Izuku kept 'hiding' until they reached UA.
He looked up, eyes filled with awe as they strode through the vast gates.
"Like it?" Asked Shoto softly.
The child gave a shaky smile, "I've dreamt of coming in here most of my life."
"Me too." He said as they made their way into the main building.

He headed toward the elevator out of habit, but a tap on the elbow from Hitoshi redirected him to the stairs at the reminder of older Izuku's claustrophobia. The others remained quiet, nervous of frightening the kid.
The only thing that happened was Aizawa squeezing Katsuki's shoulder slightly. The blond was not handling this well, and his teacher knew he needed reassurance.

As they reached the second floor where Shuzenji's office lay, Shoto spoke again. "We're heading to the nurse's office now, she's called Shuzenji Chiyo, hero name Recovery Girl."
"She's a hero?" Whispered Izuku, a little nervous excitement in his question.
Shoto smiled slightly, "she is."
"Wow...I've only met two before."
"If one of my friends goes in first and explains what is going on...is that okay?" Asked Shoto softly, catching Aizawa's eye.
Izuku blinked, then nodded hesitantly.

Aizawa went in, and came out five minutes later, nodding Shoto in.
The bicoloured teen headed to the door but hesitated, "are you ready to meet her?"
Izuku paused before nodding, though the way he clung tighter onto Shoto betrayed his true feelings.
Entering the room, he found Recovery Girl waiting for him.
She smiled softly at Izuku who kept his head lowered, not meeting her eyes.
"Hello, you must be Izuku, it's nice to meet you." She murmured softly.
He nodded meekly, but he gripped Shoto tightly and his eyes remained focused on the floor.
"Hey Shuzenji-san," greeted Shoto, trying to inject affection and enthusiasm into his voice despite how poorly acquainted he was with the woman.
She picked up on it quietly, beaming at him, "Shoto, it is good to see you, could you show me which leg is broken?"

———

Aizawa stared at Katsuki who'd slid to the ground the moment Izuku and Shoto had disappeared into the room.
"I'm guessing," said the teacher gently, "that you never remember him being that bad."
"Never...I was blind." He whispered, head buried in his arms.
Hitoshi approached and patted him on the shoulder, "you were both kids, you wouldn't have known the signs."
"I didn't see the injuries because I covered him in my own!" Hissed Bakugou, hurt permeating his words.
"I don't blame you, and he doesn't blame you." Said Aizawa calmly. It was a partial lie, but he was the kid's teacher, and Katsuki had suffered plenty for his sins.
Vermillion eyes met his own, tortured and broken. "But I do."

———

"I can't do much more with the kid in this state." Said Shuzenji. "But I healed his wrist and leg, and the rest can be dealt with at a later date. Get him eating. He has severe malnutrition, so it will have to be bland and small amounts at first, I'd suggest porridge, or plain rice."

Shoto nodded.
Izuku had fallen asleep from the fatigue, but he hadn't put the kid down once. You'd think it was at Izuku's insistence but the kid would never ask for anything, Shoto was simply feeling incredibly protective. He couldn't get at Inko, so he was working with what he could do and that was protect Izuku with every fibre of his being.

"Thank you Shuzenji-san."
"Call me Chiyo sweetie. Take care of him Shoto."
"I will, Chiyo."

He exited to find Hitoshi and Aizawa either side of a crouched Katsuki. They looked up when he exited the office, eyes gravitating to the child in his arms.
"He's asleep." He informed them, "she healed his leg and wrist, but he didn't have enough stamina for her to do much else."

Shoto caught the look in Aizawa's eyes. He was incredibly reluctant, but he knew it was the right thing to do. He strode toward them and offered the child to his teacher, "he's your son." He murmured calmly.
The teacher stared from him to the malnourished seven year old, before with more caution than any of them had ever witnessed in him, the man took the child in his arms, cradling him like he was the greatest treasure in the world. Which to Aizawa, he was.

"Where should we take him?" Asked Hitoshi uncertainly.
Aizawa spoke, "back to my rooms. Eri is staying with Kouta and the Pussycats for the weekend, luckily. She'd make things...complicated."
"Are we going to explain?" Questioned Katsuki, getting shakily to his feet.
Aizawa nodded, "he's always been smart, he'll handle it."

They made their way back to the Heights Alliance in silence.
When they arrived, Katsuki immediately volunteered to explain what was going on to the class. They could tell seeing Izuku like this was causing him pain, so they agreed easily enough. Tsukauchi had left them at the gates of UA to return to his station, so only Hitoshi, Shoto and Aizawa made their way back to the teachers rooms.

It wasn't long after they arrived that Izuku woke up. Aizawa'd placed him on the sofa, thinking he'd panic much more if he was in someone's arms. He still panicked, unaccustomed to waking up on anything softer than concrete he expected to be punished at any moment for falling asleep somewhere he shouldn't.

Shoto approached the frighted kid hastily, whispering calming things until a spark of recognition flickered in those green eyes. Izuku bowed in apology for existing as far as Shoto could gather and afterward reluctantly sat down.

They'd resolved to get the news through as quickly as possible and the best way to prove they were being truthful was to bring in the Pomeranian. Hitoshi had gone to find him, and meanwhile they planned to introduce Aizawa to Izuku.

"Hey, are you up to meeting someone?" Asked Shoto.
Izuku paused to genuinely think it over before nodding.
Aizawa entered Izuku's line of vision just as Shoto began to explain.
"Okay, this is Aizawa Shouta, he's-"
Shoto was stopped mid introduction by Izuku's reaction. The kid's eyes were so round you could barely see the rest of his face. "ERASERHEAD!" Yelled the child, practically vibrating with excitement.

Aizawa froze up, recalling when Izuku broke character the first time they met. How did Izuku know who he was then?
"I am. How do you know me, Izuku?"
Realising his break in character, the child froze up and lowered his head in fear again, "sorry for yelling sir... we met about a year ago? You found me in an alley, and took me to be treated in hospital..."

Now this was a story Aizawa was unfamiliar with, he continued as Bakugou came in quietly with Shinsou. Izuku's back was to the door so he didn't notice their arrival. "You shouldn't apologise for yelling. But what happened?"
"W-well....I...tripped."
"You know you shouldn't lie to pro heroes right?"
He looked up to catch Bakugou's expression, knowing what had actually happened in the sad gaze of those crimson eyes.

Izuku raised his head, an unexpected yet familiar determination in his gaze, "I tripped and fell down some stairs. I was a little bruised, and I decided to sleep on the floor of the alley for a bit."
The lie was awful, the courage to play it off like it was perfectly truthful was astounding and truly Izuku. The child continued, "you found me and took me to some nice old lady, though I was too sleepy at the time to be sure, and made all the bruises go away. Then...t-then you t-took me h-h-home."
His stuttering got a great deal worse in the last sentence, and the story hurt even more for the details Aizawa knew already. "Was that the reason you were banned from going to hospitals?" He asked softly.
Izuku's face drained in colour, "n-n-no sir! Ma'am-mother was very happy I made it home safe!"
Okay, so it was Aizawa's fault Izuku'd been banned from hospitals.

He could remember, the sweet smiling woman, her green hair swept into a conservative bun, her dowdy figure in modest clothing, clutching her son's hand and politely apologising for the inconvenience and shutting the door. He's just nodded and left, and it was sickening to think what had awaited Izuku when that door had closed. He'd probably ended that day in a far worse state than Aizawa had found him in.

"Thanks for telling me Izuku, now I've got to tell you something. Are you feeling okay?"
Izuku blinked at him, "I feel weird, not much hurts."
Goddamn this kid was trying to break their hearts. Aizawa swallowed, "you were hit by a quirk."
Izuku blinked at him, "really?"
He nodded, "the quirk caused you to be rewound back in time 9 years."
Izuku paused. "So...I'm actually sixteen?"
"That's why your mother wasn't in that house." Said Shoto gently, "you were rescued by Aizawa here, he adopted you and you never had to see her again."

The greenette spent a bit more time thinking it though, he spoke oblivious to the lack of self worth denoted in his words. "No...that makes no sense. She always said she'd leave...she just did. Why would a hero waste time on me? It wouldn't earn them money, publicity or anything? I'm worthless? And a sewer rat. It doesn't make sense."
"Well," Aizawa swallowed nervously, "it's true, and we have someone who might be able to prove it to you."

Bakugou took a deep breath, moving across the room, and turning to face the child he'd tormented for years.
Izuku stared at him in confusion, then the recognition flickered, and he whimpered, eyes flicking between him and the other three in panic. He backed up on the sofa, until he was far away from the blond as he could, trembling as he asked, "B-Bakugou-s-san?"
Bakugou remembered bullying Izuku into calling him that, Izuku's reaction to him opening wounds the future greenette had worked so hard to heal, "call me Kaachan. The older you does."
The moment he'd opened his mouth, Izuku had flinched away, but at his words, the greenette turned to gaze at him with rounded eyes though he was still tensed to run at any moment, "He does?"
Bakugou chuckled softly, "he beat me in enough fights to earn that."
Izuku raised a hand and pinched his arm hard enough to make Aizawa wince. The kid stared between the newest bruise, and Bakugou in shock. "I'm not dreaming?"
Bakugou gaining a little confidence, smiled softly, "no, I look sixteen don't I?"
Izuku smiled shyly, "K-K-Kaachan got super tall and muscly! I'm...I'm super happy Kaachan got into UA like you always wanted..."
The kid glanced down at the floor in thought, jumping when Bakugou gave a gentle laugh. "You got in with me. You got in recommended. You're top of the year."
"No...how?" Izuku stared at him.
Before Bakugou could explain, Shinsou spoke up, "you are a really skilled quirkless fighter, you could take the whole class at once and win."
Izuku shook his head, curling in on himself, "That...that can't be possible..."

His small hands were balled into fists and he'd started muttering, eyeing all four of them suspiciously.
Bakugou sighed, "I'm telling you it's true Izuku."
The tiny child stared at him for a long moment, then big fat tears built and rolled down his cheeks.
"What is it?" Questioned Bakugou, panicking a little but trying to keep his voice low and reassuring.
"You called me by my name!" Wailed Izuku, and the water production trebled.