Chapter Text
Izuku crashed into the shed with all the grace of someone that had been half blind with tears for a while now.
He practically tore off his helmet the second he could get his head out, cheeks damp and breathing far too fast. And still he stared intensely at Mei. Waiting for an answer, a hope. Anything.
Please, he begged in his soul. Please please please, let her have something-
It was a mercy that Mei didn’t try and mince words. She just winced and sighed, and Izuku already knew enough to let his expression crumble.
“I lost them a few streets down,” Mei said gently. “I couldn’t find them again on any of the cameras.”
Izuku nodded numbly, knowing she had done all she could. Mei looked just as close to tears as him, though maybe more angry. Izuku had already run out his anger. It had been burned away by the pain in his throat and lungs. There was a reason he was the first and only one through the door currently—he had outpaced his siblings until his anger could begin to bleed out in his burning muscles.
They had lost people before. None of them were strangers to situations out of their control, but nothing like this. Never had someone begged for their help and Izuku could do nothing. Absolutely nothing. It gutted him.
Hitoshi was the next one through the door, breathing heavy from having to catch up but otherwise fine. He took one look at Izuku’s face and winced.
“Fuck,” Hitoshi murmured, immediately pulling Izuku into his side.
“Yeah.”
His siblings began to crowd in around him as they entered, none of them moving to take off their suits quite yet. They were all focused on giving him reassurances. A dozen hands gently soothed him. Dark Shadow flitted over above everyone’s heads, cooing in sympathy and nuzzling Izuku’s cheek. Izuku tried to give them a proud smile—they had done so well for their first patrol.
“I’m sorry your first time out ended like that,” he croaked. “But you did really well, both of you.”
Fumikage puffed up with pride, though he quickly smoothed his feathers. Dark Shadow trilled a note that was half joy and half sympathy. They deserved the praise. They deserved to know the good parts of their self-appointed job, even if they had seen the bad tonight.
“We’ll find them,” Mei swore.
“I know,” Izuku said.
He wouldn’t accept anything less. Not from himself.
Izuku protected his people. His family, his city—they were his to protect. He would not fail Eri. If he had to tear apart the city with his bare hands, then so be it.
It had been a while since Izuku had a project to dedicate every drop of his attention to. Every resource he had at his disposal, every ally he had at his hand, all of it. Every bit of it would be pivoted to Overhaul. All of it would zero in on the Yakuza leader.
Like an angel unfolding many-eyed wings, focusing on one point, Izuku turned his eyes out the open door. He would find Eri.
He swore it.
(Overhaul froze in a hallway, feeling like someone had stepped on his grave.)
(Or, perhaps, that someone was digging one for him.)
Momo was on a quest. A fetch quest, to be specific.
They had quite a bit of money stashed away now. Most of it had come from drug dealers and such, occasionally from other villains that had decided they didn’t trust banks and kept abnormal amounts of cash on them. Momo kept a sharp and organized eye on how much they had accrued so far. Which is how she knew that they absolutely had enough for a well needed treat.
Phones, for all of them.
They wouldn’t be new, nor would they be the fanciest, but all twelve of them would have a phone of their own. Mei would keep one for vigilante use only, but the rest of them needed phones. Had for a while now, if she was being honest. It just hadn’t been in the cards before.
They also hadn’t really thought of it much. Three—two, really, since the last was mainly reserved for their vigilantying—was enough to make sure at least one person had a phone if they were running an errand. It’s not like there were many people in school that wanted to text them. There was just no need for all of them to have separate ones, not when they couldn’t afford it.
But now they had the money and means to get phones and help pay the phone bill. Momo herself had spent hours scouring second-hand phone listings, picking out the most promising ones to inquire after. Mina and Katsuki had helped too. Between the three of them, it hadn’t taken more than a day to buy ten reasonably priced phones.
Now all that was left was to go and actually pick up said phones.
Momo led the hunting party, joined by Mina, Katsuki, Hanta, Eijirou, Ochako, and Shouto. They had all made their way to the train station, happy to get out of the house. It had been…not stressful, per se, but Izuku had thrown himself into researching the Shie Hassaikai. Momo had hardly seen him the past few days.
He would find Overhaul and Eri, Momo knew he would. She just worried about how far he would push himself to do it.
For now she focused on getting her six siblings on the train off to their first destination. Once safely boarded, Momo pulled out her list.
“Where to first?” Hanta asked curiously.
“Just two stops,” Momo told them. “We’re picking up the phone from their house. A mother that upgraded the model and wanted to sell her old one.”
“Oh, nice.”
Ochako looked around her arm at the list, not quite tall enough to put her head over Momo’s shoulder. “After that?”
“Two that another family is leaving at a post office for us, then an electronics shop that was willing to give us five partially broken models.”
“Cool, so that’s eight?” Mina said. “Where’s the last two?”
“Another electronics store, though those ones are more broken than the others.”
Katsuki squinted at the list, scowling in what Momo recognized as confusion. “And why the fuck aren’t you and Tinkerbell just making them?”
“I didn’t want to.” Momo shrugged. “We have the extra money, and Mei and I can fix the ones that are broken, but we also wanted the phones now instead of in a month when we finally figure out how to make one from scratch. Maybe one day, but we have the means now, so why not?”
“Fair, I guess.”
“Besides,” Momo chuckled, “I’m still focused on helping Mei with her projects, I don’t think I’d have the energy to add more.”
“That’s fair,” Ochako chirped.
Momo hummed, nodding. She knew her limits for the most part. She wasn’t stretched thin, literally or metaphorically, but the things she made were complicated. Microchips, specific configurations of metal alloys, fabrics—all of it was a transaction. Her body used fuel to create, and she needed to replenish that or risk hurting herself.
Momo knew her limits. She also just kinda wanted to spend time with her siblings fetching various phones.
Their stop came up quickly, and they poured out into the masses of people laughing and joking. Momo did a head count. Ochako caught her and snickered, looping their arms together to all but skip down the street.
“You’re such a mom,” Mina giggled from her other side. “Just like Momma Inko.”
Momo refused to blush at the comparison, she refused. “She’s a good role model.”
“You counted us like ducklings!”
“Izuku does too,” she huffed, absolutely ignoring how happy it made her to be compared to their mom. Sue her, Inko was awesome.
“Yeah and we still call him a dad sometimes, ergo, Mom-mo!”
She paused. “Mom-mo?”
“Your new nickname, no escaping it now!” Ochako cheerfully declared. “Maybe we can confuse our high school teachers by calling you and Izuku our parents instead.”
“I do not think they’d buy that.”
“But it’d be funny.”
Momo laughed, “I can promise you most teachers have seen weirder.”
“Eh, but still.”
They continued down the street, conversation flowing between them like water. Shouto got physically dragged into their conversation. Hanta, Eijirou, and Katsuki followed soon after, Mina and Ochako grabbing their arms and pulling them into some weird shape on the sidewalk so they could all hear each other. Half of them began walking in the gutter once they got to the calmer neighborhood streets.
The first phone was retrieved with a polite and cheerful conversation. Questions about school and friends and such. Momo happily chatted with the lady, new phone in hand, knowing she saw nothing but some forward thinking middle schoolers.
It amused her, sometimes, how their very faces were masks. No one would guess that they were vigilantes at a glance. Not even trained heroes, nor seasoned villains.
They were off to the next stop—a post office this time—without much fanfare. This one was within walking distance, so they maintained their little clump to get there.
“I’m just saying,” Eijirou said, “it would be cool!”
Hanta hummed. “Until it bites you.”
“But if it didn’t-“ Ochako laughed, egging them on.
Eijirou lifted up his arm, hand changing texture with the activation of his quirk. “Not a problem for me.”
“Yeah but for everyone else-“
“Not my circus, not my monkeys.”
“First, you’re not using that right. Second, it would literally be your monkey!”
Momo laughed as they continued debating the merits of having a monkey as a pet. All in jest, she knew. Peeve was enough of a pet for them, with how many people were in the house. Even when they were younger, Dad’s response had tended to be picking up whichever sibling was closest and saying they were the new pet. It either sparked a game or giggled denial and an actual conversation about where they’d even keep another pet.
Effective and fun. Momo wanted to be like that. She’d probably never get married—who would want someone with trauma like hers?—but maybe she’d adopt some kids. That or she’d just spoil her niblings absolutely rotten. Goodness knows she’d probably have an army of them at some point.
Either way, her siblings were having fun right now, and that was half of her goal today. The other was almost a third of the way done, as they walked up to the post office for phones two and three.
“You want the fuckin’ hooligans outside?” Katsuki asked her.
Momo glanced at her siblings—notably Ochako holding Hanta in a headlock—then back to Katsuki. “If you could.”
Katsuki nodded, turning to bark orders and shepherd said hooligans slightly down the street. They had passed a small park, so he was probably angling for that.
Shouto managed to avoid Katsuki’s herding though, falling in beside her as she opened the door. Together they joined the line.
“Who’s getting what phone?” Shouto asked.
“Dibs?” Momo hummed consideringly. “We’ll figure it out.”
“I want a cat case.”
Momo nodded, “Good choice.”
They stood in quiet for a bit, listening to the music playing over the speakers. Momo really did enjoy Shouto’s company. She had since they were little, and it had only increased exponentially every year since he had found her again.
She reminded herself of that when he opened his mouth and Momo had the overwhelming feeling of oh no.
“Can you be a printer?”
Momo blinked, then sighed. “Shouchan, what?”
“Can you print things, you think? Like-“ Shouto stuck out his arm, and mimed a paper coming out of it- “like a piece of paper and ink?”
“I mean, yes. I’ve done it with fabric for Mei before. It’s not easy, but I can.”
Shouto nodded like this was something monumental and serious. He did not say anything after.
Momo shrugged, ruffling her brother’s hair. His retaliation was bonking his head into her shoulder and then putting all his weight on her. Considering Momo had been a vigilante for just as long as he had, she didn’t move an inch. They took a step forward in line.
They walked back out of the post office with the two phones in hand. The rest of their siblings were indeed at the park down the street. All of them were attempting to climb to the top of the jungle gym. Mina was, currently, launching herself up the last few feet, while Ochako held a floating Eijirou’s ankle. Momo could take a good guess that she had tried to tug him down and accidentally activated her quirk. Katsuki and Hanta, meanwhile, were on the side opposite from Ochako, lightly shoving each other as they tried to get to Mina.
Who needed monkeys when you have siblings, Momo thought.
“We could just leave them here,” Shouto suggested.
Momo sighed. “We don’t need a manhunt when they notice.”
“But it would be funny?”
“No.”
“Ok, Mochan.”
Momo squinted at her brother. He was planning something. Her thoughts were only confirmed when he gave her an angelic, fake grin.
“Do not.”
“I haven’t done anything.”
Momo pointed an admonishing at finger at him. “Shouto Hisame do not even think of freezing our siblings to the jungle gym, Mina’s already won and we could get fined for reckless quirk use.”
“…fine.”
Momo nodded, satisfied. Then she turned and whistled sharply, the kind that hurt ears if someone was standing too close. It got the attention of everyone in the park. Momo ignored them though, focusing on her siblings, who, after a glance to see who had made the sound, immediately began scrambling back down to the ground. Eijirou, thankfully, was reunited with the earth without issue. So was Mina.
“Stop three?” Hanta asked cheerfully.
Momo nodded, and all of them set off like the chaotic, well oiled machine they were.
Mina kinda always felt like a livewire now.
She had been aware of her quirk before, in the way she assumed most people were. There was a space at the back of her mind dedicated to it. Like how she was always aware she had feet, even if she couldn’t see them under a tablecloth or something. They existed, and even if she wasn’t moving them, she had the ability to.
It was similar with her born quirk, but with One for All it was so much more. It was like she couldn't push it to the back of her mind anymore. It was always there, right below the surface, and she was hyperaware of it twenty-four-seven. Thankfully she hadn’t broken any more bones, but she also hadn’t practiced too much with the super-strength part of it. Not outside of training with All Might.
They were usually at the beach, if it was empty, or UA. And that was a trip and a half. It wasn’t often, since All Might tried to avoid attention of anyone there, but still! UA! The place they all wanted to go to for high school!
As exciting as it was, Mina was still glad she hadn’t had to see Recovery Girl again. The hero was nice, but Mina didn’t like breaking bones.
Because of it progress was…slow. So slow. Like a slug. Agonizing, monotonously slow. She knew why they were careful, but still. Turning on and off the quirk and walking in a circle was about the most exciting it had gotten since launching herself across a pond.
One for All was volatile, in a word. Like glass waiting to explode if held wrong. Except the glass was also her bones. So Mina didn’t practice with it unless All Might was there, no matter how much she wanted to test her limits.
Mina had been very tempted a few times. The constant energy beneath her skin wanted to be used. But she couldn’t use it yet, not without risking her limbs. And she kinda needed those, so.
They had figured out that she could limit the power, thankfully. Smaller percentages equaled less power so less likely to break limbs. Mina had most of that down. That was what the walking in circles part of their training was. Which, you know, still boring, and her muscles were sore and achey afterwards, but she hadn’t torn anything so they considered it progress.
Her born quirk was altered, but that one wasn’t as hard to control. It gave them a good launching point though. It let Mina have an instinct for how to change One for All. But even then, it was still too much. For now.
Not that that stopped One for All from wanting to be unleashed. It didn’t stop the energy from writhing and humming and wanting to do something. It was like Mina herself, if she was being honest. But she could wait. She could. Just until she knew her limits. It was slow going, but she could do it.
Even if it was so very tempting to let loose at night, to just let One for All free and run…
But! That was not a problem for today. For now One for All purred violently in her bloodstream as she skipped alongside Katsuki and Momo, happy to be near her siblings and on an adventure. The electronics store’s sign was just coming into sight. They already had three phones, and now they were about to get five mostly-working ones! The last two would be grabbed later, from a different electronics store.
The warm air of the store greeted them like an angel’s choir. Mina just about melted in her boots, dramatically sighing and going boneless into Katsuki. He didn’t even stop walking, just scooped under her arms and dragged her along until she wanted to use her own feet again.
They split into two groups once Mina started walking once more. Momo and Katsuki walked towards a desk, the two politely saying who they were and what they were here for. The rest of them began wandering. Ochako and Shouto veered off to go look at random stuff, probably the DVD aisle. Mina, meanwhile, grabbed her two boys and all but dragged them to the camera section.
“What are we looking at?” Eijirou asked, holding her hand while he looked around, letting her guide them.
“Cameras!” she chirped. “Like a GoPro, I wanna see how much they are.”
“But we already have cameras?”
Hanta, also holding her hand and letting himself be pulled along, just hummed. “But what if we need another one?”
“Why would we-?”
“It’s the principle of the thing!” Mina giggled. “Also, you know, more official than the ones we have. What if we want to record some parkour or something?”
They came to a stop at the row that housed many little cameras. Mina zeroed in on the row with ones that could attach to a helmet. Or maybe a pocket? She lifted one, about the size of her palm, scrutinizing it.
Yeah, Mei and Momo could definitely make something smaller. They weren’t here for the best though, just for fun. It would be nice to see what normal people had available. You know, just incase they did want to film a civilian parkour video or something.
Hanta and Eijirou split off down the aisle, also looking at other cameras. Hanta seemed to gravitate more towards the actual photography ones the longer Mina looked at hers. She could also see Eijirou grimacing at the price on a few.
“Expensive,” Mina hissed, putting that particular camera down. Not even the highest end one. She went to hunt down whatever the best quality camera was for amusement.
A few minutes of searching later and a man joined them on the aisle. He looked…kinda scruffy, honestly. Or just really tired. Long black hair, a bright yellow beanie on top of it. Long gray scarf around his neck, and a fluffy jacket over a black jumpsuit. Nice thick winter boots too. Mina noted it all from the corner of her eye and a short glance. He didn’t seem like trouble, just fed up with the cold.
He slowly made his way down the aisle, looking at cameras as he went. Mina could see him muttering under his breath. Eijirou nudged her as he moved to look at the same camera she was, a single raised eyebrow his only question. Mina responded with a shrug, then went back to the camera’s specs. Not a danger, and she didn’t care particularly much.
The man stopped a few steps from them, and that was when Mina looked up into his eyes. His expression was pretty bland, very tired judging from the eyebags, but still not a danger.
“Is that the Atom model?” he asked, voice sounding just. So done. Mina wondered if he was running an errand for someone.
Mina glanced at the label. “Yep! Sorry, did you need to look at it?”
“If you don’t mind,” the man sighed. “You kids looking for a particular camera?”
“Not really, just seeing what’s here. Might be cool to record some parkour or something.”
The man raise an eyebrow, but shrugged. “Be careful and try not to trespass.”
“We’ll be careful!”
Mina pointedly did not agree to no trespassing, and the man obviously noticed, but visibly decided it was none of his business. He read the label and picked up the camera, turning it this way and that. Eijirou stayed between the man and Mina, but otherwise both went back to ignoring him.
Something about his voice was familiar though. Huh. Maybe he just had one of those voices, because Mina couldn’t place it for the life of her. She hadn’t realized she was scowling about it until Eijirou nudged her arm.
“They’re all too expensive,” she sighed, always ready with an alibi and dramatics. “Let’s go, maybe Mom and Dad are done now.”
Eijirou rolled his eyes—out of view of the black-haired man—but nodded and followed her back towards Hanta. The three of them meandered back to where they had seen Ochako and Shouto going, not really minding how long they took. Mina still couldn’t place the man’s voice. Sparks began to flicker over her hands until she resolutely tightened the lid on that.
They found the rest of their siblings looking through the clearanced DVDs. The messenger bag slung over Katsuki’s shoulder looked noticeably more full, so success! Five more phones! One more stop before home.
Mina still grumbled about the cold when they stepped outside, but she warmed up by skipping beside her siblings. One for All crackled beneath her skin. The power of it begged to be used, to let her soar. And Mina wouldn’t lie, she was kinda tempted. Getting to see the sky? It sounded awesome.
She couldn’t though, not here, and not now. It would probably break her legs and maybe other bones. No thank you, Mina quite liked her skeleton intact.
But still, the power zipped through her veins like they themselves were wires, and it was so tempting…
Mina brushed it off, moving on in her mind. She skipped next to Momo and tried to get out her restless energy. Her sister only smiled, holding out a hand to swing between the two of them, keeping her grounded.
Mina really, really loved her family.
Gold flickered over their hands for a moment, and Momo didn’t do anything but glance down curiously. Mina knew it didn’t hurt—they weren’t electrical sparks—just felt kinda funny sometimes. For a moment Mina wondered how someone with an electricity quirk would react to them.
“We should make you a hamster wheel,” Shouto said, apropos of literally nothing.
“A what?”
“A hamster wheel, so you can run on it,” Shouto elaborated like it explained something. “And we can connect it to a battery, so Mei can have extra electricity.”
“Ok, but why.”
“So you can run off the energy from your quirk?”
Oh. Oh that was pretty smart actually, in a way. There was just one small flaw.
“You mean like a treadmill, you fucking dumbass?” Katsuki said for her.
“Oh. Yeah, that.”
Momo reached over to pat his head, and in accented English said, “Bless your heart, Shochan.”
“Thank…you? Mochan why did that sound like an insult? Momo?”
Mina giggled, content to still skip along. It wasn’t a bad idea, but also wasn’t especially feasible. She would probably stick to trying to turn herself into a human pingpong ball on their training grounds. Once she could do it without cracking her legs like glowsticks, that was.
She’d figure something out. Izuku was busy, but Mina was no slouch in figuring out her quirk. She had figured out her acids all by herself when she was little, so she could do this too.
With her family, Mina was confident there was nothing that could stay a mystery for long.