Chapter 11: Gifts and Gamers
Dabi crept down the hall, years of sneaking around his father's house and training with Izuku making his steps feather light. It was dark and quiet, too early for the city to be awake.
He approached a door and opened it slowly, slipping inside like a phantom. The faint light of an open laptop cut through the dark allowing Dabi to make out the silhouettes of the furniture and the person that leapt at him with a knife.
They tried to stab his chest but he deflected and managed to lodge the blade in the wall while putting his attacker in a headlock.
"It's too early for this shit," he hissed.
"Admit it, I almost had you."
Dabi huffed.
"Okay, fine, if Izu's laptop hadn't been on I would never have seen you coming," he admitted.
Himi giggled and tapped on his elbow for release. He ruffled her already messy bed head and pushed her away.
"Careful," she whispered as she did a backbend to keep from crashing to the ground. "You'll wake him."
At the back of the room Izuku lay peacefully asleep in his nest of pillows. He made little squeaks as he breathed. Himi turned on the desk lamp causing him to scrunch up his nose and turn away.
This was the only time anyone saw Izu's true form. His black hair, highlighted with green in the light, was spread out like a halo revealing pointed elf-like ears and framing a freckled face with more scars than was fair. Without his claws active Dabi and Himi could see the missing fingernails. Toned arms hugged his favorite fuzzy orange pillow close.
Dabi felt bad for disturbing him, he looked so cozy. Himi had no qualms and jumped on her brother.
"Wake up, sleepy head!" she cried. Izuku startled awake, Dabi caught sight of warm deep green eyes for a half second before they were replaced with the slitted toxic green ones he preferred. He swiped at Himi but she was ready and held a pillow up as a shield. One of hers thankfully, and not Izu's, because it was shredded instantly.
"Happy birthday kid," Dabi said, collapsing dramatically over the two. Izuku groaned.
"Can I have new siblings for my birthday?"
"I think we can return Dabs. He's all kinds of defective," Himi suggested. Dabi started hitting her repeatedly with a pillow.
"You're. One. To. Talk," he said between strikes. "The operating system doesn't work right on you."
Izuku threw a blanket over the pair and laughed as they yelled and squealed while they fought their way out.
"We should return Zuzu, he's all dinged up."
"Sorry crazy, I lost the receipt a long time ago."
The trio lay sprawled over each other, just enjoying time spent together with no responsibilities or obligations on the horizon. They had agreed to take the day off for Izu's thirteenth birthday. The last year had been spent working hard to build something safe and sustainable for everyone. It was finally time to relax.
"Himi, you got the stuff?" Dabi asked as he sat up and shuffled to lean against the wall. The vampire scrambled up and dashed over to her dresser, throwing sweaters to the floor before pulling out a shoe box.
"I got the stuff!" she announced excitedly, jumping back into the pillow pile. Izuku sat cross legged, watching curiously.
"You go first," she said, handing the box to Dabi. He reached inside and pulled out a small black gift bag with blue tissue paper.
"You guys didn't have to get me anything. The money could have been better spent elsewhere," Izuku said as he accepted the bag.
"Don't worry Izu, we stole them," Dabi assured him. He was pretty sure it said something worrying about their lives when that actually made the cryptid relax.
"Well, more like confiscated," Himi corrected him.
Izuku pulled out the tissue paper and dumped a bracelet with a cerulean blue cord onto his palm. There was what looked like a large brown scale attached to it, much bigger than a snake scale and hard as rock.
"It's a pangolin scale. That trafficking ring Himi infiltrated last month was importing exotic animal parts," Dabi explained. "I thought you could use some armor and pangolin scales are supposed to be so strong even lions can't penetrate them. I figured since your quirk boosts the abilities you borrow it may even stop bullets."
Izuku was buzzing with excitement as he ran his thumb over the bracelet and let his quirk ripple through him. Brown scales fading into an earthy green at the tips covered Izuku's body. Starting under his chin it flowed over his shoulders and down his arms and chest. The scales seemed to taper out and become softer toward his stomach and lower back. A ridge of smaller scales lined his cheek bones and arched over his forehead like a crown.
"You look bad ass Zuzu!" Himi squealed.
"The claws were a bonus," Dabi commented, nodding at his brother's hands. It was like Izuku's fingers had elongated into sharp points. They faded from skin at his third knuckle to a deep brown, almost black, keratin. Izu held them up and flexed his fingers experimentally.
"They're kinda heavy, more for stabbing or gouging than cutting," Izuku muttered.
"My turn, my turn!" Himi sang as she snatched up the shoe box. Izuku giggled and turned off pangolin, the scales retreated as if sucked into his skin. He leaned against Dabi and hugged his arm.
"Thanks Dabs."
"No worries kiddo," he replied, resting his cheek on Izu's curls.
"Here, open mine!" Himi handed Izuku a rectangular box, like the ones fancy pens come in, with a bright pink bow. He slipped the ribbon off and opened it revealing a long black and ivory spine.
"It's a porcupine quill," she explained. "I thought 'wouldn't it be so cool if Zuzu had replenishable weapons at all times' so I got you this." Himi was bouncing on her knees as Izuku grabbed the quill. White spines grew all over his back and shoulders and on his forearms.
"You probably should have taken your shirt off first," Dabi laughed, several quills were poking through the fabric.
"You know porcupines can't actually shoot their spines, right?" Izuku informed Himi.
"I did my research," Himi pouted. "They can't shoot them but they can detach them. Try pulling one out."
Choosing one on his arm that was a little longer than his hand Izuku gave a tug. It detached easily with a sensation like pulling something sticky off his skin. The quill was quite dense and had a good weight.
"We need to go to the training room later and test this," he said excitedly to his knife loving sister who nodded her head enthusiastically.
"There is one more thing," Dabi interrupted before Himi could grab Izu and rush off. "You need a way to carry porcupine. We could make another necklace or put it in your hair but I know you've been wanting one of these."
The fire user pulled out his piercing kit.
Izuku's eyes went wide, he beamed happily. A few years before Dabi had gotten his ears pierced and became addicted. Each ear was pierced at least five times, he had an eyebrow ring, a nose stud and snake bites. Each time he got a new piercing Izuku would ask if he could get one too but Dabi always said no. Little did the shape shifter know it was because his brother was learning to do piercings himself to avoid any questions they would get by going to someone outside the family.
"Are you serious?" Izuku was on his hands and knees staring into Dabi's soul with sparkling eyes.
"Chill out, yes I'm serious. One piercing, in the lobe. Himi chose a thin quill so we won't have to stretch your ear."
Dabi pulled on gloves and grabbed the piercing needle. He disinfected it and the quill as Izuku got comfortable.
"You ready?" Izuku nodded, turning his right ear toward him. "Okay, this is going to pinch."
He stabbed the needle in, applying steady pressure until it broke through.
"Give me some gauze," he ordered. Himi handed it over. Dabi removed the piercer and squeezed Izuku's ear lobe until the bleeding stopped. Finally, he slid in the quill. It was about 3 inches long so it stuck out a bit from each side.
"All done. It looks pretty cool actually," Dabi stated as he packed up. Himi had run to get her mirror and held it up for Izuku. The shape shifter activated bat, causing his ears to grow to about the size of a paperback book. They were ribbed inside and covered in a fine green fuzz. Izuku's smile widened when the piercing stayed in place.
A while back Himi and Izuku had painted their nails and were fascinated by the way the polish would spread across his longer claws when he shifted. Only the three claws corresponding to the kids missing fingernails remained white. It was just a weird quirk thing, like how Himi could somehow copy clothing.
Izuku went to touch his new jewelry but Dabi slapped his hand.
"Don't touch, it will get infected."
Izuku nodded. He took the mirror from Himi and put it on the ground before tackling her in a hug.
"Thanks Himi-chan. I love it."
They clung to each other for a moment before Himi was gesturing for Dabi to join them.
"Come here grumpy," she teased. Dabi felt like being difficult so he crossed his arms.
"No thanks, I've filled my quota for gushy, feely stuff today."
A hand lashed out and grabbed the front of his hoodie, pulling him into the embrace.
"You love us," Izu said.
Dabi huffed but wrapped his arms around the younger two anyway.
Yeah, he did.
Izuku's ears twitched against the white haired boy's face.
"We have company," he warned.
Sure enough, there was a knock at the door. The trio extradited themselves from the sea of pillows and opened it.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" a couple dozen voices yelled.
A mob of kids were crowded around the door, a banner that said 'Happy Birthday Kaijin' in rainbow letters was held over their heads. Ara, Artie and Thos with Po in her arms were standing at the front grinning widely.
Izuku laughed shyly.
"Thanks guys."
"Come on," Ara said as she and Artie grabbed the vigilante's arms. "We made breakfast."
Not long after finding Thos, Po and the twins their band of misfits grew. The trio realized that with their funds and the theater they had the means to help kids like Izuku had helped Dabi and they both had helped Himi.
Izuku already had a good relationship with various street kids. He gave them food when he could or helped them find a safe place to spend the night, sometimes even standing guard. It took basically no effort to convince most of them that there was truly a safe place where they could sleep and eat and have a community to rely on but a few had to be drawn in slowly, distrustful of any good thing that came their way.
Now there were over twenty kids ranging in age from five to fifteen that called the old cinema home.
They had turned one theater into a bunk room by removing every other row of seating and dividing what remained into sections. Every section was separated from the next with a curtain so each kid could have their own space with a bed laid out on the cushioned seats. As everyone became more comfortable they started getting creative. They painted murals and stuck stickers on the backrests, they used old crates and bins to make under seat storage, some people were able to scavenge in the dumpsters at the outlet mall and found a few rugs and various brightly colored, gaudy curtains to replace the stained, off white ones. Christmas lights ringed the room, white and blue sparkling amidst glowing red and green.
The other theater was empty, the seats had already been removed before renovations stalled. The two spaces were connected through a short hall where the emergency exits linked before opening into the back alley. The huge open area became a multi-purpose room. Dabi and Izuku had brought their sparring mat from the store and stole a few more from the rec center and two schools to create a training area. Over time they accumulated more equipment like weights, jump ropes, a lumpy punching bag and even a couple ancient stationary bikes. Himi had set up a range to do target practice. She added a sign that said 'no real guns (that means you Dabi)' in glittery paint.
An accumulation of stools, chairs, bean bags, benches, a couple arm chairs and a sofa was spread across the front of the theater. There were a few low tables in the corner with art supplies. The wall was lined with shelves full of toys, board games and books found in the trash or snatched from libraries or schools. The massive projection screen was kept clear for nights when someone would set up the small projector and old laptop for movies.
Izuku was being dragged down the hall, a gaggle of excited children following behind and sweeping his chuckling brother and sister along with them. They had to expand the kitchenette and dining area as their numbers grew. The end of the hallway looked like a quaint cafe where no two tables or chairs were the same. The kitchen took up the whole width of the hall now with shelves and cupboards full of dishes and enough food to keep the whole motley crew fed for a week.
A few of the older kids were churning out crepes like an assembly line while a couple helpers whisked plates piled high with the sweet treat off to each table where fruit, whipped cream and chocolate syrup was already waiting.
"This is awesome," Izuku complimented as he was pushed into a chair with red balloons hanging from it.
Dabi and Himi took their seats. They watched fondly as their little brother thanked everyone. He hugged the youngest ones and teased them until they ran off to grab some breakfast before it all disappeared like he said it would and promised the older ones that there would still be training later so they better get some food in them.
Dabi wasn't sure when he started counting his blessings instead of his wounds. Izuku was a lost soul that had found another lost soul, then another, then another and Dabi would forever be grateful that he was the first. He laughed at Himi's squeals as she wrestled with Izuku, trying to smear whipped cream on his face, and caught sight of the words he had spray painted on the wall in neon blue, pink and green almost a year ago.
"The Menagerie"
...….
After breakfast Thos and her little band of nannies herded the younger kids to the art tables to keep them entertained until lunch. Izuku was proud of her. She was a wonderful caretaker and had dove into looking after the younger kids like she was born to it.
The Menagerie had come a long way in a year. Every one of these kids had a quirk society deemed villainous or useless and had been cast aside. One was even quirkless. A girl with long navy hair named Muta. Izuku had found her on a rooftop one night with her feet dangling over the edge. He had talked to her until the sun rose and she fell asleep, exhausted from crying. Izuku had carried her home and got her settled before wandering into Dabi's room to curl up at his side to let his own emotion spill out
Even after joining the Menagerie Muta was quiet and closed off. It was Po that pulled her out of her depression, the sweet little boy had developed an empathy quirk that let him feel what the closest person was feeling. His innocent attempts to cheer the girl up slowly coaxed her into believing that she was wanted.
Now Muta was one of the kids crowded around Himi and Izuku, practically buzzing as they prepared to test porcupine for the first time.
Izuku shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. He didn't want to damage his shirt again but taking it off was not an option. There were some things even these kids, who had been through so much, should never see.
"Try only manifesting the quills on your arms," Himi suggested. Her soft eyes reading his anxiety.
Izuku nodded, he had never tried to control where on his body an ability appeared but it couldn't be much different than when he chose which legs or ears he activated. He willed the spines to grow only on his forearms and was pleased when the ivory spikes didn't grow on his back and shoulders.
The kids oohed and awed over his new ability only to gasp when he crossed his arms and broke off one in each hand.
"Doesn't that hurt?" someone asked.
"Not at all," Izuku assured them, twirling the smooth quills between his fingers.
"Awesome! You can grow your own weapons!" someone else pointed out.
"I know right!" Himi clapped her hands excitedly, hopping on the balls of her feet. "Try to throw them."
His first try was horrible. His instinct was to go with a standard technique and throw it with a spin. It thunked against the target and fell to the ground. He huffed at his mistake while Himi raised her eyebrows at him, silently telling him he was a dumbass.
"Don't look at me like that," he whined. "I know."
The quills were like his needle kunai. They needed to be thrown straight, like an arrow. Adjusting his grip on the second spine he hurled it at the target, snapping his arm out and making sure to end his throw pointing directly at the bullseye. The quill was lighter than his normal steel weapons so it landed off center but stuck solidly in the wood.
The kids cheered at his success. Izuku kept practicing, getting better and better as he started to run out of quills. He pushed his quirk across his arms again and new spines grew, refreshing his arsenal.
"Your bleeding," Artie warned after several more minutes of practice. Izuku looked down and saw beads of blood slowly seeping out of the enlarged follicles his quills grew from. The drawback of pulling things out of his skin for nearly an hour.
Izuku had learned a long time ago that the side effect of using his quirk too much was joint and muscle pain. It took time and repetitive use to bring the sensation down to a dull ache. The abilities he kept active all the time, his bat ears and cat mutations, only had some tenderness when he turned them off. Abilities like rooster, which he only used in emergencies, resulted in a sharp pain in his Achilles tendons that made walking agony the first few times.
"I think it's time to stop," he stated, allowing the remaining quills to sink back under his skin.
"What else ya got?" asked a boy with red skin. He had two small bony growths protruding from his forehead. Izuku remembered bonding over their horns when the boy first joined the Menagerie.
"Who said I had anything else?" Izuku challenged, turning to the group and crossing his arms so the blue bracelet was in full view.
"What's that then?" one of the girls asked.
"Oh! This?" Izuku said as if he had just noticed the addition. "Just some armor."
He activated pangolin and there was a raucous cry of excitement.
"That's awesome!"
"You look so cool!"
"Can it stop bullets?"
"Oh! Let Dabi shoot you!"
"You look like a dragon Kaijin!"
Ignoring the suggestion to let his brother take pot shots at him, Izuku bent down to the little boy that had called him a dragon.
"A dragon huh?"
The boy nodded.
"I guess I am a dragon and I'm hungry," he growled playfully and lunged. The kid squealed and ran away. The whole group scattered resulting in a wild game of tag. Once everyone was worn out Himi set up the projector and played a pre-quirk movie about vikings and dragons until lunchtime.
As they were sitting down to a simple stir fry, Izuku's phone rang. He pulled it out and frowned at the name on the screen.
"Is it him?" Dabi asked, setting his chopsticks down.
Izuku nodded as he answered.
"Hey bud, what's up?"
"Shut up brat," a raspy voice snapped. "Get your ass over here."
"Where is here?" Izuku asked.
There was a growl. "The park near the rec center. Don't make me ask again," the voice hissed through gritted teeth before the line went dead.
"How bad?" Himi asked, her food also forgotten.
"Pretty bad, let's get going."
Leaving the older kids in charge the trio set out toward the park. As they walked Izuku mulled over what he knew about the person who had called.
Izuku had met him several months before while on patrol. He had been wandering down the street in a dangerous area and something made the vigilante follow him to a park where he sat on the swings. He just stared. At his feet, at the sky, at the shadows between the trees. He was fidgety, always moving his knee or his fingers. Occasionally he would scratch at his neck.
Izuku recognized the signs of anxiety so he turned off his more unsettling abilities and walked into the park.
"Hello."
The stranger had jumped and crashed to the ground when the chains of the swing just disappeared.
"What the fuck?" he yelled as he scrambled back to his feet, brushing off his black hoodie and blue lounge pants. His bright red shoes kicked at the sand. "God damn NPCs with maxed out stealth." he muttered.
Izuku bit back a laugh. That was an interesting way to put it.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
Red eyes partially shrouded in blue-gray hair regarded him warily. Izuku had his hood down and his goggles around his neck but his mask was still on. He was in his vigilante costume after all and he knew that the star-burst burn on his cheek was the only scar that would be recognizable as belonging to the missing Midoriya Izuku.
"Fuck off hero, your not wanted here."
Izuku couldn't help but let a laugh escape.
"If I'm a hero, someone should tell the commission."
The teen (he looked about the same age as Dabi) blinked at him.
"Vigilante?" he guessed.
"You got it, I'm Kaijin."
That seemed to surprise him.
"No wonder you're good at stealth, you're a high level druid."
"Guilty," Izuku replied, leaning into the RPG themes the guy seemed to like, "I guess that makes you some kind of spell caster."
He knelt down by the swing seat now laying in the sand. He had seen the chains disappear but there was a gray ash-like coating on the black plastic so he made a guess about where they had gone.
"Touch based disintegration quirk?" he asked. The teen stared at him in shock and a little amazement. Izuku shrugged.
"I have pretty good intelligence stats and a bonus on investigation checks," he gestured to his eyes and ears.
The teen continued to stare and Izuku was just beginning to worry that he had freaked him out when he chuckled.
"I like you, I'm Shigaraki Tomura."
"Nice to meet ya. What are you doing out here so late?"
They talked for nearly two hours. Shigaraki was a little awkward but seemed excited that someone was listening to his interests. He was a gamer and was scandalized when Izuku confessed he hadn't played a video game in years. It resulted in a rant about the RPG game he was currently playing.
Shigaraki seemed like just a normal teenager but something was off.
He was comfortable walking around at night but he wasn't a street kid. His clothes were too clean for that and he seemed well taken care of but he only mentioned a caretaker, no parents. He had been wandering around for a couple hours. He said things were changing and he just needed to get away to think and clear his head but he was vague about the details. Sometimes he would lose his train of thought, like someone had reached into his head and moved things around on him. There was something sharp and wild under his anxiety. Occasionally his nervous fidgeting became stiff and jerky until he scratched his neck.
"You should use your knuckles," Izuku suggested, interrupting Shigaraki's description of a Minecraft build he was planning.
"What?"
"When you scratch your neck you should use your knuckles, not your nails. You're going to hurt yourself."
The teen looked at him strangely, almost appraisingly. His fingers twitched into claws but when he moved to scratch he did use his knuckles.
"Thanks," he whispered as if embarrassed.
"No problem."
They sat in silence for a while before Shigaraki stood with a sigh.
"I better go or Giri will come looking for me," he said.
"Okay," Izuku wanted to offer to walk him home but his instincts told him that would be a bad idea.
Instead, Izuku watched him stroll down the street and turn the corner before he leapt up the closest building and followed. The teen couldn't have gotten far and there were no alleys on that street but by the time Izuku was looking over the edge Shigaraki was gone.
It was a couple weeks before he saw the teen again and that's when Izuku was sure something was wrong.
He was out on patrol when he heard a scuffle and ran toward it. Just as he crawled over the edge of the building to assess the scene there was a loud scream of agony and a deranged cackle.
A large man in a ski mask was dragging himself away on his back. He only used one arm, the other was held to his chest, his hand flopping grotesquely as his wrist bled. A tall, thin figure stalked after him and Izuku recognized Shigaraki's blue-gray hair and red shoes.
"You're not even a worthy fight," he taunted.
"Please, I'm sorry. I'll go. Please."
"Uh uh uh, I don't like leaving side quests unfinished."
A shiver ran up Izuku's spine. The acid and rage in Shigaraki's voice was so far removed from the awkward teen that had talked about how he enjoyed the peacefulness of Stardew Valley. He had a deadly confidence that radiated bloodlust and malice as he reached for the would-be mugger's face.
Izuku launched himself off the wall and kicked Shigaraki in the shoulder, sending him stumbling back.
The red eyes that locked on him were full of fire. There was no recognition or hesitation as he lunged at the vigilante.
Izuku used palm strikes to Shigaraki's forearms to redirect those dangerous hands. The teen didn't seem to have any fight skills outside just trying to grab his opponent, he just got more and more frustrated until he recklessly dove at Izuku with both hands outstretched. The shape shifter grabbed his wrists and pulled them over his head. Falling onto his back Izuku wedged both feet into Shigaraki's hips and flipped him completely over so he slammed into the ground. His breath was violently forced from his lungs at impact.
"What the hell are you doing Shigaraki?" he yelled as he put distance between them.
If this had been anyone else Izuku would have had them knocked out by now. This was not the same person he had met at the park but, at the same time, it was. This was the darkness Izuku had glimpsed under his nervousness. The sharp anger, the feral bloodlust, the urge to hurt and destroy that he pushed down by digging his nails into his own throat.
"I may need to level up for this boss fight," Izuku's sensitive ears picked up Shigaraki's mumble as the teen gained his footing. The harsh knock seemed to have erased his tunnel vision. Now he was watching Izuku with calculating eyes, a predator recognizing another predator.
His fingers dug into his neck, tearing the skin and smearing red across his throat.
"Stop that," Izuku scolded. "I told you to use your knuckles."
The words made the teen freeze. The rage in his eyes seemed to flicker like a candle flame. He continued to scratch but he curled his fingers in so only the flat of his nail contacted his skin.
"It's not fair. There shouldn't have been any PvP on this side quest."
"Which side quest is this?" Izuku asked, hoping to collect more information and calm Shigaraki down with the geek lingo.
"I just popped out for some snacks," this time he sounded more annoyed than angry. Izuku took it as progress and felt a little better knowing his new friend hadn't gone out actively looking for someone to hurt.
"Snacks for a gaming session?" Izuku asked. "Are you working on that build you talked about?"
Shigaraki stopped scratching, his hand went to his side where he tapped his fingers on his pants, his thumb raised as high as it could go.
"Yeah," he confirmed quietly, he seemed confused now, his brows pinched.
"There's a convenience store a few streets over. Let's head that way."
Izuku approached casually, as he moved aside Shigaraki's eyes fell on the passed out mugger. His fingers stilled and his lips twitched, trying to curve into a manic grin again. Izuku smacked him on the shoulder lightly as he passed, a friendly pat to move him along.
Shigaraki's head snapped toward him and his hand raised as if to grab at Izuku's arm but he redirected at the last minute to scratch at his neck again, using his knuckles this time. He followed the vigilante out of the alley.
The walk was quiet. Izuku text Night Jumper the location of the injured criminal, explaining that a mugging victim had fought back and ran away. Izuku was in pursuit.
By the time they made it to the store Shigaraki was back to his normal fidgeting. His eyes were softer but flitted around nervously. He had reverted to the same teen Izuku had met in the park.
"Why did you do that?" Izuku asked.
Shigaraki shrugged.
"He attacked me. I was angry so I did something about it."
There was anger and then there was boiling rage. A bloodlust so dangerous that Izuku's instincts should have been screaming at him to eliminate it from his territory. Anyone else would have written it off as a bad temper. A really, really bad temper, but something was off. He calmed down much too easily and had deliberate habits that curbed his anger. When he was like this, all awkward and chill, there wasn't a hint of his previous viciousness, like it had been completely erased.
"Do you ever get angry like that at random civilians?" he asked. If he was going to figure out what was going on with his geeky friend he needed to make sure no innocents got hurt.
"No, they're just NPCs. Not worth it," he said it casually but with a hint of determination, it was like he was reminding himself of something he was afraid he would forget.
Izuku nodded, pulled out his notebook and wrote down his number. He ripped out the page and handed it to Shigaraki.
"I have to get back to patrol but you can call me if you want to hang out, or just talk."
Shigaraki pinched the paper carefully between his fingers, as if it was precious, and put it in his hoodie pocket.
"Thanks."
Izuku waved and scurried up the building, turning back to see Shigaraki entering the store.
They met almost every week, most of the time Shigaraki would call and give Izuku a location. He was often brash and snappy, basically ordering Izuku to come.
As time went on the cryptid began to notice a change.
He was actively fighting against his anger.
The first time Shigaraki met Himi neither boy had been expecting her. She had spotted them on her way back from a mission and joined in with a bubbly greeting. Shigaraki physically held his arm down as it reached for her, like he had lost control of it for a moment.
Izuku saw the teen force himself to turn away from things when that feral glint flickered in his eye or take a deep breath in the middle of an angry rant and completely change the topic.
It was like his rage was separated from him. A wild beast he was trying to keep caged. The longer he was away from wherever he called home, the easier it was for him to keep a leash on it.
Now Izuku was sure.
Shigaraki was under the effects of some kind of quirk.
Izuku brought Dabi along to one of their meetings so the informant could see for himself. He agreed Shigaraki's anger was unnatural. They did some research on emotional manipulaton quirks and discovered they were notoriously hard to break, especially if there was long term exposure. They also tried looking up Disintegration and Decay in the quirk registry. There was no one Shigaraki's age with that quirk.
Everything pointed to the teen being manipulated and it was time for the trio to do something about it.
As they approached the park they spotted Shigaraki pacing near a cluster of trees. School was in session so no one was around. Dabi wore his regular ensemble of a cloth mask and sunglasses. Himi and Izuku had switched their vigilante mouth guards for medical masks.
"Sup Shigi?" Dabi called.
"Don't call me that!" he snapped.
Dabi held up his hands in surrender.
"Did you beat that tough boss yet?" Izuku asked.
They had learned that talking about video games seemed to help Shigaraki lock down his emotions. Their interest made him happy and overwhelmed everything else.
His pacing slowed and clawed fingers relaxed as he began moving them in a gentle wave pattern.
"I just needed some healing potions," he answered, excitement smothering the anger.
"Hell yeah Shigi-chan! Knew you could do it!" Himi cheered.
They chatted for a bit about Shigaraki's latest game. The vigilanties shared stories about some wild patrols and everything smoothed into a relaxing hang out.
"Next week we should go to that ramen place by the market," Himi suggested. "The theme is so cute!"
They all caught the twitch and the hitch of breath from Shigaraki.
"What's up Dusty?" Dabi asked. Shigaraki ground his teeth, eyes on the grass.
"I'm leaving," he said quietly. "Giri is moving us to a different city this weekend."
The trio looked at each other. If they were right Giri may be the one manipulating Shigaraki and letting him go would basically guarantee his descent into uncontrollable bloodlust.
"Tomura," Izuku started, using the teen's given name for the first time. "We're worried about you. We think that your anger may not be natural."
Red eyes snapped up. A dangerous fire faded and relit repeatedly as the teen took deliberate breaths.
"We can see you fighting it," Izuku continued, determined to get through to him before it was too late. "It might be a quirk, could somone -"
The rage broke through like a striking snake. Shigaraki slammed his hand to the ground causing the grass between the group to turn gray and blow away in the breeze.
"No!" he growled. He lunged for Izuku who used two of his spider legs to fling himself back while two more pushed Dabi and Himi away. The trio was ready for a fight but Shigaraki had turned away, he balled his hands into fists by his ears and screamed.
"No! You're wrong! He wouldn't do that! He saved me! Sensei wouldn't!"
"Sensei?" Izuku echoed.
Shigaraki spun around and Izuku was reminded of the night he had found him in the alley after disintegrating the mugger's wrist. All feral rage and bloodlust.
"Fuck off! You don't know anything! Sensei saved me when no one else did! Don't follow me! I never want to see you again!"
He marched through the trees toward the street. Izuku tried to follow but Dabi held him back.
"Not here," he warned. "He's liable to destroy something if we push."
Izuku watched his friend disappear with a sinking heart. Himi shuffled her feet like she was fighting not to run after him herself.
"You know where he lives?" Izuku asked Dabi.
"An old bar near the warehouse district. We'll look into it tomorrow night. We just have to hope that he'll think about what you said and realize he needs help."
Izuku nodded and led his siblings back toward the theater.
Hidden in the trees, a man made of purple mist disappeared.
Chapter 12: Found
"I'm home," Shouta called as he closed the door. He kicked off his boots and hung his capture weapon on the hook. There was a delicious smell coming from the kitchen and soft music playing from down the hall, likely from Zashi's home studio.
"Hey Dad!" Hitoshi popped his head into the entry, he was wearing an apron with paw prints on it. "Dinner's almost ready."
"Hope you like spicy."
A second head with spiky blonde hair appeared above Hitoshi.
"Brat," Shouta growled his customary greeting to the explosive teen.
"Hobo," Katsuki replied as he normally did. "Go tell Loudmouth to stop with the goddamn American pop music and get ready for dinner."
Katsuki disappeared again, likely to add more chili to whatever they were making. Shouta wasn't worried, the kid was a little shit but he wasn't a monster. He always made a separate dish for himself.
"What does he call Nao?" Shouta asked as he ruffled his son's hair.
Being able to have these casual touches without Hitoshi flinching made him feel warm. It had taken months for the teen to fully believe that they would never hurt him, especially Shouta, who spent so much time away.
"Detective Snitch," Hitoshi answered. Shouta suppressed a snort.
As if summoned the door opened and Nao shuffled in, shedding his coat and hat as he entered.
"Something smells good," he commented.
"The boys made mapo tofu," Hizashi said as he appeared from the hall. He gave each of his husbands a kiss and Hitoshi made a gagging noise. It earned him a playful smack to the back of the head.
"It's ready, get your asses to the table," the angry blonde yelled.
The family of four made their way to the dining room. The meal was full of light conversation as the brainwasher, walking bomb, voice hero and detective caught Shouta up on what he missed over the week he was gone. Soon he was being interrogated about his mission.
"Were you checking in on Kaijin again?" Hitoshi asked. He had been fascinated with the vigilante ever since Shouta had explained why he frequently spent so much time away from home.
About a month after taking Hitoshi in the purplette had gotten comfortable with Zashi and Nao and had even started to call Zashi pops but was still skittish around Shouta. Hitoshi had been reverting to nervous politeness whenever addressing Shouta and the hero couldn't hide the hurt he felt from the ever observant Nao. The detective pulled him aside after dinner for a private conversation.
"I think you need to tell him why you keep leaving," Nao had explained. "I know your work with Kaijin is complicated but I think he's worried you don't want him. He thinks that taking him in was mine and Zashi's idea and you are just along for the ride."
It made sense, Shouta had just met Kaijin around the time they fostered Hitoshi. He didn't even get to meet his new son for over a week. Since then he had been disappearing for a couple days to a week at a time with no explanation.
That night Shouta had knocked on Hitoshi's door and asked to talk. The boy was nervous as Shouta sat on the edge of his bed.
"Do you know who Kaijin is?" he started.
"The cryptid? He's a ghost or demon or something isn't he? He eats evildoers."
Shouta couldn't help but chuckle, only to stop when Hitoshi looked away embarrassed. He thought he was being laughed at.
"That's what they say but in reality he's a vigilante."
"A vigilante?" the teen questioned, leaning a little closer to Shouta with interest.
"One of the heros from my agency made contact with him a few months ago. He has a very powerful transformative ability that lets him take on animal traits. He can mix and match them so when people caught sight of a winged and horned boy with cat eyes and rabbit legs they irrationally thought he was a monster."
Hitoshi was paying close attention, his eyes wide as he learned the truth about the mysterious creature he had only heard about through whispered rumors.
"I met Kaijin around the time Katsuki introduced you to Zashi. That's why I wasn't here," Shouta turned toward the purplette and held his gaze, desperate for the kid to understand. "The day Zashi brought you home he called Nao and I. We were worried about you but so excited that you wanted to be our kid. We all remember what it was like to be an outcast so we jumped at the opportunity to be the people we needed when we were younger. I wanted to come home right away but I knew you had Nao and Zashi and even Katsuki. I knew you were being fed, had a warm bed and a home where you would be loved and start to heal."
Hitoshi was watching Shouta closely, a feeble hope shining in his eyes.
"But Kaijin, he's about your age and he doesn't have any of that. We all assumed he was an adult because he's so skilled but he's just a kid. I visit every couple weeks because I'm trying to convince him and his two partners to join a hero school and get licensed."
"Why won't they?" Hitoshi asked.
Shouta sighed.
"If you want to be a hero you need to understand, hero society isn't perfect. Sometimes we fail and people suffer.
The rumors about Kaijin started about six years ago. We think he's been living on the streets since he was six or seven years old. Kaijin and his partners Onibi and Hannya needed saving but no one helped them so they saved themselves. They don't believe that a hero wants to help after all this time."
Hitoshi bit his lip as he mulled over Shouta's words. No doubt he was comparing it to his own experiences, realizing just how easily he could have gone down that path. Shouta understood because Shouta has been Hitoshi. He had been Kaijin.
"Hitoshi," Shouta said, pulling the teen from his thoughts. "I'm not spending time away because I didn't want a kid, it's because I can see you getting better and I'm so proud of you. You're strong and you have support. We're all here for you."
Hitoshi sniffled and wiped away his tears before they could fall.
"You really want me?"
Shouta moved closer and slowly brought his hand up to wild purple hair, watching for any sign of discomfort.
"I really, really do," he promised.
Hitoshi leaned into the touch.
"I'm sorry I've been so —"
"Hey, you don't need to apologize," Shouta interrupted. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my mission sooner. I'm not the only one trying to recruit the Problem Trio so I keep my connection to them secret. Only Nao, Zashi and the hero that first made contact know what I've told you, can I trust you to keep the secret too?"
"Even from Katsuki?" Hitoshi asked.
Shouta sighed. He knew Hitoshi's friendship with the angry blonde was important to him and Shouta would be lying if he said he wasn't fond of the kid or grateful to him for looking out for their son.
"Next time Katsuki is over we'll tell him. I think it will be a good lesson on the importance of confidentiality."
Hitoshi smiled and yawned, lulled by the gentle fingers running through his hair.
"Time for bed. You have school and training tomorrow. I'll be teaching you some new fight techniques."
Shouta couldn't help but grin when Hitoshi's eyes lit up and he scrambled to bury himself under the covers.
"Night Hitoshi."
"Night Dad."
Shouta shut the door and flicked an eavesdropping Hizashi on the forehead before he could tease but the smile never left his face.
"Yeah," Shouta replied to his son's question, pulling his thoughts back to the present. "I was touching base with Night Jumper. Kaijin hasn't been as active lately and Jumper was worried he had gotten hurt."
"Has he?" Zashi asked, concerned for the vigilante kid he had never met.
"If the six on one gang takedown I witnessed is any indication he's just fine," Shouta assured him.
"Oh! What did he use this time?" Hitoshi askes excitedly.
"Claws, he always uses claws, and rabbit legs," Katsuki said, starting a little game they always played when Kaijin came up.
Both boys were fascinated by the vigilante and made no secret of the fact that they hoped Shouta could convince Kaijin to join UA. Hitoshi wanted to meet him and Katsuki wanted to fight him.
"Spider legs, and wings," Hitoshi added.
"Feathered or bat?" Nao asked, feeding into their competition.
"Feathered, they're faster," Hitoshi clarified.
Everyone looked at Shouta.
"No wings," he revealed, causing Katsuki to direct a victorious grin at Hitoshi who kicked him under the table. "They had guns and Kaijin knows his wings are a big target. You also missed horns. He broke one of the bastard's noses with a leaping headbut."
"Language Sho!" Zashi scolded.
Everyone laughed.
"Are you back for the entrance exam then?" Katsuki asked, popping a cube of tofu into his mouth.
"Sho will be the heroics homeroom teacher this year," Hizashi said.
"So he couldn't get out of it," Nao teased.
Shouta grumbled. He had only been a teacher for three years, he did not feel ready to have a homeroom, but if he took the job now he would be able to get Hitoshi and Katsuki in his class when they applied.
They finished dinner and cleaned up the dishes. Katsuki was staying over so he and Hitoshi started a Smash tournament with strict orders from Nao to go to bed before 10.
"Okay Pa but you know Kat will go to bed at 8:30 like an old man," Hitoshi teased, resulting in his character getting a hammer to the face and thrown off the platform.
—----------
Shouta sat in front of a bank of monitors showing various angles of the five cities below. The one, two and three pointer robots were already milling around. The bulk were patrolling the streets farthest from the gate, the faster students would be able to take advantage of that if they didn't get distracted on their way in. Several other large clusters were scattered around in out of the way locations where applicants who did thorough searches could rack up points. Of course, there were also plenty of smaller rogue packs throughout the testing area.
Zashi was off announcing the rules for the practical portion of the exam, Cementos was putting the final touches on a couple arenas and Recovery Girl was in her mobile clinic down on ground level so it was only Shouta, Vlad King, Snipe, Nemuri, Power Loader and Nedzu in the booth.
"You see anyone promising?" Vlad King asked as he shuffled through the summarized printouts of the applicant's records.
"I prefer to base my opinion on their skill, it's more logical," Shouta said, laying back in his chair and wishing he could pull out his sleeping bag. Vlad grumbled something about seniority and knowing better.
The buses started arriving and soon Zashi and Cementos entered the booth. The cameras at the entrances of the five testing zones showed the prospective new students milling about.
"ALRIGHT LISTENERS!" Zashi yelled into the microphone. "START!"
Shouta noted which students ran in without hesitation. He was disappointed that only a couple dozen out of almost 300 knew there were no countdowns in a real fight.
"WHAT'S WRONG? THERE ARE NO COUNTDOWNS IN A REAL FIGHT! RUN, RUN!"
Everyone took off, struggling through the bottleneck at the gates and charging into the city.
Each student had a dedicated feed and an AI program tracked them through thousands of cameras strategically scattered across the testing grounds.
Shouta saw some powerful quirks but little control. He flagged the worst cases. If they made it in they would need serious quirk counseling.
A few students were demonstrating impressive fighting skills even if they were a little too predictable. That was understandable if they had been practicing in the same dojo all their life. Some variety in their sparring partners would correct that. He noted their numbers.
A girl with long periwinkle hair caught Shouta's eye. She used small blasts of energy to boost her movement and hit robots point blank to crush their armor. She not only had good control but she had obviously put time into learning how to move gracefully. He wrote her number down.
"Um, does anyone know what the protocol is for this?" Vlad King asked, gesturing to one of his screens. With a few clicks on the master keyboard Nedzu put the feed on the big monitor. A couple of the heroes averted their eyes. Nemuri cackled.
"That's unfortunate," Zashi muttered.
A blonde boy was surrounded by robots. He was completely naked. Shouta watched as a couple of the two pointers shot lasers at the kid but the beams passed through him. He ran at the closest robot and stuck his hand through the bottom of its chassis like it wasn't there. The robot jerked wildly and powered down.
"He scrambled its wiring," Power Loader announced, tapping away on a tablet.
The boy repeated the process for every robot he came across. Not a single attack touched him, always passing through like he was a ghost. Shouta wrote the kid's number down. His quirk appeared to let him selectively phase through things. It was unbelievably versatile and he seemed smart enough to bring it to its full potential. Shouta did make a note to get him a DNA infused uniform though.
Moving on to the other feeds, Shouta found a couple dozen applicants that he immediately eliminated. They were panicking, either running around aimlessly or hiding somewhere. He watched one of them, a boy with moth antennas, run from a one pointer straight into one of the larger robot packs. Several laser cannons trained on the frozen kid but something long and flexible appeared from off camera and jerked him back behind cover.
Adjusting to a wider angle, Shouta saw a boy with deep indigo hair and pointed ears drop the moth kid on the ground. He had octopus tentacles coming off his fingers.
Octoboy stepped into the street and was immediately attacked by a three pointer. One of his hands changed into a giant shell that took the brunt of the hit while the tentacles went to work tearing at the robot's treads and casing until its programming told it there was too much damage and it shut down.
Four one pointers and a couple of two pointers raced toward the kid but he sprouted wings and lept over them. He hooked his tentacles around the taller robot's necks and wrenched them backwards as he landed on the head of a one pointer, ripping into it with massive bird talons.
Shouta couldn't take his eyes off the screen but noticed Zashi out of the corner of his eyes. He was watching the same feed with a shocked expression.
"You're seeing this right?" Shouta asked.
Hizashi nodded.
"It's not —?"
"No, they're completely different animals and the build is wrong but his quirk —" Shouta trailed off. They had thought Kaijin's quirk was unique but here was this kid with an eerily similar ability. Shouta dug through his previously ignored information packet and found applicant 12.
Amajiki Tamaki.
"Nedzu," Shouta called, turning toward his old Sensei. "Applicant 12. I want him."
Vlad King sputtered, trying to explain that's not how they did things but was cut off.
"I thought you might Aizawa-kun," Nedzu said, taking a sip of tea. His beady eyes sparkled mischievously. Of course the rat knew about Kaijin and Shouta's connection with him, he had set this up.
"I'll need to talk to him," Shouta said.
"I will make the arrangements," the mammal agreed.
—-------------
A few weeks later Shouta was in Nedzu's office awaiting the arrival of Amajiki and his parents. The kid had more than enough points to qualify him for the hero course and Shouta had no trouble getting him into 1A despite Vlad's protests. The rat god had decreed it after all.
Nedzu recorded all the acceptance videos for the successful hero applicants and added a bit at the end of Amajiki's asking him and his guardians to attend a meeting at UA.
"They're here," Nedzu announced. The door to his office opened on its own revealing a nervous looking Amajiki, a woman with white hair, pointed ears and a single thin horn protruding from her forehead and a man with black hair, round glasses and purple eyes who had his hand raised to knock.
"Please come in, it's a pleasure to meet you," Nadzu greeted, drawing their attention to three cushioned chairs in front of his desk.
"Principal Nedzu, to what do we owe the pleasure?" the woman asked as she sat down, her husband and son doing the same.
"Nothing to worry about. Your son's quirk caught the attention of one of my staff and he wanted to talk. Tea?" Nedzu held up a teapot that had certainly not been there before and filled four cups. Knowing his former pupils' preference for coffee he didn't offer Shouta any.
"Thank you," the elder Amajikis said. Their son accepted the cup silently, his eyes trained on the floor.
"This is Aizawa Shouta," Nedzu introduced, gesturing to the underground hero leaning against the wall nearby. "He will be young Amajiki's homeroom teacher during the coming school year."
Shouta gave a polite nod. The woman returned it.
"I am Amajiki Yunikon. This is my husband Amajiki Mimoto and of course you know our son Tamaki. Please feel free to use our given names for the purpose of this discussion."
"Of course Yunikon-san," Nedzu said.
"I must confess I am overflowing with curiosity. What is this about?" she asked.
"First I must stress that nothing said here can leave this room," Nedzu warned. "This meeting pertains to a rather delicate case Aizawa-san is currently working on."
Shouta stepped forward.
"Almost a year ago a colleague of mine made contact with a vigilante by the name of Kaijin. You may know him by his reputation as a demon or monster but he is in fact a human with a powerful transformative ability.
Due to Kaijin's young age we have been trying to enroll him in a reform program here at UA but we know nothing of his civilian identity. Normally we would use the quirk registry but Kaijin is unregistered and until the entrance exam we believed his ability was unique.
Kaijin's quirk allows him to borrow animal traits if he is touching a DNA source. He keeps various pieces of jewelry on him made of bone or fur. Amajiki-kun's quirk appears very similar to Kaijin's so we hoped you could give us some insight that will help."
"I hope you're not suggesting that you believe my son is a vigilante?" Mimoto asked.
"No, Tamaki-kun is not under suspicion," Nedzu assured them. "He is actually too old to be Kaijin if you can believe it."
"Tamaki is only 14, surely this vigilante can't be younger," Yunikon stated, obviously horrified by the insinuation.
"Our estimate is 12," Shouta informed them.
The couple looked at each other and clasped hands, agreeing that they had to do something to help.
"What do you need from us?"
"Let's start by having young Tamaki tell us about his quirk," Nedzu suggested.
Everyone turned to the teen who seemed to fold in on himself. When he spoke it was barely a whisper.
"Man - fest, I - – traits - food I - — –"
Nadzu nodded, his advanced hearing able to pick up what Tamaki was saying but Shouta was lost.
"I apologize, our son has extreme anxiety and finds it hard to talk to new people," Yunikon explained before turning to her son. "It's okay honey, no one is going to judge you. They need to know about your quirk to help this boy."
Tamaki seemed to still be struggling so Shouta walked around the desk to crouch in front of the teen.
"Hey kid, I know you don't know me but we're going to be working a lot together this year. I need your help. I want to get this kid and his friends off the streets but I can't do that if I don't know who he is. Your quirk is the only clue I have."
It was when Shouta mentioned friends that he noticed the teen relax. He looked up, still not meeting Shouta's eye, but much more determined.
"My quirk is Manifest. I can take on the traits of things I eat. It works best with animals from the protein in my food but I can technically eat anything and be able to use it."
Shouta nodded encouragingly. Tamaki's quirk was very similar to what they knew of Kaijin's but different enough that they wouldn't have flagged it when searching the quirk registry.
"Tamaki is the first in the family to develop a quirk like this," Yunikon added. "Most of us have creature related quirks but it's always one animal or type of animal. There has never been an Amajiki that could call on multiple at one time."
"I take it Amajiki is your family name Yunikon-san?" Nedzu asked.
"Yes, we are an old family and take a certain pride in the name."
"May I ask about your quirks?" Nedzu addressed the elder Amajikis. "I'm a bit of an amateur quirk analyst and I find myself intrigued."
Shouta shot a look at his old Sensei. What was Nedzu playing at? He was more than an amateur, he was at the top of the field.
"Tamaki's activation requirements came from me," Mimoto said. "I can identify any substance by ingesting it. I am immune to all known toxins and my digestive system is significantly stronger than the average person."
"The animal aspect came from the Amijiki side," Yunikon continued. "Like I said, creature quirks run in my family. There's a whole branch of our family tree that has primarily aquatic quirks and another that is mostly insect based. My siblings and I went the mythical route. My quirk is Unicorn, I have a healing ability centered in my horn."
She gestured to the spiraled ivory horn on her head.
"I dare say the Amijiki quirk factor may be reaching singularity," Nedzu mused. "I predict quirks like Tamaki's will become more common in your family over the next few generations."
Nadzu sipped his tea, his eyes flicking to Shouta for a moment. The hero felt like he was missing something. Where was Nedzu going with this? Knowing that the Amijiki bloodline may start churning out powerful quirk users in the coming years did not help his investigation even if the fact that Tamaki was the first to develop an upgraded ability was interesting. Shouta idly wondered if he would see some of his cousins come through UA with similar quirks in the next few years.
Shouta paused, an idea slamming into him like a lightning strike. Tamaki may be the first of his generation but he may not be the only one.
"Is there a possibility Kaijin is an Amijiki?" he asked, barely letting his mind process the theory before posing his question.
All three looked at him in confusion before understanding dawned.
"I could see why you may think that Aizawa-san but we are a tight knit family. I would know if one of my nieces or nephews was missing."
"What about your brother? The one that was disowned?" Tamaki asked, his voice quiet. Yunikon's eyes darkened.
"We do not speak of him," she hissed, her bright, polite voice suddenly full of anger and sorrow. "My brother was a delinquent. He was always getting into trouble. Fighting, partying, womanizing. He started drinking and doing drugs in high school. My parents finally kicked him out when he was arrested for public quirk use and assault. He put a woman who rejected his advances in the hospital with severe burns."
"What was his quirk?" Shouta asked.
"Dragon. He could breathe fire and had heat resistance."
"Where is he now?"
"No idea. We got a wedding invitation from him just before Tamaki was born but nobody went. We never heard from him again."
"Do you remember who he married?"
Yunikon frowned as she racked her brain for the name that had been printed on the frilly card.
"It had something to do with a color didn't it?" Mimoto suggested. "Aka? Kuro? Midori?"
"That's it!" Yunikon gasped. "Midoriya!"
Shouta felt like the ground had just been yanked out from under him.
"Midoriya Inko?" he asked, praying it was a coincidence.
"Yes, how did you know?"
"Does that mean something to you?"
Shouta had to grab Nedzu's desk to stay on his feet. He was sure he was pale and probably looked insane with the way his eyes widened and his breath hitched.
"Shouta-kun, I'm afraid even I am at a loss," Nedzu said softly. "Please calm down and explain."
Shouta buried his face in his capture weapon and ran a shaky hand through his hair. He forced his breathing to slow before attempting to speak.
"This may be difficult to hear," he said to the Amajiki family. "Six years ago I was part of a task force investigating a spike in missing quirkless people. My partner was called to the residence of one Midoriya Inko after she reported her son had run away. An investigation revealed that she had been abusing the boy for most of his life and sold him to the Yakuza when he was diagnosed quirkless."
Shouta paused, wrestling with the one fact that blew a hole in his otherwise sound theory. Izuku was quirkless. Tamaki seemed to be thinking along the same lines.
"You have to be wrong," he said, pushing his anxiety aside for the hope that his cousin hadn't gone through what Shouta was describing. "That boy was quirkless."
"Was he diagnosed due to the toe joint?" Yunikon asked.
Shouta nodded.
"Gods damn it," she swore. "I've been trying to officially disprove that theory for years. All people with creature based quirks have that toe joint. Tamaki and I even have it.
People think the toe joint is an indicator for quirklessness because it disappeared as quirked humans evolved. Things like the appendix were a useless addition to human anatomy so they started to fade away with each generation. People with creature based quirks are evolutionarily closer in build to humans from 200 years ago. We can have appendixes and wisdom teeth, we are susceptible to certain illnesses the average quirked person is immune to and often have the second toe joint."
"Why is this not commonly known? Surely the medical community would be aware of it." Shouta asked.
"The data is skewed because most people with creature quirks have a physical mutation so they never get the x-rays that people with emitter or mental quirks do," she explained.
"There's still no guarantee that your brother fathered Inko's child," Mimoto insisted. "We don't even know if they went through with the wedding."
"What was your brother's name?" Nedzu asked, pulling his keyboard closer to him.
"Amajiki Hisashi."
Nadzu typed in the name and hit enter. His usual relaxed smile fell.
"I'm sorry but Midoriya Inko had a DNA test done in an attempt to get child support. Amajiki Hisashi is the father of Midoriya Izuku."
Yunikon gasped, her hand going to her mouth as her eyes shone. Shouta heard Tamaki softly whisper "I have another cousin?" causing his father to grip his shoulder comfortingly.
"Shouta-kun, I believe you should call whichever colleague you have watching Kaijin. This young man has been through enough," Nedzu said, his fur was puffed up and his teeth were showing.
Shouta nodded and marched toward the door as he pulled out his phone. He quickly found Night Jumper's number and hit it.
No answer.
Shouta growled and rang again. Just as it was about to go to voicemail Jumper picked up.
"Eraser?"
"Jumper! Do you have eyes on Kaijin?"
"Eraser…"
"We have a break in the case. I know who Kaijin is. I need you to…"
"Aizawa…."
"...set up a meeting with all three. Do you remember…."
"Shouta!"
The use of his given name made Shouta snap his mouth closed. He heard voices in the background calling out to each other and the sound of shifting debris. That noise had haunted his nightmares since his second year at UA.
"Shouta," Jumper repeated, sounding exhausted. "Something's happened."
—------
Izuku distracted himself by helping get the younger kids ready for bed. Most of the Menagerie was gathered in the dining area sipping hot chocolate or tea. It had been unusually cold and rainy that day and everyone was enjoying the warm beverages and quiet company.
Himi and Dabi were out looking for Shigaraki. The bar he was staying in was clear across their territory so Izuku didn't expect them back for another hour.
Izuku hoped he hadn't ruined everything by pushing the teen. Shigaraki needed help and they were running out of time but this kind of long term mental conditioning would be difficult to break.
He forcefully pulled himself out of his turbulent thoughts before he could start mumbling. A few of the older kids were still training so Izuku left the relaxed atmosphere in the kitchen to head down the hall and convince them to turn in for the night.
Izuku entered the lobby. They had kept it full of old junk and construction debris to make the theater look abandoned. The only thing they moved was some scaffolding draped in plastic sheeting to hide the hallway from anyone who may peek or wander in.
Izuku paused.
He could have sworn he saw movement.
A hazy form briefly flashing into view behind the grimey plastic.
He strained his ears but only heard silence.
His instincts screamed.
There shouldn't be silence.
He should have heard the plastic crinkling, the voices of the kids in the dining hall, the thud of sparring in the training room.
He peeked through a gap in the scaffolding and found himself face to face with a man with large round ears like radar dishes wearing a ski mask.
Activating horns, Izuku surged up toward the taller figure and head butted him under the chin. He crumpled instantly, pulling the plastic down as he fell revealing about a dozen thugs in dark clothes and masks standing in the lobby.
The knocked out man must have had a sound canceling quirk because Izuku could suddenly hear. The intruders cried out in anger and surprise and Izuku heard the click of weapons being readied.
"BREACH!" Izuku shouted. He activated as many abilities as he could and readied himself for a fight. "EVERYONE OUT! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"
The bang of gunfire split the air causing Izuku to dive behind the ticket counter.
The kids screamed.
He glanced down the hall and saw Thos and her nanny squad herding the kids into the bunk room toward the emergency exit. One of the kids had the ability to create realistic looking constructs and had disguised the back alley with a brick wall. Izuku prayed it wasn't compromised.
Three older kids started running toward the lobby. Izuku desperately waved them off but a thug dove over the counter, reaching for him. Izuku grabbed the man's arms and hauled him to the ground. He slammed their head against the cabinets.
"Go back! Protect the kids!" he yelled at his would-be-rescuers. A fresh volley of bullets flew overhead, tearing up the drywall, but Izuku was relieved when he saw the three teens turn back through the haze of falling dust.
It was short lived however when he heard a cry from behind him.
"Kaijin!"
Artie, Muta and the horned kid, Akuma, had run out of the training room right into the chaos. Izuku moved faster than he ever had before, dashing across half the lobby and flinging himself in front of the teens. He screamed as two bullets impacted the scales on his back and shoulder but he continued to push the trio into the cover of the hall, wrapping his feathered wings around them like a shield.
"Are you okay?" Muta asked.
Izuku gritted his teeth. The painful sting still lingered and he could feel that several scales had cracked.
"The armor is bullet resistant, not bulletproof," he mumbled to himself.
"We can help," Akuma said, holding up his fists.
"Yeah, we can fight," Artie agreed.
"No!" Izuku snapped. He heard a pair of footsteps running toward them. As the thugs turned the corner Izuku speared them through the shoulders with spider and flung them away. The teens suddenly looked appropriately scared.
"Get everyone into the tunnels," Izuku ordered. "Go to the safehouse and stay there until we come get you."
"But –"
There was a scream and a bright flash. Izuku spun around to see three thugs down the bunk room hall stumbling and covering their eyes. Thos' hands were lit up as she struggled against a fourth man who was gripping her wrists and shaking his head to clear his vision.
"GO NOW!" he roared at Artie, Muta and Akuma before launching himself toward Thos. He scurried across the lobby on his spider legs, boosting himself using his wings.
Gunfire rained down on him. He tried his best not to cry out as more of his armor cracked and feathers were blasted off but he couldn't help gasping in pain when a bullet grazed his hip where the scales were weaker and another tore through the fleshy part of his calf.
He made it to the hall and barreled into the thugs, tearing at them with his claws and knocking them away. His injured leg burned as he activated rabbit and kicked the one holding Thos in the head.
"Get to the safehouse," he yelled at her, his ears swiveling and eyes darting everywhere, waiting for the next attack.
"Ara!" Thos yelled.
Izuku's heart stopped. Where was Ara?
"I'm here!" Ara ran out of Himi and Izuku's room. She had Kiseki cupped in her hands.
The last of the attackers rounded the corner. One was lit up with lightning, another's fingernails had grown into long deadly points, the rest charged down the hall either empty handed or with weapons ready.
Bullets tore up the carpet as Izuku and the girls burst into the bunk room. It was empty, all the kids having already escaped out the back door.
Izuku ushered Thos and Ara across the theater with his hands on their backs but was ripped away as black cords wrapped around him.
"Keep going!" he yelled and turned back to rake his claws across the face of the closest thug.
Someone put their arms around him, squeezing tightly, so he manifested quills causing them to yelp and jump away.
He pulled off a couple spines and stabbed the woman with the nails in the chest. She cut him deeply across the arm.
Izuku danced through the attackers. Stabbing, kicking and slashing at anything that moved. His instinct to fight, to protect, coursed through him. He growled and spit and bared his fangs, attacking with a feral energy that urged him to draw as much blood as possible.
Finally he heard the emergency door slam.
The girls had made it safely outside.
It was time to go.
Black wings unfurled. Izuku kicked off a muscular man sending him tumbling and shot into the air. The double doors were wide open so he tucked in his wings and dove for freedom.
His body seized.
All his muscles locked up and he couldn't control his wings.
Izuku plummeted to the ground.
He crashed into the seats and bounced to the floor groaning in pain.
The thug with the electricity quirk leaned over him, his eyes shining gleefully as he grabbed Izuku's shoulder and delivered another shock.
Izuku writhed, every one of his injuries burned. He tasted blood as he bit the inside of his cheek. When the sensation stopped all the vigilante could do was gasp for breath, he was exhausted and injured. His whole body twitched and refused to follow his commands. Black encroached on his vision.
"Very good," a rumbling voice said. Izuku looked up into the flickering yellow eyes of a man made of mist. "I will deliver Kaijin to your boss as promised. I suggest you collect your wounded and leave as soon as possible."
The ground disappeared and Izuku fell into an endless void.
He only heard silence, not Dabi's bellow of rage when he and Himi came back to their empty and destroyed home and were attacked by the unfortunate criminals that hadn't gotten away fast enough.
He only saw darkness, not how Himi's eyes went manic as she slashed and stabbed her way through them screaming for Zuzu.
He only felt cold and pain, not the heat of the blue inferno that ripped through the theater, burning everything to ash.
He was alone, not with the Menagerie when Dabi and Himi opened the door of the safehouse praying they're little brother was there only for everyone to realize that their hero was gone.
They were too late.