Izuku smiled as he watched his sneakers light up. They'd do that every time he took a step and the boy found it absolutely mesmerizing. He was running in circles, watching the lights blinking on the shoes.
All Might gave Aizawa a quick thumbs up. That was a good buy from his part. Aizawa agreed with a curt nod.
The trio had decided to walk to the mall. It was nearby and the weather was great. After lying down for so long, Izuku was probably itching to use his feet again. He had been practically jumping in place all morning.
"Do you think we'll see any heroes today?" Deku asked, looking up to the two adults. He was walking in between the two, holding one hand of both. It was a very wide formation but they could always make way if needed. They would break this lovely thing.
All Might coughed, "Maybe. Let's hope not cause that means that there is something wrong."
Aizawa nodded.
Good thing that they had texted the other heroes in the area in the morning, explaining them their situation. They wouldn't be coming to work for some time. The police had briefed them on the current situation in the city as well, telling the two that they could definitely handle things today. They'd call if anything major came up.
The two heroes were very grateful for having such good friends at work, willing to take up added work like it was nothing. There were mothers and fathers among the police and heroes who knew exactly what the two men were going through. It was no surprise the news were taken so well.
The mall was huge.
There weren't that many people shopping this early in the morning. It seemed that a fair amount of people had found their way to the sale today though. It was busier than a normal business day morning.
"Now remember. You need to hold a hand at all times. Either mine or Aizawa's. We don't want to loose you", All Might crouched down to explain to the boy.
Izuku nodded. He didn't want to get lost either.
Aizawa was playing with his sunglasses. They were a part of his disguise but absolutely useless when indoors. Paired up with the black leather jacket and the ponytail, the man looked more like a movie star than a hero.
All Might had cargo pants and a white T-shirt on. He believed in the power of glasses and a hat.
"Then, where should we go first?"
Izuku stared at the screen in front of which they had stopped. It was a map of the place, showing each shop and what they sold.
"Clothes", Izuku poked at an icon of one of the shops. He flinched when a new window opened with the information of the shop. He hadn't expected that.
The two heroes agreed. They definitely needed new clothes. A lot of them.
The summer was already turning to autumn, the days getting shorter and colder every week. Izuku's outfit was already a tad bit too little for the weather. He'd need long sleeved outfits and a jacket at least.
"You want to go check out the toys after that?" All Might asked, checking to see where those stores where. He'd pick out the largest one. They'd have the most toys.
Izuku agreed.
"I'm just glad that Deku isn't a baby", Aizawa mumbled as he checked the baby section next to the children's section they were currently in.
Three months, six months and twelve months. What did those even mean? And shouldn't you write it as one year instead of twelve months? Aizawa was both confused and overwhelmed.
They had gotten one of those carts you could put your child in. Izuku was currently sitting in it, looking around. He didn't understand much about clothes either. He hadn't worn much of them. He had worn the same shirt every day for the last year or so. He couldn't find the point in buying more than one or two shirts. He already had the two back home, so why did he need more?
"How about these?" All Might was the only one who the situation didn't affect. He was used to buying clothes actually, as surprising as it seemed. He was always on the TV or social media. He had to have a lot of outfits for the photos and such. He wasn't that into fashion but would at least look through the fashion magazines when one dropped down their mail slot.
"Hm", Izuku just nodded, staring at the pants the man had shown him. He couldn't see the difference to the pair he was shown previously.
"I think these are a bit too long for you", All Might admitted as he took a better look, "Let's look at a smaller size."
"Hello! Could I help you in any way?" a sudden voice of a cheery young woman cut through the group's quiet shopping.
Aizawa seemed relieved. Finally, someone who actually knew what they'd need. All Might had put the third pair of pants in their cart already. Even Aizawa could be sure they didn't need that many jeans. The boy would grow out of those in a second.
"Yes, thank you", All Might smiled bright, switching to his usual character he put on when in public. He was charismatic and good-looking. No girl could resist.
"For the little one? For which season?" she walked to the cart, taking a good look at Midoriya.
Noticing the boy's discomfort, she took a step back. She had just been in a company meeting where she had been taught to watch the customers' movements and expressions and act accordingly. She knew that this boy was anxious, almost as if he was afraid of her. She'd need to take things slow with this one.
"Summer and autumn."
"Is there a piece of clothing in specific?"
"A-Actually no. It's the whole wardrobe", All Might stuttered, afraid of the reaction he would get.
"A makeover then? I'm up for the challenge!" she smiled, her eyes scanning over the selection, "You're lucky. We just got the new season in. There are some really nice pieces in there if I can say so myself."
"I'll give you free hands then."
"Aye, aye", the girl did a mock salute. She really liked challenges. The days in retail always seemed the same to her. To be honest, she was getting rather bored with it.
"Do you think I could take some measurements from you, little guy? I really need those", she turned to Izuku, making sure to speak to the boy, not the adults. She took out a roll of measuring tape and a small notepad.
Izuku eyed the two items, then nodded. All Might helped him out of the cart and onto the floor where the measurements could be taken.
It only took a couple of minutes. The worker moved so fast you couldn't see her hands at times.
"A Quirk?" All Might asked.
The girl laughed, jutting in the numbers, "No, no. I'm just fast. Been doing this for a while."
"You do have a Quirk though. It seems fitting for a job like this", Aizawa nodded.
"Y-Yeah", she mumbled and scratched her head.
The Quirk had been in plain sight the whole time. She had an extra pair of arms next to her original ones. They seemed to move according to the owner's will and have the same strength as the other two.
"My mother wanted me to take this job because of them. I was really against it though. I've never really liked this kind of work", she shrugged, "I wanted to be a daycare teacher actually."
Izuku was beaming, staring at the extra arms.
"So cool!" he breathed out.
"Huh?" the clerk tuned to the boy.
"They're so cool!"
"Aha, thank you."
"You could be a hero!" Izuku squealed.
"I think you could still become a teacher. There's no use giving up your dreams just yet", All Might added.
"But my mother."
"Forget about her. It's your dream we're talking about."
She smiled, "I guess so. Thank you so much. I suddenly feel so much better."
"What about the clothes?" Aizawa piped in.
"Sorry! I'll get right to it!"
"There's this one and this one. Which do you like better?" the clerk was showing Izuku jackets.
They had already picked out two long sleeved shirts, one thicker than the other, one more T-shirt and three pairs of pants. There was also a pack of both socks and underwear in the cart.
The girl really was something else. She instantly knew the boy's size in all the styles they had in the store.
"You like the grey one better? I like it too! The emblem here is really cool. It's actually loosely designed after the UA uniform. You know, the really famous hero school", she explained as yet another item was added to the cart.
Aizawa could just hear their bank account crying out. He told it to shut it. This was all money well spent.
"Then we need rainboots and a raincoat", the clerk mumbled as she went to fetch new things yet again, "Ah! Do you think you need any hats? What about gloves? We have new arrivals on bags too!"
"No", Izuku mumbled at that. Only All Might and Aizawa heard that.
"Yes. We could look at the hats and gloves, please", All Might smiled, watching the girl go.
"I don't want a new bag", Izuku mumbled again. He had crossed his arms to his chest. He was pouting.
The adults understood. There was an emotional attachment to the backpack he had now. It was something he had possibly gotten from his father and it must hold some good memories for him. Like the figures did.
"Alright, but can't we at least get you a travel bag? We might go somewhere during the holidays and such. We'll need to pack your stuff somewhere if that happens. Your bag isn't big enough", All Might tried.
Izuku thought about it and nodded. Maybe they could get a new bag then. He'd always like his yellow backpack the best though.
The clerk was soon back with a set of perfectly fitting items yet again. Izuku picked out the ones he liked and the group rolled to the bag section of the shop.
"Wasn't that a blast?" All Might laughed. He had a large bag in both his hands.
He had had to give up on holding Izuku's hand. There was no way Aizawa or Izuku could either carry the bags. They both lacked the muscle mass All Might had.
"I think she saw us as a gay couple", Aizawa mumbled, "Her eyes were hungry. What were those called again? A fujoshi?"
All Might grimaced, laughing dryly, "Yeah. Let's forget about that. She was just doing her work."
Izuku was holding Aizawa's hand. He was looking around if he could spot their next destination. It was the toy shop.
The shop wasn't hard to miss. It's entrance and display windows were both huge and colorful, filled with movement and flashing lights. There was also music. Izuku could recognize it as the theme of one of the shows he had watched this morning.
"There it is", AIzawa noticed that the boy had spotted the shop as well. He was tugging the man's arm.
Izuku ran straight to the hero display. His face squeezed right onto the display case, his breath fogging the glass. He was admiring the details of every figure, naming them all to the two adults behind him.
"That's the new Space Hero Thirteen figure!", Izuku jumped up and down, not able to contain his excitement.
All Might and Aizawa looked at each other, both smiling. The true Midoriya Izuku was finally coming out of his shell.
"Get ready for the speech", All Might whispered.
"Oh, I know what's coming", Aizawa replied with a smirk.
But there was no lecture that followed, Izuku simply ran to the next shelf. Guess miracles still happened.
"What is it?" All Might asked as Izuku pointed to the topmost shelf of the display.
"That's from father's favorite movie! It's gogozilla!"
"It's Gozilla", Aizawa snorted a laugh.
"I want to hold it", Izuku stretched his hands to reach the huge plush toy.
"Sure. Here you go", All Might handed it to the boy.
The thing was Izuku's size. He had trouble holding the toy, choosing to squeeze the lizard's midsection and burrowing his face to its neck.
"You really like that one?" Aizawa asked. He hadn't expected Deku to choose a toy like that. Gozilla was what you'd technically call a Villain. Izuku had shown them that he liked heroes.
"Hm! Soft!"
"Do you want us to buy that for you?" All Might asked.
Izuku stopped. He didn't know what to say. He had seen the price of the clothes at the register and known that the three numbers meant that the amount of money used had been big. He had felt a bang of guilt right away.
They had used so much money on him already. Izuku didn't want them to use any more.
He slowly gave the plush toy back to All Might.
"Y-You can put it back", the boy mumbled, looking away.
"You don't want it? Are you sure?" the man asked, turning the toy in his hands, inspecting it closely. He was beginning to like the cutesy look of the monster. It looked vaguely like the thing in the movies.
Izuku nodded, kicking the ground. He didn't want to look the two in the eyes.
"Izuku", Aizawa crouched down with the kid, "Look at me."
All Might followed suit. They must look ridiculous to the other customers in the store but he didn't care.
"Hmm", the boy whined, refusing.
Aizawa took a hold of the boy's hand, preventing a possible escape. He had read a couple books and was now hoping that they had thought him something.
"Izuku. You can get any toy you want. Do you understand? Any toy you want. Don't look at the price tag. Don't think of our wallets. Just think of what you want. We'll get you anything. We want to get you anything you want."
"Don't worry! My wallet won't feel a thing!" All Might tried to awkwardly reassure Izuku too.
That earned a strong jab to the stomach from the raven head. He told the man to shut up and just be there. Nod if he had to, nothing else.
Izuku whined again, tears were forming in the corners of his eyes. He didn't know what to do. His mind was fighting against itself in his head.
He knew that the two would never lie to him. He knew that they honestly cared for him. They'd do anything for him. They had already done so much for him too.
On the other hand, he also knew what his father had taught him. What his father wanted of him. He should never ask for anything. He wasn't worth it. He should just keep quiet and take what he got.
He really wanted the toy.
"Do you want us to buy you the toy?" Aizawa asked slowly, petting Izuku's head while doing so.
All Might was on wiping duty, taking care of the flowing tears of the boy's cheeks.
"Y-Yes please", Izuku finally managed to hiccup.
"Good job", the raven head praised the boy, "Do you think you could pick out two or three more toys? We'd love to get you those too. So that we can play properly when we get back home."
"Hm", the boy nodded, having gotten back his stuffed toy. He wouldn't let go of it again.
Izuku picked out a box of building blocks, a set of toy vehicles and a superhero costume.
It had taken them two hours. The adults hadn't rushed the boy in any way, just following him as Izuku walked through the store over and over. They had wanted Izuku think on his own pace.
Aizawa and All Might had thought of a physical evaluation for the first time just then. They'd have to make some calls when they got back home. Recovery Girl would surely want to hear how the things were going as well.
"Do you want to wear the costume when we get home?" All Might asked, chomping his ice cream cone.
They had gotten some ice cream. The flavors had looked too tempting to resist. They all knew they shouldn't eat sweets before lunch or they'd ruin their appetite. They promised each other that this time was special. They wouldn't do that again. Probably.
Izuku was sitting on the blond man's shoulders, holding tight so that he wouldn't fall. He nodded his reply, licking his ice cream. It was mango and grape flavored. He definitely would wear the costume. Then they could play heroes together again. All three of them. They could build a city out of the blocks and drive the cars and planes around the mat. The mat was like a city map and Izuku loved it. It was sure to inspire numerous hours of fun and play in the future.
The new lizard friend was in Aizawa's care. The man chose to carry the thing on his shoulders. He looked dead serious. Like a man on a mission. The cute face of the toy ruined the image.
The other customers turned and stopped to watch the weird group. There were laughs and smiles. No bad looks were given and it made Izuku feel warm. He felt like he was normal, that he was accepted despite being Quirkless and all.
A hatch on a door opened with a high-pitched creak. Some of the paint flaked off, falling onto the cell floor.
The room was colored a boring cream color, all the furniture in it either white or made of metal. It was a very boring room all in all.
"Yes, Mr. Midoriya?" a guard asked through the hatch.
"I need to talk to the boss" Hisashi rasped, scratching the beard that had begun to form this past month.
"What is it? You don't usually want to talk to anyone much less meet them", the guard asked, "A change of heart perhaps?"
"Haha, very funny.", Hisashi closed his eyes, "I want to see my son. I need to talk to him."