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A trip to get some ice cream. That's all they wanted to do. Just take Eri up the street from UA to a small ice cream shop across from a park that she liked to play at. It wasn't the first time they'd been there either.
What wasn't expected were two men trying to rob the place while they were waiting for their order to be made. One of the men had a knife quirk while the other one didn't appear to have something noticeable. And they didn't look suspicious. In fact, they wouldn't even have flagged on Izuku or Hitoshi's radar if they hadn't come in guns blazing.
"Eri, go hide," Hitoshi directed his little sister.
The white haired girl nodded and ran to hide inside of one of the booths. As soon as she was safe, the two teens jumped into action and Hitoshi was quick to subdue the man with the knife quirk, wrapping him in the capture scarf. Unfortunately, he wasnt quick enough with his quirk on the one Izuku was fighting.
A sudden explosion of smoke exploded around Izuku just as the guy responded to Hitoshi. The two men were quickly cuffed with quirk canceling cuffs as police sirens echoed.
The sound of a child crying caught Hitoshi's attention as he looked around for the sound before spotting a small child with short green hair sitting on the ground swimming in Izuku's shirt he'd been wearing.
"Shit." This wasnt good at all. He turned to the second man and demanded, "Tell me your quirk."
"Regression," came the answer.
Unfortunately, the police arrived at that moment which cut off his line of questioning. Instead, he knelt down in front of the little kid and asked, "Are you hurt anywhere?"
The child shook his head, sniffling as he asked, "W-where's my mommy?"
"I think she's at work," Hitoshi answered as he sat on the floor. "My name is Hitoshi, what's yours?"
"I-Izuku," came the whispered answer.
"It's nice to meet you, Izuku," Hitoshi said with a small smile. "Do you want to know a secret?"
The toddler nodded his head curiously.
"I'm training to be a hero."
The toddler's eyes widened in awe even as Hitoshi could see stars in his eyes. How was he such a sunshine person even so young? Then again, they'd all known that he was a hero nerd. He just didn't think Midoriya had been as big of one as a kid.
The police were quick cuff the men into quirk cancelling cuffs and escort them out before Tsukauchi walked in. The officer took in the scene before giving Hitoshi a look that the teen knew all too well. Aizawa was going to be pissed when he found out what had happened.
"Eri," Hitoshi called, the girl coming out of her hiding spot. "Can you sit here with Izuku for a moment? I need to talk with the good detective before Eraser gets here to tell me off for situational awareness."
His little sister stepped out from where she was hiding before walking over. She stared in awe at the regressed teenager who was now a lot smaller than her. It was obvious she had never been around a toddler, though it was only the foster system that gave Hitoshi that experience.
"Izuku," Hitoshi gently said. "This is my little sister Eri. She's going to sit with you until my teacher gets here, okay?"
The mop of green hair bobbed in a nod.
As soon as they were far enough away to not be overheard, Hitoshi explained everything to the detective. He admitted to having used his quirk to get the name of the quirk, but didn't have any information. He also explained that the toddler didn't seem like he had any memories of the past.
They were just finishing up their discussion when a car pulled up and Shouta and Nemuri stepped out. They walked forward, the two of them looking around at the scene. Luckily, everyone was unharmed with the exception of the quirk incident inside.
"Where are Eri and Midoriya?" Shouta immediately questioned.
Hitoshi scratched the back of his neck as he muttered, "Uh… yeah. About that…"
"Psyren…"
"Okay, okay," he said, holding his hands up in defeat. "One of the assholes has an age regression quirk and used it on Deku. He's… maybe 4, but he's really tiny so I'm not sure. And he didn't recognize me. Eri's watching him."
Shouta frowned as he turned and headed straight into the store as Nemuri put a hand on Hitoshi's shoulder, gently saying, "This isn't your fault."
<><>
Izuku sat on the floor, still unsure of what was going on. He'd suddenly been in an ice cream store during a villain attack instead of at hime with his mom like he should have been. And he was wearing a strange suit that was way too big for him and he didn't have any other clothes. The hero's sister, Eri, was nice though and let him talk all about Kaachan's quirk.
"Eri," a new voice said.
Eri got up and ran over to the person, Izuku turning his head to see that it was a man with long dark hair who looked really sleepy. Like really, really sleepy. He looked a little scary, but Eri wasn't scared of him at all. So maybe he wasn't really that scary?
The man walked over to Izuku and crouched down, the toddler flinching away fearfully. He was supposed to be brave like All Might, but there was lots going on and his mom wasn't anywhere nearby.
"My name's Eraserhead," the man gently said, looking at Izuku. "I'm a pro-hero. Psyren said that you were in here."
"Psyren?" Izuku asked, tilting his head curiously. "Is that what the big boy's name is? He says he's gonna be a hero."
Eraser nodded in agreement. "That's right," he said. "He's my student. He said that you were very brave today."
"R-really?" Izuku didn't feel too brave.
"Really. Now, I'm going to take you and Eri somewhere safe until we can figure out what happened, okay?"
That sounded okay. Mom always said to trust pro-heroes and Eraser wasn't a pro-hero he knew, but Mom had told him there were heroes people didn't know about. They worked in secret so maybe that was why Izuku didn't know this hero.
Izuku was picked up, still wrapped in the clothes though Eri picked up the giant gloves and shoes. curled up against the man, sniffling softly as he rubbed his eyes. He was sleepy and hungry and Mommy would be mad if he was missing. She'd gotten weird like that since the other day when they went to the doctor.
A lady was standing near Psyren, talking to him when her eyes met Izuku. She squealed and moved over to him, calling him "just a baby" though he was too tired to do more than whimper and cling tighter to Eraser's shirt.
"Nemuri," Eraser sighed like Mommy did when Izuku did something she didn't like. "Can you take Eri?"
The lady nodded as she scooped Eri up, putting her in the car. Psyren got in the back too before Eraser opened the door up front and got in, keeping Izuku with him. The green haired toddler looked up at him in confusion. Mommy always said only adults got to sit in the front and that was only if they had a car or there were lots of people.
"I just realized you never told me your name," Eraser said, peering down.
"I'm Izuku," the toddler introduced himself. "Mi…Mido… sorry, it's hard."
"How old are you, Izuku?"
He shyly held up four fingers.
"Very big," Shouta told him. "You're about ready for high school already."
Izuku couldn't help but giggle at that. He knew high school was for big, big kids and he was too little for that. But he liked learning and quirks and maybe Eraser would tell him his quirk? But that would be bad if anyone found out Izuku knew because Eraser was a secret hero.
The lady stopped the car before Eraser lifted him out of the car. They walked through a weird tunnel before coming out outside of a really, really big building. It looked like UA, but that was silly. He didn't live near UA and Mommy would never bring him here.
They went inside the building and up lots and lots of stairs, enough to make Izuku dizzy just thinking about it. When they reached the room they were going to, Izuku looked around in awe. It looked like the hospital from the shows Mommy like to watch. Even though it was tiny and there was no one else there.
He stayed in Eraser's arms even as an old lady walked in using a cane. Izuku's eyes widened as he recognized the cane. She was a hero who worked at the doctor's office. Izuku had seen her when he went to the doctor after Kaachan accidentally hurt him with his quirk.
"Who do we have here?" the hero lady asked, looking at Izuku who whimpered and buried his head shyly in Eraser's shoulder.
Eraser sighed as he said, "This is Izuku. There was an… incident at the ice cream parlor. I just want to make sure there are no problems. He says he's four."
"Hello, Izuku," the hero lady said with a smile. "My name's Recovery Girl. Do you mind if I use my quirk on you?"
Izuku looked at her as he quietly asked, "What does it do?"
"It lets me heal any ouchies you have," she explained. "For you, it's just going to make sure there's nothing the heroes missed."
He nodded as she walked closer before kissing his forehead. He giggled softly at the kiss before she pulled away and looked at him with a smile.
"No injuries?" Eraser asked.
"He's all good to go," she said with a smile.
"We go find Mommy now?" Izuku asked.
Eraser looked down at him with a frown, Izuku's own smile fading at the sight of the frown. "We'll find your mom, but we also need to find out what happened to you. You were hit by a quirk, kid."
"What kinda quirk?" Izuku tiled his head as he asked his question. It didn't sound like a very nice quirk. "Psy…ren… says we gotted in a villain attack."
"You were," Eraser agreed. "But you weren't this small when the attack started."
"No, you were sixteen. The villain had a quirk that turned you back into a four year old."
Izuku's eyes widened at that. He was bigger and the villain made him little?
"That's not nice," Izuku grumbled.
"No, it's not. So until we can contact your mom and get things figured out, you'll be staying with my family."
Izuku's eyes widened yet again at that. He was going to stay with a hero family? That sounded so cool! So much cooler than going to daycare and not being allowed to play 'cause he didn't have a quirk.
"Careful or those eyes are gonna pop out if you open them any wider," Eraser said.
Izuku whined, covering his eyes with his hands. He didn't want them to pop out. How was he supposed to watch hero fights if that happened?
"Don't worry, Izuku," Recovery girl said. "Your eyes can't fall out. It's impossible unless there's a quirk involved."
Izuku peeked from between his eyes as he asked, "Promise?"
"I promise, dearie."
Izuku pulled his hands away before sticking his tongue out at Eraser. He was a big meanie for trying to trick him like that.
"Alright, kiddo. Let's get going."
Eraser picked him up again and carried him back through the halls with the promise that there were clothes for Izuku when they got home. But instead of going back to the car, they walked across a lot of grass to where another building was. The inside was big and there were adults talking. It was kinda scary.
Instead of saying anything, they walked up the stairs to a door that was labeled "Aizawa-Yamada". Was that Eraser's name? Did he know a hero's name?
"Sho?" a male voice called from another room. "Is that you?"
Izuku clung to Eraser as the man leaned over to untie his shoes as he said, "Yeah, we're back. Did you get the clothes?"
"Yeah, they're in Toshi's room."
Eraser didn't respond to that, just carried Izuku through the apartment and to a bedroom that read "Hitoshi" on the faceplate. Izuku looked around curiously, noticing that the room belonged to a big kid. There were lots of big books and a picture of Psyren, Eraser, and another man with long blond hair.
"Do you need help getting dressed?" Eraser asked.
Izuku shook his head. Mommy made him get ready on his own now and he could get into his school close and home clothes okay. Eraser nodded and stood up, turning around though he didn't leave the room. Izuku got his pants on but got tangled in the shirt.
"H-help," he whimpered.
Eraser turned back around, moving over and carefully helping Izuku put the shirt on. The toddler beamed happily as he took Eraser's hand and let himself be led out of the room. He looked around curiously, trying to find out who that voice was.
They walked into the kitchen where a man with long blond hair from the picture was at the counter. He looked over, eyes zeroing in on Izuku before he came over and said, "He's so adorable."
Izuku gasped, hiding behind Eraser's leg even though Mommy said he should be brave and hide. But there was lots and everything was lots and scary and Eraser was a hero and would protect him.
"This is my husband Hizashi," Eraser softly said as he crouched down. "He's really nice and he's a hero too."
Izuku looked up at Hizashi curiously. "Really?"
"Really," Hizashi answered, crouching down. "You can even call me Zashi if you want, kiddo." He ruffled his hair. "Are you hungry? I know when I go through something scary, I need something yummy to eat."
Izuku slowly nodded is head as his belly grumbled. He gasped, wrapping his arms around his belly as his cheeks warmed up.
"Sho, I think your belly's grumbling," Zashi said, looking at Eraser with a smile.
Eraser just sighed and said, "I guess a snack wouldn't hurt."
"It's lunch time, Mister," Zashi said, rolling his eyes as he looked at Izuku. "Come on, kiddo. You can help me dish up lunch. I just made some sandwiches."
Eraser put Izuku on a chair before a sandwich was placed in front of him. It looked like a chicken katsu sandwich with apple slices on the side., causing the toddler to brighten up. He ate all the apples and the half-sandwich before he was really, really full. He yawned, his eyes drooping as he sat at the table.
He heard Zashi say something about nap time before he was picked up. He lay his head down on the shoulder of the person who was carrying him before he was put in a bed and almost instantly fell asleep.
<><>
Shouta sighed deeply as Hizashi walked back to the kitchen table. This whole situation was one giant mess. And then there was Nedzu's message that had just come through that the kid's mom couldn't be reached. Somehow, that was the least surprising thing about the whole day. He'd only ever met the woman once and to say that it hadn't been pleasant had been an understatement.
"Nedzu can't reach his mom," Shouta said, looking at his huband. "And we're still waiting for Tsukauchi to tell us how long the quirk lasts."
Hizashi walked over, putting his hands on his husband's shoulders and starting to massage them. "He can stay with us as long as he needs," he gently replied. "It wasn't his fault. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Before Shouta could reply, his phone began ringing with Tsukauchi's name on the caller ID. He answered the phone with a tired sigh and his normal, "Eraser."
"How's the kid?" Tsukauchi immediately asked.
"He's overwhelmed, but he had lunch and is sleeping in Hitoshi's room. What did you find?"
"The man's name is Sakai Hinata. His quirk is called Regression and when he uses his quirk, he determines what age and how long the victim is regressed. He turned Midoriya back to-"
"Four," Shouta interrupted. "He already told us. It seems like he doesn't know anything past that age so no memory of being a teen."
"Unfortunately, he's saying that Midoriya won't return to being a teen. He'll have to go through his entire life again."
Shouta couldn't stop the groan at that. This wasn't good at all and the fact that they couldn't reach Midoriya's mother was even worse.
"There's more. We were able to find Midoriya's mother. One of the officers made a house call. She offered to sign away her parental rights, saying that she can't go through that again. We're not sure what that means."
"He's not going through child services," Shouta coldly stated. They'd had to deal with Hitoshi's problems and CPTSD because of all the abuse he'd been through growing up in that. He would move hell and high water before he let that happen to his now former student. "Tell her to come to UA and we'll get the paperwork transferred so Hizashi and I have custody."
"Are you sure? This is a big-"
"We're sure," Hizashi spoke up with a concerned look. "The listener has been through enough. With how he acted when he first started at UA, there were obvious signs of an abused kid even with how he tried to hide it."
Shouta silently agreed, but didn't say anything. He'd been extremely concerned with the fact that the kid couldn't control his quirk. That combined with how skittish he'd been had raised red flags, but there was no proof they could go to Nedzu with unfortunately.
"I'll have an officer go pick her up then. It would probably be best to not let them meet though."
"I can have Nem or Toshi babysit," Shouta stated. All he could think of was how he was supposed to tell Izuku that he wasn't going to be going home with his mom. "Nao, thanks. For all this."
"Just make sure the kid has a good life, Aizawa. He deserves it."
They hung up, the two men sitting at the table in silence as they tried to comprehend what was happening. It wasn't a choice they were making lightly and Shouta was sure Hitoshi would be fine sharing a room. Or Midoriya was young enough they could still co-sleep like they'd done with Eri until recently. No matter what, they would find a way to make it work.
"I can take him shopping tomorrow," Hizashi quietly said. "And we can move his things out of the dorms tonight since it's the weekend. There's only Uraraka, Denki, Sato, and Todoroki in the dorms."
"We have to figure out how to explain it to the class," Shouta sighed. "Especially if-"
He went silent as the sound of soft crying caught his attention. The two of them shared an expression before heading to the bedroom. They opened the door slowly to see Midoriya sitting in the large bed, crying as he clung to a pillow.
"Hey there, kiddo," Hizashi gently said as he walked over. "Did you have a bad dream?"
"Uh-huh."
Shouta watched as his husband sat on the bed, pulling the toddler into his lap before frowning. He raised an eyebrow as the man just shook his head before saying, "I think someone had an accident."
"I-I din' m-mean to," came the choked out sob. "I-I'm sorry."
"It's okay, little bunny. These things happen. Why don't you go with Sho to the bathroom and he can help clean you up while I clean up the bed then we can go for a walk if you want?"
There was a sniffle as Midoriya looked at Shouta who held his hand out with an encouraging nod. Once given the okay, the toddler climbed down and ran over, clinging to Shouta's hand tightly. It was adorable, not that he would ever admit it to anyone.
They went into the bathroom, Shouta setting Izuku on the toilet while he filled up the tub. He also made sure to add some bubbles and put a couple of Eri's toys in the water for him as well.
There was soft sniffling from behind him, making him turn around. He looked at Izuku who was rubbing his eyes and looking miserable.
"You're not in trouble," he gently explained. "Sometimes kids have accidents in their sleep."
"B-but Mommy gets m-mad," he whispered softly.
Shouta frowned at that before asking, "Izuku, does your mom hurt you when you have an accident?"
Izuku started crying harder at that, causing Shouta to sigh softly. He gently scooped up the kid and held him close. That didn't paint a good picture at all. He would need Nedzu to look into things for him, but there was also someone else they could ask. Someone who'd apparently known the kid their whole lives.
"You're okay," Shouta softly said. "You're safe, Kid. Zashi and I will make sure you're never hurt like that again."
As soon as the toddler calmed down, he was placed into the tub. Shouta listened to his giggles as he played with the toys and the bubbles while he shot Hizashi, Nedzu, and Tuskauchi a message about what had happened.
" 'Raser?" He looked up at Izuku who was staring up at him. "Is Izu in troubles?"
"Not at all. Like Zashi and I said, accidents happen."
"But Izu always bad… and can't do nothin' rights."
Shouta looked at Izuku with a softened expression. "You're a very smart kid and one of the kindest kids I know. Besides, would someone bad be staying with two pro-heroes?"
The toddler shook his head, sniffling.
"Exactly. Now, do you want to play in the bath some more? Or we can go watch a show or color. I think we also have some puzzles."
"C-can we play ou'side?"
"Let's get you dried off then we can talk about it."
"M'kay."
Shouta wrapped him in a fluffy blanket, squishing him like he did to Eri and getting a squeal of delight from the toddler. He couldn't help the chuckle that came out of his mouth as he carried him into the bedroom where Hizashi was just finishing making the bed. Shouta helped him change into a new set of clothes before taking him out to the couch.
He was set in front of the television, eyes instantly on the cartoon of Catriki Neko that Shouta turned on. Once he was well distracted, Shouta was able to slip away into the bedroom where Hizashi was speaking on his phone in a low voice.
"We'll be there soon," Hizashi quietly said as he looked at Shouta just before hanging up. "She just arrived at the gate."
Shouta nodded as they walked back out before he asked, "Izuku, do you want to go meet more heroes?"
The kid shook his head at the answer, still focused on the screen in front of him. Hizashi sighed in exasperation beside him as he realized what had been turned on. It seemed as though there would be plenty more of the cartoon now, much to Shouta's delight.
"Izuku, kiddo," Hizashi gently said, crouching down. "Shouta and I have to run and talk to a police officer about what happened today. Do you think you would be okay to hang out with a friend of ours? Then when we come back, we can watch cartoons."
Izuku pouted, but nodded his agreement before Hizashi scooped him up, a squeal of happiness escaping him. They walked downstairs to find Nemuri and Austin sitting together. They both looked up at the footsteps coming down, Nemuri cooing at the toddler again.
"So Nem wasn't lyin'," Austin said, looking at the two men.
"No," Shouta answered.
"Izuku," Hizashi said, glancing at the toddler in his arms. "This is Nemuri and Austin, but their hero names are Midnight and Snipe."
"But that's the scary lady," Izuku whispered loudly.
Nemuri looked put out, but didn't try to defend herself. "She's harmless," Shouta informed him before looking at the two. "We have to head up to the school and talk with Nedzu and an officer about what happened. Are you two good with watching him?"
"You bet," Austin said with a grin. "How 'bout we go play in the grass outside? It's too nice a day to not."
Izuku nodded eagerly before looking at Shouta and asking, "Ou'side?"
"Only if you're very good for Nemuri and Austin," Shouta agreed. "You listen to everything they tell you, okay?"
Izuku nodded in agreement as Hizashi passed the toddler to Austin who groaned dramatically and asked, "You got a pound of rocks in ya?"
Izuku giggled happily, shaking his head. "Uh-uh."
Shouta and Hizashi left the teachers dorms and headed up towards the school, neither saying a word as they walked through campus. They were both angry at the situation and furious that the kid's mother wouldn't even attempt to see him. No, she just wanted to wash her hands of him and be done.
"Thank you both for coming," Nedzu said as they walked into his office. Ms. Midoriya was already there with Sansa. "Now, I have already taken the liberty of getting the forms for Midoriya Izuku's custody. As UA already has partial custody due to the forms signed the beginning of Midoriya's first year, this should make things easier."
They watched as Ms. Midoriya signed her rights away before they signed that they were taking full custody of the kid. UA had taken custody of kids in abusive situations before so this wasn't new to any of them. It was usually the homeroom teacher that would sign for the custody along with Nedzu. However, in this situation, it was both Shouta and Hizashi.
Once the forms were signed, Inko turned to the two men and calmly stated, "You should have gotten rid of it while you could."
Shouta grabbed Hizashi's arm, holding him back as he calmly questioned, "What do you mean?"
"The little brat was quirkless up until right before he was accepted into UA. Should've just done what my husband said and left the thing on the side of the river."
Shouta's quirk activated just in time for Hizashi to start shouting at her about being a horrible mother. That despite how he'd been raised, their student had been the kindest and most heroic student they'd seen in a long time.
Sansa was quick to direct Ms Midoriya out, shooting Shouta an apologetic look.
As soon as she was gone, Hizashi collapsed back onto the chair. Shouta rubbed the back of his husband's hand with his thumb, circles pressing comfortingly into the skin.
"I would like to meet Young Izuku come Monday," Nedzu informed them. "I'm curious about how young he was when he began analyzing."
Shouta nodded in agreement before gently saying, "Come on, Sunshine. Let's head back and we can take him shopping."
Hizashi took a deep breath before nodding in agreement.
As they walked, Shouta tried to process what he'd been told. Late bloomers were extremely rare, but never one as late as in high school. This information was something he should have been told before the school year even started. He would have probably kicked the kid out of the hero course, but only until he'd had quirk counciling with him and could control the quirk.
As they got closer to the dorms, they heard the toddler giggling happily. He was being chased by Snipe and Midnight, a loud squeal escaping him as Midnight caught him in her arms and began kissing him on the face.
She looked up at the footsteps, her smile dropping as she saw their expressions. She could tell, they knew, that something had happened.
"Zashi! 'Raser!" Izuku ran towards them, tackling Shouta's legs before looking up with a grin. "Hi!"
"Hey," Shouta muttered, picking him up. "You have fun?"
"Uh-huh."
"Why don't you go with Zashi to go potty," he suggested. "Then we can go out and walk around for a bit."
Izuku squirmed to be put down before he ran over to Hizashi who scooped him up and carried him inside.
"What happened?" Nemuri asked.
"She called him a thing," Shouta admitted with a sigh. "And he was a late bloomer."
"When you say late…?"
"She said right before he was accepted to UA," Shouta explained. "I think… his quirk appeared during the entrance exam."
Both pro-heroes looked horrified at that. Shouta just shook his head as he looked away. He had so many regrets with the kid.
They all stood in silence before Hizashi called out, "All good to go! Need to get the kiddo some shoes while we're out."
Shouta looked over, watching Izuku flinch at that. He walked over and quietly asked, "You okay, kiddo?"
"Uh-huh."
"What's wrong?"
Izuku sniffled as he said, "I don' want red shoes."
"You don't have to have red shoes. We can get you other colors."
"But mommy says i gots ta," he mumbled.
"Well, you're not staying with your mom, are you?" He asked. "And Zashi and I say you can have whatever shoes you want."
Izuku rubbed the tears from his eyes. "Really?"
"Really," Hizashi agreed. "Now let's go shopping. We can get some toys too."
They said their goodbyes to Nemuri and Austin before heading out one of the side gates to UA. The mall was close enough that they chose to walk, Izuku kept in Hizashi's tight hold.
The trip to the mall was a fairly quiet experience. Even with a toddler, they managed to get through a handful of clothing stores, making sure to have the boy try pants and a single shirt on so they could get accurate sizes. He was fairly happy with it too, able to pick out some hero shirts though Shouta had redirected the want of All Might towards heroes like Present Mic. Ones he could actually stand.
The issue came when they went to get shoes. They found the correct size, but the boy kept crying that his toes hurt. Shouts and Hizashi exchanged a look. It had to be the second toe joint.
"Excuse me," Hizashi said with a kind smile to the employee who was there. "We just took in a foster child but hes saying that the shoes are too tight. His parents had morphs that widened their feet. Do you happen to have any shoes wider like that?"
"Of course," she agreed with a smile. She went to the back before frowning as she walked out. "I'm so sorry. But it looks like we only have the Q brand in right now."
Shouta fought to keep his face blank as he said, "We'll just grab some sandals. We can come back another day."
Izuku picked out a pair of Present Mic sandals that lit up, Hizashi beaming behind him as they left the store.
"How about a toy store, kiddo?" Hizashi asked.
They went into the store, Izuku picking out a couple of toys. He looked hesitant about picking out anything which prompted Shouta to start making a list of what Izuku was looking at so he could return and pick the other items up later.
They came across some stuffed animals and childrens' action figures. Izuku picked out both All Might and Present Mic plushes, holding them out to Shouta with a pleading look.
As soon as Izuku's energy started to decrease and he began to get cranky, they decided to head home. Shouta carried Izuku as Hizashi sent a message to Hitoshi that he could bring Eri home and asking if he wanted to come over for dinner.
They all met up outside of the apartment, Hitoshi grinning as he took a picture of Shouta with a tired Izuku in his arms.
"They've asked what happened to Midoriya," Hitoshi quietly said as Eri was in the kitchen helping wigh dinner. Izuku had been left on the couch to nap until dinner was ready. "I just said you had him. I didn't know exactly what to say."
"It's permanent," Shouta explained to his oldest. "And his mother signed away her rights."
"So you took him in. You're such a dad." Hitoshi sighed softly. "But I'm glad he has you and pops."
<><>
"Where's Midoriya?"
"Shinso said he was with Mr Aizawa. Maybe a mission or something?"
"But he'd usually the first one up in the morning."
"I saw Mic and Midnight carrying boxes out of the dorms Saturday night."
Shouta sighed deeply as he listened to them before slamming the door open. Every single one of his students went silent and stared at him as he walked in, door shutting closed behind him.
"I know you're all wondering about your classmate's whereabouts. As of Saturday morning, Midoriya is no longer enrolled in UA as a student."
That caused the kind of outburst Shouta was expecting though it was starting to give him a migraine. He didn't want to be the one to deal with this, but it was only right.
"Sir!" Iida said, raising his hand. "If I may, Midoriya is one of the top students in the class. If he-"
"We are aware of that," Shouta interrupted. "This was not planned and I did not expel him. This was entirely out of everyone's control."
The door opened as Nedzu's voice said, "Apologies for interrupting. But someone was asking for you, Aizawa."
Shouta sighed at his boss as a mop of green hair ran over to him, clinging to his pant leg. He sighed as he crouched down, seeing the tear filled eyes.
"It's okay, kid." He lifted him up, standing to glare at his class. "One question at a time and only hands that are raided. No shouting unless you're called on."
Everyone seemed to raise their hand except for Hitoshi. Izuku looked around shyly before spotting Hitoshi. "Toshi! 'Raser, is Toshi."
"Do you want to go sit with him?" Shouta asked. "You have to be quiet."
At the nod, he was put down and ran over to Hitoshi who picked him up. The green haired teen was given an empty page in Hitoshi's notebook and a pencil to draw with.
"Sensei, is that-?" Yaoyarozu spoke up.
"Yes," he stated. "There was a quirk accident over the weekend. No, it's unfortunately not temporary which is why he is no longer a student. You will likely still see him around UA grounds."
Everyone began talking all at once, Izuku cringing and trying to hide against Hitoshi. Shouta was about to use his quirk when Bakugo's quirk suddenly went off, silencing everyone.
"You idiots are scaring him," the blond teen snapped at his peers. "The nerd was skittish as hell when he was that size. You're just going to make him terrified of you."
There was silence before a tiny voice asked, "Kaachan?" Bakugo turned to look at the kid, nodding once before the toddler looked at him and said, "Not Kaachan, Auntie Mitsuki."
"Eh?! I'm not that hag!"
"Uh-huh. Kaachan is little like Izu."
Shouta sighed in defeat as he said, "Bakugo, see me after school." At least he would be able to get more information from the teen. "Kid, either you be quiet or you're going to sit with Nem."
"Nooo scary lady!"
There were a couple of snickers as Hitoshi whispered something into the kid's ear. There was a nod and Izuku began scribbling in the notebook. At least that was done with and he could get some sleep.
The class kept their distance from the toddler who was content to chat with Hitoshi and continue to draw.
When class time, came to an end and Hizashi walked in, the blond about shattered every window and everyone's ear drums at the sight of Izuku looking serious as he scribbled on a piece of paper with a pack of crayons and a coloring book Yaoyarozu had made for him. It was only Shouta's knowledge of his husband that prevented that massacre.
"Alright, problem child," Shouta said as he walked over to Izuku and Hitoshi. "Time to go with Nedzu."
"Nooo," he whined. "Wanna stay with Toshi an' Kaachan."
"Oh so now I'm Kaachan," Bakugo said with a teasing tone.
"We can go get a snack and color," Shouta said, scooping him up. "There are other heroes in training to meet."
He picked up the coloring book and crayons, leaving his sleeping bag with a regrettable sigh. He knew Hizashi would grab it for him, but it just meant less time to nap.
"Bye-bye," Izuku said, opening and closing his hand at the class as they left the room. " 'Raser, 'gots sleep bag."
"Zashi will bring it to me when he's finished."
"I sleep bag?"
"When it's nap time, we'll see."
Nap time, unfortunately, came around right before Shouta was supposed to teach Class 2-B. Izuku was fussing and refusing to sleep, crying as he tried to leave the tired toddler with Inui. It wasn't even that he didn't want to nap. It was that he wanted to nap but was too tired and fighting it to do so.
"Wanna nap," the toddler cried.
"All you have to do is lay down, kid," Shouta repeated for probably the tenth time in the past five minutes. Kami, he was too tired for this. "Just lay down on the couch right here and you can nap."
"No! Wanna nap!"
Shouta sighed as he picked the kid up, gently bouncing him. Within seconds, Izuku was asleep much to his relief. However, the next obstacle came when he tried to put the toddler down and got a sleepy whine.
In the end, he ended up carrying the sleeping toddler into the classroom with him. Turned out it wasn't a bad thing. They were silent under the threat of expulsion to whoever woke the napping toddler.
The rest of the day passed smoother, Izuku spending the rest of the afternoon with Nedzu and, later, Hizashi who had an open period for his last class of the day.
"You wanted to see me?"
Shouta looked over at Bakugo who had parted from his friends. The dark haired sighed as he said, "I need information. On how Midoriya's life was prior to UA."
The teen tensed at that but didn't get defensive. Instead, he sighed and looked away as he explained that his classmate had been abused by practically everyone because of his quirk status. He talked about the teachers singling him out and turning a blind eye or even encouraging quirk usage on him. He also talked about the suicide baiting, the spider lilies and… he paused before admitting that he told Midoriya to jump off the roof and pray for a quirk in his next life.
If Shouta hadn't seen the teen's growth in the past two years, he would have immediately expelled him. But he could see how Bakugo regretting his decision and everything he had done towards his classmate.
"What about his mother?" Shouta questioned.
Bakugo blinked in surprise. "What about Auntie? She doted on him, was always terrified of him getting hurt or lost. Hell, that's probably where his anxiety came from."
Shouta sighed as he explained, "Midoriya is still on campus because his mother signed away all her rights to him."
The teen's eyes widened in shock as he processed that information. "She… she wouldn't…"
"We have the paperwork and video footage to prove it. We haven't said anything to him yet, but we have noticed some particularities. The biggest one was that he was crying and asking not to buy him red shoes."
"Yeah, the damn beacon of a quirkless person," Bakugo grumbled. "He learned almost immediately how people treated him with those." He paused before looking at the teacher. "Can I talk to him? I want… I know I can't make up for what I did for him before, but I want to be there for him this time around."
Shouta nodded as he said, "Let's go. He should be in the teacher's lounge."
They walked together in silence, Bakugo gazing at the ground the whole way. Shouta just took the silence in stride when they heard the familiar laughter of All Might. The man could barely hold his form, but he was obviously holding it for something.
Shouta opened the door to see Izuku craning his head to look at All Might who was grinning down at him. The toddler squealed happily, stomping his feet as he said, "Zashi, is All Might!"
"It is," Hizashi agreed, glancing over at Shouta and Bakugo. "Think we should introduce him to Shochan?"
Izuku nodded, turning his head to see the two of them. He gasped, running over and exclaiming, "Shochan! Kaachan! Is All Might!" He squealed happily. "I meeted All Might!" There was a puff of smoke and coughing before Izuku looked over in confusion. "Where All Might go?"
Bakugo scooped up the toddler as he said, "He had to go save people. He can't just sit around at a school all day."
"Uh-huh." He caught sight of Yagi. "Who that?"
"That's his secretary," Bakugo answered matter of factly. "He's best friends with All Might."
"Really?" Izuku gasped. "Sooo cool."
"You ready to go home, kid?" Shouta asked, looking at him. "You can see Bakugo tomorrow."
"But I wanna stay," he whined.
"We have a surprise."
Izuku tilted his head to the side. "What is?"
"You'll just have to see, won't you?"
Izuku pouted but held his hands out for Shouta to take him. The hero took him into his arms and kissed his head, saying, "Say goodbye."
Izuku opened and closed his hand, saying, "Bye bye, Kaachan. Bye bye, All Might sectateery."
<><>
Izuku giggled happily as Hitoshi helped him do a hand stand, holding his legs up as he walked on his hands. Shouta and Hizashi were sitting on a bench the teachers had just outside their dorm, watching with amusement. It had been three months since the quirk incident and he'd gotten into a schedule with the hero family.
Hitoshi picked up the toddler by his ankles, green hair squealing as he twisted around. "Lemme go!" Izuku giggled. "Toshi-nii!"
"I'm not Toshi," Hitoshi said in an exagerated deep voice. "I'm Gigantor! And I have captured the hero!"
"Daddy! Papa! Helps!"
The two adults froze at the shouts as Izuku continued to giggle. He'd never even hinted at seeing them as his parents before.
Hizashi snapped out of it first, getting up as he called, "Don't worry, Little Man, Present Mic is coming to help."
"Nooo," Izuku said as Hitoshi flipped him over so he was face up. "Not my name."
"Well, what is it?"
Izuku and Hitoshi exchanged a look before Izuku answered, " 'Raser Boy!"
Shouta blue screened at that, completely overwhelmed with everything the four, almost five year old, was throwing at him. He blinked, looking down to see Izuku climbing onto his lap.
"Daddy sad?" Izuku asked, hugging him. "No sads. 'Raser Boy save Daddy."
"I'm not sad, Izu," Shotua assured his kid, hugging him back. "You just surprised me."
"Toshi says call Daddy Daddy will makes him happy."
"Very happy," he agreed, squeezing him lightly. "And the hero name?"
"Daddy use no quirks too," was the matter of fact answer.
"They may tell you that you don't have a quirk," Shouta softly said, running his fingers through the green locks to push them back. "But you are the bravest hero in the world, Izuku."
"No. Daddy and Papa and Toshi-nii are bestest heroes!"
"What about Eri?" Hitoshi asked in a teasing tone.
"Eri-nee is bestest big sister!"
"Who's the best big sister?" Nemuri asked as she and Eri walked towards the group. They had gone out for a girl's day which had apparently ended already.
"Eri-nee is bestest sister!" Izuku exclaimed, beaming.
"Izu is the best brother," Eri replied with a smile of her own.
<><>
Shouta frowned as he saw Izuku coming to the gate of UA with large tears sliding down his cheeks. The kid had started kindergarten and was coming home after his first week already in tears. He had to fight back the urge to go to the school and raise hell.
He knelt down, the kid running into his arms and hiding his face in his dad's shoulder. He was silent, not saying a word as he carried the kid through the gate, rubbing his back as he walked. They'd always had a happy child with him despite everything that had happened.
As soon as they got to the dorms, Izuku sniffled as he asked, "A-am I creepy, Daddy?"
Shouta held back a sigh of frustration before saying, "Of course not. Why would you think that?"
"T-the other kids sa-said my anal'sis was creepy."
Shouta set his son down before crouching down to look him in the eye. "You're very smart, Izuku," Shouta gently informed him. "It can be scary for other kids to be around someone who sees things more closely than they do."
"B-but-"
"But those kids don't have Mr Nedzu teaching them, right?"
Izuku nodded, though he didn't look too sure of himself.
Shouta gave him a small smile as he asked, "How about we go scare Hitoshi's class?"
That got a giggle from the green haired child.
They walked towards the now 3-A dorms to find Ashido and Hagakure outside. As soon as they saw the two, the girls rushed inside to probably tell the others that Izuku was there. It was almost cute at how protective they were of their former classmate, now unofficial mascot.
By the time they walked inside, nearly everyone was downstairs. Shouta gently nudged Izuku forward, prompting him to run to his older brother and basically climb Hitoshi.
"Do you want to ask them what you asked me?" Shouta asked.
Izuku, suddenly shy, shook his head, burying his face in Hitoshi's shoulder.
"What did he ask?" Uraraka asked.
"He asked if he was creepy because of analyzing quirk," Shouta explained.
There was an outcry at that, everyone talking over each other to assure him it wasn't creepy. It helped that they had all gotten help with their quirks before the de-age incident. But even then, a tiny Izuku was just as intelligent when it came to analyzing quirks. He just didn't have the knowledge to explain so sometimes it came out sounding strange until they were able to piece it together.
"Who was the brat who told you that?" Bakugo demanded once they had all quieted down.
"A-all of 'em," Izuku sniffled. "E-even Miss Riza said it was a little scary."
Shouta was about to go raise hell when his phone began ringing. He looked down to see that it was Nedzu, causing him to sigh as he stepped out to take the call.
"Yeah?" He asked, exhaustion audible through his voice.
"I believe you'll find a new doctor's records showing that young Izuku has an analysis quirk."
"What are you talking about?" Shouta questioned.
"It seems because of his fascination with quirks from a young age, it was overlooked. There's an email for you explaining all this for Izuku's school."
Realization dawned on Shouta. The rat was cunning, that much was certain. With the quirk incident, Nedzu had taken some liberties with the boy's history. Essentially erasing Ms Midoriya from any connection to Izuku and, in this case, creating a quirk so he wouldn't have to suffer.
"Thank you," he murmured into the phone.
"You don't have to thank me, Shouta. We all want what's best for Izuku."
With that said, the call was disconnected.
Shouta waited until they went home with Hitoshi and Bakugo joining them - Izuku had insisted - to tell Izuku about the email he received. The kid was a ball of tears when he heard what this supposed doctor had said.
"I mean, it makes sense," Bakugo said with a shrug. "Always thought the nerd had an intelligence quirk that was never caught."
When Hizashi and Eri found out, the two of them insisted on a party to celebrate. They ordered pizza and let Izuku chatter on about their quirks. It was scary how correct he was on information he had never been told as a teen or now. Bakugo was right that there was probably a quirk someone missed because of some outdated test.
The following day when Izuku got home, he was happily chatting about how the class was more than happy to let him talk about quirks now that they knew it was his quirk.
"You know that's not right," Hizashi said as they sat him down after dinner to talk. "No one should have said those things to you in the first place."
"But I didn't have a quirk," Izuku said, tilting his head in confusion.
"Having a quirk doesn't make you any better or worse," Shouta explained. "Remember we talking about that before we knew about the quirk?"
"Yeah," he mumbled, kicking his legs back and forth. "S'pposed to be nice to everyone 'cause that's what heroes do."
"That's right," Hizashi said with a smile. "We also got you a special quirk councilor for your special quirk."
"Really?" Izuku asked, excitement in his voice.
"Really," Hizashi agreed. "I think his name is Mr Nedzu."
Izuku cheered happily at that, clapping his hands. He always enjoyed spending time with the UA principal. It was more rare now that he was in proper school and wasn't being watched by the rat during class times for the two adults.
Yeah, telling him had been a good decision.
<><>
"Con… happy gradiation!" Izuku cheered as he tackled Hitoshi's legs in a hug, Eri following close behind.
It was a bittersweet moment for Class 3-A. They were all graduating, all moving out of the dorms the next weekend, and moving on without their ex-classmate who had become their little ball of sunshine. They all had spent the past year and a half helping babysit him and playing with him. Most of them would be moving too far away to see him frequently and none of them would only be able to see him on very rare occasions.
The kid didn’t seem to understand that, even though he knew that graduating meant they'd get their full hero license.
"Thanks, kid," Hitoshi said.
Izuku moved over to Shoji, holding his arms up to the tall teen could set him on his shoulders and he could see everyone. He was also tall enough that he could see Daddy and Papa talking to a man with wings on his back.
"Who's that?" Izuku asked, pointing his finger at the winged man.
"That's the new Hero Public Safety Commission president," Kaminari answered.
"Indeed," Tokoyami agreed. "He's a retired hero. He used to be the number 2 hero, Hawks."
"So cool," Izuku gasped in awe before spotting someone coming towards them. "Is En… End… ever."
Todoroki just huffed as he said, "I'll be back," before walking off in the opposite direction, away from Endeavor.
"Katsuki," a female voice called.
"Shit," Bakugo breathed before looking at Hitoshi.
"Come on, Midget," Hitoshi said, holding his arms out. "Let's go find Dad and Pops."
Shoji put the kid on the floor before Hitoshi led him and Eri away. They hadnt discussed the possibility of introducing Izuku to Bakugo's parents. They weren't sure if that would bring up any bad memories or not.
They walked over, Hawks looking over at them with an easy smile before brightening up when he saw them.
"This must be the kid I've heard so much about," Hawks said, crouching down. "Hi, I'm Hawks."
"I'm Izuku," the kid introduced himself. "Is you really the present?"
"President," Hizashi corrected.
"I'm the HPSC president, yeah," Hawks said. "And you're the little brother of Class 3-A."
Izuku beamed proudly at that title.
"Did you kids need something?" Shouta quietly asked.
"Bakugo's parents were heading over. We weren't sure if he was okay to see them."
The two adults exchanged a look before Hizashi looked at Izuku and sighed. The green hair flopped as he tilted his head to look up at his papa. They knew they couldn't hide the kid away forever, not when Bakugo was still a big part of his life.
"Come on, Izu," Hizashi said. "Let's go see some friends."
Izuku took his hand, waving goodbye to Hawks as they walked away, Shouta, Eri, and Hitoshi following close behind. They walked over to where the group still was, though a couple had left to go meet up with other friends outside of their class.
"Pro-hero Dino-Mite!" Izuku exclaimed, seeing Bakugo looking for someone as he talked to his parents. "The number one hero!"
Bakugo paused when he saw the family before grinning as he said, "You got that right, Little nerd."
"Bakugo," Shouta said, nodding at him. "Congratulations."
"Thanks, Hobo," Bakugo replied with a teasing smirk. "What's going on?"
"Thought you listeners might want to introduce your class mascot to the parental units," Hizashi answered. "Ya dig?"
Bakugo gave them a surprised look before nodding and asking, "Who's getting the midget first?"
"Katsuki," his mother scolded. "That's no way to speak to your teacher." She turned to Shouta and bowed. "I apologize for my kid's idiot behavior."
Shouta opened his mouth to reply when Izuku put his hands on his hips and said, "Kaachan's not an id-ot! Kaachan is the most smart!"
"Smartest," Hizashi correct with an amused look.
The two adults looked taken aback before Mitsuki said, "Oh my, he looks just like Izuku. It really is too bad he decided to transfer to that school in America."
It went silent and ice cold as all the students looked at the woman in confusion. How did she think that Izuku had transferred schools? That made absolutely no sense to them, especially when there had been a news report about the villain attack.
"The hell do you mean he left for America?" Bakugo demanded.
"Well, that's what Inko said," she stated. "After the quirk accident, he decided to go with his father to America."
Shouta put a hand on Bakugo's shoulder as he said, "This isn't a discussion for here. We can talk later."
Izuku had gotten bored with the conversation, having found Monoma and was telling him off about not something. Shouta shook his head as he walked over and scooped the kid up, a giggle escaping him as he hung upside down.
"Looks like I found a monkey," Shouta said, dangling him.
Izuku squealed happily as he said, "Daddy, down!"
"What were you telling Monoma?" Shouta asked, noticing the blond was looking around for an escape route. "Must've been interesting."
"Nooooo. Was jus' talkin'."
"About what?" Hizashi asked with a grin. "C'mon, Izu. You can tell us anything, right?"
"He's gotta ask Toshi," Izuku answered.
Shouta's eyes narrowed at that. "Ask Hitoshi what?"
Hitoshi laughed nervously before he said, "Come on, Neito. We told the others we'd help set up for the party."
"Hitoshi…"
Before anything else could be said, the purple haired teen pulled the blond away, leaving Eri and Izuku with their parents. Shouta flipped Izuku the other way, saying, "You'll have to tell me later."
Izuku stage whispered as he said, "Toshi broke daddy's rule."
"What rule?" Shouta questioned.
Izuku eeped, covering his mouth with a giggle. "Not s'posed to say."
"Come on, Sho," Hizashi said. "You can grill the kids about it later."
Shouta just huffed as he scooped up the kid, letting him direct them on who they were saying congratulations to. Including some younger siblings of the graduating students.
The following day, Izuku was crying as he watched movers help take things out of the Class A dorm. He was trying to tell them to stop stealing things from his friends, but they just side stepped him to continue with their jobs. No one was listening to him and Daddy told him that he couldn't go into the dorms today to see his hero friends.
"Hey, Zu," Hitoshi said, scooping up the kid. "What's wrong?"
"T-they're stealing! They're bad and taking everything."
Hitoshi bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. He just rubbed his baby brother's back as he tried to calm himself down so he wouldn't make Izuku even more upset.
"Is everything alright?" Yaoyarozu asked, walking out of the dorms. "Izuku, why the tears? What's wrong?"
"He thinks the movers are stealing from everyone," Hitoshi explained.
She nodded as she said, "Izuku, do you know what movers are?"
"Uh-huh." Izuku sniffled, wiping his eyes. "They move things to new homes. But you gots a home here."
"We're not students here anymore. We're heroes and that means we have to leave UA to protect everyone else in Japan."
"Is stupid," Izuku grumbled.
"But Hitoshi has all of our numbers," she reminded him. "He can help you call us whenever you're missing us."
"Don' wan' you to go."
"We don't want to leave you either," she promised him.
He reached out to hug her as tight as he could. She looked around before using her quirk to create a coloring book for him. She passed it over as she said, "A one of a kind coloring book for a one of a kind little brother."
"What's going on out here?" Denki asked as he and Jiro came out of the dorms.
"Izuku doesn't want us to go."
Slowly, one by one, everyone came out to give Izuku a hug and say goodbye. The five year old cried softly as he was hugged and everyone promised that they would see him a lot, even if it was just to placate him. They would do their best to make sure they visited, even if it wasn't as frequent as they wanted.
Shouta arrived not too long into the goodbyes, standing off to the side and letting his kids all say goodbye to one another. There were also tears, he noticed, from his newly graduated class. It was obvious they were just as upset as the five year old, even if they tried not to show it.
As soon as the last of them said their goodbye, Shouta said, "Come on, kid. There's a surprise waiting for you at home."
"Don' wan' one," he said, sniffling as he wiped his eyes.
"You'll like it. And then I think it's nap time."
"Don' need nap time."
He was carried back to the teachers' dorms where Eri was giggling while Hizashi was smiling down at her. Izuku just pouted as he was put down before he ran to the bedroom and slammed the door shut. He didn't want a stupid surprise. He wanted his friends.
"Izuku?" Hizashi softly said, opening the door. "What did we say about slamming doors?"
"Not to," he grumbled.
"And what did you do?"
"Slammed door."
"I think you need to come apologize to everyone for the loud noises."
Izuku huffed as he walked out and of the bedroom with Hizashi before he saw a box sitting on the table with a bow. He looked at Hizashi in confusion before his papa motioned for him to apologize.
"Sorry for being a brat and slamming doors," he grumbled.
"You're not a brat," Shouta assured him. "You're upset and we understand, but words are better than slamming doors, right?"
"Uh-huh…"
"Why don't you go ahead and open the box," Shouta suggested. "Since you apologized."
As soon as he tugged lightly on the bow, there was a soft sound that came from the box that made him startle. He looked up at his dads before he finished tugging the ribbon apart. He opened the lid, gasping in surprise as he saw a tiny white kitten in the box wearing a bow tie collar.
"Kitty?" Izuku asked, looking up at his dads with watery eyes.
"We knew you and Eri might need a new friend since Class A is leaving," Hizashi explained. "You both have to agree on a name."
Izuku stared at the kitten before looking at Eri. He wasn't sure what to name it. There was a little voice in his head telling him he should name it "Deku" but he didnt want to name the kitten "Worthless". He wanted it to have a good name.
"Um," Eri said, thinking hard.
"Clou'?" Izuku asked hesitantly. "Is white and fluffy like clou's in the sky."
"He is," Shouta agreed before looking at their daughter. "What do you think, Eri?"
"I like it!"
"Welcome to the family, Cloud," Hitoshi said as he leaned over to pet the kitten. "I'm gonna be jealous I don't get to sleep with him."
"Why not?" Izuku asked.
The adults all exchanged a look before Hitoshi said, "Because Cloud is going to sleep with you or Eri."
Obviously, they weren't going to open up that can of worms again today. They would tell Izuku eventually about Hitoshi moving out, but for today, they would keep quiet.
<><>
Izuku walked through the mall with Shouta, currently shopping for a birthday present for Hizashi. His papa had insisted that he didn't need anything big but Izuku was determined to find the perfect present. And Shouta had insisted he come to make sure nothing happened. His dad insisted he had a danger magnet quirk though Izuku never understood why. He'd never even seen a villain fight up close and not for lack of trying.
"Does Papa like hero stuff?" Izuku asked, looking up at Shouta.
"Would it be for Papa or for Izuku?"
Izuku just huffed at that when he saw Auntie Mitsuki coming out of a store. He let go of his dad's hand and took off towards her, only to stop when he saw her approach a woman with green hair.
He frowned, looking between the two women. The other one looked kind of like what he thought his mom looked like. But he had been with Dad and Papa for so long, he couldn't be sure. She had never come to get him so he stayed with them and they were his family now.
"I told you to not wander away," Shouta sighed as he walked over to his kid. "Want to go say hi to Mitsuki?"
"Can we?" He asked, a little more timidly.
His dad just nodded and led him over to the two women. Aunt Mitsuki looked at them happily while the green haired lady looked shocked to see them.
"Hey, brat," Aunt Mitsuki said with a smile. "What are you doing here?"
"It's papa's birthday this weekend," Izuku answered. "We're getting him a present but Daddy says I have a danger magnet quirk so I can't go alone. Even though that's not my quirk."
"Yeah? Katsuki said something about your quirk coming in."
Izuku nodded eagerly as he said, "It's called quirk analysis. Mr Nedzu helped me name it."
"You'll have to tell me about it next time. My friend and I were just leaving."
"Oh, okay," Izuku said, disappointment in his voice as he looked down.
Daddy grabbed his hand as he said, "We should be going too. Hitoshi's supposed to be by for dinner tonight. With a surprise apparently."
Izuku brightened up as he said, "It's Nei. That's the surprise."
Shouta's eyes narrowed as he asked, "How do you know?"
"Toshi isn't sneaky about it," Izuku said as they walked away. "Papa knows too."
Shouta looked at his son. "Alright, Brat. You're going to learn this lesson young. You are not allowed to be friends or boyfriends or girlfriends with any loud blonds."
"But Kaachan and Kamichan are my friends. And Papa is your friend." He heard his dad huff, a giggle escaping as they went into the hero store before he turned to look at his dad. "That was her with Auntie Mitsuki?"
"Hmm?"
"The green haired lady. That was the lady that didn't want me."
Shouta sighed in defeat as he said, "Yeah, kid. That's your mom."
Izuku frowned at that as she said, "Nuh-uh. A mom is someone who loves you and she didn’t want me. I don't think she ever did." He looked Shouta in the eye. "But I have Daddy and Papa and I don't need a dumb mom."
"Language," Shouta warned even as he reached out to ruffle the wild hair. Even after all these years, Hizashi still couldn't figure out how to tame it. "Don't tell Toshi or Eri, but I think you're the smartest."
"It's because my quirk."
"No, it's because you have a big heart but are also rational." Izuku beamed up at him. "Now come on, I think we can afford a treat for you while we're here too. Just don't tell your Pops."
<><>
Despite knowing that his family was mostly heroes, he had never seen the harsher reality of it. His dads and brother kept their hero work top secret and only told Izuku about the fights that they won. He'd seen Papa come home with a bruise on his cheek and Toshi came to visit with cuts and one time his hair got cut by a villain and Papa and Auntie Nem had to help him fix it.
What he had never expected was his dad to come get him and drive him to the hospital. Hitoshi and Papa had been working on a mission together and had both gotten hurt. They were both in the hospital because of it too. Eri was meeting them there since she'd just started at UA and it was on the other side of town from the middle school.
When they arrived, Papa was sitting on a chair with his arm in a sling and bandages around his throat. He was sitting next to a bed where Hitoshi was currently sleeping. His leg was all wrapped up in a cast and raised and he had bruises around his eyes and bandages around his throat too. He looked like he hurt lots.
"Hey, kiddo," Hizashi said with a weak smile as they walked in. "Sorry we had to pull you out from school."
Izuku could feel tears threatening to spill as he asked, "A-a villain did this?"
"Yeah," Hizashi softly answered. "A villain got us pretty bad but your papa and brother are both really strong. We'll be okay."
Izuku stared at them as Shouta pulled him into a hug. "It will be okay, Problem Child," Shouta gently promised. "They gave Toshi meds to make him sleep so he doesn't feel the pain. When Recovery Girl gets here, they're going to wake him up so she can heal him."
Only Hitoshi didn't wake up when Granny Chiyo arrived with Eri. Even when Izuku tried to poke him and wake him up like when his big brother fell asleep on the couch, he still didn't wake up.
Izuku could only think the worst as his dad held him while he cried.
In total, it took Hitoshi two weeks before he woke up. During that time, Izuku refused to do anything besides go to school or go at his brother's bedside with Neito.
"Hey, kiddo," Papa gently said as they stood in the hospital hallway while Recovery Girl checked Hitoshi over with the doctor there to see if he could come home. "What's going on in your brain?"
"I thought Toshi died," Izuku whispered, staring at his shoes. "Heroes get hurt like this?"
Papa nodded as he said, "We tried to hide it from you, but sometimes heroes get hurt. You've seen All Might's injuries, right?"
"Yeah…" He looked up at his papa, one of his heroes. "Am I bad that I don't want to be a hero?"
Papa pulled him into a hug. "Of course you're not, kiddo. Dad and I will support you with whatever you decide to do. And so will Hitoshi and everyone else. But you know, you can always do what Nedzu does or become an analyst for a hero agency. We're always looking for good analysts."
Izuku hugged him tightly before Dad stepped out into the hall. He looked at them in concern as he asked, "Is everything okay?"
"Uh-huh," Izuku answered, rubbing his eyes. "Is Toshi okay?"
"Yeah. Nei has to go out on a mission so Hitoshi is going to come and stay with us for a little bit."
Izuku nodded as he asked, "Daddy, if I'm not a hero like you and Toshi and Papa and like what Eri wants to be, is that okay?"
"That's more than okay, Problem Child. Just because you're part of our family doesn't mean you have to go into the family business. You can be like Pops and be a radio host."
"Hell yeah!" Papa said cheerfully.
"Swear jar," Izuku said in a sing-song voice.
Papa looked horrified as Dad snorted in amusement, hiding his face in his scarf.
"No matter what you decide, kid, we'll be proud of you."
<><>
Shouta should never have let Nemuri give Izuku self defense lessons. In fact, if anyone should have been doing it, it should have been him.
Then again, they never expected One for All to re-emerge. Not after he gave it up during the war. Before all this quirk bullshit happened with him being rewound.
He'd been teaching heroics when he'd Nedzu har called him on the overhead speaker to go to the nurse's office immediately. He had known that Nemuri had a free period and Izuku didn’t have class because his middle school got demolished so she'd taken him to one of the empty gyms. He didn't even know that it was Izuku but he had a suspicion.
He lay on the hospital bed, passed out as Shouta saw the bruises that indicated shattered bones. He'd seen his kid with those same bruises along his arms enough times to know what they were.
"He'll be okay," Chiyo assured him. "I healed the worst of it. He'll still have bruises until he had enough energy for another round of healing."
"I don't…" Shouta mumbled. "How the hell does he have this stupid cursed quirk back?"
As soon as Hizashi heard, he tore back from the meeting he'd been in at his hero agency. They'd sat in the room, watching their youngest kid, their biggest troublemaker, sleep off the healing from Chiyo's quirk.
"We'll help him learn how to handle it again," Hizashi quietly said. "We have his old notebooks from last time."
"Yeah," Shouta grumbled. "I'm still going to murder Yagi for ever giving my kid a cursed quirk though."
Over the next month, Shouta worked with the kid every day after school to make sure his quirk was under control. As expected, Izuku couldn't handle more than one percent of the strength aspect, but that didn't stop the other parts of the quirk from showing themselves earlier than they had previously. And other than hitting his head on the ceiling when he got overly excited, the other quirks were pretty controllable.
He was surprised that the kid hadn't ever questioned why he had multiple quirks. At least, never to them and Nemuri and Hitoshi didn't know either. Nedzu, on the other hand, just cackled gleefully when he'd been asked about it.
He also noticed strange looks on the Izuku's face. Or those far away looks as if he was somewhere else. But he was still the happy go lucky kid they had raised for the past ten years and had been fortunate to know another three years before that. No matter what, he was their kid. He wasn't a Midoriya anymore, hadn't been for a long time. Not that he knew the difference.
At least they didn't think he did.
Not until they were at Izuku's high school graduation. It was probably the graduation with a record number of pro-heroes in attendance in UA's history. Every single former student from Shouta's old hell class along with 1-B from that same year and a handful of other heroes who were in the know of what happened to the kid.
As soon as the ceremony ended, they were all directed out to a field, Izuku walking out with his family. They were confronted with Ashido, Hagakure, and Uraraka running over to tackle the teen in a hug.
"You did it!" Hagakure cheered.
"We're so proud of you, Izu!" Ashido said.
Izuku hugged them back as he said, "I didn't think everyone would would come see me graduate.""
"Why not?" Kirishima asked.
"Yeah," Kaminari agreed. "We said we'd always be there for you." I l
"Yeah, nerd," Katsuki said with a smirk. "I think I saw my parents here too somewhere."
Izuku looked at the now-number 15 hero as he asked, "Even though I didn't want to be a hero this time?"
Shouta and Hizashi frowned as they heard the words. It was an odd thing to say though no one thought anything of it. He'd known from the start that he was supposed to be older. But they'd never told him that he'd been in the hero course and had been considered a pro even before he'd graduated.
"You'll always be our nerd no matter what you do," Katsuki said with a grin.
Izuku stepped forward and hugged Katsuki, whispering something to him before pulling back with a beam. Whatever it was had the abrasive man staring at the teen with wide eyes.
"Are you okay, Bro?" Kirishima asked.
"Yeah," Katsuki agreed.
Shouta looked around at everyone before his gaze zeroed in on the one person who was unwelcome here at this celebration. Inko Midoriya was walking towards them even as Mitsuki Bakugo and Nemuri tried to stop her.
"Inko," Mitsuki's voice drifted over to the group, getting everyone's attention. "You shouldn't even be here."
Izuku looked over at the commotion before he squared his shoulders like he was preparing for a fight as the three women came over.
"Izuku, sweetheart," Inko said, dabbing her eyes. "I know you probably don't remember me, but I'm so proud of you, baby."
"Izu-" Hitoshi said, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder.
Izuku shrugged the hand off, stepping forward as he said, "I've got it." He stared at the woman as he said, "I don't want you here. You should leave now."
"Izuku, I'm your mother."
"No," Izuku stated, glaring at her. "You're not. You abandoned me twelve years ago. Everyone else here is my family, but not you. You don't get to abandon me and then come back just because you decide I'm worthy. You never wanted me, not growing up and not when the quirk accident happened. Dad and Pops never treated me like I was a waste of space, never treated me like I was made of glass even before I found out I had a quirk. They loved me no matter what. They're my parents and you're just some stranger who interrupted my graduation. Now you should leave."
Inko stepped forward, snapping, "Don't you speak to me that way, you little-"
Black whip shot out from Izuku's palm, wrapping around her and holding her away from him as he coldly said, "Try it. I dare you with about fifty pro-heroes here as witnesses."
He dropped the quirk and turned to Shouta and Hizashi, looking tired as he asked, "Can we go home?"
"Of course we can, sweetheart," Hizashi agreed, wrapping his arm around Izuku. "We have a surprise for you but it's not for a few hours."
"We'll come check on you later," Hitoshi told his younger brother. "Go take a nap, Izu. You deserve it."
The trio walked to the teacher dorms on campus in silence, Izuku leaning against Hizashi. The two older men exchanged a look over his head. They had a lot of questions for the kid, but it could wait until they reached the sanctuary of their home.
As soon as Izuku's shoes were removed, he walked over and collapsed onto the couch face first as Shouta and Hizashi walked over. As they got closer, he rolled over to stare at them as he said, "I guess I owe you an explanation, huh?"
"You don't owe us anything, Problem Child," Shouta said, reaching out to ruffle the messy green mop of his son's hair. "But I do want to know how long ago you started remembering."
Izuku at least had the nerve to look sheepish as he said, "When One for All activated when I was practicing with Aunt Nem." He sat up and stared down at his hands. "I wanted to say something. I promise, I wanted to tell you, but I…"
Hizashi sat down next to Izuku as he gently said, "Nothing you say will ever make us upset at you, Izu."
He looked up at them, his eyes shining with tears as he said, "I thought you wouldn't want me anymore if I remembered. You're my dads and I didn't want you to get rid of me because… because…"
"Izuku," Shouta said, crouching and looking at him, remeniscent of when they were going to rescue Eri and Izuku was unsure of himself. This was his kid no matter what and he wished the boy understood it. "We don't care that you remember. That doesn't change that we've been your dads for the past twelve years. You'll always be our kid and my Problem Child no matter what happens."
"R-really?" he quietly asked.
Shouta nodded before he suddenly had an armful of eighteen year old tackling him in a hug. He held onto his youngest son tightly, Hizashi wrapping his arms around the both of them, holding onto Izuku as he cried tears of relief. Neither of them could imagine how much anguish it had caused for him to try and hide this part of him from them for so long.
Hizashi's phone suddenly dinged, Izuku recognizing the notification sound as the one he had for Eri. His sister had been away on a mission and hadn't been able to make it to the graduation no matter how much she tried. But she was now a hero and Izuku understood that meant she wasn't always around.
"That's our cue," Hizashi said as he pulled away. "Come on, Izu. Let's go see your surprise."
"What is it?" Izuku asked, looking at his parents. "Can't we just curl up and watch a movie together with Cloud and Toshi?"
"Nope," Hizashi answered with a grin. "Come on, you'll love it."
"We can come back if you aren't having fun," Shouta assured him. "But I think you'll want to see it. And we'll be right there with you just like we've always told you."
Izuku sniffled, wiping his eyes as he whispered, "I love you, Dad, Papa."
"We love you too, Izuku Aiyama," Shouta said, kissing his head. "The rest of your hell class wouldn't take no for an answer with this surprise."
Izuku laughed as he let himself be led to the doorway.
Yeah, Shouta thought as he watched Izuku chat with Hizashi as he put his shoes on. They made a good decision in taking the kid in. And he wouldn't have it any other way.
Written by a human in Ellipsus.