The halls of UA high school had produced many amazing heroes. It was the dream of many to go there, though the chances of gaining one of those coveted seats was very small. It was where All Might had learned to be a hero, as well as many others. Izuku had always dreamed of coming here, following in the footsteps of his father and siblings.
And now he was, though not yet as a student.
Izuku followed behind Nezu through the main building of the school. The principal had been delighted that Izuku accepted his protection under HARA. All that remained was having their trusted police official sign off that Nezu had taken him into his care and everything would be official.
“Tsukauchi will be meeting us in my office. We shouldn’t be disturbed by anyone as we will no doubt have to explain everything to him,” Nezu said.
Tsukauchi was a close friend of Toshinori’s, though his principles as a police officer were incredibly strong. He also had a lie detector quirk so he would know Izuku was telling him the truth. There was a reason so many heroes trusted him.
Classes were in session so they didn’t run into anyone, as they reached Nezu’s office. The office itself was large and sparsely decorated, though what decorations there were were tasteful and spoke of Nezu’s character. Lining the two walls either side of the door were low bookshelves filled to the brim. On top of the shelves were a few 3D puzzles and a china tea set. The wall behind Nezu’s large desk was a large floor to ceiling window, looking out over UA’s campus.
Izuku took a seat on one of the sofas opposite the desk while Nezu brewed some tea. He couldn’t help letting his Sight stretch out, taking in the forms of the various students and teachers in the building. Somewhere here were Haru and Mizuki. It was odd, being so close to his siblings but still so far away. It was daunting, but Izuku kept moving forward. Now wasn’t the time to bring up that pain, though part of him wondered if he’d ever be ready to face them.
“The detective is on his way,” Nezu said.
Curious, Izuku tried finding him with his Sight. It was difficult since he hadn’t Seen Tsukauchi before so didn’t know what to loko for. It was only when he sensed somebody approaching the office that he honed in on them.
“He’s at the end of the corridor.”
Nezu grinned, not questioning how Izuku knew that. He pressed a button on his desk as Tsukauchi raised a hand to knock. He felt a ripple of exasperation from the man before he stepped inside.
That feeling quickly turned to shock when he stopped Izuku sitting in front of the principals desk.
“Izuku?”
Very quickly, the detectives feelings swirled and roiled. Shock gave way to confusion, to anger, sadness, betrayal, disbelief. It was a mess to sort through but Izuku said nothing as Tsukauchi gaped like a fish.
“Please close the door. We have sensitive matters to discuss,” Nezu said, tone serious.
It served to snap the man out of it. He shut the door and took a seat next to Izuku, still not quite believing what he was seeing.
“Thank you for coming so quickly detective. You are here as the trusted police official on my enactment of the Heroic Abuse Recovery Act, here to confirm that I have taken the individual into my care,” Nezu said.
“Of course but, Nezu this is Izuku Midoriya,” Tsukauchi said.
“I will not confirm or deny if this is the case, and I would prefer it if you would refer to my charge by the name he has selected,” Nezu slid the document across the table.
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.
As his fingers ran through his hair, it changed. It lost its messiness, the curls instead forming waves. It was also slightly shorter. The biggest difference though was the colour. It remained dark at the roots, but it faded to slightly differing shades of grey at the tips. Some shades were darker, some were lighter, and it reminded Izuku of the ash left over from burning charcoal. It made the green of his eyes seem far more vivid.
With a final scrub of his face, the disguise was complete. Free of freckles and with a different hair colour, he looked similar to normal, but different enough that even people who knew him would be hard pressed to guess it was him, or at least that was the hope. Looking up, Nezu seemed impressed but Tsukauchi … he was frozen in his seat, eyes wide and bright with fear.
“But you’re quirkless!”
“I still am quirkless,” Izuku said.
The little pulse went off, his statement registering as truth, but it only made Tsukauchi more fearful.
“Nezu, how? Don’t tell me it’s...”.
“I can assure you, it’s not who you think it is,” Nezu said.
“I feel like I’m missing something here,” Izuku said.
“Nothing to worry about. That man is long gone, but his memory lingers on unfortunately,” Nezu said, “detective, I believe your work here is done.”
Tsukauchi looked between Nezu and Izuku a few more times, the fear slowly receding each time. Eventually he took a deep breath and calmed himself. He picked up his hat and stood, bowing to each of them, and then left the room. Izuku watched him go with his Sight, wondering what that was about.
“Now that that is all sorted, I believe I need to show you where you’ll be staying,” Nezu said.
“That won’t be necessary.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t force you to stay here. That clearing of yours seemed comfortable enough, but under HARA you are officially in my care so you, officially, need somewhere to stay with me.”
Nezu grinned.
“I think you’ll like it.”
They slipped out of the main school building just as lunch started. With all the students in the cafeteria, nobody could see them walking through the grounds. UA was huge! Nezu told him about all of the training facilities they had, but that didn’t even account for the fields and small forest they had. It was unlike any school Izuku had ever seen.
Nezu led him down a path, tucked away against the wall of the school. It was well maintained but seldom used. Eventually it opened out. Nestled against the wall of UA and the forest was a house. From the outside it looked traditionally Japanese. The principal slid open the sliding doors and Izuku followed him inside. It was just as traditional inside as it looked outside, but there were obvious additions to make it more modern. In the living room, there was a TV, and outlets lined the walls. Izuku had a feeling that, though the walls looked like paper and wood, they were actually made of something else entirely.
“The principal of UA is entitled to accommodations on campus, though I took the liberty of making a few adjustments before moving in. It’s quite nice, don’t you think?” Nezu said.
Izuku nodded. He’d only ever lived in western style houses, what with Toshinori spending so much time in the US, but between Koui’s realm and Tataka’s dojo, he’d grown quite fond of a more traditionally Japanese place. He followed Nezu through the house, taking note of the kitchen and utility rooms.
“Normally the bedrooms would upstairs, but I’ve made quite a few conversions so there’s really only space for one,” Nezu said.
“But you do have an extra bedroom,” Izuku stated, because there was no way Nezu wouldn’t.
Sure enough, Nezu opened up a door next to the utility room. It was a simple tatami room, wide and open, and not tucked away like his old room had been.
“I think we’d both prefer our own space, so how about I take the bathroom upstairs and you can have this.”
Nezu crossed the room and threw open the sliding doors on the other side. There was a small veranda leading out to a private hot spring. It was built to look natural, and reminded Izuku of his pool by the river.
“One day I arrived a little early to our chat, so I had a look around. When I saw a lovely pool which I assumed you’d made, I thought this would be perfect for you.”
Izuku was already imagining soaking in the spring later.
“This feels like too much.”
“Nonsense, you deserve a place to come home to, whether that be here or your clearing. All I ask is that once term starts that this be your primary residence. Also, I’d like a heads up for where you’ll likely be, but I won’t actively track you,” Nezu clapped his hands together, “now why don’t I leave you to have a look around. Feel free to leave the house as well. I’ve got to get back to the school, so how about we meet back here at 4:30 for some tea?”
Izuku nodded, feeling slightly overwhelmed. Once Nezu was gone, he explored every nook and cranny of this new room. Everything was neat and organised, and nothing was locked and kept away from him. There wasn’t much there since he hadn’t moved any of his stuff in, but Nezu had left him a present in the drawer next to his desk.
It was a phone, sleek and new. It had a little note for set up instructions, which Izuku was quick to follow, as well as Nezu’s number programmed in. Suddenly he was able to reconnect with the wider world that he’d neglected for the last six months. The urge to see whether his disappearance made the news very quickly died in its crib. Everything about this was a chance at a fresh start, where he didn’t have to be quirkless little Izuku Midoriya, where he could be whoever he wanted to be.
He pocketed his new phone and left his room. There was a set of keys on the living room table, which he snagged, and he quickly locked up the house. UA was a big place, but Izuku didn’t feel like exploring all of it right now. There was plenty of time, and truthfully he might not see much since he wasn’t keen on explaining himself to anyone he might come across. He settled for exploring the woods. It made him think of the safety of his clearing, and it was unlikely he’d come across anyone.
The forest was a nice place. The canopy was filled with bird song and, while he didn’t see anything, there were signs that other creatures were about. Was this the forest where Nezu had met Red, Green and Blue? Surely not since this was enclosed by the walls of UA. Then again, those animals had been crazy enough to jump off a cliff. Izuku had jumped off right after them, but them jumping seemed crazier.
A familiar chittering caught his attention and before he could react, something shot out of the bushes and climbed up his leg. It settled on his shoulder and Izuku turned to see Green sitting there happily. Its leaf tail tickled the back of his neck while the squirrel looked him over with unabashed curiously.
“I got a make over,” Izuku said, “though I’m sure you know all about that.”
Green squeaked, shaking its head.
“You’re seriously telling me you naturally have a leaf for a tail?”
Green paused, then wobbled its front paw in a so so motion.
“Whatever, I choose to believe you grew that leaf and you can’t convince me otherwise,” Izuku said, “now the question is, how did you get here? Did you climb over the walls?”
If squirrels could look mischievous, Green certainly looked like that.
“You’re not going to give me any hints, are you?”
Green chittered like a laugh and Izuku shook his head. He’d wandered while talking to the squirrel and now found himself in an unfamiliar patch of forest. It wasn’t a problem, he could always portal back, but it was somewhere else to explore.
Though he was distracted from that when he felt something both familiar and unexpected. On silent feet, he crept closer to what he was feeling, because he was sensing that right! That was pleasure, but it wasn’t alone. It was so wrapped up in love and affection it was indistinguishable. Ahead of him was a denser patch of trees. He circled around it until he found an opening.
In the centre of the patch were two teenage boys. Both were tall but where one was lean, the other was bulky with muscle. The muscular one was blonde with solid blue eyes, hair sticking up at the front. The lean one had indigo hair, which fell in bangs around his eyes and pointed ears. The blonde was sitting down, leaning against a rock and holding the other comfortably in his lap.
They were wearing UA uniforms but they’d ditched the blazers. Blondes shirt was open and the lean one was carefully exploring his chest with his hands. Every now and again they’d lean in for a kiss.
All Izuku could See in the two of them was love and care. Their forms in his Sight were practically singing with it, but it was also clear as day in the way they looked at each other. The lean one was obviously shyer than the other, but whenever he looked up he blushed and a small smile crept onto his face. The blonde was nowhere near as subtle. He radiated his affection like the sun.
One of Blondes hands crept up the back of the lean ones shirt. The boy shivered, shuffling closer to the others chest, and Izuku sensed a burst of anxiety.
“I’m sorry Mirio,” he said.
“What for?” Mirio asked.
“I… I want that. I want to do more. It’s just … I’m not sure I’m ready. Is that ok?”
Mirio pulled him in for a hug, causing the other to blush brightly when his face was pressed against a muscular chest.
“Of course Tamaki.”
Izuku smiled at the sight. Unfortunately, the way Tamaki’s face was angled in the hug, it put Izuku directly into his field of vision. He knew he’d been caught when he felt anxiety and fear well up in the other boy.
“Tamaki?”
Not wanting to pretend he hadn’t just witnessed them together, Izuku stepped further into the clearing. Both Mirio and Tamaki jumped to their feet. Mirio hurried to button up his shirt and Tamaki was frozen to the spot. Through their embarrassment, he didn't miss the ready positions they were in. Izuku bowed low, stilling them both.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt or intrude,” he said.
“Were you spying on us?” Mirio asked.
“Not intentionally. I was walking in the woods and sensed something nearby. I haven’t felt people who love each other like that before so I guess I got a bit mesmerised,” Izuku explained.
Mirio finished buttoning his shirt at a more sedate pace. Izuku kept his Sight focused, he sensed the moment when the two accepted his rationale.
“Ok, then I guess it was just a mistake. Though could you please keep it to yourself please? We don’t want our relationship to get mixed into the school gossip mill,” Mirio said.
Izuku nodded, miming locking his mouth shut and throwing away the key. It got a small chuckle from the blonde.
“Though it begs the question, if you’ve got an emotion sensing quirk then why are we the first couple you’ve sensed like that? What about your parents?” Tamaki asked, only to shrink down even further, “I’m sorry. That was really insensitive.”
“Don’t worry. My situation’s complicated, but I’m not offended by you asking. I can tell you were being genuine.”
Tamaki was confused for a moment before he muttered a quiet ‘oh right, emotion sensing.’
“Though if I may offer some advice, you don’t need to worry,” Izuku said to Tamaki, “there’s no timeline on when you need to do what in a relationship, and I think he loves you too much to want to pressure you.”
If he’d not picked up on how to have sex in the last six months, then Koui would probably string him up by his ankles. They’d talked about it enough, usually accompanied by the perfect example of what not to do when they were preparing souls for their torment.
“But if you do want to make that leap, start small. See how you feel wearing less and less clothes. Just as long as you’re both comfortable, it doesn’t really matter what it is you do,” he said.
Mirio seemed to mull that over while Tamaki just seemed embarrassed. It was normal embarrassment though, and he didn’t seem to be in danger of spontaneously combusting. Curiously, he caught a flash of concern in Mirio, and directed at him instead of Tamaki.
“Thanks for the tip,” Mirio said, “though slightly off topic, what are you doing here? UA’s campus is secure and you’re not uniform so I’m guessing you’re not a student.”
“I’m not a student, but I will be taking the entrance exam in a few months.”
“So you might be one of our underclassmen!” Mirio said, shining brightly.
“If I get in,” Izuku mumbled.
“It might be tricky, what with an emotion quirk, but I’m sure you can do it!” Mirio said.
“You never said why you’re here if you’re not a student,” Tamaki interjected.
“Don’t worry, I’m allowed to be here, but how come you’re not in classes?”
“They finished a little while ago,” Mirio said.
“They did?”
Izuku checked the time, surprised to find it nearly 4:15. Just how long had he been wandering?
“I’ve got to get back,” Izuku bowed once again, “it was nice meeting you, and I’m sorry once again for interrupting you.”
Mirio waved him off, laughing.
“Hopefully we’ll seeing you again when you’re an official student!”
Izuku waved and ran off. Once he thought he was far enough away, he opened a portal back to the principals house. Green jumped off his shoulder, disappearing into the trees as Izuku let himself in. He’d just finished cleaning himself up when he heard the door open again. Nezu was waiting for him in the living room, a pot of tea already made.
“Did you have a nice afternoon?” Nezu asked.
He nodded.
“Looked around a bit. Bumped into a couple of students. Thanks for the phone by the way.”
“In the forest?”
Izuku stilled. Nezu hadn’t said he should stay completely out of sight of the students. Had he done something wrong? Even if they’d seen him, they wouldn’t recognise him as Izuku Midoriya. They’d seemed nice.
“Yes?” he said cautiously.
“Was one of them blonde and quite muscly and the other thinner and shyer?”
“Yes?” he said again.
To his surprise, Nezu chuckled.
“Oh those two. They’re not nearly as sneaky as they think they are.”
“Wait, you knew about them?”
“I didn’t know they were there today, but yes I do. All the staff do, since like I said, they’re not as good at hiding it as they think they are. Great young heroes they may be, but Togata and Amajiki still need to work on their stealth.”
Wait, Togata? As in, Mirio Togata? That was Togata? The object of many an ire fueled rant from Mizuki?
“Amajiki has always been very shy but he opens up around Togata. Likewise, Togata can be quite the force of personality but he never goes too hard around Amajiki. They compliment each other quite nicely.”
They did. He’d felt nothing but love between the two, and they balanced each other out. Tamaki’s shyness dimmed when Mirio spoke to him, and Mirio shone just as brightly as Tamaki needed to be comfortable. It was unlike any relationship Izuku had felt. Granted that wasn’t exactly difficult, considering he mostly felt the pain and pleasure from those souls stuck in Koui’s realm. Even the nicer sensations in Sei’s realm didn’t compare, as they were more fleeting and less … genuine.
If the man, no, men who will love you…
Your loves…
Sei had said that with such certainty. Plural aside, Sei and Koui seemed convinced that there was someone in his future who would love him, that he could have the kind of loving relationship they prized with. If it was anything like what he’d felt from Mirio and Tamaki, then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe he’d meet them at UA. Maybe he’d meet them before, or after. The future was always uncertain, and for a hero it was even more so, but at least there would be at least one bright spark in it for him.