It was a bright Sunday morning and most of the students were sleeping in. Shinsou, Todoroki, and Deku were in the common room with Mic, sharing a quiet breakfast. Shinsou and Deku were nursing strong cups of coffee, both looking utterly exhausted. Mic and Todoroki had split a pot of tea that had paired nicely with their food.

"What do you kids have planned for the day?" Mic asked. "Anything fun?"

"Now that Shinsou and I are no longer grounded, we are going to have our first date," Todoroki said, pausing and glancing over at Deku with a mixed expression. "But we're open to changing our plans."

Deku didn't notice Todoroki's hesitancy, instead guzzling his coffee greedily. Shinsou bumped his knee against Deku's, catching his attention.

"What are you doing today?" Shinsou asked, his voice still rough from sleep.

"Oh, Toga and I were going to meet up with Monoma and Vlad King to work on her quirk. A couple of her classmates went through with donating blood for her training so we are going to see if she can access their quirks."

"Sounds like you're going too busy all day then, huh?" Todoroki said, a slightly dejected edge to his tone.

Deku nodded as he poured himself another mug full of coffee. "Yeah probably.'

"Well, if you get any free time, do you want to -" Shinsou was cut off by the front door of the dorm flying open with a resounding bang, light streaming into the room.

Todoroki jumped violently, same as Deku, the pair both dropping into their own versions of fighting stances. Todoroki's left arm lit up with hot flames, singing his t-shirt, while Deku had his fists raised, hands up near his face to block attacks to his head and elbows angled to protect his midsection. Shinsou, startled by the loud sound and by his friends' reactions, promptly fell out of his chair and dumped his coffee down his front, making him hiss in pain.

Mic just glared at the door, his green eyes fixed on the cause of all the commotion.

All Might, in all his muscled glory, stood in the doorway, a confused expression on his face. Beside him stood Sir Nighteye, who was pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.

"Seriously, All Might? Don't you think that was a little much? Most of the kids are still asleep. Not to mention Sho, who got in late from patrol and would probably gut you if you woke him up," Mic said in a huff, folding his arms across his chest.

"Ah! I am sorry!" All Might said in a hurry, waving his hands apologetically. "I forget my own strength sometimes! We are here to pick up young Midoriya! We are hoping to take him and young Toga off campus for the day."

Todoroki snuffed the flames on his arms as Nighteye and All Might stepped further into the dorm, shutting the door behind them. Deku lowered his arms, but he subtly moved closer to Present Mic, nearly tucking himself behind the hero. Mic glanced at Deku in surprise, but quickly schooled the expression off his face.

"Deku can't go off campus," Shinsou said from the floor, picking up his mug and looking into its empty depths with despair. Todorki put a hand out and helped his pouting boyfriend off the ground.

"Yes, we are aware," Sir Nighteye drawled. "But we can not keep him and Toga locked within UA forever. It has been decided to start occasionally taking them off campus under supervision."

"Why wasn't I told?" Present Mic asked, arms still crossed. "Pretty sure Eraser wasn't told either. As Midoriya's guardians, we should have been told. Does Vlad know? He's Toga's guardian and should be aware too."

"We've cleared it with Nezu," Nighteye cryptically said, not answering Mic's questions.

"I'm not sure if I feel comfortable with them going off campus with you."

"You don't trust All Might, the number one hero? He is a respected pillar in our society. And I myself am a licensed hero. We can keep both of them from causing any sort of trouble."

Mic sneered, his shoulders going even tenser. "That's not what I'm worried about."

Sir Nighteye drew himself to his full height, glasses catching the light in such a way that it sent a flare across the nearby wall. He squared himself up, looking down at Mic from his impressive height, only a few inches shorter than All Might himself. Mic didn't shrink back at the clear intimidation display, but Deku and Todoroki sure did. Deku ducked even further behind Mic while Todoroki pulled Shinsou closer, clutching onto his arm.

"Mirai," All Might said, his voice quiet. "Stop. It's okay. We can do this another day, maybe after talking it out with everyone more. I don't want Midoriya or Toga to feel forced into leaving the grounds."

"You and I have busy schedules. We set aside this time so that we could guard the two while they went out for ice cream or to an arcade or whatever it is children do, and now we are being treated as though we are criminals."

"You can't take a kid somewhere without their parent's permission!" Mic snapped, his voice going shrill and a bit too loud.

"Calling yourself Midoriya's parent, now are we?" Nighteye asked, looking over the top of glasses frames to fix Mic with a severe look. "Getting attached?"

Mic's eyes went wide, his mouth opening slightly in shock. Before he could respond, Shinsou spoke up, shifting so he stood more in front of Todoroki, which only seemed to make Todoroki even more anxious.

"There are better ways you could have gone about this. And no offense, last time All Might was supposed to protect his students, Endeavor waltzed on campus and burned Deku. I'm not sure how much I trust his observation skills."

"I am still so sorry for that," All Might said, folding in on himself as though he could make himself smaller, something the majority of the room knew he actually could do. "I feel horrible. I thought that all heroes carried their occupational morals and ethics into their personal lives, but I know now that I was wrong. Young Todoroki, I am sorry you had to live for so long in fear and in pain. I will be doing whatever I can to help in the investigations against Endeavor."

Todoroki blinked up at All Might, looking slightly unsure. "Uh… thank you, I guess."

"I want Sir Nighteye to help with the investigation too."

Everyone in the room turned to look at Deku in surprise, though the boy had his eyes fixed on the ground, as though he were waiting to be struck.

"Why would you want me on the investigation?"

"I studied heroes, remember? That means I know a lot about you. I know that a lot of your hero work is based on investigation, since you don't have a physically combative quirk. You aren't really a warm and fuzzy hero but you're still good at what you do; probably the best, actually, behind Nezu. So I want you on the investigation too. If you agree, then I will come out with you guys today."

"Midoriya, you don't -" Mic started.

Nighteye cut him off. "Deal."

Deku nodded, still not looking up. "I'll go get ready then."

"Excellent. All Might and I will walk over to the 1-B dorms to speak with Toga. We will return to collect you in a moment."

As the pair of heroes left, Deku made to go get changed, only to be stopped by Mic's hand on his shoulder.

"Kiddo, you know you don't have to go if you don't want to. You're allowed to tell them no."

"It's fine. One day of following around a couple of heroes is nothing compared to the benefits of having Nighteye on the Endeavor case. It'd be better if I was the one on the case, but beggars can't be choosers, you know? Nighteye is good with computers and he'll be able to uncover stuff that a lot of others can't. It's worth it."

"Deku, you don't need to do this for me," Todoroki said, looking shaken. "I know you aren't a fan of All Might. I may not know why, but I know that he makes you and Toga uncomfortable. You shouldn't put yourself through this."

"I'll be fine," Deku said, forcing a smile on his face. It didn't quite reach his eyes. "Have fun on your date today, guys. Hope it goes well."

With that, Deku left the room.

"Word of advice, boys," Mic said, watching Deku leave. "He isn't going to pick up on subtle hints. If you two like him, you're just going to have to tell him flat out."

Todoroki spluttered while Shinsou kept his same, bored expression on his face. "You don't know what you're talking about, old man."

"Uh-huh, sure. I'm curious, has Aizawa ever told you about his time at UA?"

Shinsou shook his head. "Not really, no."

"Find a yearbook from our second year at UA. They have yearbooks dating back for years in the library. Maybe then you'll see that I know exactly what I am talking about. And remember, if you need advice, I'm the guy to talk to."

Once Mic left the room, Todoroki turned to Shinsou, worry clear on his face. "Was I too obvious in front of Mic-sensei? I'm sorry, I know you told me to be careful but I thought I was -"

"Wow, slow down. It's okay. When we talked about seeing if Deku wanted to date the both of us, we both agreed that it was going to take a while for Deku to realize what we were doing. He hasn't had a lot of friends before, let alone a boyfriend. There is no way he is going to piece together that we have feelings for him quickly. Other people were bound to figure it out before him. We'll take it slow for now. We just need to be patient," Shinsou said, pulling Todoroki into a hug. "You okay? I know All Might and Nighteye gave you a scare."

"I'll be fine. Worried about Deku and Toga though."

"I know. If I didn't think we'd get caught, I'd say we should follow them."

"That would ruin what I had planned for the day."

"Oh yeah? What had you planned for our date?"

"Cat cafe."

"Have I ever told you that you're the best boyfriend ever? Cuz you are."

--

Sir Nighteye and All Might bundled both Toga and Deku into a car, having the two climb into the backseat while they got into the front. As All Might slid into his seat, he deflated, becoming thin and sickly looking. Nighteye sat behind the wheel, starting up the car.

"Does everyone have their seatbelts on?" he asked, turning in his seat to glance over his shoulder at the teens.

"No, we want to crash and die in a fiery accident," Toga snarked. When Nighteye didn't react, she gestured to the seatbelts that were snapped across her's and Deku's bodies. "Yeah, we're buckled. Are you going to tell us where we are going?"

"Where would you want to go?" All Might asked as Nighteye pulled away from the curb. "You two can choose where and what we do. It's my treat! Do you two have enough clothes? Do you need any books or movies or anything? Or would you like a special treat? I'm sure we could find a nice candy store if that's something you'd like."

"Do you think throwing money at people gets them to like you?" Deku asked bitterly.

All Might seemed to startle. "What? No, I just didn't want either of you to worry about the cost of whatever you chose."

Deku and Toga glanced at each other. With a shrug from the pair, Toga spoke again.

"We used to go to street markets together," she said, a hint of nostalgia in her voice. "We'd spend the whole day there. If we had a little bit of money, we'd buy takoyaki to share. Sometimes, if a seller was a real jerk, we'd steal something small from their booth, like a key chain or a little plushie, or whatever. Then, when they started yelling at us, we'd run as fast as we could, weaving around people, getting the jerk to chase us. We'd lose them eventually, since we were faster than them, but it was still fun."

Deku was laughing quietly to himself. "Dabi hated when we did that. He'd chew us out about being reckless."

"Like he's one to talk," Toga giggled. "He did like taking us to those markets though. It was an easy place to blend in and just enjoy ourselves."

"First rule of the day, no stealing. No breaking the law in general, is that clear?" Nighteye said sternly, catching their attention.

"They know not to do that now. No need to be so stern. Kids, if you see something at the market that you like, let me know. I can get it for you. Maybe we can find a takoyaki stand, huh? I bet that would be good!"

"You can't eat takoyaki anymore."

"Oh come on, Mirai, don't take the fun out of this."

After a short drive, Mirai pulled off and parked the car close to a well-liked but not particularly crowded street market. As everyone started to undo their seatbelts, he turned around to face the kids again.

"Here are the rules. You stay next to us at all times. You do not go anywhere alone. You do not tell anyone your names. You do not make any attempts to contact the League or any other criminals. You do not steal, fight, run, or do anything else disruptive. Do you both understand?"

"Yeah, we get it. Don't do anything fun," Deku said, opening the car door and climbing out. Toga giggled and quickly followed.

Nighteye scowled, ready to yell after the kids, when All Might started to laugh.

"Little rascals, aren't they?" he said as he got out of the car, stretching his cramped legs. "What do you guys want to look at first, huh?"

"Don't know. Whatever we get to first, I guess," Toga said.

Deku scuffed one of his red shoes on the sidewalk, looking away from All Might. "I want to get something for Eri. She still can't control her quirk so it's not safe for her to go off campus yet. "

"That sounds like a kind and honorable thing to do, young Midoriya! What kind of things does she like?"

Deky shrugged. "Soft things. Bright colors. She hasn't seen much of the world yet so we try to get her lots of sensory type items to help her with adjusting."

"Perhaps a new plush would make her happy. Or a coloring book. Does she like to read? Maybe we can find her a book that has lots of interesting pictures."

With another shrug, Deku started walking towards the market, Toga hot on his heels. All Might quickly followed, lengthening his strides to keep up with the teens. Nighteye caught up soon after, grumbling about how rude the kids were.

"They don't know us well, Mirai. And they aren't my biggest fans. It's okay if they don't want to talk," All Might said easily, reaching over to give Mirai's hand a quick squeeze. "I still think it's really sweet that you set this up for them. It'll do them a lot of good to get off campus for a little bit."

"Yes, well, hopefully they behave. Keep a close eye on Toga. With her quirk upgrade, you will be better suited for catching her if she tries anything. I will stay close to Midoriya."

The group moved from booth to booth, looking over the wares that the sellers had. While Deku shifted through a bin of small plushie keychains, All Might caught Toga glancing at a nearby booth full of handmade novelty jewelry.

"Do you see something you like?" All Might asked, following her eyes to the stand of earrings.

She startled, looking away quickly. "We're looking for something for Eri."

"We can look for something for you as well."

Toga shook her head. All Might, not one to be deterred, rubbed at his chin thoughtfully.

"You know, Midnight was saying the other day that she needed some new earrings for a party she was going to. I had been thinking about getting something for her, as a thank you for all the help she has given me, but I am not very good at picking out jewelry. Want to help me?"

Toga looked him over and snorted at his baggy clothes and large belt buckle. "Yeah, I'll help. Probably shouldn't let you make fashion choices by yourself."

"Excellent! Come, let's find something that she will like."

As the pair walked off, Sir Nighteye watched them carefully, mentally calculating the radius of their hearing range. With how loud the market was, he wasn't too worried they would hear anything from him and Deku. He stepped closer to Deku, looking over the boy's shoulder.

"Find anything?" he asked.

Deku shook his head. "Haven't seen anything that I think Eri would like."

"Unfortunate. And nothing for yourself?"

"No," Deku said, still shifting through the bin. After a moment, he found a little fluffy black kitten face plushie with bright purple eyes. A small clip was attached between its tufted ears so it could be clipped to a bag. It was incredibly soft to the touch, and with the way the cat's mouth and brows were set, it looked like it was tired, or a little grumpy. Deku held onto that one as he continued to shift through the bin. "So why are we here today?"

"Because you and Toga wanted to come to the market."

"No, I mean why did you take us off campus? I believe you when you say you spoke to Nezu about it, but I have the distinct feeling that you didn't have his full approval. My guess is that he said he would consider it and discuss it with Hound Dog to see if we were ready before he went to speak to Eraserhead and Vlad King about it. And then, if everyone agreed, there is no way that Nezu would choose you and All Might to go with us. So, unless you want me spilling the truth to Toga and All Might, who I know doesn't realize since he is too much of a rule follower to break Nezu's rules, then you need to tell me what's going on."

Nighteye sighed, taking another step closer to Deku. "You really are a bright young man, aren't you? Alright, you are correct. I do not 100% have Nezu's permission. But I needed to speak with you without anyone overhearing and this was the only thing I could think of. I… My student needs your help as an analyst. He has had recent changes in his quirk that are causing him to damage his own body. We need you to analyze him and see what training or fighting methods he needs to utilize so he can stop hurting himself."

"Who is the student?"

"You know him. Mirio."

A slight frown overtook Deku's face. "He has the permeation quirk. How is he hurting himself with that?"

"We believe a latent quirk, possibly passed down from a distant relative, has developed, increasing his speed and strength. He is keeping it a secret, for now, since it is unstable."

Deku's frown deepened. "That makes no sense. No one truly has two quirks. Like, people say Todoroki has two quirks, but he doesn't. He has a temperature regulation quirk that presents itself as fire and ice. Permeation and physical enhancement aren't connected at all. Those are two very different quirks. So, want to tell me the real reason he suddenly has two quirks?"

"Perhaps this is an example of quirk singularity."

"Maybe," Deku said, shrugging slightly. "Or maybe not. I doubt I'm going to get a real answer from you, so I'm not going to push. If you want me to help Mirio, then I'll need to see him in action. Watching him in person is best but I can make do with videos."

Nighteye nodded. "I'll work something out."

"Great. Now, what are you going to give me in exchange?"

"I've already agreed to helping with the Todoroki case."

"Yes, as payment for me agreeing to come out today. Now you need to pay me for helping Mirio. What will you give me?"

Nighteye sighed. "What do you want?"

Deku paused for a moment, thinking. After a beat, he finally answered. "I can't go to my mother's grave. I haven't seen what it looks like. I'd like to see a picture of it, know where it is. Can you find out where it is, take some flowers, and get me a photo?"

"You… you want a picture of your mothers grave?"

"Yeah. The Bakugous would have arranged it. I'm not sure if her family had a family grave, or if she was put somewhere else. We never visited a family grave, so I'm assuming there isn't one. I'd like to know where she is interred."

Nighteye's face went a little soft as he stared down at Deku, who still hadn't looked up.

"I can do that for you."

"Deku!" Toga called, sprinting up, a big smile on her face. In her hands, she waved a pair of earrings at Deku. "Look! They're blood bag earrings!"

Nighteye shot a look at All Might, who was wearing an easy, relaxed look on his face.

"Seriously, Toshi?" Nighteye asked.

"What? She liked them! And they're cute, in their own way. Besides, I thought she deserved a treat for helping pick out some gifts," All Might said with a laugh. "Midoriya, have you found something you liked?"

Deku nodded, holding up the cat keychain.

"Is that it? Is there anything else you'd like?"

He shook his head. "Maybe at another stall."

All Might nodded, pulling out his wallet and slipping the stall's owner some cash.

The group moved on, Deku and Toga leading the way. Anytime they stopped to look at something for more than a few seconds, All Might was pulling out his wallet, offering to buy it for them. They nearly always turned him down, only agreeing when the thing they were looking at was something for Eri.

Just as Deku stopped to look at some snowglobes at a stall, Toga let out a gasp, grabbing tightly to his arm.

"Deku! A kitty!" she squeaked, pointing to a nearby tree. Up in the mid branches was a small calico, clinging tightly to a branch and looking around with wide eyes. Her tail was swishing back and forth in a way that seemed nervous while her claws were digging firmly into the bark.

"Aw, I think she's stuck," Deku said with a frown.

Toga started to dash towards the tree. "I'll get her down!"

"Don't run off!" All Might called, hurrying after her, shopping bags clutched in his narrow hands.

Nighteye watched with barely concealed disdain. "So excitable."

Deku shrugged. "It's part of her charm."

"I meant Toshinori."

Snorting, Deku turned his attention back to the small snowglobes, looking at all the colors and figures tucked under the glass domes. Just as he went to pick one up, Nighteye shouted, startling Deku enough that he jumped back from the table.

"Toshinori!" Nighteye screeched. "Don't you dare climb that tree! You will hurt yourself!"

"But the cat, Mirai!"

Nighteye sighed, looking back to Deku. "Midoriya, can I trust you to stay right here while I go and help those two blond idiots?"

"I don't know, can you?"

"How about this, you run off, and I won't do any of the things I promised you."

"Then yes, you can trust me to stay here. Won't move an inch."

Nighteye nodded. "Good. I will be back in a moment."

While Nighteye stepped away, Deku went back to looking at the snowglobes. He plucked one up from the table, admiring the figurine inside it.

Sitting on a small mound of snow was a white kitsune, its face intricately marked with deep red patterns. Its paws, ears, and nine tails, all fanned out behind its body, were tipped in the same shade of red. Deku shook the globe gently, getting the fake snow and glitter to swirl up around the kitsune.

A shadow fell over Deku, a tall, lean body hovering at his shoulder. A hand came out, handing the stall owner some money.

"For the kid's globe," a deep, smokey voice said, sending a full body shiver through Deku's body.

Every one of his muscles locked, leaving him rigid and frozen. The man leaned over Deku's shoulder, putting their heads level as they both looked at the snowglobe.

"Cute. I like its little ears."

Deku swallowed thickly. "Hi Dabi."

"Hi Deku," he said, heat radiating off his body. "Fancy seeing you here. Is the snowglobe for Toga or for you?"

"Neither. You didn't need to buy it for me. You're probably broke now that you aren't with the League."

Dabi laughed, straightening up. Deku finally forced his body to move, turning just enough so he could see Dabi out of the corner of his eye.

The man was thinner than the last time he'd seen him, and his hair was longer. It was still dyed that same inky black color and his face was still marred by scars, but with the hood of his jacket casting a shadow over his face, it was easy to mistake him for any other young man.

"So you're making friends at your new hero school," Dabi drawled. "That's nice. You like it there?"

"Why are you here, Dabi? I thought we were even."

"We are. I was actually just passing through and happened to see you standing here. They're letting you out alone now?"

Deku shook his head. "I'm here with Toga and some pro heroes. They aren't supposed to leave me alone so they'll probably be back soon."

Dabi cocked one dark brow, giving Deku an unimpressed look. "You going to yell for them? Have me arrested?"

"Technically, I should," Deku said. "But you did just buy this snowglobe for me, so I guess I owe you one. I will have to let them know I saw you if they ask what I did while they were gone."

A smile broke out across Dabi's face. "Always the deal maker, aren't you, Deku?"

"Not a fan of being in someone's debt, you know how it is."

"I do. So, did the birdy give you my message?"

"Yeah. Technically, he didn't tell me everything until after I called Shigaraki, but that isn't on him."

Dabi laughed. "That's right, I saw the recording of Shigaraki's tantrum from the livestream. Lots of speculation online about who you are and what you've done."

"I'll be honest, I don't really care what people say."

"Good. Ignore them. Work hard and become a decent hero, you got that? And learn to be a fucking kid. You grew up too fast."

Deku's eyes narrowed as he cocked his head. "You did too, didn't you? You know, back when I ran with the League, I tried asking Giran about everyone in the League, and you were the only one he knew absolutely nothing about. Why is that?"

"I'm sure you have theories."

"I do. Want to give me any hints on which one is right?"

Sighing, the edges of Dabi's lips curved up ever so slightly. "You're just as annoying as ever, Deku. Give Shigaraki hell for me."

With that, Dabi melted back into the crowd, disappearing. Just in time too, because seconds later, Toga came sprinting back, a cat in her arms and two grown men chasing after her, telling her to slow down.

"Look! Deku-kun, look! She's hurt! All Might said we could drop her off at a vet's office on the way back to UA! And… Oh, what do you have there?"

Deku looked down at the kitsune snowglobe still clutched in his hands. "It's a gift for someone."

"It's very nice, young Midoriya!" All Might said jovially. He started to reach for his wallet, but Deku stopped him.

"It's already paid for. Someone bought it for me."

Nighteye's eyes narrowed to slits, gaze already flicking around the crowd, searching for who the person was. "What do you mean someone bought it for you? A stranger bought it?"

"Uh, no. It was… well… Shit, okay, so Dabi bought it for me."

"What!?" All Might spluttered, blood trickling out onto his chin.

Deku hurriedly continued, waving his free hand in front of him nervously. "But he wasn't here to do anything illegal, I promise! He just saw me and decided to come over and talk to me. All he did was ask if I was making friends and told me to keep working on being a hero! He didn't even touch me or ask about heroes or anything!"

"He didn't even say hi to me!?" Toga shrieked, stomping one of her feet and making the cat squirm in her grip. "What a jerk!"

"Both of you, to the car. Now," Nighteye said, no humor in his voice. "Toshi, I'll go alert the local heroes to have the market shut down and to set up a perimeter.

"He'll be long gone before you get a perimeter set up," Toga said, readjusting her grip on the cat.

Deku nodded. "He taught Toga everything he knew about parkour and then she taught me. He's probably better than the both of us combined."

"Doesn't matter," Nighteye snapped. "We are going to try to catch him."

All Might put a hand on each of the teens' shoulders. "Come on, let's go to the car. Once Mirai is done with talking to the nearby heroes, we will head straight to UA."

"What about the kitty?" Toga asked as All Might gently pushed them along back through the market.

"She'll just have to come with us."