Midoriya is more accustomed to Kurogiri silently stitching his scars and wrapping his wounds, spare for a few snarky remarks. The reprimanding and questions were always reserved for after his bed rest. So despite her considerably valid justification for confused concern, Melissa Shield's insistent inquiries as to how he got so injured start making his head throb more than his concussion. When she dabs a disinfectant soaked cotton ball against the sore spot, the stinging doesn't help either. He seethes through his teeth, regretting the decision to come to her for aid, even if it meant permanent brain damage.

Again, he avoids giving her an actual answer. He vaguely gestures to himself, stating the obvious. "I'm in bad condition and you were close by.", he internally hopes that she doesn't ask him why he insisted on her lack of medical expertise over a hospital other than that but knows better than to do that much wishful thinking. They'd already done the same song and dance such a number of times that he'd lost count.

Every time, she scoffs and incredulously asks the usual rhetorical question, "So you came here just because you had no other choice?" Her frown deepens into a scowl, nose scrunching under her glasses that do very little to contain her glare. Finally fed up with the run around Midoriya has been giving her since he showed up at her door covered in wounds, she asks a new question out of anger, "To die or for help?"

Nearly just as annoyed and straining to keep himself composed while in pain, Midoriya meets her gaze with a hard stare of his own. Shield bristles at his intense expression, but he just as quickly schools it and looks away apologetically. That doesn't keep the pettiness out of his tone when he responds though, "Either one would have been fine."

Shield slightly reels at that response, almost as though she were struck. It clearly wasn't the answer she was expecting. Her eyes fall on the blood stained towels covering her couch which she had laid out before drifting back up to the stitched cuts from which that blood flowed. Shield's strong stare starts to soften as she returns to the same old question. "Izuku.. How did this happen to you?", her tone lost the edge it once had. She sounds as tired as Midoriya looks.

Midoriya sighs before turning his attention back to her. The barrier he usually puts up between himself and others appears lowered to the bespeckled blonde. His green gaze holds some sort of sincerity as he chokes out, "Nothing happened to me. This wasn't some unfortunate side effect. This was a choice. A vow."

He hadn't expected her to understand. Not even Kurogiri does, knowing his history and the context behind those words. Yet, it still hurts him when she shakes her head in confusion. Just once, he wishes someone would understand and stop asking questions he has no other answer to. "What the hell are you talking about?", Shield moves her hands from finishing his bandages to holding his. She's reaching out to him. She wants to understand.

But Midoriya pulls away. He would rather lie to her than potentially get let down. He had planned to reserve his cover story for when he's right minded but gives in to Shield's persistence. "A gang of some kind mugged me.", the woman sitting across from him barely contains a gasp but he continues with the fabricated tale before she can poke any holes in it, "They recognized me and thought I was carrying a fortune just because of my status."

As for the deeply embedded injuries inflicted upon him over the years, he has a reason for those as well. "I know you lived on I-Island your whole life, but in the real world, people who are quirkless make for easy targets.", he hadn't meant to take a verbal jab at her but he sees that it landed by the way she flinches. Even so, he doesn't stop just yet, "If I had a normal childhood, I'm sure these type of beatings would have made me into a regular punching bag."

"Even if your body can handle that much abuse, it shouldn't have to.", Shield shakes her head while keeping her eyes set on him. She's sure that there's a story for every crevice in his skin. She's certain that those are also accountable as the reasons why he runs his company. "You think you have to hurt so others don't have to, but that just isn't true.", the way he avoids making eye contact tells her that she's right.

"Like I said. This is a choice.", his voice is so faint that it's barely a whisper. Midoriya moves slowly, meeting her gaze again, this time with a different kind of intensity. "I'd rather it be me than you.", there's more hurt in his eyes than his body's tremors.

They've gone past the physical scars now. Memories are more traumatic. Or in Midoriya's case, the lack thereof. He's aware of the absence Shield's parents had in her life too. Her mother never present on the island where she grew up, and her father arrested in her teenage years. It's not the same as watching your parents gunned down in front of you, but he feels some sort of kinship with her. Quirklessness isn't all that they have in common.

They stare deeply into one another's eyes, seeing something more meaningful to each of them. Midoriya reaches over, the blonde blushing, and he removes her glasses so that he can look at the hue of her iris more clearly. In that moment, it's just the two of them. Eachother is all that they can see. They're drawn towards one another, leaning closer. So close, that their lips nearly meet.

Suddenly, the burner phone that Midoriya had used to call Shield starts to ring. The sudden interruption startles both of them, causing each to pull away. Shield avoids reestablishing eye contact while Midoriya answers the phone.

Since it's a secure line, and only one used for his vigilante activities, Midoriya already knows who's calling without needing any caller ID. "Kurogiri. Now's not the best time.", his immediate answer after flicking the cellphone opens makes Shield blush even harder.

"Hardly is it ever.", Midoriya's caretaker snarks from the other end of the line. "Pardon my concern when I saw no readout from your suit. It's not like you to go out at this time of night without it.", Kurogiri's worry then slips through the tone of his voice as he explains the reason for his call. Midoriya glances at Shield from the corner of his eye, relieved that he's the only one who can hear his butler. To her, their conversation is one sided.

"It's not on me right now. Thanks for checking in, but I'm fine.", he tries to keep his answer vague enough that Shield won't decipher the meaning of his response while still conveying the essential information needed to pacify Kurogiri.

Being more than acquainted with working under the employ of people living double lives, Kurogiri understands without more needing to be said. "Very well.", he drops the topic before moving on to ask, "Should I be putting Mistress Eri to bed myself then?"

He's asking if Midoriya will be keeping late hours. Eri must be staying up, waiting for him to return. "No. No.", Midoriya glances over at Shield before answering, "I'll be home shortly."

Kurogiri lets out a breath of relief that's audible over the phone. He's supportive of the young girl's adoption and hopes for them to bond better. "She'll be delighted to hear that.", as hard as it is for Midoriya to manage his dual lives while simultaneously acting as a surrogate father, he can't help but share his own surrogate father's sentiment.

Without so much as a goodbye, he flicks the phone closed and hangs up. It might seem rude to most, but Kurogiri understands there's not much more that would have been said anyways. Plus it helps Midoriya to save the time he'll be needing to get back home as promised.

Shield puts her glasses back on, clearing her throat. "You should spend the rest of the night here.", she starts collecting the towels covering the couch in an attempt to tidy the place up a bit.

But Midoriya has already made the committed promise to head home. He stands up, shaking his head, "That wouldn't be appropriate for co-workers. Would it?"

Shield goes back to blushing, nearly dropping the towels that she collected. "Th- That's not what I meant!", her glasses slide down the bridge of her nose as she looks away in embarrassment.

Midoriya hides his smile by sliding a shirt over his head. He knows full well that she only made the suggestion out of concern for his health, but he couldn't resist a flirtatious joke. "Sorry, but I can't.", he keeps up the attitude with a wink, "Maybe next time though." To those unaccustomed with his true self, this is just his typical behavior. The playboy philanthropist act is something he must keep up from time to time to avoid suspicion. It also helps him to redirect Shield's attention from questioning him about his injuries again or the phone call.

And it works. Shield is much too flustered to form a response, let alone think straight. Midoriya uses the opportunity to slip away without being further interrogated, only making time to briefly thank her for patching him up. He's sure that he hasn't gotten away with it completely, but at least he's able to prolong providing her with any more false answers.

When he returns to the cave, he leaves his suit in the car for Kurogiri to fish out. He hadn't left his laundry strewn around since he was a child, but he's in a bit of a rush tonight. Midoriya had been taught not to keep a girl waiting and Eri is a very special one. He buttons up a long sleeved shirt on his way to her room, wanting to conceal his injuries and bandages. That includes hiding the patch on his head by pushing down his bangs.

Midoriya lightly knocks on her door before entering. When he does, he's relieved to see she didn't fall asleep waiting for him. She's still awake, book in hand to occupy her mind. He offhandedly wonders if the Shie Hassaikai had allowed her to read when she was in captivity. She certainly took a liking to the manor's private library that it wouldn't hurt to assume.

"Kurogiri said you wanted to see me before bed?", he broaches the territory with hesitance. He's still not figured out how to act around her. Having not had a childhood of his own, growing up much sooner than most kids doesn't give him any understanding of the youth. Let alone how to be a proper parent to an adoptive daughter. Though that doesn't stop him from trying as best as he can.

Eri slides a Battle Fist themed bookmark into the pages of her novel before closing it. Once she sets it aside, her bright red eyes redirect themselves to her green haired guardian. "He didn't tell you why, did he?", that same bushy haired father figure is taken aback by the pout that the young girl gives him.

Shaking his head, "No.. ?", Midoriya voices his confusion.

Eri's moue suddenly shifts to a giddy grin, surprising the self proclaimed detective even further. Just as the vigilante on his off hours starts rethinking the capability of his deductive abilities, he realizes what day it is. Eri tosses her covers and blankets off, jumping from the bed into his arms. "I did it! I got in!", she squeals with delight while squeezing his waist with her tiny arms.

Midoriya returns her hug, matching her enthusiasm with an equally thrilled smile. With all that happened tonight, he had nearly forgotten Eri's Entrance Exam to U.A had taken place during the same day. "I knew you would! I'm so proud of you!", he recalls the mild training regime that he and Kurogiri had given her in preparation for the test and truly means those words based on how she performed.

After being rescued from captivity, Eri had wanted to pursue heroics and save others like herself. It doesn't take a parent to know she had to do so the legal way. While Batman may not be the best leading example for her, that's the whole point, the dark knight is there so no kid has to be like him ever again. Adopting Eri was for that same reason. Midoriya wanted to make sure she wouldn't share the same fate he had. She deserves better. And he hopes that she can get that brighter future at U.A.

But as he holds her close and thinks of the prestigious hero school, he also finds himself thinking of its principal. A mastermind with a questionably sinister side. Who enjoys tea. The dark detective can't help but be slightly suspicious that there's no such thing as coincidence. It's a hunch, possibly a reach as a suspect.. But he can't rule it out.

Midoriya is relieved that Eri can't see his smile slip by still clinging onto him as he says, "I was hoping to have a chat with the school's principal anyways."