Shigaraki's cries of pain could be heard throughout the entire facility. The halls rang with his screams as the Doctor powered up the machines, administering the next round of treatment. He howled in agony as electricity coursed through his body, wires and IVs stuck all over his body. Doctor Ujiko watched as Shigaraki's body arched off the table, his lean muscles flexing and twitching.

The machines switched off, allowing Shigaraki to flop back down onto the operation table. His chest was heaving as he panted.

"How many more rounds of treatment will he need?" All For One asked Ujiko, watching standing with the doctor on the other side of the one way glass.

"We've just reached the halfway point, Master."

"Is there any way you can speed up the process?"

"I could try doing multiple rounds of treatment in one day instead of just one. It will put more strain on his body and could possibly damage him though. His body is not as strong as yours or mine, you know."

All For One hummed thoughtfully. "Find a balance. Increase the pace of the treatment, but don't damage him too severely. I need him alive and mostly unharmed."

"Of course, Master," Doctor Ujiko said, a twisted, cruel smile curling on his face. With the flip of a switch, Shigaraki was screaming and writhing in pain again.

--

"I'm still so angry with myself for letting Midoriya leave with Nighteye yesterday," Mic said, helping Aizawa to make their bed.

"Zashi, it's not your fault. Nighteye manipulated everyone, even you and Midoriya"

"I know, but I should have known something was wrong! Midoriya actually went to hide behind me. Me! He used to be so scared and skittish around me and now he's seeking me out for protection!"

Aizawa smiled. "That's a big deal. It means he's starting to trust you."

"He's starting to trust you too, you know. He's been a lot more relaxed around you lately."

"I've noticed. Eri has been too. She seems to really be opening up."

"Oh! And she is doing great in her lessons," Mic gushed. "She's catching up to where she should be really fast! Hound Dog said she is doing well in her therapy sessions too and that she is probably getting close to the point where she would be able to be evaluated for if she is ready to go into a foster home or be adopted."

Aizawa froze, adjusting one of the pillows. He glanced over at his husband, who had an unnaturally neutral expression on his usually emotive face, his green eyes watching Aizawa carefully.

"They're still talking about putting her in the system?"

"Technically she already is in the system, same as Toga and Midoriya. But yeah, they are talking about looking for a more permanent home for her."

Images flashed through Aizawa's mind. Images of Eri giggling at the TV, Eri coloring, Eri asking him for help with her hair, Eri cuddling up to Midoirya on the couch, Eri and Midoriya playing games together, Eri and Midoriya bringing light and laughter and, yes, mischief into the home.

He thought about how Eri would sometimes look up at him with those big eyes and pale hair and for a split second, Aizawa would picture a world where she was his daughter. That if… if he hadn't died when they were 17, that maybe they would have had a little daughter, just like Eri.

And that was all going to be taken away.

"Shouta? What are you thinking?"

"That I don't want her to leave."

"Oh, good," Mic said, heaving a massive sigh of relief. "I was so scared you didn't feel the same way."

"What should we do?"

"Well, first we should talk to Nezu. We'll need his support. Then we're going to have to fight an uphill battle to adopt her. The odds are kind of stacked against us."

It was true. They were both pro heroes, which was a dangerous job, who lived in an unconventional home with a mostly rehabilitated villain tucked away in one of their rooms.

Speaking of mostly rehabilitated villains…

"What about Midoriya?"

Mic narrowed his eyes slightly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you think we could adopt him too? Or is that not something -"

"No! I want to!" Mic said quickly, cutting Aizawa off. "I thought you were going to suggest we send Midoirya to live with Vlad or something to make it easier to adopt Eri and I was going to have to DJ Punch you!"

Aizawa smiled, shaking his head as he skirted around the bed to pull his husband into a hug. "No, I would never suggest getting rid of one of our kids."

"Damn straight. We saw him first, so finders keepers."

"Yeah, finders keepers."

The sound of something shattering in the kitchen startled them into attention, both of them looking towards their closed door.

"Sorry, I did that!" Deku shouted.

"Nu uh! Deku is trying to take the blame again!"

"Shut up, Eri!"

"No! Mr. Aizawa said you had to stop doing that and to tell him when you did! He said you needed to be less… less…"

"Self sacrificing!" Aizawa called out, helping the girl to finish her sentence.

"Yeah, that!"

"I'll show you self sacrificing, you little gremlin," Deku shouted, which was quickly followed up with Eri squealing and laughing, screeching for Deku to stop tickling her.

"Our kids," Mic said, his grin only growing as Aizazwa shook his head fondly.

--

The day went as normal up until lunch. Deku had tried to avoid blushing over the fact that Shinsou had put the cat keychain on his backpack, and Deku had tried not to look too much into the fact that Todoroki seemed more tactile recently, but the day had been fine until they had reached the cafeteria.

"Midoriya!" a boisterous voice shouted, making Deku jump while he exited the line with his lunch. Looking around, he saw Mirio hurrying over, waving to him. In Mirio's hand was a carefully wrapped bento box. "Dang, you already got your food!"

Deku glanced down at his tray and then back up to Mirio. "Uh, yeah. Is that an issue?"

"Sir Nighteye wanted to apologize to you about the other day. He was worried he got you in trouble since you kinda knew what he was doing, so he asked me to give you this for your lunch today, along with this letter," Mirio explained, pulling a small envelope from his pocket.

"Is he doing anything to apologize to Toga?"

"I asked him about that and he said he was looking into donating some blood from people at his agency for her to use during her quirk practices. And…" Mirio trailed off for a moment, his smile faltering. "I wanted to say I was sorry too. I heard that Sir had asked you to help me with my quirk. I'm sorry that he caused all the trouble just because of me. You don't need to worry, okay? I can handle my quirk on my own."

"If you're having issues, I can -"

"Don't worry about it! Seriously! Now here, you can have the bento for dinner for something. I took a peek inside, just to make sure Sir wasn't pulling any more tricks, and the food looks super good! It'll last till the end of the day too!" Mirio then shoved the bento and envelope towards Deku, getting him to take it before waving and running off to catch up with his own friends.

The bento felt heavy, heavier than one would expect. Deku set his tray down on a nearby table and shucked his backpack off, placing the letter and bento inside. He didn't need his friends to see and get curious. He'd wait until he got back to his room that night and open them in private to see what Nighteye had to say. If Nighteye was still being an ass then maybe… maybe Deku would tell someone. Mic and Aizawa both seemed to care about him, for whatever reason, and seemed to want the best for him.

And so, Deku waited. He waited until he got back to his room that night, convincing Eri to go ask Aizawa to play with her for a bit, and he finally opened the bento.

The food was a little messy, having been shifted around while the box was in his backpack but it was probably still technically edible. That didn't mean Deku was going to eat it. He knew better than to eat food from strangers, especially without Toga there to sniff test it. Instead, Deku poked around, searching for what made the little box so heavy.

There. Buried beneath some rice, closed inside a little plastic baggy was a cellphone. It wasn't brand new, likely one of Nighteye's old phones, but it had a decent sized touch screen. A small cable to charge it with was tucked in with the phone as well. Deku set the phone aside and opened the letter, hoping it had more of an explanation.

' Midoriya, my apologies for putting you in that position yesterday. As a show of goodwill, I hope you can accept this gift. Relationships with your fellow hero are important, the key to them being hard work . I hope you can forgive me. - Sir Nighteye.'

Deku tossed the letter aside and opened the baggy with the phone. Lighting up the screen, he was met with an image of All Might in all his glory. Wrinkling his nose, Deku tapped the screen to pull up the keypad to unlock the phone.

9-6-7-5 : work

The phone unlocked on Deku's first try. A small blinking icon down at the bottom of the screen drew his attention. Clicking on it, an email popped up, addressed to him.

' Midoriya, I do apologize if you got into any trouble. That was not my intention. But I have found a way for you to hold up your end of our bargain. I can send you videos of Mirio, which you can watch on this phone. You can analyze his quirk and send me the information needed to help him. I have covered the costs of the data and service of this phone, so you will have no problem using it. I have blocked access to most websites and the phone will not call or text anyone besides myself, though we will mainly be communicating via email. Attached is your payment for your service. - Sir Nighteye. '

With a shaking hand, Deku clicked on the attachment. The screen was filled with an image that stole the breath from his lungs.

It was his mother's grave. A small stone plaque marked where her ashes were interred and beside it another plaque with his own name on it. A bouquet of colorful flowers were laid in front of her plaque.

Swallowing thickly, Deku pressed the button on the side of the phone to lock the screen, letting it go black as he tossed it to the side.

It looked like he was in debt to Sir Nighteye now. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

--

"Have you chosen a name for her?" Vlad asked, watching Toga cuddle with her cat.

Toga shook her head. "Not yet. I want it to be perfect, you know? I thought maybe about calling her Sergeant, so that she would match Captain, but I don't think it fits her."

Vlad huffed, nodding. "She needs something that suits her. Now, you need to stop fussing over the cat and do your homework. I know you have an essay due for Midnight by the end of the week and you have an assignment from Ectoplasm, so get working on those. I'm going to be working on some grading, so if you have questions, come ask me."

Nodding, Toga set the cat aside and skipped off to her room, already running possibly essay topics through her head. After collecting her backpack, she made her way back to the living room, only to stop in the doorway, surprise coloring her expression.

Vlad King was sitting at the dining room table, his papers spread out in front of him. Instead of looking at them though, he was looking at the cat, who had climbed up onto the table and was staring at him expectantly.

"Are you looking for something?" Vlad asked the cat, his tone dry and calm, as though he were speaking to a human. "I don't have any food so if that's what you want, go bug Toga. She's soft on you."

The cat cocked her head and meowed quietly.

"If you're going to sit up here, then help me with grading. Do you know anything about hero laws? What about ethics? No? That's too bad."

Purring, the cat leaned forward and pressed her head into the side of Vlad's large hand.

"Oh, you want to be pet some more? Fine, here you go," Vlad said, roughly scratching behind one of the cat's ears. When he set his hand back down, the cat looked at him again and meowed, stepping closer. "I've got things to do. Maybe I'll pet you some more later. In the meantime, if you can't help me with grading, then help Toga with her homework."

Finally, Toga giggled, startling Vlad and making him jump a little in his seat. The cat spun around, crooked tail sticking up in the air.

"She can't understand you, you know," Toga laughed.

"You don't know that. She could be like Nezu."

"If she was, then she wouldn't have gotten herself stuck in a tree."

Vlad frowned, glancing down at the cat. "You have a point," he grumbled. Reaching out, he scooped the cat up with one hand, safely cradling her as he lifted her to eye level. With a stern expression on his face, he began to speak. "Listen closely, cat. Don't go climbing any trees. Is that clear? If you get stuck again, I'll have to climb up to get you and then neither of us are going to be happy."

The cat reached one paw out and gently booped his nose.

"Glad we understand each other."

Toga laughed again as she stepped further into the room, settling herself on the couch to do her homework. The cat trotted over, weaving her way between Toga's legs before climbing onto the couch to sleep. Toga reached a hand out to pet her.

"I think I know what her name should be," she said.

Vlad looked up from the worksheet he was grading. "Oh yeah? What is it?"

"Queen."

"Queen? Why?"

"Well, you're King, right? That means the apartment is your kingdom. You already have a Captain to defend it, but you don't have a queen! And every kingdom needs a Queen. So I think it's perfect!" Toga explained, her yellow eyes still fixed on the cat as she stroked over her soft ears.

Vlad watched the girl he had come to think of as his daughter as she fussed over the skinny cat. It was such a domestic scene, one he never thought he would have in his life. When he was younger, he fully expected to die before he made it to 25. He figured a villain would catch up to him and kill him within his first few years as a hero. So, he'd never bothered dating. Not that he had much interest in dating anyways, but when people suggested it to him, he'd brush them off saying he couldn't with his career. But just because he wasn't interested in having a partner didn't mean he didn't want kids. And so, when he turned 25 and hadn't been killed yet, he started to actually think about his future.

With his line of work, and being single, he knew no one would ever let him adopt, so he decided to do the next best thing: become a teacher. And that made him happy, even if it wasn't exactly what he wanted. Most kids were scared of him, so they rarely spoke to him about anything besides school work, but it was good. It was the closest he'd ever get to fatherhood, he thought. That is, until Nezu called him into his office all those months ago and dumped a feral, blood sucking teenager into his lap.

Vlad King smiled. "Yeah, it is perfect."

--

"Alright, settle down," Aizawa said, walking into the classroom on a bright morning. "I have two things to discuss before we begin class. First, those of you without a hero name need to get me answers on them soon. We are starting to approach the end of your first year here at UA and you must have your hero name for your second year. If you are struggling with coming up with a name, talk to any teacher besides me. Next, a quick reminder that tomorrow is parent visitation day for the hero course. All of your parents were reminded a week ago and will be sent an automatic reminder today. The support course is having their parent visitation day today so if you mess up your gear, you'll have to wait to get it repaired. And stay away from the support course dorms. I am sure that all the parents are trustworthy, especially since Nezu did background checks, but that doesn't mean that they won't be curious about our new additions to the hero course. Word has spread at this point and it wouldn't surprise me if some of the nosier parents were to go snooping. Any questions?"

"What time are our parents getting here?" Kaminari asked, raising his hand.

"We will be allowing them to come on campus starting at 8:00 AM."

Kaminari's face went pale. "I'm going to be up all night cleaning my room!"

Laughing, Sero shook their head. "You should stop letting your room get so messy and then you wouldn't have to worry about your parents seeing it."

"I don't do it on purpose! It just… gets like that on its own!"

While the two started to bicker, Aizawa watched with a tired expression, Deku bit at his lip thoughtfully.

He needed a hero name. When he was little, and still had hopes of getting a quirk, he'd dreamed of calling himself a variety of different names. Some of them related to All Might, since Deku had been such a big fan, and then some were matching names with Bakugou. At one point, the pair thought they would be called the Wonder Duo. And then Bakugou got his quirk and Deku never got one and everything fell apart.

Shinsou leaned over, giving Deku a soft smile. "Do you have any ideas for your hero name?"

Deku shook his head. "No clue. I probably should have been thinking about it, but I had other stuff on my mind."

"That's fair. I struggled coming up with mine but ended up settling on Mindfreak. Enough people called me that growing up, that I wanted to take it back. Plus, it doesn't give away my quirk, which was important."

"Makes sense. That's kinda how I chose Deku when… when I ran away from home. Everyone called me that since the way my name is spelled could be read as Deku and… you know… I'm quirkless, so I'm useless. Maybe I should just keep that and use it as my hero name."

"You're not useless," Shinsou said with a frown. "You never have been. I… I think you should choose a new name. Not because I think you should be ashamed of your past or try to hide it, but because I think you deserve better. I think you deserve better than to be constantly called useless."

Deku's eyes went round as he stared at Shinsou, mouth slightly agape. "You… You really mean that?"

"Yeah, I do. I don't really like calling you Deku, honestly, but I don't want to make you uncomfortable calling you anything else. It's what Toga calls you, so I figured it's what you preferred. Until you tell me differently, then I'll call you that, but just keep in mind that when I say it, I'm not calling you useless. I'm just calling you my friend."

--

The sounds of shouting and slamming doors started Deku awake. For a split second, he thought he was back in the League's hideout. His eyes flew open and he sat straight up in bed, breathing heavily. It took him a moment, but after looking around the room and seeing that he was in fact safe in the Aizawa-Yamada apartment, he felt himself relax.

A knock at his door caught his attention.

"Deku!" Eri called excitedly. "Hawks is here!"

With a smile, Deku scrambled out of bed and bolted out of his room, scooping Eri up on the way and making her giggle.

"There he is! My hero!" Hawks shouted, his wings puffing up. The feathers seemed thicker, and almost more vibrant. His skin had a healthy glow to it and his smile was the biggest Deku had ever seen. And, instead of wearing the designer clothes he was known for, he wore a pair of loose, comfortable jeans and a garish, multi-colored sweatshirt with a cat face printed on the front. "I came to tell you the good news! I am officially out of my contract with the Commission! They have until Monday to transfer all the accounts and assets into my name and to remove their employees from my agency! Nezu said he would help sniff out anyone that sticks behind, but I'm finally free, all thanks to you!"

Deku shrugged slightly, adjusting his grip on Eri. "I didn't do much except give some advice."

"You gave me advice and a plan, which worked beautifully. They thought I was bluffing about revealing information about my past, just like you said they would, and so after that interview on the talk show, they took me seriously. With a little negotiating, I basically won! I have to keep my mouth shut to the media about what they did and I probably will lose my ranking but I don't care! I'm finally free!"

With an almost birdlike caw of joy, Hawks jumped forward and wrapped both Eri and Deku in a massive hug, lifting the pair from the ground and making them both shriek with laughter.

Mic, who was watching this all from the couch, smiled at their antics as Aizawa padded out of their bedroom, his hair a mess and a grumpy expression on his face.

"It's too damn early for all this noise."

"That's why I brought you coffee," Hawks said, a feather detaching from his wing to grab a disposable coffee cup off the table and carry it over to Aizawa. "Figured you couldn't stay mad at me if I brought you caffeine."

"That's a safe bet."

"You needed to get up anyway. The parents will be here soon and we have to be out in the common room to supervise," Mic said, getting up from the couch and stretching. "Eri, let's go pick out what you're going to wear today."

Hawks set the children down, letting Eri scamper off after Mic.

"So is Hawks here to babysit us?" Deku asked, running a hand through his shaggy hair.

Hawks shook his head. "Nah, I dropped by as a surprise. I just wanted to give you the good news and thank Eraserhead for the awesome sweater. I don't know anything about parents coming here."

"It's parent visitation day for the hero course students. We try to have one day a semester for all the parents to come to campus for a big get together visit type thing. I guess it's supposed to make them feel better because they get to check in on where their kid is living. And Midoriya, you and Eri will be coming with us to the common room. Hound Dog wants Eri to experience being around strangers, even if it's only for a little bit, so we think seeing the parents would be a good first step for her. If she gets overwhelmed, she'll go to spend time with Recovery Girl or Hound Dog. And you, you are going to hang out with your friends for the day. I want you to especially keep an eye on Todoroki. I'm not sure if he'll have anyone coming to visit today, so I don't want him sitting alone and feeling bad. Think you can do that?"

Deku nodded seriously. "Yeah, I'll watch him. If the parents get upset about me being here though, can Todoroki and I go and hang out with Eri wherever she is?"

"Sure, but I don't think anything is going to happen. Go get dressed and don't wear anything too weird."

Once Deku was out of ear shot, Hawks shot Aizawa a calculating look. "You also want him to stay with Todoroki so he doesn't dwell on the fact he doesn't have parents, right?"

"He has parents," Aizawa snapped without thinking. When he saw Hawks' expression shift from confused to gleefully devious, Aizawa felt dread well in his gut.

"Does he now? Does he happen to have two cool pro hero dads that I didn't know about?"

"Legally speaking, we are his guardians."

"Guardians, not parents. So why the slip of the tongue? Come on, you can tell me, I won't snitch."

Sighing, Aizawa shot Hawks a glare. "Hizashi and I have been speaking with Hound Dog and Nezu about what we need to do to be able to adopt Midoriya and Eri. Once we have all the paperwork filled out, we're going to sit the kids down separately and explain the situation and extend the offer. We don't want either kid to make their decision based on the other, so we're going to talk to them about it one on one. We'll show them the paperwork, which will mean more to Midoriya than it will Eri, to prove that we are serious about wanting to adopt them, and if they say yes, then we'll file all the forms."

Hawks nodded along. "And what if one agrees and the other doesn't? Or what if neither agrees?"

"If neither agrees, then we will offer to continue to foster them until they age out of the system. We are more likely to be able to keep Midoriya as a foster child, but we would fight to keep Eri if that was what she wanted. If they didn't want to live with us, we would help to find them new guardians. Midoriya would still have to be fostered by a UA teacher, but Eri would have the option of living with just about anyone. And if one wanted to be adopted but not the other, then we would adopt the one that accepted and try to continue to foster the other."

"Good. I can see Eri agreeing but I am a little unsure about Midoriya. You're really going to have to convince him that you aren't trying to adopt him out of pity or because you want something from him. You're really going to have to show that you want to adopt him because you actually care about him."

"That's the goal. I'm somewhat hoping that he'll see all the parents today and see how much they love their kids and relate that back to how Hizashi and I treat him and Eri."

"It'll be good for Eri to see a normal parent-child interaction and relationship too," Hawks said, smiling up at Aizawa. "Not that she doesn't already get that from you."

Eri then reentered the room, dressed in a cute set of denim overalls, a white shirt beneath it, and red boots.

"Look! My shoes are like Deku's!"

"They are!" Hawks said excitedly. "You know what, I should get red shoes too. Then we could all match!"

That started Eri off on a tangent about different colored shoes and her favorite colors, which Hawks listened to intently and with his full attention.

Aizawa hid his smile behind his coffee cup.

Once everyone had gotten ready and had eaten a quick breakfast, the group made their way down to the common room, where the rest of class 1-A was gathered. As soon as Shinsou and Todoroki saw Deku come in, they both broke out into grins. Shinsou waved Deku over to the couch they were on, his other arm draped across Todoroki's shoulders. Deku made his way over, and when he went to sit on the arm of the couch, Shinsou grabbed Deku around his waist and yanked him off balance, causing the smaller boy to tumble and sprawl across his and Todoroki's laps.

"Hey!" Deku shouted, trying to climb off them. Todoroki immediately grabbed him to keep him there, laughing lightly. Shinsou was laughing so hard that he was snorting as he tried to tickle Deku's sides.

"There's our favorite green bean!" Shinsou said. "Was starting to think you were going to sleep the day away."

"I was hanging out with Hawks!"

And as if summoned, Hawks strode over, smiling at the boys' antics. "Aw, who are these guys, Midoriya? Your boyfriends?"

Deku spluttered indignantly. "No! They're my friends!"

"Aw, did the big bad Deku finally admit we were friends?" Shinsou asked.

Todoroki ruffled Deku's hair affectionately. "I think that's what I heard."

"Stop it, you jerks!"

Hawks snorted, watching Deku try to swat Todoroki's hands away. "You kids are fun. Oh, before I forget: Todoroki, I know you interned with your father for a little bit and I understand that that is no longer an option for you. If you ever need help with training your fire, let me know. I worked closely with your dad for a while and know a lot about his quirk. That, and I have connections to heroes and sidekicks who have fire type quirks who I know for a fact aren't Endeavor fans. I can put you in contact with them if you are ever looking for someone trustworthy to help you with training your quirk. I could also do some digging on ice type quirks, if you needed help with that too."

Todoroki's mismatched eyes went round with shock as he looked up at Hawks, all signs of playfulness gone. "Really? You would help? I thought you were…"

"A fan of your dad's? Yeah, I was when I was younger. And then I learned about what was going on behind closed doors. I don't put up with that sort of shit. So just think about it and if you need to get a hold of me, Aizawa has my number."

Smiling slightly, Todoroki nodded. "Thank you, I would appreciate that."

"Enough sappy shit," Shinsou said, shoving Deku's hand out of his face when the green-haired boy tried to break free from his grasp again. "Hawks, I have to know where you got the sweatshirt. I need one."

"Oh! This?" Hawks said, preening under the attention. "Eraserhead gave it to me! I think it was supposed to be a gag gift, since there was a note attached telling me I needed to figure out what my own style is now that I don't have rules about what I wear, but I actually like it! It's so warm and cozy! Now, if you all will excuse me, I want to go say hi to Tokoyami before I head out. I want to be gone before the parents start getting here." Hawks ducked down and ruffled Deku's hair, drawing a cry of protest from the boy. "See you kids later!"

As Hawks left, Deku tried to struggle out of his friends' laps, only to be yanked down again.

"Stop trying to run!" Shinsou scolded.

"Stop cuddling me! What gives? You guys never do this."

"We're trying to make sure you don't run off to hide," Todoroki said, starting to stroke Deku's mess of curls. The smaller boy tensed at the gentle touches, only to slowly relax into it.

"Why are you afraid I'm going to hide?"

Shinsou gave Deku a pointed look. "There's going to be a lot of people here today and you hate crowds. Normally, we wouldn't care if you went to hide. Hell, we'd probably join you. But my mom is going to be here today and I want both of you to meet her."

"Why me?" Deku asked, cocking a brow. "I understand you wanting her to meet Todoroki, but I figured you'd want me to steer clear of her."

"Like you said, we're friends. I didn't really have friends growing up, so I want her to meet the ones I have now."

A bang from the front door as it flew open startled the three boys, sending Deku sprawling onto the floor.

"Where is he!?" a familiar feminine voice shouted. "I want to see him right now!"

"Sweetheart, inside voice…"

"I'm right here, you old hag!"

"Not you! I want to see Izuku!"

Scrambling up into a seated position, Deku poked his head from around the edge of the couch. "Auntie?" he said cautiously.

Bright red eyes turned on him. Mitsuki and Masaru Bakugou stood in the doorway, the early morning light silhouetting them. Mitsuki's eyes were alight, as though on fire. Masaru had one hand on her shoulder, as though he hoped to hold her back, though anyone that knew the couple knew that he would never be able to.

As soon as Mitsuki saw Deku, her whole face twisted in something akin to anger. She stomped forward towards Deku, her brows furrowed.

"Izuku Midoriya! You come here this instant!"

Without thinking, Deku bolted to his feet and made to run. Before he could take off though, Bakugou stepped in front of his mother, getting between her and Deku, and snarled at her.

"Leave him alone!"

"Katsuki, move! I need to give my nephew a hug and scold him for not telling me he was alive!"

"You can do that without yelling! Calm down and stop being angry and I'll move!"

"I wouldn't be angry if you would have just done what I said and gotten him on a phone call with me! I've thought that boy was dead for months now and you wouldn't even get me a photo of him!"

"What was I supposed to do?! Corner him and demand he let me take a picture!?"

While the two blonds bickered, their voices rising, Masaru skirted around them and made his way over to Deku. He gave the boy a kind smile while he opened his arms, an invitation for a hug.

"It's nice to see you, Izuku. We're so happy you're okay."

Taking a careful step forward, Deku let Masaru wrap him into a tight hug. Masaru tucked Deku's head into his shoulder and squeezed him tightly, waiting for the tension to leave his body. After a moment, Deku's hands started to rise. And then, all at once, Deku threw his arms around Masaru, his shoulders shaking as he started to cry into the man's shoulder, all the while, breathing in the smell of the Bakugou family home: the closest Deku would ever get to smelling his own family home again.

"I'm sorry," Deku hiccuped. "I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Izuku. You did what you had to do and we understand. We are the ones who are sorry. We are so sorry you didn't feel safe enough to come to us for help. We'll do better, I promise you."

"Stop hogging him for yourself!" Mitsuki cried, finally pushing past Bakugou and knocking Masaru aside. She bundled Izuku into her arms, squeezing him in a death grip of a hug. "Don't you ever do that again, do you understand me?! You and Katsuki are supposed to be the ones to bury us, not the other way around! I swear, if I have to bury you again, I will personally resurrect you just to kill you myself!"

Deku laughed lightly, giving her a hug back. "I missed you too, Auntie. You… you really aren't mad at me for… for…"

"For becoming a criminal?" Mitsuki asked, pulling back. She put her hands on either side of Deku's face, squishing his cheeks. "Of course I'm mad! But you did the right thing in the end and that's what matters. Is that why you tried to run just now? Because you thought I was angry?"

Deku awkwardly nodded, his face still being squeezed.

" Tch ," Mitsuki said, shaking her head. "You've always been a nervous boy. The worst I would do would be to shout at you! Shit, when you were little, all I had to do was give you a disappointed look and you'd break down crying and apologizing. At least now that you're in the hero course you'll learn to stick up for yourself. Now tell me, are they treating you right? Feeding you enough? You look skinny. I don't like it. Katsuki! Are you making sure Izuku eats enough?"

"He's not my responsibility!"

"Yes he is! Same as you being his! You've known each other since birth, act like it! You're practically brothers! And soon enough, I'll make it so you are legally brothers too!

That caught the attention of more than one person in the room. Both Mic and Aizawa furrowed their brows, their gazes zeroing in on Mitsuki Bakugou. Deku's mouth dropped open in shock while Bakugou's was pulled into a grimace.

"I hadn't told him yet, hag," Bakugou snarled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What?! I told you to tell him right away!"

"I've been busy!"

Mitsuki rolled her eyes, finally letting go of Deku's face. "What my brat of a son was supposed to tell you, Izuku, is that in your mother's will, she wrote that custody of you would fall to Masaru and I should she pass. As soon as Katsuki told us you were alive and at UA, we contacted our lawyer and started the process to get approved as prospective adoptive parents. Since you were in a unique situation, we knew we were going to have to jump through a lot of hoops. We had to get our house inspected and background checks done and everything, but we finally have our foster license. Once we get done visiting with Katsuki today, we're going to go speak to the principal about what we need to do to be able to get custody of you and then, from there, we can adopt you!"

Deku's brows were furrowed in confusion. "Why would you want to adopt me?"

"You're family, Izuku, in every way except blood," Masaru explained. "We want you to have as normal a childhood as possible. We know that you are a ward of UA for now, but we are hoping to be able to have custody so that, once it is safe for you, you can come to live with us during your school breaks."

Taking a nervous step back, Deku's eyes flicked between Mitsuki and Masaru, before finally locking with Bakugou's stern gaze. Bakugou's red eyes were searching Deku's face, as though he were trying to gauge for a reaction. Whatever he saw in Deku's eyes, he didn't seem to like, as his face twisted and he shouldered past his parents.

"Why'd you guys have to go and dump all this on him as soon as you see him, huh?" Bakugou snapped. "Maybe he doesn't want to live with us, ever think of that?"

Mitsuki frowned. "Why wouldn't he? We're the only people he has left!"

"He has friends now!"

"You're his friend!"

"No I'm not! I was shitty to him and no one stopped me!"

Masaru tried to put a hand on his wife's shoulder only to be shrugged off. "So you've mentioned," she snapped. "And if you pull that shit after he comes to live with us, then you'll answer to me!"

"Where were you for the past 10 years, huh?! As soon as I got my quirk and he didn't, I became a little monster! And you let me run wild!"

"It's a part of our quirks! We have explosive quirks and that leads to explosive personalities!"

"No, I have the explosive quirk! You and the old man just didn't give a fuck! You let me run fucking wild and filled my head with shit about how amazing and special my quirk was when its not!"

"Oh, so now I'm the bad guy? Now I'm the reason you turned out the way you did? Maybe if you weren't so weak, you wouldn't have had to pick on a quirkless kid to feel better!"

"Fuck you, hag!"

"Kacchan, maybe we should -"

"Get the fuck off me, shitty Deku!" Bakugou snarled, spinning and knocking Deku to the ground, twin explosions firing off from his hands. Shinsou and Todoroki were in motion immediately, Shinsou dropping to check if Deku was okay while Todoroki brought an ice covered arm up, ready to fight.

The room fell silent as the two strongest students in the class stared at each other, both daring the other to move.

Suddenly, a low whistle broke the silence. Glancing towards the door, they saw a young man with white spiked hair and broad shoulders watching the confrontation, his hands in his pockets.

"Damn," Natsuo Todoroki said, shaking his head. "If I'd known all of this was going on, I might have shown up later. It's like family dinners all over again, huh Shoto?"

"Natsuo, not the time."

"What? I thought it was funny."

"Bakugou," Aizawa called, catching the attention of the blond haired teen. "Come on. You and your parents and I are going to have a discussion. Privately."