Nonchalant

Chapter 32

Aizawa knew he'd have to come eventually, but he expected a few more hours of peace and quiet. Midoriya didn't seem to be surprised or panicked, but studied the principal with his empty eyes. Nezu returned the gesture, setting himself down on a chair Recovery Girl pulled out for him.

Nezu picked up a cup of tea on drank slowly, stewing in the silence of the room. He placed the cup in the saucer and finally spoke.

"It's a pleasure to meet you at last, Kuzu. Or would you prefer Midoriya Izuku?"  

Midoriya stared blankly. 

"Izuku." He said at last.

Nezu hummed at his response, inspecting his cup. "It's not much of a surprise that you chose your first name, given your past relationship with your family."

He knows, Aizawa's mind echoed. He knows what happened.

Midor-no, Izuku narrowed his eyes slightly at the principal, tensing as if he was ready to bolt. His eyes flicked to the wall, and Aizawa saw he was looking at the clock. Nezu set his cup on a nearby table.

"Why, I believe it's nearly time for your shift. It's the quaint café about half an hour away from here. Hatsumi Bakery has marvelous cakes."

Izuku's eyes narrowed even further. 

"I believe you are aware of the employment laws, however. You are barely fourteen this year, and while you took on the job to raise yourself, it is no longer necessary," Nezu drained his cup. 

"You have to meet with the police."

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Tsukauchi could hardly believe his ears. 

Kuzu was in the station. Tsukauchi hurriedly pulled out his case file and rushed the chief's office, where Eraser Head was waiting with the vigilante. He almost threw the door open before remembering to knock.

And oh. 

Seated on the dark leather couch was a child, observing the newcomer with cautious eyes as if Tsukauchi would whip out his gun and shoot him right then and there. 

This was Kuzu. Unmasked and in the flesh. 

His eyes were shielded by a mop of dark green hair, but his piercing green eyes flashed dangerously, like he was assessing all the ways he could immobilize the detective. Below his eyes were eight freckles, four on each side that mirrored the other perfectly in a diamond shape. The bags under his eyes were worse that Tsukauchi's own. Scars littered his face in a random pattern and poked out from under his clothes.

His skin was pale, his frame was thin, his stature was short. But most importantly, he was young.

A memory resurfaced in his mind; an old case file clicked. 

"You're Izuku Midoriya." Tsukauchi said. "The alleged suicide victim from three years ago. But that would make you-"

"Fourteen years old." Eraser Head finished. "So he was twelve when he started out as a vigilante."

Twelve years old. An incredibly young age for crime-fighting and vigilante work. Chief Tsuragamae flipped through another file: Izuku Midoriya's file. Tsukauchi passed the Kuzu file for Eraser Head to read. They scanned through their respective files before swapping.

"Are you going to press charges?" Eraser Head asked. Midoriya's gaze flicked to the chief, who put his hand to his chin.

"Usually we would, given the perpetrator and the circumstances. But Midoriya has not killed anyone and cannot be considered an official vigilante. He is also but a child, so pressing charges would not benefit anyone," he paused, before casting his gaze on Tsukauchi. "What do you think, Detective? You've spent the most time and energy on this case than anyone."

Just as fast, Midoriya's eyes were back on him. 

"There wouldn't be any point in pressing charges, sir. But what will happen to him? We can't just place him back with his mother as if nothing happened."

Eraser Head flipped through the Izuku Midoriya file, eyes focusing on a portion before speaking. "Nezu proposed a temporary solution: placing him in foster care. Preferably a hero, as they would be better able to provide him with certain resources."

"Under normal circumstances, you'd be returned to your legal guardian at once. But due to the sensitive nature of your absence-which you will have to inform us of the details-it won't be the case." Tsukauchi added.

Chief Tsuragamae leaned towards the hero. "He'd contacted me about this earlier, and suggested that perhaps you could be his guardian, Eraser Head."

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Of course Nezu would keep this from him. Not that it was worth debating. Aizawa was more than capable: his two jobs, one as a pro hero and one as a UA teacher, didn't lack in pay.

He could feel Midoriya's watchful eyes on him, waiting for his response.

"I accept."

Midoriya's gaze turned alert and wary, studying Aizawa as if the hero would torture him or kill him the moment he stepped into his apartment. If he counted his cat-who tends to be aggressive towards strangers and Aizawa if he doesn't feed her- then they'd probably have to take care of that. But all in due time, as they say. Best case scenario, they would get along fine. Worst case scenario, they'd both end up dead in his kitchen.

Be that as it may, he wasn't going to lose this kid again. Aizawa had two high-paying jobs. He could provide for the both of them. He'd deal with the cat situation later.

 Chief Tsuragamae tapped his finger on the desk. "You'll have to sign the official adoption papers provided by the Commission, then. They have different proceedings for heroes than normal civilians," he pulled out a sheet of scrap paper and scribbled something on it, presumably a reminder to get the documents. "They won't be very happy that he isn't getting jail time, but they'll change their minds when they see how young he is."

Midoriya had returned his gaze onto the chief, probably confused at the new developments that occured in the span of minutes. Undoubtedly, he didn't like these changes. Perhaps he didn't feel safe with him, or just didn't like or trust him.

That was fine. As long as he wasn't in the streets any longer. As long as he wasn't putting himself in danger anymore. As long as he didn't have to fight fully-grown adults anymore.

I know I said that I would try to post more frequently but I've gotten a lot busier now so this was a complete rush job I'm sorry if it's bad or seems like lazy writing

I am so sorry and while I may not be able to post as much as I did in the past I'll try my best to write as much as possible

Once again, I am so sorry  ┬┬﹏┬┬