As soon as Izuku admitted to what the man did, everything went crazy. Looking at the man as he stood up, seemingly lost in thought, Izuku realized now was a good time to try to leave, to find his mommy, to not get hurt by this man. Yes, he had promised, but that did not change how scared Izuku was. He got the door opened wide enough for his little body to slip through, and was about to make his escape, when the door slammed in his face.

He froze when he heard the loud "No!" His body stopped moving before he could even think, an ingrained response he could not have explained if he tried, but he could not stop.

There was so much movement and sound on the other side of the door it was overwhelming him. He kept hoping to hear his mommy's voice, but none of the voices outside the room were hers. Then there were sounds of people getting hit, loud commanding voices telling other people to get on the ground, and as Izuku started to panic, a large gentle hand gripped his arm, pulling him away from the door and behind the tall figure, as if protecting him.

A couple of minutes later the doorknob to their room was tried, it opened, and a man in a police uniform stepped in to the room, gun raised. The man in front of him did not move, but he spoke, his voice was as calm as it had been while he was talking to Izuku. "Did Hizashi Yamada call in the tip?"

The officer paused, looking over the man in front of him, before loosening his grip on his weapon. "Are you the one he mentioned?

The black haired man standing in between Izuku and the officer nodded, not letting the child move from behind him until he was sure things were safe.

The officer still seemed tense, looking at Izuku, who was sure he looked like a leaf shaking in fear. But, strangely, he was not afraid of this man in front of him anymore.

"I'll be taking the boy," the officer said, holding his hand out. Izuku looked up at the black haired man between them. When the man looked at him and nodded, releasing his hold on his wrist, Izuku moved slowly away from him. He was reluctant to leave the man's protection, but a gentle hand on his lower back pushed him forwards made the decision for him. Once Izuku was at the officer's side he looked back at the man he had originally thought would hurt him, the man that instead protected him, and saw a gentle smile on his face.

Then the man faced the officer again. "You know there story then?"

The officer pulled Izuku to him with his free hand, replying, "Yes."

Spreading his arms in a completely open stance the black haired man nodded. "Make it believable. "

Izuku did not understand what that meant, but he felt the hand that was holding him tti the officer's leg raise to cup his head, holding his face against the man's thing, as he saw the other hand raise out of the corner of his eye.

Suddenly, a loud bang filled the room. Izuku knew he cried out in fear but he could not hear himself over the ringing in his ears the sound produced.

The rest of the night passed in a blur. A blur of faces, a blur of voices, a blur of bodies.

It wasn't until the next morning, after being allowed to sleep on a couch in an office at the police department, that things were finally explained to Izuku in a way he could understand. His mommy had been arrested, and he was not allowed to live with her anymore.

That was scary for the child. Hiss mommy wasn't always nice, but he had started to learn what to expect with her and the men she brought home. Now he had no idea what to expect. He preferred the dangers of the known to the unknown he now had to face alone. But then it got worse.

"We don't currently have a place for you," the officer speaking to him told him. "Very few people are interested in taking in a quirkless kid, and no heroes are available with an emergency license. "

So he had nowhere to go, no one wanted him and he no longer had a family. This was going terribly, and Izuku had no idea what to do about it. He was a kid! He just wanted a home, a place to sleep, food? Admitting he did not always get those things before did nothing to ease his fear over not getting them now.

"Until we can find somewhere to place you, or get a social worker able to take your case, one if the officers here will be taking you home with their emergency foster license."

He would be living with a police officer? They were good people, Izuku believed this, especially after the one last night that brought him here after the loud bang. That would be okay, right?

Izuku had no idea how wrong he was.

It started as soon as they left the office that night to go to the officer's home. "Here are the rules, kid," the man started immediately after backing out of the parking lot. "My wife is not fond of quirkless people, so do not speak to her. In fact, do not speak at all. You're coming home with me because it is part of my job, not because I wanted this." Her glanced at the boy to make sure he understood, before continuing. "Curfew is six o'clock, no later. The doors will be locked at six and you can figure yourself out if you're back any later than that. I do not care what happens in that case, and no one will believe you if you try to complain."

Izuku took mental notes of his new rules. No talking, at all. That wad going to be hard. And it seemed unfair, but he had little choice, right? Then number two, no staying out past six. He did not have a watch, or a cell phone, how was he supposed to know when six was? What was he meant to do if he was late and they would not let him in? He decided right then that he just would not be late, that would work.

"Also, you're on your own for food," the man continued. "We have food in the house, bit you are not to touch it."

No food. This kept getting worse. Eating before six made him hungry later, but he was not allowed food in their house. Maybe he could sneak food in?

"Your bedroom is the front closet. You will get a pillow and a blanket. We will inspect daily, and had better not find food. Also, do not touch anything in the closet besides your pillow and blanket."

There went that idea. Before Izuku could fully process that, there was more.

"I am a police officer, kid, so I had better not find out you did anything illegal while you're in my care, got it?"

The warning was clear. No stealing, fond a different way to feed himself. Izuku decided he'd rather be hungry than have to sleep on the streets, he had never not had a place to sleep before.

That changed quickly.

The first night he slept in the closet he accidentally kicked over a broom in his sleep. It took a few jackets down with it before snacking in to the wall hard enough to wake him up. He tried to fix it so it wouldn't be noticed, but during the next morning's inspection the officer saw that things were not where they had been the night before and Izuku had to listen to the loudest lecture about disobeying rules that he had ever heard. It was better than being hit at least, he thought to himself. Until the officers wife struck him hard across the face for daring to touch her things, and the man laughed, telling him it wad the least he deserved.

That was how Izuku's tenth birthday started.

Never once that day did anyone acknowledge his birthday. Not the teachers, not any classmates (who normally avoided him anyway due to his awkwardness), no one.

He got held after class for being disruptive, which he really did not think he had been, but the teacher's word was law in this. Izuku knew better than to argue, it would only make things worse.

By the time he was allowed to leave Izuku had no idea what time it was. He had anxiety about going back to the officer's house and the closet, afraid to make another mistake, but the alternative sounded just as bad. By the time he finally made it there, after asking for directions a couple of times because he missed the bus and was lost, the door was already locked.

Eventually he found somewhere to spend the night in an alley behind a small shopping center near the officer's house. He fell asleep crying that night wedged as carefully as he could be between two dumpsters and grateful it was summer.

The day Izuku turned ten was also the first time he slept on the streets. It most certainly was not the last.