-The next morning-

Izuku POV

"Ow." I hiss in pain as I try to sit up. I feel a hand on my shoulder and start to panic. SHIGARAKI! I pull away, expecting my shoulder to start disintegrating. After a moment, I notice it's still there. Completely fine. "What the helllll?" I ask myself, staring at my shoulder in disbelief. If that wasn't Crusty, who just touched me? Actually, where am I? What happened? I start looking around the room, trying to take in my surroundings.  I first notice the man in front of me. He looks really tired, maybe more than me. His long shaggy black hair was tied up in a half bun and he was wearing all black, a huge contradiction to the rest of the bright white room.

"Ohmygod you're Eraserhead!" I sputter out. The man looks at me and lets out a small chuckle.

"Yea. I'm surprised you know who I am." He looks at me with a smile. It's a warm smile. Actually, the whole room is warm, and bright. I look away from the man and have to squint while taking in the rest of the room. As my eyes adjust, the memories of the previous day catch up to me.

"Is this real?" I ask plainly. Reaching my hand up to my throat. Eraserhead places a hand on my shoulder. I flinch at the contact and he quickly lifts his hand, a sad look comes across his face. 

"Hey kid. You're safe now." I sigh and look out the window. Excitement pulls me from the bed as I run to the window. "Wow! Kid you should be resting!" I ignore him and stand on my toes, trying to get a look outside hoping up and down to get a better look.

"Kid what are you doing?" The hero asks.

"It's the sun! Can you believe it! Woooow!" I look out the window with my eyes wide. I crack open the window and a fresh breeze comes into the room. I deeply inhale the crisp air, savoring the moment.

Aizawa POV

I stare at the small boy as he struggles to look out the window that is just too high up for him. He bounces up and down, looking outside.

"It's the sun! Can you believe it! Woooow!" I feel my heart sink. When was the last time this kid saw the outside world?

"Hey, kid?" I ask cautiously. He spins his head around with a contagious smile plastered on his face. Hard to believe this was the same kid he found half dead and chained to a wall. "When was the last time you were outside?" His smile flickers.

"Well," he starts, scratching the back of his head with his hand. "I don't really remember." He looks down at the floor. "If I'm being honest, I don't even know how long I've been gone. It feels like it's been forever." His smile is gone now as he tucks himself onto a chair, bringing his knees to his chest.

"Do you know how old you are then?" He glances at me, not moving his head from his knees and shakes his head. I pause again. "Do you want me to tell you?" I ask calmly. I don't want him to have another panic attack. His head rises slightly, contemplating the question. He looks at me again and hesitantly nods. I take a deep breath. "Well, right now you are 15."

He looks at me with complete shock. "I-i-i'm f-fifteen? I was there f-for e-e-eight y-years." I stare at him in disbelief. The poor kid. I feel tears fill in the corner of my eyes, anger coming over me. Who would hurt such a good kid?

I slowly get up and walk to the greenette. He his looking out the window from his seat. I crouch down next to him. "Hey, problem child?" I ask, getting his attention. "Can I give you a hug?" This question seems to confuse him. Almost as if he doesn't remember what they are. With a confused look he gives me a small nod. I wrap him in a big hug. He slowly releases tension and melts into the hug, hesitantly wrapping his arms around me.

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-Time skip, 2 pm-

I check my phone. Tsukauchi should be here soon.

I don't know why I feel like I need to be here for the boy. I have to teach class today, but I already called Mic to have him cover for me. Those problem children can survive a day or two with the screeching cockatoo. Plus, I don't want to leave the kid. I want to protect him. After all, he might not be out of the woods yet.

I look up from my phone and see the kid staring at his food. The nurses had dropped off some lunch for him, but he hasn't eaten yet. He probably hasn't gotten much food over the past years. His cheeks and eyes are sunken in and you can see his ribs. His arms and legs are also extremely thin, making the bony protrusions at his joints stick out. He probably only weights 90 pounds, if that.

"Not hungry?" He shifts his attention from the food to me. He shakes his head and rolls over, pulling the blanket over his head. I decided not to push, his mind is probably racing. Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"May I come in?" Tsukauchi is standing in the doorway with an older man standing behind him. The old man id holding a toolbox in one hand and a laptop in the other. At the sound of an unfamiliar voice, I see the freckled boy start to sit up.

I welcome them into the room and the pair sits in chairs beside the hospital bed. Tsukauchi is the first to break the silence. "So young man, what's your name?"

The kid looks at me, hoping for an answer. I shrug, urging him to choose. "I... uh... m-my my name is...." He pauses. Obviously struggling on how he should answer. "I've been called n-number seven f-for a l-long time now, b-b-but my real name i-is Izu-Izuku M-Midoriya?" He says this as a question, not really believing himself. "I-i-i g-guess you can c-call me I-Izuku."

I let out a small smile. I want the boy to feel like a person again, and taking back his name is the first step. Tsukauchi smiled at the boy. "Ok, Izuku," The boy flinched at the new name. "I'm detective Tsukauchi and this here is a lock specialist named Yama. He is going to try and get that collar off of you if you'll let him." The boy looked frozen. His hand rose to his throat.

"R-really? Y-you can get t-this off?" Izuku's eyes started to water as he looked at the older man.

The man nodded at the boy. "I'll do my best young man. By the looks of it, that's some high tech stuff. This could take awhile." Izuku nodded, his excitement was starting to shine through.

-------

Izuku POV

-two days later-

Yama has been at the collar for a few days now. The whole time he has worked, he has explained his findings and the technology behind the collar. He told me that normal methods aren't detaching it and that the metal is too tough to cut through.

"So what do we do now?" I ask Yama. He looks at me and sighs.

"Well, kid. I-i don't know what to tell you. This is some crazy stuff. I've never seen it before." I sit up from the bed.

"Well, maybe I could try." Yama looks at me confused and I let out a small laugh. "With my Analysis quirk, I can start some research. It should only take a day to get enough information to come up with a way to get it off. After that, I could probably make the remote or key that could get it off."

Yama looked  at me, shocked at what I was proposing. "Wh-what?! You really think you could figure this out in a day or two?" As he asked, Eraserhead and the detective come back into the room.

"Yea. I just need to access some reading material and somewhere I can manufacture the end device. From the things you were telling me, I already have a few ideas."

"What is this now?" Eraserhead walks over, handing me a cup of coffee. He got me one yesterday and I fell in love with it. He chuckled at my excitement for the caffeine.

"Thanks Eraserhead." I explained the situation that Yama and I are stuck at and he nods.

"Well, problem child, I might have a solution. You see, Tsukauchi and I were just talking about where you will go once your discharged. And, if you would like, I would love to adopt you." My heart swelled at the statement.

"Wait, you're for real?!" I felt the tears escape from my eyes.

"Of course I am."

"Wait, I'm insanely grateful and I would love for you to adopt me Eraserhead, but how does that solve the collar problem?"

He smirked. "Well, for one, I work at UA. We have mechanics shop, a library, and a principle that is too smart for his own good. And two, you can call me Aizawa, kid." My jaw dropped.

"YOU WORK AT UA! THEE U. A.?!?" He smiled at my surprise. "If you work atUAthenyouprobablyhaveclassgoingonrightnowandifsothewhyareyouhereandnotteachingandiifigotoUAthenicouldgettheinformationineedandthenic-"

"Kid, haha hey, you're mumbling." I felt me face flush red. "You know. You are actually old enough to attend UA yourself. Maybe we can talk to Nezu and get you enrolled."

"Wh-what? I-i-i could go to UA?! I've always wanted to go to that school! Erase-Aziawa, are you sure about this?" My excitement fades towards the end as I realize the hassle I would be causing.

"I'd love to, plus, it's probably the best move. Shigiraki, Kurogiri, and Toga got away so you are still in danger. At UA, you'll be surrounded by pros and can learn to control your new quirk in a safe environment." I recoil at the mention of the League, but the things that Aizawa say bring a smile to my face.

I begin to sob and Aizawa comes up to hug me. I grab onto him tightly, not wanting this feeling to ever end. "Everything will be ok now. I've got you." I smile through my tears and pull him closer.