There are many reasons why Izuku quite likes being out by the school entrance at the end of the day. For one he likes being outside in the fresh air, especially after a long day of being stuck in his classroom, for another he enjoys watching the kids playing together while they wait for their parents to pick them up. As he watches them in their little groups he tries to work out if any of the games are the same ones he and his friends used to play when they were at school or if they're completely new. However the main reason that he likes being out at the entrance of school is because he knows that Katsuki hates this duty with a passion. When he's outside waiting for all the kids to go home Izuku knows that there is no chance of him running into Katsuki and things ending in an argument.

Ever since Katsuki cornered him outside his classroom about that date he went on things have been incredibly strained between them. Where they once shared a polite nod at the very least they barely even acknowledge each other when they pass each other in the corridor or meet in the staff room. Thankfully they're both professional (and it seems as if Katsuki doesn't really get on with any of the other members of staff) so no one else has really noticed. Only Ochako (and of course that means Eijirou too) knows how badly things are going between the two of them. Ochako keeps telling him not to give up on the idea of the two of them but Izuku doesn't think anything will repair the situation at this point.

Looking around Izuku sees that by this point most of the children have been picked up and the grounds are pretty much empty so Izuku classes that as a job well done. He's about to turn and head inside to begin preparing for tomorrow's lessons when something suddenly slams into the back of his legs. Stunned, Izuku looks round to see a small girl – one of the kids from the younger years – with long white grey hair clinging to his legs and trembling. As best he can with her still holding him tightly he leans down so that he's eye level with the little girl clutching at his trousers. He holds her so that he can look into her face and gives her a comforting smile. "Hey there Eri sweetheart, are you okay?"

"Please don't let him take me Mr Midoriya," Eri begs, tears in her huge, scared eyes.

"What? Sweetheart who are you talking about?" Izuku asks. He had thought he was alone out here, everyone else having gone by now, and he still can't see anyone around but there must be a reason why Eri is so terrified.

"I don't want to go with him," she cries, burrowing into Izuku's chest and clinging even harder to him.

Wrapping her up in his arms Izuku picks her up, rubbing a gentle hand up and down her back. "It's okay," he says softly. "You stay right here with me. You don't have to go with anyone you don't want to."

Eri buries herself against Izuku's shoulder, tears wetting his shirt. "I don't want him to hurt me again," she cries.

"Who's going to hurt you sweetheart?" Izuku asks.

Before Eri has the chance to answer him Izuku spots a lone figure coming across the courtyard towards them both. There's something about the man working over that deeply unsettles Izuku and sends a chill down his spine. It could be the face mask, the eerily clean white kid gloves or the dark circles under his eyes, but there's something that makes Izuku uncomfortable and he can see why Eri is so scared. Without realising it he's tightening his grip on her, desperate to keep her safe from him. The man comes over, fixing Izuku with a deep stare that seems to penetrate into his soul and Eri trembles even more in his arms.

"Is everything alright sir?" Izuku asks, thankful that his voice isn't trembling as he faces off against this creepy man.

"I'm here to pick up my daughter," he says. "Can I have her, please?" He looks dead behind the eyes and Izuku wouldn't trust him with safety scissors, never mind a child.

"I'm sorry, I've never met you before," Izuku says, holding Eri a little tighter. "Who is your daughter?"

"Eri, the girl you're holding," the man says. "Give her to me."

"No," Eri whimpers but only loudly enough for Izuku to hear with her head pressed right up against his neck. "I don't want to."

"I can't just let her go with someone I don't know," Izuku says firmly. "Eri is usually picked up by someone else so I will need to go to reception and check that she can go with you. It won't take me very long." Izuku has absolutely no intention of letting this man take Eri anywhere but he's not about to let him know that in case he turns violent, which is a very real possibility. What he needs is to be able to get Eri away from him and inside the school so that he can warn one of the other teachers but he has to do that without arousing suspicion.

The man gives him a smile (at least Izuku thinks he does, he can't really see very well with the face mask.) "I'm sorry, I think we got off on the wrong foot here," he says. "I'm Chisake Kai, Eri's father."

"I'm sorry, that's not a name I've heard of before," Izuku says. "If you wouldn't mind waiting here then I can check with reception and you can take her home."

"See the thing is I've got to get back to work so I need to take her now," Chisake says, clearly trying to remain friendly. "I can't hang around much longer."

Eri's tiny hands cling tighter and Izuku takes a step backwards. "She seems like she doesn't want to go with you," he says.

Chisake laughs awkwardly and rubs the back of his neck. "She's always like this when she knows she's been naughty and this morning she broke something I was supposed to give to one of my company's top clients," he explains although Izuku can tell that it's a lie. "Look I'm already late enough getting back to work as it is and I have a meeting this afternoon so if you can just hand her over and we'll be on our way."

"No," Izuku says firmly. "Not until I've made sure that it's alright for me to. We have a very strict policy at this school, which I'm sure you're aware of."

"I am but you have to understand where I'm coming from."

"I do," Izuku says, still managing to sound calm, "but you have to understand that I have a duty of care to Eri."

Chisake takes a menacing step towards them both, glaring at Izuku. "Give me the fucking kid!"

Before Izuku has the chance to say anything in response to that the front doors of the school crash open. Looking round Izuku sees Katsuki standing there, his face like thunder. He takes one look at the three of them and storms over to their little group. Part of Izuku is instantly worried that Katsuki is going to shout at him for wasting this man's time when he could have taken his daughter and been done with all of this by now. Instead, to his great surprise, Katsuki storms up to Chisake and punches him straight in the face, knocking him to the floor.

"You're not allowed on school property!" he shouts. Without waiting for an answer from the man now lying at his feet Katsuki turns to Izuku. "Deku, take Eri inside to Pikachu. I'll deal with this asshole."

"Okay," Izuku says, too stunned to say anything else. He can't believe what he's just witnessed (and what Eri's just had to witness) but he shakes himself out of his stupor: he has to make sure that Eri is looked after. Still holding on to her tightly Izuku takes Eri inside and into the main office where Denki is filing away some papers. He looks up and his usual smile lights up his face when he sees them both.

"Oh hey Midoriya," he says brightly. It only takes him a second before his eyes fall on the trembling Eri and his demeanour becomes much more serious. "Is everything alright?"

"Eri's had a little bit of a scare," Izuku tells him, trying to be tactful so as not to distress her any further. "There was a man outside trying to take her away. He said he was her father but she was very frightened of him."

Denki nods in understanding, more serious than Izuku has ever seen him. "Dark hair, dark eyes, looks like he hasn't eaten a decent meal in weeks?"

"Yes, that was him."

"Okay, where is he now?"

"Well Ka... Bakugou came and said he'd deal with him," Izuku replies.

Denki thinks about this for a moment, nodding more to himself than to Izuku. "Well last time he locked him in the sports shed so I'll assume he'll do the same again and just go ahead and call the police."

As if by magic the door to Tenya's office suddenly opens and he comes out looking stern and serious. "Kaminari I heard you say police" he says. "What is going on?"

"Oh Principal Iida," Izuku gasps. "Eri's father came to try and take her away."

Tenya's face darkens. "He's not supposed to be on school property."

"That's what Bakugou said right before he punched him."

"Of course he did." Pinching the bridge of his nose Tenya sighs. "My apologies Midoriya," he says. "I should have warned you that this might be a possibility. I assumed that he had no knowledge that she still attended this school but I should have realised he was unlikely to give up on the idea of getting her back."

"Well he's now locked in the sports shed," Katsuki says as he enters the room, shaking out his hand to alleviate any pain left from punching Chisake.

"Same as last time then," Denki says.

Tenya frowns as he decides what their next move should be. "I'm going to need an account from you all of what happened."

"What about Eri?" Izuku asks as she starts to cry again in his arms. "I don't think she's up to talking right now."

"No that's understandable," Tenya says, "but I will need to talk to you Midoriya."

Izuku holds Eri a little tighter. "I don't want to leave her on her own," he says as the crying gets louder.

"She can stay here with me," Denki says. With a bright smiles he comes over and takes Eri from Izuku's arms and hugs her tightly as she wraps her arms around his neck, still crying. "Oh sweetheart, no tears," he says softly, gently rocking her as he holds her. "How about you come and sit out here with me, we can watch Sailor Moon Crystal and I'll call my friend 'Toshi so he can come and see you. You remember 'Toshi, don't you?"

Eri sniffs and wipes her eyes. "Yeah."

"You liked him last time he came to see you, right?"

"Yeah."

"And I think that Piplup here needs to have some cuddles too," Denki tells her as he carries her over to his desk, taking a fat Piplup plushie off the shelf and giving it to her. "He's really sad because it hasn't rained in a while so you're going to have to help me cheer to him up with lots of cuddles. Is that okay?"

"Yeah," Eri mumbles, wiping her eyes with the hand not holding the plushie.

"Okay," Denki says and sits down at his desk placing her on his knee. Once Eri seems a little more comfortable sitting on his lap he pulls his phone out of his pocket and within a few seconds the sound of the voices begin to come from it. With Eri's attention now fixed on his phone Denki turns back to the other three. "I'll call Shinsou in a second and get him over here to sort everything out once I've called the police."

"Thank you Kaminari," Tenya says, giving him a small smile, and then turns to Katsuki and Izuku, his expression serious once again. "Are you both alright to stay here? This may be quite a long night."

"Figured it would be as soon as I saw him," Katsuki says. "Yeah I got nothing going on, I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm free, I can stay too," Izuku says.

"Good, good," Tenya says nodding to himself before opening the door to his office. "Now come with me and tell me everything that happened. Kaminari will you be alright out here?"

Denki nods, smiling at him. "We'll be fine, we've got Sailor Moon and Piplup to keep us occupied," he says giving Eri's hair a gentle ruffle.

"Thank you," Tenya says, giving him a fond smile before he turns back to Katsuki and Izuku. "Let's discuss this."

What follows is a very long evening of reliving the events that lead to Katsuki locking Chisake in the sports shed. First they go through it with Tenya, then with Eri's social worker, Hitoshi, when he arrives and then finally with the police when they show up to arrest Chisake and take him into custody which is a surprisingly lengthy process. By the time the police have left with Chisake in handcuffs it's dark and Eri is curled up and sleeping peacefully in Hitoshi's arms.

"Is she going to be alright?" Izuku asks. She's so tiny that he can't help but want to protect her at all costs.

"She'll be okay," Hitoshi replies. "By the looks of it someone at her doctors' surgery didn't do their job properly and gave out her address. Chisake then followed her and her foster parents for a while to work out their routines and when he could get her alone. Who knows what he would have done if he'd taken her."

Izuku looks at Eri sadly, his heart sinking. "Will she have to be moved from her foster family?"

"Yes," Hitoshi says with a grim nod. "They know what's happened and, of course, they're sad to see her go but they know this is for the best."

"It is," Tenya agrees. "Do you have somewhere in mind for her to go?"

Hitoshi nods again. "A guy I've been trying to get her paired with for a while has just got an opening so I'll take her to him."

"This guy any good?" Katsuki asks, folding his arms over his chest and studying Hitoshi with cold eyes.

"He's an ex-marine with a nickname. You don't get a nickname in the marines without some kind of story," Hitoshi says with a wry smile. "I've no doubt that he'll be able to protect her also I lived with him when I was in the foster system and he's great with kids."

"What was his nickname?" Izuku asks, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Eraserhead."

Izuku laughs nervously. "I don't even want to know how he got that."

"I'll keep Principal Iida up to date on how she's doing but I doubt that Eri will be back at school until next week at the very earliest," Hitoshi says.

"Thank you Shinsou, we really appreciate everything you've done tonight," Tenya says.

"No problem, just want Eri to be safe" Hitoshi says offering them all a tired smile before he leaves, taking Eri with him.

As he watches them go Izuku tries and fails to suppress a yawn. "I'm so sorry," he says as the others turn to stare at him. "I didn't realise how tired I was until now."

"It's quite alright, it's been a very long night for us all," Tenya says. "I think it's high time we made our way home. Do you have far to travel?"

"About half an hour's walk," Izuku replies, already dreading the prospect of it. He's so tired his bones ache and he wants nothing more than to already be in bed.

"I can drive De... Midoriya home," Katsuki offers suddenly.

Izuku blinks at him in surprise. "Are you sure?" he asks. "I don't want to be an imposition at all." He really wants to take Katsuki up on his offer and get home faster but being in a car with him after everything that's happened could potentially be very awkward.

"It's fine," Katsuki says with a shrug. "Wouldn't offer if it was a problem."

"Excellent," Tenya says before turning to Denki. "How about you Kaminari?"

"A train and then a twenty-five minute walk," Denki replies.

Tenya frowns. "That's much too far this late at night, I'll take you home."

"Oh you really don't have to," Denki says hurriedly.

"Nonsense," Tenya says. "It's the least I can do after you've been so helpful tonight, it's no trouble."

Denki's eyes sparkle, the exhaustion leaving his face. "Thank you so much, that would be really great."

Katsuki turns to Izuku as he stifles another yawn. "Come on, let's get you home."

"Thank you for all your hard work today, I really appreciate it," Tenya says as they take their leave and head out of the office.

"Are you sure that you don't mind driving me home Kacchan?" Izuku asks once they're out of the school and heading over towards the staff car park.

"Like I said, I wouldn't have offered if it was a problem," Katsuki says, unlocking his car and getting in once they arrive at it. "You okay to direct?"

"Sure," Izuku says with a small smile. It's a chilly night and he's unable to stop himself from shivering but as soon as Katsuki turns on the ignition he also turns on the heater and the car begins to slowly warm up. The two of them lock eyes for a moment and share a smile before Katsuki puts the car into gear and drives away. Izuku's heart skips a little as he settles back into his seat. He knows he shouldn't get his hopes up about anything but he can enjoy just being in a car with Katsuki for a little while, even if it's just for the ride home

"Well this is me," Izuku says as the car pulls up outside his block of flats a little while later. "Thank you so much for driving me home tonight."

Katsuki shrugs. "It's fine. No point you walking that far on your own when it's dark."

Izuku chuckles. "I can look after myself, you know."

"That I don't doubt," Katsuki says with a grin. "You're fucking fierce when you're angry, has anyone ever told you that."

Another laugh leaves Izuku but it quickly turns into a sigh. "I was so nervous when Chisake came towards us – before you arrived – that I didn't know what to do. I just knew that there was something I didn't like about him and I had to keep Eri away from him."

Katsuki reaches over and gives Izuku's hand a squeeze. "You did everything you needed to, exactly as you were supposed to," he assures him. "You kept her safe and you made sure that you didn't let someone you didn't know take her off school property. Like Iida said you did absolutely everything right."

"Okay," Izuku says. "I hope she'll be alright."

"Eri will be fine," Katsuki says. "It will take a while but she will be alright in the end. I remember when she was first put into care. It was hard for her and she still struggles a lot but she's a fighter and she'll get her smile back eventually."

Izuku offers him a small smile of his own. "Thanks Kacchan... for everything. Not just for the pep talk but the lift home too."

Chuckling Katsuki ruffles Izuku's hair. "It's fine Deku, you don't have to worry, I wanted to make sure that you got home alright." The fingers in his hair slip down to run up and down the back of his neck, making Izuku shiver slightly at the touch.

"Um... Kacchan," he begins softly.

Unable to stop himself Izuku moves a little closer to him, closing the distance between them. The air in the car is thick with tension and Izuku wants nothing more than to just give in to the moment and kiss Katsuki but he knows he shouldn't. While Izuku tries to think of something to say that might dispel the atmosphere so that he doesn't have to stop himself from doing something he'll regret later Katsuki closes the distance between their lips and kisses him. The second their lips touch Izuku groans softly; it's like the first time they kissed in Katsuki's hotel room back in Takenohama and it's perfect. Izuku really had missed kissing Katsuki – the feel of his lips and how sweet he tastes – and as they pull apart he wants nothing more than to dive back in and kiss him once again.

"Sorry," Katsuki says softly, his hand still on the back of Izuku's neck, their foreheads pressed together. "Shouldn't have done that."

"Probably not," Izuku says with a soft laugh.

"We should forget it happened," Katsuki says.

I don't want to though is on the tip of Izuku's tongue but he knows that if he pushes it then Katsuki will be even more closed off than ever. "Yeah, we should just forget it," he agrees even though his heart isn't in it. The moment they kissed he felt as if were on top of the world and he now just wants to be alone. "I'll see you tomorrow I guess," he says hurriedly before he can start crying, "thank you again for the lift."

"See you tomorrow Deku," Katsuki says, pulling away almost as soon as Izuku has gotten out of the car.

Izuku stares after him, watching until the car has completely disappeared before sighing and heading inside. He's so tired that when he reaches his flat he barely even bothers with his usual nightly routine before changing out of his clothes and collapsing straight into bed. The second he hits the mattress though the fatigue leaves him. Suddenly wide awake his head is filled with Katsuki and the kiss. Well that isn't going to make work more awkward... what the hell am I gonna do?