Chapter 7: New status quo

Izuku wanted to give his friend the best apology ever, but he couldn't decide on the gift. He figured that since Mina was such a people's person, she would pick a perfect present. She recalled that the ash blond often compared kindergarten food to his mom's mapo tofu in an unfavorable way. It was decided that green head would prepare it on the day of Bakugo's release.

In the meantime, the boy explained certain of the details of his quirk to her: how he changes forms, some (but not all) of the abilities, as well as his reluctance to use The World because of its inherent downside. He completely omitted the villains or his visit to UA. Mina could tell that there was more to his story, but didn't want to pry further, at least not now.

The time has come. Surprisingly, Kira volunteered to help him with cooking. Izuku bought the ingredients using his merch savings and got to work. After 40 minutes, the tofu was ready. The serial killer was a great cook, much to the boy's surprise. On the way to his friend's home the pink girl joined him.

Bakugo house was quite big, not surprising given his parents work in fashion industry. Midoriya ringed the doorbell with his quirk. After some time and muffled screams, Katsuki opened the door. His head was completely healed.

"Deku?! Why the hell are you here? And what's Horns doing here?" He was as loud as always.

"Hi, Kacchan! I came here to say sorry! I" Izuku handed over his gift while smiling Killer Queen made a heart gesture.

"I am here to make sure you dummies don't attack each other again." Ashido gave a small chuckle.

"Sorry?! For what?" Blond was genuinely surprised.

"He doesn't remember? May be the damage was worse than we imagined." One of the voices wondered.

"You know, for that fight? When you I sent you to the hospital?"

"There is nothing to apologize for, Deku."

"What? Are you not mad at me?"

"No, I'm only mad at myself for being too weak and too slow. I should have kicked your ass, not the other way around."

"So… Are we still friends?"

"Yeah, whatever." Katsuki shrugged.

"What's taking you so long, brat?!"Mistuki Bakugo appeared behind her son. "Hi, Izuku, Mina. What brings you here?"

The green haired kid explained the situation.

"You are so sweet, my boy!" She slapped Katsuki on the back of his head. "You are lucky to have friends like him, brat! Accept his gesture of goodwill right now!"

"Don't tell me what to do, hag!"

Izuku and Mina spent the day in the Bakugo household as guests.

Inko Midoriya thought she finally got used to her son's quirk, but she couldn't be more wrong. Nemuri Kayama came knocking on her door one evening, as Nezu sent her to explain everything. He figured that messenger should be someone familiar.

"Hello, Mrs. Midoriya." She bowed down respectfully.

"Hello, Ms?" The mother tried to recall.

"Kayama. Nemuri Kayama, but most people know me as Midnight."

"Right. You are the Pro who stumbled into my son a few weeks ago. Oh no, did he hurt someone again?" She bit her lip.

"No, but I am here to talk about him." The off duty heroine entered the apartment. "It will be a lot to take in, so you better take a seat."

Brunette spent the next hour retelling all that happened between her and Izuku: from that fateful meeting in the park, to the demands that villains made. Inko didn't know what to say. Life did not prepare her for this. Izuku, her precious pumpkin, was forced to coexist with very dangerous individuals, and there is nothing she could do about it.

"I assure you, we've got this under control. Your son will be monitored by the best psychiatrist in Japan. He is in good hands."

"If you say so…" Green haired lady said through her tears.

Nezu's preparations were finished. Izuku's family moved to a big house, as per one of DIO's demands. It was right next to Bakugo's house, and Izuku couldn't tell if it was coincidence or not. Izuku also received a cloak made from special materials that completely absorbed ultraviolet specter, meaning he could actually walk outside with The World during daytime. There were also several boxes full of books, ranging from world history to religious teachings. By far, the most disturbing request made by DIO was blood consumption. Twice per week, Izuku had to turn into a vampire and go to a certain hospital, where he would drink blood from volunteers. Nezu reassured him that all of them signed a non-disclosure agreement and thus were legally forbidden from telling anyone about this. DIO was right, fresh blood tastes better than anything else. Child made sure to not take more blood that a person could safely give, all under doctors' surveillance. Several people actually asked him to turn them into vampires, much to DIO excitement, but Izuku rejected every single attempt. Each volunteer got a 3 month break before their blood was sucked again.

Kira made two requests. First was getting all sorts of paints, papers and canvases. He was hoping that if Izuku used them he could import them into the mind space. Second was even worse than blood drinking. Green head had to go a love hotel, where several girls of various ages were waiting for him, and play with their hands for hours. He licked them, sniffed them, used them as pseudo brushes to paint etc. He even recognized some of the girls as his blood donors. At least vampirism could be explained away as an unlucky mutation, but this was reprehensible behavior. Midoriya couldn't tell which was worse: girls seemingly being into this, or him slowly getting used to and enjoying it. This ritual also occurred twice a week, with girls repeating every 2 months.

Diavolo was the tamest one. All he asked for was Italian food made by an actual Italian chef, and a lot of vintage wine. A famous chef was hired by the rat to prepare a dinner for Midoriya family every day, leaving Inko with more free time. Izuku tried drinking the wine as a vampire in hopes of having a stronger liver, but it didn't taste very well. He had to drink it in very small doses but minimize the damage to his body.

Every Sunday the child was visited by a nice looking lady with a care haircut and deep blue eyes. She asked him about his well being, his relationships with peers and "guests" and his thoughts on the future. All in the name of preserving his well-being.

Inko tried not to interfere with the bargain between villains and the UA principal. Midnight convinced her that this was the best way to handle the situation, although her heart still hurt. As for other children, Izuku was only allowed to reveal part of the truth. When he asked about his new home, he lied that his father in the US received a big promotion. The only ones who could tell something was off were Katsuki and Mina.

Bakugo's behavior changed after his loss to Midoriya. He still had a huge ego and considered himself the future number one hero, but he stopped physically assaulting other kids. Rumors said that Izuku threatened to break him if he ever crosses the line again, but that was a gross over exaggeration. Boy politely asked him to be less of a jerk, although Katsuki still took it as an implicit threat. However, this didn't stop them from hanging out together.

Once Mina got curious and tried to discreetly follow Izuku around the city. Unfortunately for her, The World had deceptively sharp senses and managed to notice her. Green head was grateful she didn't tail him to a love hotel. Knowing that she can see through his lies, he made her promise that she'll not tell anyone about this. After receiving said promise, he told her about his "special needs". He expected her to be disgusted, but she was surprisingly understanding. After calling him a weirdo in a playful manner, she walked away. He was hoping to not see her in that hotel in the future.

All of this felt incredibly strange at first, but son and mother got used to their new rhythm of life. Days turned into weeks, then months, and then years. Izuku was thirteen years old by now. He led a great life, with loyal friends and a powerful quirk. Future seemed promising, but the present would challenge his dreams time and time again. The first challenge occurred when his best friend was a captured by a sludge villain, with heroes being powerless to stop him.