Author's Note:

A guide to 1920s slang used in this chapter:

Yap = mouth

Zotzed = killed

Speakeasy = an illicit establishment selling alcoholic beverages. During the Prohibition Era, when alcohol was outlawed in the United States, speakeasies became common.

Oyster fruit = pearls

Pigeon = police informer

Chapter Four:

Upon arriving at his old orphanage, Izuku's feet skidded to a stop in front of metal fence. He stared in horror. The white building had been burned so badly the entire left half was black and charred. Exposed metal poles stuck up in the air, covered in soot. The first floor had been boarded off with wooden planks. The bushes were singed and rubble spread across the grass.

Izuku could not believe what his eyes were seeing. He must be in the wrong place. Then he saw the faded red sign lying fallen across the walkway. A ray of light fell across the familiar letters. Izuku's legs moved on their own as he climbed over the chain link metal fence blocking off the condemned building.

Gasping between sobs, Izuku fought his way through the charred rubble. His head ached in a distant way as if he was not entirely connected to his body. The whole world had gone silent, or maybe he couldn't hear. He knelt down around approximately the area of his old bedroom and tossed away boards. He was going to find his treasured Babe Ruth baseball card that he'd hidden under the bed. He didn't know why that was so important, except that he had a mad notion that if he found the card then that meant everyone was all right. Dirt got stuck under his nails and he cried out in pain as one nail broke. But he kept digging, tears falling down on his dirty hands.

A board slipped under his legs, and Izuku slid down the rubble pile with a cry. He landed at the bottom with a bruising force to his rear. Though he wasn't truly hurt, the pain shocked him out of his madness. That had been stupid. He could have seriously injured himself looking for a card that had no chance of being there. Paper did not survive a fire. Izuku rubbed his eyes with the cleanest part of his sleeve. Then he stood up. Time to go back, find Toshinori, and apologize.

"Izuku!" Toshinori vaulted over the fence, his eyes wild. He ran over, leapt down, and grabbed Izuku's right hand with the broken nail. "Your hand…your poor hand…" Spitting on his sleeve, he tried to wipe off the dirt.

"Don't," Izuku said, pulling away. "Your coat is too expensive."

"Oh, who cares about the coat!" Toshinori cried. "Bandages, we have to get a bandage." He looked all around as if expecting them to materialize. Then he pulled out a handkerchief, tying it around Izuku's finger.

"It's just a little cut."

Toshinori's head sagged. "Izuku, I'm very sorry."

"I should be the one apologizing." Izuku shivered. He was mildly shocked that an adult would ever apologize to a kid. "I'm sorry I ran off like that. Everything just got…overwhelming." He sniffled.

Toshinori looked stricken. He waved his hands as if not sure what to do with them. He reached into his pocket for his handkerchief but he'd already used it as a bandage. Taking off his jacket, he offered it.

"I'm not blowing my nose on your jacket," Izuku insisted. He rubbed his nose on his sleeve. "Don't look so upset. I'm not crying because of you. It's because of…" He waved his hand over the burned building. "It looks bad. What if some of the other kids died?"

Grimly, Toshinori said, "Even he wouldn't go that far."

Izuku blinked. "You think Uncle Hisashi did this?"

Toshinori sighed and folded his jacket over his arm. "After I read reports about your orphanage, even I wanted to burn it down."

"Oh, no." Izuku flinched. Then this was his fault. "Can you find out what happened to everyone?"

"Of course. Right away." Toshinori looked all around again as if hunting for a phone booth amongst the rubble. "As soon as we get back home, I'll call Naomasa."

Izuku nodded. "We should leave. This place isn't stable."

As they climbed back over the fence, Toshinori said, "I'm very sorry. I shouldn't have dragged you out on a shopping trip without even asking if you wanted to."

Izuku accepted a hand to help him down over the fence. "I appreciate that you want to give me presents. It's just…I don't need all that stuff. And the kids here don't have anything at all." He waved back at the orphanage. "Do you think…I could give some of my clothing and toys to them?" He glanced at his guardian, afraid he'd caused offense. "Please don't think that I'm ungrateful! It's only, the other kids must have lost their stuff in the fire, and I'm worried about them."

Toshinori smiled with such great warmth and approval that it lit up his whole face. "What a wonderful idea. You're a good boy."

Izuku ducked his head and flushed.

Toshinori continued, "Your belongings are yours to do whatever you want with. You can keep them even if Hisashi gets custody of you, and you can give them away. There's no need to ask me for permission. Your idea is much better than mine. I was being silly, buying so much that we don't need."

That was a weight off Izuku's mind. He'd never felt like the items that Hisashi had given him had truly belonged to him. It also made him feel even more guilty for running off, when Toshinori was so kind and reasonable. Izuku could have tolerated one shipping trip and kept his big yap shut. "You don't need to feel bad about buying me stuff. You were trying to be nice."

Toshinori sighed. "I was competing with Hisashi. Ugh. I was nervous about raising you, but I thought I could at least be a better father than that man. I've failed to fulfil my own lowest expectations."

Hunching over his shoulders, Izuku felt even more guilty. "I was overwhelmed with Hisashi too. I think I ran away from you because…it felt safer to do to you than him." Instinctively, Izuku had known that if he'd pulled a stunt like this with Hisashi then he would have dearly paid for it. "Sorry, does that feel unfair? You treated me better so I repaid you by acting out more. I guess you must regret now that you weren't stricter with me."

"Not at all, my b—Izuku. You were completely right: based on what Yoichi told me, Hisashi doesn't take it well when people run from him." Toshinori's gaze turned distant, before he shook off the bad memory with a smile. "I'm glad that you feel safe enough to show your real feelings around me."

"You can call me your boy. It feels a little familiar when you do that. That's what you used to call me, didn't you say?"

Toshinori beamed even more brilliantly. "That's right, my boy."

When they arrived back at the car, people were staring at the man and boy in fancy clothing covered in dirt. Izuku only hoped no one snapped a picture before they got in.

Back at the mansion, Nana clucked over their filthy appearance and ordered them straight to the bath.

Izuku was glad that Hikage felt well enough to come downstairs for dinner. But Izuku had little appetite himself. He tossed and turned that night, fretting over his old friends at the orphanage.

By the next morning, Toshinori had news. The orphanage had supposedly burned down due to a candle falling over. The children had all evacuated safely, but the orphanage owner had been drunk and failed to get out in time. Or at least that was what the official report said. Izuku could not help feeling guilty even though he did not truly mourn the cruel woman. He filed away his feelings about what had happened for processing later.

The children had been spread around other orphanages across the city. Izuku and Toshinori visited each one with clothing and toys. Izuku couldn't help wanting to hand out something to everyone, both the kids he knew and the ones he didn't. Fortunately, they had plenty to go around. Without being asked, Toshinori had purchased even more including clothing and toys for girls, too.

Izuku's old roommate Hitoshi Shinsou was at the fourth orphanage they visited. The deceased orphanage owner had separated all the children together by race, which had meant Hitoshi and Izuku, the only two Japanese-American children, had been crammed together in a closet-turned-bedroom with only one bed.

Hitoshi sidled up to Izuku and handed him a Babe Ruth baseball card. "I grabbed it from under the bed when we evacuated," he whispered. "I went by Mr. Shigaraki's house to try and give it back to you, but some scary goons chased me off."

"Thank you," Izuku said, clutching the card tightly to his chest. His eyes felt watery again.

Hitoshi shrugged. "Remember me when you're rich and famous," he said, half a joke and half serious.

Back in the car, Izuku said, "Hitoshi is super-smart. We used to study together at the library. Do you think there might be any scholarships at the school where I want to attend?"

Toshinori said, "I'd be happy to pay for your friend's tuition. I think it would be good for you to have a friend, especially if you go to a snooty private school."

Twiddling his fingers, Izuku said, "I don't want to make Hitoshi feel too dependent on me. He's got a lot of pride. But he's smart enough to deserve a scholarship on his own merits."

Toshinori said, "Scholarships can be arranged for a donation. I'll look into it when we get back home."

Izuku said, "You could take it out of my trust…"

"I couldn't, morally or legally. That money is quite untouchable until you turn eighteen. As your guardian, it's my responsibility to look out for your needs using my own bank account. I'm already funding several hundred scholarships, my boy. One more won't shut down the company."

Squirming in the car seat, Izuku asked, "Why did you say before that you were nervous about adopting me?"

Toshinori jumped a little. "I didn't mean to say that part out loud. It had nothing to do with you. It's a big adjustment, going from babysitting a child and being a fun uncle figure to a full time dad. I agreed to it willingly, but I wasn't sure if I could measure up to your parents. You adored them both so much."

Izuku ached with how much he wished he could remember his parents. "I think you've been doing well. I'm not an easy kid to deal with. I've got…damage."

"I appreciate the vote of confidence." Toshinori's fingers tapped on the steering wheel as he sat at a stop light. After a moment, he said, "I was adopted, too. Unofficially. Torino and Nana raised me."

"They did?"

"Yeah. Torino is like my father and Nana like my big sister. I crashed Torino's car the week after I met him. He had to bail me out of jail twice within the month. Compared to me, you ran off once. You've been no trouble at all."

"I also cheated at poker," Izuku joked. "And I hoarded food…and I don't want people to hug me…" Now he was starting to panic again, thinking about how difficult he'd been when everyone had been so kind to him.

"And you helped Hikage through one of his worst days in a while. By teenager standards, you're an angel."

"I've been trying to be good," Izuku said quietly, looking at his hands.

"It would be okay if you let loose a little more. You can get angry next time I do something wrong. You can cause trouble." Toshinori laughed ruefully. "Torino would encourage you to make life more difficult for me. He would say that it's my karma."

Izuku laughed, too.

The light changed and the car moved again. They soon arrived at the very last orphanage for the day. Toshinori had a truck following behind them where they distributed the last of the goods.

Just as they were getting into the car, a man in a tan suit ran up. His hair disheveled, he bent over panting. "Mr. Yagi, there's trouble at Stonewall…"

Toshinori glanced at Izuku. "Can we talk about this alone?"

Unable to help himself, Izuku scowled. He'd been hoping for at least one guardian who wasn't keeping secrets from him, but so much for that. "Fine, I'll go wait in the car." He couldn't keep his annoyance out of his voice.

Eyebrows drawing up with worry, Toshinori said, "It's not like that. I'm not involved in anything wrong…You used to already know before you lost your memories."

Izuku crossed his arms. "Then let me come along this time, too."

Toshinori said, "It could be dangerous."

The man said, "Oh, it's just a fuss over a stolen necklace, no one is getting zotzed."

Waving them both into the car, Toshinori said, "Very well."

They drove to Harlem, New York, arriving in front of a building painted white on the upper story and red on the lower. A green canopy hung over the entrance. The Stonewall Inn was outwardly a tearoom but actually a speakeasy and gay bar. How did Izuku know that? He wasn't sure. It was another piece of information that rattled around in his brain despite his amnesia.

The tearoom was on the upper floor. Toshinori tapped on a bookcase and it swung open to reveal stairs down. In the basement, the walls, floor, and bar counter were all made of dark wood. Lights on strings dangled over the pool tables. A sweet scent mingled with the smell of urine.

A muscular redhead in a sequined red dress struggled with a shorter blond. They both had hands in each other's hair, yanking and shouting. Their high heels clacked against the floorboards. The crowd around them clapped and cheered. The more muscular woman threw the shorter one to the ground.

Toshinori rushed forward. "Magne, let go of her hair. What happened?"

It astonished Izuku to see how fast everyone in the room snapped to obey. Someone fetched Toshinori a chair. Both women stood before him, hanging their heads.

The blonde pointed at Magne accusingly. "She stole my necklace."

"I borrowed it." Magne flipped back her hair to reveal a long pearl necklace. "The oyster fruit looks better on me."

The blonde lunged. Toshinori stepped between the two ladies, holding them apart. "Magne, this is not the first time I've had to talk to you about 'borrowing' what doesn't belong to you. Do you want to pay a fine or do you want to be banned from Stonewall?"

A ban must be a heavy threat, because Magne paled. "Aw, come on, I would have returned the necklace tomorrow. I'll pay."

There was a bit of haggling over the fine, then Toshinori forced the two women to shake hands.

Izuku looked over his shoulder as they climbed the staircase. Despite the bad smell, he'd been curious to stay at this fascinating place longer.

As they got into the car, Izuku asked, "What happened back there?"

Toshinori started the engine. "It's a bit of a long story. Do you remember anything about Stonewall Inn?"

"I know it's a gay bar," Izuku said. "I understand now why you didn't want me along. I'm not going to tell the judge in the custody case." Unfair though it might be, going to a gay bar might hurt Toshinori's custody battle even more than Hisashi's mafia connections.

Toshinori said, "For people whose sexuality or gender identity is against the law, they can't go to the police when they get in trouble. If that lady reported a stolen necklace at a police station, she might very well end up arrested for sodomy. Back in the day, Yoichi and Kaiji stepped in to fill the gap. They were a cross between private detectives and vigilantes, helping out people who could not trust the police. It only worked because they were both such well-regarded figures in their community. People would come to them for judgment and agree to abide by the outcome. Your parents helped out a lot of people—that's why our friends said they owed them. Most of the others back in our house have also helped out the cause at different points in their lives, but I'm the one currently in charge."

"Whoa, that is absolutely swell," Izuku breathed. His parents had been real-life heroes! And so was Toshinori! To think Izuku had once mistaken Toshinori for a pigeon for the fuzz. "Are you gay? Um, you can tell me! I wouldn't judge! I swing both ways myself." Izuku flushed, realizing he'd babbled a bit more than he'd meant to reveal.

"I know, my boy. That's the second time you've come out to me."

"Oh, right, the amnesia."

"I've always been…disinterested in sex. To the point where even the folks around Stonewall think I'm weird. I can't count how many times I've been told that I must be in the closet because I've never dated anyway."

"Well, that's none of their damn business!" Izuku said, indignant on Toshinori's behalf. "Pardon my strong language."

"But my wealth and having no lovers to hide lets me liaison with the police on the behalf of people who wouldn't dare ask for help themselves," Toshinori said. "People around here trust me because they've known me since I was a young child. My biological father loved Torino. I grew up with Torino as a second father, though there was no way for him to legally adopt me."

"Then I can call Torino my grandfather?" Izuku asked, teasing.

But Toshinori only said, "He'd like that a lot. You used to call him Grandpa."

The next day, Toshinori let Izuku stay at home and do nothing. Izuku appreciated the chance for a break and some solitude. Nana lent Izuku a few of her favorite books. En helped Izuku polish his locket until it looked shiny, then Banjo came over with a screwdriver to repair the hinges.

That evening, Toshinori asked if Izuku was interested in seeing a private movie showing the next day. He fell all over himself clarifying that Izuku didn't have to come. There was no need for the disclaimer. Izuku was pumped. Movies were another rare treat for orphans.

Toshinori owned a theater and put on a private showing so they didn't have to worry about disguises. Izuku squirmed in his red velvet seat in excitement as the movie started playing. It was a sound movie. True, the dialogue was all in subtitles and the images were black and white, but this was the first time Izuku had ever been to a movie with a musical soundtrack. It felt magical.

When they got home, a muscular man waited in the foyer. Blue-grey hair pulled back in a pineapple ponytail. His eyes lit up at the sight of Izuku. "I couldn't believe you were alive until I saw you in-person," he whispered. Tears stung his eyes.

Izuku felt something looking at this man, the ghost of the ghost of a memory. He shuddered. "I feel like I should know you."

Toshinori said, "This is Sanzou, your parents' childhood friend."

Izuku asked, "Can you tell me more about them?"

Sanzou smiled. "It would be my pleasure."

Toshinori brought them snacks in the sitting room, then left them alone. Sanzou sat down on the couch across from Izuku. "What do you want to know? Toshinori isn't sure if he should trash your only living relative to your face, but I think you have the right to know everything about Hisashi Shigaraki. And I know a lot more about the Shigaraki family history than Toshinori."

Izuku placed his hands on his lap. "I want to know everything you know about Uncle Hisashi, especially the bad parts. If I might have to live with him, then I need to know what he's like."

"I hope and pray that Toshi gets custody. I'd worry a lot about you with Hisashi, not to mention how your parents would spin in their graves." Sanzou shook his head. "I knew Yoichi and Kaiji since we all were barely out of diapers. Yoichi had a lot of trouble with his older brother around the time he hit his teenage years. Hisashi was controlling and overprotective. Yoichi had a curfew of six in the evening and got yanked from school for homeschooling. When your parents started dating, Hisashi didn't approve one bit. I don't think he would have liked anyone dating Yoichi. He was too possessive. And when you come along…uh, you were a bit of an accident. Hisashi believed Yoichi and Kaiji were too young to be parents. They were both eighteen, so he wasn't entirely wrong about that, but Yoichi didn't have a high enough opinion of his older brother's parenting to accept his offer. Hisashi wanted to take you away from Yoichi and raise you as his own son."

Izuku gasped. "He what?" He shook his head. "It happened to some of my older friends around the neighborhood. When a teen had an out of wedlock baby, their parents would either send them away and they'd come back without the baby, or the parents would raise the child pretending the baby was their own."

Sanzou cleared his throat. "I think it was less about propriety and more about control. Hisashi didn't care what anyone else thought about his family, but he was incapable of seeing his little brother as a separate person from himself, much less a separate adult person. Yoichi had to run away. He got a new identity and hid."

Izuku swallowed. "You make it sound like Uncle Hisashi would have taken me away by force."

Sanzou's face was grim. "Because that's exactly what I mean. Hisashi threatened to have Kaiji committed to an insane asylum, and he had money and the doctors under his thumb. With the prejudices of the era, he wouldn't have even needed to lie to make it happen. Then Hisashi locked Yoichi up in this creepy room in the basement. We had to bust him out."

Closing his eyes, Izuku carefully considered both sides of the story. He did not want to jump to any conclusions when he knew both Hisashi and Sanzou would have reason to give him a biased version of the truth. But Sanzou's story rang true with Izuku's personal experience. He'd seen the creepy secret room in the basement with his own two eyes. Izuku remembered Hisashi asking to be called Dad. What had Hisashi said back then? Something like: you would have called me Dad if everything had gone as it should have.

Sanzou's eyes filled with old bitterness. "Hisashi sees you as belonging to him even now. Be careful around him. Oh, I nearly forgot." Sanzou reached into his coat and pulled out a folder, then placed a picture down on the coffee table. "Toshinori asked me to bring back proof that Hisashi had stolen our old family photos from our house. I still have one surviving copy of this one. Did you see this picture in Hisashi's photo album?"

Izuku stared. Yes, he'd absolutely seen this picture before, with his younger self in front of a birthday cake and Yoichi behind him. But this version of the picture showed Sanzou, Hikage, Banjo, En, Nana, and Toshinori all crowded around the long wooden table. Kaiji was holding a lighter over the candles. Izuku realized that the picture he'd seen before had been very carefully cropped to remove Kaiji, even cutting off part of the birthday cake.

"He got rid of my father in all the pictures," Izuku whispered. Tears dropped down from his eyes, and he hastily pulled back before they fell on the photo. That precious photo might be one of two surviving pictures of Kaiji in existence. Glancing up through watery eyes, Izuku begged, "Do you think Uncle Hisashi kept the originals of the pictures?"

"I doubt it," Sanzou said grimly.

So many photos of Kaiji had been destroyed, until Izuku had nothing left of one of his dads. Thank goodness Izuku hadn't let Hisashi take his locket, or his father's face might have had a mysterious accident. His anger crystalized into rage. "How could he? Why did he need to erase my father after he was already dead? I won't forgive him for this!"

"Hisashi Shigaraki is a bitter, lonely man." Sanzou sighed. "There's one more thing I need to show you. Toshinori said you weren't sure whether he or Hisashi was telling the truth about your parents' deaths."

"I'd trust Toshinori a lot more now," Izuku said, his hands clenching on his lap. "Wait, he realized that I didn't believe him? I told him I did."

Sanzou smiled ruefully. "We all know you better than you know us. Toshinori taught you how to play poker. He knows your tells."

Izuku wondered exactly what tells he had and if Toshinori could be persuaded to spill so that he could better perfect his game.

Sanzou pulled several more documents from his folder. "I have police reports from the incident. I obtained these through…less than legal means when I was after revenge. This is testimony from one of Destro's goons after his arrest. Destro was a rival mafia boss who had spies inside Hisashi's faction. When Hisashi tracked down his runaway brother, Destro found out at the same time. Destro planned to take Hisashi's family hostage. He sent two groups of goons, one to kidnap you as Kaiji picked you up from school and one to kidnap Yoichi from his home."

Izuku snatched up the paper. His eyes filled with tears, making it difficult to read.

With a soft exhale, Sanzou placed a hand on top of his. "You don't need to see the details. Kaiji held Destro's people off long enough for you to escape."

Izuku's hand went to the scar on his head. He didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse that he still didn't remember a single thing.

Sanzou continued, "Destro's goon turned himself over to the police begging for protection. He died in a jail cell anyway. Hisashi took care of every last person associated with Destro. I have to give the asshole credit for that much. There's nothing left to avenge."

Izuku took deep breaths. "Hisashi lied to me," he said, coldly furious.

Sanzou hesitated. "The reason why Hisashi blames Toshinori for everything is because Yoichi died protecting Toshinori. Destro's men wanted Yoichi alive, but they planned to kill everyone else in the house to eliminate all possible witnesses. Only Toshinori was home, sleeping upstairs. Yoichi had already surrendered but he fought back when one of the men tried to shoot Toshinori in his sleep. Yoichi knocked the man out the window and fell to his own death in the process. The noise woke up Toshinori, and he escaped while the goons were panicking over killing their hostage. Toshinori didn't deliberately keep this from you. He doesn't know. After I read the police testimony, I couldn't bring myself to tell Toshinori. He's the type of person who would blame himself all the way to the grave."

"I won't tell him either," Izuku said quietly. "It wasn't his fault."

"Thank you." Sanzou handed Izuku the photo. "You should keep this."

"But…it's the only photo of your friends that you have left…"

"Kaiji was your father. You should have his last surviving photo. The rest of us can take more pictures and make more memories."

Izuku's eyes overflowed with tears. He didn't know how to express his thanks, but he clung to Sanzou, sobbing.

OMAKE TIME!

Omake: Grandpa's Suffering

Toshinori: I told Izuku that he could cause just as much trouble as me.

Torino: NO!

Toshinori: I thought you'd appreciated me getting my karma.

Torino: Who do you think is going to end up cleaning up both of your messes? Me!

#

Omake: In the Distant Past

Hisashi: Little brother, you can't raise a child. You're a child yourself!

Yoichi: Oh, you hypocrite. You raised me since you were only a teenager and you did a great job—a decent job—uh, you did it. We're definitely both still alive.

Author: Not for much longer!

Author's Note: It would have fit the fic pattern more if Magne was on Hisashi's side. But around the time that I decided Toshinori would be a Harlem vigilante, it made way more sense to use Magne in this chapter. I know that Stonewall Inn wasn't opened until 1930 and didn't become a famous gay bar until later, but I cry alternate universe. Stonewall broke the space-time barrier to appear in this fic.