Archive of Our Own ^beta

Because there’s something inside you
That made you keep trying
Despite everyone who told you to quit
You built a cast around your broken heart
And signed it yourself
You signed it
“They were wrong”
Because maybe you didn’t belong to a group or a click
Maybe they decided to pick you last for basketball or everything
Maybe you used to bring bruises and broken teeth
To show and tell but never told
Because how can you hold your ground
If everyone around you wants to bury you beneath it
You have to believe that they were wrong
They have to be wrong
Why else would we still be here?

Excerpt from ‘To This Day’ by Shane Koyczan

Izuku’s hands shake as he holds the letter his mother brought in from the mail box. It’s finally come in, the one hope of perhaps getting him and his mother to a better life. Pretty much everywhere else has turned him away or has policies against him applying. But if he can get in to Yuuei and graduate, it won’t matter what his quirk status is because he’ll have graduated from one of the most prestigious schools around, certainly the school to graduate from in Japan.

This is his first step. This will let him attempt the first step of his dream. Part of him still aches from giving up on his childhood dream, but right now, he has no room for childhood dreams. He needs to be realistic no matter how those uttered words burn in his chest and even if he can’t be a hero, he can at least make a good life for him and his mother, the only person who has stood beside him all this time.

With shaking hands, he ignores his mother hovering in the kitchen and carefully opens the envelope to see a single sheet of paper in the envelope. Pulling it out, he unfolds it as he reads quickly and feels what little hope he had gutter, sputter and die out as his last dream is dashed again.

Rejected.

His request for an exam ticket was rejected. He didn’t meet the minimum requirements to even register for the exam. Izuku feels his throat tighten with tears as he lowers the page. He’s not stupid, can read between the lines. His grades were leaps above where they needed to be to request a ticket. He’d filled out all the forms needed, submitted his school transcripts, all they asked for, going over it meticulously to make sure he dotted all his I’s and crossed all his T’s. There’s only one reason they could have conceivably denied him.

It’s only been two years since Yuuei removed their anti-quirkless policy that kept quirkless teens from applying to their school. He’d hoped that with such a blatant campaign put forth to show the removal of such a policy, they would have accepted his application.

Now he knows it was just a PR stunt. Something to make them look good to the masses, showing them in a good light after all the backlash from the Ushima v. Takehara High School case three years before of the mother of a quirkless teen who sued and successfully won a case of discrimination against the school that had denied her son entry on the bases of his quirk status. A lot of schools had removed these polices, though many still held on to these policies, especially the higher echelon of educational institutions. Yuuei had been the first elite school to remove their policy.

Or he guessed they made it seem that way. It’s easy to remove a policy and still deny unwanted individuals through other bogus reasons. It’s easy to add more hoops to jump through or say they didn’t meet some standard they didn’t disclose to the public. Izuku is an idiot to have hoped Yuuei would be any different.

“Izuku?” Inko asks softly, coming further into the room.

“I was denied,” he manages to get out around his tight throat and Inko deflates.

“Oh baby, I’m so sorry,” she says softly, sitting beside him on the couch and wrapping an arm around his shoulders to pull him in close. “It’s their loss,” she says simply and Izuku nods against her shoulder, trying to keep the tears at bay. He doesn’t want to cry over something he should have never gotten his hopes up for in the first place. “What about the other schools?” she asks.

Izuku shakes his head. “Most of the good schools still have anti-quirkless policies and the others denied me,” he admits, hand clutching at his denial letter and hears paper crinkle with how hard he’s gripping it.

Inko sighs softly. “Well, there’re still the local high schools around here,” she offers though even she seems reluctant to offer them. The schools around here are some of the poorest schools in the district. Izuku had researched them just to see and their dropout rates are the highest in Musutafu and their school ratings are some of the lowest as well. Some people even refer to them as villain factories because only the most desperate or the lowest in society go there. Plus, Izuku would rather not have to face another three years at another school like Aldera. He’s got enough scars thank you very much.

“Maybe I should just do online schooling,” he mutters.

Inko sighs softly. “If that’s what you want, I’m sure we can find a good online school to enroll you,” she says softly, running a hand over his back. “Whatever makes you happy,” she adds gently.

What would make him happy would be to have a quirk suddenly manifest in him or better yet, for their society to not be so wrapped around the idea of a quirk being all that matters to the point that they destroy the lives of the people who don’t happen to have them. He’d just like some basic human decency for once and a fair chance like quirked people get.

Izuku sighs and pulls away from his mother, wiping at his eyes as subtly as he can. “I’ll research some online schools,” he mutters, standing. Inko looks one step away from openly weeping at how subdued he’s acting, though Izuku doesn’t see it as he turns away from her. “I’ll help with dinner later,” he whispers and walks away before he can break down.

“Okay sweetie,” Inko murmurs and Izuku escapes to his room to finally cry as quietly as he can without an audience. He throws the rejection letter in the trash after balling it up and then lies on his bed as he tries to come to terms with everything that has happened in his life.

~*~

Izuku wants to punch the manager in his smarmy face, but instead refrains from violence mainly because his mother’s life is already hard enough working two jobs. She doesn’t need the added stress of having to bail him from jail for assaulting someone. Plus, a mark on his record would look bad and he’s already got a lot going against him begin quirkless.

But still, to come right out and say the reason they wouldn’t accept his application is because he’s quirkless is just fucking rude. They could have just accepted his application and thrown it out later, but the man had seen his shoes, mouth sneering and had said point blank they didn’t accept applications form ‘his kind’ like he’s some sort of diseased monkey or something.

It’s been four months since he was rejected by Yuuei, his best hope of getting somewhere in life. He’d graduated from Aldera last month and had since started on an okay online school. Kuchina Online Academy isn’t the best out there, but they at least don’t have policies about quirkless applying and he doesn’t have a set schedule like some of the other schools required. He can work at his own pace rather than by a school schedule which works for him.

However, his mother’s job at the hospital had cut her hours again and she’s been talking about getting another job to make ends meet and Izuku had persuaded her to let him get a part time job to help out. She’d been reluctant at first, but this way at least he can help and it’s not like he had to be at school for a set time so she had finally relented as long as it isn’t too many hours or too labor heavy. He’s a growing boy and shouldn’t do work like that right now.

So here he is trying to get a part time job and so far has had no luck. Most of the jobs want people with more experience. How he’s supposed to get that experience without working at the job first is a mystery he’s still trying to solve. Or they simply never respond to his emails or phone calls. Some are like the small café he just left refusing him outright because he’s quirkless and he’s honestly losing hope of getting a job that isn’t hard labor on a construction site or working as a janitor at some crappy store that will try and shortchange his pay.

Sighing, Izuku trudges down the sidewalk, eyes glancing around for stores with hiring signs. Most of the stores around here he’s already applied to and he hasn’t heard back from them though he doubts they’ll respond. He decides to try the job posting board at the library. He’d seen a few postings there and maybe someone posted something new.

He swings by the library and finds the board in question mostly the same as the last time he looked at it. But he does spy a new paper tacked to it near the bottom. He bends and reads it to see it’s a job ad for working at a small coffee shop about a twenty minute walk from home. He’s not been to that area in a while and he doesn’t recognize the name, but maybe it’s new.

There are tear away tabs for people to take with a number and a name to call and he sees no one has taken one yet so he shrugs and pulls it off, tucking it into his pocket. He’ll call them once he gets back. He snaps a picture of the page for reference and then heads out to pick up the groceries he promised his mom he’d grab on his way home.

~*~

Izuku stares at his phone for a long moment before he slowly types the number from the paper slip into the device. He’d tried to research the café, but all it brought up is a location and not much else. No website or menus like some cafes like to do for online ordering. Nothing on any rating sites or social media either. It’s like aside from a physical location, the place doesn’t exist.

It’s possible that they’re too new to have anything out there yet and are simply getting staff before they open. Still, he’s a little nervous, but he needs a job and the pay rate on the flyer had been quite tempting with flexible hours, mainly night hours as it seems they’re more a night café than an all day one. He thinks this could be a good job…if it’s not a front for something illegal.

Sucking in a breath, Izuku hits the call button and waits with baited breath for the call to connect. It rings five times and he thinks no one will answer when the line suddenly connects with a deep voice brusquely asking from the other end, “Yeah.”

“Ah…um, h-hello, I’m calling a-about the job posting,” Izuku gets out.

“Oh, yeah, forgot about that. Hang on,” they mutter and he hears the rustling of papers, the voice swears as something topples on the other end and then the voice comes back. “What’s your name, kid?” he asks.

“Midoriya Izuku,” he says quickly and hears them hum as they write it down.

“Phone number?” they ask and he rattles off his phone number. “Age?” they ask.

“Uh, fifteen,” he says and hears them hum again.

“You are aware of the hours kid?” they asks.

“Y-yeah, I…um, I’m taking online classes so late hours are fine,” he explains.

“Cool, I’m in all day tomorrow afternoon and evening if you want to come in for the interview,” they state.

“What?” Izuku asks in shock. “Uh, don’t I need to fill out an application or something?” Izuku asks confused.

“Nah, kid. Can’t stand applications. They tell you jack shit about whether a person will be a good fit. I prefer face to face to make my decisions. So, can you come by any time tomorrow?” they ask again.

“Oh, um, yes, any time is good,” Izuku gets out.

“Alright, I’ll put you down for four tomorrow afternoon. Don’t go to the front door. Go to the side entrance in the alley on the right. Got it?” they ask.

“No front entrance, side entrance on the right, yes,” Izuku says quickly.

“Alright, see you there kid. You don’t need to dress all fancy and shit. This is a coffee shop not a 9-5 business. Jeans and sneakers are fine. Don’t be late,” they order.

“Of course,” Izuku gets out and then the line cuts off. Izuku stares at it for a long moment before grinning. Maybe his luck is finally turning around. Getting up, he goes to tell his mother the good news about a job interview tomorrow.

~*~

Hideo stares at the scrawny kid fidgeting in the seat across from him with a frown. He’s tiny, but then a lot of people are small compared to his heavy bulk. Years of extensive training to build muscle and a bull mutation that has him standing at least a head over most people with a rack of horns that adds an extra six inches on top of that and he’s got most people beat for height.

Still, this kid is scrawny. He wonders if he’s eating right at home and puts the question aside for later. He’d also noticed the well cared for sneakers of a familiar shade of red and wonders how much baggage this kid has dragged in with him. No one wearing that particular brand of shoes is baggage free, not that he’ll let that influence his decision. He’s running a business not some quirkest circus that puts down the ‘undesirables’ like a lot of places do.

The kid also looks terrified, though whether that’s because of his size or something else, he’s not sure. Still, the kid’s got a bit of a stubborn set to his eyes that he likes. “Well, let’s get this shindig going, then,” Hideo huffs out and the kid jumps a bit, but nods. “Name’s Ubumi Hideo. Just call me Bull, everyone else does,” he orders and the kid nods. “So, you already know about the hours and pay, any questions kid?” he asks.

“Um…do you need to see my resume?” he asks quietly, reaching for his bag that he’d come in carrying.

“Nah, already did a background check on you kid. You’re squeaky clean,” Hideo jokes with a laugh. “You’re probably the cleanest person I’ve looked up in a while,” he adds and the kid looks confused. “Relax kid, that’s a good thing. Means there was nothing on your file I needed to worry about. Resumes are just paper. Don’t need them. Someone wants to work I’m not going to turn them away just because they haven’t got experience. Besides, this isn’t exactly some high rise fancy café if you’ve noticed,” he adds with a snort, waving his hand towards the actual coffee shop.

“O-okay,” he nods with an understanding look to his eyes. “Um…is this a front for something?” he asks and then squeaks, covering his mouth while he flushes, and Hideo can’t stop the deep bellowing laugh that comes out. Kid’s got spunk, that’s for sure. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Nah, you’re fine kid,” Hideo reassures him with a few lingering chuckles. “I’m glad you’re asking questions. I’d hate for you to think badly about this place. We’re not a front for something, though I guess it might seem like that if you did any research on us,” Hideo says and he nods quickly. “While I can’t tell you everything, I can say that the kind of clientele we get here want privacy and anonymity when they come here and we provide that. You’ll learn more once you actually get hired on and sign some NDAs,” he adds and he nods, looking curious.

“NDAs?” he asks.

“Secrecy, kid. You work here long enough and you’ll see and hear things you can’t talk about. You want the job, I need to know you can keep a secret,” he explains simply.

He nods with a frown, hands clinching into fists on his lap. “I can keep a secret, even ones I don’t want,” he mutters the last part and Hideo wanders just what this kid knows before shoving the thought aside for now.

“Well, good to know. Got a few questions,” he says and he nods. “Can you work a coffee maker?” he asks.

“Um, yes, though nothing fancy,” he says.

“We aren’t some fancy café kid. The people who come here aren’t expecting special orders. Most just want the caffeine mainlined into their bloodstream and maybe something to add flavor. You’ll mainly just be handling the coffee and they can add what they want from the side area,” Hideo explains and he nods. “We do offer some pastries, but they’re premade stuff you just throw in the oven so nothing too hard.”

“I can do that,” he says with a nod.

“Good. Like I said, this job isn’t fancy. It’s mainly gonna be just sitting around and taking coffee orders on occasion. Nothing glamorous or terribly busy. The heavy crowd comes in later in the evening. The shift will be from three to eleven in the evening. You okay with those hours? I work the second shift so you won’t be working through the whole night, but I know some people don’t like the late shifts,” Hideo says.

“No, that’s fine. My mom works late as well so it’s not like I’ve got anyone home at that time and we….we need the money since they cut her hours again,” he admits quietly. “And honestly, you’re the first place I’ve applied to that has actually gotten this far. Everywhere else either never contacts me back or says outright that they don’t accept ‘my kind’,” he bites out with a frown.

Has Hideo mentioned that he hates people sometimes? “I don’t care if you got extra arms, eyes or can puke up rainbows. I’m looking for someone to make coffee, not be the next number one hero. Those places were probably shit places that take advantage of part-timers anyways,” Hideo growls out and the kid looks surprised by his words and isn’t that a sad sight that someone not treating him like shit is a surprise.

“Thanks,” he murmurs and Hideo nods.

“So, in terms of benefits, I can’t offer much right now aside from the hours and good pay. You hang around for the next six months and you’ll get a raise and every six months after that. Sound okay? After a year, we can talk benefits and such, but unfortunately, the turnover rate is a bit high at this place so I like to make sure you’re going to be in the long haul kid,” he explains.

“That’s fine,” he says with an eager nod.

“Any questions before we move onto the paperwork?” he asks and the kid freezes, eyes wide in shock.

“I…I’ve got the job?” he asks in shock.

“You see anyone else here, kid?” he asks brusquely. “I like your spunk and you seem like a good kid. You’ve got no red flags and I decide who I hire, not some bigoted bigwig breathing over my shoulder,” he adds and the kid looks about ready to cry.

He manages to keep from doing so, though he does sniff a bit loudly and nod. “Okay, yeah,” he says with a small smile.

Hideo can already guess he’s going to have to keep an eye on this kid. The others will either eat him alive or try and take him under their wing and have to fight his mother for right to keep him. Snorting at the image of some of his customers fighting some faceless woman to the death for this kid, he digs around through his desk for the papers needed to get him on the payroll.

“Here kid, fill these out, sign the NDAs and have your mother sign the last one since you’re still underage. You can bring them back later today or tomorrow at three at the start of your shift, whichever is easier and then we’ll get you started on figuring this job out,” he says and the kid nods so fast his curls bounce and he looks a bit like a bobble head toy.

“Okay,” he agrees quickly and takes them from Hideo. With a grunt, Hideo hauls his heavy bulk from his chair and walks the kid through the back hall to the side entrance and lets him out. The kid bows and thanks him again and then scurries off at a fast trot, papers clutched in his hands, bag bouncing on his back until he’s out of sight.

Hideo grumbles under his breath about stupid people and then drags himself through the hall towards the shop where he left a regular in charge behind the counter while he talked with the kid. He finds Eraserhead seated behind the counter looking bored as he sips a coffee and reads a paperback. The shop is dead, too early for any of his regulars to be making an appearance yet. Some of the early risers might be stumbling in for their first cup before they go on patrol, but most won’t be in for at least another hour.

“Got a new employee then, Bull?” Eraser asks, book lowering as he eyes Hideo.

“Yeah,” he grunts out, pouring himself a coffee. “You tell the others, if they make my new kid cry, they’ll be answering to me,” he grumbles out and takes a long draw of coffee.

“That bad, huh?” Eraser asks with a smirk.

“Gods, like a kitten with big sad eyes and curls,” Hideo mutters. “I’m gonna have to beat you assholes away to keep from stealing him from me,” he grumbles and Eraser actually laughs softly. “Good kid, got the shit end of the stick though,” he mutters.

Eraser arches a brow, but doesn’t ask what he means by it. There’s a lot of things that sentence can mean. “Well, thanks for the coffee. I’ll probably be back sometime tonight,” he adds.

“Tell Mic I said hi,” Hideo calls out and Eraser nods and waves before leaving out the main door. Sighing, Hideo settles himself down on a chair to while away the hours. Pulling out his computer from under the counter, he gets to work on some cases that someone sent him.

~*~

Izuku walks quickly towards his new job. He’s still wrapping his head around that fact. He’d gone home yesterday after the interview and had spent the majority of the afternoon bouncing with nervous energy waiting for his mother to get home from her second job and then had nearly thrown himself at her in his excitement to tell her the good news.

She’d been a bit wary at first, especially when he explained the hours, but he’d managed to at least sooth that worry with the fact that the job is only a twenty minute walk from their tiny apartment. He doesn’t mention that that is mainly because he cuts through a few alleys rather than following the main roads, but it’s fine. He’s been living in this area all his life. He knows how to get around without drawing attention to himself.

But she’d still not been entirely convinced and she’d demanded to call Bull. He’dreluctantly handed over Bull’s number and had gone off to his room hesitantly to give them privacy. Whatever Bull had said to his mother had been enough to convince her because she’d finally signed the forms to give him permission to work.

He privately thinks it’s because they need the money and she had been exhausted from working her second job and the thought of picking up a third one had been too much for her to consider. It eats at his chest that he is more than likely the reason she’s running herself ragged. It was only after it got out at work that he’s quirkless that her hours suddenly got cut, punishing her for being a good mother and not abandoning her quirkless child to the world. Izuku wonders if she’d be happier if she had, though he never lets these thoughts out if only because he doesn’t want them to be confirmed.

He’d helped her make dinner and prep breakfast for the morning since she had to go in early and then they’d gone to bed. Izuku is surprised he slept at all last night, but he had and he’d been up early enough to eat breakfast with his mother before she left and then he’d whittled the time away until he had to head out.

An hour before three, Izuku throws on some clean clothes. Bull hadn’t said he needed to dress up or if there’s any specific dress code, but he’d okayed jeans and sneakers so he finds a nice shirt and throws it on before grabbing his lunch and stuffing it into his bag with his forms and his computer before heading out.

He’s got time so he takes the longer route along the main roads and gets there with ten minutes to spare. Not sure what to do or if Bull is even in yet, Izuku wanders around the local stores just looking at window displays before it’s finally three and then he heads for the side entrance and presses the buzzer there.

It takes a few long moments, but the door finally clicks loudly and opens to show Bull’s hulking form on the other side before he shifts to the side to let Izuku in. “Hey kid, right on time,” he grumbles out and Izuku nods nervously.

Bull is unlike anyone he’s ever met. For one, he’s huge with a thick barrel chest, broad shoulders and thick neck. He’s got a wide face with a bit of a flat bull like nose and a heavy jaw dusted with facial hair. Thick, dark brown hair cut short covers his head and two thick bull horns that come out of the sides of his head, curve forward and then up to add extra inches to his already large height.

And yet despite his bulk, the man walks almost silently through the hall, leading Izuku towards his office where they had met before. The hall here is taller than normal, the same with the doors, no doubt built to accommodate his height so he didn’t have to bend as far to get in the door.

“Alright kid, take a seat,” he orders and Izuku does. That’s another thing that is unexpected. He’s gruff, to the point, and a bit blunt, but he talks to Izuku like he’s an actual person and not some lesser being. He’d even said he didn’t care about Izuku’s quirklessness. He’d even said that the other stores that turned him down because of it were in the wrong. It’s the first time outside of his mother that someone has treated him like this, which is honestly kind of sad, but it’s just the way things are.

“Got your forms?” Bull asks and Izuku nods, pulling out the finished and signed forms and hands them over. Bull takes a long moment to look them over before nodding and setting them aside. “Alright, everything looks good. Welcome to the payroll. We’ll get that stuff squared away in a bit and I’ll get your info added to my files. First, any extra questions before I give the tour?” Bull asks.

Izuku shakes his head and the man nods, heaving his bulk out of his chair and motions for Izuku to follow him out of the office. “Not much back here. Bathroom’s there, cleaning supply closet here,” Bull says, jerking open a plain door to show the cleaning supplies neatly stored inside. “You’ll need to keep track of what we have and let me know when we need more and I’ll order some,” he explains and Izuku nods, making a mental note to make an inventory of what’s in the closet. “Break room’s in here. It’s not much, but there’s a fridge and a microwave so don’t be afraid to use it, got it?” Bull grumbles out.

“Yes,” Izuku says quickly and he nods before continuing.

“I’ve got two offices here kid: the coffee shop office and my personal office. If I’m in the second one, knock if you need to come get me. My side work is sensitive and not for your eyes, got it?” he says, pointing out the heavy door with a pin pad next to the door.

“Yes,” Izuku says and asks, “W-what do you do in there?” he asks curiously.

“I’ll explain in a moment,” Bull huffs out, but doesn’t look annoyed which is a change from when he asks other people questions. “This is the main door to the coffee shop itself. I’ll give you your code in a bit once I get around to programming it,” Bull says and deftly punches in a code, the numbers on the pad larger than average to accommodate his larger fingers. Bull pushes open the door and Izuku walks in.

It’s his first time coming into the actual shop and he’s not sure what to expect. The place is sparsely furnished with tables and chairs taking up the center of the large room and some booths around the edges. The walls are painted a muted purple grey which looks pretty nice. There’s nothing hanging on the walls and the lighting isn’t too bright.

He’s honestly not sure what he expected, but not this. There’s a counter along the wall they just walked through with a section that swings up to allow them access to the rest of the room. There are a few stools along it as well. Behind it are three large coffee machines already percolating coffee from the smells and a small oven on the back counter where he can smell something being warmed up. There’s a small bar off to the side filled with things like creamer and sugar and other items that you’d normally see in a shop like this.

“Like I said kid, we’re not fancy. People don’t come for the atmosphere, they come to drink coffee,” he huffs out and walks towards the oven as it dings and pulls on an oven mitt to pull out a tray of what looks like scones. “We get all our pastries premade from a bakery nearby and they freeze them before delivery. We just heat them back up and serve them. There’s no real menu, just whatever we get in and heat up.” Bull sets the tray on a cooling rack and tosses the mitt aside.

He reaches over the counter and pulls a stool over and motions for Izuku to sit. “Not too hard to memorize,” he points towards the coffee machines. “Red is decaf, green is regular and blue is the extra caffeinated shit for those assholes that are living off coffee alone. You’ll be surprised how many will ask for that,” Bull says and Izuku nods, seeing small labels on the sides of the machine as reminders.

“Yeah, that’s not too hard,” he says.

“Good,” Bull says with a nod. “We offer our own cups or they can bring their own and store it here if they’re inclined. Coffee and pastries are free for you kid, though don’t go overboard, got it,” he sends Izuku a look and he nods.

“Y-yes. I don’t drink coffee anyways so it’s fine,” Izuku adds and Bull snorts, but nods.

“This is our system. We take cards and cash though we mainly deal with a lot of cash. You good with mental math?” Bull asks.

“Yes,” Izuku nods.

“Good. The computer will tell you the amount, but it’s always good to know in case it goes down. Can’t tell you how many times the wi-fi’s gone out and shut the whole damn thing down,” he grumbles and Izuku nods with a faint grin.

“I’ll get you your login set up in a moment as well, but first, I’m sure you’re curious about the customers we serve here,” Bull says and Izuku nods eagerly.

“I didn’t want to ask in case I wasn’t allowed to know,” Izuku murmurs.

“Nah, that’s what the NDAs were for, kid,” Bull waves off. “The fact of the matter is, about ninety percent of our customers here will be underground heroes. This is a safe pace for them to meet up and unwind or get ready for their patrols. The other ten percent are friends and family of them or other heroes in the know about this place. It’s why you could only find the physical location about this place online. Only those in the know actually know it exists,” Bull says.

“Heroes?” Izuku squeaks out, heart hammering in his chest.

“Got an issue with that kid?” Bull asks with narrowed eyes.

“N-no,” Izuku gets out quickly, shaking his head. “I…it’s just a bit of a shock,” he says. Izuku looks down at his lap, fidgeting with his fingers. “Will…will they be okay with…with me?” he asks nervously.

“They will if they want to keep coming here,” Bull says gruffly. “I don’t put up with that bigoted bullshit in my day to day, I’ll be damned if I let it in here,” he grumbles and Izuku nods with a small watery smile. “Nah, I doubt you’ll have any problems in that regard. The only thing you’ll have to worry about is them trying to steal you away from me. That’s how they got my last employee,” Bull mutters sullenly.

“What?” Izuku asks nervously.

“Ah nothing like that, kid. Kenda is working in one of their agencies now is all. The thing to know about underground heroes kid, if they find anyone with talent, they immediately start trying to recruit them. We’re understaffed and most people want the glamor of the limelight heroes,” Bull says with a heavy roll of his eyes. “Hero work is hero work no matter if it’s in the day or night, but most want the camera time and not just the satisfaction of a job well done. Honestly, the industry’s kind of gone to shit lately,” he says with a shrug.

“What is it you do then B-Bull-san?” Izuku asks nervously, heart still beating heavily in his chest.

“Just Bull, kid,” Bull says with a snort and then continues. “I’m an under myself though mainly with investigation and information compilation. I’m basically an information broker. People send me stuff to look through and I find connections, overlap, and finding where one thread leads, or if two seemingly unrelated incidents are actually part of something bigger. Then I give it out to people working cases related to the info or who patrol certain areas where something is going on. Unfortunately, I’m a bit recognizable so I mainly work from the shadows while the others go out unless they need some muscle,” Bull says with a sharp grin and Izuku nods in understanding. “Technically, my hero name is Charging Bull but I just go by Bull. Easier to get out.”

“Wow,” Izuku says excitedly. “That’s so cool.”

Bull chuckles at his enthusiasm, “We’ll make a hero of you yet kid,” he jokes.

Izuku’s blood runs cold and he feels his enthusiasm diminish. He shakes his head, “I can’t be a hero, I’d just be a liability,” he mutters and Bull frowns, but doesn’t say anything and Izuku takes that as agreement.

“Alright, well let’s get you in the system,” Bull says and Izuku nods, looking up to watch him log into the computer and getting him added to the program so he can log in and run the program. He also finds an apron that will fit him to wear over his clothes so he doesn’t stain them up.

He also talks about a nickname for Izuku. “Why?” Izuku asks in confusion.

“The first thing you should know about dealing with underground heroes kid is that none of them will give their real name. They give you a name…it’s either their hero name or an assumed name. Information is a commodity. Even something as innocuous as a name can be used against you. It’s why I go by Bull instead of my name. Not to say they’ll use it against you, but it’s more a precaution. Sometimes villains are good at infiltration and this is just a precaution. Not to say they’d be able to get in here. I know who comes and goes from here, but still. You can never be too safe. So, no full names here,” Bull says.

“Okay,” Izuku says. “Um, do you recommend any?” Izuku asks, stuck on what to call himself.

“Got any childhood nicknames?” Bull asks with a shrug.

“The last childhood nickname I got was Deku and it’s stuck ever since. I’d rather not use that,” Izuku admits quietly and Bull frowns.

Finally he huffs and says, “How about Kido?”

Izuku mulls over the word: brightness. He likes it. “Okay, I’ll go with Kido,” Izuku nods.

“Good. We open at three, but most people don’t start coming in until around four or five depending on who it is. Usually, we spend the first hour cleaning up what wasn’t done the night before and getting coffee brewed and pastries warmed up. I’ll let you get the next batch. Instructions are on the oven. Freezer’s over there. Just pull out whatever you feel like and pop them in,” Bull orders and Izuku does, grabbing what the label says are blueberry muffins and slowly follows the instructions to preheat the oven and then pops them in on a tray.

By the time he’s finished, Bull is on the other side of the counter sweeping up the floor. “I can help,” Izuku calls out.

“Nah, almost done as is. Thankfully we don’t get too much dirt in here so sweeping’s not that hard. I’ll show you the cleaning schedule in a second so you’re not working yourself ragged trying to clean everything every night.”

Bull finishes sweeping up the dirt, and then puts the broom and dust pan away before coming back over. He quickly finds the schedule and explains why he’d set it up that way and Izuku nods, memorizing it. He’s in the middle of pulling out the finished muffins when the door chimes and the first customer comes in.

“Bull,” they cry out softly.

“What is it, Gretel?” Bull grouches from where he’s retreated back behind the counter and is working on something on a laptop.

“Coffee,” Gretel whines and Bull snorts.

“Then order something,” he grumbles and nods towards Izuku who had frozen a bit with a tray of muffins still in his hands.

Gretel, a short muscled woman with close chopped bright red hair and a dark purple leather jacket over her clothes perks up, eyes taking in Izuku. “You got a new one already?” she asks excitedly.

“Don’t scare him off. I just got him trained up,” Bull grumbles. Izuku flushes and quickly sets the tray on the cooling rack before walking to the computer.

“H-hi, what w-would you like?” he asks, cursing himself for stuttering so much, but this is his first customer and they’re probably an underground hero, too.

“Just a cup of regular sweetheart,” she says and Izuku nods, quickly punching in the order and she hands over a few bills which Izuku quickly gets the change for.

“Do you…do you have a cup here?” he asks, remembering that bit of info.

“Nope,” she says and he nods, quickly grabbing one of their plain cups and filling it with regular.

“H-here you go. Sorry for the wait,” he gets out.

“Nah, you’re fine. I’m not set to start patrol for a few hours. This is just my wake up cup,” she waves him off and takes a sip with a sigh. “What’s your name?” she asks with a wink.

Izuku almost says his real name before catching himself and saying instead, “Kido.”

Gretel laughs, bent in half and almost spilling her coffee and Izuku frowns thinking she’s laughing at him. “It’s not you, dear, I promise,” she gets out at seeing his frown. “It took Kenda three days to remember that. You got you a good one, Bull,” she says with another wink at Izuku and he flushes.

“Kid’s got a good head on his shoulders,” Bull admits and Izuku flushes harder. “Anything new happen last night on your case?” he asks and Gretel gives him a quick wave before heading over to where Bull is seated behind the counter and chatting with him. Izuku tries to ignore their conversation and stands off to the side fidgeting with stuff to try and look busy.

Bull stops mid conversation to look over at him. “You got anything to entertain yourself, kid?” he asks and Izuku frowns. “Computer, phone, book?” Bull clarifies.

“I…um, brought my computer to maybe do school work on my break,” Izuku admits.

“Nah, bring it out now. I told you before. The first few hours are usually dead and even after that there are lulls. I don’t care if you do your school work while working. Better than you standing around looking bored out of your mind. The wi-fi login is by the computer,” he adds.

“Oh, okay,” Izuku nods, surprised by how laid back the man is. “My bag is in your office,” he admits.

“Ah, shit, still haven’t gotten your code put in. Go grab your bag and I’ll do that. Back in a minute Gretel,” Bull says and the woman waves him off as they head to the back to do just that. Bull gives him his code to get through the door. “It’ll let you in through the side door as well so you won’t need to buzz to be let in. I’m usually here about fifteen minutes before three so if you get here early you can just come in,” Bull adds and Izuku nods.

There’s actually a clear space next to the computer that’s almost perfect to set up his laptop and Izuku wonders if the last person who worked here used to use it for their own work. He quickly connects to the wi-fi and brings up his work.

He spends the rest of his first shift working on school work between getting coffee for people that trickle in in ones and twos. Most of them he doesn’t recognize which is understandable because they’re underground heroes. You’re not supposed to recognize them, but there are a few he thinks he recognizes from descriptions from the many forums he’s on.

He manages to keep from making a fool of himself or embarrassing himself by fanboying over meeting so many heroes. They all seem pretty excited to see him and if any of them guess about his quirklessness, no one says anything or acts differently. In fact, they’re all very welcoming and easy going if he makes a mistake.

All in all, it’s both exhilarating and exhausting and he’s tired by the time eleven rolls around. Bull waits for him to pack his things away before taking his spot. “Um, what do I do about clocking in and out?” Izuku asks quietly. They’re in a lull in customers and there’s only two people currently sitting and drinking their coffee.

“You get here by three and leave at eleven and you get paid for that time. I’m usually here so I’ll know when you get in and leave. If you’re sick, or something comes up and you can’t make a shift, just call the number I gave you and I can take your shift. We’ll work you for four days this week for the moment and then if you’d like we can go to five, but nothing passed that, got it? You’re still a kid and don’t need to be working those hours. I’ll be around when you’re on shift if you need help with anything,” he adds.

“Got it,” Izuku says with a nod.

“Alright. You’re okay to get home kid? It’s pretty late,” Bull adds.

“It’s fine. It’s just a twenty minute walk from here,” Izuku assures him.

“Alright, head on home. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Bull says with a nod.

“Okay,” Izuku nods and slips into the back area and out the side door. It’s dark outside and he’s a bit nervous, but he’s grinning because his first night of work went fine and he really liked it and he can’t wait to go back. His fingers itch to grab his notebook and write down all his observations he saw of the heroes he met.

With a huff, Izuku sets off at a trot towards home. His mother should be back by now. Maybe they can have a late dinner before going to bed.

~*~

Izuku closes his laptop with a faint sigh and glances at the clock. It’s pushing just past nine and they’re in a bit of a slump, but if he stares at his laptop screen for any longer, he’s going to start seeing things. He’s already pretty far ahead in his course work so he can take a break from it for now.

Stuffing it into his backpack, he instead pulls out his notebook. It’s not his previous one. That one he hasn’t touched since that day last year. No, this one is brand new and already half filled with his observations and guesses on people’s quirks.

He’s met so many heroes over the last two weeks of working here and he’s heard quite a bit. He never writes down anything he overhears, he signed NDAs and he’ll keep the secrets, but he’s learned a lot about how the underground heroes operate and the ways they run cases. He’s not been brave enough to ask any questions or offer any advice on things he’s researched, but…maybe one day he will.

He doubts it, but false hope is better than no hope, right?

Setting the notebook down on the counter, he eyes one of the heroes currently nursing a cup of coffee and starts to write in his notebook, trying to get down the man’s quirk. He’s not seen much of it, but he’d noticed the gleam of metal along his fingers and had simply introduced himself as Claw.

He spirals deep into writing in his notebook and completely loses track of time as he writes, hand writing quickly across the page. He flips to a new page and starts on another hero that had left earlier after ordering two cups.

He’s so lost in his writing, he doesn’t notice the new person come in, or them standing silently at the counter watching him write, voice a soft mumble as he writes. Finally, after a few minutes, they clear their throat and Izuku jumps, broken from his thoughts.

Blinking, he looks up and flushes as he realizes someone has been waiting on him. “Oh, I-I’m so sorry,” Izuku stutters out, quickly snapping his notebook closed and shoving it to the side to do his job. “W-What can I get for you?” he asks shakily.

The hero, now that Izuku is actually paying attention, is dressed in all black, not an uncommon dress choice for most underground heroes. Shaggy black hair hangs around his face, dark eyes watching him. Izuku can see a scar under one eye in a jagged crescent. He also notices the strange scarf and his mind stalls for a moment, remembering a hero mentioned on one of his forums that had that particular scarf. He can spy just the bit of yellow color peeking out from under it.

“Cup of regular,” the Eraserhead says blandly.

Nodding, Izuku quickly punches his order in and tells him his total. A pale hand offers the bills needed to pay and Izuku quickly gets his change. “No cup here,” he adds before Izuku can ask and he nods before quickly turning to get his coffee.

He’s so shaken by being caught not paying attention, worrying that the hero will complain to Bull and he’ll lose his job that isn’t paying attention as he pours the hot drink. Scalding coffee splashes over his hand and he has to struggle to keep from dropping the coffee cup and breaking it. He quickly jerks the cup under the stream and finishes filling it, ignoring the painful burn over his fingers and back of his hand.

“H-Here you go, sorry about making you wait,” Izuku gets out, handing the cup over.

A dark brow goes up as he takes in Izuku. “You okay?” he asks.

“F-fine,” Izuku gets out and hopes the man won’t try to talk with him. His hand really hurts right now.

Eraserhead takes the cup with a nod and steps away. Izuku sighs as silently as he can before turning away towards the sink to run some cool water over his hand, trying to keep from tearing up as it throbs and aches. It’s not the worst burn he’s ever gotten, but it still hurts.

“Kido, where-…what happened?” Bull asks, coming up behind Izuku as silently as he usually does and Izuku jumps again in shock.

“I…um…,” Izuku tries to answer, turning wide eyes up to the large hero and falls short on what to say.

“Did you burn yourself?” he asks, seeing the bright red burn across Izuku’s hand. “Kid, you need to get that looked at,” he scolds gently, resting a heavy hand on Izuku’s shoulder and tugging him back from the sink towards his stool.

“I-I’m okay,” Izuku tries to reassure him. “It’s nothing serious.”

“All burns are serious, kid,” Bull huffs out and Izuku wilts. He’s gone and made Bull annoyed with him and now he’s causing problems.

Grunting, Bull crouches down to pull a rather large first aid kit from under the counter and sets it with a heavy thud on the countertop. “Let me see it,” he orders and Izuku reluctantly holds out his hand feeling very small right now.

Bull opens the kit filled to the brim with supplies and starts to paw through it after looking quickly at the burn. “Were you going to tell me about it, or just tough it out?” Bull asks seriously.

Izuku hunches his shoulders. “I didn’t want to be a bother,” he murmurs.

Bull huffs at his words, but still takes his hand gently, pulling out some burn cream and starts to deftly apply it to the red areas on his hand. “Kid, I want you to listen to me, can you do that?” he demands brusquely. Izuku nods, waiting for the condemning words to fall. “You’re not a bother,” Bull says easily, gripping his wrist to twist his hand slightly. “And if you do end up being a bother, I will let you know. Injuries are serious, no matter how big or small. I need you to let me know when you hurt yourself. Even the smallest thing can become a big problem if left untreated. Also, I don’t want you being in pain just to work for me, got it?” he demands, bending down a little to catch Izuku’s gaze this time.

“Yes, Bull,” Izuku murmurs as Bull reaches out to grab some bandages. “It’s not that bad a burn,” Izuku says with a small frown at the way Bull is treating him like some victim to a villain attack. “I’ve had worse burns than this,” he mutters.

“Kid,” Bull says with a raised brow. “That isn’t the point. The point is to tell me when you get hurt.”

Izuku sighs and nods again. Bull finishes wrapping his hand. Izuku tests it and finds that it’s secure, but not too tight. He’s obviously had practice with wrapping hands before. Bull stands back up from where he was kneeling and collects the trash from the counter, tossing it away. “Take it easy on that hand, got it?” he orders.

“Yes, sir,” Izuku says and Bull huffs, but ruffles his curls with a smile.

Bull walks back over to his area where he’s set up his computer and Izuku turns back to the register. It’s only as he turns back that he sees the eyes of everyone in the café looking their way. They all look away when he notices them, but he can’t keep the flush of shame off his cheeks. Great, now they all think he’s weak because he couldn’t handle a little burn. Trying to ignore the creeping feeling of anxiety from taking over, Izuku finishes the last of his shift.

Bull stops him just before he’s about to leave. “Remember, take it easy on that hand, got it,” he orders and Izuku nods. “Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow then.” He ruffles Izuku’s curls again and then settles on the stool Izuku just vacated. Feeling a little mollified by the man’s actions, Izuku rushes home.

~*~

Bull groans, rubbing his face as he finishes closing down the café. It’s almost six in the morning and most unders have made their way either back to their agencies to fill out reports or dragged themselves home to sleep the night off before returning again the next night. He’s got reports waiting for him. A recent deluge of information just hit his mail box from a few sources and he needs to sift through it before he can really crack down on it.

He eyes the slumped form of Eraserhead settled in a booth as he goes about sweeping up the floor. The man’s got class this morning so there’s no going home for him. Just one last coffee snagged from Bull before he drives to Yuuei.

“You’ve got a problem child on your hands,” Eraser calls out and Bull sighs long and hard, recalling last night.

“Tell me about it,” Bull mutters, rubbing at the base of one of his horns. He’d known when he hired Midoriya that the kid would come with baggage, he just wasn’t expecting this. The kid had second degree burns on his hand and had acted like it was nothing. He’s met hardened heroes and villains who could barely tolerate that kind of pain and this kid just shrugged it off.

Without a doubt, the kid’s been bullied, extensively no doubt. He knows it’s not abuse, not with the way his mother had acted over the phone when she had called to see just who he was before letting her son work here. He wonders what kind of scars he might find under Midoriya’s shirt if he looked.

“Want me to look into it?” Eraser offers.

“No…at least not yet. Let the kid come to me. Thanks though,” Bull adds and Eraser nods. The man groans as he forces himself up off his spot and meanders over to the counter. He slaps down a few bills to pay for his coffee and sticks a travel mug under the coffee dispenser, filling his cup up before heading out with a wave.

~*~

Bull’s night has been putting out one fire after another. Between the attack on Ingenium the week before, the recent uptick in crime in quite a few areas and now the attack on Hosu last night, he’s not had much sleep lately.

His mind has been buzzing, trying to fit pieces together, looking for a common denominator. There’s got to be one. Someone is stirring things up and he wants to know who. The word has already been put out to the whole underground community: no one goes out alone anymore. Stain might have been the most prolific and visible hero killer out there, but he’s not been the only one.

Helsifer, a younger under who’s only been on the scene for three years, is currently in the hospital after being led into an ambush. The under will live and be back to the job soon after, but the fact still stands, it’s not safe to go out alone.

He’s heard some whispers as well from some of his contacts. Old shadows are moving, people talking about things that should have been dead and done with years ago. He’s contacted Nighteye already, as well as a few other prominent unders who, like him, also thrive on information. If they can find a connection, maybe they can follow it to its source.

A beep draws him from his computer and Bull glances up to catch movement on the screen to his right. Midoriya is just now coming in and when he glances at the time, he sees it’s just about time to open up the café.  He needs to sleep after closing up in the morning. He’s going to burn out otherwise.

Groaning, he forces himself out of his chair, typing in a few commands to shut down and lock his computer before heading out of his office and into the hall. Midoriya looks up from where he’s checking the supply closet to make sure they don’t need anything before he grabs some cleaning things. It’s Thursday, which means a bit of a deep cleaning. They don’t have a lot of stuff here, but it still makes its own mess over the week.

“Hi Bull,” Izuku greets with a smile.

“Hey kid. You look like you had a long night,” he points out, seeing the faint shadows under his eyes.

“I was watching what happened in Hosu,” he admits and Bull grimaces at the reminder. “Is everyone okay?” he asks softly.

“Last I heard, most everyone is. Native will live and the people involved in the fighting will recover. Unfortunately in the mass panic and the building collapse, some people were killed, but it could have been a lot worse,” he admits. He doesn’t sugarcoat it. The kid’s been around here long enough to know that things could have been a lot worse.

“Yeah,” he agrees somberly. Then he glances up at Bull. “You look tired,” he points out.

“I am tired. It’s been a long night, kid. I’m planning to sleep long and hard once I close up in the morning,” he adds.

“That’s good,” he says and then scurries towards the café itself while Bull heads for his other office to gather a few things up.

He helps out with the opening ritual of cleaning up anything that needs it. As he’s wiping down the counters behind the coffee makers, Midoriya speaks up, “Um…I could stay a few extra hours…if you need some help,” he offers, glancing uncertainly over his shoulder.

“Nah, it’s fine kid. Honestly, I’ve felt worse than this before. Thanks for the offer though. It’s kind of you. Also, I don’t want your mom coming down here to bite my head off if you come home late. She’s scary,” he admits with a grin.

Midoriya pulls back to blink at him in shock. “My mom?” he asks in bewilderment.

“Yep, but then all moms are scary when it comes to their kids. You got a good mom looking after you,” he points out, ruffling Midoriya’s curls and the kid grins shyly.

“Yeah, she’s the best,” he agrees before he goes back to cleaning. They finish the cleaning just before the first of his usual crowd starts to trickle in, greeting them both before ordering their usual brew. A few draw him away from the counter to grill him on what he knows about Hosu. He keeps his voice low and gives what he can. The better informed they are, the better they’ll survive.

~*~

Bull’s noticed the kid’s notebook, who hasn’t. The kid writes like a fiend half the time between doing school work and his job. He’s heard him muttering, though he can never pick up more than a word here or there. He’s even looked at what he writes over his shoulder, but whatever the kid writes is indecipherable behind some sort of code, which Bull is all for. Also the fact the Midoriya knows and can write fluently in a code of his own making is intriguing in and of itself.

He’s never asked what he writes, the kid skittish whenever one of the regulars has tried to bring it up. The one time someone had touched his notebook, the kid has held back an obvious flinch, like an aborted attempt to snatch the notebook away in fear of someone taking it…or ruining it.

Needless to say, no one tries to touch it again after that day.

He’s had others ask him about it after the kid left for the night, but even he’s clueless. The kid sits by the register when he works and one of his cameras points right at it. He’d used it to snap a screenshot of one of his pages, just to try and decipher what he’s writing, but even he’s made no headway.

So, curiosity getting the better of him, he’d sent it to someone far smarter than him.

It’s almost two in the morning, in a lull of his normal traffic, and the door opens. He doesn’t see who it is at first until a small figure comes around the corner of one of the booths. He’d sent Nedzu the image to see what he made of it, but he hadn’t expected the rodent to come here in person to reply.

“Good morning, Bull,” Nedzu chirps, beady eyes taking in his establishment. The mammal’s never been here before and is probably intrigued, at least a little.

“Nedzu,” Bull greets and waits for the mammal to heft himself onto a stool, not offering any help. He doubts Nedzu wants help getting around. “Bit late for a friendly visit,” he points out.

“Indeed, but that image you sent me was intriguing enough to come in person. Is the person in question here?” he asks almost excitedly.

“Sorry, he left around eleven,” Bull says with a shrug.

“Ah, well, maybe next time,” Nedzu says with a faint grin that has him frowning.

“You were able to decipher his work?” he asks him.

“Indeed, though it took a minute to figure it out,” Nedzu says with an excited wiggle as he pulls out a couple of folded papers from inside his vest to lay them out. “The young man used a two part encryption. The first was the symbol change. It’s an older symbol system, pre-quirk era so many wouldn’t recognize it. The second was a language encryption. He used a made up language from a pre-quirk series of books. A lot of work to keep anyone from discovering what he writes,” Nedzu adds with a gleam in his eyes.

“And you just happen to know both this old obscure encryption and made up language?” Bull asks.

“Of course,” Nedzu says with grin full of too many teeth.

“Well, what’s he writing about?” Bull asks.

Here, Nedzu pauses, head cocked as he looks at Bull. “Analysis, primarily quirk analysis, but he also delves into heroic analysis that focuses mainly on underground heroics,” Nedzu says evenly and Bull frowns.

“Anything important?” he asks, keeping his tone even and not jumping to any conclusions.

“The one page you sent me showed no names, code or otherwise, and even the analysis was in general. Nothing that could be pointed at a single person,” Nedzu admits. “I would need to see the rest of the notebook to determine if there is anything…incriminating inside it,” Nedzu says pointedly.

Frowning, Bull pulls his computer closer and pulls up the security feeds. Nedzu sits off to the side as Bull starts going back through the security feeds to find the times Midoriya was in view writing in his notebook and snagging screen shots of various pages.

He serves one person a cup to go in that time, the under not sticking around as if sensing the tense atmosphere. He finishes an hour later before he sends them to Nedzu’s phone. Silence reigns as the rodent starts to decipher the pages one at a time.

Bull keeps working, seeing to the last stragglers coming in before they end their night of patrol. He starts to close up shop, letting the rodent work and finally locks up as the sun starts to come up. Nedzu hums and sets the phone down, letting Bull know he’s done.

“Well?” he asks. He likes Midoriya, but he’ll do what he must to ensure the people here are protected. Information like that, in the wrong hands, could kill a lot of good people.

“I find nothing to indicate anything criminal,” Nedzu finally decides on. “However the information, if deciphered, could be detrimental.”

“Do you think just anyone could decipher it?” he asks, curious.

“Probably not, but I’m not the only one out there with an intelligence quirk,” Nedzu points out.

Bull sighs, but nods. He’ll have to keep an eye on the kid; maybe try to subtly point out the folly of just carrying around a notebook like that that can be easily stolen. “Who is this employee of yours?” Nedzu asks curiously and Bull blanches, because a curious Nedzu is not a good thing in his book. Nothing good happens in his book when Nedzu decides to get involved.

“Kido, he’s just a kid,” Bull huffs out. Nedzu sends him an unimpressed look. He doubts it would take much for him to look him up. “Hands off, Nedzu. He’s mine. I’ve already lost the last two of my employees to people snatching thieves,” Bull grumbles.

“I would never try to take one of your employees, Bull. I’m merely curious,” Nedzu says with a smile.

“Sure you are,” Bull huffs out. “Look, thanks for the help, but I need to close up and get some sleep. Don’t you have a school to run?” he asks pointedly.

“Who says I can’t run it from here?” Nedzu shoots back, but still jumps down from the stool he’d taken. “Let me know if you need my help again and if you ever feel like introducing me to your little employee. I’m always free,” Nedzu adds.

“I’ll think about it,” Bull mutters as he shows the rodent out of the main door. A car is idling by the door and Nedzu hops in without a backward glance. Sighing, Bull closes down the shop for real and heads back to his office to finish shutting down everything before he heads home.

He finds fully typed out transcripts of what Nedzu deciphered from the images in his email later that day. He spends the time before he has to open the café reading them, curious about just what exactly Midoriya has written in his notebook.

~*~

Izuku is still in shock a week after the fact. All Might is done…retired for good. He’d watched the video footage of that fight six times, trying to wrap his head around it. At least now he doesn’t have to keep his secret anymore. The whole world knows about it now.

There’s been a lot of speculation on the news and the internet about what will happen next. Technically Endeavor is the new temporary Number One until the next Billboards to confirm it or not. The reactions to that are varied: some for, some against and many undecided. Who could replace All Might?

Izuku isn’t sure how to feel himself. After their one and only interaction that ended…so horribly, he’d lost a lot of his love and hero-worship of the man. It’s kind of hard to like him after he tells you bluntly to your face you could never be a hero. But he never wanted this to happen.

It also doesn’t help that crime has skyrocketed in the following week and with it injuries. His mother’s hours have suddenly increased at the hospital, all hands needed to combat the influx of new cases. It’s nice to see her getting more hours, but she’s hardly ever home when he gets back from the café.

The café has been hectic as well. People are coming in in pairs now, no one alone and everyone’s tense, heads together as they discuss cases or incidents together. Bull has been busy as well, spending a lot of time in the back in his other office, Izuku left to man the café on his shift alone.

He hasn’t had the time or desire to write in his notebook all week and he’s on summer break in his online classes, so there’s nothing to really occupy his time as he sits at the café’s counter waiting for people to buy coffee.

By the end of his shift, he’s tired and a little anxious, but Bull just does his usual hair ruffle, bidding him good night and with a reminder that he’d see him tomorrow. It always eases his anxiousness when Bull says that, like he knows Izuku is always worried about whether he’ll still have his job tomorrow so he lets him know in a way that’s not obvious. Or maybe Izuku is just reading too much into things and Bull says that to all his employees.

Sighing, he waves farewell and heads out into the darkness. He honestly should take the longer way, what with the way things have been lately, but he’s tired and really just want to get home sooner in case his mom got off on time and he can spend as much time with her as he can before they go to bed.

So he takes his usual shortcut through the alleys. He should have taken the long way.

~*~

It’s only been an hour or so since Midoriya left and he’s in the middle of a rush of unders coming in for a quick drink before they head out to patrol. Most everyone is pulling doubles, patrolling longer to keep things somewhat peaceful after the shit show that was Kamino.

He’s not expecting any calls, so when he hears the phone going off in the back, he sighs, but steps away from the counter, the others willing to wait as he answers it. Bull answers it in annoyance, wondering who could be calling this late at night. “Bull,” he growls out.

“E-Excuse me, Bull-san,” a woman’s voice says tremulously and Bull stills, recognizing the voice. “I’m sorry to call so late, but is Izuku staying late there?” Midoriya Inko asks over the phone, worry barely restrained as she waits for him to answer.

“Izuku left at his usual time,” Bull says the damning words, heartrate picking up and mind whirling as horrible scenarios come to mind. “He hasn’t gotten home yet?”

“N-No,” Inko whispers, voice cracking as worry starts to take over. “Oh god, I…I need to go find him,” Inko says quickly.

“Midoriya-san,” Bull says sharply and Inko quiets down. “Stay home in case he’s just running late. I’ll send some people out to look for him,” he orders. “I will find him,” he promises her.

“Okay,” Inko whispers.

Bull hangs up and takes a second to drag his whirling thoughts into some semblance of order before he charges out of his office. All eyes glance his way as he opens the door quickly, many stilling at the look on his face. “I need a search and rescue team. Kido never made it home,” he says simply and ordered chaos unfolds as multiple pairs come forward to offer help.

“He would have headed south towards the main road. This is his address,” Bull says evenly, keeping his panic at bay for now. “I’ll coordinate from here and see if anyone has reported seeing him,” Bull adds.

“We’ll find him,” Eraserhead says evenly, eyeing Bull, guessing how much he’s panicking right now.

“Thanks,” Bull says and then they all scatter from the café. Bull leans against the bar and breaths slowly before he pulls back and grabs his computer to start checking hospitals and other places someone might have seen a teen with his description.

~*~

The group coordinates and splits off, taking sectors of the area around the café. Just because he was supposed to be heading towards home doesn’t mean he necessarily headed that way so they do a full circle grid search around the area looking for him.

He nods to Joke, his current partner, and they split up, though staying in close enough range that if something happens, someone can reach them in time to help. Shouta approaches the apartments to the east of the café. He’d pulled up the address Bull showed them and had seen that it was more east than south. Someone wanting to get home quicker might take some shortcuts.

He takes to the roof, keeping an eye on the alleys below as he starts his grid search. He finds something half an hour into the search. Jumping down, he looks over the alley. It looks like a pretty heavy fight took place, trash strewn everywhere and even a few marks from what he would assume were left by a quirk. He also finds a single, familiar, red shoe off under a piece of cardboard.

Heartrate spiking, Shouta keeps going further into the alley. He finds a few marks of someone passing through there recently: foot prints in some mud, a fresh pile of vomit that is worrying. He has to backtrack once when he loses the trail before he finally stumbles on his target.

The kid is sprawled on the ground where he must have collapsed. Shouta holds for a second, making sure no one is around before he rushes forward.  The kid is bloody and bruised, injuries littering his body. For a second, he thinks he’s dead before he presses a finger to his throat and finds a faint pulse.

How long has he been lying here? Shouta pulls out his phone and dials Bull. “Where are you?” Bull demands without asking if he found him.

“An alley east of the shop. Kid’s in bad shape. I need an ambulance, he needs to go to a hospital,” Shouta states simply.

Bull curses long and loud before he takes a breath. “I’ll send an ambulance, but I don’t trust a regular hospital to treat him right,” Bull growls and Shouta recalls that familiar red shoe. He hears a beep on his end and assumes he just looked up Shouta’s GPS location.

“Direct them to the under hospital. I trust them to do their job right,” Shouta says.

“Done, I’ll call his mother. They’ll be there in two minutes,” Bull adds before the line goes dead.

Shouta huffs before working to ready Kido for the paramedics, keeping track of his breathing and pulse. Two minutes later, he hears running feet and a pair of paramedics appear at one end of the alley. “He’s got a concussion, multiple injuries and I don’t know if he has any internal damage,” Shouta recites for them and they nod, quickly looking over him before slowly easing him onto a backboard.

Shouta follows behind and into the ambulance, keeping out of the way as they work. He sends off a quick text to Joke to let her know what’s going on and to report back to Bull. The under hospital is not a known hospital, ambulances don’t normally go there unless directed to by an under to.  It helps to protect identities that might otherwise be compromised by a regular hospital.

Once they arrive, he follows them in as far as he can before he accepts the paperwork needed to admit the kid. He keeps Bull appraised as the man helps him fill out paperwork. Twenty minutes later, a woman who looks a lot like the kid is quietly admitted into the waiting room. “Kido’s mother?” Shouta asks her and she frowns for a second.

“Oh, yes,” she says, finally connecting the name to her son. Bull must have told her about his nickname. “Do…do you know anything?” she asks, voice quivering as she tries to keep calm in this trying situation.

“It looked like he was jumped by a few people, though I don’t know how many. He was pretty badly hurt, but I don’t know how badly. We’ll know more once they finish up and come to let us know,” he says evenly and she nods.

His phone beeps and he looks at his texts.

Bull: Anything?

Eraser: Nothing yet.

Bull: Did you see his stuff in the alley?

Eraser: I was a little distracted, but I don’t recall seeing his things. Might have missed something though.

Bull: Good to know. Keep me updated.

Shouta tucks his phone away and the two wait for news about the kid. It’s a long wait.

~*~

The first thing he notices is a deep ache everywhere as he slowly comes to consciousness. It’s not pain, not yet, but he can guess it will be if he moves wrong. Opening his eyes slowly, Izuku blinks quickly, wincing at the light before his eyes adjust. His head gives a warning throb as well.

As he looks around, it takes a moment for his slippery thoughts to coalesce into the realization that he’s in a hospital room. Swallowing dryly, Izuku shifts his head, wincing as the throb become a headache that makes itself known, and looks around.

He’s alone at the moment with only the sound of the beeping of his heart monitor filling the room. His room, when he looks the other way, has a window, but the curtains are drawn and he can’t see if it’s day or night.

He tries to remember what happened, but his thoughts are too scattered, his mind not cooperating with him. The sound of the door opening has him starting and wincing as the ache protests his movement and he looks towards the door.

He blinks in surprise as Bull ducks awkwardly into the room, having to go low enough to get his horns through. He looks up and sees Izuku awake and relief is plain across his face. “Kid,” he huffs out, walking quickly and taking the large chair next to his bed. “Sorry, you just missed you mom. I sent her home to rest and said I’d keep watch,” he explains quickly.

“What?” Izuku asks, voice cracking a little on a dry throat.

“Do you remember what happened?” Bull asks softly, reaching out to rest one of his large hands over Izuku’s.

“Not…really,” Izuku says with a frown. He tries to recall, but the last thing he can steadily remember is saying good night to Bull and then heading home.

“Someone jumped you in the alleys. Actually, it looked like multiple people,” he admits.

Izuku frowns, a stray memory surfacing: standing in the alley, fear making his heart race, four shadowed figures advancing. “Sorry,” he says automatically. He’s gone and made more work for Bull and if he’s here than he must have closed the café up early, or is here after it closed when he should be resting. He always seems to be making work for Bull.

“Hey, you didn’t make me do anything, kid,” Bull says and Izuku’s eyes widen as he realizes he must have said some of that aloud. “Midoriya, look, I will say this as many times as I need to. You are not a bother. You have done nothing and I doubt you could anything that would make me consider you a bother. And if you do, do something, I will sit down and talk with you about it before I do anything else, got it?” Bull asks gruffly, kindness etched across his face.

“Sorry,” Izuku says again, eyes a little wet.

“Yeah, I know,” Bull says with a wry smile and pats his blanket covered leg.

“How did you find me?” he asks.

“Your mom called when you didn’t come home. I sent out the calvery shortly after. Eraser’s the one who found you, actually. He’s still around, just stepped out to get some coffee,” Bull says and Izuku nods gently, not wanting to reignite the headache again.

As if speaking his name calls him, the door opens and the hero in question slips into the room holding a cup of coffee. “How can you stand that stuff?” Bull demands with a wrinkle of his nose.

“Any port in a storm,” Eraser says with a shrug and sip from the paper cup. “Good to see you awake kid. Gave us all a scare,” Eraser adds to Izuku.

“Thanks for finding me. Sorry I caused this,” he adds.

“Kid,” Bull says with a sigh and Izuku winces a little. Bull just sighs again. “We’ll work on it,” he says with a look and Izuku smiles a little. “What’s the verdict?” Bull asks Eraser.

“Spoke with Nedzu. He gave me the morning off after I explained what’s going on,” he says with a shrug.

“That’s good,” Bull says easily.

It takes far longer than it normally would for Izuku to recognize that name. “You work at Yuuei?” he asks softly in shock.

Eraser arches a brow, but nods. “I do, as a teacher,” he admits. “You’re interested in Yuuei?” he asks curiously. “You look smart enough. I’m surprised you didn’t apply,” Eraser points out.

Izuku stills, not liking the memories that sentence brings up. “They…they don’t accept quirkless people,” he mutters softly.

“They do, I was there when the new policy was put into place,” Eraser says with a frown, Bull eyeing Izuku.

“I wasn’t allowed an exam ticket. It said I didn’t meet the requirements to get one…even though I did. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why,” Izuku says bitterly and looks away.

“How about I get the doctor in here to look at you,” Bull says diplomatically, Izuku not seeing the exchange of glances between them. Bull reaches forward to press the call button and silence descends on them as they wait for the doctor to arrive.

~*~

Shouta’s mind keeps going back over that one sentence as he takes the train to Yuuei after leaving the kid in Bull’s care. A few quick texts to Bull and he has a name to work with. He arrives at Yuuei with an angry energy buzzing under his skin.

Nedzu is in his office when he arrives, the door opening as Shouta approaches. “Ah, Aizawa-kun, so good to see you. How is Kido doing?” he asks genuinely.

“Awake and soon to be released,” he admits.

“I’m glad to hear that. What brings you to my office?” he asks, noticing the disquiet on his face.

“Do we keep records of everyone who applies to Yuuei and whether we give an exam ticket or not?” he asks and Nedzu frowns.

“We do. It helps keep track of anyone trying to ask for multiple tickets,” he says. “Why?”

“I think someone is using their position to keep the ‘undesirables’ out of Yuuei,” he says bluntly, not sugarcoating it.

Nedzu stills, only his whiskers moving slightly as he takes in Shouta’s words and considers everything they mean. “I take it you have one example to use as proof,” he states.

“I do. Can you look up Midoriya Izuku’s exam ticket request?” Shouta asks.

“I can do you better. I can look it up and who screened it,” Nedzu says as Shouta comes around the desk to see what is brought up.

Hours and hundreds of files later, they have dozens of teens denied exam tickets for no reason: teens with ‘weak’ quirks, ‘villainous’ quirks, or even no quirks. They had finally managed to convince the Board to open the exam to the quirkless, excited to see them coming to the school. He’d always wondered how many had gotten in since the change. He’d never been one to worry about the other classes, already having enough work with his own class.

The answer is none.

In the few years since the policy was changed, no quirkless teen has ever even gotten an exam ticket, let alone taken the exam. Someone, or from the records, multiple people, have been using their position to ensure none ever will.

Nedzu has been nonstop on his phone and computer, working to right this grievous error. Shouta just sits back rubbing at his eyes in exhaustion. He’d always expected Yuuei to be free of this bullshit with Nedzu behind the wheel. Yes, he had to deal with a horrid Board of Directors, but not something like this. It looks like even the rodent can miss something.

“Tell me Aizawa-kun, Midoriya is Kido, isn’t he?” Nedzu asks.

“He is,” Shouta answers, not seeing any point to hiding it. “Why?” he asks.

“Curiosity,” Nedzu says and Shouta eyes him, but decides not to ask. He really doesn’t want to know and he has enough to deal with, with this fiasco.

~*~

It’s a rare weekend day that both he and his mom have off, the two of them enjoying the company and quiet. They spent the morning cleaning the apartment and now they’re just doing their own things.

It’s been a week since he was attacked in the alley. After he woke up, he was kept in the hospital for the rest of the day and into the next morning before being released with some pain meds and orders to take it easy for a few more days.

The first day he had been back at the café after being discharged and Bull allowed him to return, he’d been bombarded by heroes asking how he’s doing. He’s no longer allowed to walk home by himself after his shift, one of the unders keeping him company for the trip home. Not that he minds. It’s easier to ask them tentative questions when it’s just them one on one.

He’s in the kitchen, deciding what he wants to snack on when there’s a knock at their door. “I’ve got it,” Izuku calls out, shutting the cupboard and aiming for the entryway. He doesn’t even check the peephole before opening the door and is surprised by the group of people standing in front of his door.

Bull’s head goes passed the top of the door, with Eraserhead standing next to him and a familiar white individual perched on his shoulder, beady black eyes zeroing in quickly on Izuku. “Um…hi,” he finally settles on, not sure why they are even here.

“Afternoon, kid,” Bull says with an easy smile which honestly helps calm some of his worry. “Mind if we come in?” he asks.

“Yeah, sure,” Izuku agrees, stepping back to give them room.

“Izuku, honey, who’s at the door?” Inko asks, coming around the corner and starting in surprise as Bull works his heavy bulk into their entry way after Eraserhead and the Nedzu. “Oh dear, hello, I wasn’t expecting anyone,” Inko says quickly.

“We’re sorry to intrude, Midoriya-san,” Nedzu speaks up with a slight bow. “We hope we’re not imposing right now. There is something we needed to speak with you and your son about,” he explains.

“Of course. I’ll just make some tea. Izuku, show them to the…,” she pauses to eye Bull’s bulk, “the living room,” she decides on, not willing to test whether their dining room chairs could handle his weight. Bull just snorts, but nods, no doubt used to this.

Nodding woodenly, mind trying to figure out just what they need to speak with them about, he leads the way further into the apartment to the living area where a couple of couches bracket a coffee table. Bull, rather than testing the couches, just settles on the floor with his back leaned against the couch. Eraserhead sits on the couch, Nedzu hoping down to do so as well.

Izuku settles stiffly onto the opposite couch they took and waits in silence for his mother to come back with the tea a few minutes later. She settles beside Izuku and hands out the tea before she starts. “May I ask what this is about?” she asks once everyone is served.

“Of course, Midoriya-san,” Nedzu starts with and looks at Izuku. “Midoriya-kun, I would like to apologize to you personally for what was done to you,” Nedzu states bluntly. He stands and bows deeply to Izuku and the teen stares in shock, not sure what is happening, or if he’s slipped and hit his head and is hallucinating.

“What?” Izuku manages to get out.

“Recently, something was brought to my attention that I regret I was not aware of. It would seem some people I had hired and have since terminated with the promise of legal action were using their position at my school to keep certain individuals from being able to take the exams to enter Yuuei. The denial letter you received, Midoriya-kun, was in fact false. You very much should have received an exam ticket, and I’m sure you would have done well enough to get into Yuuei,” he states simply.

Izuku’s ears ring for a moment as he tries to understand what was being said. “What?” he tries again, looking at his mother whose own eyes are wide and a look of shock on her face.

“What does this mean?” Inko asks, the first of either of them to get some semblance of control of their thoughts to actually speak.

“I am still working on ensuring this never happens again and going through all my files. For the ones denied this past exam, I will be offering a chance to take the exam to attempt to enter Yuuei. If they pass, they will be allowed to start up next semester, if they want to of course. Unfortunately, for many, it is too late to offer this solution and I will be discussing with my lawyers how best to compensate them for this travesty,” Nedzu explains.

“Oh Izuku, that’s wonderful,” Inko says with excitement, looking at him.

“I…I can take the exam?” he asks hesitantly. He’d applied for the Gen Ed exam for sure, but he’d also, on a last whim, checked the box for the heroics exam as well. He’d never expected to pass the exam, but there has been a small part that hadn’t wanted to give up. Obviously though, he’ll only be allowed to take the Gen Ed exam.

“You’ll be able to take all the exams you checked off for,” Nedzu states bluntly and Izuku freezes.

“What?” he asks in shock. “But…I’m quirkless,” he whispers.

“And I’m not human, Midoriya-kun and yet I have a hero license. Why should you be denied?” Nedzu asks calmly, expression understanding.

“Izuku?” Inko calls and he looks at his mother. Reaching out, she takes his hand. “Do what you want,” she whispers.

Izuku swallows, hands shaking and looks at the three heroes and his eyes stay on Bull. “But, if I get into Yuuei, what about the café?” he asks. He likes working there and seeing all the underground heroes, hearing some of their stories.

“Well, about that,” Bull says with a sheepish grin. “I’d still like for you to work there, though we’ll have to limit your time so you’re not exhausting yourself,” he starts off with. “And, well…I’ve spoken with Nedzu about turning it into an internship, if you manage to pass the heroics exam,” he explains.

“What?” Izuku asks in shock. Bull reaches for the bag on his shoulder and drags out his slightly dirty backpack that was lost when he was attacked. “That’s my stuff.”

“It is. We managed to track down the assholes, excuse my language,” he adds to Inko who doesn’t look phased, “and got your stuff back. They didn’t crack your code by the way, not that they even seemed interested in the notebook. Only really wanted the computer in it,” he explains.

“You…you know about my…my code?” he asks haltingly.

“I was curious, so I might have gotten Nedzu in on it,” he admits.

“It is an excellent use of obscure encryptions to secure your information, though perhaps you might want to consider a better way of transporting your analysis, Midoriya-kun. If I can decode it, someone else might be able to. That information could have a bad impact on the community if it ended up in the wrong hands,” Nedzu warns softly.

“I…I wasn’t going to use it for anything,” Izuku explains hurriedly, waving his hands. “I just like studying quirks and heroics. It’s…it’s not my first one,” he admits, looking towards his room. “Should I get rid of them?” he asks.

“Easy, Problem child,” Eraserhead says with a huff of laughter. “We’re not accusing you of anything and Nedzu might maul you if you throw those out,” he adds, eyeing the rodent.

“Perhaps at a later date we you could bring them in and we could look over your work,” Nedzu offers, looking curious.

“It’s not that good,” Izuku tries to humble himself.

“It is quite good and I am an excellent judge,” Nedzu speaks up, bulldozing over Izuku’s excuse without care. “But back to our original topic, if you would like to take the exams, I will schedule a time to take them. If you pass, you will be allowed into Yuuei starting next semester and I’ll send the information you’ll need to ready for the second semester. Judging by your transcripts for your current school, you won’t have to work too hard to catch up academically to the other students and we can provide extra lessons to catch you up, if you get into the heroics program,” Nedzu says.

“Aren’t the classes full?” Izuku asks, desperately trying to understand what is happening.

“I’ve got two seats open in my class,” Eraserhead says with a smirk. “They weren’t up to my standards and were kicked out. If you pass the exam, I hope you’ll do better than they did.”

Izuku looks at his mom. He doesn’t want to just do this without her say so. “Are you sure?” he asks softly.

“Very much so, Izuku. Take the exams, pass and do what you want,” Inko says with a watery smile.

“But what about money?” Izuku asks. He’d taken the job because funds were tight. How can they afford Yuuei’s tuition?

“Did I mention that Yuuei will be paying for tuition of all those who were denied the original exam and pass this attempt?” Nedzu points out. “Compensation for the trouble caused by this horrible event.”

“Come on kid, stop trying to find excuses. Just think, you’ll have plenty of heroes willing to give you tips for the exam,” he adds with an eyebrow wag.

Izuku snorts softly before finally squaring his shoulders and nods. “I…I’d like to take the exam,” he says.

“Very well. I will be in contact with you to inform you when the exam will be taking place. We still have quite a few other families to speak with about this,” he explains.

“Of course,” Inko agrees as Izuku nods.

“We’ll get out of your hair,” Bull says, the three rising.

“Thank you, for everything,” Inko says to them, but in particular to Bull.

“I look after my own and if heroics is going to claim him, I’d like to make sure I don’t lose such a good kid,” he adds with a nod to Izuku who flushes slightly at the praise. “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon and we’ll discuss everything then, okay?” he offers.

“Okay, Bull,” Izuku agrees with a bright grin. Reaching out, Bull ruffles his curls like usual and then they all head out to continue their business.

Izuku looks at his mom. He can’t stop the happy tears from escaping as she pulls him into a hug, both crying for this strange turn of events.

~*~

Izuku nervously approaches the café for his shift, the letter he received this morning burning a hole in his pocket. He’d taken the exam last week, after a frantic bid to study and getting lots of advice from so many people. He doesn’t know if any of the advice actually helped him considering the exam was set up like a strange scavenger hunt and he’d been paired with another exam taker, who like him, had been denied an exam.

Shinso had looked just as shocked, but determined as he did. Somehow, using the clues provided and the information found along the way, they managed to find all their objectives and make it across the finish line in the time limit.

Now, his letter saying how he did had arrived via express mail and he had been too nervous to open it alone, his mom at work all day. So, he’d decided if he’s going to open it, then he’ll open it with Bull.

Swallowing, he punches in his code to enter the building and shuts the door behind him. “Hey kid,” Bull says, just coming from his other office on his way to the café office. He frowns, seeing how nervous Izuku is. “What’s wrong?” he asks, getting serious in an instant.

“My…my letter came in,” Izuku whispers, pulling it out of his pocket.

“Ah,” Bull says with a smile. “Wanna open it in my office?” he offers, seeming to get what the issue is.

“Please,” Izuku says and follows him into the room.

Like a strange déjà vu  from the first time he sat in this office to interview for the job, Izuku takes the same chair and settles, Bull taking his chair from behind his desk and drawing it around to sit next to Izuku as he opens the letter.

Hands shaking, he takes a breath and opens the envelope. Inside are a few pages and he eases them out. The first, when he reads it, is a hand written note from Nedzu, again apologizing for what happened and assuring him that he personally scored his exams to ensure there was no tampering.

Feeling a little mollified, he sets the note aside and unfolds the next. It’s for the Gen Ed exam and a quick scan shows the large and bolded PASSED typed at the bottom. He grins, looking up at Bull. “I passed the Gen Ed,” he says with excitement. That alone is huge. It means he got into Yuuei. No matter what the next part says, he did it.

“Well don’t keep us in suspense,” Bull huffs out, motioning for him to unfold the next paper.

Swallowing, Izuku does and starts to read. It is a breakdown of everything he did in the exam, by himself or with his partner, and the point system used to score him. Every action shows either point gains, losses or no change. At the top, it shows what will count for a passing score to get into heroics.

At the bottom, under his action breakdown and score adjustments, is his final total. His hands shakes as he reads it. There, higher than what the minimum is required, is his score with the bolded PASSED right next to it and a small sticky note with Nedzu’s handwriting that says simply: Congratulations, Welcome to Yuuei, Midoriya-kun!

“I passed,” Izuku whispers in shock. The whole way through the exam, he’d never believed he would pass. He constantly second guessed his decisions, always believing that no matter what he did, there was no way he would be allowed to get into the heroics exam. It’s one thing to allow him into Gen Ed, but Heroics? It takes a second to realize he’s crying.

“You did, kid,” Bull says softly, resting a large hand on his back and pats it gently. “Congrats, you deserve it.”

He sniffs wetly, and wipes at his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. “I feel like I’m dreaming,” he admits softly. “Like I’ll wake up and none of this will ever have happened,” he admits.

“Don’t worry, Eraser will be sure to make you feel all kinds of pain in training to show how much you are not dreaming,” Bull jokes and Izuku smiles a little. “Come on, let’s start opening up,” Bull says, reminding him why exactly he’s here.

“Okay,” Izuku says, stuffing the letter into his bag. He’ll text his mom later to let her know the good news. Standing, Izuku follows Bull down the hall to the café.

The café is dark as Bull opens the door. “Damn, forgot to turn the light on earlier. Stay there, I’ll get it,” he grumbles and walks into the shadows before the lights come on in a blinding flash and shouts erupt in the room.

“Congrats, Kido!” multiple voices call out and Izuku stares in shock at a bunch of underground heroes jump from their hiding spots to call out. Looking around, he sees his mom standing there too and just breaks down in more tears.

“Oh baby,” Inko says coming over to soothe him. “Was it too much?” she asks.

Izuku shakes his head. “No,” he croaks out. “I’m just happy,” he admits and cheers go out as Izuku laughs a little wetly. “How did you know?” he demands. “I just got the letter today.”

“Bull called. Said he heard from Eraser, who was informed by Nedzu. We set up this little party to celebrate the good news,” Inko explains, leading him towards the counter where a cake has been set out with ‘congrats hero-in-training’ is written in icing.

“You knew?” Izuku demands with faked annoyance.

“I’m not an intelligence hero for nothing,” Bull points out with a grin. “Now eat your cake and say thank you.”

“Thank you,” Izuku says sincerely, looking at all the smiling faces as his mom starts to cut the cake. “I’ll do my best,” he finally settles on.

“You got this, kid,” Bull says, ruffling his curls and Izuku grins up at him.

End.