I'm back with another chapter!
Sorry for having to make yall wait so I hope it was worth it.
With the morning sun shining down on him, Izuku was out and about doing his morning routine. As he finished his jog, he ended his run near Mustafu's street market. As the shops were opening for the day, Izuku found himself getting waved down by a few of the shopkeepers. Most of them asked for his help to move a few heavy boxes that Izuku was more than happy to do.
Before he could leave after helping them, Izuku was always given a gift of sorts. He tried to deny it but the shopkeepers were always insistent. It was why Izuku almost always returned home from his run with a bag of fresh groceries. His mom was always thankful for the fresh fruits and visited the marketplace for her shopping where the shopkeepers always warmly greeted her.
As Izuku was helping the fishmonger move some giant oversized oysters, he saw a hooded boy grab a mother's purse and run off with it. Izuku picked up an oyster and was about to chuck it. Before he could though a whip wrapped around the thief causing him to drop hard. The thief activated his quirk causing large spikes to pop out of his body. It didn't break the whip though and in a second the whip was electrified causing the thief to pass out in seconds.
That's when Midnight appeared. She walked in with her sexy saunter and a coy smile on her lips.
"Well well well, look at the naughty boy I caught today. Didn't your mother tell you it's rude to run off with other's belongings?" Midnight said as she picked up the stolen bag and returned it to the grateful mother. The baby that she was holding was babbling to Midnight who let her persona drop to coo over the baby a bit.
"Good thing Midnight appeared huh, otherwise I'd be down one oyster," the gruff voice of the fishmonger said. His amusement was clear as Izuku sheepishly put down the shell.
As Izuku tried to apologize the fishmonger waved it off and somehow Izuku ended up with a bag of some of those oysters. By the time that was over the police had picked up the villain and Midnight was talking with some fans.
As Izuku started to make his way back home, Midnight excused herself from her fans. It did not take long for Midnight to begin walking side by side with Izuku.
"Today must be my lucky day if I get to run into my favorite analysis so early in the morning," Midnight said in a husky whisper. Izuku blushed hard.
"G-g-good m-m-morning Midnight-san," Izuku stuttered, "d-d-did you like the a-analysis?"
"Did I like it? I loved it!" Midnight said hugging Izuku briefly causing him to splutter. "As you probably saw, I included the electric whip, and my oh my does it work like a charm. And that idea of grenades filled with somnambulist gas was brilliant. Very useful for laying traps while keeping myself out of harm's way. I'm already testing out a few other things that you mentioned in the report as well."
"I'm glad that you liked my analysis so much," Izuku said bashfully. "I was worried it would be inferior to a professional analysis."
"Inferior? My dear Izuku-chan, your analysis is second to none except for Nedzu himself."
"Th-th-they're not that good," Izuku said blushing to himself."
Midnight's expression changed to a more serious look.
"Izuku, I really do mean it when I say your analysis is professional level. I am not exaggerating when I say the only analysis I've seen better is Nedzu's. This I truly believe."
Looking into Midnight's eyes, Izuku could see the compassion and sincerity behind her words. Unable to trust his voice, Izuku just gave a nod. That was enough for Midnight as she ruffled his hair.
"Also, please tell your mom that Himiko and I will be over for dinner."
"Will do Midnight-san," Izuku said with an excited smile.
Midnight sighed as she watched the green-haired boy jog away standing ever so slightly taller.
000
Himiko was whining and laying sprawled out on the floor as Izuku rolled his eyes while trying to make the blonde focus on her homework. They were the only two in the apartment today as the rest were spending time with their family. Izuku also knew that Rumi was busy in Hokkaido working on a big case up there.
"You know, oysters are said to be an aphrodisiac. So why do you think it's a good idea to use them in your cooking for Momnight?" Himiko asked sitting back up.
"One, Momnight? Two, it is best to use fresh ingredients the day of, especially something like seafood. I thought it would make a good stir fry." Izuku rubbed the back of his head.
"I don't doubt it will, I just don't want to deal with Momnight being in a teasing mood." Himiko groaned. "I swear she does it just to embarrass me."
"Karma."
"Shut up," Himiko said throwing a pillow at a laughing Izuku. "Just for that, I won't tell you why she's Momnight now."
Izuku pouted and gave Himiko puppy dog eyes. Himiko tried to hold on strong but she felt herself crack when Izuku's eyes started to tear up.
"Fine you win," Himiko said as Izuku's face changed instantly to smug. Playing with her pencil for a bit, she doodled for a bit before taking a deep breath. "Momnight, Nemuri-san, she's been helping me work through a lot of my issues. One time… one time I cried a lot and she just held me. It reminded me of when I was younger and held by my mother. I accidentally called her mom." Himiko's breath hitched at that admission as tears welled up in her eyes. "She did not reject me. She was not angry, she did not flinch away. She just hugged me tighter. I… So now she's Momnight."
Taking a tissue from Izuku, Himiko dabbed away her tears.
"I'm happy for you Himiko." Izuku gave the girl a sincere happy smile. "You're creating a family that you deserve."
"You know you're the little brother then right? And Mamadoriya is my second mom." Himiko said gently pushing Izuku,
"I thought you were the little sister," Izuku teased. "And you're here so often I sometimes forget you don't live here." Izuku scratched his cheek. "I like having you here as does mom, there are times she calls out for you but forgets you don't live here."
Himiko blushed heavily at that.
"Aww, that's super cute. You need to record that one day so I can see that, please? Oh oh, I was thinking maybe I should dye my hair, like maybe a mix of green and black. Whatcha think?"
Rapidly blinking, Izuku rushed off to his room and then came back with an artbook and art kit that Nemuri gave him.
"So how are thinking of mixing it? Like have one color for the base and then the tips another? Or are you thinking of doing streaks?" Izuku asked as he began to sketch Himiko's hair and color it in.
Himiko squished close to him as she watched him make different patterns of color for her hair. From having her hair buns colored black to resemble the ears of a panda to wearing her hair down to have the colors made to look like a heart. The last one would require specialized hair quirks to work but Izuku mentioned how there were a few salons in nearby towns that could do that.
The two ended up filling out about half of the art book before Inko got home with Nemuri right behind her.
"We're home!" Nemuri said while Inko chuckled at her exuberance.
"Oh whoops, let me warm up dinner!" Izuku said before dashing to the kitchen.
"You can cook?" Nemuri asked Izuku as she entered the kitchen.
"He takes after me." Inko said proudly as she began to put away a few groceries into the fridge. "I passed by the market today. All the shopkeepers kept waving me down and handing me free stuff. They must really like you Izuku."
"I don't do much," Izuku said blushing.
"Not from what I saw. You were busy helping them move stuff all morning," Nemuri said as she took a seat at the table. "They seemed to absolutely adore you."
"It's not much, I just remember seeing one of the ladies struggle one morning moving a box and I figured I'm able bodied enough to help. It some how escalated from there." Izuku gave a sheepish smile as he set down a cup of tea for Nemuri and his mom. Inko gave Izuku a pat on the head before taking a seat next to Nemuri.
Himiko popped into the room with a grin.
"Hi Momnight, Mamadoriya," Himko said as she went to the cabinets and began setting the plates.
Inko and Nemuri both blinked before sharing a look. Catching their surprise, Izuku gave Himiko a nudge with his elbow.
"Is this the first time calling them that?"
"Hehe, surprise?" Himiko said with a mischievous grin that was a tad unsure.
Nemuri rolled her eyes and patted Himiko on the head when she got close. Inko giggled, and while tearing up slightly, gave Himiko a quick tight hug.
Himiko was trying to hide her own tears but simply covered them by helping Izuku. The boy did not say anything besides bumping Himiko's shoulder. Himiko's face was red as she gave Izuku a smile.
Dinner was a homely affair. Himiko was complaining about school and some drama while Izuku talked about some hero news. Nemuri complained about her own students while Inko discussed some new recipes she wanted to try. A number of them involving blood did not go unnoticed by Himiko who was touched by the thought. Izuku was surprised when Nemuri asked if the oysters used were from this morning. The boy gave a sheepish yes at that. It was Nemuri's great pleasure to embarrass Izuku with how he was about to brain a thief with an oyster. Inko sighed and gave Izuku a disappointed look. Himiko, though, secretly mouthed to him 'always next time.' Somehow Izuku wondered how he found violent sisters. He knows that if Rumi was here she would also be cheering him on, loudly too.
As dinner was wrapping up, Himiko took it upon herself to collect the dishes. Inko was about to stand to wash them but Izuku beat her to it. She was going to protest but Nemuri put a hand on her shoulder. Inko relented though she could see that Nemuri had a mischievous grin.
"Inko, dear, Iuzku has his own bank account yes?" Nemuri asked in a suggestive voice that cause the room to freeze.
"He does, he's been very responsible with his money." Inko said with a wary face.
"Perfect. I'm sure you're aware that Izuku recently delivered an analysis report to me yes?" Nemuri asked getting a nod from Inko. "Well, the analysis was soo good that I felt it would be wrong of me to take it without properly showing my appreciation."
Nemuri said nothing more as she pulled out a simple envelope and passed it to Inko. Inko's breath hitched as she opened it and looked at its content. Inko stared long and hard at it before closing and simply giving Nemuri a questioning look.
Instead of the usual flirty or confident smile Nemuri had, the one she gave was sincere. Inko took a deep breath before handing the envelope to Izuku.
Taking the envelope, with Himiko reading over his shoulder, Iuzku opened it to find a check. A check that had far more zeros than Izuku thought it should.
"Ne-ne-ne-Nemuri-s-s-san I-I-I think there is a typo on h-h-here." Izuku said as his hands shook. Himiko's eyes were wide in shock as well.
"Nope, that's the right amount. Just as much as if paid for a certified professional." Nemuri leaned forward and patted Izuku on the head. "If you ever give your analysis to another hero and they don't pay you back properly, you tell me and I set them straight."
Unable to form a coherent sentence, Izuku simply nodded and gave Nemuri a hug. Returning the hug, Nemuri noted how happy and full of pride Inko was. Of course, both Midoriya was trying to hold back their tears. What she did not notice was Himiko who tackled the pair in a hug. Himiko had also dragged Inko into the group hug.
Nemuri did her best to give them all a tight squeeze. She had long missed this feeling of family. When Himiko brought up the idea of coloring her hair, Nemuri was fully ready to rush out to the store to buy hair dye. Inko, ever the voice of reason, reminded them it was late and that maybe the first time should be done by a specialist.
The two relented, while Izuku gave Himiko the notebook that had all of the designs they had made. Like children on Christmas, Nemuri and Inko happily poured over the book picking out their favorites. For the rest of the night, the makeshift family spent time making plans.
If Nemuri showed up one day to work with a dark green streak in her hair no one would notice. Inko getting a streak of black to tie up in her bun barely drew any eyes. Himiko showing up to school with dark green hair with the tips dyed black though earns her a good ribing from her friends. Especially Mina who knew why she did it.
Izuku though went a more subtle route and began wearing bands. A dark purple and black for Nemuri, a dark green for his mom, and a yellow one that matched Himiko's eyes. When Izuku saw a Miruko theme band on sale, he quickly grabbed one. It did not take Izuku long to get bands for his friends too. A pink with sparkles of gold for Mina, a lighter purple with a white sound wave for Kyoka, a crimson band for Kirishima, a green band mixed with white for Ibarra, a black and yellow for Tokoyami, a white with specks of purple for Yanagi, and finally a red band with white paw prints for Ayane.
For something simple, it brought Izuku a lot of happiness whenever he looked at them. A reminder that he was not alone and had many people he could rely on now. That was worth more to him than any of them probably realized.
So I wanted to expand on Izuku's analysis skills and show him putting it to use. I also wanted to show how Nemuri, Inko, Izuku, and Himiko's relationship was growing as well. I'm definitely stealing the idea that Himiko colors her hair from Aliandris and their story, A different Course (Go read it and its rewrite Family Beyond Blood if you haven't). Of course, I extended it towards the rest of the family too. I gave Izuku bands cause he can't really dye his hair to match what the others did.
I hope you enjoyed the story!
PK OUT!