Izuku wakes up disoriented and covered in blankets. Wait, when did that happen? He squints and all of last night floods back. He tried to run away and Aizawa-san found him and brought him back.
They know why he ran away from the Watanabes and they promised to help him. Aizawa-san didn't hurt him! Izuku was terrified that he would, he had looked for him in the cold and the rain. Izuku was a bother and an inconvenience just like everyone said, but Aizawa-san didn't hit or yell at him for it, he just waited for him to calm down and gently asked him why. People don't ask Izuku why, they just get angry.
Aizawa-san even said he could stay! That they weren't going to get rid of him! That they were worried about him! Izuku has had pity before, from the rare old ladies who would coo at the poor little quirkless child. No one has ever been actually worried or concerned about him though. It's a new feeling, Izuku thinks he might like it. Their eyes were so warm and they gave him hugs, even though he was a burden and made them look for him. The kindness didn't leave their eyes.
Yamada-san didn't hurt him either. Izuku was scared to face him after his shower. Aizawa-san may have said they weren't mad but people will say all sorts of things to get what they want. But he really wasn't mad. They didn't lie to him.
They really didn't lie to him!
Izuku is drawn from his scattered thoughts by a sudden sneeze. He feels congested and miserable now that he isn't focusing on the events of last night. His head hurts and his throat is sore. He's distracted from his self evaluation by a sudden weight on his chest. Tuna, who had previously been curled up on the end of his bed, moves to his chest. She stares at him intently as he sniffles, his eyes nearly crossed by how close she is. She rubs his chin with her head and hops off the bed and out of the room.
It's a little weird but Izuku has never claimed to understand cats. He slumps back down and tries to fall back asleep.
-
By late morning Hizashi is considering checking on Izuku. They'd had a long night but he wants to make sure he's ok. He was out in the cold rain for a long time, he definitely got chilled. Hizashi's decision is made for him when Tuna starts meowing at him. She spent the whole night ever since Izu came back in his room and Hizashi is fairly certain she's not going to let him out of her sight again if she can help it.
He dutifully follows her and as expected she leads him straight back to Izuku's room. He knocks to let him know he's there and pushes the cracked door open and walks in. Izu's awake and he looks miserable.
His face is all flushed and his sniffles sound congested. His eyes are clouded with discomfort.
"Hi there, not feeling good Little One?" He puts his hand to his forehead and frowns at the heat he finds. Izuku just shakes his head weakly. "Alright, why don't I track down some water for you and we'll see about some medicine. Sound good?"
"ok, th-thanks Yamada-san."
It's a weak response but Hizashi beams anyway.
-
After providing Izu with plenty of tissues and water and a very low dose of cold medication Hizashi texts Shouta to let him know what's up. His husband had left not long ago for a meeting with Tsukauchi on how best to proceed with what they know. He then sends an email to Shuuzenji, if he calls he knows he'll sound all frantic and disrupt her working hours. Not to mention she has a tendency to complain within earshot of other staff members occasionally. They're still hoping to avoid a surprise Nemuri appearance and if she hears anything about a child she'll have no qualms taking a surprise half day.
He gets a response from both of them rather quickly, Shouta sending a simple acknowledgement, Shuuzenji sending a longer message. She gives him the rundown on medications and what signs to look for that might indicate a need for further medical intervention but reassures him that by no means does this seem to be anything worse than a cold. Izuku's going to be fine, he just needs to stay hydrated and rest.
Something in Hizashi calms a little with the reassurance. Izu will be miserable for a while but it shouldn't spiral into anything concerning even with his likely weaker immune system.
He heads back to see how Izu's doing and finds him propped up in bed with his green blanket draped around his shoulders staring blankly at nothing.
"Hey Izu, can't get back to sleep?"
He gets a miserable head shake in response.
"Wanna come stay on the couch for awhile, we can set you up with a movie marathon to distract you. I'll make some Okayu for you and we'll get some more medicine and water."
"ok,"
Izuku does his best to struggle out of bed but Hizashi isn't having it. Instead he scoops him up blankets and all and carries him over to the living room couch, it earns him an adorable squeak that has him grinning. Another trip gets his water and tissues placed on the coffee table.
Tuna joins him as soon as he's settled and has his blankets all arranged, curling up next to him. Hizashi hands him the remote and gives him free reign to pick something before heading back to the kitchen.
After a few minutes of cooking, Hizashi has a nice bowl of Okayu all ready and delivers it to the couch. Izu doesn't look excited, scrunching up his nose a little at the offering but dutifully does his best to eat some. He's got a nature documentary picked out, something about jellyfish by the looks of it.
Once he's done eating Hizashi takes his bowl and sits next to him on the couch, Izu seems surprised but eventually finds himself leaning into his side. Hizashi, quietly ecstatic at the show of trust, wraps an arm around his shoulder and gently plays with his hair. He has a sleeping child in his arms not long after.
-
Shouta is a little concerned after getting word that Izuku is sick from Hizashi but ultimately he's more useful here. Hizashi is perfectly capable of handling a sick kid. He'd emailed Tsukauchi soon after they got home and got a response at a reasonable hour that morning.
Tsukauchi looks exhausted as usual but he sends Shouta a tired smile as he waves him into his office.
"Good morning, want some coffee? I'm pretty sure there's still some left." He squints over at the coffee machine from his office window, trying to assess its state from a distance.
"I'm fine, thanks Tsukauchi. I'm here about what we discussed recently."
"Oh, the kid Mic found? Anything you can tell me?"
"Yes, he ran away last night." Shouta didn't have to phrase it like that but he enjoys messing with the detective.
"That's too bad, if you give me a description I can put out an alert. I know Mic said he's scared of law enforcement but..."
"I appreciate it but that won't be necessary, I managed to track him down before he got too far. He's at home with Hizashi right now, he's a little under the weather."
Tsukauchi glares a little at his lie by omission before sighing. "That's good, so why are you here then?"
"I asked him why he ran away and he told me," Shouta shrugs. "What all have you heard?"
"Suspected quirk discrimination, systemic neglect, definite abuse by some parties. Mic didn't say much but I got the sense it isn't pretty. I must say I'm a little honored you trust me enough to take it."
"That's most of it, but I asked him what made him run last night and unfortunately, it's looking more complicated than that." Tsukauchi tilts his head in interest. "He ran because we knew his name and he was terrified we'd reported finding him. He's on the run from someone in the underground, someone powerful, apparently with eyes and ears in many places."
"That... certainly makes things more complicated. We'll need to be extra careful if that's the case. I can do an interview at your place once he's feeling better to avoid anyone here seeing him and I can definitely get his witness protection file some higher clearance. Since he's still listed anonymously you can change his name easily and we can keep his actual identity out of things for the most part. I'll need to know but I think we can manage to stick to just me for now, foster care won't try to get involved for a while yet with how wrapped up I'm going to make it. I will need a name though."
"Midoriya Izuku, his last placement was in Kamino."
"Ok, I'll look into it. Let me know when he's feeling better so we can set up a time."
"Will do, thanks Tsukauchi." Shouta leaves the station feeling better, they've secured a powerful ally in the police force and he's agreed to help not only with the investigation but also with keeping Izuku safe.
-
Izuku wakes up warm, he's still slumped into Yamada-san's side. It's really nice, having someone care for him. Yamada-san could have left him alone on the couch with the remote to recover but he didn't. It touches some long forgotten part of him that wants to be cared for, to be protected.
He's still groggy and very out of it so he just readjusts his position and winds his arms around his companion's torso and curls up. It's a little uncomfortable but Izuku loves the affection. He's completely unaware of the soft smile the action gets him or the picture that's discreetly snapped and sent off by a smug husband to his partner. All he knows is that someone is staying with him and he never wants them to leave.
-
Hizashi is not going to move, Izu is hugging him and he's never moving again. This couch is his home for the foreseeable future. He could scream with joy if it wouldn't risk waking Izu up. As unhappy as he is at how sick and miserable the little listener is, he can't deny how wonderful it is to be trusted as much as he is. Izuku is much more vulnerable than usual like this but he's seeking comfort from Hizashi anyway. He hasn't flinched or moved away once! Progress!
He won't deny showing off a little to Shouta, he can't wait to tell Nemuri and their other friends. He's not sure when he'll be able to but he's looking forward to it. Seeing that the last one is over he switches to a new documentary on whales and settles in, resuming his gentle playing with Izu's hair.
-
Shouta stops by UA on the way home to retrieve some essays. Classes are in session so he doesn't need to worry about Nemuri interrogating him on their absence. A quick trip to his office and Hizashi's and he has plenty of work for both of them. It wouldn't do to completely fall behind on marking while they get Izu settled in.
On the way back home he gets a call from Tsukauchi.
Odd, Shouta wasn't expecting him to get back to him so soon.
"Eraser, I have some news."
"Go ahead."
"You were right about needing to be careful with this one. I looked into Midoriya's last foster parents, Ren and Tsumugi Watanabe. Here's the thing, they're gone... No trace of 'em, they were reported missing mid-May by a friend. Local police hardly looked into it, said they moved out of the country on short notice for a job and didn't notify all their contacts. There's some overlap with the officers who handled Midoriya's missing case too. Making an individual foster kid disappear isn't all that hard, most departments don't put much effort into finding them and if the foster parents and case worker don't care either it's easy. Two adults, especially relatively well-connected ones like the Watanabes are much harder to get rid of without a fuss."
Shouta listens as Tsukauchi sighs and a rustling sound like he's running a hand through his hair comes through the speaker. "This is big Eraser, I don't know how big yet but we're looking at a large operation... honestly it's a miracle Midoriya's evaded them for so long. The fact he made it so far from Kamino probably helped a lot. I'm going to need his statement but... we're looking at a lot of corruption just in Kamino and I have no idea how local this outfit is to the area."
Shouta distantly hears himself manage to end the call. It's not that he didn't believe Izuku when he told him about the people working for the organization after him but... lowlifes like the Watanabes, inexperienced with organized crime and in over their heads tend to tell tales. It sounded to him like Ren Watanabe was trying to convince his wife to go thru with their plot, it's not hard to imagine that he played up the strength of this group and downplayed the risks of being caught. Unfortunately, quirk trafficking and experimentation isn't as rare as it should be. There are small, poorly organized outfits as well as large, near impossible to destroy ones. From Watanabe's biased account alone, it's hard to determine which kind they're dealing with.
it turns out Ren Watanabe wasn't exaggerating and well, with a useful and versatile quirk like shock absorption, Shouta wouldn't be surprised if tying up loose ends came with the added bonus of another test subject. The Watanabes were in over their heads and they paid dearly for it.
Shouta can't say he feels any sympathy for them, the only regret he has is that any organization this good at covering up their crimes is going to be that much harder to put down. He might need to get Nedzu in on this. He'll have to ask Izuku about it.
He smiles at the picture Hizashi sent him. Izu curled up on the couch covered in blankets with his head resting on Hizashi's lap and his arms around his waist. It looks a little awkward but Hizashi is beaming and Izu looks content, if a little flushed. He saves it and makes it the rest of the way home.
-
Izuku wakes up stiff, sore and still feeling awful but Yamada-san is still with him, still absently playing with his hair. It's wonderful. He needs to get up and use the bathroom but he doesn't want this moment to end.
"Hey Izu, you awake?"
He nods and moves off his lap.
"T-thank you for st-staying with me."
"Of course, Little Listener. I would hate to leave you all alone when you're feeling sick."
Izuku just nods again, once he's feeling steady on his feet he heads to the bathroom and comes back to a new glass of water and pills laid out on the coffee table. He can't help but feel a little disappointed that Yamada-san isn't there anymore, he tries not to let it bother him and focuses on taking the pills. He wasted enough of his time on Izuku already.
His disappointment doesn't last long though as a few minutes later he's surprised to find Yamada-san returning with two bowls of food.
"I made myself some lunch, I don't know how your appetite is so I just warmed up the rest of the Okayu. You should try to eat some more if you can."
Izuku takes it and is surprised by how hungry he turns out to be. He almost finishes the bowl. Yamada-san eats with him on the couch and comes right back after putting the dishes away.
It's so strange to have someone take care of him, it's even stranger to have them just stay with him. Izuku's fine, he can handle recovering on his own, Yamada-san has already helped so much by giving him medicine and food. He can't bring himself to voice any protests though, not when he feels so... he's not sure but whatever it is, he never wants this feeling to go away. So, he leans into his side again and half focuses on whatever the narrator is saying about meerkats.