Chapter 53: The *Sniff* End.

"HOW DARE YOU LEAVE WITHOUT EVEN SAYING GOODBYE?!"

Hitoshi had met Izuku at the hospital. He walked in with the paramedics that carried Eri to the ICU so they could make sure that she was alright and promised to keep him undated on her. As soon as they ran off with the girl, Izuku turned around to see a very pissed looking Toshi.

And that was how he ended up batting off the boy who had tried to tackle him but was now just scrambling around on his back.

"Toshi! TOSHI! Get off of me!"

Izuku finally was able to get a grip on the boy and placed him on the ground as softly as he could, assuming that he was already on paper thin ice and didn't need to anger his friend any more than he had.

"I demand an explanation and apology, right now."

"I know, I know, and you deserve one-"

"You're damn right I do."

"Toshi-"

"No. No, we're not just going to stand here and pretend that you didn't go off on a secret mission that almost got you killed again and didn't tell me. AGAIN!"

Izuku let out a breath. Yeah…he deserved this. "I know…"

"How are you even okay right now? You don't just go up against the leader of the mafia and come out of it looking better than when you went in."

"Haha, yeah…" Izuku rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of how he should start. "It's…kind of hard to explain. Come with me to get checked out and make sure that there isn't anything wrong with me and I'll tell you everything."

Hitoshi glared at his friend who was smiling a little too wide and innocently for his liking. How dare he. He left and almost got himself killed for real again, and he just smiled and expected for his puppy eyes to work?

…I mean, he wasn't wrong, but it still pissed Hitoshi off.

Unfortunately for Hitoshi, Izuku knew that he could never say no to his puppy eyes. They didn't come out often, but when they did, they were his biggest weakness. He couldn't help it, it was so rare to see his friend with such a cute look on his face, it caught him off guard.

"Fine."

Izuku bounced on his feet and jumped into Hitoshi's arms for a hug with the biggest smile on his face, "Thanks Toshi, you're the best!"

"I know…"

The two boys went back to Izuku's hospital room and met a nurse on the way who agreed to make sure everything was okay with him. Once they were finished and deemed Izuku to be in even better condition than they could've ever expected, they left and went to go deal with another matter that apparently was going on.

The nurse left, and as soon as the door closed Hitoshi turned to Izuku with a glare.

"Okay! Okay…I'll tell you everything."

"Holy sh*t."

"Yeah…"

Izuku, true to his word, told Hitoshi everything that had happened. He ended up having to start way back after they were separated at the villain's base and went on from there. Hitoshi sat quietly as he listened to what his friend had been through, only interrupting to ask a question or make a comment that almost always resulted in the boys breaking out into laughter.

"So, you're practically as good as new?"

"Somewhat. I still have the scars from when I first discovered my quirk and from Conductor, but the rest of them were reversed." Izuku frowned as he watched his friend glance down at his wrist with a sad expression. "What is it?"

He shook his head before looking up at the boy, "It's nothing. It's just…we're not scar buddies anymore."

Izuku instantly descended into a laughing fit at Hitoshi's words to which the boy got very defensive.

"I'm serious!"

"T-that's what you're upset about?"

"Yes!"

After another moment, Izuku forced himself to calm down and look at his friend with sympathetic eyes. "Okay, I'm sorry. I know how excited you were when you found out that we had matching scars from Shigaraki. But just think, all you have to do is get struck by lightning or get an autopsy done and we can be twins again!"

Hitoshi rolled his eyes as he lightly shoved a laughing Izuku. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm just glad you're okay."

"Me too…" Izuku thought for a moment and his smile quickly melted into a worried frown that his friend immediately picked up on. "Toshi?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you…do you think that Eraser hates me?"

Hitoshi stared at his friend with incredulous eyes. How dense could you get? I mean seriously, you'd think for someone so smart, they'd be more socially aware.

He let out a sigh and plopped down beside Izuku, the two of them laying side by side on the hospital bed. "He doesn't hate you."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

"No," Izuku shook his head, "You didn't see him. When he came and got me…he was so upset. I think I really did it this time."

Hitoshi scoffed before looking over at his friend-no, his brother. "If there was a limit to his tolerance of you, it would've been met long ago. I don't think that there is a single thing you could do to make that man hate you."

"But-"

"Listen." Hitoshi interrupted, "He cares about you. You ran away and put yourself into a very dangerous situation where you could've died for real, of course he's going to be a little bit upset. But he's only upset because he loves you."

Izuku met Hitoshi's eyes with his own sad ones. "You think so?"

"I know so. You should've seen him after you left. He was cursing so loud three nurses had to come and threaten to kick him out of the hospital before he finally stormed out to go find you muttering something about a stupid tracker under his breath."

"Oh yeah, he has trackers our shoes."

"That honestly doesn't surprise me."

"He really should've done it sooner."

"Agreed."

"Well, I'm so glad the two of you are in agreeance." A low voice seethed out from across the room. Izuku and Hitoshi both jumped and looked over at a very clearly upset Eraserhead standing in the doorway. "Hitoshi, I need to talk to Izuku. Alone."

The boy nodded quickly before shooting from the bed and practically scrambling out of the door after wishing Izuku good luck. Eraser shut the door behind him as he left and slowly made his way over to Izuku's hospital bed that he really didn't need anymore.

Izuku's nerves were on edge. Actually, they were practically fraying just at the thought of the scolding he was about to receive. What he did was stupid, he knew that. But he also knew that he would do it again in a heartbeat. He wanted to help people, that was the whole reason he became a vigilante. Well, that and the whole wanting to die thing, but that wasn't the point.

He wouldn't take back what he did for anything, but he might go back and change how he left. Maybe he could've done something to make it easier on Eraser or something.

Izuku closed his eyes, awaiting the yelling that was inevitably going to start happening, but all he heard was a sigh.

"I'm not going to yell at you."

He slowly opened his eyes and relaxed his shoulders that he hadn't realized were so tense. Eraser walked closer and ended up sitting on the end of the bed, his hands in his lap. "You're not?" Izuku's voice squeaked out.

Eraser shook his head and Izuku was so confused. Why wasn't he yelling? He was angry, and he thought that Izuku had done something wrong, so why wasn't he screaming at him?

"Look, I know you think what you did was right and-"

"I don't regret it."

"I know-"

"And I'd do it again."

"I know. You've proven over and over again that you place other's lives before your own, to the point that you would happily die for them, but I need you to hear me out." He took a breath and looked directly at Izuku. "I'm not saying that what you did was wrong. You saved a little girl and that's amazing, but you almost died in the process. So many think that putting their lives on the line for others is what being a hero is, and yes, it is a part of the job, but it's more than that. If you're constantly dying for others, then you won't be able to protect them. You can't save anyone if all you do is get hurt."

"Where are you going with this?"

"My point is," He paused briefly, "That you're good, but you need to be better."

The words stung as they passed through Izuku's ears, but he remained silent and allowed the pro to continue as he could tell that he wasn't finished.

"You've seen how the world is, you've been in many fights and won, you've been a part of my class for almost a whole week, and you've already helped so many of them, not even counting the two children that you saved as well. What I'm saying, is that it is time for you to come to UA and train to be a proper hero."

"Eraser-"

"No buts. I'm not backing down on this."

Izuku scoffed as he crossed his arms like a pouting child. "You can't make me."

Eraser considered this for a moment, "Maybe not, but you and I both know just how persuasive I can be. Why don't we just cut out the middle-man and drop the act of you thinking you can't be a hero."

"I can't be a hero."

"Hmm. Well, maybe this will change your mind." Eraser reached into one of his many pockets and pulled out a small, folded piece of paper. He handed it to Izuku who took and opened it gingerly.

Dear Izuku (I think that was your name),

Thanks for saving me or whatever. I guess you're pretty cool and you make decent food. Get better soon so we can talk again. Not having you around is weird.

-Kota

"He seems to think that you're a pretty good hero." Izuku looked up as the warm words left Eraser's mouth, his eyes stinging slightly. "And I'm sure that little girl in there would think the same thing."

Izuku looked down at the note and then back to Eraser. "But I…do you really-"

"Yes. I know you can be a hero Izuku. I've known ever since the first day we met."

The tears he had been holding in finally spilt over as Izuku listened to the words he had been waiting to hear his entire life. He jumped up and wrapped his arms around the pro's neck, sniffling against his scarf. "…Thank you."

The End.

It's been two weeks since everything happened.

Everyone needed time to recover and heal, not Izuku, but regular people who hadn't died and then got brought back to life by a little girl's quirk.

It was only another day or two before Eraser brought Izuku and Hitoshi back home. They would've gone sooner, but the doctors insisted they get some extra time to look the both of them over. Izuku only complied after they agreed to let him and Hitoshi share a hospital room, and he knew that they immediately regretted doing so.

The two of them rarely slept at night, always staying up talking, watching something on their phones, or just being general menaces around the hospital, and so it was common to find them napping on each other during the day.

While they were there, they went to visit the other students that were in the hospital. Yaoyorozu was doing great and had actually been discharged the day Izuku came back. One of the 1-B girls had woken up after inhaling too much of that gas at the camp and she was doing fine. They even went to go see Katsuki who was even more upset about being kept there than they were.

Hitoshi walked into his room first and immediately the boy started yelling and screaming profanities at the poor boy, but as soon as Izuku walked in, he apparently had discovered some manners because he was quiet.

They talked for a bit, went over all that had happened and made sure that they all were okay. Katsuki and Izuku actually had a semi-civil conversation for once which was nice, but Hitoshi kind of ruined it by his constant glaring and little comments he made under his breath.

Izuku also tried to see Eri as much as he could while he was still there. It took a bit of convincing, but after she woke up and began to ask incessantly for him, the nurses finally complied and allowed the two to see each other.

She was doing good…he thought. She looked better at least. They had bathed her and given her some clean clothes, which was good. She looked healthier, she skin wasn't as pale and with the help of some healing quirks, her wounds had also begun to heal.

The first time he went to go see her, she looked scared out of her mind. It was to be expected of course, she was in a new place with new people and the only person that she really knew and trusted had only just been allowed to see her. As soon as she laid eyes on him from her hospital bed her entire frame relaxed, and her eyes lit up.

The action squeezed Izuku's heart. He had never had someone be so clearly excited to see him before. Of course, Hitoshi and Denki were always happy to see him, but the way Eri looked at him, it was as if he had put the stars in the sky. It actually made him blush a little bit.

She told him about what she had been doing since she last saw him and describing how scared she was at first, but that the nurses were all really nice and gentle with her.

Eraser came to see her as well. He was able to cancel her quirk should the need arise and she and Izuku were already so close, it just made sense.

She quickly warmed up to him once she got past his resting scowl and took a particular interest in his scarf. She said that when it was around her it felt like one of Izuku's hugs, only not as good, which made the two of them laugh as she wondered what they found so funny.

The doctors insisted that they keep her with them for a while so that they could continue to heal her and keep a watch on her quirk as they really didn't know all that much about it. Izuku grumbled a bit about it, but he knew he couldn't argue. She didn't have anywhere else to go, and this was the best and safest place for her. Didn't make him any happier about it.

Eraser finally took Izuku and Hitoshi home and when they got there, they were met with a very enthusiastic Mic and two equally as excited cats that jumped on Izuku as soon as he walked through the door.

Mic welcomed the boys back home with open arms and pulled all of them into a big group hug despite each of their protests.

The four of them spent the rest of the day relaxing. They decided to do their infamous dinner and a movie thing which Eraser ended up having to cook for after Izuku and Hitoshi begged him to make them some real food.

They sat back, ate, laughed, and just enjoyed each other's presences. It wasn't too long after dinner that the two boys were out like lights on the couch, and that was when Eraser and Mic got to work.

It was something that they'd meant to do for a while, but things were just so chaotic that this was the first time they've actually been able to go through with it.

Hitoshi had called his family to let them know that he was alive and okay, to which they didn't seem too bothered about it either way, earlier that night, but now Eraser was making another, very different, call to them.

The next morning came and Izuku woke up more well rested than he had felt in a very long time.

He looked around for a moment, completely unaware of where he was before his mind caught up with him and he realized that he was in his room. Interesting…he could've sworn that he and Toshi had fallen asleep on the couch last night.

Looking down, he saw a passed-out Hitoshi on the floor and decided it would probably be best to let the poor guy sleep for a bit.

After changing and brushing his teeth, Izuku supposed that it was probably time for him to go out and handle the rest of his ridiculous family and-

Huh…

Family. He had…a family now.

It wasn't perfect by any means, I mean you can imagine how difficult it would be for pro heroes, a hero in training, and a vigilante to try to be perfect, but that didn't mean it was bad. No, no it was good. Strange to be able to comfortably say that now. Seems like it had been so long since he had said that word.

He shuffled out into the living room, rubbing his eyes, and taking in the smell of fresh coffee. "Mmm, make some for me?"

"Unfortunately." Eraser handed a hot mug to Izuku once he made his way into the kitchen.

"Oh, don't complain, you know how irritable I get when I'm tired."

"You're always tired."

"Exactly."

"Good morning little listener!" Mic's voice called out much quieter than Izuku thought the hero was capable of being.

He turned with a tired smile, "Oh, what's up Mic," He greeted. "Um, weird question, but what are you doing here so early?"

The pro let out a small laugh and glanced at Eraser who was too invested in his coffee to notice. "Well, I kinda never left."

"Huh?" Izuku questioned before the pieces began to fit in his mind and he looked back and forth between the two heroes. "Ugh, gross! I didn't need to know that this early in the morning-"

"What?" Eraser lazily looked up from his mug, "Oh-no, that's not why he was here."

"Then why were you here?"

"Oh, well I uh-"

"Izuku," Eraser interrupted, saving a very worried looking Mic, "Can you go grab that stack of papers on the coffee table?"

The boy squinted his eyes at the hero but complied with a shrug. He didn't mind doing it, but did the guy have to interrupt Mic like that?

He grabbed the stack and walked back over to the two heroes. "Why do you need-" Izuku's words were cut off as he caught a glimpse of what was in his hands. "Um, what are these?"

"Come on problem child, I know you've been through a lot, but you're not stupid."

"Yeah but…why would you-?"

"Hey," Suddenly Hitoshi's voice cut Izuku off and the boy dragged his way next to him at the bar. "What's going on?" He asked as he peaked down at what Izuku was staring at. "Wait, are those…?"

"You…you want to adopt me?" Izuku looked up at a smiling Eraser and an entirely more excited looking Mic.

The pro rolled his eyes before taking another sip from his mug, "I mean, I practically already have, so I just thought 'Why not make it official?' Is that okay, or…?"

Izuku stared at the hero before looking back down at the papers and then back up. "I-" He glanced to his side and found his best friend beaming from ear to ear. "You mean it?"

Eraser nodded and suddenly found himself being wrapped into a tight hug with green curls getting in his face. "Hey, you're going to spill my coffee. At least let me put it down first."

"So, this is for real? No take backsies?"

The hero let out a low chuckle as he patted the boy's head, "No takebacksies."

"Oh, and Toshi, we have a surprise for you too!" Mic bounced over to grab his phone from the coffee table and practically shoved it into the boy's face.

"Um, what is this supposed to be?"

"That," Eraser said as Izuku let him go and went over to look at what he was seeing, "Is the beginnings of all the paperwork for you to be moved from your foster family."

"What? But why would you do that?"

The hero frowned slightly before glancing at his friend and then back with a sigh. "Because I'm adopting you too, you idiot."

"You're wHAT?!"

Izuku gasped, "TOSHI!!!!" He squealed before tackling the poor boy to the floor. "WE'RE GOING TO BE BROTHERS!"

"Eraserhead…adopting…"

Izuku pushed himself up and knocked a dazed Hitoshi on his forehead. "Come on, don't go all fanboy on us now. I thought you were over that."

"What's this about fanboying?" Eraser asked as he took another sip from his mug.

"NOTHING-" Hitoshi tried to clamp his hand over Izuku's mouth, but he knew all to well that the kid wasn't opposed to biting and steered clear of his teeth.

Izuku managed to push his friend's flailing hand away from him long enough to explain, "Oh, just that you're Toshi's all-time favorite hero."

Mic gasped from beside a wide-eyed Eraser, "Is he now?"

Izuku let out a laugh as Hitoshi groaned and hid his face in his hands, "You guysssss-"

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about Toshi, he's my favorite too."

"Well duh, you're practically his child."

"Literally, now," Mic chimed in which earned him a glare from Izuku.

"It's not-"

"Don't you dare give me that Izuku Midoriya. We all know what happened when he found you at Kamino."

Izuku snapped his head back with a gasp, "Eraser! You told them?!"

"I had to do the report!"

"Eraserrrrr-"

(The actual end lol)