*slurps noodles while staring at the screen, before noticing the camera* GAH! oh, sorry, you startled me.

Surprised of this triple-threat? I know, me too. but I'm not complaining. This is another work I've been doing with rex101111 over on Tumblr and AO3. Where Izuku goes gung-ho about saving Eri at their initial meeting. Let's get it on!

"It's an embarrassing topic…I don't want to talk about it out in the open…could you follow me this way?"

The Yakuza turns on his heels to face the alleyway, beckoning them both to come with him, Izuku feels the young girl in his arms clutching his costume even tighter, feels her shiver in uncontrolled fear against his chest, his heart beating faster in response. He wraps his arms around her, as if to cover every part of her, as if to make sure as little of her is visible to Chisaki.

"If anything happens," He hears Mirio whisper beside him, cautious and on edge, "Let me handle it. We've got no choice but to get her away from him."

As he gets to his feet and feels Eri curling up closer to him and putting her arms around his shoulders, he couldn't agree more, "My thoughts exactly, Toogata-senpai."

The muscles in his legs coil, the rushing fire of One For All ready to ignite.

Something in his voice must have given him away, because Mirio stiffens ever so slightly, "Midoriya, don't you dare-"

"What's taking you two?" Overhaul turns his head to look at them from behind, his eyes still calm and composed as ever, but cold bleach coloring his tone, "I hope, for my daughter's sake, that you aren't planning on doing anything stupid."

(The way he says daughter makes Izuku sick to his stomach. The same way one would talk about a prized car or an expensive piece of jewelry. An object to be owned not a person to be cared for. This makes the muscles in his legs coil even stronger.)

He places a calming hand on Eri's shivering head as he puts on a viciously innocent smile, "Of course not sir," He says, the quiet but flashing burn of his quirk streaking through his limbs, his voice calm but determined, "What I'm about to do isn't stupid…"

He lifts one of his feet of the ground by just a few inches.

"It is reckless though."

He stomps his foot on the concrete, sending a cloud of debris up into the street and into the alley, the civilians around him scream in a panic and begin to flee, falling all over themselves in the process.

(At this point he isn't sure who's going to kill him first, Nighteye or Aizawa, but right now that is of little consequence.)

"Follow me!" He yells out as he starts sprinting in a random direction, once again feeling the fire going through him, scorching his heart and engulfing his soul as it cowls him, "Hang on Eri-chan." He whispers before he shoots across the pavement, not bothering to see if Mirio is on his lead, though hoping he has.

(if he had focused on some small corner in the back of his mind, he might have heard the voice of a woman laughing her approval. Instead all he feels is One For All flaring more brightly then usual.)

"That was idiotic, Midoriya!" Comes the voice of his senior, tinged with new found anger, "You're lucky he didn't kill us both!" Despite his words, his mouth is twitching upwards, he's somehow keeping pace with him using his quirk to sink into the ground for momentum, "Let's hope this works! Or Nighteye will kick us both off the internship!"

Only now does the thought that this might spell the end of his hero studies occur to him, although the weight in his arms, that hasn't stopped sobbing between fits of crying out either "I'm sorry" or "Thanks you", stops it from slowing him down.

"Let's deal with that later!" He says with a worried half smile, "Besides! You're not trying to stopping me!"

Mirio visibly struggles with what to say next before shaking his head, "Where are we going anyway!?"

"Don't know!" Is Izuku's immediate response, he can feel Mirio shouting at him before he hears it, "Either UA or the office! Whichever is closer!"

"Or for the love of- you first years keep getting crazier! This way then!"

With that the two zip through the crowd, bounding their way to safety with the little girl in tow.

Behind them, still back at the alleyway entrance, sits the bird faced criminal, his eyes following every move they make, staying in place until they vanish into the horizon, he lets out a deep sigh, "This complicates things…"

His voice is calm, but his left arm twitches before flying up to swipe the nearby wall, the brick work expanding and then popping outward, pieces of it raining around him as a few more masked men follow out from the alley.

"Boss! I'm sorry they just flew out of nowhere and-!"

What ever that man would have said is lost beneth the crushing and rotting grip of Overhaul's palm, "Shut your worthless mouth and after them!"

The rest take little time in heading his shout, as they run off he takes a deep breath, slowly cleaning the blood the henchman left on his pal while Chronostasis coming up behind him, hands twitching in uncharacteristic panic, "If they get away -"

"They won't."

"Our plans will be worthless -"

"They won't get away."

"We're so close we just need -"

"I said they won't get away!" He bellows, taking one more deep breath before once more looking in the direction the young heroes ran off to, "It appears we have a terminal case of "Hero Syndrome" on our hands… sadly, such things only have one cure."

He turns on his heel, the darkness of the alley way swallowing him whole, "Bring him to me when you catch him… alive," His voice turns jagged and sharp, "I want to make an example of him, in front of Eri, let's see her try and escape after that."

As he sulks off in the direction of his hideout, Izuku and Mirio continue their escape, Eri safely tucked under the first year's arm.

"I'm sorry…" She says one more time, voice wet and hoarse from her crying, her tears soaking Izuku's costume all the way down to his undershirt, "I'm sorry for making you do this…"

"Don't be." Izuku says without hesitation, eyes trained forward but arms strong against her frame as they hold her to him, "This is what heroes are supposed to do!" She clutches her head to his chest, her one horn digging a little into his shoulder before he moves her a little so she's more comfortable, "Just keep holding on Eri-chan, we're almost there…"

She's quiet before doing as he says and tightening her grip around his shoulders, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He says, voice cracking just a bit at her renewed tears as he speeds up, taking her further and further away…

Deku held the girl tightly against him as he followed Lemillion bounding across the city skyline. His breathing ragged yet even as One for All coursed through his muscles.

Izuku's eyes lit up in relief as he saw Sir Nighteye's office come into view. "Don't worry, Eri-chan. We're almost to safety."

The small child shuddered closer to him as the two landed on the roof of the building. Mirio led them down the stairs to one of the offices, encountering a slender well dressed man with an unnerving insectoid head.

Mirio didn't miss a beat. "Centipeder, get Sir Nighteye and Bubble Girl back here. We have a situation."

Centipeder nodded and left while Izuku sat down with Eri still in his arms.

"It's alright, it's alright. You don't have to fear that man anymore…" he whispered to her gently. He felt Eri tense again before she looked at him with tearful eyes, trembling her lips as she managed to stutter out a single word.

"Why?" her voice cracking in stunted emotions.

Izuku felt his chest swell up and eight echoes in his mind of words that surpassed generations before him.

"Because I am here."

Overhaul reaches his hideout, every inch of him rattling with rage, his minions clear a path for him, scurrying away in the same manner rats would from a rabid wolf, his eyes scour for the small form of Mimic, one of his hands twitching on top of the form his phone makes from the inside of his pocket, waiting for the report that would make him stop wanting to murder someone.

"Boss?" The Yakuza turns his head towards the sound, finally landing on the tiny form of his general manager, who was holding a phone in his hand, somehow looking nervous from behind his mask, "I got a call for ya…another time?"

Overhaul opened his mouth to tell Irinaka to shove that phone down his throat, but a thought in the back of his head stops him, best know who it is first, "A call from who, Mimic?"

"I-it's Shigaraki boss… it's about the offer we gave him a while back…should I tell him to call back?"

Shigaraki? Now? On top of everything else? Now?

Overhaul sees his well constructed plan flashing through his head, every piece of it slowly crumbling to nothing the more he thinks about the fact that he let his most important piece get taken away by some green haired little shi-

"B-Boss?"

"Give me the damned phone." He hisses, he needs to selvage something from this train wreck. The little man quickly complies, Overhaul taking a deep breath before he puts the device to his ear, "You have impeccable timing, Shigaraki."

"Cut yourself shaving, Overhaul?" The raspy voice on the other side says, a tint of amusement filtering through, "You seem to be in a shitty mood."

"Hero society does that to me, as I'm sure you'll relate, I just need to kill someone and I'll be right as rain." He takes another breath, "I was told you wanted to talk about the offer I so generously gave you a while back?"

"Go fuck yourself, generous my ass." Shigaraki drawls elegantly, his rasp somehow completely calm, "But yes, I want to talk to you about that, in person though, not through the phone," Overhaul could hear his dry lips curling over his teeth, "And on my terms, not yours, I'm saying that right now."

"All in good time, Shigaraki," Overhaul says, more calm now that at least one thing is going his way, "And I'll arrange a meeting don't worry, I just need to take of a few-"

"B-Boss?"

Overhaul sighs, "Hold on," He looks behind him to see some no name minion shaking in his boots as he worries his hands, "You have five seconds before you need to be cleaned up from these walls."

"W-We f-f-found the ones who took Eri, s-sir."

"And?"

"…They're in the Nighteye office… by the time we got there, it was already surrounded by police and other heroes…there was nothing we could do…"

"Nothing you could do? Is that right?" The minion nodded, shivering, and all at once Chisaki explodes. He forgets the phone he was still holding, and stomped his way to the henchman, screaming down his face, "I DON'T CARE IF YOU NEED TO DRIVE A DAMNED CARBOMB INTO THAT BUILDING!" He grabbed the grunt by the throat, his quirk already taking effect, as he started screaming at every one within ear shot, "ALL OF YOU ARE GOING BACK THERE AND GETTING BACK ERI ALONG WITH THAT GREEN-HAIRED PEST OR YOU'LL ALL WISH I LEFT YOU IN THE DITCH I FOUND YOU!" All at once everyone, except for Mimic who had taken refuge from behind a corner, ran off without comment, leaving Chisaki to huff and sweat as he looked at the pile of blood that was a person not a moment ago, "AND SOMEONE CLEAN THIS SHIT UP!"

"Did you say green hair?"

Overhaul twitched, finally remembering the phone in his hand, grumbling as he took it back to his ear, "What?"

"I said did you say green hair?"

"…yes."

"Was it a kid? Did the shit have freckles?"

"…someone you know?"

"Someone I want to kill," Was the casual reply, Shigaraki's voice gaining something… tricky as he continued speaking and stopping Overhaul's rage in its tracks, "Someone who is giving me trouble, someone who's head I would very much like to see flying off his shoulders."

Chisaki could hear a smile forming, "Which, if by some chance that would happen, and I happen to see his head on the meeting table when I come for our little talk," Overhaul was dangerously calm by this point, that fact hidden by his mask, "…I might be more open to… compromise."

"...That so?"

"Call me when you aren't screaming your head off." And like that, he hang up, leaving Overhaul to consider exactly what to do next, his mind racing about, bouncing between all the ways he could use this to his advantage…

Mimic finally poked his head out from the corner, leering cautiously at Chisaki, "B-Boss?"

"Irinaka," He started, his trademark deadpan back in place, "Get me Rappa."

"Let me reiterate what you just told me." Nighteye stated in an even tone as he loomed over Izuku holding Eri in his arms. After surveying the complex, Bubble Girl had told him that Toogata and Midoriya had returned with reason. "You encountered Chisaki, spoke with him, and recklessly took his terrified daughter with little understanding of what your actions could very well cause."

"Y-yes, s-s-sir."

"But we have some proof of his actions, Sir!" Mirio stated to the side. "We know he's been doing something to his -"

"Toogata-senpai, please!" Izuku halted Mirio's defense as he felt Eri huddle in closer, shivering like ice. "It's going to be okay, Eri-chan, it's going to be okay…" he rubbed her back as he whispered to her.

Sir Nighteye looked at the scene with an analytical gaze. The press would have a field day over this if they saw face value, and the public would naively follow like a herd of sheep, bleating for falsified justice that would be cooked up. He crouched down to the child's level and waited for her to turn around. After some encouragement, Eri shakily looked into Sir's intense gaze. They only locked eyes for less than an instant before she curled into Izuku again, but it was long enough for Sir.

Nighteye saw two futures for this girl, a fission split down the middle. One had a lighter tone with the girl safe in Izuku's hands, light silhouettes of others surrounding the two, the girl looking content.

The other… dark, mangled. A lone withered figure standing on a pile of bodies, a bleeding knife in its hand as it held Chisaki's bloodied mask in the other. It fixed the mask on its face before it turned its gaze behind. An older, twisted woman looked back, eyes pale and hollow, a bronze horn coiling in her hair.

Nighteye reeled back and clutched his head as he panted, Bubble Girl at his side to keep him steady. After a moment Sir stood tall and looked back at Izuku. "What you did was incessantly arrogant, but your actions could have done much worse." he stated, keeping his breathing eased. "The world is not so kind that you can always save others through will alone. Today was a fluke, but in the long run it may have made things easier for us all." He turned away, but said one last thing.

"I'll contact Aizawa about this development, as well as other offices about teaming up to stop Chisaki. In the meantime, Deku…" Sir gazed back with a calculating eye. "She's your responsibility."

"I said let me pass you piece of shit!"

"And I said get lost! What, you Yakuza have a hearing problem!?"

Outside the Nighteye Hero office was a massive commotion. Around the main building was a protective ring of security, both civilian and police officers along with more then a fair share of sidekicks stood shoulder to shoulder, preventing a rather large group of intimidating men in suits from entering the office.

"Our boss's kid is in there! What, Did heroes start kidnapping little kids whenever they felt like it!?"

One of the younger sidekicks clenched his teeth and took a few steps forward, about ready to knock a few teeth out before he was stopped by one of the older policemen, who then motioned with his head to the growing crowd of bystanders, and worse reporters, that was slowly closing in on them.

The civilians were getting angry, some were shouting for child services to step in.

The reporters looked ravenous.

The yakuza did not miss this, turning on his heel to shout towards the news crews, "Hey! These assholes are holding a little girl captive!"

"Wh-wait one second you bastard-!"

"We're trying to get her out but they won't let us through!" And on he went riling up the crowd, shouting and bellowing until everyone within ear shot was chanting and screaming for them to let the girl out, the reporters catching everything on camera.

Just before everything went out of control, both the sidekick and the officer felt a thin hand on their shoulder, belonging to one Nighteye, who walked into the middle of the chaos with nary a hair out of place, "I am here to answer any questions and to clear up any confusion."

With that the chaos honed in on him, the reporters swarming him with question while the general public tossed out insults his way, the barrier of sidekicks and police barely holding them back, and finally one reporter managed to raise his voice above the rest, "Sir Nighteye-san! Is it true that you are currently holding a child in your office!?"

"A small child is currently under the custody of the Nighteye Hero office, yes."

Another pushed ahead, jabbing a microphone as close as he could to Nighteye's impassive face, "And what connection does this child have to this group of yakuza!?"

"These gentlemen are all under the employ of a man by the name of Chisaki-san, who is under investigation by both the police and my hero office for several criminal activities," Nighteye stopped to measure his next words, "The child is Chisaki's."

Yet another reporter stabbed a mic in his face, to no reaction, "Does the child and your custody of them have anything to do with these allegations!?"

"No," Was the cold and cutting answer, "The child's existence was unknown to us until two of my interns ran into them on the street, covered in bandages and scared out of their wits. My interns then decided that the best course of action would be take bring them back here."

"Which interns!? Are they from UA!? Are you accusing Chisaki-san of child abuse!?"

"All I can say on the matter is that it has been decided by both the police force and the government that until, and if, all the accusation against Chisaki-san have been cleared, that his child will remain under the custody of my office and UA academy." He then directed an ice cold glare across the crowd, focusing on every yakuza there, "And as such everyone here that isn't a police officer or a hero is trespassing," All the previously shouting civilians quieted and all the yakuza clenched their fists but did nothing, "So I would ask all of you to cease this racket and leave, and know that we have the right to detain anyone who refuses."

It took some time, but soon the crowd dispersed, leaving only a few select yakuza behind…including one with a white bird mask.

He and Nighteye locked glares for one tense moment before a buzzing in the masked man's pocket made him break it, taking out a ringing phone which he answered. After a quick talk the man gave one last look towards the hero before turning on his heel and leaving, the rest of his companions following suit.

Nighteye patted the back of a few police and sidekicks, "Keep up the good work, you will soon receive assistance from other hero offices, stay watchful until then." He waited for the round of nods before he went back inside his office, the first thing he sees being Bubble clutching a phone worriedly.

"It's a call sir," She said, gulping loudly, "It's Chisaki."

"What? Well then why don't you give it to-"

"He wants to speak with Midoriya."

A stilled silence enveloped the room before Nighteye plucked the phone from Bubble's hand and placed it near his ear.

"You honestly must have a fair amount of confidence to contact my office and demand an intern, Chisaki-san, or would you prefer Overhaul?" Sir said.

"Chisaki, please. I'm calling about the welfare of my daughter." Chisaki said far too calmly. It send a dull chill down Sir's spine. "Now get me that green brat or things will get… inconvenient."

Nighteye glared slightly at the phone before he walked through his office to get to Izuku, who was finally able to get Eri to release her grip on his suit, even if she reattached herself to his arm as Sir came in.

"It's him." Nighteye stated, gauging the reaction as both tensed, Eri more so as she began to shiver again. Izuku looked to her before his gaze hardened and reached for the offered phone.

"Hello?" Izuku gulped.

"Finally. I was wondering what was taking Nighteye, or if he was stalling," Chisaki said, calm, but Izuku felt he was sitting on a time bomb as he continued. "You've really tested my patience today, boy. We should have had that pleasant chat in the alley. Now listen well: I want Eri back, and you will return her to me. Simple, right?"

Izuku felt Eri's grip tighten as she continued shaking. A quick glance to Mirio had him at her side rubbing her back to calm her as he responded. "Why is she so important to you?"

Chisaki grunted at the question. "She's my daughter. Why else would I need her back?"

"The way you acted around her says otherwise." Izuku felt his blood boil as One for All instinctively coursed in his head as he deliberated on everything he could think of. "Contrary to what you did, any parent would have immediately apologized to his or her child. Instead, you tried to get her and us away from public view. Meaning that you don't want anyone to know of her existence." The Ninth Bearer was mumbling in his head on reasons for why. And then he realized the one thing that made sense.

"That's absurd." He heard Chisaki respond. "How I raise Eri is no-"

"It's her Quirk, isn't it?" the room and line went quiet. "Her Quirk is something that you or your organization needs. Eri-chan looks to be four, maybe five years old, and no news has shown recent outbreaks in Yakuza activity, meaning that it only recently manifested and you've been doing something to her to use it for your own means." Izuku felt his hand clench around the phone. "And considering your own Quirk… that's two charges of Quirk abuse, tripled on the use of a minor. And on the likelihood Eri-chan isn't yours, that's another count for kidnapping and possible murder all wrapped in child abuse."

"You…!" He heard Chisaki seethe. "You're a case of Hero Syndrome that's rare; coupled with an internal bleeding heart. I was going to make it simple and quick, but now I'm going to be sure to go as painstakingly slow as I can. Shigaraki may just beg for it to end."

"Shigaraki!?" Izuku felt his breathing stall in his throat.

"So you do know him." Chisaki chuckled. "And here I thought he was just a head case. Oh, speaking of heads, do you know how long the brain can survive on a normal human after decapitation?"

Izuku grit his teeth as he glared furiously at the phone.

"Twelve seconds. But thanks to my expertise, I've managed to extend it to… oh, about thirty minutes. Shigaraki was more than open to have your head on a platter for our meeting. And you know what the best part is?" Chisaki rasped in a harsh whisper. "I'm going to make Eri watch every agonizing second of your suffering, so she will never escape from me again."

Izuku bolted to his feet as One for All swirled in his core. "You will never get near her. You hear me!?" His fist crushed the phone in his anger.

That anger quickly washed away as he felt the small shivering hands on his own. Looking back to Eri, her tears shed anew. He heart clenched and he picked her up and comforted her. "It's going to be fine, Eri-chan…" he whispered to ease her whimpering, before looking back to Mirio and Nighteye. "We need to get to UA. No offense, Sir, but your office might not be structurally sound enough to withstand a potential raid."

"Your assumption, while crass, holds merit, Midoriya." Nighteye nodded. "My employees specialize in Intel, though several can and will hold their ground."

Mirio nodded, standing tall. "And Recovery Girl can check Eri over, just in case."

Izuku sighed as he began to feel lightheaded. "Good… that's… gu-" he began to collapse on the ground, the world going black around him.

Chisaki held the phone in his hand, listening to the dull ring that signaled a lost connection with a lazy gaze. If he had to hazard a guess, judging by the boy's tone of voice and the last thing getting through the call being the sound of plastic cracking under pressure, he'd have to say the boy crushed the phone in his grip in response to his words.

So, he found a weakspot, good.

With a lazy twitch of a finger he hang up from the call, before tapping a new number in, drumming the fingers of his other hand on the table as he waited for the call to connect.

It took two rings before Chronostasis picked up, "Yes Boss."

"Any movement to report?"

A quick pause followed, "More police cars showed up. About twenty. Two armored."

Overhaul continues drumming his fingers on the table, humming absently, "Hero support?"

Another pause, "On the way, about five minutes. Reports say either the Fatgum or Ryukyu offices."

"Your take?"

"Both."

"Anyone leave the building?"

"Not y- Wait." Overhaul's fingers stop, "I see a few people heading towards the armored car…I can't see them very well, hold on…" A charged silence followed on the line, "…Eri is with them, and they're moving her." A shuffling sound could be heard through the line, "I can send a few grunts to slow them down, went to send some Expendables over?"

"No."

"Sir? They're probably taking her to UA! If they get her there we won't-"

"Anyone we send in won't be able to accomplish anything before the other heroes show up," Was the measured, calm response, "And losing too many men would put us at a disadvantage during the meeting with Shigaraki." He leans back on his chair, "Let her go, we'll get her out of there, along with the green haired brat, don't you worry."

"…You have a plan boss?"

Overhaul threw a glance at a file on his desk, no name on it or any other features to see, "What kind of question is that?" He cracked his neck at the sound of someone entering his room, "Just get back here, I'll give you the details."

With that he hung up, slowly putting down the phone and looking up to meet his guest, the broad muscular form of one of his Eight Expendables, Rappa.

"So, wanted to see me, boss?" The large man crossed his arms and looked down the large nose of his mask at Overhaul, not an ounce of respect to be found on either his posture or voice, "I've been wanting to have another go at you."

Chisaki could hear the manic grind of the man's teeth moving against eachother to form a grin behind his mask, he absently rubbed the scar on his forehead in response, "Not today Rappa, I have a mission for you."

"I wasn't asking!"

A few things happened. First, Rappa threw a punch directly at Overhaul's head. Second, Rappa lost his head. And thirdly, he got that head back. The sudden rush made him stumble back, clutching his skull in pain.

He was vaguely aware that he was missing a tooth, "Motherfucker."

"As I was saying," The yakuza boss went on with only the slightest edge of annoyence coloring his tone as he casually flicked aside what looked to be a molar, "I have a mission for you Rappa," He reached for the folder and streched out his arm to give it to the larger man, who was still clutching his head in pain as he took it, "You might have heard that Eri was stolen from us."

Rappa laughed as he opened the folder without looking at it, "Yeah, made my day, heard some brat caught ya' with your pants down!" Rappa looked down at the folder, his laughing stopped dead, "…the fuck is this?"

"My daughter was taken from me," Overhaul started, calm as a corpse, "My family, you could say," He leaned back on his chair again, threading his fingers together, "And since my family was so cruelly taken away from me, held captive where I can't reach…" Something rotten crept into his voice, "It's only fair that I repay in kind."

Rappa looked over the folder, inside was a single file, a few details about a person, along with a picture.

The picture was of a middle aged women with green hair, pulled into a tight single bun. The file gave the picture a name:

Midoriya Inko.

Ai yi yi yi, why do I do this to myself? bah, who am i kidding? you eat this stuff up! Be sure to review!