Chapter 39: DualitySummary:
The evening after the sports festival.
Notes:
Art!
Die_biene X X
D4rkCh13f73n
Maya
Safiracoyfolf
Memes!
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Izuku and Mei were starting to get frustrated. Izuku was sitting crosslegged on the floor of the hallway, laptop open in front of him with every blueprint of UA he could possibly hack into, but so far there hadn't been any mention of tunnels or how to get in. He'd tried texting Nedzu for any sort of a hint, but all he'd gotten back was a winky face and he'd had to hide his phone to prevent Mei from stealing it and throwing it against the wall in frustration.
"Are you sure Nedzu isn't just pulling on your leg or something?" Mei groaned. "I swear, we've walked around the entire school three times! I swear, if that rat is just sitting in his office and laughing as we run around in circles..."
"He wouldn't do that." Izuku said. "Well, actually, the laughing as we run around in circles part, yes, definitely, he's probably doing that right now, but if there weren't actually tunnels, he wouldn't be having any fun. Nedzu likes knowing something that other people don't and enjoys watching them struggle to figure it out. It's part of why he went into education."
"So if there weren't actually tunnels, he wouldn't be able to feel superior?" Mei complained, falling back onto the floor and staring at the ceiling. "Ugh, where are we even supposed to start looking? There's nothing in the blueprints, right?"
"Nope." Izuku snapped his laptop shut and stretched. "But you know that would be too easy. The entrance or, more likely entrances, are probably well hidden and most likely require some sort of code, otherwise anyone would be able to access them. But UA is built like a maze, so…"
Mei sat up, "So maybe there's a false dead end!"
Izuku grinned and opened his laptop again, "Of course! For Nedzu, it would probably be hilarious to see students reach a deadend hallway and turn around, completely unaware that there was a secret waiting for them. Great idea, Mei!"
Mei grinned wildly, "So which wall do I need to blow up?"
Izuku rolled his eyes, "You're not blowing up any walls, that's cheating. Remember, this is supposed to be fun!"
"Blowing up walls is fun." Mei complained. "But sure, we'll try it your way and I can just blow up the wall of Nedzu's office later!"
"You realize he's probably listening, right?" Izuku pointed out.
"Just let him try and stop me!" Mei punched at the air. "It'll just be even more fun to break past all his defenses!"
Izuku shook his head and turned back to his computer, "Alright, so according to the blueprints, there are at least a dozen end hallways hidden around UA, but the closest one is...oh, there's one between prep rooms four and five!"
Mei jumped up, "Race you there? Whoever's last has to clean up the testing room next class."
Izuku grinned as he put his laptop away and let her pull him to his feet, "You're on!"
Mei instantly shot down the hallway like a bullet, and Izuku was forced to catch up, laptop case bouncing against his side as he followed her laughter. Even if they didn't end up finding the tunnels, this was a great way to spend the evening.
No one came to pick Hitoshi up from the sports festival, but then again, he didn't expect them to. Yeah, taking the train with the last remnants of a migraine wasn't fun, but it wasn't like he hadn't done it before, so he just waited in Recovery Girl's office until after the evening rush and then headed home once there wouldn't be so many people. He got a couple weird looks and a few thumbs up as people recognized his gym uniform or caught sight of the medal stuffed into his pocket, but thankfully most people didn't give him a second glance and it wasn't long before he was walking up the steps of his foster home, ready to make a bee line for his room and pass out.
He wasn't that lucky.
When he opened the door, some of the kids were huddled around the tv and Hitoshi froze when he realized the news was showing highlights from the sports festival. He didn't know why it hadn't occurred to him that his foster family might see it, probably because school felt safe. When he was around Izuku and Mei, he felt like he could take on the word, and honestly with the amount of chaos those two caused, he probably could, but at home things were different. Mei and Izuku looked at his quirk and they saw him, a person with potential to be a future hero, so to them, him winning the sports festival was the ultimate goal and an amazing accomplishment that he should be proud of, but something told Hitoshi that his foster parents might not see it that way. He passed the kitchen as silently as he could as he hurried toward the stairs, but all the stealth practice in the world wouldn't help when someone was already waiting to pounce.
"You lied to them."
Hitoshi flinched and slowly turned to look at his foster dad. He towered beside the table as his wife sat down, shoulders hunched and eyes red like she'd been crying. Hitoshi didn't say anything, obviously. He wasn't stupid. He just kept his eyes down as his foster father stalked across the room toward him.
"You didn't even give them a chance to fight back." he growled. "You lied to them so they wouldn't be able to stop you from getting in their heads. If they'd known how your quirk works, there's no way you would have gotten first place. So no wonder you won, boy, since you were willing to act like a little villain!"
Hitoshi opened his mouth to defend himself, but thankfully caught himself before he could make that mistake. The bastard was right , afterall. If he hadn't hidden his quirk's activation requirements, he would never have been able to get first place. The hero course students may not have had the support course in their corner, but they weren't stupid. If Hitoshi had gone with his original plan and let his quirk stand on its own, he would only have been able to win one fight, maybe a few more if he was lucky, but eventually, he would have come up against someone with more self-control than he was able to handle.
So he'd lied. He'd followed Izuku's advice and kept people guessing so that no one knew they weren't supposed to talk to him and his classmates in general education were too scared to say anything. Hitoshi wasn't sure if they were more scared of him and his quirk or of Mei and Izuku, who somehow managed to say something concerning every single time they appeared in his classroom, but at the end of the day, his foster father was right. He had taken advantage of fear, confusion, and deception to claw his way to the top, just like a villain would. Anything he said to try to defend himself would only make it worse.
"I thought you were trying to be good." his foster mother sobbed quietly. "You were going to UA and everything, so why did you take advantage of those poor kids like that?"
Hitoshi balled his hands into fists at his sides and forced himself to stay silent. It was harder than it should have been. After so many homes like this one and so many teachers who had never heard his voice, it should have been easy to bite his tongue, but if anything, his kidnappers encouraged him to talk. They wanted to hear his jokes and opinions and never assumed he would control them, except for when they asked him to, and wasn't that a welcome change? They'd made him feel like it wasn't bad to be dangerous, because they were both dangerous too. They'd spoiled him by listening to his voice and now it hurt even more to be silent. He hated it.
"You're grounded." his foster dad informed him. "If and when you return to UA, I expect you to write apology letters to everyone you hurt and tell them how your quirk actually works. Do you understand?"
Hitoshi gave a curt nod and turned toward the stairs, knowing that was as much of a dismissal as he'd get. The mystery surrounding his quirk had been nice while it lasted, but he should have known better than to think it would always be that way. His quirk made him a future villain and that was all anyone would ever see. He finally reached his room and fell facedown on the mattress. Why did he even try?
The sun had set a little while ago and for once in his life, Shouto was actually grateful for his fire. At least he didn't have to worry about getting cold while wandering around the city when he could regulate his own body temperature. He'd already decided that he wasn't going to be sleeping tonight. He didn't know what places were even close to safe, and the idea of being defenseless like that made him shiver. He'd gone nights without sleep before for Endeavor's training, and this was basically the same thing. Same for food and water. It was one night. He'd survive.
He didn't know quite where he was, just that he'd never been there before, but he wasn't too concerned. If he wandered for long enough, he'd eventually have to find something he recognized and then he'd be able to find his way home. Shouto kept his head down and kicked a rock a little ways down the street. He really was embracing his role as the family screw-up at this point, wasn't he? He'd lost the sports festival to someone from gen-ed, he'd talked back to Endeavor, and he'd even gotten kicked out. This day just kept getting better, didn't it?
He heard a small clatter behind him and instantly whirled around, dropping into a battle stance as his eyes ficked around to look for the threat. He didn't relax when all he found was an empty street. He resisted the urge to call out and ask who was there like some horror movie protagonist. No, he was a hero student and he was more than capable of defending himself against whatever came at him.
Shouto jumped a foot in the air and coated the ground with ice as something brushed past his leg. He stayed tense, ready to battle whatever villain was stupid enough to attack him...until said villain started hissing at him and he realized that he'd gotten all worked up over a stray cat that was now very angry and had all four of it's paws frozen to the ground. So much for not being a horror movie protagonist.
"Sorry about that." Shouto knelt down slowly and activated his left side to melt the ice. "I guess I really am a screw-up, huh? I bet Endeavor never accidentally attacked a cat thinking it was a villain."
The cat puffed up it's orange fur and hissed at him, but the moment the ice started to melt around its paws, it hesitantly relaxed. Slowly, keeping a close eye on Shouto in case he attacked again, the cat licked at the water left behind on the ground, then sat down and started cleaning it's paws. Shouto sighed and let himself slump down against the wall of the alley. At least he hadn't hurt the cat, at least not permanently, so he wasn't turning into his father yet. Small blessings.
The cat started to make its way toward him and Shouto moved to get up, only for the cat to bristle up again and start hissing until he stayed still again. Apparently, any movement on his part would be instantly seen as threatening, but he supposed he deserved that after trapping the poor thing in ice. He had enough scars from training, so Shouto wasn't really interested in adding more to that, just because he'd pissed off a cat. It wasn't as if he was planning on doing anything tonight anyway, so he settled down, content to spend the next however long catering to the whims of a frightened kitten. He was kind of clueless, though, considering he'd never had a pet. Endeavor wasn't the best person around humans, so their family had never really been interested in testing how he would treat animals.
He watched curiously as the cat continued drinking what remained of his ice, gradually getting closer and closer to him, but never making any move to attack him. He stayed as still as he could, which was extremely still, up until the moment the cat jumped on him. He tensed, ready to shove the cat away at the first sign it was going to scratch him, but it just hissed once and stared at him until he hesitantly started to relax again. The cat waited another long moment, ears twitching as it looked at him, and Shouto noticed that one of its ears had a bite torn out of it. Both the ear and the other wounds that Shouto could see were long since scarred over, but it was pretty obvious that this cat was used to fighting its way through the streets and one wrong move was going to get him matching scars. After what seemed like an eternity, the cat let out a satisfied yawn and curled up on his thigh. Shouto sighed. It looked like he was going to be here a while.
The concrete was cold, as was the brick behind him, so Shouto increased his body temperature slightly so he didn't start shivering and annoy the cat, but he wasn't quite sure what else he was supposed to do. He didn't have anything to feed it and wasn't sure it would let him pet it, so he was starting to get a little restless. What did people normally do when a stray cat just adopted their lap?
The cat had started purring at some point when Shouto heard a meow coming from another part of the alley. He looked up to see another cat, this one black and a little smaller, blinking at him from between two trash cans. It only hesitated a moment before leaving it's hiding place and padding across the alley toward him.
"No." Shouto said, tensing. "No, no, no, no! I don't even know how to deal with one cat. I'm not…"
His panic was cut off by the orange cat hissing at him again, very clearly communicating that he did not have a choice in the matter and was to remain still and not piss off the thing that had taken control of his lap. The black cat curled up against his side and Shouto let his head fall back and hit the brick behind him. He couldn't even stand up to an ornery cat. No wonder he'd lost the sports festival.
It kept going on like that for the rest of the night and after the fourth cat had crawled up onto his shoulder, Shouto just resigned himself to being a cat bed for the rest of his life. It seemed a little high of a price for accidentally freezing one cat, but if he moved now there were claws everywhere just waiting to scratch him, so he was trapped. When he reached six cats, he glared at the one responsible for this whole problem, but the orange cat just blinked up at him and twitched it's torn ear smugly. Asshole.
By the time he'd reached eight cats, Shouto was finally starting to feel a little more comfortable, so when the orange cat butted against his hand, he rubbed its head and started scratching behind its ears, which was the correct thing to do judging by the purr he got. Alright, so maybe he wasn't a total failure, just most of one.
He smiled softly and kept scratching the cat, "You're an asshole, you know that? Trapping me here? What are you trying to accomplish? I'm not a bunk bed for all your cat friends, you know."
The cat meowed back at him, obviously pointing out that he was a bunk bed, just based on the number of cats he'd ended up with. Shouto glared at it, "This is your fault. You started this. You know what? Just for that, I'm going to call you EndevPurr, you deserve it."
He flinched as the cat flicked out its claws and dug them into his thigh. It wasn't enough pressure to hurt, but it was a clear enough warning to Shouto to roll his eyes and give in, "Fine. I'll shorten it to Epurr, but you and I both know what it stands for."
Epurr gave a satisfied chirp and Shouto shook his head as he scratched behind the cat's torn ear again. How had he ended up here again? Oh, right, he'd lost the sports festival and then made a weird enemy...friend...thing out of a stray cat. How was this his life?
"You must have a fire quirk."
Shouto jumped and Epurr hissed at the newcomer, who just scratched his neck and rolled his eyes as he sat down next to them. He wore a ratty black hoodie and jeans and looked like he was a few years older than Shouto was, probably in his early twenties, and badly needed a hairbrush and moisturizer. His father would never let him leave the house looking like that, too concerned with his successor looking perfect for the cameras, but this stranger seemed more at home in these back alleys than Shouto was.
That didn't mean he was any less suspicious of him, "How do you know that?"
"The cats." the guy gestured to his collection. "Even when it's just a little chilly out, they track down anything warm and fire users can either manipulate their own temperature or just naturally run a bit hotter. Hence your little fanclub. Be careful of the orange one, though. She's a bitch."
"Oh." Shouto scratched Epurr's chin and she purred. "Yeah, a little. She might let you pet her though. Do you have a fire quirk?"
"Nah, just can't sleep and other players will try to bully me into going to sleep if I try to game in the middle of the night." The guy shrugged, there was something familiar about his voice and the way he talked, but Shouto couldn't quite place it. "Plus, it isn't terrible out here when most of the NPCs are gone. And I don't pet things. Dangerous quirk, you know?"
He raised up his hand and Shouto froze. Epurr didn't hiss this time, but she did headbutt into Shouto's hand to get him to keep petting her. Shouto forced himself to calm down and act natural, which wasn't difficult considering how many times he'd had to do the same thing around his father. He took back what he'd thought about not being a total screw-up though, because it shouldn't have taken him so long to recognize Shigaraki, considering that he'd tried to kill them all.
He was hyper-aware of how close Shigaraki was sitting. All he had to do was reach out and Shouto would be dust. Thankfully he hadn't seemed to recognize Shouto though, so the beanie was doing its job, though the darkness and the fact that the USJ had been so chaotic probably didn't hurt. And he'd thought facing off with an ornery cat was bad.
"So...fire quirk?" Shigaraki asked.
Shouto shrugged and took a deep breath. He just had to act natural until Shigaraki left, he could do that. "I don't like it, but yeah."
Shigaraki huffed, "Yeah, I get that. My quirk's the same way. There's good things too though. My quirk lets me destroy the things I hate and yours apparently makes you a cat magnet."
"I'm not sure that's a positive." Shouto deadpanned. "I don't like cats."
Shigaraki laughed, "They like you."
"I guess." Shouto said helplessly.
"You're a noob in this game, aren't you?" Shigaraki asked. "Living on the streets."
Shouto shrugged, "More of a visitor. Just got kicked out for the night."
"Ah, you'll probably be back then." Shigaraki nodded. "Most people tend to avoid this alley, too many murders, but if you ever need a place to crash you should be fine as long as you don't piss off the wrong people. Or the cats."
Shouto swallowed at the threat, "Got it. Don't make the cats angry."
Shigaraki gave a raspy laugh, "Pretty much. You're not too bad for a noob, I guess."
They sat there in silence for a long time until the sky started getting lighter and Shouto's legs were starting to cramp from sitting in the same position for too long. He was busy silently panicking about how he was going to find a polite way to leave when Shigaraki's phone buzzed and he swore.
"Ugh, Sensei's looking for me." He stretched and stood looking down at Shouto. "See you around, noob."
"See you around." Shouto responded hesitantly. "Just look for the cats."
Notes:
Next Update: 03.15.2021
Chapter 40: DiscoverySummary:
Things are discovered and changes take place.
Notes:
Art!
Hollis
xXJoshOwoXx
Memes!
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
More memes at the end!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Nedzu and Shouta verified the address one final time before walking up the stairs to the door. The house wasn't anything special. It was a medium-sized house, appropriate for the number of foster children the couple had on record, and was a bit run-down, but overall, it was exactly what Shouta had expected. Nedzu gave a few sharp raps on the door and there was the sound of someone running to the door before one of the younger kids yanked it open.
"Hello there!" Nedzu chirped happily. "We're looking for the adults of the house, can you please get them for us?"
The kid nodded and ran back into the house, passing several eavesdropping kids who instantly ducked back behind the wall as soon as they caught Shouta looking in their direction, only to peek around the corner again after a few seconds. As they waited, Shouta caught some movement further back inside the house and he almost smiled when he saw Shinso coming down the stairs. The moment he made eye-contact with the kid, however, Shinso froze. It was only a split second reaction and Shouta supposed it made sense with seeing his teachers out of context, but Shinso really should have been expecting the visit with how well he'd done at the sports festival. He waited for Shinso to come and say hello, but all he got was a small smile and a wave before the kid turned away and continued into one of the other rooms. Shouta frowned. That was odd.
It was only another few seconds later that the parents appeared, pushing Shinso's weird behavior from his mind for the moment. The woman hid partially behind the man, who was large and grinned widely as he greeted them, "Hello! What can I do for you today?"
"My name is Nedzu, I am the principal of UA high school!" Nedzu introduced himself. "And this is Aizawa, one of the teachers there. We were hoping to have a discussion with you about one of your foster children, Shinso Hitoshi?"
Instantly, the man's face soured, "Of course. We saw the sports festival, so we know what this is about. Come on in."
Shouta and Nedzu exchanged a confused glance as they followed the couple into the house. If they had watched the sports festival and knew that Shinso was getting into teh hero course then why weren't they happy for him? Winning the sports festival like Shinso had wasn't a small accomplishment, so they should be proud of their son, but they weren't acting that way.
They were led into the living room and sat down on the couch as a couple of the kids ran out to give them some privacy. The couple sat down across from them and before Nedzu could say anything, the woman started apologizing, "We are so sorry! We had no idea that Shinso was going to take advantage of his classmates like that!"
"His behavior was unacceptable, so rest assured that he is being dealt with accordingly." The man continued. "But of course, we're willing to accept any punishment the school gives him as well. We don't know what was going through the boy's head!"
Shouta just blinked in shock, unable to think of anything to say to that and Nedzu's smile looked like it had just been glued onto his face as he responded, "I am afraid I'm not quite sure what you mean. Shinso won the sports festival due to his own merit."
"He didn't even give those poor kids a chance to fight back!" The woman exclaimed. "We knew things would be difficult, taking in a child with a villain's quirk, but...well, we thought he was more respectful than to lie to everyone like he did!"
"We're making him write apology letters." The man offered. "Lying about the way his quirk worked was unfair to the other students, so he'll be delivering letters explaining how it works as soon as classes start up again."
Things were clicking into place and Shouta didn't like what he was seeing. Letters. The couple hadn't said they were making Shinso apologize, they were making him write letters, which were a non-verbal form of communication that wouldn't risk activating his quirk. And then, when they'd seen him earlier, Shinso hadn't said anything, just waved. How long had it been since he was able to talk at home.
"Are you telling me that you're punishing him for winning the sports festival?" He asked numbly.
"He didn't win fairly." The man said. "He didn't give the other kids a fair shot at fighting back. Hiding his quirk's activation was…"
"A valid strategy within the rules of the exercise." Nedzu replied, far too politely. "I'm sorry that you feel he was fighting dirty, but we do encourage our students to push every advantage they can both against villains and against each other and Shinso did very well at that. Apology letters won't be necessary."
The couple looked confused, "But…"
"Perhaps we could talk to Shinso?" Shouta interrupted. "We have a few things we'd like to discuss about his transfer into the hero course."
"But the boy was acting like a villain!" The man raised his voice. "You can't honestly look me in the eye and say that what he did was ok!"
"Shinso. Please." Nedzu said, leaving no room for argument. "Thank you."
The couple looked at each other for a long moment, then the man nodded and they both stood, "We'll go get him. Just wait here."
Shouta waited until they left before he growled softly, "What the actual fuck."
"This is concerning." Nedzu murmured. "But there isn't any evidence of physical abuse and the children are obviously materially well provided for..."
"Is there any way we can get him out of here?" Shouta said, keeping his voice down as he saw a few of the other kids peak around the corner. "These people aren't going to help him be a hero. Making him reveal his activation requirements? There's a reason he hid them in the first place! If all the villains knew them…"
"We can't simply bring a case against them, but…" Nedzu's eyes lit up. "There might be a loophole or two we can take advantage of!"
Shouta looked at him suspiciously, "What are you…"
Before he could finish his question, the couple came back into the room, Shinso in tow. The kid was looking at the ground and Shouta felt a fair amount of rage when he realized that whatever those parents had said to him couldn't have been good. Shinso was dedicated and a good kid, what gave them the right to treat him like a threat just because of the way he was born?
"Ah, Shinso!" Nedzu said cheerfully, "How are you today?"
The glance toward his foster parents was so quick that Shouta might have missed it if he hadn't been expecting it, but it still wasn't a surprise when Shinso smiled and gave a thumbs up in reply to the question. The parents obviously didn't allow him to talk, because if Nedzu had asked the same question at school, preferably when Shinso was around those two gremlins from the support course, he would have replied verbally.
Nedzu didn't comment on the non-verbal response, "That's good to hear! Well, you already know that you did very well at the sports festival, but I would like to be the first to congratulate you on being approved to transfer into the hero course!"
Shinso's eyes widened and he seemed to forget about the other people in the room as he grinned, "Really?!"
The soft gasp from his foster mother made him flinch and look at the floor again, carefully falling back into the purposefully bored persona Shouta had seen him use a few times during the sports festival. He couldn't let the kid stay here.
"Are you sure?" The woman finally asked. "Shinso is…"
"A dedicated student who will do well in the hero course." Nedzu said firmly. "That being said, there are a few concerns. Due to Shinso's...unique quirk and circumstances, we were wondering if you would be interested in Shinso taking part in a mentorship program. He would be placed under the custody of a pro-hero who would be able to keep an eye on him and make sure he becomes a hero."
Shinso's foster father looked at them suspiciously, "You would be willing to make sure the boy doesn't get into any trouble?"
"Of course." Nedzu nodded. "I know having a child like Shinso can be...overwhelming. He would be taken out of your custody and placed somewhere with more individual care and supervision. None of this will take place without your express approval, of course!"
Shouta saw a spark of fear pass behind Shinso's eyes and he tried to catch his eye. He didn't know exactly what Nedzu was trying to do either, but he'd known the rat long enough that he trusted him. Sure, what he was describing sounded more like a prison than anything else, but he had Shinso's best interests at heart. Shouta could only trust that he knew what he was doing and hope that Shinso did the same.
"So, he wouldn't be our foster child anymore?" The woman asked hesitantly.
"No." Nedzu answered. "He would be placed in the custody of a pro-hero."
"And you'd make sure he stayed on the right side of the law?" The man confirmed.
"Of course." Nedzu's smile was outwardly polite, but Shouta could see his annoyance coming through underneath, which was oddly comforting. "So?"
The couple whispered among themselves for a few minutes and Shouta tuned it out after the first few sentences. It was clear that they didn't trust Shinso, and probably never would, but he still didn't trust himself to not do something he'd regret if he had to sit there and listen to them treating him like a villain.
Finally, the couple turned back to them and the man started talking, glancing toward his wife for confirmation, "I...I think that would be for the best? When would he be leaving?"
"Oh, immediately!" Nedzu grinned widely. "We already have a hero lined up to take him in, so we'd like to move forward as soon as possible."
Shinso was obviously trying to hide his panic, so Shouta stood and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Well, kid, let's go grab your things."
Shinso nodded slowly as Nedzu explained the necessary paperwork. Aizawa followed the kid upstairs, grateful to get away from that room. The room Shinso led him to was mostly bare and screamed of a kid who was used to not even having time to unpack before moving onto the next home. It only took him a few minutes to shove everything he owned into a garbage bag as Shouta stood there awkwardly, wondering if he should offer to help. Soon enough, Shinso hauled the bag over his shoulder and nodded silently before heading back downstairs.
Nedzu was already standing by the door and waiting for them when they got downstairs, "Are you ready? Perfect! Well then, let's be on our way!"
Shinso didn't seem to have any desire to say goodby to anyone, so they just led him outside and Shouta opened the door to the backseat of the car to allow him to slide in. Then they were off and Shinso didn't even spare his old home a backward glance. He did look curious, however, which was understandable, considering that Shouta was just as confused as he was.
He cleared his throat, "You're allowed to talk, you know. We're not going to punish you for asking questions."
Shinso looked surprised, but still hesitated before saying anything, "So...where are we going?"
"Oh, that's easy." Nedzu chirped. "We're going to the home of Eraserhead and Present Mic. Aizawa will be taking custody of you, after all!"
"I think maybe we have to turn it upside-down?" Izuku suggested. "Or maybe we should 3D model it and see if it looks any different?"
For the past few days, Mei and Izuku had spent every moment they could in the halls of UA, trying to figure out the tunnels. They probably would have just slept there, but both security and their parents had taken an issue with that, so they had settled for waking up early and exploring until security kicked them out around sunset. So far, they had identified a dozen different entrances, so far, but each one was protected by a unique riddle, so they hadn't been able to get into any of them yet.
Mei chewed on the end of her pencil as she looked at the puzzle again, "Wait! What if it's about directions! It spins, right?"
Izuku nodded and spun the map a quarter turn. He had hated it his first week because why put a map of UA on the wall if it was incorrect? He'd gotten lost a few times trying to follow it until an upperclassman from the business course had taken pity on him and pointed out that the map itself was inaccurate. He'd written it off as an old map from before a remodel at the time, but now that he knew it as a clue to a secret entrance, it made a lot more sense.
"Hmmm…" Izuku looked at it again. "Wait, turn it rightside up again! It says you are here , right? But the arrow is pointing to the cafeteria, not to where we are!"
"Oh! You're right!" Mei grinned. "So should we look in the cafeteria? Maybe there's a clue there!"
"Actually, I think you were right about directions." Izuku said. "If we start at the cafeteria, what turns would we take to get to where we are now?"
Mei grabbed his hand and yanked him down the hall, "There's only one way to find out!"
Tenya Iida closed the door behind him and finally broke down. His brother was paralyzed. There was no hope of him ever regaining the use of his legs and he would have to retire as a hero, all because some villain got into his head that he should maim and murder heroes. He didn't understand how Tensei could be so nonchalant about the whole thing! Why did Tenya have to be angry enough about it for both of them.
He took off his glasses and wiped his eyes, then put them back on. There was no point in crying when he could take action. He was a hero! He was training to defeat villains! He couldn't just sit here and cry when he should be preparing to defeat Stain and make him regret ever making an enemy out of the Iidas!
"Um…Guest bedroom's down the hall." Shouta explained awkwardly. "Bathroom's on the right and we can probably get you some more clothes and stuff once you're more settled in."
Shinso nodded silently and disappeared into his new room as Shouta sighed in exhaustion and reminded himself that putting Shinso with him and Hizashi was the best option. They could pass off the change in custody as protecting an at-risk youth, and because the original foster parents had approved the transfer and given their express approval, no one would question a pair of heroes taking protective custody until they were actually able to get a foster licence. As much as he hated uprooting the kid, Shinso deserved to live in a place where he was allowed to speak.
He glanced over to the couch, where Hizashi was giving him a knowing grin and Shouta scowled, "Don't even say it."
Izuku read the directions out loud as Mei turned the map, "Left, left, right, left, right, right, left!"
They both held their breath as they looked at the map, which was probably the only reason why they were able to hear the quiet click as the latch unlocked and one of tiles on the floor beneath them popped up. They shared an excited look before rushing to it and pulling it up like a trap door, then they dropped down into the small tunnel and pulled the entrance closed behind them.
"Well, Izu-kun…" Mei grinned manically in the low light. "Are you ready to explore UA?"
Notes:
More Memes!
X X X X X X X X X X X X
Next Update: 03.21.2021
Chapter 41: ConfusionSummary:
Hitoshi's official first day in the hero course!
Notes:
Art!
most of this is ftwoan crossover art
JustDandy
Kappa
Unhealthily obsessed
Avroux
Haruuu
xXJoshOwoXx
Coppery Copper
Memes!
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
At this point, Hitoshi had just accepted that confusion was his default emotion. Being kidnapped and practically adopted by two kids his own age who turned out to be mad scientist gremlins had thrown him for a loop, sure, but that was nothing in comparison to whatever this situation was. At least he had confirmation that he'd made it into the hero course, but going home with his teachers who may or may not be waiting for him to go off the rails was not what he'd had in mind when he'd woken up yesterday.
He had the sneaking suspicion that Eraserhead hadn't been planning on it either. Sure, he hid his surprise well, but Hitoshi had seen the brief flash of surprise and maybe panic that had passed over his face before he managed to hide it. He didn't know why it hurt so much that Eraserhead was scared of him. Everyone was, so this shouldn't be any different, but in the few times they'd interacted in the past, Hitoshi hadn't noticed any hesitence to talk to him, but from his obvious panic and what Nedzu and told his former foster parents, they were doing this to make sure that he didn't get tempted to switch sides. It hurt to know that, except for Mei and Izuku, UA really wasn't that different after all.
Hitoshi straightened his tie and pushed those thoughts from his mind. He could get through this. He always did. It was just a matter of fading into the background and not talking more than he had to. As long as he behaved, Eraserhead wouldn't have any reason to kick him out of his house and by extension probably the hero course as well. No pressure.
Despite the fact that he knew this was just a precautionary arrangement, it was still trippy to leave his room and see Eraserhead and Present Mic sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. It was like running into his teachers at the grocery store, but worse. Present Mic grinned as he came into the room, practically bouncing in his seat with excess energy, "Hey there little listener! How'd you sleep?"
Hitoshi shrugged and Eraserhead slapped Mic upside the head, probably to shut him up so he wouldn't encourage Hitoshi to say anything, "Don't be so loud, Zashi, the kid just woke up. Besides, it'd be a miracle if he slept at all with the way you snore."
"Hey!" Mic squawked.
Hitoshi chuckled despite himself, then froze. Laughing didn't really count for his quirk, but did his teachers know that? Would they get angry at him? He looked up hesitantly, only to see Eraserhead smiling like he'd won something and Mic shaking his head in amusement. Ok, so they were glad he'd laughed at their joke, and he wasn't going to get in trouble for laughing. Good to know.
"Do you want any breakfast?" Eraserhead asked, frowning when Hitoshi shook his head. "Are you sure? We're having omelettes, but we can make you something else if you'd like?"
Hitoshi just shook his head again. He didn't want to cause any trouble on his first day and he never really got hungry until later anyway. There was always lunch and Izuku had a stash of snacks in his room for emergencies anyway. He was fine.
Eraserhead sighed heavily, while Mic looked worried and Hitoshi had the sinking feeling he'd done something wrong, but it was too late to take back his decision, so he just adjusted his backpack and waited for them to say something else. Was he supposed to walk to school or wait to leave with them? What was the protocol when you were living with your teachers?
After another minute or two of heavy silence, Mic stood up and took his plate to the sink, "Alright, you ready to go little listener?"
Hitoshi nodded as Eraserhead stood and grabbed his keys, "Let's go then. It's your first day in the hero course, so it's gonna be a long day. Your new classmates are a bunch of annoying brats, but you're used to dealing with Powerloader's gremlins, so it'll be nothing new."
Hitoshi snickered. It was always funny to see how the teachers reacted to Mei and Izuku. It was almost funnier than seeing the student's reactions, which was also hilarious. Eraserhead had seemed to support the two during the sports festival, so maybe living here wouldn't be too bad, even if they were just waiting for him to mess up and turn villain. As long as he respected Hitoshi's friends, that was the important part.
Mic talked the entire drive to UA and Hitoshi was almost tempted to ask him a question just to get him to shut up. Eraserhead nodded along and made interested hums at all the right places, but obviously wasn't fully listening to what Mic was saying. The weird part was that Mic seemed to know that and was totally fine with it. It was like the two had this silent agreement that Mic could talk as much as he wanted about everything under the sun and Eraserhead would just be there. He could see Mei and Izuku doing that too, but they would probably have to take turns as the listener, otherwise neither of them would ever shut up.
When they got to the school, Mic kissed Eraserhead on the cheek, which surprised Hitoshi even though they lived together, and left toward the general education part of the building. Hitoshi almost followed him out of habit, only to find himself being yanked back by Eraserhead's capture weapon around his waist.
When he turned back, Eraserhead was just raising an amused eyebrow at him, "Just where do you think you're going? You're in the hero course now, or did you forget?"
"I…" Hitoshi slammed his mouth shut. Just because he was at UA didn't mean he was welcome to speak. This guy was still suspicious of him.
He glanced up at Eraser hesitantly, but to his surprise, instead of getting angry, Eraserhead's face had softened into something like pity or maybe understanding, "You know you're always allowed to talk here, right? No one's going to force you, of course, but neither Mic nor I are ever going to punish you for talking. You're going to be a hero with that quirk, so it would be illogical to restrict your usage of it. Do I make myself clear?"
Hitoshi nodded again and Eraserhead just sighed and started walking toward 1A. It was a nice sentiment, but it could also be a trap. It didn't seem very hero like to bait him like that, but then again, Eraserhead was infamous for his logical ruses, so it was better to stay on the safe side for now.
Eraserhead paused for a moment when they reached the door to 1A. "By the way, you didn't ever actually write those apology letters your foster father wanted you to, did you?"
Hitoshi nodded, confused. They were tucked away in this bag, and he wasn't looking forward to delivering them, but he was glad he'd actually written them, if Eraser was asking. But then again, that also meant that he couldn't just conveniently forget to deliver them or anything.
"Ugh, rip them up." Eraserhead scowled and Hitoshi did a double take. "Or have Hatsume explode them or something. I don't care."
Before Hitoshi could even react to that, much less process, Eraserhead pushed open the door and walked into the classroom. Hitoshi's eyes widened as he took in the chaos happening in the class and then widened even more when everyone just stopped the moment they saw Eraserhead open the door.
"Good Morning brats." Eraserhead announced. "Good job on the sports festival, but don't get too cozy, your torture is just beginning. Shinso, you're in the empty seat. Let's get started."
His initial judgement of the man had definitely been correct. He was even scarier than Izuku.
"And yeah, I heard he was totally creeping on some of the third years over the break." Mina shuddered. "I almost wish there hadn't been an empty seat so you could have kicked him out, Shinso!"
Hitoshi wasn't quite sure how he'd ended up walking to lunch with a group of students from 1A, but as soon as class ended, Uraraka had pretty much immediately grabbed his hand and started dragging him along, most of the girls from the class falling into pace and filling the air with gossip. He was starting to relax a little more now that he wasn't around Eraser...well, Aizawa, who considering his instructions about the letters might not actually be judging him? Still, he didn't want to mess up his chances now that he was finally in the hero course, so it was better to err on the side of caution, at least around the hero course students.
"Yeah, Mineta's pretty bad." Jiro laughed. "But at least...what the actual…?!"
He practically ran into Jiro's back as she stopped suddenly in the middle of the hall. He looked to see what had shocked her and somehow wasn't really surprised to see Mei and Izuku hanging from the ceiling, dust in their hair as they grinned at them, "Extra-Credit-Kun! You made it in!"
His classmates, with the exception of Uraraka, gaped at them and a couple looked around in confusion trying to figure out who they were talking about. Izuku took a breath to say something else, onto to sneeze violently, which wouldn't have been nearly as bad if he'd actually been hanging onto anything. Instead he probably would have fallen out of the ceiling if Uraraka hadn't removed his gravity in time.
"Thank Uraraka!" Izuku smiled brightly, still upside down as Mei started dragging him back up into the ceiling and Uraraka returned his gravity. "Hitoshi, you have to see this! It's so cool!"
Hitoshi was just trying not to laugh as both Mei and Izuku reached down, grabbing one arm each and just pulled him up into the ceiling. He tried to imagine how this must look to anyone who wasn't familiar with his kidnappers, and that just made him laugh harder.
He pulled himself up the rest of the way into the ceiling and Izuku started shaking dust from his hair as Mei poked her head back down into the hallway, "Don't worry, we'll return him after lunch!"
"Just make sure he's back in time for class!" Uraraka's voice echoed with laughter. "Have fun and don't kill him before he can be a hero!"
Hitoshi's shoulders shook in laughter as Mei slammed the secret panel closed, cutting off the sound of his classmates freaking out as he turned to his kidnappers, "So…? What did you want to show me?"
"We got into the tunnels!" Mei's eyes were wide and he could see the crosshairs in her eyes zooming in and out as she looked behind him and took in every detail.
Hitoshi just chuckled, "I can see that."
"It took so long!" Izuku rambled. "Every single door is locked with a different puzzle and we haven't even found all of them. Most of the doors out are also locked, which was kinda fun. We've been here since yesterday."
"What?" Hitoshi crawled after them. He didn't know if all the tunnels were this small, but it wasn't really a problem for Mei and Izuku since they were pretty short. "Did you even sleep?"
"Not important." Mei waved a hand dismissively. "We've been exploring! These tunnels lead everywhere! We can get to all the labs, even after hours, not to mention the practice grounds and the classrooms, the staff areas…"
"But that's not even the best part!" Izuku interrupted. "Obviously, not many people ever find them, so some of the tunnels are pretty dusty, but Nedzu did design them to be explored! There's even...oh, here we are!"
Hitoshi panicked slightly as Mei and Izuku literally just fell and disappeared. He moved forward more slowly and screamed when he realized that one of the floor panels was actually a hologram. He hit the floor with a small oof and rubbed his head as he looked around and found...a nest? A half dozen blankets were spread out across the floor and more were folded against the walls. There was a mini-fridge and a cupboard that Mei was pulling cookies out of. Izuku poked his cheek and held out a take-out container from Lunch Rush.
"Is...is this where you guys slept?" Hitoshi asked, taking the food. "I mean, more power to you, but is it comfortable?"
Izuku shrugged, "Some of the others are more so, but this one's more central and it has the fridge."
"Got it." Hitoshi nodded and took a bite of his lunch. Yeah, confusion was definitely just his life now, but honestly, he wouldn't have it any other way.
Notes:
Next Update: 03.27.2021
Please be aware that you have now read the equivalent of a full length novel. If you've been looking for an excuse to eat, hydrate, or go to bed, this is it.