Y'all ready for the second twist I've had planned since the start?

When Shouta returned home in the early Saturday morning hours he was shocked to see a bouquet of flowers on the table. "Okay…" He whispered a little confused as he paused taking his scarf off. "Did Mic do this? I told him not to send flowers to the house." Shouta grumbled as he approached the bouquet sitting on the table.

Upon closer inspection, he realized: 'Mic did not gift these to me because these are…uh… not in good condition.' The flowers were wilted and dying. It was a cheap gas station bouquet and on the rare occasion Hizashi would gift Shouta flowers, they would be from an actual florist. So, Shouta inspected the card that was left on the bouquet.

Three lines never made him drop the flowers so fast. "Boys!" He yelled for his children instantly as fear gripped him like an icy vice. He nearly slipped on the hardwood floors in his haste to check up on his children. "Boys!?" The first room he rushed into was Izuku's he nearly snapped the door off its hinges when he opened it.

Izuku nearly fell out of bed. "Huh!?" He yelled, his cheeks still pink from the fever. He was entangled in his blankets and tried his hardest to free himself.

"Hitoshi- Hitoshi!" Shouta ran to his other son's room and went for the door. Locked.

Fearing the worse; like any worried father would do. He did the most logical and rational thing his mind told him to do: He kicked Hitoshi's door in. The wood splinted as the door came off of the hinges with a thundering crack that reverberated through the entire, once-quiet, house.

Hitoshi was up and out of bed, his hands raised and covers on the floor, practically under his bed. "I'm sorry!" He yelled, probably out of reflex than out of anything else. His lavender eyes were wide with fear and Shouta could see his son's erratic and scared breathing. "I had headphones in! I'm sorry!" Hitoshi looked like he could cry at any moment while he shook. No doubt in sheer shock over what just happened.

"..." Shouta looked at Izuku, who was leaning heavily against his doorframe, and then back at Hitoshi. His own breathing was erratic, something he only just realized. He put his hands on his knees and let out a wheezy breath. "Thank god… thank god you two are alright…" He whispered more to himself than to his own children.

"Dad…" Izuku approached. "Did something happen?"


"Well, Eraserhead, this is less than ideal. I will say." Osada came up to the family in the living room. Other nameless and faceless police officers walked around them, inspecting everything with a fine-tooth comb. Izuku had his head on Hitoshi's lap and was really only half-awake as he fought against sleep.

Meanwhile; Hitoshi was just glad for the short grace period they were given before the cops showed up. He was sure Kaminari would have been found under his bed (and beaten out of the door). The grace period allowed Kaminari to leave and that blonde ran. It was the fastest Hitoshi has ever seen him run. Then again, anybody would run like that if they witnessed Shouta Aizawa break a solid wooden door in with one solid kick the way he had.

"I know…" Shouta breathed out. He had his hands clasped together in a sort of prayer with the tips of his fingers pressed against his forehead. One of his legs was bouncing up and down rhythmically. "I know the front door was locked as I had to unlock it when I came home. So…" Shouta turned towards his boys. "Which one of you left your window unlocked? Because I always lock mine unless in use."

There was a pause between both boys. The pause lasted a second, maybe two, before slowly and shyly, both boys raised their hands.

Shouta sighed. 'All of that drilling into them about safety and precaution…' He thought while rubbing at his temples in mild frustration. 'The fact that Shigaraki was right there and while Izuku was weak and vulnerable too! He could have easily taken off with him and- Hitoshi might not have noticed because he had his headphones in. But…Shigaraki didn't… instead, he got flowers and left a note. Why?... Why didn't he grab Izuku?' It was a question no father in their right mind would ever think of asking. 'Why wasn't my child kidnapped?' No sane person would ask that, but for Shouta: It was a legit question.

Shouta didn't know and yet he was thankful.

Hitoshi gently ran his fingers through Izuku's hair and Izuku curled up close to his brother. Both boys couldn't look their father in the eye. As much as Shouta wanted to yell and scold his boys for being so reckless, he knew it would do no good. He could only be grateful that his children weren't hurt and he had a feeling that his boys already feel bad about this.

"...Okay, Osada, what's our best option?" Shouta inquired as he brought his hands down.

"Well, if you plan on staying here, I would recommend locking this place down like Fort Knox, but because it's the League of Villains and they now know your address. It would be for the best if you… think about a more drastic measure of safety now that we know the truth regarding Izuku and his father. A safe house. Or… witness protection even."

"A safe house?" Shouta felt like he was struck in the chest. He knew it was the safest option for him and his boys but the idea of actually having to go into a safe house actually made him feel sick. A safe house meant being monitored and it wasn't forever, it's only for a week at most, Shigaraki can wait a week. Witness protection was worse. Witness protection would be longer and arguably safer but witness protection meant new identities and a brand new location. No more UA and most certainly no more Hizashi or whatever friends Izuku and Hitoshi managed to make. It could even mean no more hero work for Shouta.

"...Honestly, I do wish we were told about Izuku and his father beforehand. If we would have known all those years ago that Izuku's father was a villain we could have made preventive measures… and…we still can."

Shouta didn't like that tone nor the implication.

"Yeah? Like what?" Hitoshi challenged the officer with narrowed eyes.

"...Shouta, they want Izuku. As far as we know, they don't care about Hitoshi. Look at me, Hero to officer-" Osada put a hand on Shouta's shoulder forcing the hero to look him in the eye. There was an odd desperation in the detective's eyes. "We could take Izuku and put him in witness protection. Change his name and give him to a fake family of heroes for protection and put you and Hitoshi in a different location from this."

"Absolutely not." Shouta didn't hesitate to turn the idea down. "I'm sorry, I know you mean well, Osada, but. Either we all go into witness protection or we all stay here. I'm not splitting my family up."

"It's not a bad idea. Tomachan wants me. My father wants me. If I were to be the one to go into witness protection it would put less strain and worry on you and Toshichan. Honestly, I think you should do it. But… I can't say I'd be happy living elsewhere with other people."

Shouta's blood turned to ice when Cujo spoke up. The quirk had taken a temporary hold of Izuku's body, probably while Izuku was unconscious due to his sickness.. He kept his eyes closed, thus giving the impression that Izuku was the one speaking. A deliberate move as neither Osada nor Higashi knew of Cujo's existence yet. (Shouta had his reasons for keeping this a secret from the two. More specifically from Higashi) . Shouta already figured out the tonal difference between the two and knew it was Cujo and not Izuku.

Hitoshi looked like he was going to say something, possibly to reject the idea, but in the end, he kept his mouth tight and didn't speak. All he did was reach and continue to run his hands through Izuku's curls.

Osada looked surprised before nodding. "Shouta, if the kid thinks it's a good idea-"

Shouta stood up and walked up to Cujo/Izuku. Then, he tapped his son on the center of the forehead. "You being away- god knows where- would put strain and worry on Hitoshi and I. No. We aren't doing that." Cujo dared to open one of his red eyes just a sliver for Shouta to see. Then he grinned. It was a little cheeky grin.

"Fine. I tried to give you an out, Old Man." Then Cujo stuck his tongue out at Shouta and curled up closer to Hitoshi, putting and keeping his head in his brother's lap. Hitoshi gave a weak chuckle.

"Nah, you know dad by now. He doesn't do 'outs.' he's committed till the end." Hitoshi stated matter-of-factly with a small grin gracing his face.

"No, I'm sorry Osada. Either we all go or we all stay." Shouta spoke clearly and firmly to the man.

"Very well… are you staying or should we whip up new identities for you three?"

Shouta scowled at this. He didn't know the best option for this. Both had their risks. "For now…we'll stay. I just wish for someone to keep an eye on the house at all times of the day is it possible?"

"Given what's at stake here, yes. The league is no longer a joke and we can't have anything happening to you all. We can have some undercover cops planted around the neighborhood. I'm sure there's an empty house they can us. You know it can't be forever, right?"

"I'm not asking for forever, I'm merely asking for a week or two tops."

"Fair enough. I'll go and round up those willing to do it-" Osada went to leave, but stopped. "Oh, before I forget. Here. The DNA test results are in." He pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Shouta.

"Shit, I almost forgot about that." Shouta took the envelope and started to open it. "Did you look?"

"I'm a cop involved in the Shinsou case. Of course, I looked."

"And?" Shouta thought he knew the answer, but he was wrong. He was dead wrong.

"They're related."

"What?" Shouta stopped as he heard a record scratch in his head.

"What?" Hitoshi's breath turned weak, nearly wheezy, as he got up from the couch. "We're…actually related?" His movement caused Izuku to awaken and retake control from Cujo.

"Eh?" Izuku sat up but didn't stand. He looked sickly while he put his hand on his forehead. "Are we really?" He whispered all the same. "Are we…are we actually cousins? Is his father my uncle?"

"Uh…well…that's where things get tricky… may I?" Osada reached for the DNA results and Shouta didn't hesitate to give it over to the man. "As a detective, I've worked with a lot of DNA and so you learn how to read it before too long." He turned the page so it was facing all of them.

"The one on the right here is Hitoshi's DNA, the one on the left is Izuku's, and the one in the middle is the comparison. Now, how it is with DNA is that one half is maternal and the other half is paternal. Let's say they're half-siblings and they had the same mother. Then this right side of the DNA would be a perfect match to one another. But as you can see in the third picture the DNA doesn't overlap on that side so they aren't related in that aspect." He explained while briefly showing them all the DNA lines and how their maternal side doesn't line up correctly.

"So… I'm related to Izuku's dad? Meaning we are cousins?" Hitoshi's face turned as white as a sheet as he eyed the last picture up and down where, yes, the DNA did match, but not perfectly. Not like if they were half-brothers.

"Yes. You are related to Izuku's dad, but…here's where things get interesting. You aren't cousins. Cousins share about twelve percent of DNA with one another. You two share more than twelve percent as you can see here." He pointed to the paternal side once more in the comparison where it showed where the points added up. It added up a lot. "You two share about twenty-five percent DNA."

"Twenty-five percent…meaning they're half-brothers?" Shouta felt his jaw drop. Had they really actually been brothers all this time?

"...No. Hitoshi. You must forgive me for this. I just had to know. We took DNA from his father. Dai. We dug his grave up for this because I just couldn't believe it and…I was right." This is where Osada pulled out another paper from on his person and pulled it up for them all to see. Izuku's sickness clearly in the back of his mind as he stood and looked with the rest of them.

"Dai Shinsou and Izuku share the exact same amount of DNA on their father's side. They were half-brothers. Half-siblings share the same amount of DNA as…their nephews or nieces. They're not half-siblings and they're not cousins. Izuku is Hitoshi's uncle."

"...I need to sit down…" Shouta sat on the floor. This was a lot to take in all at once.

"It was never me…" Hitoshi whispered while shaking violently. "He never wanted me… he wanted his son!" His eyes looked like they were ready to pop out of his skull. "But why!? My dad was quirkless! What could he gain?! It's not like with you!" He turned to Izuku. "It was never like with you!"

"I don't know…" Izuku whispered while turning away from Hitoshi. "I really don't know. I'm sorry…"

"...He's…he's my grandpa." Hitoshi collapsed to his knees. "That makes it so much worse! He's my grandpa and you're my uncle!"

And Shouta thought his mother's five-year age gap with her husband was weird.

"How one man can be a grandfather to one and a father to another is honestly beyond me. I'm sorry, truly, I am. We should have tested you both from the start and we didn't." Osada gave his head a stern shake while maintaining eye contact with all of them.

"Well…at least we can tell the class we're actually related now." Izuku then laughed. It was a soft laugh a desperate laugh to just relieve the tension in the air. His face was really turning pink now while breathing became uneven so suddenly. "I think-"

Then Izuku was on the floor. The combination of everything took its toll on his body causing him to faint. The sad thing? Hitoshi wasn't even sick and he wasn't that far behind Izuku in the fainting department.


"You're kidding."

"Do I look like I'm kidding, Mic?"

Hizashi laughed behind his hands while the two of them sat at Shouta's dining room table. Both had a cup of coffee in front of them as they looked out at the afternoon outside. "Izuku's his uncle…who'd a thought?"

"Not me. That's for sure." Shouta felt his brows knit together almost uncomfortably while he sipped his lukewarm coffee. The cops left some time ago. The house appeared normal but…Shouta didn't feel safe. Not anymore.

"Where are the kiddos?"

"They both fainted. I had the carry them back to their beds and made sure their windows were locked this time around."

"Both?"

"Yep. Izuku dropped first and only a second later Hitoshi was the on the ground. I've never ever seen them faint like that before. Izuku was sick, that I get, but Hitoshi? I made him run until he collapsed and he never fainted. That was a first. Let me tell you it was easier carrying them to bed when they were six now I had to have Osada help me."

"To be fair, if I was told that the person who kidnapped me, and who wanted my dead dad, was my grandfather and the person whom I kidnapped from them is technically my uncle, I'd probably pass out too." A soft and loving laugh left Hizashi's mouth while he took another sip of his coffee. "It's insane."

"It is. Honestly. I've never… I have no words."

"...So. To change the subject. What are you going to do? Move?"

Shouta ran his finger over the edge of his mug, wiping his spit off of it as a result. "It'll probably be for the best. It's just… this was our home. You know?"

"Yeah, you built your life here. I get not wanting to leave but you know it's something you have to do. I just can't believe the bastard walked around like he owned the place! Thank god he didn't do anything to the boys!"

"...you know, this has been gnawing at me. Shigaraki could have taken Izuku last night. Izuku was sick and out of it; he was in an extremely vulnerable state. Hitoshi had his headphones in while he slept last night meaning if Shigaraki took Izuku he wouldn't have heard… but yet… Hitoshi's door was locked last night…I had to kick it down…" Shouta could feel his brow furrow deeply as he suddenly realized this. "And Shigaraki said in the note- what did he say?-" Shouta had his phone out and looked at the picture he took. He took it for this moment. So he could remember what was written.

"You are all really heavy sleepers. I could have robbed this place ten times over. Be more aware." He read to Hizashi. Shouta grabbed a piece of his hair and twisted it between his index and middle finger.

"He's toying with you and the boys alike. He wants you on your toes."

"Yeah but…something just isn't sitting right with me. There's something I feel like I'm missing…"

"Sleep. You're missing sleep. You've been up for almost twenty-four hours now without proper sleep."

"I can't sleep."

Hizashi grabbed Shouta's coffee and stood up. He gently placed a kiss on Shouta's forehead. "Go lay down. I'll take the first shift and keep the house guarded while you do so. It's no big deal."

"...I don't know. What if he comes back-"

"This is what Shigaraki wants, Shouta. He wants you a paranoid mess. That's why he left the flowers on your table. He's messing with you. Here, take a cat-" Hizashi picked up Tora from the counter. The old geezer gave a weak mew at the sudden movement. He then gave Tora to Shouta. "And go lay down for a few hours. Your head will be clearer and you'll thank me when you wake."

Shouta was quick and gentle with Tora, Making sure to hold the elder cat in a loose hold so as to not hurt him. "Hm… I guess you're right…. Maybe laying down will help… are you sure?"

"Pluh-ease! I can watch a house for a few hours. It's nothing. Go to bed! Go!" Hizashi now pushed Shouta towards the bedroom, but not before giving him a loving peck on the lips. Shouta had no more fight after that. Instead, he took his cat and immediately collapsed on to his bed.

He wouldn't fall asleep instantly. No. He would just lay there. Ruminating on the 'what if's' of last night. Or worse. The 'what if's' of this morning if he would have gotten home and found both of his children dead-

Or maybe just a pile of ash in their places.

Or not there at all.

Sleep didn't come easy for Shouta. He doubt it would ever be easy again while in this house. While Shigaraki was still out there hunting for his 'brother' Izuku.

Were they brothers?

Cousins?

Uncle and nephew?

Shouta doubt he'd ever truly know the answer to those questions.

Okay! After this chapter, we should be FINALLY getting to the FINALS the thing I (absolutely) been delaying. Look, I won't lie to you guys. I hate the finals. The finals in the show and in fanfiction fill me with such anxiety. I am not joking and as mentioned these finals are different from canon. They need to be.

And for those curious about Shoto. He put the flowers on the dining room table before he left that morning. He stayed the entire night. I don't know if I'll write it in but he didn't sleep. He stayed awake by Izuku's side the rest of the night. While he doesn't know who 'Tomachan' is exactly he knew it wasn't a good thing and knew that Izuku was vulnerable. Shoto, as some of you may have guessed, is the reason why Shigaraki didn't yoink Izuku.