When they enter the school, Izuku notices how similar it was to the hospital and yet completely different.
There were stations for different volunteers and as well as supplies for civilians in the lobby being tended to, but there was a more structured organization on the layout. The volunteers all looked to be students of the school with a few of the heroes that had joined the school during the attacks.
Aizawa passed through most of the areas as he pointed out the direction of the cafeteria, volunteer center, training grounds and even classes that were being held for all ages.
"Everyone is required to contribute, so either you can train to be a hero to help in a specific field or you can volunteer indoors for general maintenance of the school. We have classes for different topics, but since most of you are minors, you're welcome to take normal school classes." Aizawa said.
He wasn't much for small chatter, most of his explanation was simple and to the point as he walked through the halls of the school with Izuku's mom resting in his arms.
"We'll have your mom taken to the infirmary. Midoriya will come with me tell me about the hospital. Everyone else will be escorted to their assigned rooms." Aizawa said.
"No." Izuku said.
Katsuki's yell overlapped his no and even the others were shaking their head in a joined negative to Aizawa's suggestion.
The older man paused, turning to give Izuku and his group a pointed look. Izuku raised his palms up to show they weren't trying to be difficult.
"Please understand. We prefer not to be separated." Izuku said.
Izuku could tell things were being run completely different from the hospital, but they weren't sure how different and they had agreed no matter what, they couldn't take the risk of being separated so early on. Maybe once they settled into a routine and they were sure they were truly safe, but not now.
Aizawa turned back around and continued down the hallway without a second glance back at them.
"Alright then." Aizawa said.
They reached a room that had a sign above stating it was a faculty room. When they entered, Midnight stood next to another hero, waiting for them. A dark red poncho covered the other man, his hero's costume giving him away as Snipe.
Aizawa sat his mother down in the chair nearby and she smiled up at him, thanking him as the group crowded close by, with Izuku to her left as their spokesperson. The older man sighed as he scratched the back of his head while moving to stand next to the other two teachers.
"I guess introductions are in order. You already know me so just call me Mr. Aizawa or Eraserhead if you like." Aizawa said.
The other two took their turns to introduce themselves to the older woman starting with Aizawa had left off.
"just call me Midnight. You're free to come for questions." Midnight said.
"You can call me Snipe." Snipe said.
Izuku nodded, introducing everyone one by one as they greeted the three adults. It was an awkwardness in the room, like an interview where Izuku's group was being judged for every small shift in movement. Neither side quit trusting the other.
"Let's not waste time then. We want to know more about the hospital you spoke of. We've tried to make communication with other safe areas, but it hasn't been easy because of circumstances in the area." Aizawa said.
He didn't clarify on what these circumstances, Izuku left it be for now, but he considered talking it over with the others later. They needed to stay on guard until they were sure. Izuku glanced over to Hatsume to set up her equipment on the table. As she moved forward to prepare, Izuku explained what he could. From the day they had reached the hospital. He explained the political struggle of the heroes and the police force, but avoided saying anything about Chieko's situation.
"When we left, they had tried to keep us there by holding my mom hostage, so we would stay." Izuku said.
It wasn't all a lie, but it left Izuku with a pit in his stomach as he kept to the story they had all agreed on. If Aizawa was ever to find out, Izuku wondered if he would understand why they had to withhold information, or would he send them away for lying? Izuku took a glance up at the older man. His face didn't give away much other than the exhaustion from lack of sleep and a dip in his growth that made him look as if he would prefer to be anywhere else but here at this moment. This didn't help Izuku at all and only made him more nervous about lying like this.
"Everything's ready!" Hatsume said.
She flipped the computer monitor to face the three adults where Inasa and the detective were sitting next to each other.
"This is our friend Inasa who stayed behind to help with the restructuring of the hospital and Detective Tsukauchi, who is in charge." Izuku said.
"Its good to see you again Eraserhead." Tsukauchi said.
"Good to know you're alive and well, Detective." Aizawa said.
Izuku should have expected that they knew each other. It was possible they had worked together in the past, even if in passing. That the detective had been close friends with All Might meant it was possible Aizawa had been close with both of them. Although the detective had reassured that only a few people had known the truth of All Might's quirks.
The Detective confirmed Izuku's story, and it was good that Aizawa seemed to trust Tsukauchi enough to accept what they said as fact. As they moved to other matters between the two safe houses, the Detective agreed to keep in touch and collaborate with the school.
"Thank you for agreeing to take care of them Eraserhead, I hope you can offer them better care than what I had done." Tsukauchi said.
Izuku shifted uncomfortably with his words. It was obvious how much guilt the other man still held for what had happened.
Kacchan huffed, irritated, picking up on the detective's solemn tone.
"I haven't made an official decision, but for now we welcome them to stay." Aizawa said.
"Thank you." Izuku said.
Things wrapped up early after that, but there was a bit of a mishap when Hatsume had to leave her computer behind so that Aizawa could keep in touch with the hospital.
"No, I won't do it." Hatsume said.
"Hatsume, I'm sure you could still come by to use it if you need it." Izuku said.
The girl glared at him and Izuku flinched back at the vicious glint in her eye for even insinuating such a thing. Denki moved closer to the copper-skinned girl to reassure her, but she snapped at him, making him jump back in surprise. Her arms stayed wrapped around the monitor, covering half of Inasa's laughing face. It was Midnight who stepped in to calm things down.
"How about this if I take you to the Support wing where we keep all of our equipment? If you could make something like this, I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to make a second one, right?" Midnight said.
Hatsume interest peaked, but she didn't let go of her equipment as she looked to the older woman in suspicion. Inasa encouraged Hatsume to accept the offer.
"Come on friend, isn't that the whole reason you went to the school? I have complete faith that you can do it in no time at all!" Inasa said.
She eased off the equipment, looking at the other boy through the monitor, who was smiling so big and reassuring. It seemed only Inasa could get through to her.
"Fine, one day, I'll have another copy ready in one day, so they better not break anything until I can transfer over everything." Hatsume threatened.
"Of course. I promise to watch over your equipment personally until it's ready." Midnight said.
Hatsume, with much reluctance, let go of the monitor and stepped away from the equipment. Inasa and the detective said their goodbyes and Aizawa lifted his mom back into his arms. His mother's flushed face had gotten darker, and he worried that her fever was spiking again.
"I'm feeling better. You don't have to carry me." Inko said.
Aizawa actually smiled at his mother, looking much softer than the grumpy frown he had given everyone else.
"I wouldn't be much of a hero if I forced you to do that." Aizawa said.
His actions weren't unusual for a hero. In their old life, people had expected it of him. Izuku was sure that his mother weighed nothing in the other man's arms, but this minor act eased some of Izuku's worries.
He took them to one of the empty classrooms that weren't occupied, where someone was already there waiting for them. The man was rather young, wearing a light blue pair of scrubs that had seen better days. He had a gentle smile on his face, with a small medical kit resting next to him on an empty desk.
"I was told I had a patient?" The man said.
"Yes, this is Inko Midoriya. Everyone, this is Nurse Shin." Aizawa said.
"Please sit her down in one of the empty futons and I'll look at her." Shin said.
Aizawa set his mom down and the nurse went over to check her over. Izuku noticed that Chieko had gravitated closer, watching closely at his every movement.
"What are your symptoms?" The nurse asked.
Before his mom could say anything, Chieko had sat next to her, relaying the symptoms that she had been keeping records of.
"She's been coughing throughout the day, but its worst at night, which keeps her from sleeping. She's spit up a bit of blood when it gets really bad." Chieko said.
"Its possible that she's irritated her throat enough to break some vessels inside. Anything else?" The nurse said.
"Fevers. I've tried to keep them down as much as possible, but they keep spiking, and she hasn't had an appetite for the last few days."
His mom didn't look bothered that Chieko had taken over as she sat back and let the girl speak for her.
"I want to check your lungs. Will it be okay if you loosen your shirt?" Shin asked.
"Can I ask what all of your quirks are?" Aizawa asked.
Izuku turned to the other man as he motioned for everyone else to give space for the nurse to continue his examination. They didn't go any farther than the other side of the room, but it gave them as much privacy as they could afford. Denki was the first to offer his quirk as he sat on one of the desk tables with Shinso standing to his right.
"My quirk is electrification. I have a bit of trouble controlling the output, but I'm a pretty good battery pack." Denki said.
Aizawa nodded, but didn't give too much away as he turned to Shinso, waiting. The other boy shifted his gaze uncertainly as he avoided looking at anyone directly.
"My quirk is Brainwashing. But it only works if someone answers my question." Shinso said.
"Can you control multiple people or just one at a time?" Aizawa asked.
Izuku listened, excited to learn anything he could about Shinso's quirk. Not that he hadn't been interested in the other boys' abilities, but they had been so preoccupied with getting to the school that it didn't give Izuku the chance to bombard him with his curiosity.
"Ah, I can control multiple people, but I can only activate it one person at a time." Shinso said.
Aizawa nodded, but didn't question him further. Izuku wondered if Shinso had caught the teacher's interest. He couldn't blame him if he had.
"What about you?" Aizawa asked.
Hatsume still had a pout on her face as she refused to look at the other man, her arms crossed.
"My quirk is zoom." She said.
She didn't offer to explain further, and Aizawa rolled his eyes as he glanced over at Izuku and Kacchan.
"Well?" Aizawa asked.
"My quirk is super strength, but I don't have full control of it. My mom's quirk is object attraction." Izuku said.
"Explosion." Kacchan said.
Aizawa glanced over to his mom and Chieko, who were speaking quietly with the nurse. They had yet to mention Chieko's quirk.
"And the girls?" Aizawa asked.
"Quirkless." Kacchan said.
Aizawa glanced back at them, but Kacchan's eyes stared right back at him, as if daring him to say he was lying. Izuku's eyes dried from the effort it took not to look away.
"Alright then." Aizawa said.
He looked away and Izuku let out a quiet sigh of air. He wasn't sure that Aizawa fully believed them about Chieko, but they would need to be careful for now.
"Like I said before, you can choose to work here or volunteer to train as a hero. Either way, you need to find something to contribute during your stay." Aizawa said.
"Thank you again. We promise to earn our keep." Izuku said.
"Hmm, I guess we'll see. I'll leave you all to rest for no and come by in the morning to give you a tour." Aizawa said.
Shin came over his face didn't look concerned, so Izuku took that as a good sign.
"I'll have to monitor her, but I think it's just a virus that has lingered too long. Given your travels, it could have kept her from recovering, so I recommend she rest for now and we'll keep her fevers in check." Shin said.
"Thank you so much." Izuku said.
Kacchan nodded, refusing to say anything around the newcomers, but Izuku could see the way his shoulders sagged as the tension eased from his body at the news.
When they were all left alone, they went about setting up their places for rest. They moved the futons over to one end of the classroom as the boys moved the desks on their sides in a line as a blockade between their futons and the doors. Not that they were worried, but it had become such a habit that no one had noticed until his mom had questioned them.
"Do you really need to do that?" Inko asked.
Denki paused the desk in his arms as he prepared to stack it above the others.
"Better than being caught off guard." Kacchan said.
The blond stacked the desks and Denki followed suit as the others moved themselves as a semicircle around his mom and Chieko's futon as the second line of defense.
"I guess that's true, but Mr. Aizawa seemed like a good man." Inko said.
Hatsume grinned as she plopped down on her futon next to Chieko, who was reading through her book.
"Ooh Ms. Midoriya, do you like him?" Hatsume asked.
Chieko looked up in surprise at the sudden question. Izuku paused next to Kacchan, who was eying them bored. His mom stuttered, her face going red as her hands waved in front of her as if to brush the question aside.
"Wha!? No! I just thought he was being very kind to us. I'm pretty sure I'm too old for him." Inko said.
Hatsume didn't let up and Chieko soon joined as they teased his mother, her blush darkening. She was clearly feeling better after taking some of the medicine Nurse Shin had given her, so Izuku was happy to see his mother being so lively.
"Don't even Auntie. He would be lucky if you gave him the time of day." Chieko said.
"Yeah, Mrs. M, you're too good for him, so you can't marry him!" Denki said.
"Marriage!?" Izuku cried.
His mom was sputtering at the thought and Izuku's mouth had fallen open at the idea of his mother remarrying. Kacchan tapped the back of his head in passing as he went to lie down on his futon. Izuku reached to touch the back of his head. It hadn't even hurt for once.
"Knock it off idiots, you're going to give the nerd and auntie a heart attack with your teasing." Kacchan said.
"Sorry auntie, we were only playing." Chieko said.
His mom smiled, patting her head as Chieko sat back next to her.
"It's okay. It's nice to see you acting like kids for once and having a bit of fun, even if it was at my expense." Inko said.
Everyone settled down, although they were all still wide awake as they went over what they had seen at the school. His mom rested against the far wall, sipping on the tea that Chieko made for her to soothe her throat. Denki turned over onto his stomach, his arms crossed to prop his chin up.
"Do you think we should go back to trying to be heroes? This could be our chance to make our dreams come true, right?" Denki asked.
Izuku considered the idea, but the word hero still didn't hold any comfort to him. He has wanted to be a hero for so long that now that it was a genuine possibility; he wasn't sure if he could even consider it his dream anymore.
"I wouldn't mind it, but I don't know if they have any position that would work with my quirk." Shinso said.
"I have to agree. I still need to get better with my control." Izuku said.
"We could consider training?"
Izuku nodded and Shinso smiled as he laid back to settle in for the night.
"Maybe I can work on some self-defense?" Chieko said.
Izuku looked over at her, but she wasn't looking up from her book. She seemed uncertain about her suggestion, but he knew by now how much she wished to be useful, so he smiled at her in agreement.
"You can come with us to see what they offer."
"Okay." Chieko said.
"What about you Baku? You going to join in training?" Denki asked.
"Who knows? It's not like I need it as much as you do. Maybe I'll join a volunteer group." Kacchan said.
Izuku wouldn't be surprised if he agreed to go back to his original goals of being a hero, but then again, Kacchan was the least trusting in their group, so he wasn't sure Kacchan was ready to accept the school like the others were.
"You're right. I like the idea of volunteering more than training." Denki said.
"How about you all return to school instead?" His mom asked.
"Wouldn't that feel weird?" Hatsume asked.
"What do you mean?" Inko said.
Izuku shifted to get comfortable as he considered Hatsume's words. He had to agree that it would feel strange at the idea of returning to school.
"It feels like too much has happened. School just feels too normal." Chieko said.
"Yeah, almost like we're pretending or something." Denki said.
"Pretending?" Inko said.
Izuku could guess that his mom wouldn't understand it, going back to school, studying, exams. It felt so foreign an idea, like something that had done years ago.
"Maybe when we settle in more?" Izuku suggested.
His mom smiled, satisfied with his answer. He didn't think anyone's mind would change, but if it eased his mom's worry a bit, then for tonight he could meet her halfway.
"Instead of school, I think I'm going to ask Nurse Shin if I can study under him. It wouldn't hurt to learn basic first aid at least, maybe more." Chieko said.
"Sounds good." Kacchan said.
Chieko smiled, happy that Kacchan agreed with her plan as she laid back down, ready for sleep.
"Look at lil Chieko growing up so fast, should I call you Nurse Chieko?" Denki asked.
"See if I protect you the next time Baku comes after you for being dumb." Chieko said.
"No! Come on, he's scary!"
"Shut up and go to bed already!" Kacchan yelled.
Izuku chuckled as he reclined back to settle in. The others soon fell asleep one by one, but even as the heaviness of sleep seeped in, Izuku couldn't seem to shut off his mind. As happy as he was that everyone could finally rest without the need to keep one eye open, a part of him couldn't seem to shut off the nervous buildup of energy inside him.
'Young Midoriya.'
Izuku shut his eyes, turning onto his side as he tried to ignore the voices trying to break through. There was movement in front of him as something brushed against his hand. Izuku opened his eyes, seeing Kacchan laying across from him. He wasn't looking at him as he laid on his back, his eyes closed. Kacchan had stretched his arm out towards Izuku as he hooked his pinky and ring finger with his own. Izuku's mind calmed as he focused on the slight warmth of their linked hands.
"Go to sleep Izuku."
Izuku closed his eyes as sleep finally took hold of him.
"Good night Kacchan." Izuku said.