Oh, you thought I was done? Nah Aizawa's bout to meet Izuku now :) The only warning is for wholesome vibes ahead, hehe.

After what felt like hours of begging and pleading, Izuku finally managed to convince his mother that he did not need to go to the hospital. Even then, she refused to leave him alone for more than five minutes and was constantly offering him teas and medicine.

Izuku couldn't, however, get her off his case no matter how hard he tried.

"I just want to understand, sweetie," Inko sighed, as she replaced the moist towelette on his forehead with a warmer one. It had been a while since he last threw up and he was feeling much better now, but Inko didn't seem to want to stop.

"It's nothing mom, really," Izuku said, feeling a drop of water trickle down his chin. He couldn't even wipe it off himself. Inko reached forward and beat him to it. "I'm just really stressed. The UA Entrance Exams are getting closer and I have a lot on my plate." Which was true. Izuku spent most of his day studying with Bakugou. They even went over concepts on the treadmill or while they lifted weights, and Izuku had even taped up his study guides in the shower.

Oh, and there was also the fact that he was a vigilante with superpowers of course, but his mother didn't need to know about all of that.

Inko furrowed her brows and sat down at the foot of his bed. She studied him for a while before grabbing his hand and lacing their fingers together the same way she used to do whenever he had trouble falling asleep as a child.

"Izuku, no one is forcing you to apply to UA. There are tons of other wonderful schools you can choose from instead. Places that won't make you sick. It's good to be ambitious, and you should have goals, but…" her voice faded as they locked eyes, "none of it is worth sacrificing your health."

At that moment, Izuku saw himself reflected back in her emerald gaze. He saw a boy with tangled green hair, the tips still black from the dye, breaking down and confessing everything. Telling his mother all about where he used to live and how different the world used to be. Telling her about the first time he went out on patrol and about the nightmares he would have about those kids. Telling her about how conflicted he would always feel in the mornings when he realized he was still in this world because even though he had what he always wanted, everything still felt unnatural to him. He wanted to tell her about his quirk and fantasized about her being proud of him. The way it always should have been. He wanted to tell her the truth.

But Izuku couldn't say any of that. He wouldn't.

Because ever since he realized he was stuck here in this strange world, ever since he freaked his mother out that first time and made a mistake, Izuku made a promise to himself; he would never make Inko feel bad about having him as a son ever again. She would never have to apologize for giving birth to someone so useless. And if that meant lying to her and keeping secrets, so he could be the normal child she probably always wanted, then so be it. Izuku just had to get better at covering up his tracks.

"Is this… is this because of that promise you made to your father?" she asked quietly, staring down at their hands.

Izuku immediately sat up and frowned.

"What promise?"

Inko sucked in a small breath and gave him a wobbly smile. "Well, you see, before Hisashi passed on, you wanted to be just like him."

Izuku narrowed his gaze at the sheets but didn't interrupt her.

"He didn't want you to be an officer though," Inko started rubbing her thumb against Izuku's palm gently, the circles growing larger as she talked. "Hisashi wanted to keep you safe."

Izuku couldn't help the snort that escaped his lips. He still found it hard to believe that his dad was capable of being such a loving person, even if they were in a different universe.

"So," Inko continued tracing patterns on his wrist, "you made him a promise."

He felt his own breathing still and watched his mother carefully.

"You said that you would get into UA and make him proud there instead."

When Inko looked up, Izuku realized she was crying.

"Mom—"

"And if th-that's why you've been so stressed out lately... b-because you're trying your absolute best like you said you would," her voice broke and she erupted into tears. Izuku immediately wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. "Th-then just know that your father would be proud of you no matter what." She pulled away from him suddenly and held his face in her hands.

"That I'll be proud of you no matter what."

Izuku blinked back tears of his own. Once again he thought about himself breaking down and telling her everything. Except this time he was five years old again and the doctor just told him he was quirkless. He would finally confess how she made him feel years ago.

He would have given anything to hear those words back then.

"Mom, can I still be a hero even… even if I don't have a quirk?"

"Oh, Izuku. I'm so sorry."

No. Don't tell me that.

"Mom, do you think I can get into the hero program at UA?"

"Izuku…"

Why can't you just be honest with me instead?

"Mom, mom, mom!"

"What is it darling?"

It hurts.

"Can you help me come up with a hero name? Kacchan already has his and I want one too."

"Why don't we solve a puzzle instead?"

I just want to be like them.

But there was no 'them' anymore. Not in this world where his mother gently sobbed into his shoulder while he stroked back her hair. Not in this world where his mother was proud of him and had just said so. Not in this world where he had a chance to make things right with her instead.

"Thank you," Izuku whispered after a while.

You said that you're proud of me, so I'm going to do my best. For you and for everybody else.

For some reason, he thought of Aizawa then and his face turned a little red.

"I do need your help though," Izuku said quietly. His mother wouldn't suspect a thing. He could just pretend he was having trouble with someone at school. No need to worry.

You can do this.

Inko sniffled a little and then pulled away from him completely. "What is it, honey? Is everything okay?" she wiped at her own eyes and then wiped his.

"Um… well, it's just that I met this friend recently," Izuku almost stopped altogether when he realized he was referring to Eraserhead of all people as someone who was close to him, "and I really messed up."

Izuku could tell his mother wanted him to say more about the situation but she eventually nodded.

"Okay. How bad are we talking?"

The greenette chewed on his bottom lip anxiously and wouldn't meet her gaze.

"Izuku Midoriya."

"I was just… sort of kind of mean to him I guess," he sighed, slumping back into bed. Izuku closed his eyes and attempted to gather his thoughts. His knuckles throbbed weakly as if tempting him to admit he punched a police officer.

Inko sighed too and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You didn't get into a fight, did you? Because if that's what happened then—"

"N-no!" Izuku quickly grabbed her hand again and squeezed. Inko raised an eyebrow at him. "No fights. No violence." He wouldn't exactly call punching an officer and not giving him a chance to hit him back a fight anyway. Izuku remembered taking off as soon as he somehow landed the punch. He sincerely hoped Aizawa was okay. And that he wasn't too mad at him if the revelation that he wasn't a ghost hadn't knocked him out first.

Izuku took a deep breath.

"There was just a misunderstanding and I want to make things right."

Inko's face slowly eased into one of understanding. She nodded and put her other hand over Izuku's. "Well, no matter what happened between you two, I'm sure it can be fixed. It doesn't have to be complicated either. A simple apology goes a long way."

Izuku smiled.

"Y-yeah. I guess that makes sense. I'll try that the next time I see him." And he would. Izuku wasn't sure how he would go about doing it yet, but he knew he would figure something out before the next time he went out on patrol.

Izuku just didn't expect he wouldn't go out again for another two weeks. Ever since that day, Inko started going to sleep later and would wake up in the middle of the night to check if he was okay. All Izuku managed to do in the last fourteen days was go to the gym with Bakugou and catch up on his studies. But maybe it was for the best. The last thing Izuku wanted was to run into Aizawa again without a plan in place. Because not only had he punched him in the face, but Aizawa knew his secret. And that was enough to keep him from going anywhere.

—

It had been about two weeks since the disappearance of the Musutafu ghost. The first few nights without its presence didn't go unnoticed, but no one said anything. They all joked around and claimed that it needed a well-deserved break. Nishiya agreed. The ghost had been helping them for a month without pause. It might as well get a vacation too. But as the days continued to pass, there were still no signs of the entity.

"Baaaaaaabe," Takeyama whined, "I'm depressed."

"What? Broke a nail again?" Nishiya asked while he snickered. He caught Kamihara pulling up his mask to hide the smirk that appeared on his face as well.

"No," the blonde huffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder hastily.

There was a slight pause.

"It was two," she added quietly, before getting up and approaching his desk.

She towered over him with her hands on her hips, glossy lip jutted out slightly while she stared.

"But that's not why I'm upset!"

"Okay, so then what's up?" Nishiya asked, even if he already knew where the conversation was headed.

"I'm worried about our ghost friend. Do you think she's okay?"

Takeyama had recently decided that the ghost was most definitely a girl. Why? Nishiya had no idea, but he knew better than to question his future wife about anything she was particularly passionate about. Especially not in the morning when waking her up for work was akin to poking a sleeping cat.

Unlike her though, Nishiya didn't think the ghost had a gender at all and found it weird to assign one to a paranormal entity in the first place.

But he did wonder about its past life. Did it used to work with the police? Is that why it had been helping them out? He wondered about its intentions quite a lot too, especially now that it had gone quiet. Was there a requirement to pass onto the afterlife it had fulfilled?

"Well?"

Nishiya was about to answer when Aizawa spoke up.

"That ghost is definitely a he," he grumbled from his desk.

Almost immediately everyone turned to look at him. Takeyama slapped her hands over her mouth. Nishiya almost dropped the stapler on his feet. Kamihara blinked more than once. Even the lights seem to flicker in surprise.

"Did you just say the 'g' word out loud, Mr. Aizawa?" the blonde grinned, making her way over to his desk slowly.

Aizawa briefly looked up at her and frowned.

"Get back to work."

Then, he looked back down as if nothing just happened.

Takeyama gasped and leaned towards him. "OMG, no way. You're totally worried about our friend too aren't you?"

"He's—" Aizawa stopped himself and frowned even harder, "it's not a friend. We don't know what it is and I'm honestly glad it's gone. One less thing to worry about around here."

"Mmmm, I don't believe you," Takeyama sing-songed through a giggle. "I think you want to know where she went as much as the rest of us."

"He, Takeyama. He," Aizawa muttered without looking up.

"I agree with Mr. Aizawa on this one. The ghost is male," Kamihara said with a nod. His hair looked extra sharp today, the silver bang covering one of his eyes.

"Me too," Tsukauchi poked his head out from his office, making Nishiya jump a little. He didn't even know the detective was listening.

"What? No way. It's totally a girl!" Takeyama clicked her tongue. "Babe?" she asked, turning towards him.

"Uh, I actually don't think it has a gender at all," Nishiya shrugged. To his surprise, Takeyama didn't seem upset though. She simply changed directions and stomped over to Kamihara's desk.

"Kami, hand me the marker please."

"Takeyama," Aizawa sighed and finally put down his pen, "what are you doing?"

"Well, now I have to know what the majority vote is for everyone in the department." She turned towards the whiteboard in the middle of the room and started writing. "Let's see, a girl ghost, boy ghost, or no gender ghost. There! Now who do I ask first…" Her eyes roamed around the room until they settled on the first person that walked through the door. "Kayama! Hey, I have a really important question. Yes, I know you have to pee. We can talk in the bathroom."

"There she goes," Kamihara mumbled.

"I still expect ten reports from Takeyama by lunchtime," Aizawa narrowed his gaze at Nishiya.

"Of course you do," he sighed and got to work on the stack atop her desk. Sometimes, Nishiya really wished he would have become a park ranger instead. Maybe then he wouldn't get stuck dealing with all this extra paperwork.

But he couldn't help but laugh whenever he caught sight of his fiancée ambushing people in the hallway. It was like the former tension heightened by the ghost being slowly started peeling away and the liveliness of the office returned. Aizawa didn't even scowl when Toshinori walked in singing incredibly off-key.

Nishiya liked it much better this way, and he could tell by the small smile on Aizawa's face, that he did too.

—

"So, you want me to come help you teach a self-defense class at Gunhead's School of Martial Arts?" Aizawa asked.

"Pretty much!" Yagi beamed.

Aizawa's left eyebrow twitched. "What part of 'I'm busy' didn't you understand?"

"My very good friend is the students' instructor but he has a family emergency so they need someone to step in as a volunteer," Yagi explained. He remembered the last time Gunhead had asked him to help out with the juniors and involuntarily shuddered.

Yagi wasn't the best fighter, but he did have some skills from working in the force for so long, even if he was only a scientist. However, he would never forget how many times those tiny children kicked him in the crotch or pulled at his hair.

At least with Aizawa there, the kids would be too intimidated to land a punch.

"It would only be one time. Plus, it's on a Tuesday. Isn't that your next day off?" Yagi asked.

But then Aizawa's glare turned venomous. "You checked my schedule?"

Yagi suddenly felt the urge to run very far away. Officer Aizawa got increasingly scarier the longer he went without caffeine. But this is exactly why he needed him there! The blonde was only good at cracking jokes and making conversation, a result of having a comedian for a best friend.

"Come on, Aizawa. You're one of the best officers in the prefecture and you have great fighting abilities." That much was true as well. Aizawa could disarm someone with a gun in seconds. He was still impressed by it to this day. "Don't you think it's important to pass those things on?"

"No. I don't," Aizawa said as he made his way towards the door and started putting on his coat.

Yagi sucked in a deep breath and then followed after him, grabbing his coat too. He was determined to follow him all the way to his car if he had to.

"Aizawa, please."

"What?" the younger officer frowned. "You want a demonstration of my abilities too?"

Yagi had to stumble back to avoid getting hit by the door but it still managed to snag onto his tie. He watched Aizawa disappear into the night while he tried to pull it free.

"I think you hit a nerve," Tsukauchi said, appearing behind him. He looked like he was trying hard not to laugh and it made Yagi go very red. It didn't help that the detective ended up being the one to free his tie for him.

"You don't think he's still worried about that stuff do you?" Yagi lowered his voice slightly. Tsukauchi shrugged and handed him a mug of steaming oolong tea. The blonde accepted it gratefully and let it relax his body. "It was years ago. I thought he got pardoned?"

Yagi thought back to meeting Aizawa for the first time then; a young boy being forced to share an umbrella with the previous chief, sulking as he walked through the doors of the department wearing a uniform that was two sizes too big. The contrasting sight of a cheerful Hisashi Midoriya and a brooding, sleep-deprived Shouta Aizawa was enough to bring a bittersweet smile to Yagi's face.

"We shouldn't push him, Toshi," Tsukauchi sighed, taking sips of his own tea. It smelled like chamomile and something sweet. "He'll come around eventually."

"How do you know that?" Yagi turned towards his friend. He had known Detective Tsukauchi for years, way longer than Officer Aizawa. They got transferred to Musutafu together and had always found it easy to work with each other. Especially since Yagi thought the detective's ability to tell lies from truth to be quite fascinating. It was like he had a superpower or something, and Yagi had always been obsessed with all things, heroes.

"Call it a gut feeling," Tsukauchi winked, leaving behind a baffled Dr. Yagi who could only wonder how his friend got so lucky to be born with such abilities.

Why do I always feel like everyone knows something I don't? Yagi sighed, eventually following Tsukauchi back into the office.

—

Izuku boarded the train feeling hopeful. Ever since his mother's shifts got extended at her work, Inko started sleeping earlier and stopped checking up on him as often. He could finally start going out again!

Izuku was feeling better now too, having spent the past two weeks training his mind and body so nausea from his quirk wouldn't be as intense anymore.

Unfortunately, all of the excitement faded as Izuku walked into Gunhead's studio and saw none other than Officer Aizawa standing in the middle of the room.

The greenette immediately froze.

What the heck is he doing here? Izuku wondered as he felt his legs turn to jelly.

Is he here to arrest me?! He took a wobbly step backward and then another until he couldn't move anymore. The people walking past him gave him weird looks but he ignored them. Did he find out it was me all along?

"Midoriya?"

Izuku nearly screamed when he felt someone grab him by the shoulders.

"Where are you going? The entrance is that way silly," Uraraka giggled as she turned him around so they were facing each other. He relaxed slightly when her friendly face came into view but then tensed just as quickly when he realized she was practically holding him in her arms.

"Uraraka, hi," he slid out from her grip and rubbed the back of his neck. "I was just, um," Izuku looked around until his eyes settled on the bag slung across his shoulders, "going back home to get my clothes. Yeah, I, um, forgot them at my house."

Uraraka gave him a confused smile. "But aren't they in your bag? I see them right there!"

Izuku blinked and then he let out a nervous laugh. He felt like his face was on fire while he glanced down at his bag and realized his shirt was sticking out. "Oh, duh! There they are. I've been looking everywhere for them. Guess I should've checked my bag. Pretty stupid of me, huh? Th-thanks, Uraraka. You're a real friend. Really, you are."

"Of course!" she said, clasping her hands together so her fingertips touched. "I didn't think you'd want to miss today anyway."

"Why's that?" Izuku asked as they started walking towards the entrance together.

"I heard someone from the police department is going to step in for the day."

Izuku breathed in a sigh of relief, but then started panicking again. "W–wait, what?" He nearly tripped over himself, thankful Uraraka caught him. Aizawa wasn't here to arrest him. But Aizawa was still freaking here nonetheless and he was going to be teaching a class. Izuku was going to have to endure a two-hour class with the cop he punched in the face.

"Mhm!" Uraraka said, happily bouncing inside the building. Izuku followed, trying his best to calm his frantic heartbeat. "Apparently he's been on lots of cases and caught lots of bad guys too," she called over her shoulder with a tiny hop. "He even worked with the Chief of Police himself. How cool is that?!"

"V-very cool," Izuku said with a wobbly smile. "So cool that I'm shaking from excitement. Yayyyy..."

Izuku was very much not shaking from excitement. What if Aizawa recognized his voice? What if he figured out that he was the 'ghost'? Would he arrest him here with everyone watching? Or would he wait until Izuku got home so they could inform his mother?

"Midoriya?"

Oh, god. Oh no. His poor mother. She worried too much about him already. This would surely send her over the edge.

"Helloooooo? Earth to Izuku Midoriya? Are you in there?"

Izuku jumped when Uraraka's hand appeared in front of his face.

"S-sorry!" she blushed. "It's just that you were kind of freaking me out. You started zoning out and mumbling really fast. Is everything okay? You look a little pale too. Maybe you should sit down—"

"N-no I'm fine!" he said a little too loudly. That made Aizawa turn his head and Izuku internally screamed when their eyes met. He quickly looked away.

"I just… I'll be right back," he said before rushing back out.

This was going to be a long day.

—

Originally, Aizawa had no plans to spend his free time teaching. Yamada was the patient one in the relationship, not him. But then Tsukauchi told him that a certain person of interest would be at the Martial Arts School too and Aizawa had no choice but to accept Dr. Yagi's request.

The detective only knew about Aizawa's desire to investigate Izuku Midoriya because he had caved in and asked him about the kid a couple of weeks ago. Aizawa didn't go into specifics but Tsukauchi got the hint. And although he didn't seem keen on perceiving Midoriya as a threat, he didn't stop Aizawa either.

So now there he was, standing in front of at least fifty students ranging from twelve to who knows what age. Aizawa didn't bother remembering their names, much less what they looked like, or why they said they were taking this class when he made them introduce themselves. He focused all of his attention on Midoriya instead. The boy was positioned near the back with a girl that kept giggling whenever he tripped over his own feet.

Aizawa didn't know what bothered him more, the boy's inability to complete a basic step or the fact that Yagi was one of the people among the crowd too.

Once they arrived, the forensic doctor had claimed it would be more beneficial if he watched Aizawa explain everything first, but had yet to make an effort to introduce himself to the class as the second instructor.

In other words, Yagi never planned on teaching anything in the first place.

Aizawa let out a frustrated sigh as he finished demonstrating the elbow strike. His volunteer was a boy named Ojiro who offered to help out when he saw that Aizawa was teaching instead. The officer had seen him a couple of times on tv and found that he could follow along easier than most people he had trained. It saved him the trouble of picking someone from the crowd.

"Alright, now using your assigned partners from before, practice that move a couple of times while I walk around and observe you," Aizawa said after straightening his back.

The students nodded and did as they were told but they also started chattering away.

"Quietly," Aizawa added gruffly.

At that, they quieted down but eventually started talking again after a while. Aizawa didn't have the energy to stop them.

"You can go now," he turned towards Ojiro. "Thanks for your help."

The boy bowed his head and smiled shyly. A group of girls erupted into giggles as he walked past them.

Aizawa resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Self-defense is no laughing matter. Leave if you aren't going to take it seriously," he said out loud for everyone to hear. The girls immediately went quiet. Aizawa would have smiled from the satisfaction too if Yagi hadn't walked up to him and ruined the moment.

"Little harsh, don't you think?" he asked with a chuckle.

Aizawa shrugged, accidentally kicking someone's cell phone while he walked. "Dr. Yagi, seeing as I'm teaching this class alone," he looked up at him and glared, "I think it's only fair that I get to decide how to do it."

Yagi flushed red and gave Aizawa a sheepish green. "S-sorry about that," the blonde rubbed the back of his neck. "But they wouldn't have learned much from me. I'm not as good at this stuff as you."

While he had never found the man particularly funny, Aizawa snorted at that. "Clearly," he said with a small smirk, before walking away to help some students who were struggling.

But even then, he never stopped glancing back at Midoriya.

And the more he looked, the more Aizawa realized that the boy was trying his best not to look at him. It seemed like every time Aizawa turned his head, the boy turned it in the other direction just like earlier when he heard him scream.

This only prompted Aizawa to move closer and when he did, he noticed Midoriya was also doing the elbow strike wrong.

Aizawa figured this meant that the boy was either an anxious mess or definitely guilty. Maybe a little bit of both.

"You're doing it wrong," he said, approaching the pair carefully.

Midoriya tensed up but didn't ignore him like Aizawa thought he would. He simply stayed quiet and gave him a small smile.

"Angle your body towards your partner when you strike, not after. And put all your weight on the foot in front of your body like this." Aizawa turned his torso and faked a punch in the air. Midoriya watched him with wide eyes and an open mouth. "Make sure you make direct eye contact with the target too. This will help you land a more successful hit."

The boy nodded and replicated the move almost perfectly.

"Good," Aizawa said, giving him a curt nod. "Now try it again and tighten your core so you don't fall over."

After the third time he performed the move, Midoriya no longer wobbled and held his ground. The girl who was with him started cheering and jumping up and down.

"Th-thank you, sir," the boy said quietly while he flushed red.

Aizawa didn't answer him and walked away. He would talk to Midoriya about everything later.

—

Izuku had never been more nervous in his entire life. Every time Aizawa approached him, he thought he had come to take him away. The greenette could hear the handcuffs jingling already, feel the cold jail handlebars around his hands, and taste the stale prison food he would have to eat for the rest of his life.

But Aizawa never stopped to talk to him after that first time. He corrected Uraraka on her mistakes but didn't say anything about his. At least not directly. Aizawa didn't even look at him anymore.

It let Izuku relax and he started to feel more comfortable in the class as it progressed. Izuku could now focus on the moves without having to worry about going to jail or having his identity known.

Maybe Aizawa didn't know who he was after all. Maybe he really was here because he was filling in for Gunhead. Maybe everything would be okay.

"Hey, Uraraka, I'm gonna go fill up my water bottle before we start again," Izuku said after wiping the sweat off his brow. His bottle wasn't that empty but he didn't want to run off and interrupt Aizawa while he was teaching. The officer didn't seem to like that very much and Izuku didn't blame him.

Uraraka gave him two thumbs up and tossed him her own canteen. It was covered in glittery stars and planet stickers. Izuku barely managed to catch it before it hit the ground.

"Fill mine up too, please! Thanks, Midoriya."

Izuku rolled his eyes, but couldn't help the smile that appeared on his lips as he approached the water station. Uraraka was such a goof sometimes but he was grateful to have her company. She didn't make fun of him when he messed something up and was extra patient with him.

He was feeling so much better now that he bobbed his head to the beat of a song coming from the changing room. It was some kind of pop cover from one of his favorite artists. The last time he had heard the song, Izuku was still living in his world. He got so lost in thought after that that he barely noticed Aizawa until the man spoke up.

"Hello," the officer said slowly. "Midoriya, was it? I believe we've met before."

Izuku almost dropped the bottles.

"W-we have?" he asked, his mind going blank when he noticed the faint outline of a bruise on Aizawa's cheek.

No way. Is he talking about when I punched him?

"During that fire last month," the officer said, his expression unchanging.

Izuku almost sighed in relief. "Oh! Right, yeah," he nodded quickly, screwing the cap back onto Uraraka's water bottle. "I remember now. Thanks for helping me by the way." Izuku had meant to thank him earlier, but well, it's not like he was going to tell him that while he posed as a ghost.

Aizawa shrugged. "Of course. It's my job."

For a while, neither of them said anything else. Aizawa seemed to be studying him closely, even if his face remained slack. It made Izuku feel awkward.

"Um, I should really get going now," the greenette chewed on his bottom lip, trying to find a way to escape. "My friend Uraraka," he gestured to the main room with his elbow, "asked me to fill this up for her and I don't wanna keep her waiting so—"

"That day," Aizawa said, lowering his voice a little bit, "you called me a weird name."

The officer paused.

"Why?"

Izuku cocked his head to the side, feeling a green curl fall across his forehead. "I did?" he asked aloud, brows furrowing slightly. Then, his eyes widened just as fast and he nearly choked on his spit.

Oh god, I did. I called him Eraserhead! How could I forget something like that? So stupid! Izuku mentally smacked himself in the face. Okay, Izuku. Breathe. He's not here to arrest you and he doesn't know who you are. This is a simple question you can answer without being weird.

Izuku shifted his weight from foot to foot as he figured out what to say. "Oh, well, it's just that… um," his eyes traveled throughout the room, focusing on anything but Aizawa who stared at him expectantly.

"I did that because I'm a bit of a fan."

Great. You just made it weird.

"Of?" Aizawa crossed his arms over his chest.

"Y-you, of course!" Izuku said, trying to save himself with honesty. He could make this work. Somehow. Back in his world, Izuku used to rehearse these kinds of things all the time; daydreaming about how he would talk to a hero if he ever met one. Talking to Eraserhead would be no different even if he wasn't a pro in this world.

"Me?" the officer asked. Something changed in Aizawa's expression then, but when Izuku blinked it was gone.

The greenette nodded so fast he got light-headed. "Uh, yeah. I think you're really cool. I've seen clips of you online when you're out on patrol and the way you stop bad guys is pretty awesome. It's like… it's like you have superpowers or something and one look makes them freeze and then you swoop in there and take their guns or knock them out without even blinking I mean who else can go that long without closing their eyes it's honestly really impressive and terrifying at the same time—"

"Get to the point kid." Aizawa started tapping his foot impatiently and Izuku nodded again.

"I–I guess what I'm trying to say is that after watching you for so long, your fighting style made me come up with the nickname Eraserhead. Sorry if that's weird," he added quietly, staring down at his shoes.

"It is," Aizawa said without blinking.

Izuku tried not to show how hurt he was and forced out a laugh instead. "Haha, right. But if you only knew what I know then it would make much more sense, trust me," he looked up with a half-smile. "You wouldn't think I was crazy at all."

"Wait, what do you know?" Aizawa asked, frowning suddenly. The severity of his expression made Izuku feel even more nervous.

"I–I mean it's not like I named you after an actual eraser or anything but if theoretically the world was made up of people with superpowers then you would be the person who could erase them," he finished quietly and then squeezed his eyes shut hoping Aizawa wouldn't yell at him too loudly.

But Izuku didn't hear a human's voice after that. He heard a cat's meow instead. Only when the greenette finally opened his eyes did he realize that the sound was coming from Aizawa's phone.

Is that his ringtone? Izuku stared at the small device in shock and then looked up at the officer with the same face.

I guess he likes cats.

"Are you... gonna answer that?" he asked hesitantly when it kept ringing and Aizawa didn't swipe to respond. "It might be important."

"No, let's keep talking," the officer said. Izuku nodded slowly, too afraid to argue since Aizawa was frowning at him again.

"You said you knew something earlier."

He took a step towards Izuku.

"What is it?"

"Um, know something about what?" Izuku held the two water bottles close to his chest. He didn't even remember half of the things he said, too embarrassed to try and go over the dialogue in his head. That was something he could do later once he was in bed. Although after a conversation like this, he wasn't sure he would ever be able to sleep again.

Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "I don't know, kid. Earlier you said— shit," he stopped when his phone started ringing again. When he looked at the screen, however, Aizawa paused.

"Don't go anywhere, okay?" The officer briefly held Izuku's gaze and then walked a few feet away.

Izuku blinked. Aizawa looked pretty angry and the last thing he wanted to do was piss him off even more.

"Hizashi, hi. I'm very busy right now. Can I call you back later?" He managed to hear him say.

The person on the other end was yelling so loud though, that Izuku could hear everything they were saying even if he tried his best not to.

"SHOUTA, I GOT LOCKED OUT."

"Did you check for the spare?" Aizawa asked through a groan.

"THAT WAS THE SPARE!"

Izuku winced.

"Okay, calm down—"

"YOU HAVE TO HELP ME, PLEASE. MY INTERVIEW WITH UA IS IN TWO HOURS AND I STILL HAVE TO CHANGE AND GET MY RESUME AND I THINK I LOST MY LUCKY SOCKS SO I NEED TO FIND MY LUCKY TIE INSTEAD BUT I THINK I LENT IT TO A FRIEND AND HE NEVER GAVE IT BACK SO—"

"Hizashi, you know I can't understand you when you start speaking English," Aizawa placed a palm on his forehead and started to pace. Izuku watched him worriedly.

"Now just breathe and count to ten."

The person on the phone took in a huge breath and then didn't speak for a couple of seconds. Aizawa didn't either. He continued pacing though.

"Are you better now?" the officer asked.

For a while, it was quiet again. Izuku assumed the person wasn't yelling anymore, but then the shrieks started up again, this time somehow louder than before.

"WAIT, NO. I'M NOT. I JUST REALIZED MY INTERVIEW IS AT FOUR, NOT FIVE. HOLY SHIT, SHOUTA, I'M NOT GONNA MAKE IT IN TIME. YOU HAVE TO GET OVER HERE, QUICK!"

"Hizashi—" Aizawa's grip on the phone tightened. Izuku felt like it would break.

"Hizashi? Hizashi, are you listening to me?" he asked again, although, by this point, Aizawa was yelling too.

Suddenly there was more screaming, followed by other very loud noises Izuku couldn't figure out.

"Hello? Hiza— gah," Aizawa pulled the phone away from his ear and squinted at the screen. He stood like that for a while, a tight-lipped expression on his face as if he was contemplating something.

Izuku bit the inside of his cheek.

"Is, um, is everything okay?" he asked softly.

He expected Aizawa to yell at him to mind his own business, but the man simply turned and walked back into the main room. Izuku blinked a couple of times before he followed after him.

Were they starting the lesson again?

"Yagi, I'm leaving." Izuku heard him say while he handed Uraraka her water bottle back. She and all the others looked just as confused as he felt.

"But what about the class?" A thin man with messy blonde hair asked. Izuku remembered he walked in with Aizawa earlier, but he never introduced himself. He also recognized him from a patrol, but wouldn't have remembered his name if Aizawa hadn't said it.

"Teach it yourself," Aizawa growled before rushing out the door. Izuku could hear his phone ringing again in the distance.

"Did he just walk out?" Uraraka whispered.

Izuku couldn't even nod. So much had happened in the last five minutes he didn't know what to think.

"Y-yeah. Guess he did."

Still, he couldn't help but feel relieved. Not only had Izuku survived being in the same room as Aizawa, but he now had a pretty good idea of how he was going to apologize to him.

—

It didn't start to feel like his day off until the fifth shot of whiskey. Even then, Aizawa was still aware of the chaos he had had to endure all morning and afternoon. First, by riding the train with Dr. Yagi who wouldn't shut up about the stupid manga he was obsessed with, and then, by having to rush back home to help his husband make it to his interview on time, only to find out that he mixed up the dates.

Aizawa didn't even want to think about what happened in between with Izuku Midoriya.

"Someone's in a drinking mood tonight," Takagi grinned from his side of the booth.

The edgy rock music playing in the background drowned out his voice, but Aizawa didn't try to understand what he was saying either. He just sat back in his chair and watched the hazy blue and purple lights that came from the bar.

Kayama snickered and took a sip from her cosmopolitan. "Leave him alone, Ken. The poor baby had a bad day."

When she reached over and tried to grab Aizawa's hand he slapped it away.

"I don't appreciate you patronizing me, Nemuri," he grumbled, trying his best not to slur his words. Aizawa was not a lightweight by any means, but he hadn't eaten all day. Not because he didn't want to, but again because the world was against him. Shouta Aizawa could never catch a break.

"Shouta, you don't even know what you're saying right now," Tatsuma sighed. She never drank any alcohol when they went out, but always accompanied them anyway. "Now can someone please get this man some food?"

Aizawa gave her a frown but didn't say anything. His stomach simply growled in agreement.

"I'll go order him something. What do you want, Shou?" Tagaki asked as he got up and stretched his legs. None of them were wearing their uniforms tonight but Aizawa barely noticed until now.

Was he even wearing any clothes?

"Surprise me," he said with a small shrug. It's something Aizawa would have never said soberly. But he didn't really care right now. Or rather, he couldn't be bothered to care.

After that, Aizawa could have sworn somebody said something about chicken wings but all the conversations soon faded into the background as he drifted off to sleep. The only thing that managed to wake him were the vibrations coming from the phone in his pocket.

"Shit," Aizawa grumbled. When he lifted up his head, he realized he had a pounding headache settling in. "I thought I silenced this hours ago."

"Must be from the office then," Tatsuma pointed out gently.

Aizawa frowned. He stared at the wings in front of him and then back at his coworkers who watched him expectantly.

"Well?" Kayama asked, leaning forward on her elbows. "Aren't you going to check who it is?"

Aizawa reached for a chicken wing and chewed a couple of times before pulling out his phone. The brightness made him curse but he almost immediately sobered up when he saw it was from Tsukauchi.

"It's the ghost," Aizawa said, not realizing how ridiculous he sounded. But then again, he still couldn't believe what he was looking at either.

Detective Tsukauchi 9:03 PM

Hey, Aizawa. Sorry to bother you on your day off, but you might want to see this.

Looks like our little friend is back and he's sorry.

Text me when you can.

–T

As for the picture Tsukauchi sent along with it, well, Aizawa wasn't sure what to think. It was a ripped up note with sloppy handwriting that read:

i'm sorry i punched you in the face :(

truce?

ฅ•ﻌ•ฅ

"He sent me an apology cat."

And for the first time that day, Aizawa genuinely laughed.

Oh gosh, this has probably got to be my longest chapter yet. I kind of got a little carried away, oops. I also can't tell who I relate to the most in this chapter because everyone's such a mess. We stan chaos here folks.

Anywayyyyyy, hope you enjoyed the chapter my loves! I appreciate every single one of you.