Release

The next morning Dafydd had a small bowl of porridge for breakfast, flavoured with honey blueberries and raspberries. Partway through his meal Dr Chiyo came in followed by Eraserhead.

"Hello Dafydd" she croaked and gestured to Eraserhead, "You have a visitor. This is Pro hero Eraserhead. He would like to check up on you and discuss what you went through."

He was tall and thin with pale skin and messy black hair that covered part of his haggard face, his scarf covered most of his stubbled lower face. He was dressed in baggy black combat gear.

"Hey kid." He asked gruffly, moving past Dr Chiyo and dragging a stool next to his bed. "you alright?" Dafydd nodded. "Good. You've been through a lot though. I don't have much time so I'll get to the point. I've been told what happened to you by Dr Chiyo, and relative you have still alive seems to be a Mr Oscar Mortem. This is his picture." Eraserhead showed a picture and Dafydd froze, then started backing away until his back hit the end of the bed. "Thought so." Eraserhead put the picture away. "Kid." He said, Dafydd looked at him wildly. "I need you to focus a little. Can you do that?" Dafydd closed his eyes, and breathed out deeply. Then nodded and looked at Eraserhead again. "Good. I'll be blunt. We have no way of imprisoning the bastard, and if you get sent back to the UK the chances are that he'll get you again. Now, that leaves two choices. You can go to an orphanage here in Japan. Or…"

"Or you get to be adopted by us!" Nemuri burst in through the door waving her arms out wide.

"Us?" Erasurehead asked tightly.

"Yes Aizawa-kun. Us." She stated, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her chin on his shoulder. Aizawa tensed. "You and I are Pro-heroes who both work at night, moreover you have begun teaching at UA and I will be starting to do the same soon enough as well. You can't expect to be able to look after a child alone on top of that. So, you need someone else to help." His annoyed expression just kept making her own smile widen, "Plus it'll help get past child service check ups" she whispered to Aizawa in their native language. He sighed in defeat, and Nemuri started giggling.

"Fine." Aizawa replied. "Your second choice would be to be taken under both Nemuri-san and my guardianship. You have time to think about this, and it would take some time for everything to be sorted out legally. If you have any questions, ask."

"Mr Eraserhead?" Dafydd asked. "Why take me in at all?" The blue in Dafydd's eyes pulsed, causing everyone else in the room to pause. Aizawa sighed and looked him in the eye.

"It isn't often that I find kids as I found you. When I do, they get sent to an orphanage that I regularly donate to. Most grow up ok, but not everyone gets the help they need. Maybe its pity, maybe its to assuage guilt of not being able to save the others. Not finding them in time. Maybe I just want to be sure that the man in that picture doesn't get his hands on you, despite being halfway around the world. Maybe I want to put a real light back into the dead eyes I saw that night." Aizaway disentangled himself from Nemuri's now lax hug, and stood after seeing that Dafydd's eyes returned to normal, and the strange atmosphere was lifted. "Good enough answer?" he asked, gazing directly back into the boys eyes. The boy nodded. Then his eyes flared again, the strange feeling returning and looked at Nemuri. "And you Ms Nemuri?" He asked softly. Nemuri just smiled a little crazily.

"Because I like you…" then leaned in and whispered into his ear " and I get to tease Aizawa-kun" Nemuri giggled and span away, Dafydd's eyes returned to normal once again, and he looked exhausted.

"Now," Aizawa said darkly with a grin "You want to tell us what that was and why you used your quirk without permission?" Dafydd however just smiled exactly like him and laughed a bit.

"It's my third eye. Its always active a bit, I see things others might overlook sort of active. But when I use it, nothing can hide from me. Nothing." He replied simply and sadly.

"So, you can tell the truth?" Nemuri asked. Dafydd nodded.

"What else does it do?" Aizawa asked concerned.

"Nothing can be hidden from me. I… I see everything." He replied, shaking his head. "Like how both life and death are fused into this building. How… how the man in that picture is just a monster in human skin, and how I saw past atrocities he had done." Dafydd stopped talking, and twisted his face in disgust before becoming neutral again. "This time I saw you two. I just wanted to see if you told the truth, but I always catch snippets more than I want. It's like that saying isn't it? Careful what you wish for, but careful what you see in my case? Don't worry, I didn't see anything bad."

The two Pro-heroes were a little concerned, and Dafydd could tell. Aizawa was still glaring, waiting for something.

"Sorry for using my quirk." Dafydd finished.

"That is better. You are a civilian and a child. You aren't allowed to use your quirk without permission. I have to go. Think about what we said. I'll visit again in three day-"

"No need. I know my answer. Can I… Can I stay with you?" He asked, looking between the two pro-heroes. Nemuri smiled as if she won the lottery.

"So decisive" she breathed out.

"Ok. Well, we will start making the arrangements then. I'll come back in three days then. I should have most things ready by then." Aizawa said, and left.

"Don't worry about him Dafy" Nemuri told him and gave him a tight hug and a kiss on the head that lingered a bit too long. "He's just a grumpy boy." Nemuri told him, but was interrupted by Dr Chiyo.

Dr Chiyo, who had been standing as background furniture started to do a small check-up on him.

"Right young man" she said "You are recovering well. Would you like to learn the language today? You will be having visitors after lunch. Chloe and Asahi along with their parents wish to see you."

"Are you sure you want to?"

"Of course, it'll help you adjust here and I get to learn a new language. Could I learn Irish young man?"

"Yeah." Dafydd cleared his throat and spoke again. This time the air around him tensed and built up as he spoke, reaching a point where the air almost felt like it could be cut "Dr Chiyo, I offer knowledge and understanding for knowledge and understanding. A tongue for a tongue. I offer the Irish language for your mother tongue." Words that seemed almost ritualistic in nature seemed to form in Dr Chiyo's mind, various answers she could give, though most were accepting or declining the offer. She didn't hesitate to speak her end of the deal however.

"I Dr Chiyo accept this bargain. You shall have my understanding of my language, and the knowledge it entails, and I shall have the same for the language you offer." Dafydd had wisps of blue around him and Dr Chiyo wisps of gold. They shook hands, and a thread of blue and gold touched. A small swirl of wind surrounded them, and the atmosphere dropped.

Suddenly Dafydd had an entirety of a new language in his mind, and Dr Chiyo did as well. The knowledge raged in his mind but eventually began to settle and find a place to call home. Then, there was no surging or discomfort.

"Hmmm, That was certainly an experience." Dr Chiyo said in Irish, then repeated it in Japanese.

"Indeed Dr Chiyo. Exchanging knowledge is always thrilling." Dafydd replied. "I think I'll take a nap." Dafydd lay down and took a nap.

"What just happened?" Nemrui asked with one arched brow as she looked between the sleeping Dafydd and Dr Chiyo.

"Well, it was a part of his quirk." Dr Chiyo replied. "I was simply curious about it. He said that promises, deals, oaths are sort of bound by his quirk. I suppose I understand now. You will be looking after him, and while I doubt he'd ever abuse his quirk. I suppose I should tell you what I know of his quirk if you are going to be his new mother…" Dr Chiyo saw a look of realisation flash across Nemuri's face and laughed "Oh that boy is doomed. Shoto-san as a father and you as a mother." She chuckled. Dr Chiyo assessed Dafydd's state "He'll probably wake up before lunch."

Nemuri sorted through paperwork for a few hours as she sat next to Dafydd until he woke up. She got him katsu curry for lunch and talked a little before Dr Chiyo brought in two children about Dafydd's age. One a Caucasian girl with ginger hair, forest green eyes, chubby cheeks and a pale complexion. One an Asian boy with dark black hair, blocky face and sunny red eyes. Chloe and Asahi. Behind them both came two sets of parents.

"H-Hi Dafydd." Murmured Chloe in English as she tugged at her sleeve, not meeting his eye and looking guilty.

"Hi Dafydd." Asahi stated in Japanese and waved energetically, oblivious to Chloe's actions.

"Hi Chloe, Asahi. How are you doing?" Dafydd replied back, knowing that Chloe could speak Japanese.

"Since when could you speak Japanese?" Asked Asahi in shock, Chloe seemed to understand and simply mouthed the word deal.

"This morning." Dafydd grinned at Asahi. The boy was one of two reasons why Dafydd hadn't lost his will to live in that cage, somehow, the boy wouldn't stay beaten down for long. Then again, He had only been caged for about a month, and he doesn't remember the promise. Chloe and he had both been shipped together from the UK. "How have you two been?"

"I'm much better, no scars see! Got real lucky." Asahi smiled.

"Y-yeah, lucky." Chloe almost cried. Unlike Aiden, she remembered when Dafydd had said she wouldn't feel the pain or get hurt. Moreover, she understood what it meant. Dafydd's face had no scars, but she could see the ends of a few on his neck and wrists. Thet were just poking out from his clothes like mutilated snake tails that were dipped in midnight paint. "Are you ok?" she asked.

"I'll be fine Chloe. You don't have to feel sorry for me." Dafydd chuckled. "I'm just glad you two are ok." He turned his gaze to the parents. "You must be their folks eh? Nice to meet ya."

Asahi's parents bowed their heads to me, and Chloe's came and shook my hand.

"Thank you for what you did for our children." Asahi's dad said, "we can't thank you enough."

"If there's anything you need get in touch with us." Chloe's mum added, getting nods from the parents.

"sure?" Dafydd asked, "I just…" He frowned a bit and looked between Asahi and Chloe. "Could you two release me from my promise now that we're back where we should be?" He asked.

"Sure! I release you from whatever you are on about." Asahi exclaimed, and Dafydd felt it. "Wanna watch cartoons? They said we could stay here for at least an hour and you have a tv." Dafydd grinned and threw him the remote. Chloe on the other hand, started growling at him, then climbed on the bed and pushed him down before shouting in rage.

"You said that once a promise was made it couldn't be taken back! That I couldn't do anything to make the pain go away! You went through three times as much as anyone! Why didn't you tell me that I could stop it!" She started sobbing, and everyone in the room didn't really seem to know what to do.

"Chloe." Dafydd said chuckling as he hugged her gently, "Your quirk told you that you would be ok, and not get hurt right? On top of that, I never lied. I couldn't take my promise back, and even if you knew you could release me from it, the pain wouldn't go away. It'd have just hurt you. I was already used to pain by that point, so what just a little more? I didn't tell you because you'd have released me and gotten hurt. I'm telling you about it now though, so friends?" he couldn't keep a sad smile from his face as he stroked her hair. His mum used to stroke his head when he cried, Dafydd thought as Chloe gently sobbed and hit into his chest. Eventually after an awkward ten minutes of Chloe sobbing, Asahi and his parents watching a random cartoon about a dog hero, rat villain, and cat vigilante, and Chloe's parents trying to help console Chloe, she finally stopped sobbing.

"I release you from your promise" She said fiercely, her snotty and puffy eyed face almost touching his "and you had better not do anything like that again. Humph." Chloe turned around and sat on him, using his body as a backboard as she watched the cartoon too, whilst getting her nose wiped by her mother.

Dafydd spent the next hour quietly watching the cartoon with Asahi and Chloe, the adults decided to let them be with each other and pick them up when visiting hours were through. In that time, Asahi had decided to put on a hero cartoon movie about All Might and was punching along with all the action scenes and talking about how he would become a great hero so he could save kids like us. Chloe stayed pouty and angry at Dafydd for a while but got caught up in Asahi's excitement and started copying the heroes as well. Dafydd smiled at their antics but couldn't join in until Dr Chiyo gave him the greenlight to move around more which she said should be in two days. Eventually, the hour passed and Dafydd said goodbye to the two kids and their parents who gave Dr. Chiyo their contacts to keep safe for Dafydd.

That night, Dafydd felt freer than he had in a long time, bound by no promise or pledge and in a comfortable bed under a warm duvet, he fell peacefully asleep.