Hey guys! I'm so sorry for the long wait, but I've been sick the past few months and just didn't have the energy to write much. That's also why this chapter is shorter than I was originally planning, but oh well, still better than nothing I suppose 😅 Updates are going to continue to be pretty slow for this fic for awhile, as I've got a lot happening irl atm.

Thank you all so much for your patience, I hope you enjoy!

Excepting the revelation of his vigilante identity, Izuku thought the first weekend with Shinsou went relatively smoothly.

He'd shown the boy his gear, promised to teach him a few moves, and that was that. They'd had a pleasant dinner, watched a little TV, and then went to bed- well, Shinsou did, anyway. Izuku didn't need much sleep to begin with, and he'd already slept plenty that day. He didn't go out though, deciding to take a break from his vigilante activities- at least until Shinsou was more settled.

Not that he had much experience, but Izuku was pretty sure you didn't leave a kid alone the first night after adopting them.

He was still productive though, trudging through pages and pages of comments and posts on the vigilante message boards, looking for any crumb of incriminating information about Endeavor. He still had a month to find something concrete, but it was pissing him off how squeaky clean the man appeared on the surface when Izuku knew there were plenty of skeletons hidden in his closet.

Frustrated with his fruitless search, Izuku typed up his own post, enquiring- in a subtle way, of course- for information. He hesitated though, finger hovering over the enter button as he bit at his lip.

It was risky- very risky- especially if any of Endeavor's people caught wind of it and understood what he was asking for. If it was just Izuku, he wouldn't have hesitated, but it wasn't just him anymore. He had Shinsou now, he had a kid relying on him, and he couldn't afford to do anything that would put him in unnecessary danger…

Reading the message over one more time, making absolutely sure there was no way to tie it back to him, he hit send.

Shinsou wasn't the only kid he needed to protect.

Hello everyone,

I have a difficult kindergartner(1). The child hits other kids, doesn't listen to anything the teachers say, and doesn't follow the rules. But, the kid's parents are wealthy, so no one says anything. Does anyone have any advice?

The post glowed brightly on his screen, showing it had posted, and that was that.

He'd shut his computer down after, not bothering to wait for a response. He knew it'd be at least 24 hours before he got any sort of reply. Knowing there was not much else he could currently do about the Todoroki situation, he'd decided to try and get some sleep anyway, even if he didn't really need it. He even managed a full hour before he woke up again, the sun just barely peeking over the horizon.

He'd puttered around the apartment, finding things to busy himself with, waiting for Shinsou to wake up. There wasn't much to do in a tiny apartment like his, so he inevitably ended up on the couch, watching the morning news.

The last report had troubled him, his brow furrowing, and a sense of dread settling deep in his gut as he listened to the reporter.

"A streak of prison breaks is sweeping the area. From petty thieves to murders, they're disappearing from their cells without a trace. The guards claim to have seen nothing, and all the cells remain locked. Police are looking into the matter, but at this time, there are no answers as to how- or why- this is happening."

That couldn't be good.

Someone was planning something- something big - Izuku could feel it.

"Never doubt my spidey senses!"

Wrong franchise.

"Tch, whatever, you're no fun."

He'd pushed the thought to the back of his mind though once Shinsou got up. They had more important things to do that day- like fixing up the house and moving in.

Thankfully there wasn't a whole lot that needed to be done. A little dusting here and there, a few old door knobs that needed replacing, some furniture that needed buying, and a few other little bits and bobs to help the house feel more like a home again.

Shinsou had a great time picking out things to decorate his new room, and Izuku couldn't help but smile as he watched the boy flit from one isle to another, violet eyes sparkling with excitement.

It was clear this was the first time the kid had any significant say over his own space, and Izuku was happy to be able to give him such a simple joy.

He also had to- begrudgingly- thank Nedzu for the extra money that had found its way into his account, making the shopping spree possible. Izuku was well off, but not that well off, and Nedzu had definitely eased the burden of having to buy for another person besides himself.

Izuku was sure it was the rat's way of apologizing for meddling, but he'd be sure to thank him later anyway.

Even Satan had benefited from the trip, Shinsou insisting that they stop by a pet store to buy the cat a couple beds and scratching posts to go in different rooms, as well as some treats and toys.

That cat was going to turn into an even bigger brat, spoiled rotten with Shinsou in the house, but Izuku found he didn't mind. As long as it made Shinsou happy, Izuku would allow the devilish cat to reign smugly over their home.

"You know she will. She already thinks she's in charge…"

They returned to the house soon after, stopping by the apartment on the way to grab some of their things.

Izuku had decided to leave most of the furniture and kitchen appliances in the apartment, keep it furnished for if either he or Shinsou needed to use the space for something, and instead bought new things to furnish the house.

A fresh start.

He smiled to himself as he finished putting the new dishes away. Perhaps this change would be good for him? He'd always dreaded being in the house again, but with Shinsou there, it didn't feel so dark.

Like his thoughts had summoned him, a few seconds later the boy walked into the kitchen, Satan cradled in his arms. Really, that cat seemed to like everyone better than Izuku.

"What-" a yawn interrupted his words- "What's for dinner?"

The weekend was far too short, and before he knew it, it was Monday. He was nervous, this was still only his second week of teaching, and he'd been pretty out of it for a good portion of his first.

Shinsou had assured him he'd been a great teacher so far, when Izuku had asked, but he wasn't sure he could trust the words. Shinsou was bound to be a little biased towards him, he had adopted the kid, after all.

He would just have to trust that Katsuki would have called him out by now if he'd truly screwed up. He could always trust the explosive boy not to pull any of his punches, and he was grateful for that.

Thankfully though, Monday was rather uneventful, the students in the classroom all day for theory based lessons. He even found time to slip away, thanking Nedzu for his generosity, but giving him a look that promised retribution should the rat meddle again. He made his way back to the classroom after that, just in time for Aizawa to wake from his nap and for the lunch bell to ring. He smiled, amused at the man's antics, and offered him a hand to help him off the floor. The tired hero took it with a simple nod of thanks, and Izuku couldn't help but smile just a little wider.

"Lunch?" Something had changed between them that night, and while Izuku didn't have a name for it, it made his stomach flutter with excitement at the mere thought of seeing the man again. It'd been a very, very long time since he'd had a friend around his age, so perhaps that was it.

"Yeah, sure!" Izuku cheered, practically bouncing as he led the way, babbling on about the different dishes there, and the cooking hero, Lunch Rush. So engrossed in his ramblings, he didn't notice the small smile that softened the usually stern hero's face, nor did he notice the stunned faces of the students behind him.

It'd been a peaceful lunch, mostly spent discussing 1-A and future training plans, but Izuku had enjoyed himself.

It was nice not eating alone, for once.

He was momentarily startled though, when the lightest touch of contentment brushed against his mind. Sure, he was feeling rather peaceful at the moment, but that feeling had not been his, he could tell.

Was it Aizawa?

Had their bond finally begun to repair itself?

Izuku hoped so.

He wasn't exactly looking forward to having another person privy to his thoughts and feelings, but for Aizawa's sake, he knew the bond needed to heal.

"What do you think about starting their quirk enhancement training early?" Izuku thought it would be a good idea. The kids had spent their entire lives actively repressing their quirks as much as they could- well, perhaps except Katsuki, that is- so while the hero training was useful, they could be getting so much more out of it with better developed quirks. Aizawa seemed to agree, humming in thought before nodding slightly, and Izuku couldn't help but preen a little.

He was proud that even if he was new at this, he was still making valuable contributions- and perhaps he was just a little happy that it was Aizawa giving him the faintest of pleased smiles.

In reality it was barely a twitch of the lips, but on a usually stoic Aizawa, he might as well have been grinning.

"I see your point… Maybe we could change around training on Tue-" Aizawa was cut off by a loud and booming voice from behind them, and Izuku couldn't help but wince. "Shouta?! What are you doing here? You never eat in the cafeteria... " The man paused, eyes locking onto Izuku and grin widening, if that was possible. "Ah, Midoriya-sensei, hello! I didn't see you there."

"Hello," Izuku put on a polite smile, and waved in greeting. As much as he admired the hero, Present Mic had been... odd around him. Izuku wasn't sure how to interpret the winks and grins and thumbs up that the man always sent his way when they ran across each other, and it unsettled him.

Did Mic know something he wasn't supposed to?

Was he trying to tell Izuku that he knew his secret?

If he did, why hadn't he turned him in though?

Better yet, how did he manage to figure it out?

Not even Aizawa suspected, and not only were they soulmates, but Izuku had purposely antagonized the man using his alter-ego.

Izuku couldn't make sense of it, and he didn't like what he couldn't understand.

"Oho~ What's this, Aizawa-kun?" And then there was Midnight…

Izuku had to suppress a flinch as she sauntered up to the table, fighting the urge to flee when she blew him a kiss.

If Mic's behavior had been odd, then Midnight's was down right disturbing .

Luckily, Aizawa seemed unaffected.

"Am I not allowed to eat here? I wasn't aware." Aizawa gave them a deadpan stare, unimpressed by their antics, and Izuku had to stifle a chuckle.

"You just wanted him to yourself, didn't you? Sly bastard." Midnight grinned, all teeth, and mischief lit up her eyes. Aizawa's cheeks turned pink at the comment, and Izuku looked between them, completely bewildered.

Clearly, he had missed something.

"Umm… We were just discussing training sessions?" It came out as more of a question, and Izuku cringed as Midnight's eyes took on a dangerous glint.

He wasn't sure how, but he felt like he'd just made some sort of mistake.

"Training, eh? Is that what we're calling it now?" Midnight's smirk turned feral and Izuku swallowed nervously. "You know, back in my day, we just called it fu-" The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, and Izuku practically jumped out of his seat, ready to be away from the bizarre conversation.

"Ah! Look at that, time to get back to class! Nice seeing you two!" He fled the cafeteria quickly, Midnight's laughter following on his heels.

That woman terrified him, and he wasn't afraid to admit it.

Besides that one encounter in the cafeteria, Izuku hadn't run into Midnight- or Mic, but he wasn't as frightening- again (mostly because he was purposely avoiding them), and he was thankful.

Despite what Izuku may have feared, after that first chaotic week, his second week was infinitely calmer, and the students actually seemed to like him.

If he wasn't eating lunch with Aizawa, he was being dragged to the students table, pelted with questions left and right about their quirks and quirk theories in general. Izuku loved talking about quirks, so it didn't bother him to spend that little bit of free time with them.

Aizawa had even joined them once, and the entire table was silent for several moments before Izuku broke it with his nervous chattering. Everyone seemed to relax after that, and Izuku was grateful. Perhaps it was a bit presumptuous of him to think so, only having been with the class a week, almost two, but he thought that even Aizawa's relationship with 1-A had improved after that lunch together.

Maybe that was just his imagination though…

Regardless, he was settling well into his role as an assistant teacher, and he was finding himself rather… happy? Content?

He wasn't exactly sure how to name the feeling, but he was more relaxed than he could remember ever being, and he loved that he could share his knowledge with the students, and that they were just as eager to learn.

Perhaps he should have taken Nedzu up on that teaching offer years ago. As much as he hated to admit it, the rat had been right, teaching suited him.

"Midoriya-san?" Izuku hummed, pulling himself from his thoughts.

"Yeah? What's up kiddo?" Shinsou huffed, grumbling at the nickname, and Izuku grinned. Teasing the boy was just too fun.

"Nothing, you just seemed distracted…" Izuku waved away the concerned look, quickly reassuring the boy that he was fine. It was a good kind of distracted, this time, not like last week, when he was trapped in memoires.

"Just thinking about what we should do tomorrow… It's our first weekend together in the house, we should celebrate! What do you say? Wanna do something fun?" Shinsou looked away, considering.

"How about an arcade?" With the excitement that lit up in the boy's eyes, there was no way he could say no!

"Sure! Arcade it is!" Shinsou grinned up at him, the usually tired looking boy practically brimming with energy.

"I'm so going to kick your ass!" Izuku threw back his head with a loud laugh.

"You're on!"

And after a moment's pause, realizing exactly what the boy had said,

"Hey! Watch your language!" Shinsou jumped up off the couch, huge grin still in place, and Izuku followed after him, chasing him around the house as laughter filled the air.

"Oi! Get back here you brat!"

The house finally felt like home again.

Omake:

…

"Oi, why is Eyebags following us?"

"Nice to see you too, Katsuki."

"Don't act so familiar, extra!"

"But we're neighbors now~"

"That doesn't answer my question, dumbass. What's he doing here?"

"Imaybesortofadobtedhimkinda."

…

"Fucking what! "

(1)

みんなさんへ

難しい園児がいる。その男の子は子供たちを打って、先生の言うことは何も聞かないで、ルールに従わないでしまう。でも、その男の子の両親は富者ですから、誰も何も言わない。誰かアドバイスをしてくれませんか？

So here's the original Japanese I wrote for this (Disclaimer: I'm not fluent, so there's probs a mistake or two). In Japanese 園児 means kindergartner, and it is pronounced "enji", though it is different kanji than in Enji Todoroki, it is basically pronounced the same way (though there may be intonation differences I am unaware of) so I thought this would be a good way for Izuku to seek information subtly. I know it doesn't make much sense in English, but I'm a Japanese major and thought it'd be fun to do it this way since bnha is set in Japan.

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Stay safe out there lovelies!

。(｡･ω･｡)ﾉ💖