Clear The Fog To Find Me

by ForeverNightlights24_7

Summary:

Good nomu always obey. Good nomu always behave. Good nomu always... Dead. Izuku Midoriya is dead. At least... he was. Just like Kurogiri. Maybe, unlike the misty man, someone will save him.

*MHA spoilers!*
Inspired by the Nomu Izuku fanart by FLAMINGBISCUT and pretty much any other fanart involving nomu Izuku/Deku

Notes:

Fanart of this is welcome! Please tag me in comments if you make some so I can see!

Chapter 1: A Shift

Izuku Midoriya is dead. He died the day he jumped from that building after All Might left him there alone.

Izuku Midoriya is dead. Seiun is not.

Seiun was created with Izuku’s corpse. Doctor Garaki was thrilled to have a host body from a quirkless person. He worked tirelessly, inspired when he realized that Izuku’s body was capable of holding three quirks if done correctly.

He did it correctly.

Seiun is a nomu, modeled after Kurogiri.

In fact, Seiun was even given Kurogiri’s old quirk, Cloud. Because of this, Seiun’s body was covered in a thick layer of white and light green mist. The only visible feature from his face was his glowing green eyes, just like Kurogiri’s yellow ones.

Seiun also had two more quirks.

He had Healing Mist, which was a customized quirk created by All For One just for him. Anyone who was surrounded in or touching Seiun’s mist would be slowly healed from any injury.

Seiun also had Hover, which All For One took sick pleasure in giving away since that was Tomura’s original quirk. Seiun could make himself and those who were touching his mist hover above the ground.

It had only been a few months since his creation, but the doctor was very pleased with how he turned out. Apparently, Seiun was by far the most obedient and useful nomu he’d ever created.

That was why Seiun, despite only being fully functional for a few months, was assigned to join Tomura at the attack he’d planned. Seiun followed his master through the warp gate obediently. He never spoke back; wasn’t even sure he could speak anymore.

He kept his eyes low, trained to the ground while he waited for instructions.

“Seiun.” The nomu’s head snapped up, waiting for his directions. “Kill Eraserhead.”

Seiun moved on instinct. He didn’t think twice about rocketing forward and tackling his target to the ground. He just pulled out his knife and prepared to pierce his throat as the blade slashed under the target’s eye.

“Kid…” Seiun froze. “You’re a kid…”

Dark onyx irises were locked onto Seiun’s bright green eyes. “Please…”

A hand, a gentle hand, placed itself on the side of Seiun’s head. It was warm.

“Let me save you.”

—
Shota Aizawa had never felt fear like he had the moment he saw those portals open at the USJ.

He didn’t fear for himself, not really, he feared for the lives of his students.

So, without thinking twice, he started fighting. Shota knew after fighting for so long that he was going to mess up. His mistake came in the form of the villain leader rushing him, just managing to disintegrate part of his right arm. Shota kicked the man away and moved to continue fighting.

That’s when he spotted the small figure positioned beside the huge bird thing with the exposed brain. The figure was small, short, and had their head ducked down.

“Seiun.” The villain hissed the name out, and Shota watched the small figure snap to attention. It was a robotic movement. Trained. “Kill Eraserhead.”

Shota didn’t get a chance to move before the small figure had slammed into him, brandishing a knife that slashed just underneath his right eye. Once pinned, Shota could do nothing but look up as the small figure raised the blade up to strike him.

“Kid…” Shota said, lowering his voice in the way he only ever did for his husband and their cats. The child above him froze. Their large glowing eyes widened ever so slightly. “You’re a kid…” Shota continued, hoping to anyone that would listen that this would work. He wasn’t thinking about his class anymore, just this child hovering above him with a knife they were clearly trained to use. “Please…” Shota moved his uninjured hand up slowly, making sure the kid could see his movements clearly before he placed his palm on the side of the kid’s head. Their skin was so cold. “Let me save you.” He pleaded.

The kid remained motionless for a moment, just staring down at him. “Save?” The voice was quiet and strained, but Shota understood it anyway. “I’m a hero, kid. Please, let me save you.”

—
“Nomu! Kill Eraserhead!”

Seiun whirled around in shock, just in time for the other nomu to whack him out of the way and grab the hero. Hero. He was a hero. Seiun wasn’t exactly sure why, but he knew that Eraserhead was a good hero. He knew he was good. He needed to be protected.

“No!” Seiun screamed as the nomu used its hand to crush Eraserhead’s arm in its hold. The hero screamed from where he was hanging limply by the arm the nomu was holding. “Stop it!” Seiun rushed forward, using his clouds to blind the nomu and loosen its grip on the hero. The second Eraserhead dropped, Seiun grabbed him and took to the air.

“What the hell, Seiun?!” Tomura screamed, making Seiun flinch. “Get back down here, now!” Seiun could feel his body and brain screaming at him to obey the command, but he refused.

Seiun felt his body start to shake as he fixed his hold on the hero he was carrying. Eraserhead was on his back, but thanks to Hover he wasn’t weighing him down at all.

“Nomu! Kill them both!” Seiun launched himself and Eraserhead higher with his clouds just in time to dodge the nomu that had launched itself at them.

“Kid?” Eraserhead sounded hurt, badly hurt.

“Protect hero. Heroes good.” Seiun said simply. Eraserhead just gave him a confused glance but shook it off in favor of using his quirk to erase whatever quirk the nomu had. It continued like that for a while, Seiun leaping around with his clouds to keep himself and Eraserhead out of range of the nomu jumping after them.

—
Shota watched in confusion as the child that had been protecting him moments ago froze in what seemed to be fear the second the USJ doors burst open to reveal All Might. The kid, who Shota was already planning to care for once this was all figured out, lost control of his quirk, causing both him and Shota to drop.

“Shit!” Shota used his capture weapon to snag a nearby tree. Using his legs to grab the kid since his other arm was flailing around uselessly, Shota held the kid tightly and safely brought them both to the ground. “Ugh!” Shota groaned when he landed, having rolled onto his injured arm.

“H-hold on!” The kid said after gathering their bearings. Shota watched as cold mint colored steam flowed from the kid’s hands and over to him. “H-heal.” The kid explained, getting a bit closer to him.

Shota flinched when All Might suddenly appeared, grabbing the kid by his arm as the fog surrounding Shota dissipated. “No need to worry, Aizawa! I’ll-” “Let go of him, now!” Shota jolted up, the pain in his arm somehow far more manageable as he used his capture weapon to pull the kid away from the blond hero. “I-” Before All Might could finish whatever he was about to say, the nomu appeared and started to attack him.

“Hold on, kid.” Shota pulled the child onto his back and took off. He needed to get as far away as possible so All Might didn’t need to worry about him while fighting.

As he ran, Shota felt the kid cling to him tightly like a frightened koala. It was like the kid thought Shota would disappear if he let go. That’s when the mint green mist appeared again, wrapping around Shota’s injured arm and head. Slowly, Shota felt his injuries start to heal under the mist. “Thank you.” Shota muttered once they both made it to the stairs.

Shota turned so he could help All Might by erasing the portal villain’s quirk.

“Kurogiri! He took Seiun! He betrayed us!” Shota felt the child on his back stiffen, their grip on him tightening. “Tomura Shigaraki, we must retreat without him. A student managed to escape so the other heroes will be here shortly.” “I-” The villain, Shigaraki, was cut off by All Might sending the nomu flying through the roof of the USJ after Shota erased the monster’s quirk. “Fuck!” Shigaraki started screaming about society and whatnot, but Shota was more focused on the trembling child he was still carrying.

“Die!” Shigaraki lunged at All Might but was stopped by Snipe, shooting him over six times in less than two seconds. Kurogiri, the name Shota thinks Shigaraki was calling him, rushed in and warped them both away before Snipe could do anything else.

Shota turned just in time to see Present Mic, Hizashi Yamada, rushing towards him. “Don’t touch the kid!” Shota said, rushing forward to meet his husband halfway. Hizashi just nodded, moving so he could use his scream to down any of the remaining villains in the plaza.

Shota took off, feeling a strong need to get this kid far away from everyone and everything else despite his aching muscles begging for a break.

“S-stop!” The kid suddenly spoke up, voice still shaky like he wasn’t used to speaking.

Shota stopped dead in his tracks, now face to face with the rest of the UA hero staff as the child on his back lifted his head up off of his shoulder. The kid then reached his arms out, and they all watched as that mint green mist flowed forward to surround Thirteen, who was being treated by Recovery Girl. “What the-”

Shota moved so he was firmly between the kid and his coworkers. They all looked extremely confused but moved away to help Hizashi in getting the 1A students back safely.

Shota eventually shifted so he and the kid were standing above Thirteen. He watched as the fog coiled around the downed hero, stitching her wounds together just like Recovery Girl’s quirk would without draining any of Thirteen’s energy.

“Who might this be?” Nezu asked, approaching slowly. Shota felt the kid freeze again. “He’s… He helped me. He betrayed the villains. I’d be dead without him.” Shota said, moving so his newly healed arm was visible. Nezu analyzed the scar for a moment before nodding. “We must take him into custody.” Shota nodded again. “I’m staying with him the entire time.” “You need to get checked out at a hospital.” Recovery Girl tried to say, but Shota cut her off with a glare.

“I’m not leaving this kid.” Shota paused when foggy arms slowly laced around his neck and a cold face pressed itself into his shoulder once again. “Thank you.” The child said, voice watery like they were starting to cry. “I should be thanking you.” Shota scoffed, fixing his grip on the kid again.

Suddenly, the child went completely limp.

Chapter 2: A Step

Seiun woke up slowly. His brain felt as foggy as his body normally was. He moved to rub his eyes before freezing. Cuffs. He was cuffed. Was he back with the doctor? Why? He was with the hero! Why was he with the doctor?!

“Kid?” Seiun let out a sob, his body was stinging with phantom pains.

“Kid? Hey, you’re ok. It’s Eraserhead. Do you remember me?” Seiun shuttered again, keeping his eyes squeezed shut out of fear.

It took a long time, but eventually, Seiun finally noticed the calloused fingers gently running through his foggy hair. Seiun whined, pushing his head further into the touch to distract himself from the cuffs. He slowly opened his eyes, now making direct eye contact with the man he’d worked so hard to protect.

“Hi…” Seiun whispered. “Hey, kid. You finally back with me?” Seiun shifted, fidgeting with the cuffs on his wrists with watery eyes. “P-please don’t make me go back.” “Go back where?” The hero asked, still running his fingers through Seiun’s hair. “Th-the doctor. P-please don’t make me go. Please. I-I’ll do anything y-you want.” The man’s eyes softened. “You’re never going back there, kid. You’re safe with me.” “Really?” “Really.” Seiun nodded slowly, finally calming down from what he somehow knew was a panic attack.

—
Shota already knew there was something wrong with the kid from the moment he saw him at the USJ. That feeling multiplied tenfold when Recovery Girl did her medical checkup on him.

The kid was covered in scars, his body was malnourished, and he had damage to his body that had never healed properly. The small woman made a comment about the kid’s heartbeat as well, saying something about it being far too slow for someone living and breathing. She even noticed subtle signs of a quirk affecting the kids brain when she used her medical equipment to check for brain damage and or a concussion.

Shota refused to put the unconscious kid down at any point, only moving him around so the police could get the quirk canceling cuffs onto him.

It took three hours for the kid to finally wake up, and when he did Shota instantly knew the cuffs had caused the panic attack. The kid took a long time to calm down, and even when he was calm he didn’t seem fully present. Not like at the USJ, instead it was like he was disassociating unless addressed directly.

The kid answered Detective Tsukauchi’s questions only after Shota told him to, which was extremely troubling on its own. The things the kid said were far worse. His answers were all vague but painted a clear picture when pieced together.

“What is your name?” “They c-call me Seiun.” “Is that your name?” “It’s… I don’t… I’m not allowed to-to remember.” That was just the first question.

“How old are you?” “I’m… physically fourteen…” “Mentally?” “I… fifteen?” Shota raised his hand again, causing the boy to flinch before he relaxed as Shota’s fingers carted through his hair.

“Why were you with the villains at the USJ?” “I was told to.” “And why did you do it?” “I had to.” “Why?” “I-” The kid jerked his hands up to clutch at his head tightly. “H-hurts. C-can’t disobey. Good n-nomu always obey.” “Nomu?” “Yes.” “What is a nomu?” “Me.” “You’re a nomu?” “Yes.” “What does that mean?”

The kid paused for a moment before shifting his head side to side. His eyes started to become slightly more clouded. “A living corpse created by the doctor to fulfill our duties.” As the questions went on the kid’s voice started to lose its emotion. He was becoming far more robotic in his responses.

“How many other nomu are there?” “I’ve seen ten.”

“What is the leader of the League of Villain’s name?” “Sensei.”

“How long have you been with the League of Villains?” “Months.”

“Were you ever allowed to leave by yourself?” “No.”

“Did they train you to fight?” “Yes.”

“Do you know where the League of Villain’s base of operations is?” “Japan.”

“Where in Japan.” Silence. When the kid seemed to not know something he went quiet, often flinching as if he was expecting to be hit.

“Why did you protect Eraserhead at the USJ?” “Hero.” The kid answered, eyes showing slightly more emotion than they had in the past hour. “Hero? Are you saying you protected and healed him because he’s a hero?” “Yes and no.” “So there was another reason?” Shota inquired. “Yes.” “What was the other reason?”

“I-... H-he told me- I-I-...” The kid’s breathing suddenly sped up. “K-Kurogiri s-said once h-heroes are g-good. Eraserhead and P-Present M-Mic would p-protect me. H-he said I n-needed to get out.” “Kurogiri? The warping villain from the USJ?” “He’s not a villain!”

The kid slammed his hands on the table as he yelled. “Hero! He was- Not anymore! They- Doctor made him- He’s like me!”

Shota yanked the kid down and into a hug as he started to sob. This was by far the most emotion this poor kid had shown the entire time Shota had seen him. “That’s enough.” “Agreed.” Tsukauchi sighed. “Are you alright with taking him?” Shota nodded mutely as he moved to put the small teenager on his hip to carry him.

“Good luck. I’ll be in touch.”

—
Shota carried the teenager now in his care all the way home.

He had to make sure the kid was covered in case the villains were looking for him, but that was easy with the hoodie Hizashi had dropped off for him a few hours ago.

“Kid?” “Yes?” “Can I give you a new name?” No response.

“I don’t want to call you what those villains were calling you. Can I call you something else? It’s your choice.” He said as he slowly opened the door to his and Hizashi’s apartment.

His husband was already there but was wisely keeping quiet. “Yes.” “Thank you. Do you have anything you would like to be called?” The kid shook his head slowly. “Alright. Is it ok if I ask my husband for help?”

The teen paused for a while before he shifted so he could finally look at Hizashi. “Husband?” He questioned, almost like he didn’t recognize the word. “Yes, he’s my husband.”

“Hey, kiddo. My name is Hizashi Yamada.” Hizashi waved. The teenager in Shota’s hold just stared at him. “Present… Mic… Radio…” The kid said slowly, his words slurred slightly. “Ah, yes. I’m Present Mic. My radio show is Put Your Hands Up Radio. Have you heard of it?” “Used to… listen… Not allowed.” Hizashi’s smile faltered slightly and Shota sent him a look.

It was only after the kid had been sent to take a shower that Shota sat Hizashi down to explain everything. He was thankful Tsukauchi and Nezu also sent over their notes and findings because that made everything a lot easier to explain. Either way, Hizashi was still devastated for the poor kid.

“So…” Hizashi said, watching as the teenager sitting on the other side of the table froze instantly.

“Shota mentioned getting you a new name, Little Listener. Any preferences?” The kid shook his head slowly, moving to finish the last of his rice. “Hm… How about we start with a nickname, then? You can choose your real name later.” “That sounds like a good idea. Is that alright with you, kid?” Another mute nod. The teen hadn’t been speaking much since Shota brought him home, but Shota isn’t too worried about that. He’s sure the entire situation is finally starting to catch up with the poor kid.

“Well then, how about I call you…” Hizashi theatrically tossed his head back with a smile. Hizashi then paused for a moment and made eye contact with Shota. “Actually.” Hizashi stood, walking over to the shelf in the living room near the tv.

Shota watched as his husband grabbed a familiar picture frame and carried it over to show the teen by his side.

Glowing green eyes scanned the picture in the frame slowly, taking in every detail.

“Here.” Hizashi pointed to the picture, specifically to the teenager standing in the middle. His bright blue hair mimicked the shape of the misty green hair on the teen’s head.

“You remind me a lot of an old friend. His name was Oboro Shirakumo.” Hizashi explained, eyes slightly watery.

“Kumo means cloud. It also means freedom, and since you’re free from the villains now I think it fits. Do you mind if I call you Kumo?”

Shota watched the teen closely. He noticed the faint shaking in his hands stop. The way his shoulders relaxed. The way his own eyes began to water. “Th-that sounds n-nice.” “Alright!” Hizashi cheered, making the kid flinch slightly.

“Kumo it is! It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The kid smiled slightly, the faint glow of his skin showing through the fog covering him.

—
Kumo shocked Shota and Hizashi over and over again the next two days.

For one thing, the kid was so sweet and kind. The first morning after the couple had taken him in, they found Kumo out in the living room cleaning the shelves with a duster. They later discovered that the kid had deep cleaned the kitchen, bathroom, guest room, and hallway before they found him.

Kumo was also very talkative. It was close to the end of the first day he’d been there that the couple heard him ramble for the first time. Kumo tried to apologize for it, but Hizashi assured him repeatedly that he was more than welcome to talk around them as much as he wanted.

That ended with the kid starting a lengthy discussion about quirks with Hizashi. The kid looked amazed with each and every small detail Hizashi mentioned about his quirk. The kid even gave Hizashi an idea to try and use his quirk while whistling when his throat hurt.

Kumo also loved hearing about Shota’s quirk. The kid had somehow got the underground hero to talk on and on about his quirk while he fiddled with the cuffs around his wrists.

Since the kid was still in custody he needed to keep them on, but Shota managed to get a pair that didn’t connect his wrists together. They were more like thick bracelets. The kid seemed to have trauma involving the cuffs, so Shota worked hard to distract him from them.

Kumo was also extremely caring. Whenever the kid was near one of the cats he made sure to make them comfortable in any way he could, never touching them without looking to Shota or Hizashi for permission first.

The cats seemed to adore the kid, all three of them purring like lawnmowers whenever Kumo finally moved to pet them.

Hizashi ended up asking Kumo for help with his hair and inadvertently learned how skilled the kid was with hair care. Kumo just said that he had experience with helping his mom.

By the end of the night, Hizashi walked into the kitchen to show Shota the amazing braids Kumo had made into his hair.

Shota was impressed, so he let the kid do his hair as well.

Kumo ended up braiding parts of Shota’s hair before pulling it up into a half bun style that Shota actually used often.

Hizashi insisted on taking a photo, so that’s how Kumo found himself sitting between his two temporary guardians while Hizashi snapped a selfie of the three of them that almost mirrored the photo already framed on the shelf.

—
The second morning started similarly to the first.

Kumo was meticulously cleaning cat hair out of the couch like it was his life's mission. Hizashi just sighed while moving to lead Kumo into the kitchen.

Hizashi ended up teaching Kumo how to make omelets. Kumo was a fast learner and seemed more than happy to take the advice and criticism Hizashi had for him. The kid absolutely beamed when Hizashi complimented him.

Shota just gave the kid’s hair a ruffle before happily eating the omelet made for him.

Later that day, Tsukauchi arrived at the apartment to have another interview with Kumo.

“What is your name?” “K-Kumo.” “Kumo?” “Y-yes.” “We started calling him that yesterday.” Hizashi explained. “I see.” Tsukauchi nodded.

“Alright, Kumo, what is your quirk?” “Which one?” The detective froze for a moment. “Do you have multiple quirks?” “Yes.”

All three adults in the room stared at Kumo with wide eyes. Shota had assumed as much from the USJ, but hearing it from the kid directly was different.

“How many quirks do you have?” “Three.” Tsukauchi blinked. He had a very bad feeling about all of this.

“What quirks do you have? And what do they do?” “Cloud.” Kumo missed the way Hizashi and Shota both startled. “I can create and manipulate clouds. My current limit is a few small ones or one big one. I can also create steam and fog but that takes a lot of concentration.” Tsukauchi nodded slowly, writing everything down.

“Hover. I can make myself and anything I touch hover above the ground. The weight limit is around two thousand kilograms but it isn’t set. I use it along with my clouds to mimic flying.” Shota nodded along slowly. He knew there was something off about himself once the weightless feeling took over at the USJ, but he didn’t have time to think about it.

“Healing Mist. I can make mist that heals people when it touches them. I can’t use it too much because it makes me dehydrated and tired. The mist uses my energy along with living things around me to energize the body and give me power to manipulate the cells into healing faster.” “Thank you, Kumo.” Tsukauchi said. Kumo nodded slowly, eyes drifting in the way they did when he started to dissociate.

Tsukauchi asked a variety of questions, some the kid had already answered but that they needed more clarification and others new.

“Now, Kumo, do you remember anything that you think could be important to me that I didn’t ask about last time I interviewed you?” Kumo paused. “D-doctor. His name is G-Garaki. H-he has the other n-nomu at the h-hospital.” Tsukauchi’s eyes widened. “Are all of the nomu on the same level as the one from the USJ?” “No.” “Are they as advanced as you?” “No. Just K-Kurogiri.”

“Thank you, Kumo. Was there anything else?” Kumo went to say more before slamming his hands over his mouth as his eyes went wide. “Kumo?” “No, no, no, no, no, no, no…” Kumo repeated over and over as his body trembled. “A-All F- All F-F- A-All F-For- For-” Kumo cut himself off with a panicked whine.

Tsukauchi paused before his blood ran cold. Kumo had multiple quirks, so could that mean?

“All For One?”

Kumo screamed, it was an instant response that had the adults in the room flinching away from him. “N-no! Sensei, I’m sorry! I won’t do it again! I’ll behave! Please! Don’t send me back!” Kumo cried out as he clawed at his head and face.

“Kumo!” Hizashi reached out to tug the sobbing teenager into his chest. Kumo sobbed uncontrollably as he begged and pleaded to be let go and not to be hurt anymore. The worrying part was that he stayed almost completely still the entire time, the only movement being his jaw and flickering eyes.

“Ok…” Tsukauchi said slowly. “This is a lot bigger than I originally thought. I need to talk with a few people, but I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. For now, keep the kid safe.”

—
Kumo was silent the rest of the day after Tsukauchi’s visit. It took a long time the following day for Hizashi to convince the kid to speak once more. Even then, he was back to the emotionless and robotic behavior they recognized as learned behavior that he likely used when with the villains.

It got to a point where the kid stopped responding to everything, even the cats.

Hizashi bumped into him by accident and the kid showed zero reaction to it until Hizashi directly asked him if he was alright. Kumo didn’t even respond verbally, just nodding his head and moving to clean the fridge as if he’d been told to.

Shota wasn’t looking forward to teaching the next day. He wanted nothing more than to stay home with the kid until he was finally comfortable again, but that couldn’t happen at the moment.

Instead, Kumo would be going to UA with Shota and Hizashi. He would stay in the teachers lounge the entire day, ensuring that a hero was always there to keep an eye on him. It irked Shota slightly, but he understood.

The kid was still technically in custody even if he’s proven time and time again that he was forced into his situation.

It was hard enough getting the kid to be comfortable around them when he was in a calm and safe space, but a high school? A hero school that the kid technically partook in attacking?

Shota sighed again. There wasn’t anything he could do besides try and make the kid as comfortable as possible. If that meant allowing Hizashi to go on a shopping spree and bring back a customized Eraserhead themed hoodie for the kid, then Shota wouldn’t say anything.

Notes:

Meeting the teachers next! Make your guesses on who's going to cause problems for the cloudy boy.

Another note: Kumo (Izuku) does have some memories and characteristics from his past, but they are mostly drowned out by the literal brain and memory altering quirks used on him. He will slowly regain memories and parts of himself, make your guesses as to what and why now.

Chapter 3: A Hop

Notes:

Shorter chapter! But it's got a lot going on!
Also I must add, fanart and podfics for this fic are more than welcome, just please give credit if you make them!

Kumo wasn’t exactly sure what was happening.

His guardians, as they asked to be called, were driving him somewhere. It had been a long time since he’d been in a car.

He fiddled with the sleeves of the… hoodie? Yes, he was wearing a hoodie. He thinks one of them got it for him. It’s nice. It reminds him of Eraserhead. Kumo was wearing a light yellow shirt, black beanie, light blue pair of jeans, and a pair of white shoes. He faintly wondered why his shoes weren’t red, but he wasn’t sure why.

He just followed along silently, like he was supposed to. He let them lead him through a building that he faintly recognized as a school. He didn’t care much, he was more focused on not freaking out over the cuffs still on his wrists. There was someone else in the room, their voice was high pitched. Kumo could still hear the anger hidden behind their chipper tone. It made him feel afraid, but he couldn’t show that. Being afraid meant being hurt or sent back to the doctor. Words were said around him, none of which he processed.

Kumo just stayed quiet, letting his guardians lead him to a new room. This one had many other people in it. Kumo didn’t look up, even when the feeling of eyes burned into him.

“Kumo.” The voice had his head snapping to attention, just like he was trained.

He was a good nomu.

Good, finished, nomu were always ready to obey.

He’s finished. He doesn’t need to be perfected again.

His blond haired guardian paused, looking uncomfortable for whatever reason. “Stay in here. Please don’t leave the room.” Kumo nodded slowly. He could do that. He was used to that. “Thank you.” Kumo didn’t respond to that. There was no way his guardian was talking to him. No one ever thanked him or Kurogiri.

Afterall, they were just tools.

Kumo glanced up when something shoved him to the side. A man, a very tall man with white hair, was glaring at him. The sight had Kumo shrinking away in fear. This man looked way too much like- “Kumo?” He turned to look at his guardian again.

Before he could think twice, Kumo moved so he was hiding behind the man, shielding himself from the white haired man who was still watching him.

“Kan.” Kumo heard his dark haired guardian say.

“He’s a villain! Why the hell is he here?!” The white haired man yelled back.

Kumo shrunk back more, forcing himself to go away. It was better when he was away. He didn’t feel anything. It was like when he- Well the point was that he wouldn’t be able to hear the angry man anymore.

—
Hizashi was pissed.

He and Shota had just finished introducing Kumo to the rest of the staff when Kan stormed into the room. He glanced down at Kumo before roughly shoving him with his elbow.

The contact seemed to snap Kumo out of his half dissociated state, because now the poor teen was trembling behind Hizashi, using him as a human shield while he muttered something about being the perfect nomu and not disobeying. Hizashi has an idea that Kan must look like, or at least remind the kid of, one of the villains that harmed him for the months he was trapped.

“Kan.” Shota warned, moving so he was also shielding the kid. Because that’s what he was, a kid.

“He’s a villain! Why the hell is he here?!” Kan yelled.

Hizashi felt the exact moment Kumo dissociated again, but this time he was completely gone.

“Kumo?” Hizashi moved so he was crouched in front of the kid. No reaction. “Hey, Kumo? Kiddo?” Hizashi reached out, taking the kids cold hands into his own. No reaction. “Kiddo? Hey, are you there?” Nothing.

“Damn it!” Shota cursed as he whirled around to face Kan again. “Go sit the fuck down and read the damn email I sent you. If you treat him like that again, or even go near him, after reading that email you and I are going to have a problem.” Shota snarled, giving Kan a glare that could turn water to ice. The other hero just looked confused and startled at the show of hostility from the usually quiet man. “What?” “Read. The. Fucking. Email.” Shota hissed, turning back so he could join Hizashi in trying to calm their kid down.

Now wasn’t that a statement? Their kid. But they both knew it was true. Kumo was their kid now. He was theirs the moment he saved and protected Shota from those villains.

“Kumo?” Shota reached his hand up to slowly cart his fingers through the teen’s foggy hair. “Can I move you over to the couch?” No response. With a sigh, Shota did just that. He made sure Kumo was comfortable before leaving to check on his homeroom class.

Hizashi was glad his homeroom started an hour later, meaning he could use his open period to try and calm Kumo down.

—
Kumo blinked his eyes slowly.

There were voices coming from behind him. Ones he didn’t recognize. It was a man and a woman. There was someone else too. Someone was standing on the table in front of him, watching.

“Hello.” The… person… animal… being said. Kumo blinked a few more times before slowly lifting his head. “Am I a bear, a mouse, or a dog? What’s important is that I’m-” “Stoat.” Kumo answered simply. That was a question, right? He was supposed to answer those, wasn’t he?

“My, my… How observant you are…”

Kumo noticed that the other two voices were silent now.

“Chimera. I’m assuming you’re a hybrid of animals, although an albino stoat seems to be the closest comparison. Apologies if I’m incorrect, please punish me as you see fit.” Kumo ducked his head, waiting for the reprimand or strike for his foolishness.

“No, no, Little Mouse.” Kumo felt a paw gently cup his chin to move his face up once more. The voice seemed less stern, almost softer as it continued. “You’re never going to be punished here.”

Kumo blinked. “May I ask a question, sir?” The stoat looked very pleased at the mere idea as he nodded. “If I’m not to be punished here then are you sending me back to the doctor?” Kumo watched as the chimera standing before him froze in what seemed to be shock. “No.” He said, which had Kumo relaxing ever so slightly.

“May I ask you a question now?” The stoat asked. Kumo nodded. He’s not supposed to refuse things. “What is your name?” “K-Kumo.” “I see. You may call me Nezu.” “Yes, Nezu.” Kumo nodded respectfully. He was supposed to be formal with people unless directly told not to be.

“May I ask why you thought you would be punished?” Kumo answered without thinking, he wasn’t supposed to think anyway. “I’m a tool. A living corpse created to do nothing but fulfill my purposes. If I misbehave or fail in any way I am to be punished so my flaws can be corrected.”

“Living corpse?” Kumo flinched slightly.

“Are you saying you’re a living corpse?” “Yes.”

The chimera lowered his voice slightly as he asked his next question. “How did you die?”

Kumo paused, his head beginning to hurt as he tried to recall memories he wasn’t supposed to have.

But he did.

He did have them. Some of them.

“If you want a quirk so badly… Take a swan dive off of the roof of the building and pray for a quirk in your next life.” Kumo wasn’t exactly sure where those words came from. The images were fuzzy at best and blank at worst. All he could remember clearly was the voice. The voice of someone from his time before the hospital.

Kumo flinched when something shattered behind him. He hadn’t noticed the room was slowly filling with people.

“What the fuck…” Someone said, their voice quiet and heartbroken.

Kumo ignored the sounds and tilted his head to the side. His eyes were locked onto the beady ones still staring into his soul.

“I wanted a quirk. The doctor said I was the perfect vessel. H-he just had to…” Kumo felt himself beginning to shake as he recalled the man’s words from one of the few times he’d woken up in the early stages. “He just had to tear me apart and p-put me back together correctly. Although it took him a f-few tries to get it right.”

Kumo refocused on the stoat only to see tears in his eyes.

Nezu simply reached out, ignoring the rest of his staff closely watching them. He placed his paw on the side of the child’s face. His skin was cold. Despite that, he could still clearly feel the scars lining the boy’s face. Scars a child so young should never have. “You will never have to go back there, Little Mouse. You’re free, just like me.”

Nezu reached out with his other paw, directing the child’s hand up to trace the scar covering his eye. “L-like you?” The teen asked, quietly. “Yes. We’re both never going back.” Kumo watched Nezu quietly for a long moment, letting his fingers trace the large scar covering the stoat’s face.

“Oh…” Then Kumo dissociated again, hands falling limply to his lap as he sank back into the couch as if he’d been knocked unconscious with his eyes open.

Nezu took a slow, deep breath in before turning to face his pups.

The entire rest of the hero staff had watched that conversation after the child started to explain his reasonings for thinking he would be punished.

Aizawa and Yamada, two of Nezu’s favorite pups, looked devastated and enraged but remained quiet. Snipe was the one to drop the coffee pot when Kumo recalled words someone likely told him before he killed himself and was turned into a living corpse. Thirteen was the one to quietly speak up, but her words never distracted the child. His lifeless eyes just remained fixated on Nezu.

“If any of you dare harm this child in any way I will personally make your lives a living hell. If you see anyone or know anyone who has harmed him, let me know immediately. Yamada, Aizawa, please continue caring for the boy. He is more than welcome on UA campus at any time. I gladly offer my support and my personal office if he ever needs somewhere safe to stay.” “Thanks, Nezu. We might take you up on that.” Yamada said with a tight smile, moving to place the food he brought for the child on the table.

Nezu smiled slightly. He had a grandpup to protect and avenge. This was now his number one priority.

People may think he hates all humans, no, he loves them when they earn it. Nezu loves his staff like his own, which is why they’re his pups. None of his pups have ever given him a grandpup before, so Nezu was going to make sure he did this right. He was going to make sure the ones who hurt his grandpup wished they’d died young.

Notes:

Lots of fluff next chapter! There will also be a reveal of a certain someone's past, who will it be? Who knows.

Here's a hint (or two) for the next chapter, what's everyone's favorite lullaby? Does anyone else sing while they cook?

Chapter 4: A Skip

Summary:

Healing is a slow process. It's easier with care and support.

Fanart or podfics are welcome, just give credit!

Notes:

I had a lot of fun with this chapter specifically, especially the bits with music since I study bits of Psychology that mention how healing music can be to people who are mentally unstable and or traumatized.

Kumo ate the food his guardians brought him numbly.

He continued to feel numb for the next two days.

It seemed to worry his guardians a lot, which made him feel guilty. So Kumo worked as hard as he could while still not fully there.

He let himself act on autopilot, cleaning the apartment, teachers' lounge, empty classrooms, and offices of whoever he was staying with at the time.

No one stopped him. Nezu even supplied him with some better cleaning supplies, so he wasn’t giving himself rashes by rubbing the floors with his hands anymore. It wasn't like he wasn't used to never getting proper cleaning supplies. Once, he and Kurogiri spent over two hours scrubbing the wood floor with their bare hands because they both had been acting too cheerful in Tomura's eyes.

Kumo finally started to return fully late in the afternoon. He could hear Hizashi humming a calm tune in the kitchen while he cooked. Shota was half asleep, reclined back in his plush chair beside the couch where Kumo was petting Sushi. The old tabby had taken quite the liking to him for whatever reason.

“I…” Kumo started, pausing when his guardians both turned their full attention to him instantly. “I like it here.” He admitted quietly. Kumo wasn’t exactly sure why he was speaking, but his talking did seem to make both of his guardians happy.

“I’m so glad you do, kiddo. How about you choose dinner tonight?” Kumo blinked at Hizashi with owlish eyes. “Can I?” “Of course! What would you like, Little Listener?” “Katsudon.” It was the first thing that came to mind for whatever reason. “Nice! We haven’t had that in a while!” Hizashi chirped, moving to grab the ingredients he would need.

Kumo smiled slightly, letting his hunched shoulders slump slightly from the constant stress he was usually under. He felt… safe. Not completely safe, but far safer than he’d felt in years. Years? Yeah… that felt about right.

The next day, Tsukauchi finally managed to convince the people in charge of Kumo’s case to let the kid go without the cuffs, at least while on UA grounds or in the apartment.

Kumo cried the second the cuffs were taken off.

Tsukauchi actually felt horrible because it had taken him so long to get the poor kid this relief. He knew from the first time seeing the kid’s reaction to the cuffs that he had trauma with them. Listening to the kid describe some of the torture he went through while cuffed down at the hands of the doctor, well that just cemented his goal. It took the detective eight days of little sleep and constant meetings to convince those people to give the kid breaks from the cuffs. He was so glad he did, because the first thing Kumo did after he stopped crying was use his quirk to heal the many scrapes and bruises Tsukauchi had left over from a large raid he participated in not too long ago.

“S-sorry I can’t do m-more.” The kid had said. Tsukauchi just smiled sadly and shook the kid’s hand. “This was more than enough. Thank you.”

—
Hizashi… yes, that was his name. Hizashi was making something. He was humming, bouncing in place as he swayed his hips on cue with the melody of the song.

Kumo liked the song. What was it? Was it a… lullaby? Kurogiri sang to him sometimes. Well… he did it three times. Kumo blinked to regain his focus.

Hizashi was mumbling now.

Leaning slightly further around the corner he was hiding behind, Kumo could make out the English words. Why did he know English?

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine~” Hizashi’s voice was smooth and calm as he slowly twirled in place, never faltering in his whisking of the pancake mix in his arms.

“You make me happy when skies are gray~ You’ll never no dear, how much I love you~”

“Please don’t take my sunshine away…” Kumo whispered the lyrics softly, not loud enough for Hizashi to hear him quite yet.

“The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping~ I dreamed I held you in my arms~” Hizashi sat the bowl down as he lightly stepped his way over to the cabinet to grab the bag of chocolate chips. “When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken… So, I hung my head and cried…~” Hizashi’s voice quieted slightly as he did another slow twirl back to his position in front of the bowl.

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…” Kumo’s voice finally registered to the blond as he twisted around to stare at the teen in awe. “You make me happy when skies are grey~” Hizashi’s face brightened considerably as he moved to crouch in front of Kumo.

The two sang the next lyric together in what felt like perfect harmony.

“You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you~ Please don’t take my sunshine away…~”

Hizashi very carefully pulled Kumo into a hug, loose enough for the teen to pull away if he wanted to.

Surprisingly, Kumo clung back, burying his face into Hizashi’s neck. The blond glanced down the hallway at his husband, who was holding his phone up.

Hizashi would kill a man if it meant he could get the video of that interaction any faster.

Later that night, Hizashi placed a small radio in Kumo’s room on a calm station. The teen slept like a baby, and both men could tell since he looked far livelier the next morning, even waving to them without prompting.

—
Kumo frowned slightly when he finally came back to himself once again. He was wrapped in what seemed to be a very fluffy red blanket and had a multitude of devices in front of him. Thankfully, they seemed harmless in comparison to the tools the doctor always used.

“Hey…”

Kumo turned slowly. He was back in the room where he’d met the stoat. A woman with long dark hair was sitting across from him. She looked familiar, but Kumo couldn’t be bothered to try and figure out why.

“My name is Nemuri Kayama. I’m the pro hero Midnight.” So that’s where he knew her from.

“Can I call you Kumo?” He nodded. He liked being called that. He liked that name far more than his other one.

“Sweet. You can call me Nemuri.” She said with a kind smile.

Kumo was still getting used to seeing those. Especially when they were directed at him.

“I brought you some things to play with. They’re fidget toys.” Nemuri explained, picking one of the brightly colored devices up and showing Kumo how it worked.

He decided quickly that his favorite was the keys made to be like a puzzle. It was extremely complex and Kumo only managed to get one of the keys out after fifteen minutes.

“My turn to watch you is almost up. You can keep all of these, though. I’ll bring you some more to try later.” Nemuri said. Kumo nodded to her. He was still a bit too tired to speak, but he was grateful for the gifts.

When was the last time someone apart from his guardians got him a gift?

Kumo shook his head to ward off the thoughts that still hurt him when he tried to get access to them.

“Hey, Little Listener.” Hizashi said once he’d entered the teachers' lounge after lunch. He was surprised to find his foster child wrapped in one of Nemuri’s blankets, playing with a puzzle toy that even Hizashi struggled with. Kumo lifted his head in acknowledgement to Hizashi’s greeting but didn’t say anything. That was fine. Hizashi was just glad the kid was finally responding to things again.

Hizashi was also very glad the kid hadn’t used his quirk again after that. He was happy because that meant they never needed to put the cuffs back on apart from at night just in case. Kumo looked far more relaxed without them.

—
“Kumo?” Shota called about two weeks before the Sports Festival. He and Nezu had already discussed trying to incorporate Kumo into the UA staff more, meaning having him help Recovery Girl during the festival.

There were two issues with that plan.

One was that the students would be wary around Kumo, likely not trusting him.

The second was that Kumo had a crippling fear of doctors. It was warranted but still troublesome.

This meant that Kumo would need to be comfortable enough to be in the room with Recovery Girl, or the students needed to be comfortable enough with him to be in another room. Both needed to be addressed anyway, but Shota decided to start with the students since he personally thinks they will be easier to manage than Kumo’s trauma.

“Are you ready to meet my class?” Kumo nodded slowly. Shota was pleased the kid was at least partially present. “Alright.”

Shota threw the door to his classroom open right as the bell went off. The students were all already in their seats, watching him with wide eyes. They were all shocked to see him the first day back to school, but Shota just explained someone healed him and he was fine.

“Do you all remember me mentioning we would have a guest?” He asked after making sure Kumo was hidden behind the wall. “Yes, Sensei.” The class responded. Shota was very happy that Kumo didn’t have a bad reaction to that. Just knowing a villain had Kumo call him Sensei as well caused Shota’s blood to boil.

“You may recognize him. He’s not a threat to any of you, but he was at the USJ. I will explain his situation more once he’s comfortable.” The class looked confused and worried, but they said nothing. “Come on in, Kumo.”

Shota offered his hand out, surprised when the kid actually took it.

Shota slowly walked Kumo into the room as he closely watched the reactions of his students.

Asui, Shinso, Mineta, Aoyama, Todoroki, Bakugou, and Kirishima looked the most uncomfortable or upset at his presence.

“Sit down, kid.” Shota moved Kumo so he could sit, but Kumo was staring at someone. Shota turned to see that Kumo was staring directly at Aoyama.

“Oh, Master Aoyama.”

Kumo said, moving to bow once he pulled his hand away from Shota.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here. How may I assist you?”

Notes:

Enjoy the cliffhanger (:<

Chapter 5: A Stride

Summary:

Secrets uncovered and others revealed

Notes:

No fluff. Well, a little at the end :)

“You know him?” Shota asked, already on edge.

“Yes. Master Aoyama is in correspondence with S-Sensei. I was to tend to him whenever he came in contact with him.”

Silence.

Aoyama looked positively gutted. His entire body went stiff as he gaped.

Not denying it.

Not defending himself.

Shota worked with Tsukauchi enough to know when someone was guilty. He knows the tells. Aoyama is a good actor, but clearly this was where his skills ran out.

Shota was about to move, but Aoyama jolted up before he could get ahold of his capture weapon.

Kumo dove in front of Shota without thinking, he didn’t need to think.

He was a nomu.

He was replaceable.

The blast exploded from Aoyama’s belt, strong and deadly as it sliced across the room and over towards where Shota was standing.

It would have been deadly.

Erasure snapped away the laser as fast as Shota’s eyes could fly open. Kumo was still between them, but the short teen was easy to avoid in his line of sight as he tightly bound Aoyama into his weapon.

Shota sent Aoyama flying out of the room, breaking the door with the teen’s body in the process. He quickly brought his hands back, ready in case Aoyama tried anything else.

That proved necessary when Kumo slumped forward, the huge burn etched into his back only visible because of the smoke and smell of burnt flesh. He’d shielded Shota from the beam. This kid, once again, saved Shota.

“Kumo!” Shota called, catching the boy before he hit the ground. Kumo said nothing, making no more than a short whimpering noise despite the damage done to him. Though, the noise was drowned out by the screams and cries of the other 1A students.

Kayama, who was in a nearby classroom, burst into the hall. She assessed the situation quickly, pushing her quirk out to fill the entire area like a smoke bomb.

All of 1A and most of the nearby classrooms succumbed to the gas.

The teachers didn’t, as all of the staff in UA were required to take small doses of Kayama’s quirk over time in order to build a tolerance for it. This was the perfect example as to why.

Shota, Vlad, Snipe, and Inui all handled the situation as best they could.

1A were locked into the room with Vlad, who would explain everything he could to them and make sure they were calmed down when they woke up.

Kayama stuck with Aoyama, dragging the detained boy out along with Snipe just in case.

It seemed Hizashi had been right about the rat. Why hadn’t they asked about that sooner? Right, Kumo was a walking disaster of someone else’s creation who has little to no memories or the inability to express them most of the time.

Gods, Shota wanted, no needed, to kill some people.

Inui was working with Shota to keep Kumo present. It seemed that the situation hadn’t phased the boy though, since the second he awoke from the quirk induced slumber he started healing himself. Shota told him to wait for Chiyo, which he did. The small woman used her quirk as well as leaving a bit for Kumo to heal since he could use some of Inui’s energy instead of his own.

When all was said and done, Nezu had made quite a few announcements on the intercoms.

Nezu let the other classes know everyone was to stay in their homerooms the entire school day due to an incident in the hallways. The staff would handle it themselves, so students should continue as normal while the staff go to them for classes instead of them moving.

Heroics was canceled, obviously, so the robots were used to deliver everyone’s lunches.

After one last checkup, Kumo was deemed healthy.

Physically.

The nurse’s office did the boy no favors.

Shota sighed heavily as he turned back to Kumo after sending Inui off. The poor kid was dissociating again. Shota carefully moved him onto his back to walk them to 1A.

Shota walked through the halls with a brick in his chest. Not really, but it felt like it.

Aoyama was one of his. A student he’d seen potential in. All of this was getting so complicated. Shota wanted to take a nap for an eternity, but the cold breath on his neck kept him moving.

He unknowingly lost one kid to the villains, maybe he can save one. No, he will save one.

The room was deadly silent when Shota swung the door open.

The burns where Aoyama’s beam hit before connecting with Kumo’s back were still etched into the wall. A filthy reminder. He'd need that fixed quickly.

Shota huffed, kicking the door closed and calmly walking Kumo over to the chair to sit. He did so in silence, the sound of him situating his ward the only noise apart from unsettled breathing filling the room.

Once he was sure Kumo was comfortable, he turned his attention back to the class.

Sound erupted from the room like a volcano. Shota let it go on for a while, patiently waiting for them to run out of steam. Many took longer than others to settle, but they did.

Shota rubbed his eyes as he started explaining. He told the class as much as he could without giving up any of Kumo’s personal information. He made sure they knew Kumo was in the process of being transferred into his care once the evidence of his innocence was processed. He let all of them know that if they ever harmed Kumo in any way without reason, they would be expelled. Kumo was innocent, and he made sure they knew that.

By the time he was done talking, Kumo’s eyes had cleared slightly.

Shota moved to crouch in front of Kumo, letting the class see him and the teen clearly the entire time. They all spotted the gentle words and soft expression on Shota’s face, the sight of it making many of them do double takes.

“Kid, this is my class.” Shota motioned out. Kumo followed the hand, his eyes scanning the room once more.

He didn’t speak.

“They’re here to be heroes. Some want to be heroes like Mic or Midnight. Some want to be like Thirteen.” Kumo pointed to Shota after a moment. “No, I don’t think any of them are going underground just yet.” He said, shaking his head with a smile. Kumo nodded, processing the information.

The bell rang, signaling the second to last class starting.

Since it was Law and Ethics next, Shota could stay put.

He ended up doing a lecture on the different classes used to refer to different levels or tiers of villains and heroes. There were different rankings, like the top hero rankings, the ABC villain scale, and the tier lists of villain priority.

It wasn’t the plan, but none of this was.

Kumo sat silently the entire time. Posture straight. Perfect.

Shota spotted the rare, occasional twitching of his fingers. A new sight. He was getting comfortable.

How the boy could be comfortable after nearly being killed in a hero school by a villain spy? Shota will never know.

—
“So…” Kaminari said to Kumo during the next day's homeroom class.

Aizawa Sensei had explained to them that Aoyama was under investigation and wouldn’t be returning to class. He also made sure they all knew that Kumo was under his and the school’s protection. It was something none of them could talk about with anyone outside of the class due to the NDAs they’d signed in the beginning of the year. Not that they minded, at least they had each other.

“What’s your deal?” To the surprise of the entire class, Kumo shrugged.

“Woah!” Kaminari jumped back in shock. “Can you understand us?” Sero asked. Kumo nodded slowly, eyes becoming more focused. “Can you speak?” Jiro asked. Kumo shook his head at that. He couldn’t talk right now. Too much effort. “Do you know who we are?” Kirishima asked. Kumo shook his head.

The class started to introduce themselves one by one.

“Stop talking to the fucking villain!” Bakugou yelled.

Suddenly, Kumo’s head snapped up. His large green eyes were locked onto the blond. “Stop staring at me, you fucking bastard!” Bakugou yelled again after a stunned moment of silence. Kumo continued to stare as tears welled in his eyes.

“N-not-” Silence fell over the class as Kumo spoke. “N-not s-supposed t-to- not- won't- n-not r-rememb-ber-” Kumo then let out a high pitched whine as he brought his hands up to violently tug at his hair.

“Kumo.” Aizawa said, gently pulling Kumo’s hands away from his hair after he got out of his sleeping bag. “It’s alright. You’re safe. What aren’t you supposed to remember?” Kumo shook his head as he let out another whine. “Ok…”

Aizawa moved, hoisting Kumo into his arms and depositing him into the bright yellow sleeping bag on the floor while the kid whined in pain.

“Sensei? What was that?” Uraraka asked.

“Do you all remember me telling you he was genetically modified?” The class nodded. “His brain, as discovered by Recovery Girl, has been affected by a quirk. It’s a quirk that represses memories by force. If Kumo tries to remember things from his past he gets painful headaches.”

“Why the fuck would he be trying to remember something while staring at me?” Bakugou asked, now less angry and more confused. “We aren’t sure. Nezu is still in the process of trying to figure out who he was before they took him. Now, get to work.”

—
It took Kumo the entire rest of the school day to pull his thoughts back together after seeing… Bakugou? Was that his name?

Kumo slowly exited the sleeping bag and went back to staring at the blond. Memories struck the back of his mind like waves, but the static blanketing his brain shielded him from accessing them. Most of them.

“K-K-” Kumo started to say just after the bell went off. Class 1A fell silent, looking at him with confusion along with Shota.

“K-Kach-chan.” Kumo finally said, eyes still locked onto Bakugou.

The angry blond looked like he was about to say something, but his jaw practically fell to the floor when he heard what Kumo had to say. “What the fuck did you just call me?” He asked.

Kumo tilted his head to the side, letting his eyes wander to the window. There was a bug on the glass. A fly? No, a moth maybe?

“If you want a quirk so badly… Take a swan dive off of the roof of the building and pray for a quirk in your next life.” Kumo repeated the words he’d said in the teachers' lounge not too long ago.

The moth flapped its wings twice before flying off.

The words seemed to drain the color out of Bakugou’s face, leaving him as white as a sheet.

“Izuku?” He breathed out, clearly stunned. Kumo whipped his head back to Bakugou.

The two just stared at each other for a long moment.

“Bakugou, come with me. The rest of you, school is done.” Shota quickly moved to lead Kumo and Bakugou out of the room and towards Nezu’s office.

As it turns out, Bakugou knew Kumo before he died.

Once the anger, tears, ranting, and explosions were finally over, Bakugou explained who he thought Kumo was.

Izuku Midoriya.

Kumo had shown a reaction to the name, moving like he did whenever someone called him Kumo. “Kid? Is Izuku Midoriya your name?” “No.” Kumo said slowly. “My name… is Kumo.” He said, as a matter of fact. Nezu just laughed. He knew exactly what it was like to shed the name you once had in favor of one you chose for yourself.

Bakugou seemed absolutely gutted. He screamed, cried, raged, and just let out his quirk repeatedly as more and more facts were uncovered.

Two hours later, Inui pulled Bakugou out to have an emergency appointment with him and help call the teen’s parents to explain the situation.

“Well, this will make the name changing process easier. Izukumo Yamada.” Nezu said with a smile.

Kumo, now that he was fully present again, smiled back. He really loved his new name, and Hizashi cried tears of joy when he heard it too.

Notes:

More fluff incoming! Next chapter has lots of fluff! There will also be some Mineta consequences and an appearance of my favorite designed hero. Can you guess who it is?

Chapter 6: A Bounce

Summary:

Kumo getting to know everyone better, including himself.

Notes:

Some fluff as promised!

Shota was not smiling. He wasn’t. If Hizashi had photo evidence, no he didn’t. How did this debate start?

Kumo had staggered out of his room earlier than usual that day, and he obviously didn’t sleep well. Shota and Hizashi thought about having one of them stay home with the kid, but Kumo already had his notebook in hand and seemed excited to leave. They didn’t want him to feel trapped.

It was a long day.

Kumo was out of it for almost the entire morning, and the kid wasn’t in the best mental state for social interaction.

Instead of going to the teacher’s lounge for lunch, Shota brought Kumo to his office. The man had an open block next period, so he had time to sneak in a nap.

After coaxing Kumo into eating two jelly pouches, he offered the kid a place to sleep on the couch. Kumo obeyed easily, but he didn’t fall asleep. He just laid awake with his eyes locked onto Shota.

Once the man was sure his lesson plans for that day were done, he settled down on the floor next to the couch in his sleeping bag.

Less than five minutes after Shota had begun relaxing, Kumo got up.

He was about to open his eyes to check what was wrong when a cold body was pressed against his side. Shota blinked his eyes open, staring down at the teen, who was looking back at him with big pleading eyes.

“Problem Child.” Shota huffed before opening his sleeping bag up and holding the flap up in offering. Shockingly, Kumo made his way in, shuffling close to press himself flush against Shota’s side. The man ignored the tears pricking at his eyes and instead closed the sleeping back up enough so it was warm and not cutting off Kumo’s oxygen supply.

“You’re far too cold for your own good, Kumo.” Shota muttered, wrapping his arms around the kid slowly to give him time to refuse the contact. Instead, Kumo melted into the embrace.

The teen was practically boneless, now laying half on top of Shota with his head angled to listen to the man’s heartbeat. Loud and steady. Kumo hummed happily as he snuggled closer to his guardian.

Hizashi walked into the room just before lunch was due to end.

He found his husband, the demon sensei of UA, snuggling their foster son to his chest like one would a small child.

Hizashi nearly bit a hole in his lips in an effort not to scream out in delight. He brought his phone out to snap a few photos before leaving. He ended up taking a short video instead when he noticed Kumo starting to move faintly. The boy muttered something into Shota’s chest as he brought his arms up to return the embrace. In return, a mostly still asleep Shota pressed a soft kiss to his temple and went back to sleep.

Hizashi was late to his next class, because he ended up having to go outside to scream.

—
Kumo was feeling good for the first time in a long while. He was sitting crossed legged on Shota’s desk and doodling in a notebook as the man lectured his class about… something? Kumo wasn’t listening.

Then, like a light switch, Kumo’s thoughts went into overdrive. He flipped to a new page and started writing as fast as he could, attempting to keep up with his analytical thoughts.

When he wasn’t going fast enough, Kumo moved so his left hand could draw Shota while his right wrote everything down that he could think of.

Fighting style, quirk, personality, weaknesses, strengths, environmental opportunities, support gear, and the list went on and on.

Kumo didn’t notice he’d started to mutter, but the class did. They, along with Shota, turned to look at Kumo in surprise as he continued to stare at Shota as he wrote and drew everything at a swift pace.

“Kumo?” Shota asked, watching his foster son tilt his head slightly as his muttering sped up. “He really is Deku. The fucking nerd.” Bakugou snarked, shifting to stuff his slightly trembling hands into his pockets. “What’s that supposed to mean, dude?” Kirishima asked, only for Kumo to cut him off.

“Does the capture weapon move on its own or is it entirely your control over it? Why does your quirk make your hair float? It would be beneficial for you to tie your hair back when fighting to get rid of that tell. Do you have armor in the jumpsuit? Are your boots steel toed? How sharp is your knife if it can cut through your capture weapon? Does your quirk influence your vision in other ways? Like, can you see in the dark better?” Kumo went on and on, speaking more than Shota had ever heard before in recent days. That’s when he noticed the way Kumo’s hands were flying over the pages.

“Do you like the notebook?” Shota asked. To which, his answer was Kumo nodding his head vigorously.

After a few minutes the teen calmed down and he went back to quietly watching him teach. Well… At least Shota had something new to share with Nezu.

—
Kumo sat obediently off to the side as All Might worked with class 1A on their main attacking moves.

Shota and Hizashi were both called out for missions their quirks were suited for, so they left Kumo’s care with class 1A since they’d all grown protective over him over the past few days. Nezu was also watching since the principal didn’t fully trust All Might to look after his grandpup properly and all of the other teachers were busy.

Kumo was only out there because Bakugou or Kacchan, as he's decided to call the blond from now on, insisted that the two of them had to spar. The end result was Kumo being blasted to hell and back, but he managed to pin Bakugou down with a blade to the neck. After the match, Bakugou was far more calm. He almost seemed satisfied about something. Kumo wasn't sure, but he was happy to have helped. He was made to help.

Each student was taking turns to hit the various dummies set up around the field with some kind of damaging attack. Some were struggling far more than others.

Kumo was actually humming to himself, a tune that Hizashi often hummed when he was comforting Kumo in times of distress. Kumo found the calm melody to be one of his new favorite things.

Suddenly, his head snapped up at the sound of someone crying out in pain.

Ashido was wincing as she clutched at her now burned arms. Kumo didn’t think twice before rushing forward.

The class was surprised to see him up and moving, simply stepping out in his way in their shock, but All Might seemed to have an issue.

The large man stepped between Kumo and Ashido, trying to lecture Kumo about staying in his place and not interfering with the students. Kumo shook his head vigorously as he darted around the hero so he could drop to his knees beside the now panicking girl. Kumo faintly heard someone telling All Might to back off.

Ashido’s quirk seemed to be malfunctioning, her acid seeping from her skin continuously as it burned her arms and left her skin dehydrated. Kumo reached forward, grabbing Ashido’s acid covered arm. She whipped her head up in shock as the acid singed Kumo’s hand.

“Kumo! Let go! You’ll hurt yourself!” Ashido tried to pull away, only for Kumo to grab her other arm and hold it tightly as his fog flowed out of his body in waves.

Ashido’s eyes went wide as the green fog slowly surrounded her and Kumo, practically melting into their skin as it healed them. Ashido relaxed as her arms were slowly healed. Kumo just remained where he started, not reacting to the pain in his hands, he’s felt worse before.

When he was sure the damage was all healed, Kumo slowly pulled back to check for any other injuries.

“Thank you so much!” Ashido jumped forward and wrapped herself around Kumo to hug him tightly. Kumo froze. He panicked for a moment before recognizing the action as not threatening, so he hugged her back.

“Well done Young… Well done!” All Might boomed, making Kumo flinch.

Then he was gone.

The class saw it in the way Kumo’s eyes lost the brightness and clouded over. Bakugou moved first, gently tugging Kumo up and helping him walk further away from the hero so he could get a drink and rest. Kirishima moved to help Ashido up and walk her to Recovery Girl’s office just in case Kumo missed something. He didn’t.

—
Kumo blinked in confusion as Uraraka stared at him.

“Are you able to join us for lunch?” Kumo tilted his head and shrugged. He didn’t know if he was allowed. “Go ahead, Problem Child. The rest of you, make sure you stay near him. Don’t let anyone bother him. If Kumo starts to disassociate, bring him to the teachers' lounge.”

The entire class nodded in agreement.

That’s how Kumo found himself being gently pulled through the hallways by Hagakure’s grip on his hoodie sleeve.

The rest of the class had formed a protective shield of sorts around him, shielding Kumo from any and all prying eyes.

“What would you like for lunch today, Little One?” Lunch Rush asked. Kumo shrugged before pointing to the smoothie machine. Lunch Rush nodded before handing Kumo a large fruit smoothie with a vitamin shot. “Thank you.” Kumo whispered.

Kaminari then pulled Kumo over to the table where the rest of the class was sitting. They made sure Kumo sat in the middle where they could all keep an eye on him. Kumo was mostly silent, nodding along to others sometimes.

“You look amazing.” Kumo mumbled when he overheard Shoji mentioning he didn’t like showing his face because of his mutations. His words caused the table to fall silent as they all turned to him. “Others…” Kumo’s head tilted to the side as the straw fell from his cloudy lips. “Others don’t matter. You’re good. All of you is good.” Kumo went back to drinking his smoothie, missing the way Shoji’s eyes watered and he smiled widely from under his mask.

“Already got a replacement classmate? Man you 1A snobs really know how to pick ‘em.” A blond teen from 1B snarked as he walked by, nearly elbowing Kumo in the head before Bakugou grabbed his arm and roughly shoved him away. It looked like the blond guy was about to say something else, but he stopped when the entire class glared at him, including Koda, and told him to back off before they made him. He huffed before storming off, going completely unnoticed by Kumo.

It wasn’t too long after lunch that Kumo went away again.

He slowly came back into awareness only after school was long over. He looked around, realizing that he was sitting in his guardian’s living room with Sushi on his lap. Shota was sitting in front of the couch doing paperwork. Kumo leaned forward so he could see better, gaining his guardian’s attention.

“I swear I can hardly read his handwriting on a good day.” Shota jokes, tilting the paper so Kumo could see it was an essay. Kumo’s eyes widened as he tried and failed to read the paper. “Is… that real words?” He asked. Shota shrugged indifferently. “No idea.” The man chuckled as he went back to work.

Kumo focused on watching the nature documentary on the tv instead.

Then Hizashi got home.

He was injured. Badly injured.

Shota and Kumo both shot up immediately, stunned by the amount of blood covering Hizashi. He had what seemed to be a stab wound in his chest and a gash on his abdomen.

“Zashi!” Shota rushed over to his husband as the man fell to his knees, obviously panicking. Kumo walked over slowly. He listened as Hizashi explained he was jumped by a group of villains on his way home. The man went as far as saying he felt like he wasn’t going to be able to hold out until the medics arrived so he wanted to see Shota and Kumo instead.

Kumo gently pushed Shota away as he raised his hands up, ignoring the way his own hands trembled in fear for his guardian.

“Kumo?” Shota looked confused and frightened. Not of Kumo, though. He was never scared of Kumo.

“Heal.” Kumo replied as he placed each of his hands on Hizashi’s injuries.

The blond let out a groan of pain as the fog slowly coiled its way into his body, slowly stitching him together once more. Shota had honestly forgotten Kumo could do this, so he slowly forced himself to calm down and moved to support Hizashi’s limp form instead of tending to the wounds like he had been doing.

“Rest.” Kumo croaked, voice scratchy. He was a bit dehydrated now.

Hizashi slumped back into Shota, relieved now that the pain from his injuries was gone. He wasn’t even thinking about Kumo’s healing when he made his way up the stairs to the apartment. He just wanted to see him and Shota again. His boys.

“Thank you so much, Kumo.” The teen coughed roughly as he helped Shota move Hizashi to their bedroom so he could rest.

Shota left to grab Kumo a glass of water and returned to find the kid and his husband both asleep, curled up together with soft expressions on their tired faces. Shota smiled lightly, set the water on the nightstand for Kumo to drink later, then moved to join the cuddle pile.

Kumo had never felt more safe.

—
Despite feeling amazing the previous night, Kumo was still exhausted the next day. His emotions were usually rather dull, a fact the doctor had been thrilled with, but his exhaustion made Kumo’s regular meter for action when involving his emotions move slightly.

Slightly enough. Just enough.

“You wouldn’t hold up well under torture.” Kumo said thoughtlessly as he walked beside the rest of 1A down the halls in preparation for their heroics class.

His statement caused all of them to freeze in shock, especially Mineta who Kumo had been talking to.

“Excuse me?” “You wouldn’t hold up under torture.” Kumo repeated, thinking that’s what Mineta wanted. The smaller boy looked more put out by that. “Oh, and you would?” He snarked.

If Kumo had been in his right mind, he never was, he could have recognized the sarcasm.

“I did.”

The blunt statement hit everyone like a truck.

Ashido and Sato looked like they wanted to throw up.

Todoroki, whose mask usually rivaled Kumo’s impassive facade, was slack-jawed.

A few others were in tears.

Bakugou’s hands were sparking in anger along with the sparks flying off of a furious looking Kaminari.

“You-” Mineta started, taking a step back when Kumo turned to face him properly. “You’re just a machine, you don’t feel a thing, do you?!” He yelled in panic. Kumo blinked. “Of course I am. What did you think I was?” “Huh…?”

Kumo tilted his head slightly to face everyone, the hallway now deathly silent. “I wasn’t created to feel. I was created to obey. Emotions are not what a good nomu has. My apologies if I’ve upset-” “That’s enough!” Midnight barked as she rounded the corner.

“Kumo? Sweetheart?” The foggy teen turned to her and bowed slightly. “What may I do for you, Miss Nemuri?” The woman flinched slightly, her smile faltering. “Let’s go, kiddo. I’ve got some amazing food that you’ve got to try.”

Kumo followed behind the woman wordlessly, leaving 1A in varying levels of heartbreak and rage.

Mineta would later receive a formal reprimand from Nezu, who watched everything unfold over the cameras, and get himself a few dozen detentions focused heavily on manners, sexual assault, social norms, proper ways of dealing with trauma victims, and the possible consequences if he dares mess with any of his classmates or Kumo again in the manner he had been previously.

The rest of the class were saddened by the revelation that Kumo would never truly recover from his traumas, so they collectively, without Mineta, decided to make sure his life was better as a whole. They’d never, ever, let him experience anything like torture again.

If he did… A few of them weren’t completely against making the people responsible regret it.

—
Kumo blinked into awareness slowly. He rolled his shoulders and tilted his head back and forth, trying to get the stiffness in his neck and shoulders away.

“Uh… Snipe Sensei? He’s moving.” Someone said as Kumo lifted his head up to take in his surroundings. He was in a classroom again, but he wasn’t with his guardians and class… 1A? He wasn’t with anyone he knew.

“Hey, kiddo.” Kumo blinked again, taking in the man crouching in front of him. He was wearing a cowboy hat, a large cape, had a mask, and carried guns.

“How are you feeling?” The man asked, voice gentle but still being heard through the mask. “Better.” Kumo answered slowly. His head still felt fuzzy, but that was normal. “Do you know where you are?” “No.” A few of the students looked worried.

A guy with blond hair, a girl with long blue hair, and another guy with dark blue hair each caught Kumo's eye. They all smiled when Kumo glanced at them, the dark-haired boy had a faint twitch of his lips while the other two beamed brightly.

“Do you know who I am?” “No.” Kumo said, turning back to the one in front of him.

The man nodded, raising his hands slowly so Kumo could see his palms. “Call me Snipe. I’m a friend of Eraserhead and Present Mic. I’m currently looking after you since you were so out of it the others didn’t want you to be alone in the lounge with Vlad.” Kumo tilted his head to the side before his eyes finally lost some of the clouded color.

“Snipe… The Sniper Hero. Emitter Quirk Homing. You’re able to lock onto any target you can see within a five-hundred-and-seventy-meter radius and make the projectiles you release chase after said target. Your quirk is very fascinating. I love your costume. It’s one of my f-favorites.” Kumo smiled a bit and Snipe smiled back just as warmly even under his mask. “Thanks, kiddo. My range is actually six hundred meters now.”

Kumo’s eyes widened slightly as he pointed to Snipe’s guns. “Which one is your favorite?” Snipe happily talked to Kumo about his guns while the class watched in awe. They’d all seen the teen walking around the halls with teachers, but none of the third-year students had ever heard him talk before, especially not so animatedly.

“Heya, Snipe. My turn with Kumo.” Inui laughed as he opened the door around five minutes later. Kumo seemed to rain himself in, but he was still mentally present.

“Bye.” Kumo waved as he followed Inui out of the room.

Snipe ignored the student’s questions and went back to his lecture. He felt a lot lighter knowing that the kid wasn’t scared of him. Maybe now he can volunteer to watch him more, since he had a lot of fun talking with him.

Nezu smiled at the cameras as Kumo started to skip down the hallway to imitate Inui. The duo were on their way to Inui's office where Bakugou was waiting for them. The young blond was finally ready to actually apologies properly for his past actions and take accountability for them. Nezu smirked, remembering the shellshocked face Bakugou had worn when Nezu described exactly what he was planning on doing to those who had hurt Kumo both recently and in the past. He would never dare harm a child, but Bakugou didn't need to know that. It was just a little motivation to do better in the future. Still, Nezu's smirk turned into a toothy smile. His grandpup had just tripped over his own feet and created a cloud to catch himself like an old student of his once did. The boy even smiled up at Inui, not a trace of hesitance or programed obedience.

If his grandpup was already mentally recovering this quickly, maybe there was a chance he could be completely healed.

Notes:

Yes, I absolutely adore Snipe's design, he isn't talked about enough.
And yes, some of the dialogue in the Mineta bit was inspired by TikTok sounds I've heard before, but I don't know the exact videos or sounds.

Chapter 7: A Jump

Summary:

The plot thickens. Not only that, it unfolds faster than Kumo can keep up. Will he manage it?

Notes:

I was tempted to cut this chapter in half, but I decided not to. It would have been another cliff hanger, no need for that.

All Might, Endeavor, Hawks, Best Jeanist, Edgeshot, Mirko, Gang Orca, Mt. Lady, Kamui Woods, the UA hero staff, and most of the other top fifty heroes were all gathered for an emergency meeting.

“Thank you all for coming.” Nezu said from his podium.

Kumo was sitting against the wall behind him, distracted with another complex puzzle toy to keep his mind off of the cuffs he was forced to wear for this meeting.

“Today, we plan to finish preparations for one of the biggest raids in recent history!” That got him a few confused questions, but he ignored them. Nezu went on to explain All For One, his plans, the doctor, the nomu, the League of Villains involvement, and everything else he could in the allotted two hour time limit he had to explain it all.

“Kumo.” Nezu motioned behind himself, gaining his grandpup’s attention. “You told me you know the weaknesses of the nomu, correct?”

Kumo nodded slowly, pointedly ignoring the heroes watching him like he was a disgrace not to be trusted.

“All nomu are unable to feel pain, apart from me. Kurogiri feels it too, but he doesn’t react to it.” Kumo slowly stood up as he spoke, moving to stand next to Nezu. “The others… aim to kill. They’re not really there. Not like Kurogiri and me.” Kumo said, voice monotone as he tried his best to stay calm.

He was getting better at not going away as often but it was still hard to talk about these things. A part of him still feels a very strong connection to the league, specifically to Kurogiri, so he feels like he’s betraying them.

“How do we kill them without knowing which quirks they have?” Nezu asked.

“Sound based attacks are the most effective. Especially against those with regenerative quirks since healing the ears and eyes take far more energy and time than any other parts. Using those to stun the nomu before destroying their nervous system in their spine or brain stem will kill them instantly without much trouble. There are a few nomu with redirecting quirks, so someone like Edgeshot or Snipe would be the most effective in killing them since they can’t redirect their quirks. Present Mic has the perfect sound range to incapacitate the others long enough for anyone else, such as Mirko or Hawks, to damage them without fearing a counter attack. M-most of them are physically enhanced without qu-quirks. Best to kill them. Quirk suppressants won’t do much. There’s…” Kumo paused, his entire body shuttering slightly. “D-doctor has a s-smaller one with him. Uses warping quirk too. You need to take that one out f-fast. It’s small. Always near the doctor.” Kumo answered.

“Thank you, Kumo.” Nezu smiled, handing his grandpup a juice box and motioning him to move back to where he was seated before.

“I can confirm everything the kid said was true.” Tsukauchi said when a few of the heroes, Endeavor, tried to argue that they couldn’t trust Kumo.

“If we’ve had this kid for almost a month, who’s to say the villains haven’t moved by now?” Mirko questioned, silencing the room.

“Two things.” Nezu chirped back. “Firstly, Kumo is currently under the effects of a memory suppressant quirk. An extremely strong one at that. The villains likely think that he has no information to give. Second, we didn’t get the information about the villain’s main base from Kumo. We got that information from the spy Kumo managed to catch in UA.” Outrage and confusion was the response.

“Enough!” Present Mic yelled after Nezu motioned for him to do so.

After a few more hours of discussions and planning, all of the heroes were in.

—
“C-cat. Couch. C-cabin. D. Dining room. Dinner. D-desk. E. Eraser. Even. Eggs. F. Fog. F-fate. Four. G. Gross. Green. Ground. H. Home. Hair. Hope. I-”

“Kumo?” Shota called, causing the misty teen to jump where he’d been facing the wall with a thousand meter stare. “What are you doing, kid?”

Kumo whirled around like he’d been caught with his hand in the cat shaped cookie jar Hizashi bought a few years ago. His big green eyes were somehow even bigger than normal, portraying his embarrassment and or shock at being caught.

“Kid?” Shota called again, hoping he didn’t scare Kumo into leaving the mortal plain. “S-sorry.” “Nothing to apologize for, kid. What were you doing?”

Shota walked over to the kitchen to refill his coffee, listening as Kumo shuffled his feet back and forth in place.

“I-... I like talking. It’s n-nice to be able to say words again. More. Not being told t-to shut up.”

Shota, for what he knew had to be the millionth time, felt like the raid couldn’t happen fast enough.

His kid, his wonderful, smart, kid-hearted kid, was practicing saying words just because it felt nice to be able to do it without being punished. How much else had he been punished for? How bad were the punishments?

Shota startled slightly when Kumo wrapped his cold arms around his torso in a hug. Shota turned slowly to return the embrace to the boy. “I’m sorry.” “No, Problem Child. This isn’t your fault.” Shota ducked his head down, faintly smelling Hizashi’s ridiculously strong pine scented shampoo in Kumo’s hair beneath the fog. “None of it was ever your fault.”

“I know…” Kumo mumbled.

And he did. He knew that now.

He didn’t before, but he didn’t have Shota and Hizashi before.

They were his heroes, in more than words can do justice.

No, they were more than that.

Shota and Hizashi were his heroes, his guardians... his dads.

—
“Kumo?” Shota called. Kumo turned to him slowly. The UA Sports Festival is scheduled for the next day, the villains would never expect this night to be the night of their raid.

“Hound Dog and Thirteen are going to be watching you tonight.” Kumo nodded. He knows this, they told him it earlier. He thinks it’s because both of his guardians have a mission. He doesn’t remember the details from that long meeting, but he knows that much.

“Be good for them, ok?” Kumo nodded once more.

“Thanks, Problem Child. We’ll see you later.” Then Shota hugged him. And… Kumo felt like something was wrong. The hug seemed normal, but… it was different. It was tighter, slightly. It felt like it was a goodbye instead of a see you later.

“I love you.” Kumo whispered as he buried his face into Shota’s shoulder. He felt the man’s breath hitch slightly. “I love you too, kid.”

Kumo repeated the process with Hizashi, except with him the crying was far louder.

Kumo spent that night quietly writing in one of his many notebooks. He was silent until a news broadcast interrupted the nature documentary he’d been watching with Thirteen.

“-reports say this villain is capable of facing All Might! He currently has hands on the hero Present Mic-” Kumo didn’t hear anything else.

He just launched himself out of the window and took off on a cloud as Thirteen and Hound Dog yelled for him to come back.

Kumo knew that villain. He was a villain, Kumo knew that now. Sensei, or All For One, was a villain.

And that bastard, he remembered that word from Kacchan, had one of his fucking dads!

—
The raid started off right.

Present Mic’s team which consisted of Eraserhead, Mirko, Snipe, Ectoplasm, Edgeshot, Crust, Rock Lock, The Wild Wild Pussycats, and a few dozen other heroes all entered the hospital easily and started destroying all of the nomu once the doctor was captured by Tiger. Some of the nomu fought back, but Kumo’s intel on defeating them was perfect.

Not minutes after that invasion began, All Might’s team, which had heroes Endeavor, Hawks, Ryoku, Mt. Lady, and others, started their attack on the facility All For One was in. There was a supply of nomu there as well, but thankfully none of them were active just yet.

At the same time Best Jeanist, Kamui Woods, Midnight, Cementos, and others started raiding the bar they managed to track Shigaraki entering the morning before.

It started off so well.

All Might was going blow for blow with All For One as the other heroes focused on protecting civilians. The doctor and all of the nomu in the hospital were brought down swiftly. Shigaraki and Kurogiri put up a fight, but there was little trouble for Midnight and Best Jeanist working together.

The issues started when All For One used some kind of teleportation quirk to summon Shigaraki and Kurogiri to him. In the process, All For One used his quirk to force an unconscious Kurogiri to open a portal to the hospital base. The portal ended up opening directly under Present Mic, who fell through and straight into All For One’s grasp.

All Might and all of the surrounding heroes were forced to stop as the villain lifted his hand up in a clear warning that he was going to kill the voice hero if any of them moved. He even went as far as crushing Present Mic’s speaker around his neck as he tightened his grip, strangling the hero as he tried his best to retaliate.

The news channels arrived just in time to capture that part of the fight.

The battle field was still for a few minutes, villains and heroes alike trying to figure out what to do. All For One couldn’t do much with how injured he was and with his underlings knocked out from Midnight’s quirk.

All Might was running on fumes, close to losing his powered form on live tv, not that it mattered when one of his coworkers was hanging limply at the hands of his worst enemy. Present Mic was strong, but not strong enough to free himself from the grasp of a man with hundreds if not thousands of quirks at his disposal.

Then, right as All For One had started ranting about how powerful he was, a cloud appeared.

Stunned silence rang before a loud voice screamed, “Let go of my dad!” and the cloud slammed harshly into the villain’s face, forcing its way into the man’s lungs.

—
All For One dropped Present Mic on instinct, moving to get the cloud out so he could breath.

The second the hero was free, another cloud appeared to save him from the drop and drag him over to where Kumo was hovering above the battlefield with a furious glare. Kumo’s eyes were narrowed as he focused his quirk on saving his dad and drowning the villain in his cloud.

“You little-!” All For One started but was cut off when All Might slammed into him.

Kumo moved quickly, surrounding the entire battlefield in his fog to heal the heroes hurt by All For One and the nearby civilians he knew were still there. He also moved so he and his dad were now landing on a stable roof of a nearby building, purposefully positioned behind Mt. Lady.

The heroes all recovered quickly, moving to assist All Might, who was now also being healed by the mist if not a bit slower.

“You traitorous brat!” All For One roared, making Kumo freeze where he was tending to Present Mic, who had fallen unconscious the moment All For One let go of him.

“Heal me! I demand it!” Kumo felt his body rise and turn against his will. His body was following the orders as his brain screamed to resist. His hands rose slowly, shaking violently as he resisted and whimpered in pain. The fog followed along with his trembling hands and inched closer to All For One.

Then, suddenly, Kumo felt the static that had been strangling him from the inside for so long dissipate.

All For One also dropped from the sky, his attacks disappearing as glowing red eyes landed on him from where Eraserhead stood on top of Ryuko’s back.

Kumo sank to his knees as the memories that had been locked away washed back into his mind all at once. Playing with Kacchan, cooking katsudon with his mom, getting his quirk diagnosis, bullies at school, his hero analysis, tending to his wounds, feeding the stray cats, that final day of school, meeting All Might for the first time, his suicide, waking up in the hospital strapped to that damn table, all of the experiments, meeting Kurogiri, hearing the man’s warning in the dead of night during a rare moment of clarity, his training with Tomura, saving his dad, being freed by his dads, the class, and learning to live again. All of it.

Kumo screamed.

He felt long arms gently wrap around him as he whaled, the pain in his head entirely distracting him from All Might’s final attack on All For One.

Tears rolled down his face like waterfalls as he tried to keep up with everything all at once.

Then, a gruff, gentle voice he’d grown to love even while dissociating cut through the panic in his brain. It was his dad’s voice. “I’ve got you, kiddo. It’s alright. We’re ok, Kumo. You’re safe. I’m safe. We’re all alright. It’s ok, Problem Child.”

And how could he not relax at that?

—
The following day was chaos at its finest.

Kumo refused to let go of Hizashi, his dad, at any point for any reason, practically forcing the man to wear him like a backpack. News crews caught on fast, letting the public know Present Mic had a child. Hizashi just sighed in defeat, not upset much since the alternative was his death. Because that’s what would have happened had his son not shown up when he had. Hizashi would have died. Ryuko wasn’t flying fast enough to get Shota there before All For One killed him. Hell, the other heroes likely would have died without Kumo’s healing as well. The civilians in the area were saved as well. Many civilians weren’t able to escape before the buildings came down, and over half of the rescued people reported having injuries that were healed when fog surrounded them.

Then there was the Sports Festival. Because of the raid the previous night, many heroes were injured.

Kumo offered to heal people, but Shota put a stop to that when he remembered his kid mentioning that using his healing too much made him dehydrated, and that was only after healing a few people let alone the few dozen he’d healed the previous night.

Even so, the Sports Festival went on.

Midnight had one arm in a cast, but was otherwise unharmed, so she did her original role along with Cementos. Hizashi and Shota were originally going to be the hosts, but Hizashi lost his voice due to the damage to his vocal cords and Shota didn’t want to host without him. Hizashi was already healed by Kumo, but the damage left him with some lasting pain that would go away on its own over the next few days according to Recovery Girl. Apparently, Hizashi was very lucky Kumo was there, because otherwise he would have permanently lost his voice if his neck hadn’t been snapped.

So instead of the couple doing the hosting, Nezu was doing it with the help of Snipe, who made it out with a broken foot and stab wound in the arm.

Kumo still begged to help, especially now that he had all of his memories back, so Hizashi agreed to monitor him in the room next to the infirmary.

If there was a student that Recovery Girl couldn’t heal with her quirk, Kumo would do it.

The students of class 1A stopped by often during the festival. Whenever they were on their way to Recovery Girl or on their way out, they would stop by to greet Kumo and ask how he and his dads were doing.

Not that any of them knew that Shota was also his dad.

Notes:

Next chapter will be a bit shorter, but there's a special guest. Care to guess who it will be?

Chapter 8: A Leap

Summary:

New friends! Old friends!

Notes:

I regret nothing :)

Izukumo Yamada adored his new life.

He still went by Kumo, but he let Kacchan call him Deku again just because the blond finally had the chance to properly apologize.

Kumo slowly adapted to his new situation after the battle was finally over.

He started bonding with his dads more, getting closer with his new friends, attending online school, and trying all of the things he was too scared to do before.

Kumo got tutoring from Nezu and Shota for his analysis, went to Power Loader to learn about support gear, helped Hizashi with his radio station, worked with Midnight on creating art, went with Snipe to learn how to shoot guns, was taught medical practices from Recovery Girl, and started shadowing Hound Dog to learn more about psychology. It was pure bliss.

The students of class 1A very easily integrated Kumo into their class dynamics. He was dubbed the class little brother, which was funny because he wasn’t the youngest one there.

Kumo was given that title when the class realized just how traumatized he still was. Kumo flinched at loud sounds, avoided touching anyone, avoided eye contact, didn’t like being near weapons, was afraid of rooftops, and was extremely uncomfortable around All Might. The class wasn’t exactly sure what that last one was about because Kumo refused to talk about it, but they all learned quickly to leave it alone and support him without mentioning it.

Kumo also started joining them in heroics training whenever a teacher apart from All Might could be there.

On multiple occasions, it ended with Kumo having a panic attack, but he still insisted on participating so he could help everyone else get better. He was always more worried about others more than himself.

The upperclassmen also took a liking to Kumo. Especially The Big Three, who often walked Kumo to and from classes when he was with Snipe or Ectoplasm for their advanced classes in the afternoons.

Not to mention Hatsume, who took a liking to Kumo for his unique statistics. Kumo wasn't exactly comfortable being a lab rat, never again, so Hatsume went to him with her ideas, bouncing them off of Kumo to find more inspiration or new additions for said baby.

At one point, Hatsume made Kumo a lovely pair of yellow goggles to match his dad. Not only that, but they had some music notes and soundwave designs built in to remind him of his other beloved dad.

—
Kumo held his dad’s hands tightly as they entered the cell.

Kurogiri, the only other nomu that Kumo could possibly relate to, was sitting strapped to a chair and on the other side of the glass.

Kumo sucked in a breath, tightening his grip on Shota and Hizashi’s hands.

They all heard the news about Kurogiri recently. The doctors, real doctors, had discovered that Kurogiri was very slowly waking up just like Kumo had. At the same time, researchers found out who Kurogiri was before he was turned into a nomu.

And hadn’t that been a hard pill to swallow for all of them. Oboro Shirakumo, the one Kumo was named after, had his corpse stolen and used by the league. It made Hizashi throw up, Shota start crying, and Kumo to completely dissociate. He didn’t do it nearly as often now, but it still happened when he was overwhelmed or frightened.

“Seiun.” Kumo flinched. He hadn’t heard that name in a while. “It’s a pleasure. How are you?” Kumo smiled sadly.

“You feel it too? Right? The static is gone.” Kurogiri didn’t react.

“That night…” Kumo started, taking a breath to steady himself. He’d only ever mentioned this once during his first interview with Shota and the detective.

“I don’t remember how long ago it was. I was n-new. I had just been fully functioning. The two of us were working at the bar together. You were showing me h-how to clean the glasses.” Kurogiri’s smoke shifted slightly.

“I was asking a lot of questions. I eventually asked you w-why we needed to kill heroes.” Kumo closed his eyes for a moment, letting the memory play out before his eyes for a moment. “Y-you froze. You told me you didn’t know. I was about t-to go back to cleaning the counter, b-but you stopped me. You grabbed my wrist. You pulled me aside and started to whisper. I remember your hands were shaking.” Kurogiri still hadn’t said anything, but his smoke was still shifting. Shota and Hizashi were also worryingly silent.

“You t-told me to trust heroes. Heroes are good. You told m-me to get out and find Eraserhead and Present Mic. They’re the best heroes. They would keep me safe.” Kurogiri’s body jolted slightly from the force of his shifting.

“You know what the best p-part is?” Kumo finally looked up, making direct eye contact with his former mentor.

“I did it. I found them.” Kurogiri jolted again.

Now it was Shota and Hizashi’s turn. They started talking normally at first.

They spoke calmly about meeting Kumo for the first time and caring for him. Then they moved on to talk about Oboro. Kurogiri shifted again at the mention of his real name.

That session ended with half of Oboro Shirakumo’s face becoming visible as he tried to fight back against the smoke surrounding him and the nomu programming still left in his brain. Kumo, Hizashi, and Shota had to leave after that, but they all agreed to come back in two weeks to try again.

Kumo refused to give up, and his parents refused to lose their best friend again, no matter how long it took.

Notes:

Perhaps I'll show their hero rankings in the future. Can you guess who's going to be in the top ten?

Chapter 9: A Landing Place

Summary:

Izukumo Yamada and his life years after UA!

Notes:

I might make a few one-shots in the future centering around this fic, but please enjoy this final chapter!

“Loud Cloud?” “Yup!” Oboro grinned brightly as he threw his hands into the air.

The two were sitting peacefully on the couch in Oboro’s apartment on UA campus.

It had already been almost two years since Kumo and his dads started working on bringing Oboro back.

Progress was slow at first, but over the past year he’d recovered almost completely. He still has huge gaps in his memory that likely will never be healed, but his personality and values are back to what they were when he was still a hopeful hero student.

He also had remnants of Kurogiri, mainly that his once light blue hair was now dark purple and his eyes were yellow. No one mentioned his scars apart from Kumo, who had plenty to match still hidden under his fog. Nezu eventually managed to get Oboro transferred from the prison to UA campus so he could have his own apartment.

“And you…” Kumo edged, not wanting to overstep. He’d been in the hero course since the second semester of his first year in high school. Nezu adored him and helped Kumo get accepted without much trouble. The Hero Commission and many others still disliked Kumo and didn’t trust him, but it didn’t bother him at all.

“Yes.” Oboro said seriously. “I’d be more than happy with you taking my hero name, kid.”

Kumo smiled shyly as he replied, “But I already took your name.”

Oboro laughed hardily. “You didn’t take shit. My two dumbass best friends named you after me, that had nothing to do with you. And I’m giving you permission. It’s not like I could use that name when I become a hero again anyway. I have Warp Gate now. As much as I hate how I got it, this is my quirk. I’m going to use it for good and that means making sure my hero name fits.” Kumo laughed at Oboro’s blunt way of speaking. He already knew Oboro was going to work on becoming a hero once he passed his final few psych evaluations.

“You really don’t mind?” “I’d be honored.” Oboro assured him with his toothy grin. Kumo smiled back and got up. It was almost time for class.

“I finally picked my h-hero name.” Kumo said, gaining the attention of all of his classmates at once. “What is it?!” “Tell us!” “Please!” Kumo chuckled and waved them off. It was the second semester of their third year in UA, and today would be the final check in. They would have to decide their hero names with the other pro heroes helping.

Some people changed their names entirely. Bakugou, Hagakure, Ashido, Iida, and Todoroki went with Dynamite, Iris, Citric, Ingenium, and Pyrofrost.

Some changed their names slightly, like Sato becoming Candy Man and Tokoyami being the Spectral Energy Hero instead.

Kumo was the only one in the class who hadn’t picked a hero name at all. He’d just been letting people call him Fog in the field whenever he was on work studies. Heck, Eri probably would never stop calling him Fog after he helped rescue her from the Yakuza. Not that he was the only one there, but she was particularly close to him even after Nemuri adopted her.

“The Reborn Hero: Loud Cloud.”

Nemuri squealed happily as she dragged Kumo into a tight hug.

The name was a reference to the fact that Kumo was undead, he was Oboro’s disciple, that he was named after the pro, and that he was carrying his legacy. He also thought it was ironic since he was one of the quietest in the class. The name also suited his quirks. He floats like a spirit, controls clouds which are part of the water cycle, and can heal people.

Kumo smiled widely as his dad threaded his fingers through his cloudy hair.

“You’ll do amazing things, Loud Cloud.”

—
“Guys! Guys! It’s starting!”

Former class 3A, UA’s Chaos Class, were meeting up for the first time in five years since graduation.

They all met regularly, just not altogether. When they were meeting up, they were referred to by other heroes and civilians as the Chaos Heroes. This was mostly because whenever more than four of them were on scene, everyone knew that something crazy was about to happen.

This time was different, because three of their classmates made it to the top ten.

They all sat together in their designated seats to watch the stage where their classmates would emerge.

“Number ten is… Loud Cloud!” All of the Chaos Heroes leapt from their seats and cheered loudly as Kumo hesitantly walked onto stage and waved. His hero costume resembling Oboro’s old one as well as his dad’s and Snipe’s. He was a twilight hero, but his story and overall variety of helping people is what raised him up the leaderboards.

Speaking of helping people in different ways…

“Our new number nine is Present Mic!” Hizashi happily sauntered up the stage and ruffled his son’s hair as he gave the cameras a peace sign.

Loud Cloud and Present Mic had joined forces with dozens of other agencies in a mission to create the Speak Out campaign. It’s a fundraiser that raises money for those in horrible home lives that need help getting out. The campaign has already reached millions in funds just this year and Loud Cloud recently announced that his agency was opening up a few orphanages all over the country for those being pulled from their homes thanks to the investigations or anyone in need.

Present Mic had also announced that his radio show was doing a new interview segment, dedicated to those who want to share their stories about escaping dangerous situations and how they are doing now. The new segment had easily become one of the most listened to of the year, and it was on its way to becoming the most popular of all time.

This all on top of the two of them still patrolling and working on missions they were called out for. They were an unstoppable duo in the field.

“Number eight is once again… Lemillion!” The Chaos Heroes quieted down slightly. They loved their senpai, but a few of them still had to bite back laughter when they caught sight of his hair.

“Number seven is… Kamui Woods!” Koda waved to his mentor as the hero walked out onto the stage. They had bonded a few years ago after realizing they both had a strong connection to nature.

“Welcome number six… Edgeshot!” Said hero simply appeared on stage with a smoke bomb created by Hatsume Industries.

“Number five is Pyrofrost!” The class exploded with cheers once again. He'd been doing so much better as the years went by, especially now that his mother was officially out of the hospital and he got to see her all the time along with his visits to Dabi in prison.

“Following him out is number four… Dynamite!” Kirishima stood on his chair to wave at his partner as he stormed onto the stage with what they all knew was a fake scowl. Bakugou had grown a lot since high school, but he still had to keep his tough guy reputation up even if he wasn’t mean anymore. Just a bit spicy, as Kirishima, the other half of the Poprocks Agency, claims.

“Now for our number three… Mirko!” Bakugou scoffed as said hero shoved him teasingly. The two had grown quite close over the years and worked together often.

“And once again our number two… it’s Hawks!” Tokoyami and Dark Shadow both rolled their eyes as a tornado of red feathers fell from the ceiling and Hawks emerged, looking far healthier and happier than before thanks to Nezu reforming the Hero Commission with Loud Cloud’s help a few years ago. That was also a reason for Loud Cloud’s popularity.

“And for our number one hero… Best Jeanist!” Bakugou scoffed again as his mentor also ruffled his hair as he walked by. Todoroki had to hide his smile from the other teen.

Kumo didn’t bother hiding his laughter, which earned him a glare that he knew meant they would be sparing later.

This was really his life now.

Kumo looked to the night sky as he and his dads walked to a nearby diner with the rest of the Chaos Heroes.

Afterwards, Kumo was going to sleep over at his dad’s place to spend time with the cats, who all still adored swarming him like flies to honey. Maybe his aunts and uncles would stop by too? Eri would be with Nemuri then. Hm, Kumo would have to bribe his dads with a visit to one of his sponsored cat cafes for that.

Kumo closed his eyes, appreciating the cool night air in his lungs as he breathed. He opened his eyes, turning his head to stare up at the somehow visible stars.

He wouldn’t change a thing.

Notes:

This is the end! I hope you enjoyed!

Notes:

The quirks were chosen after I learned Shigaraki was supposed to have a float quirk like Nana, which All For One must still have. I also realized he never used or gave away Cloud, so combining them seemed perfect along with some healing.
Izuku's name was an easy pick as well after I read more about Shirakumo.
There will be fluff in the future, trust.
I don't know a lot about dissociation and panic attacks so I'm open to recommendations for better representation.