Hisashi was breathing heavily as he sat up on the bed, still shaken by the dream he had had. His complexion was rather pale. His skin looked clammy too. But it wasn't a surprise, seeing the situation at hand. It would've been even without such a dream. He was lying in a hospital bed, admitted with many severe injuries and blood loss. Of course he'd be pale.

"You saw Inko?" the guard asked. He knew the woman by more than just a name. Hisashi had told him about her on several occasions. He had soon learned that the woman had meant a lot to him and that the loss had been devastating. Hisashi had never really recovered. After that the guard had made sure to listen close whenever the man would talk, since it seemed to help them both.

Hisashi slowly nodded. He wiped his sweaty forehead into the sleeve of his hospital gown. The IV line tugged on his hand as he did so. It hurt a bit and reminded the man of where he was. The pain of the other injuries came next. It was like a weight had been placed on his chest and limbs alongside the pain. His head felt the worst though. It was like a whole pile of bricks had been poured on it while thunder roared right in his ears.

"The wife?" All Might whispered to Aizawa who nodded. The two knew what the police had told them as well as what they had managed to find out themselves. It wasn't much but enough to know the identity of the woman mentioned.

The nurse checked the vitals and gave the patient a shot of mild painkillers as the man seemed to be in quite a lot of pain. They would slowly try and decrease the amount of meds they were giving him. Addiction was always a risk with medicine like the ones Hisashi was getting, so they wanted to wage the man off of them as soon as possible.

The doctor watched the nurse do her job before he himself stepped in.

"Mr. please try calm yourself down. You're hurt. We don't want you to start hyperventilating on us", the doctor explained, his voice calm, "Come on. Breathe in and out. In and out. There we go. That's the way. You're doing good Mr. Midoriya."

Hisashi slowly calmed down. It seemingly took him quite a lot of effort. Some of the color returned to his face as the breathing returned to normal and the medicine took effect. Hisashi signed long and loud, his eyes closed. The fluorescent light of the room irritated his eyes.

"Better?" the doctor asked. He checked some of the vitals himself. Not that he didn't believe in his nurses, he just wanted to see them himself. He was curious and always liked to not only see the results but also how those had been reached in the first place. The same curiosity had helped him a lot when he had been studying to become a doctor in the first place.

"Much better. Thank you doctor."

"No worries. Just doing our work here", the nurse nodded, agreeing with what the doctor told the patient.

The group gave the man some more time before they even tried to talk to him or ask him anything. It was no use overwhelming him, even if they wanted to just flood him with questions once again. He could've begun hyperventilating again if they moved too quickly with this.

Much to everyone's surprise, it was Hisashi who begun with the questions. He coughed a couple times to clear his airways before he begun speaking.

"How has Izuku been?" Hisashi asked. He let the nurse give him some water to help with his dry throat. He even nodded his thanks afterwards, to which the nurse smiled.

"Don't you remember? I already told you. Izuku has been fine. As fine as he can be in this situation", Kurogiri asked in return. He was worried that his friend's brain had been damaged in the beating and that it had somehow affected his memory. The nurse had previously said that he had suffered a concussion. Kurogiri also knew that brain injuries were hard to fully recover from. They almost always left something behind. He would never want anything like that to a friend.

"I know you did. I want to hear their opinion. They're the ones who've been taking care of him. You said that yourself", Hisashi pointed towards All Might and Aizawa, then coughed again. His throat was still sensitive from the oxygen mask he had had on previously.

Aizawa and All Might shared a look before the latter nodded, indicating that Aizawa should be the one to speak. He was better at things like this.

All Might could handle a serious conversation just fine too. He just preferred not to if possible. His eccentric personality made it hard for him to keep a serious conversation.

Aizawa sighed, giving his roommate an accusative look. He'd do this just this once but the blond would have to pay him back for it. It was all good though. Aizawa had always wanted to dine at this fancy local restaurant anyways. Guess All Might would be treating them for a nice dinner then.

"He was very shy at first, still is. He talks a lot and such but he doesn't really trust us. He has never really asked for anything for himself. He is a sweet little child but he really should be a little more selfish. We need to read his expressions every time we go somewhere to see if he wants anything", Aizawa told the father. He and All Might had seen it many times. Izuku would always put everyone else before himself and would never ask for anything for himself. He'd be happy with whatever he was given.

"Just like his mother", Hisashi nodded, "Has-Has there been any problems?"

"Besides the previous? Hmmm", Aizawa thought for a while and All Might joined him.

Izuku wasn't a difficult child. Not at all. Of course, there had been the accident with Mic and the occasional small panic attack or general confusion. It was all just to be expected though, seeing what the situation at hand was and had been. Izuku was simply confused in the new environment. The new norms as well as characters were something to get used to.

"He wet the bed", Mic shared. It was good that Izuku wasn't with them. He would've been embarrassed that the adults were talking about him like this. At least they thought he would be.

Aizawa gave the loud blond a quick glare, indicating that he should say no more.

"But it was alright! We worked it out together!" Mic added.

Hisashi only nodded. It was like he had expected to hear that all. Maybe he had. He had had some time to think while he had been in prison. He could've even done some research.

"He eats anything we make him. He never makes a big fuss about it. Only when there is something rare he doesn't like", Aizawa continued, "It's really nice when someone appreciates your cooking like that."

"Like pickles", All Might added.

"Yes, he doesn't like pickles."

The sun began to slowly set as the group continued with their conversation. Hisashi listened as they all talked about their experiences with his son. He nodded his head and commented from time to time, choosing to mostly stay silent and just listen. He was tired and hardly had a voice to talk with either.

"He made a friend. Kinda", it was All Might's turn to tell a story, "Izuku met this little girl in the burger place we went to. They seemed to have quite a lot of fun together. I hope she'd be in the same daycare too. It'd be fun if he had someone he knew there."

"Have you looked into any places yet?" the nurse asked. It was just her in the room. The doctor had had to leave before to check on his other patients. He promised to be back later in the evening for a check-up.

"Some. The progress is slow though", Aizawa told her. It was hard for two adults who had hardly ever even taken care of a child to suddenly look for a daycare for a special needs child. It wasn't like they weren't ready for the challenge though. A hero never gave up.

"My friend's nephew has some learning problems. I could give you his daycare's number", the nurse suggested, fishing her phone out of her pocket, "Here. I'm sure Hayden can give you a list of good options as well. Hasn't she given you one yet?"

"Thank you. Everyone has been such a huge help. We'll call all the places and make sure we make the right decision. And yes, she mailed us list. We've had a look at it."

"We really need to get Izuku's opinion on this", All Might added, "We don't want to make the decision for him. We're not the ones going to that daycare, after all."

"Shouldn't you have a field trip day and visit some of the top options?" Kurogiri proposed, "Izuku has liked going out, right? You could have some fun. Maybe a picnic while the weather is still warm and nice?"

"A good idea", Aizawa agreed.

"Agreed", the nurse cheered, "I bet Izuku would love making the lunch with you guys too. It's a great idea!"

All Might nodded.

"I-I should talk to the prison staff. I really can't make you pay for this all. I have some money left on my account, I'm sure", Hisashi mumbled. He had listened the daycare talk intently. He liked the idea that Izuku would be going. He could finally make some friends and socialize. Something he had never given him the chance to do before.

"Hisashi. Isn't it a bit late for that?" Kurogiri's eyes looked like they were smiling. They were just small lines on the otherwise dark face. It looked weird to someone who wasn't used to the smoky appearance of the man.

"You're right", Aizawa shrugged his shoulders, "If we wanted or needed any money from you, don't you think we would've asked for it already? We're doing this because we want to."

"Yeah. We like the kid", All Might agreed.

"I like him too! Yeah!" Mic agreed as well, "I'll treat him if I want to! Yeah!"

"Thank you for your input Mic", Aizawa shoved the blond's face. Aizawa was annoyed. The man was being too loud, like always.

"I still feel like I need to give you the child support at least", Hisashi tried again, "Please. Let me do this much at least. I want to do something for him."

The heroes were surprised with the change of character Hisashi displayed. Whether it was the time spent in the prison, the beating or the dream he had had, Hisashi really had had quite a change of heart from the last time they met. Last time he wouldn't even have discussed about the topic much less offered money.

"I feel like I've lived in a haze and I've managed to open my eyes just recently."

Kurogiri listened to his friend speak. He had always known that Hisashi wasn't the Villain he always made himself to be. He had gone through a lot of trauma before in his life and now even more through these past couple months. His mind had surely done cartwheels as he tried to put his beliefs and thoughts in order once more. Kurogiri was happy that he had come so far.

"It is nice to hear all that but we really don't want your money", Aizawa sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "Money isn't the issue here."

"We want you to be a part of his life again", All Might nodded, "You are Izuku's parent. You are his father."

Hisashi's eyes watered, "D-Do you think he'd want to see me? He hates me for sure. He'll run away from me."

"It didn't look like that before. You talked, right? Izuku was worried about you."

"You could come see me."

"We have visiting hours every day", the guard added, "Families and friends are very welcome but please let us know that you're coming in advance."

Hisashi watched as his guard wrote down the visiting hours for the two. He knew he could never be a real father to Izuku again. The law wouldn't allow that. His mind couldn't take that either. He simply couldn't be in charge of another human being. Hisashi would need to come in terms with his own demons and learn to take care of himself again.

"Aizawa! Yagi! Look!" Izuku barged in through the door. He held a book high above his head. His eyes sparkled with excitement.

The psychologist, Hayden had had time for a single knock before the boy had decided to just step in. She followed behind, nodding her apologies with a playful smile.

"Thank you for bringing him back", the nurse thanked her. She had originally been supposed to fetch Izuku after the two were done with their meeting.

"No problem", Hayden nodded, "Excuse me. I need to get back to work. I really would love to stay but I can't."

"It's alright. I'll bring you coffee later. The good kind."

"Thank you", Hayden left, closing the door behind her. Izuku gave her a quick hug before she left. Hayden gladly hugged him back.

Aizawa and All Might looked at the exchange, pleased with how open Izuku was with her. Hayden really had worked her magic on the boy.

"What do you have there?" All Might asked as he crouched down to see what Izuku was so excited about. It was rather hard when the boy didn't stay still for even a second. He was a blur.

"A book!" Izuku exclaimed, waving the notebook around.

"I can see that. Why do you have that?"

"Cause Miss Hayden gave it to me! Isn't she nice? She is super nice!"

"Yes. She is really nice. Can I have a look?"

Izuku reluctantly gave up his precious book. He leaned close to watch All Might flip through the notebook, looking at its contents.

"Look! I did those", Izuku pointed to the exercises he had completed before. There were stickers and green pencil all over them. Hayden had taught Izuku how to grade too. He had practiced a bit.

"That's really good!" All Might smiled. He was so proud. He himself had never really enjoyed anything academic. He preferred doing something physical.

"What? What do you two have there?" Aizawa and Mic leaned in as well, looking to see what the commotion was all about.

"Ooh! Awesome!" Mic gave Izuku a huge thumbs up as soon as he saw what Izuku had done. He also ruffled the boy's curly hair, messing it up even more.

"That is really great Izuku", Aizawa was much calmer than the two other heroes. He crouched down as well, taking the book from All Might. Looking through the exercises Izuku had already done, Aizawa nodded his head every once in a while, proud of their little protégé.

"Do you like math? Do you like counting things?" Aizawa asked, "Would you like to learn something else as well?"

"I want to!" Izuku told him, "I want to learn a lot!"

Spreading his hands wide, Izuku showed how much exactly. It earned a smile from the raven head.

"That is good. I'm sure you'll learn very fast."

"Will I get to go to a daycare? Hayden said that I would get to learn more there."

"Yes. We were actually talking about that just now. Would you like to go to a daycare?"

"Yes!" Izuku jumped up and down, clearly excited, "I want to go to daycare!"

"I bet you'll get a ton of new friends", Mic nodded.

"Actually. Izuku. We have been looking into daycares. Do you think you'd like to go to a small road trip to go and visit some places? We have three places we'd like to visit at least."

"I want to go!" Izuku nodded furiously, "When will we go? When?"

"Aren't you excited!" All Might laughed, "How does tomorrow sound then?"

Aizawa coughed a bit. Tomorrow might be a bit tight.

"Yeah!" Izuku agreed.

"Tomorrow it is!" All Might nodded, patting Aizawa's back. They'd make it work.

Aizawa sighed, "I'll make some phone calls."

"You're the man", the blond winked.

"Kurogiri! Look!" Izuku now focused his attention back on his notebook and set to show it to everyone else in the room.

"This is amazing Izuku", Kurogiri complimented the boy as soon as he laid his eyes on the contents of the pages. He lifted Izuku onto his lap and put the book in front of them.

"Really?"

"Really really", Kurogiri smiled, "I'm so proud of you."

"What? Show me", Hisashi's quiet voice came from the bed.

Kurogiri watched Izuku, who gave him a firm nod. Having gotten the permission, the man gave the item to the older Midoriya.

"Izuku, what is this?" Hisashi asked, looking through each and every exercise. Every number and every letter.

"M-Miss Hayden gave it to me. She said that I could have it", Izuku stuttered nervously. Hisashi's voice had sounded cold to his ears.

"Why?"

"So that I could practice."

"That's good. Math is very important."

Izuku tilted his head in confusion. He didn't quite catch that part.

"I-I said that you did good. I'm proud of you", it was Hisashi's turn to stutter. He blushed and turned his head away.

The others in the room watched the interaction. This had been the first time any of them had heard the man compliment his son. It had come out very quiet but it had definitely been there.

"You'll be going to daycare then?" Hisashi smiled a small smile. It looked slightly forced and more like a grimace or a smirk than a honest smile.

"Yep!" Izuku was sitting on Kurogiri's lap by the bedside. He kept looking at the many machines and tubes coming from his father. He looked like a robot lying there on the bed.

Hisashi slowly lifted his hand, indicating that he wanted Izuku to hold it. The boy did as he was told.

"Promise me one thing, Izuku. Can you do that for me?" the man asked.

Izuku nodded, his curls bouncing as he did so.

"Make a lot of friends. I don't care how well you do with your homework. Of course I want you to do well but that isn't all that there is to it. School isn't all about math or even literature. I know your mother would've wanted me to tell you this", Hisashi's voice was raspy as he recounted to Izuku what he and Inko had always talked about. They were a good example. They had met and began dating when they had still been in school. The social interactions were just as important as the academics.

"How was she? Was mom good at math?" Izuku asked. He had always loved whenever Hisashi was in good enough mood to talk about his mother.

Hisashi let out a short laugh. It ended up sounding more like a sigh than an actual laugh though. He really wasn't good at this.

"She was average. All the teachers liked her although she never got a perfect score on any of their tests."

"Why did they like her then?"

"Because she was so much fun to be around", Hisashi said, "She was a great talker, always greeting and talking to everyone."

"Did she have a lot of friends?"

"Yes. It was hard for me to keep up with all of them."

"What did she like?"

"Favorite subject in school?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm. I can't really say. She never told me."

Izuku and his father talked for about half an hour before the man fell asleep. The medicine made him drowsy. It was amazing enough that he had managed to stay awake for as long as he had.

"Are you hungry?" the nurse pet Izuku's head, "Should I go get you a small snack?"

"Thank you for the offer but I think we should go home. It's been a long day", Aizawa watched Izuku's head begin to nod as well, "We'll be back tomorrow. Don't worry"

"I understand. All four of you look like you could use a good sleep in your own beds", the nurse smiled, "There's only as much as coffee can do."

"Agreed."

Kurogiri had already handed Izuku to All Might, nodding them his goodbyes.

"I'll call you if anything comes up", he said.

"Thank you", Aizawa opened the door for All Might. He himself took the stuff they had had with them from the previous all-nighter.

"Wait! Wait for me!" Mic scrambled after the family, "I'll come with you!"

All Might drove them home.

Mic sat next to him while Aizawa sat on the backseat with Izuku. The boy had fallen asleep quickly after being buckled into his booster seat. It was justified. The day had been a long one.

"Hey hey hey. Do you really think the old man was in his right mind back there? Didn't you say he was a heartless criminal? I surely couldn't have heard it that wrong", Mic piped up. His voice was only a bit above a whisper which itself was a feat coming from him and his Quirk. This was a topic he didn't want Izuku to hear. Not now.

"I have to agree with you for once. He is on a lot of medicine at the moment. His brain is still shaken as well. It would be no surprise if his mind was-"

"Fucked up?"

"If you want to put it that way", the raven head sighed, "In any case, we need to see how the things are when he is off of all the medicine and feeling better. Then we will hopefully hear his real opinion."

"Is it terrible for me to think those were his real feelings?" All Might piped in, joining the conversation as he stopped at a stop sign.

"Coming from you, no, Mr. Positive", Mic smiled, "I feel you though. We'd all like him to really think that way. He was talking with his son back there! It was amazing!"

"You could've almost forgotten what happened."

"Almost", Aizawa mumbled,

The two other adults nodded. You can't forget.

After a couple minutes of comfortable silence, only occasionally cut by a yawn from one of the car's occupants, Mic opened his mouth once more.

"Have you really been looking into those daycares? Moreover, you have a list?"

"I think we got a second list from the nurse today We'll add it to the many we already have", Aizawa shrugged, "Everyone has helped a lot."

The streetlights flashing by reflected on their faces. The evening was quickly turning dark. The early autumn nights were getting longer and longer by the day.

Izuku would be needing thicker clothes soon. That would mean another shopping day. Hoping that a certain woman was working that day, the two heroes dreaded the day.

"We haven't only looked into them. We have made some phone calls already", All Might added with a smile.

The two heroes had been really productive during the past couple days. The time when Hisashi had been unconscious had been fruitful. It wasn't like they had much else to do. They had already arranged two meetings. All they would have to do is call and agree on a date and time.

The first place the two had called to was on the edges of the town. It specialized in special needs children. They had told them that they had kids everywhere from bad home environments to children with physical or mental disabilities. They even had medical staff present to take care of any possible emergencies during the day. The woman they had talked to had seemed very professional. She had clearly been doing this for a very long time.

The second place was near their apartment complex. Its website had given a really good first impression. Even though it was a regular daycare, the man who had answered their call had assured them that they were very well suited to take care of kids with special needs as well. All their workers had the basic education. One had a degree in pedagogy and had actually been in special education before taking this job. The daycare's main philosophy was to treat their little friends as individuals. An interview for a new arrival was one of the ways they followed that.

Although the first place might've sounded like the obvious choice, the two heroes had really liked the second one better. It was much closer, meaning that Izuku could be walked there. It was also a normal daycare, just what little Izuku needed. Of course, he had his problems, but that was also exactly why he needed a normal environment right now. Izuku didn't need to label himself at this point. He was just a normal child. He could build up his confidence and make friends, not having to worry about anything else. Everyone was special in their own way, some just a bit more than others.

"Will you be going tomorrow?" Mic asked. They were nearing their destination already. Mic could tell. The scenery from the windows was starting to look familiar to the Voice Hero. He hardly visited this part of the town. Even his work didn't bring him here that often. His friends' apartment was his best landmark around the neighborhood.

"If Izuku is feeling up to it", Aizawa nodded. Izuku had snuggled to the man's side at some point. Aizawa was like a statue, afraid that he'd wake the boy up if he moved even an inch. He was also fighting a sneeze.

Mic leaned to see what the two were up to in the backseat. Aizawa had sounded quite stiff. It was unlike him. Aizawa's voice was usually dull, not stiff.

As he did, Mic tried his best to hold back his laughter, "Sho-chan? You alright in there?"

"Quite okay. Thank you for your concern", the raven head mumbled back. If Izuku wasn't sleeping, Aizawa would've surely pinched the man's nose or something. It was amazing how much the blond always managed to annoy Aizawa. No matter the situation.

"That's like your favorite shirt man. It's ruined now", Mic snorted, doing his best to control the volume of his voice as well as the uncontrollable laughter.

"Nothing a wash can't fix."

Izuku was drooling, the liquid dripping right onto Aizawa's shirt. There was a dark spot already forming there.

"Does he always drool like this?" Mic smirked as he watched his friend look so powerless.

"Sometimes", All Might shrugged, "Don't we all?"

Mic looked over his shoulder at the two again, dodging a crumbled ball of paper Aizawa threw at him.

"You're really going to be in trouble in the future, you know", the blond told them, changing the subject, "You'll become one of those parents who will do anything their kids say."

Mic then switched to a high-pitched voice, "Mommy, mommy. Can you buy me a puppy? I want a puppy. Why can't I have a puppy? Hey, mommy. Why?"

The performance earned an eye-roll from the back seat and a nervous laugh from All Might behind the wheel.

"It's true! They'll grow up and start wanting this and that", Mic spread his arms trying to get his point through.

"You really like your stereotypes, don't you?" Aizawa sighed, "It's all in the discipline. We all know Izuku isn't like that."

All Might turned the car into their parking spot and shut the engine.

"If you keep this up he will be. He'll be spoiled rotten", Mic opened the door and exited the car. He walked over and opened the door for Aizawa as well.

Aizawa gave the man a glare. He knew the man was just teasing them, striking where he knew it might hurt. Mic was like that. He didn't mean it though. Both Aizawa and All Might were very aware of that. As long as Mic got a laugh out of it, he'd do it.

"Say anything wrong and you'll be the one rotting", Aizawa finally mumbled, turning his attention to Izuku. He shook the boy, trying to wake him up as gently as possible.

"Okay, okay. Calm down momma bear", Mic smiled.

Aizawa finally decided to take Izuku to bed as he was. He wasn't waking up, only mumbling as Aizawa tried his many techniques. It was late evening already and Izuku's bedtime was in about an hour as well. They could try and get the boy into his pajamas and put him to bed for the day.

"Give me a cup of coffee and I'll help you with the calls", Mic offered, watching Aizawa try and open the door with one hand. He fumbled with the keys before he finally got the door open, pushing it with his hips.

All Might and Mic had their hands full. They had stopped for a quick trip to the store, buying food for the next couple days. Aizawa had waited in the car with Izuku, trusting that the two would manage with the list he had given them. They did fine, only adding a couple extra items into the cart when the other wasn't looking.

"If you help put the groceries away, I'll give you cookies with that", All Might told him.

"It's a deal."