Class 1-A finally gets some sushi.
Aizawa doesn't even bother answering – instead lifting his head from the table just high enough to glare at Yamada. The man quickly throws up his hands in defence.
"Oh don't look at me like that," Yamada snaps with some bite. "You want to crack a bottle open too."
Aizawa's eyes drop, and he lets his head flop back into his arms. Across the table, Yagi doesn't look much better. Frankly, he looks like his entire world view just got upended – and doesn't react when the door opens to reveal Nezu striding in.
"I just finished a very awkward conversation with the local authorities," he tells them, sitting down at the table. "Thankfully, Detective Tsukauchi was willing to smooth over the edges, but we will need to give them something more than that ."
Slowly, Yagi leans over, elbows on the table and fingers crossed. "Is there any leads for the rest of the League?"
Nezu shakes his head. "Sadly no. Wherever the teleporter took those still standing, we can't follow. And the handful of members who didn't escape are staying quiet. For now, we have to deal with the elephant in the room."
Aizawa gives a low moan, before lifting his head up and forcing himself back up.
"I don't even think I can count the number of quirk laws the Takesushi residents broke," he says. "Gokudera knows exactly how to get around the laws, but there wasn't even grey area here. It was flagrant."
"But technically, the only people who saw them do anything were us and the League," Yamada says. Whatever Chrome had done hadn't worn off until the Takesushi teens had all fled the scene, and the first officers had assumed the heroes had caused it.
And while the heroes hadn't confirmed that, they had chosen to be...vague, on exactly who had. At least until they could get the story straight.
"That doesn't change what happened," Aizawa argues back.
"I agree, but if Tsuyoshi is right and they're planning to leave, we'll end up causing law enforcement no end of headaches if their 'suspects' up and vanish," Yagi says. "Isn't that why we chose to stay quiet?"
"But if they stay, then we'll have covered up a scandal of immense proportions," Aizawa reminds them, before looking like he's bitten a sour lemon. "Of course, the alternative is coming clean – there's no way the hero commission will let them remain civilians afterwards."
"That is the price though, of their actions," Nezu says. "They knew what they were doing."
"But did they?" Yamada argues back. "Until last night, they hadn't done anything illegal. All they want to do is live in peace, as civilians. One could argue we pushed them to boiling point."
He stops, sighs, and scratches at the back of his head. "Maybe we should be covering it up."
"Yamada!"
"Hizashi!"
He immediately throws up his hands in surrender. "Look, I'm not saying what they did was right. But this wasn't exactly done out of malice – and if we hadn't been so focused on why these kids weren't choosing to use their quirks, the League of Villains would probably have never even known about them."
"I feel like you're trying to get to a point, so why not just make it," Nezu asks, and Yamada shrugs.
Quirks are getting stronger with every generation," Yamada says. "Where it used to be that only a small percentage of quirks were suitable for hero work, now more and more are showing up. Each generation is getting stronger, just look at how many apply to the entrance exams – how many just miss the cut off to get in. Having a suitable quirk is no longer the most necessary part of being a hero. And yet, that's still where we put 90% of our focus."
"It is still a vital component," Yagi replies, but frowns as he says it. "Though I agree we may be overlooking other necessities."
"Exactly. Heroes only became a thing because the world was in chaos thanks to quirks. But now that chaos is controlled, so shouldn't we be encouraging people who have quirks but not the motivation to look into other roles?" Yamada says. "Why can't we let them just be?"
"You...want to use a group of dimensional refugees who just blew up half a block as an example of why you don't need to be a hero even if you have a powerful quirk?" Aizawa says with disbelief, and Yamada shrugs.
"If it was any other situation. Any other group, then yeah, I'd be throwing the book at them, but – they came to this world because they thought they could be safe here. Be happy here. And we kept poking at them. They were willing to follow our rules right up until those rules put them in danger."
Both Yagi and Shouto look concerned, but not outraged, and Nezu leans across the table, looking interested, so Yamada pushes on.
"I love our world. And I can't stand the thought that our actions have actually pushed a group of refugees from a criminal-run world to not feel safe here. It feels like a slap in the face to everything we're supposed to stand for."
Aizawa and Yagi share a look, their faces sombre, and Nezu nods.
"While this is a unique situation, you do make a valid point."
He smiles. "So, what do you propose we do, Yamada?"
A day later, and the closed sign on the front door of Takesushi remains on display as the owner starts to pack up, and his family discuss options.
"No, we are not going there."
"But it's so Extreme!"
"Which is the problem Turf-top! We are not going to a universe where restaurants have to enter battle royales to open up shop."
"I second this opinion," Tsuyoshi calls from where he's packing up knives in the kitchen. "Score it off Fuuta."
The boy nods dutifully as he scratches off the fourth universe that's been vetoed. Then he pauses, and scratches off the next three on the list – their flaws are all pretty similar.
"What about that one we considered before coming here?" Takeshi asks. "You know, the one that's good for the box animals?"
"It's in the maybe pile," Tsuna says. "But if you lot decide to do…"
He vaguely waves at the window. "...That, again, it's badly ranked for people's reactions."
Fuuta nods. "Flames are things animals have there. Not humans. What about this one? About the same level of technology and development as ours, and even though it's also got enhanced people, it's not as regulated as here. Plus, aliens are a thing there!"
Gokudera's eyes start to sparkle.
"Sounds Extremely good," Ryohei says.
"Too good. What's the catch?" Tsuna asks.
"Oh, um...it looks like they have a lot of near-miss apocalypses," Fuuta explains. "Plus every now and then reality shifts and the timeline stops making sense."
Kyoko leans over to look at the list showing the pluses and minuses of each world. "What's the Justice League?"
"It's kind of like the hero association, I think."
"Vetoed," Tsuna orders. "And filter your lists to include near-miss apocalypses along with actual apocalypses."
He then thuds his head on the table. "How did we reach a point where that's a sentence I have to utter?"
"I'll just go ahead and cross out the one with the Avengers too then," Kyoko laughs, grabbing Fuuta's pen. "Wait...how many universes do both of those exist in?"
"I lost count," Fuuta admits, frantically scratching them out. Gokudera slumps, but otherwise doesn't argue.
"I still don't see why we can't go to the worlds with space travel," he mutters under his breath. "We could interact with actual UMA's…"
Tsuna makes a conscious choice to ignore him, and forces his head up.
"There's got to be a way to speed this up," he moans. "We're going to have company eventually, and I'd like an exit strategy in place for when they do."
That has all of them sobering up, and both Yamamoto and Gokudera glance at the door again.
"It's eerie, that no one's come by," Gokudera says. "Would have expected that truth-telling Detective to have a warrant by now. How are you feeling Tenth?"
He immediately flinches when the entire group turns to glare at him. "Tsuna! I mean, Tsuna, how are you feeling?"
Tsuna lets his glare dim and sighs. "Fine. I mean, my intuition isn't acting up, but I don't feel great after last night, so that could be throwing it off."
"Yeah, but it's been over 24 hours and nobody's shown up at the door to arrest us, so maybe they're just letting it go?" Yamamoto suggests.
"Given how seriously people take law breaking in this world, I doubt it," Tsuyoshi offers from the kitchen. It's almost prophetic, because not ten seconds later, there's a knock at the door.
Gokudera's hand immediately goes to his belt, where he's had the Systema C.A.I on hand ever since they came home, and Yamamoto grabs the sword that hasn't left his side. Tsuyoshi however, raises a hand in a 'wait' gesture, and slips out of the kitchen. He stiffens his shoulders, braces himself, and opens the door.
"Yamada," he says. "I take it this isn't a social call?"
The voice on the other side laughs, but they sound more nervous than upset. "No...but it's not really an official one either. Can we come in?"
Tsuyoshi still looks tense, but compiles. At the table, the group stays on edge as Present Mic, Eraser Head, All Might and Nezu all walk in.
"You can relax, no one is being taken in right now," Nezu is quick to offer, trying to diffuse the tension, and wanders closer to the table, eyeing up the table covered in scored out lists. "Trying to decide on your next move I see."
"It's taking some time," Kyoko admits, taking the out for what it is. "It took weeks to settle on this world the first time round."
"You don't have a fallback?" All Might asks, quickly stepping in beside Nezu, looking genuinely curious. Tsuna's shoulders relax, and the nerves bleed out from the rest of the group, getting comfortable.
"Nothing concrete yet," he says.
"Yeah, every world that we'd fit into has some kind of issue," Takeshi explains. "It's either man-eating ghosts or magical girls or giant robot fights or an entire legal system based on a card game"
"There are many Extreme worlds!" Ryohei agrees.
"To be fair the giant robot universes do sound kind of awesome," Tsuna sighs. "But they seem to come hand in hand with wars so…"
He shrugs helplessly. "And most of the worlds with soft magic systems are really outdated. I think we'd end up missing modern plumbing and the Internet after too long."
"No interest in worlds with no magic or powers?" Eraser Head asks, and Tsuna grins, gesturing vaguely in the direction of Chrome.
"You really think we'd be able to hide in a world with no powers whatsoever?"
The hero winces, and nods in understanding. As they talk, Present Mic and Tsuyoshi join them, Tsuyoshi pulling out a chair at a table near the booth. Without asking, the heroes all settle down to join him.
"So, if you're not here to bring us in, what's the occasion?" Tsuyoshi asks. "Looking for an ETA for us vanishing so you've got time to put together a cover story?"
Present Mic smiles, raising his arms in a soft shrug. "Actually, we were hoping we could convince you to stay."
It's not what anyone expects to hear – and the almost perfectly synchronised blinks the heroes receive are almost unnerving.
"Didn't see that coming," Takeshi says, breaking the silent tension with a laugh. "Thought you'd be happy to get rid of us."
"I would have thought the same," Tsuyoshi agrees, looking confused. "They weren't exactly subtle."
"Actually, thanks to Chrome, it wasn't exactly hard to sweep under the rug," Present Mic explains. "We are trying to avoid answering some awkward questions regarding just how the damage was caused-"
"Speaking of which, we will be discussing whatever it was you did to All For One," Nezu interjects.
"-But actual witnesses and proof are pretty thin on the ground," Present Mic says, not missing a beat. "It might take some effort, but covering this up and giving the credit to licensed heroes isn't as hard as you'd think. It would be doable."
"Granted, staying might cause you some problems," Eraser Head continues on. "The League of Villains is still around, even if All For One is now in custody, and they'll probably be gunning for you. But given how good you are at holding them off, that might not be that much of an issue."
No one really seems to know how to handle the news. Tsuna breaks eye contact to glance over at his family – all looking confused...but not afraid. And his intuition isn't acting up at all.
Across the table, Kyoko offers him a reassuring smile, and he gathers himself.
"If we stayed...what would you expect?" he asks. Because this can't be an offer without conditions.
Nezu is the one that leans forward, his hands clasped together and a confident smile on his face.
"Well, as much as we'd love to see what you could do as heroes, you've made it clear that's not a role you want, so we'll have to go another route."
"Such as?" Tsuna presses, and the headmaster chuckles.
"Subterfuge – an iron clad reason to not use your quirks. We'll alter your records slightly, and list you as in witness protection – one little document and you can shove it in the face of anyone trying to make you use your quirk. Even your school will have to stop chasing you."
All of them immediately perk up, Tsuna almost hitting the ceiling.
"So nobody could force us to use our flames?" he asks, a little too excitedly. "They can't even bring them up?"
"Pretty much," Aizawa replies. "You'll only be allowed to pursue civilian careers that don't allow you to use your quirks – although if you change your mind at some point I'm sure Nezu will pull some strings – and the law will crack down on anyone who tries to convince you otherwise."
"In exchange," Nezu says, quickly bringing attention back to him. "You will need to live as civilians. Chrome has her exception, but there can be no more incidents like the previous night. Self defence yes, but nothing more."
"That would not be Extremely difficult," Ryohei exclaims. "We were living that way already, to the Extreme."
Takeshi laughs while Gokudera rolls his eyes, but Tsuna pays them little mind. His eyes flit away from Nezu to Present Mic, who matches his stare without question.
"Why?" he asks, because it doesn't make sense. Why go to such lengths for people who gave up trying to hide?
Present Mic gives a sad smile. "Because we just couldn't live with the idea that we'd chased you away. People are supposed to be safe with heroes around. We failed you, and we want to try and make up for that."
Tsuna blinks, then blinks again.
"Huh."
"So...we're staying?" Takeshi says, choosing the voice the question. Around the table, Vongola glances at each other, faces torn.
"This world has been fun," Kyoko says, offering her thoughts. "If we could, I'd like to stay."
"I do hate house hunting," Tsuyoshi adds. "And it would be a hassle to transfer you all mid-year."
"And I finally have the local law enforcement trained to my liking," Gokudera says. "This world isn't bad. Backwards, but not bad."
"My debut is supposed to be in two weeks, to the Extreme!"
Eventually, they all turn to Tsuna, and slowly, he smiles.
"I...kind of don't want to leave either. Why not one more chance?"
One week later...
UA's class 1A descend upon Takesushi with their usual polite and calm decorum. Which is to say, none at all.
"Hey Sasagawa! Tell me you got me tickets for your match!"
"Hi Kyoko! So good to see you again!"
"Uraraka! I thought this reservation might be yours, is this the whole class?"
"Ah, sorry, but is Gokudera here – I'd like to discuss some current hero legislation-"
"Iida, wait till after food!"
"Where the hell is the boss freak hiding?"
"Oh, hi Sensei!"
At the counter, Aizawa immediately ducks his head, but given he's sitting right next to Yamada, it was always going to be a hopeless endeavour. Thankfully, his class is more focused on finding tables to sit at than bother their teachers, and organised chaos fills the room. Uraraka is sitting down with Tsuyu and Ashido on each side, as Kyoko walks up with a smile.
"I see you managed to arrange a class trip."
"It took some doing, but we managed to find a date when everyone was free," Uraraka says. "And after what happened during our training earlier, we could use the break."
"Well, we're always happy to get a reservation that buys out the restaurant," Kyoko laughs, and starts asking for drink orders – while the teen she points out as her brother happily obtains them from the table holding an enthusiastic Kirishima and a strangely subdued Bakugo before vanishing to the back.
"Thanks by the way, Yaoyorozu," Ashido says, looking at the girl at the nearby table. "I don't think any of us could have had the clout to reserve so many tables."
The girl smiles. "It's no problem. I'm just glad we were able to do it. There was talk that this restaurant was shutting down, it's such a relief it was just a rumour."
"I bet Present Mic was the happiest about it," Tsuyu jokes, looking at the man happily filling his face and making a point to ignore them.
It's one of the most chaotic nights Takesushi has ever had, and one of the more enjoyable outings most of the class can name, given that it's the first time they've all been in one place without disaster striking. Once plates stop coming out of the kitchen and eating gives way to talking, it seems most of the staff have become friendly with the class, clustered into small groups. It would probably be best to slip away while they're distracted, but Yamada and Aizawa end up wandering closer, listening in to the random conversations.
Kyoko has happily joined the bulk of the girls in comfortable small talk, although Yaoyoruzu has split off and seems to be deep in discussion with Chrome at the edge of the table, both of them huddled over what appears to be a mitten. When he inches closer-
"-teresting material. I've never seen anything quite like it. Do you have a chemical breakdown?"
"It might take me a while but I'm pretty sure I or Gokudera can get you one. So what do you think?"
Yaoyoruzu shrugs. "If you can get me a list of materials and it's entirely inorganic, I don't see why not. So long as you let me experiment with the material, it looks quite sturdy for how light it is."
Chrome gives a relieved smile. "Deal. Tsuna is on edge with only one. He'll be so happy to get a replacement. That'll be perfect."
Aizawa vaguely remembers those mittens being mentioned when the restaurant debriefed on exactly what they'd done to the League of Villains, but if it ends up with Yaoyoruzu having a new fabric to utilise for hero work, there's probably no reason to interfere. He taps Yamada on the shoulder to stick around and keep eavesdropping, and checks out the others.
The older Sasagawa has lured in half the boys – Kirishima hanging off every word – with some story of a fight he'd been in at some point. He's never considered himself 'old' but the sheer amount of 'Extremes' coming from that part of the restaurant make him feel every year.
Across the room, Iida is conversing with Gokudera, Yamamoto at his side and grinning wildly as both of them gesture wildly. Aizawa would have thought they were arguing if not for the bright look in their eyes – whatever the two are debating is clearly something they feel strongly about. Distantly, he hears something about statistics and accountability – but it is too late to navigate that minefield so moves on. Midoriya is also watching and looks more fascinated than horrified, so it's likely not as bad as it looks. Besides, there's a bigger issue at the far back – Bakugo has Tsuna cornered, and his explosive student looks as happy as he ever does. He's been warned by everyone in the know about his kidnapping not to talk about what actually happened, but it's Bakugo.
"n't fucking get it! Why the fuck are you hiding away when you can do all that crap? You could be one of the most powerful heroes ever!"
"Because I don't want to?" Tsuna says, face exasperated. "Why do I keep having this conversation?"
Bakugo. raises his hands, shaking as if he wants to wring the other teen's neck. "Fuck you! Why the fuck don't any of you make sense!"
Most people would probably be shaking at the wall of rage looming over them, but Tsuna just gives a long slow blink, and sighs.
"Yeah. We get that a lot. It's a thing."
Bakugo. gives a wordless cry of frustration, that's immediately cut off when an arm is swung around his shoulders – Aizawa blinks in surprise when he realises it's Yamamoto, who has somehow made it from his table to the duo's side without him noticing.
"Hey don't waste time worrying about it," Yamamoto laughs. "Tsuna's happy being Tsuna, and we're all happy here at Takesushi. Who needs more than that."
"Oi! Get off me!"
He tries to drag the arm off, and Aizawa smirks as he watches Tsuna slip away while he's distracted, quickly heading towards Chrome and Yaoyoruzu and sitting down to look at the mitten they're discussing. By the time Bakugo. realises his prey is gone, the moment has passed, and he's dragged growling back to the table where Sasagawa if finishing up his tale, and Aizawa returns back to Hizashi's side.
"All good?" his friend asks. "I honestly stopped following the conversation a few minutes ago."
Aizawa smirks, and shrugs noncommittally, but it makes Hizashi grin all the same.
When the night starts drawing to a close, and the students have all left to head home, both Aizawa and Yamada end up sticking around a few minutes longer - Hizashi making small talk and trying to bribe some free takeaway, while Aizawa helps the others move chairs for cleanup, when the front door opens, drawing the attention of Tsuyoshi, who breaks away from his conversation to greet them.
"Sorry, we're closed for - what the hell!"
The restaurant goes silent, and Aizawa's hand instantly goes for his scarf as he spins round to face the threat. Every member of Takesushi instantly lunges to their feet, going straight into defence mode – only to freeze as they take in the new entrants to the restaurant.
Both Aizawa and Yamada frown – the arrivals are three teens, and the one in front looks startlingly similar to Chrome…
There's a choked gasp just behind them, and the girl in question offers a name with shaky delight.
"Mukuro..."
'Mukuro' gives the girl a soft smile.
"Good evening Chrome. Hope we're not intruding."
His eyes then flit to Tsuna. "Hello Tsunayoshi. You're looking well."
Aizawa would strongly disagree. Tsuna's eyes are bugging out of their sockets and looks more distressed than he did getting kidnapped.
"M-Mukuro? What...why are you... how are you here?"
Before the teen can answer, the two behind him walk in, looking frustrated.
"Byakuran gave us directions-byon," the blonde one says. "Any food? I'm starving."
The other, in a hat and glasses, quickly nods. "Please? We had to get out of town rather quickly."
There's a long suffering sigh from Tsuyoshi. "Fine, but you're not staying here long term. We already have a bedroom shortage."
However, his irritation is somewhat drowned out by the sounds of the kitchen, and there are soon three bowls of rice on the counter.
"Um, Tsuna, Chrome, who are they?" Hizashi asks, though nobody answers. Chrome doesn't even acknowledge the question, silently walking over to sit next to Mukuro, who pats her head as he starts munching down. A few moments later, Tsuna joins them.
"Mukuro. You said you didn't want to come," he says. "Why did you change your mind?"
The teen shrugs in between mouthfuls of rice. "The situation became untenable."
Chrome frowns. "What did you do?"
"Nothing really," Mukuro insists. "Honestly, it's been blown out of proportion."
Chrome blinks, then leans over the counter to look at the boy on Mukuro's other side. "Ken, Chikusa, what did you do?"
Ken winces. "Eh, since you cut and run, Bermuda has been pretty adamant about chasing us after we kinda, sorta...set a good chunk of Italy on fire."
"Ken!" Mukuro hisses, but the damage is done. Hizashi's jaw is on the floor - Aizawa only holds his own up through sheer force of will.
"Holy crap," Hizashi whispers at his side. Thankfully, the Takesushi residents look just as shocked, Tsuna dropping his head into his hands.
"What? Mukuro, why ?" he half whines, as Mukuro ducks his head and continues to eat.
"He wouldn't have cared, but he had some personal motivation to get us locked up," Chikusa explains, eyeing Mukuro, who finally gives up.
"How was I supposed to know he had a holiday home in that part of Sicily?" Mukuro growls, throwing his hands in the air. "It is not my fault he didn't bother with insurance!"
There's a snort of laughter from the back, and Aizawa suspects it's from Gokudera – not that he dares take his eyes off the site in front of him to check.
"Anyway, we figured it was probably best if we skipped town...or a world-byon," Ken explains. "And we kind of missed everyone."
Tsuna blinks. "Really?"
"Fuck no. But nobody's hunting us down here so it's a better option-byon."
Chrome laughs. "Well, I missed you. I'm really glad you're here."
Ken's face immediately flushes red, and ducks back into his bowl, while Tsuna shakes his head, and moves away, leaving the four to it, while the rest of Takesushi start to crowd around them, buzzing with questions. Aizawa feels a headache coming on - just when they thought everything at Takesushi would be calm again.
"Sawada, who is that?" he asks, drawing the boy's attention. Tsuna goes slightly red, and steps closer to half whisper the answer.
"Oh um, that's Mukuro, Chikusa and Ken," he says. "They were part of the Vongola...sort of, but didn't come with us. I guess they changed their minds? We'll figure something out, but if they don't behave we'll make them go, I promise."
"Are they likely to misbehave?" Yamada says, probably still thinking about half of Italy being on fire. Unfortunately, Tsuna looks really reluctant to answer.
"Hieee...I think so? I don't think they'd do anything to upset Chrome, and they are still family. My intuition says I can trust them anyway."
Aizawa shares a glance with Yamada, but neither questions it.
"So, what exactly is their deal?" Yamada asks. "How did you meet?"
Tsuna opens his mouth, shuts it, then laughs.
"He...kind of tried to possess my body to start World War 3, but he only did it the once!"
What?
"...What?"
"Oh, hey, I think I hear Tsuyoshi calling me. I'll ask him to let Nezu know about Mukuro and the others to get them on the same paperwork tomorrow, okay?"
The boy practically runs for the door, and Aizawa shares a wide eyed look, before quickly chasing after him.
"Tsuna! Get back here!"
"Tsunayoshi what do you mean by World War 3 ? Tsuna!"
Yup. No world jumping. The family have decided to stick around. Now with added Mukuro for funsies.
One last Tumblr drabble to go up, and I'm going to say this behemoth and officially complete!