Warning, this chapter ends on a cliffhanger. A BIG one. So if you don't like cliffies, maybe don't read until the next update.

A re-upload since most people apparently couldn't see it. Hopefully this fixes the issue.

Logically, Aizawa knows he should be going over the paperwork for the upcoming training course with the Wild Wild Pussycats, but there's just something about leaving a job unfinished.

"You know, you're really starting to regress into a hikikomori again."

Aizawa doesn't even react, merely tugging up the edges of the sleeping bag as he sits at his desk, watching security footage for the dozenth time. Behind him, Hizashi groans, and quickly slumps into the seat neck to him.

"Shouldn't you be enjoying your downtime?" he asks. "Between your students' little stunt during their internships, and the upcoming training camp, you've been burning the candle more than even you can call healthy."

"I've already had plenty of rest," Aizawa replies. "Once Iida saw sense, I took a three day vacation."

"Don't think it counts as a vacation if you're still doing patrols," Hizashi chides him, and then looks at the screen, seeing the residents of Takesushi recover from the earlier attack. "Seriously, you've got enough on your plate – why not leave this mystery to those of us with the time."

Says the man who runs three jobs to Aizawa's two.

"There won't be an opportunity to analyse anything when we're out in the mountains," he says. "And I recently had a breakthrough."

Granted, he hadn't been certain of what he suspected, since he'd been short on sleep and high on caffeine, but the rewatch has been enlightening.

"Oh?" Hizashi says, eyebrows raised above his glasses. The footage ends, and Aizawa turns his head to stare at his friend.

"Hizashi...you've been in there more than anyone," Aizawa says. "Did you ever notice anything odd about their quirks?"

The blond frowns.

"Not...really. They don't generally use them. Why?"

Instead of answering, Aizawa restarts and speeds through the footage to a moment midway through the attack.

"Watch them closely," he says. "When they use their quirks at the same time."

Hizashi frowns, but watches the grainy footage without complaint. A few seconds later, he starts to frown.

"Play that again," he says, frown deepening when he realises exactly what his friend has spotted. He sucks in a breath, looking agitated.

"How the fuck did we miss that?" he snaps, frantically scratching at his head in anger when the recording stops.

Because all the teens had activated their quirks at the same time in that video – and each and every one of them involves a glowing aura. Different colours, but almost identical in shape and reaction.

Their quirks might perform different skills, but physically? They're practically identical .

"You said yourself that they don't use their quirks," Aizawa reminds him. "And I'm starting to think that's less reluctance, and more making sure people don't spot exactly this."

"What the hell is going on here?" Hizashi says in complete confusion. "Late onset of quirk in multiple kids, I accept. All obtaining powerful quirks, I can stomach, but people with absolutely no genetic link sharing the same quirk activation like this? The odds are...they're not even worth calculating!"

Aizawa nods. "Which brings me to something Recovery Girl brought to me earlier. We overlooked something in the X-rays. She didn't even believe it herself."

"What about them?" Hizashi asks, full of dread. "Don't tell me we missed an injury."

Aizawa gives a slightly hysterical laugh. "Not exactly. To be honest, it's not something we would have been looking for, but..."

He sighs, and turns his seat to face Hizashi head on.

"Those kids? Everyone except Sawada and Fuuta? Have an extra toe joint. All of them ."

It's rare to see Hizashi go so still. Aizawa can't exactly blame him. But he uses the silence to power through.

"Remove Fuuta and Kyoko from the equation," Aizawa begins. "All of the teens have quirks with a similar physical trait. And removing Tsuna, they all have the additional toe joint. Statistically speaking, all of those children should not have quirks . Yet they do. Powerful, and very similar in appearance, quirks. And are completely devoted to a young man with his own very powerful and versatile quirk. You've said plenty of times that they all revolve around Tsunayoshi."

Aizawa's brain has been making connections for the last few hours, and it must show on his face, because Hizashi goes pale.

"Oh no. I know that look. I hate that look."

Aizawa ignores him. "What if Sawada gave them those quirks?"

Yamada thuds his head on the table. "I knew it. That look is never a good thing."

"Hizashi-"

The man surges back up.

"Yamamoto and his kids are not related to All for One" he insists, probably sounding more defensive than he'd intended. "Yes, they're hiding something, but they're not criminals."

Aizawa opens his mouth, and Yamada holds up his hand.

"You know what I mean! Whatever they've done before might not have been legal, but they're clearly trying now."

"I never suggested they were working for the League of Villains" Aizawa replies. "And while I suspect Sawada probably is at least distantly related to All for One, I doubt he knew about him until this incident."

Hizashi frowns, leaning on the back of his chair.

"You have a theory?"

"A tentative one..."

An hour later, the staff of UA are gathered in their meeting room again. Officially to discuss any school or Hero related business. Unofficially…

"Time travel?"

Vlad King gestures violently at Midnight's dismissive tone. "Hear me out! It answers more than it doesn't!"

Midnight rolls her eyes, but gestures with her hand for Vlad King to continue.

"Look, these kids all developed quirks late, which was a lot more common when they were first popping up, and have said they grew up somewhere that didn't have a lot of Heroes. Plus, we haven't been able to track down the so-called villain organisation they claim to have been part of, and their background is clearly false – despite a truth quirk suggesting the opposite. It all adds up!"

"It would explain how they could be from Namimori without actually being from Namimori, and why we can't find the organisation, and their general...everything," Power Loader counters. "Being anti-quirk and having negative opinions on Heroes was a very big movement at the start."

"It's never time travel!" Midnight insists, throwing up her hands. "If I had 100 yen for every time something weird crossed my desk and someone suggested a time travelling quirk? I'd be retired and sitting on a beach in Tahiti, being hand fed gold encrusted strawberries right now."

Vlad King and Power Loader frown, and as one, turn to Yagi, who has been sitting at the edge of the table watching the argument with some bemusement.

"Yagi, you've been around the block a few times. Time Travel quirk, yes or no?"

"My agency used to have a 'time travel jar'" Yagi replies, not missing a beat. "Any time it was suggested and it turned out not to be? Money in the jar. Ensured we always had an impressive New Years Party."

"Hah!" Nemuri cackles, and Yagi shrugs.

"And while I can't deny the theory does fit most of the pieces, there is one glaring flaw," he says. "Sawada Tsunayoshi has stated that his quirk is on it's tenth generation."

Vlad and Power Loader both sag.

"Oh, right," Vlad King replies. "No matter how you look at it, quirks haven't been around long enough for that to be possible with a time jump."

"And time travel backwards doesn't explain the lack of heroes or quirks," Power Loader mutters.

"Oh god, did somebody finally throw out a time travel theory?" Present Mic asks, snickering as he and Eraser Head walk into the room. "I was wondering who'd break first."

They both scowl, crossing arms as their two co-workers snicker and take their seats. A few minutes later, Nezu enters the room.

"Apologies for my lateness. The charming Uri gave me another visit this afternoon, and it took some time to get her a meal. She seems to have missed your presence, Eraser Head."

"Sadly, I had more pressing business this afternoon," Eraser Head says.

The humour dims down as they focus on the basic duties of teachers at any high school. It's a general, dull affair – right up until they hit any other business, and the topic that's on everyone's minds is quickly brought to the forefront.

"Granted, we don't exactly have anything new to add to the file," Yagi admits. "The incident with Gokudera and Iida did draw some negative attention, but nothing Iida recalls seems to line up with a specific anti-hero group. It was fairly generic all things considered."

"We already know some of them have issues with heroes," Midnight adds. "Negative opinions aren't illegal, and that kid knows exactly how far he can go without crossing the line."

"Could make a living out of it," Present Mic half chuckles, but then sobers up. He glances over at Eraser Head, and then leans on the table.

"We may be looking at this the wrong way," he says. "Aizawa brought an idea to the table, regarding their history and why clear falsities ring as true."

"Oh?" Nezu says, looking curious. "Do tell."

Present Mic turns to Eraser Head again, and the other man straightens.

"We've toyed with the idea that the family has undergone some form of memory alteration, but maybe we've got it the wrong way round," Eraser Head says. "What if it's Namimori that's under the memory alternation?"

Everyone at the table frowns.

"An entire town?" Cementoss asks. "That's a reach."

"Wouldn't need to be the entire town," Aizawa counters, and Nezu halts any discussion by raising a hand, asking for elaboration.

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it, we know nearly all of these kids developed their quirks late," Present Mic says, taking over the explanation. "Their records don't exist...but, let's be brutally honest here, how much attention do people pay to quirkless kids? Would anyone really sound that much of an alarm if they went missing?"

"That's being a little extreme," Power Loader argues. "People notice when a kid goes missing, quirk or not quirk."

"True, but quirkless kids notoriously have issues making friends, or making any kind of impression in school," Present Mic says. "There are exceptions, but quirkless can be synonymous with wallflower. As such, there wouldn't be that many people who would need to be...adjusted. At least not more than surface level."

"Some of my students have interacted with the Takesushi students other than Gokudera, and we already know Kyoko and Ryohei were essentially forgotten by their parents," Eraser Head says. "Whether that was bad parenting or because of a quirk, it does add weight."

"But still, that would be hard to pull off," Midnight adds, though her face looks like she's leaning into the idea. "There's a lot of variables, and a lot of risk."

"Not necessarily. Fuuta can rank things, and we know he's been under some kind of long term house arrest. Would it be so hard for him to 'rank' who would be the easiest to disappear?"

That idea definitely grabs their attention. Blood King even starts chewing on a knuckle, looking tense.

"Wipe a few memories, erase a few records, and they could vanish without anyone being any wiser," Mic continues. "It's not a solid theory, but I can see the logic to it."

"I sense you have a reason for bringing up this theory?" Nezu asks, taking in the rather erratic heroes. They look slightly on edge, as if having realised something brand new. "Did you discover something?"

When Aizawa explains what Recovery Girl noticed on her next overview, and what he'd gleamed after looking at the security footage, both the principal and Yagi look sombre, as they look at printouts of the scene in question, with every teen lit up with that identical aura. The other's just look shocked.

"Damn, how did we not see that?"

"What the hell?"

"That similarity can't be coincidence."

"That's insane..."

"That is definitely condemning," Nezu says. "In all my years, I've never seen so many unique quirks that appear so similar. I find it hard to believe it's natural."

"It certainly explains why they're all so reluctant to use them," Midnight says. "Their school would have picked this up if they'd all gone into sports teams."

Yagi looks ready to start spewing blood again, staring at the photo the way a cheating spouse looks at the photos taken by their partner's PI.

"I don't want to say it," he begins. "But I'm starting to believe Tsukauchi's theory is correct. There is some relation between young Sawada and All for One."

"This Vongola may have realised that for themselves" Vlad King agrees. "Some kind of experiment?"

"There has to have been someone pulling strings," Present Mic insists. "Tsuna wouldn't harm a fly, and if he did give his friends quirks, he wouldn't be so cagey about it unless the route was not voluntary. And they do seem afraid of them following."

Aizawa nods.

"I can see a possible picture," he says. "Tsuna's family is in some kind of villain group, but since he's declared quirkless, they keep him out of it. Then, it does emerge when he's a teenager, one of the rare cases. Suddenly they have a resource, but since he hasn't been indoctrinated into the family, they keep him locked up. Of course, his quirk is valuable, and they realise they can experiment with his quirk. With Fuuta on hand, they start rounding up quirkless kids who could become loyal flunkies in exchange for a quirk, kids that nobody will miss. Only Tsuna refuses to break, and they all become loyal to him rather than this Vongola. At some point, Tsuyoshi tracks them down-"

"Assuming he wasn't involved in the first place," Nezu adds, even as Mic flinches. "If Takeshi was both quirkless and crippled, I can see a father being willing to justify no end of decisions to solve either."

"Regardless, they escape from wherever Tsuna's family was holding them, and scramble together some basic records," Aizawa continues. "But they can't risk going back to Namimori since that'll be the first place anyone looks, so they're sloppy about it. It's not the craziest theory."

"There are holes," Nezu says, though it's not a complete dismissal. "Such as why there's no record of Yamamoto or Sasagawa competing, or Gokudera's lack of record. I doubt they could wipe the entire police force."

"If they were quirkless at the time, it's possible that the schools just didn't let them compete?" Yagi argues, starting to regain colour in his face. "And Gokudera has said he was raised in Italy. It's entirely possible he wasn't in Namimori long enough to build a reputation."

"So, do we bring them in with this?" Midnight asks, and Nezu chuckles.

"On what grounds? He answers. "It's a valid theory, yes, but exactly what do we have to prove it with? The pieces might fit, but there is no evidence we can offer. And even if it is true, what exactly do we charge them with? Law enforcement would laugh us out of the room if we requested a warrant."

"But, if an organisation was trying to replicate All for One's abilities and actions-" Yagi begins.

"An organisation we still can't even be certain exists ," Nezu counters. "If we are truly determined to learn the secrets of Takesushi, and keep them out of villains' hands, we need more than this. Something concrete that actually proves illegal action, and justifies our interference. Otherwise, our hands are still tied."

It's a disappointing answer, but one Aizawa can't pretend he didn't see coming.

Don't get him wrong, he would absolutely love to leave Takesushi and its inhabitants alone. But the League of Villains won't, and he refuses to leave them unguarded. Like it or not, the secrets of Takesushi can't be left hidden – and not just because Hizashi is hoping to avoid a calamity by upping his visits from twice a week to nearly daily, and it's starting to affect his waistline. If there is anything in their past that could help the League, then they cannot be allowed to fall into their hands.

But for now, he has to put those issues aside and focus on the problem children he's paid to deal with. They've taken to the training camp with their usual mix of complaining and enthusiasm, and are now collectively passed out and dead to the world from exhaustion.

...It's glorious. Even this class can't get into trouble when they're asleep.

Tragically, he doesn't get to join them, focusing on the training plans for the next few days with Vlad King and the Wild Wild Pussycats. Sleep is only for rookies.

The moon is high when he walks out of the building, fighting off the urge to curl up in a corner and stay there till dawn. They still need to go over the necessary space each student will need, and who can train near each other without causing drama, which with these two classes is an absolute minefield.

"Taking a break?"

He drags his head towards the voice, to see Ragdoll walking up, looking far too chipper for someone who had to have been up just as long as he has. "Still burning the candle at both ends I see."

She holds up a phone with a grin. "Want a little stress relief? I got some great ones for you…"

Aizawa huffs softly. "It's late, I'm not sure I'm really up for it."

"Come on, you know you want to," Ragdoll chimes, holding up her phone. Aizawa gives a long suffering sigh but eventually steps closer, staring at the phone screen. The smile he offers the screen is inevitable.

"Oh, that's just what I needed.."

It's a photo of the tiniest little tuxedo kitten he's ever seen. Somebody's put a disposable coffee cup next to him for scale, and his little ears don't even reach the lid.

"I know right? Absolute darling," Ragdoll laughs, and swipes to the next photo - the time a ginger tabby spread out on a patch of grass.

The smile quickly becomes a grin as Ragdoll continues to show off the photos of cats she's run into since they'd last met. The Wild Wild Pussycats have always had a healthy appreciation for cats, and Aizawa has, on occasion, shared random photos whenever they meet up. He himself is already reaching for his own phone, to show off his own new collection. As impressive as Ragdoll's new additions are, he's pretty sure the literal album he has of a 'quirky' kitten will overshadow every other feline she's seen.

Then, Ragdoll swipes once more, and all the breath leaves Aizawa's lungs.

"Thats…"

"Now this little sweetie is Uri," Ragdoll says, grinning at the photo. "Ever seen a cat with a quirk before? I hadn't, but she'd ran off from her owner and I volunteered my services. The two of them together were such cuties. You know what they say about pets taking after their own-"

She cuts off as Aizawa grabs her hand and stares at the photo. There's no denying it-

"Owner?" he asks, not taking his eyes off the familiar spotted kitten with flames emanating from her ears. "You know who owns her?"

Ragdoll frowns, her cheer fading for suspicion at his reaction.

"...Yes. Do you know that new sushi restaurant-"

The sound Aizawa makes is far too painful to be a moan.

You have to be kidding .

Then again, with that restaurant's track record, how could she belong to anyone else?

"She lives at the Takesushi restaurant?" he asks. Ragdoll nods.

"I believe so. That's where Gokudera asked me to bring her. I'm pretty sure he and his family live above it."

She swipes with a finger, and the next photo is of Uri looking smug, wrapped carefully in the arms of a scowling teen, glaring at the camera.

Gokudera. The foul mouthed, short tempered, former orphan.

"Angry yelling stray," Aizawa whispers under his breath. What were the other ones? Laughing something, Yelling Punch, and Shrieking Tiny Lion.

The younger Yamamoto likes to laugh, the male Sasagawa is a boxer...and Sawada is short for his age and known for shrieking.

...How the hell did he not put that together sooner?

"Excuse me, I need to make a call," Aizawa says, moving away from the wall, all traces of exhaustion vanishing. Ragdoll looks confused, but let's him leave without issue. Once he's suitably far enough away, he pulls out a phone and punches in a number.

It's too late for him to dare call the Principal, so Hizashi will just have to deal. Given the time, he'll forgive his old friend for taking thirteen rings to answer.

"You had better be under attack by the entire League of Villains to be calling this late…" his friend mumbles.

"The quirked cat, Uri. She belongs to Gokudera," Aizawa growls into the phone. He hears movement on the other line, Hizashi bolting up.

"What?" Hizashi says in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

"Ragdoll just confirmed it. She's seen Uri in the street while Gokudera was trying to find her, and brought her home. I've just seen a photo of Uri in his damn arms!"

Hizashi sucks in a breath.

"I swear, I have never seen any animals in that restaurant," he says. "Not once."

"No doubt keeping her and any of the other's Nezu suspects exist out of sight," Aizawa replies. "You can't explain away unregistered quirk animals. Ragdoll didn't even suspect Uri wasn't registered."

"And they're so rare, they can't help but attract attention," Hizashi agrees. Aizawa automatically nods, and feels a grin slide onto his face.

He loves cats. Uri has given them the one thing they desperately needed.

Evidence.

"This changes things. Schedule a meeting with Nezu first thing tomorrow. Everything else we suspect about them is circumstantial, and not proof of a crime, but hiding unregistered quirk animals is. That warrants a visit."

Hizashi is clearly not happy about it, but he agrees. That's a blatant violation, whether they realise it or not. And given their backstory, if there are more unregistered quirk animals running around involved with this Vongola? Nezu will be on the warpath until he's assured they're all safe and thriving.

Aizawa quickly hangs up, and silently curses that he's still out at the training camp for a few more days. Nezu likely won't approach the restaurant until he returns, and that's a painful wait. Still, at least they finally have a way in – now he can focus entirely on his students until they head home.

Days later, when Aizawa meets with Hizashi again, it's outside the police department with his friend in a deep bow.

"I swear I didn't mean it!" he says, practically on the floor. "I didn't think they'd actually attack! It was a joke!"

"Get up Hizashi," Aizawa mutters, thinking back to his friend's mumbled greeting the night before everything went to hell. "There's nothing to be done now."

Hizashi straightens, still looking guilty. "How are you doing? You didn't need hospitalisation this time, but…"

But this time he came home minus one student. He's fairly certain the League won't hurt Bakugo, but every minute he's in their custody is an extra minute too long.

"I'll be better once we track down the League and put them down," Aizawa replies, starting to walk towards the car Hizashi has brought for him. Vlad King had been released earlier, and was already on the way back to the school.

Hizashi nods, but his expression doesn't clear up.

"I know you're going to want to focus on this, but Nezu had already set up the visit with Yamamoto Tsuyoshi for when you got back," he says, and Aizawa immediately winces.

Fuck. Right. That little incident.

"It's clear the league isn't focused on Takesushi at the moment, so can't it be delayed?" Aizawa asks. He really does not have the time to worry about a different set of teens right now.

"We can go without you, but Nezu wants to get this tied up as soon as possible," Hizashi tells him. "Midnight's already volunteered to go with me and Nezu if you want to-"

Aizawa shakes his head. "No...no, let's just get this over with. Given the media frenzy, it's probably best if I stay out of sight of the investigation until we have something solid. Let's go get some straight answers."

The restaurant is closed when the three of them walk in. For once, Yamamoto Tsuyoshi isn't dressed in chef whites, and is wearing an expression that suggests he's contemplating how best to carve them up and prepare them.

"I want to make it clear that this is the last time I'm closing the store to cater your visits," Yamamoto warns. "After this, you'd better have a warrant, or I'm filing a complaint about harassment."

"Understandable," Nezu replies, quickly taking charge. "I'm also hoping that this will be the last time anyone needs to dance around certain facts."

They remain standing in the centre of the room, and Aizawa half expects the chef to ask them to sit down – but instead, he remains standing, leaning on the counter with his arms crossed. It's clear he's not even contemplating being any more cooperative than he needs to be.

Nezu can clearly see it as well, because he quickly cuts to the chase.

"Very well, cards on the table – everyone in this room knows that your background is falsified," Nezu explains. "And we have learned you may have been breaking the law."

"I find that hard to believe," Tsuyoshi replies, eyes narrow. "My kids practically jump through hoops to make sure everything we do is on the level. I'll put my own cards on the table – you've been actively looking for something to hold over us, because for some godforsaken reason, you won't leave us alone."

At that, Tsuyoshi's eyes flit over to Present Mic, who is actively not making eye contact and hiding the flinch.

"My kids are strong, and independent, and want to spend the rest of their lives under the radar," he continues. "And that apparently goes against everything you've ever been taught to believe, so you can't help but keep pushing. What's your endgame here? We've done nothing wrong, so why do you keep harassing us?"

"Because no matter what they want now, plenty of other people have clearly had a say in that beforehand," Present Mic offers. "Believe me, nothing would make me happier than to let your kids live their lives in obscurity, but they've attracted more attention than you think."

"However, we're not actually here about you or your family," Aizawa quickly adds, noting that Yamamoto looks quite confused at his words.

"Then why?" he asks. "If it's about the attack, we haven't seen hide or hair of anyone from that incident since it happened. Nor has anyone from our past showed up to provoke you into action."

Present Mic sighs. "It's not about either of those things. It's...dammit, does Gokudera own a spotted cat called Uri that may or may not be partially on fire?"

Yamamoto's paling face is all the confirmation they need.

"That, I'm afraid, is not something that can be ignored," Nezu says, all humour gone from his face. "This residence is in possession of at least one unregistered animal with a quirk, which is illegal. All quirks need to be registered, and unless you can produce thorough records regarding one feline by the name of Uri, we will be forced to take legal action."

It's not an idle threat. Nezu has spent several years making sure the Animal Welfare laws are very detailed.

Slowly, Yamamoto sits down, leaning back and running a hand over his face.

"I'm genuinely impressed," he mutters, mostly to himself. "You actually found something Gokudera hasn't triple checked to hold us on. Is this the Hero equivalent of nabbing criminals with tax fraud?"

"We're not trying to criminalise you," Present Mic insists. "But you have enemies, both old and new, especially after the incident with the League. We just want to help."

"You can help by dropping this," Tsuyoshi argues back. "I apologise regarding Uri's registration, we dropped the ball on that, and if there's a fine, we can accept it."

"Are you sure?" Aizawa replies. "A lot of animals with quirks are removed from their owners, or stolen once their location becomes public."

"Especially when the owners are being vague about the origins," Nezu adds, and Tsuyoshi scoffs.

"I assure you, nobody can take Uri from Gokudera."

"Fine then, where did she come from?" Nezu then asks. "I've had the luxury of spending some time with her over the last few months, before learning where she called home. We even questioned her with an animal speech quirk, and some of what she said was unusual. As is her quirk – which she seems to think she doesn't have. She also alluded that she was not the only one."

Nezu leans forward.

"Tell me, Yamamoto Tsuyoshi," he says. "What exactly is a 'box animal?'"

Tsuyoshi glares at him. Nezu doesn't back down an inch, and Aizawa tries to hide the relief when Tsuyoshi's shoulders drop, a silent moment of defeat. If they can get him to talk on this, perhaps they can convince him to discuss more about their history.

"Look, it's not exactly simple to-"

Whatever Tsuyoshi was struggling to explain immediately dies when the door slams open, grabbing the attention of the four men.

Aizawa's eyes widened, and he hears Present Mic curse under his breath. It's Takeshi – who looks like he's just ran a marathon, his school uniform singed and shredded, and bleeding from a cut on his head.

Tsuyoshi gasps, his face going pale as he takes in the new arrival.

"Takeshi, what-"

His son doesn't give him time to finish.

"It's Tsuna!" Takeshi gasps, looking utterly broken. "Someone just kidnapped him!"