Chapter Text
The next couple of days are very painful for Izuku. They hold a small, private funeral for his mom. Since there’s no body and no chance of recovering her remains in the ruins of the burned apartment building, they have a grave marker placed for her in a local cemetery and a shrine for her in their apartment.
Izuku finds himself feeling more and more attached to Hizashi and Aizawa by the day. They haven’t gone to work since they found him, staying with him at home so they can bond. They read to him, watch cartoons with him, feed him three meals a day and give him snacks. They play with him, nap with him. Izuku has bathtime and bedtime, just like with his mom, and he finds himself feeling very clingy towards both of the heroes after only a few days.
At first, he wants primarily to be with Hizashi, since it’s him who found Izuku, but Aizawa’s arms become just as much of a comfort. Izuku trails his new teddy bear all over the apartment, a little teary and upset most of the time. They haven’t talked to Izuku about his quirk since his first day with them, seemingly just letting Izuku get used to his new home and his new circumstances.
Izuku has a lot of bad dreams, waking up screaming and crying almost nightly as he relieves his mom’s death, the earthquake, the dog. He dreams about the beings in the fog, too, and Hizashi or Aizawa will wake him up when he starts screaming in his sleep, sitting with him as he processes the nightmares.
One day, about a week into Izuku living there, Hizashi and Aizawa tell him it’s time to explore UA’s campus. Izuku perks up at this, eager to see the hero school. It’s a weekend, so there’s no students on campus, and he’ll be able to meet some of the other teachers and also see the classrooms and training grounds.
After breakfast and getting dressed, they head outside onto the UA grounds. Hizashi scoops Izuku up and puts him onto his shoulders, to Izuku’s delight, and they begin to head towards the main UA building. It’s a warm day, sunny and breezy, and Izuku feels a bit better at being outside.
“Where are we going?” he asks quietly. Izuku doesn’t talk very much, even though his mind is always going a mile a minute, but he’s getting more comfortable initiating questions with his new guardians.
“We’re going to see UA’s principal, Nezu,” Aizawa explains, “He’s very eager to meet you. He’s an animal that has an intelligence quirk, and he’s absolutely brilliant. I think you’ll like him a lot.”
Izuku’s intrigued by the description, ducking down when Hizashi leads them through the doors of UA. Once inside the main building, Hizashi gently sets Izuku on the ground, and Izuku stands between both of them, taking Hizashi’s hand with his left and Aizawa’s with his right. It makes him feel safe and protected, walking in between them.
They walk up a giant staircase, Izuku between them as he takes in all the images in the hallways. There’s photos of students from years past, UA banners, and many classrooms. There’s even a photo wall of heroes who have graduated from the school, including his own guardians. It’s very cool, and despite the week Izuku’s had, he’s still excited to be there.
Hizashi and Aizawa point things out to him as they walk together, and soon Izuku finds himself outside of the principal’s office. It has a grand wooden door, and Aizawa knocks on it once before a kind voice says, “Come in!”
Aizawa opens the door and Izuku’s eyes widen when he sees Principal Nezu for the first time. He’s some kind of white animal, with round ears. Izuku’s not sure of what kind of animal he is, but Nezu’s eyes look kind. He’s sitting behind a giant wooden desk, with a big window behind him. In front of the desk are a few chairs, which Hizashi and Aizawa sit in. Izuku climbs onto Hizashi’s lap, looking curiously at Nezu.
“Ah, welcome Izuku,” Nezu smiles, sounding genuinely pleased to meet him, “I have heard a lot about you from Aizawa and Yamada. It seems you have quite the powerful quirk, young man.”
Izuku just tilts his head, unsure of what to say. Nezu is very interesting, and Izuku finds himself unable to look away from the principal. Nezu grins after a moment, folding his paws together.
“Izuku, tell me, if you were to see a building on fire, and you knew people were trapped inside of it, what would be the first thing that you would do?”
It’s such an odd question that Izuku is thrown for a moment. He thinks for a moment, all of the possible options going through his mind. The obvious answer would be to call the fire department, to call the heroes, to stay away from the fire. But he thinks about his mom, about that poor dog in the alley, and Izuku knows that isn’t the first thing he’d do.
“Go inside,” Izuku mumbles, his thumb in his mouth as he leans against Hizashi, “I’d go inside.”
He misses Hizashi and Aizawa sharing a concerned look over top of his head, Izuku’s attention fully on Nezu. Nezu is looking at Izuku the same way you’d look over a particularly complex puzzle, a grin spreading on his face.
“I see,” Nezu says, “And why would you do such a thing?”
Izuku tilts his head, chewing on his thumb. “Because…because I could get the people out. Stop them from burning.”
“A true hero’s instincts,” Nezu says, “If not a little reckless. I think we can work with this. Izuku, how did you bring the dog back from the dead?”
Izuku freezes. He hasn’t talked about this in a few days, a cold wariness settling inside of him. His quirk feels forbidden, something he shouldn’t be allowed to use. He bites his lip before answering, not wanting to disrespect Nezu.
“It’s like I touched the dog and it was alive again,” Izuku explains clumsily, gripping onto Hizashi’s arm for support, “I grabbed onto it and shoved it back into its body.”
There’s a silence after this, Nezu still looking at Izuku with that same calculating expression. “And tell me, do you think you could do this with any corpse?”
Izuku shakes his head, suddenly sure of the answer. “Uh-uh. I think if someone has been dead too long I can’t grab their spirit, because they’d go away with the other ones in the blue mist.”
It’s the only way Izuku knows how to explain what he saw, the spirits in the mist. He knows it might be hard for the others to understand, but he hopes that he’s explaining it well enough.
Nezu looks troubled. “Unfortunately, I think you would be able to revive them. I sense a lot of energy inside of you, Izuku. I believe you could in fact revive a body without its host. An empty vessel, to be commanded. This is what the villains would want you for. An army of the undead, obeying and mindless. Imagine the destruction that could cause.”
Izuku doesn’t totally understand, but he’s scared by the ominous words, clinging to Hizashi and trying not to hide his face. Nezu is intense, staring at Izuku without blinking.
“Nezu,” Aizawa warns quietly, “He’s only five.”
“Five and already carrying a terrible burden,” Nezu counters, “Everyone will want this quirk. Villains, heroes, every desperate soul who’s lost someone. Other countries, foreign governments. Military leaders and gang members. Izuku will be a target his entire life. Public school is out of the question, he must stay on UA’s campus and remain legally quirkless for his own protection. In the meantime, I will teach Izuku myself.”
Hizashi and Aizawa seem stunned. Izuku is simply terrified, the weight of Nezu’s words washing over him. He’s saying bad people will come after Izuku, try to hurt him. Izuku is scared, so scared, and he wants nothing more than to hide, to not show his face.
“You will teach him?” Hizashi asks, and Nezu nods.
“Yes, I will,” Nezu replies, as if he hasn’t just shattered Izuku’s entire world, “As will all the UA staff. Izuku will have enough to deal with having this quirk. It will be too dangerous for him to leave UA’s campus for a very, very long time. Our goal is to help him survive to fifteen, to the UA entrance exam."
Aizawa stiffens before he says darkly, “That’s enough.”
Nezu doesn’t look offended as Aizawa glares at him, Hizashi shooting him a warning look. Izuku’s not sure what passes between his guardians, but Aizawa backs down, not saying anything else to the principal.
“Now then,” Nezu continues cheerfully, “Izuku, your quirk needs a name. As you are not in formal quirk counseling I will train you, along with your guardians and the rest of the UA staff. What do you want to call your quirk?”
Izuku shakes his head. “No name. It’s too scary.”
“Young one, giving it a name might help you control some of that fear,” Nezu prompts, “It’s easier to think of things if you can put a name to them.”
Izuku considers this for a moment. He’s only used his quirk once, but he decides on something quickly.
“Living Touch,” Izuku mumbles, “Because I touch dead things and they become alive again.”
“Wonderful!” Nezu grins, “Alright, Living Touch it is. Now, Izuku, you can be honest about Living Touch with me and the rest of UA’s staff, but to anyone else, including UA students, you are quirkless. Do you understand?”
Izuku nods, fear creeping into the pit of his stomach. He understands that grown ups are asking him to lie and his mom said lying was something only bad people did. But on the other hand, he’s pretty sure his mom would be okay lying if it was to save his life.
“I will see you tomorrow for your first lesson,” Nezu calls as Aizawa picks Izuku up, tucking him close as the three of them exit the office. When the door is closed and they’re a good distance away, Aizawa curses, wrapping his arm around Izuku as they walk.
“Damned rat,” he snarls, “He scared the hell out of the kid. I’m livid, Zashi.”
Hizashi sighs, looking sadly at Izuku. “I know, but let’s remember our audience, Shou. Hey, Izu, do you want to go meet some of our friends? I promise they won’t be as, uh, intense as principal Nezu.”
Izuku nods, a thumb in his mouth as he rests against Aizawa. They walk for a while, until they reach a room labeled Staff Lounge. They enter, and Izuku sees a bunch of different people sitting around a table, laughing and talking.
First, he recognizes the pro-hero Midnight, her long dark hair cascading down her back. It reminds Izuku of his mom’s dark hair, making him feel a pang of sadness. Next to Midnight is the hero Snipe, one of his guns strapped to his back. Beside him are two people Izuku doesn’t know, one man who looks like he’s wearing a black mask with yellow lighting on it, and another man with blood in tubes all around his body.
“Aizawa, Yamada!” Snipe calls cheerfully, “Aw, is this the little guy?”
“Yes, this is Izuku,” Aizawa says, “Izuku, these are our friends and the other UA teachers. Do you recognize any of them?”
Izuku nods, blushing a little as he feels very shy. “M-Miss Midnight,” he says in a small voice, “And Snipe.”
“Good job, kid!” Midnight grins, sounding ecstatic before she jabs her thumb to the right, “These two are Ectoplasm and Vlad King. Nice to meet you, Izuku. You can call me Auntie Nem.”
Izuku’s feeling shy, but the other heroes are very nice. He spends the entire visit with them playing with the thing Aizawa wears around his neck, his capture weapon, and not talking at all. Despite that, he enjoys listening to the conversation around him, feeling a bit more relaxed.
It begins to get late and Izuku’s eyes are drooping, dropping his head down against the capture weapon. Aizawa notices immediately, murmuring to Hizashi that they should leave soon.
“We should get going,” Hizashi says gently, “We’ll see you guys soon, okay?”
“Alright, thanks for bringing him by. He’s a cute little guy!” Snipe exclaims.
After a round of goodbyes, Izuku is nearly asleep against Aizawa’s chest as they walk back, his eyes completely closed. Hizashi and Aizawa talk nearly the entire time they walk, and it’s gentle and quiet. Izuku finds them both warm and bright like the sun, a light that leads him back from the darkness of his nightmares. He clings to Aizawa a little harder, more than grateful for both of them.
Once back at the apartment, they give a very sleepy Izuku a bath and have him eat a little and brush his teeth before tucking him into bed. They had gotten him a little bedframe and a new mattress, and Izuku likes falling asleep higher up off of the ground.
“Goodnight, Izu,” Hizashi says, brushing the hair out of his eyes.
Aizawa brings the covers up to Izuku’s chin, smoothing them down. It’s soothing.
“Night night,” Izuku mumbles sleepily, arms wrapped around his bear “Love you.”