warnings: some self-deprecating thoughts/narration (flashback scene), implied/referenced misgendering and dysphoria (flashback scene)

Izuku feels… better in the morning. He has a crying hangover, there's a dull ache in his chest that's probably grief, and he has a phone full of concerned text messages from his mother, from Yonaga, from Shinsou and Yamazaki and Mori, but. He feels better.

He responds to the texts, full sentences this time rather than the one or two-word replies he can see from yesterday. Kaoruko tells him not to bother with his uniform, Nighteye really won't mind, so he doesn't, and they make their coffee and then walk to the agency together, matching in their depression hoodies and sweats and Izuku with his red shoes and her with her crusty white tennis shoes.

The secretaries and support staff barely blink as they walk in, waving and greeting them. Toogata's back, chatting with Centipeder with his usual smile in place. He falls silent as Izuku and Kaoruko walk in. His expression is… uncomfy.

He's uncomfortable, Izuku realizes. Uncomfortable with… with Izuku's grief, probably. That's a thing that happens to people.

So Izuku smiles at him. It's probably a little strained, and his eyes are definitely still red, but he smiles, and it kind of feels like he means it. "Morning, Toogata."

"…Morning, Midoriya!" Toogata doesn't relax, per se, but he smiles and waves so Izuku calls that a win. He sits with Kaoruko at her desk, and she pulls out the paperwork Centipeder's put there, and they get to work.

Nighteye comes down soon after that, seemingly to talk to Centipeder—oh, no, it's to take Toogata on patrol. He does, however, pause and give a very long look in Izuku and Kaoruko's direction.

"The fact that you own, and wear in public, that particular Present Mic sweatshirt has me re-evaluating your intelligence," Nighteye says. Izuku just gives him a thumbs-up as he and Toogata (now Lemillion, in his hero costume) head out.

After spending about an hour doing paperwork with Kaoruko, she calls in one of the supports Izuku had worked with on the third day and sends him off with them. He spends the rest of the morning helping them with research and some of the more mundane aspects of the investigation, like babysitting the computer that's running background checks and cross-referencing databases.

The news story about Iida breaks at some point that morning. When he checks his phone at lunch, the news of his death is one of the few things on his Twitter feed, on any of his socials, honestly.

He can't bring himself to read any of the articles, look through any of the threads.

He should.

He needs to know what people are saying.

He says as much to Kaoruko, who shakes her head.

"You don't," she says. "You don't need to know. Not right now. Give yourself the space to grieve, first, rather than just pouring salt on the wound."

He spends the afternoon with Nighteye and Toogata, observing as Nighteye handles coordinating a multi-agency investigation on the same serial thief he'd helped with on the third day. It's something he can just take notes on, which is good because he can feel the lump in the back of his throat and the stinging in his eyes and the concern in Toogata's expression. At one point, a very tall, skinny man who introduces himself as Yagi Toshinori comes in to pull Mirio away for training.

Before they leave, Mirio smiles and puts a big, warm hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Chin up, okay? You've got this!"

"Yeah," Izuku says, summoning a ghost of a smile.

Mirio squeezes his shoulder before leaving with Yagi.

And then, at last, the day is over, the internship is over, and Izuku walks back to Kaoruko's apartment with her for the last time.

They trade phone numbers the next morning before they leave for the train station. Izuku leaves the copy of her apartment key on the hooks inside the door and she makes him promise to keep in touch, and to consider Nighteye's agency for long-term work studies when he has his provisional license in a year or so.

And then he's on the train.

Class 1-EYYYYY

me

Anyone else bored on their train rides or is it just me

Chargebolt

I am. Hella bored. There's this old guy who smells like corn sitting next to me. He keeps muttering about dogs and stuff.

Jirou Kyouka

So move.

Chargebolt

No! That's rude!

Jirou Kyouka

No. It isn't.

Chargebolt

Yes it is! The car was full and so we sat together and now we are comrades in this train ride!

Oh nevermind he just got off

Jirou Kyouka

So much for comrades. What about you, Midoriya. Do you have any interesting train passengers?

me

There's one guy with really big wings (Not Hawks) who looks like he's about ready to throw himself out the window at any moment

I Cannot Stop Twinkling

If I Could Fly, I Would Simply Not Ride The Train

sticky boy tape man

Quirk use laws

me

Permits can be obtained for special cases! Not sure he could get one just because he wants to avoid crowded trains, though.

Chargebolt

I will get a permit so I can wrap myself in fairy lights

I Cannot Stop Twinkling

Oh! What An Inspired Idea! You Are Truly A Visionary~*~*~

Chargebolt

Thanks! It's a good thing someone appreciates me, JIROU

Jirou Kyouka

It's a terrible idea and you should be ashamed

Izuku passes his time by chatting with the handful of classmates active in the group chat, alternating with watching videos of villain-hero encounters that took place over his internship week and taking down notes and analyses on them in the code that Yonaga had come up with for him.

See, a few years ago, small child Izuku left his hero analysis notebook at the dojo.

Yonaga's expression is Very Serious as Izuku walks into their meeting room. Izuku is eleven, and he's only known Yonaga for a couple months, and he's still struggling to learn how they show their emotions, the same way it took him time to learn Isozaki and Kazue and Mashirao's.

"Good afternoon, Midoriya," they say. They're already sitting on the bench, and they pat the spot next to them. "Come have a seat."

"Okay," Izuku replies, pausing for a moment before walking over. He reaches, to tug a curl from his ponytail into his hand, before he remembers! He just got his hair cut yesterday! He finally asked his mom if he could have short hair, and she said yes, and it's short now! She said it looked good on him!

(She had called it cute and pretty but she doesn't know because he hasn't told her yet-)

So, he has to reach up a little higher to twirl his hair as he walks over and sits down next to Yonaga. They still have that serious expression on their face.

"You're a smart kid," they say, without preamble or context or any setup whatsoever, and Izuku feels the heat rush to his face as he ducks his head. His bangs can still fall in his eyes, but he no longer has that curtain of hair to hide behind, and he kind of misses that.

"…You left your notebook here last time," they continue, pulling something out of their laptop bag. Izuku looks over, and yes! It is his notebook. "I only looked at the first page, but I see you writing in it all the time while you're waiting for your mom to pick you up. Do you mind if I look at some of the rest of it?"

Izuku shakes his head. No, he doesn't mind. (They've probably looked already…)

"No, you don't mind, or no, you don't want me to?"

"No, I don't mind." His voice is softer than he wants it to be.

"Thank you," Yonaga says, opening the notebook. "Scoot over and we can look together. You can tell me about what you wrote."

Izuku complies, scooting over. It's open to a page on a recently debuted hero. Izuku hasn't had much of a chance to compile information on them, especially since they went to a smaller hero school so there's no footage from their school days like there would be if they'd gone to a school like U.A.

Yonaga asks questions as they go through Izuku's notebook. How did he come to this conclusion, why did he note down this thing in particular, what are those scorch marks from?

(Izuku just tells them, in response to that last question, that a friend of his lost control of his quirk while looking at his notebook. It's the truth, kind of.)

They go through half the notebook before it seems like Yonaga is satisfied.

"I… amend my earlier statement," Yonaga says, the notebook clasped in their hands, between their knees as they rest their arms on their thighs. "You're not just smart, Midoriya, you're a goddamn genius."

"Thanks," he whispers, ducking his face. He can feel his eyes stinging. (Don't cry don't cry don't cry-)

"But this," Yonaga lifts up the notebook in one hand, giving it a small shake, "this could be dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Izuku asks, looking up at their face.

"Yeah," they nod. "You have a lot of extremely accurate information and analysis in here. If you forgot this notebook on, say, the bus, and, say, a villain got hold of it… well. They could use this information."

"…Oh." He hadn't thought of that. "So I should stop taking notes."

"No!" Yonaga leans back, backtracking as quickly as they could. "No, I'm not saying that. Midoriya, have you ever thought about learning a code to write your notes in?"

"A code?" he looks up, and Yonaga's silver eyes are shining.

"Yeah," they say. "A code. Something that just you and me will know."

Just Izuku and Yonaga?

"Okay," Izuku says, sitting up straight and squaring their shoulders. "Teach me."

Yonaga chuckles, and Izuku Knows this chuckle! It's the 'I think you're a good kid' chuckle!

"Well, I know a few codes, but nothing unique. Let me talk to some friends of mine, see if they can help me come up with something brand new for you, okay? In the meantime," they hold the notebook out, "keep this close."

"I will!" Izuku accepts the return of the notebook, sliding it into his backpack before he forgets and leaves it again and wipes that friendly expression right off Yonaga's face—

Safe to say, Izuku knows several codes now. He has that first one that Yonaga helped him come up with, he has a couple that Aizawa taught him, and he has one that he and Hisashi came up with together the last time his mother's husband-friend was in Japan.

In his lap, his phone buzzes, and Izuku looks at it. It's a text from his mother, letting him know that Aizawa and Yamada will be the ones picking him up from the train station, and that he can expect them, Kayama, and Fukukado over for dinner. He texts her back a quick ok with a thumbs up emoji before switching to the 1-A groupchat.

1-EYYYYY

Urarara

Someone recognized me from the Sports Festival [neutral face] They asked me about Iida

Class Prez 3

Please tell me we don't need to worry about you getting any assault charges

Urarara

No, but I think they felt pretty bad when I started crying. And there's so many people on my public Twitter who keep -ing me and asking me what I think. IT'S ONLY BEEN TWO DAYS.

me

The news only broke yesterday, though. It'll take a while for people to get over it.

Urarara

But is it too much to ask for them to be SENSITIVE?

me

Yes

sticky boy tape man

That… is not the answer I was expecting, from you.

me

What, you want me to lie?

sticky boy tape man

No, man! It just kinda caught me a little off-guard, that's all

Urarara

Maybe I do want you to lie

Me

The sky is green

Urarara

That's not what I meant, but thank you [smiling face with smiling eyes]

Kirishima Eijirou

Okay but what did you mean with that "Yes"

Chargebolt

Yeah, that's what I want to know!

me

It's… difficult to explain? So. I may or may not run a few popular accounts on the hero and quirk analysis side of twitter, and also one or two fandom accounts. And. So. You know. I see what it's all like. A lot of them can be… really insensitive.

Like

They'll just use whatever's going on as props for their own agenda

Kinda like politicians

They'll just. Tear apart everything they can find and. Don't really seem to realize that? Heroes are just? People?

And there's a reason the press are called vultures lol

Urarara

…So you've seen this happen before, then.

me

Yeah

Never as personal, though

I mean, there was the time when the Present Midnight shippers were. Y'know. Doing That. Even when Midnight came out as lesbian [upside-down face]

Urarara

Midnight's a lesbian?

Kirishima Eijirou

…present midnight….

Jirou Kyouka

Isn't Present Mic gay?

me

No, he's bi

Chargebolt

How do you KNOW this

me

It's on his Wikipedia page?

Chargebolt

So it is!

Kirishima Eijirou

PRESENT MIDNIGHT?

Alien Queen~~

Do those shippers not have eyes? It's OBVIOUS that Present Mic has a thing for Mr. Aizawa.

Izuku will not say anything. Izuku will keep his mouth shut. Literally, since he's pressing the back of his hand against his lips, trying to hold back the laughter that's bringing tears to his eyes, that's threatening to burst out and catch the attention of the whole car.

Chargebolt

Huh? He does?

Alien Queen~~

And it's obvious Mr. Aizawa likes him back! I mean, how ELSE could Mr. Mic have gotten him to help commentate on the Sports Festival?

Tsuyu

They could just be friends.

Alien Queen~~

But they're NOT

Todoroki Shouto

I agree with Ashido.

Chargebolt

TODOROKI

Alien Queen~~

TODOROKI

sticky boy tape man

TODOROKI

Kirishima Eijirou

TODOROKI

Satou Rikidou

TODOROKI

Urarara

TODOROKI

Todoroki Shouto

I am muting you again.

Alien Queen~~

As you do. Thank you for the support, sir.

ANYWAYS, SEE! TODOROKI AGREES. Mr. Mic and Mr. Aizawa are mutually pining for each other and it is our job, as their students, to get them to realize their feelings are requited!

me

Please don't.

I'm sure they'd rather you stay out of their business

Class Prez 3

Midoriya is correct. It's not our place to get involved. Our teachers' love lives are none of our concern.

Alien Queen~~

Killjoy [unamused face] [frowning face]

Tokoyami Fumikage

Killjoy, as in the 2010 studio album by My Chemical Romance, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys?

Alien Queen~~

Wot

No

I was saying that Yaoyorozu is killing my joy

Why would you even. Why would you even think of that other thing

Jirou Kyouka

If she's killing your joy, then let it die.

Alien Queen~~

WOW. OKAY.

Chargebolt

That's intense!

Jirou Kyouka

I'm with Yaoyorozu and Midoriya. Don't get weird about our teachers, okay?

Alien Queen~~

Wait. Midoriya! Mr. Aizawa's your uncle, right? You'd know if he has any partners or anything!

me

I think Todoroki has the right idea

Alien Queen~~

No don't go!

me

Please don't ask me about his personal life

Alien Queen~~

Okay, I promise!

Class Prez 3

I'll mute anyone who pries, Midoriya

me

[image: a blurry picture of a longhaired tabby cat with its mouth open in a yawn, blurry heart emojis around it]

Thank you Yaoyorozu

You're my #1

Class Prez 3

Anytime

Izuku stretches his arms over his head as he gets off the train. It's easy to find Aizawa and Yamada in the flow of people coming and going, even with Yamada's hair down.

They both look… stressed. There's a tightness around Aizawa's eyes that wasn't there before the internship week, and the dark circles under Yamada's eyes don't belong there. Izuku pauses for a moment, and decides, walking forward.

Aizawa notices him first, and seems to be starting to say something before Izuku collides with him, burying his face in his teachers chest and wrapping his arms around his torso.

There's a moment of startled nothingness before Aizawa's arms come to circle around Izuku, his hands resting on his student's back.

hey! something a little lighter for y'all after what happened last chapter. i hope you enjoyed!

i'm currently working on the hideout raid arc right now and oh man. oh man am i having fun. y'all just wait it's gonna be so good i'm so excited.

thank you to everyone who's read, reviewed, fave'd and followed! i appreciate all of you!

(x-posted on ao3, username: orkestrations)

(expected update date: Monday, 13 April)