A bit of a filler but the entrance exams are going to be next chapter FINALLY oh my god

Third person pov

"And you said that Kittrick Suzuko, the teenage millionaire owner of the world famous, renowned magazine, was out here in the middle of the night without shoes getting mugged?" Tsukauchi said it very slowly, pen poised over his notepad. He'd repeated the same question about three times now, and Aizawa was getting pretty tired of answering, even if all he had to do was sigh out a yes. He had other, better things to do. Like get coffee, or go save some other irrational kid from a mugging. 

Honestly, the only reason he even knew what the brat looked like was because of how troublesome they were. He was all over the news, and it was near impossible to turn on the TV without hearing the Suzuko name spouted off in some regard, as the publications were always offending someone or speaking about something no one else had. That, and Mic was a huge fan. Would not shut up about it and was trying desperately to get the squirt on his radio show. The guy was constantly invading Aizawa's apartment, leaving the magazines strewn about. Shota could admit he'd... maybe cracked open one or two, and that they weren't all that bad. But that was besides the point.

"That's what I said." Aizawa confirmed verbally, cocking a brow when Tsukauchi's face twisted.

"I don't believe you." The detective seemed to decide with very little hesitation, still not writing his statement down. Aizawa swallowed a sigh and wondered how much longer they'd be here. He had better eyesight than most, and he knew what he'd seen. Unless Kittrick Suzuko had a double running around the back alleys of Musutafu, then that had definitely been him. 

"Your quirk detects lies, Naomasa." Aizawa drawled, giving him an irritated look. The man shriveled slightly, looking like he needed a nap just as badly as Shota did. The implications that came with Kittrick Suzuko stabbing someone strung out on trigger-- self defense or not-- were hefty. It would be a total shit storm with the press. And paperwork. So, so much paperwork. "I'm not sure this is a matter of whether or not you believe me."

"Right, right. So a... technically unidentified teenager who looked like Kittrick Suzuko was the victim involved in the mugging. Looked like." Tsukauchi seemed to come to this conclusion on his own, and Aizawa rolled his eyes as the man began to jot it down with a self-assured nod. Sure, sure. If that helped him sleep at night, then he could certainly argue that it was just some random kid who happened to look a lot like a celebrity if that helped. Aizawa could honestly care less. With UA's new schoolyear coming up, he had bigger things to worry about.

"Sure." Aizawa's short response was all the relief Tsukauchi needed, apparently. The man deflated like a stuck balloon, sliding the clipboard under his notepad out and turning it towards him so he could sign and get on his way. Shota did so without complaint. Though, he couldn't help but wonder what a rich kid had been doing out here in this part of town so late. Shoeless, no less. Did he not have enough money for an Uber? Or hell, a private chauffer? 

He thought back on what little he'd seen of the encounter. The kid had moved fast-- faster than you'd expect from someone like him. It was... actually quite interesting. Kittrick Suzuko was known to be quirkless, yet the kid had obviously held his own, even against someone with a supercharged quirk. Aizawa was never going to admit it out loud, but he was a little impressed. The kid had potential. He wondered if the brat had any interest in heroics, or if he'd be seeing him at UA this year. He somehow doubted it, but a bit of mild curiosity never hurt anyone.

It didn't take long for things to wrap up after that. The druggie was incoherent as he was taken away, and Eraserhead was soon launching himself back up onto the rooftops. If he searched a little further than usual in the direction their mugging victim had run off to, well, there was no one to tell. He ran into a couple more simple muggings and a robbery or two before he was heading home from his shift, thoughts of shoeless millionaire children and course plans for the upcoming schoolyear ruminating through his mind.

He collapsed only his couch bonelessly when finally got back to his apartment, just as he did every early morning he got home. Normally he'd sleep for a couple hours before rolling off onto the ground and getting ready for a day on UA's campus sorting through examinee applications and assigning student-hopefuls into their respective zones for the entrance exams. This morning, however, this did not happen. Because someone had snitched. And by someone, he meant Tsukauchi. Because who else could it have been?

Hizashi Yamada slammed his door open with gusto after picking the lock that Aizawa had already changed four times. The resounding bang told Aizawa that the blonde man had put a hole in the wall with the door knob. Again. The underground pro barely had time to crack his eyes open before his friend was hovering over him, toxic green eyes bright with excitement and grin stretched wide. Shota braced.

"SHOTAAAA!" Present Mic's scream rattled the windows and promised another noise complaint from his neighbors. He leaned closer, hands falling upon his shoulders and shaking him. Aizawa groaned. "You ran into Kittrick Suzuko and didn't tell me?!" 

Shota, not for the first time, contemplated moving and not telling Hizashi where. He had a sneaking suspicion he'd just find out his address anyway. 

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

"Kit." Tenya's tone was sharp. "Why is Present Mic emailing the company account asking for an interview and saying you were involved in a mugging with his 'best friend', the Underground Hero Eraserhead, last night?"

Kit, who had very pointedly worn jeans today, slowly turned towards him with a bright smile on his face. Izuku didn't even try to hide his snort. The freckled menace was in the middle of doing a set of stretches, ready to go meet All Might for the day. When were they going to truly acknowledge that by the way? He was being trained by All Might. The guy was practically his father at this point. This was a business opportunity if Kit had ever seen one. That, and Izuku's muscles were quickly reaching magazine-cover worthy. Kit could see Katsuki's bugged out expression now.

Things were going well with Suzuko. Kit had... well, he had managed to secure an interview with Endeavor actually. Yeah. It sounded totally bogus, but Kit had some questions he wanted answers to, and he had a feeling Endeavor's responses would look extremely incriminating next to all the evidence they'd gathered for the Chad project. It was so, so close to being done. Yet also not at the same time. There were a few key details they lacked. Especially since they were adding in a segment about how much the hero commission sucked, all it covered up, and why it was the center of hero society's overall corruption. It was an extremely risky topic to breach, so they had to be thorough. And get their hands on some great lawyers.

They also had to be careful not to play into the new serial killer's ideology. They were calling him Stain, and he went after anyone he perceived to be a fake hero. Great motive; still murder. Kit didn't want to give him any ammo or let the press try and draw parallels between him and their company. 

"Well." Kit pursed his lips, tilting his head from side to side as he considered how to answer. Tenya's unimpressed stare told him there was very little he could say to get out of this. It was kind of hot, but saying that would be digging himself into a hole he wouldn't be able to crawl out of at the moment, so you know. He'd keep it to himself. Instead, he waved a nonchalant hand at his boyfriend, trying to downplay it all. "Babe, it wasn't a super big deal! I didn't want to worry you with that shit, that's all."

"Wait, you're the kid who got stabbed?" Tensei asked just as he was walking in, and Kit wondered how hard it would be to get away with strangling him. Tenya's eyes got very, very big, his gaze immediately dropping to Kit's legs. Or more specifically his jeans. Yeah, they were sort of a dead giveaway seeing as Kit was almost always in shorts these days. These pants were baggier than he ever went for too. The gauze would've been far too visible in anything conforming! Sue him! "Nemuri was talking about that on her private Snapchat."

"You have Midnight's private snapchat?" Izuku eyed him. Tensei shrugged, and Izuku sighed, straightening. "Sometimes I forget you went to school with cool people."

Tensei looked affronted at the insinuation that he was not one of said cool people, but he didn't get the chance to respond before Tenya was descending upon Kit like the grim reaper himself. Kit tried valiantly to get away. Sort of. Tenya lifting him up was really hot. Seriously, the guy was build like a tank. Looking like he did taxes or something with that build of his. Those shoulders stretched on for miles upon miles, and his hands? Uh huh, anyway. Kit sort of let himself get manhandled. Up until the point where Tenya started unbuttoning his pants, which had Dabi scoffing and leaving the room. Tensei sputtered. 

"Whoa! I didn't know you were into that." Kit purred, grin widening as Tenya yanked at his jeans with a scowl. The taller boy's expression darkened, and Kit backpedaled. "It's not even that bad! It's very shallow! Very, very shallow! Just a scratch!" 

Izuku rolled his eyes at the pair, waving half-heartedly to Tensei as he left. The nurses shot dirty looks at the open door as Kit and Tenya's shouting bled into the halls, but they didn't do anything about it. They'd learned to put partially-deaf long term patients next door to Chad's room so that they were less likely to be disturbed. Kit and Izuku thought it was hilarious, but Tenya stewed in shame anytime it was brought up. Only now he was the one causing the commotion. Oh how the tables had turned. 

Izuku popped his earbuds in and jogged to the elevator, glancing down at his phone. His mom had texted him and told him she and Rei would be out for the day, meaning Denise was sitting alone in the dark right now. Izuku hummed a bit, squinting in contemplation. He didn't think standing in the pitch black living room of their apartment was super stimulating, and Denise needed all the engagement he could get. After all, how else were they ever supposed to teach him anything? He was too behind the curve! Izuku was going to have to go pick him up.

He was sure All Might wouldn't mind if Izuku told him Denise was more of a dog than a person. That sounded really rude when he said it like that, but it was true. It's not that he was objectifying Denise. Denise just... wasn't super smart. Incredibly, terrifyingly strong, but couldn't really talk much or operate like a normal human being. He'd die by himself, Izuku was quite sure. Besides, if he found out All Might's secret, who was he going to tell? Kit already knew and so did Tenya, and Denise wasn't much of a chatterbox anyway. Denise probably didn't have the mental capacity to understand secret identities anyway.

With his new plan in mind, he exited the hospital with gusto. Dabi was leaned up against the wall outside smoking a cigarette, and he gave a brief nod to the green-haired boy as he went. Izuku couldn't blame him for leaving. Kit and Tenya got lovey-dovey way too often. Izuku had no idea what they were going to do when UA started and they were apart approximately eight hours a day. It was going to be hilarious. And awful, sort of. For Izuku anyway. He'd have to listen to Tenya stress and stress and-- yeah, you got it. That was assuming Izuku passed at this point... ugh.

It was warm outside, and Izuku checked the time to make sure he wasn't going to be late. All Might was... well, he was amazing to be quite frank. He made sure Izuku was eating, helped him train, coached him, made sure he wasn't overworking, and asked about his day. He made sure he was healthy and in a good headspace. It was like having a dad! Izuku was sort of basking in it but wouldn't dare admit it. Kit teased him enough.

All Might had tried to ask about the gun thing once but Izuku had very easily slipped out of that one, and he luckily hadn't had the gall to bring it up again. That was the single most mortifying moment of his life. Barring the time he and Kit had broken into Endeavor's house and then had pitched a modeling gig to Shoto Todoroki. Kit had thought it went great, but Izuku's mortification knew no bounds. If Izuku made it into UA, he'd definitely be seeing him there, and he'd definitely be recognized! He had no idea how to prepare for it.

He ran home eagerly, throwing the door open and tromping in. All the lights were off, and he flicked a few on as he went. The TV was running. His mom always tried to leave it on for Denise when she left, but the hulking beast could often times be found in a corner staring blandly at a wall. At least he had the background noise, Izuku supposed. The freckled teen huffed, glancing around with a frown. Normally he stood in the corner closest to the couch, but he wasn't there. He wasn't by the TV either, or the wall by the door. 

"Denise!" He called, peeking into the kitchen with a frown. Their apartment was small, so it's not like there were many places for him to hide. Not with the size he was. He wasn't by the table or staring at the microwave's clock, nor was he staring at the fridge where they'd put the toaster to keep him from getting it. That wasn't something Izuku wanted a repeat of, that's for sure. Sniffing, he ducked into the hall. Denise wasn't creepily standing at the end of it either. "Denise?! Denise, come here!" 

Nothing. Not a peep. No movement at all. Izuku became a bit more frantic as he searched, throwing doors open and looking in even the most unlikely places. There was no sign of him anywhere, and Izuku felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach. He gulped. His hands shook slightly, but he clenched them into fists to stop the tremble before it could truly start.

Denise was missing. And Izuku had no idea where he'd gone.

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

"Are you alright, my boy?" All Might asked. Izuku had run up, late and on the phone. The boy was an image of complete distress, face red and blotchy and breaths coming out in short puffs. He'd pointed apologetically to his phone at the time, shaking his head a little and looking lost. Toshinori had given a kind smile of understanding, bobbing his head to let him know it was no harm done. Izuku had deflated at that, but only slightly.

Izuku Midoriya was... well, he was weird. Not the successor Toshinori had ever envisioned himself having, but he wouldn't have things any other way. Young Midoriya was perfect for the role. He was meant to take his quirk on, All Might was sure. He felt a little bad for ghosting Nighteye and rejecting his calls, knowing his former sidekick would be filled with rage to find out All Might had chosen someone without meeting the candidate he'd picked out. At the end of the day, this was Toshinori's quirk. And he got to choose who to pass it on to.

"Y-Yeah. Just... Denise is missing." Izuku stressed, eyes big, round, and a little watery. Nothing like his usual sass and determination. Toshinori felt his heart sink a little. He had no idea who this Denise girl was, but it had to be a good friend for Young Midoriya to be so upset. "We don't know where-- there were no sign of a struggle or anything, and my mom is freaking out! N-Not even Kit can find him, and Kit can find anyone!" 

He sounded near hysterical. He'd been hushed and frantic on the phone. All Might had almost forgotten how he'd first met Young Midoriya. With Kittrick Suzuko-- the young CEO who was making ripples in the media and society as a whole. Izuku worked closely with him and wrote many of the articles seen in those magazines. They were one of the things that had drawn Toshinori to him in the first place, but it was easy to downplay the fact that he was friends with the owner of the very company itself.

"What does your friend look like? I'm sure I can help." All Might offered calmly, giving his best smile. Izuku looked at him with a bit of hope, sniffling a bit. He fished his phone back out of his pocket with shaky hands, unlocking it and tapping a few things before turning the screen towards him. All Might pressed his lips together and squinted a bit. Huh.

Denise was... well, very large. Black skin, muscular, with a beak and eyes that looked to be embedded in their brain. Their brain that was exposed to open air It was definitely a male too: not a girl like he had originally assumed. His eyes flickered back to his successor, who looked heartbroken. He cleared his throat a bit. Okay... okay, sure. This didn't change anything. Quirks made people look odd sometimes and All Might had never been one to discriminate! This guy just looked like he could fend for himself, that's all. Maybe that's what made his disappearance so concerning? 

"Do you know his full name?" All Might asked carefully. Was Denise a nickname? Who named their child that came out looking like that Denise?

"He can't really talk. We found him in an alley and offered names until we found one he liked." Izuku sniffled. All Might stared, but Izuku wasn't perturbed. Did he realize none of what he'd just said was legal or normal? In any capacity? "H-He can't do anything by himself, All Might! He doesn't even know how a microwave works! He can't be out there on his own! He'll die!" 

"Hey, hey, calm down! It'll be okay, my boy." Toshinori immediately soothed, but Izuku seemed genuinely inconsolable. "I'll... I'll make some calls and ask around. Wherever... Denise is, I'm sure he couldn't have gotten far."

Somehow, Toshinori didn't think Izuku believed him.