dare take his eyes off their feet to look behind himself, even as they heard another vigilante climb up behind them. Dark Shadow filled him in anyway. The press of behind-us and I’m-watching was reassuring more than anything.
It could have been worse, really. The fence was one of the thicker ones, with a plank on top instead of just thin slats of wood. Fumikage could walk across it without needing a cat’s sense of balance. The vigilantes seemed to have that anyway, with how most of them had already sprinted ahead, but Fumikage was managing. So long as nothing threw off their balance, he’d be fine.
With his focus on the fence and not falling, Fumikage’s minuscule focus on Dark Shadow fell away. His quirk decided to take that slip in control and run with it.
“Where are we going again?” Dark Shadow asked, quieter than Fumikage had probably ever heard the shadowy voice.
“Our base,” Gorgon told them. “Then home to sleep.”
Fumikage felt Dark Shadow nod, in the way he knew without looking that his hands were shaking from where he held them out for balance. “Fumi needs some sleep.”
“Do you sleep?” Kitsune asked, sounding farther back. Gorgon was closer, then.
“Kind of!” His quirk chirped. “I go away into our head again, and if I’m quiet then it’s like sleeping!”
“Huh, interesting.”
“What’s it like for you when Tokoyami is asleep? Can you still come out like this?”
“I can!” Dark Shadow chirped, happy with the attention. “But Fumi doesn’t like it much, because I wake him up sometimes. His side is so quiet when he’s sleeping. Unless he’s dreaming, then it’s like watching TV in our head!”
Kitsune made a curious sound, caught somewhere between intrigued and excited tea kettle.
“You two are very cool,” Gorgon calmly translated.
“Thank you!”
Fumikage kept quiet, still intensely focused on where his feet were falling. He registered the shaking of the fence, the flash of silver and purple in front of him, and then the shaking of the fence again as Gorgon leapt back on. The vigilante calmly walked a couple paces ahead of Fumikage. Presumably guiding them, since Fumikage didn’t actually know where they were going. Kitsune was still at his back.
“We’re almost there,” the fox vigilante said softly. “Doing ok so far?”
“I am well.”
“Ok, just follow Gorgon in a minute when he jumps down.”
Fumikage nodded, and went back to giving his entire focus to not falling.
It was a few more houses down that Gorgon slid off the fence and into a backyard. Fumikage stopped walking, hesitating, debating how to get down. He settled on sitting down on the fence first, then jumping down. Their legs shook when they stood back up, but still, they stood.
Kitsune leapt down like it was merely a step, and led the way to the side of the house, where a shed took up most of the space. The door was propped open, a sliver of warm light shining onto the wall of the house.
Gorgon pushed the door the rest of the way open, stepping in without hesitation. The inside was larger than Fumikage had been expecting. There was a corner of beanbags to his immediate right, set away from the desk, which was absolutely covered in a banquet of metal pieces. Shelves were lines with gadgets. There was a shelf of cubbies along the far wall as well, folded clothes already in most of them.
There were two other people in the shed. One was tall, his head appearing similar to the bark of a tree, but drawing in on themself as they folded their costume. The other had pink hair pulled into a ponytail, yellow eyes already zeroed in on Fumikage. They were midway through hanging up multiple sets of wings on the wall.
“Everyone else is either asleep or cleaning up the studio,” the pink-haired one reported, stare shifting to Kitsune, who was walking in ahead of Fumikage.
“Perfect, we’ll go up in a minute.”
The tall one, done folding his costume and gently putting it in a cubby, signed something to Kitsune. Dark Shadow almost listed to the side by how much it turned in curiosity. They didn’t know sign language, but could recognize when it was being used.
Kitsune nodded, giving the other person a small smile. “I’ll make sure they know. Go get some sleep, Ko.”
Fumikage stepped to the side to allow them to pass. They waved while walking by, headed back towards the house. For a tired moment Fumikage wondered whether they would find a kinship in their mutations. He had found camaraderie in others with physical mutations before, and a part of them hoped for it again.
Then Kitsune lightly touched their arm, drawing attention back to the shed, and to the face of a boy Fumikage did not recognize. A fox mask was held in their hand. It took entirely too long for his sluggish brain to connect the dots.
“Kitsune,” Fumikage stated.
The green hair was shades darker than the glow of his costume, but Kitsune was…remarkably normal. Just as he had realized before, the vigilantes were human. Those eyes though…there was something there. Something off. Knowledge, perhaps. A lot of it.
Or maybe they were just exhausted beyond measure. Fumikage blinked slowly, processing the boy nodding, and his bright green eyes and halo of green hair. The freckles were interesting. Like the constellations the vigilantes found solace under.
“Just let me put this away, then we’ll get you all set up inside,” Kitsune said softly. “My name is Izuku Midoriya, you can call me Izuku if you want though. Less confusing with so many of us.”
A few dots finally, belatedly, connected in their mind. “You are all a…family?”
“Yeah. You’ll meet our parents in the morning, since they’re probably asleep right now.”
“They will not object?”
Kitsune—Izuku—laughed quietly. “No, they’ve figured it’s about time another one came home with us.”
Fumikage nodded like it made sense. Kitsune went about taking off his costume, the under layer of clothes modest and not dissimilar to workout gear. Gorgon also quickly took their ensemble off, revealing purple hair and tired eyes.
“Kouji—the one that just left—he’s selectively mute,” Izuku informed him. “He wanted me to make sure you knew. And we have a cat, Peeve. She may not like you much at first but she’s really sweet, I promise.”
“Alright.”
Fumikage busied himself with looking around. The pink-haired one was fiddling with something on the workbench, but kept casting glances to the rest of them. Probably well deserved, the suspicion, as Dark Shadow was cooing and drifting closer to the shelves.
“Stop that,” Fumikage said. He meant for it to be a hiss, again, but it came out as simply tired instead. Exasperated.
“How about I just take you two inside,” Gorgon suggested. “Zu can meet us up there when he’s done wrestling with his costume.”
Fumikage nodded, grateful. “That would be amenable.”
“Cool, follow me then.”
Fumikage barely remembered moving. He recalled going through a door, up a set of stairs, and getting to the doorway. Their brain turned back on to the sight of the vigilantes—all unmasked, all in pajamas—scurrying about a small room. A bed was pushed into the far corner, two of them working together to put on new sheets. Three were rolling up swaths of white paper. Another few were carrying beanbags out of the room and into another down the hall.
“We tried streaming with a QnA thing,” Gorgon told him. “Had to make sure no one could tell where we were. We sleep down the hall, where they’re putting the rest of the beanbags right now. You said you’ll be fine tonight, right?”
“…yes, Dark Shadow should still be drained enough to not cause issue.”
“Cool. And you’ll be ok in here? We can move you somewhere else if you want.”
“This is fine.”
“Got it. My name’s Hitoshi, by the way. We’ll all introduce ourselves in the morning though.”
Fumikage nodded, wondering when their head began to feel so heavy. Only then did he notice Dark Shadow had retracted to hide under their shirt.
A blur of a minute passed, where one of the vigilantes handed them a set of pajamas and pushed him towards the bathroom. Fumikage felt like he blinked and suddenly they were being wished goodnight. The door shut behind the vigilantes, at his foggily-remembered request, and just like that they were alone. In a new place, but with a bed, soft clothes, and the reassurance of protection.
There were logistics to work out. Kitsune had mentioned parents—Fumikage would have to make sure they were safe. Measures would have to be taken for once they recovered. Warnings were to be given to the vigilantes and accompanying parents.
But for now, Fumikage was tired. His bones felt heavy and his eyelids had turned into stones. The blankets were soft, and he was warm, and Dark Shadow had retracted into their body. It was quiet and dark and peaceful.
Fumikage was out like a light between one thought and the next.
Notes:
The boys are home!! I love them
Also, I have a new fic out!! A new BNHA fic specifically! If you like Vigilante Izuku with feral befriending tendencies, Toga with no filter, canon I’ve rifled through for parts to rearrange, and want to see me be a nerd about memory then go check out my fic Dendritic Disruption :D (happy ending of course. Wouldn't be a me fic if it didn’t) I just posted chapter 2!
Have a good day/night everyone <3
Chapter 126: Displacement
Summary:
A necessary conversation, on both sides.
Notes:
Hello beloveds!
I have an announcements: I have acquired another job! This does, unfortunately, mean I’ll have way less free time to write and edit. I’ll be able to pay off my students loans way quicker though (round of applause for the US college system everyone (sarcastic)) so you know, worth it. And it may get me hired for a steady fulltime job from there so that’s nice. Anyway! In the meantime I will have one (1) day a week I’m not working, so please have patience with me and getting chapters out for the foreseeable future. I want them up just as much as you guys do, I just physically won’t have the time most of the week :(Anyway! I hope you enjoy the chapter! I love these boys <3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Fumikage woke up feeling like they had been hit by a truck.
Everything hurt, he still felt groggy, and even Dark Shadow felt muted. Time was a soup and moving about as quick as potatoes. Their bones ached. Their souls had been plunged into painful shadows.
The light was also tinted orange through the blinds. Sunrise? Or perhaps sunset? Had he slept too long or not long enough? Fumikage blinked at the golden slats of light, his mind trying to catch up to what had happened and why the wall didn’t look familiar.
Ah, right. The night of chaos. They were free, and had willingly given themselves new chains. New restraints to keep others safe. Lighter ones, with less restrictions, perhaps, than some of their former foster homes. The vigilantes…
Dark Shadow popped out of their skin, hovering over their side. Surprisingly, it kept its voice low. “They checked on us a few times,” it said quietly.
Fumikage made a wordless noise of affirmation that he had heard. He slowly sat up, wincing at the ache behind their eyes. Despicable. Their feathers were also numerous uncomfortable pinpricks from being pressed oddly into the pillow.
The house wasn’t silent. It was an odd thing to note, yet it felt important. There was murmuring from somewhere inside, distant voices on another floor. A car occasionally drove by outside. Birds were quietly singing from a few fences away, a cat meowed from-
From their feet?
Fumikage blinked down at the brown, tabby creature at his feet. Yellow eyes blinked back at him. He vaguely remembered someone mentioning a cat, but only that. Even now the only thought in his tired mind was “oh, a cat.”
The cat meowed again, then turned around and walked out of the room. Fumikage watched it go. A few seconds of watching an empty doorway went by before he realized they, too, could go through and see where it led.
It let out into a hallway. Wood floors, multiple doors. A cat disappearing down a set of stairs.
The stairs creaked, just a bit, when they stepped on them. Fumikage froze at the first sound. The voices downstairs continued though, not even pausing. Sneaky—they could be sneaky. Silent. A shadow.
“Dark shadow, hehe,” his quirk giggled.
“Shush.”
Dark Shadow repeated him in a high-pitched, mocking manner, which Fumikage ignored. He crept down each step, pausing to listen every few seconds. The vigilantes seemed nice, but old habits die hard. They clung to his psyche and made him cautious. Careful. Fumikage would tread lightly until he knew more.
They had been hurt too many times to trust quickly.
Downstairs looked different in the daylight. Fumikage didn’t really remember it in the first place, but it was…nice. Not very remarkable. There were a lot of people on the couches and at the table he could kind of see in the kitchen.
Lots of pictures hung on the nearest wall. Fumikage got distracted looking at them, trying to remember which faces he had seen before going to sleep. Only two were ones he actually recalled. The mutant, with bark-like skin, and the green-haired one with bright eyes. There were many, many more along the wall though. Faces he barely recalled, and names that, even if he had learned, slipped through his mind like water through a sieve.
But there were just…so many. So many pictures, so many people. Various frames of different colors and textures and origins. A parade of familial pride marching down the wall.
The one with pink skin and horns caught his attention the most. Presumably the second sibling with a mutation that Kitsune had mentioned. Dark Shadow obscured his view of one particular picture by flying closer and all but pressing itself against the glass.
“Stop that,” he hissed, pulling Dark Shadow back. His quirk made a grumbling noise, but nothing louder.
Later. They would observe the pictures later. An image would rarely tell them everything about a family, but it could certainly help make the picture clearer.
For now Fumikage turned towards the sitting room, where he saw a flash of green. He was left blinking in slow confusion, though, when the face he was met with was not Kitsune. Or Izuku, if they were remembering correctly.
She must have felt their eyes on her, because the green-haired woman looked up, directly at Fumikage.
He felt the instinctive urge to skitter away bubble up beneath his feathers. Dark Shadow ducked behind their body, only peaking over Fumikage’s shoulder with its yellow eyes. They couldn’t run—didn’t, because it was inadvisable—so instead they froze.
The woman—perhaps Kitsune’s mother?—didn’t change though. She didn’t look surprised that he was there, nor angry that he had apparently slept away most of the day. Fumikage wondered how quickly that might change. The vigilantes had promised safety—did it extend to the adults? Their presumed parents?
Movement finally had him breaking eye contact. The purple-haired one—what was his name Fumikage couldn’t remember and that was dangerous—Hitoshi, Dark Shadow offered to his side of their mind—got to his feet and walked towards them. He looked calm and nonchalant, easygoing.
“We left some dinner for you,” he said. “Come on, everyone else is in the kitchen anyway.”
Hitoshi turned and walked towards the kitchen, only pausing to glance back and wait for Fumikage to follow. They followed without thinking about it. With a mind still addled with exhaustion, it was best not to dwell on fears. For now, at least. Fumikage had no need to feed his quirk. Not when he himself was too weak to reign it in if need be.
The vigilantes had promised safety though. They had freed him, taken him home to their nest. He could show them some trust in return. He could, possibly and potentially, trust the adults a smidge more than his former foster families. Time would tell though, he supposed.
The kitchen was…well. Not quite chaotic, nor loud at the moment, but certainly something. There were papers scattered over the kitchen table, their owners speaking over the surface they rested on. There were five mugs clustered to the side of a half-full sink. A dishwasher chugged along to its left. It was organization mixed with there just being a lot of everything.
Hitoshi b-lined for the fridge, where he pulled out a container that immediately went into a microwave. Frankly, Fumikage cared not for what it contained, merely that it was food. The hum of the microwave became their angels choir.
It was all so…normal. Fumikage glanced over to the kitchen table, trying to figure out which face belonged to which mask. He had no such luck with any of them. Presumably, at least, see as they wouldn’t know without confirmation. That was probably the point.
One of the adults was there too. A father. Though of who, Fumikage truly could not guess.
How many of the vigilantes were related again? Perhaps the wavy hair of the man belonged to Kitsune, Hitoshi, and a few of the others. The green of the mother was close enough to very plausibly be Kitsune’s mother. There had been another woman in the sitting room too, however, and her white hair and willowy frame could also be a mother to a few of the vigilantes.
How perplexing. A mystery, but an intriguing one. So many vigilantes—and by technicality: criminals—under one roof. Yet they had evaded detection, even with all the comings and goings their activities entailed. Kitsune had also mentioned three mentors, had he not? Perhaps…the adults were their mentors?
Intriguing indeed.
The microwave beeped, and Fumikage’s eyes were immediately drawn to it. More specifically to the food Hitoshi was extracting from it. Dark Shadow zipped closer to all but stick its head into the container, until Fumikage pulled it back. Hitoshi only chuckled though, grabbing a pair of chopsticks and handing them to Fumikage.
There was an empty seat at the table. Multiple, actually. With food in their hands Fumikage finally surveyed the occupants. Kitsune, he noted firstly, had an empty seat beside him. That was the one Fumikage took, keeping an eye on the others, incase the choice was a badly made one. None of them batted an eye, however. Most went back to whatever they were doing after a quick glance and welcoming grin in their direction.
Dark Shadow hovered over his shoulder as he ate. Fumikage didn’t think the vigilantes would be cruel, as some of his former homes had been, but one could never be too cautious…He had his own qualms with his quirk, but Dark Shadow made for a good guard. For whatever trials Fumikage had with control, Dark Shadow at least would always protect him and their body. The problems only arose when that protection involved harming others, instead of being a deterrent.
The container of food was very suddenly empty, the chopsticks dully clacking against the plastic bottom. Fumikage was left blinking at it. He hadn’t necessarily been starved after he had been kidnapped, but he certainly hadn’t been fed anything close to well. He only hoped eating that quickly wouldn’t make them nauseous.
He was distracted from the thought by Kitsune—Izuku; he should perhaps adjust to that name instead—putting down a pencil and turning to face them.
“We need to know about your quirk,” he said.
It sent unease skittering under their feathers again, but Fumikage knew it was true. The vigilantes needed to know what they were getting into. So he took in a steadying breath and steeled himself.
“What do you wish to know?”
Izuku suddenly had a notepad and the pencil back in his hand. “Can you tell me a summary of your quirk?”
“Dark Shadow is an emitter type quirk, manifesting in a semi-solid shadow of myself. Its power increases the less light there is, and decreases the brighter it is,” he rattled off. His official quirk description was something he had needed to memorize as a child. “If my emotional state becomes compromised Dark Shadow also gains power. The more power, the more likely it is to lash out.”
Kitsune nodded, scratching away quickly with the pencil. “And Dark Shadow’s sentience?”
“It’s not sentient,” Fumikage mumbled and grimaced.
Izuku tilted his head curiously. “Ok. Dark Shadow, would you say you’re sentient?”
His quirk, still hovering over his shoulder, made a humming noise. “Lots of people have said I’m not! But I’m not Fumi and Fumi's not me. What’s that make me?”
“We’re finding that out,” Izuku said gently, then looked back to Fumikage himself. “Who told you Dark Shadow isn’t sentient? I obviously don’t know everything about you two, but Dark Shadow seems to think and mostly move for himself.”
“Quirk counselors,” Fumikage said. “They deemed it my quirk, and under my control. Any lashing out is due to my own emotions. The movement is merely instinctual.”
Fumikage paused, and wondered precisely when their own beliefs had changed. For a while he had resisted what the quirk counselors and various other adults had told them. Vehemently denied it, even. Dark Shadow wasn’t him, and he was not Dark Shadow. They shared a mind but were not the same. Their bodies were even separate most of the time.
Dark Shadow was his quirk, but when had he started to internalize that? When had he started treating his quirk differently?
No, he knew the answer. He just didn’t like to think about it. Dark Shadow never flinched from their memories, but Fumikage did. The first time they truly lashed out was one of those.
Kitsune leaned forward, eyes sharp with something more than curiosity. It was almost like he was regarding them as a puzzle. Their pieces had to fit together somehow, but not even Fumikage could explain how. Perhaps Kitsune had a better chance.
“I’m not a quirk counselor,” he started, “but that doesn’t sound right.”
Fumikage tilted his head, and saw Dark Shadow doing the same out of the corner of his eye. “How so?”
Kitsune suddenly flipped to a different page in his notebook, both full of writing. “I am so glad you asked.”
Fumikage had the sudden clarity that he had, perhaps, made a misstep, due to the looks the rest of the table shot them. Exasperation, but mostly resignation. No anger, but enough glances to know something was going to happen.
“I think that you’re sentient, Dark Shadow,” Kitsune said, entirely sincere and kind. “You said you have memories that Fumikage doesn’t have sometimes, right?”
Dark Shadow shot Fumikage a look, like it was about to be yanked back. Fumikage shrugged, to let it know that he didn’t particularly care about what it said to Kitsune. If the vigilante was to protect them, then Fumikage had a responsibility to confirm or deny the theories.
“Sometimes,” Dark Shadow said, “I keep my memories, but sometimes Fumi doesn’t.”
“Ok, and what’s it like in your head? Dark Shadow, you said you aren’t each other, so you both have separate thoughts?”
“Correct,” Fumikage nodded. “We can share feelings and occasionally thoughts, though it takes some concentration for coherent words.”
Kitsune was writing away at a different page now. “Got it. And can either of you control movement of the other?”
“Not…really. I admit that is a failing-”
“Nope, stop that,” Kitsune scolded. Fumikage blinked in surprise. “Ignore what adults have told you so far. Dark Shadow is not you, so how would you control them like a normal quirk? Your quirk is a part of you—but Dark Shadow can make their own choices, right? Saying that you’re not able to control them is like saying it’s my fault that I didn’t stop my brother from jumping off the porch.”
It…made sense. In a way. Fumikage had never fully accepted that Dark Shadow was under his control alone, but everyone had said it must be true. After long enough the sentiment had crept into the crevices of his mind, flooding his psyche and effecting how he treated the quirk.
If Dark Shadow was sentient, then he had a lot of apologizing to do to his quirk, and a few explanations to seek. It also meant Fumikage wasn’t to blame for lashing out, not entirely, which is perhaps why adults had said Dark Shadow was not in control. They wanted to blame him, perhaps, or at least wanted someone to blame.
Someone to hurt.
But what if Kitsune was wrong? What if his grandfather had been correct, and Fumikage really did just want to pass off the blame?
He shook himself, setting his beak firmly. No matter which way the matter fell, others still needed to be protected from them. The vigilantes could still do that. Kitsune was clever, that much was abundantly obvious, so perhaps they could kill two birds with one stone. Figure out how their quirk actually functioned and learn how to keep it under control.
He had still chosen the best option available to him. The vigilantes were still being welcoming, and could still subdue Dark Shadow if necessary. There were matters to attend to, goings about to arrange, but for now this worked.
It had to.
“If we assume your theory is correct,” Fumikage said, “It does not change much of my reasoning. Dark Shadow cannot be allowed to harm another person, and I cannot go back to my foster home at the moment.”
Kitsune only shrugged. “We’ll watch you then, to make sure you don’t hurt anyone, and make a plan. But right now I think you both need some more sleep.”
“I have only just awoken.”
“And you were running on literal bare minimum sleep before that, you need to catch up,” Hitoshi butted in. “We can talk about all this later—promise.”
Fumikage’s feathers ruffled then resettled, a mix of disgruntlement and reluctant acceptance. Exhaustion was still nestled in the marrow of their bones. Sleep would be beneficial. As much as it would give more power back to Dark Shadow, Fumikage also needed the energy.
Later. They would share more details later.
“Alright,” he acquiesced. “Then goodnight, I suppose.”
A chorus of “goodnight!”s bid him farewell, which he hadn’t been expecting. The others had resolutely ignored the conversation around them, barely reacting to Fumikage sharing about his quirk—though perhaps that was supposed to give them a sense of privacy. It appeared to be in short supply in this home, found tucked in corners and hiding in the grass outside.
Fumikage had lived with worse. He reasoned that the adults had yet to show their true colors, but the children—the vigilantes—had seemed sincere enough. Other children were more likely to be allies under the same roof. There were exceptions, but as a rule Fumikage tended to trust fellows his age over any authority figures.
Their philosophy wouldn’t change just because the other children were more powerful. They had already shown him empathy and a willingness to help. Enough to trust. Fumikage and Dark Shadow would still turn over their words and examine them in the confines of their shared mind though. Just, preferably tucked under the soft sheets he had woken up in.
Yes, this was the right choice. They had survived bad situations before—they would survive this. At least this time he couldn’t be dragged back by his social worker if he chose to flee. The worry of his former home was a tomorrow problem. Perhaps a next week problem, or even a never-again problem.
Ah, if only.
For now Fumikage nested himself back under the blankets, door firmly shut and Dark Shadow keeping watch as they regained energy. He was out like a light.
Notes:
This was the chapter where I realized I actually really enjoy writing Fumikage/Dark Shadow, so that was fun :D
Anyways, remember that chapters will very likely take longer now, since I have another job (3 now, woo) so I'll be getting them up as fast as I can, but that won't be very fast. But I'll be doing my best! In the meantime I have other fics up if you miss me lol
Have a good day/night everyone <3
(also belated realization I forgot about art for this chapter. It does exist but will be moved to next chapter as I realized literally just now, seconds before posting, that I forgot to gather it together. So next chapter!)
Chapter 127: Keep Away
Summary:
Fumikage and Dark Shadow begin to settle, and come upon some realizations.
Notes:
Hello hello I'm back!!
Currently typing with one hand because the dog I'm watching has decided my hand must be scritching him at all time or else my keyboard becomes a pillow and out comes the puppy eyes. I love him. Baby boy. This was meant to be up 3 hours ago lol
Anyway enjoy the almost 6k word chapter :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Kouji didn’t…quite know what to make of Fumikage Tokoyami. He had been in their house for a week now, and a lot of things had become obvious.
For one, he and his quirk had some…issues. Tokoyami was still coming to terms that Dark Shadow seemed to be sentient, and so had to be treated like it. Dark Shadow seemed happy with the development, but the quirk also acted…well, kind of like a young kid. Not quite a toddler, but definitely not like they were thirteen.
For another: there was a reason Tokoyami thought his quirk was dangerous, and he wasn’t exactly wrong.
Dark Shadow was unruly during the night. Restless. Maybe under-stimulated, Kouji thought, but he didn’t have proof of that yet. The quirk had been wound up, ready to snap at them, but mostly it just seemed to be protecting a sleeping Tokoyami. It would be sweet if the quirk didn’t have pretty tangible claws.
Izuku immediately dove into how they could help. One night wasn’t enough to do much of anything, but it was a start. Dark Shadow had seemed pretty happy with the puzzle box for a bit, at least. Even if they had to scoot it into the room using one of Izuku’s escrima sticks.
But the main thing that Kouji noticed, a conclusion he only reached after a week of observation, was that he had a skewed view of how people worked.
Tokoyami viewed most things as a transaction. Maybe a debt. Especially with the adults. He seemed to be working off the assumption that because they were being nice, it would come back around soon. They would ask him to do something and expect him to do it, no matter what it was, because he owed them. Because he should be grateful for the bare minimum.
The realization hit like a physical blow. Kouji escaped the house to just breathe for a minute, to let his thoughts settle. To let the familiar mentality ebb away from his own.
Kouji didn’t blame Tokoyami, not in the least. He knew how being in the foster system could change things. Kouji hadn’t even had the worst experience out of all of them, but he still knew. It changed how a person thought, how they acted, and the choices they ended up making.
It also explained Tokoyami’s immediate trust in him and Mina. Not a lot of it, to be fair, but still more trust than they had in anyone else. Kouji knew why. Mina hadn’t, having never been in the foster system outside of the Midoriyas, until Kouji explained.
Kids with mutation quirks usually stuck together. No one else would stand up for them, or comfort them, so they stuck together out of necessity. Tokoyami’s best bet for friends—or at least allies—in a foster home had probably been other mutant kids. Banding together kept them from getting hurt, or at least minimized it. It was how things worked in some homes.
Mina’s heartbroken look had been hidden in his shoulder, his sister all but collapsing into a hug. Her reassurances that they’d never ever do that were met with his own. He knew they wouldn’t. The years he’d been a part of their family had proved that more than enough.
All that to say, they were working on becoming friends with Tokoyami. Dark Shadow didn’t seem to have any problem treating them as friends after a few days, even if the quirk made it obvious his loyalty was mainly to Tokoyami himself. They protected each other.
Tokoyami himself was warier. He definitely saw them as allies, and as people keeping him safe from hurting others. Handlers, if anything. It left a bad taste in Kouji’s mouth. He could tell it bothered the rest of his siblings too, hitting a bit too close to home for some of them.
Tokoyami also didn’t trust their parents. Not to the point of being hostile, but he kind of just ignored them, which was its own problem. Kouji hoped he would eventually come around. It was only a matter of time, really. Mom and Dad were too nice to resist for long. Aunt Rei would probably draw him in with the impromptu gardening club she had made with Hanta and Eijirou.
For now though, Tokoyami was still partially recovering from being kidnapped and kept awake for way too long. He had slept through most of the first few days. They had collectively agreed to let the boy settle before bringing up any big topics. He deserved to be well-rested before they asked about anything besides his quirk.
Besides, it wasn’t like it was hard to hide him from the law. Not when he really hadn’t gone anywhere besides the backyard yet.
A week meant Fumikage was at least marginally better though. He had been waking up for most meals now, and even joined them outside for a bit! They hadn’t participated in the game of frisbee, which was followed by the fun game of “see who can climb up to the roof fastest,” but both he and Dark Shadow had seemed to enjoy watching, so Kouji called it a win that they got some sun.
Fumikage had looked downright unsettled when they called a family meeting though. Which, fair. Having fifteen people gathered like a war council would intimidate anyone. Especially when Mom had out her Adoption Binder and game face on. The rest of them were serious too, prepared to do whatever they had to for Fumikage.
It seemed like the boy and his quirk hadn’t quite gotten that memo though. Both looked about ready to fly the coop, rigid in their chair between Izuku and Kouji. Dark Shadow loomed over the back of Fumikage, radiating nerves and defensiveness both.
With everyone in a chair—or sitting on the counter with a snack, in Natsuo’s case—Mom started their family meeting.
“Is everyone here?” Mom double checked. “Good. Alright, first, Tokoyami. You want to stay because the Sirens offered to help you control your quirk?”
The bird-boy was quiet for a moment, before slightly shaking his head, taking another second to find his voice. “I requested their aid, not the other way around.”
“And you like it here so far?” Dad asked.
“Yes.”
Nothing more, nothing less. Kouji was kind of expecting it. He hoped Fumikage got more comfortable the longer they talked though, they did kinda need to know what he thought to settle a few things.
Mom smiled gently, voice soft. “I’m glad, Tokoyami. Now, that brings me to our second question. Would you like to stay here?”
Kouji almost chuckled as Tokoyami blinked slowly, Dark Shadow tilting in confusion. “Am I…not already?”
“She means for longer, kiddo,” Dad explained. “And, you know, legally. You can choose where you go. Right now that means you could stay here, as our official foster kid, or we find a place that’ll be able to help you with your quirk. A good one, promise.”
“Does such a place exist?” Fumikage sounded almost wistful when he said it, like the concept was a fairytale.
“They exist,” Aunt Rei hummed. “And if you want to go there instead, no one will stop you.”
“I would…I believe we would like to stay here, for the time being. You have proven to be…kind. And sufficient in keeping my- …Dark Shadow contained.”
Kouji wanted to wince at the wording, but he heard what Fumikage meant. He hadn’t expected them to all be nice. Just strong. The strong did not tend to be kind. They hadn’t cared though, just seeking something to stop the two of them from hurting others.
And they had already done that. The first night with Dark Shadow hadn’t been easy, but certainly no worse than the actual villains they had faced before. The shadow bird had been explosive, but not murderous.
Fumikage deserved understanding and guidance, and if they got another brother or two out of it then Kouji would be more than happy.
Mom noted something down in her Adoption Binder, then flipped to another page. “Alright, I’ll call your social worker later today, and in the meantime we can go to a few stores.”
Fumikage nodded, though he looked surprised at the ease that Mom was letting him stay.
“Now, your quirk,” she said. “Is there anything specific you need for it?”
Fumikage glanced to his side, making eye contact with Kouji. Kouji just nodded encouragingly.
“…nothing at the moment,” he said carefully.
“Ok, you just let us know if that changes though, alright? In the meantime Izuku added some puzzle boxes. Dark Shadow, is there anything you want?”
The quirk perked up at being addressed, floating over Fumikage’s shoulder a bit. “Um, berries? We like berries. And I think I like puzzles, they’re fun.”
Mom wrote down something else on another piece of paper, probably their shopping list. With that done she flipped to another page. Dark Shadow hovered closer to try and get a better look at the binder. Kouji got a front row seat to Fumikage realizing how much was in it. The confusion to shock was always funny to see.
“Cool, ground rules time,” Dad said, and Tokoyami’s attention snapped to him like a rubber band. “Nothing bad, kiddo, don’t worry. Just figured you’d like to have it all spelled out, ok?”
Fumikage nodded, but was obviously wary.
“So, no going in rooms with a closed door without knocking. No going in Mei’s shed without being told you can be in there, it’s up to her whether she trusts you around her machines.”
“Some of them are unstable,” she helpfully added.
“Yes, that. No going through others things, obviously. Everyone has to help with a chore at some point during the week, but that’s between you guys to decide. It tends to switch hands.”
“It’s usually either cleaning or helping make food,” Izuku shared. “We trade them a lot. We’ll show you.”
Fumikage nodded slowly, eyes moving to lock onto Hisashi. “And what if I do not participate in chores?”
Dad just shrugged. “Then you have more chores the next week.”
“Yes, but what will happen?”
Kouji’s heart panged for Fumikage. He knew what the other boy was getting at. He wanted to know what the punishment would be, how badly he would get hurt. It was a test as much as it was a legitimate question.
“If it’s intentional then no TV for a bit, but that’s about it,” Dad said easily. “Maybe no going anywhere until the chore is done. There’s enough of us that everything is spread out though, nothing takes too long.”
Fumikage’s feathers were ruffled, fluffing up like a bristling cat. Just enough to be noticeable. He still nodded though, and the feathers laid flat again. Kouji wondered what was going through their head.
He wondered if Fumikage believed what their parents were saying. He hoped he did, or at least would soon.
“If you don’t want anyone touching something then put your name on it,” Dad continued. “Or hide it, but that doesn’t work as often. I think that was it…”
“Anything else can be handled later,” Aunt Rei waved off. “In the meantime—Tokoyami and Dark Shadow, would you be up for a shopping trip? We would like to get you clothes and whatever you need for your quirk.”
“I would be…amenable, to an outing.”
Mom almost immediately gave the rest of them a firm look, and Kouji sunk back into his chair. He—and most of his siblings—had already began moving to race for the door. Which would probably freak Tokoyami out. They weren’t quite used to the competitiveness of their family yet.
“I’m glad,” Mom said to Tokoyami, voice soft and gentle. “We’ll leave in ten minutes, whoever wants to go can meet out in the car.”
That was their permission to take off for the door, jostling for who could grab their shoes first and get outside. They inevitably had to make a line for the shoes, which took forever, hence the race.
Still. Ten minutes later a number of them were in the van, heading to a few thrift stores. Kouji himself needed some new clothes too. A growth spurt had hit him, just like most of his siblings, and he was finding that he was taller and broader than most of their shared clothes now. Mom kept commenting on them all starting to get taller than her. Kouji himself was already catching up to Dad, and would probably pass him before he hit fourteen.
At least they didn’t have to worry much about paying for the new clothes. Turns out taking money from drug dealers paid pretty well, and so did being paid for information in the Neutrality Bar. The money could go pretty far in a second-hand store. Kouji had never been not worried about how much they spent, so it was weird to not worry about it now. He kept catching himself almost putting stuff back, then remembering it wasn’t actually that expensive, and he could get it if he wanted.
They weren’t rich by any means, but at least now Kouji didn’t have to keep a careful eye on their shopping budget so it wouldn’t cut into grocery money.
He paused, one arm full of clothes, and wondered…would they be rich if there weren’t so many of them? Quite possibly. Izuku could have been a pretty well off kid.
Weird.
Kouji kept rifling through clothes, idly keeping an eye out for his family. They were spread out over the entire building. Mom was with them this time, since she also wanted to look for clothes and picture frames. She had a good eye for prices, and what wouldn’t break immediately.
Kouji pulled out a shirt, holding it up to get a better look. He didn’t recognize the brand. He also couldn’t tell if it would fit right, which Mom was pretty good at judging. That in mind, he set off to find her.
She wasn’t too far. Kouji idly looked at whatever knickknacks he passed, pausing to look at teacups for a second. Still, it didn’t take long to recognize where his mom was by her voice.
Kouji paused right before he rounded the corner. He heard her talking, and he also heard Tokoyami’s voice. Out of instinct he stopped and listened.
“I do not need such frivolities,” Tokoyami was saying, but his voice wavering, like he wanted to believe the opposite.
“But you want them, don’t you?” Mom said gently. “They’re not expensive, sweetheart, you can get them if you want.”
“…I should not.”
“Why not?”
There was a pause, where Kouji debating leaving. Tokoyami started talking again before he moved away.
“…I have told to not give into my…raven-esque urges,” Tokoyami said carefully. “Lest they evolve into something worse.”
Well that’s dumb, Kouji found himself thinking. Mom seemed to think so too, if her quiet huff was anything to go by.
“That’s not how that works, honey. And this is just jewelry, which you would be paying for. Think of it like trade.”
“A…trade?”
“Yes. As long as you don’t start grabbing everyone’s jewelry then you’re fine, don’t you worry. Grab whatever you want and we can buy it.”
“Yes!” Dark Shadow cheered, followed by the sound of clinking metal as the quirk presumably grabbed something. “Thank you, Mrs. Midoriya!”
“You’re welcome, dear. Now, you keep shopping. We’ll meet in the front in a bit, but I need to find some new picture frames. I’ll be over here if you need me.”
Kouji silently scrambled to walk down another aisle when Mom’s footsteps came closer to his direction. He was smiling though, even as he tried to make it look like he had just come looking for her.
It was a step in the right direction for Tokoyami and Dark Shadow both.
Two weeks of living with the vigilantes had been…enlightening, to say the least.
Fumikage had been assuming their charity had been just that: charity. But enough observation revealed that they were kind of just…like that. That’s how they always were. To them he was not a charge or a mission—he was a person. A friend. Which was…odd, to say the least. Fumikage hadn’t had many friends before. He did not know if this was how they usually acted.
It left them feeling wrong-footed. Because if they were not a charity case, or an instance of preventing a danger from wandering the streets, then what were they to the Sirens? Surely it was not as simple as kindness. Surely it was not as easy as being a friend. And yet, the more time they spent around the chaotic family, the more he realized that was just the case.
The Midoriyas were just that—kind. They took him in out of kindness, and not wanting to release him into the foster system because a few of them knew the tribulations of the institution. Even the adults seemed to be…nice. Mrs. Midoriya had allowed him to purchase some jewelry the previous week, which calmed some instinctive part of their mind. They were all silver in color, their preferred metal, though likely not in actual substance. Three of the rings were likely to turn their fingers green within the week.
The gems, however real or not they may be, were all marvelous. Fumikage found himself staring at the rings and his various bracelets out of sheer enjoyment of looking at them. He had three rings on each hand, half of them only metal and the other half with small green or blue gems. They had dug up a few small chain bracelets, and now donned two on their left wrist and one on their right. Some with black beads had found their way onto their wrists as well.
Fumikage had also found a red leather choker that covered a good portion of their neck. That, too, had swiftly been added to their growing hoard. Once purchased they had quickly dug out their new accessories and adorned them on the drive…home. They hadn’t had a home in so long.
The rest of the family had noticed their accessories, of course. Fumikage had been prepared to defend their new belongings. Dark Shadow had too. It was a rare occasion that they received new adornments, and all their previous ones had been stolen at some time or another.
They had once again surprised him with kindness though. Mei had looked at the bracelets and handed him a hairtie from her own wrist, a show of sharing and solidarity. It was also black. Dark Shadow snatched it up quickly, donning it on their own partially incorporeal wrist. It would remain until Dark Shadow retreated into their body. Until then, they cooed over the new accessory, which Fumikage hadn’t been aware his quirk could even wear.
And that was another thing—having to come to terms with Dark Shadows…sentience. A part of him always knew it was true. But that part had been smothered and scorned by every authority figure in his life until now. Even so, it was relatively easy to accept. However, Fumikage still had some adjusting to do, mainly behavior-wise. If his quirk was sentient then he had to treat Dark Shadow that way, not just think it.
Actions have a greater impact than thoughts ever will—Fumikage lived by that. It was part of what kept him safe. Thoughts never saved them.
The Midoriyas seemed to have a similar belief. Through observation Fumikage had seen how much they did, and by listening he learned even more. They were busy, and still undoubtedly powerful, yet compassionate. They were just—nice. Unwaveringly, incomprehensibly nice. Fumikage kept looking for cracks in their facade, some peek into what they were really like, but he found none. No important ones, at the very least.
Everything they found was easy to explain. Anything negative was handled. Tempers were kept in check, energy was run off before it built into something destructive, and freedom was allowed—nay, encouraged. The adults gave them freedom that spoke of trust, not neglect.
They were…having a time, wrapping their heads around it.
The vigilantes seemed ok with allowing them the time to come to terms with…everything. Yet they were not stagnant. Daily, Fumikage and Dark Shadow received updates on, well, everything. His custody had swiftly been transferred to the Mr. and Mrs. Midoriya. His social worker had even shown up at the home, appearing near frantic until she had laid eyes on him. It had been…gratifying, almost, to know she cared at least that much.
Perhaps in no small part due to Mrs. Midoriya reprimanding the entire department. Fumikage assumed he had not been intended to overhear the dressing down the lawyer had given over a phone call, but they had nonetheless. It was the most any adult had ever done for them…
It was also extremely amusing. Dark Shadow liked Mrs. Midoriya as a consequence. Fumikage supposed he could live with the fondness his quirk had for the adult, as long as it didn’t get either of them in trouble. Dark Shadow may have a feeling of friendship, but Fumikage was still skeptical.
The rest of the family was alright though. He had slowly bonded with the others his age, becoming something more than allies. Just slightly. Kouji and Mina—as they had asked to be called, and he in turn requested use of his own given name—were the most enthusiastic about having another mutant-type in the home. The others were just as welcoming, however.
Fumikage couldn’t recall ever feeling…welcome. There were no eggshells that the others walked on around him, no fear. There was hesitance, but all of it seemed to revolve around them not knowing him. Not his quirk, not his reactions. Every bit of uncertainty about them was in response to something they were unsure of his acceptance of. Affection, for example. Offerings of food for another.
But there was no fear. Never fear. Even from the adults. There was always fear around Fumikage and Dark Shadow. It had been there from his grandfather, before being given up, and it remained once he became a ward in the foster system. It haunted them as writing in their file, a ghost they couldn't escape.
Yet the Midoriyas were different. None of them flinched from Dark Shadow, or immediately listened to what he said out of fear.
Admittedly, Fumikage hadn’t known what to do. He was used to adults avoiding him or getting aggressive, both out of fear. But the Midoriya adults had not hesitated to tell him no. They had not shied away from anything that could possibly anger them. They were kind about it, as they seemed with all things, yet did not bow to his whims. Nor did they grow violent or loud. It was…different.
The family in general was different than any other Fumikage had witnessed. Case in point: the games. The brutal games Fumikage had only witnessed between blood siblings before. Anything else had quickly been snapped to a stop, in his former homes. But the Midoriyas—the unrelated but family Midoriyas—tussled like they were unafraid.
Which was precisely how they had, somehow, been dragged into playing some sort of…sport? Competition? Excuse to pummel each other into the wooden flooring of the house?
Fumikage had been napping. Dark Shadow had awoken him to witness the game. More accurately, to assure that the heavy thuds and yelling did not mean danger.
They had walked downstairs only to stare blankly, witnessing Katsuki leap clear over the couch to bodily tackle Ochako, the two rolling around while three other siblings thundered over to try and dogpile the two. It had only resulted in her wiggling out of the pile, some object in her hands, to book it elsewhere. She had drawn up short though, at the sight of them.
A bright smile had donned her face, and Fumikage didn’t know why it sent apprehension prickling up his neck.
“Fumikage!” She cheered, vaulting the coffee table. The rest of her siblings drew to a slower pace, their game paused. “Wanna play?”
“What are you playing?” Dark Shadow asked, borderline excited.
“Keep away!” Ochako chirped. “We have this ball-“ she lifted the foam, american football in her hands- “and we have to get it to one of the adults by any means necessary. Just no claws, acid, explosions, fire, knives, swords, or purposefully drawing blood!”
That was a list mostly made by trial and error, he assumed.
“We try and avoid concussions too,” Hitoshi helpfully added.
“It’s fun!” Ochako reassured them.
Hm.
On one hand, Fumikage hadn’t played a game similar since…kindergarten, he realized. They had been very small. Still with their blood family. Still with grandfather-
Fumikage wrenched his train of thought in a different direction. On the other hand, the game appeared…perhaps not explicitly dangerous, but certainly susceptible to injury, if the flying tackle was anything to go by.
“Let’s play!” Dark Shadow chirped, turning big yellow eyes on Fumikage. “Please, Fumi?”
And his resolve crumbled. His quirk didn’t ask for things anymore, but they were both making an effort. Perhaps…perhaps it would be fun.
“Dark Shadow and I can play?” he asked, just to make sure.
“Of course!” Ochako nodded eagerly. “We just started a few minutes ago. You’ll learn more of the rules along the way, and we’ll probably make some for you too!”
“Do I need to be aware of these other rules?”
“Nah,” Hitoshi added again, having come to stand beside Ochako. “It’s just to even the playing field. Chako can’t hoard the football on the ceiling, for example. She can float and launch herself though.”
“Noted.”
“Cool, in that case-”
Hitoshi quickly darted out a hand, snagging the football from Ochako’s unsuspecting hold. He took off for the kitchen, four other siblings immediately jumping into action and diving into his path. He dodged two of them, leaping over another that had dove too soon, and then crashed right into Izuku closer to the kitchen. The two went down yelling, because apparently before had been their version of quietly playing the game. Fumikage watched from the bottom of the stairs still. It had all happened in the span of two seconds.
Was this a typical siblings game? Fumikage had never heard of it, but the Midoriyas seemed well acquainted with it, so perhaps it was a result of Fumikage being in subpar homes.
The ball changed hands half a dozen times in the next five minutes. Fumikage observed, noting strategy (not much on anyone’s part) and what seemed to be off limits (also not much). Dark Shadow was tugging at him to join. His quirk could only go so far from their body, and was eager to join.
Momo snagged the ball, eeling her way out of a tangle of siblings. Katsuki tripped her at the last second though. The ball flew from her grasp as she fell, right in the direction of Fumikage.
Dark Shadow and him moved in sync. They lunged forward, Dark Shadow snagging the football from the air, then swooping back towards their body. Fumikage in turn booked it towards the backdoor he’d noticed was open.
They, quite frankly, didn’t know where any of the adults were. However the indoors was far too crowded. For the moment he was just focused on escape.
They didn’t quite make it that far, but it was close. Fumikage spun on a dime, helped by Dark Shadow grabbing the coffee table and pulling on their body to help them redirect, when Hanta leapt in front of them. They ran the opposite direction then, Dark Shadow ducking low when Ochako made a gravity-negated leap. She had launched off the opposite wall. And now she went crashing into the one to Fumikage’s left.
Fumikage was suddenly keenly aware of what they had just agreed to. A game did not begin to cover the treacherous conditions they had signed up for.
Vigilantes. They had agreed to play a game of Keep Away with vigilantes. Trained vigilantes. In their own home.
A most ill advised decision. Truly.
But…well…they had already begun playing, and Dark Shadow seemed to be having fun. Fumikage couldn’t exactly stop now.
He sidestepped a reckless lunge from Eijirou. Mina went skating by, missing by a hair. Fumikage was only saved by Eijirou deciding to sabotage her instead of him. The two went rolling across the floor, taking out Katsuki along the way and dragging him into their impromptu wrestling match.
Fumikage booked it. Where? He hadn’t the faintest idea. Perhaps the kitchen. Dark Shadow hovered right above their head, football held in one hand, the other raised and at the ready, should it have to bat any other vigilantes out of the air. They both skidded to the side as Izuku made his own grab for the ball.
The vigilante merely rebounded off the wall, sending himself at Fumikage again. In the greatest display of athleticism Fumikage had shown in his life, he danced away from the reaching hands. Left and right and down and around he wove, panicked and competitive but mostly panicked.
Izuku wouldn’t hurt him. He- he knew that. He had been shown that, so far.
But the situation reminded him far too much of his second home, where he’d had to avoid grabbing hands and swinging fists from his roommates. His tormentors.
Their vision narrowed to the hands. He flung himself backwards, eyes never leaving the hands—the hands told where the body would go. If he could avoid those- if he could dodge them the damage would be minimal.
Dark Shadow’s presence in their mind was was smooth. Like a wall of obsidian. He felt his quirk bristle in response to his terror. It rose higher, hissing and rattling in its shadowy throat as Fumikage rapidly stumbled backwards.
The hands hesitated—they stopped reaching. Fumikage’s back hit a wall. A picture frame rattled beside his ear.
A-
A picture frame?
There…there weren’t any picture frames in this house, were there? The other children surely would have broken them by now. There weren’t any foster parents to be sentimental, just caretakers and rooms full of boys and quirks and-
A picture frame. There was a picture frame beside their head. On both sides, actually.
And there was a voice.
A soft voice?
Fumikage blinked, and registered that there were no hands in his vision anymore. None besides his own. But there was green. Green hair, green eyes. Freckles. Curls, amidst the green. Determination, and focus, in those eyes. Calm.
“You’re safe, you’re ok,” Izuku said gently, and it didn’t sound like the first time he was saying it in so many minutes. “You’re in the family room, almost to the kitchen. You’re safe.”
Their legs felt like they were made of gelatin, suddenly. Fumikage tried to breathe deeper, found it difficult, and decided the floor was a more apt place to be. He slowly slid down the wall. Izuku followed, sitting cross-legged with his hands in his lap.
“Can you hear me?” Izuku asked.
Fumikage tried to croak out an answer, a simple ‘yes,’ yet his voice failed them. Instead he settled for a nod. It felt like all energy had been drained from his body. Dark Shadow settled over his shoulders—normal sized, thankfully.
Panic seized him again for a moment, and Fumikage forced their traitorous throat to work, to croak out a question. “Did we hurt you?”
“No, we’re all ok. You’re safe, Fumikage, it’s ok. Dark Shadow took a swipe at me when I got too close, but he stopped once I backed off. It’s ok.”
“I apologize-“
“It’s not your fault.” Kitsune’s green eyes blazed into Fumikage’s, holding his focus, his attention. His very soul seemed to latch onto the vigilante. It drowned their spiraling thoughts in green. “I’m sorry I triggered whatever memory it was. You didn’t go after us, you didn’t hurt anyone. Dark Shadow, I’m sorry to you too.”
The shadow blinked, confusion permeating the barrier between their mind. “But I almost…”
“You were scared.” Izuku shrugged. “We can work on it, but you didn’t intentionally hurt anyone. That’s trauma, not a moral failing.”
“Oh…”
“It’s ok,” Izuku repeated, still keeping his hands hidden. “We’re not scared of you. I’m not scared of you.”
Fumikage nodded numbly, feeling like those green eyes had seen right into his very soul. Kitsune, his mind supplied, had been rumored to know almost everything. Nearly omniscient. Izuku, he had seen, was able to pick problems to the bone in seconds. Even with that intelligence, he stayed there in front of Fumikage.
This was the point most fled at the sight of him. This was when most abandoned him, or at least kept their distance, tentative allies at best. Because they were scared of him.
And Fumikage never blamed a single one of them for being scared.
Yet here Izuku Midoriya sat. Unafraid, unwavering. Calm. He held Fumikage’s gaze, held Dark Shadow’s when he addressed the quirk. He would not flee. He would not obey Fumikage’s words out of fear, and would not turn a fist to him out of fear-based aggression.
“You’re not the scariest thing we’ve seen,” Izuku reassured him, almost laughing through his kind-kind-kind smile. “So we’re not scared of you, and won’t be scared of you, ok? I promise.”
Slowly, Fumikage nodded his assent. He had trusted the vigilantes thus far. He could trust that Izuku—that Kitsune—was speaking the truth. That the vigilantes wouldn’t fear him. Wouldn’t abandon them.
They had felled a quirk trafficking ring by themselves. They had seen the horrors it held, and cut the metaphorical head off of the beast. They had done it before, and would do it again, and still Fumikage saw them smile every day.
The Sirens had seen pain, had known tragedy, and still they continued on. They still trusted. They were still kind.
It gave Fumikage hope. It rekindled a small fire in their soul, that maybe they could do the same. Maybe- maybe they weren’t a lost cause after all. Maybe they could heal. Maybe they could be allowed that.
Hope tasted like the embers of a rekindling fire.
Notes:
Keep Away inspired by the game me and one of my sisters used to play when we were little and it was our dad keeping an eye on us lol. We stopped after I almost gave her a concussion on our fridge and our mom put a stop to it :p she reminded me the other week it was also because she bit me, but our mom didn’t know about that one until later.
ART TIME!!
Green Trio! (by I_have_a_voice)
Colored pencil Harpy! (By IreneAzreal)
Some vigilantes and a dabbing Chimera (By Natgeowo)
Chapter 128: Starling
Summary:
Alternative chapter title: Well If Stick Man Can be a Hero Then I Guess I Can Too
Notes:
HI GUESS WHO HAD ENOUGH ENERGY TO EDIT ANOTHER CHAPTER!! I have had slightly too much caffeine but it produced THIS so no complaints :D
Anyways I have a soft spot for Starling because Space Themed Bird. Great mimics too! So I get to have more fun with bird metaphors :D Also I'm really happy with how this chapter turned out!! I love these boys <3
Enjoy <3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The vigilantes kept secrets well, Fumikage knew. They were required too, with their less-than-legal job under the cover of night. The Sirens had been operating for a while, and thus, logically, the Midoriyas were adept at keeping secrets.
So good at it, in fact, that Fumikage hadn’t even realized they were keeping a secret from him until they invited him along to it.
He had brushed off the momentary disappearances of the vigilantes during the day. They seemed inclined to wander, and were trusted with errands in groups. None of it seemed unusual. Except, perhaps, the sand that was occasionally left dusting the entryway upon their return.
It had all seemed normal, right up until Mina excitedly invited him along to “training.” His hesitant acceptance of the invitation was met with smiles and cheering, as well as a general clatter towards the front door. Fumikage slowly relaxed on their walk. The family was kind, and it was becoming easier to let down their guard around them.
He still had no idea what they were doing when they arrived at…well, perhaps it was a beach? However, about half of it was covered in trash. Towering mountains of it. The other half did have visible sand though, and the waves did appear blue.
The siblings were quick to begin descending the stairs. Which was when Fumikage found himself digging in his heels while still on parking lot concrete. “No, absolutely not. You did not warn me we would be going near sand.”
Eijirou gave him a slightly confused smile. “You good, man?”
“I do not like sand,” Fumikage hissed, with Dark Shadow giggling over his shoulder, not helping. “It is coarse, and rough, and gets everywhere. It invades my feathers and is irritating.”
“Aw, come on dude, your face won’t be anywhere near the sand. We all have gloves too, see? We’re picking up trash, not wrestling.”
Fumikage blinked, processing the information. Eijirou’s expression changed to squint at Fumikage. Something seemed to occur to the red-haired boy, because his own face went through several emotions before settling on exasperation and sheepishness.
“None of us explained this to you, did we?” Fumikage shook his head, and Eijirou sighed. “Right, whoops, sorry about that man. One sec—HEY, you guys go ahead, we’ll be there in a minute!”
Katsuki shot them a thumbs up from the top of the stairs. Eijirou’s sentence was carried on down towards the sand, albeit with far more colorful language, but it got the point across. Eijirou himself snagged Fumikage’s arm and pulled them over to the curb, out of the way of any traffic should it appear.
“Ok, so the gist of it is that we’re cleaning the beach,” he explained. “It’s helping us build muscle since we’re lifting and moving heavy stuff, like microwaves, washers, and bags of trash. It’s also for community service, so everyone around here can have a beach again. We all figured it’d be a pretty good foundation for once we become heroes-“
“You all wish to become heroes?”
Fumikage’s beak snapped shut quickly. He hadn’t meant to speak aloud, but the notion was…confusing to him. They were already vigilantes, would being heroes not arouse suspicion?
“Yeah,” Eijirou answered easily, shrugging off the interruption with a grin. “Geez, we didn’t explain that either? My bad, dude. I guess we’re just used to everyone already knowing, it’s not exactly a secret, and the last ones the Midoriyas took in were Hanta and me, and the two of us were friends when we were kids.”
“It is…alright.”
Eijirou only laughed, bright and sharp-toothed, and patted Fumikage’s shoulder. “Nah, we’ll catch you up, I promise. But yeah, you don’t have to help, but we thought it’d be nice to get out besides school, you know?”
Fumikage hummed, thinking. It wouldn’t be…the worst thing, to be around sand, annoying as it was to get the itchy grains out from under his feathers. It was quite easy to get it stuck there, with the feathers covering his entire head, but perhaps he could just…be careful.
Dark Shadow poked out from their shadow, lethargic in the bright summer sun, but looking hopeful. “We could train to be a hero?”
Oh.
Right.
They had- they had wanted to be a hero at one point, hadn’t they. Dark Shadow especially had liked the idea. Or maybe that had been Fumikage, as a small child, and Dark Shadow had taken up the mantle, holding onto the wonder they felt about being a hero. Someone that helped. Someone to save others…
But they couldn’t, could they? They were…darkness. Shadow incarnate. Together they were physically not suited towards the daylight, and that was the only place Fumikage had ever noticed heroes. On the news they were shrouded in dust, haloed by blinding sunlight, as they defeated a villain with powerful moves. In person they were along the crowded streets, smiling brightly and signing whatever civilians handed them. Personable, friendly, and like the sun.
Fumikage was not the sun—bright, burning light—and could never be. He knew that. He had been told that by many. So he braced himself for Eijirou’s answer, already halfway to a wince as the boy opened his mouth-
“Of course!”
…what?
“Izuku can go into more detail,” Eijirou laughed, bright-bright-bright but not saying no- “but you'd make a pretty cool underground hero, you know? That’s what a few of us are aiming for. It would probably help you too, Dark Shadow, since it’d give you something to do at night before sleeping. Oh, that may be a good idea for right now too…”
Fumikage’s voice felt very, very small, when he spoke. “Underground hero?”
“Yeah! You know, the nighttime heroes. They tend to see worse things than the daylight heroes, but they do a lot of good.”
Fumikage had, admittedly, not even known much of vigilantes before being rescued by a number of them. He had been focused on surviving. On escaping the foster system, perhaps saving enough from odd jobs to finally get his own place once he aged out. Basic knowledge of heroes was a given, the same as knowing what a police officer was and did.
Fumikage had not heard of underground heroes before.
“What does being an…underground hero entail?” He asked carefully, keeping his tone even as he could, calm as he could.
“Hm. They, uh. Well.” Eijirou’s entire face scrunched up with in an expression Fumikage could only describe as a ‘how the fuck do I explain this’ face. “Kinda like what we do, but legally? So they have checks and balances and managers, but more help, if that makes sense? Ah man, Izuku can explain it so much better. Ask him when we’re done, he knows a lot more than I do about it. He’s been following a few of them for years.”
Fumikage nodded, Dark Shadow doing the same, but more enthusiastically. It began chirping excitedly about what they could do as an underground hero. While his quirk rambled, Fumikage silently latched onto the idea too.
He could still be a hero? Eijirou seemed to think so. A vigilante, a Siren, thought Fumikage and Dark Shadow could be heroes.
What a mad idea. What a marvelous, star-studded dream, perhaps not so far out of reach. For if someone like a vigilante believed they could do it, maybe—maybe Fumikage stood a chance.
“Oh yeah! We also have a, uh, trainer,” Eijirou admitted, sheepishly scratching at the back of his head. “His name is Yagi, and he wanted to meet you if that’s alright? He’s been making sure we don’t hurt ourselves cleaning the beach and giving us some hero tips.”
“I would be amenable.”
“Cool! You don’t have to stay on the sand if you don’t want to, just let us know, but we have extra gloves if you do want to help.” Eijirou began heading to the stairs, and Fumikage hurried to catch up, not expecting the exuberant pace. “I think it’s pretty fun though. Nothing more manly than hauling junk up to dumpsters! We haven’t sifted most of the sand though, so keep your shoes on. We’re probably going to try and get stuff out of the water soon though-“
Eijirou continued to chatter. Fumikage had not known a person could contain that many words, let alone with cheer. However he found that he didn’t altogether mind it. The stream of conversation was…pleasant. He was not expected to aid more than simple answers.
The sand near the base of the stairs was completely clear, free of any visible debris. To the left was clear, only bits and pieces here and there, until the sand hit a sea-wall. To the right was trash, thought less than Fumikage had been expecting. There was a notable buffer between the ocean and terrain of garbage. Working in from the waterline, he assumed.
There were still practical mountains of trash, but it was less than the dump had started at, Fumikage figured. Perhaps about halfway between the stairs and the opposite sea-wall was already cleared. Eijirou confidently led the way towards the water, hanging a right before they actually touched the ocean. Fumikage tried not to grimace as their feet sunk into the sand. It was better than his feathers, at least. And once they got close enough to the water the sand become slightly more solid and less likely to invade their socks, because no one else had put on sandals so he had gone with the hand-me-down sneakers handed to him.
Farther in were vigilantes scattered. They all wore thick gloves. A few of them were working to steadily dismantle a stack of washers, which had to be at least five tall before they had removed the ones off to the side. More of the siblings were even farther down, collecting trash into black bags. Fumikage and Eijirou passed Ochako, who was hauling two of them with a raised pinky, intentionally not using her quirk.
Eijirou perked up after walking for a good minute, smiling and waving to a very tall, and very thin, figure. “Yagi!”
The man turned, and straightened, and kept going. Fumikage found his steps faltering at just how tall the man was. Straw-blond hair stuck up from his head, and his gaunt frame was…concerning. Shadowed, sunken blue eyes swept over to Eijirou, before brightening, a smile lighting the narrow face.
“Young Kirishima!” The man greeted happily, voice raspy but joyful. “How are you, my boy?”
“Good! We brought Fumikage!”
The blue eyes swung over to lock onto Fumikage, and he found himself frozen under the gaze. Dark Shadow, however, had no such effect. Nor reservations.
“Wow, you’re tall!” His quirk chirped.
“Dark Shadow!”
“What? He is! Hi Mr. Yagi, we learned about you five minutes ago!”
Fumikage was, for perhaps the dozenth or so time in his life (a number which had exponentially increased with arrival at the Midoriyas), thankful that his feathers prevented any blush from showing through on his face. He cleared his throat, trying to subtly pull his quirk back to their shoulder instead of hovering closer to the tall man.
“It’s alright, my boy,” Yagi chuckled. “I am indeed quite tall. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You as well,” Fumikage said, trying not to revert to muttering. “I am Fumikage Tokoyami, and this is Dark Shadow. I apologize for them.”
“No need,” the man waved off. “It’s far from the worst comment about my height someone has made, my boy. Besides, from the sound of it you didn’t have much of a warning.”
“Nope!” Dark Shadow chirped.
“We kinda forgot to tell them what we were doing,” Eijirou said sheepishly. “But hey, we’re here now!”
“Indeed you are,” Yagi chuckled. “Will you be helping, young Tokoyamis?”
Fumikage faltered for a moment. No one had referred to them as plural Tokoyamis before, so it threw him for a second. It did the same to Dark Shadow, though his quirk quickly recovered, smiling brightly and immediately agreeing, despite the sand.
Fumikage…didn’t disagree. If only to learn why this twig of a man was offering hero training to the Midoriyas.
“In that case, I believe young Bakugou was battling a mattress, last I checked.”
“We’ll go help him, thanks Yagi!”
Eijirou took off down the beach, honing in with some sort of boyfriend-radar on where Katsuki might be. Fumikage followed slower. His shoes sunk into the sand, leaving an obvious trail of footprints. He took a moment to look out over the water. The sun was still hovering over the ocean, betraying the time of relatively early morning. The summer heat would set in soon, though the coast never experienced the burning heat of farther inland. Or so Fumikage had been told. He had never lived this close to the coast, nor had the time to appreciate the temperature.
The sand crunched as someone walked up behind them. Dark Shadow’s push of safe-alright-nodanger kept him from jumping when Izuku appeared in their peripheral vision. The other boy joined him for a moment, just looking out over the water, his expression proud.
“Sorry none of us explained all this,” he said first.
“It is alright.”
Izuku snorted, finding humor in some part of Fumikage’s response. “We wanted you to meet Yagi before we shared everything, so I guess we all overcorrected and instead explained nothing.”
“That is…understandable, I suppose.”
“We also needed to know that you could keep a secret,” Izuku hummed. “Like, a really big secret. Bigger than who we are, even.”
“…alright.”
Izuku’s green eyes locked onto theirs then, and Fumikage realized, ah, he was speaking with Kitsune right now. The green shone with a light of danger, of promise. Evaluation and threat assessment.
“You want to stay with us,” Izuku said, half a question and half an observation.
Fumikage took a second to remind their body how to breath, then another to sort through their feelings. Almost surprisingly, he found no resistance to the admission that left his beak. “Yes, we do.”
“And you won’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you?”
“I will not.”
Dark Shadow settled over his shoulder, comforting, but serious. “Never,” his quirk swore. “Pinky promise.”
Izuku nodded, taking a deep breath. He looked out over the water again. “Yagi is All Might.”
Fumikage…blinked. And blinked again, a few more times. Then he glanced back to the man that closer resembled a scarecrow than a mountain of muscle. He tried to see how Yagi could be All Might.
Admittedly, the height, hair, and eye color would make sense, but still. Hardly grounds for any sort of solid conclusion.
“It’s hard to believe, I know,” Izuku chuckled. “He has two different forms, this is just the one he has when he’s not being a hero.”
Fumikage nodded. It made sense, in a way. All Might wasn’t exactly seen out and about, buying groceries and such. Not recently at least. There were off-duty pictures of most heroes though. Fumikage had just assumed it was because All Might was too respected for even paparazzi to ambush.
“He actually looks better than before, if you can believe it,” Izuku continued. “He has some dietary restrictions. Momma helped him find more stuff he can eat. Aunt Rei keeps sending him recipes she finds, which Touya finds hilarious, since she used to be married to Endeavor and that dumpster fire had a one-sided rivalry with All Might.”
That was…a lot. But admittedly amusing. Fumikage knew Touya was Dabi, married to Keigo (Hawks), and that his twin was Fuyumi, who lived a few cities over. He didn’t have the full story of their family yet, but he did have enough pieces to understand why Rei sending Yagi (All Might apparently) recipes was a truly entertaining event.
“And he is…training you all to be heroes?”
“Kinda? More like advising us, but some training is in there too. He’s used to the whole flashy daylight hero deal,” Izuku explained, waving his hands about to emphasize it. “So it doesn’t work for all of us, and his main focus is Mina since she’s who he’s passing on his quirk to-“
“He is what?”
“His quirk can be passed on,” Izuku said casually, like that wasn’t a truly mad sentence. “And he chose Mina. But we’re all a package deal, so he’s training us too, or at least guiding us. He’s…he’s actually come a pretty long ways, learning from us too.”
Fumikage nodded blankly, mind reeling. It was a lot to wrap their head around.
“I don’t know if you want to be a hero,” Izuku continued, quieter. “But you’re welcome here either way. I have an extra pair of gloves if you want them.”
“I…yes, I would like to help.”
Fumikage took the offered pair of gloves and sunny smile in stride. He ran a thumb over the material, thinking over his words.
“When we we are back…home,” he said slowly, tasting the words, and finding they were not as sour as he had thought they’d be. Especially not in the face of Izuku’s smile turning even brighter, somehow. “Could you possibly explain underground heroes?”
“Of course! They’re really cool, and I think you’d both make a good one if you want to be a hero.”
Fumikage let out a breath like the air had been punched from his lungs. Kitsune—Kitsune—thought they’d made a good hero. He had shared the thought without prompting. Surely—surely that meant something.
“And hey, if you want to stay up and watch from the shed, we meet with one of our favorite underground heroes every once in a while,” Izuku offered.
“I would…appreciate that, I think.”
“Cool! Come on then, you can help with some of the appliances. It’s easier with more people, and no offense, but you kinda have noodle arms.”
“I don’t!” Dark Shadow cheerfully declared.
“That is because you are metaphysical. Your strength is not determined by muscle.”
“I have more than you!”
Fumikage gave his quirk a deadpan stare, which just made Dark Shadow laugh. It warmed some part of their blackened heart. His quirk hadn’t laughed in so long, before…before the vigilantes.
He still slipped the gloves on then, following Izuku towards the side of the beach that still had trash on it. Perhaps it would do them good to build muscle. If he could, indeed, be a hero…
Well, maybe it was time they prepared like it.
Notes:
Shout out to someone (who I cannot remember whoops) that asked if one of the kids could have an Anakin reaction to sand and spawned this, worked out great lol
Next chapter: True training begins! A more familiar bird shows up! And a "no one left behind" gets dropped, get your bets in on who says it :3
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