BEFORE I START:

I received the first piece of fan art for this story from a reader on AO3! You can find it on my tumblr, cannibalisticapple. It's by Isaac7568 (endlessshinsou on Tumblr) and it features Todoroki's disguise, a look at Shinsou's muzzle and also Shinsou, Izuku and Bakugou all planning their escape. Please go look at it, it's amazing!

Chapter 35

.::A Break in Routine::.

That day had begun normally enough for Shouta, or as normally as it went since he'd been captured. Food had been delivered at some point and he'd been taken to the bathroom, his captor had spit in his face (which he couldn't even wipe off, much to his ire), and then he'd been left alone for hours on end like usual. Chained to the wall as always, left with nothing to occupy himself except stare at the door waiting for it to open.

As dire as his situation was, this sort of routine had become normal for him. Once his captors lost their initial interest in torturing him, they mostly just left him alone. It was a wonder he hadn't gone crazy yet from the isolation. For the most part he drifted in and out of sleep, and this day proved no different, falling into a light doze.

Up until a loud scream woke him with a start.

From the moment he opened his eyes, he realized something big was happening. The sounds of a battle rang throughout the building, crashes echoing in the distance and more screams ringing before abruptly cutting out. Those screams were what filled him with the most alarm, because those weren't shouts of anger or even fear, those were the screams of people dying.

Someone had invaded, and they weren't heroes.

Shouta shifted onto his knees and scrambled back until the chain attached to his collar went taut, staring at the door with his heart thundering in his ears. More and more screams sounded, each closer than the last, and he found most of the voices familiar as his captors. Whoever had invaded was clearly winning, and Shouta had no idea what would happen when they found him.

The minutes ticked by slowly as the sounds of fighting drew closer, and finally he heard footsteps striding down the hall. Not the heavy footfalls of boots he'd gotten used to, this was someone else entirely. He held his breath as the steps halted outside the door, waiting for the familiar sound of the metal bar lifting.

Instead, the door dissolved.

Terror surged through Shouta at the sight, his body locking up as the door he had spent months staring at helplessly was reduced to a pile of dust within seconds. A lone figure stood on the other side, dark and menacing with the light from the hallway backlighting their silhouette. His breath caught as he recognized silvery blue hair and disembodied hands gripping the figure's arms and torso, eyes widening as he realized who this must be.

Shigaraki Tomura.

The leader of the Villain Alliance had been on everyone's radars ever since their big debut, his Quirk making him even more dangerous than most big-name villains. Photos of the man had only recently begun circulating before Shouta's capture, but everyone knew about the hands. Seeing him when Shouta was so vulnerable made him physically sick. The man tilted his head as his eerie red eyes locked on Shouta, making him grit his teeth apprehensively.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Shigaraki murmured as he stepped forward. On instinct Shouta flared his Quirk for the first time in months, hair rising and eyes flaring red. Though the past several months had been hellish, Shouta didn't want to die yet.

The flash of his Quirk made Shigaraki halt his progress, looking at him almost curiously. The villain then slammed a hand on the door's frame, making Shouta flinch, but he didn't dare let his eyes close. When the frame remained intact Shigaraki turned to look at him again, a glint of recognition visible in his eyes.

"The stories were true after all," he murmured, his cracked lips breaking into a wide smile that sent chills down his spine. "Eraserhead, how good to see you."

That had been all Shouta needed to blink in shock, physically recoiling as terror seized him fully. No one from the Alliance should know his name, he'd been careful to never leave any evidence of his identity. Only a handful of photos existed, and beyond that he wasn't even wearing his costume. The fact that Shigaraki recognized him anyway meant he'd been specifically looking for Shouta, which couldn't mean anything good.

Shigaraki disintegrated the chain connecting his collar the floor, and more villains poured in to hold Shouta in place while they blindfolded and gagged him. Of course he'd struggled, but in his heavily bound and weakened state he couldn't do much. Soon Shouta found himself being forced into a new cell, unable to even notice the transition from one location to the next in his temporarily blinded state. The move was hazy, and getting his face slammed into the floor only further clouded his thoughts.

By the time his head stopped ringing from the pain he'd been shoved to the ground once more, the bulky metal collar around his neck gone and traded for a leather one that at least had padding under the band. It seemed he'd be tethered to the ground this time, and they tethered his right ankle to the same point to further limit his mobility.

Though first, they made sure to break his other leg.

That had been probably the most painful part of the ordeal. He hadn't been able to suppress his muffled scream as one of the Alliance had delivered a harsh blow to his left leg with a pipe, snapping the bone halfway between his knee and ankle. It had been far from the worst pain he'd suffered but no less horrific, unable to brace himself without his sight, and leaving him curled on the ground with pained gasps hindered by the gag.

"Look at you," Shigaraki drawled above him, voice dripping with disdain. "One of the few great heroes left, and you can't even stop crying." Even if he hadn't been gagged Shouta wouldn't be able to respond, gritting his teeth around the fabric as he tried to muffle a pained hiss. He knew he looked pathetic, quivering on the ground and curled as tight as he could manage as he tried to ignore the throbbing in his leg.

Shigaraki clicked his tongue in disappointment, a sign Shouta's suffering hadn't ended. "Hah, this won't do. Izu-chan will be so upset if we just leave you like this." Rough hands forced him to uncurl then, grabbing his injured leg and sending waves of pain through it.

He didn't try holding back his muffled screams this time as his captors began setting his leg, attaching it to a splint and binding it to hold the splint in place. It only made him more aware of how precise the blow had been, the position of the break allowing him to bend his knee even with the bulky splint in place.

By the time they finished he was shaking like a leaf, only years of training and experience with bad injuries preventing him from hyperventilating. After undergoing torture for who knows how long his body had already been weaker than normal, so he found himself entering a state of almost shock. Too bad that didn't take away the pain.

Someone finally tore the gag off him and he gasped, the sudden freedom in his jaw honestly painful. He could hear Shigaraki walk over to him, fabric shifting as the villain crouched next to him. "Much better," he hummed in that raspy voice of his, and Shouta could imagine his cracked lips twisting in a demented smile, cruel and mocking. "I don't think you'll be walking anytime soon."

Shouta inhaled a deep, shuddery breath, mentally counting to ten as he tried to direct his thoughts away from the pain. "F-f-f-fuck y-y-you," he breathed out shakily, gritting his teeth. He winced as he felt fingers brush through his hair, four trailing along his scalp with feather-light touches while the index finger hovered out of reach. His breath caught and he stilled as images of decaying walls and dissolving limbs filled his mind.

"Now, now, don't be that way. You'll be with us for a long time, Eraserhead. My brother is very eager to meet you."

Brother. Shigaraki had referenced an "Izu-chan" earlier, and it filled him with dread. Shouta knew about the boy with green hair of course, descriptions of the boy had been circulating around their circle since that first sighting at one of their now-empty bases. No one knew what role the teen served, nor even his full name, but if he wanted to meet Shouta... It couldn't be good, especially if he was Shigaraki's brother.

"I hope you live up to his expectations," Shigaraki chuckled. "Because if not..." His fingers moved to the blindfold and it dissolved, and Shouta found himself staring up at a demented grin full of condescension and taunting malice. "There's really no point in keeping you alive."

He withdrew his hand from Shouta's hair and stepped back, stalking towards the door. "Come on, let's leave our guest so he can rest. Someone can bring him food and see to his needs later, we've got other stuff to do." The other grunts made noises of agreement as they followed him outside, the door closing behind them with a resounding thud. Then Shouta heard a lock click followed by heavy silence, and he let his eyes fall shut as he curled up on his side with a pained hiss.

And that was how Izuku found him the next morning. His teacher chained to the ground, with a collar like a dog and eyes full of hatred directed at him.

"Surprise," Shigaraki said behind him with half-hearted jazz hands—or, hand, since he only used one given the other was still in a brace. "I got you a pet."

If anything, Aizawa-sensei's glare hardened at those words.

"Um." Izuku really didn't know what to say to this. Words did not describe the awkwardness and horror of seeing his teacher as a prisoner—his prisoner, if he was reading the "pet" comment right. A lot of crazy things had happened since waking up in this crazy alternate dimension, but this one took the cake. Which surprised him given how they'd kidnapped Kacchan, muzzled Shinsou, and then... well, literally everything Uraraka did.

But this? Yeah, this was the craziest one of all.

He could feel Shigaraki pause behind him, picture him tilting his head even without looking. "Do you not like it?" he questioned. "I thought Eraserhead was your favorite hero."

"No, he is!" Izuku said quickly as he whirled to face the villain. "I-I'm just surprised I guess, that's all! I never thought I'd actually get to meet him." He flashed Shigaraki a nervous smile, his words bolstered by the fact he told the truth. He didn't expect to see Aizawa-sensei here, in this world—or at the very least, not as a prisoner of the Alliance. He could feel the man's glare boring into his back but tried to ignore it, instead asking, "Also, uh, what do you mean by pet?"

"He belongs to you now," Shigaraki replied smoothly, but his words carried a calculating edge, watching him closely as he casually waved his good hand. "Eraserhead has been a pain, but he doesn't pose a real threat to us on his own, especially like this. And since we're not the ones who captured him, it's not like anyone is likely to track him to us. We could have just killed him," he added casually, oblivious to Izuku's horrified internal shriek at that, "but I thought you'd have more fun with him."

Once again Izuku could feel Aizawa-sensei's glare intensify, the hairs pricking on the back of his neck as he kept his gaze firmly trained on Shigaraki. "I-I see... Thank you, Tomura-nii." The title felt like ash on his tongue, heavy and unfamiliar and wrong in this scenario. It clearly pleased Shigaraki though, because the older male immediately relaxed and grinned that unsettling smile of his, his red eyes creasing with pleasure.

"Anything for you, Izuku," he said, and it took all Izuku had not to flinch when the man ruffled his hair, careful to keep one finger lifted. "I'll leave you to have fun now. I'll see you at dinner."

"Right, see you then," Izuku agreed, hoping his own smile didn't look as strained as it felt. Shigaraki seemed pleased with Izuku's reaction and departed with a small wave, leaving Izuku alone with his teacher. After a tense moment he slowly turned around and found burning black eyes glaring at him, making him shudder.

Aizawa-sensei did not look happy. Izuku expected no less of a man in this predicament. More importantly than that though, he saw no recognition either, not like he had with Uraraka. His heart sank at the confirmation that this was not the teacher he knew but an alternate version of the man, one which had no knowledge of him other than that he called Shigaraki "Tomura-nii."

This would not be fun.

"Um, hi," he greeted lamely, not knowing what else to say. Searching for a topic, he glanced over the man and winced when he noticed the splint on his leg, having been too stunned by just seeing Aizawa earlier to notice it before. "Did you break your leg?" He internally winced even as he blurted out the question, recognizing how stupid and unnecessary it was. His (not-)teacher's gaze grew sharper, more calculating.

"Your brother did," he replied flatly, even as his eyes held that analytic gleam usually reserved for enemies. Izuku sucked in a quiet breath, averting his gaze as he recognized he pretty much did count as one.

"O-oh, right..." Of course he did. He had to admit, breaking his leg would be better at keeping him down than just chaining him. Chains could be broken with enough force, even turned into weapons if one was creative and agile enough. Broken bones rarely worked to one's advantage though, making escape that much harder. Though Shigaraki still went on to chain him down anyway, but the point remained.

Keenly aware of his alternate teacher's probing gaze, Izuku coughed into his hand as he tried to look anywhere but at Aizawa. "A-anyway, you're probably tired, so I'll j-just... let you rest now. I'll be back in a bit with—food, I g-guess." With that he quickly took his leave, all too eager to get away from that cold stare. Once outside he slumped against the wall and groaned softly, rubbing at his eyes. This was officially a nightmare.

He felt Seiko before he saw her, and when he turned his head he found her standing directly next to him, expression blank and unreadable as ever. He didn't even have the energy to react with shock or feel creeped out by her, too emotionally numb from what just happened. "What does it mean to have a 'pet' here?" he asked tiredly.

"What do you do for a dog?" Seiko asked in turn, and he hung his head with a groan. So basically, Aizawa-sensei's life probably hinged on him providing food, water and all other necessities. Great.

"Please tell me I don't have to take him to the bathroom too," he groaned, covering his face.

"No, there are others handling that part." Izuku genuinely couldn't tell if he was relieved about that or not. Relieved because he didn't have to do it—that would be so freaking awkward—but that still left his teacher at villains' mercies more than he'd like. Also, his teacher hated him. It was obvious from the way he looked at Izuku.

He took a deep breath and lowered his hands, starting down the hall in silence. He barely paid attention to Seiko as she faded into his shadow, just navigating the now-familiar halls until he reached Bakugou's cell. He knocked on the door twice before pushing it open, finding the blond pacing the room clearly waiting for him.

"Deku! Where the hell did you—" Kacchan stopped short when he whirled to face him and saw Izuku's expression. He must have looked awful because Kacchan's scowl instantly shifted to a look of concern of all things. "What the fuck? Why the hell do you look like that, Deku?"

Rather than respond Izuku just walked over and threw his arms around Kacchan, making the blond flinch, but he didn't try to push him away. Izuku just squeezed him for a few seconds, needing the bit of human contact to ground himself. Eventually he let go and stepped back, finding Kacchan looking at him with a bewildered look.

"We need to go to Hijack," Izuku said hollowly. To his credit Bakugou just nodded, following Izuku in silence to Shinsou's cell. When they arrived they found the purple-haired boy only just waking up, sitting up in the bed as the door opened and rubbing his eyes. He blinked slowly as Izuku and Bakugou filed inside, Izuku closing the door silently and turning to face them.

"Oi, you awake yet?" Bakugou asked Shinsou gruffly. He got another slow blink in response followed by a nod, and Bakugou turned to Izuku with a frown. "Okay, now that we're all accounted for, what the hell happened yesterday? Why did that Toga-chick have to come get me, and where were you!?"

Izuku sucked in a sharp breath, fists clenching at his sides. "Seiko," he said, and the other two jumped as the girl emerged from his shadow, Bakugou cursing loudly as his hands sparked. Izuku turned to look at her somberly, staring into those unsettling inverted eyes. "I need you to leave us alone for a while."

Seiko looked at him silently for several long moments, but then cocked her head to the side before nodding. "Alright." With that she faded into the shadows once more, and he could feel some of the tension in the room vanish as she departed. He had no way to know if she was truly gone or not, but for now he had no choice but to trust that she was. He couldn't wait long enough to check.

He turned to face the others, grim and serious. "They captured a hero," he said, and the other two went wide-eyed. And with that, Izuku launched into explaining everything that had happened since he left the previous day. Seeing Eraserhead, getting teleported to Aiko's apartment, and then his surprise reunion with Uraraka. He had to backtrack a bit to explain how they ran into each other last week at that point.

"When did you even meet her?" Bakugou asked in exasperation, and Izuku could only shrug.

"I'm not sure, but I recognized her instantly and she recognized me." It didn't even feel like a total lie, he just didn't explain why he recognized her. After that he wrapped up by explaining his return that morning and subsequent encounter with Eraserhead, and how Shigaraki had basically gifted the man to him as a pet. When he finished the group sat in silence, all of them processing it.

Finally Kacchan pinched the bridge of his nose. "Deku," he said flatly. "Why the fuck does Shittyraki keep giving you people as gifts?" Shinsou cocked his head at the question and turned to look at Izuku expectantly, clearly wondering the same thing, and he could only shrug helplessly.

"I don't know, maybe it's a villain thing?" he said tiredly. Thinking back to Aiko's own failed attempts to comfort him last night, he grimaced and added, "I don't think any of them know how to bond with people, you know, normally." Shinsou grabbed his white board from the table by the bed and began writing, the motions slightly more sluggish than usual in his still-groggy state.

'We have an ally on the outside. That's good.' Of all the responses Izuku expected to all this, optimism was the last one, especially from Shinsou. Even Kacchan seemed a bit taken aback by it, just staring at the board.

"Okay, yeah, that's good and all I guess, but—" Shinsou held up a hand to silence him, and the blond twitched and scowled but surprisingly kept his mouth shut while Shinsou wrote some more.

'Our priority is escape. If we have someone on the outside they can help arrange a place to hide after we leave.'

Izuku perked up at that and bobbed his head. "That was my thought too! Aiko-nee said she'd help Uraraka get a burner phone of her own later so we can talk more, so we'll try to coordinate stuff then. But..." He frowned, looking down at his feet. "I don't know what to do about Eraserhead though. He's not in good shape, and—and his leg is broken." He grimaced at the memory of the splint. Rescuing Aizawa-sensei would not be easy when the man couldn't walk on his own.

Shinsou seemed undaunted by the challenge though, his eyes increasingly alert as he penned his response. 'We'll bust him out too. He can get us in contact with other heroes and help you two find somewhere safe.'

That got their attention for different reasons than Shinsou might expect. "Us two?" Bakugou asked before Izuku could. "What, are you not planning to come too, dumbass?" Shinsou shook his head as he erased it and quickly jotted a reply.

'I have somewhere else to go.' Izuku perked up at that, but the fact Shinsou deliberately wrote only that made it clear he didn't intend to elaborate. Bakugou picked up on that too, because he grumbled under his breath but didn't try to push.

"Well, we're not leaving a hero behind anyway," he said instead. "Who knows what those sick fucks would do to him if Deku up and vanished?" He turned to Izuku, his eyes narrowing. "You do plan to come too, right?"

"Of course!" Izuku confirmed with a firm nod. "I know they'll probably try to chase me down, so it might be more dangerous, but..." He trailed off with a frown, realizing he might be overstepping his boundaries and making this more dangerous for everyone. If Shigaraki was willing to kidnap a hero just to make Izuku happy, who knew what he'd do if Izuku suddenly disappeared? And that didn't even touch on Aiko, who he could tell cared for him just as much as Shigaraki, if not more.

Before his thoughts could spiral further Bakugou grunted and nodded. "Good. Then we need to get this Eraserhead guy to trust you so you don't get thrown into prison as an accomplice or some shit after we escape." His words surprised Izuku, not expecting Bakugou to care about that. When he looked at him the blond scoffed. "Don't give me that look! I spent years thinking you were dead, Deku. I'm not gonna just let you disappear into prison or some other shithole right after finding you again!"

"K-Kacchan," Izuku whispered, tears starting to well. He really did care, didn't he?

"And I can't kick your ass for making me think you were dead all that time until after we get out of here!" Bakugou continued, and ah, he just wanted to make sure he'd have a chance to vent at Izuku without the threat of being killed by Shigaraki. That still made tears bubble up even more though, because while it was still crass, Izuku could still detect the underlying note of concern that prompted the violent urge.

His hands clenched and he quickly wiped away the tears, and then took a deep breath. "Also, those anklets are bombs and will explode if you leave the building!" he blurted, and the other two startled at that. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier but I only found out from Seiko on Saturday when I took Hijack to Kacchan's cell, and I didn't know how to tell you guys! Everyone was already so on edge and I didn't want to make it worse, but I'm sorry I didn't say it earlier—"

He stopped short as Shinsou raised a hand to stop him, his other hand moving to hold his head. Being subjected to rambling like that first thing after waking up must be grating. His heart pounded as he waited for their responses, gaze anxiously flicking between them. Was that too blunt? Should I have been a bit more considerate? Finally Bakugou frowned.

"Okay, and?" he asked, and now it was Izuku's turn to just stare.

"...Wait, you don't have any questions? You're not—aren't you shocked or mad or, or something?"

"Of course I'm pissed!" Kacchan snapped. "I've got a fucking bomb strapped to my ankle, that's fucked up! But with all the other shit these guys have pulled, I figured there was something more to this stupid thing than just shocks or whatever." Shinsou cocked his head to the side, turning his whiteboard to jot something.

'I thought it would inject poison. Not sure if this is better or worse.' When Izuku and Bakugou looked at him in shock he just shrugged. 'It has to poke us to shock us anyway. Figured it'd be easy to just put poison in it.'

"Yeah, okay, either way these things are fucked up," Kacchan said, turning back to Izuku. "It doesn't matter how it kills us, we already knew these things need to go. But I'm guessing you don't know how to remove them or you would've mentioned it before."

Izuku just stared, still a bit shocked by how easily they accepted it, but at the question he snapped back to reality and sighed. "I don't," he confirmed glumly. "Sorry, I don't think I've ever seen them."

"Damn," Bakugou hissed under his breath, and crossed his arms with a contemplative scowl. "Does that hero have one?"

"Not that I saw?" He scratched the back of his neck as he tried to recall. "Like I said, they broke one of his legs, so they probably figured that was enough."

"Yeah, that does make it harder," Bakugou muttered with a frown. "But that also means we just need to worry about these two. It sucks, but we'll figure out something Deku. At least he'll probably be able to help us with everything after we get blow this dump."

"Yeah," Izuku agreed quietly, and could feel tears forming again as he smiled. The way Kacchan said "we" so casually there, and how he and Shinsou had just—accepted this revelation about their anklets... They didn't even get mad at him for hiding it for so long, or accuse him of trying to sabotage the escape by withholding information, just went right on to planning. They didn't see him as an enemy or a threat, they were...

They were treating him like an ally.

The others jumped as the waterworks started, Bakugou cursing and Shinsou scrambling onto his bed to avoid the deluge of water. "No, his Quirk's not crying!" he heard Kacchan snap at one point, and Izuku didn't know why he said that but he didn't care. They trusted him, even when they had absolutely every reason to hate his guts, and Kacchan even cared about him in his own rough Kacchan way. And with all the stress he'd been under, that realization just made him cry and cry.

It hit him now more than ever that this was really going to happen, he was going to escape with his friends. He didn't even know if the other Izuku wanted to leave. These people were his counterpart's family after all, even if they were all villains, but he himself couldn't stay with the League no matter what name it used.

Somehow though, he felt like his counterpart wouldn't be too upset.

BONUS: If Alternate-Izuku was there when Shigaraki Gave Him Eraserhead Instead

In one world, Midoriya Izuku got a Quirk from All Might and went to UA to eventually become the greatest hero in the world.

In this world, All Might died, then his parents died, then he ran away, and then he got adopted by the Villain Alliance.

...Yeah, this was not how he'd ever imagined his life going, but it was what it was. Izuku really had no one to blame but himself with the last part, he could have just said no and eventually gone back to the Bakugou house, but this was his life now. He was a Quirkless kid living with one of the most notorious organizations of all, and calling the heir to the villain that killed All Might "nii-san". It's not like it was a bad life either. It's not like they expected him to participate in their nefarious plans, in fact it was quite the opposite, but... well, it still wasn't normal. The change had been weird and sometimes scary, but over the years he'd come to truly love his weird new family, and learn to stop being so horrified and shocked by their villainous tendencies.

Sometimes, Shigaraki still caught him by surprise though.

"Surprise," Tomura said behind him with half-hearted jazz hands. "I got you a pet."

Izuku didn't respond, just staring at Eraserhead who glowered back at him. The hero had definitely seen better days, between being collared to the ground, having his hands bound behind his back, and oh, you know, the broken leg. Izuku didn't know the man, but he could tell he usually didn't look this bad.

Tomura had gotten him a lot of... weird gifts before. You know, like a piece of a costume belonging to a Pro Hero the Alliance had killed on their latest attack. Or autographed merchandise of a Pro Hero they asked to sign some bauble of Izuku's, to lower their guard before launching a surprise attack and killing them. Or a picture of a hero beaten black and blue, but who they DIDN'T kill because they were one of Izuku's favorites.

That always sucked to see his favorite heroes so badly beaten up, sometimes to the point they would never even WALK again, but it was a nice... attempt at a nice gesture on his big brother's part. He might be going about it wrong, but his heart was in the... actually, no, it was still in the wrong place. There was a reason Kurogiri and Aiko made him stop doing that. To be fair, Tomura didn't realize how devastating it was to let a kid see their favorite heroes in that sort of state.

But this was the first time his brother went as far as to get him a hero AS a gift.

Izuku met Eraserhead's hateful gaze for a moment longer, and then turned to face his brother. "THANK YOU SO MUCH!" he screamed with a bright smile, throwing himself at Tomura in a cheerful embrace that nearly knocked the villain off his foot. "You're the best brother EVER!"

Tomura returned the embrace warmly, patting his hair. "I knew you'd like it," he chuckled.

"I LOVE it!" Izuku replied even as he internally whispered what the fuck what the fuck what the hell this is NOT okay! People are NOT PETS Tomura! What do I even do with a pet hero!?

He didn't vocalize any of that out loud though, because he at least knew Tomura was trying to be a good brother. It wasn't his fault that he'd been raised by a psycho villain that was trying to completely brainwash him so that no traces of basic human morals remained after all. He didn't really know how to show his affection in a healthy, normal manner.

...Also, if Izuku explained that, Tomura would probably decide to kill Eraserhead anyway because by this point the man had seen too much. Eraserhead was kinda screwed either way, so better to NOT upset his older brother.

He pulled away with a big grin. "Thank you SO MUCH!"

"Anything for you," Tomura chuckled. "I need to get back to work, so I'll leave you to have fun."

"Okay!" Izuku agreed with a cheery grin, and waved his brother off as he left. Once the door closed he stood in silence for a minute, and then let his head hang with a sigh. He turned to meet the burning black eyes glaring a hole into his back. "Yeah, I'm really sorry about him. I swear I did not ask him to kidnap you. Or, uh, break your leg. I'm guessing he did that?"

"He did," Eraserhead confirmed crisply, and Izuku sucked in a breath.

"Yeah, yep, yep, figured as much. Guess it makes sense, makes it harder to escape or fight back than with plain old chains... Can't really weaponize a broken leg or break—well, you could break it more, but that'd just make it worse, aaaand I'm just going to stop rambling now. Sorry he did that, but hey, at least you're alive!" He laughed awkwardly while Eraserhead remained silent. Yep, this was even more awkward than he'd feared. Eh, since Eraserhead was here anyway and unable to leave, he might as well... "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"What?" the hero all but growled.

"Does your costume have yellow goggles with vertical slots on the eye holes?" That made Eraserhead pause, his eyes narrowing.

"So what if it does?" he asked shortly, voice full of suspicion, and Izuku perked up.

"Oh! Then those really ARE your goggles, aren't they! Cool! I thought they might be because they looked like the sketch Aiko-nee made me for me, but I wasn't sure." He paused then, regarding the suddenly very still hero curiously. "Hey, why does Aiko-nee have your goggles, anyway?"

...In retrospect, Izuku probably should have realized the way Eraserhead was suddenly very still at the mention of Aiko probably meant it was a bad time to ask questions. While he might be better than Tomura, he had also been raised by villains for the most part and largely isolated due to bullying before that. So he lacked in some pretty basic social etiquette too.

(At least he learned how to calm a panic attack though. Thanks internet!)

EXTRA BONUS

"I hope you live up to his expectations, because if not... There's really no point in keeping you alive."

The words played on repeat in Shouta's head as he stared at the blank wall, the pain in his leg finally dulling to a low throb he could more easily ignore. By some miracle he was alive, and based on Shigaraki's words it was clear that was purely so he could be gifted to the villain's kid brother. What was his name again, obviously Izu-something since Shigaraki called him Izu-chan... Ugh, he couldn't remember, it had been a long time since he'd heard it back at HQ. It didn't matter, he'd find out soon enough anyway.

He grimaced at the thought. He really didn't want to find out what Shigaraki's brother was like, or just what made him so interested in Shouta in the first place, but he had no choice in the matter. More importantly though, Shigaraki's words made it quite clear that his life literally depended on this kid's interest in him. If he didn't meet "Izu-chan"'s expectations, then his life really would be forfeit.

Okay, so I need to get on the good side of this kid. He's supposed to be, what? Twelve? Thirteen? The reports said he looked like he was middle school age. How hard could it be to get his interest?

He paused then, mind flitting back to a distant time many years ago when he and a certain blond were stuck with a crowd of bored-looking middle school students while police interviewed their teachers about a bomb threat at the school. "Come on, Shou!" his best friend goaded as the teens started to get more agitated with waiting around so long. "Don't look so lost! You're a hero, and kids love that! Just smile and be yourself!"

Shouta had done just as told, and the bored looks stopped. And then it was replaced by people yelling and crying, because apparently he had a terrifying smile.

His mind then flitted back to standing in the middle of a convenience store, Shouta turning just in time to see a teenage boy jolted and dragged his kid sister out the door. The panicked reaction had him looking for danger, before realizing he was the only one in the store besides the cashier. Then there was the time when he hadn't had coffee yet, and a pair of high school girls quickly crossed the street to get away from him... Or the time when he saved a high school student from a mugger, only for the kid to cry and beg him not to hurt him too...

...Yeah, screw it. I'm doomed.

Aizawa Shouta quietly resigned himself to his impending death.

First omake was inspired by a couple of comments on AO3. The second one... I've just had it in mind for a long time. If it's not obvious, I have a dark sense of humor sometimes. (Also, the mystery of Aiko and Aizawa's goggles continues. Confirming now, even other Izuku has no idea why she has them.)

You know, this scenario with Aizawa is easily one of my favorite parts of the whole fic. Not because I'm evil (though I kinda am), but just because it's so ridiculous that Shigaraki would gift Izuku his favorite hero as a pet. Literally no one is happy about this but Shigaraki. At least Aizawa's alive, right? His broken leg is going to make rescuing him a lot harder though.

Question for next time: how do you think other Izuku would react to the bombs?

(Also: if I made a Discord server, would people be willing to join? Just curious because I love seeing people's speculation, and seeing commenters bounce theories back and forth on AO3. Plus I need more people to talk to about MHA and fan fics in general so yeah)