Nezu walked through the door of the staff room and all heads turned to him. Shouta was the only exception because he was in his sleeping bag with his head on Hizashi's lap and was too damn comfortable for the principal's nonsense.
Except the principal turned to Shouta. "You might want to get up, Aizawa-san. You have guests!"
Shouta grumbled, but started to comply. Nezu didn't give warnings without good reasons. Shouta was officially detangled and sitting grumpily on the couch when the door opened. He shot to his feet the instant after, stepping forward just enough to have the momentum to meet a red-face Izuku and swing him up into his arms.
Tenko was hesitating by Inko's side, but his hands were clenched so tightly that he'd probably have to be guided through exercises for loosening the muscles up later. Shouta crouched down and opened his free arm and wrapped it tightly around the older boy when he slowly walked into the embrace. The kid squawked a little when Shouta used his Hero-trained-strength to pick Tenko up too, Izuku giving a wet little giggle as he allowed room for Tenko to wrap his own arms around Shouta's shoulders.
Inko stepped forward last and Shouta didn't know how to hug her, he didn't have enough arms, but the Midoriyas were huggers and criers and he hated seeing them sad. She solved the problem by leaning forward and winding one hand into the end of his capture scarf, tugging him down just far enough to rest her forehead on his.
"I'm sorry," she said in a whisper that surely carried across the entire room. "I'm sorry. I promised myself I would never do this, never ask you for more after everything you've already given, never take advantage of your job as a Hero. But I need your help."
"Yes, okay. Anything," Shouta said, scanning for injuries and mentally taking stock of his weapons, safe houses, contingencies, and contacts.
Inko let out a breath. "Thank you, brother." "What!"
They both turned to look at Hizashi, still sitting on the couch but with his hands over his mouth and sheepish eyes. He also looked kind of funny: soft and sad and just a little hopeful. Nemrui had her leg pressed into his side from where she was sitting on top of the couch, a phone in her lap that suggested there was photographic evidence of Shouta being a children's jungle gym.
"Oh," said Shouta. "Right. I've been adopted."
Hizashi and Nemuri blinked at him but Vlad just sighed exasperatedly. And now that Shouta looked, yes, the rest of his colleagues were staring at him with various states of shock. Thirteen looked like they wanted to coo, Snipe had his hat tipped way back, Ectoplasm had dropped his tea, and Powerloader had scorch marks from where he'd fumbled the mechanism he'd been tinkering.
Shouta shrugged as well as he could while buried in children that were a touch too large for this. "She picked me up off a park bench."
"It doesn't work like that," Vlad said.
Tenko scoffed. "Eraserhead picked me out of an alleyway full of trash. Pretty sure it does."
Inko laughed, too short, too sharp, but genuine. "Apologies," she said to the room full of heroes with a little bow. "My name is Midoriya Inko and this is Midoriya Izuku and Midoriya Tenko. We claimed Shouta as ours a few months ago."
"That's not important," Shouta started.
"I beg to fucking differ." Nemuri crossed her arms on the couch, Hizashi nodding wide-eyed beside her.
"What's wrong?" Shouta asked.
"Sorry dear, we're fine," Inko said, patting Shouta's cheek and stepping back.
Shouta felt the weight of Tenko on his hip shift and Izuku dig his nose into Shouta's neck just a bit further. "I don't believe you. Are you hurt? Was it the the school? Are the new teachers not good enough? Did the say something?"
Tenko huffed and poked his brother in the back. "Told you that was Uncle Zawa."
"And Nezu," Shouta admitted freely because Nezu was helpful. Under certain circumstances and to certain people. "He quite likes taking down corrupt institutions."
"Indeed I do!" Nezu clapped his hands. "Will those services be needed again? I'm always happy to be of assistance."
"How about a corrupt society?" Asked Inko, and Shouta finally realized her quiet calm was a cover for absolute shaking rage. Rage of the kind that he'd only ever seen from Izuku once or twice. Old rage, tired and worn smooth around the edges from where it had been bound and suppressed and quieted hundreds times or more.
Inko wasn't going to quiet the rage this time and Shouta felt his own sharp grin starting across his face. Something in Inko's expression softened at the expression, in the implicit agreement.
"I'm the mother of a villain and a useless callback to the past." Midoriya said flatly, ignoring how at least half the staff room flinched. "Or at least that's what the Quirk Counsellor Tenko's being going to for weeks finally told us today as he ushered us out the door with enough suppressants
prescribed to knock out an elephant."
She tilted her head. "We also, in no particular order, got kicked out of two grocery stores and a bookstore, were physically harassed on the train, and got caught in minor incident where a Hero deliberately turned away because an old neighbour described our quirk statuses in an effort to get evacuated first before spitting on my son on their way out."
"I would like the name of that Hero," Nezu said into the silence. Shouta nodded, a little distant because he already had the name of that Quirk Counsellor's office and they would be out of business by the end of the week.
Inko shook her head. "That isn't enough."
The staff shifted around them, Snipe having tipped his hat back down and Nemuri having wrapped her arms around herself. Shouta's colleagues were good people. They were good Heroes and teachers and so much more. They'd also all had to accept, at some point or another, that they couldn't save everyone. No matter how much they wanted to.
But they didn't always have to.
Shouta let his grin grow sharper as Tenko slid to the ground but kept one hand tucked into Shouta's belt loop.
"So what's the plan?" He felt many eyes on him, but it was the two sets of brilliant green that had him flashing teeth. "Don't see it too often, but the brat gets his plotting face from you, and you're wearing it now."
"Hey!" Izuku said into Shouta's neck, before he turned around to peer at his mom. "Really?" She smirked. "Shouta, how would you feel about making you park-playdates permanent?" Shouta and Izuku both blinked.
"But they're already permanent?" Shouta said.
"But they already are?" Izuku asked.
Tenko pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand, a gesture that Shouta knew the kid had only started using recently.
Inko laughed and Hizashi and Nemuri came to stand behind Shouta, which could have felt like pressure but really just felt like support.
"Right," Inko said in a way that meant she was humouring her silly boys. She turned to Shouta's friends and colleagues. Nezu was sitting on Nemuri's shoulders and having some kind of silent communication staring session with Izuku which was probably the most dangerous thing to happen all day.
"So my sons' friend group, that Shouta gathered together by the way-" "I did not."
"Yes, you did, Uncle Zawa," Tenko huffed.
"He did!" Izuku exclaimed, still refusing to leave Shouta's arms but also refusing to let Shouta hide from taking credit.
Shouta sighed but Hizashi bumped his hip and smiled at him with enough fucking pride that he didn't protest anything further. Even if Izuku was now looking at him smugly. The brat.
"-has a quirkless child, two to five quirks commonly viewed as villainous, three very clear mutation quirks, and a number of others are quite easily self-harming or difficult to control." She looked at Shouta with her pay-attention-this-has-emotional-significance-you-normally-miss-or-ignore-look. "I've had multiple parents tell me that their kids have learned more in a few hours of modified capture the flag with no quirk usage than in weeks of counselling or years of school."
Hizashi was clinging to Shouta's arm now, well acquainted with his tendency to run away from anything resembling emotions and praise. Izuku was back to giggling.
"You focus on support and self-confidence and building each other up. I want that to be permanent. I want something like my library support groups that lasts more than an hour or two. I want support organizations that already exist to be accessible, to not be forced somewhere that someone has to walk past scowls and muttered comments. I want-"
Inko seemed to run out of works and it was Vlad, surprisingly, who stepped in, Ectoplasm hovering at his shoulder. "You want a community centre. One that caters to the disenfranchised."
"Yes," Inko breathed, part prayer and part curse. "That would be wonderful.I know it will be hard, that the funding let alone the location and the city approvals will be next to impossible." she looked to Shouta, "I know it's not Hero work, exactly, but I'd hoped that maybe you'd have some connections at least know where to start-"
Izuku was the one to cut his mother off this time. "Shh, Mama. That's Uncle Zawa's plotting face. And the kid wasn't wrong. Shouta was mentally going back over his safe houses, contingencies,
and contacts.
"I have a location," he announced after a moment.
"What?" Vlad asked, Inko looking at Shouta with wide eyes.
Shouta shrugged. "Dissembled villain base. Minor leagues, nothing really dangerous left behind but definite affiliations that mean it's been on the market for a while despite its rather reasonable price for an office building. The structural reinforcements, small indoor training ground, and quirk- resistant rooms might have something to do with that but would serve us quite well for gyms and training if we could get some competent quirk counsellors involved. Also has an industrial kitchen, which seems like a good idea, basic security and isn't in the best or worst areas, which, again, helpful to meet people where they are."
Shouta dumped Izuku onto the table suddenly, ignoring his squawk and the mutters of his colleagues.
"What, do you just have a list of potentially useful real estate in you head?" Vlad asked in a tone that was meant to be sarcastic but didn't quite make it.
"Yes? I was going to pass the info along to my Underground Coalition or Nezu as a potential acquisition. This is better. Now," Shouta turned to a squirming Izuku. "Speak, Gremlin."
"I, I don't have anything to say?"
"You do. You've been shifting all around my back in your attempt to curb the mumbling."
"But-"
"I want to hear it," Shouta told him softly, in voice he'd used hundreds of times before.
Izuku took one last look around the Heros who were trying their best not to stare and failing utterly before focusing on Shouta. The kid took a deep breath before meeting the challenge, like he always did.
"Funding is manageable. I mean, we have the Yaoyorozus, Iidas, and Todorokis in the group already and this is exactly the kind of thing they'd get involved in on both and an agency and family level, at least as soon as Shouto's mom's divorce goes through.
"And Tokoyami has started taking Shoji to his group for mutant quirks, but they're afraid the place is going to close soon because the landlord keeps jacking up the rent. But, you said this new location has office space? If we offer it to them and other either non-profit organizations or tutoring groups and quirk counsellors that are inclusive to all quirk statuses at a reasonable, stable price not affected by prejudice we could make some revenue back to pay for the building.
"Particularly if you open up a couple of the floors, how large was this building anyways? To business opportunities for quirkless people or others in similar situations. Or even have rentable office space? I know that a couple of people in the Library groups Mama and I started would be interested in that.
"And, um, internships? Or mentorships? You mentioned your Underground Coalition and they might want to get involved because these are the people they help and also the people they come from. I know you're really careful about child soldiers and training kids too early," Izuku reached forward and poked a frown line in Shouta's face, "but open information about the field and that it's a real way to be a Hero would mean everything to kids like Tenko, Hitoshi, and I.
"Also, UA could get involved too? Like for scholarships instead of internships? I have the stats back home and while you're not openly prejudiced mutant and villainous quirks are definitely under-represented in your student body. This could help with that! And you know, be good PR. Not to mention the number of Agencies represented by the staff that also might want to get involved in one way or another..."
Izuku finally trailed off, possibly because everyone was staring or possibly because he ran out of breath. Shouta took the break to pat the kid on the head and turn to a speechless Nemuri and Hizashi. "This is my nephew."
Nemuri barked out a laugh. "I can see the resemblance."
Hizashi smiled, all spinning sunlight and tumbling affection, and began showering a blushing Izuku in praise. He only stopped when Nezu interrupted.
"I think UA can certainly get involved. PR is always a good way to sway the Board. As for the city approvals, I wouldn't worry too much. I'm sure I can get those for us in short oder."
He exchanged a look with Shouta that meant Shouta would be doing some snooping and some blackmail gathering in the near future. He was not opposed.
"My agency is also in," Nemuri added. "And not just because I'd do anything for Sho. We focus a lot of non-profit work on self-defence and domestic abuse support. Get me one of those spaces for self-defence classes and I can promise a regular rotation of teachers."
"I'm sure the agency Vlad and I work for would also be willing to contribute in some way,"
Ectoplasm stated. "We have a number of Heroes with quirks not optically suited to Heroics that would love a project like this."
Vlad nodded.
The conversation devolved from there. Inko and Nemuri started talking about classes and defence. Vlad and Ectoplasm were babbled at by a beaming Izuku who bounced back and forth between their quirks and the kind of quirk support they should have at the Centre. Thirteen, Snipe and Nezu discussed UA involvement and having teachers do practice sessions there as part of their training, Thirteen still being new and a little nervous. Tenko was insisting to Lunch Rush and Powerloader that there be beds for street kids and the older two were proposing classes on cooking and tool maintenance for skills that kids might not get if they didn't have a stable home.
Shouta lost Hizashi for a moment, but he quickly reappeared with a laptop, chart paper, and markers and began writing everything down that he could. Shouta drifted over to help and had his shoulder nudged softly.
"You know, we're going to be talking about the adoption thing." Shouta nodded because he did know that.
"You also know that the Radio Station is going to be helping if I have to yell them all into submission."
Shouta smiled because he knew that too. They could do this. (He could do this.)
Shouta sat on a park bench and stared. He stared and shook and almost cried when Inko and Hizashi came and sat next to him, one on either side.
Inko leaned her head on his shoulder while Hizashi held onto Shouta's hand, both careful of the bandages holding Shouta together.
"It's done," Shouta said, ghosts in his tone and blood on his hands. "It's done."
Even he didn't know if he was talking about the Centre in front of him or the utter ruination of the
man who'd once taken everything from him.
"Are you ready?" Hizashi asked, hand lightly tracing over the bandage wrapped around Shouta's wrist. Hizashi had watched Shouta pack his bag for his most recent mission with bruised eyes, tracking the faint shake to Shouta's wrists and believing Shouta's whispered-bone promise that this was the last one, the final take down in the series of missions that kept taking Shouta away these last few months. He believed because sometimes faith was all a Hero had left.
And it been the final take down. Shouta hadn't been there to see All for One fall, but he'd lined the information up like dominos (like graves in a faltering line). He'd been at one of the sub-bases, taking out the remains of the Doctor's operation and erasing the quirks of the Nomus' precursors. It was satisfying and bloody and the perfect distraction for the major assault on All for One himself.
All Might had sent Shouta a picture of All for One's corpse. It was gruesome and highly against procedure. Shouta had never appreciated the man more, particularly since Yagi had still never asked why Shouta was so devoted. Why Shouta needed this man he wasn't supposed to have met, to have even known about, ended with such a fervent intensity.
Shouta turned to look at Hizashi and for a long moment could only see him at with blood in his hair and wide-staring eyes. Shouta shut his own but used their entwined hands to pull Hizashi down so their foreheads rested against each other and Shouta could feel Hizashi's breath on his cheek.
Inko rested her head on his back and the three of them sat together for one long moment before Inko stood. She held out her hand, strong and steady and sure.
"The boys are inside. We missed you." Shouta took the hand.
It was done.
Izuku shook as he stared at All for One's corpse. At the body of the man who'd once taken everything from him.
"Little Hero?" All Might, the man who'd once given Izuku everything and would never ever know that, asked, extending a hand to Izuku. "Are you ready to go now, my boy?"
Izuku looked up at his first Hero from his position on the floor where he'd collapsed after triggering the systems into a complete shut down in as noisy a way as possible. He'd erased years worth of data and cruelty with the very intentional benefit of distracting All for One at a very key moment. All Might and his allies had done the rest.
Izuku was not ready. He wanted it more than almost anything and he was not ready. Izuku took the hand.