Teeth, tail and ham.

Izuku should have known better than to believe Kacchan would be kind to him. He hadn't expected his childhood friend to suicide bait him, but he thought he'd at least show the kindness of ignoring his presence. Just like everyone else did. Especially Inko. Inko was good at pretending Izuku didn't exist. She left the money he'd need when she wasn't home, always left a meal on the table for him before she disappeared to go to bed and always ignored his presence in the house, unless she decided that she'd had a bad day and wanted to yell at him. He walked home from school, hands gently peeling through his soaked notebook. There was no way he could salvage it, but thankfully he could read the hero names and some of the points he made. He'd be able to do an updated version to replace it. That was okay, he didn't mind having to do it again, it just meant he'd get to go over everything a second time and make it even better. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice the manhole of the tunnel crack open until a slimy substance started to seep out of it. It started to crawl towards him, growing as more of it slid from the tunnel. It leaped on him, invading every one of his senses, suffocating and heavy.

I can't breathe. I can't breathe. Please no.

Izuku barely notices the thrum of electricity under his skin in his panic, his urge to run overtaking every thought in his head. He wants to move, wants to be able to scare this villain away or have the option to turn tail and run like his life depends on it. The sudden shift in wind pressure around him makes the villain disappear from his skin and mouth, but he chokes up some fluid, a vile sewage green colour that makes him feel ill. The ground is cold under his back and he's vaguely aware of someone slapping his face to rouse him with a little more force than necessary, so he snaps his eyes open, possibly to be a touch rude to whoever the hell keeps trying to wake him, he falters when he sees All Might. The man who he's looked up too since he was a small boy, the man who made him want to be a hero. He remembers when he was a kid, scrounging money together like scraps and instead of buying food like he should have, like his stomach demanded, he'd sprint the whole way to the hero merch store to buy a knockoff All Might figure for his room. He stares at the hero, sitting up carefully, mindful of the fact he was sure there was still some of the goopy liquid in his lungs. He'd have to get checked later. The hero stares right back at him, big smile on his face. He stands, making excuses that he has to leave and Izuku doesn't think twice before latching onto the hero's leg. He yelps as All Might attempts to remove him, mid-air, and he can't help but think that the number one hero is possibly a bit empty upstairs. He lands on a roof, ready to give off to Izuku, but Izuku just yelps again as the hero deflates like a balloon. All Might explains his injury and asks Izuku not to tell anyone. He can do that, he has no friends to tell anyway. As All Might turns to leave, Izuku takes a steady breath before taking his chance.

"Even if I don't have a quirk, can I become a hero?"

Izuku's world shatters around him. All he can hear is the words "be realistic" battering through his skull. He completely misses everything the hero says after that, staring at his shoes as his hero, the man he wanted to grow to be, tells him he cannot be a hero without a quirk. Izuku feels sick, he's so focused on not throwing up that he misses All Might leaving and he misses how much time has slipped by as darkness begins to settle. When he realises how dark it is and feels the chill in his bones, he takes off running down the stairs and for the first time he's aware of the thrum under his skin. He chooses to ignore it, but the strange knowledge of it being there soothes him. He makes it back home, aware that he's extremely late, sliding inside as quietly as he can. Unfortunately, it's not quiet enough, and his mother rounds the corner, rage evident on her face.

"Where the hell have you been brat?! Why bother coming home if you're going to be so late?" She's screaming at him, face flushed red in anger and Izuku can feel the thrum getting stronger the more he wills to be able to run away.

"I'm sorry mama! There was a villain-"

"Don't lie to me boy! I won't pity you! Get out! Get out of my fucking house! Don't come back until after school tomorrow!"

Izuku is aware of two things at once. Inko is raising her hand to hit him, a hit he knows is going to hurt more than her usual hits. He's also aware that the thrum is so strong he can hear it vibrating in his head, so he reaches deep inside himself and grabs it, tugging as hard as he can. His mother suddenly reels back in fear, eyes wide and full of despair. He's taller now, he isn't sure why, but something in his head prompts him to bare his teeth, so he does. Izuku is unaware of what Inko is staring at, but she seems frozen, so he takes his chance to do what he's always wanted. He turns tail, and he runs through the open door.

It takes Izuku an hour and a broken mirror in an alleyway before he realises why his mamma was afraid. He stares at the mirror and a big, black wolf stares back. He's not all black, the tips of his ears and his tail are green like his hair, but his body is mainly black. He realises that it's still dark out, but he can see pretty well. He tilts his head, watching the way his fur swishes with the movement. He's bigger than the average wolf, standing on all fours he had been taller than Inko. He wasn't exactly scary, the ribs protruding from his sides because he didn't eat enough certainly helped with that, but he knew people would still fear him, fear his quirk. So with a final blink, watching his own bright green eyes, Izuku turns and disappears down the alleyway, searching for a dark corner to curl up in where no one will find him.

—

Izuku isn't sure how long he's been sleeping on the streets, he stopped keeping track a long time ago. He sleeps during the day, tucking himself into a dark corner, waking up at nightfall to go searching for food in hopes of eating enough to fill him. He doesn't feel bad about catching his own food anymore, he just did what he had to to survive. After he eats, he always watches the heroes that are still around. He sits like a dog more often than not, watching people walk by and heroes mingle with the crowd, but his all time favourite hero much prefers to stick to the shadows, just like Izuku. Izuku lays out of the way, watching with big green eyes full of awe as Eraserhead binds a villain with his capture scarf. He knows his tail is swishing back and forth, but no villain ever pays mind to a large dog, so he just lays, watching them fight. When the small group have been zip tied together, Eraserhead lifts his head to look at him. Izuku sits up, his tail beating against the ground in his excitement, before he yips and takes off, headed for the small den he'd made himself over time.

Shouta watches the ridiculously large dog take off round the corner. He's noticed it a few times, watching him take down villains. He always knows it's there, the telltale thump thump thump of its tail against the ground when Shouta is winning the fight alerts him that the pup is back, probably watching him with those excited green eyes. Probably a quirk, he believes so anyway, no dog is that big and has neon green eyes that expressive. He will never admit having a soft spot for the lanky thing, he's always been a cat person anyways, but the big dog has ribs sticking out and matted fur and Shouta just wants to ask Hizashi if he can bring it home. Knowing Hizashi, he'll probably say yes. He stops at a shop nearby to pick up some ham because who doesn't like ham? Before heading down the street where he knows the big dog sleeps. He sees it laying in a corner, curled up with its tail over its face. He knows it can hear him, because it's ears perk up and twitch, the tail moves and Shouta can see a bright green eye staring at him. So he sits a few feet away, opens the package of ham and offers it to the dog. It considers him for a moment, tail flicking, before it huffs and stands.

That is not a dog.

Shouta stares and he stares hard. The piece of ham is gently taken from his hand, by a huge wolf. He's currently second guessing taking it home, but at the same time, it's exactly like a big dog. So Shouta offers it more ham, and it lays its head in his lap as it takes it, Shouta running his fingers through the soft fur on its head. It tilts its head for scratches, and he wonders if Hizashi would be more upset by the fact it's head is bigger than Shouta's lap, or because it's a wolf. His train of thought is broken by a low growl from his lap, the wolf standing, stepping over him in a protective gesture from whatever its snarling at. Shouta squints and he can see someone standing up ahead, the glint of a knife in their hand. When the wolf sees it, it lowers in a warning, head curling to show its protecting the man still sitting on the ground. Shouta watches the way the wolf's lip is curled over its teeth, hackles raised and low growl rumbles through its body. He stands slowly, setting a hand on the wolf's back, which seems to soothe it just a bit, before he takes off sprinting towards the knife wielder, who's running at him just as fast. His pace is overtaken by a blurred shadow and he sees the man drop, tackled by a growling wolf. Shouta is extremely thankful that this pup likes him, because that has to be terrifying. It backs off when Shouta gets close, lifting the stray knife in its mouth, handing it to him like it's a stick before disappearing down the alley. Shouta curses under his breath, he'd wanted to bring home the big puppy.

—

Eraser comes to see Izuku a lot more after the first night. At first, Izuku thinks he might be in trouble, but Eraser just sits by his den and offers him ham, just like the last time. Occasionally he'll leave chicken behind and once he even left a whole turkey and Izuku is incredibly thankful. He almost wants to show himself to Eraser, but he's scared that if he does, Eraser will know he's not worth the care and kindness he's been showing him and then Izuku will be left alone again. It's about an hour or so before Eraser will be around his den, so Izuku takes off at a trot around the city to stretch his legs. However, he's not exactly expecting to see someone with a knife pointed at a girl, a girl who he suspects is maybe close in age to what he would be now, and the man is making a move to touch her. Izuku snarls, loud and frightening, slinking into the alley with his teeth bared, saliva dripping from the gaps between his teeth. The man backs up and the girl gets herself behind Izuku, whispering a thank you before disappearing back into the well lit street. Izuku watches fire lick over the mans skin, a wave of it hitting Izuku's shoulder as he yelps and howls, tail between his legs as he tries to rush away. He's only spurred on as another clump of heat smacks his hind, and he snarls this time, snapping his teeth. This time he's not afraid of the fire, but he's always sworn not to attack people. His mind cleared of his rule, an ugly snarl ripping through his throat as he stared down at the man. The man backs up in fear, his fire dying off in his palms. Izuku doesn't feel sorry as he snaps his jaw over the mans arm and shakes his head, ignoring the mans scream. He's careful not to maim him, just a warning, he drops the mans arm and licks his now blood covered snout as he turns tail and runs.

Eraserhead finds him half an hour later, licking over his burns with his still bloodied muzzle, whining softly. Now he's had time to think, he feels guilty, not looking up when Eraser approaches him but his ears flick up to alert the man that he knows he's there. He misses the way Eraser grimaces at the patches of missing fur, but he freezes when he feels a hand petting his head.

"You put the fear of god into that man fluffball, he confessed in the middle of the police station, said a hellhound made him face his sin."

Izuku can't exactly find the humour in that, especially when he can feel the blood still coating his fur.

"Why don't you come back to my place pup. We'll get the blood washed off you and see what we can do for those burns hmm?"

Izuku knew he should disappear into the shadows and move to a part of the city where Eraser wouldn't find him, but instead, he got up, leaning against the mans side, shoulder to shoulder as they walked. It wasn't a long walk, they stuck to back alleys so Izuku wouldn't scare anyone. They reached the apartment and Izuku squinted. How am I supposed to get in there?

It seemed that Eraser was having the same thought, but ultimately seemed unbothered by it. He led him through the building and Izuku was pleased that he didn't have to walk up a flight of stairs or cram into an elevator. He unlocked a door at the end of the hall, leading him inside, stepping aside to allow Izuku to roam about, sniffing the air. He tilted his head in confusion, smelling a stronger scent here that he was used to smelling on Eraser. He huffed after his realisation that someone else lived here, but he knew he'd be long gone by the time the other person was aware of him.

Shouta watched the wolf awkwardly shuffle about, careful of its surroundings. He wanted to laugh at himself now, thinking it had just been a really big dog, but it was clear when it stood that it was clearly a quirk and it was definitely not a dog. He stepped into the bathroom to get his first aid box, stepping back into the hall to see the wolf staring at the bedroom he shared with Hizashi. He knew Hizashi should be sleeping by now, and by the reaction the wolf had, he'd say he was correct, especially when the wolf flicked its ear and lay down in the livingroom, allowing Shouta to approach him and take a look at his burns. They settled for burn cream and a loose bandage for his hind and to leave the smaller one on its shoulder bare of any bandages. He steps back into the bathroom to get a washcloth and a bowl of warm water, he sets it beside the wolf before crouching down and petting its head.

"You're a good pup. You saved that girl. There was no heroes nearby. You did good."

Izuku is so tired. He rumbles softly at the praise, lifting his head so Eraser can wipe the blood off his snout, so he can be clean of the blood physically. Izuku knows it probably won't be the last time he snaps his teeth around skin, but he can hope, just for tonight, as he falls asleep.

Shouta wraps a spare blanket over the large wolf and looks at the window. The pups consistent in his sleep schedule, the sun is starting to rise, so Shouta heads to his bedroom to sleep, thanking everything above that the school year hasn't started just yet.

Unfortunately, Shouta is not the first one to wake up that morning. He's woken by his husbands scream, along with a loud "SHO WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!" Shouta hauls ass as fast as he can, making his way down the hallway to see the wolf curled in on itself and cowered beside the wall with Hizashi backing as far away from it as he can.

"Zashi. Stop squealing, he got burnt so I brought him home."

"You brought home a wolf. A huge wolf."

"…yes?"

Hizashi, despite looking entirely done with Shouta's shit, takes it in stride, stepping into the kitchen, leaving Shouta to step over to the wolf and soothe its fear.

Izuku can quite confidently say, when Present Mic walked into Eraser's livingroom, the source of the scent that Izuku had previously already acknowledged to be the man's husband, he nearly had a heart attack. His tail thumped once in his excitement, but the set of eyes locked onto him and widened immediately. He screamed, loud, making Izuku wince. It was too early for this shit. He made sure to stay quiet, backing away from his bed that Eraser must have prepared after he fell asleep, pushing himself up against the wall. Mic shouted for someone named "sho" and Izuku panicked, curling in on himself, staying like that until Eraser came out of his room to settle his husband. Izuku practically melted when Eraser scratched his chin, mumbling that it was okay and "that's just Zashi pup. It's alright." When he was calm again, Aizawa let him go back to his messy bed, telling him to sleep so he'd heal faster. Izuku didn't really believe him, but it was bright outside, so he really needed to nap so he could be gone tonight. He slumped into his bed, curled up and tail over his face, huffing softly.

Shouta followed Hizashi into the kitchen, stopping in the doorway. His husband looked up, small smile on his face. "Sorry for scaring your baby Sho, he scared the shit out of me. His eyes are so bright I could see them but not him."

Shouta shrugged. "Maybe don't scream at the pup laying in a bed next time hmm?" He smirked, walking into the kitchen to press a kiss to his embarrassed husbands cheek.

"You ready for the entrance exams coming up? There should be some good kids this year yeah?"

"Yeah-" They're cut off by a loud thump thump thump in the next room and Shouta snorts. "It seems the pup knows exactly what we're talking about." He laughs softly as the thumps get harder, so he peeks his head around the corner. The wolf is sitting up, green eyes bright with excitement as his tail thumps the ground.

"Say little wolf, do you know about UA?"

Thump

Shouta looks at his husband, who seems just as surprised at the response as he is. "Does… that mean yes?"

Thump

Shouta is very, very sure he's about to have a stroke. "Do you have an intelligence quirk?" The wolf hesitates this time and when Shouta is about to tell the pup not to worry, he gets a response.

Thump Thump

"Sho.. do you think that's a-"

"Human? No that's not-"

Thump.

They stare at the wolf, the wolf stares back. Shouta isn't sure what to do. "Can you switch back?"

"Switch back? That could be a whole grown man!"

Thump Thump

Hizashi's face drops. "A boy?" He's whispering now, but they know the wolf hears it because his ears perk forward and he looks so guilty.

Thump.

Shouta feels sick. He steps towards the wolf and it steps back. It looks terrified. It looks around the room for an escape, and finally sees one. Hizashi had a bad habit of leaving the sliding door open while he cooked, and from the angle that the wolf was sitting, he'd be able to see it. Shouta isn't able to stop it in time, it darts through the doorway and into the garden, running as fast as it can for the 9ft tall fence at the edge of the garden. Shouta and Hizashi chase after it, but it pushes off its lanky back legs and tucks it's front paws to its chest, easily clearing the jump. Shouta's body slumps as he realises it's gone and the chances of him finding the wolf- the boy are so low, that it's nearly impossible.