"Hitoshi!"

Sir. Nighteye shouted across the room as Hitoshi was ready to melt into a puddle on the floor. Since he'd began training with Shouta there was a part of his brain which believed that he'd gotten a lot better in terms of stamina. And then he'd met Sir. Nighteye.

"You need to focus otherwise these villainous thugs are going to get the better of you; I mean look at your back."

Sir has invented a unique way of tracking how many times he theoretically would have died if they were in a real life scenario which involved him wearing a training kit supplied by Sir and a red paint covered glove. The result was that Hitoshi had quite literally been caught red-handed at least six times according to the handprints on his shirt.

"One would have been too many, you need to be more careful with your attacks, especially keeping your eyes out for surprise attacks from behind."

He nodded.

"I know, sorry." Hitoshi panted, rubbing his capture weapon across his face to soak up some of the sweat dripping from him. "I get why you keep jumping me on my blind side because they're going to do that too, but I genuinely can't see to counter it so I don't know what really to do."

To Sir's credit he did pause, clearly thinking about the conundrum of his lack of sight in one eye.

"So when you sparred against Mirio at UA, how were you able to pin him?"

Hitoshi shrugged.

"I don't know, I guess I just anticipated where he was going to be and got lucky."

"Well it's certainly a tricky one but it should come with practice, are you still training with Eraserhead and Present Mic?"

"Yeah, and sometimes Izuku, Kacchan, and I spar with each other too."

"Good."

Hitoshi re-wrapped the capture weapon around his neck as followed Sir. Nighteye out of the training room and back to the main office, it was there that he noticed a printout sitting on the sidetable. It was a screenshot from an online shop of a sparkly pink toy.

"I didn't know you had kids?"

"I don't, it's merely research, nothing of concern."

It certainly sounded of concern considering the immediate shutdown response the innocent question received.

"Weird research."

"Hitoshi, I was wondering if it might be possible for us to discuss your time with the League."

He stilled, eyes widening a little before he took a breath to calm himself and turned to Sir taking a seat in front of his desk.

"I was wondering when you were going to ask, I would be lying if I said I didn't think this was the entire reason you wanted me as one of your interns in the first place."

"Don't be stupid it doesn't suit you."

Hitoshi shot him a look.

"I wanted to know more about a particular member of the League; or rather an unofficial one who you stated to the police was amongst those at the facility during your time in captivity there."

"Who?"

"Dabi."

"Who's that?"

"Oh that's right; you must have only briefly encountered this name when you and the Bakugou child were kidnapped. Dabi was the villain name of Touya who we also now know to be long thought dead Touya Todoroki."

Hitoshi's expression soured.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Like I previously stated, that is none of your concern."

"It is definitely my concern."

"Oh don't get all protective."

"Why do you want to know more about Touya? What do you have on him?"

"Nothing at all."

"I don't believe you."

"Hitoshi…"

"He was the only one I had in there and he looked after me when he didn't have to do shit. There's no doubt in my mind that I'd be dead if it wasn't for him, he's like a parent to me."

"That's all very touching but I just simply want to know a few little details, that's all."

"I'm not incriminating Touya, no way; the fact that you would even believe I would is ridiculous."

"You don't find it at all worrying that he was a semi-active member of the League of Villains before he was rescued by Present Mic?"

"Touya isn't a villain!"

There was a knock at the door with an awkward looking Zuku stood next to it.

Hitoshi stood up and walked over.

"Come on Zuku, let's get out of here."

"This isn't the end of our conversation but I suppose we can pick it back up at a later, and we will talk about it again."

"Sure thing, boss."

And with that he placed a hand on his cousin's shoulder to nudge him on before the pair of them left the agency.


As they made their way down the street towards the train station Hitoshi couldn't help but notice the concern radiating from Zuku.

"Are… are you okay, did something happen with you and Sir. Nighteye?"

"It's fine, I'm okay."

His cousin went quiet, expression clearly showing he had more to say.

"Hey Hitoshi?"

"Yeah?"

"I know that we haven't really spent as much time together as you have with Kacchan, and he understands a bunch more things than I do, which is completely understandable and I'm not saying that you have to talk to me about that stuff because you don't, and if you just want to talk to him about it then that's fine, but I just want you to know that you can always talk to me if you'd like. Don't feel like you can't because I want to help if I can."

Hitoshi smiled at the honest and heartfelt words.

"Thanks, Zuku."

"So will you please tell me why you're upset?"

"Sir wants information on Touya and I'm worried about why he wants it. I know he's a pro who has his own agency, and also was the sidekick to the Number One hero but I still don't have it in me to trust that easily. There's too many times I would have been dead if I had and it's not something I can just turn on and off like a switch. From experience, if someone needs to know something to the point where they're willing to make even light threats about obedience to their questioning then it usually comes with bad intentions."

"So what do you think his reasons are for wanting to know more about Touya?"

"Who knows honestly, I wasn't even there when Touya went by Dabi or whatever Sir said his name was. I have no idea what they had him doing during the time I was at UA. I mean, I'd quite like to know that myself, it could help me to help him."

"How is Touya doing, you said Endeavour came to see him the other day?"

"Yeah but Touya seems okay about it so I'm staying out, that stuff's the Todoroki's business not mine so I didn't ask."

"Shoto's been real quiet lately." Zuku's tone was soft and sad. "I've been trying to talk to him but he seems… I don't know. He's not just sad, it's something else."

"Why don't you say the same thing to him that you said to me, he needs a friend right now and he has one in you, his brain is probably just being stupid and telling him he has no one?"

"I will." He nodded.

"Things are so weird right now." Hitoshi rubbed the back of his neck. "I think something bad's coming."

"What makes you think that?"

"There was something weird in Sir's office, it was like a printout of this pink glittery kid's toy, there were some camera grabs from a CCTV camera too, looked like they were from a toy store."

"So Sir is trying to catch a villain whose stealing toys?" Zuku smirked.

"I don't think so, I didn't get a good look but they guy in the photos was handing over money so he wasn't stealing; there must be a reason Sir would have those in his office. There's also the fact that he shut me down the second I mentioned the printout saying it wasn't any of my concern which is always a little suspicious."

"If someone directed the case to Sir. Nighteye…"

"Then it's something big, yeah." Hitoshi agreed, fishing his ticket out of his pocket and inserting into the ticket gate.

As they passed through the barriers he noticed his cousin shiver.

"Hey, are you cold?"

"A little, yeah, this rain is awful, we should have brought umbrellas."

Stepping out onto the uncovered platform Zuku looked up to the timing board.

"Do you want my Hawks hoodie?" He offered.

"No, I can't take that, you need it."

"I don't mind."

"No, I'm fine, and even if you try and hand it to me I won't take it." Zuku stated firmly.

Hitoshi nodded, flipping the hood down and unzipping the hoodie a little. He pulled the capture weapon off, which he had found also doubled as a scarf for warmth on days like this, and guided it over his cousin's head before zipping up the hoodie and replacing the hood atop his wild purple hair.

Zuku seemed taken aback by being given the capture weapon but a huge smile came to his face as he clearly found it cool to be allowed to wear the same support item as Eraserhead.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"The next train to arrive at platform 1 is the 14:44 to Musutafu; please stand clear of the platform edge."

As the train pulled into the station the two of them were the only ones to board, grabbing two seats in the pretty empty carriage.

"This is the Hero Line train to Musutafu, alight here for Hero Agencies."

"Please mind the doors, doors closing." Came the voice of the driver before they set off.

Turning to Zuku his head was buried in one of his hero analysis notebooks hard at work writing something which he guessed related to the capture weapon.

"Any interesting additions?"

"I thought it would be heavier; Mr. Aizawa mentioned something about metal."

"I think it's woven in or something, I don't know, he did explain it to me at some point but I forgot." He smirked.

Zuku laughed.

"You could re-ask." His cousin hinted.

"Or you could ask, he's your brother."

"True."

The train pulled into the next station.

"This is Tatooin Station, alight here for city centre shopping and local bus services."

"We're next, start packing up."

"Okay."

As the train departed once again Zuku was still hard at work furiously scribbling away.

"Do you have a page on me in there?"

"I have a whole notebook."

Hitoshi's eyes widened a little as he was taken aback by his cousin's response, a warm feeling coming over him.

"Anything interesting?"

"Yeah, a bunch of stuff, you have a really cool quirk."

He smiled.

"This is Musutafu, alight here for UA High School and the Coast."

"Come on."

"Coming."

Zuku very clearly wasn't coming though as he attempted to keep writing.

Hitoshi picked up his cousin's backpack before guiding a preoccupied Zuku off the train and onto the platform.

"There's a bench here, you nearly finished?"

Zuku nodded, taking a seat as he made quick work of the last of his notes.

"So, if I hadn't been here would you have been on your way to Tokyo right now?" He teased, handing over the backpack.

Zuku laughed, closing the notebook and shoving it away.

"Wouldn't be the first time."

Exiting the station they headed down the street past the supermarket. The UA hill came into view in the distance.

Hitoshi groaned.

"Ughhhh, why do we have to go all the way up there?"

"Young Midoriya!"

Zuku turned with a bright smile.

"All Might!"

He watched as the pro pulled Zuku into a side hug and ruffled his hair.

"Master Shinsou, good to see you."

Hitoshi nodded.

"You boys heading up?"

"Yeah."

"May I walk with you both?"

Zuku looked to him for confirmation.

"Sure." He answered with a smile.

All Might seemed genuinely happy by the small acceptance. Hitoshi wouldn't be surprised if it stemmed back to what happened between them at the exam. Despite everything that had happened between them since it was obvious that the pro still felt guilty for his actions.

"And I thought Master Shinsou was the one with the control power, how did you manage this?" The hero teased, motioning to the capture weapon.

Hitoshi smirked.

"He stole my quirk."

Zuku laughed.

"Have you both just got back from your internship?"

"Yeah."

"Are you finding it okay?"

"Sir. Nighteye's a little... I don't even know how to describe him."

"That's a very good description." All Might chuckled. "And how about Young Bakugou, won't he and Master Todoroki be attending their Remedial Course soon?"

"It starts tomorrow, they were going to postpone Shoto's until a later date because of everything that's happened but Touya was having none of it so he's going with Kacchan." Hitoshi explained. "They're both really nervous."

"I'm not surprised, knowing that the others in your class achieved something you didn't would really knock your confidence, nevermind everything else they're missing out on too."

"I hope they're going to be okay." Zuku spoke up. "It's gonna' break Kacchan if he fails to get his licence again."

"The only reason he didn't get it last time was because of everything that happened with us and the League, this time he's only got his own nerves to deal with. At least he's got Shoto to work with too."

"They'll do great, I'm sure of it!" All Might smiled.

Arriving back at the school they headed towards Hero Alliance.

"Are you the dorm parent tonight for your class, All Might?"

"Yeah, hopefully they'll let me get some sleep 'cause I'm beat." He yawned.

"Your class isn't full of problem children like ours so you should be fine." Hitoshi teased.

All Might smirked.

"Stay out of trouble you two, I'll see you around."

"See ya!"

"Bye."

He gave them a wave before heading off in the direction of the other dorm blocks.

"I'm so hungryyyyyy." Hitoshi groaned.

"Same!" Zuku agreed.

"Come on, let's get inside."


The Next Day

"Toshi!"

A bright smile came to his face as he turned to the sight of Hizashi making his way over.

"Hi!"

He was pulled into a squishy hug.

"You need to get yourself an actual hero costume rather than just wearing your gym kit and your gear."

"I haven't had the time."

"Liar, you just haven't bothered to do it." Papa teased. "How about we go shopping together after you go to Nighteye's?"

"Sure." Hitoshi nodded.

"Good, I'm off-campus most of today but I'll be back before you so I'll meet you outside the school." Hizashi began walking off. "Love you, kiddo."

"Love you too."

The door opened behind him and out rushed a very unkempt Zuku.

"Let me guess, didn't have much time to get ready this morning?" He smirked.

"I slept through my alarm."

"Did you see Kacchan and Shoto anywhere?"

Zuku shook his head.

"Damn, I wanted to say good luck but they must have already gone." He thought back to what Hizashi had said. "Papa must be going with them from what he said, oh well we don't have time to go and find them we need to get loving or Sir's going to actual kill us for being late."

Zuku nodded tiredly.

"You need to wake up before we get there."

"I will, I will..."

They rushed off.


It was Mirio who was waiting for them outside the Nighteye Agency when they arrived dressed in his hero costume.

"Good morning!" He smiled cheerfully. "Sir is sending us out on patrol today so I'm going to show the two of you the ropes."

"Cool!" Zuku beamed excitedly.

"Let's go."


Turns out that patrolling just meant walking round completely normal pedestrian areas in case anything happened. After a few hours of nothing out of the ordinary Hitoshi was beginning to rethink his career plans.

"So have you ever had to step in during a patrol?"

"Not really, you don't want anything to happen so no news is good news."

"And how often do we do these?"

"Every day."

"Is this the whole internship?" Hitoshi asked, scared he already knew the answer.

Mirio nodded.

"Pretty much, but this is what you would be doing if you went pro too, along with stuff like UA security during events and festivals too, there isn't actually that much fighting as a hero, not until you get into the bigger league agencies who want you in their main team."

It was then that something hit Hitoshi's leg. Jumping he looked down to see a small white haired girl fall to the concrete of the sidewalk.

"Oh, I'm really sorry about that. You took a tumble there, huh?"

He knelt down in front of her and immediately noticed something off. The girl was very young and had an array of bandages covering her.

Hitoshi leant in closer so that only she would be able to hear him.

"Did you run away from somewhere?"

No response.

"It's okay." He tried to reassure. "You don't have to talk if you don't want to but I need to know if you're in danger or if there's someone you're running from so we're gonna' play a game, okay?"

The girl was whimpering and shaking.

"Can I put my hand on your shoulder? If you don't want me to then that's totally okay, I don't like people touching me sometimes either."

He got a small nod.

Hitoshi slowly placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"There now."

Hitoshi saw the girl stiffen as she raised her eyes to look at him.

"Can I pick you up; you look like you need a hug right now?"

Another small nod followed.

Gently lifting her into his arms he held her tight.

"Hey, it's okay, sweetie."

"Eri?" A voice called from down the alley.

Hitoshi watched as the girl began to almost hyperventilate.

"If that man is hurting you then touch your nose for me."

But she didn't move.

That didn't mean Hitoshi trusted the guy though, manipulation ran deep and fear was a powerful thing.

"You should be more careful."

The girl's eyes widened in fear as she as went as stiff as a board in his arms.

As he looked up a guy in a long red mask was making his way out of the same alley the girl had emerged from.

"We don't wanna' cause any trouble for the heroes."

"Mindjack..." Zuku's voice was warning and low. Did he know who this guy was?

"I hope you'll forgive my daughter, hero. I don't know what to do with her."

This girl isn't your daughter, that expression is pure fear, there's no love between these two.

"Always playing rough and bumping into things."

Hitoshi had to hold back a growl at those words. Like hell was he going to let this guy attempt to explain away his own child abuse.

"Whoopsie daisy, that darn mask fell off again." Mirio's voice spoke up.

He glanced backwards to see that he'd flipped Zuku's rabbit mask over his face.

"I'm so sorry about that it was our fault too."

Hitoshi couldn't help the glare he shot towards his Senpai in that moment as he held the little girl a little tighter. Like hell was he letting her go.

"I don't believe I've seen you three in this area before."

"Right, well we're still pretty new, but you probably already guessed that much." Mirio answered. "Now come on, on your feet, partner."

The little girl's eyes rose to his as if begging him not to leave.

"So which agency do you guys belong to?"

"Oh we're just students doing an internship getting some experience; speaking of which we still need to finish patrolling this division before lunch. Come on, let's go."

"Right." Answered Zuku.

The little girl's hand knuckled a grip of his gym kit.

"Please... please don't go."

Hitoshi froze.

"Mindjack..."

But he didn't care about any plan.

"Um, excuse me?"

Hitoshi finally made eye contact with the man claiming to be the girl's father.

"Your daughter seems scared."

The man's eyes narrowed.

"A reaction to being scolded."

"Sure!" Mirio agreed, clearly trying not to offend the guy.

"Wait, but... she's got bandages all over."

"Ahh those are just from playing rough. Eri's an exceptionally clumsy girl."

"Her whole body is shaking but she's not making a sound, it's as if she's scared she'll get hurt if she does... Does that seem normal to you?"

"It's dangerous to make assumptions."

The little girl buried her head against his shoulder and began to cry.

Dammit! Well there goes my internship.

"Why don't we go somewhere we won't be overheard, I would hate for any of our reputations to be hurt by this."

Hitoshi stood up with Eri still clinging to him.

"Mindjack, don't go into that alley with him." Mirio ordered quietly.

"Don't you trust me?"

Sorry guys.

"Yes but." Both of them replied just as he'd expected falling into control of his quirk.

"Stay here."

And with that he followed the guy into the alley.

"It's hard to admit that you can't control your own child but lately Eri defies me no matter what I try."

'Control' not a word most parents would use when talking about their parenting style.

The guy's hand moved towards his glove as if to pull it down.

The girl jumped in his arms, eyes even more fearful than they had been previously before a gasp broke from her lips.

"Her main problem is that she doesn't listen..."

Within seconds the girl shoved away from him nearly falling from his grip and squirming until he set her down on the ground. She sprinted the last of the distance over to the guy.

"Oh good, done with your little temper tantrum?"

He was ready to get violent, or at least do something with related to that movement towards his glove, a quirk maybe? That's why she ran off, she didn't want me to get hurt, I would have done the same back at the facility, I mean I did with Eraserhead.

"Eri, was it?" Hitoshi spoke up, eyes only focused on the young girl.

She turned to look at him.

"Eri, if he's hurting you then you don't have to go with him. I can get you out."

"Those are big words for someone who doesn't even have a costume. Your boss isn't going to like you getting involved like this."

"I couldn't give a fuck."

The guy smirked.

"You really think I don't recognise you, pet?"

Hitoshi's eyes widened as his breathing caught in his throat.

"Why don't you just be a good little puppy and go back home to Mr. Washed Up Ex-Sidekick?"

He growled.

"I'm not leaving her!"

"Goodbye now."

He walked off with Eri in tow.

Hitoshi could only stand there and watch, knowing that if he pursued then the guy would probably hurt Eri if he did.

The little girl briefly turned back to look at him. Her finger rose and touched her nose.

He sighed while giving her a smile of reassurance, something that would keep her feeling hopeful that rescue was coming.

And then, they were gone.


The next five minutes proved a rollercoaster. After he'd dropped his control on Zuku and Mirio he'd been ready to apologise for using his quirk and return to the agency to report to Sir. Nighteye about the girl and the mysterious mask wearing guy they'd encountered on patrol.

But he should have known it was never going to be that simple.

For one, Mirio really wasn't happy about being controlled and taken out of the fight like that. He was right that if Hitoshi had needed back up then neither of them would have been able to step in to help, and that following a criminal into the alleyway while holding a child was a recipe for getting killed but there weren't many other options; there was no way he was going to let Eri go, not without at least trying to save her right then and there. Whatever information he clearly hadn't been given about the guy was more than likely the reason why Mirio had been so quick to try and deescalate the situation and get them out of there without raising any alarms but he hadn't been thinking with his head he'd been thinking like the kid who'd spent his entire life in captivity with the League.

After their mini-argument Mirio had called Sir. Nighteye who then sent a car for them. The ride back was awkward as fuck to put it bluntly and absolutely silent as none of them spoke.

Arriving back at the agency saw them practically marched into the office where Sir. Nighteye went straight to work debriefing with Mirio, Sir's blood pressure clearly rising with every detail their Senpai gave them of their encounter.

There was a knock at the door before it opened revealing Shouta.

Sir. Nighteye released a deep breath.

"Deku, Lemillion, go back to UA, we'll talk more tomorrow."

"Yes, Sir." They both nodded before leaving the room.

"Come in, Eraserhead."

Shouta walked over and took the seat beside him. His father seemed to quickly look him over clearly listening for any hisses of pain or shortness of breath from any injuries. Obviously happy enough with what he'd heard, or hadn't heard, he turned his attention back to Nighteye.

"So, what's this about?"

"Well to be frank, after what your ward pulled today out on patrol I would be well within my rights to dismiss him permanently from my agency right here and now."

"Well first off, he's my son not my ward." Dad corrected firmly.

"My apologies."

"And second, what exactly happened out on this patrol, your receptionist was very vague?"

"As you probably already know being on the hero council selected to investigate and bring down the Shie Hassaikai, we have been trying to gather information on the group's activities for months. Today your son, Deku, and Lemillion all came face to face with their leader Kai Chisaki. Rather than listening to the attempts by Lemillion to disengage and report back to the agency Hitoshi instead engaged with the young girl he was with, pursued conversation with Chisaki, used his quirk on Deku and Lemillion, and followed the leader into the alleyway alone in an attempt to rescue the girl. Regardless of his intentions he has potentially caused the entire planning of the council to fall apart in less than twenty minutes of careless behaviour."

"I didn't know who he was!" Hitoshi argued. "You kept telling me every time I asked that it was none of my concern. Maybe if you'd made it my concern I would have known."

"If you had of known who that man was would you still have made the same decisions you did today?"

"Absolutely." He nodded.

"And that is exactly the problem, you have potentially jeopardised this entire operation through your own stupidity!"

"Eri is being abused by these monsters!" His voice rose in anger. "She's just a kid and she was shaking and crying and covered in bandages; anyone who would just let her go back to that scum without fighting is not a hero."

"I don't think you understand quite how serious this is. Hero agencies exist through their connections with other agencies, having not only a bad report from one but also a dismissal would most likely never see you hired by a pro ever again."

"I don't care." Hitoshi took a breath, trying to calm down a little before he said something he was going to regret. "I need to keep my place on your internship which means you can make me do whatever you want."

"And why exactly should I keep you at my agency?"

"Because I need to save her and the easiest way to do that is legally. If you do fire me then I'd just show up at the raid anyway and go get her myself."

Sir. Nighteye scrubbed a hand down his face with a tired, pissed off expression as he turned to Shouta.

"And you approve of this behaviour, Eraserhead?"

"I don't approve of the attitude or the answering back, but I'm not exactly surprised that Hitoshi would throw himself guns blazing into a situation like this given the circumstances. She's a young girl being held captive by villains, I'm sure if you were honest you would admit that was the entire reason you didn't tell him in the first place because you knew he would react like this."

Hitoshi took a breath before speaking up.

"He called me pet."

Shouta's eyes widened.

"What?"

"Chisaki or whatever you said his name was, he called me pet; that means he must have had contact with the League at some point, or at least has eyes on them."

Shouta turned to Nighteye.

"That's one hell of a lead."

Sir seemed to agree which is why Hitoshi guessed he had such an annoyed expression on his face.

"He definitely said that?"

"I wouldn't lie about something like that." He answered truthfully.

"Then I need to make some calls with the council." Nighteye was quick up from his seat and he walked to the door and held it open. "Thank you for your time Eraserhead, I'm sure we'll see each other again shortly at another meeting."

"So Hitoshi, is he still interning with you?"

Sir sighed.

"Fine, you get one more chance, don't screw it up."

"I won't." Hitoshi nodded sincerely.

"Good, now go on, get some rest, you've had a long day."

"Thanks, Sir."

He followed Shouta out the office and down the corridor towards the agency exit.

"Oh and Hitoshi?" Nighteye called.

Hitoshi paused and looked back.

"Regardless of what happened I'm still proud of you, you really showed your integrity as a hero today in trying to save that young girl." He smiled. "I promise I'll give you every opportunity I can for you to rescue her."

He nodded with a smile of his own.

"I won't let you down."

"I know that you won't."

And with that Sir returned back into his office.

Shouta turned to him.

"That man changes like the wind."

"He's a little stressed right now, I haven't exactly made anything easy for him today, I mean, I really might have screwed a bunch of things up for you guys, he probably should have fired me."

Dad smirked.

"Do you really think any of that was genuine anger? He should consider being a teacher; he's good at the whole learning a lesson thing. Nah everything he was saying was in your best interest, when you become a pro you can't just go off on your own like that and do whatever you want, there are rules and usually a police investigation you'll ruin if you make snap decisions like that."

"I know…" Hitoshi sighed. "I mean we've even learnt that at school I just… I saw her and my mind just blanked. I didn't care what happened to me, or about the investigation I just wanted to help her."

"And you did."

"How?"

Shouta smiled.

"You gave her hope."