A week after the fateful meet-up on the rooftop, Izuku found Dabi on his doorstep. The shorter man didn't even flinch, just turned and walked back to his couch, leaving the door open. "Why did you even bother to knock?" he asked taking a seat. 

He hadn't seen Dabi too much since the attack on the summer camp seven years ago. Every once in a while he would pop up and then disappear. They never had any conflicts with each other, so Izuku let him live. 

"You're a housewife now?" The heavily pierced man asked, taking a step into the apartment and shutting the door behind him, his eyes traveling around the house. 

"You're a comedian now?" Izuku shot back, leveling with a calculating glare. There were a few different reasons he suspected the other villain had for showing up, but he wasn't sure yet. He had to proceed with caution. 

Dabi crossed his arms, staring down at Izuku from where he stood in the middle of his living room. "Errand boy, actually." 

Izuku rolled his eyes, leaning back into his couch. "Shigaraki or Chisaki?" 

"Both, technically." 

"What'd they want?" Izuku pressed, growing more and more annoyed with him. 

"A meeting," Dabi finally explained, shoving his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "To discuss hard territory lines." 

Izuku cackled at the suggestion, slapping the back of the couch with his hand. "You can tell them to take their territory lines and shove them up their asses." He took a breath, trying to sober himself from his laughter. 

"I can not state this clearly enough," Dabi said in a slow and clear voice. "I'm just the messenger." 

Izuku raised a brow, prodding him to go on. 

"They figured you say that, which is why took precautions. I don't know who Aya Sero is, but they're throwing her name around quite a lot," Dabi said with a shrug, his eyes never leaving Izuku. It was the look of prey, readying themselves to bolt at the slightest sign of a predator. Izuku thought it made him look pathetic. 

Izuku's head tilted to the side as he appraised the man standing before him. "Pretty ballsy to walk in here and start making threats." 

Dabi held his hands in front of him as if Izuku was a wild animal that would pounce any second. "I'm not threatening shit. I'm being paid to be the go-between, that's all." 

"Calm down," Izuku waved his hand dismissively, "I'm not going to kill you." 

Dabi's hands slowly fell back to his side. He stayed quiet, waiting for Izuku to speak once more. 

"I'll go to their meeting, but you're not going to say a word about my initial rejection of it or you're dead. You have to know by now that I'm the one person you can't run from," Izuku tutted, condescension oozy from his voice. 

"You know I don't do anything for free," Dabi reminded him, standing a little taller. 

Izuku's jaw ticked in agitation. "And you know I don't make empty threats." 

The taller man scowled down at him. "Tomorrow at three, the old compound." The words were clipped as he turned on his heel and briskly fled the apartment. 

Izuku sagged into the couch after he was gone. He didn't know what Shigaraki and Chisaki were up to, but it had to be good if they were willing to make threats. The sinking feeling of dread was clawing at Izuku's chest, fighting its way in. 

He knew of only one way to rid himself of the feeling, so he waited for dark and headed off into the night. 

It didn't take long to reach the old house, warm light flooding through the windows on the first floor. It was only ten, but Izuku was hoping it was late enough for the youngest Sero to be asleep as he knocked on the front door. 

He pulled his hood further over his face and kept his head down as the door opened, light flooding out onto the sidewalk. 

"Izuku," the woman greeted, causing Izuku's head to lift. Aya Sero had barely changed in seven years, wrinkles hadn't even appeared on her face. 

He smiled faintly at her. It wasn't the first visit he'd made to the house since disappearing. Before Hanta graduated, someone had to pay all the kids' tuition. Izuku kept tabs on the whole family, more detailed than he'd let the pro hero believe. Aya nearly lost the house at the end of Hanta's first year of high school, Izuku was the reason she didn't. "Hi, Aya. Hina asleep?" 

She nodded, taking a step back into the house and ushering the man inside. "Went up about an hour ago. What brings you by?" Her voice gave away that she knew something was up. Izuku didn't make visits unprompted. 

"How do you feel about taking the girls on vacation?" Izuku asked, walking into the living room and letting his eyes sweep across it. The only difference in the room was how tidy it was. Without four little girls running around, the chaos of the home had significantly subsided. 

Aya crossed her arms as she stared him down, one of the few people in the world who dared to. "What happened?" 

Her motherly tone made Izuku shake his head in amusement. Aya was always trying to mother him, especially after she found out about his own mother's death seven years ago. "Some threats were made and I would feel better if you were all out of the country," he explained vaguely, trying to keep her out of his problems as much as possible. 

"And when would this be?" 

"Tomorrow at the latest." Izuku didn't know how the meeting the next day would go, so he needed to prepare for the worst-case scenario. The faster he got them out of Japan, the better. 

Aya's hands moved to her hips, her gaze one of disappointment. "What am I supposed to tell the girls?" 

He shrugged, scratching at the back of his neck with one hand. "That it was a surprise you've been planning for a while." 

She sighed, glancing towards the stairs that led to her sleeping daughter. "Do I need to pull Aki from college?" 

"Unfortunately." 

Her dark eyes traveled back to Izuku, a resolute look crossing her face. "Hanta? Do I need to worry about him?" 

"No," Izuku said quickly, not breaking eye contact. "I can take care of him, but I have very few people I trust with you guys. I don't have enough to watch out for all of you. It would be safer for you to just leave for a while." 

"How long will it be, Izuku?" She already knew the answer before she'd asked the question.

"Until it blows over." 

Her gaze turned harsh, and her resolve solidified. "The girls have class, I can't just whisk them away for months." 

"I never said it would be months," Izuku clarified. "Hopefully, it'll just be for the weekend." 

"We both know that isn't going to happen," she said with a pointed look. 

Izuku ran a hand down his face, exhaustion finally starting to catch up with him. "I can't protect you here, leaving is the safest thing to do." 

Aya shook her head, looking down at her tattered carpet. "I can't uproot their entire lives. Haru's graduating in a few months." 

The green-haired man clenched his teeth, his lips pulling back in a snarl. "What part of I can't protect you here aren't you getting?" 

"Mom?" 

The two adults went rigid at the voice. Aya's eyes widened to the size of saucers as she regained herself and whirled around. "Just one of my coworkers. You should be asleep, Hina." 

Hina's eyes, the twins to her older brother's, stayed glued to Izuku, apprehension written all over her face. There was no recognition there, just the distrust of a thirteen-year-old who just found a strange man yelling at her mother. 

Izuku tried to not be hurt that she'd forgotten him, she'd only been six when they met. How could he expect her to remember that? 

"What're you guys talking about?" she asked, her eyes darting to her mother for only a second before returning to Izuku. 

Before anyone could answer her question, Izuku's phone started to ring. Without a second thought, he pulled out the device and upon seeing the caller I.D. turned his back on them. 

"What?" he snapped as he held the phone to his ear. It was the lackey he left in charge of surveillance, which never met anything good. 

"Camera picked up a person in the back yard of the house, we already have guys heading that way," he spoke quickly, knowing how Izuku reacted to threats on that house. 

"Already here, call them off," Izuku said, ending the call and slipping his phone back in his pocket. His fire flared to life on his shoulders, a tangible response to his anger rising. He didn't bother keeping them in check as he activated one of his newer quirks, one that could solidify air at will, making an invisible wall. He set it around the house, ensuring that whoever was in the back would have no way of getting in. 

He turned back to Aya and Hina, both of them working their jaws as their ears popped from the pressure change he'd caused. "Upstairs, now." 

Aya's eyes widened at the order, but she grabbed Hina by the shoulders and started for the stairs. He faintly heard the teen's protests and comments on his quirk, but he chose to ignore it, instead heading for the back door. 

He dropped the barrier he had created in front of the door for a split second to allow himself to step into the backyard. "If you don't want to burn to death, I suggest you come out now," he spoke loudly as he took a step off the back deck. 

When the yard remained silent and still, he sent his flames out to sweep across the area. He kept them on a tight leash, focusing on not torching the yard, just whoever hid in the shadows. When he came up empty, he was about to search the surrounding area, but a scream from inside the house had him whirling around. 

Izuku was through the first floor and taking the steps two at a time, bursting into Aya's room without a second thought. The woman stood in the corner of the bedroom, Hina tucked behind her as she used her body to shield the girl. Shigaraki stood cackling a few feet away from them. 

"Hello, dog," he spat his yellow and decaying teeth on full display with a bone-chilling smile. 

Izuku's eyes flashed to Aya and Hina. Shigaraki stood between them. He wasn't sure if he could get there before the other man. "What the fuck do you want?" he asked in a gruff voice, taking slow steps into the room. 

"Thought I'd remind you how easily I can destroy you," the villain said, nodding to the two women cowering in the corner as one hand started to scratch at his neck. 

Izuku tracked the movement, his head tilting to the side as he noticed the twitch in the man's fingers. He shook his head with a cold chuckle. "Couldn't even handle your dirty work on your own," he tutted, lifting one hand and causing the man to go up in flames. 

Instead of agonizing screams, he was met with the sound of dilapidated laughter as he watched Shigaraki's figure melt into the floor. His flames sputtered out once a pile of sludge was all that remained of the clone. 

He turned his impassive gaze up to Aya, her face frozen in horror. "Will you listen to me now?" 

The woman finally managed to drag her eyes away from the grey goop on her floor. She nodded once, in some some state of shock. 

"Fantastic," he said sarcastically, turning towards the door. "I'll have someone pick you up at nine. Akira, Haru, and Emiko will meet you at the airport." 

"Izu?" 

He paused momentarily at the voice. It was Hina's. It seemed she did remember him. He decided it didn't matter, continuing out of the room and down through the front door. 

He had a meeting he needed to prepare for.