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Memory was a funny thing sometimes. Izumi didn’t remember anything from before his sixth birthday. Well, that was a lie. He remembered flashes, snippets, voices, screams. But not much more. He remembered red eyes, bright and terrified. But, no matter how hard he tried to remember the face or name attached to those eyes, he couldn’t. When he woke up in the hospital - supposedly six months after being in some kind of accident - he couldn’t remember anything except his name, or what he assumed was his name. The police told him they couldn’t find his name in the system.
The police had put his face in their stations, but he was altered by the accident and they told him it would be hard for anyone to recognize him if he’d changed enough. Izumi couldn’t remember his face before but his face now felt… unknown and unfamiliar to himself.
The doctors told him it was a quirk accident - his own. He had a rare form of electric and healing quirk where he was able to draw on the lifeforce of cells around him and expand it, turning it into a form of energy. They called it Cellular Combustion. Supposedly, there was a huge explosion as a result of his quirk manifesting at the mall. No one died, but a lot of people were injured. Izumi himself had been found under the rubble and carted off in a coma only to wake up six months later with no memory prior to the event.
The doctors asked if his white hair was natural, but he couldn’t remember. He told them it didn’t feel right, so it probably wasn’t. They told him his quirk likely caused it when he sucked the energy and melanin from the cells. He was pale, almost deathly pale, and his eyes looked almost albino from the lack of pigment in his irises. They still had these brilliant flecks of emerald green when he was in the sun, though. Those green sparks felt familiar to him in a way he couldn’t place.
He also had a lot of scars from the explosion. The doctors had had to amputate his left arm as it was crushed but they had found him an amazing prosthetics specialist who worked with heroes and made support gear for disabled civilians. Izumi had little trouble in daily life once he got his new support gear arm, and it was so cool with its green and orange paint patterns. Everyone had asked why he picked the X patterns and the color scheme, but he couldn’t answer them. It just felt right, familiar. It reminded him of those bright ruby eyes that haunted his dreams.
As a result of his injuries, Izumi grew up in the hospital, as a ward of the state, while they tried to find him a suitable home that could take care of his needs. He’d attended school online for the most part and befriended most of the kids on the long-term ward.
Hitoshi was his best friend. The pair were practically inseparable. After a few years, the doctors even moved them into a room together in the ward, which improved both boys’ moods incredibly. Hitoshi was stuck in the hospital because of an illness the doctors couldn’t figure out. They said it was like a form of cancer, affecting his cells, but they had no idea how to treat it. It wasn’t until Izumi and Hitoshi had been moved into the same room that the doctors noticed Hitoshi’s health improved dramatically. After some testing, they believed that Izumi’s quirk was actually healing Hitoshi and keeping him alive. His quirk was supposedly passively healing and energizing the cells around him, which included Hitoshi.
At the very least, it gave the doctors time to figure out Hitoshi’s illness, and it meant Hitoshi was healthy and safe for the time being. The doctors told them that if they did find Izumi a home, Hitoshi would have to be adopted with him - for the boy’s health.
“Izu!” Hitoshi called from down the hall, running on bare feet. The nine year old was carrying a box that threatened to topple him.
“Toshi! You need to be more careful. You’re not supposed to carry that much.” Izumi jogged down the hall and took the box from his friend, giving him a scolding pout for the boy’s antics.
“It’s fine.” He panted, “I had it.”
“No you didn’t, stupid, you’re out of breath. Go sit down. I’ll set everything up!”
“Okay!”
Izumi set the big box down by their small TV and began taking out the console and controllers so they could set up their weekly game day. The hospital had games the kids could borrow on specific days and times. Friday morning, the console came to Hitoshi and Izumi’s room for game day. Despite it being their turn for the games, they always told all the other kids they could stop by and play if they felt up to it. Sometimes Gabby from down the hall came over, sometimes Atsushi from one floor below them came, too. But usually the rest of the kids only came out for the group activities. The ward was full of shy children, unfortunately.
Today, Gabby peeked her head around the corner of their open door, one hand on her IV pole
“Can I play, too?” She asked shyly.
“Of course!” Toshi cried from the bed, still catching his breath.
Izumi waved Gabby in as he finished setting everything up, adding a third controller. Most of the games the hospital kept could have up to four players, so more than one or two kids could play at the same time. He loaded up MarioCart and doled out the controllers to his friends.
“Get ready to get your butts beat!” He called, thrusting one hand into the air.
“As if!” Toshi shoved him gently.
“Not on your life.” Gabby quipped, settling into a concentrated scowl she always got when they played racing games.
The doctors had tried to utilize Izumi’s quirk on other kids, but it never seemed to help them the way it helped Toshi, which made them even more confused about the boy’s illness. When they were thirteen, they finally had a diagnosis. Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. They’d been looking at it all wrong which included Izumi’s quirk. They had believed his quirk was fueling Hitoshi’s cells, when in reality, it was draining some of them - which prevented them from activating and making him sick. It was a disorder that was very rare in the post-quirk world since quirked genetics had pretty much eradicated most medical illnesses since quirks made people hardier and more resilient. Now they really couldn’t remove Izumi from Hitoshi’s life. Since it was such a rare disorder, they didn’t really have a stock of the major treatments for it. Base treatments were easy, antihistamines and the like, but the special stuff wasn’t around anymore and had to be specially produced by pharmaceutical companies.
It would have been incredibly expensive and taken years. So instead, the doctors focused on experimenting with Izumi’s quirk and figuring out a timetable where Hitoshi was safe, but the boys could also be apart.
It was such a painful process for the boys, to be separated for longer and longer periods of time. In the end, Hitoshi couldn’t go more than a few hours without being in Izumi’s presence. So, the doctors proved they had to keep the two as siblings for the time being until another affordable, and readily available, solution could be found.
Izumi didn’t mind one bit. Hitoshi was his brother already. They had decided that years ago. They also secretly practiced with Izumi's quirk despite the doctors warning them against it.
It wasn’t until their last few months in Middle School that the doctors came to tell them they might have found a family that wanted to take them together. Together was always the hard part. Most families who wanted to adopt wanted just one kid. But taking two young teenage boys was a handful, especially ones with health issues and disabilities.
The boys waited for more news, but it took days until they were allowed to even meet their prospective adoptive parents.
“You understand that these boys can’t be separated for more than a few hours at a time or Hitoshi will begin to get symptoms, yes?”
“We do.” A tired voice answered.
Doctor Shibiki nodded, looking down at the two charts on his desk again.
“There are other issues we need to discuss.” He finally pushed Izumi’s chart forward for them to inspect. “Izumi Midori is not this boy’s real name. He’s been here since he was six. His quirk manifested on his birthday. Do you remember that explosion at the mall some years ago?”
“Yeah?” A second voice asked, sounding concerned.
“That was his quirk. We call it Cellular Combustion. His quirk sucks energy from nearby cells and converts it into energy for him to use. He’s never actively used it since - as far as we know. However, his body passively draws energy from cells nearby. It’s harmless to most people. However, he can’t be around terminally ill people for too long or he could hurt them. For Hitoshi, his quirk is actually deactivating the Mast Cells that are trying to activate, thus cutting off the boy’s symptoms.”
“That’s… incredible.”
“Yes, however, that’s not the point I was making. The issue is that we still have no idea who he really is. Because of how long it's been, he can be legally adopted. But, you should know - if someone from before he was six recognizes him, it might start a whole ordeal for you. Legally, they can’t fight the adoption, but he might want to return to them if it triggers a memory resurgence. I can’t tell you not to get attached, they’ll be your children, but you need to be aware it might happen.”
“We understand.” The tired voice said again. Doctor Shibiki watched the two men before him exchange a worried look before they both nodded to him. They were as prepared as he could make them, at least.
“The boy also had to have his left arm amputated as a result of the explosion his quirk caused. He has a prosthetic given to him by a specialist who works in hero support. The kid’s arm is legal medical gear, with the quality of hero gear. You’ll be provided the specialist’s number for maintenance and updates to the device.”
“Thank you, doctor Shibiki.”
“The last note - both of them have dangerous quirks. We have been very picky about who could adopt them as a result. At first, I didn’t even want to entertain your application because I had no idea who you were until I saw your hero licenses. Hitoshi has a quirk called Brainwashing. He can control anyone who responds to his questions, and we’ve already gone over Izumi’s quirk. We will be keeping a careful eye on their lives, and want to see them weekly for the first few months and then monthly from then on out - just to be sure they are safe.”
“You’re worried someone would abuse their quirks.” The doctor eyed the underground hero across from him. The man hadn’t asked a question, he knew what Shibiki was getting at.
“Terribly, yes. These two boys are optimistic, bright, and smart. We’ve struggled to keep them entertained all these years. Both of them are already technically through their high school education academically, but we couldn’t find an online school that would take them into advanced courses on our hospital budget. So, unfortunately, they will have to go through it naturally, but they will be incredibly bored. They had nothing to do besides learn and play here. Ironically, both of them prefer learning.”
“We’re both teachers at UA High School as well, which I’m sure you saw on the application.”
“Mhm.”
“We’ll make sure they are intellectually challenged.”
“Very good then. I’ll endorse your application for adoption. If the boys like you, then we’ll approve the application and you can take them home in a few days once we finalize some tests to ensure they are ready for departure.”
Two days after they’d been told they had a prospective adoption, the boys were told they’d meet the people who wanted to adopt them. Hitoshi was nervous, hiding behind Izumi as they waited in their room. They were both in the window seat they’d made from the large sill. It had pillows and blankets piled high and Hitoshi was cowering in all of them. Well, he was trying. It didn’t work as well for them as teenagers as it did when they were tiny children. Izumi was just as nervous, but he was putting on a brave face for Hitoshi. This was their chance to get out of the hospital, to have a real life, to explore, and learn about the world. Sure, National Geographic on TV was cool, and their online classes meant they were well educated and up to date on the world around them - but that didn’t make up for losing most of their lives on being stuck in a hospital.
The door slid open and Dr. Shibiki, the head of the ward, walked in with two men behind him. They weren’t doctors or nurses, so that must be who wanted to adopt them.
“Izumi, where’s Toshi?” Dr. Shibiki asked. Izumi tilted his head and Hitoshi’s hand lifted up over Izumi’s shoulder, waving awkwardly. “Ah, it’s alright to be a little shy, Toshi. You can stay wrapped up if you want, hmm?”
Toshi gave the doctor a thumbs up but still peeked his fluffy purple head over Izumi’s shoulder. Izumi giggled a little.
“Hi doctor Shibiki. Is this… uhm, is this who wants to adopt us?”
“Yes, let me introduce you. Izumi, Hitoshi - this is Shouta Aizawa and Hizashi Yamada-Aizawa. They’re hoping to become your dads, if you like them.”
“Hey there, little listeners.” The smiling blonde, Hizashi, greeted. The dark haired one, Shouta, hid a smile in the large scarf wrapped around his neck.
Izumi’s eyes went wide as he turned and buried himself under the blankets with Hitoshi for a moment. Toshi yelped as Izumi grabbed his arms. He was trying to keep his voice down, but he wasn’t sure he succeeded.
“Toshi!” He whisper-screamed under the blankets. “That’s Present Mic! And Eraserhead!”
“What?!” He whispered back.
“It is! Ohmygodohmygod, TOSHI!” He squeaked.
“Boys.” Dr. Shibiki called, a chuckle clear in his voice.
Izumi peeked his head out from the covers and hopped off the window nest they’d made. He drug Hitoshi out along with him. Hitoshi looked rather insulted and annoyed to have been disturbed, but he didn’t seem angry with Izumi for doing it.
Shouta crouched down, offering them a sleepy smile. Hizashi was grinning from his place beside his husband, hands tucked in his pockets.
“So, you know who we are, huh? You’ll have to tell me how that happened. No one is supposed to know my civilian identity.” Shouta sounded curious, but also surprised.
“Izu’s a hero fanatic.” Hitoshi rolled his eyes.
“W-wha-I am not a fanatic!” Izumi crossed his arms over his chest, pouting childishly.
The three adults in the room exchanged a look and a few chuckles.
“That’s fine, kid. It’s nice to be someone’s hero.” Shouta once more hid his face in his capture scarf. Izumi blinked, then blushed and looked off into some corner of the room to avoid the teasing of his brother beside him.
“Alright, you two. I can see you’re clearly excited. Do you think this match will work well?”
“Yes!” Both boys answered immediately, then fell into a fit of giggles. Dr. Shibiki shook his head with a smile and dismissed things with a wave.
“Good, then start packing your things. You’ll be sent home with your new parents in a couple days after we’ve finished up a few tests to make sure you are both ready to leave the hospital, okay?”
“Okay!” “Sure.” The boys dashed out of the room to collect anything they needed from the nurse’s station, like boxes for their personal items and a few things that were kept there instead of their room.
“I’ll also be sending you home with some therapy instructions for Izumi. He’ll need to continue his physical therapy, but I doubt that would be an issue for a couple of heroes, hmm?” The two heroes shook their heads. “Good. Hitoshi is also on a whole host of medications, so that will also be sent with him along with prescriptions.”
Three days later, Izumi was staring out the window of a car for the first time he could remember. Things looked so different from outside the hospital. Of course, the hospital had a small courtyard park they were allowed to use during daylight hours, but Hitoshi’s health made it hard. Even with Izumi nearby, irritants like flowers and trees could make his symptoms act up. Since Izumi rarely left Hitoshi’s side, he didn’t often go outside much on his own. Now, they were in the car, holding their hands tightly together as they anticipated their new home.
Hitoshi was wearing a special mask designed to filter out any allergens in the air. It was a gift from Dr. Shibiki, one he’d carefully included in the hospital budget last year for when Hitoshi was finally released. He said it would improve the boy’s quality of life greatly. The only downside was they all knew it reminded Hitoshi of a muzzle. Hitoshi had long since been in counseling during his stay at the hospital for how he was treated as a child. A sick child with a ‘villainous’ quirk made a nasty combination. One where he was easily surrendered to the hospital and left to die by his so-called ‘family’. Dr. Shibiki told them that their new parents were told everything, and that Hitoshi would be required to continue his counseling.
Hitoshi couldn’t stop rubbing at the edge of the mask.
“Toshi, stop. You’re going to irritate your skin.” Izumi warned, taking both of his brother’s hands and hugging them to his chest. Hitoshi whined.
“I know - it just… it reminds me of the muzzle. It’s hard not to want to rip it off.” Hitoshi whispered.
“I know, but this one keeps you safe and healthy, right?
“Well, yeah but-”
“No buts. This is a safe mask. You won’t get sick when you wear it. We need to associate it with positives, like your counselor told us, right?”
“Right.” Hitoshi sighed.
“You okay, boys?” Hizashi leaned into the back seat a bit, smiling at them warmly. Izumi nodded.
“They told you about Hitoshi’s counseling, right?”
“Yeah, and what his… what happened before he came to the hospital.” Shouta’s hands tightened on the steering wheel as he spoke.
“The filter mask Dr. Shibiki gave him - it just… feels like a muzzle. Makes it hard for him to not rub at it, so we’re trying to remember it’s safe and keeps him healthy.”
“Positive association, right?” Hizashi asked. Izumi nodded. “Good. It does help, it just takes time to form the habit. We can talk more about this later, Toshi, okay? Err, is it okay if I call you Toshi?” The purple haired boy nodded. “Awesome! Call me Zashi, okay? I’m here if you ever need a shoulder. I was in the foster care system as a kid.” His voice got a bit mellow and somber, “They muzzled me, too. So I get it, ya know? If you ever need to talk it out or just want someone who understands, I’m here.”
Izumi’s eyes went wide. He didn’t know that. But, that would explain the scars he sometimes saw on the voice hero’s face. Izumi assumed he covered the old battle scars with makeup since he was a well known figure, but maybe they weren’t battle scars after all.
“Thanks… Zashi.” Hitoshi mumbled, leaning his head on Izumi’s shoulder. Izumi rested his head on top of Toshi’s and sighed happily.
Their new home was a simple two story, three bedroom, with a bit of open space for a yard. It was unassuming and Izumi liked that. Being the children of heroes could likely become annoying if they stood out too much. Toshi grabbed their bags as Izumi went galloping towards the house, genuinely excited to see what the place was like on the inside.
“You boys shared a room at the hospital, right?” Shouta asked, putting the key in the door as Izumi bounced beside him.
“Mhm! We’ve shared a room since we were nine years old.” Toshi walked up and handed Izumi his bag from the back of the car, which he took with his good hand. Even if he had a really cool prosthetic that made life easier, it still relied on the support of his real shoulder. He was still young, and they were working on strength training so his arm could support him better in life.
“It wasn’t long after that the doctors noticed Izu was healing me.” Toshi added, following the parade of bodies into the house and taking off his mask once the door was closed.
The house wasn’t overly furnished. It was modern, and spacious, with little hints of personalities around the room. They entered into the living room, off to the right side was a kitchen and dining room, then beyond that was the little fenced in side yard. Straight across from the door was a staircase that likely led up to the bedrooms. There was a small door down the hall past the stairs, likely a bathroom and then another door, maybe an office or closet? Izumi would have to do some searching later.
“Well, we hope you’re okay with sharing a room again. When we realized we were adopting two kids, we decided we should likely move to a bigger place, but that might take a little while. So for now, we have you set up in one room. Though, we could turn the office into a third bedroom if you don’t want to share.” Zashi offered, taking his shoes off as he spoke.
Everyone followed suit, setting their bags by the door and exploring on socked feet through the first floor a little.
“I don’t want my own room.” Izumi spoke up first, knowing Toshi would be too shy to say anything. He’d go with whatever the adults decided, and cry later if it upset him. The purple haired teen grinned at his brother, thankful for him speaking up.
“Same.” Toshi said, in his usual bored and tired manner.
“Alright, little listeners, no problem. We have two beds set up in your room, if you want to rearrange them, let us know, okay? Why don’t you head up and Shou and I will make some dinner and we can discuss how things are going to go from here on out? Your room is the second on the right upstairs. Bathroom is the one before that.”
“Okay!” Izumi chirped, answering for them both as he grabbed Toshi’s arm and yanked him upstairs. Toshi yelped, but followed after his brother.
Once upstairs in their room, Izu threw himself on one of the beds, the one closest to the window, and sighed. Toshi came over and slowly lay down next to him. They both stared up at the ceiling for a while before either of them dared break the silence.
“We’re home, Izu.” Toshi whispered. “We have a home.”
Izumi rolled to the side, smiling at Toshi who rolled over as well. They tapped their foreheads together and clutched their hands in a knot between them.
This was a hope of theirs for so long. To have a real home. Obviously, they’d be released from the hospital at eighteen if they were well enough, but that wasn’t really ideal. They’d have nothing then, no money, no home, no family. Izumi knew he likely still had family out there somewhere, blood relatives. But that didn’t matter to him now. He had Toshi all these years, and now he had two amazing hero dads!
“Hey ‘Zu?” Toshi asked.
“Hmm?” He asked, opening his eyes.
“Do you think they’ll want us to become heroes like them?”
“Is that what you want to do, Toshi? We haven’t really… talked a lot about the future since..” Because neither of them thought they really had a future outside of the hospital. Toshi lived in regular fear that one of his bad episodes might lead to his death. It could, easily, but they tried hard not to think about it. Izumi had always loved heroes, but ever since he woke up in the hospital, he didn’t have any desire to become one. He thought maybe at one point he wanted to, it felt like something he’d have wanted as a child with how much he adored heroes. But now, he wanted to find a cure to Toshi’s health problems. He wanted to help people, and yes, be a hero - the kind of hero who saved average people in everyday hospitals. The kind of hero that held someone’s hand when they were in pain, and found solutions to their health issues. Izumi wanted to be a doctor who saved lives in the most ordinary ways.
“I don’t know. When we were kids I wanted to be an underground hero like Eraserhead. But I don’t think that’s what I want anymore.”
“That’s fine, Toshi. I don’t want to be a pro-hero either. I want to be a doctor. Like Dr. Shibiki!”
“Really?” Toshi tilted his head, propped up on one elbow. Izumi followed him, nodding.
“Yeah. I want to cure you with science, and my quirk!”
Toshi’s eyes went wide, his lips parting in a silent gasp. Izumi laughed, reaching over to close the boy’s jaw.
“Well, what do you wanna do if you’re not gonna be a Hero?”
“Uhm.” Toshi shook his head to clear the shock. “I want to open a café, a cat café with a bakery attached. I thought maybe after high school I could go to culinary school and become a pastry chef.”
“That’s awesome, Toshi! You know I support you no matter what.”
“Thanks, Izu.”
“Boys!” Shouta called up the stairs. “Dinner!”
Toshi and Izumi shared a quick hug and stormed downstairs like only teenage boys can.
The kitchen smelled amazing. Hizashi was behind the counter, dishing up something Izumi vaguely recognized. It smelled like pork, maybe. Shouta motioned them to sit at the table while he gathered up the plates and chopsticks for everyone and set the table. Once all four of them were tucked into their food, Izumi broke the comfortable silence.
“What is this? It’s… familiar in a weird way.. But I can’t remember what it’s called.”
“Katsudon.” Hizashi answered.
“Izu, dear, do you want Katsudon for dinner? It’s always been your favorite!”
Izumi’s chopsticks clattered to the table, a few stray tears falling down his cheeks without warning. Why was he upset? Whose voice was that? Was katsudon his favorite meal and how did she know that? The answer was simple, and Izumi didn’t really need to think hard.
“Oh.” He gasped softly.
“Izumi?” Shouta asked, setting his own utensils down to look across the table with a worried expression.
“Izu?” Toshi asked at the same time. Hizashi just looked concerned.
“I… I’m sorry, I just…when you said that, I heard someone’s voice asking me if I wanted Katsudon for dinner. She said it was my favorite. I.. think it was my mother. But.. I can’t remember anything but her voice.”
“Did she use your name?!” Toshi was practically jumping out of his chair.
“No, just Izu.” Toshi sighed, slightly disappointed.
“What’s upsetting about her using a nickname?” Shouta asked.
Izumi was staring at the table, so Toshi took the initiative to answer for him.
“Well, Izumi Midori is the only name he can remember, but the police told him when woke up after the accident that no such person exists. The doctors said that his injuries likely scrambled his memories a lot. So we’ve never known his real given name. We’ve always hoped he’d remember it, or maybe he’d hear the right name. Once when we were seven, we went online with a nurse’s help and went through a list of a thousand names, but none of them sounded right.”
“Wow, you really tried, huh?” Zashi asked, setting down his own chopsticks and reaching across the table to give Izumi’s hand a gentle squeeze.
“We did, yeah.” Izu offered, weakly smiling.
“Hey, kid, look at me.” Izumi looked up at Shouta as requested. “It’s okay. Even if you never know your birth name, you will always be you. A name doesn’t define you, remember that. Who you choose to become, and how you interact with the world - that’s more important. You can pick any name you want, just be the best you that you can be, okay?”
Slowly, his mood lightened. Izumi nodded to Shouta in thanks and returned to his meal.
The next week went by in a whirlwind rush of activity. Toshi and Izumi had spent it settling into their new room and decorating it to their heart’s desire - on their new parents’ dime. They’d of course been given a budget, and respected it, but they went a little wild in their choices. Toshi’s side was covered in purple pillows and blankets and cats everywhere. Izumi’s side was loaded with hero merch of all kinds. There were even Present Mic and Eraserhead items, much to Shouta’s dismay. The brothers had crushed their beds together in the center of the room, with their desks on the back wall by the head of their beds. That left the other end of the room pretty open, which was great because they made a gaming nest there by the TV in the corner.
“Where do you boys want to go for high school? I feel like we should have asked sooner, with the deadlines for applications only a week away. But it kind of slipped our minds with how much we’ve been doing to get you both settled in.”
“Oh.” Toshi looked up from the book he was reading on his bed, finding Shouta and Zashi in the doorway. Shouta was leaning on the door frame and Zashi had his hands in his pockets as usual.
Izumi looked up from their nest on the ground. He was also reading, though it was a manga instead of a novel like Toshi was reading.
“Uhm, well, we weren’t sure. We just decided what we want to do when we graduate.”
“What did you two decide on? And don’t freak out thinking you have to be heroes like us, you can do whatever you want.” Zashi was always the one to remind them of their freedom now that they weren’t in the hospital, and it helped ground them most days. Toshi and Izumi smiled at each other and Izumi jumped up onto the bed in excitement.
“I’m going to go to college to be a doctor, and Toshi is going to open a café and bakery!” Toshi shoved Izu back off the bed playfully, which landed him right back in the gaming nest on the floor, they both laughed.
“Cat café, Izu, get it right.” He grumbled. Izumi just smirked and pulled himself out of the tangle of blankets again.
“That’s awesome, boys. I do have a suggestion for that. Why don’t you both apply to UA? Toshi, you could apply to the business course. While it’s primarily for heroics business, the courses can be applied to any business industry. There’s also culinary electives, too. Izumi, if you applied to the general education course, you’d also have a great high school under your belt to have access to any college in the country if your grades are good. Plus - you’d also both qualify for free medical and support gear as students, which is only like… 40% of why I want to have you apply. I want you both to have everything you need easily available to you.” Shouta was only being half honest. Izumu could tell. He wanted his kids close. He was the protective one in the family, so it made sense he’d want his newly adopted kids to be close by during school hours.
Izumi and Toshi shared a look with Hizashi, who hid a smirk from his husband. Izumi pushed to his feet and straightened the nest as he spoke.
“I agree, it’d be a great school for us both. We’d also be close to our dads, too.”
Both their adopted parents crumbled (in a good way) every time they were called ‘dad’. It was adorable to see them so happy and Izumi used the term as often as he could.
“But we can’t pass the entrance exams.” Toshi said, a bit dejectedly.
“What do you mean? You’re both brilliant, Toshi.” Zashi rushed to his purple son’s side to console him.
“The physical exams, Pops.” Izumi clarified. “Toshi’s quirk isn’t physical, and I would be medically disqualified. Neither of us would pass.”
“Oh, no, boys, you wouldn’t need to take a physical. Only Hero Course students have to take the physical exam.”
Both boys perked up at that, excited they could likely get into an amazing school without having to be humiliated at a physical exam. Except. That made Izumi realize something else.
“But wait. If we end up in separate courses, then Toshi might get sick.”
“What?” Shouta finally breached the doorframe, coming into the room.
“Didn't they talk to you about that? Toshi can only go without me for like three hours before his symptoms start up. It’s why I ended up staying in the hospital as long as I did. I’m the only thing that’s keeping him as healthy as he is. It’s still iffy when we’re outside but if he’s more than like fifty feet from me for a few hours, he’ll get sick again.”
Shouta frowned, clearly remembering a conversation he’d had back at the hospital.
“The doctor did mention that, Shou. We’ve been going over them so much lately, I’m sure we just got nose blind. But that’s okay, when you’re accepted, Nedzu can arrange your schedules so you can be with each other or meet up at least three times a day, I’m sure. It’s medically necessary.”
Sure enough, they were both accepted. Hitoshi was in the business course and Izumi in general education. Thanks to their dads being teachers, they got to explore the campus early, before any students were there, and learn the layout so they knew how to find each other. Nedzu had also arranged their schedules so they had their general courses together like math and science, as well as lunch and study hall together. All in all, the longest they were apart all day was about two and a half hours. It wasn’t a super big buffer, but it was enough for them to feel comfortable.
They met the teachers ahead of time, to explain their rather unique medical situation and they also met with the support department per Shouta’s request. The support department was immediately working on an upgrade for Toshi’s filtering mask and a couple upgrades on Izumi’s left arm that would help him with strength training and mobility as well as make the fingers slightly more dexterous.
By the time summer vacation was over, both boys had their new support gear and were ready to attend their new high school together. The idea of being apart for even a couple hours was terrifying. They hadn’t been more than fifty feet from each other in over five years, and they’d been best friends for seven. So, when the first day of school arrived, they were both nervous wrecks.
“Hey, it’s okay to be nervous on your first day, Problem Children.” Shouta tried to assure them as they all walked through the teacher’s parking lot towards the school.
“Yeah, but dad, what if Toshi has an episode?”
“We have all his medicines, and emergency care supplies. If anything goes wrong, we also have Recovery Girl on campus, too.”
“But we should prevent anything from happening, like - what if… what if.. I mean maybe I should just swap to the business course with Toshi.”
Shouta stopped walking with a sigh. This was an argument they’d had multiple times over the last week and a half. Izumi was terrified of Toshi getting hurt or sick. Toshi was scared to be without Izumi. Shouta and Hizashi were likely getting tired of how clingy these boys had become. Though, it wasn’t really their fault. They were best friends, after all. But, their situation made it hard to prevent that reliance on each other.
“Hey, listen to me, it’s going to be okay. You can’t stop reaching for your dreams just to maybe prevent something from possibly happening. You have to live a little. I know it’s scary, but we have made all the necessary preparations and you’re only going to be apart for like two and a half hours each day, max. Okay? You both have our numbers on speed dial if anything comes up.”
“Okay.” Izumi mumbled. Toshi had been incredibly silent the whole ride over and even now as they were mere feet from the building, he didn’t speak. It wasn’t uncommon for him to shut down when he was nervous, so no one tried to force him to speak. He did nod though, to show he was listening and agreed.
When they got inside, the group split in two - Hizashi and Shouta to the teacher’s lounge, with Izumi and Hitoshi heading towards their classes. They were early, but they had to be since their dads had to get here early. As they got to a staircase, they hugged tightly and Izu watched Toshi head three floors up to where his classes were on the middle floors of the building. Izumi’s were down on the ground level. Hero courses were up on the fifth floor, the top. Izumi vowed never to go up there for any reason.
Of course their longest break from each other had to be at the beginning of the day, so Izumi was bouncing his knee the whole way through his first classes, desperate to get to their lunch period.
Of course the teacher had to stop him on his way out and ask a few questions about his new support gear arm.
Of course a couple students had to stop him in the halls and again ask about his arm and if he was in the hero course. No, he wasn’t, and he didn’t have time for this - is what he told them. By the time Izumi was approaching the lunch room where he should find Toshi, their timer had run up to two hours and fifty minutes. Izumi was panicking.
Of COURSE, that’s when he had to catch a whiff of what smelled like burnt sugar and caramel in the halls. The smell was SO familiar, it brought his mind to a snap image of those bright ruby eyes. He turned abruptly, another teen running smack into him.
“Watch where you’re going extr-... De-... Izuku?” Deep crimson eyes stared down at him. Eyes so familiar, Izumi would know them anywhere. These were the eyes that haunted his dreams. The eyes that had no face and no name. But now they did, they had a face. It was a scowling sharp angled thing with ash blonde hair atop his head. “You’re… you’re alive?” The boy gasped.
Whomever was with him had stopped a few feet ahead, calling back if he was coming. He waved them off and stared down at Izumi with such awe and confusion it made the smaller teen dizzy.
“I… that name is… so familiar.” He mumbled.
“You… you’re… Izuku?” He asked again.
Izumi’s head was spinning. He needed to get to Toshi. He needed to remember. There was too much happening. His brain felt stuff and clogged with cotton. So many memories of this boy were flooding his brain it was like a circuit overload. An instant migraine screamed behind his eyes.
“Hey, what’s wrong, Deku?”
Everything snapped into place all at once, his mind instantly cleared at the sound of that nickname. The headache vanished and without even realizing it, he just… he remembered. Everything. His mind wasn’t a perpetual grind for information. It was clear. He was Izuku Midoriya. No, He was Izumi Aizawa, but also Izuku Midoriya as well. This was Katsuki Bakugo, his best friend.
“Kacchan… is that… really you?” He lifted his good hand to the blonde’s cheek, a few stray tears falling down his own.
“Yeah, crybaby, it’s me. Where the hell have you been? They pronounced you dead years ago. I can’t believe it…I.. I found you.” He dove in for a hug and Izumi-Izuku didn’t hesitate to hug back. “Deku… you’re really alive, I can’t believe it.”
Izuku was fully prepared to cry and hug his friend all day as memories flooded his mind, when he heard someone call for a teacher in the cafeteria behind him. Toshi. Izuku shoved himself away.
“Toshi!” He screamed, ignoring Katsuki’s calls behind him as they both ran into the cafeteria. He found his brother at a table, struggling to breathe. “No no no, I’m so sorry Toshi. I didn’t mean to take so long.”
“What’s going on, Izuku?” Katsuki asked from behind him. Izuku ignored him for now. Toshi was giving him a weird, yet terrified look. Izuku also ignored that.
He quickly took his backpack off and also grabbed Toshi's. First thing first, a medicated inhaler. He held it for Toshi to puff, then strapped his filtering mask on and wrapped the boy up in his arms. He rarely activated his quirk, but he’d been training with Toshi for years in secret. Anytime he had an episode, he could quickly shut it down by carefully drawing energy from the boy’s cells. He’d almost messed up a few times when they were kids, but Izuku had figured it out. As it activated now, Hitoshi was instantly breathing easier.
“Shhh, I got you, Toshi.” The boy was breathing easier already, clutching the mask to his face. Izuku tugged out his phone and tossed it to Katsuki. The blonde caught it, barely, still giving him a confused look. “Call speed dial 1, it’s our dad.”
“Your dad?!” Katsuki shouted.
“Katsuki Bakugo, I do not have time to explain why the world thought I was dead for the last eight years. Just do what I say. Please.”
That shut the blonde up, and he dialed, explaining to Shouta that a purple haired kid was having some kind of panic attack and Izuku told him to call. Of course that likely made Shouta even more confused, but Katsuki said he was on his way with Zashi. It didn’t take more than two minutes of Izuku silently rocking his brother in his arms. Toshi was concentrating on his breathing, the whole time, using Izuku’s heartbeat to pace himself.
“Izu! Toshi!” Shouta called from the entrance of the cafeteria. There were still kids lulling about and a few teachers had started to make their way over as well, wondering what the commotion was about. Katsuki was staring at Izuku with a furrowed brow, quietly asking what the hell was going on, Izuku could read it on his face so easily.
“Here dad!” He called back, waving his metal arm. That’s when Katsuki noticed the prosthetic and went wide eyed. He was about to make a remark, but Izuku shot him a glare.
“Talk to me, Izu - what happened? I have his meds.”
“It’s okay, dad. I got him. I gave him his inhaler and activated my quirk.”
“What? The doctors said you had no quirk training.”
“I’ll explain later. He’ll be okay, he just needs air, can you please make everyone leave?”
Toshi nodded, agreeing with Izuku while also pointedly not speaking yet.
Zashi had been right beside them, worrying and rubbing circles on Toshi’s back. He stood up and used just a tiny bit of his quirk to get everyone to move on and out of the cafeteria. Katsuki didn’t leave.
“Bakugo, go back to class, this doesn't concern you.” Shouta urged.
“The hell it doesn’t. Why the fuck is Izuku calling you dad? What the hell is going on?”
Everyone stopped. The five of them were the only ones left in the cafeteria but still, everything froze.
“I remember.” Izuku offered shyly. “Everyone kept stopping me in the halls to ask about my arm when I was trying to get to lunch, then I ran into Kacchan and when I saw his eyes… it all came flooding back into my head. I couldn’t think straight, I had a migraine. Then he… he called me by my nickname and I just… everything righted itself. I know who I was… or who I am. It doesn’t matter. I was late, and this is my fault. I’m so sorry, Toshi.” He hugged his brother tighter.
“Not… your fault, Izu.” Hitoshi mumbled, his voice gravely and hoarse. “You… remember?”
“Mhm, everything. Kacchan was my best friend when we were little kids. We grew up together. His mom and my-... my mom… were best friends… Kacchan, what happened to mom?”
The blonde’s face fell, his eyes refusing to look up from the tile floor off to his right. Ah, so that was it then, she’d died in the accident, too. Izuku sighed, closing his eyes as he pressed his face into Toshi’s hair.
“She fought, you know?” Izuku tilted his head a little to look at Kacchan. “She fought so hard, but…her injuries were… awful. When the searches ended and they couldn't find you, it broke her. She died a few days after the accident. I’m… sorry, Izuku. I… I wish I had known you were alive. I.. I tried, I tried to convince them you were still there, under that rubble but they said they’d searched everything. That the dogs found no other scents. What happened to you?”
He gestured vaguely. The world dropped away. It was just Izuku and Katsuki staring at each other, trying to place all the right pieces to a puzzle only they could see.
“I don’t know… during the accident. I don’t really remember that part. I remember your eyes, I’ve always remembered your eyes. So panicked and fearful. Then an explosion. It was my quirk - the doctors told me. My manifestation is what caused the explosion. I woke up six months after the accident, I’d been in a coma. When I woke up, I could only remember my name as Izumi Midori. But that person didn’t exist, so I became a ward of the state when no one claimed the posters that were in the police stations. But it’s not hard to guess you wouldn’t have realized it was me. And… if mom was dead, there was even less of a chance I’d be noticed.”
“God, you damn shitty nerd, the old hag is going to throw a fit when she realizes she fucked up so bad.”
“What do you mean?”
“She went to the police station every day for weeks after the accident. I’m sure she saw your face up on those boards and never realized it was you. White hair and scars, she’s going to have a fit.”
Izuku laughed a little. Toshi grunted in his arms. Oh right, they were still here in the cafeteria. “Sorry, Toshi. You feeling better?” He nodded and took off his filtering mask so he could clear his throat.
“Yeah. Thanks. Also, I don’t blame you. Getting your memories back is kind of a big thing.”
“Not bigger than keeping my damn brother alive, stupid!” Izuku knocked his knuckles against Toshi’s head.
“Alright, boys.” Shouta warned. He'd been taking careful count of Toshi’s vitals the whole time, in case he needed to give his son any more medications. “Behave, my problem children.” Toshi and Izuku rolled their eyes at each other.
“You feeling okay, Toshi?” Zashi leaned down, brushing some of his sweaty purple hair from his face.
“Yea, pops. I’m okay now.”
“Good, never scare me like that again.” Zashi kissed his forehead, then gave Izuku one as well. “I need to go handle Nedzu and the worried staff. Shou - can you handle these three?”
“Mhm, go on. I’ll get them to Recovery Girl. They both need check ups.”
“Wait, why do I need one?” Izuku was so done with doctors!
“You just got all your memories crammed back in your head and then immediately ran into a stressful situation where your brother wasn’t breathing. If you think you’re going anywhere but the infirmary, your ass is grounded for a month.”
Izuku groaned, head flopping back dramatically.
“Wait.” Katsuki seemed to finally be struck with the reality of the situation. “My homeroom teacher… is your dad? And .. Present Mic is also your dad? Does that mean… they’re married?!”
Shouta groaned even louder than Izuku had a moment ago. Toshi was cracking a grin and Izuku had to stifle a laugh with his hands.
“You breathe one word of this - one word, Bakugo - to anyone, and you’re expelled. I’ve kicked kids out for far less.” He even flared up his quirk for dramatic effect and that seemed to work well enough.
“Understood, Sensei.”
“Good, back to class. If any of the other brats ask - one of the students had a panic attack.” Katsuki started to scurry off but Shouta stopped him, “Oh and Bakugo?”
“Yes, Sensei?”
“Welcome to the family, I guess.” The blonde’s face paled at the idea of his homeroom teacher being his best friend’s dad, and then proceeded to rush out of the cafeteria.
Shouta laughed openly, and took Toshi from Izuku’s arms so he could carry the boy to the infirmary, leaving Izuku to cling to his side while they walked.
“So, what’s your name then, kid?” Izuku smiled up at his dad.
“Izuku. Izuku Aizawa. But you know… someone important told me that names don’t really matter, they don’t define you. It’s who I am and what I put into the world that matters.”
Toshi reached a hand down and squeezed Izuku’s as they walked. Shouta’s grin wasn’t once hidden by his capture scarf as they walked down the hall.
“Is that so? Well, they must be pretty important for you to take that to heart.”
“Yeah, dad, you are.”