An eye for an Eye.

Shouta is panicking. Izuku should be back with Todoroki and Hitoshi by now, but he hasn't seen any of them. He's already squished two false villains tonight, the real one still out there somewhere, he doesn't need to catch another one while he's carrying the kid Izuku handed off to him. He had tried to set him down when they got back to the camp, but the boy had shook his head furiously and held on, eyes locked onto the treeline.

Shouta let him stay. After all, he was just as worried about Izuku.

"Do you think he'll be okay?"

The voice is so quiet that Shouta almost doesn't hear him. "I think my son is a very strong boy, one who puts his family above all, and that is why he will be okay."

The boy, Kota, nods and Shouta sits with him, surrounded by the rest of 1-A as they wait. The only ones left to return are Hitoshi, Todoroki and Izuku. Shouta sees the purple hair break through the trees, and he carefully sets Kota down as he rushes over. "Hitoshi-" he freezes when he sees his sons boyfriend crying, his eyes flicking to Todoroki who looks so guilty. He looks between them, and not for the first time, he's too late. He's missed Izuku.

"He's not coming back, is he?"

"No. he's not."

"Is he.. is -" he cant say it, but Todoroki seems to understand what he means.

"We don't know."

That doesn't make him feel better at all. It makes him feel much, much worse. He slumps, his ass hitting the dirt as he pulls his knees to his chest. " Fuck." it a childish manoeuvre, but its the only thing his body can manage right now. He rocks himself back and forth, a hand reaching up to tangle in his hair as he tugs on it. Its an old habit, one Hizashi had helped him curb, especially with Izuku in the house. They've seen Izuku reach to tug on his hair on a few occasions, but it isn't the kind of behaviour that they want to enforce with Izuku when they want to help him. After all, Shouta has more than one small bald spot from where he'd tugged the hair out and it never regrew. He tugs harder, the tears streaming down his face. He knows that he's supposed to be strong for the kids under his watch, he's a hero.

But for right now, he's just a dad that has to call and tell his husband that their son is gone.

-

Izuku spits a wad of blood at Shigaraki's feet. He stares up at him, growling. "You can take the quirk from my cold dead hands. Good luck trying to control it if you can take it."

Shigaraki shakes his head as his lips curl in distaste at the bloody saliva on the floor. "Either you join us, or you die when we take your quirk. Don't you want to live?"

"Not if it means that I have to give up my pack to do it."

Izuku gets backhanded for his rudeness. He smirks as he spits another wad of blood, this one containing a tooth.

"My dead mother hits harder than that. Put some effort in raisin."

Izuku snaps his teeth as the muzzle is fitted to his mouth, his efforts for nothing when they snap a clip into place and his jaw is forced open, unable to close and rendering him useless. They put a bag over his head and leave him there, and Izuku has no idea how long he's actually been sitting here. He perks up when he hears a familiar voice, but he deflates almost as fast.

His dad is taking the blame for his kidnapping.

He thrashes in his seat, growling from deep in his chest until finally someone takes the bag off his head. He stares wide eyed at the screen, his dad is freshly shaved and in his suit, his hair tied back as he introduces himself as the teacher of 1-A.

"My name is Aizawa Shouta, I am the homeroom teacher for class 1-A. This week, I supervised a visit to a training camp. This evening, the League of Villains attacked, and attempted to kidnap two students, one of which being their targets. However, a third student, their main target, offered himself in return for the other students to be returned to safety."

Izuku watches his dad pause, clearing his throat. It's clear he's been crying, and it makes guilt swim in his stomach uncomfortably.

"That student was Aizawa Izuku."

His dad is flooded with questions, and Izuku can see that he's panicking slightly. His dad only answers one question, and it makes him slumps his head forward, pain searing through his chest.

"Yes, Izuku is my son."

Izuku stays silent when they beat him. They laugh and howl as Izuku simply watches his dad on the screen until he's taken enough of a beating that he can zone out, fading into his own mind. He likes it here, where papa is passing him a mug of hot chocolate, excited for the movie they've picked out to watch for the evening. Of course, his dad comes along with a box of cookies, handing them to papa who had caught them eating sweets earlier and scolded them for ruining their dinner. Obviously, he has a packet of Oreo's hidden, sliding them to Izuku as Papa puts the movie on. Izuku grins, passing an oreo over to his dad before stuffing one in his own mouth, munching away with his cheeks full as he grins.

Izuku is reminded he isn't at home when a fist cracks against his head, and something hot trails down his arm, and Izuku has to bite his tongue not to throw up at the smell of his own burning flesh.

But he doesnt make a noise.

Not even when he's half dead in his chair, staring at the tv where they've paused it on his dad's face. He sits as his eyes slide shut and his head rolls back, and he realises he cant feel the pain anymore. That's not a good sign.

Izuku wants his dad.

It takes him three days to become feral. At first he just growls when they look too long or approach him, then he tries to snap his teeth, snarling at them. He gets in real trouble when his teeth snap hard enough to break the cheap muzzle and snap around Shigaraki's arm, and the scarred man, Dabi, punches him hard enough to make him dizzy and let go of Shigaraki's arm. When they realise that the beatings aren't beating him into compliance, just making him more feral. They lay off, choosing a different approach.

It's day five when he hears his father again, and this time he's not wearing a blindfold, so he see's everything from the start. His father looks ragged, he's not clean shaven and his hair is down. He's not even wearing a suit. His eye bags are worse than Izuku has ever seen them, and he looks defeated. Izuku longs to go to him, to tell him it's okay, that he misses him and papa and he's staying strong so he can go home to them. He wants them to know that he misses them just as much as they miss him. He grinds his teeth, the pull in his chest so powerful it hurts him, but he knows with how he's bound to the chair he'll dislocate his joints. So he waits for his chance.

It comes on day seven.

He is always let free to eat, but only once a day, and only with Dabi's hand around his nape, threatening to light him on fire at the smallest flinch. Today however, Dabi is not here. But Shigaraki is, and Shigaraki is easily distracted. He walks away without realising Izuku is still untied, speaking of his master coming this evening. Izuku knows better than to try and take on the League of Villains on his own.

Breaking out is nothing more than slipping away, being thankful its night while he shifts and disappears into the shadows. But he doesn't go home just yet, the fear of it was just too easy looming over his head. So to keep his family safe, he goes to the one place he knows better than anyone. He goes back to the streets.

The first night, he's in too much pain and too paranoid to sleep. His head deafens him with screams of THEY'RE COMING RUN RUN RUN, and no matter how much he whimpers and cries, his head does not relent its attack. He spends the next day curled in a corner, dozing lightly. He's too afraid to sleep, his body forbidding it just as much as his mind, and its nightfall before he goes searching for food. He comes up empty, but he isn't bothered, far too paranoid to be worried about anything other than the league of villains.

The consequences of his disappearing act rear their head within the week. He's half asleep when he hears it, its so clear and almost haunting that he thought he'd been dreaming until he hears the familiar voice that settles chills throughout his spine. He walks slowly until he finds it, only to see the public watching too. There, on every billboard in the city centre is a video of the man Izuku has been hiding from for days.

"Midoriya Izuku. You know who i am and where i am, yet, no one has come to arrest me. You are hiding from the heroes just as much as you are hiding from me, aren't you runt?"

Izuku can see that people are beginning to recognise him, parting the crowd so he can approach the screen and see it perfectly, and Izuku ignores their whispers, focusing on what he hopes is a nightmare. He almost begs any god there is to let it be nothing but a nightmare, but he knows there is no way a nightmare can mimic or create what he's feeling right now. He feels that knowledge chip away at his will while he watches the screen.

"Midoriya, you might have been able to escape, but didn't your time here teach you anything? You offered yourself in place of you little friends. We don't have you."

Izuku shifts back, standing shakily on two legs, ignoring the gasps of the crowd around him. He sneers at the screen, watching as Shigaraki stands, walking to two chairs with two people seated, bags over their heads. Shigaraki lifts something, proud smirk on his face as he stands between the two bound people. Izuku can recognise his phone from here, and he can see the gesture for what it is, an invitation. Izuku clears his throat awkwardly, looking at the woman next to him. "May I borrow your phone?"

"Midoriya-"

Izuku grits his teeth, pain searing through his jaw at the movement. "My name is Aizawa. May I please borrow your phone." He puts his hand out, and the woman nods quickly as she hands it over. He's quick to dial the number he had so frequently rattled off after his papa had bought him the phone, and he lifts it to his ear as it rings. He watches the crowd turn to watch Shigaraki as the phone in his hand rings out, and he laughs.

"I knew you were watching, runt."

He picks up the call, and Izuku wants to throw up at how smug he looks on the screen. Shigaraki puts him on loudspeaker, and Izuku isn't sure if it's so the people he's kidnapped can hear him, or if its so the public can hear him break. Maybe its so his dad can hear him before they come to kill him. He doesn't really care.

"Hello Midoriya."

Hearing the voice through the phone and the speakers at once makes Izuku wince, his voice overbearing and pushing a heavy weight on his chest. He licks his lips nervously, pulling in a breath with too much force. He closes his eyes, listening to Shigaraki breathing on the phone.

"I'll fucking kill you for this."

He opens his eyes to see the confusion on Shigaraki's face, because Izuku is a hero right? Izuku is afraid of him, right? Izuku may throw himself into difficult situations, but he'd never throw himself to die. Right?

"I attacked All Might because he put my family in danger. Do you think you're more dangerous than him?"

"You're a broken mess. We beat you for days, you aren't half the wolf you were when you took on All Might."

"All might beat me within an inch of my life and muzzled me. You aren't half the threat he was."

He can see Shigaraki stumble, and from the laughter in the chair on his left, he knows the villain has Hitoshi. It makes something in him shift, and it only gets worse when Shigaraki seems to snap and pulls the bags off the boys heads. Izuku stares at his boyfriend and his best friend, and he just watches. The silence seems to be worrying Shigaraki, as he looks wildly at whoever is behind the camera. "The fuck are you waiting for mutt?! Fight back!"

"I'm coming for you Shigaraki. If Hitoshi and Shoto are still there when i get there, ill kill you all." He hung up the phone, taking joy from the flash of panic on Shigaraki's face, passing the phone back to its owner as he ran off, four paws hitting the ground. The crowd parts for him again, but this time, he is not afraid.

When he arrives, Shigaraki is standing with four fingers pressed to Hitoshi's throat, mimicking the way he had stood over him in the shopping mall that day. He looks shaken, a little confused, but Izuku thinks his favourite part is where he thinks he's still in charge, still thinks he has the upper hand. He stands with his group of villains, and Izuku can see that Shigaraki is using them as a shield.

"Give them to me, or die."

The doubt that flickers over Shigaraki's face is enough to have Izuku take a step forward, a paw hitting the ground rather than a shoe. He's bigger than normal, but not quite as big as he can be. He accepts it for what it is, a middle ground that holds more power, but allows him to hold more control. He growls loud and low, pawing at the ground as Shigaraki stares at him, like he's deciding if it's worth it. Izuku snaps his teeth and sees Shigaraki flinch.

"Same deal as last time. You for them. But this time you give up your quirk."

It's Hitoshi who answers for him, wide grin and bright eyes. "How about you die?"

-

Shouta gets the call to turn on the TV mid day, and he does, confused as to why Nedzu sounds so out of his depth. And Shouta learns fast, because despite not wanting to, he does. Shigaraki is on the TV, talking on the phone and Shouta doesn't quite understand what he's watching until he hears his son through the phone, through the TV. He half chokes when he registers his sons words.

"I'll fucking kill you for this."

It's so far from the boy Izuku had been when he first stayed in their home, when he'd awkwardly shuffled around the living room and let Shouta clean his bloodied snout with a wet washcloth. But yet it's so undeniably Izuku, undeniably his son, that his chest heaves with relief at knowing his kid is alive, and apparently well enough to hand out death threats. But Shouta knows that Izuku is serious, hero status be damned, especially when Hitoshi was involved. So he lifts the phone back to his ear, and he listens to what Nedzu has to say. He grits his teeth, and he agrees with Nedzu.

-

Izuku drags Hitoshi and Shoto out of the building by their collars, the side of his head bleeding, a parting gift from one of the cowards' little friends. A girl who reeked of blood had cut him, her price . Izuku's only regret is that he didn't get to kill Shigaraki, easily protected and moved by Kurogiri at the slightest hint of trouble. Well, when Izuku lunged forward with the intent to murder Shigaraki, but it's all the same to Izuku. As he drags his pack across the ground, Izuku can smell his dad, but he doesn't falter, not until his dad stands in front of him and checks on his pack.

"Izuku, they're okay, are you alright?" he feels his dad hold his shoulders, staring at him. Izuku stares back, smiling softly, but eyes hollow.

"They're okay? Is Kota okay? Its been a few days-"

"Izuku, its been twelve days."

He doesn't believe him at first, because that's not right, he got out this time. But he knows his father is not a liar. He nods, and he leaves it be. He doesn't say anything, just lets his dad fuss over him, pausing at his ear. "What happened?"

Izuku lets himself be helped into the ambulance, watching how the paramedics uneasily shift around him. It reminds him of the nurse who drugged him, and he cant help but flinch at the memory. "Got cut when i was in there, doesn't hurt."

They don't take him to the hospital thanks to his demands, refusing to go back to that hellhole again. He wont let them touch him, not the paramedics, not his dad, not Shoto and not Hitoshi. Its not that he feels guilty or ashamed this time, he just.. Wants to go home.

So he waits. He brushes off doctors and worried friends, and he waits. His papa should be at UA now, and he's proven right when his dad swings the door open and he gets to walk into the living room. He sits, because he already knows his dad will check on him every five minutes if he goes to bed now. He curls up, dozing off, only to be woken not long after by a familiar scent, one that he lets slide under him, holding him close.

He figures Hitoshi's mother will be calling to say he can stay again some time soon.

That's okay. They're home now.