Awareness comes to him in spades. As if his consciousness ever so slowly latches onto the shifting world around him. Grasping and pulling at his sleep-addled mind. His hand reaches for the table next to him only to be met with empty air. He's suddenly, painfully aware of where exactly he was.
Without his digital alarm clock to announce the time, having forgotten to bring it with him here, he's oblivious to the state of the world outside of the little guest room he finds himself in.
His back cracks as he straightens up, the floor beneath him warmer now than when he first laid down on it.
Having been too used to sleeping on stiff surfaces, the bed had been a foreign object to his body. One that would take time to adapt to. The sheer softness and warmth should've been inviting, comforting even. However, all he felt was a strange sense of unfamiliarity. A sort of wrongness.
Letting his senses stretch throughout the apartment, he realizes that it must be morning. For Aizawa is awake and having coffee in the kitchen.
This also meant that Izuku had to go through him to get to the front door.
He had his day-time job to get to, after all.
Self-doubt churns in his guts as he imagines how bothersome it would be for the man. To deal with a stranger in his own home. At least this way, Izuku will be able to pay for his own food. Aizawa shouldn't have to waste money on him on top of everything else.
Gathering his wits, mentally berating himself for his cowardice. (He was Shadow for Kami's sake, social interactions shouldn't scare him.) After getting ready for the day, he makes his way to the kitchen.
______________________________________
Soft sock-padded footsteps make their way to the kitchen, announcing his new ward's entrance.
He's surprised to find the boy up this early. He assumed most teenagers would cherish whatever sleep they could get. However, he's quickly reminded that the teen in front of him was anything but ordinary.
He remembers the pang he felt in his heart as he saw the kid, curled up on the floor with nothing but a blanket and pillow wrapped around him. Then and there he decided he'd make the kid comfortable in his new home.
Aizawa has so many questions about the boy. What happened to him during all these years? How did he survive living on his own, on the streets for so long? Was he okay? Did he remember Aizawa from all those years ago?
All these questions seem to go out the window as soon as the boy entered his field of vision. Midoriya is already dressed, cane in hand but not touching the ground as he caresses the wall with his other hand, every step of the way. He seemed to have already memorized the apartment's layout, which in itself is an impressive feat in Aizawa's book.
"Good morning." The kid says, voice soft, almost hesitant.
"Morning." Aizawa curses himself for sounding so cold. Nemuri was right, he needed to work on his social skills. He needed the kid to feel welcomed. "What do you want for breakfast, kid?"
"I- I'm good thanks, I was actually just going to head out, so..."
"Oh, where to?"
The kid hesitates at that. As if he's unsure whether he wants to answer the question or not. "W-Work."
His mind draws a blank as he hears the boy's words. He wasn't expecting that.
"Work? You have a job?" He can't help the concern and surprise that seep into his tone.
"I-uh help out at a grocery store downtown."
The silence stretches as Aizawa takes in the implications behind this new piece of information.
"What about school?"
"We had tutors at the orphanage, but I could never keep up without the right books." Anger rises in his chest, hot and coiling at the neglect this child suffered in that hellhole. Was getting him a few braille books that hard for them? Was it that much of a bother to offer basic human decency? "Besides, I continued the work on my own after I left. So, I don't need to go to school."
That was something at least.
"Can you take a seat please, Midoriya. I think it's high time we had a proper discussion about all this."
He's about to get up to usher the kid into a seat when the boy beats him to it. Much to Aizawa's bafflement, the teen gets to his seat with only the help of his cane. Touching and feeling his way to the designated chair.
"First of all, I know why you needed a job before, but why would you still go now?"
The question seems to puzzle the teen as if he's not sure why Aizawa would ask such an obvious question.
"F-for food and s-stuff." He says plainly.
"Then you don't need to anymore. You live with me now." When the kid doesn't make any reaction or give any sign of understanding, Aizawa continues. "You're under my care now, Midoriya. I will provide you with anything you need. That means any necessities such as food and clothes, but also any other stuff you may want or need."
"You don't have to do that, I can take care of myself." Like always, goes unsaid.
"I know you can Midoriya. But you need to understand that it's okay to rely on others too. You don't have to do everything alone." When the silence stretches, Aizawa sighs, not knowing how to get through to the kid. "Look, let's make a compromise, okay?" The teen nods slowly at that. "You can work once a week on the weekends and whatever money you earn is yours to do whatever you want with. However, I will be the one paying for food and any other necessity. You can consider the money you get as pocket money. Does that sound good?"
"Y-yes, okay." The boy responds hesitantly.
"Good, now that that's over, it reminds me that we need to get you some clothes, as well as some standard high school tests so I can see where you're at educational-wise. And we'll go from there." After a little bit of contemplation, he adds, "Maybe we can get you a haircut too."
"I have clothes and I don't need a haircut." The cold shift in Izuku's demeanor almost makes him laugh. Almost.
"Midoriya as charming as those holes in your clothes are, you need something sturdier, it's getting cold anyway." Maybe he needs to dial down on the sarcasm but the near smile he gets out of the teen in front of him says otherwise. "And if you're that adamant about not getting a haircut, at least let me help you tie them properly. Your face is barely visible kid."
"You don't have to do this." Izuku mumbles, fist-clenching at his sides. Fingers curling around the cane in his right hand.
"Do what?"
"Be this- this nice!" Izuku can't help how his voice rises as he speaks. "You do all these things for me! Why are you even bothering, I mean, who cares if my hair is a mess, it's not like I can actually see how I look. It's not like anybody ever cared enough to say anything, so why do you?" The confusion and desperation in his voice alone rattle Aizawa to the core.
"Is it that strange for someone to want to care for you? To want you to take care of yourself?"
"I've been taking care of myself for most of my life."
"No, you haven't, Midoriya. You've been surviving by yourself. Doing whatever it takes to make it in this world, but you haven't been taking care of yourself. Because you know what? Taking care of yourself sometimes means letting others take care of you. It means letting go of the pressure, of the burden you keep holding onto all by yourself and choosing to share the weight with someone."
"W-What if by sharing the w-weight you'd be h-hurting the person. What if the only thing I can give back is pain. Why would you even bother with me, if that was the case?"
Lifting his hand until it rested on the smaller boy's green curls, Aizawa couldn't help but pat the kid on the head.
"I don't know how you got it in that head of yours that you only bring pain. However logically speaking kid, no one can care about someone without risking getting hurt in the process. Besides, what's a little pain compared to the possibility of happiness? Wouldn't you say it was worth it?"
"I- I don't know." Midoriya's face was twisted into something akin to desperation as if the kid was trying his hardest to understand but was coming up short.
"It will take time for you to get used to all this problem child, for now, let's take this one small step at a time, yeah?"
At the hesitant nod the boy gives, Aizawa does the only thing he could think of. He offers to do the boy's hair.
To his surprise, Izuku relented. Letting the older man fashion his curls into a half-bun. The only hairdo Aizawa was moderately proficient at.
"It suits you, kid."
"Hey Aizawa-san," At the man's grunt, Izuku continued, "I've been meaning to bring it up, but I didn't know how..." After a moment of hesitation that made Aizawa worry more than he should have the kid blurted out the rest. "Ithinkyoumayhavearatproblem."
"A what, now?" That wasn't what he expected at all.
"There's something in your cupboard, I- I can hear it move."
To Izuku's surprise, Aizawa doesn't freak out or anything remotely close to that. The man just seemed to come to a sudden realization, getting up and walking to the mentioned cupboard. His demeanor was too calm. It didn't express the expected shock at having a rodent infestation at all.
"I knew I forgot something." The man grumbles as he rummages through the small space. To Izuku's shock, the man takes hold of the creature with the tiny heat signature and brings it to Izuku, almost gingerly.
"Meet Claw. Short for Clawdia, my cat."
_____________________________________
That afternoon, after Izuku's initial freak out about the unknown creature in the apartment and the new-found bond he'd somehow developed with the hero, they ended up watching a movie. Aizawa seemed to be full of surprises, for he had pre-ordered a bunch of films with audio descriptions. Something that Izuku never had the chance to try before. The possibilities it opened up honestly astounded him.
However, he still had patrol so he told Aizawa he was going out to see a friend. The only condition Aizawa gives him is a strict curfew and a promise to be careful.
So, after going to the warehouse to collect his weapons, Izuku was back roaming the city's rooftops.
Word on the street was that one of the league of villain's hideouts was nearby. A science facility to be more precise.
Shuddering at the mere possibility of the mass production of Nomus, Izuku decides to check it out.
It takes half the day to just get around and ask the right people the right questions. Whether they were some of the underground contacts and informants he's racked up over the years, or through some victims, he's helped in the past, Izuku ends up at a seemingly abandoned warehouse near Kamino.
The warehouse hums from miles away, a beacon of sorts, the walls buzz like a beehive, making the ground come to life from within. As if the whole place is encased with an astonishing level of energy, thrumming and pulsing. Something akin to a heart, alive and beating right into Izuku's very core. It's both mesmerizing and terrifying at the same time.
Warning bells seem to ring throughout his mind as if an invisible force is urging him to turn back and be on his way. As if an unknown entity is calling for him to run, run fast and hide from whatever it is that's inside.
A quirk, Izuku concludes, a quirk meant to deter any unwanted curiosity or passerby.
It can't be anything else, for he's never felt this kind of pull before in his life. A need to get away, this strong and compelling.
Willing his body to move, and ignore his mind's warning, he gets closer. With the sheer amount of sound and energy that resound through the structure, the picture that forms in his mind is crystal clear. So is the dread that forms in the deepest pit of his stomach.
Nomus, dozens of them, are wired to something similar to glass water tanks. Their unique mix of multiple heat signatures along with multiple energy signs gives them away almost instantly.
Izuku decides then and there that he can't walk away without putting a stop to this.
He just knows it, deep within his heart that he'll regret it if he leaves now without doing anything.
The sheer amount of destruction and havoc that these creatures are bound to cause would be on his conscience if he just left. This was, in other words, his responsibility now.
With that weight resting on his shoulders and that thought churning in his mind, he forms a plan and gets to work.
____________________________
Infiltrating the facility in itself was the easiest part. Besides the initial turn-away quirk, the only securities he found were a couple of cameras that he easily worked around and some low-level villains guarding the entrance. Making quick work of knocking them out and tying them up somewhere outside the facility itself, he gets to work.
However, the hard part came next. The tanks, thankfully were all connected. He'd have to preserve their energy until the very last minute in order to ensure that the nomus would perish where they slumbered.
He knew how reckless his plan was. Setting fire to the facility could go wrong in so many ways. But after letting his senses stretch and take in the area, he concluded that the only major casualty would be the warehouse itself and everything within. He wouldn't be doing this otherwise.
Getting his hands on a couple of gasoline tanks is disturbingly easy. He smuggles them in his bag and tries his best not to appear suspicious.
By the time everything is set up and ready for execution, it's already night. His curfew is almost up but he can't exactly leave now. He needed to finish this. Even if he never planned to become an arsonist on top of an illegal vigilante. He reminds himself why he's doing this. Why he's setting fire to a warehouse in an abandoned district of Kamino.
He hopes Tsukauchi won't hate him too much after this. He can already hear the long-winded lecture over his recklessness that Aizawa with dish out the moment he sees his vigilante counterpart again.
Not to mention the one he'll be getting tonight for missing curfew.
Without letting his mind come up with a million reasons why he shouldn't be doing this. He tosses the match into the fray.
The fire catches almost instantly. The heat searing into his costume until he feels the sweat forming beneath the folds of protection.
The flame's heat signature dance in his field of mind, his senses going haywire with its sheer intensity.
It's at that particular moment that a warp gate forms just a couple of feet in front him. Right in the middle of the warehouse.
His heart stutters in his chest in anticipation but a bigger part of him knows that he shouldn't stick around any longer.
He wasn't prepared enough to take on the league of villains now. So, when the dark matter warps and forms, he takes off. His legs dodge and weave through the burning tanks, sometimes brushing against particularly hot spaces as he gets away. It doesn't matter though, he just needed to get out of there.
The last thing his senses catch as he's finally out and in the open, running and jumping the rooftops of the district like a glorified playground, is his name shouted out in a series of curses by an eerily familiar voice.
He must have been spotted in his mad dash out of the facility.
Shigaraki was livid.
Izuku wouldn't have it any other way.
_______________________________
He doesn't know how Aizawa will react to this. Doesn't want to find out what the man will think when Izuku overlooks the only rule the hero gave him before he went out.
Because for one, he's way past curfew, and two, even if the man doesn't know it, he was nowhere near careful tonight.
His slightly charred hair and the smoking smell he knows surrounds his clothes will definably give him away though. He hopes the cover story he came up with will placate the man, nonetheless.
So, with that in mind, he walks into the apartment building.
It doesn't take long for him to realize how unprepared he is for this. Thankfully the receptionist takes pity on him and shows him what floor he needed to get to in order to go back to the apartment.
Gathering his wits and hoping he doesn't look as tired and dirty as he feels, he knocks.
The door is yanked open almost instantly as if Aizawa was waiting just on the other side. Wondering just when Izuku was going to get home, pacing back and forth in worry. No, he couldn't have been that worried right? Why would he be?
"Where were you?" Aizawa doesn't shout or scream. In fact, his voice is as quiet and measured as ever. His tone low as he faces Izuku. He kinds of wishes the man would shout. At least Izuku has experience with adults being angry at him. This, however, this low, disappointed, and worried tone, he doesn't know what to do with it. "I thought we had an understanding Midoriya. Your curfew was-"The man stops short as if something physically interrupts his train of thought. And ah, Izuku just stepped into some kind of light didn't he. He wonders what kind of picture he must make. "Are you okay? What the hell happened to you?"
"Did you- uh- see the news yet?"
"The news... You were at Kamino ward!?"
"I was there with a friend and uh got caught up in a villain thing, or at least I think it was a villain thing. It was really chaotic and I didn't really catch everything that was happening around me in all the chaos." He knows he's rambling but in order to play the blind and helpless card for all it's worth, he needed to make it believable. "I think I may have wandered into the fray without meaning to." At Aizawa's sudden alarmed cough, Izuku hastens to reassure the man. "But don't worry! That vigilante helped me, ugh I think his name was Shadow, he got me out of there and even made sure I wasn't hurt."
"Are you sure you're not hurt?"
"I'm fine, really." Barring the slight burns, he got on his arms that were thankfully covered by his hoodie.
"Okay good, but I'm going to say this again and I need you to listen very carefully Midoriya." At the nod he gets in response, the man continues. "The next time anything remotely close to this happens you call me, no matter what time it is, no matter where you are, you call and I'll come to get you. Can you do this for me, Problem Child?"
"Yes, I'm sorry for making you w-worry Aizawa-san."
"Well, as long as you're safe, it doesn't matter. However, I expect you to follow the curfew I set for you next time." The man chides lightly as a hand comes up to ruffle Izuku's curls. "Now, go get cleaned up and get some rest, I need to make a few work calls."
____________________________________
"So, was the news accurate? Did Shadow really set fire to a random villain warehouse on the outskirts of Kamino?" Aizawa's voice is rough as he speaks, phone in hand, eyes trained on the TV still playing the news report. A burning warehouse coming into view as the newscaster talks about suspected villainous activities that might have been going on inside.
"No, we kept it under wraps to avoid making the public panic, but we suspect that that warehouse was being used as an illegal medical lab. From the residues we collected, it seems Shadow did us a huge favor by burning the place down." Tsukauchi admits, the reluctance in his tone is palpable as he struggles not to make light of the kid's actions.
"Why? What did you find?"
"They were creating Nomus Eraser. Dozens of them. Albeit they were still in their primal stages of the experiments. They were a threat nonetheless."
"Shit, that's... A nightmare I wouldn't want to even think about." Another thought makes Aizawa's gut churn. "The league of villains will want to retaliate. Shadow is going a target, now more than ever." Sighing heavily, he rakes a hand through his dark strands. "He's is too reckless for his own good."
"Let's hope the kid lays low for a while. You've got your annual training camp soon, right? You won't be here to help if he gets in trouble."
"Yeah, we leave on Monday, I'm taking Midoriya with me. I swear, sometimes I feel like that kid is just as much of a trouble magnet as our friendly vigilante."
"Well let's hope this summer of yours gives him a break too."
Down the hallway, Izuku can't help but feel relieved as Aizawa finally confirms that he'll be able to go to the training camp with Shinsou.
He'll be able to protect them better that way.
Or at least he hopes so.