Thank you again everyone for the positive feedback I've been recieveing, i really appreciate it.
Enjoy!
Pan woke up the next day on the couch with a blanket spread over him, the sounds and smells of a hot breakfast cooking wafting in from the kitchen. In his drowsy state, it was almost like he was dreaming about being back home before things had become so complicated.
He gazed around in slight confusion, trying to gauge where he'd spent the night when it occurred to him that he was still in Midoriya's house. The clock on the wall told him that it was early the following morning, but he could already hear Inko humming to herself as she cooked.
The tantalizing smells made his stomach growl hungrily, so Pan slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, stretching as he yawned. He stood and folded the blanket she'd placed on him neatly, setting it on the couch before he made his way towards the kitchen.
The woman offered him a warm smile as she spoke. "Good morning dear; you fell asleep on the couch after helping me with Izuku and I didn't want to disturb you. Why don't you go and wash up… breakfast will be ready soon."
Pan stood still for a moment and blinked, his mind attempting to process the kindness that he was being shown. All he managed to do was give a nod before proceeding down the hallway, hearing her mention something about 'clean towels in the hall closet'.
After a rather enjoyable shower, Pan rubbed the water from his wet hair and gazed at his reflection in the steam-covered mirror. His body was lean with tight muscles but also littered with scarred over lacerations. One of the worst ones was etched across his torso from his left collar bone all the way down to the bottom of his right rib cage.
"Izu probably has some of his own at this point…" he mused lowly to himself. "But at least when I received these, I knew how to defend myself…"
Pan swore that he would make sure that his new friend would be ready for the next encounter he had with anyone dangerous and he would be damned if he was going to allow that punk to continue knocking down the progress Izuku had made.
He exited the bathroom once he'd finished dressing, mind already spinning with plans to ensure his vow was met. As he glanced around, he noticed that Midoriya's door was slightly open and peeked inside. Izuku was awake, but he hadn't moved from where he'd been placed the night before, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. "Good morning, Izu."
"You stayed the night?" the younger asked, his gaze remaining fixed away from Pan.
"Yeah, your mom let me crash on her couch," he replied as he propped himself up on the side of the bed. "You're in really bad shape though; are you sure you don't want Inko to get ahold of this 'Kacchan's' parents or get the authorities involved?"
The younger just shook his head before closing his green eyes.
A rush of anger began piling in Pan's gut from the response. "He doesn't deserve your protection Izuku… Not after what he did to you."
"I know, but if he gets in trouble for this then he won't be able to get into UA at all, much less the hero course. That's been our—well, his dream since we were both little. I don't want to be the reason he loses that…" Midoriya explained quietly.
"But you're fine with him crushing your own? You were just about to say that it had been your dream too. Are you also alright with him abusing you? Do you really think that someone like him even deserves to be a hero? Izuku… You have to realize how wrong that is." Pan argued, his distaste for the blonde more than obvious.
Izuku didn't say anything though and the elder teen knew that his words were falling on deaf ears; there would be no talking him out of his decision, no matter how poor it truly was. "You're too good for him… I hope you know that."
"Please don't be mad at me," Midoriya finally pleaded. "Kacchan really is a great guy—"
"Don't." Pan interrupted, golden eyes filled with concern as he gazed down at Izuku. "I'm not mad at you, but don't you dare defend him or his actions."
"Boys, breakfast is ready, come eat while it's still warm," Inko's called, her voice breaking through the tension that had built between them.
"What do you mean you called Kacchan's parents?!" Izuku exclaimed after they had eaten their breakfast.
Pan smirked to himself, finding Inko's reveal to be genius. She'd smartly waited until her son had actually eaten something to let him know that she'd ignored his request to 'leave what had happened alone'. It relieved him to know that she had her son's best interest at heart.
"Calm down kid, you'll irritate your wounds and loosen your wrappings," Pan commented calmly, though with authority. He moved to help Inko clear the table and placed the dishes in the sink.
"He's right, Izuku," Inko agreed. "And yes, I called Mitsuki last night; they're coming over today."
Mrs. Midoriya felt that she'd let Katsuki's bullying go on long enough and yesterday was the last straw. Pan looked between the resolved woman and her completely freaked out son, coughing awkwardly to get their attention.
"I, uh… I should probably get going," he stated. "I've been away from the others longer than I'd planned and—"
"Y-you can't leave!" Izuku squeaked, the desperation in his green eyes surprising Pan and burning into his soul. "I mean you… I… I feel braver when you're around… that's all…"
Pan knew he couldn't say no to those pleading eyes; both Midoriya and his mother really seemed to know how to pull at the heartstrings. "I'm getting soft…" he thought as he shook his head in defeat. "Alright, alright. When exactly are they coming by Inko-san?"
"In the afternoon," she answered.
"Okay, let me go check on my Lost Boys and make sure they aren't getting into too much trouble. I'll come back right after, sound good?" Pan offered.
Izuku gave a shining smile and nodded in agreement.
It had been a couple of hours since Pan had left his home after redressing the bandages that covered his burns from Bakugo's quirk. Izuku had never really had a friend like him before; the teen seemed to truly care about him and everything he said contradicted the cruel things his ex-best friend had told him.
"You're a Deku, Izuku."
"You're a burden to everyone and that's why no one likes you."
"You're so weak Deku! You'll never be a hero! All you'll ever be is a victim!"
"No one cares about someone as worthless as you."
"Who would want to be friends with you, Deku?"
"Be grateful that I actually take care of a stupid quirkless loser like you."
The phrases Katsuki had hurled at him so many times rolled around in his head as they always did, but now he had new ones to drown them out… Now he had Pan's kindness to build up what Bakugo had torn down.
"If you want to be a hero, then be one."
"You've got a lot of potential Izu, you just need to believe in yourself more!"
The elder teens voice overrode his childhood friend's harsh words with such ease that it made Izuku really wonder why he had listened to the blonde for so long. His deep, emerald green eyes flickered over his bandaged arms as he sat at the kitchen table, the TV in the background barely noticeable as he tried to focus on his notebook.
He had his 'Hero Analysis for the Future: Volume 13' opened before him, the page he'd dedicated to Pan staring back at him. Over the past month, he'd scribbled down bits and pieces he'd gathered about his friend, but he had no idea what the boy's quirk was. In all that time he'd never asked and he cursed himself for being too nervous to.
"Come to think of it, I don't remember him ever using a quirk even when we were training…" Izuku muttered to himself as he bounced his pen rhythmically on the table. "I don't think it's a strength enhancer even though he seems to be stronger than the average person… His agility and dexterity are probably the results of how often he trains on his own too… So, what could it be?"
He flipped back through some of his prior entries, looking at all the notes he'd taken on other heroes. Each page had their quirks, fighting styles, strengths, and weaknesses… everything he could come up with when he analyzed them. Midoriya was proud of the work he'd done; it was something he enjoyed and had a knack for.
It made him feel even better about it to know that Pan had been impressed as well. He'd hesitantly shown the teen his notebooks one time when they'd watched a hero debut together and had been praised. The thought alone brought a smile to his lips despite how nervous he was about meeting with the Bakugo family.
A knock at the door halted his happy remembrance, however, and he quickly shut the notebook. "Coming!"
Midoriya's nervousness was immediately quashed when he found Pan standing there, his face beaming with relief even though he noticed the boy wasn't alone. "You came back!"
"Was there ever a doubt?" the teen chuckled as he sidestepped to make his companion more visible. "This is Tigerlily; she insisted on coming along so I hope you don't mind."
They both stared at each other silently for a moment, almost feeling like there was something familiar about the other. 'Tigerlily' as she'd been introduced, was rather petite, especially next to Pan. She had rusty red hair that was tied messily in a bun, baggy cargo pants, very worn out converse, a loose T-shirt that had 'Rebels like to Party' written across the top, and a skateboard tucked under her arm. All in all, she looked like a typical kid you'd find at a local skatepark.
The girl blinked her deep brown eyes a few times before smiling broadly. "Yo, Midoriya-kun, it's nice to meet you."
Izuku gave a nod in return. "It's nice to meet you too, Tigerlily…"
He kept examining her as he moved to let them in, curiously trying to figure out where he might have seen her before and why she felt so familiar to him. "Maybe I've just seen her around town…"
As it turned out, Izuku really liked Tigerlily. She was bluntly honest, outspoken and incredibly funny; every story she told made him and Inko laugh until they thought their stomachs would burst. His favorites were the ones that embarrassed Pan, the boy covering his red face while he muttered in despair and questioned why he agreed to bring her along.
Midoriya could hardly contain his grin. Not only did Pan accept him for all that he was, but his own friends did as well and that made Izuku feel like he was worth something for the first time in what seemed like forever.
The atmosphere felt comfortable to him, the house filled with laughter and the delicious smells of his mothers home cooking simmering in the kitchen while they waited for the Bakugos' to arrive.
It made it so much better that Inko seemed to have taken a shine to his new friends as well. Although he didn't realize it, she'd already figured out that these were street kids and wasn't bothered by it. After witnessing how much Pan cared for her son and then having another girl pop up with just as much enthusiasm for becoming friends, Inko couldn't see any reason to not accept them whole-heartedly.
"Hero Analysis for the Future: Volume 13, huh," Tigerlily spoke as she eyed the almost forgotten notebook near Izuku. "That looks interesting."
Midoriya straightened slightly from the comment, stuttering out a nervous reply. "O-oh, yeah… It's just a hobby of m-mine."
"May I take a look? I heard from Pan that you have bomb analysis skills," she questioned, her face full of honest curiosity.
Izuku blushed as red as a tomato but hesitantly slide the notebook over to her. "Um, sure…" He turned to look at Pan, doing his best to calm himself by starting to ramble. "Do you really think it's good? Most people think it's kind of weird or annoying."
Tigerlily flipped through the pages as the boys conversed, intrigued by the detail and effort put into each entry. "Pan wasn't kidding! You've got some mad skills… These reports are amazingly accurate." She continued turning page after page until she came across one that seemed to catch her attention. "Hey, look! There's even a section for you, Pan!"
"Seriously? Let me see what he's written," The teen said as he leaned over to read it with her. Izuku squeaked, heart racing as her comment worked its way through his head and Pan moved.
"It's not finished yet—" he started, though it was quiet and rushed with anxiety.
"Oh, yeah," Pan laughed, "I never told you what my quirk is. Ha, sorry about that… I hardly ever use it on a normal day so I tend to forget that anyone new I meet doesn't know about it."
Izuku blinked at that comment, "He hardly ever uses his quirk? I wonder why…"
He watched with great interest as Pan picked up his pencil and flipped to the last page of his notebook, sketching something quickly. The drawing wasn't much, just a small simple bird. The teen placed his hand on top of it, however, and the page began glowing. Within a few seconds, he removed his hand and in its place was the bird he'd drawn.
Izuku and Inko gazed at the creature in fascination as it tilted its head to the side, watching them just as curiously. It hopped up on Pan's arm, perching itself on his shoulder before preening it's feathers contentedly.
"I call the quirk, 'Summoning'," Pan explained, noticing that Midoriya had already grabbed the pencil to scribble away in his notebook. "I can bring anything I draw to life. The strength and number of the summons depend on how much energy I put into it, the size correlates with how large I draw or paint the image, and I can summon multiple at a time. It's good to use for recon, quick distractions, and other stuff like that."
Tigerlily gave a nod. "His quirk comes in handy if we get ourselves into a bind… Though that usually only happens with other members of our group; I do well on my own mostly. My quirk is 'Shapeshifting' so I can change my appearance like a chameleon."
The girl smiled confidently as she pointed to her eyes, the deep brown swirling into a bright blue before reverting back. "It can be simple changes like colors or I can 'copy' the whole appearance of another person as long as I've seen them up close. I can morph into animals too, but any transformations I go through only last as long as my stamina allows… I can usually hold them for a few hours to a full day if I don't overexert myself."
Izuku was nothing less than awestruck, his inner fanboy gushing over his two friends. "Wow! Your quirks are amazing—" he was going to continue when another knock rapped on the door, the sound causing him to fall quiet.
Inko excused herself from the table to answer it, her son frozen to his place at the table. Panic rose in Izuku's chest as she left; he knew who was just outside and it terrified him in the worst way.
"Hey…" Pan called gently, his soothing voice a lifeline that pulled Midoriya's attention back towards him and Tigerlily. "Don't worry, we're here."
Those words, those simple words chased away the fear building within him. They meant more to him than anything ever had… even more than when he'd first heard All Might use them.
wow, i did not expect to write ALL of this for the chapter, but honestly it was needed and i regret nothing!
Anyways, yay! new Lost Boys Gang member introductions!
For the next few chapters I will be introducing one to two members all the while still flowing through the original storyline. At least that is the plan lol.
I'll see you guys soon with another chapter!