Hey! Thanks for reading, I'm glad so many of you enjoyed my story so far! Also, for the person who inquired why I used Ground Zero instead of King Explodo Murder is because of 1) personal preference, I know Ground Zero isn't canon (yet), but I think the meaning behind the name is fitting for Kacchan's hero name, and 2) King Explodo Murder is... not the best name for a hero. Maybe for a villain, but not a hero.

Anyways, hope you enjoy chapter 2!

...

By the time we got back to their apartment, which was conveniently three blocks away from their Agency's HQ, it was four hours after Deku had been de-aged. I glanced into the rearview mirror of my car to see that Izuku was still fast asleep. Once Ochako had gotten the full rundown of what had happened, she told me to head home from HQ because 'Parenting is exhausting, so get some sleep,' whatever. So, I changed into my civies and packed Deku back into the booster seat. I sighed as I awkwardly maneuvered Deku out of the booster seat and into arms without waking him. God, I hope this doesn't last for too long.

I took the elevator up to our floor and hoped that Deku would remain asleep until the morning. I was tired and hungry, and I really didn't want to deal with a child. I finally managed to get the apartment door unlocked and closed behind me without waking the little boy in my arms. I tucked him into bed, he always sleeps on the left side of our bed and left his shoes at the front entrance beside mine. I shuffle into the kitchen in search of a late night snack, since it's too late to cook an actual dinner when-

"Kacchan?" I glance over my shoulder to see Deku rubbing his eye with one hand and gripping a corner of the King size comforter tightly with his little arm. Now I have to remake the bed before we go back to sleep. "M' hungry..." Deku blinks up at me with sleepy eyes. I can hear his stomach growling, and I feel myself deflate.

"Want some curry?" He brightens at the mention of curry. He nods his head so fast that I fear it might fall off. "Go put the blanket back in the bedroom, Deku." He scurries off to do as he's told while I start pulling out ingredients for our impromptu dinner. By the time I've gotten half-way through the process of cooking the curry, I hear Deku's sock-clad feet pad into the kitchen, stopping just to the right of me. I can feel his gaze on me as I'm stirring the curry. Then his little head leans against my hip and his arms snake around my thigh.

I freeze for a moment before continuing cooking. I carefully reach for two bowls out of the cupboard to not disturb Izuku too much while I dish out the fresh meal. I nudge Izuku and silently hand him his bowl so that I can grab two sets of utensils for us to use. Finally seated at the table, I instruct Izuku to blow on his food before he tries to eat it. He nods his head, too tired to speak.

"Let's eat," we fold our hands together before we dig in. I feel myself smile as I watch Izuku sputter on his steaming bowl of curry. I can't help but think about Ochako's words.

'You'll be a good father'

Would I really? And, does Izuku want kids? She did mention something about a baby Izuku wanted. Do I want kids?

"Hot!" Izuku whines and I scowl.

"Shitty Deku, I told you to be careful!" I grouch as I hand him a cup of milk. He guzzles it down, tears glistening in the corner of his eyes. "Better?" He nods his head. I lean over and scoop up a spoonful of curry and blow on it to cool it off before offering it to him. He hesitates before nibbling at it. Once he determined the spoonful to be the right temperature he shoved it into his mouth happily. So, I ended up spoon feeding him until my curry was cold and unappetizing. But I was so hungry, I ate it anyway. I dumped the dirty dishes in the sink for tomorrow and toted a sleepy Deku back to the bedroom where I pulled out an old shirt for him to sleep in, which swamped him like a dress, but he didn't seem to mind because once his head hit the pillow, he was unconscious. I changed into my sleepwear and flicked the lights off before crawling into bed beside him.

I lay awake for about an hour, despite being so exhausted. Not having my Izuku sleeping beside me was unnerving, but at the same time, I stared at the child lying beside me, this constant fear of him suddenly... disappearing left an uncomfortable knot in the pit of my stomach. I finally drifted off to sleep at about midnight.

...

I slowly woke to an uncomfortably wet sensation against my neck. As I became aware of my surroundings, I opened up my eyes to see nothing but green. Deku's sweet shampoo invaded my nostrils, and his soft snores rattled against my ear. Sometime during the night, Deku had crawled on top of me, his face buried in the crook of my neck where he was drooling. He wasn't the only one who moved, though, my arm had found its way around the small of his back to keep him from rolling off of me.

I sighed as I gently lay him back on the mattress. I rubbed at the slobber that made my neck sticky as I strolled into the bathroom. I scrubbed my teeth, then washed my face before taking a brisk shower. With a towel wrapped around my waist, I moved to the kitchen to start breakfast. I cooked something simple and fast, unsure of when Deku would wake up, or if I'd have to wake him myself. Once the rice was cooking and the pot of water was starting to boil, I hurried back into the bedroom and changed into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. I had to meet with Todoroki and Iida later at HQ to debrief them on the case while Ururaka began her investigation. They still had to fill out the paperwork before they could start working on the case in my stead. Since I didn't have Ururaka to watch Deku, like I had initially planned, so I'll have to take him with me.

Deku was sprawled out on the bed, his foot twitched every so often. This wasn't so different from adult Deku who also sprawled out in bed after I got up. I scoff as I leave the room, I guess some things don't change. I check on breakfast really quickly, turning down the burners on the stove, knowing that it takes a solid five minutes just to wake Izuku. I glance at the clock, 7:14. The meeting's at eight, so I'll have to get Izuku up now.

"Yo, Deku," I bark as I gently shake him. He groans and rolls away from me in response. I scowl. "Wake up, breakfast is almost ready. It's time to get dressed. Izuku!"

"No!" he whines, squeezing his eyes close then covering them with his little hands, "Don't wanna!" I growl at his stubbornness. I grab for him, brushing his sides, causing him to giggle. Ticklish? I can use that. I kneel beside him on the mattress and begin tickling the little boy. Izuku giggles and laughs uncontrollably as he kicks and squirms.

"Are you up yet?" I ask over his laughter. He's gasping for breath.

"Y-yes!" He squirms as I pinch his knee, "Kacchan! NOOO!" more laughter ensues as he slaps weakly at my hands and tries to kick me away. I laugh at his efforts and finally show some mercy and sit back on my feet.

"C'mon, Deku," I pull him up, I hand him the shirt and pants that he was given yesterday since I didn't have any clothes that would fit him. I'll have to get some today. He pulls on the pants and I help him out of the old nightshirt. His hair is a mess, and I try to comb through it to tame it, but to no avail. I finally sigh and help him brush his teeth before carting him into the kitchen where the food was ready to be served. We ate quickly since it was a quarter 'til eight and we weren't even at HQ. "We need to go, Izuku, we have to meet some friends at my... workplace," I said, does Izuku understand that I'm a hero? He hasn't asked me about that at all, even though we've gone through a lot of events that would suggest so. Strange. We pull our shoes on and hurry down to the lobby. It was quicker to walk to HQ than to drive, so Izuku grasped my hand tightly as we hurried down the sidewalk. Izuku would stumble every now and then, but I held fast to his little hand and made sure he kept up. We had a minute to spare by the time we were in the elevator in HQ heading up to the debrief room. The receptionist informed me that Todoroki and Iida were both already waiting for me and that he would call up and inform them of my arrival.

"Bakugo," Todoroki greets me as I lead Izuku into the meeting room. Iida spins around from the window, he was still pretty stiff in personality, but he had definitely calmed down in the last few years. Mostly due to having two kids of his own.

"Bakugo! Is it tru-" Iida stops midsentence when he sees Izuku. Izuku and Iida stare at each other for a solid five seconds before Iida clears his throat and squats down to Deku's level. "Hello, Midoriya-chan. I'm Iida Tenya, the Hero: Ingenium." I can feel Deku's grip on my pant leg loosen as he slowly leans forward to bow and greet Iida. Todoroki stands up slowly and comes to introduce himself to Kid Izuku.

"Hey, Midoriya-chan," Todoroki smiles gently, "I'm Todoroki Shoto, I'm the Hero: Endur."

"H-hi," Izuku squeaked shyly. "Are you going to help Kacchan and Ochako-sama?"

"Yes," Todoroki nods as he and Iida step back a little. "Bakugo-kun is here to help us catch up... Do you remember what happened in that alley before Bakugo-kun woke up?"

"Mmm..." Deku's brows furrowed, he'd been asked this question two or three times now, and he always thought about it before answering. What a nerd. "I-I'm... I don't know..." Deku looks away, fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

"Anything is helpful..." Iida urged, "Did you have a dream last night?"

"Yeah..." Izuku squeezed my hand nervously. "There was a lady and she was laughing... It was scary. She was-was..." tears began to fill Izuku's eyes as he looked up at me. "S-she said she was going to-to... K-kill Kacchan!" I knelt beside Izuku and he buried his wet face in my shoulder once more. His little body shook with sobs. I rubbed his back soothingly as I lifted him up. Once he calmed down after a moment, I nodded to Todoroki to continue. Izuku was clearly suffering from trauma and had a PTSD dream last night as a result.

"Do you remember what she looked like?" Izuku nodded.

"She had purple hair, and big red eyes, and claws." he made claw-like motions with his hands as he leaned against my chest. His mind had warped the Ring-Leader's appearance, the purple hair was the only right detail.

"Sounds like she's a real monster, huh," Todoroki nodded sympathetically. He began opening up a file and spreading out a few photos for him and me to look through. "Do you see anyone in these pictures that kind of look like that monster in your dream?" We went through about nine photos before I had seen someone that I recognized, but I didn't let Izuku know that I had picked someone out. Todoroki helped him narrow down his group by showing two pictures and picking out the one that looked closest to the monster in his dream. In the end, Izuku was unsure about three different photos of women, all with purple hair and red eyes. The one I had picked was the middle woman. We didn't get a very long window of time to see her face, but we had trained long enough to sharpen our senses.

"Her," Izuku finally pushed a photo towards Todoroki. "She was the bad lady." He had chosen the same picture as I had. Todoroki looked at me and I gave him a nod.

"Thank you, Midoriya-chan," Iida smiled as Todoroki slid the photos back into the file. "This will really help our investigation."

"Do you remember anything else in your dream?" Izuku thought for a moment.

"She ran away into a red door," he finally said. Red door? There were no doors in that alley. "There was another person. They went POOF!" He clapped his hands together, looking very concentrated.

"Poof?" Todoroki asked in confusion. Deku nodded as if poof was a perfect explanation.

"Yeah."

"Okay," Iida cleared his throat, "Thank you, Midoriya-chan, for your help."

"Will you make Kacchan small again?" Deku asked as we were heading out the door. Everything froze. Todoroki, Iida, and I shared similar expression of surprise.

"E-er," Iida scratched the back of his looking to me.

"Uh, Izuku," I started, sighing as I knelt in front of him. He looked at me imploringly, "I'm not the one who... Changed."

"But you're big." He stated matter-of-factly. I choked out a laugh.

"Yeah, but I'm supposed to be big, like Iida-kun and Todoroki-kun," I said, glancing up at the two heroes who nodded in agreement. "That lady... The one you picked out. We were fighting her, you and me, and she zapped you with her quirk. You're supposed to be as old as us, Izuku. In fact, you actually know Ochako, and Todoroki, and Iida. We attended high school with them." Izuku was quiet for a long time. His eyebrows were furrowed once more and he scratched his elbow as he began to think. Slowly, his little mouth started to work, and soon he was muttering out his own inner monologue without noticing. Like I said, some things never change.

We let Izuku process the information for a solid five minutes before he finally came to some sort of a conclusion. He looked up at me with the cutest angry face I'd ever seen.

"You're not Kacchan!" He shouted as he kicked Todoroki in the shin and elbowed me in the crotch. When I looked up from my position on the ground, the door was wide open and Iida was calling after Izuku as they ran down the hall. I glanced over at Todoroki in shock.

"How the fuck did he come up with that?" I growled as I slowly stood up, wincing at the throbbing ache in my loins. Kid's got one heck of a swing. Todoroki shrugged as he buzzed the receptionist and security to be on the lookout for a small and angry, green-haired boy. "You and Iida should go on with the investigation, I'll handle Deku."

"You sure?" Todoroki asked and I nodded.

"If I need help, Kirishima's off today," I supplied. He accepted it and we made off to find wherever Deku and Iida ran off to. It didn't take long to find Iida trying to console an inconsolable Izuku who must have taken quite the tumble because his forehead had nasty cut that was bleeding and it looked like his hands and knees had rug-burn from the carpet. "C'mere, Deku," I sighed, holding my arms out for him. He stubbornly refused, though, clinging to Iida who tried to hand him off.

"No-o-oo-o!" he wailed as he kicked and squirmed, "I wa-ant - hic- Kacchan!"

"I am Kacchan!" I sigh exasperatedly.

"No!" He screamed as I took him from Iida who gave me an encouraging smile. I held the squirming kid at arm's length as he threw a temper-tantrum midair. Once he was finally still, I set him on my hip as he leaned against me weakly sniffling.

"Deku," I sigh, gently squeezing him. "How can I prove to you that I'm Kacchan?" I asked. His puffy eyes stared up at me.

"...Who's my favorite hero?" He finally asked. I rolled my eyes, anyone who's met Izuku could answer that.

"All Might," I answer without hesitation. He sniffled once more before hugging me.

"K-kacchan!" He began to whimper. No words came from him, but I knew what he was trying to say.

"I know, Deku, I know," I gently rocked him as he sobbed against my shoulder. I hailed a taxi and hurried back to our apartment, knowing that anything more today, and Izuku will have an even bigger meltdown. The boy clung to me like a koala, refusing to be removed no matter what. I sigh as I pay the driver before carrying the sniffling child back up to the apartment. I laid Izuku on the bed and wiped his face with a cool, wet rag. His breath was ragged and he let out shuddering sighs and hiccups every so often. He finally crashed after five minutes of reassurance.

Man, this is going to be rough.

I studied the bandage on his forehead. The nurse had said he didn't have a concussion, but that I should watch for any signs and take him to the emergency room if something changed. I shook my head, the kid was always a clutz. I ran my fingers through his soft curls soothingly. He cooed in his sleep, causing me to smile. I finally pulled myself away from Izuku to make lunch and to call Kirishima to pick up some clothes for Izuku.

"Already on my way over, Baku-Bro!" Kirishima crowed delightedly, "Ururaka called me last night, and I went shopping about an hour ago. Took the day off to hang with you and lil' Deku."

"Seriously?" I cocked a brow as I checked the pork for the katsudon I was making. It's been Izuku's favorite meal since our childhood. "Well, I hope you brought your appetite, I'm making katsudon for lunch."

"Hell yeah!" I could hear Kirishima's excited fist pump through his cheers. I rolled my eyes at the guy I call my best friend. "I was hoping you'd cook something up, so I skipped breakfast."

"You shouldn't do that, what if you run into a criminal, Baka?" I scold him lightly as I start the rice. "You'd be dead in a ditch somewhere because you didn't have a proper breakfast."

"You're too much sometimes, Bakugo..." Kirishima sighed, "Look, I'm five minutes out, should I buzz in?"

"No, Izuku's sleeping right now, he's had a rough morning," I quickly shot that plan down, "The front desk knows you well enough, I'll leave the door unlocked. Just come on in."

"Cool," Kirishima said before hanging up. I slipped my cell back into my pocket and leaned against the counter. How will Izuku handle Kirishima? He knows now that he was de-aged, but will he be fried if he meets another friend? I guess we'll find out.

...

Thank you all so much for reviewing, following, and/or favoriting this story! The support means so much to me! I hope you enjoyed a sad Lil' Deku today... I guess I lie about last chapter being the only serious chapter, huh? Oh well!