Don't ask when this gets updated, cause the idea got stuck in my head and won't go away. But here we go, another tale which will likely be more slice of life than anything else, with two codependant disaster vigilantes and a very done Eraserhead trying to save their stupid lives.

"We've…had no progress in finding the base of the Shie Hassaikai," Sir Nighteye announced with a heavy sigh. The gathered heroes and students were incredibly upset by this, especially Fatgum, the larger man slamming his hand onto the table and beginning another ferocious call for a direct assault on what they did know.

Shouta thought his frustration was understandable. They'd found out about the child he was abusing two whole weeks ago, thanks to Togata running into her coming out of an alleyway, as well as the intact bullet they'd gotten off Kirishima's hardened skin. He'd not been a fan of letting all these kids be involved with the yakuza, but it also wasn't the worst idea. At least that weird League of Villains wasn't an issue since they'd vanished after the USJ attack. Still, he had to keep an eye out for if they showed up again later.

"I'm with Fatgum, we should just fucking murder those bastards," Bakugo interrupted, drawing Shouta's attention. He'd been surprised Bakugo had gone to intern under Nighteye, but he supposed Togata taking the other blonde under his wing had made some sense. Bakugo was rough around the edges, but he had a drive to save everyone he could that Shouta was a bit worried about. He hyper-focused it to the point of martyrdom, and Shouta was not a fan of that. At least Togata was a good influence.

"Attacking would just drive them to the ground!" Nighteye commanded, interrupting the brewing arguments.

"Then what do you suggest?" Ryukyu asked, steepling her fingers before her face. Hado appeared to mirror her, Asui looking solemn next to her.

He sighed. He'd been hoping to avoid this, but…"I…may have a contact who can get us the intel we need," he said into the room, drawing everyone's attention towards him.

"Then why didn't you bring it up before?!" Rock Lock demanded, glaring at him.

"Because they aren't a legal contact and the price they demand may be more than we're willing to pay," Shouta shot back, returning the glare.

"An info broker, I presume?" Nighteye asked, arching an eyebrow.

"...sort of," Shouta muttered.

Nighteye's gaze sharpened. "What would the cost be?"

"That's the thing…I don't know. I won't know till I ask."

"...may as well find out."

"Well well well, wasn't expectin' you, Eraser. This ain't your normal stompin' ground." the feminine voice called out from behind him, as he stood in the middle of the warehouse. Supposedly, this was a good spot to catch one of the members of this particular duo, and it seemed to be true. Every other time he'd encountered one of them before had been them coming to him with offers, so this was the first time he'd set out to find one of them, and from the sound of it, he had.

"Good evening to you too, Zero," he drawled, turning around. He didn't see her before him, but that didn't phase him, merely trailing his gaze up and there she was. Hanging upside down, a wire wrapped about her leg, looking as cool as you please, she hovered midair, dangling from one of the cross beams that lined the roof of the warehouse. He could barely see her in the dark, but no way he didn't recognize the black jumpsuit with the neon pink highlights, the black face masking helmet with small, pink antenna-like rods sticking up from it. "Is Specter in?"

She tsk'd at him, shaking one finger in negation. "Now now, ain't said I'm answerin' any questions for you yet. How about you tell me why you're here and I'll see if Specter and me wanna take you up on it."

"I need information," he said bluntly. He didn't want to play their games, not now, and he knew better than to piss them off by playing it coy.

"Well we figured that much out," she scoffed. "Ain't no way you come lookin' for us if you didn't need something real bad. But that still don't tell me we should be workin' with you."

He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Have you heard of the Shie Hassaikai?"

She paused for a moment, her head tilted to the side as if listening to something, before he could feel the weight of her gaze on him once more. She crossed her arms over her chest, black gloves shimmering with pink for a moment. "The Yakuza group? Why's one Yakuza group need a whole host of heroes, includin' the number nine hero, to deal with it?"

He nodded, unsurprised they knew who he was working with. By this point, he was used to their antics, even if he'd only dealt with them a few times. "They are manufacturing Quirk-erasing bullets. We need to stop it."

Another moment of silence before she spoke. "Yeah, we knew that. Still don't see what the issue is. Don't you know where some of their bases are? Just fuck those up or somethin'."

"Then they'll flee from the main base and it'll be hell to track them down," Shouta pointed out.

"Meh. So you just want to know where the main base is? Kinda borin'," Zero mused, one hand rubbing the bottom of her helmet as if she were scratching her chin. Shouta held back an annoyed growl at her nonchalance, knowing she was trying to rile him up. After a moment, she stopped, clapping her hands together once. "Well, that ain't too hard for us to do anyways. Still…somethin' ain't addin' up, so…why a top ten hero for some Yakuza punks? The bullets ain't perfected yet, so it's not that dangerous."

He took a deep breath. He hadn't planned on revealing this, but he hadn't exactly been against it. As far as he knew, for all their bluster and general snark, Zero and Specter still tended towards the more heroic side (even if they stole sometimes), so he hoped speaking of the child would make them more inclined to help. "Do you know how the bullets are made?"

There was silence once more, before Zero suddenly moved. Shouta shifted back, getting into a defensive stance as she curled in on herself, a full midair flip as the wire around her foot was disconnected, sending her careening towards the floor. Midair, she suddenly changed direction, her body being pulled towards the left of Shouta, his eyes following as he now saw the telltale dark green lines of a similar black jumpsuit and face masking helmet, Zero now skidding to a stop and landing on the ground at the same time, leaning back against the chest of Specter. He wrapped one arm around her waist, Zero leaning back happily, their helmets next to one another as his soft voice spoke out into the room.

"No, but the fact you bring it up implies the production method is as important as their existence. What's so bad about it?"

Shouta didn't relax his defensive stance, but chose to reply in the same level tone he'd been speaking in. "When we examined the intact bullet we managed to get, we found human blood and skin cells within the drug. We shortly thereafter ran into a small girl that the head of the Hassaikai called his daughter, but we can find no records of her existence. At our best guess…they are using her and whatever her Quirk is to create the bullets. From her blood."

"...he's usin' her to make the bullets?" Zero asked, her tone flat.

"At our best guess. Here, let me show you what she looks like." Still hoping he could appeal to their humanity, he pulled out a manilla folder which had what little info they had on her. He placed it on the ground, sliding it towards them, watching as it slowed on the concrete for a moment before picking up speed, rapidly approaching the duo before practically leaping up into Specter's open hand. Zero leaned over slightly, their helmets against one another, as she used her free hand to flip the folder open.

Shouta waited for them to finish perusing the folder, silently cursing their helmets. If he could see their faces, he'd be much more inclined to know if he could trust them or not. Either they were unsurprised (meaning they already knew and did nothing), were uncaring (which would mark them as people he definitely could not trust), or they were as disgusted as he and his fellow heroes were (which would be his preference).

The folder snapped shut. "Give us three days. You'll have what you want." Before Shouta could respond, to ask what the payment was, the two of them vanished backwards into the dark.

He'd expected them to keep their word. Of course he did, info brokers had to, else they lost the trust of their clientele. What he didn't expect was that he hadn't quite considered their exact phrasing. Which is why he was now standing at the doorway to his house in the middle of a downpour late at night, staring out at two bedraggled, bleeding figures in torn jumpsuits and broken helmets. A small, silver-haired child was shivering between them, staring up at him with wide-terror filled eyes as both of the vigilantes loomed over her, keeping her dry as the rain continued to pour down atop of them.

Under one helmet, one emerald green eye visible, tufts of curly green hair spilling out of it, a large bleeding gash down the side of his head. Under the other, messy brown hair, wide, chocolate brown eyes, a massive bruise on the side of her face. And between the both of them, faces of fucking teenagers in front of him, probably no older than his goddamned class. They swayed in place, Zero's arm around Specter's shoulder, Specter's hand clasped on his side where blood was trickling from a wound. Zero's leg was wrapped in terrible, wet bandages, red visibly staining the bandage as her leg trembled.

"...I thought I asked for intel," he said in a flat tone.

Specter giggled, yes, giggled, his voice much higher pitched than Shouta was used to (the helmet's distortion not active right now), with a faintly drunken quality to it that came about due to blood loss (if he was to bet). "We said we'd get you what you want. So here's Eri, she's six, and Kai's wishing he was dead right now. Don't worry Eraser, the Shie Hassaikai's done and dusted, we called it in already. Anyways, you should take Eri and make sure she's okay and safe till we know all of them are arrested."

Shouta stared at them for another moment. "Why didn't you take her to a hospital?"

"Too many questions. Plus if her Quirk's what I think it is, only you can keep it under control," Specter said rapidly.

"Okay. And what is it?"

Zero held out a plastic bag, within it a notebook. "These are our notes on it. Put it in the bag so it didn't get wet." Her voice was exhausted, breathy, and she sounded like she was half a second from passing out.

"Why don't you explain it to me in person?" Shouta offered, gesturing behind him to his house.

The two children, yes, children, looked at him in utter confusion, as if the idea of coming into his house was so strange it hadn't occurred to them. "Um…no, no reason for that. We should get going, and you need to get Eri out of the cold, she could use some warm clothes," Zero said, still leaning over Eri to protect her from the rain.

"You're both wounded. I can at least help patch you up," Shouta offered. Internally, he was getting more and more worried as they stood there, diluted red starting to stain the concrete steps before his front door as more blood dripped off the duo, reminding him they both clearly had open wounds somewhere that he couldn't see.

"N-no, we're fine Eraser," Specter began to argue, a smile visible on his bloody lips, but Zero wobbling in his arms changed his expression instantly. Shouta watched, almost fascinated, at how quickly Specter's expression changed to a panicked, worried gaze, one hand reaching up to gently rub Zero's face as he whispered to her "Hey? Hey, Mochi, you okay?"

"'m fine, Deku," she deferred quietly, a genuinely affectionate smile on her face as she reached up to cup his hand on her cheek.

Specter pursed his lips as he glanced at her, then back at Zero. "...maybe you should take her and patch her up, I'll be fine."

"You've got a knife wound you idjit, if anyone needs patchin' up it's you," she snapped back, the affection in her eyes vanishing as she glared at him.

"I'll be fine, I've had worse," and oh boy was Shouta not enjoying any of this conversation."

"So've I! So don't go doin' that sorta decision makin' for me, we're a team!" She shot back. Shouta wasn't sure if he should jump in, but apparently the little girl decided it was her turn to say something.

"Um…c-can you stay with me?" she asked quickly, tugging on Zero and Specter's jumpsuits. The vigilante duo turned wide eyes to look at her, staring down at her in consternation. "You…you saved me and I don't know him," she pointed at Shouta, "so…can you stay please?"

Shouta kept his expression blank, but internally he was high-fiving the child, because it was obvious neither of those two was going to gainsay her, even if they really wanted to. He took a single step back, gesturing back to his house once more, arching an eyebrow at the three kids in front of him…and smiled internally as with a heavy sigh, they stumbled inside, nearly falling over one another but they were at least out of the gods forsaken rain now. He closed the door behind them, locking it as he tried to figure out how he was explaining this to his husband.

"I don't think that is appropriate," Shouta tried to protest, but apparently neither Specter nor Zero was going to listen to him, both of them giving him glares. They had accepted his first aid kit and offer of a shower, but apparently they intended on going in together. Granted, he was very much certain they had no intent on doing anything actually inappropriate, but still…

"It's not like I can stitch myself up when it's on my leg and I can't bend at the moment, can I?" Zero replied, gesturing at her still bleeding leg.

"Yes, I understand that, but you don't have to be in the shower to do-"

"You said we can wash off, and we need to avoid getting infections, so that's what we're going to do," Specter replied coolly.

"Eraser, we shower together all the time, it's not a big deal," Zero rolled her eyes at him as if it was obvious. "And we're not in condition to do any hanky panky or whatever you old people call it."

Shouta blinked at her. "I am not…nevermind," he sighed. "And what if it's an injury you need help with?"

"We can handle ourselves," Zero said.

Shouta arched an eyebrow at the duo. "Right…and that's why you're here right now."

"We had to take Eri to safety," Specter hissed, narrowing his eyes as he finally pulled the helmet completely off. Shouta had to fight not to react to the massive scar nearly bisecting the teenager's face, going from the top of his head down through his left eye and all the way along his neck. The eye seemed fine, tracking just as well as his right, but still, Shouta was concerned about how that injury even happened.

"We're not stupid, Eraser. We know we can't keep her safe. She needs a home and we figured you could find her one," Zero said matter-of-factly, removing her own helmet. She didn't have a scar like Specter's, but there was what looked like a burn scar along her throat and shoulder and he continued to find himself more and more concerned.

Shouta decided to stop trying to fight battles he couldn't win right now, figuring it was best to just work with them until he could get them to sit down and talk. No way they were in a condition to do so right now, and the fact they kept swaying made up his mind for him.

"Alright, alright. Set your costumes down outside the door, I'll get them in the wash and find you some clean clothes. If you need me, just call. I'll get some food started. I should tell you, my husband-"

"Is Present Mic, we know," Zero interrupted, leaning heavily against the bathroom door, her eyes half-lidded with exhaustion.

"...I was going to say will be home soon, but I guess at least it won't be a surprise," not that he wasn't surprised they knew that, but…information brokers, he supposed.

"Don't worry, we never sold that info once we figured it out," Specter replied, struggling with his boots as he kept wincing every time he tried to bend over.

"Well, I wasn't worried about that until now, but I appreciate that nonetheless," Shouta snarked back.

"Anything else or can we go before one of us bleeds out?" Zero asked, narrowing her eyes at him. The effect was very much ruined by the fact she looked like she was at best seventeen and over twenty centimeters shorter than him, but still, he gestured in the direction of the bathroom, watching as the two of them stumbled into the room, entangled with one another and slammed the door shut behind them.

He sighed deeply, turning around and heading back into the living room where Eri was bundled up in blankets, having passed out nearly as soon as she'd entered his house, her head lolling to the side as she twitched in her sleep. Shouta took in a deep, bracing breath, running his hands down his face. He had to call his husband and explain what had happened first, but he needed to keep in mind what else he needed to do. Eri needed a shower and checked for injuries too, but it was far too late to call Chiyo in, and he suspected she would not want him doing it. And all three of them needed a goddamned hot meal…Eri was all skin and bones, and neither Specter nor Zero looked to be in great condition right now either. And he'd need to tell Nighteye about the kids, and-

His thoughts were cut off by his phone ringing, and he rushed to grab it before it woke Eri, staring at it in consternation as he saw Nighteye's name on the call. Shit…right. Zero and Specter did say they 'called it in', not that he knew for sure what that meant but…he had a feeling he was about to find out. He answered the call.

"Eraserhead," he said as a greeting.

"Eraser, the Shie Hassaikai, they-"

"Are fucked up?" he said bluntly, not having the patience to wait for the full story. The quality of silence across the line was darkly amusing, as he heard a loud sigh.

"Well…that's one way to put it. How did you know?"

"...you remember how I asked those info brokers for assistance?"

"Yes?"

"It appears I did not make it clear what exactly I wanted from them."

It was silent once more, before Nighteye sighed. "Every member of the Precepts as well as Chisaki are currently lacking their Quirks. The bullets were used on them. And then destroyed. The base was crushed and we cannot tell how. All the various people can tell us is about a glowing figure bringing the roof down on their heads and another one who couldn't get hit. Please tell me you have an explanation!"

"I have an explanation, but it probably doesn't explain everything."

"Tell me anyway."

It took twenty minutes to explain that Shouta was currently playing host to two vigilantes who apparently could destroy entire bases and be invulnerable to harm (which he knew that was untrue since they both were currently half-dead in his bathroom), along with a traumatized child with a Quirk that can rewind people into nonexistence (all of Chisaki's experiments and files were sitting neat as you please on a desk for Nighteye to read, a post-it note with his name on them, along with the notebook Shouta had been given holding the same information), and that he had no intention on turning them in to the police.

Nighteye, perhaps surprisingly, didn't pressure him on that, agreeing that at least for now, having the two vigilante's with Shouta would be of more benefit to them than sending them off to the police, especially as they'd probably fight on their way out and who knew how badly that would go. Still, he admitted to being worried about Shouta…when All Might had retired six years ago, crime had spiked pretty badly and with it, a rise in vigilantism, some of which were more violent and unstable than others.

Shouta reassured Nighteye he could handle it. He had a good working relationship with Zero and Specter, and as far as he believed, they tended to be less violent than most, this current situation with the Shie Hassaikai notwithstanding. Granted, he couldn't say he approved of the fact they'd left Chisaki with seventeen broken bones, but considering what the man had done to that little girl…eh, he could see why they went overboard. Couldn't condone it, but he could understand it. Nighteye accepted his reassurance, but said he wanted to convene the task force soon, and asked if Shouta could convince Zero and Specter to come be debriefed. He said he'd try, but wasn't making any promises, which was good enough for Nighteye. They ended the call with little fanfare, leaving Shouta to sigh and prepare to call his husband.

"Not arresting us, huh?" Specter's voice cut in, making Shouta jump up from his seat at the kitchen table to see Specter leaning against the wall, hair fluffy and damp, wearing one of his husband's many hoodies and a pair of shorts that were barely being held up by the tightly tied drawstring.

"It would be illogical," Shouta replied carefully, wanting to be certain they didn't get defensive.

"Deku," came Zero's voice, but it was unlike any time he'd heard it before. It was almost whiny, a pout audible, as Zero came around the corner…and Shouta had to hold back a snort. She was practically swimming in one of his husbands hoodies, her arms not even making it through the sleeves as she glared impotently at Specter. Specter didn't fit them well either, but he had more centimeters in height and broader shoulders than Zero, so at least it managed, but on her it may as well have been a blanket, and she seemed displeased by it.

He watched, fascinated, as Specter's tough guy facade vanished, a genuine smile crossing his face as well as a chuckle, reaching out to pull her closer into his arms. She willingly fell into them, her eyes nearly closed as she snuggled into his side. Shouta bit his lip…she looked exhausted, and Specter didn't look much better, his arms shaking as he held Zero in his arms.

Shouta gestured to the couch in the living room, Eri curled up in the armchair next to it. "You two wanna take a seat? I still need to call my husband, and then I'll get some food started."

"No need. We can get out of your hair, just tell me where our costumes are so we can get going. We'll bring the clothes back," Specter replied, his mask back on as he stared at Shouta.

Shouta had to navigate this carefully, because no way in hell was he letting these two children leave into the cold rain, exhausted, bruised, and suffering a lot of blood loss. "I was going to put the costumes into the wash. It'll be difficult to travel without being noticed if you're carrying bloody clothes, you know. And Eri will probably panic if you aren't here when she wakes up. Why don't you stay the night, and we'll deal with everything in the morning?"

He watched as they turned to one another in unison, communicating silently in a way only those who are truly close can. They whispered to one another hurriedly, as if arguing with one another, but they were turned in such a way he couldn't read their lips nor hear them, but he did see Zero brush her hand over Specter's abdomen where he'd been bleeding from earlier. Specter sighed, turning back to Shouta with a severe expression.

"We'll stay out here with Eri," he stated, not leaving room for Shouta to argue. It was pretty clear why…they wanted to be by the door. But this was the best he could get, so he'd take it.

"Alright. Why don't you get comfortable then, I'm going to call my husband." With a nod, the two teenagers carefully walked to the couch, nearly stumbling as Specter tried to half carry Zero but was having his own issues. Still, they made it safely and collapsed onto the couch in a tangle of limbs. Shouta noted the pained wince from them both, the whined hiss of air escaping Specter's mouth as Zero's face twisted, but they quickly schooled themselves to flat expressions once more. And…oh, that was interesting.

As Shouta turned slightly, keeping them in his peripheral vision, he saw Specter wave a hand and the blanket on the other end of the couch shot towards him, stopping just before it hit his hand and then falling into his lap. He flung it up and out, Zero reaching out to wrap it around the both of them, the two teenagers now curled up beneath one blanket. It was…painfully cute but also just painful to witness, because the guarded expression on their faces didn't change.

He decided to leave them be for now, calling his husband. He waited for a bit for the rings to go through, knowing Hizashi was currently on air but would find time to break off for his call, and then it went through.

"Sho? Something wrong?" Hizashi asked, his voice almost frantic.

"Not…really?" Shouta replied, realizing he wasn't entirely sure how to express this. "Uh…okay, so, it's a long story, but…there are two injured teenagers and a small child in our house right now who are going to spend the night?"

The other side of the line was silent for a minute, Shouta waiting for his husband's inevitable questioning, and he got it pretty quickly. "...come again?"

With a sigh, he situated himself at the kitchen table and began explaining, again, going through the whole explanation as best he could. In the corner of his eye he could see Specter watching him, narrowed green eyes paying very close attention to him. Zero was curled into Specter's chest, but he could see she wasn't asleep either, for all her closed eyes her breathing was too rapid. He could imagine she was listening just as intently as Specter. What in the world had made these two so hypervigilant, he had to wonder…and he wondered how much he would be displeased if he ever knew.

By the time he'd finished explaining, he could tell Hizashi was getting ready to leave from his show. It wasn't unusual for it to happen, Present Mic was a hero and his listeners expected it, but Shouta still felt guilty he was shoving this all on his husband out of nowhere.

"I'll pick something up on the way home so you don't have to cook. Something simple, like ramen," Hizashi said absently, the sounds of him shuffling about the studio audible to Shouta.

"Probably for the best. I don't think we have much that'd be suitable for them right now," Shouta murmured.

"...I'm guessing you can't really tell me, but how bad is it, you think?"

"I don't know…but I don't really like that," Shouta knew Hizashi would understand what he meant…that he was very, very concerned right now.

"Got it. Okay. Keep an eye on them. They know I'm coming?"

Shouta snorted. "They know who you are, even. Told me they didn't sell the information either."

"We didn't, I promise," Specter called out, his voice a bit slurred. Shouta risked a glance at the green-haired teenager, finding himself mildly pleased that he looked like he was starting to fall asleep. Zero's breathing had evened out, and he hoped that meant she'd already passed out, because the best thing for any of these children right now would be rest, and if she had fallen asleep, maybe he'd follow her soon. Or so Shouta hoped. He offered an acknowledging nod back to the vigilante.

"Huh. Smart kids. Alright, I'm about to leave the studio. See you when I get home babe. Stay safe," Hizashi said.

"You too," Shouta replied, hanging up and setting his phone down. He turned to look at Specter. "Hizashi is bringing home some food for everyone, that okay?"

"You don't have to worry about us, Eraser," Specter tried to protest, but Shouta cut him off with a raised hand.

"Just…let us at least offer a meal, okay?" He was trying to be soft and not pushy, but the constant pushback was admittedly getting frustrating. He'd do the same for anyone on his steps, not just some teenaged vigilantes that had a worrying number of scars, and he wished they'd understand that.

Specter stared at him for a moment, before it looked like all the fight drained from him, exhaustion seeping into his gaze. "Fine," he murmured, resting his head against Zero's and sighing into her hair, the brown-haired girl unconsciously snuggling closer.

Shouta took a deep breath. This was the best he could do right now, and hopefully he could come up with a plan later. For now he'd just wait for his husbands return, and with any luck, one of them would have an idea.

I imagine there are a lot of questions, like, why is Bakugo being weird, why did Toshinori retire six years back, why does Ochako call Izuku Deku, what happened to their parents, what the hell Izuku's Quirk is, etc...well, you'll find out as we go! Probably when I do, because my ability to story plan is negative 27. Anyways, hope you enjoy chapter 1!