Thanks for the lovely responses in the last chapter! I just needed to do a temperature check to make sure everyone was feeling the chapter lengths. I've also decided to stick to the usual length I've been doing but I may add a short chapter every now and then to spice things up and keep y'all on your toes ;)

As for today's update, well, get ready, it's gonna get a little angsty. But also a little fluffy towards the end? Haha, enjoy!

"Oi," Katsuki growled as he stood in front of the officers. There were three of them sitting around the table talking, but all conversation ceased when he spoke up.

The man with the scraggly-ass blonde hair turned to him first. He offered Katsuki a bright smile that was too blinding for the foul mood he was in. "Hello! Can we help you with anything young man? I'm Dr. Yagi at your humble ser—"

"Izuku Midoriya," Bakugou cut in as he crossed his arms over his chest. "That name ring any bells?"

"Isn't that Hisashi's kid?" the woman with the long dark hair asked. Her badge name read Officer Kayama.

"Have any of us actually met him though?" Dr. Yagi hummed while he took a sip of his smoothie.

The third officer simply shrugged. He wore a trench coat over his uniform and Katsuki figured he must be some sort of detective. "I think Shouta did but that was weeks ago."

"Oh, really? He didn't tell me about that," Officer Kayama pouted slightly.

"He doesn't tell me anything, consider yourself lucky," Dr. Yagi sighed.

Katsuki rolled his eyes. It's like he wasn't even fucking standing there anymore.

"So what'd he do?" he asked again, trying to keep the impatience from slipping in his tone.

"Huh?" All three officers turned towards him again.

Katsuki felt his eyebrow twitch. "Has Izuku been getting into any trouble lately? Fights? On the run? Y'know, illegal shit?"

"Uhhh, not that we know of, young man. But those are very serious accusations!" Dr. Yagi said.

It's like he punctuated the ends of his sentences with exclamation marks and it was seriously starting to piss Katsuki off.

The detective was watching him curiously now though. "You said 'illegal' Like what?" he asked, turning his full attention towards Katsuki.

The blonde rolled his eyes. "The hell do you mean, 'like what'? You're the damn officers here. You tell me."

Officer Kayama frowned. "Hey watch your mouth, kid," she said warningly.

"Tch, don't tell me what to do old hag," Katsuki grumbled.

The officer's eyes widened as she sprang up from the table. "Excuse me?!" she shrieked, like some old ass witch. Dr. Yagi had to hold her back all while frantically trying to tell her to calm down.

"Why don't you go ask your friend yourself instead of bothering us about it?" the detective sighed. He gave Katsuki a somewhat pleading look as the other customers started staring.

Katsuki however wasn't about to back down. "Ugh, is it that hard to answer a fucking question—" he began right as something cold spilled all over his shoulder. Katsuki whipped his head around and faced the waiter who had stumbled into him, giving him the deadliest glare possible. "WHAT THE HELL? YOU DAMN EXTRA, LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID TO MY CLOTHES!" Katsuki then looked down at his soiled t-shirt, the sticky soda dripping down his left pang leg and forming a tiny puddle on the floor.

God Jeanist is gonna kill me, he thought with a scowl.

The waiter seemed absolutely mortified and Katsuki would've relished the expression if he wasn't so busy worrying about his clothes. "I'm s-so sorry, sir. I swear I didn't do anything, it's—it's like the cup moved on its own or something—"

Katsuki nearly jumped when he felt the detective's hand on his shoulder. It took everything in the blonde's body not to lash out at him. "Kid, if you're being disruptive, we're going to have to escort you out. Nemuri, put those away, we aren't arresting him," the detective said through a frustrated sigh.

"Yet," Officer Kayama growled, a pair of handcuffs dangling from her fingertips.

Katsuki sneered at the woman and she glared back.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fucking leavin'. Damn sorry excuse for a cop," Katsuki grumbled under his breath as he stomped back to his own table to grab his stuff only to find that Izuku had taken all his belongings and was halfway out the door already.

Katsuki didn't even finish packing as he rushed out after him, hands clenched into fists while he ground his teeth together. "Deku— Deku, fucking wait!"

The damn nerd wouldn't even turn to look at him and seemed to pick up the pace when he realized Katsuki was following him. "I– I have to head home now and—"

"Just stop with the lies and tell me the truth already. About everything," Katsuki managed to somehow yank at his collar and tug him back towards him.

"What are you… what are you talking about?" the boy asked, emerald-colored eyes focused on anything but Katsuki.

Katsuki squeezed his hands into fists even tighter. "Do you think I'm an idiot?" he asked slowly.

Deku looked up at that, his face twisted in absolute mortification. Something like guilt briefly flashed across his features but Katsuki was too angry to notice it or give him the benefit of the doubt.

"N-no! I—"

"Then tell me, goddamnit! I'm fucking worried about you, okay?!" Katsuki spat. He didn't realize his whole body was shaking until he stopped to take in a breath.

"I… I can't," Deku shook his head, lowering his gaze to the floor again.

"Don't you trust me?" Katsuki's voice came out so quiet compared to the screaming match he had been holding earlier and it surprised him. He swallowed down a barrage of curse words in order to give Deku a chance to answer.

"I do! I really, really do Kacchan. And it's so funny because I never thought I would get to again. Being friends with you is so amazing and new and weird but I wouldn't trade it for the world." The nerd's rambling ended with a shake of his head, as he gazed up at Katsuki shyly.

Katsuki narrowed his gaze at the way his friend was playing with the strap of his cast. He remembered asking Deku if he could sign it. When Katsuki broke his arm, Deku doodled all over his cast every day. But Katsuki wasn't allowed to leave a mark. As if Deku was worried somebody would see or something. It only aggravated him further and reminded him why he was so upset.

"So then what's the problem?" Katsuki asked.

"I trust you," Deku said softly.

Katsuki rolled his eyes. "You said that already."

Deku took a deep breath. He seemed to be thinking about something, his face scrunched up in concentration. "I just don't trust the other you," he said so quietly Katsuki almost didn't hear him.

The other me? the blonde blinked, his expression quickly forming into a scowl.

"What are you even talking about, Deku? What other me? Stop making shit up," Katsuki said through a hiss. His impatience was rising and he could feel the blood rushing to his face.

"I'm not!" Deku frantically shook his head. "It happened before. When we were kids. I... I told you I was different and you didn't want to be friends with me anymore."

Katsuki set his jaw. "Look, I get that you lost your fucking memory, but I didn't know you lost your mind too. If this is your way of trying to keep shit to yourself then fine. Do it. See if I care." He tried to keep the hurt out of his voice but it was no use. Deku could probably tell how frustrated he was by now, and if he didn't, well fuck him too.

Their eyes met again and Deku's shined back at him glossily, the pathetic fucking tears already building up. "It's not! I'm trying to explain it to you but it's complicated. It's hard," his voice shook while he talked, but Deku kept going, "because I know that if I do, I might lose you all over again."

Katsuki didn't answer him and Deku used that as an opportunity to keep talking.

"Look, I know all of this sounds really weird, but I don't expect you to understand. I didn't either, not at first and—"

But at that, Katsuki stopped him. He felt his nostrils flare slightly as he talked, walking over to stand directly in front of the greenette. "Bullshit. That's bullshit, Deku. Don't fucking tell me what I can and can't understand."

"I'm–I'm sorry, Kacchan," Deku said, even more tears building up in his eyes but he didn't say anything after that. He just stayed fucking quiet. Katsuki didn't know why he thought his so-called 'friend' would even tell him anything in the first place. He didn't even know why he bothered trying to find out.

"So, that's it, huh? You aren't even gonna give me a fucking chance? After all we've been through together?"

Deku slowly shook his head. "I just… I can't. Not yet. Maybe with time—"

And this time Katsuki did mean to cut him off and he didn't feel bad about the way Deku looked at him. "No. It's obvious where your head is at right now."

"Kacchan, please," the greenette reached out to take his hand but Katsuki ignored him, opting to turn around instead and walking in the other direction.

"I want my friend back," he called over his shoulder, as he crossed the street and stuffed his hands in his pockets to keep from punching something.

"So call me when you find him."

—

Izuku found himself staring at the floor as Aizawa talked about vigilante stuff in the background. He just couldn't bring himself to focus when the conversation he had had with Bakugou last week was still fresh in his head.

I want my friend back.

Izuku stiffened.

So call me when you find him.

"Okay, so what's wrong?" Aizawa asked.

Izuku jumped a little when he looked up and noticed the officer standing directly in front of him. "Hm? What do you mean?" he asked, trying to feign ignorance.

Aizawa sighed. "You've been strangely quiet all week. I don't even think you've filled up a page of notes. Are you paying attention?"

"I am! It's just that… sorry," Izuku's voice trailed off as he remembered the betrayal in his best friend's eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Aizawa's question took him by surprise. He expected him to yell at him for not focusing like he normally did.

"Not really," Izuku mumbled, fumbling with the pencil in his hands.

For a while, Aizawa didn't speak and when Izuku looked over at him again, he was positioning himself next to him to sit down. "Scoot over," the officer said and Izuku had no choice but to follow orders.

They sat in silence once again after that, both of them listening to the distant buzz of traffic. Izuku attempted to gather his thoughts and Aizawa seemed to be doing the same.

"Well?" the officer finally asked.

"I had a fight with my best friend and now he hates me," Izuku blurted out before he could stop himself.

Aizawa shifted a little to look at him. "How do you know he hates you?" he asked with a raised brow. "Did he say that himself?"

Izuku shook his head. "No... I just know he does, okay?" the greenette mumbled while pulling up his knees into his chest.

"Mhm. And what was the cause of this fight?"

"He thinks I don't trust him," Izuku said quietly.

"And do you?" Aizawa raised both brows this time, the top of his forehead creasing a little.

Izuku blinked. "Y-yes."

"That doesn't sound very convincing to me,"

Izuku groaned and put his face into his hands. "I guess… I guess I'm just scared. I don't want to lose him again."

"Again?" Aizawa asked.

"When we were kids he, um, he found out something about me and changed. Everything's okay now but I'm scared that it will happen again."

Izuku knew this world was different. Bakugou had proved that time and time again. But he couldn't help but wonder if once he knew, things would change between them. That was how everything had started out when he was declared quirkless after all. When he had become an outsider.

Was Izuku ready to jeopardize all that he had?

"Hm, did you tell him that?" Aizawa asked, snapping Izuku back to reality.

The greenette nodded. "I did! But he didn't believe me and I don't blame him. My situation is a little too complicated."

Aizawa ran a hand through his hair and sighed. When Izuku turned to look at him, he noticed the officer had his gaze cast to the floor, as if lost in thought himself. "Look, I don't know much about the relationship you have with this person, but it seems like something you don't want to lose, correct?"

Izuku nodded again as their eyes met.

"Problem child, sometimes friends say things they don't mean because they're hurting inside. It doesn't mean that they hate you or that they don't want to be around anymore. I actually think the worst thing you can do as a friend is leave them be."

Izuku blinked. He didn't expect such a thorough answer. Mr. Aizawa didn't seem like the type of person who had many friends if Izuku was being honest. Aside from his husband, he never liked to talk about the other officers at work and refrained from making any comments about them out loud whenever Izuku showed him his notebook.

"So I should be honest with him?" the greenette asked.

"At your own pace, of course. But don't take too long. One day it will be too late and your friend will be gone."

Izuku couldn't help but feel a distant sadness in his teacher's voice as he talked. There was also a hint of regret in his words that Izuku picked up on immediately because it was the same way he had sounded when Bakugou confronted him.

"Sensei," Izuku began slowly, "did you… did you lose a friend once too?"

Aizawa nodded and continued gazing at the floor.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did."

Izuku chewed on his bottom lip a little before hesitantly placing his hand on top of Aizawa's. The officer immediately turned his head and met his gaze, causing Izuku to quickly pull away.

"Uh, sorry," he felt his cheeks flush red as he pulled up his mask a little higher. "My mom always does that when I'm sad."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow at him suddenly. "Your mom?"

Izuku immediately stood up and felt his whole body tense. "Did I say, my mom? I meant—"

"Save it, kid. I already knew you had parents," Aizawa gave him a little smirk and Izuku felt the blush spread throughout his entire face. There was no hiding how embarrassed he was now.

"H-how?"

"You aren't exactly the best liar," Aizawa chuckled, before getting up too.

"Hey!" Izuku crossed his arms over his chest and tried not to wince when he accidentally bumped his broken arm.

Aizawa must've noticed it too because he laughed quietly after it happened, but he didn't say anything else and gestured towards Izuku's notebook.

"Come on, let's finish up and go home early," he yawned. "I'm tired."

Izuku tried to appear annoyed, but he couldn't help the small smile that started growing on his face. "Mr. Aizawa, you're always tired."

Aizawa grinned. "Can't argue with you there, problem child."

—

"Thanks for the advice back there, sensei. I, um, I really appreciate it," the young vigilante said while they walked towards the clearing. Their paths diverged at the end of the street, right before one reached the mountainous road. Aizawa always turned left and the boy turned right.

"Any time, problem child. Any time," Aizawa gave him a small smile and felt it widen when the problem child returned it.

After their brief heart-to-heart earlier, Aizawa realized he didn't like seeing the boy upset. Even if it meant that he wouldn't have to deal with his constant mumbling, Aizawa preferred quieting him down a hundred times if it meant he could hear him laugh and ask questions.

Be a kid.

Sometimes he forgot how young the vigilante seemed to be. Their conversations usually veered towards mature topics, especially when the boy asked questions about working in the force or the kinds of things Aizawa had experienced when he was a vigilante. The kinds of things he had seen. And while he was careful when sharing things that were too personal, Aizawa never shied away from the truth. He never sugar-coated anything. A part of him did it so that the boy could be afraid and eventually walk away from such a profession, but another part of him knew that the kid would never quit despite all that he told him.

And Aizawa hated that he was impressed at his maturity. He hated that if this would have been any other role, he would have been cheering for the problem child on the sidelines— and Aizawa never cheered for anybody. He didn't even go to places where you had to cheer.

The whole point of him becoming Eraserhead was to find out more about 'Ghost' and get him to trust him so that Aizawa could get him out of the situation he had put himself in. Or at least that's what the boy continued to claim. That his idea of helping people came from within. That no one was forcing him to do this.

Aizawa had figured he was lying at first, especially since he didn't develop a sense of justice until after sixteen, but the more time he spent around the problem child, the more he felt like it was the truth. And that made everything much, much worse because the boy had a genuine passion for what he was doing despite Aizawa's harsh reprimands and tough expectations. If he didn't know something he didn't back down, he would come back the next day with double of what Aizawa had asked for. The officer's only hope now would be that when they started physical training in a couple of weeks, it would be too intense for him to continue.

"I've been meaning to ask you something though," the problem child said as they walked side by side under the moonlight. Occasionally their hands would brush against each other and Aizawa was once again reminded of how small this kid really was.

"What is it?" he asked, eyes focused on the gravelly road.

Was the problem child finally opening up? Aizawa would be lying if he said he wasn't anxious about it. They had been meeting up for almost two months now and while he had managed to get the kid off the streets and under his watchful eye, he still seemed cautious around him.

Aizawa didn't blame him, but it was still a little frustrating.

The young vigilante stopped walking altogether and started fishing for something in his pack. Aizawa asked to help a couple of times, mainly because of his impatience to know what was inside, but the boy refused each time.

Finally, he pulled something small out and handed it to him.

It was a piece of wrapped tofu.

Aizawa blinked. This was how he did all those stunts?

With… tofu?

"Do you know why the other officers have been leaving me tofu, rice, and sake on the swings? I mean it's a nice gesture but I feel bad because I haven't been on patrol since I broke my arm and—"

Aizawa's eyes widened suddenly and he looked up at the problem child angrily. "They've been doing what now?!"

The boy's expression shifted towards nervousness again and Aizawa had to remind himself to calm down even though he was fuming.

"Uh, yeah," he said with a slight laugh while scratching the back of his neck. "We can go there together right now if you want to check. They've also left me really nice notes, I have them pinned in my room. For some reason, they keep calling me Kitsune or something?"

"Please tell me you haven't been drinking the sake," Aizawa said as he closed his eyes and started counting back from ten.

"N-no! I mean I might've taken a little sip though just to try," the kid said quietly.

"Problem child," Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Anywayyyyy, s—see you around sensei! Thanks for everything and have a good night, bye!"

Aizawa sighed and watched him go. He would've stopped him but he was too tired. Plus, he had to wake up bright and early tomorrow. He was going to have a little talk with his coworkers about what he had just found out.

This should be interesting.

Haha, Aizawa really thought Izuku was about to spill the beans, please. Also, I think it's pretty obvious what Izuku's vigilante name is going to be by now even if he doesn't know it yet XD

When it comes to the identity/quirk reveal, I have a couple of ideas for how it's going to happen. Some of them are angsty and some of them are just funny. But be prepared! I can guarantee you it'll happen when you least expect it *wink wink*

ALSO, they're going to start combat training soon so get ready for that. It's going to be so fun! And just in case you didn't catch it, Izuku totally spilled soda on Bakugou on purpose.

Thanks for all the support! See ya next time.

✩ Next update: 7/13 ✩