Izuku tried desperately to come up with something to say as Mom looked between the two of them, "I'm sorry, Mr. Eraserhead, Izuku's probably a little bit shocked at the moment, you're his favorite hero. Um... would you like some tea?"

Midnight: He prefers coffee but tea's still fine.

Eraserhead nodded politely, "Yes, that would be wonderful. Thank you, Mrs. Midoriya."

Izuku waited until Mom was back in the kitchen and Eraserhead was sitting down in one of the armchairs before he finally said anything, "Are you here to arrest me?"

Tsukauchi: Technically.

"In a way." Eraserhead shrugged. "I see you've been watching the news. Congratulations."

Izuku picked at his sleeve, "I can't be a hero, Eraserhead. I'm quirkless. I can't even technically be a vigilante, much less participate in the rehabilitation program. Even if I were good enough to be a hero, I... I don't meet the requirements. The hero commission...."

"Isn't going to want a quirkless hero." Eraserhead rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know. Hence why I made them announce your acceptance before I told them about your quirk status. They can't back out now without publicly acknowledging their reasoning, which could potentially bring them under fire for quirkism. They won't risk that, problem child, so yeah, it may not technically be allowed, but you're not technically a vigilante either and yet you've saved more people than some pros. Let's face it kid, you deserve that license."

Monoma: Yes you do.

"No, I don't." Izuku said softly. "I just killed someone, Eraserhead. The commision won't even have to say anything about me not having a quirk to disqualify me from the program."

Hawks: They might, but Viridian's really popular and that's a big factor in vigilantes going legal.

"It was self defense, problem child." Eraserhead said firmly. "All for One was too powerful to beat any other way. You were placed in an impossible situation where you had to kill him before he killed us, so it's not like you were given a choice."

"I still..." Izuku swallowed. "Vigilantes can't be in the rehabilitation program if they use excessive force."

Mirko: It was necessary, unfortunately.

"It's not excessive if it's necessary, kid." Eraser argued. "And, legally, I authorized it, considering that you wouldn't have been able to actually damage All for One if I hadn't been canceling his quirks. It also doesn't hurt that All Might himself tried to kill the same villain years ago and failed. From a legal standpoint, the use of lethal force was completely justified."

"That doesn't make it right." Izuku's hands started trembling again as he remembered how they'd looked covered in blood the night before. "I forced you to watch..."

Aizawa: I chose to help. There's a difference.

"I chose to help you." Eraser corrected. "Kid, quirkless or not, you just took down one of the most dangerous villains in history. You can be a hero."

"No!" Izuku yelled as he jumped up from the couch. "No! This isn't right! You should be arresting me for murder, not telling me I can be a hero!"

"What in the world is going on here?!"

(everyone froze)

Uraraka: Oh yikes they forgot about Mrs. Midoriya!

Izuku and Eraserhead both froze and slowly turned to look at his mom, who was standing in the doorway leading to the kitchen. Izuku stuttered, completely unable to even think and Eraserhead seemed equally at a loss. Mom looked between the two of them briefly, a worried expression on her face, "Izuku, baby, what are you talking about? Why would Eraserhead be arresting you for murder?"

"Uh..." Izuku opened and closed his mouth a few times. "Um... well..."

Compress: This is awkward...

He didn't know to be relieved or mortified that Eraser recovered more quickly than he did, standing and gesturing toward the couch, "Mrs. Midoriya, perhaps you should sit down for this."

Midoriya: Yeah... that's a good idea...

Mom's expression hardened, "Perhaps you should explain a bit more about why you're here."

Eraserhead sighed, "Have you ever heard of a vigilante that goes by the name of Viridian?"

Izuku only glanced at her briefly before he started staring more intensely at the floor, but he still saw the moment that she connected all the dots, "Oh... oh baby."

Twice: She knows...

"I'm sorry." Izuku curled in on himself. "I didn't want you to worry."

Inko: Izuku, I'm your mother... I'm supposed to know these things and worry about you...

Midoriya: I know, mom...

"I guess that means you didn't know?" Eraserhead asked.

"No, I didn't, but..." Mom glanced at him. "I'm honestly not surprised."

Izuku did a double take, "What?"

Inko: You're my son, Izuku. I can tell when you're trying to hide something. I just usually don't like to ask when you don't want to tell me.

"Izuku, baby, I knew there was something going on, I just didn't know what." Mom smiled gently. "You've been happier, you've been making friends, learning to fight. It didn't take much to realize that there was something you weren't telling me, I was just waiting for you to be ready to open up to me."

It wasn't a great time for the Midoriya tears to make an appearance, but he couldn't help it, "So... you're not mad?"

"I... well..." Mom sat down beside him and put a hand on his knee, "You stayed safe, right?"

(everyone stopped)

Nejire: Um...

Izuku clenched his fists and refused to meet her eyes as he shook his head. He felt Mom's hand tense on his knee as everything fell into place, "Oh."

"I'm doing better." Izuku said weakly. "I... I have friends now. I don't want to... it would be bad if I... I'm not trying to die. Not anymore."

There was a long moment of silence before Mom spoke again, "But you were before?"

Hound Dog: This is why he needs therapy...

"That's part of why it's important that your son comes into custody." Eraser cut in. "We would be able to get him a therapist that's qualified to deal with both his depression and the kind of trauma that comes with almost a year as a vigilante."

Izuku's head shot up, "I don't need... there are other people who need their help more. I don't want to waste a therapist's time when there are other people who are more worth helping."

Bakugo: Oh shut up with that nerd! No one is more deserving or less deserving of help! You included!

Mom's expression fell, "Izuku..."

"It's not a waste of time, problem child." Eraser groaned. "But if it helps you feel better, it's actually standard procedure to require therapy after last night's incident."

Recovery Girl: Exactly.

Mom glanced between the two of them, "What happened? I know that Katsuki and Kaminari were trying to cover for him, but Izuku didn't come home until almost sunrise, so I'd like an explanation, please."

"We were kidnapped by a villain." Eraserhead didn't sugarcoat it. "Viridian managed to save both our lives, but lethal force was required to do so. It was self-defense, so the kid won't have to worry about any charges, but it's normal for there to be some lingering issues and it's only logical to provide therapy to help heroes recover."

"But I... I'm quirkless, Eraserhead." Izuku repeated weakly. "I... I can't be a hero."

Shigaraki: Shut up, you obviously can, and it's saying something that I know that before you!

Mom squeezed his knee and when he looked up at her, she was smiling, "Izuku. Baby. Can't you see? You already are."

Izuku bluescreened, "What?"

Setsuna: Yeah, listen to your mom!

To his surprise, Mom actually giggled, "Izuku, you save people every night, that's what a hero does."

"She's right, kid." Eraser agreed. "You might not be a pro, but that doesn't mean you're not a hero. You already do pretty much everything we do, except for the paperwork."

"But..." Izuku was still reeling. "But I'm not! I... I'm quirkless."

Mirio: Not an excuse!

"I... I'm sorry, Izuku." Mom reached out and hugged him, "I should have supported your dream more when you were younger, but I didn't know how skilled and determined you could be when you put your mind to something. You can be a hero, baby. I just know it."

"But..." Izuku stared at her. "But it's dangerous!"

(Inko smiled sadly. How the tables have turned. Now it was Izuku saying that it was too dangerous. But she knew better now. Her son was going to be an amazing hero, quirk or no quirk.)

"Yes, it is." Mom exhaled slowly. "And I'm going to be worried about you, obviously, but I'm a strong mama, I can handle that. What I can't handle is you holding yourself back from what obviously makes you happy, just because some people think you're too weak. You are strong, Izuku. If you want to be a hero, I will be there cheering you on every step of the way. Just... just tell me next time. Deal?"

Izuku chuckled, tears streaming down his face, "Deal."

Mom nodded, smiling, and turned to Eraserhead, "Now how exactly is this going to work? You said something about hero custody. Is Izuku going to have to go to prison?"

Tsukauchi: More like house arrest, but then again Viridian doesn't have a quirk and technically didn't break any quirk use laws so...

Awase: Loopholes.

"Think more along the lines of glorified house arrest." Eraser said. "Because he's quirkless and doesn't technically fall under vigilante charges, we have a bit more leeway, but we still want to keep an eye on him. After we're done here, I'll take you down to the station to fill out the forms and get you fitted with a tracking anklet. Obviously, you'll have a curfew and there will be absolutely zero solo patrolling for quite a while, got it problem child?"

"Got it!" Izuku nodded. "So I'll be patrolling with you?"

Eraser shrugged, "Mostly, or another hero. I know Amplifier called dibs on at least one day a week."

(everyone chuckled)

Mt. Lady: Rock Lock too, probably.

Iida: And my brother as well. He has a soft spot for vigilantes.

Izuku reached for a notebook to start writing everything down, "And what about training? If the goal is to get me a license then I'll need some official combat training, plus a little more on legal procedures and protocols at the very least."

"You'll be joining class 1A for combat training." Eraserhead looked tired for some reason as he continued. "After we confirmed your identity, however, Nezu dug up your school records and insisted on overseeing your academic education himself. You might join 1A for some academic classes, but you will most definitely have extra classes in the afternoon, more so that we can keep an eye on you and make sure you're not going out and sticking your nose in places it doesn't belong like you have a habit of doing. Hopefully he'll limit himself to teaching you analysis and not how to end the world, but whatever, that's not my responsibility."

Nezu(chuckling): Oh come on, when have I ever taught a student to end the world?

Izuku sat back and waited for his world to turn rightside up again, but it never did, "I'm going to UA. I'm gonna be a hero. Wait a minute, I'm gonna be a hero!"

(everyone grinned)

Uraraka: Yes you are!

Eraserhead rolled his eyes, "Yeah, kid, that's what I've been trying to tell you for months now."

Mom chuckled, "You're gonna do amazing sweetie. I'm so proud of you. And you get to be in the same class as Katsuki and Kaminari!"

"That's going to be a nightmare." Eraser groaned. "I'm already mourning my lack of sleep."

(everyone laughed)

Midoriya: Um... sorry, sensei?

Mom gave him a weird look, but Izuku just laughed, "Am I going to get to see your infamous sleeping bag?"

Eraser glared at him, "If you do anything to it, I swear to god..."

"I would never!" Izuku held up his hands in mock surrender. "Filling it with marbles however..."

Aizawa: Problem child!

Mom laughed, "You're the mysterious friend that Izuku called a grumpy old uncle, aren't you?"

Midoriya: Mom!

"Mom!" Izuku hissed. "Don't..."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me." Eraser got a terrifying grin on his face. "Nice hoodie."

Nevermind, Izuku still wanted to die.

(everyone laughed)