The man sighed as he poured over his notebooks, scribbling away at the blank pages. Even with his practically new laptop just an arm's reach away, he found comfort in the sound of pen scratching on paper.

The familiar scritch reminded him of when he was younger, happily jotting down things on whatever he could write. Whether it be completely new knowledge or something that expanded on a previously noted subject.

A side glance at the clock on the wall told him he should have been in bed hours ago, but it didn't matter. The sooner he got this done, the more free time he'd have.

Just as he was nearing the end of his report, he heard the shrill sound of a phone call. He nearly fell out of his seat as he scrambled to grab his phone from the charger across the room. He snatched up the wretched device and fumbled to press the answer button.

I really need to change the ringtone.

He cleared his throat as he pressed the answer key and held the phone to his ear.

"You have reached the Midoriya residence, American branch. How can I-"

"Hi-Hisashi?" A wet sniffle answered him.

"Inko? Inko hon, what's wrong?" He switched over to Japanese. The language of the love of his life.

"It's- It's Izuku. It's our baby."

"Izuku? What happened? Inko, is he okay? What happened?"

"H-He was…He didn't come home, Hisashi, and-" before she could get any further, she burst into tears.

Hisashi felt dread creep into his stomach and bit back his own tears. If she was calling like this, something terrible had to have happened. He couldn't help but think of the worst-case scenarios. Death? Illness? Grievous injury?

Her panic made his heart rate pick up. It made him want to run out of the house and grab the closest flight back home. It made him want to find the wrong and fix it by any means necessary. Even if it meant tearing apart a city, he'd do it.

But he couldn't, not like this. He couldn't lose his cool, Inko needed him to be her rock right now.

"Inko, honey, please, I need to know what happened. Can you take a deep breath for me?"

"I'm-"

"Remember what you'd tell me? In for four out for…eight?"

He smiled as he heard a wet laugh.

"I'm right aren't I? Yeah, come on, in for four," he inhaled and heard her follow along. "Now out." He exhaled. It only took a few rounds before she was calm again, or as calm as she could get.

"There we go. Inko, can you tell me what happened? What's wrong with Izuku?"

"He's hurt, Hisashi. We're in the hospital, but they said he should be alright but…"

The man bit back a series of swears and took a deep breath. "Do you know who did it? Was it reported to the police?"

"It was, but I doubt they'll find anything or do much looking. I…I think it was some of the boys from the school, Hisashi. Whoever found him said he wasn't too far from Aldera."

Hisashi made himself calm down. To ease the painful simmering in his throat and chest. He bit his lip and pictured his son. The last time he had been able to see him again was years ago. Wild curly hair, a face covered in freckles, the brightest smile he'd ever seen.

God, how long had it been since he had seen his boy? The last time he was there, the kid barely came up to his hip.

Slowly the heat fizzled out, and he tuned back into the conversation.

"Do you want me to come home? I can catch a plane right now, and I'll be there in no time."

"N-No…no Hisashi I…I don't think you should come."

"Why?"

"Izuku isn't…happy here. I…I should've paid more attention. He's not happy here, Hisashi. I can only imagine how long this must have been going on. I don't know if this was a one-time thing or…or this just the worst it's gotten."

"Inko-"

"I don't know what to do, Hisashi! I couldn't keep our baby safe. I let him get hurt. I should've paid more attention."

"Inko." He stopped her. "Hey, calm down. Listen, there's a solution to every problem. We just have to find a solution here, okay?"

"No offense Hisashi, but what exactly do you think would solve this?"

He cringed at the tone but continued anyway. "Well, what if you tried to switch schools?"

"This late in the year? Not to mention the commute, Aldera is the closest."

"Homeschool?"

"Same problem, it's late in the year. He only has a month or so left in this year."

Hisashi bit his lip. "Well…I could always set the place on fire."

"Hisashi! This is serious!"

"I am being serious."

"You're not a delinquent anymore."

He smiled to himself. "Yeah, I know…"

Inko was silent for a bit, he could hear the gears turning in her mind.

"What if…"

"Hm?"

"What if Izuku went to live with you?"

He inhaled sharply and coughed. It took him a moment to stop choking on his own spit. "I-I'm sorry…what?"

"What if Izuku went to live with you? It doesn't have to be forever. Maybe for a year or so? A change in scenery might be good for him, get away from everything here. He can get a clean slate over there."

Hisashi frowned to himself and looked at the wall. "Are you sure, Inko? I mean, I wouldn't mind having him over. Actually, I'd like that, but what about him? He hasn't seen me in years, and I don't want him to be uncomfortable."

"Maybe start calling more, try to get to know him from there. It doesn't have to be uncomfortable."

Hisashi nodded to himself. He knew he should reach out more, maybe visit when work wasn't busy. That was the least he could do. Wasn't it?

"Think about it, and I'll talk to Izuku. Then we can go from there. Okay?"

"Okay Inko. Tell my little Firebug I said hi, then try to get some sleep."

"I will if you do. I'm sorry I didn't even think about the time it was there."

"It's fine honey, I was getting some late night work done anyway. Get some rest."

"I will."

"Love you."

"I love you too, Hisashi."