Chapter Text
One thing Nedzu knew and kept close to his heart his whole life was this:
No matter how powerless you are, you always have a choice.
Take right now, for example. He was choosing not to bite his handler. When she was buckling in his seatbelt, he chose not to sink his teeth into her arm. While she wrestled him into a child sized t-shirt he chose not to claw at her hands. While they drove to his new home (assignment, cage, jail... place of indefinite detainment) he chose not to tear into her insecurities (flashy jewelry, but cheap, knockoff designer clothes, folder from a prestigious university she never graduated from...).
Making the right choice was hard, sometimes, but knowing that the choice was there was the only thing keeping him sane.
The other thing that helped was taking joy in the little things. Every red light, for instance, gave him a few more precious moments to observe the outside world. He hadn't had real news in... well, five years, judging by the date on his handler's phone. Hopefully that would change soon enough with unmonitored access to a computer, or at the very least his new 'client's’ phone.
The collar of his shirt itched.
"Stop that," his handler said, batting his hand away before he could scratch. "You've just grown out those nasty bald patches, you wouldn't want to ruin your fine coat!" she admonished cheerily.
His coat was not fine; it was dry and brittle from stress (and diet).
"Such a handsome little man," she cooed, flicking her gaze at him. What she saw to fuss over he couldn't begin to imagine. He stared at her blankly. He knew his input wasn't necessary (or welcome) for her to continue her nervous small talk.
"You must be excited! You're going to be a big help to a very lucky veteran," she said. "I'm sure it will be nice to settle into a home after all the buzz of the academy."
He was pretty sure his t-shirt advertised him as a 'little helper', the official uniform for animals (quirked or otherwise) trained to help those with a disability. The shirt was light blue and had a childish paw print on it. Until he set eyes on it he hadn't thought wearing clothes would be more humiliating than going without. But you learn something new every day!
God, he missed his suits.
More than that, he missed tea. He would probably make some very incorrect choices if it would result in him getting his mitts on some actual, picked, dried and caffinated, tea.
"I think you will do very nicely for Mr. Akatani. Mister Ah-Ka-Ta-Ni. He's a retired hero! He's blind now, poor dear, which means he can't see."
It is a common misconception that the people in power are there on their own merits; that because someone is in charge, they are the most capable. And, as the logic follows, if you are not in power you are somehow unfit. Defective. (Not really a person at all)
So they talked to him slowly, made aggressive eye contact, gave clear and explicit orders and he obeyed because, while he had choices, there were also consequences. They started to forget he was once an authority they feared. They saw his short stature, his fur, his tail and skipped over his teeth and claws and intelligence. They saw exactly what they wanted to see. The worst part was that it didn't even matter.
"Ah, we're here!" She exclaimed as she pulled into the lot of a low rise. It was clean, but not high end. "This is really my favorite part. Introducing our clients to their new companion is what makes the whole job worth it. You're really going to make a difference to Mr. Akatani, you know."
Nedzu tugged on the belt.
"Wait, one more thing before we go up," she said, making deliberate eye contact. He chose not to bear his teeth. "While it is true that Mr. Akatani was a pro hero, he's always been a bit of a special case. On top of being blind he is also quirkless."
The eye contact continued.
"You will need to be careful with him."
Izuku approached optimism with the same aggressive energy that he brought to training, or hero work. So what if he was blind! He still had all his limbs! So what if he was officially retired now, he was getting a dog!
It wouldn't have been responsible before; he was never home. Now he had all this adjustment time to spend with it, and after that service animals could go anywhere! He would have a constant, non-judgmental companion. No more lonely hours!
"10AM... is here!" The little retro All Might clock helpfully announced (best purchase he'd ever made).
Any minute now! Izuku made his way to the door (only barking his shins twice, thank you very much) and waited anxiously. Outside he could hear a heavy step on the shared corridor. Should he wait for them to knock? Would it be weird to open the door now?
The doorbell buzzed.
"Coming!" He called. Oh my god he was right there, he didn't need to say it (they'll know he's been waiting right behind the door, his voice too close for anything else). He waited a moment regardless before twisting the knob and throwing it open.
"Hello! Mr. Akatani!" the woman said, slowly and over-loud. "I am Ms. Fukushi from Veteran Hero Affairs. It is so nice to meet you!" A hand clasps his without warning, small and warm with too many rings.
"Ah yes, Akatani Mikumo, that's me!" quick say something normal "It's nice to meet you Ms. Fukushi, please come in."
"Thank you, Mr Akatani," Ms Fukushi says, stepping closer. "Come along Suki, this is your new home." Izuku swore he heard a small squeak before everyone stumbled their way out of his narrow entry into the slightly more spacious living room beyond. Izuku stuck to the wall as Fukushi pushed past to the couch. A tail brushed past his legs and he reached out to touch... nothing. He recovered the motion as a grab for a nearby chair.
"You sure like heroes, don't you Mr. Akatani?" Fukushi chuckled. Izuku felt his face heat. He had almost forgotten about his décor choices.
"Ah... yeah. Gotta support my friends, you know?"
"Of course, of course! Just a... lot, don't you think?" said Fukushi.
"Uh, not really... um. Well it doesn't really matter anymore does it?" Izuku deflected, gesturing at his eyes.
"Right, it just seems like a lot of clutter? Anyway, you must be excited! I'm sorry it took so long for us to get to your assignment, but you must understand there is a wait list. We run a very popular service," said Fukushi.
"Oh no no, I understand how it is. I'm just glad you could fit me in, you know?" Izuku had never been a priority. "It's just nice that there's something like this at all. I've always wanted a dog, I just never thought it would happen quite like this." Izuku chuckled nervously.
"Dog?" Fukushi said "I guess... he could be a dog?"
What.
"Sorry, sorry," apologies were still his first reaction to anything remotely uncomfortable, "I thought that the office was sending me a dog? Like a seeing-eye service dog? Was that... was that not the case?"
Fukushi laughed.
"Oh Mr. Akatani, that might have been the original plan but upon further review of your condition it was decided that you should be fast tracked for a quirked service animal! To meet all your needs, you know?"
Oh. Oh so they're giving him a person. That's.. that's something isn't it.
Izuku's hands felt a little numb.
"Suki was it?" he forced a smile. "It's nice to meet you," he managed weakly.
"Suki dear he can't see you. You have to... oh, he nodded Mr. Akatani. I think he might just be a little shy. I'm sure you'll settle in together in no time!"
The meeting continued but he retained almost none of it past the buzzing in his ears. Before he knew it he was numbly shaking Fukushi's hand and closing the door and then sitting on the floor and staring at nothing because he couldn't actually stare at anything anymore (it was always dark and it was a heck of time to start developing a fear of the dark but Izuku had never done anything the easy way and...)
There were soft footsteps at the end of the hall, nails clicked against the hardwood. (Bipedal, Izuku thought). He didn't have time to wallow in self-pity, there was a person here who needed him to get it together and, you know, not make this whole... situation... worse.
"You must've really pissed someone off if they sent you to me," Izuku said.
The footsteps stopped.
Good job, Izuku.
"No wait, I... I shouldn't have said that. Um. I'm sorry for thinking you were a dog?" he tried.
There was a small sound, someone clearing their throat, and then a small high voice said, "Am I a mouse, a dog or a bear?"
"Principal Nedzu!?"