He should leave.
He knew he should. It was getting too dangerous. If either of them connected his injury to the time of Kumo's disappearance, there was no doubt that they'd want him in jail.
He should just pack up his things and leave in the middle of the night, while Aizawa was on his patrol. Yamada would be passed out upstairs. It'd be easy.
But every time he pulled out his bags, he stopped. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. Aizawa and Yamada took him in, even when they didn't need to. He had to pay them back somehow. Maybe he'd make them dinner. He couldn't really move around easier until his cast was off, so it'd have to wait.
Yeah. That was it. He totally wasn't in denial. Totally not. Denial? Never heard of her.
He was getting his cast off in two weeks. He could wait that long. Until then, he could sweeten them up and see if he could stay an extra night or two. They both had pretty busy schedules, whereas Izuku was stuck inside all day. Maybe he could clean the place while they were gone. He usually finished his school work by two and gave himself an hour long break before finishing up any assignments.
Yamada always told him to leave the dishes, that he'd do them after they got back from work. But despite his excitable personality, Izuku saw how drained Yamada was after interacting with teenagers all day. He could use a break.
That was where Izuku found himself; standing in the kitchen as he loaded the dishwasher. He was in the middle of placing a bunch of cups inside when Aizawa trudged into view, head moving back and forth. He stopped when his tired eyes found Izuku.
"How's the house hunting going?" he asked, leaning against the kitchen island as he observed Izuku.
Izuku swallowed, not expecting the question. It was bound to come up sooner or later, but he had no answer. "As good as it can," he lied, turning his face away from Aizawa. The man was no lie detector, but he could read body language pretty well. "Not a lot of places are willing to take in a parentless child."
He braved a glance at the underground hero. He typed on his phone before sliding the device into his pocket. "Recovery Girl gets back from her vacation in a few days." Wow great change in subject. "If you want we can swing by U.A. and have her finish healing your leg. I'm sure you have places to be."
"Totally!" Izuku faked an enthusiastic grin. "That'd be great. Thank you, Aizawa-san."
Aizawa didn't move from his spot. Instead, it seemed like his tired glare was reading the kid, trying to get a sense of what he was really thinking. Izuku swallowed, being the first to remove their gaze from the other. He went back to loading the dishes.
He let out a breath of relief when he heard the man turn and walk away. All the tension set in his shoulders dropped, and he felt himself relax. It wasn't like the man was intimidating. Actually, intimidating didn't even begin to cover it. It was like he was constantly observing every possible detail, constantly reading those around him. Izuku supposed it came with the job.
It had taken him nearly two weeks to feel comfortable enough around Aizawa to sit on the couch during his free time instead of hiding in his room. It took him even longer to be able to get enough courage to sit on the couch while Aizawa was also sitting on it, let alone sleeping on it.
It didn't help that Izuku never knew what the man was feeling. Sure, he could tell when something was serious and he had to leave the room. He knew how tired he was after work based on how sluggish his body moved. But that man never had any emotions on his face. Izuku wasn't even sure how Aizawa felt about him staying with them.
Did he find him annoying? A burden? Did he not really care? Did he suspect him? Izuku really hoped it wasn't that last one. The only thing going for him was the timing of his injury and his age. Aizawa wasn't even sure of the second thing.
But one thing Izuku was sure of was that he had to leave.
________________
U.A. was bigger than Izuku thought. He had only ever seen it in passing. But here he was, walking up to the gate. Aizawa had called Recovery Girl and the principal earlier that day so there would be no issues with the security system sensing an unknown figure.
Aizawa and Izuku walked side by side into the large school. Izuku trailed slightly behind the man, wanting to take in as many details as he could. The chances of him getting into U.A. were slim, nor did he particularly want to. It was a fine school and all, but Izuku was content with staying online.
Aizawa led him up a flight of stairs, pausing every so often to let Izuku catch up. Izuku briefly wondered why there weren't any elevators. Soon the two arrived at a large door. They must have the doors that big to accommodate Quirks.
Aizawa knocked before sliding the door open. Izuku peered around the man, trying to get a look at the room.
"Have a seat," a voice said. Aizawa stepped aside and let Izuku enter the room. Aizawa took a seat on an empty chair while Izuku wandered further into the room. A short woman stepped out from behind a curtain. "You must be Midoriya."
Izuku startled. "R-Recovery Girl!" He knew he was going to meet her, but it was still a surprise. "It's an honor to meet you!" He tried to bow as best he could without his crutches slipping out from under him.
"No need for that," she said, walking over to an empty bed. She tapped on it. "Have a seat."
Izuku gladly jumped onto the bed. He looked around the room while Recovery Girl gathered her tools. Aizawa appeared to be sleeping, but he shifted too much for that to be true. Recovery Girl walked over to Izuku.
"I'm just going to remove the cast with this small electric saw," she explained, holding up said tool. "It shouldn't hurt, but since it's not fully healed I'm not entirely sure."
"Why not just take off the cast after you heal it?" Izuku asked.
"It could still heal wrong due to the casting." She gently propped up Izuku's leg on a chair she pulled over. She fiddled with the pant leg, making sure it was out of the way. Aizawa had told Izuku to wear shorts for convenience, but Izuku didn't have any so he just had to bunch up the fabric at the top and hoped he didn't look ridiculous. From the mostly concealed snort Aizawa let out when he met him at the door, Izuku hadn't succeeded.
Recovery Girl flicked on the tool, pressing the spinning blade against the top of the cast. The friction it created didn't hurt, but it did feel weird. Izuku fought the urge to kick his leg out.
About five minutes later, Izuku's leg was free from its confinement. The sight was gross; it was incredibly pale, it itched, the hair appeared matted. There was a faint smell. Izuku shuddered. He was taking a long shower after this.
Recovery Girl, unbothered by the appearance, leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the limb. Izuku watched, eyes wide and mouth open, as the limb went back to its original state. The fascinating moment passed, and a wave of exhaustion hit him.
His eyes drooped and his arms holding him up in the bed wanted to give out. Recovery Girl chuckled and held something in her palm.
"It's an energy gummy," she explained. Izuku reached out and took it. He squished it a few times before popping it into his mouth. "It will restore your energy for the time being, but you will need to rest."
"Thank you m'am," Izuku said after swallowing the gummy. He could already feel his body waking up. He pushed himself off the bed and tested his leg. It wobbled a bit, but that was to be expected after nearly two months without using it.
Izuku opened his mouth to start speaking again, but promptly shut it. He patted his front and back pockets, trying to figure out where he put it. "Where did I-?"
Aizawa shifted in his seat again and sighed before standing up. He walked over to Izuku and pulled a small notebook out from his pocket. Izuku grinned and took the item from him.
"Uh," Izuku started, suddenly feeling shy. He flipped over to a blank page, skipping through many other names. "Do you think I could have an autograph?" He held it out to the elderly woman.
"Oh my!" she exclaimed, fishing through one of the many pockets in her jacket. She took out a pen and grabbed the notebook. "It always amazes me that there are still fans out there." She finished the signature. "You have quite the collection if each page is one hero."
Izuku watched as she looked through the signatures. She stopped at one, surprise taking over her face. Izuku leaned over to see which one it was.
It was Aizawa's.
That had been an awkward one to get.
It had taken him a week to build up the courage to ask for Yamada's. The man was more than glad to agree, to say the least. He made his signature take up an entire page, in both Japanese and English.
"You should try to get Shouta's," Yamada said, grinning. "I'm sure he'd be thrilled to learn he has fans."
They all knew that Aizawa would not be happy about it, but Izuku did it anyway. It was the following Wednesday. Yamada was making breakfast, Izuku was staring at a blank notebook page, Aizawa had yet to crawl out of bed.
The moment he did, Izuku blurted out, "Can I have your autograph?"
It took Aizawa a few moments to register what just happened. "No," he replied, slinking into the kitchen for his cup of coffee.
"Please!" Izuku pleaded, following the man into the kitchen. Yamada had an amused expression on his face as he watched everything unfold.
"I'm an underground hero, you're not supposed to know who I am," Aizawa sighed, pouring the hot drink into his mug. "How did you even find that out?"
Izuku froze. He couldn't exactly say, 'You've been trying to track me down for over a year'.
"I suspected it for a while," he settled on. "You leave the house in the same outfit every day and you leave 11 at night and come back at 4 in the morning. That sounds like a patrol to me."
Aizawa blinked, clearly taken aback. "Ever heard of the night shift?" Wow, he was really trying to convince Izuku he wasn't a hero.
"What are you even doing up that early?" Yamada asked, putting breakfast onto a plate. He handed one to each of them.
Izuku ignored the voice hero's question. "You're not as quiet as you think when you come back bleeding."
Both Yamada and Aizawa blanched, staring at each other with wide eyes. Aizawa, obviously at the end of his rope, sighed. "Fine. Hand me a pen."
Izuku smiled and leaped over to the table where he left his pen. Aizawa snatched both notebook and pen from his hands, scribbling away and muttering something about 'problem children'.
"It seems like he needs to work on his penmanship," Recovery Girl joked, handing the notebook back to Izuku. They both snickered at Aizawa's glare.
"Are you ready to go, Midoriya?" the tired man asked.
Izuku nodded. "Thank you again, Recovery Girl," he said, bowing. He turned and followed Aizawa towards the door.
"Anytime, dearie," Recovery Girl answered.
___________
He was in deep shit. Aizawa had let him keep the two weeks he still had to look for a house, saying something about it not being logical to send a child out on their own without proper shelter.
He had those two weeks, yet every time he opened up websites that listed houses, Izuku found himself hesitating. The cursor hovered over each option, but Izuku never clicked.
He knew he had to get out of there. Every day was another chance for his secret to be revealed. Especially now that his leg was healed and he'd want to start patrols again. What would Aizawa think when Kumo just showed up near his house?
Izuku sighed, closing the tab once more.
"What's with that heavy sigh, Listener?" Yamada asked, walking into the living room. He held two mugs of tea. He handed one to Izuku, who gladly took it. "House troubles?"
Izuku hummed and sipped his tea. "It won't be ready for another few days," he lied. "I'm still on bedrest from Recovery Girl, so it's not that big of a deal."
______________
As the days went by, his excuses got worse.
This time it was dinner. He did want to make them something as a thank you, and what better way to do that than his mother's famous katsudon? Okay yeah, it wasn't famous. But it should be.
Izuku intentionally "forgot" to buy ingredients earlier in the day, so around six he was reminded by Yamada. Once at the store, he took his time choosing between thin pork or thick pork, seasoned bread crumbs or regular bread crumbs.
It was nearing seven when he got back. Yamada asked if he needed help, but Izuku insisted he had everything handled.
It was 7:30 when dinner was finally served. He made sure there were enough leftovers in case they wanted to make a bento.
It was 8:30 when Izuku finished eating and insisted he did the dishes. He did them by hand, claiming that it was better than the dishwasher.
It was nine when he was done. He took a look at the clock, exclaiming that it was late and he should head to bed. He didn't miss the look the two adults shared between each other as he headed to his room.
______________
His next excuse was his leg was sore and that he should rest a little more. He could tell neither of the heroes bought it, but they didn't say anything.
______________
It was the fourth day of Izuku's ridiculous reasons to stay when they finally broke. Izuku had run out of excuses and was prepared to start packing.
"What's today's excuse?" Aizawa asked from his spot on the couch. He had his arm wrapped around Yamada's shoulder, and the blond was snuggled into Aizawa's chest. They were watching some pre-Quirk era movie.
Izuku stopped when he was close to the couch. He took a deep breath. It was time to come clean. "I don't have a house."
Both heroes stilled, eyes sliding over to each other. Yamada pulled away from Aizawa. "Did they end up giving it to someone else?" he asked.
Izuku shook his head. "I never had one."
Aizawa sat up. "I thought you were looking for one."
"I was," Izuku explained, feeling his face heat up. He sniffed. "But I guess I got too comfortable and now it's backfiring." He wiped his eyes, not wanting the tears to start. It was too late. "And I've just been using you and taking advantage of your kindness and I-I'm sorry!"
And the waterworks have started. He was freely sobbing now, hands flying around his face in a desperate attempt to stop them.
Yamada crouched down in front of Izuku, pulling his arms down. "Midoriya," he said in a hushed voice, "it's okay."
"No it's not! I haven't kept up my end of the deal which was to find a house."
Yamada sighed. "I'll talk to Sho and you just sit here and calm down, alright?"
Izuku sniffed and nodded. He was moved to the couch, and he took a seat. The two adults then walked into the hallway, their whispers traveling.
Izuku stayed on the couch, trying to control his breathing. He hated that part about crying. It was always so hard to not hyperventilate.
When he was breathing properly and it was just a few stray tears, he looked towards the hallway Aizawa and Yamada disappeared down. He knew he shouldn't, but he wanted to know if he should start packing right away.
He tiptoed over to the hallway. He pressed himself against the wall and listened.
"-know it's too dangerous to have children around," Aizawa argued. "If you really want to secure a place for him, then ask Nezu about making him a ward."
"You've seen that kids' grades, Sho," Yamada said. "That rat is going to want to pick apart his brain! And what if he ends up placing Midoriya back with us? His reasoning will probably be like 'oh you know him best so he should just stay with you'. It's easier to just let him stay than fill out all that paperwork."
Aizawa sighed, pausing. "What if he doesn't even want to go to U.A.?"
"Then convince him. But I'm not throwing him onto the street again. His old neighborhood was terrible, Sho!"
Izuku heard footsteps approaching and quickly went back to the couch.
So.
It seemed like his only option was to go to U.A.
Great.