Shinsou was quiet throughout dinner. It wasn't much of a surprise, Aizawa more or less expected it. Switching houses and families two days into the school year was a big change, especially moving to live with one of his teachers. Aizawa himself wasn't even sure how long he’d be fostering the kid, but unless Shinsou said otherwise, he was preparing for throughout high school at the least.
Adoption had crossed his mind, but he’d want to talk to the kid first, and that was a conversation best had months later. Probably. Shouta had only had to foster one other kid from UA, and they’d just needed a place to stay for their last year and help to become emancipated after graduation. They were a fantastic underground hero now, named Radio Silence. Her quirk allows her to be completely silent, and is able to transfer the complete silence to other people for a set time. She was off living in Tokyo last he heard, and still visited during the holidays.
Shouta knew Shinsou was going to need a lot more help than that during his years at UA. And he was willing to be there every step of the way. He wasn’t opposed to adoption, Shinsou was no doubt a good kid, but he would want to wait until the school year progressed a bit more and Shinsou would have a bit more time to think about it.
The current issue though, was the fact that Shinsou wouldn't stop fidgeting. That in all wasn’t a problem, he understood that it was a new environment, and the kid was nervous, but this was one of those fidgets that meant ‘I have something important to tell you and I don’t know how’ kind of fidgets. After a few minutes of eating in silence, cats occasionally meowing and trying to get onto the table, Aizawa was getting worried.
“I need your help. “Shinsou blurted at the same time Aizawa asked, “Are you okay?”
“S-Sorry, uh. I know you just helped me and all,” Shinsou started, staring at his now abandoned plate of curry and fidgeting with his hands. “A-and I’m really grateful about that but I was going to tell you at school but now I-it’s kind of complicated now,” Shinsou swallowed, exasperated at the complicated mess that is his life,”But I don’t need help- um, this time- but my friend does, and I don’t want to bother you about it because you just did a lot for- forme and I appreciate that, a lot, but he needs help too; a lot more than I did and-”
“Shinsou, calm down,” Aizawa said, now much more attentive than before. Another kid in trouble? Was it another bad fostering situation? How was it worse than Shinsou’s situation? Recalling the green blob on the drawings in Shinsou’s room, Aizawa couldn’t help but dread a small child in a horrible situation. He really hoped this wasn’t a case of abuse. Taking a breath to calm himself, Aizawa continued slowly, voice softer than usual,“Just take a breath, you don’t have to rush through it.”
Shinsou paused, taking a breath and shaking his hands out minutely. “Okay. Um.” He looked up to Aizawa, face a little red. “When…when I got to the foster house I spent a lot of time wandering around, I guess,” Shinsou started. “I came across a treehouse in the forest, and um. I sort of stashed my things there, and uh, I kept food there.” Shinsou paused, noting the concerned yet attentive gaze of his teacher. Right, he was probably worried about another kid in danger and I should get to the point, Shinsou figured.
“Um, so food started going missing, and I ended up meeting a kid,” Shinsou continued, sounding less anxious than before. “And I didn’t know what to do; I asked a few people for help before and nothing good came out of it. So I figured if I got into UA, I could bring it to your attention. O-or someone at UA. I was going to tell you- before all this,” Shinous gestured around the table nervously, avoiding eye-contact with his teacher-guardian-person.
“You met a kid?” Shouta asked, trying to get Shinsou to focus and get the details. If this was a homeless kid situation, it would be a much bigger issue than just taking him out of foster care. “Is he in danger right now?”
“No. Well, not really,” Shinsou stammered, a hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. “I think he’s my age, but I don’t really know because he has a mutation quirk that makes him have fur and wings. Uh, anyway, he’s been living in the woods on his own. Like, since he was a baby I think. And when I met him he didn’t speak at all, and I didn’t know how else to help him at the time but I’ve been trying to help him read and speak and just, you know, blankets and things to make sure he doesn’t get sick or freeze to death. I.. I really don’t know what to do, so youre.. You’re kind of my last hope here.”
“Alright.. Just to make sure, you met…a feral child?” Aizawa clarified. That was a bigger problem than he assumed this conversation would be. He groaned internally, regretting ever sticking his nose into his student’s problems. Not really, of course. Shouta was just dreading the work ahead of him at taking care of and reintegrating one of his students- now his foster kid’s- feral friend. At least Nedzu would get a kick out of it, Shouta mused.
“Yeah,” Shinsou sighed, looking back to his plate in frustration. “I tried asking other people for help but,” Shinsou shrugged halfheartedly. The kid looked exhausted, Shouta noticed. The amount of stress put on him for taking care of a whole other child must have been hard on him. “I didn't want him to end up in some mental hospital or crappy foster home. I thought UA would be the best place to go to about him.”
Aizawa nodded. It was logical. UA had many programs in place in case of all types of situations. Oftentimes they housed kids or teens who need protection or rehabilitation, but only special cases. Nedzu always had a soft spot for kids in trouble, and Aizawa had no doubt the feral child would be welcome at UA. The rat might even want to teach him personally given the history there. “Can you tell me more about him?” Aizawa prompted. If the kid wasn’t in danger at the moment then he would need all the information necessary to make calculated decisions.
“All I could do was bring him food and water, and try to teach him stuff. He knows basic japanese now, and can read picture books mostly without help. Zu likes to draw, a lot. He sleeps in the treehouse during the time I'm at school, and he, uh, hunts wild animals for food at night. I just, I try to do what I can but you’re- you know how to deal with this better. I think. I know he can't keep living out there and I’m scared he’s going to get sick and die someday.”
“I’ll admit,” Aizawa sighed, pinching the top of his nose,”This is pretty unexpected.” Very unexpected. Shinso’s face fell. “But, UA does have a program for kids like him, not exactly, but I’m sure we can work something out. I’ll do my best to help him, I promise.”
Shinsou nodded, shoulders slumping in relief as hope shined in his eyes. “I’m going to talk to Nedzu tomorrow and try to get a plan scheduled for him to be re-integrated. I’m sure we can set up a school system for him at UA when he’s ready. In the meantime, we’ll see if we can try to slowly introduce him to the apartment, food and being around people as much as we can.”
Shinsou let out a relieved breath. “Thank you. Really, I- I’ve only known you for a few days y-yet you’ve-you’ve done so much f-for me-e, and-”Shinsou sniffed. All the emotions throughout the day finally seemed to come crashing down on him at the table, and before he knew it he was enveloped in a hug. Small hands grasped the fabric of Shouta’s jumpsuit, and he could feel wet spots forming in his shirt.
“I’m sorry you had to deal with that all on your own,” Aizawa said softly, holding gently onto the kid as he cried. “You did the right thing, it's okay now.”
Hitoshi nodded into his chest, gripping his shirt tighter. Aizawa sat patiently with him as he cried for a few more minutes before they ended up on the couch with blankets and cats. Until bedtime, Shinsou spent the night telling Aizawa all about Zu, and they made up a few plans to help him integrate into human society.
It was going to be hard, but to both of them, it would be worth it.
“Hey, Zu?!” Shinsou called up to the tree house. He was very nervous, but hopeful that introducing the two would go okay. Hitoshi and Aizawa had left school a bit early that day to have Eraser meet Zu, so here they were at the treehouse. It was about a half a mile away from Shinsou’s old house, on the outskirts of the forest, but the treehouse was barely visible from the outside of the forest.
Hitoshi fidgeted nervously while thumps could be heard inside the treehouse. Shinsou assumed he had just woken up. “Hoshi!” Zu called, his head sticking out of the hole they used as a door. Hitosh’s nerves settled when he laid eyes on the messy bedhead and asymmetrically bent antennas. He must have just woken up, Hitoshi mused. Zu beamed at him and climbed to the edge of the door with a wave. Hitoshi waved back and nervously glanced at Eraser, who was watching Zu with concern, and something else Htoshi couldn’t name.
Jumping out in the sun, he climbed out of the treehouse and fluttered gracefully to the ground on his dark wings, catching a bit of light on his feathers that seemed green to the two on the ground. The purple haired teenager then noticed Zu was wearing fluffy cat socks Hitoshi got him. Pretty much the only clothing he would wear were socks, and had consequently stolen all of Hitoshi’s fuzzy ones. After letting the kid try on a bunch of clothes, they found that shirts didn’t work with his wings, and despite pants fitting, Zu absolutely hated them and vowed to never wear them again.
Zu reached the ground in front of Hitoshi and immediately pulled him into a hug. Seconds later, Zu stiffened, just now noticing Eraserhead, who was standing a few feet away. Aizawa stayed still, giving Zu space for now.
“Hoshi…” Zu narrowed his eyes, pulling Hitoshi tighter. Shinsou felt a bit of panic for Eraser when he could feel the sharp nails pricking his shirt.
Shinsou laughed, pulling out of the hug, but still holding onto the boy’s arms. “You’re not going to say hi to Eraserhead?”
At those words, Zu’s antennae shot straight up and he looked back and forth from Eraser and Shinsou with wide eyes. “Raser?!” Zu shout-whispered. His previously distrustfulness vanishing instantly and replaced by pure excitement.
“Hey kiddo,”Eraser slowly waved, stepping closer to the two. “Shinsou told me a lot about you.”
Suddenly shy, Zu’s feathers ruffled in nervous excitement as he looked to the ground. “H-Hi!” Zu waved, staying attached to Shinsou.
“Do you want to show him the treehouse?” Shinsou asked, and Zu’s eyes lit up. “You had all those questions you can ask him now that he’s here.”
“Show Teehouse?” Zu bounced, looking over to Eraserhead. His shyness seemed to melt away at the prospect of showing Eraserhead around his house. “Show drawins?”
“Yeah, you can show him your drawings too,” Shinsou said, nodding to Aizawa.
As they made their way to the treehouse, Zu bounded over and took Eraserhead’s hand, no longer shy, and led him towards the treehouse. “I help,” Zu clarified, no doubt remembering all the times Shinsou had fallen during the rainier days. “No fall.”
“Thank you,” Aizawa smiled fondly. Shinsou had described the kid perfectly, but words couldn't do the bright green eyes justice. From what he could tell, he wasn’t aggressive, and showed trust in humans. Even from living in the woods his whole life, the kid was thoughtful and polite, if a bit oblivious. But that was to be expected.
Zu bobbed his head happily and led him up the rickety footholds after Hitoshi had gone up. As Shinsou was climbing, Eraser could see Zu watching out of the corner of his eye. Sweet kid, making sure Hitoshi wouldn’t fall, Aizawa thought. For a pro hero, it was pretty easy to get to the treehouse, even with Zu hovering over him like a worried parent. Once they made it to the top, Izuku busied himself with showing Eraserhead all of his drawings of Eraser himself, Hitoshi, Zu, and Present Mic.
“Present Mic is one of my favorites too,” Aizawa commented after Zu showed him a drawing of what looked like Present mic breathing fire. “He’s also one of my best friends.”
“Really?!” Zu gaped. His eyes were wide at the revelation, and turned to his notebook. After thinking for a moment he turned back to Eraser and asked, “h-he really, really loud?”
“He’s really loud,”Aizawa confirmed, and Izuku went to scribble it down in one of his books. It was mostly written with crayon, and filled with other words he was practicing. “I bet he’d love to meet you too.”
Zu gasped,”Me? Presen’ Mic come here?”
“Maybe,” Aizawa replied nonchalantly. Though, Present Mic would definitely love to meet Zu when he learned what w “Or you could visit him. He works at Shinsou’s school. Would you want to go to Hitoshi’s school?”
“S-school?” Zu repeated. “I.. learn..?” Zu asked, looking a little hopeful, but at the same time hesitant. “See Presen’ Mic be loud?”
“If you want to,” Aizawa said. “You’d be able to meet a lot of heroes and other kids like Shinsou.”
“Oh!” Izuku exclaimed, suddenly jumping to his feet with an idea and running over to a pile of books. Aizawa sighed fondly at the kid’s attention span. Overall though, he supposed it could be worse. From what Aizawa could tell the kid was as healthy as he could be, if not a bit malnourished and uneducated, none of which were his fault. Zu opened one of the folders and pulled out some slightly crinkled pages, then rushed back to Aizawa to shove at him. “Th-Them?”
A smirk made its way to Aizawa’s face when he saw drawings of his students in a different style than the ones Zu had shown him. It was obvious that Shinsou had drawn and labeled the kids in his class for Zu, despite the boy’s proclamation in class to not make friends. “Yeah, you’d be able to meet them. Did Shinsou draw these?” Aizawa asked, and Shinsou’s face went red.
“Yep!” Zu nodded. “Hoshi’s good draw-er. I pr- pra-tic-ing,”Zu enunciated. “Hoshi good re-read-er too, but no good hunting.” Zu informed him. “Zu hunt good-er.”
“Yeah, but I can’t eat what you eat anyway,” Shinsou sighed dramatically.
Izuku nodded solemnly, turning to Aizawa. “Hoshi hunt poptars,”He informed, making Aizawa stifle a laugh. Shinsou’s cheeks turned pink and he looked away to avoid Aizawa’s gaze. At least now Hitoshi didn’t have to live off of poptarts, Eraser thought.
“Well, Hitoshi is living with me now, so he gets to eat a lot more than poptarts,” Aizawa says.
“You learned about a lot of foods, right Zu?” Shinsou reminded the winged boy.
“Yes!” Zu exclaimed, rushing back to the book pile and retrieving a kids book with food on it. “I know food,”Zu stated proudly, sitting up against Aizawa’s side, one wing enveloping part of the man as he opened the book so Aizawa could see. He didn’t bat an eye at the invasion of personal space, fine with letting the kid get used to him. The kid had to be at least a little bit touch starved, and also unaware of boundaries in general.
“Shu-shi,” he pointed at the page, finger hovering right near a bright illustration of a sushi roll with a face, and went along through the book pointing out some of the foods mentioned. Admittedly, there wasn’t a lot, but it covered staple foods and some traditional Japanese foods.
“We have a lot of those at home,” Aizawa said. “Do you want to come with us for dinner and try some?”
Zu looked hesitant at that. “Not pop-tars?”
“I was going to make Katsudon tonight, but you can have pop tarts if you want,”Aizawa promised. He did in fact, have pop tarts at home for Shinsou and Zu in case they wanted some. Shinsou had said it was Zu’s favorite out of all the other junk food he brought. Shinsou confessed they weren’t really his favorite, but not to tell Zu that.
Zu seemed to ponder on it for a while, but the prospect of trying new foods and spending more time with his only friend and newest friend seemed to entice him. “With… you and Hoshi?”
Shinsou nodded. “Eraser and I live together now, so we could all eat at the house with you if you visit.”
“Not…here?” Izuku asked, fidgeting with the food book in his hands. He seemed to want to go, but was nervous about leaving the woods. Aizawa wondered if the kid actually ever left the woods.
“You can bring whatever you like with you, and if at any time you want to come back, we will take you back here,” Aizawa assured. “You’ll be safe with us, okay? Just tell us if you are feeling uncomfortable.”
“And you don't have to today, you can come tomorrow if you want to think about it,” Shinsou added, feigning nonchalance. In reality he was brimming with nervous excitement, anxious to get Zu integrated into the apartment as quickly as possible. He waved his arm dramatically in an arch, “We’ll just have to eat aaallll that good food all by ourselves.”
Zu’s eyes widened in a moment of panic, and he sat up. “mmOkay! I come!” Zu exclaimed, wings twitching with excitement.
Twenty minutes later, Zu was twitching with nervousness, peering every which way. “And you’ve never been in the city?” Shinsou asked, surprised they had never talked about it.
Zu shook his head, tightening his grip on Shinsou’s hand and Aizawa’s shirt as they walked along. “Loud’n scary. Fol-follow cat and s...see person. Person mean, and I go home.”
“Did they hurt you?” Aizawa asked, frowning. Zu shook his head.
“No!” He chirped, wings fluttering a little and almost smacking Shinsou in the face as he forgot his nervousness. He was still wearing the fluffy socks, but at some point his claws had poked holes and were sticking out the front. Not to mention they had collected an insurmountable amount of leaves and dirt and sticks. Every now and then you could hear them scrape on the pavement. They weren’t fully into the city yet, but getting closer. “Person see me and yell and I run home.”
“Just be careful if you come down here,” Shinsou sighed in relief. “It’s safer with us around, but it can be dangerous if you’ve never been here before.”
Zu nodded, shuffling closer to them. The memory of the last time he was there seemed to resurface along with his nervousness. “How far?” He asked, his antenna swishing to be stuck to the sides of his head. They had chosen to walk instead of drive because of Zu’s wings and the fact that he had never been in a car before. They figured introducing him to cars would be a problem to be solved at a later date.
Zu had been fine until they made it to the busier parts of the area, leaving behind a lot of comforting greenery and replacing it with concrete. It made Zu antsy, and while they were all proud of him for making it this far, they’d expected him to take a lot longer to agree to this- he was about ready to go back home.
“Just a few more minutes,”Aizawa reassured. “I know it's loud and scary, but you’re doing a great job.”
Zu just gave him a small smile in response. Shinsou turned to offer him the purple frog he’d brought from the treehouse. “You want to hold him?”
“Thank you,” Zu murmured, clutching the stuffed animal tightly in his arm while still holding onto Hitoshi and Aizawa. Zu’s nose wrinkled at some of the strange smells, and stayed away from some of the people on the street. Cars passed by every once in a while, making the mutant boy flinch at how fast they were. It was overwhelming, and he was starting to get overstimulated in such a new environment.
A particularly loud semi truck cruised by, honking loudly and sending Zu to the ground. “Zu!” Hitoshi exclaimed, dashed forwards to try to catch him. Aizawa followed, and the two ended up crouched down next to the trembling kid on the concrete.
“Zu, are you okay?” Hitoshi asked, holding onto Zu’s shoulder, and Eraser on the other. Zu just shook his head and covered his ears, trembling against the building they were closest to. They could hear faint whimpers from the kid, and his wings were shaking anxiously.
“You did great Zu, but let’s get you back to the treehouse, okay?” Aizawa said softly, patting the boy reassuringly.
“No-” Zu gasped, clutched at Aizawa’s sleeve, probably tearing little holes in it with his claws. “I- I want go. W-with you.”
Aizawa regarded him carefully. “Are you sure?” He asked. Zu nodded.
“Ju-Jus loud. Scary,”Zu shook, but his eyes were determined. “Wan-want to… go.”
“Alright.” Aizawa conceded, Shinsou glancing between them worriedly. “Do you want me to carry you the rest of the way? I promise it’s quiet in the house.”
Zu just nodded, and leaned forward to latch his arms around Aizawa’s neck gently and buried his face in the man’s capture weapon. “You okay kid?” He asked, receiving a nod in return. Hefting the kid up, he was surprised to feel how light the kid was, yet how heavy the wings were. Overall, it was a little awkward to walk but he managed it. The kid was easier to carry than he had expected. Glancing back, Aizawa nodded at Shinsou to follow.
But Zu also looked in awe at the shops they passed, pointing at every dog on a leash he could spot, and staring at signs to try to figure out what they said.
“We’re almost there,” Aizawa said, pointing out where the apartment building was, across the street.
Zu steeled his nerves, determined to eat the Kat-soo-don no matter what. Even though the city was scary, he felt ten times more safe with Eraser and Hitoshi with him. The smell of Eraserhead helped calm him, and the scarf dulled the sounds of the cars and people around.
After what seemed like forever, they arrived at the apartment. “This where y-you live?” Zu asked, seemingly at awe with the door in front of them. Letting Zu down so he can look around a bit, Shinsou took Zu’s hand so he wouldn’t run off on accident. Aizawa confirmed and opened the door with his key, startling Zu when he opened the door.
“It's okay! It's just a door,” Shinsou reassured, squeezing Zu’s hand tighter. Zu’s mouth formed a tight line and he spent a moment to smooth out his feathers from where they’d puffed up at the door opening. “Sorry, next time we’ll tell you if something is going to happen.”
Aizawa stepped through, gesturing to them to come inside. Zu paused to look at the door handle though, and turned it back and forth while watching the two take off their shoes. After a moment of debate, Zu sat down and took off his socks to be added to the pile. He wanted to make a good impression.
Shinsou was too nervous to comment on it, though Aizawa, had a pinched expression. “Wahhh,” Zu breathed, taking in the living room. He seemed more comfortable in the quiet space of the apartment versus the busy streets, and roamed around with his stuffed animal clutched to his chest. Shinsou huffed as his best friend’s wings almost knocked into him again, brushing his side instead.
“You boys will be alright while I go make dinner?” Aizawa asked. Shinsou nodded, while Zu barreled past in a flurry of feathers, completely ignoring Aizawa’s question.
“Like book!” Zu exclaimed, turning to Hitoshi. He hadn’t touched anything yet, just observing the whole space and getting close up every once in a while. Zu looked very closely at the couch, poking it gently. He walked over, marveling over the pillows and rubbing his feet on the carpet in awe. The winged teen went around pointing at all the things he did and didn't recognise, saying 'couch!', or pointing at something and looking at Shinsou as if silently asking for him to tell him what it was. One thing that really captured his attention was the light.
“Yeah, just like the houses in your book,” Shinsou said, sitting on the couch. He watched Zu flutter around the house with a fond smile. “Everyone around here lives in a house.”
“Ever-one??” Zu exclaimed indignantly, then whispered,”So many…” to himself ridiculously. Shinsou smiled at that.
Zu climbed up on the couch next to Hitoshi. He went slowly and carefully so as to not poke holes with his claws, but was sitting backwards so his feet were up against the back and his wings drooped off the front. “Soft…” Zu said, touching the couch with his palm.
“Where Raser?” Zu asked, leaning over to Hoshi. He was very close, and one of his wings draped over Hitoshi’s legs.
“He’s in the kitchen,” Shinsou said simply, used to the close contact by now. “We should stay out here though, or I can show you my room?” He offered.
Zu nodded enthusiastically, unaware that there were more rooms to a house. Aizawa and Shinsou had plans to slowly see how far Zu could make it if they offered to have Zu over. Shinsou wasn't sure he’d make it to the streets, but it seemed Zu was more determined than he thought. A pang hit Hitoshi’s heart at the feeling that Zu was going so far out of his comfort zone because he was lonely.
Aizawa had talked with Recovery Girl about foods best for Zu, determining bland high-calorie foods were optimal for a malnourished kid who had never eaten spices and only ate pop tarts and junk food before. Recovery Girl had protested the slow integration though, saying the kid should be examined in a hospital and given a sort of shock therapy transition. Yeah, no. That wasn’t going to happen.
Eraserhead set up a schedule, and if today went well, they’d get Zu set up at their place and wean him off of the forest. Introducing him to UA was also on the list. They were hoping that the closed environment at UA would work in helping Zu interact with kids their age and learn more. UA even had an urban training field he could run around in. After the apartment he would visit Recovery Girl for a check-up later on.
In conclusion, it was a whole lot of work and it was going to go slowly, even if it seemed faster to Zu. They were all happy he managed to make it to the apartment at all. Aizawa knew Zu would probably want to go back home tonight, since he was nocturnal and used to being active during this time, but that was just added to the list of complicated changes to make to Zu’s schedule.
On the other hand, finding out who he is and where his family is was another top priority. They had managed to convince Recovery Girl to do a home visit to make sure he was healthy, take some blood tests, and then when he was more comfortable he would go to UA for other examinations. Aizawa had also talked with a detective to come over later in the week to talk to Zu. So far they hadn’t made any progress with the case, but started with kids going missing or dead in or around the area Zu was found in. It was slow going.
The hardest part would be to convince Zu to leave the forest behind. At least, it would be for Shinsou. He felt bad playing psychology games on his friend but if it helped Zu integrate to normal life then he’d do it.
“Take some… um.. to treehouse?” Zu asked, holding onto some of Shinsou’s fluffier stuffed animals and blankets. It shot a pang through Shinsou’s heart to see the bright eyed boy with an armful of giant fluffy stuffed animals. Too damn cute.
“No,” Shinsou sighed, hurting when the fluffy boy’s expression drooped. “They’d get all dirty and wouldn’t be soft anymore. Just like your frog, see?”
“Oh,” Zu’s eyes widened, looking from his faded and a little dirty purple frog to the big plush Corgi. He petted it a few more times before climbing back out of Shinsou’s bed.” Warm.” He determined, nodding his head to himself.
“It is pretty warm, I like it,” Shinsou nodded. Noticing Zu’s longing stare at the plushes, he added, “If you stayed here you could get a room like this too.”
“Better than the treehouse,” Shinou gestured. “It would have a bed, stuffed animals, blankets, and as many books and coloring things as you want. Just like this room.”
“Can I?” Zu’s eyes sparkled. “Treehouse look like this?”
Shinsou shook his head. “No, the treehouse has to stay. You would have a room here in the apartment like me, and stay here all the time.”
“But no... more treehouse,” Zu refuted. “No hunt here... too much… house.” he added, looking at the walls and gestured with a clawed hand at the walls.
“Well, if you change your mind let me know,” Hitoshi said, trying and failing to not let himself feel guilty. They had to make Zu think about leaving the treehouse on his own and pushing forward the idea of living with Shinsou and Aizawa.
“Mn,” Zu responded, watching the room and contemplating. Shinsou noticed Zu’s claws digging into the floor a bit, eyebrows furrowing in thought, and decided to stop pushing for now.
“Want to see all the books I got?” Shinsou asked, walking towards his shelf. “Aizawa and I went shopping and we found a bunch of cool ones when we were looking for things for the room.”
About a half hour after they got home, dinner was ready. Shinsou helped set the table as Zu watched them in awe. He was still nervous about the new environment so he refrained from touching most things that seemed important. He did casually run his hands along different furniture and blankets though when he thought the other two weren't looking. Aizawa assumed the kid liked the different textures, and added some textured toys to his mental shopping cart for the boy.
Aizawa dished out portions for all of them in bowls and everyone sat down at the table while he explained to Zu what Katsudon was. Zu then climbed up on the stool Eraser brought out rather than the chair because of his wings, but after looking at the other two he sat down, dangling his feet as he copied them. He was trying his best to learn, and didn’t want to do it wrong in case they changed their mind about giving him food. Food was hard to catch all the time, and this smelled so good.
Usually, he ate one or two animals every night, just enough to keep him not hungry, but sometimes when he couldn't find food he just starved or ate snacks Hitoshi brought. Usually he saved the snacks for worst case scenarios in times where he couldn't find food or if he was only able to catch mice or small birds.
So when he looked at the bowl of food in front of him he almost couldn't believe his eyes. “Hoshi! So much!” Zu exclaimed. He looked at the two of them, making sure they had enough food too because no way was there so much. They must have hunted for so long, or caught something big!
“There’s more in the kitchen too if you’re still hungry,” Aizawa nodded, taking a bite of his food with a weird shiny stick.
“More??” Izuku gaped incredulously. He turned to look at the kitchen, almost expecting a mountain of food overflowing inside, but just saw more furniture. His eyes caught on a bowl of fruit and concluded the kitchen was magic, and could give them whatever food they wanted.
“I can pack you some for you to take to the treehouse later,” Aizawa offered.”That way you wouldn’t have to hunt all night.”
Not hunt? Zu had never heard of such a thing. What else would he do the whole night? He thought to himself. Maybe he could color? He wiggled excitedly at the thought.
He snapped out of his thoughts when Hitoshi nudged him, “You should try it before it gets cold.”
Zu snapped his attention back to the steamy bowl in front of him. He’d never had hot food before. Sure, he had warm food when the animals were fresh, but this was different. It didn't look like anything he’d eaten before either, but he knew it was food from the books he read. Glancing nervously at the other two he saw they were using metal stick to eat, and saw one next to his own bowl.
Zu delicately picked up the stick and, glancing back at the other two, shakily dipped it into the bowl. He soon realized it was a lot harder than the other two made it seem.
“You don't have to use the fork if you don’t want to,” Aizawa offered, and Zu slumped in relief, dropping the ‘fork’ and reaching his hand into the bowl.
Zu almost pulled his hand back at the sheer warmth radiating from it, but scooped a bit of the brown stuff and ate it. It was.. different than what he was used to but it was still good. The middle part sort of tasted like a bird. It wasn't bad, but he still thought a fresh rabbit was his favorite. He scooped up a bit of the white stuff next. It was… weird. It had an odd texture, and wasn’t as tasty as the brown stuff but it wasn’t bad. Food is food and he didn’t like to waste, especially warm food like this.
Shinsou and Aizawa ate their food quietly, watching Zu dig in with his hands out of the corner of their eye. “How do you like it?” Shinsou asked.
“Mmm!” Zu murmured enthusiastically, not pausing in eating. Shinsou huffed in amusement as Zu proceeded to make a mess with the rice. He grabbed the rice messily and palmed it into his mouth, leaving rice stuck absolutely everywhere. It was hard not to laugh.
Aizawa had laid out a placemat for Zu, but even that wasn’t big enough to cover the mess, as bits of rice were stuck to the fur on the boy’s arms and chest, the floor and on his face. Shinsou thought he could see some in his hair, too, and thought maybe they should give him a bath after. Or given him less messy food. Like a sandwich.
They talked about random things after that, foods Zu would want to try in the future, to which he responded “all of them”. It was nice, and Zu had never felt so incredibly full before. But despite how full he was, Zu was amazed to see more food in his bowl. Looking at the other two he was shocked to see their bowls almost empty. He could have sworn they had the same as him, right? Was he supposed to eat all of it? He didn’t want to waste it, but Zu felt like he would explode if he tried to eat more. Looking at the table, he only felt guiltier when he noticed the mess of rice solely around him, while the other two had clean spaces.
“Are you done?” Aizawa asked, and Zu looked at his food. Zu shook his head no, but couldn’t bring himself to eat any more. He didn’t think he’d ever felt so full in his whole life. Would he ever be hungry again? He didn’t think so. “You can save it for later if you want,” Aizawa offered.
Zu’s head shot up and he looked over to Aizawa. “Huh?” He asked eloquently. Save what? How would you save food? Heroes saved people… why would food need saving?
“I can pack up the food you don’t eat, and you can have it later,”Aizawa explained. “You don’t have to eat it in one sitting.”
“We don’t have a microwave at the treehouse so it won’t be as warm,”Shinsou added,”But it will still be good.”
“Uh, h-hi?” Hitoshi squeaked, pressing himself further against one of the crappy wooden walls to the tree house. It didn’t help much, since there was only one room in the treehouse and it was definitely not fit for more than three people at a time. Not to mention the giant gaping hole in the wall that was used as a door.
The creature merely stared at him with wide, green eyes. It chittered a bit, dropping the food it was snacking on- Hitoshi’s box of strawberry pop tarts, and slowly made its way towards Hitoshi. “No-no no no no!” Hitoshi panicked. Kicking his feet uselessly out to keep the creature back and put distance between them. “D-don’t eat me, p-please!”
Hitoshi had only found the stupid treehouse on accident, wandering around in the forest near his current foster parent’s house. Needless to say, he’d rather spend time at the treehouse than with the people who put him in a muzzle. He had put snacks and blankets up there, along with anything he didn’t want the foster parents or other kids finding.
Over the past week he’d noticed some snacks going missing but he just thought it was some wild animal. Hitoshi didn’t think squirrels knew how to open boxes so he put the snacks in a locked box but the snacks kept disappearing. He figured it must be one of the kids from his foster house but not-not something like this.
The creature was covered in dark feathers except most of his face, and in the dark he couldn’t make out much else besides the fact that it was a human, he thinks, around his age, with wings and no clothes (though it was covered in feathers so Hitoshi supposes it didn’t really need clothes). Now after staying in the treehouse to catch whoever was stealing his food he’d come across a terrifying eldritch creature crawling through the gap of a door from the roof and dropping down into the treehouse to go straight to his box of snacks and start eating. Hitoshi was so terrified he was about to get killed to even try to stop them from eating his snacks.
“He-hey stop! Please please don't come any closer!” Hitoshi exclaimed, trying to be quiet but also trying to scare it off. He wasn’t sure what to do or if-if his quirk would even work here. Could it understand him? So far it would only make noises like a bird or, or a squirrel? He wasn’t sure.
Thankfully, the creature stopped coming closer to him and froze about two feet away from Hitoshi. Breathing hard, Hitoshi didn’t let himself relax. He’d almost contemplated throwing his shoe at it to get it to leave, but if this was some kind of animal then he’d feel pretty bad since it hadn’t really done anything to him…yet.
It chittered at him again and sat on its hind legs, or human legs? Hitoshi couldn’t tell. He was kind of freaking out, and tilted its head to the side. Hitoshi just stared back, trying to ease his racing heart.
“Are you-can you understand me?” Hitoshi asked. It said nothing in reply, only leaning forward curiously at the noises Hitoshi made, like it was the first time it had heard words. Hitoshi sighed. Despite feeling terrified not even a minute before, he was starting to relate the creature to a confused puppy. A confused puppy with sharp nails and teeth and wings. “Is-is this your treehouse?” Hitoshi gestured to the space around them.
It’s big green eyes followed the motion, and it chittered back at him in response. Oddly enough, that counted as a response to his quirk and the creature’s eyes went from expressive and curious to blank. “Ho-holy shit,” Hitoshi breathed, relaxing just a bit.
He wouldn’t let his guard down entirely but, the fact that he could brainwash it meant it was actually…a human. Hitoshi frowned. “How long have you been out here? In the forest?”
Nothing in response. Okay, so maybe it didn’t understand him. Hitoshi sighed. “Will you hurt me?” Hitoshi asked, trying to put more ‘intent’ and feelings into his words than the actual words. He got a chirp back and sighed again. Right, neither one knew what the other was saying. Hitoshi ran a hand down his face in exasperation.
“Alright, I’m going to let you go now...” Hitoshi warned, “Just…just stay calm and don’t kill me. Please.” He added as an afterthought. After a second of pondering over if he should actually let the creature go rather than bring him to the authorities, he figured better to get it over with now than try to figure out something else.
Immediately upon release, the creature's eyes widened and it scrambled to the other side of the treehouse. Hitoshi stared in shock as the creature huddled behind the box of food. It eyed him in confusion and hesitance, looking a bit shaken by the whole thing. Shinsou swallowed nervously. “S-sorry,” He said, when it seemed like the creature wouldn’t attack him for brainwashing him.
The creature studied him for a moment before chittering softly. It seemed to forget it was wary of him the moment its eyes landed on the half eaten pop tart on the ground. It slowly meandered to it and picked it up, munching silently on its hind legs and watching Hitoshi.
Nervously, Hitoshi slowly sat up on his knees, gathering the courage to move a little. The creature didn’t pause in its light snacking, but watched Hitoshi out of the corner of its eye. The only thing he could hear was the light crunching of the poptart and their breathing. Hitoshi’s breath was heavy, calming down from panic and the creature’s was soft and light, pausing every now and then with each bite. Soon enough the creature was done with the pop tart and Hitoshi froze in his attempts at standing up, ending up in a half crouch as the creature licked its fingers and stared towards him.
Hitoshi stayed where he was at while the creature picked up something from the ground and slowly made its way to him. His breath froze in his chest as the creature came closer, more hesitant than before. It paused about two feet away from Hitoshi like last time, and looked from him to the spot in between them.
“Um…are…you-” Hitoshi started, but was cut off when the creature came forward, scaring Hitoshi into falling onto his butt. Neither one took their eyes off each other as the creature came as close as it dared, then slowly placed something on the ground directly in front of the purple haired teen, then backed off a few feet with a satisfied look. Confused, Hitoshi stared at the creature for a second longer before bending over to pick up the item.
Hitoshi huffed in amusement at what was another packet of pop tarts, still in its tin foil packaging. “You want me to eat this too?” Hitoshi asked, opening it. The creature seemed to brighten in awe as Hitoshi easily opened the package and took out one of the pop tarts. “Okay.”
The creature beamed at him when he took a bite of the strawberry pop tart, making Hitoshi smile a bit too. He thought maybe the pop tart was a sort of peace offering. It felt..nice, to be able to talk to at least someone, no matter how weird it was. Sure, it was strange, but could any other kid say they shared pop tarts with Mothman in a treehouse at 2 am? Hitoshi sure could.
The creature chittered and leaned forward a bit, but leaned back again. Hitoshi bit his poptart, and took out the other poptart in the bag and held it out towards the creature. It took a second for them to see what was going on but immediately brightened at the gesture. It scampered over and gently took the pop tart, staying within arms reach of Hitoshi while they ate in sync. Hitoshi watched the creature's eyes dart from his shoes to his hands to his hair in awe.
When they were both finished with their snack, the creature hesitantly held out its hand, just like Hitoshi did with the poptart. “Please don’t bite me,” Hitoshi murmured, but reached his hand out to it nonetheless. In the instant their hands were less than an inch apart, the creature snatched his hand, causing Hitsoshi to yelp in surprise, but held still as the creature just gently examined his hand. Hitoshi leaned forward onto his knees, getting more comfortable while keeping his hand in the creature’s.
“You really are just a kid, aren’t you?” Hitoshi murmured, and the creature looked to him with bright eyes and chirped before going back to looking at his hand. He, because Hitoshi is assuming he’s a boy for now, brought Hitoshi’s hand to his face, pulling lightly on his fingers, and sniffed him. Peeking at Hitoshi first, he stuck his tongue out lightly and quickly licked him, then frowning. Hitoshi squinted at the action, but let the boy do what he wanted.
“Is this the first time you’ve seen a person before?” Hitoshi asked. The kid brought their hands to each other, and the kid chirped, looking between their conjoined hands and Hitoshi like he’d just discovered something. Htoshi huffed in amusement. “Yeah, we both have similar hands,” He said.
After a moment, the boy grew tired of his hand and turned towards Hitoshi’s sleeve, feeling the texture of his hoodie. Hitoshi shivered as the boy’s cold hands went under his sleeve for a moment, but didn’t say anything. Despite the weird situation, he was kind of having fun. It was like discovering something new that no one else has known before.
Hitoshi wondered how long the kid had been out here. He seemed unable to communicate, other than in chirps and chittering, but he looked human. Hitoshi assumed he had a mutation quirk that made him look like, well, like Mothman. Maybe the kid had been abandoned out in the woods and just lived out there. It was a pretty big area, Hitoshi reasoned it was probably big enough for a kid to survive on their own for years without anyone knowing. He briefly wondered how the kid had gotten food before he felt a hand on his hair.
Hitoshi snapped back to reality to see the kid looking at him worriedly and petting his hair. Was he….trying to comfort Hitoshi? He thought. Despite the strangeness, he did feel comforted. That, and it was pretty cold out. “Are you cold?” Hitoshi asked, starting to feel very concerned for this feral child.
The boy chirped for a second before attempting a rattled, “‘od?” that surprised Hitoshi more than it probably should. His voice was rough with disuse but Hitoshi could tell he was a boy his age, or maybe younger.
“You can talk?” Hitoshi asked. “Or…try to talk?” He said, tilting his head at the boy. The kid mimicked him, tilting his head in the same direction with amusement and anticipation in his eyes.
Hitoshi thought for a moment before pointing at himself. “Hitoshi,” He stated.
The green eyed boy pointed at himself too, mimicking Hitoshi and said, “Oshee” in a hesitant voice. Hitoshi shook his head, and gently used the boy’s hand to point to himself rather than the boy. He repeated himself, and pointed again at himself.
Green eyes brightened in something like recognition and he pointed to Hitoshi and said “H’oh-shi.” and smiled brightly at him. Hitoshi smiled and nodded, thinking it was close enough.
“Yeah,” Hitoshi said, pointing back at himself. “I’m Hitoshi. And you are?” He asked, pointing to the boy.
It took a few tries before the boy finally got it, but seemed to think of his name. It sent a funny, sad feeling through Hitoshi’s chest at the fact that the boy didn’t really have a name. “Z- zu,” The kid mumbled before looking up to Hitoshi and pointing to himself with an exclamation of “Zu!”
“Alright,” Hitosh chuckled, pointing to himself first and repeating “Hitoshi” and pointing his finger at the boy and saying “Zu,” which made Zu smile and wiggle a little in place in excitement.
Over the next few months, that’s how they lived. Hitoshi would go to school, come home, and go straight to the treehouse. He was now fourteen, and was trying for the hero course at UA. He hoped he could tell someone there about Zu so he could get help. Hitoshi knew that as is, no one would take him seriously and the one time he tried he’d been stuck in a closet for two days as punishment for ‘making stuff up’.
UA seemed like his only hope to get Zu some help. Maybe even reunite him with his family, wherever they were. The past few months, Hitoshi had done his best to make sure the feral boy had food and water, and plenty of blankets at night. The last one was there just in case, since Hitoshi found out later that Zu slept while he was at school. It was hard for Hitoshi though, because he couldn't really afford much, and he reluctantly learned that Zu ate wild animals and didn't need to rely on him for food. While gross, it did make things easier.
Zu was also learning how to talk. It was… slow-going, but Hitoshi counted anything as a win at this point because Hitoshi also had no idea how to teach someone how to speak a whole new language.
There were a lot of things Hitoshi wasn’t sure how to teach him. Teaching Zu animals and plants and about the ocean or mountains was easy with books, but he had no idea how to explain anything else. Zu hardly knew how to talk, how was he supposed to teach him math or history or politics or even quirks? Heroes were easy to explain, but Hitoshi wasn’t even sure Zu understood exactly what heroes were. The most he could grasp was that they save people and fight bad guys.
Hitoshi liked to think they were best friends at this point. He’d bring over anything he thought Zu would find interesting, and told him about his day, and taught him a bit more words before going back to the foster house for dinner. Their days repeated like that, and Hitoshi found himself collecting children’s books wherever he could to help Zu learn. For some reason, the green eyed boy loved books, and any bright colored toy he could get his hands on. He especially loved hearing about the hero stories Hitoshi told him, even if he couldn’t understand all of it.
It was nice, their little routine. Even if Zu occasionally brought him a dead animal, despite Hitoshi telling him he couldn’t eat them like Zu did. He almost had a heart attack when Zu took a bite of a squirrel in front of him. They were lucky Zu hadn’t gotten sick so far. He occasionally wasn’t feeling good, but nothing like a fever or anything. They hadn’t been through winter yet though, so Hitoshi had stocked up on medicine just in case. He’d also tried to get Zu to wear clothes, but the wings didn’t really allow the shirts to fit, and Zu did not like pants. At all. For some reason socks were okay though. Zu mentioned something about cold feet once, but Hitoshi saw him wearing socks on his hands once, so he just doesn’t question it anymore.
Hitoshi was sure to keep Zu a secret from everyone as best he could. He didn’t want anyone hurting him, or throwing him in some shitty foster home or mental hospital) like himself. No, Hitoshi was setting his sights on UA, and their reputation for employing only trustworthy heroes. No way was he going through the trouble of trying to tell people about it again unless he was absolutely sure they could help Zu.
Hitoshi took a breath, climbing into the treehouse. “Hey Zu!” He called.
The mountain of blankets in the corner rustled a bit before a familiar head of curls popped out. “H’oshi!” Zu cheered, leaving the blankets behind in favor of jumping to pull Hitoshi into a hug.
“I missed you too,” Hitoshi laughed. He took off his backpack and put it on the ground. Zu untangled himself from Hitoshi to run to the corner where they’d kept a stack of books and a box of toys and knick-knacks.
Seconds later, Zu reappeared at Hitoshi’s side with a book and pleading eyes. “Read? Please?”
“Yeah okay,” Hitoshi said, getting comfy on the ground. Zu handed him a stuffed cat to keep in his lap during storytime, and had a purple frog in his own lap. That was a storytime tradition of theirs, something Zu started because the animals made him feel calm and he liked petting it idly. Zu assumed he needed one too, so they both got one every once in a while. Hitoshi figured letting the boy do things that comforted him was a good thing. He had taken to reading parenting books at the library, and they said to encourage creativity and independence sometimes, so he figured it was good for him. Again, he wasn’t really sure what to do in some situations, but they managed to find some common ground.
They rarely had disagreements, but those usually came down to Zu or Hitoshi being frustrated at not being able to communicate what they want to with the other person. But Zu had come a long way from the eldritch monster he’d first assumed he was. He was now reading picture books without help. For the most part. But he knew most of the words now, so that was good. He mostly had trouble with adjectives and actions now, and the occasional noun.
Art was a fun subject Hitoshi had tried with him. Zu loved crayons, and now almost every inch of the treehouse was filled with papers of watercolor or crayon drawings. It made hItoshi smile, and also made the feeling of guilt churn in his stomach. He could be getting Zu help and he could live a normal life if Hitoshi could just gather the courage to seek out proper help for the boy. He just couldn’t find it in himself to do it. Not after the last two times he tried. UA was his last resort. He didn’t want anyone hurting his friend.
“Hello?” The lady who opened the door asked tiredly. She looked at Aizawa with a pinched expression, dusting her hands on the apron she was wearing. Her hair was bright pink, with pink eyes to match.
Aizawa held in a sigh, introducing himself as, “Aizawa Shouta. I’m from UA, I called earlier about Shinsou.”
The lady squinted, “Call me Karen. What’d he do this time?” She said, and turned to let him in. “What is it you need?”
“Just needed a parent to sign some documents for the upcoming field trip, and ask you a few questions about Shinsou,” Aizawa drawled, examining the house from afar. It looked like a regular suburban house, even if a bit messy. He eyed a fat ragdoll cat lounging on one of the kitchen chairs, taking note of the four plates set up at the table before following Karen to the living room.
“What kind of questions?” She smiled, but it looked a little strained.
“Just about his home life, the staff have seen a few concerning behaviors from him,” Aizawa said. Over by the fireplace there was a series of photos propped up against the wall in between decorations. There were few with Karen and a tall skinny blonde man, who he assumed was her husband, and two children. One with pink hair like Karen’s and the other with dark black hair and glasses. None of Shinsou.
“Ah,” Karen nodded. “We were worried about that. Hadn’t received a call yet about him using that damn quirk from you guys yet, but don't worry, he’ll accept any punishment you give.” She said nonchalantly with a wave of her hand. “His old school was the same way in the beginning but you gotta be firm with him, and he’ll fall in line, you know?”
Silently fuming, Aizawa feigned interest, “Oh? And does he act out at home too?”
“Nah,” Karen said, pointing to the shelf by the door. “He wears a muzzle in the house, just to make sure nothing’s going on, you know? Can't be too careful.”
Aizawa paused, taking the time to unclench his jaw. “You do realize Shinsou is in the hero course at UA, right?”
Karen snorted. “Right, like that will last long. Isn't that what you came here to talk about?”
“No.” Aizawa said seriously. “I came to talk about behaviors Shinsou exhibited in class that pointed strongly to past abuse. Now that I know you muzzle him like a dog, I can see where it's coming from.”
Karen looked at him with wide eyes. “I-you-Did he come to you about this? Shinsou isn't abused!” She denied.
“No?” Aizawa asked, tilting his head. “Then what do you call muzzling him and restricting him from eating dinner?”
Aizawa’s guess paid off when her face paled. “I-he comes to dinner with us, he just prefers to eat it in his room!”
“Right,” Aizawa said flatly. “Can I speak to him?”
Karen steadied herself, swallowing nervously before nodding. “Fina! Keith! Shinsou! Get over here!” Karen yelled. Aizawa faintly wondered if the neighbors ever complained about the noise.
Seconds later, only two children were present in the room. The pink haired one had on a smile and bright neon clothes. The other one, maybe the same age as the girl, wore a neon shirt but with darker pants and socks. They looked around ten years old. “Where’s Shinsou?” Karen snapped.
The pink haired one, Fina, just shrugged. Keith shyly answered with, “He left when he got home. It’s...it's what he usually does.”
“Do you know where he went?” Aizawa asked. Keith shook his head. Shouta turned to Karen. “How often does he stay out of the house?”
“I-I uh…”Karen stammered, and Aizawa turned to Keith once again.
“Every day unless um, unless mom puts him in the closet,” Keith said, a spark of determination in his eyes. Aizawa thanked the gods that at least one kid had a heroic sense in this horrible house.
The other two in the room looked downright horrified and betrayed at Keith’s words. “Thank you,” Aizawa said sincerely. He held out a hand to Keith after a moment,” Can you show me to his room?”
Keith nodded and took his hand. Aizawa sent a look to the other two to stay put while Keith led him to a small room at the top of the stairs. Aizawa's heart broke when he realized the poor kid lived in the attic. “Are you going to help Hitoshi?” Keith asked, looking up to Shouta with big brown eyes.
“Yeah,” Shouta said, looking down at the kid, “Do you need help too?”
Keith paused before shaking his head. “I'm okay. They're just loud, and I don’t want to leave Fina.”
Aizawa sighed, ruffling his hair. “You’re a good kid,” He said, “I’ll be checking up on you then, and if you ever feel like that answer changes you let me know, okay?”
Keith nodded, and they turned to open the door. It was about what Shouta had expected. The walls were faded and peeled off white color, and the room was small with no windows. It was cold, and only one flowery comforter laid on the bed with a mismatched pillow, like the kid didn't have the option to choose his own colors.
That being said, he was at least glad that the mattress had a bedframe, and there was a desk and a closet for him. As far as neglectful homes go, it wasn't bad.
Shouta’s face warmed at the hero posters tacked onto the wall next to the bed. Two of them were Eraserhead themed. There was one of Present Mic, and a few drawings that looked like they were made by a kid. In those it was mostly a purple haired boy and a green bush with a smiling face. Sometimes the occasional Eraserhead or Present Mic thrown in there.
“Did you draw these?” Aizawa nodded to the drawings. Keith shook his head.
“I think he has a friend,”Keith said. “He said he visited someone, and when I asked where he went once; that made him happy.”
Aizawa hummed. It was around seven o’clock now, and he really didn't want to stay longer than he needed to. But he would wait for Shinsou to come back and take him while he filed for child neglect. At most, the foster parents would just lose their license to foster more kids. Hopefully Keith would be allowed to stay in that case.
“They..” Keith started. “They were mean to Shinsou, but they never hurt him. And they're nice to me.” He added.
“Thank you for telling me,” Aizawa said softly. “Why don't we go back downstairs so I can talk to Karen? You and Fina can go back to playing.”
Keith nodded with a smile and they climbed back down the stairs. Upon reaching the living room, Aizawa noticed the husband had arrived, and the two were now standing and waiting for what he had to say.
“Here's what's going to happen,” Aizawa stated. “Shinsou will be coming with me, and you’ll be paid a visit from Child Protective Services. What's most likely is that your foster license will be revoked because of Shinsou’s neglect. Because of other circumstances and the other children living here, not much else will happen unless other things come to light.” Aizawa continued. “You probably won't be able to foster any more kids because of this though.”
The two parents didn’t say a word to argue, and nodded in agreement. It wasn’t the worst punishment, despite Aizawa wishing it was more, but in this day and age, he’d settle for keeping Shinsou safe. Both parents then swapped contact information with him, and he gave them a list of other routes they can take, including therapy and support groups for foster parents. Hopefully things would work out better for them and any kids they chose to have or home in the future.
As it turned out, Aizawa didn’t have to wait long before Shinsou showed up. The kid was sneaking through the front door, only to freeze at the sight of his teacher in the living room with his foster parents. Shinsou looked at him questioningly with slight panic in his eyes. Shouta understood maybe he wasn’t allowed to speak in the house due to his quirk, so he gestured for the kid to sit down in the living room.
“Shinsou,” He addresses, and the teen looked up at him nervously, yet hopeful for answers. “You’re coming home with me tonight, and for the foreseeable future while your foster parents are investigated for child neglect.”
Shinsou opened his mouth to say something, but one glance at his foster parents made him stop. “You aren’t in any trouble, and you’ll still be attending UA,” Aizawa clarified. Some of the tension left Shinsou, but he was still nervous and scared. Aizawa figured he might take some time to adjust, but for Shinsou to be this tense was a little odd. Instead of saying so, Shinsou just nodded. “I still have a few things to go over with your fosters, so why don’t you grab your stuff and say your goodbyes in the meantime.”
The boy nodded, pausing for a fraction of a second before getting up and heading to his room. Aizawa watched him go for a moment before turning back to the parents.
Shinsou couldn’t believe this.
Eraserhead, his teacher, was now fostering him. Because his teacher had decided to pay his fosters a home visit and determined them to be neglectful at best and abusive at worst. Probably because of the muzzle, Hitoshi concluded.
It’s not that he wasn’t happy about leaving that house, but he was worried. Without being at that shitty house he wouldn’t be able to see Zu every day. After the day he had, adding on a feral child to the mix would probably not help the situation. Hitoshi was wracked with nerves as he packed his things, taking care to neatly pack the posters and drawings Zu made into his bag. On his way out, the two kids were there to wish him goodbye. Fina more reluctantly, but he waved and smiled to Keith, who returned the gesture with a cheerful goodbye.
Now in the car with Aizawa, all Shinsou could think of was Zu. And also the fact that he was going to live with his homeroom teacher who was also his favorite hero who lived farther away from Zu and that he was living in a new house with new rules and he was freaking out.
“Sorry this is so sudden,” Aizawa said, turning the corner in the opposite direction of the treehouse. “I didn’t mean to keep you out of the loop but in cases like these surprise visits are optimal.” Shinsou nodded, letting Aizawa’s voice ground him from the oncoming panic attack he was bound to have later.
He was happy. At least, happy and worried. “Thank you…” Shinsou said, a little more softly than he meant. “I’m just… worried. And a little surprised.”
“That’s understandable,” Aizawa agreed, and they pulled into the driveway. Shinsou took his things out of the back with Aizawa’s help. There were only two backpacks, one for school stuff and personal items, and one for clothes. As they approached the door to what looked like a cozy apartment, his teacher continued. “I’ll show you to your room and you can get set up while I make dinner. It’s just curry, but we can go shopping for groceries later in the week so you can pick out things you like.” Shouta paused, thinking while Shinsou was having a crisis about being able to choose groceries. “I also have two cats, Morri and Jelly.”
“I like cats,”Shinsou offered. Aizawa nodded, opening the door. Immediately, a giant fluffy gray and brown striped cat came running up to them, and his teacher quickly ushered him inside and shut the door.
“I saw there was a cat at the house,” Aizawa mentioned, taking his shoes off.
“Oh, yeah,” Shinsou said, copying him. “That was Scuba, Fina’s cat. Didn’t really see him much.”
Shinsou bent down to pet the big cat, who readily jumped up at him, so he scooped it into his arms and continued to follow his teacher. “That’s Morri. Jelly should be around, but both are friendly.” Aizawa opened one of the doors in the hallway and Shinsou peered inside.
“”This is your room, feel free to rearrange anything you want,” Aizawa gestured, placing Shinsou’s bag on the ground near the bed. It was a nice room, with gray and yellow striped bed sheets, a window with a little cactus on the sill, a desk and chair with a bookshelf next to it and a closet on the opposite wall. It was.. Overwhelming to say the least. This was the nicest room Shinsou ever had since…well, ever. While he was busy gaping in awe at the room, Aizawa looked on at the teen with a fond smile.
“We’ll go shopping tomorrow and get whatever else you need,” Aizawa added. “Is there anything you won’t eat or allergies I should know?”
“U-uh, no,” Shinsou cleared his throat, glancing back to his teacher before going back to looking at the nice room, and feeling one of the fuzzy blankets on the bed. “No allergies, and I’ll pretty much eat anything.”
That was a lie. Shinsou absolutely hated tomatoes and if he had to eat a whole one he would die, but he wasn’t about to say that. Aizawa had done more for him in the past hour than anyone has ever done for him his whole life, so he could suck it up and eat them if needed. Even if they were gross, nasty, stupid little fruits.
After that, Aizawa sensei left to make dinner while Shinsou unpacked his things. He left most of his clothes in his bag, just in case he had to move again sometime soon. He did hang up his posters though, the Eraserhead ones were ten times more embarrassing now that he was hanging them up in Eraserhead’s own house.
Hitoshi put them up anyway. Next to them he put up the drawings Zu made for him. Staring at them on the wall he could feel anxiety creep up on him. He let out a shaky breath.
It was now or never. Now that he wasn't at that foster house he wouldn't be able to visit Zu often, or even at all depending on how often Shinsou was allowed out. He knew Zu shouldn't be living out there on his own. He knew winter was coming up and Zu might get sick and there was always a chance Zu could die out there.
Hitoshi was just scared. He didn't know how Zu would react to being forced to leave the forest, or even worse, forced into a mental hospital. Hitoshi would never forgive himself if that ever happened to Zu. He sighed, knowing that Zu also couldn't stay out there by himself. He would have to put faith in Eraserhead that Zu would be okay.
Hitoshi took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves before he’d have to walk into the building. This was UA. The UA. He’d made it. Thanks to parkouring with Zu in the forest, he passed the hero exam and ended up in class 1-A. Looking up at the giant building, he reminded himself why he was there. I’m not here to make friends, He thought. I’m here to be a hero despite my villainous quirk and find someone trustworthy to help Zu.
The school was crowded for the first day, even though he made sure to arrive early. Making his way to Classroom 1-A, he immediately grimaced at the giant intimidating door. He heard muffled yelling coming from inside and internally hoped he could just wait outside until the teacher showed up. Sighing, Hitoshi pushed the door open.
Immediately, he was bombarded with shouting from an angry blonde in the corner and a tall blue haired kid. “It is highly inappropriate of you to disrespect the school property like this!”
“Hah? What shitty school are you from?!”
“I am Tenya Iida from Somei Private Academy! Now if you would-”
“So you’re a goddamn elitist, huh? Think you’re better than me?!”
Hitoshi sighed. His classmates were children, he thought, making his way to the very back. Even Zu was more mature than this. He sat next to a quiet kid with red and white hair and put his head down. All this shouting was giving him a headache.
Soon after, the rest of the class joined in on the first two, either joining in or trying to get everyone to calm down. Hitoshi felt someone’s eyes on him and looked up from his desk. It didn’t take long for him to spot the bright yellow sleeping bag on the ground with a ragged face staring at him before moving on to someone else.
A little unsettled, he turned to the people around him to see if they’d seen it, or if he was just hallucinating. His eyes met similarly unsettled gray and blue and gestured to the caterpillar in the room. Gray and blue eyed kid sat up straighter and looked like he was preparing for the caterpillar to hatch. Hitoshi followed suit, getting ready for class to start and hoping the craziness would stop.
“It took you eight minutes to quiet down, and only three people noticed me come in,”The newly-hatched caterpillar said. “My name is Shouta Aizawa, I’ll be your teacher this year.” He continued, reaching into his sleeping bag and pulling out some blue uniforms, “Put these on and meet me outside.”
The class went into an uproar after that, but the teacher was already walking out of the room. Hitoshi steeled his nerves and walked up to grab his uniform. Turned out they were just their gym clothes, but once he found his own they had names on the tags; he quickly made his way to the locker room. Changing as fast as he could, he ended up being the first one out there while the rest of them were goofing off in the lockers.
“Six minutes, not bad,” Aizawa sensei commented. “It’s logical to be able to change fast in case of emergency when you’re a pro.”
Hitoshi nodded in acknowledgement, still not very comfortable with talking yet today. He busied himself with taking calming breaths and taking note of his surroundings. Looking up at his teacher, he could see that Aizawa sensei was probably an underground hero. Now with the scarf pooling around his neck, he was hoping that meant he was Eraserhead. Hitoshi was more than a little excited at the prospect of being taught by the Eraserhead. He was Hitoshi and Zu’s favorite hero. He was Hitoshi’s because he fought quirkless and didn’t have any kind of combat quirk. Zu liked him because his uniform was black like him. For similar reasons he liked Present Mic, though he was confused about his hair.
Not even a minute later, the rest of class started piling out. The red and white haired kid was first, followed by some of the girls, and the rest of the boys. It looked like the blue haired boy was last because he was busy getting everyone out. Hitoshi paid attention to Eraserhead during the lecture, learning that it was a quirk assessment and because of some idiots in the class, the last person will be expelled. Great.
Nonetheless, he still watched Eraser carefully, debating whether he was the right person to tell about Zu. He was sure he didn’t want to go to the principal. At least, not yet. Eraserhead was his best bet, for now, since he wouldn’t be pressured by the spotlight to make an attraction out of Zu. He knew some heroes only did things like that if they got publicity from saving the ‘poor feral child’. Hitoshi wouldn’t let that happen.
So, Hitoshi had a plan. He’d ask Eraser for extra training after class, and gauge things from there. He wouldn’t mention Zu until the next day, or even later if Eraser wasn’t who he thought he’d be. He let out a breath, hoping this all worked out without him getting expelled. Hitoshi was willing to use his quirk on a teacher for Zu, just hoped it didn’t need to come to that.
Hitoshi kept to himself throughout the test, getting some of the most average scores in the history of the world. He wasn’t alone though. Many of the students couldn’t use their quirks in this context. He’d seen the electric boy try to shock the scoreboard, but it didn’t work. The acid girl and a few others tried using their quirks in new or different ways, but as she soon found out- acid didn’t help you throw a ball. Keeping score, Hitoshi could tell he was at least ahead of electric boy, earphone girl, invisible girl, and the grape boy. Turns out his size was not an advantage during the runs, jumps, or throws. The only thing he really excelled at was the side to side jumps, which didn't make much sense but Hitoshi wasn’t a quirk analyst so he focused on himself.
Either way, he was pretty confident that he wouldn’t be in last place. Just to make sure though, he had a trick up his sleeve for the last event- tha ball throw. Stepping up into the circle, Hitoshi took the ball from Eraser, noting his tired eyes on him as he turned around towards the class, feigning nonchalance. “Hey, Blasty?”
The blonde kid was easy to bait, responding instantly with “Hah?!” and his mind went blissfully blank. Hitoshi smirked and tossed the ball to him, commanding him to catch the ball and then throw it as far as he could without hurting himself.
A loud boom filled the area, louder than the one he’d made earlier with his own throw. Turning to Eraserhead, the teacher showed the score as 731, a far distance from Blasty’s own 706.5. Once again, the class was in an uproar.
“Is he allowed to do that?”
“What the fuck-”
All of them were silenced when Eraserhead showed a mildly creepy smile. “Shinsou didn’t leave the circle, and used his quirk to his own advantage. It’s a logical ruse.” He continued.
“You mother fuck-” The blonde kid shouted, blasting himself up to Hitoshi. Shinsou flinched back, but calmed down when Eraser trapped him in his capture scarf. “Stop using your quirk, you’re giving me dry eye.” He said stoically. Aizawa clicked a button on his remote, showing the scores. “Oh, and I was lying. No one is getting expelled, it was just a logical ruse to get you to do your best.”
Hitoshi felt a smile creep up on him. No matter how unfair the ruse had seemed, he understood it. It seemed Eraser didn’t actually favor the more powerful quirked kids either, so that was nice. Blasty was still steaming, which Hitoshi found pretty funny. Hitoshi had no doubt Eraser would expel one of the powerful quirk kids in a heartbeat if they showed anything unheroic. No one needed another Endeavor, after all.
Hitoshi ignored all the kids who tried to talk to him on his way out. He wasn’t here to make friends. Hitoshi was here to help his friend and become a hero despite everyone telling him he would be better suited for a villain. Since Eraserhead didn’t follow them back, he decided he was going to track him down.
That’s how Hitoshi ended up at the teacher’s lounge. When he knocked, the door swung open to reveal Present Mic. He didn’t look surprised to see a student outside the door in the slightest. “Hiya listener! What can I do for ya?”
“Uh- is Er- Aizawa sensei there?” Hitoshi asked. Mic’s eyes lit up at the mention of Eraserhead, and opened the door for Hitoshi to come in.
“Sure is! He’s right over there,” Mic said, pointing to a desk in the corner with a familiar man looking over something on a computer. At Hitoshi’s entrance, tired gray eyes met purple.
“Thank you,” Hitoshi said, nodding to Present Mic, and the man chirped ‘you’re welcome’ and went the opposite direction. In the staff lounge, there were a few desks lining the walls, and a few doors that, he assumed, led to private areas or offices. As of now, only Snipe, a frail old blonde guy, Present Mic, and Eraserhead were in the room.
Aizawa sighed, looking up from his computer to the tired boy in front of him. He had been busy sending an email to Bakugo’s family about anger management. If the parents didn’t do anything within the week, Shouta would sign the kid up himself. “What is it Shinsou?”
Shinsou took a moment to respond. Aizawa could see the tenseness in his shoulders, and nervous fidgeting of his hands. The boy looked up to meet Aizawa’s eyes with a cautious but determined gaze. “I was wondering if-are there any opportunities for extra training?” He asked.
”Yes,” he nodded. Aizawa paused, noting the intense gaze directed at him. Like there was something the kid couldn’t say. “The gyms are open after school from three to six. You just have to get a teacher’s permission.” Aizawa’s eyes narrowed. This kid seemed to be testing his response for…something. Given his quirk, Aizawa could only think it might be related to that. He could see the kid wanted to ask about something other than training, but held back. Hopefully the fact that Aizawa answered his question verbally despite his quirk gave the kid an accurate impression of him. Despite wanting to ask the kid outright what’s really going on, Shouta decided to play it safe for now, and just let the boy know he was there for him.
Shinsou visibly relaxed a bit when he answered the question, and Aizawa hoped he’d gained a bit of trust from the boy. From the sound of his quirk, Shouta could tell he wouldn’t have had the most cheerful childhood. He added that to his mental list of things to check up on. “T-thank you,’ Shinsou said, getting ready to walk away.
“Kid,” Aizawa called, making the tension come back in Shinsou’s shoulders. “If you want to work on something specific, any one of the staff would be happy to schedule something with you after school.”
That seemed to brighten the kid’s mood, but his face just smiled shyly as he thanked him again and left. Suspicious, Aizawa watched him leave, then slumped in his seat. He hoped that wasn’t a disguised cry for help. The kid seemed to isolate himself in class, and had great situational awareness that usually only comes from abuse at that age. He sighed, hoping Shinsou would come to him if he was in danger. Regardless, he would be looking into Shinsou’s home life.
“And then there was a boy with six arms-” Shinsou continued, trying his best to draw out the basics of what his classmates looked like.
“Six?” Zu repeated incredulously, holding up six fingers himself. “So much hug…” He whispered in awe to himself. Shinsou had to stop himself from laughing at that. Maybe someday he’d tell Shoji.
“He was really strong, too,” Shinsou said, adding to their pile of notes. He couldn’t remember all of his classmates, but he figured Zu would want to know about the other mutant kids the most. He’d told him about the pink haired girl, bird boy, Shoji, and frog girl so far.
“Buuuut,” Shinsou paused, letting the suspense grow. Zu’s eyes grew wide in anticipation.”None of the students were as cool as the teacher.”
“Who?” Zu asked, grasping onto Hitoshi’s sleeve. “Tell! Teeellllll!”
“I don’t know if you can handle it,” Shinsou pretended to think about it. “He’s just too cool.”
“Nooo, teeellllll!!” Zu laughed, shaking Hitoshi’s arm as much as he could.
“Alright alright,” Hitoshi sighed dramatically with a lazy smile. “It’s Eraserhead!”
“Raser!?” Zu gasped. “Raser at s-school?”
“Yeah! He was super cool,” Hitoshi said seriously. “He had us all do a test, and the person who failed had to leave school forever!”
“You win?? Hoshi win, yes???” Zu asked, suddenly serious. They had talked about school before, but it was still difficult to explain tests and quizzes to him.
“Yeah,” Shinsou laughed. “It was pretty close though. I think he likes us all though, so he didn’t expel anyone.”
Zu frowned. “Mean though.”
“Eh, it was just to make sure we did our best,” Shinsou explained. “Eraser is still my favorite hero.”
Zu paused, then nodded. “Me too.”
Shinsou glanced at Zu, who was looking through the drawings Shinsou made about his classmates. “Do you…do you want to meet Eraserhead sometime?” Shinsou asked quietly.
Zu’s head shot up from what he was looking at almost immediately. “I can see Raser?” Zu asked, eyes sparkling. “Now?”
“No, not now, but.. Maybe this week?” Hitoshi offered. “I can ask him to come over.”
“Really?” Zu bounced. “Yes yes!”
He launched himself at Shinsou, giving him a hug. Hitoshi wrapped his arms around him with a sad smile. He hoped this would work out. Zu shouldn’t be living out here on his own, and if Eraser could help, then he’d ask him to. Zu might not be happy about it, but it would be for the best. Hitoshi just had to keep reminding himself of that.
It would be for the best.
Right?
The next day, Eraser kept an eye on Shinsou. Looking into his records he saw classic cases of bullying, but what was most concerning was his home life. Shinsou was currently in a foster home, and had been for the past 8 months. Before that, the kid had bounced from house to house ever since he was six. There had been many issues with his past foster homes, some getting busted for drugs, abuse, etc. On multiple occasions Shinsou was the one to alert the authorities in cases where kids were being harmed. Aizawa was extremely worried about some notes from his social worker about a certain muzzle that bounced from home to home with him. After the concerning talk with the kid yesterday, he wasn’t so sure the home he was in right now was all that healthy either.
Looking at him throughout the day, he could tell the kid was skinnier than a kid his age, much less a hero in training should be. Even with how much muscle he had, the kid was a twig. Despite only knowing the kid for a little less than two days, he was worried. He was definitely going to give those foster parents a visit.
The day went pretty well, if Hitoshi counted going against the loudest and most violent person in class during battle training a good thing. Meeting All Might though, that was pretty cool. All Might wasn’t his favorite hero but something about meeting the number one hero was just one of those things that made you excited anyway. At least, it was cool until everyone realized All Might had no idea how to teach.
Despite the incompetence of his teacher, he was excited about his hero costume too. Zu had helped him with it, and since he’d be underground there wasn’t much color. Zu had to settle for green and purple stripes around the arms and a utility belt that was half green and half purple. He looked a lot like Eraserhead, but instead of a capture scarf he had a hood and a mask that modified his voice. Hitoshi liked it a lot. Maybe he could even convince Eraserhead to teach him how to use his capture scarf.
“I’m Uraraka! And you’re Shinsou right?” The bubbly brown haired girl asked. Shinsou nodded. He was kind of happy to be partnered with her. She reminded him of Zu.
“Do you have a plan?” Uraraka asked. “I know Iida has a speed quirk, and the blonde one can make explosions with his hands. Oh! And anything I touch with all five fingers makes its gravity go away.”
“Alright,” Shinsou said, steeling his nerves. “My quirk is brainwashing,” He said without pausing, not letting her get a word in as he explained. “I need a response for it so if you think you can sneak in through the window to get after the bomb, I can distract Blasty. He seems like the type to try to hunt down his opponents and demand a fight one on one. If Iida gives you trouble or the plan falls through just use the comms and we can come up with another plan.”
“Yeah! That sounds great!” Uraraka says, determination shining in her eyes. “I’ll come in on the fourth floor and make my way down in case the bomb isn’t at the top. Call me if anything goes wrong?” She asked, looking up at him.
“Yep,” Shinsou replied, feigning nonchalance. On the inside, his heart was racing. “Uh…would you mind…keeping my quirk a secret for now?” Shinsou asked, looking at Uraraka's confused gaze. “Kinda loses the surprise effect during times like these if everyone knows about it.”
“Oh, yeah!” Uraraka beamed up at him. “You can count on me! Though if we’re against each other in the future, I won’t go easy on ya,” She winked.
The corners of Shinsou’s lips pulled up. “Good,” He replied.
As soon as All Might called for start, Uraraka gave him a good luck shoulder bump and they went their separate ways. Sneaking through the building from the first floor, he could already hear the telltale sign of little explosions. It was like Blasty couldn’t help but pop his quirk to release stress. That, or he just liked the sound of his all-powerful quirk way too much, Shinsou thought to himself with a smirk.
Usually, when he played games with Zu or trained in the forest, he would never be able to sneak up on the small teen. Zu, living in the wild on his own, had gained an insane amount of stealth. Hitoshi was nowhere near Zu’s level, but for people like Blasty, sneaking up on him would be childsplay.
Creeping around the corner, he could still hear the small pops, and what sounded like angry muttering. Hitoshi readied capture tape, and quickly stepped around the corner behind Bakugou and kicked him as hard as he could in the back.
Bakugou stumbled forward, catching himself with a small explosion and a shout, and turning to face Shinsou with a snarl. “You should work on your stealth, I could hear you from outside,” Shinsou taunted, then, tilting his head, he added, ”Or do you just like the sound of your own voice?”
“I’m going to-”Bakugo responded, stepping forward menacingly, only for his face to suddenly go slack. Shinsou smiled. Too easy.
“Hold your hands out in front of you,”Shinsou ordered, walking over and wrapping him up in capture tape so that he wouldn’t be able to escape. He reached a hand to his comms, “Bakugo is down, how are things on your end?”
“Well,” Uraraka started. “I found the bomb, but I accidentally gave myself away. Iida cleared the room of debris so I can’t even get close.”
Shinsou hummed. “I’m coming to you. I’ll pick up some rocks and stuff for you on the way.”
“That-that’s okay,” Uraraka stammered, sounding a bit disheartened. “You-you could probably take Iida down all by yourself anyway…”
“Yeah, but you wouldn’t get to do much,” Shinsou shrugged, even though she couldn’t see him. “I already showed off with Bakugo, it's your turn.” He added, knowing all too well what it's like to be dismissed based on your quirk. Besides, it was just training. They're here to learn after all.
He turned the corner to see Uraraka in the doorway to the bomb room. He approached her quietly and whispered, “See if you can distract Iida with these long enough for me to slip by and grab the bomb.”
Uraraka nodded, playing along with Iida and hiding Shinsou’s presence as he passed her the chunks of rocks he’d gathered on his way. With Uraraka fully weaponized, she made her way further into the room and mercilessly pelted Iida with rocks. Shinsou waited until she had more or less cornered him, now the two were playing dodge and keep away. Shinsou utilized his stealth training to make his way into the room without being noticed.
After a moment, Iida evaded Uraraka by moving the bomb directly in front of Shinsou. Hiding a smile, he reached out boredly and touched it. “Got it.” Shinsou announced, reveling in Iida’s shocked face when he realized the purple haired teen was right behind him.
“The hero team wins!” All Might announced over the speakers, and Shinsou released Bakugou from his control. Almost immediately they could hear muffled explosions from the lower level.
“H-how?” Iida exclaimed, chopping his arms in indignation. Uraraka just laughed.
“Shinsou!” She exclaimed, hugging him right away. “We did it!!”
Used to Zu’s surprise sneak attack hugs, Hitoshi readily embraced her back, albeit a little awkwardly. Hitoshi allowed himself a small smile in the chaos of Iida chopping his arms wildly, Uraraka laughing and distant explosions. Maybe he could afford to make a few friends after all. At the thought, he couldn’t help but hope Zu could meet them someday too.
Because of all the craziness at school, Shinsou totally forgot to ask Aizawa about Zu. Well, he was half aware that he didn’t go and talk to him. Hitoshi was just nervous. Very nervous.
Hitoshi hoped Aizawa would be able to help Zu, but there was also the fear that everything would go horribly wrong and he would never be able to see Zu again and the boy would end up in a mental hospital all alone. He knew that probably wouldn’t happen, but he was still scared. Plus, one more day wouldn’t hurt, Shinsou reasoned.
Little did he know, Aizawa had scheduled a home visit for a certain teenager's neglectful foster home that very night.
