Skin, bone and scars.

Izuku goes with his dads to submit the adoption papers. The process is quick, especially for a pair of pro heroes, and they tell his dads, but mainly they tell Izuku that the papers have been filled and now they just need to be reviewed. This random woman who can see him beaming like he's been gifted his whole world, and she's telling him that the papers are filled. Not his dad or his papa, but him. Izuku feels his smile grow bigger somehow, and when the lady beams back and offers him a high five, Izuku smacks her hand and cheers, and his dad chuckles and ruffles his hair and papa kisses the top of his head because the papers only need to be reviewed and then he'll be their son. Izuku feels amazing. The best he has in his whole life.

The papers are returned a week later. They sit together as Izuku practically vibrates out of his skin with excitement. He tears open the envelope, pulling it out and accidentally creasing it down the middle, he straightens it the best he can as he flicks his eyes over it. His dads are reading over his shoulder, Izuku is skipping words to get to the part where he's legally their son, and as he reads the line, his fists tighten and his claws extend, ripping right through the paper.

He's not their son.

He stares at the torn paper, as if the weight of his stare will change the words in front of him. For the second time, Izuku's world shatters.

"Aizawa Shouta, pro hero Eraserhead and Yamada Hizashi, pro hero Present Mic, cannot be awarded parental rights of one Midoriya Izuku, on the basis of parental rights still being held by biological parent, Midoriya Inko.

When Midoriya Inko was asked if willing to relinquish rights to her biological son, she declined, stating that she intended to bring her son home again.

It is with deep regret that we write to inform you that you, Aizawa Shouta and Yamada Hizashi, will not be granted parental rights of Midoriya Izuku."

Izuku is crying as he gets to a handwritten note on the bottom. It's unprofessional and likely not allowed, but Izuku remembers the writing of the sweet secretary who had been so happy for him, who had given him a high five. He wipes his face so he can read again, choking on his sobs.

"Hi Izuku, (I figure you don't exactly like Midoriya, so I hope Izuku is okay.) I obviously saw your verdict. I'm so sorry kid, If you can convince Midoriya to give up parental rights, come back immediately, I'll make sure the form is reviewed the same day, no matter what time you bring it in, even if it's closing. I wish you well Izuku, your dads seem like they love you a lot, I have no doubt you'll legally be their son soon. I'll see you soon Izuku."

Izuku cries, choking and pulling on his hair, scraping his still clawed fingers over the scar that burns his face. He can't breathe, he can feel his wrists being restrained and pulled from his face, and while he knows he'll be thankful for it come morning when he's calm, right now it pains him, blind and numb to the blood streaming down his face and the inevitable pain that will also come with the morning. He can't feel it, but he knows somewhere deep inside his bones where his wolf lies, that his dads are right with him, hugging him and maybe even crying as much as he is.

They are. Izuku can't see it, but both his dads are crying, promising that they'll make this right.

-

Izuku hits the street in the dark, shaggy hair swishing in the wind. He's due a shed around now, but the thought barely even lurks in the back of his mind. He just keeps walking, skin, bone and scars, trekking the streets like he never left them. The realisation dawns on him, but he's too focused to give a shit. He has a destination in mind, and he's so focused on getting there that he doesn't even care about the fact he can feel his dads following him. He just trots on, turning the barely familiar streets to the place he once called home.

Izuku stands in front of his mothers home, two feet on the tarmac, rather than four. He steps up to the door, aware of his parents standing by the gate. He bangs on it wildly snarling with his lips curled back as she swings the door open with a sly smile.

"Oh Izu! I knew you'd come home when you were over your little tantrum, come on in, I'm making dinner. Your little hero friends are welcome to join us sweetie."

Izuku knows the false pleasantry is because he has two pro heroes standing directly on his flanks. He steps into the house, and every part of the wolf within him is screaming at him to run, to turn tail and sprint, never to return. But there's also a small slither of defiance, of chaotic rebellion that howls with glee at the idea of telling his mother to relinquish her rights and give up. Izuku is not coming back. He'll be cold and dead before he ever calls this bitch mother again.

"Inko. I'm not here for your bullshit pleasantries, I'm here to tell you that you will relinquish your parental rights. I've been gone a long time bitch, and in that time, you've only stooped lower. Telling Bakugou I'm dead? The hell did you think would happen when I met him again?"

Inko's bullshit facade drops instantly as she eyes the pro heroes flanking him. "No."

"What do you mean no ? It wasn't a question Inko."

"You're my son Izuku, even if you happen to be some mongrel."

He hears his dad move behind him, his hand settling on his shoulder. It settles him just a little. "Izuku, come on, there are other ways to-"

He's cut off by Inko, who looks furious. "How dare you try and tell my son anything! As if you're his father! "

Izuku feels his dad physically recoil, like Inko had been right, like he wasn't Izuku's father. He can hear his dad stumbling over how to explain himself as if he needs to, but Inko beats him to it.

"You may think you want that fucking mutt, and maybe you do. Maybe he cleans your house perfectly or makes you all breakfast, lunch and dinner, maybe he washes all your clothes and has them folded neatly by sunrise. All I can say is I wish the little bastard had done it for me. It doesn't matter why you want him, he isn't yours, he never will be, because you aren't his dad, and he's not your son!" She uses her quirk to pull plates towards her from the kitchen, and his dad, who is standing between her and the kitchen, gets several plates in the back of the head.

Izuku growls as the thrum vibrates in his head, and this time the shift feels different. At the start, he's still on two legs, but he can feel his tail flicking with his rage, and his ears are pinned down against his head.

"I fucking knew you were nothing but a mutt!"

"Leave my dad alone you miserable, abusive bitch! " He breaks off into a snarl as he speaks, his body changing again, but this time it's the full shift. Yet, somehow it's different.

He realises why incredibly quickly, because his back connects with the roof and it cracks under the pressure of his growing body. He hunkers down, snarling, too angry to focus on the growth.

Inko looks scared.

Izuku gets a strange rush of joy from it.

Izuku can feel his instincts creeping in through his consciousness, like it's digging its claws in and taking over his thoughts. Before, he had wanted to keep his dad safe, it had been a want based on his thoughts based around his quirk.

Now it was life or death. Izuku needed to keep her away from his pack. He snaps his teeth into her collarbone, and he shakes . Her screams are deafening, and they don't stop for the whole 23 seconds it takes for his dad to snap his head up, lock his eyes onto Izuku and activate his quirk. Izuku slumps forward as his mothers weight falls, and Izuku lands beside her, no longer tall or strong enough to support her weight now that he's back on two legs. He groans, tired from how much energy the shift took. He freezes when he hears papa.

"Sho- She isn't breathing. Holy shit-"

Izuku has killed his mother.

He isn't arrested. Self defence, prone to aggression when family is placed in danger they say. He isn't arrested because he's got a quirk. Izuku doesn't miss how no one stares at his scars. They're staring at the blood of his mother smeared over his mouth and face.

Izuku spends the next few hours as a hollow shell of himself. He refuses to eat or sleep, and he refuses to speak. That's the one that seems to bother Aizawa and Mic the most. How he reverts back in on himself like how he had been before, even shifting back to the wolf, which is once again back to its normal size. He lays in the corner like he had before, when he didn't have a room. Aizawa looks at him as he passes into the kitchen where Mic is cooking. He places his tail over his eyes as he fakes sleep, allowing Aizawa and Mic a chance alone. It takes 20 minutes before Mic speaks.

"Shouta. He meant to-"

"Enough Hizashi. Just don't."

"Sho, I'm not saying something bad, i'm just saying maybe we need a quirk specialist to tell us if this is a normal thing-"

" Hizashi."

Izuku has considered his quirk multiple times. He knows that he was bound to kill someone sooner or later if they pushed him. He hasn't analysed his quirk yet, or any quirks in a while, his lack of notebooks the only reason he has. But he's not stupid enough to beleive he could turn into a wolf without any consequences. He doesn't think his protective tendencies are bad, but whatever the hell he grew into is definitely not good . He doesn't need a damn specialist to fuck up his quirk and tell him what isn't true about himself.

"Shouta. He needs help."

"A slip isn't a failure, Hizashi. I'll help him. Just stop."

"He's our baby Sho, I know you love him and I do too, but he needs proper help to understand his quirk."

Izuku can't listen to this anymore. He isn't getting help and he's not getting between Aizawa and Mic. He's already ruined enough.

Mic is cooking.

The sliding door is open.

Izuku feels guilty when he sees Aizawa realising why he's standing in the kitchen doorway.

"Izuku-"

Izuku sprints through the kitchen, straight through the door and down the garden.

"Izuku! Don't! Please-"

The guilt breaks his will as he clears the fence for the second time.