Chapter 8
The winter was becoming one of Izuku's favorite months. Back in Musutafu, infrastructure needed to be kept free of obstruction, and the city had several people with suitable Quirks ready to clear away any snowfall at a moment's notice. Izuku's Quirkless background kept him isolated for most of his childhood as well, so the last time he could remember participating in an activity like snowball fights or sledding was before his diagnosis, well more than a decade ago.
With the weather preventing crop growth, the two farmers found themselves in a much more flexible position. They would still go spelunking into the mines or catch fish, but it's not like the lakes or caverns would be going anywhere, so the two could afford to work at their own pace. Such as Kyoka finding out that Izuku had not had a proper snow day in over a decade and deciding to put all their plans on hold to rectify such a travesty.
They were not the only ones with such an idea, as when the two entered the forest Kyoka immediately heard distant shouts and childish squeals. Venturing further into the woods, the farmers found Jas and Vincent pelting each other with snowballs while Sam and Penny were busy making more ammunition for the children. Off to the side, safely out of conflict, Abigail and Sebastian worked together on creating a malformed snowman that reminded Izuku more of the earth beasts made by Pixie-Bob than anything remotely humanoid.
Vincent was the first to spot the farmers, "Hi Izuku! Hi Kyoka!" The boy called out before being pelted in the back of the head by Jas while he was distracted. While Vincent returned his focus on the game, Izuku and Kyoka walked up to the other couple to inspect their handiwork. "Hey guys, enjoying the weather?" Abigail asked after adding the 5th rock eye to her creation.
"Yep, but it's a special occasion today." A curious tilt from Abigail's head prompted Kyoka to continue. "Izuku here has never been in a snowball fight." Abigail let out a mock gasp of surprise, "Seriously, that's just unacceptable! Even Seb's been in a snowball fight before!"
"Hey!"/"What's that supposed to mean?" Both boys called out in unison, gaining the attention of the other four. It was quickly decided that such a thing would not stand. "Alright," Said Izuku, "Are we forming teams? Or is it just one big…" Izuku was interrupted as the five present young adults hit him with snowballs before fleeing into the forest, each in a different direction. After a brief moment of confusion, Jas and Vincent threw a small snowball each, hitting him in the chest before they ran off together as well. "Free for all." He spoke out to no one.
An afternoon of skirting around trees and laying snow filled ambushes ensued. Izuku adjusted rather quickly, treating the game like some form of Hero exercise. The two farmers quickly became the focus of the game, as their training under Aizawa meant the two were adept at hiding the noise of their movement, even in snow, and Kyoka's enhanced hearing made any attempts at sneaking up on her useless. What began as a free for all slowly became a six on two match, and despite the disparity in numbers, Izuku and Kyoka were not only holding their own, but largely winning.
Their victory was short lived however, as Izuku threw a snowball that hit Sam in the forehead, and he fell to the ground. Izuku almost turned his focus away when he realized the blond wasn't getting up. Fearing the worst, streaks of green lightning flared behind him as Izuku rushed to the fallen boy. Right into a trap.
Sam's eyes snapped open as he sandwiched Izuku's head between two handfuls of snow, while Penny came up from behind and dumped an armful down the back of his shirt. Confused, disorientated, and very, very cold, Izuku didn't notice as Abigail, Sebastian, Vincent, Jas, and even Kyoka emerged from the tree line to assault the verdanette.
As Izuku lied on the ground, utterly defeated, Kyoka sauntered up to the snow caked farmer. "You doin' alright there, Mop-Top?" she asked, before seeing that the joint assault had left his once green hair entirely covered in snow. "Or maybe it should be Snow-Top now?" Izuku let out a soft, muffled groan before being helped up by the violette. "That was terrible." He said while shaking his hair free of any remaining frozen particulate. "What, the icy beatdown you just got or the joke?" Kyoka asked. "Yes."
With all the fight taken out of the young farmer, Izuku and Kyoka decided to head back to the farmhouse and warm up. After all, what snow day was complete without an evening filled with hot drinks and shared company. Izuku was much more familiar with this side of the winter months than Kyoka. Without a reason to go out and enjoy the snow, the Midoriya's had a small tradition of making hot chocolate and baking cookies on their days off. While the Jiro's spent time together, Kyoka's parents possessed culinary talents that could be called decent at best, and instead filled their cold winter nights together with music and takeout.
After a simple dinner together, Izuku started to teach Kyoka some of his mother's baking recipes to keep the family tradition going, while Kyoka went to put on one of her new albums she bought from Zuzu city. Just as the pair were about to place the portioned-out dough into the oven, the two heard a knock on the door.
Izuku opened the door to find a distressed looking Marnie. "Hello Izuku, Kyoka." The woman looked into the house and saw the used bowls and baking trays. "Oh, I'm sorry for interrupting your evening."
"It's not a problem," Izuku reassured her. "Did you need anything?"
Marnie nervously fiddled with her hands while speaking, "I just came over to ask if either of you had seen Shane. I haven't heard from him after his shift at the JojaMart."
"Neither of us have seen Shane at all." Kyoka spoke over Izuku's shoulder, "Doesn't he usually spend some time at the Saloon in the evening?" Her question only seemed to make Marnie even more nervous. "I stopped by to ask Gus if he had seen him at all, but he hasn't seen Shane either. Clint said he saw him take the path that leads to our house, but he didn't come home."
A small pit started to form in Izuku's stomach. He hoped that this was simply a case of Shane taking some time to enjoy the fresh snow fall after a shift at work, but something told him otherwise. "Has Shane been acting… off, at all?"
"I suppose he's been in a bad mood for a few days. Well, more than usual anyway. But today he did seem out of it. I could barely get him to talk at all during breakfast." By now Marnie had to wipe away small tears that had been forming in the corners of her eyes. "I… I thought it was nothing to worry about, but now that no one knows where he is…"
Izuku and Kyoka didn't need her to finish to understand what was implied, and the part of them that were still Heroes kicked in. While Kyoka shut off the oven to avoid burning down the house and grabbing their winter gear, Izuku was busy calming Marnie. "Kyoka and I will look for Shane," The rancher tried to interject but the young Hero kept talking. "We can search the forest quickly, and right now I think it's best for you and Jas to be there for each other. We'll find him Marnie, I promise."
The sudden shift in Izuku's demeanor left Marnie stunned for a moment, only able to nod in agreement to Izuku's plan before making her way back to her property. Never before had Aizawa's lectures on not wasting time when changing seem so important, and the pair had slipped into their winter gear in record time. The two quickly split off after reaching the south end of the farm leading into the forest, Kyoka headed deep into the woods to hopefully pick something up with her Quirk while Izuku pumped as much percentage into Full Cowling as he could and raced off to the far end of the forest. If Shane planned to… do something drastic, the most likely spot would be the cliff face at the southmost end of the forest.
As Izuku burst through the tree line, he was relieved to find what looked like Shane, but the fact he was lying face down in the snow and surrounded by empty beer cans did not paint a pretty picture. "Shane? Can you hear me?" Izuku asked the prone man while the lightning faded from his body.
The question got a response from the drunken man, mostly incoherent grumbling, until he briefly lifted his face to look towards Izuku. "Hey I-izu… kid. Why… why're you out late?"
Izuku walked up to sit down next to Shane, placing his feet over the ledge. "Me and Kyoka were out looking for you. A lot of people got worried when you didn't come home."
"Shit… sorry you two got caught up in… this." Shane slurred out. "I… I don't know why I'm *hic* even here."
"You mean the cliffside? I'm pretty sure you got drunk and…"
"No!" Shane cut the verdanette off, "Why I'm even still alive. All… all I do is work, sleep, and drink just to get through the day… Why… should I even *hic* bother… I should just roll o… off this cliff…"
Izuku grabbed hold of Shane's arm, just in case he tried to go through with anything. "Shane, you're not in a healthy state of mind right now and doing something drastic like that is never a good solution. Come on, let's get you home and tomorrow we'll…"
Shane attempted to throw off the boy's hand with all the force he could muster, which given his state wasn't that much. "Th-fuck do you k… know? You're just a kid, you s…still got hope. I'm just some… useless fuckin' waste of space…"
The sudden outburst left Izuku in a conundrum. Nothing was stopping him from just picking up Shane and bringing him back to Marnie, in fact that was probably what he should do. But just leaving the man like this felt wrong. When Izuku was growing up, he wanted to be a Hero that made people feel better just by being around. Even in a world that didn't have or need Heroes, Izuku couldn't just leave a situation alone if he could do something to help, even if it was just slightly.
"Before Kyoka and I moved here, the people I grew up with… well, they weren't kind. It seemed like everyone hated me, told me I was just some worthless freak… useless…"
"Th…that musta sucked."
Izuku let out a small laugh at Shane's eloquence. "Yeah, pretty much. I just tried to tough it out, hope someday I could prove everything they said about me wrong… but then one day, my f-" Izuku cut himself off. After over 3 months of separation, it had been slowly dawning on him that Katsuki was never really his friend. Even if they were close as toddlers, even if he sometimes stopped others from abusing him, a decade of poor treatment wasn't just some bump in a relationship. While the two had grown to some form of mutual respect after their fight at Ground Beta, it was far from any sort of friendship. "The person I thought was my best friend told me to 'take a swan dive off the roof.' And you know… I thought about it. Only for a moment, and I decided I would never do something like that, but in that moment... going on just didn't seem that appealing."
"Shit… I-I'm sorry I snapped at you… I-" Shane mumbled out, clearly setting up for another self-detrimental spiel.
"Hey, it's alright. I didn't tell you all that to make you feel bad. My point is that I thought of the people… or at that time I guess it was just the one person that was there for me, and that was enough to keep me going until things got better. It may not seem like it now, but you have a lot of people that care. I know it will probably take a while, and this probably won't be the last time you feel like you would be better off dead, but things will get better. And I know everyone in this town is more than happy to help."
At first Izuku thought the silence following his speech was a positive, and that Shane was simply digesting the information before responding, but the continuing lack of a response quickly set him on edge. Izuku was just about to check and make sure the man didn't pass out when he finally heard Shane speak. "Hey kid…"
"Yeah?"
"I think you should take me to the hospital now…"
Needing no further prompting, Izuku picked the man up while making sure his head was tilted just in case he vomited. A rustling sound caught his attention before he saw Kyoka emerge from the edge of the forest, relived to see Shane alive and… not really that well. But alive, nonetheless.
The trip to Harvey's clinic took longer than Izuku would have liked, but ensuring Shane wasn't thrown around from running at full speed kept Izuku from rushing ahead. Kyoka ran ahead of him to alert Harvey to the situation, and Izuku arrived to find the Doctor had already prepped a bed for the man.
"Thank you for bringing him in. I'll call Marnie and let her know, you two should go home and get some rest after a stressful evening like this." Harvey said while he prepared the equipment to pump Shane's stomach and rehydrate him after. "I know an excellent counselor in Zuzu city. Depression is never easy, especially mixed with substance abuse, but she does good work." Reassured that Shane would be getting treated physically and mentally, the two farmers listened to the good doctor's orders and went home to finish their baking and get some rest.
As the pair passed the bus stop, Kyoka broke the silence first. "So, I'm guessing that 'friend' who told you to jump was Bakugou, right?"
"Y-you heard that?" Izuku stammered out.
"I thought I heard Shane shouting something, but when I got close you were already talking about… that. Didn't really seem like a good time to interrupt."
"Well, thanks for letting me finish. But yeah… that was Katsuki."
"Well, it's not like I could pay him back for that, no matter how much I want to." Kyoka squeezed Izuku's hand. The idea of her boyfriend considering the thought of committing suicide, even for just a moment, made Kyoka want to keep him as close as possible. At least for the evening. "I'm just glad you didn't listen to him."
Now at the threshold of their home, Izuku brought his lover into a tight hug. Whether it was for himself or Kyoka, he wasn't really sure. "Yeah, me too."
As Izuku bid farewell to Gunther and closed the door behind him, he heard Kyoka speak from her position on the sofa, "So what did he want?" The farmer flopped back onto the sofa to continue where he left off on the pair's busy day filled with 'fuck all'. "Gunther came by to say from all the stuff we donated the museum is being offered some award for 'significant contributions to the field.'" Izuku dug into his pants pocket to fish out the small trinket the curator passed as a reward. "He also said he wanted us to keep this old key."
Kyoka took the key from his hands to look it over. While it had obviously been quite beautiful once, the years had taken their toll. Much of the key's surface was covered in rust, and even the few bits of exposed metal had been tarnished and discolored, but still bore impressive engraving that would have taken quite some time to finish. The overall shape of the object was intact, and the key would likely still work, but that was only if the two could find the lock to which it matched. "So, we find all these gems and artifacts, enough for the museum to earn an award… and he gives us some old key?"
"That is what I just said, yes." The time he had spent with Kyoka had given the verdanette a rather dry sense of humor, and while he could never quite match the girl quip for quip, he did have his moments.
"Did he even say what it unlocks?" Kyoka asked while handing the key back. Izuku pocketed it before responding, "No, but I think I have an idea." A quirked eyebrow was enough for him to continue. "Do you remember that old, rusted hatch near the cemetery that leads to the sewers?"
Kyoka let out an exasperated groan. "Are you really going to drag me out to go explore the sewers, on our day off?"
"No," Izuku wrapped his arms around Kyoka before dragging her down with himself to lay on the couch. "we're doing that tomorrow." He felt one of the girl's earphone jacks snake its way down his chest, stopping at the spot closest to his heart. The first time it happened, the day after the two made their mutual feelings clear, it had been a subconscious act, but one that soon became a regular occurrence. By now Kyoka actually had problems falling asleep unless she was listening to the steady, calming beat of her boyfriend's heart. Not that either of the two were complaining about it.
"Fine…"
The next day before the two ventured to the mines, hoping that this trip would be the one that would have them reach the bottom, the farmers took a detour to inspect the locked grate that blocked an old sewer tunnel. Normally Izuku wouldn't bother with entering the sewers and instead simply check if the key did in fact open the way up to sate his curiosity. However, early in the spring, he came across Vincent and Jas by an old sewer tunnel that let out near the forest, trying to figure out a way inside to explore. As he moved closer, the two must have heard something that spooked them, as they quickly ran from the dark tunnel and hid behind his legs. At the time Izuku had chalked it up to overactive imaginations and the wind echoing off the walls inside. Of course, the two farmers had seen stranger occurrences than sewer dwelling creatures by this point, so they felt a quick check was warranted.
A soft click rang out as Izuku inserted and turned the key, and with a slight heave (at least slight for him) the rusted over hinges squeaked and groaned as the grate was forced open.
The smell was… actually not that bad. It was still a sewer, and the scent could be described as anything but pleasant, but either this was a remarkably clean sewer or the two had a surprisingly high tolerance for foul stenches. As the two descended a ladder, instead of the expected pitch-black tunnels, they found the area lit up by wall mounted lights. Izuku walked forward and turned to his left, facing the nearest light. It wasn't any form of lantern, but what looked like a small, dim globe of pure light. Not only was something living down in the sewers, but it either had access to or used magic.
As Izuku lost himself in thought trying to deduce just what exactly was going on, Kyoka saw a dark, vaguely humanoid mass peek around a corner. As her eyes adjusted to the light level, she realized it wasn't just shrouded in shadow, but entirely composed of shadows. The earphone jack user was quick to spring into action, "Get back!" she shouted while shoving Izuku behind her and moving her jacks to be ready to strike. Even though this Shadow Person was smaller than the Shadow Brutes that dwelled in the mines, Kyoka wasn't about to take her chances. Upon seeing the girl enter a combat ready stance, the Shadow Person let out a timid "Eeep!" before darting around the corner.
Out of all the things the two expected from the monster, from a sudden charge or strange magics, a yelp of fear and fleeing was far from top of the list. Both farmers were at a loss on what to do. Clearly it wasn't hostile like the Shadow Brutes, but trying to pursue might risk being attacked out of fear. Izuku took a few steps forward before speaking "Uh… hello there. I'm sorry if we scared you." There was a brief period of silence before a quiet voice was heard from around the corner. "Are… are you going to hurt me?"
Kyoka winced at the question and decided to try and reconcile with the monster. "No, we aren't. The Shadow People we met in the mines attacked us on sight, so when I saw you, I jumped to conclusions… sorry."
"It's alright… and I'm sorry for scaring you…" The monster peeked his head out again, and seeing that the two farmers no longer looked hostile, stepped out from around the corner. Like his kin, the Shadow Person was entirely composed of a black mass that reminded the two of Dark Shadow, the sentient Quirk of their classmate Tokoyami. The one in front of them was smaller and seemed to lack arms. "Hello, my name is Krobus. I'm a merchant of sorts. Mostly I just sell things I find to other monsters like myself, or sometimes the Wizard, Rasmodius. But my shop is open to all."
Izuku walked up and extended a hand, before realizing his mistake. Just as he was about to apologize, Krobus' body shifted, and part of his torso extended to meet the farmer's. After a moment of shock, the boy recovered before speaking. "I'm Izuku, and this is Kyoka. We moved here recently." A spark of recognition flashed across Krobus' (lack of) eyes. "Oh, the Wizard mentioned you two before. He said you were really friendly."
With introductions out of the way, Kyoka moved closer to ask the Shadow Person some questions. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you living in the sewers?"
"W-well, for the most part my people don't really like humans… and humans tend to destroy things they don't understand." Another wince from the violette. "I wanted to experience more of the world than an underground cave, and the Wizard was kind enough to help me set up a shop down here."
"So, you moved out of an underground cave and into… an underground sewer system?" Asked a very confused Izuku. Krobus didn't seem to notice the farmers bewilderment. "Yep! It gets so humid down here when it rains. It's great!"
'Well, if it makes him happy…' Izuku thought to himself. "We we're just checking to make sure nothing dangerous was down here, but it was nice to meet you Krobus." With no more reason to stick around, the two-bid farewell to the shadowy merchant and promised to visit his store sometime in the future.
The two made their way to the cave entrance that held the mines and took the elevator down to the lowest floor available. While the elevator car descended deep into the crust of the earth, Kyoka turned to her boyfriend. "Hey Izu…" the boy turned his head to face her.
"If we find more Shadow People, can we… not… fight them?" The knowledge that the Shadow People were in fact sentient gave the farmers incentive to avoid any unnecessary confrontation with the monsters. "I was about to say we should probably avoid them if we can." As the elevator slowed to a halt and the doors opened, the two stepped out with new conviction, and got to work.
Izuku was practically vibrating from excitement during the short walk from the farmhouse to the town. Afterall, it wasn't Christmas every day. Well, to be more accurate, today was the 'Feast of the Winter Star', but with the candy cane decorations, large pine trees adorned with ornaments and presents underneath, and a town wide secret gift exchange, it was Christmas in all but name.
The Midoriya duo had always held a rather small celebration on the 25th, a day full of Christmas themed All Might specials ending in a large dinner and a few small gifts between the mother and son. The boy was always grateful for the time he got to spend with his mother who was usually busy with her job as a nurse. He might not have received as many presents or gone on expensive trips over winter break like his more affluent peers, but he never minded that much. 'Especially now that I have someone like Kyoka to celebrate with.' He thought while stealing a glance at the violette.
As both farmers drew near to the town center, the two placed wrapped packages underneath a towering pine tree to be retrieved latter for the gift exchange. Lewis had sent out letters a week ago to all the villagers saying who they would be the 'secret friend' of. Kyoka's gift recipient was Linus, an older man who lived a 'simplistic' lifestyle, living in a tent in the mountains out of his own volition. While the farmers were at first concerned that the man was destitute, an assumption made after finding Linus rummaging through trashcans, they respected his wishes and didn't pry or try to 'fix' his lifestyle.
Izuku's 'secret friend' was Clint, and the farmer had a much harder time deciding on a gift compared to Kyoka. The blacksmith pretty much lived his profession, and beyond an attraction to Emily that everyone except the girl in question knew about Izuku didn't have much of a lead on what he liked to do in his free time. Eventually the verdanette decided to get the man something that might give him a new hobby. Or anything to do besides blacksmithing.
The gift exchange wouldn't be held until after the actual feast, which most of the town considered the real attraction of the holiday, it was in the name after all. A sizable portion of town events had been defined by large banquets, even holidays like Spirit's Eve had been complimented by a lavish spread, although it was probably to be expected of an agriculture-based town. However, the offerings on display currently made the past events, bar possibly the Luau, look like cheap potlucks unworthy of being called a feast. From roast turkey and prime rib to mashed potatoes and stuffing, it seemed like every type of food the two farmers had associated with a western style Christmas diner was available, and in such a copious amount that the pair began to suspect a large majority of the town's tax payments went to funding this one holiday.
A few smaller tables for families circled around the larger 'community' tables. Kyoka and Izuku passed by Leah and Elliot, both of whom sat next to Gus while looking completely bored out of their skulls by his in-depth explanation of how he makes his artisanal candy canes, and sat down at a table with Marnie, Jas, and Shane. The rancher offered an invitation to dine with them as thanks for the… 'incident' with Shane, and while the two insisted that no thanks was necessary, they took up the offer, nonetheless.
Shane was looking much better since that night in the woods, although he was still having some issues with insomnia. Even though the health issues that came with long term alcohol abuse would take some time to show noticeable improvement, Shane was cautiously optimistic for the future. The fact he now was able to spend the money that used to go towards alcohol on other things (like gifts for Jas and Marnie) definitely helped motivate the man.
After some pleasant small talk and the revelation that Shane not only was a surprisingly good ranch hand but had also somehow bred blue colored chickens, the five went to work devouring the table full of food in front of them, not willing to let the meal go cold. After everyone had consumed their weight in turkey, stuffing, and non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice, Lewis announced the start of the secret gift exchange, and the two farmers split off to deliver their presents.
Kyoka approached the grey-haired hermit, who had stayed near the edge of the event after grabbing a plate of food. "Hey Linus, got something for you." She said with a grin before handing the man the gift. As Linus tore away the wrapping paper, underneath was a tightly rolled sleeping bag designed for winter weather. His eyes lit up as he unrolled the bag, "Why, this is a great gift! Thank you, Kyoka." With no care to any onlookers, he quickly zipped the bag around himself, wishing to test how it held up to the chill. 'Well, I'd say that was a success' the girl thought to herself as she watched Linus roll his way back to his tent. 'Maybe I should have gotten a color other than yellow though. He's starting to remind me of Aizawa.'
Meanwhile, Izuku approached the town's blacksmith with his gift. "Here you go Clint, I hope you like it!" Briefly shielding his eyes to avoid being blinded by the boy's smile, Clint unwrapped the present only to tilt his head in confusion at the farmers choice in gift, some basic kitchenware and a few cookbooks. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but why cooking stuff?"
"Well, you never really talked about doing anything besides blacksmithing, so I figured cooking might be a good hobby. Plus, you wouldn't have to go to the Saloon every day for dinner." The man seemed surprised by the response. "Oh, usually every year someone just gets me a new hammer. Y'know, because I'm a blacksmith." Clint absentmindedly flipped through the books, simply appreciating the fact someone got him a gift that didn't involve blacksmithing in some way. "Thank you Izuku, this means a lot."
As the pair of farmers met up by the central tree, Caroline and Harvey stopped by to deliver their own gifts. Caroline gave her fellow green-haired resident a porcelain tea set, and the doctor gave Kyoka an album from a band that was recommended to him, as well as a set of earplugs and a request to not play the music too loud and risk damaging her hearing.
With the gift swap over, most of the residents went home to have their own celebrations with family, while some of the social butterflies of the town stayed to chat and pick over whatever food was left. The two farmers bid farewell and made their way home. "Hard to believe it's been a year already." Kyoka said. "Doesn't really feel like it."
"Probably because it's been four months." The verdanette corrected.
The violette gave Izuku a smirk. "Yeah, I know that, but eventually we're going to have to get used to the way they measure time here. Might as well start now." She finished with a shrug.
As the two entered their home and set their gifts down, Izuku thought about how much his life had changed since that day at the mall. In four short months he already found himself calling this place home. "Well, if I knew we would be celebrating our anniversary of moving into town, I would have gotten you something."
"That's okay…" Kyoka turned to face Izuku, before pulling him into a deep kiss. "I've got everything I need."
Chapter 9
The evening sun slowly fell over the last day of fall, as Izuku sat on the front porch of a large farmhouse, looking out over the now cleared fields. In a secluded corner close to the forest, the last of the fall harvest fermented into wine while the farm animals lazily meandered back to their resting spots. The greenhouse, now rebuilt from ruins with the help of the Junimo's, stood tall, growing fruit by the bushel year-round. Speaking of the little forest sprits, after Kyoka and Izuku had completed all of their requests, they had fully repaired the old Community Center before returning to the forest. The farmers still saw them on occasion, sometimes a particularly curious or brave one would venture onto the farm or by the beach and would always offer a greeting to the two before running off to do… whatever they did.
It had been 1,095 days since the mall incident, and while most of the resident in the valley were concerned with the end of the season, today held special meaning for Izuku and Kyoka. Near the north-west corner of the farm a small shrine to the old owner was hidden away, overgrown with vegetation, and after the two had discovered it, they made sure to properly care for the small memorial. Kyoka had the idea of setting up a small shine of their own nearby, for the family and friends they had left back in Japan. They may not have been dead (Well, with how things were looking with the League of Villains, they hoped no one was dead), but it provided some needed closure. Izuku took it on himself to keep track of every 365th day after the mall incident, and on that day the couple promised to take some time and visit. It brought them some comfort to tell everyone back home how they were doing, and what strange happenings they found themselves mixed up in. Although this would be the first visit with more than the pair.
"Hey, you ready?" Izuku turned around in his chair look at his wife. With her ear jacks she carried several baskets filled with food and a blanket suitable for a small picnic. While she was capable of lifting objects with her cords before, the two found out that not only did consuming Stardrops strengthen the power of the vibrations she could emit, but the physical properties of her extra limbs as well. Kyoka could probably lift herself with her jacks alone by now, a few baskets was barely noticeable.
The reason she had to carry the baskets in such a way was because her hands were full with two small cloth bundles, one with a small tuft of green hair poking out, and the other purple.
Izuku stood up and gave his wife a quick kiss while taking the green-haired child into his arms. Kyoku was the eldest of a pair of paternal twins, although only by a few moments, and had a head of straight green hair and tiny auxiliary-cord-like nubs growing from his earlobes. The name was Kyoka's suggestion, as her parents once told her they decided on her name by combining theirs, and so the new parents combined Kyo and Ku together. Nana, born with tiny wisps of curly purple hair, was named after the 7th One for All holder, and the mentor of All Might. Both children had Kyoka's onyx eyes and Izuku's freckle pattern.
"Yeah, just took a moment to sit down. Everything should be ready for winter." A light tug at his neck made Izuku look down to find the culprit. Kyoku had reached out a hand to grab at a small, spiraling shell on a cord around his father's neck. Izuku and Kyoka wore matching pendants, both shells a beautiful cerulean blue, as they served a combination of engagement and wedding ring. "Well now, someone's feisty today." The verdanette teased while using his free hand to stop Kyoku from putting the pendant in his mouth.
"You don't know the half of it." Kyoka said while trying to stop Nana from preforming a similar act with her earphone jacks. "I think they started teething, because they've been trying to chew on anything they can get their tiny little hands on."
"Well, sound like you've had you're hands full." Izuku used a small tendril of Blackwhip to grab the items he set near his chair, some incense and a few small offerings for the two shrines, before leaning close to Kyoka's ear and whispering, "Maybe after we get these two to bed, I'll have to make it up to you."
"I'll hold you to that. Just keep it in your pants until we're back from the shrine." The woman responded with a smirk. Izuku was glad to have been told by the vestiges they could choose to not see his view whenever he was in a 'private' moment. As Nana put it once, being told by your successor that he named a child after you is touching. Being there for the conception is just disturbing.
The couple walked along the small path to the small sanctuary, ready to introduce the new additions to the Midoriya family, only for a familiar blue light to quickly envelope them as they reached the twin shrines.
The glow faded as quick as it came, and the family of four disappeared from the valley without a trace.
5 hours 3 minutes and 17 seconds since Midoriya and Jiro had vanished.
Aizawa was resting on a bench near the spot two of his students had disappeared. According to Nemuri, everything on her end went smoothly. The rest of Class 1-A were returned to the dorms, parents were contacted, and the combined 21 students and parents had safely arrived at the school grounds to await Midoriya and Jiro's return. Apparently, Iida had even organized the class into cleaning the entirety of the dorms, which sounded like Iida. You would think spending time with people like Uraraka or Midoriya would make him a little less uptight. Speaking of the Problem Child, Aizawa checked the time again.
5 hours 3 minutes and 44 seconds.
The underground Hero sighed to himself as he put his phone away. While logically he knew that time-limit based Quirks rarely, if ever, ended right as an hour or minute passed, it didn't make the wait any easier. The illogical part of his brain, the part Aizawa thought he buried in a ditch, was panicking and throwing out every possible scenario of why the two hadn't returned yet.
"They'll be alright Aizawa, just have a little faith." Yagi Toshinori comforted his coworker as he sat next to him on the bench. Aizawa gave the gaunt form of the former number one Hero a sideways glance, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh please, it's obvious your concerned about them." the voice of Recovery Girl came from the homeroom teacher's other side. "I've been known you from your first day of high school, and I can't recall a single time you were ever bouncing your leg like that." Aizawa looked down, and sure enough, the man hadn't noticed the nervous tick until it was pointed out to him. Slapping a hand down to halt the offending extremity, Aizawa turned back to the Youthful Heroine. "That doesn't prove anything."
The two Heroes beside him simply let out a small chuckle at his denial, while Aizawa silently wished he had been left to wait for the two alone. It made sense for the two to be here, wherever the two students ended up could potentially be dangerous so having Recovery Girl on hand to heal any possible injuries was a no brainer. And while he may not be an active Hero after the battle at Kamino Ward, Yagi still made people feel safe with his presence, a testament to his impact as the Symbol of Peace that even as a frail skeleton of a man, the Symbol never really went away. Plus, anyone that watched the two interact could tell that Midoriya and Yagi had a closer bond than either would admit, so he was brought along both his own sake as well as the students.
But right now, no amount of logical reasoning would make him put up with this absolute slander.
"You know what, I'll check the perimeter in case they show up outside this area, and you two can-" His complaints died on his lips, as Aizawa was blinded by a bright flash of blue light. Simultaneously cursing the eye strain and thanking whatever higher being was in control of his life (unless it was Nezu), the Hero waited for the light to fade and his vison return, hoping his students were alright.
Blinking away the last of the spots in his vision, Aizawa looked down at the hazy forms of what was certainly Midoriya and Jiro, who currently sat on the ground clearly blinded by the light even worse than Aizawa. The two were no longer dressed in their uniforms, now wearing what looked like casual clothing found in the west, and were surrounded by what looked like picnic baskets, their contents scattered on the floor. 'Okay, so they were probably gone for a while, but they at least had food.' As he moved forward to help the two off the floor, Aizawa's vision came into greater focus, and he noticed something else. The two looked noticeably older and had certainly grown in height. It was hard to tell with Jiro, but she had grown at least a few centimeters. Izuku on the other hand had shot up at least 20.
Izuku's vision recovered first, and briefly went into a panic. It ended the second he saw the violette next to him, before he began to look around his surroundings in confusion. "Wh-what happened? What's going on?" Either Yagi and Recovery Girl hadn't heard the boy speak out in English or elected to ignore it, as they had now recovered and approached the two, stopping alongside Aizawa. "Young Midoriya, Young Jiro, are you two all ri-?"
The skeletal blond was cut off, as two babies swaddled in small cloth bundles and being carried by Izuku and Kyoka, which had previously gone unnoticed by the three teachers, now started to cry. Despite the confusion, the pair was quick to begin soothing the crying infants and the trio got a better look at the sources of the noise. Two children, around five or six months old. One with straight green hair and the other a mess of purple curls, both with tiny freckle patterns exactly like Midoriya's.
As the two worked to calm their children(?), the U.A. teachers sat in stunned silence. Just as the crying abated, Aizawa spoke up to ask the two in front of him for an explanation into where they had gone and the details of how they acquired two infants.
"What?"
Well, he tried to.
"A-all Might? Aizawa? Why are you two here? Did you get hit with the Quirk too? But if so why did…" Just as Midoriya lost himself into a mutter storm as he tried to figure out what exactly was going on, he realized the sudden change of surroundings and quickly craned his head to look around. "Is this… the mall? But we were just…"
Toshinori put up a hand to interrupt his successor. "Yes, this is the Kiyashi Ward Mall. And for the how and why of things, do you two remember going on a shopping trip with your class and coming across a distressed young boy?" Izuku and Kyoka gave a small nod to confirm. "Well as I'm sure you two have likely figured out, the boy's Quirk sent you two to a different dimension, but it only lasts for a limited time until whoever is sent away returns. It's been about five hours since the boy's Quirk was used on you."
"Five hours!" Kyoka's panicked voice was met by confirmation from Aizawa. "Five hours and… about four minutes when the Quirk wore off."
"We were gone for three years! We thought we were never coming back…" The woman's distressed face was quickly replaced with one of horror. "Oh my god." She spoke out to herself. "If… if we weren't holding the twins…" Before she could entertain the terrifying thought of being separated from her children with no chance to see them again, Izuku took hold of Kyoka's hand to ground her.
"Kyoka, please look at me." Now snapped from the dark thoughts, Kyoka looked towards her husband. "It doesn't matter what would have happened because it didn't. We're still together, and we still have the twins. We may have gotten lucky, but it won't help to think about what could have been."
"Yeah… you're right." She said while running her thumb over Izuku's hand. While the two had their moment together, the three teachers sat to the side forgotten. Eventually Aizawa, still processing the new 'additions' his problem children had brought, decided he had enough for today. "I'm going to… call Nemuri. Or… someone." As he stood up and walked away, Recovery Girl and Toshinori heard a faint "I don't get paid enough for this…"
"Alright, you two love birds can stare into each other's eyes all you want latter," Recovery Girl interrupted the two, "But right now I need to make sure you're both healthy and then get you back to the dorms. The rest of your class and your parents are waiting, and I think you'll have a bit of explaining to do." The healing Hero gave a quick glance to the now babbling children.
Izuku and Kyoka paled at her words. "Oh no… my mom is going to freak out!" With how much he expected his mother to cry at the news, Izuku hoped that Nezu had water damaged covered by the school's insurance. Kyoka had a different fear, "At least she'll be happy! My dad is either going to commit murder or have an aneurysm when he learns you 'defiled his baby girl!'"
The two felt a quick flash of pain from their shins and looked to see Recovery Girl ready to deliver another blow with her cane if necessary. "What did I just say? You two can deal with the family drama on your own time, but I've got a job to do. Unless you want another?" A quick flurry of no's was her answer. Even after three years, neither Izuku not Kyoka had forgotten how terrifying the healer could be. "Good answer. Now unless you two have any injuries to treat, I just need to check on Midoriya's arm to make sure the ligament damage hasn't worsened."
The verdanette perked up at the request, and after giving Kyoku to his wife to hold, he worked on pulling up his sleeve. "Actually, we found someone that managed to help out with that." Showing his arm to the Hero, she quickly saw what he meant. Where once Midoriya's arm was covered in scar tissue from shattering his arm multiple times, now there was only smooth, unblemished skin. "This… how did this happen?" Recovery Girl half asked to Midoriya, half to herself. "Not only healing what should have been permanent ligament damage, but the complete absence of scar tissue… It shouldn't be possible with the medical technology we have…"
"Oh, because it wasn't healed by conventional medicine. Kyoka and I met a Wizard who was able to heal my arm." Recovery girl took a moment to digest what she just heard, before asking a simple question.
"What?"
After three years of living in a semi-magical world, Izuku found no problem with such a claim. When he looked at the stunned face of Recovery Girl however, he realized how what he just said would sound like complete nonsense to anyone else. "Okay, look. I know that sounds crazy, but-"
The Youthful Heroine didn't stay to listen to his explanation, instead simply dropping the man's arm and walking away. "R-recovery Girl? Don't you need to finish looking us over?" Izuku was only met with grumbling that sounded a little bit like "Why don't you ask some Wizard to do it?" Before she left, presumably to find Aizawa.
"She'll be fine," Toshinori said to the pair after helping the two up and moving to the bench he was previously waiting at. "I'm sure she's just concerned you'll take this as a green light to keep putting yourself in danger, Young Midoriya." The retired pro and Kyoka shared a small laugh, while Izuku protested such a claim. "Hey, I haven't broken a single bone since we washed up in Pelican Town. I can even use Full Cowling at 100% now. Even if does… kinda strain my body."
Toshinori took a moment to ruffle his successors hair, "Well, that's wonderful news my boy! And I'm guessing that Young Jiro here knows about 'that?'"
"Midoriya." The woman in question corrected.
"Huh?" The blond asked in confusion.
"We're married, so it's Midoriya now. And yeah, I know about One for All."
"Ah, of course! My apologies." Toshinori rubbed the back of his head, clearly embarrassed. "Well, if Young Midoriya trusts you, then I will defer to his judgement." Standing up and moving towards the scattered baskets and food, the lanky man went to work picking up the mess. "Well, you two have certainly had an odd day. I'll get this cleaned up and then we can get you to the dorms."
Izuku was not one to stand aside when he could help, however. "Don't worry about it All Might, I can get it." Before the man could protest, he saw a black tendril shoot past his head and pick up the scattered contents with an impressive degree of finesse. Soon the tile floor of the mall was spotless, and Toshinori looked over to see his successor use the strange coil coming from his fingers to place a fully packed picnic basket and a neatly folded blanket into his arms.
"What?"
A sudden realization hit Izuku, "Oh right, I haven't explained the other Quirks." He muttered to himself, loud enough for the 8th holder to hear.
"WHAT?"
Midoriya Inko was a nervous woman, anyone who had met her would be able to tell you that. But right now, she was surprisingly calm considering the situation. She was worried about her son, of course, but Pro Hero work was a dangerous profession, and not a day went by that she wasn't concerned for Izuku's safety. When she got a call from U.A., she had initially feared that her son had been injured again, or the League of Villains had made another attack on his class. Hearing that her boy was involved in a Quirk accident during a class excursion to the mall and would be warped away to who knows where for five hours was far from the most concerning thing she had to deal with.
Right now, she was currently waiting in the dorms for Izuku's return while conversing with Kyoka's parents. From what she had been told of the girl, Izuku could have been worse off. It seemed that their class had nothing but good things to say about the two, which lessoned her fears somewhat. Izuku could have been sent wherever he was alone, or with someone like the small boy with purple balls for hair. Inko never liked to assume, but from the way the girls of the class tried to distance themselves from him, she didn't want someone like that associating with her son.
The rest of the class were pleasant to talk to. Inko had been told stories from her son about the new friends he was making at U.A., but this was the first time she had the chance to meet them. The four of his closest friends, Uraraka, Iida, Asui (who insistend on being called Tsu), and Todoroki all had great things to say about Izuku, and even the classmates he wasn't as close with had stories about how kind of a person her son was.
The Jiro patriarch, Kyotoku, seemed doubtful of Izuku's intentions and suspected some sinister intent behind his actions, but his wife, Mika, was quick to inform Inko that he was just being overly protective of their daughter. The near childish refusal of her claim didn't help his case.
While the parents traded embarrassing stories of their children's childhoods (with Ashido and Kaminari listening in for blackmail material), the rest of the class busied themselves while waiting for Midoriya and Jiro's return. Sato was in the kitchen, cleaning up after baking confections for their guests, Sero and Kirishima were purposely annoying Bakugou, who was stuck between wanting to lash out in anger and watching his language while in Auntie Inko's presence. The rest of the class had separated into their own little groups, trying to enjoy the rest of their day after wearing themselves thin with Iida's impromptu cleaning session.
The peaceful atmosphere was broken when Aizawa slammed open the door, with a thousand-yard stare. Iida was the first to stand up and approach his homeroom teacher, "Sensei, are Midoriya and Jiro alri-" Only to be cut off as the man walked past the class president and made a bee line for Kaminari. "I know you've been stashing alcohol in the dorms." The electric blond tried to spirt out a panicked denial but was interrupted Aizawa. "You're not in trouble this one time as long as you tell me where it is." After shakily pointing to a cabinet in the kitchens, Aizawa stopped off and grabbed the first bottle he found, tore off the seal and started chugging. After downing a fith of a bottle of vodka in one go, the entire class thought they heard the man mutter out, "Goddamn problem children are multiplying."
Deciding his friends safety took priority over reprimanding his classmate for bringing a prohibited substance onto school grounds, Iida tried to find out what was going on. "Sensei, is everything alright? We thought you were waiting for-" Once again the bluenette was cut off by the slam of a door, looking over to see Recovery Girl's short frame occupying the doorway. Not even giving anyone the chance to ask a question, the healer walked up to Aizawa, who without even being asked, passed down a bottle of whisky to the elderly Hero. "A fucking wizard…" she grumbled out in-between gulps, "Probably doesn't even have a medical license…"
By now the entire room was concerned with the display in front of them, as not only had the students never seen their teachers act like this, but the situation with Midoriya and Jiro still went unanswered. Ashido was the first to break the silence that had overtaken the group. "So, does this mean that Aizawa and Recovery Girl don't know what's going on, or they do and it's bad?" A wave of confusion and no small amount of dread swept through the room, and the three parents started to fear the worse. Sato and Iida, who were in the kitchen, as well as Shoji, who was able to make out what the two Heroes were mumbling about, gave each other confused looks. How did wizards factor into the situation?
Again, the door slammed open to show the emaciated form of Yagi Toshinori, but Bakugou was ready this time. Before the man could follow his coworker's leads, Yagi was stopped by the Explosion user. "God da-darn it, will some one just explain what the hel-heck is going on with the Nerd and Ears?"
"Both of them are fine." Toshinori said to the amassed crowd.
"Oh, thank goodness," Inko breathed a sigh of relief, before Mika asked what most of the group was thinking. "But something had to have happened, right? Why are they like… well that?" The woman gestured towards the two Heroes, both determined to reach the bottom of their bottles.
The former Symbol of Peace floundered as he tried to think of the best way to explain. "I… well you see… the thing is…" As the man faltered under the fierce gaze of three worried parents, the doors opened once again, this time normally, and not slammed open, and revealed the two in question. "Oh, I think that's them now! They can explain it better than I could, gladtohavehelped!" Before heroically fleeing the scene and into the kitchen for the comfort of humanities oldest friend.
Turning to the door, Inko was the first to approach the pair. "Oh Izuku! I'm so glad you're alright. You have no idea how…" Only to freeze once she got a good look at the two. There were a lot of things different about her son, not least of all his height. Unless the boy had an insane growth spurt in the last week since he had visited, something was amiss. He also looked older, only by a few years, but the lingering baby fat on his cheeks had vanished. But the most eye-catching part of Izuku's appearance wasn't actually anything about himself, but the small child he held in his arms, who had a forest green head of hair, and tiny little ear jacks. Jacks that looked just like the ones belonging to the purple-haired girl next to her, that was holding a child with the same shade of hair, but in familiar messy curls.
Behind her, the rest of the class which was close to exploding in one large greeting had fallen silent. Most of the girl's felt a weird mixture of relief and jealousy, some jealous of Kyoka, a few of Izuku. Ashido was the exception, as she was not only envious of both of them, but also having a minor epiphany of just what that odd feeling was earlier.
The guy's all felt amazed that such a pure soul like Midoriya had kids at all, as they thought he would fait at the mere mention of sex. Kaminari and Sero couldn't believe that somehow Midoriya got laid before them, while Mineta was utterly devastated at that information. Bakugou was wondering how the hell some timid fuck like Deku got with someone like Ears. Back where the Jiro's sat, the two were coming to terms with the fact they had grandchildren to spoil now.
The silence was tense, the only sound in the dorms the three teachers getting drunk in the kitchen. Inko felt tears well up in her eyes, "My baby boy is all grown up!" before rushing to give her son and his wife a hug. "I can't believe it, I'm so happy for you, my babyisafatherohi'magrandmotherandinevermetthegirlohit'ssonicetomeetyouand…" As Inko began to rant faster and faster while asking any and every question she could think of about their relationship, the entire class bar Bakugou had a collective thought, 'Oh that's where he gets it from.' Having grown up with the Midoriya's, the explosive blond was well aware of how his Auntie could get.
Izuku tried to calm his mother, "Mom, mom, it's alright just take a breath." The woman caught her breath after stopping her question rant, while Izuku introduced the two. "This is Kyoka, we've been married about a year and a half now."
This caused the class to let out a loud, collective "What?!", while Kyoka introduced Inko to the Twins. "Izuku's holding Kyoku right now, and this is Nana. They're a week away from six month." While Inko was gushing over her grandbabies, Kyotoku was tearing up on the couch, "My little rockstar… grown up…" Mika looked over to her husband, "I honestly thought you would be making a scene by now." For the entirety of Kyoka's middle school years, any attention from a member of the opposite sex had her husband ready for war. "They're already married Mika, it's not like I can drive him off. Kyoka would even give the chance to yell at him. I'll still give him the 'don't-ever-hurt-her' speech, but I have to get a shallow grave ready for that." Kyotoku went back to his weepy slouch while his wife rolled her eyes behind him.
The class quickly amassed around the pair, either cooing over the babies, prying for details like how they started dating, or giving Midoriya and grin and a thumbs up. As the gathered teens were laughing at Nana reaching out to grab Todoroki's nose and Inko was trying to call Mitsuki, Mineta let out a comment just loud enough to be heard over the crowd. "Damn, I guess that means Jiro's a Milf now." While a few classmates admonished him for the perverse comment, most noticed that Midoriya had gone scarily quiet. "What, all the guys are thinking it." As Kaminari and Sero tried to distance themselves from the ire drawn towards Minteta, Izuku turned to his wife. "Kyoka." A previously unheard edge to Midoriya's voice sent the rest of the class silent, even the three teachers in the kitchen stopped their bender to see what was happening. "Could you hold Kyoku for a second?" After safely handing over the boy, Izuku shot out a tendril of Blackwhip, surprising everyone in the room, and grabbing ball-headed boy by the collar of his shirt.
"Mineta." The sheer malice Izuku spoke the boy's name with gave the class goosebumps. "I will make myself clear. If you ever make those kinds of comments about any of the girls, and especially Kyoka, I will personally-"
"Midoriya Izuku," His mothers voice called out behind him. "Put that boy down now." Knowing better than to earn his mother's ire, Izuku put the small teen down. "I can't believe you. I thought I raised you better than this." Shaking her head while she stepped up to the Pop-off user. "That isn't how you threaten someone for making such foul comments."
Fearing for his life, Mineta looked around the class for help, only to find none. Sero and Kaminari quickly looked away, and even Bakugou looked fearful of what would happen if he let himself be involved. "Do you know what my Quirk is Mineta-kun?" A fearful shake of his head was all the boy could muster. "It's called Attraction of Small Objects, and it does just that. It may not be all that strong, but it's useful enough around the house I suppose." Inko kneeled down and placed a hand on Mineta's shoulder, The boy swearing she would break his bones. "But what a lot of people don't think about is that the body is just full of small objects." The previously warm smile turned cold and harsh. "And with your size, using my Quirk wouldn't be that hard." The small boy's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fainted from fright.
As Ojiro picked Mineta up to move him off the floor, a floating mass of clothes was the first to ask, "Hey, anyone else confused by the weird shadow thing Mido did? Or why they're older? And married?" Tokoyami was just as confused as Hagakure, "To believe that one as bright as Midoriya is capable of producing such darkness."
"Do you mean the threats or the shadow whip?" Sero asked.
"Yes." An emerging Dark Shadow quipped.
Now that the class had calmed down after seeing Inko's terrifying display, Izuku had the chance to explain the situation. "So, the Quirk we got hit with warps people then returns them five hours later, at least to outside observers." Most of the class nodded along with his explanation, as they had been informed of the nature of the Quirk already, but a few of the more observant members noticed the exact phrasing of his words.
"For the people hit with the Quirk, however, the effect varies. So, while for all of you it's only been five hours, we were gone for three years." Before Inko or the Jiro's could react to the news that their children had been separated from their friends and families for three years, Izuku continued to answer the classes other burning question. On the trip back to the dorms, Izuku and Kyoka both thought it would be best if they addressed the 'new features' of the verdanettes Quirk as soon as possible, and formed an explanation that would at least be somewhat plausible.
"And as for the 'shadow whip', I call it Blackwhip. It turns out my Quirk is like Todoroki's, where it's one Quirk but produces multiple effects." Which was technically true, as One for All only replicated the Quirks of the past holders. While the rest of the class was freaking out at the new development, Bakugou remained in the back, a scowl deepening across his face. There was more to his story that he wasn't telling, likely something closely linked to the nature of One for All itself, but even though he felt his blood boil at the Nerd becoming an even bigger hurdle in his path to become number one, the blond kept his mouth shut. For now.
As the class pestered Izuku and Kyoka for all the details of their three-year disappearance, Aizawa emerged from the kitchen while slipping his phone back into his pocket, and a half empty bottle of vodka in his hand. "I just got a message from Nezu. Due to the…" the tired man let out a sigh while pinching the bridge of his nose. "Unusual circumstances, the Rat is requesting a meeting to work out the future of your education here." The couple gave Aizawa a small nod before he continued. "Although you are technically no longer minors, and their presence is not required, your parents are welcome to attend. I'm sure you all have a lot to discuss." The underground Hero said while giving a glance at the two new problem children in Izuku and Kyoka's arms, before turning back to the kitchen to hopefully forget the entirety of the past 24 hours.
Bidding the rest of the class farewell and promising to answer all their questions later, the Midoriya-Jiro group left the dorms to head for Nezu's office. "Oh my god, did you see how cute Nana was!" Ashido squealed as soon as the door was shut. While Ashido and Hagakure shared the few pictures they had managed to take, Yaoyorozu was more concerned with something else. "To think they had been gone for three years… I can't imagine what that must have been like." Beside her, Todoroki joined into the conversation. "They likely thought it was permanent, given that they had started a family."
While Kirishima was saying how confident he was that Midoriya would be a great father because of how manly he is, and Uraraka slowly died inside, a knock on the door drew everyone's attention. Aoyama opened the door to find the stony visage of Ishiyama Ken, aka Cementoss. "Ah, monsieur. To what do we owe the pleasure." The sparkly blond said with an unnecessary pose. "I got a message from Nezu to start working on a new floor to the 1-A dorms. Although I am curious why he specified it needed to be 'suitable for two adults and two infants.'"
Iida was quick to get his teacher up to speed. "After an incident of accidental Quirk usage during a trip to the mall, Midoriya and Jiro had vanished, only to return five hours later but three years older, and with two children. Although, I suppose her family name would be Midoriya now." Cementoss let out a quiet sigh. "Great, looks like I owe Mic 2,000 yen."
Iida was taken aback, "Y-you made a bet with Present Mic on a student's relationship?"
"Pretty much all the teachers did." Ishiyama said, before the slurring voice of Aizawa was heard from the kitchen floor, "And it was a s-stupid thing to bet on…"
As Cementoss neared the elevator, he looked towards the class with a smug grin, "Eraser's just bitter he lost 10,000 on Midoriya dating Asui."
"Kero?"
"Please come in!" The chipper voice of Nezu said while the door to his office opened before Izuku could even knock.
"Deku!" Even though it had been three years, Izuku would never forget Eri's voice. "Wow, Mirio was right! You do look older!" Looking into the office, the now family of seven saw an excited young girl with white hair and a small horn running up to hug her Hero's legs, while a blond boy gave a hearty laugh at the display.
"Hey Eri!" Izuku bent down to ruffle her hair, earning a small giggle for his efforts. "It's great to see you, but why are you and Mirio here?" The 3rd year was quick to answer. "Nejire, Tamaki, and I were spending the day off with Eri, when I got a call from Eraserhead about what happened at the mall. I wanted to bring Eri over to the 1-A dorms with the rest of your class, but someone convinced Nejire for some extra candy and had a sugar crash." While the good-natured jab had no bite behind it, the someone in question still turned her gaze down in embarrassment.
"As touching as this reunion is," The chimera interrupted, "I do believe we have some business to attend to." As Izuku was dragged with all the might a six-year-old could muster to the seat next to Eri's, the remaining four adults filled the empty chairs in Nezu's office. "Now, although this is an unusual situation, you two are not the first student's we've had that have found themselves with the responsibility of raising children. I think it would be a shame for the events of today to interrupt your education here, and U.A. is willing to make the necessary accommodations to the dormitories."
Initially glad to hear the news, Kyoka noticed something was off. Her father would have been furious at the notion of some boy having a private room alone with his daughter, but he remained silent. In fact, the man hadn't made a scene in the dorms either. A quick glance to her mother showed she was just as confused. "Hey, dad? Not that I don't mind how you aren't freaking out, but are you actually alright with this?" Kyotoku grew indignant at his daughter's scrutiny. "Oh, come on Kyoka, I saw how he handled that pipsqueak. He's perfect!" And although he would never admit it, Kyotoku didn't wish to get on Inko's bad side after seeing how terrifying she could be.
"With that out of the way there is the matter of your schoolwork. Have you two received any formal education during your 'excursion?'" Izuku and Kyoka both gave a denial. "In that case, I shall issue you two some placement tests to see if any remedial lessons are necessary, otherwise your lessons will continue with Class 1-A as usual. As for your Heroics lessons, Aizawa will determine the best course of action after his own evaluations."
"If you don't mind, I do have a concern." Mika interjected. "Raising children is a full-time job. With classwork as well as any future work studies, that's just too much for anyone to handle."
"Ah, a valid concern, and one I'm glad you've brought up Mrs. Jiro." Digging through his desk, the Quirked chimera pulled out two guest passes to U.A.'s grounds, as well as some paperwork. "Miss Midoriya, you are currently a practicing nurse, correct?" The sudden question surprised the woman. "Well yes, I am, but why is that important?" Nezu slid the papers across the desk. Picking the documents up, Inko saw it was the paperwork necessary to be hired at U.A. "Recovery Girl has been requesting extra assistance during times such as the Sports Festival or Heroics exams. If you were to accept this position, you would be offered on-campus housing as well as be able to look after your grandchildren during Mr. and Mrs. Midoriya's classes." The sentient animal then offered the pass cards to the Jiro's. "We will also allow you two the opportunity to visit at any time."
While Inko was swapping between looking over the paperwork and organizing get togethers with the Jiro's, Izuku grabbed ahold of Kyoka's hand and gave a soft squeeze. It almost seemed too good to be true, but not only was their growing family still together, they had reunited with their own parents and friends, all while receiving the chance to not only be Heroes but become Heroes together. Izuku would miss the friends he made in Pelican Town, but the little community would be alright in the end.
Oblivious to Izuku's thoughts on his future with Kyoka, and bored with watching the grownups act weird, Eri turned to Mirio. "So Deku and the singer lady from the festival are married now?" Izuku and Mirio would always be Eri's greatest Heroes for saving her from Overhaul, but the first time she could remember smiling was at the concert held by Class 1-A during the Culture Festival, with Kyoka front and center. The blond gave Eri a small nod, not wanting to interrupt the moment his (now older than himself) kohai were sharing.
"Can they be my mama and papa?"
All conversation stopped as the Jiro's and elder Midoriya looked first to the young girl, and after quickly deciding they were in favor of such an arrangement, stared at their children expectantly. Izuku's eyes swiveled around in his skull, looking towards anyone in the room that would bail him out of the situation, only to find a trio of adults who would murder him if he didn't say yes, an amused Mirio, a chimera softly chuckling to himself, and an equally stunned Kyoka.
"U-uhm, Kyoka and I will need a chance to talk about it…" Upon seeing the girl's face fall after not hearing a 'yes', Izuku briefly panicked, "B-but I'm d-definitely okay with that! Are you okay with that Kyoka!" Now noticing the way her parents were staring at the pair, Kyoka was quickly on board. "Yes! Absolutely!"
As Nezu watched the couple become foster parents via peer pressure, the Quirked animal pulled out his phone to message Cementoss once more. It looked like the new floor would need to hold one more occupant.
Izuku had just finished brushing his teeth and was changing into a set of nightwear as Kyoka entered the bedroom, now finished looking over the new floor of the Heights Alliance 1-A Dorms. Cementoss was a quick worker, and he had not only built the floor from scratch, but filled it with the bare essentials as well. The two wanted to move their personal belongings from their old rooms before they retired for the night, but the day's exhaustion had finally caught up to them. After getting the twins to bed, Izuku and Kyoka felt it would be best to do the same. Tomorrow would be a busy day after all, no sense in running themselves ragged.
As the two switched off the lights and slipped under the covers, Izuku pulled Kyoka close and she moved one of her ear jacks onto his chest, as they did every night.
"Hey, Izu?" Kyoka's voice broke the silence. "Are you alright? Your heartbeat's kinda jumpy."
Izuku sighed to himself. He wanted to brush the concern off, but he knew better than that. Kyoka didn't need to hear his heartbeat to tell when he wasn't being honest. "I just… I miss everyone back in Pelican Town, but… It doesn't feel as bad as when I thought we would never be coming back to Japan. And I guess I just… feel bad for not feeling bad. I-I'm sorry, I know that doesn't make…"
The violette cut him off. "No, I get it. I'm gonna miss them all too, but I know everyone there will be fine and that's enough to keep me going. Plus, we don't have to worry about the League messing things up without being able to help."
Izuku thought about her words for a moment, before responding. "Yeah, you're right." Even with his eyes closed, Izuku could hear the grin in Kyoka's voice. "Of course I am."
Right before sleep was able to take him, Izuku heard Kyoka mutter something out under her breath. "And now I get to pay back Bakugou for being a bitch in middle school."
"Kyo, please just let me handle Bakugou." He knew that even someone like him didn't deserve whatever Kyoka was planning.
"No promises."
End