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Chapter 2 The Basics

Izuku studied the ecology and anatomy of different animals to get a better understanding of what kind of creatures he was dealing with. Perhaps they are some type of evolved or mutated hedgehog and fox? He peered up noticing the two children staring at him with wide eyes, moving on from the television.

"Are you going to be our dad, mister?" Tails asked curiously as he and Sonic jumped from the couch running towards him.

Izuku smiled uneasily, still not used to having animals actually talking to him, "Uh yeah, until we find out where you come from and if anyone is looking for you." The whole night before, he had eased them into staying calm and keeping them from crying to give himself time to really think on how he was going to support himself and these two. He could barely put food on the table for himself, now he has two extra mouths to feed…He had already done a one hundred question with them to understand what they like and how he can appease their situation. What he had gathered was that the two kids barely remembered what happened to them before they were put on his doorstep and like any child, they loved sweets – but he will have to find other foods that they like that actually gave them nutrition.

He thought about work and leaving these two unsupervised… "Alright, there are going to have to be some ground rules –."

Sonic groaned, while Tails peered at Izuku nodding expectantly. Izuku frowned expecting the little fox would be less problematic and more obedient, "Okay, so for safety of both of you, don't stray too far from the house –."

"Stuck indoors?" Sonic grumbled.

Izuku shook his head, "You are able to go outside, but stay within a 20-yard radius and where you can see the house. I don't want you two getting lost in the forest."

Tails frowned at Sonic, "That sounds reasonable, you don't want to get lost, do you?"

Sonic scowled at him, "Goodie two-shoes."

"Rule number two, no wasting food. You will have three meals a day, money for food is a bit tight right now so I would really appreciate it if you keep an open mind on meals…" Izuku remarked, hoping he could make his money situation manageable with them not being too picky and wasteful on food.

Tails peered at him worriedly, "We can try helping you with food."

Izuku smiled slightly, "That's very thoughtful of you, but we should be fine." He continued, "Rule number three, no talking to strangers – no one should really be up this way anyways so you might not need to stress on this one too much."

Sonic eyed him, "Does that count you?"

Izuku sighed running down a hand through his hair, "I admit we just met, but I'm taking care of you two so that rule excludes me."

"Anymore rules, pops?" Sonic rolled his eyes.

Izuku frowned, "I'm sure I will think of more later."

"Can I go outside now in our restricted zone?" Sonic asked sarcastically.

"Sure, knock yourself out." Izuku remarked as Sonic ran outside.

Tails noticed the exhausted look on Izuku's face and he reassured, "Don't worry, I'm sure he will respect your rules."

"That's reassuring… How about you go play with him?" Izuku smirked slightly encouragingly. Tails nodded lightly still not convinced that everything was fine. The little fox was hoping to better Izuku's situation in thanks for bringing them in.

Izuku walked outside the porch to watch the two playing together while he made a list of things that he would need to make them all comfortable in his house. He glanced up noticing the boys shouting at each other, he blinked confusedly noticing Sonic running and tripping when blue sparks generated from his legs and Tails jumped up off the ground for a few seconds with his tails twisting like a helicopter. Izuku blinked again rubbing his eyes seeing the boys laughing at each other on the ground.

Izuku grumbled to himself as he prepared for work. He had asked for time off from his supervisor, to feel more comfortable in making sure the boys are more prepared to be by themselves… but his boss gave him an ultimatum if he doesn't show up today, and he can't afford to lose this job.

"Alright, Tails is in charge when I'm gone." Izuku hastily addressed the two boys who sat at the couch watching him run around the house to get all of his things in order.

"Uh why is he in charge?" Sonic asked annoyedly glaring at the fox who nodded affirmingly.

"Because he has shown he is more responsible." Izuku remarked as he went to the door, he glanced back at them, "Okay, there is some cereal in the pantry, I will try to get more food on my way back from work."

Tails nodded, "Okay."

Izuku did a once over at the house to commit to memory on how it looked before he left to ensure when he gets back it would look the same, "I will be back around six. Try not to burn down the house and use too much of the electricity…please." He closed the door racing to his car to make sure he doesn't get to work late.

Tails huffed crossing his arms as Sonic raced towards the fridge, "Didn't you notice how stressed he is? You should give him a break and try to be reasonable."

Sonic gave a sideways stare to the fox, "Uh he's an adult. He didn't need to look after us. I think we can handle ourselves on our own just fine."

Tails frowned at him, "So you would rather scavenge for resources in the wild and face off predators without a safe place to go to?"

Sonic glared at the know-it-all, "Whatever."

Tails smiled slightly as Sonic gave in, "You know, we should show him how much we appreciate his hospitality; we can try bettering his living situation."

Sonic poured himself a bowl of cereal gazing around the house, "Like fix it up?"

Tails nodded dragging a chair to the book shelf taking down books on ecology, botany, mechanics, and engineering, "I read all of this last night and I found some tools in the shed in the backyard so we can help gather food and modify the house."

"I guess it beats watching TV all day." Sonic remarked as he finished his cereal.

Tails smiled happily, showing Sonic the botany book, "There are some edible plants in this area that we can harvest if you want to find things we can eat, I can get started on the house."

Sonic sighed grabbing the book as he made his way towards the door, "So we are going to just survive off of plants?"

Tails tilted his head towards him as he rummaged through the tool bag, "He said he is coming back with more food when he gets off of work, we are just going to help contribute to the food rations."

Sonic rolled his eyes grumbling about why they would need to contribute when they are just kids as he headed out. Tails studied the house taking note what needed to be repaired, ever since waking up that morning, his mind ran through multiple ideas to better their living situation. When the house is done it will make Izuku feel less stressed.

Izuku went through the convenient store eyeing the price and quantity of different foods. He gritted his teeth forcing himself to not look towards the back coolers – he needed to spend the cash wisely on additional food for Tails and Sonic… He can't be selfish.

He put easy meals and snacks in the cart that would hopefully appease their cravings, every cent needed to count. The store clerk studied him, he smiled uneasily as he put all the food in front of the register, "Good evening. This will be all for today."

"No drinks?" The clerk remarked.

Izuku laughed half-heartedly, "Oh no… I'm cutting back to get some more food."

"It's good to see you taking care of yourself."

Izuku ran a hand through his hair, "Ah yeah…" He hastily collected his groceries and slipped the money towards the clerk as he sped off to his car. He took a deep sigh, I never realized how obvious I was… He put all the groceries in the trunk staring at the amount, slightly startled by how much he was able to get for the same price he generally spent on his trip to the store. Just looking at the difference just shows how much I was wasting money on booze rather food… He shook his head smacking his cheek lightly to get his mind off that subject as he slid into the driver's seat.

He drove towards the city limits hoping the house was still in one piece – he didn't think he would have the energy to yell at the two kids if he found it destroyed. He would probably just sit down and just stare blankly in defeat into the ruins… His green eyes widened in disbelief as he pulled up to the dirt driveway noticing a giant propeller contraction attached to the roof of his home. Not destroyed, just overhauled…

Izuku ran a hand down his face as he put his car in park and sighed, I should have been more specific on ground rules… The two boys ran outside hearing the car door shut, Izuku jumped as Sonic flashed right next to him, "What do you think old man?"

Tails caught up with his two tails fluttered slightly, "I solved your electric problem, so you don't have to worry about us wasting any since it is mostly going to run on all wind energy."

Izuku gave a small smile, "That was very thoughtful of you, but you really didn't need to. How about you two help by getting the groceries."

Sonic held up his hand, "Nah I got this."

Izuku was stunned when Sonic illuminated blue slightly as he flashed to and from the car and house. He does have a gift… Some type of endurance?

The blue hedgehog grinned up at him seeing the surprised expression on the adult's face, "It just came naturally, check out the kitchen and backyard, you should thank yours truly."

Izuku peered back at the house uneasily, "More surprises?"

Sonic grinned, "Oh yeah." He flashed towards the house but tripped as he got to the patio, "Ow…"

Izuku came over to him, picking him up, "You okay there?"

Tails ran behind him gazing at them in concern, "Are you upset with what we did?"

"I will let you know…" Izuku mumbled as he put Sonic down heading to the house with the two kids following suit. He paused noticing the living room was reorganized and the slight cracks and leaks in the walls and ceiling were fixed, "How did you?"

Tails pointed to the pile of books on the table, "I taught myself how to fix and make things, what do you think?"

Izuku was lost for words, the house was fixed up and he noticed they even prepared another room for themselves, leaving the living room how it should be. "You have no idea how helpful this is…" Izuku felt tears forming with more weight lifted off of his shoulders. He smiled at the kids wiping his eyes quickly, "I'm sure you guys are starving, let me whip something up for dinner."

Izuku put the boys down for bed, he was slightly impressed by their home renovation skills – all those pesky broken things that were on his to-do list were almost all resolved in one day. He caught himself looking fondly at his home with the little touch ups that were geared for kids with a make-shift basketball hoop on the side of the porch and a little workbench on the corner of the living room. He peered out the window to the backyard where Sonic had collected plants and replanted them to make their own herb and food garden.

He smiled with tears forming in his eyes once again as he glanced towards his mother's picture, I think I'm going to be alright mom. Maybe this is a good sign that things are going to be better with having those two with me… Izuku turned slightly noticing light illuminating in the boys' room. He frowned as the glow under the door changed colors, he opened the door and the light disappeared. Izuku's frown deepened in confusion as he glanced around their room with the two boys snoozing in their own makeshift hammocks. He studied them to ensure they were actually sleeping and weren't watching something this late at night. I must be seeing things… He reasoned as he shook his head and ran an exhausted hand through his hair as he quietly closed their door.

The little blue hedgehog turned on his side in his sleep, a slight glow illuminated within him like a small pulse as it once again settled within him. Whispers fell deaf on the inhabitants of the room as another light pulse was drawn back. The Crystals became dormant once again as their binding was reconstructed as Sonic slept. Longclaw vowed to grant them their avatars, for now they would need to stay quiet in order to ensure their true vessel was prepared. For too long the Crystals' powers were sought out for evil – no more will the gems allow blasphemy, and they were willing to wait…

Erased from memory, the glow of each crystal had disappeared within Sonic as Longclaw fused the crystals within him to keep them safe and in his possession. As the boy slept, each color of a crystal illuminated and became dormant, willing each crystal to be disguised. The Crystals cancelled each other out to stay dormant with each color fading out – White for one's ability to wish, Red for enhanced power, Yellow for light, Green to rule over nature, Cyan governed over spirit, Blue for the cosmos, and Purple for emotions. Each Crystal specified in its own concealment and existence, with a few that were tasked to safely keep away the memories and abilities to better protect themselves from evil.