40

Nedzu and Shouta verified the address one final time before walking up the stairs to the door. The house wasn't anything special. It was a medium-sized house, appropriate for the number of foster children the couple had on record, and was a bit run-down, but overall, it was exactly what Shouta had expected. Nedzu gave a few sharp raps on the door and there was the sound of someone running to the door before one of the younger kids yanked it open. 

"Hello there!" Nedzu chirped happily. "We're looking for the adults of the house, can you please get them for us?"

The kid nodded and ran back into the house, passing several eavesdropping kids who instantly ducked back behind the wall as soon as they caught Shouta looking in their direction, only to peek around the corner again after a few seconds. As they waited, Shouta caught some movement further back inside the house and he almost smiled when he saw Shinso coming down the stairs. The moment he made eye-contact with the kid, however, Shinso froze. It was only a split second reaction and Shouta supposed it made sense with seeing his teachers out of context, but Shinso really should have been expecting the visit with how well he'd done at the sports festival. He waited for Shinso to come and say hello, but all he got was a small smile and a wave before the kid turned away and continued into one of the other rooms. Shouta frowned. That was odd. 

It was only another few seconds later that the parents appeared, pushing Shinso's weird behavior from his mind for the moment. The woman hid partially behind the man, who was large and grinned widely as he greeted them, "Hello! What can I do for you today?"

"My name is Nedzu, I am the principal of UA high school!" Nedzu introduced himself. "And this is Aizawa, one of the teachers there. We were hoping to have a discussion with you about one of your foster children, Shinso Hitoshi?"

Instantly, the man's face soured, "Of course. We saw the sports festival, so we know what this is about. Come on in."

Shouta and Nedzu exchanged a confused glance as they followed the couple into the house. If they had watched the sports festival and knew that Shinso was getting into teh hero course then why weren't they happy for him? Winning the sports festival like Shinso had wasn't a small accomplishment, so they should be proud of their son, but they weren't acting that way. 

They were led into the living room and sat down on the couch as a couple of the kids ran out to give them some privacy. The couple sat down across from them and before Nedzu could say anything, the woman started apologizing, "We are so sorry! We had no idea that Shinso was going to take advantage of his classmates like that!"

"His behavior was unacceptable, so rest assured that he is being dealt with accordingly." The man continued. "But of course, we're willing to accept any punishment the school gives him as well. We don't know what was going through the boy's head!"

Shouta just blinked in shock, unable to think of anything to say to that and Nedzu's smile looked like it had just been glued onto his face as he responded, "I am afraid I'm not quite sure what you mean. Shinso won the sports festival due to his own merit."

"He didn't even give those poor kids a chance to fight back!" The woman exclaimed. "We knew things would be difficult, taking in a child with a villain's quirk, but...well, we thought he was more respectful than to lie to everyone like he did!"

"We're making him write apology letters." The man offered. "Lying about the way his quirk worked was unfair to the other students, so he'll be delivering letters explaining how it works as soon as classes start up again."

Things were clicking into place and Shouta didn't like what he was seeing. Letters. The couple hadn't said they were making Shinso apologize, they were making him write letters, which were a non-verbal form of communication that wouldn't risk activating his quirk. And then, when they'd seen him earlier, Shinso hadn't said anything, just waved. How long had it been since he was able to talk at home. 

"Are you telling me that you're punishing him for winning the sports festival?" He asked numbly.

"He didn't win fairly." The man said. "He didn't give the other kids a fair shot at fighting back. Hiding his quirk's activation was…"

"A valid strategy within the rules of the exercise." Nedzu replied, far too politely. "I'm sorry that you feel he was fighting dirty, but we do encourage our students to push every advantage they can both against villains and against each other and Shinso did very well at that. Apology letters won't be necessary."

The couple looked confused, "But…"

"Perhaps we could talk to Shinso?" Shouta interrupted. "We have a few things we'd like to discuss about his transfer into the hero course."

"But the boy was acting like a villain!" The man raised his voice. "You can't honestly look me in the eye and say that what he did was ok!"

"Shinso. Please." Nedzu said, leaving no room for argument. "Thank you."

The couple looked at each other for a long moment, then the man nodded and they both stood, "We'll go get him. Just wait here."

Shouta waited until they left before he growled softly, "What the actual fuck."

"This is concerning." Nedzu murmured. "But there isn't any evidence of physical abuse and the children are obviously materially well provided for..."

"Is there any way we can get him out of here?" Shouta said, keeping his voice down as he saw a few of the other kids peak around the corner. "These people aren't going to help him be a hero. Making him reveal his activation requirements? There's a reason he hid them in the first place! If all the villains knew them…"

"We can't simply bring a case against them, but…" Nedzu's eyes lit up. "There might be a loophole or two we can take advantage of!"

Shouta looked at him suspiciously, "What are you…"

Before he could finish his question, the couple came back into the room, Shinso in tow. The kid was looking at the ground and Shouta felt a fair amount of rage when he realized that whatever those parents had said to him couldn't have been good. Shinso was dedicated and a good kid, what gave them the right to treat him like a threat just because of the way he was born?

"Ah, Shinso!" Nedzu said cheerfully, "How are you today?"

The glance toward his foster parents was so quick that Shouta might have missed it if he hadn't been expecting it, but it still wasn't a surprise when Shinso smiled and gave a thumbs up in reply to the question. The parents obviously didn't allow him to talk, because if Nedzu had asked the same question at school, preferably when Shinso was around those two gremlins from the support course, he would have replied verbally. 

Nedzu didn't comment on the non-verbal response, "That's good to hear! Well, you already know that you did very well at the sports festival, but I would like to be the first to congratulate you on being approved to transfer into the hero course!"

Shinso's eyes widened and he seemed to forget about the other people in the room as he grinned, "Really?!"

The soft gasp from his foster mother made him flinch and look at the floor again, carefully falling back into the purposefully bored persona Shouta had seen him use a few times during the sports festival. He couldn't let the kid stay here. 

"Are you sure?" The woman finally asked. "Shinso is…"

"A dedicated student who will do well in the hero course." Nedzu said firmly. "That being said, there are a few concerns. Due to Shinso's...unique quirk and circumstances, we were wondering if you would be interested in Shinso taking part in a mentorship program. He would be placed under the custody of a pro-hero who would be able to keep an eye on him and make sure he becomes a hero."

Shinso's foster father looked at them suspiciously, "You would be willing to make sure the boy doesn't get into any trouble?"

"Of course." Nedzu nodded. "I know having a child like Shinso can be...overwhelming. He would be taken out of your custody and placed somewhere with more individual care and supervision. None of this will take place without your express approval, of course!"

Shouta saw a spark of fear pass behind Shinso's eyes and he tried to catch his eye. He didn't know exactly what Nedzu was trying to do either, but he'd known the rat long enough that he trusted him. Sure, what he was describing sounded more like a prison than anything else, but he had Shinso's best interests at heart. Shouta could only trust that he knew what he was doing and hope that Shinso did the same. 

"So, he wouldn't be our foster child anymore?" The woman asked hesitantly.

"No." Nedzu answered. "He would be placed in the custody of a pro-hero."

"And you'd make sure he stayed on the right side of the law?" The man confirmed. 

"Of course." Nedzu's smile was outwardly polite, but Shouta could see his annoyance coming through underneath, which was oddly comforting. "So?"

The couple whispered among themselves for a few minutes and Shouta tuned it out after the first few sentences. It was clear that they didn't trust Shinso, and probably never would, but he still didn't trust himself to not do something he'd regret if he had to sit there and listen to them treating him like a villain. 

Finally, the couple turned back to them and the man started talking, glancing toward his wife for confirmation, "I...I think that would be for the best? When would he be leaving?"

"Oh, immediately!" Nedzu grinned widely. "We already have a hero lined up to take him in, so we'd like to move forward as soon as possible."

Shinso was obviously trying to hide his panic, so Shouta stood and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Well, kid, let's go grab your things."

Shinso nodded slowly as Nedzu explained the necessary paperwork. Aizawa followed the kid upstairs, grateful to get away from that room. The room Shinso led him to was mostly bare and screamed of a kid who was used to not even having time to unpack before moving onto the next home. It only took him a few minutes to shove everything he owned into a garbage bag as Shouta stood there awkwardly, wondering if he should offer to help. Soon enough, Shinso hauled the bag over his shoulder and nodded silently before heading back downstairs. 

Nedzu was already standing by the door and waiting for them when they got downstairs, "Are you ready? Perfect! Well then, let's be on our way!"

Shinso didn't seem to have any desire to say goodby to anyone, so they just led him outside and Shouta opened the door to the backseat of the car to allow him to slide in. Then they were off and Shinso didn't even spare his old home a backward glance. He did look curious, however, which was understandable, considering that Shouta was just as confused as he was. 

He cleared his throat, "You're allowed to talk, you know. We're not going to punish you for asking questions."

Shinso looked surprised, but still hesitated before saying anything, "So...where are we going?"

"Oh, that's easy." Nedzu chirped. "We're going to the home of Eraserhead and Present Mic. Aizawa will be taking custody of you, after all!"

"I think maybe we have to turn it upside-down?" Izuku suggested. "Or maybe we should 3D model it and see if it looks any different?"

For the past few days, Mei and Izuku had spent every moment they could in the halls of UA, trying to figure out the tunnels. They probably would have just slept there, but both security and their parents had taken an issue with that, so they had settled for waking up early and exploring until security kicked them out around sunset. So far, they had identified a dozen different entrances, so far, but each one was protected by a unique riddle, so they hadn't been able to get into any of them yet.

Mei chewed on the end of her pencil as she looked at the puzzle again, "Wait! What if it's about directions! It spins, right?"

Izuku nodded and spun the map a quarter turn. He had hated it his first week because why put a map of UA on the wall if it was incorrect? He'd gotten lost a few times trying to follow it until an upperclassman from the business course had taken pity on him and pointed out that the map itself was inaccurate. He'd written it off as an old map from before a remodel at the time, but now that he knew it as a clue to a secret entrance, it made a lot more sense. 

"Hmmm…" Izuku looked at it again. "Wait, turn it rightside up again! It says you are here , right? But the arrow is pointing to the cafeteria, not to where we are!"

"Oh! You're right!" Mei grinned. "So should we look in the cafeteria? Maybe there's a clue there!"

"Actually, I think you were right about directions." Izuku said. "If we start at the cafeteria, what turns would we take to get to where we are now?"

Mei grabbed his hand and yanked him down the hall, "There's only one way to find out!"

Tenya Iida closed the door behind him and finally broke down. His brother was paralyzed. There was no hope of him ever regaining the use of his legs and he would have to retire as a hero, all because some villain got into his head that he should maim and murder heroes. He didn't understand how Tensei could be so nonchalant about the whole thing! Why did Tenya have to be angry enough about it for both of them.

He took off his glasses and wiped his eyes, then put them back on. There was no point in crying when he could take action. He was a hero! He was training to defeat villains! He couldn't just sit here and cry when he should be preparing to defeat Stain and make him regret ever making an enemy out of the Iidas!

"Um…Guest bedroom's down the hall." Shouta explained awkwardly. "Bathroom's on the right and we can probably get you some more clothes and stuff once you're more settled in."

Shinso nodded silently and disappeared into his new room as Shouta sighed in exhaustion and reminded himself that putting Shinso with him and Hizashi was the best option. They could pass off the change in custody as protecting an at-risk youth, and because the original foster parents had approved the transfer and given their express approval, no one would question a pair of heroes taking protective custody until they were actually able to get a foster licence. As much as he hated uprooting the kid, Shinso deserved to live in a place where he was allowed to speak.

He glanced over to the couch, where Hizashi was giving him a knowing grin and Shouta scowled, "Don't even say it."

Izuku read the directions out loud as Mei turned the map, "Left, left, right, left, right, right, left!"

They both held their breath as they looked at the map, which was probably the only reason why they were able to hear the quiet click as the latch unlocked and one of tiles on the floor beneath them popped up. They shared an excited look before rushing to it and pulling it up like a trap door, then they dropped down into the small tunnel and pulled the entrance closed behind them.

"Well, Izu-kun…" Mei grinned manically in the low light. "Are you ready to explore UA?"

Notes: