KYOKA POV
When Izuku, Uraraka, Kirishima, and Tsu returned for the day it was dark out. They all spent an entire day from morning till night working, but something didn't seem right. The four of them left at the same time; which in itself wasn't weird. The weird part was that they all came back at the same time, as well as the fact that they all seemed drained but not from a physical point of view.
It was obvious that they were hiding something. They did their best to keep up the act of everything being fine, but some were better than others. Uraraka and Kirishima by far were the easiest to read since they tended to wear their hearts on their sleeves, Tsu was difficult since she always kept a calm expression, but Izuku was complicated. He is always hiding something so his mannerisms more often than not make it look like something is off. Honestly if it wants for all the time we spent together I'd still have a hard time reading him.
A few people were quick to start asking them questions about how their day went. Every single answer they gave was vague, which only solidified my suspicions that something was going on. Thankfully once again Momo came to the rescue and bailed them out of the onslaught of questions. With her intervention the four of them retired for the night. I really wanted to ask Izuku what was wrong, but I trusted that he'd tell me if he could.
The next morning wasn't much different. The four main work study students all still looked as if they were trying to be somewhere else. Whatever was going on they needed some form of distraction. The only real change was Izuku's hair; he was wearing it down to class which was something new. The only times he would ever wear it down was before he went to bed and after he showered.
Izuku had told me that he was given permission to listen to music to help drown out the voices. With my enhanced hearing I thought I might have an idea of what he was going through at first, but after he explained it to me I realized how little I understood. I merely heard the surrounding sounds better, while his were full blown auditory hallucinations. The only thing I could do was reassure him that he was doing his best.
As the day went on I noticed a few more things. The four of them seemed to be pushing themselves harder than normal. Izuku was normally in the top of the class for drills and practice exercises, but today he had a look of determination that said he was going to be the best. No, it said he had to be the best.
Uraraka, Tsu, and Kirishima weren't far behind him. While they normally hung around the middle of the class, they also pushed themselves a few spots higher. Everyone seemed to think that the work studies had taught them new tricks, but it was simply a case of pushing themselves to the breaking point and then smashing past that.
After class nothing serious happened. Izuku locked himself in his room to work on music. Present Mic had given some work to help keep his mind at bay. The other three seemed to be doing better now that they were able to relax a little. The only strange thing was that anytime a phone would go off they would get a serious expression while checking it before disappointment would creep up for an instant.
The second day was more of the first, the only difference was they seemed to be pushing themselves even harder. It wasn't surprising that their effort caused others to push themselves even more. I could hear some say that they must have found a new gear; I could see how they saw that, but to me it looked like desperation to do something.
When classes came to an end Izuku once again was going to lock himself in his room and work on music. Today I planned on joining him so he wouldn't be alone. I saw what happened when he spent too much time alone and I wasn't going to let that happen, especially in the dorms. Unfortunately that wasn't able to happen. Uraraka ran up to us before we reached the dorms and asked if he and she could talk for a little while. The serious look in her eyes was something I had never seen from her before. Izuku simply nodded and the two of them went to his room.
As much as I wanted to listen in on their talk I wasn't able to. The soundproofing turned their voices into incoherent muffles, the only sound I clearly heard was him locking the door once they were inside.
I trusted Izuku completely, but that didn't mean I wasn't a little jealous. I knew Uraraka still liked him, so for all I knew she was confessing just to get it off her chest and to not have any regrets. Of course I couldn't be mad at her for that, hell I told her before that there was nothing wrong with crushing on someone who was taken. Thankfully Momo came to my rescue and helped get my mind off of things.
Her and I weren't the only ones who thought something was off. A few of the more observant members of the class seemed to realize that something was off. At this rate it wouldn't be long before everyone knew something was up. Knowing this we decided to plan a distraction for the entire class. The sheer simplicity of our idea gave us confidence that it would at least ease some of the growing stress.
Almost two hours later Uraraka left Izuku's room. Her eyes were red and puffy as if she had just finished crying, even with how they looked I could still see a look of intensity in them. When I asked her if everything was alright she insisted that everything was fine and that it was just her allergies. It was an obvious lie.
When I got into his room Izuku was already back working on his music. He spent the rest of the night with his headphones on working, while I just sat in silence on my phone. Even if he never said anything, I still caught him looking to see if I was still here, each time he saw me a faint smile was present on his face.
The third day was the biggest day so far, all four of them were overly on edge. Pops ended up having to talk to them after class. When they returned the edge was definitely still there, but it had dissipated back to relatively normal levels.
The wildness of the day didn't end there; not long after everyone had gotten back to the dorm Togata, Hado, and Amajiki all showed up to drag the four of them out somewhere. It was quite the sight seeing Izuku and Kirishima dragged away by giant tentacles.
When the four of them returned they looked utterly exhausted. It was no surprise to anyone that they all went straight to bed after eating. Sadly that meant that the plan Momo and I had put together was going to have to wait another night.
When the fourth day came surprisingly everything seemed normal, except Izuku. It was probably because I understood him better, but I could still see how on edge he was. He barely paid attention during class anymore as his eyes were constantly locked out the window.
That evening was more of the same. He threw himself right into his music and only came out to eat. Momo and I both agreed that tonight had to be the night to put our plan into action.
When the majority of the class was down stairs it started. Music filled the common area causing an uproar from a few people. Having a karaoke party in the middle of the week seemed out of place, yet somewhat normal for high schoolers. The sudden change in the mood caused quite the stir. We had never done anything like this before so there was a good mixture of excitement and nervousness. I was worried that the plan was going to fail, but thankfully once the first person started everyone was ready to join in.
Everything was going according to plan. Uraraka and Tsu were all smiles and laughter, while Kirishima belted "Eye of Tiger" to his heart's content while dancing. I was glad that they were able to have fun and smile like they used to, but Izuku was still locked away in his room. As much as I wanted him to be here, I knew I couldn't force him down right now.
The song's continued to play and the choices were all over the place. Kaminari and Mineta decided to team up and do "E-GIRLS ARE RUINING MY LIFE". Despite the lyrics, and the two singing it, no one got upset. Sure they were pervs, but they didn't do anything except sing a song, that being said they didn't do a good job at all. Surprisingly even Tokoyami got infront of everyone and sang "In The Air Tonight".
As everyone cheered I felt a hand on my shoulder and a warm breath on my ear. Momo had leaned in close from behind me to apologize, she never said what it was for before she went to sing "Party In The U.S.A" with Uraraka.
While the two of them were singing I felt a familiar warmth sit next to me, Izuku had finally left his room. I wasn't sure what happened, but I was sure that Momo had done something to get him down here. That thought alone caused me to wonder what she did to get him to come down and why it warranted an apology. Before I was able to even try and get an answer out of Izuku he was pulled up by Mina and Higakure.
Ever since he sang for us the second night after the room competition they had continued to pester him about singing more. He never bothered to sing for them, hell he didn't even attempt to serenade me, the only times I would hear him sing was while he was in the shower or if he was working on music. That's why I was pleasantly surprised to see him willingly go along with it and sing "Santeria".
The smile on his face while he sang was more than enough of a sign telling me that we had accomplished our goal for the night. When Izuku finished I decided that it was time for me to take my turn at singing. I was nervous since this was going to be my first time singing in front of people who weren't my parents or Izuku, but tonight was special so I wanted to join in on the fun. The only question I had was deciding what song to pick. While scrolling through the list of popular western music I found the perfect song.
A smirk spread across my face as "I Kissed A Girl" started to play. The moment the beat started Hagakure and Mina both squealed, apparently they were fans of the song. I sent Izuku a wink before I started singing. I had never kissed a girl before, but I couldn't resist the urge of messing with Momo. Especially since she gave me a vague apology with no context.
When I finished singing I noticed a few things. First, Momo had become a hot mess since she had been fanning her face with her hands the whole time and second, everyone minus Izuku jaws were dropped. Once the shock of what happened had worn off I was hit with copious amounts of compliments which turned me into a blushing mess. I had always enjoyed singing and Izuku was always complimenting my voice, but I just assumed he was being a good boyfriend.
After that the night was essentially one big party that caused us to all forget any worries. A plethora of performances were given and amongst the top was Todoroki's performance of "Anaconda" while Sero was his backup dancer. That one ended with Mina and Higakure throwing Monopoly money at the two of them. The other top contender for best song was Izuku and myselfs duet of "If It Means A Lot To You", which was my personal favorite.
On the fifth day everything seemed to be back to normal, actually the entire class's mood had been brightened after last night. I was happy that everyone was doing better, especially after how everything had been the past few days.
With the way things had turned around it felt like it was going to be the start of a great weekend. I had already come up with a few different date ideas that would continue to help keep Izuku's mind off everything. Movies, shopping, amusement parks, music stores, there was a concert for a local band, and of course the ol' tried and true tongue action for if everything else failed.
The rest of the evening had gone great. No one was stressed and no one looked as if the weight of the world was crashing down on them. Izuku and I even made plans to go to the mall on Saturday. He wanted to get some new clothes and I wasn't about to miss the chance of using him as my personal dress up doll. The sheer excitement I felt from knowing things had turned around filled me with so much energy that I couldn't sleep.
Sadly that excitement didn't last long.
It was almost midnight, Izuku and I were in his bed cuddling while talking about everything we were going to do tomorrow. It was a perfect evening as far as I was concerned, that was until Izuku's phone went off. The instant it rang the first time he jumped out of bed to check it. I knew it was something big, a cold serious look was in his eyes. Just like that a switch flipped and he was back to how he was on Monday.
I didn't like it at all.
He threw on his jacket before leaving the room. He said he'd be right back and that he had to take an important call. I knew it had to do with whatever case he was working, normally he'd answer any call with me around. As much as I wanted to follow and listen in on him, I knew that wouldn't help the situation all. So I laid in bed and waited fifteen minutes… thirty minutes… an hour later Izuku came back.
He looked drained.
That night turned into the gift that kept giving. Izuku had to cancel all our plans for Saturday because he was being called in to work. I wasn't mad at him for that, there was nothing he could do. I was disappointed that we wouldn't get our date. I still couldn't believe that one simple message had turned an amazing day into a night of letdown.
The next morning I woke up early and saw Izuku off. With a kiss and the smile that I had come to love he walked out of the gate with Kirishima, Uraraka, Tsu, Togata, Amajiki, and Hado. The seven of them didn't say anything about why they were called in and that spoke volumes. The sinking feeling that I had told Momo about had come back with a vengeance.
I wanted to ask them what was going on. I wanted Izuku to tell me everything was going to be alright. I wanted someone to confirm my suspicions about everything. But I couldn't bring myself to ask them any of it.
Little did I know that the moment they walked out the gate was the last time I was going to see Izuku for a few days, it was the moment I was going to come to regret not taking Hado up on meeting Ryukyu, and it was the moment that changed everything for Izuku.
IZUKU POV
"What the hell!? You're telling us that she's been here the whole time!? We seriously did all of that searching for nothing!?" Once again Rock Lock was the first to speak up.
Sir had just told us that after a week of investigation they discovered that Eri was still being kept in the main compound.
"I wouldn't say it was for nothing, we gained plenty of information. Now we know that all the drug production is being kept centralized."
Sir's point was true. Knowing that everything was in one place meant that if we stopped them here and now they won't be able to pick up and move, they'd be starting over from scratch.
"How do you know she's here Nighteye? I mean it's not like she was being paraded around town and if she was then it's more than likely a trap."
There was a sheen off Sirs glasses as he set a box covered in glitter on the table. "This is how we know she's here. Yesterday during our stakeout I followed one of their members to a toy store, where he proceeded to buy one of these."
Fat Gum looked on with a deadpan expression. "Maybe the guy's just into dolls, there are some really weird people out there."
"I used my quirk on him and I saw him giving the doll to her."
"Wait, didn't you say you weren't going to use your quirk on anyone?"
"No, I said I wasn't going to use my quirk on a comrade. I couldn't care less about an enemy, especially when said enemy showed me the layout of the underground tunnels that lead straight to her room."
As if it was on queue the lights turned off and a projector turned on, on the screen showed the layout of the underground tunnels and where we could access them from.
"Alright everyone, listen up, Monday morning at 9 AM we will be starting our operation. We're going to spend the rest of today making our plan of attack and learning everything we can about the people we will be fighting."
Sir wasn't lying when he said the rest of the day would be spent in that meeting. We all had arrived early in the morning and by the time we were done the moon was already out. All of us were exhausted, but we had no desire to sleep. Our mission was just one day away.
Once again we were sworn to silence by Pops and in order to take away any risk of loose lips he put us in hotels for the night. I was glad he had told us all this last night instead of springing this on us at the last second, spending an entire night sleeping in my school uniform wasn't something I wanted to do.
Sunday morning all of us doing our work study were sent back home to spend time with our families. It honestly didn't seem like a bad idea, but it gave us all a foreboding feeling. It felt like a scene straight out of a movie before a favorite character dies in battles. Obviously none of us planned on dying tomorrow, but that thought couldn't help but linger in the back of my mind.
Just like the rest I too went home for the weekend. Pops saw all of us off, but before I was able to get on my train he stopped me. Apparently there was something he needed to talk to me about. I wasn't sure what it could have been since I thought we had covered everything important during the meeting the night before.
It had been a long time since Pops, Mama Joke, and I spent a night with just the three of us, four if you counted Licorice, but I could tell something felt off. Mama Joke seemed giddy and nervous at the same time while Pops kept giving her annoyed looks.
"So Izuku, how's the work study been going? I haven't really heard much from you since it started, you must be busy." Mama Joke leaned in with an unsettling smile.
"Yeah, it's been difficult keeping up with that and school at the same time."
Her smile became unnerving. "Don't let those grades of yours slip now."
"Yes ma'am." I nervously sipped my drink.
Her attention quickly turned to Pops who was casually swirling his drink. "Speaking of school, that was quite the meeting you had yesterday. You were gone from morning till the dead of night practically."
"We had a lot to cover, new policies and such."
"I see, so why did Mic come over to see if you wanted to go drinking?" Her stare turned cold.
"Shit."
"Also I received a call from Kyoka asking if you were here. She said she hadn't heard from you all day and that your phone was turned off."
"The work study was really busy yesterday so I just didn't think about it."
Her cold eyes stayed locked on us as she took a slow drink. As her glass hit the table a long deep sigh escaped from her. "I get it, I really do get it, confidential cases are a pain, but you can just tell me that it's work related. I know you're trying to keep me from worrying, but lying like that just makes me worry more."
Even though I wasn't lying I still felt guilty hiding everything from her. I could feel a lump in my throat as my head hung low. Pops on the other hand looked calm as ever as he continued to sip his drink.
"Did you seriously think I wouldn't put two and two together Shota? I saw Nighteyes post about looking for heroes in specific locations. We both know that Nighteye isn't the type to ask for team ups unless it's something big."
Pops glanced up from his drink at her. "I didn't realize you were monitoring his movements so closely."
Mama Joke slammed her hands on the table as she stood. "Izuku is working for the man, of course I'm monitoring him! I'm worried about him, sue me!"
Pops took another sip of his drink before sitting it down. "I never said it was a bad thing, why do you think I decided to team up with his agency?"
Mama Joke was speechless as her jaw was dropped. I was shocked too. This entire conversation had blown up into something I wasn't expecting. Even Licorice had become invested as he made his way into my lap to get a better view.
Mama Joke took a deep breath as she sat back down. "So that's why you took the job."
Pops ran a hand through his hair as he looked to the ground. His eyes were filled with intensity. "Partially, there were a few other factors that contributed to it as well."
A soft smile spread across Mama Jokes face as her finger danced across the rim of her glass. "I see, well if that's the case I understand. Still though… I wish you would have talked to me about this first, I would have joined too."
"That's exactly why I didn't tell you." Pop's words were cold and direct.
"What the hell Shota?! You don't think I can handle myself?!"
"I know you can handle yourself!"
That was one of the first times I saw Pops truly lose his cool and the first time I'd ever seen him genuinely yell at Mama Joke. It was unnerving to watch.
"Dammit Emi we both have been in the game long enough to know when shit hits the fan it's not pretty. The most important thing to do when that happens is to remain calm and to not lose your cool. If it was just you and me I know you'd be able to remain collected, but not with him. I know you'd forget everything to go make sure he's ok."
"And you're telling me you wouldn't!? Shota, you raised Izuku for the past two years and trained him as if he was your own son!"
"I know that… I know that." Pop's voice had calmed down and gone back to its usual tone. "I talked to Nighteye about this, he's letting me work directly with his team so I'll be with him the entire time. I'll keep him safe."
Mama Joke bit her thumb as she thought about everything. It was written all over her face how unhappy she was about the situation, but she knew he was right. She took a deep breath before locking eyes with him. Her eyes begged him to reassure her.
"You promise to keep him safe?"
"Yes."
"You won't let anything bad happen to him?"
"Of course."
"You'll call me right when everything's done and let me know everything alright?"
"I'll find a payphone if I have to."
A smile spread across her face. "If you don't, you'll have to marry me."
"… I'm not sure about that one."
Mama Joke began to pout at Pops. Her puffed up cheeks were turning red as she crossed her arms. Just as it looked like she was about to pop she broke into laughter.
"Man, I sure thought I had you that time. You were saying yes so quickly I thought I could trick you into marrying me."
Pops began to chuckle as he sipped his drink again. "It takes more than that to trick me."
The room was drowned in Mama Jokes laughter as her and Pops shared a moment. The entire conversation felt like something I shouldn't have seen. It was an awkward situation that I had never experienced before, so I wasn't sure if I should speak up or pretend I didn't see anything. Thankfully my best buddy in the entire world decided to let out the meow of the century bring all the attention to me; and after all eyes were on me he hopped off my lap and went into the other room to sleep.
"Well fuck you too Licorice."
Mama Jokes eyes went wide as she stared at me. "Oh my God I'm so sorry Izuku, I completely forgot you were here."
I nervously laughed while looking away. "Yeah… I could tell."
"Sorry you had to see that kid." Pops took another sip of his drink which was almost empty now.
"It's fine… It's normal for families to have arguments from time to time, right?"
Pops and Mama Joke looked at each other. "It's complicated, but yeah these things do happen from time to time."
"Then that's that, no harm no foul."
Mama Joke smiled softly as she relaxed into her chair. "Izuku, there's actually something Shota and I wanted to discuss with you."
"What's up?"
"Well ever since you moved in Shota has been your legal guardian."
"Yeah, he explained all that when we talked about him taking me in."
She began to fidget with her hands under the table. "Due to recent events, we've been wanting to change that."
I looked at her confused. She could barely bring herself to look at me so I couldn't get a read on what she meant. I wasn't sure exactly what she meant by changing that. I wracked my brain for any possible meaning and the first thing that came to mind wasn't what I expected.
"Oh..."
"Yeah… so what do you think?" Mama Joke finally looked at me and there was worry in her eyes.
It hurt being asked what I thought, she should have known how I felt about the entire situation. Biting the bullet I gave her the best smile I could force out.
"I mean I shouldn't be surprised, I figured it was going to happen eventually. I just wasn't expecting it to happen now."
Mama Joke looked down with a soft smile. "We should have figured you'd have known, you've always been smart. I know it seems like it was out of the blue, but after what you said at Kyoka's house we knew it was time."
That made it hurt even more. Choking back my feelings I stood up. "Well I'm gonna go to bed, I've got to get up early tomorrow."
The look Mama Joke gave me was perplexing. Why did she look confused? Did she not realize what she was doing to me? Before I could get away from the table Pops reached out and stopped me.
"Sit back down kid, you've completely misunderstood the situation. I can't blame you though, Emi is just too embarrassed to say it outright."
Confusion was the only thing that I could feel at the moment. I didn't understand how I could misread this situation. She said they wanted to change the fact the Pops was my guardian, the other option is disowning me. Reluctantly I sat back down as Pops finished his drink.
"We wanted to get rid of the guardian title."
I looked over at Pops as my hands began to shake. "So I was right."
"No, we wanted to legally adopt you so you'd actually be a part of a family, all we needed was your consent."
My eyes went wide. I had completely misunderstood everything. "Wait what?"
"I've already talked over everything with the Bakugo's. They were reluctant at first, but eventually they came around."
"So you weren't going to get rid of me?" I could feel tears starting to well up in my eyes.
Just like the first night in this house Mama Joke held me as I was on the verge of tears. This time however she held onto me tightly.
"Izuku, we'd never do that, I'm so sorry I made you think that."
Her voice was strained and I could feel a few tears fall onto my head. I leaned into her more as I returned her embrace. An ocean of seafoam green hair that smelt like fresh mint was the only thing I could think of at the moment and to me this was home. It was where I felt the safest.
"Izuku, as long as we're around you'll never be left alone like that again."
The softness of her lips pressed on the top of my head as she held onto me tighter. A multitude of emotions were welling up inside of me and I didn't know how to process it. There was so much I wanted to say, but I couldn't find the words.
"Thank you, Mama Joke."
Mama Joke continued to hold me for a few more minutes in silence before she slowly let go. Her eyes were red and there were traces of a few tears still lingering on her face. Dispute that she gave me the brightest smile she could before turning to Pops.
"Well Shota, we officially have our first child."
Pops laughed as he nodded. "Yeah, thank God we didn't have to change any diapers."
Mama Joke started to laugh as well. "I guess this would be a good time to tell you that I'm pregnant."
Both Pops and my own jaws dropped as we stared at Mama Joke who bursted into even more laughter.
"Oh my God you two should see your faces, it's priceless!"
She continued to laugh for ten minutes straight as we just stared at her in disbelief. When she finally calmed down she wiped away her tears and stood up.
"I'm just messing with you guys, I'm not pregnant."
A deep sigh of relief came from Pops while I still stared in utter confusion. I honestly didn't know what to believe when it came to Mama Joke. How the two of them worked while being seemingly total opposites made no sense to me, but they were happy so it really didn't matter.
"Well tonight has been an emotional rollercoaster, I'm gonna go get ready for bed. You two don't stay up too late now."
Mama Joke proceeded to give both of us a kiss goodnight before leaving. She really took to this adoptive parent thing quickly, but if she was happy I wasn't gonna stop her.
When she was gone Pops got up and went to the liquor cabinet and grabbed a bottle as well as a second glass. He set a full glass in front of me before refilling his glass. I looked at him slightly confused but he nodded telling me that it was ok. We sat in silence sipping our drinks until we heard the shower start running.
"I know you shouldn't be drinking the day before a big mission, but tonight has been stressful and I know you're going to be thinking about saving her all night. I gave you this to help calm those nerves so you can sleep."
"I know, but it still feels as if it's a final drink sort of situation right now."
"I won't lie, it very well could be. Given who we're going up against, there's a possibility that some of you students don't make it back. Of course us pros are going to do everything in our power to make sure you all make it out safely."
"Well I don't plan on dying, hell if I did Kyoka would find a way to bring me back just so she could kill me herself for leaving her."
Pops laughed as he took a sip. "Emi would do the same thing with me."
I took a sip of my drink before swirling it around my glass. The miniature whirlpool of whisky was hypnotic. Sighing I looked up at Pops.
"Why didn't you give it to her?"
He sighed as he pulled out a small black box. "There wasn't really a good time. I couldn't ruin the special moment you two had."
"Still though you can't keep telling her you're not gonna marry her, what if she just leaves you because you keep dragging your feet?"
He shook his head as he opened the box to reveal a diamond engagement ring. A 1.25 carat trillion cut VVS1 diamond was placed atop a platinum band.
The story behind the cut he chose was exactly what you would expect from the two of them. For an anniversary present pops took her to a jewelry store, of course she joked about how her present should be an engagement ring. The jeweler brought out some sample cuts hoping to make a sale. Mama Joke was so happy that she started asking all about the different types of cuts. When he got to the trillion cut she told Pops that he should get her that one because she's a one in a trillion type of girl. Of course Pops had the quick retort of there being a one in a trillion chances of him marrying her.
"She knows how I feel about her and she knows I don't mean it when I say I'm not going to marry her. Emi has always been able to see right through me." Pops grabbed the box and put it back in his pocket. "Don't worry I'll give it to her soon, but for now we should enjoy our drink and focus on the mission tomorrow."
"Yes sir."
Our glasses clinked before we continued to sip our drinks. Whiskey always tasted better when sharing it with someone. I looked forward to the days when I could do this with friends.
"So, are you gonna start using my first name now?"
"God no, you're kid for life."
I smirked as I sipped my drink. "Good, it feels wrong whenever you call me by it."
A/N:
Alright, I got this chapter done sooner than planned for one specific reason. I'm going to be taking my first actual vacation since before covid this week and I won't be back till the end of next week. Sure I could have made you wait, but I felt like being generous. I can't promise when the next chapter will be out because I won't be doing any writing during the trip. I will be drinking, sleeping, and having some long overdue fun. Anyways I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter.