"Not that I think you're about to get mugged twice in one night, but would you like me to walk home with you?" Hitoshi asked, raising a single brow. He had been up for too long too have the energy to raise both.

Izuku laughed nervously. "I would love to have a body guard, but you seemed pretty tight with the last set of guys who mugged me, so I'm not sure how comfortable I am with you knowing where I live." He said, hoping that Hitoshi didn't take it personally.

"I don't blame you in the slightest." He said with a shrug, catching Izuku off guard with how chill he was about him not trusting him.

"Oh, well um, I'm just gonna go then. Thanks for... saving me fifteen dollars." Izuku said, walking past Hitoshi through the front of the alley and back onto the street.

"Anytime?" Shinso said awkwardly, not knowing what to say to that. People weren't his forte, unless he was beating the crap out of them for information.

"Yeah, okay. Well, bye." Izuku said, briskly walking the rest of the way home.

Hitoshi watched him disappear down the street before pulling out his phone. He dialed up a number, waiting for the person on the other end to pick up.

"Yes? Dude it's like midnight." A female voice said.

"Save it, I know you weren't even close to sleeping Jirou. Pause the game and find some info for me." He said, shaking his head at the purple haired girl.

"Whatcha need boss?" She asked after a few seconds, presumably to pause her game.

"I need you to find out anything and everything pertaining to a green haired barista who works at the one cafe a few blocks from the campus." He explained.

"The one that's always playing upbeat sixties and seventies music?" She asked for clarification.

"That'd be the one."

"On it, I'll have a report done by the time you get back." She said, already typing away on her monitor.

"Great." Hitoshi said before ending the call.

He started his own walk home.

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

The next morning Izuku was late to class. He had gotten home later than expected and had promptly passed out upon arrival, forgetting to set an alarm. There wasn't even a point in going to his morning class.

So he headed to work, knowing that Uraraka wouldn't mind the extra help for the afternoon rush.

When he arrived, the brown haired girl looked up, ready to greet a customer, but was startled to find Izuku instead. "What're you doing here so early? Don't you have a class?" She asked him.

"Yeah, but I over slept and there wasn't even a point in going. Need some extra help?" He asked her, stepping behind the counter.

"You just missed the lunch rush, so it'll probably just be downhill from here. You can wait for your shift if you want, but you should try getting some homework done instead of working when we really only need one barista." She said, taking note of the bags under his eyes.

Uraraka was worried for her friend. He had been overworking himself for months with school and the cafe. She was just waiting for the day when he dropped.

"Oh, okay." He said. He grabbed his textbook and laptop out of his bag, setting up behind the counter to work, like he usually does. A few seconds later Uraraka handed him an iced coffee.

"Thanks." He said, sending her a grateful smile while getting to work on what he had missed in his class from that morning. Thankfully it wasn't anything too major.

He did homework for a few hours, getting completely caught up in all of his classes. It was a huge weight that was lifted off his shoulders when he finally accomplished all of it. He flipped his phone on, checking the time. He had twenty minutes before his shift was scheduled to start.

Looking up at Uraraka, who was leaning against the counter, he said, "You can head out early, I can handle it from here."

She looked skeptical. "Did you get all your homework done?" She asked.

He playfully rolled his eyes. "Yes mother."

She smiled sadly at his words. She knew about his mother, and ever since finding out, she had taken on a sort of motherly or sisterly role in his life. He was beyond grateful.

"Okay, if you're sure?" She said, taking her apron off.

"Positive." He said, putting his own on.

she left a few minutes later and Izuku was left to take care of the small cafe. There were a few scattered people here and there, but it was another night shift and most people don't drink coffee at night.

It was about nine o'clock when Hitoshi showed up again. The bell above the door chimed, making Izuku lift his head.

"Oh, hi." He greeted awkwardly. He wasn't sure what to say to him now. It was a weird situation for him.

"Hello again. I'm gonna assume I'm still not allowed seven shots of espresso?" He asked cheekily.

Izuku smiled slightly, some of the awkward tension leaving with the joke. "You'd be correct about that. Five?" He offered.

Hitoshi sighed, but nodded. He was clearly disappointed that he hadn't been able to get his original order.

"Why would you even want seven shots? Who told you that you could do that? Wait, who's been giving you seven shots?!" Izuku asked, worried for the taller male's health.

There was a light chuckle, drawing Izuku's attention. "Usually no one, but sometimes I get lucky enough to have a barista that's just scared shitless of me and does it." He said with a shrug. "Clearly, my lucks run out."

"Hm, seems so. You know, seven shots really isn't good for you." Izuku pointed out, hoping that maybe he could convince him to stop trying all together.

"Neither is not sleeping, but I just don't seem to care." Hitoshi explained.

Izuku handed the coffee over. "four fifty. Did you get any sleep last night?" He asked.

"Twoish hours, maybe." Hitoshi said honestly.

"Why?" Izuku asked, startled by such a small number.

Hitoshi couldn't just say he was distracted with a drug deal and a whole file on Izuku himself. "Insomnia."

It wasn't a complete lie.

Izuku nodded thoughtfully. It made a lot of sense. "You know, coffee is just gonna make it worse, right?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Hitoshi took a sip. "Yup."

"You're really smart, aren't you?" Izuku asked jokingly. He yawned right after.

"Tired?" Hitoshi asked, thinking this could be an opportune chance to make his proposition.

"Just a bit. I have classes in the morning and then work most of the night." Izuku admitted, not really caring what Hitoshi knew. The guys saved him from getting mugged.

"So you work here a lot then?"

"Yup, nearly every night." Izuku said, with a head nod.

"Surely they don't pay well?" Hitoshi asked with a suspiciously raised brow.

Izuku hesitated, not knowing what he was getting at. "Not really, it's a part time job at a cafe." He pointed out.

"How'd you like a job with similar hours but double the pay?" Hitoshi asked. He knew he was being a little straight forwards, but with what he knew about Izuku, he wouldn't really be in any position to turn him down.

"I'd ask what drugs you're on if you think anything like that would hire a untrained and inexperienced college student." He said, crossing his arms at, what he thought, was a cruel type of joke.

Hitoshi chuckled. "I'm not on anything. I run a pretty big business and I'm in the market for a new assistant. I think you'd be a great fit." He offered.

"I highly doubt-"

"I'll pay you thirty bucks an hour."

"I'm in."