Wow! I can't believe the amount of attention this story has gotten! Thank you all for your support, and look forward to more updates!

Today's update is dedicated to my friend, Summer! Happy 15th birthday! You are amazing~!

Chapter 2: Hope

Izuku didn't know what to think. He'd stepped off that edge ready to die. He was ready. He was going to finally end all the pain and suffering that he'd endured his entire life. There was nothing more to live for.

Except there was. All of a sudden… like a dream, the underground pro-hero Eraserhead—a guy who was so unknown and good at hiding his tracks that he was practically an urban legend—saved him. In more ways than one. He not only told Midoriya that 'yes, you can become a hero', but was willing to train him to become one!

He couldn't think of anyone better! Eraserhead's fighting style was Quirkless. His Quirk allowed him to even the playing field about 75% of the time. The other 25% he was no better off than a Quirkless guy going up against any other Villain. But he was still a pro-hero. If Eraserhead could do it, then so could Izuku!

He had a bounce in his step, a fire burning in his veins that hadn't been there for a very long time. He and Eraserhead didn't speak on the way back to his house. He knew he was coming back very late, and his mother was probably worried sick. Izuku's phone was damaged in the Slime Villain Incident, and he had no way of knowing how many dozens of times his mother had tried to contact him.

He felt a slight flush of shame when he led Eraserhead up the stairs of the cheap, shabby apartment complex. He idly noted that the pro-hero didn't really look out of place in the rougher area of town. He kinda looks homeless, himself.

"Mom, I'm home!" He called out, opening the door.

"Izuku!" His mother ran over, engulfing him in a massive hug filled with tears and cries. "I was so worried! You wouldn't answer your phone, and you didn't come home before dark! What if something happened?!"

His sudden awareness of the weight of the suicide note hidden in his backpack made him shift awkwardly. His face was bright red when he remembered that the pro hero was watching his mother smother him like a child.

"M-mom, I'm fine! Really! B-besides, we've got a guest." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as his mother looked up, startled.

"O-oh! I'm so sorry!" She shifted uncomfortably.

"Sorry to intrude. My name is Eraserhead, and I'm a pro-hero." He held up his Hero License as proof, likely used to people not believing him.

"A hero! What happened?! Is my little Izuku okay?! He didn't get himself into any trouble, did he?" She sent Izuku a reprimanding glare.

"He's fine, and he's not in trouble. I didn't want him walking home alone at night." Eraser explained as his mother invited the hero inside. Izuku relaxed a bit. At least he won't tell her…

"In fact, we got to talking a bit." The three sat around the kitchen table and sipped at the tea (coffee in the hero's case) that his mother had made. Izuku was abruptly struck with how surreal and comical the scene was. A Quirkless child, a single mother and an Underground Pro-Hero sitting around a kitchen table. His kitchen table. It kinda sounds like the intro to a bad joke.

"Oh? Well, I must thank you for bringing my son home." Inko smiled.

"Actually, he was telling me about his dream of being a hero." Eraserhead tested the waters, looking for any sign of negative response. When his mother just sighed somewhat sadly, he took that as a means to continue. "I'm aware that he doesn't have a Quirk. But I see potential in him. Will you let me train your son to be a Hero?"

His mother started badly, nearly spilling her tea. Whatever she'd been expecting, this was not it. She blinked owlishly at the man before her, and gaped. "Y-you mean…?"

"I believe he has what it takes to be a pro. But he can't without the right training. Training I can provide him with. I can train him for the 22 months leading up to the U.A. entrance exams, but I need parental permission." Eraserhead leaned on his elbows, looking at his mother with a serious expression. "Of course, I understand if you don't want him to go into this field. It's a very dangerous line of work, especially for someone who fights Quirkless."

Izuku fidgeted. He wanted this. He wanted this more than anything he'd ever wanted in his whole life. Maybe… with this training, and his hard work, he could prove to the world that Quirkless… wasn't useless. He could prove it to himself.

His mother looked to him. He could see her waver. He pleaded, begged with all he had in his eyes to let him go. For a moment, he almost had her, before her eyes hardened. Izuku sighed. He knew he'd lost.

The disappointment he felt was somehow twice as bad as when All Might had crushed his dreams earlier that day. He'd finally, finally had someone that believed in him, and his own mother denied him that. What, because he was Quirkless? Oh, how he'd grown to loathe that word. Because I wasn't even born with a weak or useless Quirk… Even if it had been something as simple as black sclera or blue skin, I would've been treated so much better than this… I hate it. I hate being Quirkless. Bakugo is right. I should just go take a swan dive and pra—

"I expect you to protect my son." Izuku's head whipped up in shock, startled out of his steadily darkening thoughts.

"Y-you mean?!" Izuku's mouth opened and closed like a fish as he gaped at his mother, who gave him a gentle smile.

"I know this is what you truly want, Izuku. What kind of mother would I be if I couldn't even let my son chase his own dreams?" She then looked at Eraserhead. "I give you my permission."

"Thank you." Eraserhead bowed. "I'll leave my contact information here with you, should you need to reach me for whatever reason. I'll start training him tomorrow after he gets out of school."

After a few more minutes of talk between the two that Izuku could hardly register, Eraserhead left, with the stern reminder for Izuku to be on time.

He remained in a state of shock for the rest of the night. He couldn't believe it. It's like all the good luck that had abandoned him his entire life suddenly melded together for this one moment of astonishingly amazing good luck. To meet Eraserhead. To be trained by Eraserhead to be a hero andohmyfuckinggodthiscouldnotbehappeningtomeImustbedreamingthisentirethingisjustinmyimaginationandIreallydidjumpandItotallydiedandthisisheavenandIjustwishthatIcouldhavemorekatsudoninheavenbecauseI'msoreasfuckandthat'snotfairthatyouhavetobesoreinheavenbecauseyou'realreadytechnicallydeadsowhat'sthepointand—

He cut himself off mentally and took a very deep breath (damnit, had he been muttering again?). Tomorrow would be his first day of Hero Training. With an actual HERO.

Though Izuku was almost certain that he'd be too excited to sleep, the moment his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light. His smile never once left his face.

Shouta sighed, glad he was able to get Inko's permission. He was equally relieved to know that she really did love her son. He'd been concerned, despite Midoriya's reassurance that his mother was not abusive. No sign of the father, though.

He shook his head. Things would reveal themselves in due time. For now, though, he was going to go home, feed his cats, and snuggle with his husband.

With a sigh, he slid the bags of groceries onto his left arm and fished out his house key.

"SHOOOOOOOUUUUTAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Shouta dodged the welcome home hug with a practiced ease as he closed the door behind him with his foot. "Let me set down the groceries before you tackle me, you overgrown cockatoo." He glared at the obnoxious blond.

"You're home so late, though! It's already 9 O'clock!"

"Give me a moment and I'll explain everything." He growled out, dumping the bags unceremoniously onto the counter.

Mira, his light grey tabby, hopped up on the countertop with a curious meow. She nuzzled Shouta's hand, and he smiled softly at her. Giving into his inner neko-lover, he scooped the little darling into his arms and proceeded to collapse back into the couch in the living room.

Hizashi sat down beside him, looping an arm around his shoulders. "Sooooo? What took ya so long?"

"I found a kid about to jump off the side of a building." Shouta breathed, it still felt so unreal. He felt Hizashi stiffen beside him, his expression much more serious.

"Is he okay?"

"He's alive. I caught him mid-jump." Shouta leaned into the comforting warmth beside him. "I don't know how the hell you managed to call out to me that day… I couldn't even utter a sound when I saw him there. I was so scared, and I didn't even know the kid."

"I didn't know you, either, at the time." Hizashi pointed out. "What happened that made a kid want to jump?"

"He's Quirkless."

"A Quirkless child in this generation?" He blinked. Shouta couldn't blame him. They were so rare these days… sure, about 20% of the human population was Quirkless, but almost all of those people were either adults or elderly. To be born Quirkless in this generation… it was probably a less than a 1% probability.

"He wanted to be a hero his whole life, but not one person thought he could do it. Not his mother, not his friends… I don't think he even has friends, to be honest." Shouta shook his head. "He had a breakdown when I told him he could be a hero."

"Shou…"

"He'd apparently met All Might earlier today… the ass said the same thing as everyone else. I think it broke something in him."

"Even All Might said no?" Hizashi glared at the table. Shouta knew the feeling.

"And left him alone on a rooftop."

"Any respect I'd had for the man is now zilch." The blond shook his head in disgust. "But you seem rather fond of this kid… that's unlike you."

"There's something about him, Zashi… Something… Some kind of potential. I can feel it. I know this kid's gonna become a hero one day." He smiled softly as his husband snorted in amusement.

"That's something coming from the guy who expels his 1-A Heroics class every year."

"I've only expelled the entire class once in my teaching career, thank you."

"Twice. You did it when you first got hired." Hizashi pointed out dryly.

"Okay, fine. To be fair, though, they refused to listen to me as a teacher."

"So this kid's got potential… Wonder how he'll fare in the exam?"

"He's only a second year right now. We've got time. I'll make sure he'll have the skills he needs to pass." Shouta promised. Hizashi choked on his spit.

"W-wait a sec, babe. Are you telling me that… you're going train him?!" His eyes were wide in disbelief.

"Yeah. It's not like I've got other things to do in my spare time, and I— what's with that look?"

"You. Mister 'I don't want to teach children'?! Mister 'I'll expel an entire Heroics class without a second thought'?! You agreed to train a random kid personally?!" He stared. "And not even get paid for it?" He tacked on the end as a quiet (for him) mutter.

Shouta rolled his eyes. Leave it to his husband to be overly dramatic. "Yes, Hizashi. I did. Like I said, I see potential in this kid. My gut says he'll go on to do great things. Plus, he's interested in going into Underground Heroics. Why shouldn't I teach him?"

"I'm not saying don't, I'm just absolutely shocked that you agreed to it in the first place!" Hizashi grinned. "I've got to meet the Little Listener!"

"His name is Midoriya Izuku. He's a second year in Junior High, and will be applying to U.A. Hero Course in two years." Shouta leaned into his husband. "Now be a good pillow and stop moving around, I'm tired."

"You're always tired."

"All the more reason to take a nap."

"If only you took more than naps. Honestly, get a full night's sleep sometime, would ya?" Hizashi sighed, shaking his head fondly. He ran his fingers through Shouta's soft hair, causing said man to relax.

For a moment, Hizashi mistook Mira's purring for Shouta's, making him startle. "Geez, you really are like a cat." He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Shouta's cheek. "Sleep well, Shou… I'll look forward to meeting your new student."

OMAKE:

Shouta felt like he was forgetting something important. He'd double-checked the groceries three times, and couldn't figure it out. Maybe it was something to do with Midoriya? Oh! He hadn't given Midoriya any contact information! Other than dropping by the kid's house, he had no way to contact the boy, and there was absolutely no way for the kid to get into contact with him. Wait, no… He'd given the kid's mother his number… So if that wasn't it… what was it?

He then abruptly realized that he'd written down the address of the warehouse as coordinates, rather than a normal address. And usually, civilians—especially kids—wouldn't know what to make of them. Whoops.

He shook his head. If the kid didn't show on time, he'd blame the coordinates. Just this once.

Shouta would never admit how impressed he was when the kid showed up the next day on time, coordinates in hand.