Mic woke up with a loud snort consequently throwing the pillow he had been snuggling all night to the opposite wall. It landed on the floor with a small thud. The man had seen one of those dreams where you felt like you were falling only to suddenly jolt awake, full of confusion. Mic's heart was beating in his chest and his face was sweaty. He quickly wiped that off and stood up from the sofa in hopes of brushing off the remnants of the dream he had had. He couldn't remember exactly what it had been but the dream must've been a bad one to cause a reaction like this.

"This totally isn't like me", Mic whispered, walking into the kitchen. He decided that a large cup of coffee would be of help and necessary.

He eyed the clock on the wall. Seven in the morning. Not too early. He could've slept a bit more though. He had stayed up quite late last night reading the articles and then talking to Aizawa. Mic yawned and stretched his hands over his head. Well, that can't be helped. He was already up and fully awake.

Speaking of Aizawa, Mic quickly dug his phone out of his pajama pants' pocket to check if he had gotten anything from the raven head. There was a mail with a picture attached. Mic quickly opened it and had to fight back a fit of laughter when he saw its contents.

'Took him three hours', was the title. In the picture was All Might, fast asleep on his chair. His position looked very uncomfortable. His head was all the way back with mouth wide open. He must've been snoring rather loudly. Aizawa had added such an emoticon to the end of the message.

Aizawa had sent Mic a rare selfie. Aizawa himself was in the left side of the picture, one hand holding the phone while the other was making a peace sign. He didn't smile but Mic with his long experience saw how pleased he looked.

Aizawa didn't look too good either though. The black bags under his eyes were much worse than before. Hs eyes were also bloodshot. It made Mic wonder if he had his eyedrops with him. He would text and ask him later, offering to drop those off if he didn't have them.

"Cute. Save", Mic smiled to himself and carefully filed the picture into the folder 'Sho-chan'.

Mic decided to try and make pancakes for breakfast. He quickly washed his face and fixed his hair a bit before getting to it. He poured the pancake mix into a large bowl and added the other ingredients. He had already somehow managed to get flour onto his face. It had been a couple minutes. His clothes were luckily protected by a lovely pink apron.

Mixing the batter, Mic listened for signs that the boy was waking up. Surely there was a loud thump followed by some other similar sounds before a door could be heard opening. Small footsteps made their way across the rooms. Another door opened and closed. Mic then heard the water running. Izuku must've gone to the bathroom to wash up. Such an independent kid.

Mic waited until the sound of the water stopped before he spoke, "Come have breakfast after you're done! I made pancakes!"

There was a quiet 'Yes', muffled by the thick walls. The footsteps were there again.

Mic made the table and sat down to wait for Izuku to join him. He was hoping that Izuku liked pancakes. He had found come syrup hidden in the cupboards and had that on the table as well. They didn't have jam but Mic had cut up some banana to put on the cakes instead.

"Good morning Mister", Izuku entered the room. He walked to the table and climbed onto his chair, eyeing the pancakes piled on his plate. He was still wearing his pajamas but he had clearly brushed his teeth and hair. Mic reached out and wiped off some toothpaste from the boy's chubby cheek.

"It's Mic to you, kiddo", Mic smiled as he tried to throw the used tissue into the trash bin, missing terribly, "Come here for a bit. Let's fix your shirt for a bit."

The shirt was backwards in two ways. You could not only see the seams but also the tag which was under Izuku's chin instead of where it would usually be on the back. Mic gently pulled the shirt off and helped the boy put it back on correctly.

"You must've put it on while you were still half asleep. Were your eyes closed too? There we go. All better"; Mic clapped his hands together, "Now, let's eat some pancakes. They'll get cold if we don't eat them now."

"Yeah", Izuku lifted his hands up. His eyes sparkled.

"Have you had pancakes before?" Mic asked. He watched Izuku try to stuff a whole cake into his mouth. The syrup dripped down Izuku's chin and onto the table.

"No", the boy mumbled, hardly making any sense as his mouth was full.

"Really?" Mic felt bad. He had thought that everyone had had a pancake at least once in their life. They were so easy to make yet so tasty.

"Mm. I like these", Izuku nodded. He had managed to swallow the pancake. Mic had to wonder how much he had actually chewed before doing so. At least he didn't choke. Mic had been remembering his Heimlich maneuver just in case.

"Great. There's a ton more left, so eat up", Mic grinned. Some of the pancakes had burned a bit on the edges but that didn't seem to bother the boy at all as he wolfed down another one.

Mic looked through the post-it notes on the table. He had collected those from around the kitchen and gathered them all together so that he could look through them. One of them read 'Medicine on the upmost shelf. Remember morning and evening meds.'

"Would you like to take your meds with some juice?", Mic asked as he fetched the said items, eyeing the many bottles in confusion. He couldn't see why such a young child would need to take so many pills. He could hardly take any pills when he had been Izuku's age. All his vitamins had had to be those flavored, chewable ones.

Mic took out a carton of orange juice from the fridge. He had forgot to take that out before. He poured them both a generous glass.

"Here you go. One, two, three, four pills in total", Mic counted the small pills as he handed them to Izuku, who took them without a single question or complaint.

Mic read the prescriptions on the bottles. There were painkillers, a multivitamin, an antibiotic and a very small dose of a mild sedative. The tag on the sedative read that it was for so called bad days. Mic decided to give Izuku one. This day could end up becoming a very bad one very quickly. Mic hoped that it wouldn't.

"What would you like to do today?" Mic asked. He had finished his pancakes and was watching Izuku finish his last one. The boy's pace had slowed down considerably after the second one. Now he ate like a normal human being and not like an animal. He had both a fork and a knife but the use of the latter was still a bit rough. He was getting there though. it would just take some more training.

"Go see Yagi and Aizawa", Izuku said right away. He knew only that the two had went somewhere and that it had been important. Mic had lied that it was a business thing and wouldn't take too long. Izuku didn't know what work the two adults did so he believed the story.

"I'm afraid we cannot do that", Mic sighed sadly, "We can do something else instead."

Izuku was quiet for some time. He was thinking hard. He didn't have much ideas of what they could do. He hadn't done that many fun things in the past. He knew the park and the beach as well as the mall they had been to the other day but not much else. Maybe they could go and play on the beach. Yagi and Aizawa had seemed to really like that when they had been there last time.

Mic was thinking too, "How about a barbershop?"

"A barbershop?" Izuku tilted his head. Mic found it absolutely adorable. Too bad the moment went by too quickly for him to pull out his phone and take a picture. He would've made Aizawa green with envy had he sent him a cute photo like that. Well, he'd have the whole day to get one, or two.

"A place where they cut your hair. Your little moss bush could use some trimming", Mic explained, pointing to the green curly tuft Izuku had on his head. It really looked like moss to him now that Aizawa and All Might had called it that like once. Mic couldn't get the image out of his head.

Mic had a favorite place to which he was a regular visitor to. His hairdo didn't come easily.

He had heard that the nurses had done some basic trimming to the boy's hair. It had been badly matted when the boy had arrived. It had been dirty too. The dirt had dug deep into the dreadlocks and made the boy stink constantly. The cut had clearly only been a contemporary one. The ends were rough and the style didn't fit the boy at all either. The hair was still way too long for him. It would just get in the way so it was better to just cut it now that they had the chance.

Mic smiled, pleased with himself and his amazing ideas. He would surprise his two friends and give little Izuku a makeover. Mic would make him look fresh. He'd be the coolest kid in town after this.

"Let's clean up and change clothes. Do you want to watch the news before we leave?" Mic asked, putting their dishes in the machine and putting the rest of the food back into the fridge.

"News!" Izuku cheered and ran into the living room. Not a second too late. The opening jingle sounded as Izuku opened the TV.

"Sure thing. I'll clean up. You watch the news and tell me if anything interesting comes up", Mic laughed at the boy's enthusiasm. He wiped the table clean and went to Izuku's room to put together an outfit for the little one. He'd choose a stylish one. Not a cute one like the two always did. Mic didn't want to embarrass the boy.

"There we go! Finally!" Mic huffed as he swept sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. He took a moment to admire his handiwork. The outfit was lied on the bed ready to be put on. Izuku had made the bed himself before coming to breakfast. It looked really nice considering how young Izuku was.

On the bed were a red T-shirt, a pair of socks and denim overalls. Well, maybe it had ended up looking a bit cute as well but it was definitely a cool outfit. Mic would give Izuku a pair of his sunglasses to wear to complete the look. He had hoped to find a cap as well but had come out empty handed.

"Good job me", Mic nodded, patting himself on the back, literally.

As Mic returned to the living room, the news show had already ended and Izuku had turned the channel to watch some of the morning's cartoons. Choosing the outfit had taken much longer than the man had thought. The news show ran for half an hour.

"Sorry I took so long", Mic apologized, "Do you wanna get going already? I bet you're just itching for a new adventure."

Izuku nodded furiously, "Can we go?"

"If you're ready. I've got an outfit for on the bed. Go change to that and we can get going", Mic gestured to the room, "Meet me at the front door and I'll help you get your shoes on."

Izuku ran to his room to get his stuff.

Mic was happy to see that the boy was smiling. He had clearly forgotten what happened yesterday after the two had left. That was good. Mic wanted the boy to just enjoy this day with him and forget his worries for a while. A child shouldn't worry so much. They should just go and have fun.

Izuku and Mic had to take the bus to the barbershop. The place was on the opposite side of the city from where All Might and Aizawa lived. Walking there wasn't an option.

Mic also didn't have a car. He had decided that it was just too expensive and downright stupid when the public transport was as good as it was. He did own a bicycle, with flames painted onto the sides. Even if he had the bike with him, he would never give the boy a lift. It was just too risky.

Mic soon learned that Izuku had no idea how the bus service worked. He had been on a bus before, he told the man that much, but he didn't know how a bus really worked.

"But if you push the stop button now, then the bus will stop in the middle of the road. Isn't that illegal?" Izuku wondered aloud as he held his bus ticket close to his chest. Mic had bought him one with which he could travel as much as he wanted for one day. Mic thought that it would be the best choice. He himself had a card.

Mic smiled. He had told Izuku that he would get to press the button when their stop came and that had gotten Izuku thinking. The boy was staring at anyone who would press the stop button to learn its mechanics. Mic kept quiet, watching Izuku's adorable expressions and behavior. He would let him figure this one out by himself.

Izuku quickly caught on and his face brightened, "I got it now!"

"Good work buddy", Mic pet the boy's head, "Our stop is next. Go ahead and press the button."

Izuku pressed the red button and flinched when it let out a small chime. A light went on indicating a stop at the next bus stop.

"No. Sit still until we've stopped completely. I don't want you going rolling down the hallway", Mic told Izuku and grabbed the hem of his shirt as the boy tried to stand up from his seat.

Izuku sat back down and waited until their stop came. He stood up alongside Mic and they exited the vehicle together.

Izuku stared around in awe. He had never been to this part of the city. Everything was new and exciting to him. Yet, he stuck near Mic and didn't run around exploring the surroundings. Deep down he was still anxious and even afraid.

"Cool huh?" Mic spoke reassuringly, "It's not that far from here."

Izuku shyly took the hero's hand as they began walking.

Mic turned to look at him but smiled and let Izuku hold the hand. He quite liked it too. He soon began humming and did so loudly all the way to their destination.

"Hello, hello! Anybody home? You here Shun?" Mic announced his arrival very loudly, sliding the wooden door out of his way. It clanked loudly as it hit the wall. A small chime on the door jingled.

The barbershop was in one of those idyllic older Japanese styled wooden buildings with sliding doors and windows. There was even a retro barbershop pole outside on the veranda. Next to it was a begging cat statue, drawing customers to step inside with its smiling face and eyes.

The owner had bought the building cheap off of the previous owner who saw it as too much work and wanted to move away. It hadn't been in great condition but the new owner had made it work and slowly fixed it as he got money from the business. The building still had its old look but had been equipped with the latest gadgets throughout the years. It now had a new bathroom and kitchen. All the pipes and wires had been renewed.

"Present Mic! Isn't this a surprise!" a man greeted them in the main room, "It's been too long! Where have you been?"

"Oh come on! It's only been a month!" Mic laughed. The two shared a hug.

The man looked like a barber if one could say so. His hair spoke of skill. It was dyed grey with a few perm curls to finish the style. The left side of his head was shaved short. The rest was around shoulder length and combed to the right. On the left ear was a stretch piercing. He also had black, thick framed glasses on his nose. The mann was pretty much blind without them.

"Only a month?! Anyways. Are you here for a cut? Is it finally the time to try a new style? If so I have some suggestions in store for you."

"Not me this time. Sorry. My little friend here would like one though", Mic gestured Izuku to step out from behind his legs where the boy had been hiding this whole time.

Izuku did as told and gave the owner a shy wave.

"Well isn't he adorable. I can totally see why you brought him in", the man smiled and crouched down on the child's eye level, "I could cut that hair of yours a bit. Would you like that?"

Izuku nodded. He kept his eyes on the man's hands instead of his face.

He wasn't shy anymore. The hands were just much more interesting to him.

"What? Oh these? Aren't they cool?" the man noticed the boy's stare and didn't mind a bit. He was used to getting an odd look or two. His fingers were shaped like scissors, after all. A nice thing when you worked as a barber, not that much in anything else. It was a good thing that they were manageable when you closed them. They didn't bend but could be used as fingers.

"Really cool! Are you a hero mister?" Izuku was beaming again. He must've already been thinking of a hero name and this man fighting Villains with his Quirk.

"No. I am no hero. I leave such scary things to professionals", the man winked, "Instead, I take care of their hair for them."

"He's real cool. Gives discounts to us heroes too!" Mic piped in, "He is a hero of heroes."

"Shut it. I don't need such a title", a gentle smack on Mic's back, "Come on little one. Let's get you seated so we can begin."

The barber came prepared. Although Mic didn't know him as a man who often cut kids' hair, he acted like he had done nothing else his whole life. He began by lowering the chair so that Izuku could hop on. Then he raised it up slowly, making sure that the boy was comfortable with it every second of the way.

"Here, this will be our stop", the barber sang, "Now let us get your cape on."

He took out the apron and tied it loosely around Izuku's neck.

"This isn't a cape", Izuku laughed, sitting still as Shou wet his hair.

"Really? I could've sworn it was", the man huffed playfully, "After so many heroes wearing it I really thought that it would have become one already."

"Heroes?!"

"Stay still or I'll cut your ear off. Yes, heroes. Mic isn't my only regular."

"Who else? Who else?" Izuku was itching to jump up and down in excitement. He squeezed the armrests so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"Hmm. Let's see. Best Jeanist came here just the other week. He was so demanding though! He and his looks!" the barber wiped his curly grey hair from his face, pinning it down with two barrettes.

"Best Jeanist?!"

"Yeah. I have a signature wall. The proof is there. We can go see after you're done."

"Yes please", Izuku vibrated with excitement. A hero signature wall! He couldn't wait to see it. He wondered if All Might had been here.

Izuku's haircut went well. The final look was something much better than what the two had come in with originally. The natural and adorable curls were highlighted by the medium short cut. Had Shou cut it shorter, the curls would've been gone. The ends were much smoother now and there were absolutely no matts or knots anymore.

"Looking good! Yeah!" Mic gave the thumbs up, approving his friend's work. A job very well done.

The barber bowed, "Thank you. I'm happy you like it. A happy customer is all that matters to me."

"Do you like it kiddo?" Mic asked Izuku, who was running his hands through the hair and looking at his reflection in the mirror.

"Yeah! It's super soft", Izuku grinned wide, jumping down from his seat, "Thank you mister barber!"

"You are very welcome little man. Would you like to see the wall now?"

"Yeah!"

Mic smiled. He would sit down and wait until the boy was done. He took a magazine and flipped it open, keeping his ears focused on Izuku's voice. He'd be out of the chair in a flash if he noticed a change in the tone of that.

"Who ordered a double chocolate?" Mic mockingly asked as he handed an ice cream cone to Izuku's waiting hands.

Izuku took a lick, smiling as the taste hit his tongue. It was so good. He made sure to tell Mic that and offer a little taste.

They had decided to go for a walk and ice cream after the haircut. Mic had promised to buy Izuku any ice cream he wanted. The boy clearly didn't take advantage of the offer. He wanted just a single scoop of chocolate in a cone. Nothing else despite Mic's offers and suggestions.

"Mr. Shou had All Might's signature! I got to hold it!" Izuku blabbered on and on, "Eraserhead was there too! There were so many of them. Can we go there again?"

"For the signatures or a haircut?" Mic mumbled, feeling left out, "I am there too, you know. Wasn't my signature cool?"

"Yeah! It looks like you", Izuku cheered.

Mic didn't know if he should be proud. He personally thought that the signature was very messy. Did he look messy?

The two had walked quite a distance in the time it took to finish the frozen treats. Izuku found that he knew this neighborhood. He and Mic had unknowingly walked right to the park near Izuku's old neighborhood. The park where he had met Mr. Yagi for the first time.

"What? You know this place?" Mic asked as he watched Izuku run to the park's swing set.

"Yeah. I lived there", the boy pointed somewhere into the distance. There was a flash of sadness in his eyes before he blinked and focused back on swinging.

"Really? We didn't live that far away from each other. Maybe we could've met someday."

"No we wouldn't. I was always inside", Izuku said, "And when I got out I was always here. Sometimes I went to the beach too."

"Oh well. I'd like to think so though."

"You can."

"Thank you. At least I'm here now. Aizawa and Yagi are here too", Mic almost used the hero names again but managed to shut himself up before he did so.

"Hm", Izuku nodded.

"Do you like those two? Are they nice to you?" Mic had to ask. He felt like this was the right time to do so. He had seen how the three acted when they were together. To Mic, there was no doubt about what the answer would be. He still wanted to hear it from the boy. Maybe just to reassure himself.

"They're really nice. They gave me a room. Then they bought me clothes and toys even though I hadn't asked for those", Izuku kicked the sand under his shoes.

"But you needed those. Everyone needs those", Mic added, "Do you think Aizawa can cook?"

"Yeah. He's really good."

"What's your favorite food?"

"Hmmm", Izuku thought long and hard. He was having a hard time deciding. He had so many foods he had come to like.

"Everything?"

"Everything you and Aizawa make", Izuku smiled.

"Aren't you a charmer", Mic smiled back, "Even pickles?"

"Almost everything."

Izuku and Mic were playing in the jungle gym when something caught the boy's eye. He shot his head up and his face lit up like a thousand candles.

"It's Kurogiri and Nomu!" Izuku exclaimed, quickly climbed down and ran to the edge of the playground.

Mic had little time to react before the boy was already gone. He raised his head to see who the two people mentioned were. He visibly flinched when he saw how intimidated they looked. He'd have to go in between this. There was no way these two were not trouble. The names also sounded very familiar though Mic couldn't put his finger on it.

By the time Mic got to the scene, Izuku was on the ground being attacked by the huge dark monster. For some reason it was on a leash and a harness. Mic got ready to jump in but halted when he heard the joy in the boy's voice.

"Nomu!" Izuku laughed, protecting his face with his hands, "Not the face!"

Nomu was rubbing his face on the boy's face, panting loudly. Had he had a tail, it would've surely been wagging furiously. The creature was being very careful though. He could've easily crushed Izuku dead but he didn't.

"What the hell is that?!" Mic pointed to the creature, screaming. He wasn't even trying to control his voice anymore. This situation was just way too bizarre for him to handle.

"He is a dog", Kurogiri simply stated, pulling on the leash a bit.

"That isn't a dog! What breed is it supposed to be?!"

"A pitbull mix?"

"With what? A gorilla?!"

"Nomu, down", Kurogiri focused back on the 'dog' and pulled on the leash hard, "Bad boy."

Nomu seemed to listen to Kurogiri better as he did just as told without much of a fight. He got off of Izuku and lied on the ground. He even exposed his belly, showing surrender. The panting continued.

"Good", Kurogiri clicked a clicker and threw a cat treat which Nomu caught from mid-air. Kurogiri had begun trying how food rewards worked. The clicker was there to help with the communication.

"I own a dog and I can tell you that thing isn't one!" Mic continued with his lecture. He didn't like this shady character near Izuku. He also didn't like how casual the boy was with the two.

"Nomu isn't 'that'", Izuku piped in. He was currently scratching Nomu's belly which the latter seemed to fully enjoy, lying still and letting the boy climb over him to reach a spot.

"A-Alright. Sure", Mic mumbled.

In a situation like this, he found himself missing his own dog back home. He had actually just rescued one about a month ago. The media still didn't know about this because Mic had wanted to give the dog enough time to get used to its new surroundings. The dog suffered with anxiety after spending such a long time in a shelter cage. Mic had built them a pillow fort on their first night together.

The dog was from a hoarding and bad breeder situation. She was supposed to be a cross between a chihuahua and a dachshund. The result, her snout was size chihuahua and her tongue dachshund resulting in a tongue that always hung out. Her genes were also bad whether it was from breeding siblings or somethings else. Her fur was completely white and her eyes baby blue. She was also completely deaf and half blind. Mic was finding out more about her each day. She was now on a raw diet after a week of stomach aches.

Mic had named the dog Pixie. She was frail yet beautiful like one. They had already formed a strong bond. Pixie didn't mind Mic's loud noise and Mic accepted Pixie with all her problems.

Mic couldn't wait to introduce her to Izuku and the rest.

"Sorry to disturb your train of thought. Where are Izuku's usual guardians?" Kurogiri asked.

He didn't appreciate the man staring at Nomu like he was some sort of a monster. Sure, Nomu was one but he was also a part of the Villain family. No one badmouthed the family without consequences.

Mic flinched. If he wasn't alarmed before, he surely was now. How did this man know All Might and Aizawa? How did he know that the boy was staying with them? There was no way.

"I'm his guardian", Mic tested what the man knew. Cold sweat was forming on his forehead. He had realized who the man was. He was Kurogiri, a member of the League of Villains. If Mic could remember correctly, his Quirk wasn't that powerful but it definitely wasn't useless either.

"No you're not, Mr. Present Mic", Kurogiri calmly corrected. Guess the realization had hit him as well.

"H-How do you know all this?!"

"You could say I've been keeping an eye on my precious godson. I know that you are not one of his usual guardians."

"Godson?!"

"Yes, Izuku is my godson. I know his father personally. He is a good friend of mine as well as a neighbor. There was a small fire there and I haven't seen the two since. I haven't been able to make contact either. I've been worried."

"Kurogiri look!" Izuku laughed, getting both of the men's attention. Maybe it was good that he did or this could've turned very nasty very quick. Sparks had begun to fly already.

Izuku was sitting on Nomu's shoulders, waving his hand wildly. He had a proud smile on his face as he held tightly onto Nomu's head.

The two adult's reactions were surprisingly similar.

"Izuku get off from there! It's dangerous", both said at the same time. Mic did add something about a monster at the end though and Kurogiri gave him a glare for it. The monster had a name and it was Nomu.

"No it's not!" Izuku argued with a pout, "Nomu is a good boy. Right Nomu?"

Nomu nodded, earning a giggle from the boy who held tight.

"Izuku, aren't you hungry at all?" Kurogiri tried to change the subject, hoping that it would get the boy to climb down, "I've been practicing making something else than just sandwiches."

"Other than sandwiches? Why?" Izuku asked, still not getting down.

"Because I thought that the others would like that. The guys are always so hungry when they come in."

"But it's a bar", Izuku pointed out.

Mic sharpened his ears. A bar?

"I feel like we've become a bed and breakfast at this point", Kurogiri shrugged with a sigh, "I felt like trying something new as well."

"I want to try it!" Izuku cheered, "Can Mr. Mic come too? Can he? Please?"

Kurogiri and Mic had a quiet staring contest. A battle of wills one might say. Neither wanted to go anywhere with the other yet neither wanted to upset the boy either. One of them would have to give up.

"Fine. He can come too", Kurogiri finally said, a weird tone in his voice. It was hard to tell what he was thinking since his face was a bunch of smoke and two eyes. Mic guessed that it wasn't anything pleasant.

"Warp gate! Warp gate!" Izuku cheered, "Food!"

"Huh? Warp gate?" Mic asked. He was too late as darkness surrounded him and everyone else. It just swallowed everything up. Mic had to close his eyes in fear. It was a pure reflex.

"Welcome back", a lazy voice greeted them from somewhere.

Mic still had his eyes closed but he slowly opened them, blinking at the dim light that hit them. The four of them were inside. It looked like a bar of some sorts. Mic could see the counter and the bottles behind it.

"Uncle Stain and Tomura!" was the first thing Mic heard. He slowly raised his head and saw the two characters in question.

'Shit', was all he could think as his hand flew to the pocket his phone was in. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all! He'd have to contact the two immediately.

These guys were all Villains!