It had taken several hours worth of walking, but Izuku had finally made it.
Seiiki Circus.
The sun had risen and long since set. Honestly, Izuku is ready to just find somewhere to curl up and pass the fuck out for a month straight, but there are still things that need to be done.
Namely, finding a place to sleep that isn't outside.
The circus is a bit of a walk from the road, being surrounded mostly by trees and a dirt parking lot. Izuku climbs one of the trees and hides his heavy backpack in the branches, hiding it completely from view. Kids don't typically go to the circus with their backpacks stuffed full, it might draw him unwanted attention. Besides, his shoulders need a break.
He approaches the circus, eyeing the tall wooden walls enclosing the entire grounds, the multitude of flags fluttering in the breeze, the ticket booths right next to the impossibly large front gates.
...The front gates that are closed, not a person in sight.
And isn't that just his luck, that the damn circus is closed on the one day he actually wants in. No actually, it's night time, of-fucking-course it's closed.
Maybe he could just... have a little look around. Just to make sure the place was really as safe as it was implied to be. He was good at sneaking around, he could be in and out and no one had to know. And then tomorrow, once the gates opened, he could see about going in the proper, less illegal way.
He's really got nothing left to lose.
Getting in would be a lot easier if he had his capture weapon, but Izuku is still able to scale the wall without too much hassle. He takes a moment to catch his breath, perched atop the surprisingly sturdy wall, and looks out over the circus.
The grounds are eerily quiet, he can't see or hear anyone. That's good, hopefully they were all fast asleep and would stay none-the-wiser.
In the distance, he hears the cry of an owl.
Izuku drops off the wall, aiming for a section of grass and rolling once he lands.
No going back now.
It's a little unnerving, seeing the circus like this, though he supposes that it would look much friendlier in the light.
The vivid colors of his surroundings have been muted by the darkness, even despite the faint light of the moon above. Everything had been reduced to a dull, muddy blue, static snow dancing in his vision. Distracting.
He squints, willing Erasure to activate just enough for his vision to clear, eyes flashing. It had taken some practice, but Izuku had figured out he could actually see better now as opposed to when he had been Shouta, especially in the dark. Another bonus, he didn't have dry-eye anymore. He didn't necessarily have to use Erasure to see in the dark, either, but it did enhance his sight just that little bit more. It also made him more noticeable, so he didn't often do it.
After making sure the coast was clear, Izuku blinks and starts moving.
He moves through the circus slowly, methodically.
Near the gates seems to be mostly attractions and booths, nothing important. But cutting across the sky, right at the center, is the imposing big top tent. The walls cut across the grounds towards it, cutting the circus in half. It's not as tall as the outer walls, so Izuku hops right over.
It's immediately clear that this area wasn't intended to be seen by the public.
There's a lot less decorations back here, the layout set up more for convenience than entertainment. He thinks he can see some storage areas in the distance, and though he can't see or hear them, Izuku can almost sense the presence of unknown quirks within some of the buildings.
He really needed to practice more with that aspect of his quirk, being able to sense where others were without seeing them would be incredibly handy in a fight.
Regardless, Izuku makes sure to steer clear of those buildings.
There's not much else left to do though, he'd only wanted to look around, and the storage buildings upon closer inspection were all locked tight. He was already trespassing, best not to add 'break and entering' to his list of crimes.
"Now then, what do we have here?" a voice ponders, much calmer than it had any right to be.
Izuku freezes, spinning on the spot and landing in a defensive position. He sees a man, tall and lanky, standing under a single light that Izuku's positive wasn't there just a moment ago. Izuku's about three odd seconds away from bolting, but something about the man's appearance gives him pause.
In stark contrast to Izuku's tense posture, the man seems completely at ease. His hands were lightly gripping a wooden cane, and his clothes... a top hat with a blue rose pinned to it, a flashy tail coat, and—was that a bow tie? Who the fuck even wears bow ties anymore?
He can see the man's quirk from here, bright blue and dripping little embers that flicker in and out of existence. The sound of windchimes jangling softly nudges at the edge of Izuku's mind, though it's not actually audible in a way his ears can interpret.
"Who are you?" Izuku signs, movements rusty but harsh in their delivery.
The man chuckles, tipping his hat in a rather dramatic stage bow. "Korizami Inuzaka," he says, placing his hat back on his head and signing as he spoke, "you may call me the Ringleader, and you are?"
Frowning, Izuku doesn't relax his stance. "Nobody," he signs back, dismissive.
"Nobody, hmm?" the Ringleader—Korizami—hums, blue eyes sparkling in curiosity, "and what is 'nobody' doing in my circus past closing time?"
So this was the owner of the circus, he probably should have figured.
Taking a chance, Izuku signs just one word— "Sanctuary."
Korizami smiles, the skin around his eyes wrinkling. "Well then, why didn't you say so?" Something in his tone changes, and Izuku is left with the oddest feeling that he just dodged a bullet. "If sanctuary is what you're seeking, then just follow me. Or don't, the choice is yours~"
The Ringleader pivots, cane tapping the ground softly with every step as he walks away at a leisurely pace.
After a moment of hesitation, Izuku follows.
He doesn't let his guard down, though. This was enemy territory, and the Ringleader was its ruler.
But isn't this what he'd wanted? Technically, no. Right now he'd wanted to get in and out without being detected. The other thing, though. He'd been uncertain how to ask about the offer of sanctuary, much less who to ask. So this was... good?
He probably wouldn't get murdered and have his body disposed of, never to be seen again.
Just as that thought crosses his mind, the light that had been on went out with a 'pop' behind him. Izuku freezes as though he had been shot, eyes wide and shoulders near his ears. The Ringleader kept walking as though nothing had happened.
This is so not logical, he should leave and just pretend this never happened.
But then he'd have to find somewhere else to stay, and he was already here. Fuck it, seriously, if he gets murdered then at least he doesn't have anything to worry about anymore. Problem solved.
He's led to a small building, a label on the door proudly proclaiming it to be the Ringleader's 'office'. Cautiously, Izuku follows the man inside.
In spite of it's unremarkable exterior, the inside of the office is bright and colorful.
It's almost too much to look at all at once. A large wooden desk sits in the center of the room, covered in various knick-knacks and papers. The walls are lined with shelves, even more trinkets piled onto them to the point Izuku is worried even a small breeze would cause a domino effect.
Korizami gestures at a chair sitting in front of the desk, but Izuku ignores it for now and stays standing near the door, eyes darting all around the room.
"I will be 'real' with you, Nobody-kun. My quirk tends to make people a little wary," Korizami says, relaxing back in his chair with a sigh and placing his cane to lean against the desk. With closed eyes, he holds one hand palm-up to reveal a small blue butterfly, shimmering gently. "Illusion, I can make people see or believe whatever I want them to. Rather handy in the circus business, as you might imagine."
Izuku frowns, head tilting to the side as the butterfly flutters around the room before disappearing in a burst of light. The man doesn't say anything else.
Why? What was the point of telling Izuku about his quirk?
To him, Izuku was just a strange child who had broken into his circus, a total unknown. Surely he couldn't be so trusting as to confide something so dangerous, without even knowing what Izuku's intentions were.
Izuku clears his throat. "...Wh-" he coughs, voice rasping from disuse, "why are you telling me all this?" His question is quiet, the shape of the words feeling odd after so long without. He can't even remember the last time he'd spoken out loud.
Korizami peeks one eye open at his words, considering Izuku for a long moment.
"In my book, honesty is the best policy," the man says in a surprisingly soft voice, "I'm telling you so you can make an informed decision, I don't force anyone to stay here, but..."
He sits up abruptly, pulling open a drawer to retrieve a bundle of papers, which he places on the desk and gently pushes towards Izuku.
"You could start over here, if you wanted," the man said with a conspiratorial grin, as though he was sharing a great secret. His eyes, however, held a deep tiredness that Izuku could relate to. "That's why I chose the name 'sanctuary', you know," he whispers, hand cupped near his mouth.
Finally taking the offered seat, Izuku leans forward to inspect the papers.
It's incredibly thorough and well organized. Leafing through the different papers, Izuku can see it's mostly consent forms for various things related to the circus, as well as blank identity documents, and custody forms. So that was it, huh? The rumors were true.
He looks closer at one of the consent forms, one that would allow him to use his quirk and perform at the circus.
"You don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with," Korizami says, noticing what he was looking at, "plenty of our residents help out back stage away from the crowds."
Izuku raises an eyebrow at that. Just how many people were hiding at this circus?
Looking back down at the papers, Izuku can't help but pout. He hates paperwork. As mind-numbingly tedious as it was, Izuku makes sure to read all the contacts thoroughly. Even if a small part of him just wanted to skip to the end, it was important to know exactly what he was getting into. It would be illogical not to.
Luckily, it all seemed rather straightforward.
For one, he was not to intentionally harm anyone on the circus premises unless it's in self defense, easy enough.
Another stated that he was not to divulge any sensitive information about the circus to anyone who didn't work there, a little suspicious, but still easy enough to follow.
Room and board was provided, as well as 'anything else you'd need' as the Ringleader kept saying.
"Very detailed..." Izuku mumbles once he's nearly done, fidgeting with the pen and tapping it lightly on the paper.
"Wanted to be a lawyer," Korizami grins, sitting back in his chair again with a wink, and spreading his arms wide. Not expecting the man to have heard him, Izuku looks up through his bangs. Korizami winks at him, "didn't work out, as you could probably tell."
With that added bit of information, the process makes a lot more sense. Korizami had been patiently explaining a lot of the paperwork, which wasn't needed in his case but was appreciated. Apparently, any work he did would be adequately compensated—as in, he would be getting a biweekly paycheck, the majority of which would be deposited into a trust fund that he would get once he was old enough, and the rest being given to him to spend as he wished.
Korizami assures him that it was all legal—or as legal as it could be, all things considered—and that he would receive a monthly bank statement to show the man was putting the right amount of money in and not taking any out.
It seemed too good to be true.
Then comes the paperwork Izuku had been dreading—crafting a new identity. The tip of the pen hovers over the first line. His name, he couldn't write 'Midoriya Izuku', that was just asking for the police to find him right away.
Seeming to sense his internal crisis, Korizami reaches out slowly and taps his finger on the empty line. "Lottsa folks chose a new name when they come here," he says quietly.
"I..." Izuku considers it, hands stilling in thought.
Could he? Five years of wishing he was called Shouta, five years of training himself to respond to the name 'Izuku'. Five long years... could he really go back on all that? The thought of being called 'Shouta' again makes something in his chest ache, breath hitching.
"You don't have to decide right now," Korizami says with a soft smile, "we can always come back to this later."
Izuku shakes his head. "...Just call me nobody for now," he finally decides. It doesn't really matter what people call him, but it's better that know one knows the name Midoriya Izuku.
"Alrighty," Korizami says, writing something down on a different piece of paper, "and how would you like to be introduced to the family? Y'know, pronouns and stuff."
Izuku shrugs, "he/him."
He didn't really care, people had called him all kinds of things both as Izuku and as Shouta.
Stifling a yawn, Izuku glances over the paperwork one last time before piling it back up and tapping it on the table until it's neat.
"Listen, if you're not feeling up to it that's alright, I can let everybody know if you just want some shut eye," Korizami says, startling Izuku back awake. Then, he leans back in his chair far enough that Izuku's almost afraid he'll tip over, staring at a clock on the wall. "It's pretty late anyhow, how's about we save the introductions for the morning, eh?"
That's true, it was late and Izuku is so very tired. But he can't sleep yet, his backpack was still up in that tree, he had to get it.
Izuku shakes his head and shrugs again, sleepily signing "I need to get my backpack first." Korizami nods.
"Gotcha, lead the way, Nobody-kun." He gets up, stretching his back with a groan and grabbing his cane as he left the office. Izuku follows him for a moment, before taking the lead and heading for the front of the circus.
The Ringleader opens the front gates for him once they get there, which Izuku greatly appreciates. As quickly as he can without tripping over his own feet, he jogs up to the correct tree and climbs it, sighing in relief at seeing his backpack safe and sound.
The gates are still open when he comes back, Korizami leaning casually against them. "All done?" he asks, only glancing at the backpack for a moment before locking eyes with Izuku.
Looking askance, Izuku adjusts the bag on his aching shoulders and nods.
After the gates have been closed back up and locked, they start walking towards the back of the circus once more. Izuku stays a few steps behind the Ringleader, fighting another yawn.
Uhoo
...Huh?
Izuku pauses in his stride, looking up towards the odd sound and finding a rather large pair of green eyes peering at him from the darkness.
A pair of eyes attached to the biggest damn owl he's ever seen in his life.
The owl tilted it's head, beak clacking audibly even from atop the tall structure. Two tufts of feathers protruded from it's head, reminding Izuku of little bunny ears. He tilts his own head in response, mimicking the owl's action and blinking slowly.
He wasn't actually sure if the slow blink would work on an owl like it did with cats, but it was worth a try.
"Nobody-kun? Where did you-" the Ringleader suddenly appears next to Izuku, having noticed he'd lagged behind. "Oh, I see you've met Mimizuku. Don't worry about him too much, he likes to hang around and keep the rodent population down."
The owl—Mimizuku—lets out a low hoot, prompting a short laugh from the man.
"I'd pay him if I could, though I'm not sure where an owl would spend a paycheck..." he chuckles, seemingly amused by his own joke.
Izuku hums in response, still focused on the owl's eyes. Such a vivid green couldn't be natural, surely it was a "...quirk?"
Korizami shrugs, "your guess is as good as mine. Whatever the reason, he's a part of this family too, so play nice!" He makes a dramatic gesture with his hand, pointing in the direction they had been walking. "We're almost there, come along now!" And with that, he's off.
When Izuku looks up again, the owl is gone.
Shrugging off the odd encounter, Izuku hurries to catch up to the longer strides of the Ringleader.
At this point, Izuku is really struggling to stay awake, and would be content to just curl up on the ground right here and now. The adrenaline from sneaking around and being caught had faded, every single one of his muscles screaming for rest. He's used to this though, used to running on fumes and still finishing a patrol. He just has to focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
The next few minutes pass in a bit of a blur for Izuku. He's shown to an empty sleeping area, before Korizami bids him goodnight and walks away. After making sure the door only locked from the inside, and checking for any hidden cameras or traps, Izuku finally relaxes and lays down.
He's asleep within seconds.