"So you'll be out late tonight?"

Izuku sighs as he holds the phone to his ear, "yeah, it's important, and I promise i'll head straight home as soon as I'm done."

"Alright, I believe you, just make sure you don't get into any trouble and be back before curfew."

"I won't, thanks dad." Izuku said before hanging up, looking over to Bakugo, who was lounging on three seats, arm hanging on the window as he looked out of it, Izuku slowly sat down across from him, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands in front of his mouth, staring down at the ground.

Slowly the train pulled into the next station, stopping for a few moments to open the doors and allow anyone to board or leave the train. Neither boy moved as the doors slowly slid closed.

"Mom did everything to try and find you…" Bakugo said softly, making Izuku look up, "she was at the precinct every day pushing the cops for information on you...but since she wasn't family they wouldn't give her much information...you were lost in the system, least that's what they told her...old lady was depressed when she couldn't find you." he looked at Izuku, "didn't understand it for the longest of times...but she said she owed Auntie Inko to take care of you, and she failed."

Izuku slowly let his hands fall forward, "I'm...having a hard time processing this." Izuku mumbled.

"Why? You don't think she would try and find you?"

"I didn't think anyone would." he said quietly, making Bakugo raise an eyebrow, "when I was in the foster system...going from shitty home to shitty home...I dreamed of someone showing up and whisking me away...some long lost relative or...or something...after so long I just figured I wasn't important enough for that fairy tale ending…"

"She tried Deku." Bakugo said softly, sitting up fully as the train slowed once more, "She really did…" with a sigh he stood up as the doors opened, 'lets go."

Izuku nodded and followed the boy off the train.

"So who was that you were talking to?" Bakugo asked as they made their way down the street.

"My dad." he said, "well, Mr. Aizawa," he explained upon seeing Bakugo's confusion, " he's been my mentor and guardian for the last year give or take."

"Huh, weird," Bakugo drawled, shoving his hands into his pockets, "our home room teacher is your dad...think he'd go easy on us because of that?"

Izuku snorted, "Yeah right, you have no idea how terrified i was when Ashido said what we were doing was fun, He may be a good guy but Dad really takes hero work and training seriously; Last time I said training was fun he put me through a hell week, my limbs were so sore that I couldn't walk up the stairs."

"Harsh, wonder why he didn't do that today." he scoffed, "Instead of just trying to scare us with that bullshit expulsion line."

"Oh no he was serious." Izuku said, making Bakugo look at him in surprise, "had we not taken the assessment seriously, he would've expelled last place and anyone else he thought wasn't up to snuff."

"Well...at least he's not full of hot air…" Bakugo sighed, walking up the steps to his house, opening the door and looking back when he realized Izuku wasn't following; the green haired teen was staring at the house, a mixture of emotions on his face. "Come on," he says, "we made it this far, don't wimp out."

With a steadying breath Izuku stepped forward, following Bakugo into the house, it was as domestic as any other Izuku has been in, pictures hanging up on the wall, little knick knacks lining shelves.

'Katsuki!? Is that you!"a woman's voice shouted from the nearby kitchen.

"Yeah it's me!" Bakugo yelled back.

"You brat! You're late!" she snapped.

"Can it ya Old Hag! I have a surprise for you!" he shouted back, grinning as his mother came into the hallway to berate him, only to stop short when she sees Izuku standing behind him, hands in his pockets and giving her an uneasy smile. "Hey, Auntie…" he mumbled out as she took a small step forward.

"I...Izuku?" she asks. Making the boy nod, slowly she walks forward, putting a hand on her son's shoulder as she walks past him; he easily steps back so his mother could see his friend. Carefully she puts her arms around him in a hug, tears streaming down her cheeks as Izuku returns the hug awkwardly.

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"Your mother and I went to UA together." Mitsuki explained quietly as she poured tea for Izuku and Bakugo, they were all currently sitting in the kitchen, sitting around the small table after the emotional reunion. "We'd been friends for years before that, and we were going for the Hero course...of course we didn't make it." She sighed as she sat down, picking up her own cup of tea, "your mother was so timid and shy, she just couldn't get the drive to pass the entrance exam and I passed the exam but got moved to General Studies after the sports festival, apparently my attitude wasn't appreciated by the class and losing out in the first round didn't help my chances either." she looked up, smiling wistfully as she thought of old memories, "but that was fine, we were still close, and we remained close up until she met Hisashi."

"My father." Izuku mutters. No love in his voice for the man who helped bring him into the world.

"He was a doting boyfriend, and later on a picture perfect husband and father...but I could never shake the feeling that there was something...off…" she shook her head, 'your mother refused to listen to me, one of the downsides of falling in love is that you're blind to any faults your partner may have...we got into a big fight our last year and while we were still friends we weren't as close as we used to be." she looks down into her tea, 'That changed when you were born, she began to confide in me again, telling me how Hisashi was so...obsessed with you gaining a powerful quirk and becoming a hero; He wanted you to fulfill your dream, what father wouldn't? But he didn't want you to achieve it for your own sake, he wanted to ride on the success you could potentially gain, the wealth and prestige...when the doctors said you were quirkless he was furious. I didn't hear from your mother for a few weeks, and when I finally got a hold of her she was talking about leaving him." she looked up, "The night she died was the night she was planning to go...I was supposed to be there, and I tried...but Katsuki was sick and i…" she sniffled as she began to cry once more.

Izuku stood and moved to her side, giving her an awkward comforting hug, "I don't blame you." He whispered, "I can't blame you knowing you did what you could to find me...I don't blame you, or my mom...the only person I blame is THAT man for what he did…and Agni willing he's burning in hell."

"One can only hope." Bakugo agrees.

Mitsuki wiped her tears away, 'Okay, that's enough crying." she says, patting Izuku's arm as he slowly pulls away, "thank you Izuku, I needed that...now, why don't you tell me about how your lifes been? I want to know everything."

So Izuku told her about his childhood-omitting some parts that he thought she didn't need to know- speaking fondly about his time with Uncle and Aizawa, trying to gloss over his time in the JDC but begrudgingly telling her when she fixes him with a glare that only a mother could pull off. Soon they're eating the dinner she had made and laughing at some stories that Izuku had from his time running the streets, as well as Mitsuki's own stories from when she and Inko were younger.

"So your mother is slowly lowering me to the ground." Mitsuki started, "and everythings going fine, we thought we'd be able to get down and out the front gate before the teacher even knew we were gone. Well we didn't account on the fact that the teacher wouldn't be out of the room for long; he bursts through the door and demands to know where i am, this of course breaks your mothers concentration and I would've fallen to my death-or injury- if I hadn't of latched onto the ledge."

Bakugo burst out laughing as Izuku chuckled.

"So here i am, hanging on this ledge with three stories underneath me, and I can hear the stupidest conversation I've ever heard going on above." She laughed as she began mimicking Inko and the teacher, "where's Mitsuki? Oh! I think she went to the bathroom! Well then how come I didn't see her? She runs really really fast." She shook her head, "meanwhile I'm doing all I can to haul myself up to look into the window, and when I did who do I See but Nemuri Kayama."

"Midnight!?" Izuku exclaimed.

"The very same!" She confirmed, "she opens the window, doesn't help me up, she leans out and says "so, you just hanging out?" They all burst out laughing as Mitsuki tries to continue, "and I say. "Well isn't it obvious that I've fallen for you? And she got sooo flustered that she almost fell out of the window herself!"

"I cant imagine Midnight getting flustered." Izuku says as Bakugo laughs.

"Oh back then she liked to think she was so suave and cool." She snorted, "but you even looked at her for too long and she would get flustered." She sighed, "she got me into that room and I thought I was in the clear, when who walks in but hizashi Yamada, the loud mouth of UA. he pops into the room and immediately screams "YO MITSUKI! WHAT ARE YOU DOIN HERE?" and I get caught." The two boys laughed again as mitsuki smiled, "I got three more weeks of detention, and Inko got two for 'aiding and abetting', made it sound like I was a fucking criminal."

"Were you?" Izuku asked with a grin.

"I can neither confirm nor deny that with Katsuki here." She drawled as bakugo rolled his eyes.

Izuku chuckled as he checked his watch, "I gotta get going, I'm supposed to be home before curfew."

"Well don't be a stranger." Mitsuki said as she stood up alongside her son, walking with them to the front door, "I expect you to be coming around here at least once a week."

"I promise to drop in as much as I can." He said, "good-bye Aunt Mitsuki."

She waved him off as Bakugo walked alongside him, "walk you to the train." He said gruffly, hands in his pockets.

"Your mom's cool." Izuku said.

"Hmph, old hag likes to talk about her glory days." He grumbled, though a small fond smile made its way onto his lips, "you should hear the story about the time she met my old man."

"I'll keep that in mind." He chuckled, stepping onto the platform as the train pulled into the station. "Thank you for this Kacchan...I needed it."

"Don't mention it nerd." He scoffs, "just so you know, this doesn't change a thing, I'm gonna beat you and become number one in our class. Just because the Old Hag has a soft spot for ya doesn't mean I'm gonna hold back."

"Alright," Izuku accepted, "then you better understand that I won't make that easy for you." He stepped onto the train and turned around, giving him a challenging smirk, "good luck, number 2."

The doors closed as Bakugo began to scream at him "DON'T THINK YOU CAN GET ALL COCKY DEKU! I'LL KILL YA!"

Izuku sighed happily as he sat down, looking out the window with a smile on his face. "Things are looking up, eh Midoriya?" He asked himself as the train sped along.

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Hours earlier

Aizawa hung up his phone and walked back over to where Pakku was sitting, looking down at a case file, "you know you didn't need to come with me right?" Aizawa asked as he sat down next to him, "this isn't even an actual case, I'm just following up on some things."

"I know, but anything that involves the Dragon of the West, concerns me." Pakku sniffed, closing the file with a snap.

"I just want to get the full picture of Midoriya's time with him." Aizawa grumbled.

"And I want to find out what he had planned for the boy."

Aizawa sighed as the door buzzed open and two armed guards walked out.

"This way Erasure Head, Whiplash." One said, beckoning the two heroes forward.

They walked in silence as they were escorted down narrow hallways, blank, solid steel doors lining the walls. "This place is very different from the JDC, or even the Municipal jail."

"Tartarus is where they house the worst of the worse." Pakku sniffed disdainfully, "its security is heightened and the guards, armed. I don't think I need to tell you what would happen if it were anything less."

"No, you don't." Aizawa says as the guards stop at one of the doors.

"He's a minimum security threat." One of them stated, "but still, don't hand him anything, and keep your limbs clear of the bars."

"Got it." Erasure said as the door slid open, revealing a room with bars cutting it in half, on the other side of the bars sat an old man; his gray hair was long with a bald spot at the front, it was shaggy and unkempt just like the beard upon his face, he wore a simple prison uniform that was stretched by his rotund figure, currently he was seated cross-legged atop a simple mat, a hot cup of tea in his hands. His eyes were closed as he sipped the tea, slowly lowering it as he opened his golden eyes and looked at the two men, "Erasurehead! Whiplash! What a pleasant surprise!" He said jovially, appearing to be genuine in his happiness to see them, "have a seat, I'm sorry theres no chairs in here, but the mats are mostly comfortable."

Pakku sneers and remains standing. While Aizawa sits down across from Iroh, "mr. Sawron-" he starts, only to stop as Iroh laughs.

"Please, I believe we are all friends here...mostly." he adds, giving Pakku a side glance, "call me Uncle! Everyone does."

Aizawa hesitates for a moment, "Uncle," he starts carefully, "I'm here to speak with you about Izuku Midoriya."

Irohs jovial expression falls into one of concern, "has something happened to the boy?" He asks worriedly, "is he alright?"

"He's doing just fine." Aizawa assures the man, "but i wanted to talk with you about his time living in your foster home."

"Ah," iroh sighs with a reminiscent smile, "those were good days, he was the oldest child living there, the others, when there were others, were five or younger, so we connected a little better then the younger ones." He set his tea down on the floor and settled his hands into his lap, "he was an angry, sad boy when he came into my care, I did not know the exact specifics of his former home until he told me himself; but I knew he needed guidance. So I slowly earned his trust and taught him what I could about life, he was a fast learner, and soaked up all the lessons I could give him; though now that I think about it," iroh wondered as henput a finger to his chin, "the lessons with the ladies never seemed to stick."

"What were your plans for the boy." Pakku interrupted, ignoring Aizawas warning glare as he stepped forward.

"My plans for him? Well I had thought to maybe adopt him and have him stay with me permanently. A boy needs a stable home to be able to achieve his dreams and flourish."

"So you're a humanitarian now." Pakku scoffed, "you expect me to believe you taught this boy your fighting style to give him a better life?"

"I taught him the art of Firebending to help him control his anger and focus his mind." Iroh said evenly, closing his eyes as he crossed his arms, "those of us with the inner fires of Agni are hot tempered, and quick to lash out, while I will admit that these forms can be used for battle, they off the secondary purpose of containing that anger and focusing it into something productive."

"Were you trying to teach Izuku Midoriya and guide him to restart the Caldera Syndicate?" Pakku demanded to know.

Iroh opened his eyes, looking at Pakku in confusion, "why would i want to do that? I'm the one who helped dismantle the Syndicate."

Aizawas eyes widened as pakku spluttered.

"I see you are confused." He sighed, "not many know this after all, but after the death of my son, Lu Ten, I quit the Syndicate to find inner peace, and achieved it after four long years housed in the temples of the Shaolin Monks, it is they who helped me refine my firebending and taught me how to control that fire, instead of letting it control me; when I returned to Japan, I put in an anonymous tip and had my brother and his cohorts arrested." He gives them a sad smile, "I know, that I have done a lot of bad in my life, and I know there is nothing I can do to fully redeem myself, but I have put no more evil in the last twenty years; I took Izuku in and trained him because he reminded me of my deceased son, I did what I could to help him out of that dark part of his life, and hope that he continues upon the right path...even while I am in here."

Pakku scoffed at this and turned away from the man when Aizawa glared at him once more, "he is continuing on the right path," Aizawa said, "he enrolled into UA, And achieved the highest score in the Schools history."

Iroh grins as he puffs out his chest, "I taught him everything he knows, is he doing well in the school?"

"The first day was today, but from what I've seen he will go very far is a hero."

"You have no idea how much it warms my heart to hear this, if you see him, please, tell him I am proud of him."

"I will." A knock at the door made Aizawa stand, "thank you for your time, Uncle, hopefully I will be able to visit again soon. And I'll talk with the administrator, see what we can do about getting you some visitation hours so you can see Izuku."

"That would be wonderful." Iroh sighs, "you have a good day Erasurehead, you too whiplash."

Pakku just sneers as he walks out, Aizawa gives him a small bow before following, the guards quickly flanking them as they walk out.

Pakku stays silent until they're out of Tartarus, "I don't trust that man." He muttered, "I know he is up to something, and it all centers around Midoriya."

"Midoriya has shown no signs of following Sawrons's younger self into a life of crime." Aizawa says sharply.

"Don't you mean Uncle?" He sneers.

Aizawa took a calming breath, "Midoriya is a model student with a bright future." He states, glaring at the man, before walking towards his car."give him the benefit of the doubt."

Pakku narrows his eyes, "are you sure your feelings for the boy haven't blinded you to his faults?" He asked, making Aizawa stop, "you're close with the boy, you've trained him, how do you know he's not just playing you?"

Aizawa turned his head slightly, giving the man a measured glance, "how do you know your hatred for Iroh hasn't blinded you to his good qualities." He asked, looking away, "he's still young, Pakku, and deserves better." With that Aizawa stepped into his car, leaving Pakku standing alone in the empty parking lot, looking down with narrowed eyes.