- 2 -

Shouta Aizawa could not get a wink of sleep before he had to teach his class. Thankfully, he could change his clothes and grab a large mug of straight black coffee. He drank deeply as he watched class 1A take their test; leaning back in his chair, he could see everyone. He wasn't worried about his students cheating or anything like that but, he still needed to watch them. They would be pros soon in a couple of years and need to learn how to control their bodies as they withheld strong emotions; knowing that this test was crucial for their midterms, the class would be under enormous amounts of stress.

He grinned to himself as he noticed the twitching of Midoriya's fingers as he thought over the answer for a question. Kirishima's pencil looks as though it went through a grinder with how he was chewing on the thin wooden stick. A few others tapped their pencils against the desk such as Kaminari and Ashido. Every once in a while, the students would look at him; a look of concern in their eyes.

Ignoring the odd looks, the outcome of the test would be discussed later on. It would be difficult to get the kids to get rid of their little nervous habits, more so with some than others. He could just imagine the exercise he would put them through. He chuckled to himself as he continued to drink his coffee. About halfway through the test a knock on the door drew their attention. "Come in," he called, and a familiar figure walked in. It was one of the K-9 unit members from a few hours ago. "Mr. Aizawa, a moment, please." The K-9 officer had a visitor sticker placed on his front pocket.

Frowning, he agreed and told his class to behave before exiting the room, in the hallway, the police officer, a fluffy Akita with bright blue eyes, began to speak, "You're needed at Musutafu Hospital."

Something ticked in Shouta's chest, his heart clenched as a sudden vision of Hari appeared in front of him. The small boy with curly unkempt hair and wide almost glowing emerald eyes, dried blood coated on his face and hair. One beautiful golden-colored antler nestled next to a harshly cut piece of bone, a small voice calling out his own name. "Hari…"

The Akita blinked in surprise. "Yes. He's been unresponsive to any of the medical staff's questioning. Won't let the nurses touch him. And has repeatedly been asking for you."

Shouta raised an eyebrow. "Me, why?"

The Akita shrugged his shoulders, a pawed hand scratching at his muzzle. "The kid won't say." The Akita looked stressed as he spoke.

Shouta sighed, running a hand over his stubbly jaw; Hizashi would be upset if he didn't shave soon. "Alright, I'll go. Give me a moment." He told the officer to give him a few moments. He opened the closed classroom door, and a pile of his students fell down. Shouta heaved an even more profound sigh; he could feel his exhaustion slowly seeping into a stage where he would never fully awaken from. "Did you all finish your exam?" he drawled with an arched eyebrow.

The squished students nodded, and a few muttered an airy "Yes sensei…"

Shouta pinched the bridge of his nose as he looked the students over. He needed some eye drops soon, damn this dry season. Though honestly, he didn't expect anything less of his students, and with his keen eyes, he could see Jirou withdraw her phone jacks from the door frame; based on the collective facial expressions, they heard just about everything. They all scrambled up and stood awkwardly in the doorway; some students still remained in their seats. Like Bakugou and Shoji. Before he could say anything, Midoriya's voice rang out.

"Is Hari the boy from the incident this morning?"

"How in the world would he know about that?" Akita asks with a look of astonishment on his fluffy face.

"I keep track of the news, sir. This morning, an article covered Eraserhead helping out with an overstimulated and hurt child from a domestic abuse case. There weren't any physical images taken of the boy; I'm guessing his name is Hari? But by the descriptions of the newscasters and reporters, he was in bad shape. It was said that sensei sat next to Hari to help calm him down so a medic could look at him." Midoriya explained, waving his hands, "I read the article online a few hours ago."

"You sure keep up to date, kid,"

The red flush that washed over Midoriya's face was almost adorable, almost.

"And if Hari is this kid, what were you planning to do with that information?" Shouta asked.

"Help of course!" Ah, that was Uraraka. The girl pumped a fist into the air. "We could help him! I don't think he has any clean clothes and Momo said she could make some for him. We could stop by a food mart and get him something he would like. No doubt that hospital food is gross, and…" tears were forming in the corner of her eyes and most of the girls in the class. "And I think it would be nice to not feel alone when you're scared, right sensei?" Those large brown eyes seemed to burn a hole in his soul.

"As much as I want a horde of helping students. I don't believe it would be in the best interest of Hari to have a large group of rambunctious students all squished into a small hospital room. So sadly, I have to say not today."

The looks his class gave him would have made him cry if he wasn't already so deprived of sleep and feeling.

"That's understandable. But at least give him these." Yaoyorozu made her way out of the group of concerned students to stand in front of him; she had a bundle of clothes in her arms. "Here, take these; I didn't know his size, so I estimated from what information Midoriya could give us."

The clothes seemed simple enough, a pair of brown pants and a deep green pullover. The pullover sweater was soft on the inside, like it was lined with Hampshire. He looks up at his class, who were all seemingly waiting for him to speak. Why couldn't they be like this in class?

"These are very nice, and I'm sure Hari will very much appreciate them. I guess you all can just hang out in the classroom till Professor Yagi arrives." Shouta folds the articles of clothing and turns to face the officer, "Let's head out. I'll message Yagi about what is happening."

Toshi can deal with calming the class down and answering any questions they might have.

The ride to the hospital was silent. Shouta watched as trees zoomed by inside the police car, the green blur soon blending into greys and whites as they entered the busy town center. The clothes that Yaoyorozu made were nestled inside a tote bag that was laid across Shouta's lap. As the officer pulled up beside the hospital, he turned to look at Shouta.

"Listen, Easerhead, I won't tell you much about this case. It's really not in my jurisdiction to do so. But what I will say is that the kids' guardians will not go without punishment. The kid has been through a lot, not just from last night, but his whole life seemed to be filled with hardship. Poor kid."

Shouta hums and nods. The walk to Hari's room was just as quiet as the car ride; Shouta watched as other patients were wheeled about in wheelchairs or clumsily walking with crutches. Hari's floor was designated for children, and there really wasn't any movement as they walked down the corridor. In fact to his knowledge, Hari was one of four patients on this floor currently. Which was nice to hear.

Hari's room was located in the middle corridor, 9 ¾ was scrawled onto a whiteboard nailed to the door. Hari's name was written in bright red.

"Why the number 9 ¾?" Shouta commented.

"The board was once used for measurements, and ¾ was written in permanent marker. The staff thinks it makes it look special, so they just left it as it is." A nurse who was standing off to the side says a food trolly stood next to her. "Are you here to visit Hari?"

Shouta nods, and the nurse grins. "Great! Maybe you can get him to eat his lunch." She grabs a blue tray from one of the cubbies. On it sat a small plate with steamed veggies, rice, and a little meat patty. A small cartoon of apple juice and a fruit cup also sat on the tray. "He didn't eat dinner and wouldn't touch breakfast. He needs to eat before we can give him his medication. So, if you could get him to eat something, that would be great." The nurse hands over the tray to Shouta, smiles, and walks off with the food trolley.

He looks down at the food tray before looking back up to the Akita officer. The officer just shrugs and opens the door. He motions Shouta inside first and follows suit.

The room was small and spotless. Washed in a soft robin egg blue it had walls painted with little flying birds. And there, sitting in the middle of the room on a bed that seemed to swallow him, was Hari. He already looked better compared to a few hours ago. The blood had been washed from his hair, leaving it now looking like a wild nest of soft black curls popping out everywhere. Hari's hair reminded Shouta of Midoriya's, only shorter and messier.

Hari's face had also been washed, small cotton pads had been taped to his cheek and forehead. He also had been dressed in a child's hospital smock, a soft peach color. Hari's eyes though, were the same, a bright green that seemed to look straight through you. They had locked on the pair as soon as they walked into the room.

Shouta's eyes were drawn from Hari's green ones to the antler that sat on the young child's head. It, too, looked like it had been cleaned; the one that had been cut off seemed to be evened out and wrapped in gauze. Shouta wonders if they had to knock the kid out so they could fix him up.

"You're looking better already kid"

Hari's face seemed to twitch before a small smile spread across his bandaged face. "Hello Easerhead-san"

Shouta hummed and walked forward, the food tray being held a single hand. "I heard you've been yelling for me and not eating your food. How are you going to grow up and be a strong kid if you don't eat?"

Hari's eyes shift downward, and his thin-fingered hands begin to pick at the cotton blanket. Shouta notices that some of his fingers were crooked, almost like they were broken and healed wrong.

"Listen Hari, I am going to give you your food, and I want to see you eat at least six bites of it. The nurses here want to help you, but they can't if you don't eat." Shouta places the tray in Hari's lap and steps away. He pulls out a visitor's chair that was placed near the bed and plops down in it. The tote bag with Hari's clothing slides off his shoulder onto the ground.

Hari reaches out for the small plastic fork on the tray, but his hands are shaking. And before Shouta knew it, Hari was crying. Hari was crying, yet no sounds came from the small boy. Not one sob.

Shouta reaches out with a steady hand and gently places it on Hari's shoulder. He could if he wanted to pinch the thin shoulder bone between his fingers, but instead, he just gently patted the cool skin.

"Hey...Hey, it's okay. You're safe here."

The Akita officer had at some point slipped out of the room, leaving Shouta and Hari alone.

"Hari, what's wrong, kid?"

Hari bites his lip hard. His hands were clenching the blanket in a tight white grip. Tray of food forgotten.

"Hmm?"

"I don't deserve to eat yet. I haven't earned it yet."

A hot sensation began to grow in Shouta's belly; it swirled around in a tight burning ball of fire. Oh, if he ever saw those guardians of Hari's, he'd make sure they could never lay a single hand on the kid again.

"Listen, you will never need to worry about those people again. I will make sure of it." He needed to call Hizashi; he was the one who dealt with all the legal papers when they took in Shinso.

Hari began to nibble on a small piece of the meat patty. His eyes never waver from Shouta's body.

Hizashi's heart undoubtedly has room for little Hari. Shouta pulled out his phone and typed out a short message to his husband.

Hey Hizashi. Do we still have Shinso's old clothes?

The small ones?

Hmhmm

Yeah, why?

You might need to wash them.

Shouta, why would I need to wash them?

If you come to the Musutafu hospital, you'll find out.

... Do I need to bring anything with me?

No, just don't be too loud. You'll scare the tiny fawn here.

I'll be there shortly. We are going to have to

look for a bigger apartment.

You'll see.