Dad!

Izuku feels the impending sense of wrongness from the moment he opens his eyes the next morning. He knows something is different about today, something is going to happen. Izuku learned to trust his wolf instincts while on the street. So he does the only thing he can.

It's long before Aizawa and Yamada will be awake, so Izuku shifts back to his human form, grabs some paper laying about and steals a pen from where Aizawa had been grading papers while Izuku slept. His writing is still awful, but at least it's legible.

Something is wrong. Be safe. -Kid

He places them on the counter, darts off to take a quick shower and pull on his fresh uniform that has been laid out for him, before shifting back. He trots out of the bathroom and Aizawa is staring at his note.

"Instinct?"

Thump.

"So bad you had to shift so you could tell us?"

Thump.

"Okay kid. We'll be safe, I promise. Breakfast?"

Thump.

Aizawa makes breakfast, fetching the large bowl once again for Izuku, who easily clears his bowl. Yamada joins them, hair not yet swept into its usual style that entertains Izuku greatly. He looks like a cockatoo. The thought makes Izuku let out an ugly snort, gaining the attention of both Aizawa and Yamada. He shakes his head and wags his tail, dipping his head in thanks for the meal. Aizawa moves to the door for them to leave and Izuku hops in excitement, forgetting his size momentarily, and barks once. He startles them both and quickly droops his ears and tail in apology.

"Don't look so sad kid, we just didn't expect it. It's alright."

Aizawa's words caused his tail to start wagging again and they headed through the door, Izuku following close behind Aizawa. This time he doesn't growl at the people who call out "hellhound" he stays close to Aizawa, tongue hanging from his mouth as they walk, Izuku slightly disappointed when it's over. He realises he can't watch Aizawa and make sure he's safe if he goes now, but Aizawa promised he'd stay safe. Izuku made a promise in his head then, promising to protect his family until he was dead and buried.

Not that he needed to promise, he would do it anyway.

Aizawa pats his head, smiles and takes off, leaving him beside his tree, where he slumps to wait for Toshi. He's woken up when something pokes him. When he looks up, it's not Hitoshi.

"Dude! That's so cool!"

Izuku is very aware that some group of kids have just walked into UA, while there is no gate, and poked a fucking wolf in the forehead. Izuku feels like he's been dragged backwards into a different reality.

"Kaito! Don't poke it! That dog is huge!"

"Shut up Aki! It's not even awake!"

Izuku remembered a time when he and Kacchan had been like these boys. But unfortunately, these situations always ended with Izuku on his ass and Kacchan laughing at him. He knew he'd have to tell Aizawa about it soon, but it could wait until after they talked about Izuku being the wolf. He huffed when Toshi arrived, staring at the boys.

"Why are you annoying him?"

"Is this your dog mister?"

"That's not a dog. It's a quirk."

"Eh?!"

The boy who had poked him, poked him again. "Oi! I wanna see! Show me!"

Izuku pulled back his lips and grumbled. It wasn't a real growl, not by a long shot, but the kid didn't back up. So Izuku, stood, stretching out his stiff limbs and shaking his coat. The kid could easily stand under Izuku's belly and still have a few inches to grow, so Izuku lowered his head, stared at the kid and watched with a strange, awkward grin as the kid turned and ran. The quiet boy stayed a moment longer, giving Izuku a small wave before he ran off to find his friend. Izuku turned to Hitoshi, taking his appearance in for the first time. He was wearing a capture scarf, one that smelled like home. He could smell Aizawa's coffee, Yamada's bubblegum hair gel and the smell of Hitoshi's mild cologne. He can smell the same cat that Hitoshi must visit on his way home because he's never mentioned owning a cat. He can smell the citrus the scarf was missing yesterday. He stares at Hitoshi, then at the scarf. With no care who sees him, he shifts back to stand in front of his friend, hand reaching out before he stops himself. Hitoshi snorts at him and dumps the scarf around his shoulders. "Dadzawa's idea. He wore it for a bit, Mic wore it a bit I assume and then I did."

Izuku wraps his arms around his best friend. "Thank you Toshi."

"Of course Zuzu."

—

The bus ride to the USJ is borderline painful. Izuku sits in his new capture scarf beside Hitoshi with his class shooting him strange looks. Todoroki is the first to grow a set and lean over, keeping his voice low.

"Are you Mr. Aizawa's secret love child?"

Izuku thinks that one is interesting. He'll be sure to leave it on a post it on Aizawa's desk. Hitoshi grins beside him, wide and mischievous as he says, "Yes he is Todoroki, yes he is. Don't tell anyone though, you know how it is for the legacy kids, being one yourself."

Izuku is extremely tempted to take back his friendship with Hitoshi. Todoroki looks like someone has just told him the secret of life, nodding his head immediately with wide eyes when asked not to share. Izuku is now in the sights of a legacy child, and knowing how tight knit they all are, Izuku is going to be in the sights of all of them by tomorrow morning. Izuku rushes off the bus as soon as it stops, effectively avoiding Todoroki and leaving Hitoshi to catch up with him. He waits for Hitoshi outside the bus, grinning when his now irritated best friend steps out of the bus.

"Why would you do that to me? Iida is ridiculous."

"That's what you get for throwing me to the legacy kids."

They grinned at each other, Izuku hiding his in his capture scarf, taking each other's hands and following Aizawa into the USJ building.

Izuku made sure to stand close to Aizawa, still holding Toshi's hand. Thirteen started a speech about the danger of some quirks and Izuku's mouth dried as he tried not to pale. He was overcome with the feeling of complete wrongness again, his eyes darting across the inside of the building.

"Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Something's wrong. What is it? What is it? Wrong. It's all wrong."

Shouta turned to Izuku was mumbling into his capture scarf, unaware that he and Shinsou were looking at him. He kept muttering, eyes bouncing around the room until the suddenly stopped.

Izuku dragged Hitoshi behind him. "Villains."

Aizawa swivelled quickly, hand out in front of Izuku protectively.

"Has the exercise started already?"

Izuku would've given anything to be as naïve as Kirishima right now. To not feel the protective urge to maim these fucking villains who dared to come here for a fight with his family. He could feel the thrum dancing under his skin, waiting to be called upon. The leader of the villains stared at each one of them, seemingly deciding who was going to be a threat. Izuku was small, skinny like a fucking twig despite his new access to food. But he had built up muscle in his time as a wolf and he knew he was in good enough condition to protect his family. Until a brute of a thing walked through the purple mist, all muscle and clear mutation. That was going to be a problem.

"Stay back! Those are real villains!"

Aizawa shot off orders to thirteen to protect the kids. Izuku just watched the villains until Aizawa was about to jump down. He grabbed the mans sleeve, eyes still locked on the villains. "Be safe."

Aizawa's eyes widened slightly as he seemed to realise what Izuku was doing. He was extending the promise of his identity. Sure, he'd practically confirmed it, but he was dangling the promise of "it's me. I'm the wolf" over Aizawa's head.

"Okay kid. I'll be safe. I promise."

With that, he jumped into the sea of villains, leaving Izuku behind.

—

Izuku was not having fun. They'd dumped him and Hitoshi in some city place and Izuku had been furious to be sent away from Aizawa, but thankful he was with Toshi. Izuku had watched as Hitoshi brainwashed one of the villains to attack the other, then they legged it to find Aizawa.

Izuku didn't like what he found. Aizawa was grimacing in pain as his elbow flaked away, jumping back and obviously ignoring the injury. He took out a few more villains without the use of his arm, and a sense of pride filled Izuku. It was washed over with cold horror when the man who was clearly the leader frowned and said, "Nomu. Kill Eraserhead in front of that little fiery kid who seems to like him judging by his face."

Aizawa looked over at him wide eyed as he took off his gifted capture scarf and dumped it on Hitoshi's shoulders.

"Izuku! Get out of here!"

Izuku didn't listen. He had promised to keep him safe. The Nomu started running to where Aizawa stood, clearly unprepared, as Izuku hauled himself out of the water, took one look at the leader and sprinted at the Nomu. He could hear the disheveled man yelling at him that he shouldn't be so cocky, that he'd definitely die. He took a soft breath, grabbed the thrum and yanked it as hard as he could. He shifted as he ran, the slap of two feet on the ground turning to the beat of four paws. Aizawa knew now, he'd probably be sleeping on the streets after today, but as long as he was alive, it was okay. Everything was okay as long as Toshi and Aizawa were okay.

Izuku had never again wanted to feel skin between his jaws. He hated it, it tore too easily and the metallic taste and stench of blood made his stomach roll. But still, he clamped his jaw around the Nomu's arm, locked on as tight as he could, his canines half sunk into the meat of the monsters arm, braced himself and shook his head violently. He could feel the muscle tearing from bone as he shook, snapping his teeth down harder until he felt bone. He shook his head until he heard a sickening pop, let go and immediately latched onto one of its legs. He didn't expect the healing quirk, he should have.

Two arms grabbed him, encircled his chest and started to squeeze. Izuku didn't think about his ribs breaking or the shouts he could hear of his name, the shouts that were muffled like his head was underwater.

Only one thought was loud enough for him to hear.

Useless Deku. Couldn't even save your family. There's a reason Kacchan tried to beat some sense into you Deku, now you're the reason they'll all be dead.

"Zuzu!"

"Izuku!"

"Midoriya Izuku!"

Izuku's head snapped in the direction of Hitoshi. His chest ached and he could tell his ribs were shattered, but Toshi was staring at him like they needed help. They did need help. Izuku was the only one who could help right now. Aizawa couldn't fight the Nomu and win, he'd be hurt and beaten beyond repair. I fucking promised. He snapped his jaw closed to stop the god awful howl he knew would bubble up his throat when he moved, and started violently thrashing his body out of the monsters grasp. His ribs screamed at him and burned, but Izuku tore himself from its hands, landed on his side with a yelp and picked himself up.

Aizawa and Hitoshi were standing together on the path, Hitoshi behind Aizawa in a protective stance, both of them watching Izuku with wide eyes. Izuku saw the hand villain walking towards them, hand outstretched as he whispered, "so cool Eraserhead, so cool."

Izuku ran to their sides, curling around them and growling, tail flicking. He showed off his bloody teeth, snapping and snarling the closer the man got. The Nomu and the hand villain were moving at the same time and Izuku didn't know what to do. He snapped at the hand that came too close, the man's left hand outstretched with all five fingers. Five points of contact. Izuku snapped at the outstretched hand again, latching onto his wrist and shaking his head, spitting out the meat that hits his tongue. The man wails and grabs his arm, leaving Izuku to clamp down on his shoulder and toss him like a rag doll.

Izuku stared at the approaching Nomu, crouched down and staring, trying his best to portray that this is his family. He'll die and kill to keep them safe. The monster clearly doesn't understand, eyes locked on Aizawa as it approaches, only listening to its masters order of "kill Eraserhead."

Izuku uncurls himself from his family, stepping in front of them with his teeth bared as bloodied drool drips off his snout. He knows he should get them out of here, he's in no state to fight with his ribs shattered into pieces, he can taste the blood creeping up his throat, but he licks his snout, crouches and pushes off, snapping his teeth down on the things head. It can clearly regenerate its body, so Izuku needs to make sure it's dead. He needs to kill it. The thing grabs his sides, squeezing down again, but Izuku doesn't feel it as he bites his jaw down as hard as he can, feeling the bone splinter in his mouth. He can feel the second the things skull gives way, it's head crumbling between Izuku's teeth. It drops and takes Izuku with it, the pair hitting the ground with a loud thump. He curls in on himself, soft whines filling the space instead of his snarling and growling.

Aizawa rushes to his side as the door busts open, All Might stepping into the building. He locks his eyes onto Izuku, then the mess of the hand villain who's cradling his torn arm. He sees him just in time for him to disappear, then his eyes flick to the Nomu who looks like it's had its head beaten in with a bat. All Might steps towards him, looking at Aizawa with a guarded expression. "Young Aizawa. Step away from the Villain. He's a murderer."

"All Might. Stop, he saved us. We would have died."

"I wasn't asking Aizawa. Move aside."

Izuku can see Hitoshi run to stand in front of him, to put himself between Izuku and the number one hero. "You're not touching him. He's just a kid. It's a quirk."

"He's a murderer young Shinsou. Move, or I'll move you."

Izuku growls, low and far more dangerous than it had been at the villains. Aizawa puts a hand on his fur to calm him, it works, his growl dying off in his throat. For some reason, that just makes All Might even more upset by his presence.

"He's dangerous and you're petting him like he's a dog. That kid killed someone!"

Izuku can't deal with this right now. Aizawa needs medical attention for his elbow and he can smell Hitoshi's blood from a small scrape. His ribs are practically dust and it hurts to breathe. He can't risk shifting back, but he's very well about to if All Might doesn't fucking move.

"Hey All Might? Can you help us move Zuzu out of here so we can treat his ribs?"

"Why would I-"

All Mights eyes glaze over, unseeing and Izuku almost cries with joy. He huffs softly to portray his amusement, gaining a grin from Hitoshi and a soft laugh from Aizawa. They wait for paramedics, but they're unable to help Izuku, so Izuku bangs his tail on the ground until they take Aizawa and Hitoshi, but it doesn't work, so he barks, it falls off to a whine when he jostles his ribs. He hears a soft voice that cuts through his desperation. "He wants Aizawa and 'Toshi' to get treated."

Izuku looks to the side but can't see the source of the voice. Something shuffles into view, nervous and shaky. It's Koda, smiling softly at him and looking unsure. Can he hear me? He yips softly, gaining a nod in return. He grumbles a soft, thank you and he gets a small smile.

Aizawa and Toshi do get treated, someone having the perfect quirk to treat Aizawa's elbow. It barely scars, just a tone different than his usual skin tone. Hitoshi had one scrape on his hand that he said didn't need treated. Izuku had snapped his teeth until he had finally relented. Recovery girl was specifically requested for Izuku, she arrived with Nezu, both of them approaching him while he lay with his head on Toshi's lap, Aizawa settling the capture scarf he had gifted him on his body so he could smell his family. Right now he would have preferred to see Yamada, but he'd take what he could get. Nezu leaned down beside him so he didn't have to move his head as he breathed in shallow breaths, his ribs aching with the small movements.

"You've done very well today Izuku. Thank you for keeping our school safe." He turns to Hitoshi, then All Might, who is still gazing at nothing. "You can release him now Shinsou. He won't touch Izuku."

Hitoshi hesitantly releases him, watching as the hero swivels, eyes on them in a cold fury. He's quickly stopped by Nezu raising a paw in an almost disinterested manner. "This boy is a hero Yagi. You will not be dragging him out of here like some villain."

"He killed someone."

"He saved the lives of the children, Aizawa and even you. He is a hero."

It's Aizawa that speaks next, voice cold and protective. "Touch my kid and see what happens Yagi. I fucking dare you."

Izuku ignored All Mights reaction in favour of watching recovery girl approach him. She smiled softly at him, petting his head. "You're a good kid and an even better hero young man. I look forward to seeing your work when you're older." She plants a soft kiss on his head and his eyes slide shut, aware of his head on Toshi's lap and Aizawa sat beside him, his hand petting the fur on his back with a whispered, "thank you kid."

—

Izuku wakes up in the hospital, the beeping of his heart monitor infuriating. After relying so heavily on his senses to protect his family, the loud beeping is crude and violent in his head, so he unplugs it, not caring about anything else. He pokes himself in the ribs and is pleased that it hurts no more than a bruise, so he climbs out of the bed and immediately heads for the door of the pristine, overly white room. He's stopped by a male nurse opening the door and immediately reaching for him, and he bares his human teeth and ducks out of the way, but the nurse doesn't let up. He needs to leave, needs to make sure his family are okay, but the nurse is unrelenting, trying to get him back in his bed as he ducks and snaps to get away. It's takes the nurse calling another for them to catch him, the first one injecting him with a sedative. He knows if he had've pulled on the thrum of the wolf before the needle was injected he would've just burned it off immediately, but now it will take some time. Less than the average person, but too much time. He's desperate to get to his family, yelping when they lift him to put him in bed again. "No! No I have to see my dad and Toshi! No! I have to make sure they're okay!"

The nurses grimace at him, pinning him down on his bed until the sedative takes over and he slumps, but does not fall asleep.

"What the fuck? I put enough sedatives in that kid to take down a grown man and the little shit is still awake?"

The nurse is sweating, visibly pissed that Izuku refused to comply, but the sedation is enough to prove that. He grits his teeth and blinks slowly, doing everything he can to stay awake and burn the sedative off faster. "I need to see my dad. I need to see Toshi." He's desperate now, the nurses know it just as much as he does, the thrum barely under his skin just because of some medication. Quirk suppressant. His mind supplies the answer, but he can't quite believe it. They must know what he is and they must be afraid.

"Look boy, we saw your medical files, your dad hasn't been around in a long time and who the fuck is Toshi?"

"I need to see my dad. I need to see Toshi."

It becomes a mantra, whispering it into the room as the nurses stand over him. It's twenty minutes before he can move his fingers. It takes another twenty for the sedative to wear off. He should be off his feet for at least another hour and the nurses have moved to the seats in his room by now, so that can't move quick enough to catch him when he jumps off the bed and darts for the door, throwing it open and running down the corridor on wobbly legs. He doesn't run far when he hears it, the familiar heart beats of his family, all of them are here. He hears them talking next.

"What do you mean I can't see him? He's my kid."

"I'm sorry sir, but legally you're not his father and he's not awake to say you are his guardian. There's no paperwork of it."

"At least let his friend in. Just let one of us see him."

Izuku sprints for the voices in one of the corridors a few to his left. The second he hits the corridor they're in, the nurse catches him, grabbing his arm. He yelps as he slips, hitting the ground, his quirk refusing to fully cooperate. So he does the next best thing.

"Dad! Toshi!"

Shouta's head snaps up when he hears Izuku shout. He's moving before anyone can stop him, Shinsou and Hizashi on his heels. He can see Izuku on the floor with his arm in an awkward position because of the man holding his arm, and Izuku is baring his teeth, growling like he had when Yagi had threatened to move Shinsou.

"The fuck are you holding him so tight for? Let go."

"Sir? He's dangerous, back away. There's a reason he's on this ward."

"That's my son. Back the fuck off. Now." Shouta uses his quirk to emphasise that he is not joking. The man let's go and Izuku scrambles to his feet, launching himself at them. He catches Shouta in the chest, arms wrapped tight around him. He's shaking, mumbling words into his chest and Shouta can't hear exactly what he's saying. Judging by the way Shinsou stiffens beside him, he heard everything.

"Zuzu, can you say that again please? I want our teachers to know why I'm about to give up being a hero to kill a man."

Shouta gently grips Shinsou's shoulder, slightly afraid the kid might actually follow through.

"I woke up and I was trying to leave to find you all and they sedated me. Held me down until I went limp. Said they used enough to take down a grownup and they didn't understand why I wasn't asleep. I just wanted to see you were all safe."

Shouta lifts his head to stare at the nurse, body rigid. He looks at Hizashi, who looks ready to beat the nurse himself.

"You sedated a child because he wanted to make sure his family were safe?"

"He was dodging us and snapping his teeth! He was dangerous!"

Izuku turns, but keeps his hands on Shouta's jumpsuit to ground himself. The kids eyes are hard and detached, his mouth pulling into a sneer. "Don't fucking lie. You read my medical file and deemed me a threat, because I can turn into an animal. Is it the animal you're afraid of? Would you like to see it? I'm sure the quirk suppressants have worn off by now."

Shouta blinks. Quirk suppressants? That can't be right? It was highly illegal to use them for your own reasons when a patient had no aggression towards you with their quirk. Considering the kid had been snapping his teeth, he had had no intention to shift. He was just trying to deter them.

"We're leaving this hospital and we're taking Izuku with us. His treatment will be administered by recovery girl herself. Goodbye." He put his hand on Izuku's shoulder leading him out of the hospital. The second they got outside, Shouta took off his capture scarf and dumped it on the kids shoulders, smiling down at him.

Izuku was glad to be free of the hospital, lifting his shirt to get a proper look at his ribs. They were matted an ugly shade of yellow, a few purples too, but they weren't shattered into dust anymore, so he was happy. He followed his family to the car, pleased that Toshi was coming with them, even though they were just leaving him home. He had completely missed the concerned looks at him, simply jumping in the car and being ready to go home. He just wanted to sleep in a place he knew.

—

Izuku stared at Yamada's latest project. In one corner of the room was a big bed, sheets pulled out neatly so there were no creases. I'm another corner was the biggest dog bed Izuku has ever seen because Yamada didn't know which he'd prefer and wanted him to have both. Izuku did his absolute best not to cry. It resulted in wiping a few stray tears away, but he was pretty successful.

"You didn't have to do this for me. I would've been happy in the livingroom."

Hizashi crouched down beside his son. "Little listener, we wanted to do this for you. We started planning it before you even showed Sho who you are. We want you to be here with us."

All hope of containing his tears flew out the window as he bust into sobs, clinging onto Yamada and Aizawa like a dying man.

"Thank you Papa."

Hizashi turned his head to stare at Shouta wide eyed. He was papa.