-x- Izuku -x-

Izuku and Inko waited for Shoto and his mother to come. When they pulled into the preschool parking lot, she unclipped Shoto, who hurried over to Izuku, looking excited. Inko walked to the white haired woman. Izuku didn't hear what she said, but her face spoke of kindness, and Shoto's mommy had a look of shock and then complete relief. They exchanged numbers, and Izuku wondered if their mommies were friends, now, too.

"Izuku, I got my quirk," Shoto said with a smile, a relaxed one. Not extremely excited, but bright eyed anyways.

"Wow! What is it!?"

"Pokemon like me, and I can talk to them." Izuku gasped. He dragged Shoto inside and to the plusle and minum, who came darting over, between child legs, and climbed up Shoto again. "Hi, again." He smiled, looking at both of them. Were they talking to him? Nobody else could hear them, so was it in his mind? Telepathy? Amazing!

"Did they say something?" Izuku asked eagerly.

"They saw you smell like pepper."

"I spilled pepper on my shirt today! Sorry if that smells bad," he said sincerely to the pokemon.

"Wanna see him?" Shoto asked them calmly. He was very soothing to be around, he wasn't loud. Plusle leapt from Shoto's shoulder to Izuku's, who giggled. A small crowd was forming, seeing the pokemon playing with Izuku and Shoto when they'd been hiding from everyone else. The marill bounced over, too, and Shoto pat its head.

The teacher said, "Shoto-kun, you go your quirk? Would you like to share it with us?" Shoto licked his lips, and nodded. Nobody else had their quirks yet. They were all four or younger, so many didn't have any quirks to show, and none of them had pokemon yet. Would Shoto get one, now? What would he get, another eeveelution like his family?

Shoto mumbled, "Pokemon like me, and I can talk to some of them…" He didn't make eye contact, seeming extremely uncomfortable, but then everyone shouted in awe, and were asking rapid fire questions.

"Everyone, he only got his quirk yesterday. It won't be for a long time until he can master it." Izuku looked to the side to see Kacchan looked very upset, brows together and lips pursed tightly. Was he upset about Shoto's quirk since he didn't have his own yet? Or was he upset Shoto got along with pokemon and he didn't?

He stomped to the corner and sat down, crossing his arms with his back to everyone. Finally, they were all called to the carpet, Izuku and Shoto sitting in the back again. "Today I'll be reading us a book. My quirk can help with that. Are you ready?" Everyone were fascinated with quirks, it wasn't just Izuku. None of them had theirs yet, and now knowing one of them did, maybe everyone wanted to catch up.

The teacher's quirk made her story come to life. It was an illusion, and it moved as she read, like a picture book in the air. It was amazing, and everyone looked in awe but for Shoto. Was he sad? Izuku couldn't tell, and now wasn't the time to ask. He scooched close to Shoto, which was the wrong thing as he moved further.

Izuku knew by this that he valued personal space, good to know at first! He wanted Shoto to be his friend, so he'd be a good one. He wouldn't scoff at him and be mean like Kacchan could be. But he wanted to be friends with Kacchan, too. He would try, because he always went on adventures with his blond friend.

He was so vastly different from what Izuku knew of Shoto so far. He was quiet and reserved. Kacchan was loud and brash. Izuku was more like Shoto, but that didn't mean he didn't like loud people.

After reading time, they got some juice boxes, and Kacchan came over. Shoto didn't want any trouble, and asked, "Do you want to pet him?" This wiped the anger off of Kacchan's face in an instant. Minum was in Shoto's pocket, and plusle was on his shoulder.

"...Can I?" Kacchan asked breathily. Shoto looked for confirmation for the little one, and clearly got it when he lifted his hands out, the electric type fitting easily in both of them. Kacchan had never been more gentle with anything that Izuku had seen than he was petting the head with a single finger.

The little pokemon didn't like it very long, and jumped off the hand and away from Kacchan, minum bursting out of the pocket, both zooming across the carpet, up the little branches on the wall and into the crawlspace above the main play room. Shoto looked at Kacchan nervously, not knowing what to expect, as was Kacchan.

"L-Listen! We're not friends! Once I get my quirk it'll be way better than yours!"

"Okay," Shoto said. He didn't seem to care, or think this was an insult. Kacchan walked away, though Izuku caught him with a smile and wide eyes. Both of them had gotten to pet pokemon that didn't belong to them! It was through Shoto, but still awesome. Shoto went to the quietest corner, and got out some pokemon toys.

Izuku bustled after him. He chose to play with the Lugia while Shoto took Zapdos. It was fun, even if Shoto was very low key with his playing. It was relaxing to be around him, nice and gentle. Izuku couldn't ever see him harming any of his toys, especially not those that didn't belong to him. Izuku would never bring someone else's toys to his home so Taki would just eat it without remorse.

Maybe Shoto could talk to Taki, too. Could he tell him to stop, or ask what the problem was? He hoped so!

After school got out, Inko asked Shoto's mommy, her name was Rei, if she'd like to go out for tea. Rei gave a look of relief and nodded. So they drove separately to a tea place. It was a pokemon cafe, so maybe that was why they went there.

He and Shoto sat in the comfy couches while their moms ordered milk for them and tea for themselves. Shoto didn't ask for any of the pokemon inside to come to him, only one came over. Not one of those who were partners with any of the people inside. It was a skitty, the one that was Kacchan's favorite.

The skitty bounced over to them, and then sat between their feet. Izuku leaned forward to pet her, and she let him. He couldn't wait for his own quirk. Maybe it would be like his mom's, but what if it was like Shoto's, it didn't belong to either parent? Could he have a mystery quirk? He was so excited!

Izuku looked over to their mothers at a table where they could easily see their two calm, quiet children. Izuku watched them talk, and Rei grew more and more upset looking. Izuku was worried his mom was hurting her feelings, but with Inko's soft smiles, she was being nice. Izuku was distracted by the skitty.

"What do you like to do other than puzzles and block?" Izuku asked.

"I like when mommy reads me stories, and finger painting." He looked so sad and his voie was plain and faint.

"Why are you sad, Shoto?"

"Mommy is stressed cause she's alone ta raise us." Izuku wasn't sure how to tackle such a dark subject.

"My mommy is a single parent, too."

"Are you only one kid? I got three siblings."

Four definitely was more than one. But Izuku could tell that his mother would be there and support for Rei. And Izuku's daddy wasn't abusive, he was just absent. Shoto's daddy hurt him, and they had to run away from him to be safe… After about an hour, it was time for both of them to go home.

Shoto looked really sleepy, melted into the cushion, so Rei picked him up and carried him to his carseat. Some pokemon followed after, and Rei had to step around them to get out of the van. But she smiled at them. Maybe she was relieved that Shoto's quirk wasn't dangerous. Not to himself, really.

When Izuku got into his own car seat, he asked, "Is Shoto's mommy okay?"

"She's having trouble. Being a single mother in the way she is, with four children, it is stressful. So, I offered to be there for her. To be a support. And you want to be a support for your new friend, right?" Inko asked with a bright voice.

"Yeah! He seems sad. Is it cause Endeavor hurt him?"

"Yes. I am very bothered that the number two hero hurt his children and wife," Inko said, gripping the steering wheel harder. "Rei-san asked me to not make it public, so you won't either, okay? You can't spread around something so personal." Izuku firmly nodded. He wouldn't spread around what his friend told him in trust! Though he'd said it so openly. Maybe it was because he had no one else.

Izuku was upset about Endeavor being a mean person. Well, he had bad hero ratings by the public because of his bad attitude and harsh demeanor. It was just sad he hurt his family. Looking out the window as they drove home, Izuku watched the pokemon minding their own business in the trees or rooftops. Would all of them be friends with Shoto? Would he never be lonely, then?

He wished he could write so he could record about Shoto's amazing quirk. It was so cool! He was sure no quirk he got could be so amazing and joy bringing. Pokemon were already great, but being loved by them and able to communicate just seemed like an all around wonderful quirk.

-x- Shoto -x-

The Todoroki children were sitting on a blanket in the park, Rei on her laptop searching for new living arrangements. The eeveelution pokemon were there, lounging in various parts of the blanket. All but for Era, Fuyumi's glaceon. Shoto was standing in front of her, and pressed his hand to her head. You can do it, I'm here to help. Shoto pulled his hand away, focusing to form ice. He'd taken away some of Hono's flames, could he do it with other types? He'd much rather use any type besides fire.

There was a lingering frost on his fingertips. He tried to form ice, but nothing was there. Only some lingering frost. It melted soon enough from his body heat. "Well, it only just came! There's decades of improvements to come! Let's take it slow, nobody will rush you." Touya was his favorite sibling by far.

Era wandered back to Fuyumi, resting her head in her lap. Veera was at the hotel still, sleeping. Nobody wanted to admit it, but she was likely not going to last much longer since she could barely get up and down from the bed. Rei had had her since she was a small child. Veera was over twenty five by now.

"Try with Hero!" Natsuo encouraged. He tapped Hero's butt, who made an annoyed noise, and scooched away. "C'mon Hero, it'll be cool if he can do it!" Hero sat on his other side, flicking his split tail at his partner, thoroughly annoyed. Touya was laughing about it. Hono walked up to Shoto, pressing his head to Shoto's leg.

You don't need to be afraid! Me and Touya are here.

"Thanks, Hono. But I don' ever want ta use fire." The flareon respectfully nodded and trotted back to Touya's side. "I want my own pokemon, now, mommy," the boy asked.

"Soon, honey. But it would be better to introduce it into a stable environment, and not an overcrowded hotel suit," Rei reasoned, taking a sip of tea from her thermos. Shoto pouted but knew she was right. "Touya, why don't you practice on your own lately? Have you decided not to become a hero?"

"I only have one year left until I was supposed to start at UA. I'm not sure anymore… did I ever want to be a hero, or was it all guidance and pressure from dad? Was any of it my own free will?" he asked uncertainly. He looked at his hand and lit it on fire with his bright blue flames. "I just don't know."

Rei smiled at him, looking up from the computer. "You'd make a much more compassionate flame hero than Enji, but it's your choice." Touya nodded, but still looked uncertain.

"How much longer until he finds us, mom?" Natsuo asked.

"He knows where we are," Rei said. "He has been trying to speak to me, to get into contact." Shoto looked unhappy. Touya reached out his hand, and Shoto went and sat next to him. Hono shimmied his way in between them. Shoto was happy their pokemon suddenly liked him. Before, they liked him but never went out of their way to interact with him.

Fuyumi asked, "Why hasn't he come after us?"

"I have… sort of blackmailed him." Shoto didn't know what that meant. "It means I am having him do as I want with a threat over his head. What more of a threat could I be than ruining his public image?" she asked lightly. "If he tries to come after any of us, I threatened to reveal his behavior towards his children. Not only Shoto who was hit, but you three can vouch for abusive behavior." They all nodded. Shoto was happy they didn't leave only because of him. It was the last straw.

Rei sighed, and put her laptop down. "I am so sorry for not getting us out sooner." She bowed her head in deep apology. "I will be the best mother I can be. I won't let you three get hurt again." Fuyumi hurried over and hugged her. The three boys did, too.

Shoto said, "But you're a really good mommy!"

"Thank you, Shoto. I will continue to be the mommy you think is great," Rei said despite the tears coming down her cheeks, the tight but true smile there. The four backed away and rejoined their pokemon on the blanket and grass. "I don't want to ask, but Touya, Fuyumi… will you help me raise your siblings? Help me when I need it?"

Fuyumi and Touya shared a look and a smile. "I'll help how I can," Fuyumi vowed.

"I'll look out for these little monsters," Touya said. Natsuo looked annoyed he was being treated as a child, but he was. Shoto was the one who had the most raising to be done. They returned to their things, the kids either doing homework or on their phones. Shoto was coloring in a coloring book.

It was a nice time before they went and got some dinner before heading back to the hotel. Shoto hoped they didn't need to see father anytime soon. He was scared of him. The boy didn't think he'd done anything awful to deserve the rough backhand across his small and soft face. It left a nasty bruise on his face, but it had faded fairly quickly with the ice put on it immediately.

"I have another single mother who offered to help me learn," she said, the sleeping Shoto in her arms.

"Izuku's mommy," Shoto said, slipping to sleep.

"Yes, Miodirya Inko offered to help me. You made a good new friend, Shoto. They could become family friends for us." Shoto thought that would be nice. He hoped he and Izuku could be friends for awhile. He was nice and seemed understanding to his boundaries. He was so sweet already, so positive but calm. Shoto made a good friend. Well, Izuku was the one to talk to him first.

-x-

The next day, they were leaving the hotel. A mover was sent to the Todoroki family home to collect the children's furniture. Touya and Rei went, with a police officer as a safety escort. Shoto was being watched by Fuyumi, but it wasn't like he was an energetic handful. He was easy to take care of with how calm he was, content to look at a picture book or draw.

He was on the tablet, looking at pokemon shelters in the near area. They had all sorts of kinds there, but he hadn't found any eevees. He wanted to be like his family. But when he found a shelter in the nearby town, there was a jolteon for adoption. It said she'd been there a long time and came from a hoarder's house. Well, he couldn't read, but he had headphones on to have the text read to him.

"Fuyumi, what's a hoarder?" Shoto asked.

"Its someone who collects excess things they don't need or shouldn't keep. Why do you ask?" she questioned. Everyone was being nicer to Shoto lately, and it was nice. He didn't know the change, but after leaving father, they all seemed happier. And more like a family. Maybe because they were stuck in the same small space, but it made Shoto happy. Even a hotel was better than the house.

And he didn't need slippers!

When Rei came to pick them up, Fuyumi helped her young brothers collect their things. They hurried to the car, the remaining pokemon that hadn't gone to the Todoroki estate jumping into the back of the van.

Fuyumi helped Shoto get into his car seat. "Is our new house soon?" Shoto asked brightly.

"That's right."

It wasn't a "new" house, it was actually Rei's aunt's home. So they were renting from her. Only Touya and Fuyumi had ever been there, Shoto had not. It wasn't too far from the hotel they'd been staying at, but was fairly far from their old home. When they got there, Shoto beamed at it. It didn't look like their old house.

He zoomed inside with the curious pokemon and explored space. It was already full of dusty furniture. Nice furniture. They had sheets on them, making everything look like ghosts. The floor was wood and carpet. He turned all the lights on and ran upstairs to explore. All of the bedrooms were by each other! Shoto wasn't in a lonely hallway anymore!

There were six bedrooms, and it was more than big enough for one more pokemon. Hopefully the jolteon would still be there! This place was big and they wouldn't hoard them there. The eeveelutions were all very well taken care of and loved. But he could tell the flareon looked sad. So did Veera in Rei's arms.

"What's wrong?" Shoto asked in worry.

"Bold is separated from them," Rei said sadly. Bold was Enji's umbreon. He must be so lonely now. Tears formed in his eyes. Was father lonely, now? All he had now was his pokemon, who he couldn't speak with.

"Do you think father is lonely?" Shoto asked Rei quietly.

"I'm not sure, honey. But we aren't going to disappear forever. We just don't live with him anymore. Once I file for divorce, some visitation will be set up. So you can see him to a degree. Only if it's safe and you want to," Rei explained. They moved aside for the movers to go, which were humans paired with machamps.

They stared at Shoto long and hard. "Hi," he said. They bowed their heads in greeting and moved things upstairs to the designated bedrooms. Shoto followed after them, distracted from thoughts of his father. "I can talk to you, if you want," Shoto said shyly, smiling. Machamps were super strong, could he get strong after touching them? What could he do with his quirk? Could he really take attributes?

There was so much to explore with his power. He looked forward to it. His power would further through positive interactions with more pokemon. Not to fight other people, but his quirk would only go forward by making friends. Hopefully he got good at it! After the machamp put down the boxes, it leaned down and took Shoto's hand in one of his very big ones.

You're a new one, aren't you?

"Yeah, I just got my quirk!"

Very interesting! Hey, Arsan! The other machamp came over, and Shoto introduced himself to that one, too. He can understand us.

Wow, that's so weird. The machamp lifted Shoto up onto his shoulders, making the boy giggle. He had so many friends to come! Pokemon and people, he wouldn't be lonely. He was scared of being all alone. That would be even harder to happen, now! They took him downstairs and he was playfully tossed onto the plush couch. They got back to work while Shoto worked to take all the sheets off the furniture and open up all the windows since it was so stuffy.

He didn't try using any strength, as it wasn't needed now. He just wanted to get used to this new home. "Honey, why don't you go and unpack your things?" Rei said. She deposited Veera onto the couch, who curled up and went to sleep. Rei looked at her with a sad smile. Shoto nodded and hurried upstairs to unpack. There was already a bed in there with no bedding, just a mattress and the frame.

He put everything away in the closet or available dresser and bookshelf. He liked the carpet a lot! It was soft under his small feet. He didn't need slippers here that were noisy and gave him away. After he was done putting his toys and picture books away, he went into his mother's room at the end of the hall. She was hanging up paintings. The nicer, happier ones.

"Mommy, I foun' a jolteon in a shelter by here," Shoto said, walking to the big bed and jumping on. They'd only used futon mats before so the beds were cool and he liked them. They were springy and he didn't need to get up and down from the floor, not that he hated that or anything.

"Wow, that's lucky. Do you want it?" Shoto nodded his head. "Would you like to go see it today?" He nodded his head more excitedly, and ran downstairs to put shoes on. Hero was laying on the bottom step, and Shoto had to step over him. He made no show he knew he was being inconvenient.

The boy slipped his shoes on, and Rei came down, stepping over the napping espeon as well. Touya came out of the kitchen, which had been stocked before they had the future moved, eating a banana. "Where you going?"

"To adopt Shoto a pokemon." Touya brightened, and wished Shoto good luck. The child nodded, and hurried to the car. Then they were on their way, the radio playing softly while Shoto thought about having a pokemon of his own. He was so excited. When they got to the place, Shoto ran inside.

There was another little kid there, a boy with wild purple hair and bags under his eyes. He looked like he was waiting for something with his mother. Rei came in, and walked to the counter with a man smiling at his excitement with a knowing smile. "Adopting your first pokemon?" he asked nicely. Shoto nodded.

Rei asked, "We saw you have a jolteon, right?"

"Ah, yes, but she's a troubled case. Envy was abused in her former home as a eevee kit." Shoto wondered why her name was Envy since he knew that was a bad word. Well, the meaning was bad. Rei asked to see her anyways. So they were lead past a bunch of enclosures full of different types of pokemon. They were sorted by types.

There was an enclosure away from the others, plenty of beds inside, lots of food and toys that seemed untouched. Pokemon made their noises at seeing him, all excited. But he had his eyes only on the jolteon hiding in the corner. "Be gentle, she's easy to spook," the kind man worker said, and unlocked the enclosure door.

Shoto sat down in the entrance. "Hi, Envy," he said, his high voice sweet and kind. She looked up at him and curled further in on herself. "I have a quirk that I can talk to you, if you'd like." She looked up, dark brown eyes narrowing. It looked like she didn't groom herself very well. "Can I come over and show you?" She bristled at this, so Shoto asked the man, Tobito as he introduced himself, to get another pokemon so he could show.

He went to the break room and took his own pokemon, a sneasel, out and Shoto touched her, intrigued by a pokemon he'd never seen before. Envy is quite frightened after a scary life.

"I can tell, poor baby," Shoto said sadly. He gave a smile to Envy, who looked more curious. Shoto took her relaxed body as a good sign, and he spent a few hours slowly getting closer to her until he finally pet her fluffy fur that was sticking everywhere, yellow and white. "Do you want to come home with me?"

Okay… Shoto smiled brightly. Rei was sitting in the waiting room patiently. Shoto walked with Envy out of her enclosure, taking some toys of hers with him. She stuck to his side like glue. "We have other eeveelutions for you to be friends with at home." He stroked her so she could communicate. Really?

"Yeah. We have a glaceon, espeon and flareon. Now we have you, too!" Envy's head lowered. Shoto stroked her head, vowing to be kind and loving to her. To give her a happy life with them. She would have pokemon friends, which was great. They'd love her and all be very gentle. Maybe having Envy could help them not feel upset about leaving Bold behind. When they got home with Envy in the backseat where the pokemon stayed, she was shy to go inside, and sniffed the door and everything before entering.

Shoto stayed beside her, letting her go at her own pace. Era came over, and they sniffed one another. She sat down in front of the newcomer, cocking her head. Shoto wondered if they were talking to one another. Hero, Hono and Veera came over to meet her, and they all sniffed one another before growing content. Envy was tense, looking between them in discomfort.

"Wanna to go see everywhere else?" Shoto asked to save her from the crowd. She nodded, and he showed her around, even if he was new here too and forgot which room was his. "We just moved in today." She made a small surprised trill noise. It was so cute. "Is okay, I think I know how ya feel… my father hit me so we ran away, and now we're here with only mommy."

He touched Envy's head. I'm sorry. That sounds scary.

"Yeah… I wonder if he's lonely. Being alone is a sad thing. Der- there's no one for him. I don' wanna move back, but I wonder if he's okay." Envy stopped moving and looked at him when he stopped a few steps away. She looked at him with watery eyes before trotting back to walk next to him, seeming more relaxed.

When they went to the backyard, she played with her fellow pokemon, even if he was more shy than they were. Shoto liked this house so far, and he liked Envy a lot! He didn't think her name fit at all so far. But she was a few years old and maybe changing her name would be mean. Though he couldn't think of anything else right now.

-x- Izuku -x-

The green haired boy was meeting Shoto's new pokemon partner in the parking lot of the preschool since she couldn't go inside, and was too scared. His new friend had told him that she came from a bad place and so was scared of some of the world. Izuku thought Shoto's gentle and calming nature would be good for her.

She let Izuku pet her head once before hiding in the backseat of the car. That was good enough and he didn't take it personally. Shoto kissed her yellow and fluffy head, making her make a little coo and then he left with Izuku to go inside. There were a few kids who had unlocked their quirks, but none were as cool as Shoto's.

When they entered, they saw Kacchan looking smug. Izuku wondered why. "I finally got my quirk," he said brightly, gaining interest from the others. "Show, show!" they cheered. So, he opened his palm, and concentrated before little explosions went off in them.

"Wow, that's amazing Kacchan!" Izuku cheered. "Now you can get a pokemon!" He beamed and nodded. "Are you gonna get a skitty?!"

He shook his head, surprising Izuku. Shoto looked interested a few feet behind his friend. "I want a pokemon that has fire or explosions, too. I don't want my bursts to scare a pokemon." Izuku smiled, liking when Kacchan's kindness he hid a lot came out. He wasn't surprised, though. "I want a houndour, now."

Izuku thought it would be awesome. "Shoto got a pokemon, too!" he said brightly. Kacchan narrowed his eyes and roughly asked what it was.

"A jolteon." An evolved pokemon for adoption was odd, since evolved pokemon were adopted so quickly, and Shoto said Envy had been there a few weeks. "She was at a hoarder's house, so she's scared of the world. Nobody wanted her cause of that."

"You got a broken pokemon?" Kacchan asked. Shoto nodded. It was true that Envy was broken inside, and he planned to heal her. He wasn't offended by his bluntness. Everyone were gathered at the carpet, sharing their quirks. Izuku hoped he got his soon.

After school, when they went home, Shoto came over with them, and Izuku got to see Envy again, peeking out the rolled down window. "I'm going to my friend's house for a bit," Shoto said, and then touched her head. "It'll be okay, you can hang out with the others." Envy nodded, and went back into the car, away from the window.

Shoto ran over, and Rei was setting up the second carseat into Inko's car. Shoto's had a lot of stickers all over it. Mostly eevee stickers of various art styles. He looked nervous, and Izuku thought it was because he'd never gone to someone else's house. "How do you like your new home, Shoto?" the mother asked.

"Good… I like the carpet," he said. "But I feel sorry for father." Inko looked in the mirror at him with curious, raised brows.

"How do you feel about it all?"

"I like being away, but he's all alone, and his umbreon is da - the only one. I… don' like being alone. So I feel bad for him a bit. But he did mean things, too. I don't know…"

"You're a very kind little boy, Shoto." He gave an embarrassed smile and flushed a bit. Izuku smiled. Shoto was a good kid, and Izuku was glad they were friends. When they got to the apartment, Shoto was interested in a small home, and Izuku took him to his room while his mother made tea for them.

Izuku's room was plastered with All Might and pokemon merchandise. Shoto was interested, and looked around a bit. "Father hated All Might. Tol' us to never be like him," Shoto said, and sat on Izuku's bed. The blankets were pokemon themed, and he looked at them in interest. There was a surprise pecking on the widow, and Izuku gasped to see a pokemon there, seeming to want inside. A togetic!

He didn't hesitate to open the window, and it flew inside. Izuku was in awe, and moved forward to pet it while it flew in circles around the room, cheering its own name. It let Izuku touch it. He knew it wasn't the best idea to touch wild pokemon, but he couldn't help it! And it seemed happy to be there, and didn't attack him. Not that togetics were known for any violence.

He teared up, and Shoto looked very alarmed. "I never got to touch them before, but now I can," he cried. The togetic left as quickly as it had come.

"They're good tears?" Shoto asked slowly. Izuku nodded. "Okay," he said in light relief.

"Can I show you an awesome video!" Shoto nodded, and they went to the computer in the mother's room, and Izuku pulled up the video he watched constantly that really got him into pokemon and heroes at the same time. Izuku let the guest use the desk chair and he stood. He pressed play, and they watched All Might save a bunch of people while his mega charizard carried some more.

While All Might always had a smile on and was so easy to like, his charizard was bigger than most and intimidating until it was seen playing with children at hero conferences. He got along with other pokemon and heroes, and both were beloved. Shoto looked mildly interested. "How'd he get a mega charizard anyways?" he asked.

Izuku shrugged. "Maybe cause All Might is so strong!"

"Father had to evolve eevee with a evolution stone," Shoto said. "All Might is so much cooler."

"I know, right?! He's so cool, I want to be a cool hero like him, too!" Shoto gave a smile and nodded.

"Your mommy, what's her quirk?"

"She can attract small things to her. It's not the coolest quirk, but maybe mine will be better!" Izuku said brightly, not deterred by it. Shoto encouraged him, and said he thought Izuku would be a good hero. Izuku blushed and bashfully thanked him. He didn't really get that much encouragement from anyone but his mommy. But it was nice having a friend that thought so, too.

He wished Kacchan could get along with Shoto, but he didn't really make friends easily. Well, he did, but not heartfelt friends like Izuku had found Shoto, had met him, someone so nice and easy to be around. Taki was bangig on the door, so Izuku let him in and he bounded up to Shoto and pawed at his legs until he was picked up.

"Is he saying something?!" Izuku asked curiously.

"No. Some I can't talk to - they can't talk to me. Or don' wanna," Shoto said, even though he pet the snuggling growlithe.

"He destroys the toys and furniture," Izuku said bluntly. Taki gave him an annoyed look and the boy giggled. He left and then came back to show off his nearly ruined teddiursa stuffed pokemon. Shoto told him it was pretty, and the pokemon left, very satisfied to get a complement on his currently intact toy.

"Let's watch the video again!" Izuku said.

"Okay." Shoto was fine to watch it as many times as Izuku wanted, being patient with him and going with the flow. The door was open wide, and the mother smiled at her child and his friend. Izuku was happy she was helping Rei in a hard time. It would be cool if the mommies were friends, too. Like how Inko and Mitsuki were, but for different reasons.

-x- Shoto -x-

Envy slept on the bed beside Shoto while he stared at his mommy's phone, who was sitting in the nice beanbag chair in the corner. Shoto had asked to call Enji, and she was going to allow it as long as she could hear what they were both saying in case she needed to intervene. Shoto pressed the call button.

It answered. "What?" he asked harshly, thinking he was talking to Rei.

"Hi, father," Shoto said awkwardly. He didn't want to be around the massive man, but he felt safe on the phone. And mommy and Envy were there, too. He didn't know if Envy was a protective pokemon or if she'd cower in fear. It was okay, because Shoto would protect her as best as he could.

"Shoto. What are you doing calling me?" Enji asked, but his voice was less full of hate. Shoto was the last straw, yes, but it wasn't his choice to leave, it was Rei's. She was doing well, they all thought that. She helped her children with homework, using her college education to help. She wasn't allowed to use her intelligence at home because that was what the tutors were for.

"I wanted to check… see if you're lonely. And Bold is lonely, too." Silence on the other end.

"I am not lonely. Worrying about me is fruitless."

"Okay," Shoto said with a nod. "I got my pokemon. And my quirk."

"Honey, don't talk about that, remember," Rei said. Shoto nodded, and said a nevermind. Enji did not press, but then he asked about Touya, if he was still training.

"Um, he's with his friends a lot," Shoto said.

"So he's stopped his training?" Enji asked angrily. Shoto didn't want to be yelled at, he'd gotten his answer, Enji and Bold were not lonely. That was good. He handed Rei the phone, and she left the room. Envy continued to snooze. Shoto was relieved that them leaving didn't upset him. He never cared in the first place, so it wasn't too surprising. He wasn't hurt over it much. For some reason, he just didn't want him to suffer, even if he was cruel to Shoto and hit him.

There had never been anything worth forgiving in Shoto's life until now. Nobody had ever been mean to him but Enji and sometimes Natsuo, though it never seemed he meant to be a cruel person. He didn't hear Rei when she went into her room, but came out fairly quickly and went to Shoto, who was drawing on the tablet with his finger.

She sat on the beanbag chair again, and smiled at him. "That was very nice of you to do, honey. But you don't need to speak to him if you don't want to." She was already doing law stuff to get away for sure. Enji was sending money to pay for the kids' expenses.

Shoto nodded. "I jus' feel bad for him. He was a meanie, but is'a big house and all." It had to be too quiet. It had already always been fairly quiet, but now it must be completely silent. Dead silent. Enji was probably at work most of the time how he already was. Shoto didn't know if he had any hobbies, and could just picture him sitting on the couch or in the training room, just staring at the wall.

Rei helped him with his speech, but was never mean. And he could talk alright in public, around his classmates. He just had to work harder to pronounce things properly, slipping into his speech issues when he was at home and relaxed. Just like how he mostly smiled brightly at home and not anywhere else, even if he did feel happy outside of their new, cozy home he loved the plush carpet between his toes.

"You're very kind. I'm proud of you. First with Envy and now your father." Shoto did his best to help Envy with her anxiety, even around the other pokemon that were kind to her. There were therapy pokemon for trouble people, but it was the opposite with Shoto and Envy. But when she played in the backyard or zoomed up and down the stairs, he was happy. He was happy when she was happy.

Shoto asked, "Do you think Touya will want to be a hero?" Touya had been working towards going to hero school for years, but he'd started to stray from that goal, and wanted to stay with the friends he was getting to be so much closer with now that he was able to go out. Shoto would be happy if he became a hero, but he'd also be happy if he wasn't. He wanted Touya to be happy, and they could spend more time together now that he wasn't forced to try and ignore his baby brother.

Speaking of him, Hono came running into the room, looking excited. Touya followed after. "Hey, Sho. Wanna go on a walk with me and Hono?" he asked with a smile. Shoto nodded.

"Envy, do you want to go on a walk?" Shoto asked, waking her up with a soft press of his hands. She shook her head. Tired and want to sleep.

"Okay, have a good rest." He trotted out of the room after Touya, Hono excited to get out of the house. They put their shoes on and the fourteen year old opened the door and they left, walking down the sidewalk of the picturesque neighborhood. The houses were all large and nice, but they were painted various colors, making the street feel cozy, unlike their old house where there were walls everywhere around the big homes.

Shoto said, "I called father." Touya looked at him with curious eyes. "Cause I felt sad if he was lonely. He said he's not. Then he asked if you want to be a hero and mommy took the phone away."

"That was nice of you, Sho," he said and ruffled his hair. The younger asked if he wanted to be a hero. "Hmm, I don't know yet. I would like to not be a hero, but I also do. I don't know if it's to spite father on either way, though."

"Spite?"

"It means I want to offend him, haha. Make him upset that all his abusive work didn't pay off. But I also learned a lot about how to be a hero, just not a social one. None of my friends want to be heroes, so I'm nervous about it, I don't know what to choose. What do you think?" he asked curiously.

Shoto hummed, putting a finger to his chin. "I think you should not be a hero."

"Oh? What's the reason?"

"I don't want you to get hurt or stress. Father was always stress when he came home," Shoto said. Touya smiled, and agreed with that.

"You don't need to go to UA to be a hero, so I can have time after high school. It would cost much less money to go to a regular school, though. And I can always take hero courses at a college," Touya explained. "I bet you'd make a good person to work with pokemon for a living. Maybe a veterinarian."

Shoto shook hos head. "Veera is gonna die soon, I wouldn't want to put pokemon to sleep if they were hurt…"

"That's a good point. It would be very sad. Veera has lived a long, long life. It… will be very sad when she dies, but we know she lived a happy life with mommy, right?" Shoto nodded, and sniffled a bit. "I think mom will be alright. I think both she and Veera know it's gonna end soon. She's already made preparations if Veera's kidneys fail after all."

"Preparations?"

Touya looked hesitant to say. "Mom bought some euthenasia and was trained over video how to put her to sleep at home." Shoto sniffled and started to cry. "It'll be nice she's with us, though, right?" Touya was trying to not be emotional, too. Veera had been there before the oldest had his own pokemon.

Shoto nodded to his words, knowing they were true. Hono rubbed against both of their sides, enjoying the walk. Veera is happy, he said. Shoto nodded, and relayed his words to Touya, who ruffled his head fluff. After they walked around the block they returned home, and Shoto found Rei was waiting on the couch for him.

She looked upset, and Touya was on guard immediately. "Don't worry, everything is okay," she said at the teen's display of worry. Then she turned to Shoto. "Izuku had some bad news given to him. He wants to talk to you about it."

"Bad news?" Shoto asked in worry, bicolored brows drawn together. Rei nodded.

"But I want to talk to you about it first so you're prepared." Shoto sat on the recliner, little legs unable to reach the floor. Envy came over, seeming like she'd had a nice nap. She jumped onto his lap with a small "oof!" from Shoto over her size on him. "Izuku is quirkless, which means he will never have a quirk of his own. This doesn't mean he can't have a pokemon, but it means he will never have powers."

Shoto frowned deeply for him. He had been so excited and not he didn't get any. "He can't have one later?" he asked. The mother shook her head. Could Izuku still be a hero without a quirk? He wanted to be one so bad. Now what? "Try not to pity him, okay? Sympathy is better than pity. But don't hide your own quirk because he doesn't have one, okay?"

"I'll have lots of pokemon comfort him!" Shoto said firmly with a nod, agreeing with his words. "Envy, will you come with me to his house? To make him feel better?" She nodded, and touched his hand to speak. Friends of Shoto are my friend, too. "Yeah! I'm sure you'll really like Izuku." So, he called Izuku and told him he was on his way over. It didn't take long to get to his apartment.

He ran up the stairs, Envy following closely. Rei came up at a more reasonable pace to the floor with their friend's unit. Shoto knocked on the door, and it opened to a sad looking Izuku. Shoto moved to hug him tightly. He hugged the other back tightly, too, but didn't cry. They entered, and Rei hugged Izuku, and then went to Inko.

Shoto introduced Envy to Izuku, the jolteon looking wary and hiding behind Shoto. He was only a little bit taller than the electric type, anyways. Izuku backed off, and brought Taki over to meet her. They sniffed each other, but Envy didn't go off and play with him, more reserved. They went to Izuku's room. She was very uneasy, but was doing her best, and that was more than enough.

He hoped she'd get used to Izuku soon. "I'm sorry, Izuku," Shoto said on the bed, sitting across from him while Envy sat beside him on the floor. It was wooden, but they didn't need to wear slippers there. Shoto hated them with a passion. "But you could still do stuff, right? You could be a police person… or, or… I don't know what else. 'M sorry."

Izuku gave a small, sad smile.

"It's better than wooden fingers," Shoto tried. "Some quirks are bad, right? So you don't gotta worry, about bad ones." Izuku let out a small laugh. Shoto was glad he got him to laugh when he'd clearly just been crying.

"I guess that's true… but I'm sure people'll be mean to me, now. Cause it's not common, mommy said it's like that." Shoto promised he'd still be his friend. "I know… you're too nice to leave me behind." The other nodded in agreement. "And I can get a pokemon soon. You should come with me!"

Shoto agreed, more than happy to do that. He patted Envy's head affectionately. "Would it be cramped with Taki here?"

"As long as he doesn't evolve, he's pretty small. I hope Envy likes me some day."

"She will, she's just shy for now, it's not personal," he said, working hard on his speech and feeling he was doing quite well.

"You're super nice for adopting her!" Shoto gave a small smile, and his jolteon agreed with Izuku's words, rubbing her head against Shoto, though just to give affectionate and not communicate. Izuku hurried out of the room, Shoto following with Envy sticking close beside him. "Mommy, can we get me a pokemon soon?!"

"Sure. We can go soon." She said it with a smile. Rei was at the kitchen table drinking some tea. It cooled rapidly in her hands, so she usually had iced tea since it was better for her quirk. "Shoto, would you like to come, too?" He nodded.

"Envy, do you want to come?" She looked down, but shook her head. "Okay. Next time you come over, or Izuku comes over, you can meet his pokemon and be friends." She nodded, and she and Rei left, Inko unlocking the car from the balcony so Rei could move the car seat into Izuku's mother's car.

Envy followed her to the van, jumping inside obediently. Shoto loved his family and all of their pokemon so much. Hopefully Izuku could find a good pokemon, too.

-x- Izuku -x-

He was trying not to be upset, trying to internalize Shoto's point. Some quirks were dangerous to other people and themselves. So not having one could be better than being a danger or just being inconvenient. But he didn't want to be mocked for it. Didn't want to be teased. And his friends both had amazing quirks. Kacchan's was dangerous, but once he got control of it, it'd be cool. Shoto had a quirk that Izuku wished he was gifted with.

But Shoto was quiet and reserved, and had had an abusive father that his family had to run from. He deserved lots of friends. And with Izuku being there, he got to interact with them as well. It was amazing, and he was so excited to get his own soon. He didn't know what he wanted other than a chikorita.

The three went to many places, looking for anyone he wanted. He wanted a gentle one, so not a pokemon with fire or dark or electricity. Not that Envy seemed dangerous in any way. When it was getting later, both boys napped on the way to the next shelter. She gently woke them when they got there, and Izuku ran inside. Shoto and Inko followed. When they visited the pokemon for adoption, Izuku squealed at a chikorita. He hurried to the enclosure. She was nine months old, and had been the runt of her little. She could be named, unlike Shoto's Envy, who got her name over two years before Shoto adopted her.

Shoto and Inko crouched in front of the chikorita's enclosure, which was opened by a female worker. She sniffed at Izuku, and slapped his hand with the leaf on her head. He was sad until the woman said, "She does that when she's happy, don't worry." Izuku giggled at it, and she came out of the enclosure to sniff him more.

Izuku asked for Shoto to communicate with her, and she slapped his hand, too, before stepping closer to him so he could pet her. She wasn't fluffy like Envy, her skin was very smooth and soft. He pulled away. "She said she wants some blueberries."

"I want her!" Izuku said brightly. So, he got to adopt her, and carried her on the way back to the car. She was sitting on the floor of the backseat, looking up at them. The grass type kept slapping their feet with her head leaf. All three of them in the car thought it was super cute.

"She seems energetic," Shoto commented. "All the eeveelutions and vulpix are calm and easy to be around."

"She'll keep me busy. Listen, you can't damage the furniture at home." Another slap on his foot. It was so funny and she seemed unique. Definitely different than Shoto's traumatized and hesitant jolteon. Pokemon could all be so different, like people were.

-x-

"I got a houndour like I wanted!" Kacchan bragged in class the next day. Most of the others didn't have any pokemon, and Izuku was hesitant to say anything since the question about his quirk would come up. He wanted to brag about Mitty, but also didn't want to bring the topic up. "It's way better than Shoto's broken jolteon."

Shoto looked annoyed, but didn't take the bait. He just kept building block buildings that the minum continued to knock down. But he didn't get upset, patent and forgiving, even if it happened over and over. Izuku was interested, though, and went to Kacchan to ask about his houndour.

"What did you name him?" he asked in excitement.

"Sulfur. He's gonna be super strong just like me, just like All Might and his mega charizard!" Izuku didn't adopt the chikorita to be partners, but with him not being a hero - at least a conventional one - he didn't need a super strong pokemon. He was more than happy with the little grass type that slapped things when happy.

Not just people, but she slapped furniture and other objects. It was really endearing and unique. She got along with Taki, who thankfully did not bully her despite being slightly bigger and stronger. He had teeth and claws while Mitty didn't really have anything offensive. Izuku would never let her live a life where she had to defend herself, he'd keep her safe.

He would be going to Shoto's house today, and was excited to meet all the eeveelutions and his family. Rei was super nice, so the kids had to be, too. Izuku hoped that Envy liked him soon, but she was frightened of him a little bit. Maybe because he got too close too soon. Shoto was infinitely patient with her, such a good trait that made Izuku even more thankful to be his friend.

"I bet you'd just have some lame grass type," Kacchan said. Izuku didn't like him referring to pokemon like tools or things to show off. Before he got his quirk, he was super respectful towards them all. Why the change? He could brag about his houndour but it was rude to put other pokemon down. He was angry about how badly he spoke of Envy. Inside, Izuku knew it was probably out of jealousy. Shoto had a quirk that Izuku thought would be desirable for Kacchan since he loved pokemon so much. Though he was talking kind of in a bad way about them.

"Probably," Izuku agreed about the grass type, as that was what he had. He walked back to Shoto and the little electric types. When Shoto rubbed his cheek, a little bit of the yellow bolts of electricity followed his finger before disappearing. "Is that part of the quirk?" Izuku asked very softly.

"Yeah. I can't do much with it, though." He smiled softly, corners of his lips just barely upturned. "But talking to pokemon and having them like me… that's more than enough," he said quietly. Izuku smiled, too, leaning his head against Shoto's shoulder.

"You're such a good person, Shoto."

"I hope so."

"You are." Shoto nodded, though Izuku didn't know if he believed him completely. They moved on to play on the jungle gym outside once they were allowed. An oddish popped out of the bushes, and kids crowded it, excited. Shoto watched it from a distance, not seeming to feel the need to see all pokemon.

Izuku walked over to see it, and it puffed out some gas before running away. It made the preschoolers cough and all of them started to cry. The helpers and teacher had to comfort all of them, while Izuku and Shoto continued to play. Kacchan had been one of those to get gassed, and he kicked a rock, stubbing his toe and shouting angrily.

The two didn't really pay much attention to it, though Izuku felt bad for how scared the oddish must have been. Why did it come out anyways? For Shoto? Izuku knew he'd feel great if a huge group of creatures liked him, too. Though it could just be his quirk drawing them to him. Izuku doubted that, though. He was kind and gentle, they came to him and he respected them, so why wouldn't they want to visit more?

After class, Izuku and Shoto hurried to Rei's van. Izuku did stop when he saw Kacchan and his houndour. "Can we go see it?" Izuku asked. Shoto nodded, and they walked over. He stayed a bit away, not wanting to cause problems most likely, if Sulfur liked him. That would make the blonde angry, and Shoto would rather avoid any conflict.

"He's so cool!"

"Yeah, I can't wait to have my own!"

"Yours won't be as awesome as mine!" Kacchan said confidently. When Sulfur made a small whine at all the attention, maybe being young, the boy shooed them all away, and pat his head gently. "No more crowds?" Izuku smiled, glad he was at least gentle and kind with his new pokemon. Izuku trotted away to join Shoto before heading to the car.

Mitty was already there, sitting beside Envy, and slapped their feet in greeting. She jumped into between the two carseats, and slapped their arms. It was never rough, but still funny. When they got to the house, Izuku thought it looked very nice. Much nicer than his small apartment, though he didn't really mind. Plus, there were more people here and they needed a bigger space. Five humans and five pokemon that weren't exactly small.

Envy dropped down to be next to Shoto, while Izuku carried Mitty to the door. Rei unlocked the double front doors, and they entered. Immediately, the eeveelutions were there. A glaceon, espeon, flareon and then Shoto's jolteon. They just needed three more and they'd have them all. Though Endeavor had his own eeveelution. The stones to evolve those besides Envy must have cost a fortune.

Izuku gladly pet all the soft pokemon, and they then went in their own directions. "Touya, Natsuo and Fuyumi are still at school, right now."

"They can't take them with them?" Izuku wondered, seeing the elderly snow vulpix sleeping in a little bed just her size.

"The school they go to doesn't welcome pokemon. It's a private school and the classrooms are far too small to accommodate pokemon."

"I will want to go to a bigger school, so Mitty can come, too!" She wriggled out of his grip, and wandered around, inspecting things curiously. She slapped some furniture before moving on to another space. The Todorokis had no issue with this, and let her roam the house and lightly slap things she passed. "Shoto, would you bring Envy with you?"

He shrugged. "Depends if she wans' to." The flareon came down and rubbed against Izuku's legs in greeting. The espeon looked at Izuku and then turned his head as if disgusted, and sauntered away. "Don' worry, Hero doesn' like most people." Did Shoto had speech issues not at school? He didn't talk like this around the others. But of course Izuku wouldn't bring it up. "Do you wanna to go outside and see if any pokemon will come?" Shoto asked, and Izuku nodded. Both boys ran to the sliding glass door, which took up one whole wall, the glass door between the large windows. This place was really nice and roomy.

Glaceon was already out there, the door being open slightly to let them in and out. She was sunbathing on the deck, and ignored both of them when they walked down the stairs and to the grass. It didn't take long for some pokemon to appear. A wooper popped out of the small fountain they had. They hadn't even noticed it there until it started splashing until the two walked over.

It didn't leave the water, but let the two pet it. A few bird pokemon came over, and Shoto had a minor conversation with a butterfly before a scyther came. It was a scary looking pokemon, and Izuku moved to behind Shoto a bit. But it didn't bother than children that were shorter than it was. It got a drink from the water pond, the wooper getting territorial and spitting water at it. Izuku giggled, and he was glad when the scyther didn't lash out with its blade hands, and flew away, seeming deeply offended.

"That wasn't very nice," Shoto said lightly to the wooper. "He just wanted some water." Wooper didn't like hearing this, and submerged, effectively telling them to leave it alone. Izuku giggled and they went to play in the sandbox, no more pokemon coming over. It was so fun at Shoto's house, they had a lot to do, and they watched a long cartoon movie on the big screen.

When Shoto's siblings came home, the three pokemon were crowding the door to see them. They all had white hair. Fuyumi had a little bit of red in her hair, but not like Shoto's. He really was very unique looking.

Shoto waited for them to all change out of their uniforms from the private school, and come to the living room to introduce Izuku, and the chikorita, who slapped them all on the legs. "Sorry about that, it's her way of greeting and showing affection," Izuku said. Touya was the most interested to learn about Izuku, and sat down to talk. When Chikorita ended up sitting more beside Touya, Hono, the flareon, pushed her away with an annoyed sound so he could sit next to his human.

Mitty didn't use her slap in retaliation, and just chirped and hurried to Izuku. "So, you're quirkless?" Touya asked lightly. Izuku nodded in shame. "Man, you're lucky compared to some fo the kids in my class." Izuku looked surprised at his words. "My closest friend needs to wear gloves. He has trouble not dissolving other people without them."

Izuku gasped. "See, you're lucky compared to some." He really liked Touya! His views were like Rei and Shoto's, they were all so nice. Izuku started to tear up, and admitted he'd wanted a quirk to be a hero. "Maybe you can someday. You shouldn't let go of your dream."

"Touya isn' sure if he wants to be a hero," Shoto stated. Touya nodded, and Izuku curiously questioned why.

"Well, I was never given a choice when we lived with dad. He trained me everyday to be a hero. But now that we're not with him, I can choose what I want to do. I don't think I'll go to a hero high school. If I change my mind I can do it in college," Touya said with a shrug. "And I don't want to leave my friends behind and be separated," he added.

Was Endeavor really a bad daddy like that? Did he hurt and mistreat all of his children? "Why don't you tell everyone Endeavor is mean?"

"Well, we may not like him and not want to see him, but he's helped a lot of people. He might also get angry and defensive and try to cause trouble for us. Also, Shoto doesn't want him to be unhappy."

"Why not? He hurt you!" Izuku said, confused. Shoto shrugged and picked at the hem of his shorts.

He mumbled, "I don' like when people are sad. And… he was mean to me, a lot, but I don' want him to be too sad and lonely. Being lonely is a bad feeling."

"I guess that's true," Izuku agreed. "I don't know how I'd think about it. Daddy is never around, and so it's only mommy to raise me, but she does a good job!" Touya smiled but had to go do homework. Hono left with him, his fluffy tail swaying back and forth.

The freckled boy said, "Your family is so nice! I like him, and your pokemon are nice! Besides Hero, he's cranky," he giggled. Shoto smiled, pleased to have his family complimented. "Touya is really nice, I like what he said. I feel bad for his friend! Dissolving people would be scary! Maybe I am a little lucky…" Shoto smiled much wider, and agreed with a firm nod.

They watched the movie some more, Envy resting her head in Shoto's lap, deeply asleep. Mitty seemed to always need to be moving as her head leaf swayed about even when she was relaxing next to the sleeping Vulpix. She watched the movie, too. It was a comfortable time, and Izuku knew he'd be going over there a lot more from now on.