'You really almost had me there! ' Mirio laughs, patting Izuku on the back. 'You 've got a keen eye for spotting weaknesses, dont 'cha? '

I learned from the best,

he wants to say, but instead just laughs it off. 'Thanks, Togata-senpai. But you still beat us fair and square. '

'That move of yours was wicked! ' The blonde third-year continues laughing uproariously, hands on his hips. 'I thought you and Kodai-san were gonna corner me before I could get out of the way! '

He glances towards the girl in question, who 's wiping sweat off her brow with an indifferent expression. She doesn 't seem particularly concerned over losing to Mirio, even though they both had, by unspoken agreement, decided to toss the match.

Izuku had taken an immediate liking to Togata Mirio from the moment the blonde had hopped up to the podium at the front of the classroom. It had taken from the moment he opened his mouth to the moment he saw his quirk for Izuku to realize why.

Mirio ' reminded him an awful lot of Dabi.

Even their quirks had striking similarities to them. Mirio 's

Permeate

and Dabi 's

Infinity

both granted their users a functional invulnerability. Izuku could tell just by looking at them that both those techniques required incredibly intensive time and effort to train to the degree in which they could utilize them. The end result was powerful and almost entirely without weaknesses, but much like Izuku 's One for All, likely came with a steep learning curve.

After fighting against Dabi 's impassable barrier for months on end, he and Yui had learned how to combat that seemingly unbeatable technique. As Dabi was always preaching to them ' it was all about situational awareness. And Mirio 's

Permeate

wasn 't nearly as invulnerable as Dabi 's

Infinity.

There were weaknesses to exploit, even if Mirio had done a good job in training himself to mitigate the worst of them. The easiest weakness to exploit was the one he seemed to share with Dabi; their quirks relied on making countless split-second decisions based on very complicated and intensive mathematical equations, all with a nonexistent margin for error.

It was incredible to see. Watching Mirio felt like catching a glimpse of Dabi 's own journey, like seeing what the villain might have been like in his own youth, when he still struggled to gain his mastery over his abilities.

Ultimately it was those similarities that had him staying his hand. He would rather not cause a scene where he didn 't have to, and he knew with just a glance at Yui 's expression before the match that she had felt the same.

It wasn 't just about him, anymore. The secret to Dabi 's

Infinity,

to his

Cremation

and even his teleportation ' he was certain there were people who would kill for that. To risk revealing the similarities ' and subsequently the shared weaknesses ' between Dabi 's quirk and Mirio 's to anyone smart enough to put two and two together just didn 't seem worth it. He had certainly put in a token effort, and had encouraged his classmates to do their best, but his heart wasn 't in it.

Mirio waited until most of Izuku 's class had filed out of the gymnasium before he slung an arm around Izuku and grinned.

'You knew exactly how to defeat me, didn 't you? ' He asks cheekily, as he walks out with Izuku.

Izuku shrugs. 'Not ' exactly. I couldn 't think of a surefire way to beat you in that situation. '

Frankly, all his ideas for overcoming that quirk were too deadly for a school gymnasium, and likely would have ended up with his senpai or any of his classmates dead. The half-measure he and Yui had done instead had been enough to startle Mirio, but not enough to actually permanently injure him. They 'd used it on Dabi before, and while they hadn 't gotten very far with it on him either, he 'd been very impressed they 'd figured out the fastest way to get around his

Infinity

was to try to get him to make a mistake on his own accord, mainly by overloading him with enough split-second physics equations to make him complain of a headache.

'But you figured out a way, huh? That 's really impressive, ' Mirio enthuses. 'You were the only one who didn 't come at me immediately with your quirk too. You and Kodai-san. You observed the situation and figured out how my quirk worked and what I was most likely to do before you acted ' that 's awesome! Man, I wish I had been that smart as a first-year ' would 've saved me a ton of trouble. '

Izuku shakes his head frantically. 'Oh no! I 'm really not all that impressive. I 've just been able to learn from some really impressive people. '

Mirio just grins wider at that. 'We do have some pretty great teachers here at U.A., don 't we? But there 's no need to be so modest! '

Izuku just chuckles weakly. He 's not in the habit of being boastful, so he 's not really sure what else to say.

'So, have you decided whether or not you 'll do a work study? '

Izuku nods, grinning brightly. 'I definitely want to do one! ' He hadn 't needed the demonstration, frankly. He 'd been dead set on it since the beginning. His smile fades. '... I 'm not sure where I would go, though. '

'Is that so? ' Mirio blinks. 'Well, if you don 't have anything in mind, why don 't you try working for the agency I 'm doing mine at? '

Izuku blinks rapidly. 'R 'Really? Where are you doing your work study? '

'Nighteye Agency! I 'll ask Sir next time I see him! ' Mirio enthuses.

'Nighteye Agency?! ' Izuku brightens. That 's All Might 's former sidekick! 'That would be amazing! Thank you so much, Togata-senpai! '

Mirio throws up a peace sign. 'Well, don 't thank me yet! I can only give you an introduction to Sir Nighteye, he has to be the one to approve it or not. But, I look forward to working with you! '

Izuku is still in awe of the opportunity that had just fallen right into his lap, and spends the rest of class in a daze. He hopes the school approves the first years for work studies ' it 'd be a shame if he missed out on the opportunity to intern with one of the few heroes who worked alongside All Might.

Even Todoroki sitting next to him at lunch doesn 't do much to rouse him out of his stupor. He feels like he should still be more embarrassed about the whole debacle of last weekend, but in the end he can 't summon up too much concern over it.

So it hadn 't been a date '

persay.

But it had still been an important and monumental moment in Todoroki 's life, and he 'd wanted Izuku to be there with him and support him through it. In many respects, it was far more meaningful than a date. Izuku still can 't believe Todoroki had trusted him with something so intimate. And it hadn 't exactly '

not

been a date? Sure, they spent a few hours with Todoroki 's mother ' emphatically

not

first-date vibes ' but they also held hands the entire time they were there and went out to dinner together afterwards, just the two of them. And Todoroki really had gotten him an All Might keychain, a limited edition collab one too!

Even if Izuku might have entirely misread that whole situation, he was still happy with how it turned out. He and Todoroki were even better friends than they had been before and that ' that was nothing to be upset over.

The common areas are loud and lively when he makes it back to the dorms, after talking about the internships with All Might.

All Might hadn 't been thrilled to hear Togata-senpai had offered to extend an introduction to Sir Nighteye, his former sidekick. Apparently he and Nighteye ' had personal issues they needed to work through. Izuku didn 't really understand it, and All Might hadn 't been particularly forthcoming on the matter. He seemed worried Nighteye wouldn 't accept the idea of Izuku on principle, which was all the more reason to go through with it. Izuku wanted to change the hero industry, change the very hearts and minds of everyone in it and all those who rely on it. It was a lofty goal, and one he was certain most heroes wouldn 't take seriously. He couldn 't be scared of what one hero thought of him, with a goal like that.

After the long day he 's had, he takes one look at the rowdy common room and decides he needs some quiet. Todoroki invites him to his room to study, but Izuku gently turns him down. It 's true Todoroki is a calm and quiet person, and that 's exactly what Izuku is looking for right now, but nothing about Todoroki ever makes Izuku 's heart feel particularly calm. Every time he thinks about how the other boy had felt pressed up against him as they talked to his mom, fingers tangled together, he gets hot and cold all over and feels like he needs to jog around campus a couple times.

So he returns to his dorm room alone, intent on collapsing face first onto his All Might comforter and neglecting all his homework in favor of a nap.

Except, he opens his door to find the bed already occupied.

He gasps, bag slipping off his shoulders and dropping to the ground with a dull thud. He stands in his own doorway, struck dumb, before his brain reboots and he quickly shuts and locks the door behind him.

'S ' Satoru-sensei ' ' He breathes, eyes wide.

Dabi grins at him from where he 's sitting on Izuku 's bed. 'Long time no see, Izu-kun. '

'Satoru-sensei!! '

He cries, and launches himself at the man.

He sends them both sprawling onto the bed, wrapping his arms tightly around the white-haired man, even as Dabi gives a half-hearted whine in protest. He 's proud of himself for not bursting into tears at the sight of him. It 's just ' it 's been so long since he 's seen him! So much has happened since then, and he 'd been so worried ' the news has been terrifying to watch, and it 's nearly impossible to turn on a television or log onto a website and not be immediately bombarded with Dabi and the whole Humarise takedown. Yui assured him Dabi was fine ' apparently she 'd gotten the opportunity to see him in person for a bit and confirm it ' but it wasn 't the same as seeing the man in the flesh, feel his heart beating in the chest underneath Izuku 's ear.

'You 're ' you 're really here, ' he murmurs, dazed. Then he sits up in shock.

'How

are you here?! '

Dabi just smirks, and holds out a tiny little bead about the size of the tip of Izuku 's thumb. 'I had Yui slip you her tracker. '

He blinks. He feels as if he should find this a gross breach of his privacy, but if anything he 's relieved. Frankly, it 's rather reassuring, knowing Dabi has his location at all times. That he 's only ever a phone call away.

'Can I see that? ' He asks, holding out his hand. Dabi dutifully deposits it in his palm.

He shuffles over to his desk, ferreting around in the drawers until he finds what he 's looking for. It 's an All Might pendant, just a gloved fist in the colors of his silver era dangling off a chain. He tapes the tracker to the back of the pendant, and slips it over his head. Maybe he 'll ask Hatsume to weld a clasp or something onto the back later, but for now this 'll have to do.

Izuku trudges back to his bed, sitting next to Dabi, who 's watching him with an intrigued expression.

Izuku takes the moment to look him over carefully.

He 's not wearing his blindfold, although he does have his sunglasses on indoors. Izuku had, when they 'd first met and for many meetings afterwards, thought the obscuring of his eyes was for concealment purposes, but after getting to know the other man has realized it probably has something to do with his abilities. He 's got on a sharp wool coat with a scarf loose across his shoulders, as if he 'd just come from somewhere much colder than Mustafu 's mild dreariness. Coupled with the slim-fitting turtleneck and tapered pants, he looks like he just walked off a runway ' and directly onto Izuku 's All Might emblazoned bed. He 's mildly embarrassed about it. The very mature and adult-looking Dabi looks very out of place in his childish dorm room.

Dabi doesn 't seem to care, though. He 's smiling softly at Izuku, with a surprisingly wistful expression.

'Are you really going to wear that around? ' He asks, tilting his head. 'You know that means I can sneak up on you whenever I want. '

Izuku just shrugs bashfully. 'To be honest it 's a little reassuring, to know that if anything happens, you 're just a call away. '

Dabi 's teasing expression melts away. 'You 're not doing anything intentionally dangerous, are you? '

'No ' nothing like that! ' Izuku hastily replies. 'But we have these work study programs coming up; they 're going to be our first real taste at being a professional hero. It 's not like the internships, where we were intentionally kept away from a lot of the dangerous stuff ' so you never know. '

'I think you 'll do just fine, ' Dabi tells him, and he sounds very certain of it, which is more than Izuku can say about himself.

He knows he 's getting better ' really, he does. His teachers tell him so fairly often; even All Might has remarked on it. And Dabi himself had told him, last time they 'd spoken face to face, that he shouldn 't be in such a rush. But meeting Mirio, and seeing his formidable mastery over his quirk ' a quirk that 's just as difficult and complex as Dabi 's ' just reminded Izuku of how much he 's fallen behind on his own quirk.

If he brings it up to either Dabi or All Might, he knows exactly what they 'll tell him; these things take time, and it 's better to learn how to use One for All slowly but steadily, instead of mortally injuring himself every single time. But it 's been

months

since he 's gotten it, and it 's true he 's only broken his bones on two occasions using it, but it also seems like he hasn 't made much progress on it.

'It feels like all my classmates are improving by leaps and bounds, and I 'm just inching along, ' Izuku sighs.

'Well, you already know what I think about that, ' Dabi returns. He taps his chin. 'But if that 's how you really feel, how about we do some more training? '

His head snaps up, gaze wide. 'R ' Really? '

'Yeah. Just you and me ' just like old times. ' Dabi smiles at him crookedly. 'I 've been mainly focusing on teaching you the basics of fighting; situational awareness, flexibility and quick thinking, the ability to come up with a plan on the spot and execute it ' maybe it 's time to move on to some of the intermediate stuff, like quirks. '

'Really?! '

He repeats, delighted. 'You 'll train me? '

He probably shouldn 't sound so excited about personal one on one training with a bonafide international supervillain ' but Dabi

is

a bonafide international supervillain (and now super

hero??)

for a reason ' namely, that he 's incredibly powerful and basically unstoppable and his quirk is

insane

so of course Izuku is going to be over the moon about it.

'Sure. ' Dabi 's smile turns into a rakish grin. 'But only if you play me a song! '

'H ' Huh?! ' Izuku reels back, flustered. His gaze creeps over to where the guitar Dabi gifted him is leaning on the side of his desk. 'Err ' that 's ' '

Jirou has been very kind about their lessons. Which is to say, she doesn 't get impatient with him and doesn 't make a single disparaging comment when Izuku fails to execute even simple chords and sometimes snaps his pick in half out of sheer nervousness before they even get to playing. To call it a 'work in progress ' is a grave understatement.

'I 'm really not very good yet, ' Izuku protests. Learning music from the ground up has only made him even more in awe of actual artists like Jirou, Dabi, Yui and even Kacchan ' he especially cannot fathom the idea of playing an instrument and singing at the same time. He can barely remember to put his fingers on the right frets as he strums the strings.

'But I 'll definitely show you, when I can actually play songs! ' Izuku adds, determined. However, it 'll be a long time before he can even

fathom

playing any of Dabi 's songs.

Fortunately, Dabi takes him at his word. 'Alright then! I 'm looking forward to it. '

Izuku nods sheepishly, looking away. 'Um, so, not that I 'm not happy to see you ' but what are you even doing here? '

'Hmm~ What do you mean? I wanted to check up on you, of course! ' Dabi replies, blithely. 'And I really did wanna hear you play something, but I 'm cool to take a rain check on it. '

Sneaking into the U.A. dorms with everything that 's going on right now in his life ' he couldn 't have possibly come here just to see how Izuku liked his guitar, right? The thought makes Izuku feel rather shy, and very much so overwhelmed. There are so many more important things Dabi could be doing with his time, yet he 's here lounging in Izuku 's bedroom as if none of that matters to him more than seeing Izuku in person.

'And

of course

I want to hear

all

about your big date last weekend! ' He adds, making Izuku choke on air.

'It ' you 've got it all wrong! It really wasn 't a date! ' He returns frantically.

'Really? But I thought he asked you out and everything? '

'Yes, he did, but it wasn 't ' ' He puts his face in his hands. 'I might have, um, misunderstood the situation. '

Dabi laughs. 'Did you? Or was Shou-kun just being his usual unfathomable self? '

'More of the latter, to be honest, ' Izuku mutters, into his palms. 'He just really made it sound like it was '! Ahhh, it was so embarrassing, Satoru-sensei! I got dressed up and everything! '

'Oh no~ ' He can

hear

the man 's shit-eating grin even if he can 't see it. 'So what happened, on the not-date? '

'It turns out, he wanted me to come with him to see his mom, ' Izuku admits, peeking out from behind his fingers.

Dabi 's grin fades. With his blackout shades obscuring his eyes, it 's hard to tell what he 's thinking. 'His mom? '

'Yeah. He hadn 't seen her in a really long time, so I guess he was just ' a little nervous. He didn 't want to go alone, ' Izuku explains slowly, a bit taken aback by Dabi 's suddenly impassive demeanor.

That impenetrable distance is gone almost as soon as it had come about, leaving Izuku reeling and wondering if he just imagined it. The smile he wears instead is one of his rare small, but genuine ones. 'Is that so? Well, that 's good for him. And you were a good friend to accompany him. Although, I guess he kinda tricked you into it, huh? '

Izuku shakes his head. 'I might have gotten it all confused at first, but I was really ' I was just happy to be there for him. I was honored that he wanted me there at all. '

Dabi 's mouth drops open in delight.

'Izukuuu~ '

He sings, reaching over to pinch his cheeks. 'How can one person be so adorable!! Shou-kun 's really got his hands full with you, huh? You probably give him heart palpitations everyday! '

'I

give him ' ' Izuku splutters, flailing on his bed. Dabi 's got it all wrong! Izuku 's the one all tied up in knots here! 'He 's the one who 's so '! '

'So? ' Dabi prods, leaning over him.

Izuku finally pulls his hands away from his face, looking up at the villain with what is most certainly a rather pathetic expression. 'So, so, I don 't know. I get so nervous around him I can barely speak sometimes ' and other times I say

way too much

and it 's so embarrassing! '

He turns his face into his comforter as he mutters; 'He 's just always so calm and collected, you know? I feel like such a mess in comparison. '

'I don 't think he 's nearly as calm as you might think he is, on the inside. ' Dabi reaches over and ruffles his hair. 'He feels the same way, I 'm sure. He 's just better at hiding it. '

Hiding it, huh?

Izuku thinks back to what he knows of Todoroki 's childhood. His mother was in the hospital for most of it. His father was distant and unapproachable. His siblings tried their best, but they were all stuck in the same situation. Growing up like that ' yes, he could imagine Todoroki learning to hide his own feelings to protect himself.

'I just ' I don 't know what to do, ' Izuku sighs.

Dabi looks down at him, grinning like a shark. 'Hmm~ ' What 's this? Are you asking me for dating advice, Izu-kun? '

He can 't believe he 's telling

Dabi

of all people this. But he was too mortified by his own mix up to explain it in detail to Yui, and there 's no way he 'd say anything to anyone else in their class. And he 'd been so embarrassed when his mom asked that he accidentally hung up on her. And his mentor? Not a chance. Just the thought of trying to blubber his way through this with All Might makes him want to spontaneously combust. His poor mentor would try his best, but he 'd be just as awkward and uncomfortable with it as Izuku ' in a manner not entirely like Izuku trying to broach this subject with a dad-like figure, he imagines. Not that he 'd ever let Todoroki hear him say that. He doesn 't need to add fuel to that fire.

And it 's not that telling Dabi is any

less

embarrassing, or anything, but Dabi 's already seen him in some pretty embarrassing moments. And he always gives Izuku good advice, and never, ever judges him. He can be a bit callous and cavalier, but he 's also surprisingly patient and understanding. If he was going to go to anyone for advice on this subject ' he supposes there was never any question it was going to be Dabi.

'Please don 't make fun of me, ' Izuku whines, miserably.

'When do I ever make fun of you? ' Dabi mock gasps. Izuku turns his head slightly, just to skewer him with a glowering look. Dabi laughs. 'Okay, okay. I won 't make fun of you.

Much. '

'Satoru-sensei, ' he complains, but it 's half-hearted at best.

Dabi smiles down fondly at him, as he reaches out to ruffle his hair again. 'As adorable as it is to watch you flounder around like this, I think the easiest way to put yourself out of this misery is to be direct about it. '

'Direct about it? ' Izuku repeats, with slowly dawning horror. 'You don 't mean ' '

'Yep! ' Dabi gives him a thumbs up. 'Shou-kun is the kind of person who absolutely will not understand your subtlety, or in fact subtlety of any kind, so you 've got to tell him how you feel directly! '

Izuku stares at him with mounting despair.

Dabi 's smile turns impish. 'You should

definitely

serenade him from outside his window. I even know just the song! '

'Please no, ' Izuku says.

'Or you could hire a plane to do some skywriting ' I 'd totally pay for it. '

Izuku makes a sad whinging noise, burying his face into the blankets.

Dabi taps his chin, sprawled out by his headboard. 'Or you could go with a good old fashioned love letter? Can 't go wrong with one of those. '

Izuku picks his head up incredulously, just to ask, 'Have

you

ever written one? '

'Absolutely not! ' Dabi returns, blithely. 'But I 've received plenty of them, and they all sucked, so I can definitely tell you what

not

to write! '

That doesn 't surprise him in the least. As far as his presented options go, that 's not the worst idea in the world, but Izuku is utter pants at writing. He tends to ramble on paper as much as he does aloud, unfortunately. But at least he 'd be able to read it over and edit it until he gets it down exactly as he wants it? That might be even worse though, come to think on it. Then he 'd just be stuck in an endless cycle of worrying himself into fits over each and every sentence.

'I don 't know ' ' Izuku sighs, glumly. 'I 'm really not ' I 'm no good at this stuff, y 'know? I 'm not like you, I can 't do these kinds of things ' '

Dabi blinks at him from behind his shades. 'Who said

I

was any good at it? '

'H ' Huh?! ' Izuku stutters. 'But Yui-chan said '! I mean, um, I thought you were really ' uh '

popular. '

Dabi chuckles. 'That 's a bit of a different situation, Izu-kun. And one that doesn 't exactly take all that much skill. '

Izuku wouldn 't know, as he 's never been in a situation like that, but he 's watched enough daytime dramas to know what goes on between young, single, and consenting adults. He 's not exactly sure it 's as thoughtless as Dabi makes it out to be. After all '

'I dunno, you got Hawks, didn 't you? ' He says, before he can stop himself.

Dabi rolls his eyes. 'Like I said, that 's diff ' '

'No I mean, you guys are um, like,

together

right? ' Izuku interrupts, hesitantly.

Dabi 's eyes are so wide he can see the fray of pearlescent lashes above his shades. 'That 's ' I ' where did you hear that? ' He croaks out.

Izuku looks down. 'I didn 't hear it from anywhere! But I guess It 's not hard to notice, if you know what you 're looking for. '

' ' In what way? ' Dabi asks slowly, a bit like he 's dreading the answer.

'Well now that all this Humarise stuff is coming out, it was on the news that you and Hawks took down some crazy evil laboratory, right? And it was kinda vague, but if you look at the official after-action report, it's explicitly stated that you guys went undercover. And I know you were at a wedding, because you were complaining about it, so it makes sense that you two attended together, right? And then, for him to be back in time for the Kamino mission ' you teleported back with him, right? '

Dabi blinks rapidly. 'And it was because of all that, that you assumed we were ' in a relationship? '

Izuku scratches the back of his neck, embarrassed as he adds; 'That and, um, the other day Hawks was photographed out in Tokyo and he was ' uh, wearing your sweater. '

'He what, ' Dabi says, flatly.

Izuku wants to bury his face in his comforter again, mortified he even knows that. 'I ' it wasn 't noticeable, really! Like I said, it 's only if you know what you 're looking for that you 'd notice. '

And Izuku only knows what he 's looking for because he 's spent an awful lot of time staring at Dabi and cataloging everything about him. And Dabi happened to look distractingly attractive in that particular outfit, enough for Izuku to very distinctly remember it. To see Hawks photographed in street clothes on a day off in Tokyo, wearing the exact sweater (now tailored for his wings), was rather telling.

Dabi seems too shocked for words for a moment. Then he coughs into his fist. 'I see. ' Is all he says.

'So ' it 's true? ' Izuku asks, hesitantly. Yui hasn 't really mentioned anything about it. But then again, she seemed rather adamantly against the idea from the start, so maybe she just didn 't want to talk about it.

'It 's ' complicated, ' Dabi returns, vaguely. Then he shakes his head. 'But that 's not anything you need to worry about. All adult relationships are kinda complicated, y 'know? Which is why you should make the most out of your cute highschool romance while you can! '

Izuku can see the man is unwilling to talk further on the subject, so he lets it drop, even if he 's not particularly thrilled to circle back to this.

'I don 't know ' what if he doesn 't feel the same? ' Izuku asks, uneasily.

'He definitely does, ' Dabi denies immediately, with an assurance that astounds Izuku.

'But you can 't know that for sure! ' Izuku frets.

Dabi leans forward, opening his mouth to speak what 's either going to be impossibly poignant words of wisdom or the most blasphemous garbage Izuku 's ever heard in his life ' before he pulls back as if startled, and drops his feet onto the floor.

Izuku watches this about face with an utter confusion that only gets increasingly baffled as Dabi suddenly stands up.

'Well if you don 't believe me, why don 't you just ask him? ' Dabi counters, turning to Izuku with that impish grin that Izuku has been conditionally trained to fear on sight.

Like clockwork, there 's a knock on his door.

'Midoriya? '

He 's so startled by the familiar voice outside his dorm that he almost flails onto the floor, struggling out of his blankets as he tries to dive to the door before Dabi. Dabi, with his long legs and the advantage of his logic-defying eyeballs that probably saw him coming from down the hall, beats him to it.

'You forgot your textbook in the ' '

Todoroki stops mid sentence as he cranes his neck up to stare up at the unexpectedly tall person at Izuku 's dorm room door.

'Shou-kun~ ' Dabi greets, devilishly. 'Just the person I wanted to see. '

Todoroki does not look nearly as surprised to see a supervillain lounging in Izuku 's bedroom, in the confines of their dorm, which resides on the campus of a hero school. Then again, he 's still laboring under the delusion that Dabi is his secret estranged brother, and their father is All Might.

'Satoru-san. ' He dips his head. Then he holds the book out to where Izuku 's still half-tangled in his own bedsheets. 'Midoriya, you forgot this downstairs. '

He waits until Izuku hastily thanks him and takes his history book off his hands before backing away. 'Sorry for the intrusion, ' he says, sounding genuine about it. 'I 'll leave you two to catching up '

'Wait, wait, hold on. ' Dabi stops him. 'I had a question for you ' '

'We have no questions! ' Izuku squeaks, as he bodily throws himself at Dabi in a desperate attempt to shut him up. Dabi just seems terribly amused by his antics, and easily scoops him up midair to cradle him to his chest like a koala.

'I have

plenty

of questions, actually, ' Dabi denies, and when Izuku tries to protest this vehemently he just tucks Izuku 's face into his shoulder.

'Okay, ' says Todoroki.

Izuku tries desperately to claw his way out of the man 's hold, but he 's stuck fast in a weightless grip that feels both empty and yet filled endlessly. His quirk, Izuku realizes. How unfair! He hadn 't even realized he could use it like this!

'How do you feel about Izu-kun? ' Dabi asks, and Izuku stops his struggling and slumps forward in defeat.

Todoroki doesn 't answer at first, and Izuku squeezes his eyes shut in dread, suddenly terribly glad that Dabi is basically holding him, because he doesn 't think he could handle this alone.

'He 's very important to me, ' Todoroki answers, matter-of-factly, not sounding nearly as conflicted about it as Izuku thinks the situation warrants. In fact, he sounds rather adamant.

'Is that so? ' Dabi sounds pleased, as he releases Izuku from the grip of his quirk. But Izuku, the coward, just stays where he is huddled in his arms with his face buried into his nice jacket, refusing to look up.

'Yes, ' Todoroki replies.

And when Izuku finally has enough courage to turn around and face him, he 's startled to see Todoroki bowing formally.

'I know he 's also very important to you too, ' Todoroki says, head bowed. 'I promise I 'll take good care of him. '

What is this?!

Izuku 's brain screeches to a halt. What kind of response is that? It sounds much more like some kind of solemn vow exchanged on an auspicious date than an answer to a very simple question!!

'So formal~ ' Dabi teases, evidently picking up on the same disconnect here that Izuku did. 'You like to do things the proper way, don 't you? Well, that 's fine. I 'm entrusting Izu-kun to you, Shou-kun! Please promise to honor and cherish him with your life. '

Todoroki 's expression grows very serious as he nods, hands at his side. 'I will. '

A tiny, mournful squeak comes out of his mouth as he sees the grave and determined look on the two-toned haired boy 's face. Oh god. He 's being dead serious, isn 't he? Does he even realize what Dabi is implying right now?

'And you, Izu-kun, ' Dabi turns to him, eyes twinkling delightedly as he continues with his game, 'Do you promise to honor and cherish our dear Shou-kun, through all of life 's trials and tribulations, for the rest of your days? '

Izuku flushes to the roots of his hair. 'S 'Satoru-sensei!! ' He wails.

Dabi just laughs wickedly. 'What am I saying, of course you do! '

He clears his voice, and then begins, in a somber voice; 'And with these vows exchanged, I now pronounce the two of you ' '

Izuku gasps loudly, reaching blindly to try to cover the man 's mouth. Todoroki might be a bit dense about these kinds of things, but if Dabi finishes this infamous sentence there 's no way he 's not going to get it!! ' Dabi just sways out of the way as he claps his hands '

' 'the best of friends! '

He finishes, cheerfully.

Izuku 's soul has left his body.

Todoroki merely looks vaguely confused by all the theatrics, but probably chalks it up to Satoru 's eccentric personality.

Dabi throws up a peace sign, disentangling himself from Izuku with a pat on the head. 'And on that note, I 'll be taking my leave now! Text me whenever you 're free, Izu-kun! ' And then he 's gone in the blink of an eye, leaving Izuku staring dumbly at the spot he 'd just inhabited.

'You two look like you 've gotten much closer, ' Todoroki observes, pleased.

Izuku sighs tragically. 'It 's not what you think. ' Not that he expects his words to do anything to change his mind. Especially not with Dabi doing

literally nothing

to clear up the confusion.

Todoroki only nods sagely. 'I 've heard it 's normal for brothers to roughhouse like that as a sign of affection. When are you going to tell All Might you 're back in touch with your brother? '

Izuku buries his head in his hands and groans.

//

+81(03):

i 'm baaaaack

+81(03):

and you said you 'd treat me

+81(092):

I did say that :) dinner then? What do you want to eat?

+81(03):

hmmm~ I want fried chicken

+81(092):

Really? I know just the place!