Third person pov

Summer flew by in a flash. Most of it was spent revamping the magazine company Kit now owned. They forced Tensei to pose, interviewed him in the middle of his breakfast one morning, and then proceeded to stalk him on patrol for some action shots, courtesy of Tenya, who was better with a camera than you'd think. Not the most efficient, but it was a whole lot better than the utter bullshit Kit's mother had put into it. Kit even commissioned Izuku to write a few quirk analysis articles, and one on what it was like to be quirkless. Getting quirkless people to come in and share their stories hadn't been as hard as they'd all thought. Plenty were willing to speak up.

The society they lived in was entirely flawed. The magazine, titled Suzuko after their family, was a perfect example of that. Or it had been before Kit refurbished the utter shit out of it. It had conformed heavily to the standards set in place by society. It was what the masses wanted, but not really what they needed. It was all skinny fashion models and popular pro heroes. The latest gossip on celebrities that shaped the world more than they probably should've. Kit had been pretty disgusted flipping through the past few issues released prior to his mother's arrest. Nothing about them was enriching. No awareness on any of the issues going on, not even the big ones being blasted across the globe.

The trio grew closer over the summer. Between hanging out, working out, and compiling information for the magazine, they ended up spending plenty of time together. Tenya and Kit had both revamped the company's social media accounts, and Izuku was excellent at writing descriptions for their posts before they put them up. Not the mention they managed to convince Inko that sending Izuku to Somei was the way to go. The Iida family supported him, and Kit was more than willing to pay his tuition. Only, it turned out his willingness to provide financial aid wasn't needed in the least. Izuku got in on a scholarship. 

Izuku was exuberant at the idea of leaving his old life behind. It felt like a fresh start with his new friends. Kit would be commuting with him each morning, both of them using the jog to the train station was a way to work out in the morning. It would be cooler that early in the day, meaning a less grueling run for the pair, and a lot less sweat. Kit reveled in the wide-eyed look Katsuki had given him when the brunette had spilled the tea. Clearly, his blonde cousin hadn't been expecting them to be close enough for Izuku to go through with such a large transfer.

"It's a hit!" Tenya exclaimed gleefully, eyes shining as he looked at all the notifications pop up on the magazine's Instagram page. The fashion they'd touched on was more budgeted this time around, and most of what was in the magazine was targeted towards quirks, heroes, and those without quirks. Society as a whole, along with bullying and discrimination against the quirkless, those with 'villainous' quirks, and such of the like. Any ads they had were for charities or local restaurants who did nothing but support the hero community. It was a total success, and the three boys couldn't be prouder of their hard work.

It wasn't all that surprising, how much attention their sudden shift of interest got. Rumors of Kit's mother being arrested were circulating as their manor went up on the market, their overpriced furniture and other belongings beings auctioned off. Only clothing, important items, photographs. Most of it Kit was dumping, using the proceeds to put towards charity and such. People were eating up the mystery, trying to dig further into the enigma of what happened. The new magazine direction had only fueled the fire. It had even been verbally mentioned on a few news station, which had been a surprise. It was clearly more popular than Kit had assumed.

"P-People really seem to like it!" Izuku exclaimed, gripping the straps of his backpack tighter as they walked towards the private academy. He was nervous about starting somewhere new, but getting away from Kacchan was almost like a dream come true. Yes, he would always be someone Izuku considered a childhood friend. But right now, in the present? He was anything but. Izuku knew who really cared about him. They were the ones who'd been nothing but kind to him, and had stuck with him throughout the whole summer. They included him, and were helping him train to become a hero. In all honesty... it was a dream come true. Sometimes, at the end of the day, he couldn't help but sit down and stare at his hands in disbelief. 

"Damn right they do. I couldn't have done it without you guys." Kit turned off his phone and slipped it in his pocket. "Open bank accounts so I can pay you."

They stared at Kit for a moment, and Kit stared back. Was there something wrong with what he'd said? Tenya had essentially taken all the photos that weren't done in the studio, and the ones done in the studio were overseen by him anyway. Izuku had written half the shit in there. Honestly, all Kit had done was edited the whole thing and stuck it together with some minor help from the small team they still had-- a major downgrade in size from the hoard of overpaid dicks they'd had beforehand. They'd done most of the touching up on the photos. Got some of the blurriness away from Tensei and such, and a few of the other pictures. Kit really wasn't much other than the one who decided shit, if he as being completely real with himself. 

"Y-You don't h-have to pay me! I didn't do anything!" Izuku said. Kit's brows shot up. Izuku's words were quite literally a lie. The green-haired boy seemed to realize how untrue his statement was as well, shrinking back a bit with a wince of a smile. Tenya was fidgeting uncomfortably, a frown set on his face. He didn't really want to be paid for his work either. It had been more fun than anything else, and working with Kit and Izuku to put together a magazine, and to see people read it... it was exhilarating, to put it lightly! This was something he believed in, and it was out there in the world. People were reading it and talking about it.

"I don't believe I wish to be paid either. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It wasn't a job I was hired to do." Tenya seemed to decide firmly. Kit's brows rose even further. These two would be the death of him. It was official. Who the hell turned down free cash? Seriously. They worked hard, and deserved it. They could put it in a savings account for all he cared, so long as they had it in their possession. Hell, he wouldn't mind if they donated it to a charity. Either or, they deserved some sort of payment.

"Tough shit. You can enjoy your job and still get paid for it. Open a bank account or expect to find several wads of cash under your pillow." Kit glowered at his boyfriend, then turning to the startled Izuku. "It's the same for you, squirt. Open a bank account or your mother's going to be asking why there's a paper bag full of bills sitting on your kitchen table."

"I-I'm actually taller than you now." Izuku's diet had changed, and he'd undergone some sort of growth spurt that made Kit extremely jealous. He'd been eating better than Izuku for years now, and where was his extra two inches of height? At least he didn't look like a spindly, freckled tree. Izuku had earned some muscle, but he wasn't at Kit's level just yet, meaning he was thinner than not. Muscle wise, Izuku wasn't at Tenya's either, but Tenya was a high standard. Kit had half the mind to make him pose shirtless for the magazine, but that would bring out all sorts of pedophiles. 

"And yet I could still break every bone in your body." Kit breathed. Tenya swatted lightly at his head, earning a small huff of indignance from the brunette. Izuku hid his laugh with a cough. It was weird to see how much things had changed in comparison to the beginning of the summer. He'd been depressed and running on the little fumes his dissipating hope had left behind. And then Kit had come knocking on his bedroom door, having moved in with his cousin. He was here to stay. Even now, if Kit moved away, Izuku didn't have a doubt in his mind they'd remain friends. That they'd still hang out. It warmed him up inside.

"Bold of you to assume I can't do that on my own." Izuku managed to quip back without turning into a tomato. Iida shook his head, and swatted at Izuku.

"Let's not jinx anything, you two. Let's head inside. It would be unbecoming of us to be late on the first day!" Iida's voice was chiding, but he was smiling, which sort of cancelled it out. Kit snorted mildly as they headed back inside. Izuku became more and more fidgety the closer they got to the entrance of the school. Somei was a lot bigger and a whole lot nicer than Aldera, holding its students to a much higher standard. He'd made Iida check over his uniform several times to ensure he was good to go. Kit didn't seem at all concerned, and his uniform was all sorts of wrong. His tie was missing, and his blazer was tied around his waist. His shoes weren't even on, and the pants needing ironing desperately. Iida hadn't looked surprised to see the brunette in such a state.

They had most of their classes together, and they all shared a lunch. It was a huge relief to the freckled boy to see that he'd be with his friends, and Iida had laughed gleefully when he realized how much his schedule matched with both Kit's and Izuku's. Of course, the green-haired teen definitely recognized that Iida was probably more pleased about the fact that he'd be with Kit in comparison to his excitement over being with Izuku. That was fine by him. They were dating, so it made sense. Izuku was a bit jealous, however. He couldn't help it! Maybe he was attention starved.

Getting introduced into the class was severely awkward. They'd all asked what his quirk was. It was nerve wracking to admit he didn't have one, but the reaction he earned as he nervously stuttered it out wasn't the one he'd expected. Almost everyone in the room had fell silent, a few visibly getting paler as they turned to Kit. They'd got here in the nick of time, so just about everyone had seen him come in with the the brunette and Iida. The wolfish grin on his shorter friend's face only made the air tenser, and it struck Izuku that they weren't disgusted, or revolted, and they weren't going to laugh. They were intimidated. Kit had paved the way for him and his quirklessness simply by being himself.

He was sat in front of the boy. Iida was behind the red-eyed boy, unable to keep the smile off his own face. The corners of Izuku's lips pulled up before he could stop them, feeling awfully light for someone who'd been so anxious just moments ago. His experience at his previous middle school had dimmed his view of such learning facilities, but he had a feeling... well, he had a feeling school was going to be something he could finally look forward to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Dammit." Dabi hissed, throwing down his coat with scowl on his face. He dropped the envelopes stating his rent was two months overdue on his rickety coffee table, stomping past his pathetic living area and towards his fridge, where he kept his corner store liquor. He was broke and in desperate need of a job. Anyone who saw his face immediately turned him away, and those who did grace him with an interview were clearly doing it out of pity, or to shame him for the way he looked. Considering today's society, it was ridiculous that they'd shame him for an unnatural disfiguration when they had people with every type of face and body working for them.

He dug his wallet out of his pocket and tossed it on the counter. It slid and thudded against the wall lightly, his hand bringing out his phone soon after as he sulked toward the fridge. He blinked rapidly to try and dispel welling tears of frustration, feeling awfully pathetic. He hated stealing, but it was looking like he'd have to if he didn't want to get evicted. Doing odd jobs that were the definition of illegal were pretty much the only way he got by, and it was only a matter of time before the cops caught on. If he became a felon, he wouldn't be able to get a job, face aside.

He stopped, gazing at his phone. It seemed like just yesterday he'd saved that snarky little brat in that alley on the way home. He hadn't done it because he was a particularly good person, but he'd been there, and it was clearly a bunch of dickbags ganging up on the little guy. Revving up his flames hadn't really been an issue, and he was well known enough on the streets that he was avoided nowadays. What had that brat called him? Goth Jesus? It had certainly shocked him, but now he could snort at it. The kid had given him his phone number, and offered a favor...

"Fuck it." Dabi doubted the squirt could actually get him a job, but it was worth a try. He whipped out his phone with a frown. "I'm desperate enough."