Not powerless

chapter 14: New start

Tsukauchi stared for a moment longer before getting a hold of himself. He read over the document, glancing at Izuku frequently.

“Very well. This all seems to be in order,” Tsukauchi said, “I can confirm that the hero Nezu has taken the one named Mikumo into his care under HARA. Mikumo, can you confirm that you have entered this agreement of your own free will and for the reasons Nezu has stated in his filing?”

“Yes to both,” Izuku said.

He felt a pulse from within the man, likely his quirk registering the truth. It caused a small amount of tension in him to ease, but it increased a small amount more.

“Then this hero custody is deemed to be lawful,” Tsukauchi said, signing the space next to his name.

An air of finality washed over Izuku, a sense of peace he didn’t know he needed. Now, even if Toshinori found out who he was and where he was staying, there was nothing he could do about it. He wouldn’t be made to go back. It was freeing.

Tsukauchi sighed heavily, and he seemed much more weary when he looked back up at the two of them.

“Off the record, not as a police but as a friend, can I ask something?”

“That depends,” Nezu said, “I trust you not to ask anything insensitive, but it is up to Mikumo if he wished to answer.”

“I know, it’s just … I know why cases usually get brought under HARA. I know how bad they can get. Toshinori, please tell me he wasn’t anything like that, and are you bringing a case against him?”

Nezu was silent, glancing over at Izuku. He could feel the emotions twisting within the man, and knew he was genuinely asking, hoping that his friend wasn’t secretly a monster. He subtly nodded back to Nezu and the principal relaxed minutely.

“He didn’t hurt me, if that’s what you’re asking, at least not directly. The problem was he didn’t care. I was a weak, fragile, quirkless little boy. I could be beaten to hell, degraded by everyone at school,” he took a deep breath, “nearly get raped by a villain, and Toshinori wouldn’t even notice. I was basically an outcast in my own home.”

Tsukauchi paled as Izuku spoke, and jolted when Izuku mentioned the assault by the villain.

“And it was just me, before you ask. I was the only one ignored like this.”

“So you didn’t run because of school,” Tsukauchi said quietly to himself, “you ran because of home.”

“The school didn’t help and there were other things, but basically yes,” Izuku said, “as for your other question, I don’t know. Frankly, I don’t want anything to do with him any more, but I will if he won’t leave me alone.”

Tsukauchi leaned back in his seat, running a hand down his face. Izuku did feel sorrow for the man. He considered his father a good friend, so to hear about his neglect must be difficult. However, as Izuku knew he would, he pulled himself together. The sadness and anger were pushed aside by a sense of determination, and Tsukauchi sat up straighter.

“Even if this wasn’t through HARA, I wouldn’t tell Toshinori about this, nor will I change how I interact with him. You don't have to worry about me telling your secret,” Tsukauchi said, “but on that note, what’re you going to do about your appearance? Most people wouldn’t know who you are, but your family would be able to tell immediately if they saw you. There are resources through HARA you can use to change your appearance if you’d like.”

Izuku shook his head.

“No need. I’ve got that covered.”

He ran his fingers through his hair, letting his magic wash into it like soap. He’d thought about what he would want to look like quite a bit. Koui had been invested in it as well when he’d mentioned it, and they’d both spent an afternoon going over what he could do, with Koui helping him learn the magic he would need, and Izuku experimenting with different styles.