6: Re: Charge
Unexpectedly, staying at UA is nice. They've scrubbed his phone and online accounts clean within hours of his demonstration, which lets him tell his friends he'll be 'off the grid' for a little while. After promises to explain in detail later, Izuku goes to Recovery Girl and gets the rundown.
The little girl is terribly anemic, in ways that Recovery Girl doesn't like. Of course, that's her best diagnosis, which means that while he listens, a small black hole opens in Izuku's gut. Nothing he tries can rationalize that spark of negative emotions, so Izuku tucks it away in the darkest recesses of his mind.
But, surprisingly, the faculty don't do terribly much about him. They avoid him, mostly, and he's given a map of the campus to do his routine. Izuku appreciates that, but later that first night he pulls his mother aside.
His mom isn't happy about what he's doing, but she can't tell him not to. After talking for a few hours, they've come to a conclusion and share one of the most emotional hugs that they've ever had. Izuku isn't sure when she accepted this, or when she determined that he was allowed to go out and fight. He's not complaining, just wondering. Whatever is happening to him, it's drawn them closer than he ever thought possible, and Izuku is glad for that.
What comes after that, of course, is three days of nothing. Nezu calls him in each evening to talk about their efforts. Izuku doesn't particularly care, because he's still not sure how he feels about Nezu or UA or heroes (he tries not to say All Might specifically) in general. On the third day, Nezu asks what he's been doing to pass the time. After a little hesitation he says that he's thrown himself into his workout routine. The principal asks if he needs anything, and Izuku mentions he would like access to the gym.
Obviously, UA has the single most expansive stash of equipment that Izuku has ever seen. Nezu, offhandedly, tells Izuku that he should ask if he wants something. Apparently, the Support department will whip it up if they don't already have something similar in stock and Power Loader is at Izuku's disposal.
All Nezu asks is that Izuku not enter the Support labs himself. Everything is supposed to be done via Power Loader specifically, for some reason, and the hero is to meet him outside the lab.
During those three days, as Izuku is crafting his new routine and checking in with Recovery Girl and Nezu and Power Loader, the question of being spied on nags him. It's so constant that Izuku finally breaks down and mentions it to his mother, who sighs and giggles nervously and tells him she's wondering the same thing.
"Honey you broke into UA!" She cries through a strained smile. "I'd be surprised if they weren't spying on us…"
On the morning of the fourth day, while its still dark outside, Izuku stares at his shoes for a little while. Then, in a spur of the moment decision, he heads to the nurse's office. Watching the little girl sleep for the fourth day in a row is unsettling. All the machines say she's alive and Recovery Girl says she's slowly recovering. But the fact is that Izuku still has that little condensed pinpoint of… something buried in his mind. Seeing the little girl there, defenseless and exhausted in a coma, is poking the bear.
"I…" Izuku bites his lip as his hand slides over the sheets to loosely tangle their fingers. "I don't know who did this. Hell, I don't… None of us know if you'll wake up. Or where you came from… But if-"
Izuku's voice cracks a bit and he coughs to clear it up before he lets the words come.
"If you can hear me, I want you to know that you're safe. No matter where you came from, or why he chose me, I'll protect you. No one will ever hurt you again, and I swear they'll pay for what they did. You… you deserved better. Maybe I'm not a hero or a parent or… I'm not anything, really." Izuku sighs, digs a hand through his hair and groans aloud. "What am I even saying, promising something like this…? I mean, it's not… You're so little. Maybe you have a family, someone who can actually take care of you. There's someone, something better for you than to be stuck with someone like me."
The beep of the machines calms his heartbeat eventually, and the blood coursing through his ears slows until his breathing is the loudest thing in the room.
"…My name is Izuku." Izuku says quietly, wrapping the tiny hand in both of his. "I'm Midoriya Izuku, and I swear I'll keep you safe. So just… please wake up."
His new routine takes a long time. No one bothers him during his workout, and his mind either chases his eyes or careless chases snippets of thought. That night, he returns to the little girl's bedside. After he reminds her of his name, he stays a few moments before leaving and having dinner.
Even after his breakdown on the first day, he's never felt so miserable.
Power Loader sits in on his routine the next day. When Izuku first tells the hero what he plans to do, the man stares at him as if he's crazy. Then Izuku puts on the biometric tracker and does the routine within four hours. Power Loader doesn't question him after that.
Cementoss offers to let him use something called TDL whenever he'd like, since there's no students, and Izuku politely says he only needs weights and distance running. But that doesn't stop the hero from having a polite conversation with him about his high school and what kinds of things he's gotten involved with. Over the next three days, his routine, daily meals, and visits to the little girl's bedside dominate his time. Heroes drift in and out, sometimes talking with him or just showing up during his weight lifting time to gape. There aren't many, but there are enough to make him feel a bit bashful.
Recovery Girl calls him into her office on the eighth day. When he arrives, he finds Nezu sitting in an extra chair by the old doctor's desk.
"Midoriya-kun! I'd like to ask a favor." Nezu chimes. Izuku frowns.
"If you're asking to test my abilities, I'd rather not…" he mutters. Recovery Girl sighs.
"You're smart, Midoriya-kun, but even if I wanted to respect that I'd at least like to do a physical check-up." The old woman says.
"I'm fine, really. Honestly, ever since I got… whatever this is I haven't even been sick. So I don't think…"
"Midoriya-kun, I will not keep letting you traipse about in my office without a check-up." Recovery Girl snaps, eyeing him with a scowl. "This girl is in a fragile state. Whatever is happening with you, I need to make sure that it won't hurt her system."
Izuku frowns as Recovery Girl checks him over, taking blood near the end. Nezu remains, smiling at him all the while. As he replaces his shirt and stands up, Nezu jumps off his chair.
"Midoriya-kun, would you mind coming with me?"
"Um, Principal-sama I'd prefer…"
"Please, Midoriya-kun." Nezu looks up at him, dropping the smile in favor of a neutral expression. "You're uncomfortable. I'd like for us to talk about it instead of dancing around the subject."
"…alright."
Seated in Nezu's office, Izuku can't help feeling worried. Nezu replaces his smile, though he sits in the chair beside Izuku's and turns them to face one another. Eyeing the principal like this didn't make Izuku feel like they were on equal terms at all.
"You're worried about having us monitor you, yes?"
Izuku swallows, despite his dry throat.
"Um… yes?"
"You can be honest, Midoriya-kun."
"I'd prefer if no one knows. I mean, I've been doing this on my own for a long time, and…"
"You don't trust heroes. Or the police, or UA, or anyone." Nezu tilts his head to the side. "Would that be a fair assessment?"
"I guess?" Izuku mutters. "Having anything to do with heroes just… leaves a bad taste in my mouth. A week ago, it wasn't… I mean, I'm supposed to be quirkless. Showing people probably isn't going to go well."
"Do you know your limits well?" Nezu asks.
"I know roughly how it feels. Not in actual numbers, though."
"Midoriya-kun." Nezu clasps his paws, smiling a bit more genuinely than before. "I'd like to clear you with a license to apprehend villains. Also, I'd like to clear your mother as a proper guardian for that little girl, should she ever need a home. For now, we haven't found any matches in the DNA database, which means she's not someone who officially exists. But before we can do any of that, I need to clear your abilities."
"Officially." Izuku mutters.
"Your file is currently something that we are keeping secured and classified. No one will see the data, and I'm absolutely certain that if you're ever recognized by the government it will be the same. But for now, we can't let that little girl stay with you unless we know for certain. That means we check your abilities against a hero no one could possibly raise a protest against to streamline the process."
"So… you're telling me that I need to fight All Might so I can get official recognition?" Izuku sighs.
"Exactly. Let us test your abilities, even if it isn't your full potential, and then we'll test you against All Might and for possible loss of control. I've already assumed that you'll pass, given your prior experience, but these tests will make sure no one can protest." Nezu says calmly.
"Fine." Izuku groans. "Fine, I'll…"
He trails off, then scrubs his face with his hands.
"You're asking a quirkless kid to fight All Might."
"Well, that's only if you want his signature on the documents. No one would say anything against the number one hero, after all." Nezu smiles a little more, and Izuku shudders.
"…I'll do it. The tests, and if he agrees to certify me, then I'll fight him." Izuku huffs.
"Then let's get everything in order, shall we?" Nezu grins wide, and Izuku swears there's a glint in his eye. Izuku doesn't like that at all.
All Might flinches when Izuku storms into the training room the next day.
"Uh, Y-young Midoriya…?" The hero stammers, looking up at the control tower curiously.
"Let's just get this over with, All Might." Izuku growls.
"For now, both of you please take this seriously. Spar at whatever level you believe is correct for you. Power Loader has all our best cameras outfitted for this." Nezu's voice echoes in the training room.
"This is the last test, right?" Izuku calls.
"Yes, Midoriya-kun. Thank you for being so patient with our tests."
"Whatever." Izuku grumbles, dragging a hand through his curls. When he's taken a moment to collect himself, he glances up at All Might. "Hey, All Might. Can I ask you something?"
"Of course, young Midoriya!" All Might puffs up into his current hero outfit, filling the material until Izuku is staring up at the man he once idolized.
"You already have someone to pass it down to, right?" Izuku asks. All Might pauses, then hangs his head.
"…I do. He's training, currently. This… none of this is my first choice, but I've never…" All Might pauses, then closes his eyes and sighs heavily. "I missed my chance, and no one else has ever leapt out at me since. But young Togata, he's an incredible young man. Someone worthy of taking up One for All, even if I'm not completely ready to pass it on."
Izuku looks at the floor between them. He isn't sure what he was expecting but knowing that All Might has a successor leaves him feeling briefly conflicted.
"That's good, then." He mutters.
"Young Midoriya, I…"
"Please don't." Izuku grimaces when his voice wobbles and cracks. All Might stares at him with pleading eyes, so Izuku sets his nose in the web of his hand and closes his eyes. "All Might this… this is really, really uncomfortable. Honestly, I don't want anything to do with heroes. It just…"
He takes a breath, then twists his face as the words start to pile up and get confusing.
"I wouldn't have made it." He says quietly. "If I'd tried, the way I was back when we first met, I would have failed miserably. Sometimes, knowing that, I think that what you told me was that kindest way. Back then I was just… I was learning from heroes, but I wasn't ever going to be able to save anyone."
"Young Midoriya…" All Might's voice is raw, which makes tears well up in Izuku's eyes. He wipes them away and takes another breath.
"Honestly, you weren't any different from everyone else. So don't… please don't apologize." Izuku manages. "Right now, I just want to focus on getting stronger. To keep her safe."
"That's a noble goal." All Might says weakly. Quietly. Izuku lets it hang for a little bit before he takes a deep breath and frowns.
"I need your help to do that. So take this seriously." He says, settling into his stance. All Might's grin reforms, as if the man is adjusting his armor before the fight, and the hero nods as he places his hands on his hips.
"Any time you're ready, young Midoriya."
Ever since Izuku started getting stronger and faster, he's avoiding giving everything he had. Breaking into UA pushed his speed to the utmost, but even then, he wonders if he might have had something left to squeeze out. Now, facing All Might, he decides that it's time to give up the ghost. If it means that he can take care of the little girl, then he'll do it regardless of what he has to show UA.
After a few deep breaths, Izuku pushes off with everything he has. The distance between them closes quickly, but he can feel the air against his skin at this speed. Like walking through water instead of strolling down the street.
When All Might meets him, the hero moves casually. The first punch gets swatted to one side, his kick gets thrown off balance and his second punch hits an elbow that throws him wide. A quick motion from All Might leaves Izuku spinning in mid-air, completely off balance. He hits the ground with a grunt, and the world snaps back into place.
"You're very fast, young Midoriya, but that won't work against me." All Might's eye twinkles as he chuckles. "I suppose you're more than…"
It's not All Might's fault, honestly. He's the number one hero, and he's staring down at a quirkless kid who has no right to be fast or strong or capable. Talking without a little healthy condescension should be acceptable. But after an hour being tested against Snipe's bullets, Power Loader's industrial equipment and giant robots, Izuku isn't in the right mindset to deal with that. For a second, he's back on the roof, staring up at his idol while All Might turns his back on him.
His feet touch the ground, and then they don't. On a whim, he kicks out midair and changes direction, leaving an odd ripple in the empty space that he can feel more than he can see. From behind All Might, Izuku throws a punch. All Might twists to make it in time, but the hero's eyes are wide.
Every time Izuku raises his gear, All Might matches him. When Izuku finally feels his legs start to grow heavy, he can see every move All Might makes as plain as day. Izuku chases the hero as he tries to retreat, and they end up leaping off the ground. The fight spends tens of seconds in the air as they trade blows, returning there whenever one of them tries to retreat. When he finally hits his limit, he catches a tiny waft of steam from All Might's shoulder.
All Might's feet hit the ground near where they'd started, and Izuku hits the ground behind him. Throwing a punch leaves another one of those ripples, but Izuku is already moving after the feint. When he reaches All Might's front side, he slams his feet through the floor of the lab and cocks his arm back.
Maybe it's too far, but he aims for All Might's face. He wants to punch one of them, anymore from UA, more than anything right then. The punch doesn't make it all the way, of course. Centimeters from All Might's face, he stops.
Izuku stands up, breathing heavily. All Might stares at him in shock as he rights himself, then grimaces.
"Sorry. I… guess I was already moving when you stopped." He mutters.
"That was fabulous, you two. All Might, would you say that Midoriya-kun is worthy of a license?"
"Eh… Um, Yes." All Might coughs and clears his throat. "It would be a shame if he didn't have one, given that level of combat aptitude!"
"Perfect. That's all for today, Midoriya-kun!"
"That's all, he says." Izuku mutters, grabbing fistfuls of his hair while he turns and wanders towards the door. "Over a hundred bullets, three industrial saws, two giant robots and All Might, but hey that's all for today Izuku…!"
(He's a little bit too wrapped up in his head to notice All Might staring at his back, or the way All Might turns around and stares at the battered, nearly shredded wall and ceiling of the testing room.)
Nezu rewinds the footage for the fifth time and hits play. On his left, Power Loader is still staring at the video with limp hands while Snipe mutters something like a mantra. All Might comes walking in ten minutes after the end of the test, only after Nezu had called down to the hero manually, and his skinny form takes the empty seat beside Present Mic.
The video of the fight is three minutes long and fourteen seconds long, but every second contains entire segments of the fight. After the first minute, where they'd caught a rough idea of what was happening, the sparring room had basically exploded with motion and blasts of air. Slowed down to play at millions of frames per second the pair were still moving almost normally. Nezu can finally see what Tsukauchi was talking about.
"About how far did he push you, All Might?" Nezu asks calmly. The heroes perk up, probably looking for some kind of reassurance in their Symbol of Peace. All Might clears his throat, staring at the segments of the fight's end.
"At first I thought maybe Midoriya was faster than he was strong, and that his speed was the major factor." All Might swallows weakly. "But that doesn't seem to be the case. He's extremely careful about how much power he puts into each blow, to the point of using too little power against me. If I had to guess… I'd say that Midoriya is easily as strong as my eighty percent. He nearly exhausted everything I can use in a day in those three minutes."
Nezu nods, playing the ending in even slower motion. Something had happened in the middle of the fight. Probably tension at the way he was treated, but whatever it was had left Midoriya angry. The final blow had Midoriya's strongest punch, a blow that had almost punched a hole in the facility.
"We'll have to keep things quiet. At this point, he's strong enough that we need to be worried, but his nature is heroic. For now, nothing goes through official means. All Might, call Tsukauchi. I need to talk with him. The higher ups in the Police Force aren't in the loop regarding Midoriya's situation for a good reason. I'd like to keep it that way for now." Nezu says, pulling the video from the screen and saving it before transferring the feed to his portable tablet. A grin sends shudders through the heroes. "Oh, come now! He's on our side, my friends. And what an interesting child! You should be ecstatic."
"I've never enjoyed shooting the children, Nezu." Snipe mutters. "He didn't even look like he could take it. That… I'm pretty sure he hates me for that."
"That's ridiculous. All you did was shoot him a few times." Nezu waves a paw, striding for the door without looking back. "Besides, he already hates heroes in general. All Might made sure of that. If he's still heroic after All Might crushed his dreams, I don't see anything that could turn him against us!"
A chuckle escapes the principal as he wanders out of the (newly-bloodstained) room.
His mother chuckles when he collapses onto the couch of their "borrowed" rooms.
"Tough day of testing, Izuku?"
"Why do heroes always get me shot…?" He groans into the pillows.
"It's one thing to see you being strong honey but hearing that you're bulletproof is pushing it." Inko sighs. She drops onto the couch and cards her fingers through his hair. "I'm a bit surprised they're going to all this trouble, though. You really made quite the impact."
Izuku groans again, and his mother laughs.
"We'll be home soon. I'm sure everything will be fine, Izuku."
"Mmffff."
"Language young man."
"Blame the villains." Inko sighs at his response, then chuckles and stands up.
"Well, I suppose you can't be perfect, eh? But let me think you're my little boy for a little bit longer. Come help me make dinner."
"Katsudon again?"
"The heroes are paying." His mother winks conspiratorially from the fridge. "And you haven't complained for the last week."
"Are you kidding, your cooking is the only thing keeping me from losing my mind."
Halfway through the meal he looks up at her.
"Mom…?" The smile she gives him said it all.
"You want to take care of her, right? When that little girl wakes up?" Izuku nods, and his mother smiles as she shakes her head. "I swear, you're too kind for your own good, Izuku. Do you even have to ask?"
"I just… I know that I'm already pushing it on our budget, and…"
"Don't you worry about that for one second." Inko snapped and pointed her chopsticks at him. "I wouldn't leave her with anyone else after some villain threw her at me, and you said she's a target? Even if you were quirkless, I wouldn't trust that girl's safety with anyone else before you."
Izuku chuckles softly at her lecture.
"Ever since you got this… whatever it is," She continued, smiling once again, "I've been thinking that it might be for something important. That maybe you got this power specifically. And you know something, Izuku? You prove that to be the case more and more every day you have it."
"M…Mom…?" Izuku's voice trembles as she turns watery eyes to her bowl.
"We'll figure something out, sweetie. We always do." She says wistfully.
"You're the best mom ever." He grins wide and Inko giggles.
"Oh stop! I'm just a housewife, you know."
"Everyone knows to be afraid of housewives! If we got you a minivan, it would make it twice as bad…"
"My driving is not that bad, you…!"
"We'd still have a car if that were the case, mom."
"Not everyone can leap tall buildings in a single bound."
"Eh?! It was ONE TIME, and I only jumped ten stories!"
"You WHAT?!"
"Fucking…"
"Midoriya Izuku, LANGUAGE!"
The call comes in the next day while he's on his run (Nezu will eventually have him replace the trees he tore down by hand, not that it makes him regret it) and he has to rush back to the infirmary.
Recovery Girl frowns at him as he stumbles into the hallway outside the infirmary, staring at the group of assembled 'knowing' people (plus Midoriya Inko, gods bless her soul for what he had gotten her wrapped up in).
"Why is everyone waiting out here?" He stammers. Nezu grins as soon as he stumbles into view.
"Ah, good! She's asking for you, Midoriya-kun!"
"What?!"
"The little girl woke up and refuses to let anyone close without screaming. She's forced herself into a corner, and she keeps whispering about the 'nice green boy'. Not that we know how she knows your color scheme." Recovery Girl groans. "Normally I'd sedate her, but needles set her off. Considering the reaction she had to me getting anywhere near her, Nezu and I decided you're our best bet at calming her down."
"Oh. Um…" Izuku scratches his head a little bit, then stalks through the crowd up to the door. "Well, here goes..."
Inside, the little girl is in fact holed up in the corner. Sparks dance up the length of her horn, leaving Izuku a little bit worried. Her eyes are open, revealing shimmering, tearful red irises peering up at him from the blanket she'd commandeered as her cover.
"Hi there…" He says, squatting onto the balls of his feet and grinning across the room. She stops shivering the moment he smiles at her, and her mouth parts as if she's just realized something. "Sorry it took me so long to get here."
"Mi…" The little girl stumbles over the word so much that Izuku feels his heart get pulled in five different directions.
"You can just call me Izuku." He says quietly. That's all it takes for the little girl to drop the blanket and charge across the room, flinging herself into his arms as sobs rack her body. When she buries her face in his chest and whimpers, he feels as if he's just walked out into a warm spring afternoon. Something switches on even as all the worry and anxiety of the past ten days shrug off his shoulders, and the warmth of wrapping the little girl in his arms fills him with something that he hasn't felt since that day.
The day he decided he needed a new dream.
"It's okay," He whispers, pulling her head tight against his chest, despite the horn rising from her forehead. "It's okay now, I've got you. I'm here… You're safe."
For the first time since he met All for One, the black hole tucked away in the back of his head sends a wave of pleasant heat through his body instead of twisting his stomach into knots. When the little girl looks up at him with tearstained eyes, he smiles as wide as he can and tightens his hold on her.
"I'll be your hero, okay? No one's ever gonna hurt you again." Through a break in the tears, the little girl blinks. Izuku takes the moment to wipe the tears away and run a hand over her head. "I promise."
"Y-you… you're a hero…?" The little girl whimpers through a cracked throat. Izuku grins despite the hurt in his chest.
"I'm your hero."
The little girl falls asleep crying in his arms, gripping his shirt like a security blanket. Izuku keeps her pressed to his chest the entire time Recovery Girl checks her out, refusing anything that separates them. As angry as the nurse seems, he catches her smiling at him wryly.
His mother rolls her eyes when he says that he's sleeping in the infirmary that night.
"I can't even complain about you being a father at sixteen if you look like that, Izuku."
He squawks as she leaves the room, calling something about bringing dinner for them both later on.
Twelve days after he stormed UA, Izuku is finally allowed to go home.
Izuku frowns as Tsukauchi points out the new security features in their home, and he barely waits until Cementoss is out of earshot before he gives the detective a flat look.
"Who has access to those cameras?" He thought the detective was smarter than this, but the way the man's eyebrows rise into his hair prove that the detective wasn't expecting this.
"Only you two, unless something trips the alarm. Which sends everything to both Nezu's office and the police station." Tsukauchi says. Izuku adjusts Eri against his shoulder, where she's almost taken a permanent perch. Her hands grip his neck while he keeps her pressed against his side, and her eyes scan everything.
"That's fine, then."
"Midoriya-kun…"
"Just being careful, detective-san." Izuku sighs. "I'm going to show Eri the apartment."
His meetings with the detective have been short and brusque. Neither of them is comfortable with the other, though Izuku continues to hate the way Tsukauchi treats him. Just like All Might does, which stings. They don't get to treat him like a child.
Eri digs her face into his neck when he opens the door to his home. He smiles softly as she peers out with one glittering eye.
"Welcome home, Eri." He whispers. Her hands shake as he walks to the living room, pausing only to show her the door to his room. After a long walk through every room, he and his mother sit down on the sofa and wait.
"…You… you shouldn't have brought me here…" Eri's voice is hoarse as she starts shivering. "He's going to…"
"He's going to have to go through me." Izuku's voice tightens when he pulls the little girl close. "And nothing goes through me, Eri."
"B-but…"
"Shhhh…" Izuku runs a hand through her hair gently, smiling when she turns her eyes up to him. "Remember what I said when we came in?"
Her eyes wrinkle up as she chews her lip. The words form silently as she tears up. Izuku tips her eyes back up to his.
"You're home, Eri-chan. And I'm going to keep you safe, no matter what." Izuku grins until his cheeks hurt. "I promised you, didn't I?"
Eri bites her lip a little harder, then throws herself into his side with a choked cry.
"Please don't leave me alone…"
Izuku quietly crumples his frustration into a ball, tosses into the black hole that All for One had left tucked in the back of his mind.
The next day, he calls his friends. Kābā and Tachibana come by later in the afternoon, then stare at him blankly as he gives them the rundown. According to the 'story' Nezu has, Eri ran up to him while he was on his run (the location seemed suspicious but Izuku has time to check that later) and she'd been glued to his side ever since, until they had no choice but to appoint Izuku and his mother as her adopted family.
When Eri gets lost in Tachibana's smile and her color changing eyes, Izuku wonders why he'd ever worried about his friends. Kābā gifts her a small statue of a unicorn that manages to peel her from his side, and the glee on Kābā's face is almost as precious as the way Eri's jaw drops as she runs her hands over the little horse. Almost.
Tachibana and Ruby and Inko take over the next trip to the mall. Izuku is left in the eye of a hurricane as the three women carve through the shops looking for Eri's new belongings. On the other hand, he can't help much with Eri in his arms, clinging to him and whimpering in fright every time a new person coos over how adorable she is. What he never expected is the number of business cards that clerks shoved into his hands.
"Just give us a call if you ever need anything for the little girl, okay? You're doing great." Izuku doesn't want to think about all the women who smirked at him during the trip. It makes him blush, which confuses Eri and makes him blush more.
Considering how small their apartment is, Izuku ends up with a slightly larger bed and an additional set of… everything stacked up inside. He's lucky that Kābā has more muscle than he seems, because even having ridiculous strength and reflexes doesn't help when half of one's body is dedicated to the clinginess of a little girl. The re-arrangement of his room leaves him with barely enough space at his desk, a bookshelf that reaches his ceiling tucked behind the door, two dressers stacked up near the foot of the bed and a small folding screen for when Eri decides she wants to change clothes.
Getting back to his routine takes some time. At first, he'd elected to do parts of it while Eri was sleeping (he'd commissioned a rack from Power Loader, one that collapsed and could fit in their living room without too much trouble), but nerves left him feeling inadequate with only that much. His mother was slowly taking over with Eri where she could, and he was a little ashamed at his relief when Eri agreed to a morning without him in the house.
The further he gets from his house, the more shocked he is.
People are everywhere. For the first time ever, they're swarming him just for jogging down the street. They come out of their shops, ignoring customers and duties and jobs to talk to him for ten, twenty minutes at a time. Gifts materialize when he tells them his mother is taking care of an orphaned relative, one who clings to his side like a part of him. Everyone he knows wants a photo with him, and for some reason he agrees… but only if he gets one as well.
He hates the pose that he chooses, even if everyone loves the 'peace sign' thing. All Might is still a bit of a sore spot. The Symbol of Peace had basically disappeared after their spar, which was both a blessing and a curse. It left them… somewhere. Where, Izuku wasn't sure.
Eri's little giggle when he tells her about his trips make it all worth it, though. She loves the pictures, and he gets them all framed eventually.
At the end of the month, his friends ask after Eri.
She still hasn't smiled once, even with the little puffs of laughter and the days she spends with awestruck eyes and hands running over her picture books. Nightmares leave her sobbing into his chest, and even if it isn't more than once a night, he can't deny that it's moved his rage from the back of his mind to the space beside his heart. Every single night he has to rock her back to sleep leaves him more and more furious, so much so that he's constantly burning up.
They thought he was joking until Tachibana yelped just from putting a hand on his forehead.
None of them really know how to help, so Izuku smiles and tells them it'll be fine. It's not the weirdest thing that's happened, right?
(None of them really know how to respond to that, so they visit Eri instead and spend the day with the Midoriyas doing last minute summer homework and chatting about nothing in general.)
To say that Izuku doesn't like heroes is a bit too far, depending on the day. Still, not keeping up with the local hero names and the hero boards would be sacrilege, and he's at least more knowledgeable than most on those topics. After breaking into UA, he's basically the adopted step-child of the hero industry and knows far, far too much about the teachers working there to consider them anything other than… distant family? Friends isn't quite right.
Needless to say, none of that stops him from gaping at the red wings sticking out of Suzuki-san's ramen stand. After a moment of internal debate, he drags a hand down his face and shuffles towards the shop with a rapidly darkening mood.
Suzuki-san and his family run the shop, though only Suzuki-san ever seems happy to see Izuku there. His wife isn't a morning person, and their son (a middle schooler) doesn't seem to like being dragged out of bed to open the shop early. Izuku bows awkwardly as he takes a seat beside the single other customer in the shop, ignoring the sudden scowl on the young man's face as he catches Izuku shuffling in.
Izuku isn't sure why Suzuki-san was so determined to open the shop early on Wednesdays. Opening early just for one person is a bit much, even if Izuku did help them however he could when he jogged by.
"So…" Izuku mutters, shooting a sidelong glance at the man beside him. "Um…"
Hawks grins at him around a mouthful of noodles and continues slurping, nodding as if to encourage him to say whatever it is he has to say. Izuku cocks an eyebrow at him before he shakes himself and does just that.
"You weren't on the list…" Izuku mutters, locking eyes on Suzuki-kun's back as the boy storms off towards the back hallway. "Why exactly are you here?"
"Ahhh…" Hawks leans back in his chair as he finishes slurping down the mouthful. "You know, you really can't get the same taste from big stores. Takes getting out into the little places, shops like this. Makes a trip like this worth it."
"Mmhmm." Izuku leans against a hand, sighing through his nose and resigning himself to a long talk.
"I think it's something about the time. Really putting in effort for each customer…" Hawks taps a finger on his chin.
"That ramen is the same thing they sell in every fast food joint around Musutafu." Izuku says quietly. "Suzuki-san copied the recipe for fun because no one around here knows the difference."
"…Oh." Hawks glanced at the bowl, then shrugged and sank his chopsticks back into the soup. "Well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
"What are you doing here, exactly?" Izuku snaps, staring as Hawks slurps even louder at the meal. After almost a full minute, the hero takes another deep breath and grins like a satisfied cat.
"I've been asking around, heard you come by here on Wednesday mornings." Hawks says.
"Why does the Number Three Hero need to talk to a nobody like me?" Izuku frowns. Hawks chuckles.
"You really sell that act? Everyone around here knows you're that green vigilante. No point in hiding it. But, for what it's worth, I'm here about that villain you took down before you disappeared." Hawks grins at him slyly for a moment before he takes another bite of his meal.
"What, the… The Subterranean King?" Izuku has to fish for the name. After almost a month, the villain was less than a footnote in his 'accomplishments' list. "That guy?"
"I wouldn't call it a 'guy'… But yeah, that one." Hawks says quietly. Izuku frowns as the hero half turns to face him.
"What about him?" Izuku mutters.
"I just happened to take on the Sky King only a week ago." Hawks gives him a look, something crossed between self-indulgence and commiserating, that Izuku doesn't appreciate. "I wanted to pick your brain."
"There's a Sky King…?" Izuku digs a hand into his hair and scratches his head. "But… Then, wouldn't there be…"
"More?" Hawks mutters, setting his sticks over the bowl and leaning on the bar. "We should assume so. Besides, they aren't human."
"What?" Izuku's eyes bugged out some as Hawks' expression turned serious. "Not… I mean, but then…!"
"Whatever they are, every one of the enemies I defeated weren't human. They had human DNA, apparently," Hawks shrugs and turns his eyes to the remaining soup in his bowl. "And quirks, but they weren't actually human. They spoke of conquering mankind, as if there were more. Worse, they claimed that they were scouting because someone defeated the Subterranean King. The fight just happened because I heard of some odd activity over the area."
Izuku sighs, then shuts his eyes and lets that information spin through his head, trying to slot it into place.
"When I fought the Subterranean King, they… There were more creatures in the hole." He says quietly, waving hello to Suzuki-san as the man peeks out from the back hall. "Apparently, they were gone when they sealed the hole, but still…"
"You took one of the swords that he used, right?" Hawks smirks at Izuku's frown. "No one is looking for it, kid, just tell me."
"Maybe. It wasn't normal, and I don't really…"
"Trust the police to fully investigate?" Hawks sighs. "I can't blame you. Just so you know, they're a bit too busy to worry about outliers like this. Someone is putting together an investigation team, but it's going to be a while before they realize you stole that sword. For now, the Police Force is telling everyone to 'be ready'."
"That won't work…" Izuku huffs.
"Well, the only people who've beaten these things are the third ranked hero and a quirkless middle schooler…"
"I'm in high school…" Izuku grumbles, glaring at the grinning hero.
"Guess my intel is old. Maybe no one is taking this seriously, but at least we know something." Hawks grins wider, sending a shiver running down Izuku's spine. "Can I trust you for help if another King pops up?"
Something about that smile reminds Izuku of Nezu.
"…Why are you even asking me? I'm a quirkless high schooler, a vigilante." Izuku mutters. Hawks hums to himself, reinforcing the similarity to Nezu.
"Call it a bet." Hawks says. Izuku sighs when the hero drops a massive wad of cash on the counter and stands up, pushing out towards the street. Before Izuku can stand up, a red feather pins a card to the bar in front of him and zips back outside.
Hawks is gone when Izuku looks over his shoulder. Izuku turns the card over in his hands and quietly decides that heroes only exist to make his life difficult. None of them were ever sane to begin with.
"Look, Kābā, anytime you want to come over and give Eri art lessons that's fine but…" Izuku pauses as he hears the firecrackers pop. The world drags to a halt as an older part of his mind wakes up and starts screaming at him. He's already glancing around in a panic when he realizes it's too late. Narrowed red eyes meet wide green ones as Izuku looks back to the corner they'd just passed
"Deku? The fuck 're you doing out here?" Bakugō snarls, already glancing over their group as he stalks closer. He's dressed in casual clothes, a red t-shirt and pants hanging loosely off his waist.
Almost immediately, Izuku feels the casual air around his friends shifting. Kābā frowns as he steps out, not putting himself between the pair but standing in front of Sokuchi. Tachibana's eyes flare red and orange and yellow-green as she also puts herself in front of Sokuchi despite the difference in their height.
Meanwhile, Izuku panics.
It's his own fault, really. At some point in the months since starting high school, Izuku forgot one of the most important parts of his routine. But with his friends dragging him towards one of the local shopping areas, instead of heading for the station, he hadn't paid enough attention.
Two weeks. He nearly made it two whole weeks without Tachibana yelling at him. Quietly, he wonders if Tachibana worries over him the way he worries over Eri. At this point, he can probably get her a gift without it being weird, right? She deserves at least that much for putting up with him for this long.
"We're just, y'know, going shopping." Izuku bites out as meets Bakugō's glare. He throws a glance at the prickly group beside him and tries to smile. "These are my friends from school."
Bakugō looks them over and snorts, then glares at Izuku again.
"Where the fuck have you been?"
Avoiding anywhere close to your house. Izuku kicks himself for letting his guard down.
"Just, uh, around?" Izuku cards a hand through his hair. "I take the train over to my school now, so…"
"That doesn't explain shit, Deku, we use the same station." Bakugō says. Kābā's frown turns into a sneer as he looks back and forth between them, and Izuku decides he's not up for this.
"Did you need something, Bakugō?" Izuku sighs.
For a second, everyone pauses. His friends are still measuring the situation, but Bakugō looks like he's just been slapped. At least, he does to Izuku. There's a tiny widening of the eyes and a lack of 'murder' in his frown that gives it away.
Then Bakugō's expression morphs into something familiar and a small flash lights up one hand.
"The fuck did you just say to me, Deku?" Bakugō snarls and takes a step forward. Izuku throws up a hand between Kābā and Bakugō, which stops the blonde in his tracks. Kābā gives Izuku a look, one that Izuku can't really unpack (either his friend is upset that he doesn't get to fight, or he's offended that Izuku thought he would fight Bakugō in the first place) just before Izuku steps forward.
Bakugō is taller than he is when he straightens up, of course, so Izuku has to look up to meet his glare as Izuku steps in front of his friends. Before Izuku can get his runaway train of thought under control, it comes crashing to a halt.
He's not as tall as All Might was.
Izuku blinks, then glances up and down Katsuki's frame.
"I asked if you needed something, Bakugō." Izuku says evenly. Bakugō sighs hard enough that Izuku imagines steam coming out his nose as he pushes further into Izuku's space.
"Don't go thinking you're better than me just cause you found a couple of extras who can tolerate your shit, Deku." Bakugō snaps. "Or are you just following them around like you used to follow me? I'll bet it's lonely now that there's no one to kick your sorry ass around anymore."
"You got some mouth on you…!"
"Kābā, let's just go." Izuku cuts them all off in a single round and turns, smiling pleadingly. They glare at him, then over his shoulders as he tries pushing them in the other direction. Despite the tension between them all, Izuku finally manages to get his party down the block and back on their way. After another block, though, Kābā glares at him.
"Who was that, Midoriya? And why was he calling you Deku?"
He doesn't need to look back at Tachibana and Sokuchi to know that they're curious too, but he looks anyways. Then he sighs and scratches the back of his head.
"He and I grew up together. When he got his quirk and I didn't, things kinda… went sour." Izuku's mouth twists as he tries to wrestle down his old instincts. "Deku was what they used to call me, cause without a quirk I'm useless."
"They?" Sokuchi's eyebrows pinch. "More than just him?"
"I was a hero nerd who couldn't fight or do… anything, really." Izuku's smile is probably sad, but it's funny looking back at those times. "My grades were good but that was it. Everyone knew I wouldn't make it but me."
"Seriously?" Kābā frowns. Izuku shrugs.
"Bakugō was the only one who ended up with the skills. He's at UA, now. That class that got attacked." Izuku says, staring at the crossing signal as it orders them to wait.
"You went chasing a serial killer for that prick?" Tachibana doesn't sound happy about it, but she doesn't do more than grumble. Izuku laughs at the way she says it.
"It's fine, really. He's not… I mean, Bakugō isn't a nice person but he's…" Izuku turns it over in his head for a bit. "He's going to be a good hero. And it's all in the past, anyways."
"When I joked about you having a tragic Shonen backstory I didn't expect it to be so…" Tachibana wrinkles her nose as they cross the street. "Spikey."
"Like an angry Pomeranian." Sokuchi mumbles. Izuku makes a choked sound at the comparison as Kābā and Tachibana snicker. Watching the stoic girl crack a smile is worth it, even if their trip started off badly.
"Sorry for dragging this all down." Izuku mutters, staring at his feet as the laughter trails off. "I normally avoid this area of town so I don't run into him…"
"You're actively avoiding that guy?" Kābā snorts. "You go running into burning buildings but you're afraid of a guy who's got firecrackers for hands?"
"Can we please stop talking about the burning building thing? And… you know what, just don't talk about any of it." Izuku grumbles.
"Not a chance, bunny boy." Kābā grins as he throws an arm over Izuku's shoulder. "Seriously though, if you wanna get back at him I've got some great ideas already…"
"Kābā, we are not getting anywhere close to Bakugō." Izuku says flatly.
"All I'm saying is that with a block of concrete, we can drop a statue of that guy's head on a Pomeranian in his yard, no problem."
"I'd rather not get that dog any more riled up than he is." Izuku mutters, earning a sigh of defeat from the others. Tachibana moves up to his side and pokes him in the ribs as her eyes turn black and gold.
"So… How does it feel having more field experience than the hero student?" She asks innocently, stifling a grin. Izuku rolls his eyes as Kābā shakes him a bit. By the time they make it to the next block, Bakugō is all but forgotten and Izuku is laughing at another of Sokuchi's one liners.
Eri still wakes up having nightmares, even when the summer break draws to a close. Despite all her progress being around his friends and being left with his mother. She'll always scream about a man in a bird mask, and she absolutely hates when people wear gloves around her. Izuku, for the life of him, can't imagine the sort of things that would cause this. Trying to imagine them only ever makes him angrier. And he doesn't have anywhere to put that anger, so it all goes into the black hole tucked near his heart.