A/N: Dadzawa.exe is booting up
~ ~ ~
Hitoshi felt pretty dumb now as the three men approached him, smirking. Izuku had taught him so much about fighting and being aware of his surroundings, but the one night he does something risky, he forgets almost all of it.
And then, without warning, his hero appeared.
~ ~ ~
Hitoshi blinked in shock as a small figure appeared from seemingly nowhere and knocked out the largest of the three men with one swift movement. The other two men stared for a only a moment before they cursed and rushed for Hitoshi, hoping to use him as a hostage.
Unfortunately for them, Rabbit was faster and rushed forward, knocking them both out in the process before turning towards Hitoshi.
He knew he must look pretty dumb right now, with his eyes wide open and mouth hung in disbelief. But he couldn't help it, the Rabbit had just saved him. The vigilante who Hitoshi had secretly admired ever since a video of one of his fights had been uploaded (even though it and any others got take down shortly after).
Rabbit silently walked up to him and waved a hand in front of his face, Hitoshi realized he must have been staring and quickly looked away, blushing slightly in embarrassment.
"Umm- I... thank you..." Hitoshi stumbled over his words, glancing between Rabbit and the criminals he had just taken down.
The vigilante just chucked at him before reaching out a hand to help him up, which he gladly took.
"No problem", Rabbit's electronic voice replied before having a slightly sharper tone, "but what exactly were you doing out so late?"
~ ~ ~
Izuku had been silently cursing when he watched Hitoshi go on the parkour route, but he didn't stop him. The exercise was good for him, Izuku knew. But then, he noticed how his friend seemed to forget all his warnings about danger and being aware. And Izuku's uneasy feeling was proven right when three men saw him.
Thankfully, Hitoshi was able to block the punch thrown at him, but now he was corned and Izuku began to curse once more to himself as he rushed in to help his friend. The fight was easier than his trainings with Hitoshi, he didn't even break a sweat, but at the moment he was more focused on the boy.
No, he couldn't just start lecturing him. He was Rabbit right now, not Izuku. One slip up could reveal himself, especially since he wanted to chew him out about how he didn't even notice the men in the first place.
So instead, he inwardly sighed and just pretended to be none the wiser to the fact that Hitoshi had the skills to defend himself. Right now he was just any other kid.
"Umm- I... thank you..."
Izuku chucked at his friend and held out an arm to help him up.
"No problem", Izuku tried to keep his voice level, but his next words were a bit too accusatory. "but what exactly were you doing out so late?"
The taller boy looked down and began to fumble with his shirt's hem, eyes darting around as if searching for an excuse on the ground.
"I needed some air, sleepless night..."
Izuku knew that Hitoshi wasn't exactly in is best shape right now after being kicked out, but come on. The boy was usually a damn good liar (even if Izuku could still see though it), and the best he can come up with is 'needing fresh air'. At 1 in the morning.
Knowing he didn't have time to pry right now, Izuku just nodded and told him to call the police while he restrained the criminals.
Now there was a problem. Hitoshi couldn't go home right now, in fact Izuku refused to let him go home after today. If he hadn't listened to his paranoia and didn't check in on Hitoshi- Well, the boy might have been found dead in this alley. Even his friend wasn't yet ready to fight three opponents twice his size with decently dangerous quirks.
Izuku just sighed and turned back to his friend. He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing yet, but he needed Hitoshi to talk and couldn't let the police take him home. He would be in trouble. And that meant he would be hurt in some way or another.
"Could we talk for a moment?"
Hitoshi's eyes looked up at him in shock and confusion, body ridged. After a moment, he slouched, looking away and nodded. "...sure."
With that, Izuku led the boy to a nearby rooftop, just far enough away from the scene to not be found. And now, it was silent.
Izuku usually was great at talking with others in this situation as Rabbit. He calmed down tons of victims ranging from 'just got mugged for the first time' to 'a runaway kid without a home'. People just seemed to like talking with him about anything. But Hitoshi... it was personal and Izuku couldn't reveal himself, but here goes nothing.
"...So", Izuku began, "do you know who I am?"
Hitoshi just snorted softly, "yeah, that vigilante, Rabbit."
While Izuku nodded, Hitoshi continued. "And a barista at a coffee shop as well as my first real friend."
He froze. Wait what did he just-. Hitoshi was looking up at the sky and all Izuku could do is stare at him wide-eyed in disbelief.
"Wha- wait what?"
Hitoshi turned to look at him, lips drawn in a small smirk. "Izuku, you suck at secrets."
When he didn't respond, the purple-haired boy continued, "I only recently realized it was probably you, and I was still skeptical until tonight. I mean, who would suspect the coffee boy in a small café right? But too many things lined up. Why you are so good at fighting for your age, your shift hours at the café, and especially the fact that you make great support gear and can hack and code anything. No middle schooler should probably know all of that." He glanced down, "Pluuus, you are literally wearing the same utility belt you showed me a week ago."
Izuku shook his head in disbelief, at both Hitoshi and at himself, "Wow, I guess I really let my guard down around you" He laughed sheepishly before whispering to himself "I knew I shouldn't have shown you my support gear."
Hitoshi giggled, a glint in his eyes, "Well I admit that was kind of careless, but I'm glad you did. Also don't worry, I would never rat you out. I like my vigilante friends outside of jail thank you very much."
At that, Izuku just snorted and shook his head. "And I prefer my civilian friends not getting jumped in an alley after midnight."
The other boy rolled his eyes before casting them down. As much as Izuku would like to just sit here and chat as friends, he still needed to help Hitoshi and talk with him.
"Listen, Toshi... I don't want you to freak out," and now his friend was clearly trying not panic and failing, great, "but I know that your foster home isn't safe and-" Izuku paused to looking into Hitoshi's eyes, "I want to help you."
Just like that, the floodgates released and Hitoshi began to tell Izuku everything, including how his parents had died before he was put into the system. Even if he already knew from his spy fly about his friend's foster family, it was nice to hear it from him himself. And he knew that Hitoshi also felt better being able to talk to someone.
By the time he was finished and Izuku had calmed him down and comforted him, the police were at the scene. And he knew that a certain hero would be too. As if on cue, the hobo-hero landed behind the two boys with a purposefully audible thump.
Hitoshi jumped while Izuku just turned to face the man. Eraserhead was walking towards them now, his uninterested and bored mask falling slightly when he saw Hitoshi's tear-stained face.
"What happened?"
Izuku gestured towards the nearby scene before looking back to Hitoshi who was now gawking at his favorite hero, stars in his usually lifeless eyes. Izuku bit back his laugh.
"Well, this kid was attacked, and I saved him."
Eraser just grunted in response and Izuku quickly began to form a plan. The hero had a soft spot for kids and his husband, Mic, had been wanting a kid for a while now (don't ask how he knows this). If a young child was in too much danger and an older civilian child was as well... than what about a hero kid who could already defend himself? It was only logical.
Now just to make him take the bait.
"Could you walk him home Eraser? I can't exactly show myself."
The hero sighed and began to ask Hitoshi some questions like his address and why he was out. His lie was better this time, but still weak. Probably because he was facing his idol.
"Hey Shinso", Izuku called out to his friend, careful to use his family name and not his nickname, "could you wait there for a moment, just have to brief Eraserhead here on the criminals."
After he agreed, Izuku turned to the hero, face and tone shifting in seriousness. Eraser noticed his change in demeanor and narrowed his eyes, "what is it?"
Izuku sighed before hissing out, "I need you to get that kid out of his home, I talked with him. His foster parents are definitely abusive in more than one way even if he was vague about it. His quirk is considered 'villainous' and I honestly don't want to let him go back that house ever again. I'll gather more information tonight just in case."
Eraser blinked in slight surprise at his tone before sighing and nodding, "I'll try to get him out tomorrow, do you think he would come home with me for now?"
He tried not to laugh. Would Hitoshi be willing to go home with his idol? Of course, he would. But Izuku wasn't finished, he wanted this hero to adopt his friend and what better way than to be blunt and rational. It was the hero's own language.
"Yes, I think he would. But I also have a... request."
Eraser eyed him and sighed, "what is it?"
"Would you be willing to adopt him yourself?"
The hero looked at him in shock before narrowing his eyes. Before he could speak, Izuku held up a hand and explained.
"Listen, don't ask how, but I know your husband, President Mic, has been wanting a kid. Any regular kid won't do because it would be dangerous to be the child of two pro heroes. But Shinso here," he gestured to where his friend stood nervously waiting, "he said he wants to go to UA and be a hero, not to mention he does have some skills from what I can tell. He won't be in any particular danger if he will become a hero himself soon anyways."
Izuku studied the hero and noticed how his face seemed to soften in understanding. "It is logical..."
"Just think about it? For now, I just want that foster parents of his in jail." He muttered bitterly.
A hand patted his head and Izuku looked up in surprise. The hero smiled and gave him another pat before walking off, "I'll make sure they get what's coming to them."
Now Izuku couldn't help but smile as he watched the hero and his friend walk away, "I'm sure you will Aizawa."