Izuku. Can you meet me at the southern stairs during lunch? There's something important I need to speak to you about.

-Todoroki.

Izuku looked at the note that greeted him inside his locker. He looked around for any signs of Shoto but didn't see him anywhere. "I wonder what he wants… unless… could he be… could this be a- a…confession?" Izuku squeaked the last word out as his face turned bright red at the thought. He then hid the note inside of his bag. Cujo stirred a little but didn't engage. It was still too early for Cujo to care about anything.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder drag across to his other shoulder, Izuku smiled and looked over at Ochako. "Good morning." Ochako chirped as she started to take her shoes off to put them into her shoe locker. She then grabbed her school shoes and started to put those on.

"Morning, Ochako, how was your weekend?" Izuku inquired with a small smile. He then shut his locker.

"It was okay! I didn't do much over the weekend. Just focused on training a bit. You?"

"Same. Same…" It wasn't a lie. He did train a bit over the weekend. Training Cujo that was. Izuku put his bag over his shoulder.

Ochako gave a small blush as she looked at Izuku. "Hey, I was thinking…" She twirled a lock of her hair around her finger in nervousness.

"Hm?" Izuku raised an eyebrow at Ochako. Even more so when she leaned in super close to his face.

"Well…I was thinking…"

With her so close to him it was making him blush all the same. "Eh-heh." Izuku gave a weak laugh of his own. The two of them blushed so heavily that they both could have been mistaken for tomatoes. Doubly so for Izuku with his dark green hair.

"Okay…I'm just going to come out and say it… I was hoping if maybe… you'd like to go out with me sometime!" Ochako shouted, her face somehow turning even redder in the process.

Izuku only stared at her. "Oh." He mumbled as he looked away from her. "Oh, jeez…I… I'm sorry, Ochako." He told her softly and rubbed at the back of his head. "I had no idea you had feelings for me."

He could feel her smile drop and it made him feel guilty.

"It's just…" He started to pull on his fingers. "There's someone else I like." He admitted to her softly. Just thinking of Shoto made Izuku want to float all the way to the ceiling.

"Oh…" Ochako deflated as she looked at her shoes. "I'm sorry." She whispered, tears springing into her eyes.

"No-no! Please don't cry! It's my fault! I never told anyone…in fact…it only just started recently…" He admitted with a small smile as he leaned against his locker. He thought about Shoto and again he just wanted to float with happiness. Shoto's dual-colored eyes always made his heart shutter.

You sap

'Shut it. You call him pretty all the time so I don't want to hear it.'

"No- no, I should have seen it. I'm sorry…" She sucked in a slow breath to try and regulate her breathing and to clearly stop herself from crying. "Can I ask who?" She inquired.

Izuku almost told her, but he thought about it and realized Shoto might be wanting to talk about Cujo - or to Cujo!-

I hope!

-but not only that but even if it were a confession, Izuku wasn't sure Shoto wanted people to know. Yet, he felt if he told this to Ochako (that Izuku's potential partner might not want to be outed) she might get even more upset over the thought that Izuku could be lying to her. So, he decided to be vague.

"Ah, well. They're… tall. In our class. They can kind of be a bit of a stick in the mud until you get to know them. They can also be blunt…really blunt. But it's not all bad because deep down they're a teddybear and they're there for me when I need them and are actually really nice." Izuku smiled fondly.

Ochako wasn't smiling. In fact, the more Izuku spoke the more horrified she seemed to have become. It made Izuku scramble to think what he could have said to cause this reaction. "I…I should be surprised but…I'm not. That's the sad thing." Ochako whispered as she turned pale.

Izuku narrowed his eyes. "What-"

"Good morning!" Hagakure came skipping into the school.

"Good Morning!" Both Izuku and Ochako greeted their invisible classmate with shaky voices considering the discussion. Ochako quickly scrambled off to join Hagakure.

'What did she mean?...is she…homophobic? I never thought about that…but I kept the gender hidden! I don't know…' Izuku thought and sighed heavily. He didn't have time to think about this. He had things to do today. So, with a shrug, Izuku went off to class. His little moment with Ochako was already in the back of his mind.


"Hitoshi…" Denki whispered as he came up to his friend. "Can we talk?"

"I figured we were talking now," Hitoshi commented with a little grin as he shut his locker. His grin fled when he saw the serious look Denki was giving him. "Uh, yeah. Of course. What's up?" He asked as he held his books close to his chest and slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Walk with me." With that simple demand, the two of them started to walk to class at a slow pace. It only took a few seconds before Denki start to talk. "Someone called CPS on my dad."

'Oh shit…' Hitoshi knew immediately it was his dad. No doubt calling in a favor from Mr. Higashi to look into it.

(His father already wasn't happy to learn that Hitoshi had snuck out, even more so to learn that Hitoshi had only just gotten back home that morning.

"Suicides. You are running suicides until you collapse. Do you hear me?" no compromise. Immediate punishment. It took Hitoshi nearly three hours until he succumbed and collapsed in the backyard covered in his own sweat.)

"To say it was a shock was an understatement," Denki said as he rubbed at his forehead. Hitoshi swallowed hard as the guilt burrowed into him. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but he didn't get to speak. What Denki said next left him speechless. "It really didn't help things when I had to lie to the case worker and tell him that dad was currently at work and wouldn't be home for hours. Dad was actually at the bar."

Hitoshi shut his mouth and licked his dry lips.

"But man! That CPS worker was just looking for things to be upset about, I swear! One of the things he was upset about - get this- was because I opened the door and let him in before he introduced himself. Like dude! You just want to be mad!"

'That's…actually a legitimate thing to be upset about. Dad would kill us if Zuchan or I just let a complete stranger into our home before they introduced themselves. Even if they introduced themselves he would be mad that we let them in.' Hitoshi didn't have the heart to say this.

"And then- then- this ass just opens the fridge and is like: "Oh, there isn't much here! Plenty of beer though…" Like, my guy, just leave!" Denki ranted, doing a semi-good impression of Mr. Suzuki while doing so. "I-I told the guy. You know, trying to lie for my pops and all, I told him. I said: "Sir, I'm sorry, my dad gets paid soon and we're going grocery shopping on payday." But that's a lie. We're on government assistance and the check came in last week!"

'Oh. My. God.'

Denki looked close to tears as he started to shake.

"Then- then he asks when my dad is going to be home because he wants to meet him. That there needs to be a one-on-one between him and my dad. I told him that he should be home sometime. He asked when and I said: "I don't know, just some time. He works a lot to keep a roof over our heads, you know!" and the guy starts to ask me a bunch of questions about my dad after that. He-he asked if my dad 'touches me.' and-I just snapped after that, Hitoshi! I told him he needed to leave. I told him he can't meet my dad. That I don't want him sniffing around here anymore and that he should just forget it because he's not taking me away from my pops! That CPS is just a bunch of blood-sucking leeches. It'sthesameinJapanasitwasinAmerica!-"

"Breathe!" Hitoshi got in front of Denki and put both of his hands on his friend's shoulders. "Breathe, please before you pass out!" Denki's face had started to turn red as he was shouting and Hitoshi feared that his friend was going to hurt himself if he kept it up. Denki sucked in a comically large breath and his face started to return to a normal shade. "Take it easy. I get you're upset-"

"-No, I'm pissed! It's not right! Why do people want to take me away from my dad!? That's part of the reason we came here because CPS was sniffing around in America too!" Denki threw his arms up. Hitoshi kept his grip on Denki's shoulders and stared at him with a level stare.

"You told Zuchan and me that you came here because you kept bugging your dad to allow you to go to UA same as your mom."

Denki's face crumpled a little and he swallowed hard. "That's true. It was a mix of both things. I think CPS was going to take me away from my dad in America. Something about him being negligent or some shit like that, that's why he agreed to move here- I think. He didn't want to lose me…"

Hitoshi frowned at this new news. Then he cupped both sides of Denki's face before pulling him into a hug. Denki gasped before sobbing softly into Hitoshi's arms. "I'm sorry for dumping all of this on you. I just… you're one of the few I feel I can trust. You and Izuku…"

'Yep, the guilt is stabbing my heart so hard right now.'

Denki buried his face into the crook of Hitoshi's neck and sniffled weakly. "I don't want to leave my dad, I'm all he has. He tells me this all the time. Especially when he's blasted. He holds me like I'm a kid again and just cries. He knows if my mom gets her talons on me then he'll never see me again." He whined lowly. It made Hitoshi tear up.

'Dammit! Damn me and my mouth! I- I fucked up. That's all I'm good for is just fucking up!'

"-PDA." Suddenly a wild Mr. Aizawa appeared and separated the two of them. Hitoshi's father had them both by the backs of their collars and pulled them apart. Denki turned his head away so Mr. Aizawa couldn't see him and Hitoshi huffed a little. "You two better get to class." Was all he had to say before stalking off toward the teacher's lounge.

"That was weird…" Denki whispered once Mr. Aizawa was gone and out of sight. With a sniffle and a small hiccup, he leaned into Hitoshi. "Did…did he seem upset to you?"

"...I wouldn't call it being 'upset'." Hitoshi couldn't help but growl a little as he narrowed his eyes at the direction his father had vanished from.

"Well, regardless, he's right. Class is going to start soon. We should go."


As the day dragged on Cujo was starting to wake a little more and wanted to be more 'involved' as the quirk put it. This meant that Izuku and Cujo had a lot more conversations throughout the day. This also meant that Izuku had to be extra careful not to speak out loud. His muttering was bad enough on a good day. The last thing the class needed to be subjected to was muttering and a full one-sided conversation with himself.

Izuku tried to deny him, as he was sure Cujo, the quirk, wouldn't be of much help. but Cujo insisted he could help. So, during Math with Ectoplasm Izuku decided to give Cujo a shot.

'Fine. Help me with this problem, yeah? God knows I could use it.'

Cujo only took the reins long enough to look over the math problem. "It's complex…" Cujo mumbled out loud.

'If you can't be quiet then let me take over.' Cujo waved Izuku off. "Got it." He whispered and started to write swiftly. He flicked the pen over his knuckles for a moment before continuing.

'Wait, wait, wait. You can understand this?'

It's complex but not impossible. Did you forget that I am you and we are both smart? I'm just a better you who's smarter and faster. Not only that but now I'm allowed to flourish. I was stifled down for so long that I didn't know much.

"Not smart enough to avoid a loose roof shingle." Izuku huffed.

Don't make me smack you.

"Wouldn't that also hurt you?!"

I'll do it-

"-Pay attention, please." Ectoplasm told Izuku as he came around to Izuku's desk in question. This forced Izuku to take over as he looked at Ectoplasm.

"Apologies." Izuku dipped his head in respect. "It won't happen again."

Ectoplasm hummed in acknowledgment as he walked away. "Now, as I saying-"

Interesting quirk.

'Don't even think it.'

No, I don't want it. If I were to take anybody it'd be Kacchan's-

Izuku sucked in a sharp breath. 'Bakugo? Why?'

He could feel Cujo's devilish smile. He's an ass. I don't like him that much. He's too loud and boisterous for his own good. Taking his quirk would not only knock him down a peg but also just be funny. Imagine boom boom boy without his quirk? Then he's just some loud-mouthed punk. Not only that but his quirk is strong. The stronger the better.

Izuku shut his eyes and sucked in a slow breath. 'Okay, you know what, I'll bite. Yes, his quirk is strong. One of the strongest I've seen actually. He has the makings of a hero. But you wouldn't want his quirk. The drawback is big. He sweats nitroglycerin. Do you know how irritating that would be to get out of clothing!? Or worse, set our clothes on fire when we so much as spark off!'

Hmm, you raise a good point, but I disagree. It's a good quirk and the drawback seems very minimal. From what I've been able to gather the real major drawback is that the bigger explosion the more it hurts or puts strain on his wrists and muscles alike. It would be a perfect quirk for us to take-...theoretically, of course. Cujo added at the end as Izuku could almost vaguely see the outline of him standing right beside him. Nobody else could, it was like Izuku's own personal ghost- at least that's what Izuku thought. Only one other could see Cujo it would seem. Someone Izuku wasn't expecting.

"Dark Shadow?" Tokoyami asked and the next thing Izuku knew Dark Shadow was beside him. Dark Shadow was looking right at Cujo.

Cujo tilted his head at Dark Shadow. Dark Shadow tilted their head right back at Cujo.

Cute.

Cujo patted Dark Shadow's head. Yes. You are cute. I want them.

'No, Cujo.'

Cujo pouted but didn't protest. Go on. Back to your host. Shoo! You're distracting.

Dark Shadow didn't say a word and just obeyed slinking back to Tokoyami. Dark Shadow shrunk themselves so they could wrap around Tokoyami's arm and whisper into his ear.

"What was that about?" Jiro asked as she, and others turned to Tokoyami. All they saw was Dark Shadow coming out to the middle of the classroom and then leaving without explanation.

Tokoyami didn't speak at first. Instead, he just looked at Izuku. Izuku swiftly turned away. 'I think he knows.'

Oh, he knows alright. He can't see me, but his quirk can. It must be a sentient quirk thing… Hm. You know… I probably shouldn't say this, Other me. But you should talk to him about tips. I think out of everyone, from what I managed to gather by touching his quirk, he understands what you're going through.

'...Why are you being so friendly? Aren't you suppose to be like…evil incarnate?'

Cujo snorted. Whatever. See if I help you out again in the future. Cujo went quiet after that and his almost ghostly form beside Izuku faded.

"Perhaps, since he has his head in the clouds today, Mister Aizawa I would be more than happy to answer the question on the board," Ectoplasm asked as he singled Izuku out. Izuku blushed heavily as he looked at the board in question. Yeah, he didn't know this one.

"...Twenty-four?"

"Detention."

A sigh of defeat left Izuku's mouth. "Yeah, that's fair."


The next Class was P.E. and Izuku acted fast. He waited until Tokoyami was alone and then he snatched his classmate by his shirt and pulled him back into the locker room. "Can we talk!? I'm sorry if I startled you!" Izuku yelled fully embarrassed. Tokoyami's eyes were wide and the feathers on his head bristled. But this was only for a moment before he straightened himself up.

"I expected you to come to me, I just didn't expect like this and there is no need to shout," Tokoyami admitted as he tried to smooth the feathers around his face and head down.

"I apologize." Izuku quickly bowed before coming right back up. "But…I have a question…several questions really."

"Very well, but allow me to ask a question first. Are you like me and Dark Shadow?" Tokoyami inquired and as he said this Dark Shadow came slithering out. They wrapped themselves around Tokoyami's upper body in a weird hug.

"It's complicated but…kinda? Look, not everybody knows about this. Only my father, Todoroki, and Hitoshi know about what I'm going to tell you…but I have a quirk. I was born with this quirk and I had no clue. They're a sentient quirk, like Dark Shadow, but unlike Dark Shadow they- well…they take over me. But they're their own person and personality."

"Incredible. How is it that they've stayed dormant for this long?"

"-They, they hate being called- Oh wait."

"Yes, I'm aware. Dark Shadow also hates being referred to as an 'It.' or 'Thing.' I think it's a common thing for most, if not all, sentient quirks to hate. Regardless, my question stands."

"That's a long story. One that I'd rather not think about. Let's just say there was a lot of manipulation… regardless he's only come out recently so he's kind of…hard to control. Right now he's fine but it's when he gets heated, it's like a power struggle. How do you tame Dark Shadow when they start to get aggressive or want to take over?"

"With years of practice."

"...Do you have a crash course?"

"Aizawa? Tokoyami?" Came Iida's slightly chiding voice from off in the distance and it sounded like he was getting closer. Tokoyami looked at Izuku.

"After school. I'll help you then." Tokoyami softly said as he put a hand on Izuku's shoulder. Then he started to walk out of the locker room. "Sorry, Iida, Aizawa I was just helping me with something."

Izuku walked out only seconds later. "Sorry, Iida." Izuku gave a little smile as he started to jog up to his friend. Iida gave him a look, one that made Izuku slow down a little as he frowned. It was a look of…well…Izuku couldn't describe it. It was a look that made Izuku blink. "Did I do something?"

"...I'm just not sure…" Iida mumbled and then started to stalk off.

"What does that mean? Vice Rep! You get back here!" Izuku demanded outright. If he did something to upset his friend then dammit he needed at least a chance to make it right.

"Later." Iida said as he looked over at Izuku. "Just…not now. We're going to be late."

Something is in the air….I like it. I feel chaos stirring.

'You really are a chaos-eating gremlin, aren't you?'

Without chaos and discord life is just a little too boring. Chaos means excitement!

I'm starting to wish I was quirkless again.


"Dude…is Mr. Aizawa mad at me?" Denki lowly whispered to Hitoshi the two of them getting ready to go to lunch.

"Why would you ask?" Hitoshi asked trying to play it off. Denki only pointed with a face that only said 'look, you moron!'. So, Hitoshi did turn to look. There, sitting at his own desk, his father sat. glaring at Denki. Full daggers, if looks could kill Denki would be on the ground. "Nope. No, he just hasn't had his nap today- let's go to lunch." Hitoshi quickly tried to usher Denki out of the classroom.

Hitoshi turned to his father. 'Stop it!' He mouthed to his dad before marching out of the room.

"Hitoshi, let's eat in the cafeteria today!" Denki requested as they both started to walk down the hall. "C'moooon." the blonde dramatically whined while pulling on Hitoshi's arm like a child.

"I dunno…" Hitoshi rubbed the back of his head. "Zuchan and I still haven't made up."

Granted, they were getting better, but they still never really made up and Izuku was still spending all of his time with Todoroki. At least he was allowing Hitoshi to touch him again. "C'mon! He's not going to bite. Besides, I don't think he's even going to notice you!" Denki grinned a malicious grin as he leaned in close to Hitoshi's face. "He's so wrapped up in Todoroki's arms it's hilarious." Denki sniggered.

Hitoshi huffed out a tiny laugh. "Yes, I too have functioning eyeballs. I know Zuchan likes him." He could only give his head a little shake.

Denki started to lead Hitoshi toward the cafeteria and Hitoshi allowed this. Maybe a day socializing with others wouldn't be too bad. So, despite not liking people, Hitoshi allowed this. He allowed Denki to sit him down and the two of them sit at a table-

With fucking Bakugo of all people.

"Dude…I don't like the pomeranian. Did you forget that?" Hitoshi asked in a whisper between tightly clenched teeth.

"He's not all that bad, Hitoshi. You have to give him a chance." Denki whispered back.

"Let me put it this way: I'd rather watch Zuchan make lovey-dovey faces at Todoroki all lunch than sit with Boom-boom Boy." He grumbled.

"You got a problem?!" Bakugo snarled as he slammed his hands on the table. "Because I have no qualms about beating your ass, Eyebags!"

"I am not deaf, you don't need to shout," Hitoshi growled at Bakugo. "We are all right here. Haven't you ever heard an inside voice?"

Bakugo continued to snarl like the rabid pomeranian he was. "I'll turn you into mush! You're lucky I haven't even done so yet!"

"I'm sorry, Denki, but this isn't going to work." Hitoshi sighed as he got ready to stand and just leave before he and Bakugo got physical.

"Oh, but- wait- okay. We don't have to sit here. Let's find 'Zuku's table." Denki quickly got up with Hitoshi and grabbed his arm. The two of them looked around. "There's Todoroki…" Denki pointed to the dual-haired boy sitting alone but, for once that week, Izuku wasn't with him. Todoroki seemed to be looking around like he was looking for Izuku as well.

Hitoshi felt like something was wrong. That wrongness stirred in his gut. He looked at all of the other tables. He spotted the others sitting either alone or by themselves, but he didn't his brother. "Something's wrong," Hitoshi whispered as he grabbed onto Denki's arm.

"I mean, maybe he's just running late?" Denki suggested with a shrug. "He got detention with Ectoplasm after all."

Hitoshi shook his head. "After school detention. Not lunch detention…." He continued to scan around for his brother. No Izuku to be seen.

Todoroki must have spotted them because before Hitoshi knew it, Todoroki was right beside him. "Have you seen your brother? He left me a note saying he wanted to talk, but I don't see him. It's not like him to just not show."

"He left a note?" Hitoshi asked and Todoroki gave a nod. He then reached into his pocket and showed Hitoshi the note.

Shoto, wait for me in the cafeteria at lunch. I have something I want to discuss with you.

-Aizawa I.

"This is fake," Hitoshi mumbled almost instantly. "That's not Zuchan's handwriting, for one. Also, he'd never sign it 'Aizawa I'. Especially if you two are on a first-name basis. I'll repeat my earlier statement. Something is wrong. Did he say anything to you during class?" Hitoshi asked Todoroki.

"Just that he'll see me at lunch. He seemed excited… truthfully, so was I…" Todoroki mumbled the last part as he crumpled the note in distaste.

Hitoshi didn't have to think hard. "Someone gave him a fake note too. That's got to be it. They noticed you two are close and wanted him separated. They probably want him isolated if they're going this far…" He mumbled softly. "Where are the most isolated parts of the school during lunch?" He asked himself in thought.

The other two also thought about it. There was a long silence, one that made Hitoshi uneasy. 'Where the hell is my brother and what fresh hell did he get himself into?' He could only think as he shook his head in a slight panic. Hitoshi was ready to pull out his phone and call his dad on this matter when Denki spoke suddenly.

"The staircases, right? The ones that have their own corridor? Nobody ever goes down them during this time. Not only that but if someone does need to take the stairs they take the main stairs because they're less crowded."

"He has a point," Todoroki added with a nod. "They're always abandoned around this time. Hell, even when walking from class to class the stairwells are always more barren than the main staircase."

"Okay, let's start there. There are three on this floor. The west staircase, the east, and the south."

"I'll take the east." Todoroki volunteered.

"Give me the west." Denki offered. "I hope he's okay."

"That leaves the south for me and trust me, I do too."

The three of them split up immediately after that. Their lunches were all forgotten for the time being as they had a more pressing matter at hand. Hitoshi took off in a jog towards the southern stairs. Of course the farthest staircase from the cafeteria. 'I hope I'm right about this.' He thought as doubt crept up in his mind. 'He's going to be fine. Maybe he didn't get a secret note and someone was just fucking with Todoroki. Maybe Zuchan is in detention and I misunderstood-'

Someone shoulder-checked Hitoshi. This immediately forced Hitoshi out of his thoughts as he turned to look at the asshole who couldn't even bother to watch where he was going. It was a student wearing a hoodie so Hitoshi couldn't even see the back of their head. 'Whatever.' Hitoshi thought as he focused back on his mission.

Hitoshi went from a jog to a run just so he could get to the stairs faster. Finally, after what felt like an eternity (but was really only less than five minutes) he made it to the stairwell. He pressed the door open and it did so with a creak so loud it could wake the dead. "Zuchan?" Hitoshi called as he looked down the first flight of steps. At first, there was silence and Hitoshi frowned. "Zuchan!" He called again causing his voice to echo around.

Silence.

"Hm. I must have been wrong-" He was about to turn around and run towards the next staircase. Then, right before he shut the door, he heard a low groan. "Zuchan?" He asked and took a few steps down the stairs just so he could look down at the flight below. The groan sounded again, it sounded like someone was definitely in pain. Hitoshi let the door shut as he started to walk down the steps. "Hello? Is someone down here?"

Hitoshi stepped quickly down the first flight and made his way to the second flight of stairs-

He froze instantly at the sight before him.

There, on the very bottom of the stairs laid Izuku. Well, not exactly. No, Cujo was fully out and Hitoshi didn't need to know why. Izuku (and technically Cujo) most definitely had a broken arm and probably a broken or sprained leg as well. He also had several bruises on his face and both of his lips were busted. 'Was Izuku jumped!?' Cujo was propped up against the wall just behind the door. His legs splayed out in front of him as he cradled his right arm, the broken one, against his chest tightly.

They locked eyes and Hitoshi saw that Cujo was fighting back tears. He was obviously in a lot of pain. "What happened?" Hitoshi asked, but was sure to keep his distance. Still, Hitoshi wasn't prepared for the answer.

Cujo whimpered. "Some-someone pushed the other me down the stairs!" He cried softly. "I woke up like this. It hurts, Toshichan!"

'...Does he not have Izuku's pain tolerance? Then again, I don't think even Izuku could take a fall down two flights of stairs without crying either.'

Hitoshi took a cautious step forward and Cujo looked at him with wet eyes. The quirk sniffled pitifully. "Can…can you walk?" Hitoshi inquired and looked away from Cujo's gaze.

"No…I could hardly drag myself to the wall. My ankle hurts…" Cujo gasped weakly.

'I don't want to do this. I don't-' Hitoshi huffed. "Let me see…" He felt reluctant to do this, but…he squatted down next to Cujo's legs. "Which one?"

"The left…"

Hitoshi pulled up Izuku's pant leg and gently untied the shoe. When he untied the tight knot Cujo sighed with a bit of relief. It only doubled when Hitoshi took the shoe off. "Yeah…shit, that's swollen. It either rolled, sprained, or broke." Hitoshi mumbled and was gentle when he touched the puffy skin. Cujo winced a little. "There's no way you can walk on that…" He continued to whisper. "Didn't we discuss the fact that you have a healing factor?" Hitoshi inquired after a few moments.

"A slow one. Not only that, but the factor only works on the quirks I take. This is a physical injury- ow!" Hitoshi braced himself for a strike or something when Cujo cursed like that. But there was no violent outburst or even a hit.

"Okay, I'm going to have to pick you up. This might hurt a little if you have any other broken bones. So don't go ballistic."

"I don't have the energy to go ballistic…" Cujo sagged.

Hitoshi really didn't want to do this. If it were Izuku he'd have no problem. But this wasn't Izuku. This was Cujo. It was like trying to pick up a rattlesnake and expecting it not to strike. Still, Hitoshi wasn't just going to leave him there because this was still Izuku's body. Hitoshi hooked his arm under Cujo's legs and then used his other arm to brace Cujo's back. He then hoisted Cujo into his arms with ease. "You? Not having the energy to go ballistic? I'm shocked."

"Tch!" Was the noise Cujo made as he winced. Hitoshi looked at the quirk. "Mm. You mock me, Toshichan, but a lot of my energy is being spent keeping the other seven locked away." Cujo breathed out a little as he slumped limply in Hitoshi's arms.

Hitoshi stared at him with wide eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

Well, Hitoshi wouldn't get the answer to that question. As he took a few steps away from the wall; the door opened unexpectedly. "Yo!" Denki grinned. "Todo! Hitoshi found…him?" Denki looked at Cujo and then at Hitoshi with a look of confusion that was growing. "...I think!" He added.

"Urg. Another loud blonde…" Cujo mumbled weakly.

"Behave." Hitoshi hissed slightly.

"What happened? Also, what's with your hair and eyes, 'Zuku?" Denki inquired as Todoroki's fast-approaching footsteps could be heard.

"Izuku-" Todoroki poked his head into the stairwell and he stopped his eyes going wide.

"Pretty…" Cujo mumbled sleepily as his eyes started to drop.

"Hey, he's okay!" Denki laughed.

"Hey!" Hitoshi nudged him. "Stay awake until we get you to Recovery Girl, alright?"

A snort let Cujo's mouth. "Meh." The quirk bleated out like a sheep.

"C'mon! I'll explain along the way." Hitoshi told the others and he quickly maneuvered out of the stairwell and into the main hall. "I found him on the floor. He said someone pushed him down the stairs." Hitoshi broke into a jog. It, surprisingly, wasn't that easy with the added weight and the fact that he had to be careful not to jostle Cujo too much.

"Dude! Did you get a face?" Denki asked as he grabbed onto Cujo's hand.

Cujo stuttered a little in shock at the sudden affection only to realize that the affection wasn't for him. "No." He admitted sleepily. "No, by the time I came out it was too late. I was on the ground."

Denki frowned at this. "We should get your dad." He told Hitoshi. "They could have killed him!"

"Oh trust me, we will," Hitoshi growled.

"So, what's with the hair and eyes then? A quirk usage gone wrong?" Denki inquired next to Cujo, no doubt just to keep him talking while the three of them continued to run.

'Why hasn't Todoroki asked about Cujo's hair and eyes yet?' Hitoshi realized that Todoroki was just a little too quiet. So, Hitoshi looked over at Todoroki. The two of them locked eyes and then Todoroki looked away. This made Hitoshi narrow his eyes at this, he'd question it later.

"You could say that." Hitoshi finally answered. When there was no indignation from Cujo, Hitoshi nudged him again. "C'mon, stop that." He demanded. "I actually want to hear you talk."

"Mm. Loud." Cujo mumbled again. "Can't let my power slip…" He continued to mumble. "Can't let the seven others out. They'll hurt me again."

"Dude, he's out of it. I don't think Recovery Girl is going to cut it." Denki whispered urgently as they were near the nurse's office.

"No running in the halls!" Came a slight chiding voice which made Hitoshi and the others stop for just a moment and turn. "Where's the fire-" Toshinori, not in All Might form, came up and stopped dead when he saw Cujo.

"Something happened." Hitoshi hissed. "We need Recovery Girl."

"What happened-"

"We don't have time for this! Someone pushed him down the stairs and we need to go!" Hitoshi tried to run but was stopped when Toshinori went to grab him. Thankfully, Hitoshi took a step back. "Look! He may be a mistake to you, but he's not to me! I don't. Have. Time!" He couldn't help but spit before taking off again in a run.

Denki and Todoroki both looked at Toshinori before they followed right behind Hitoshi.

The three of them slammed Recovery Girl's door open, startling the poor old woman who was just trying to eat her lunch. "Someone pushed him down the stairs!" was all Hitoshi could say as he put Izuku/Cujo down on a cot. Cujo had since lost consciousness. Hitoshi watched as his hair started to curl and the roots were darkening.

"Oh, my-" Recovery Girl wiped her mouth quickly and hurried over.

"His hair going back to normal. That's good." Denki sat in a chair with a sigh.

Todoroki came up to Hitoshi and just watched.

"Let me see…" She was gentle as she inspected Izuku's arm, then the ankle that was missing his shoe. She prodded around his ribs and hummed. "Well, I don't need an X-ray to tell me this arm is most definitely broken." She mumbled to the arm that he was still holding on to. Realizing that the boys were still there she ticked her tongue. "You three should go. This might take a while he's pretty banged up."

Hitoshi really didn't want to, but he was grabbed by both Todoroki and Denki and physically pulled out of the nurses' station. "C'mon. Let's go and get Mr. Aizawa." Denki whispered to Hitoshi.

Well, they didn't have to. Hitoshi's dad was already rushing down the hallway with Toshinori and Nedzu fast on his heels. The air around Shouta Aizawa was palpable. His eyes were already starting to glow. He was pissed. "What happened?" While the others explained everything leading up to finding Izuku/Cujo in the stairwell to the notes and how Hitoshi figured out that whoever wrote the notes most definitely wanted Izuku isolated and how they realized the stairwells were the best places, Hitoshi looked at Todoroki.

Todoroki looked at him. Hitoshi narrowed his eyes. 'He knows.'


Waking in the void was not something Izuku thought he'd be doing today. But here he was. "Hello? Yoichi? Cujo?" He called out to the darkness. It wasn't as restricting as it was the first time he was here. Izuku swept around the darkness in an attempt to find someone. Anyone.

He saw something white just up ahead and Izuku broke out into a sprint. At first, he thought he was seeing Yoichi laying on the ground, but he realized it was Cujo. "Cujo!" He called to his quirk. He dropped down and gently shook him. "Cujo? Are you okay?"

Cujo moaned a little. "Are you…are you okay?" It was a surprising question to hear the quirk ask. He put his hand to his head. "I-... I tried to take the brunt of the fall."

"...I'm okay. You?"

"Not the worst beating a got…but I have bad news." The quirk whispered. "I- I let my grasp slip. The vestiges-" Izuku wasn't prepared for something to wrap around his body as quickly as violently as it had. Whatever had him was some sort of black mass and the next thing Izuku knew he was violently forced away from his other-self.

"Cujo!" Izuku cried as his quirk soon became nothing more than a speck in his vision.

Then next thing Izuku knew he was on the floor looking up at seven and a half angry faces.

Man, I had fun with this chapter. I will say this because I can already feel a few of you typing this out. Ochako did not push Izuku down the stairs. I can't do that to my girl! 0^0 Also, I told you guys Izuku and Cujo would have their moment. As well as Hitoshi and Cujo even having a small bonding moment. (What do you mean trauma bonding isn't healthy!)